Peach Blossom Gambling Den
"Hoo."
The gambler, Jang Il, let out a grand sigh of admiration. The newly opened gambling house was impeccably clean.
He'd been moping lately because those righteous bastards from Nachal Bang had swept away all the black path scum, wiping out every gambling den in sight. But that gloom vanished in an instant.
"Jang Il! You've come!"
"Good to see you."
A fellow gambler approached with a greeting. Jang Il returned it while scanning the vibe of the place. It was remarkably serene.
"The atmosphere here's top-notch. Kinda surprising."
"I was shocked too! Word is, Nachal Bang—those righteous folk—set this up themselves. Explains the killer facilities!"
"Ah, so that's it."
Looks like Nachal Bang, the crew that crushed the black path , had snatched up the gambling racket.
"Take a seat first! No idea if it's 'cause the righteous are running it, but damn, it's different! Night and day from those black path dives!"
"That big a difference?"
"You bet! Now we can finally focus on fair gambling."
"For real?"
"You doubting me?!"
Gambling dens for the lowly masses had never had a shred of trust. Black path thugs ran them all. Scumbags too busy backstabbing each other and plotting dirty schemes—how could they run a joint properly? It was absurd from the start.
The only reason bottom-feeders gambled in places like this? Nowhere else to go.
Try opening a private den, and black path goons would crash in, swords swinging.
So folks had no choice but to slum it in these sleazy pits, rife with scams, beatings, strong-arming, and extortion—just like you'd expect from vermin-run operations.
Countless gamblers suffered under that crap. A humiliating existence.
"No more of that misery! Check it out! Nachal Bang warriors don't squeeze protection money or play favorites! Spot a cheat, and they squash 'em on the double!"
Jang Il glanced at the Nachal Bang martial artists. Honestly, they looked black path, so who knew? But the place was humming along fine.
"No real extortion? What about rowdy pricks demanding cash?"
"Those get hauled off quick. Sit back and play a round."
"Alright. Let's do it."
Jang Il sat and dove in.
It's legit.
No bullshit the whole time, just like his buddy said. No interruptions, no black path shakedown artists.
A taste of Peach Blossom Paradise. First time ever.
Time to lose himself purely in the gamble. Feeling like he'd stumbled into paradise, Jang Il kept at it.
"Kuhahaha! This gambling den's raking it in! Hey! Ain't this bigger than the protection racket?"
"Puhuhu, indeed. Never dreamed it'd boom like this."
The gambling business was a smash hit beyond expectations. Dens were always a cutthroat goldmine among black path crews fighting over scraps. But this level?
Was it always this sweet?
"Hope it stays this hot!"
"Kuk kuk, don't be daft. It's the grand opening rush. Folks pent up from the downtime, blowing off steam."
True enough.
"Nah, this ain't ending here, Jae Mi-son."
"Hm?"
"Sent the grunts to poll the gamblers."
This guy ran a survey?
"Turns out our 'righteous' branding hit big. Gamblers say black path joints were hell, but ours is paradise. Word's spreading that our den's spotless!"
"No shit...! If that hype spreads wider!"
"Exactly! Pilgrims will flock from afar! Our den expands, all 'cause we flew the righteous flag!"
"Kyaa!"
"Absolute Cry Nachal, how far ahead do you see...?!"
Galbi Jong shuddered in awe, his clear eyes sparkling as he praised