The King of Martial Arts Gambling 1
I sipped on my liquor while watching the martial arts gamblers. ‘These heartless bastards.’ Someone who hadn’t yet predicted the outcome must have asked about my background.
Background, sect, and weapons are all factors that can influence the outcome, so it’s normal to pay to inquire about them.
Ignoring the question, I downed my drink, and a new guest asked Jeongsoi something before heading straight towards me. “You need to come outside.” “Let me finish this drink first.” “Drink up and get up quickly.” I lifted my cup and poured the remaining liquor down my throat.
The liquor splashed everywhere as I gulped it down.
After a long time visiting the martial arts gambling hall and drinking to my heart's content, I felt a refreshing sensation in my chest.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Let’s go.” I followed the guy who urged me to come out and swung the liquor bottle at the back of his head.
With a thud, he collapsed.
The ones who had placed their bets on me cheered loudly, shouting and clapping.
Having easily dealt with one of them, I stepped outside the inn.
Since the black-haired Changwan had already brought his crew, quite a few spectators had gathered.
I asked the disheveled Changwan, “Are you unarmed?” As he looked around, I noticed a dozen men had laid down their weapons.
Changwan replied, “Yeah, we’re unarmed.” He turned his shoulders and said to his companions, “Let’s half-kill them.”
As I grinned and walked to the center, without any declaration of the start, a dozen men rushed at me.
I dashed forward and kicked the chest of the first one who approached.
With a thud, he flew straight back and crashed into the spectators, unable to get up.
I responded without using any internal energy.
I struck someone’s head with the edge of my hand, grabbed an arm that appeared in front of me and twisted it, then poked the eye of the opponent on my right with my fingers.
Without even recognizing who was who, I simply attacked whatever was in front of me.
I broke one guy’s nose with my fist and, while turning around, kicked the face of another who was approaching with a spinning kick.
At that moment, the guy I had kicked earlier rushed at me, grabbing a sword from the ground.
“Hehehe.” He said he wanted to fight unarmed, yet he acted like this.
I dodged the sword he thrust at me and twisted his arm backward. “Gah!” As he staggered back, the others who had been spread out closed in and rushed at me all at once.
Just because they were trying to think their way through, it didn’t mean they could win.
I was no longer the person I used to be.
Easily dodging the punches and kicks from these pathetic guys, I broke one of their arms precisely and ended the fight.
Though I didn’t get dust on me, I brushed my hands off. “Is that it?” Jeongsoi looked at Changwan’s group and nodded. “Yes, it’s over.” Jeongsoi came over with a table and a basket and began to distribute the winnings.
If he played around with the payouts, the inn would go bankrupt, so Jeongsoi risked his life to distribute the money.
The gamblers lined up in an orderly fashion to receive their payouts.
Most of them received a fair distribution of the five hundred taels invested in the inn and the funds from the losers, but even this amount was enough to cover their drinking expenses for the day, so everyone was happy.
“I made some pocket money.” “Let’s have another drink.” Hearing the gamblers, I looked at my share left in the basket.
I took a corner with my hand and said, “Give it to Changwan.” “Yes.” I took out two common silver coins from the remaining amount and handed them to Ilbo. “You worked hard too.” Ilbo’s face brightened. “Thank you.” “Pack the rest for me.” Ilbo pulled out a cloth from his waist and swept the winnings into it.
In no time, the cloth became heavy.
Here, the gambling structure favored the winners, allowing them to take most of the pot.
Since most had bet a single common silver coin, it was quite a decent amount.
Ilbo smiled and asked me, “You came to make some pocket money, didn’t you? There are sometimes masters like that. Where are you from?” “Pay me to ask. One silver coin.” Ilbo awkwardly laughed and said, “I was just asking. Thank you.” Ilbo continued to meddle. “With that level of skill, you could participate in a tournament.” “Who’s the biggest bounty in the tournament right now?” “The undefeated Dongbangyeon. But if you want to challenge him, you need to bring at least ten thousand taels.” I grinned. “I see.”
Dongbangyeon was an opponent I could never have dreamed of facing in the past.
He was also known as the King of Martial Arts Gambling.
Even combining some of the funds given by the head of the Muak Sect and the money I just earned from the inn’s martial arts, it didn’t add up to ten thousand taels.
While it was true I had come to settle my past, I wasn’t here to waste time like the other gamblers.
Once I gathered ten thousand taels to meet the King of Martial Arts Gambling, my agenda would be neatly wrapped up.
I slung the bag of money over my shoulder and headed to the next gambling hall.
In front of a wall, those engaged in weapon gambling were lined up.
They all seemed like madmen, sharpening their weapons on whetstones.
The world is full of such crazy people.
This place was simply where gamblers waited to break their weapons against each other to win.
At the entrance were the pathetic ones, and in the center of the arched wall stood the one with the sharpest weapon.
Holding a bag full of money, I crossed to the center and looked at the white-haired gambler.
In my previous life, his eyebrows had been completely white, but now they weren’t entirely so.
He still wore a hard-to-find ivory necklace around his neck, just like before.
The leader of the weapon gamblers, Gu Jongak, looked at me and said, “Are you here to challenge?” I simply replied to the long-awaited Gu Jongak, “Yes.”
“My entry fee is a bit steep. How much did you bring?” I placed the bag on the table.
Gu Jongak peeked inside and lifted it slightly with his hand.
He still had the same expression, both then and now. “Can we make a fair one-on-one trade?” “Sure.” I took out my pouch and added some gold and silver coins to the bag.
Gu Jongak’s eyes flickered slightly. “Aren’t you pushing it a bit?”
As I brought an unusually large sum of money, the other weapon gamblers also turned to look at us.
I simply replied, “If you’re scared, back off. I want to sit in a good spot. The King of Weapon Gambling shouldn’t be so easily frightened.” Gu Jongak raised his head and glared at me. “I have no idea where you’re from. You don’t seem like a Baekdo or a Segan.” Gu Jongak looked around and said, “If anyone knows this guy, I’ll give you a gold coin.” Everyone replied in unison, “We don’t know.” I told Gu Jongak, “There’s no one here I know.” “Why not?” “Because it’s my first time here.”
Gu Jongak crossed his arms and stared at me intently.
“Do you know the rules?”
“Explain them to me.”
“One attack, one defense. If it breaks before that, the outcome is decided. If it’s a draw, we proceed again. You can raise the stakes in between. If you injure your opponent, the gamblers here will each stab you once. Do you agree?”
“I agree.”
Gu Jongak pointed to where he would place his weapon.
“You put down your weapon first.”
“That’s not possible. Let’s compete while holding them. It’s true I’m new here, but do you think I didn’t do any research? Trying to pull off some nonsense. Old man, do I look like a fool to you?”
Gu Jongak smiled.
When a gambler smiles, it often means they’ve lost their composure.
Gu Jongak said, “Young man, if you hold your weapon, you’re bound to get hurt. I was trying to protect you. Isn’t your life more important than your weapon or money?” I drew out the black cat and held it out. “Old man, stop the nonsense and let’s settle this. I’ll concede the first attack.”
Defense means holding the weapon still, while the attack swings it.
If there’s no outcome, it proceeds in reverse.
It seems like a weapon fight, but in reality, it also mixes in internal energy.
Gu Jongak had remained the King of Weapon Gambling not only because his sword was sturdy and sharp but also because his internal energy was solid, allowing him to maintain his long reign.
Until I left this martial arts gambling hall, Gu Jongak was the old man who had never lost in weapon gambling.
Gu Jongak sighed briefly, walked to the wall, and looked at the weapons he had collected.
He had always drawn his weapon while watching his opponent, but this time, he drew the sword on the far right without hesitation.
Gu Jongak said, “I’ll face you with the Hyeoncheon Sword. If the sword flies, innocent people might get hurt, so hold on tight. Are you ready?” I glared at Gu Jongak while holding the black cat with one hand. “I’m ready.”
Gu Jongak clicked his tongue. “Using informal speech… you little brat.” I grinned.
Timing is crucial in weapon gambling.
It’s common for weapons to clash when the breath is disrupted during conversation.
Since I knew all the rules here, I wouldn’t be caught off guard.
Gu Jongak, holding the Hyeoncheon Sword, looked at the black cat.
I had infused the black cat with energy.
Naturally, there were no signs of energy gathering on the blade.
Gu Jongak glanced at me once and swung the Hyeoncheon Sword to strike the center of the black cat.
I noticed he was cleverly aiming for the back of the blade and twisted my wrist.
With a clang, Gu Jongak’s Hyeoncheon Sword bounced off.
Gu Jongak, with a troubled expression, said, “Well, now it’s your turn to attack.” This time, Gu Jongak extended the Hyeoncheon Sword and, as if by long habit, fiddled with the ivory hanging from his necklace.
Out of caution, I reminded Gu Jongak of the gambling rules once more. “Old man, if you injure your opponent, you’ll get stabbed here.” “I know.” “Be careful.” “What….” Just as Gu Jongak was flustered and about to respond, I swung the black cat.
The energy I infused had shifted from the black cat to the ivory.
When Gu Jongak twisted his wrist, I twisted mine as well.
Clang!
The moment the blade of the Hyeoncheon Sword broke…! Gu Jongak flicked the ivory he had been fiddling with with his left hand using the Tanji technique.
The ivory necklace snapped and shot towards my neck.
I used a similar technique, the Mokgye Tanji technique, to send the ivory flying, then thrust the black cat straight into Gu Jongak’s chest. “Gah!”
With a thud, the bloodied black cat pulled out.
I hadn’t intentionally stabbed deeply.
I looked at Gu Jongak, who was clutching his chest with a pale expression. “You dare to ambush me? Damn old bastard.” Gu Jongak opened his mouth. “Live…” I grabbed Gu Jongak’s face with my hand and threw him to the ground.
With a thud, Gu Jongak rolled on the floor.
As I pulled out gold bars from the gambling fund box Gu Jongak had been keeping, I said, “What are you all doing? You bastards, if you injure your opponent, you get stabbed once according to the rules here. Who ambushed first? If you have eyes, you all saw it.” I looked at the weapon gamblers who had been watching the scene, tossing gold bars into the bag one by one.
They had been quietly observing the situation, likely out of fear of Gu Jongak.
I continued to smile as I picked out more gold bars. “You idiots…” Gu Jongak, still alive, called for help.
He shouted someone’s name, attempted to negotiate, and kept saying he would share his wealth.
I hummed a tune while packing the gold bars into the bag. “How nice it would have been if we had just settled this fairly?” At that moment, a weapon gambler at the back stood up, holding his sword, and stabbed it into Gu Jongak’s writhing leg.
A scream and curses erupted simultaneously.
I moved the money while watching the weapon gamblers’ rules. “Aren’t the rules made to be followed?” The weapon gamblers stood up with their weapons and each stabbed Gu Jongak’s body, which had long reigned as the King of Weapon Gambling.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud… Now, Gu Jongak’s screams could no longer be heard.
After stuffing all of Gu Jongak’s gold bars into the bag, I stood up.
After clapping my hands a few times, I bid farewell to the rabble. “I had a good time. You gambling addicts.” As I stepped over Gu Jongak’s corpse, a few people, filled with murderous intent, glared at me.
Reacting immediately to the killing intent, I turned around and opened my mouth. “Do you want to die?” In an instant, the killing intent vanished, and everyone returned to their places.
I resumed my steps. “That’s right. This is how good gamblers should be. You idiots…”
In any case, I had now gathered the gambling funds to challenge the King of Martial Arts Gambling.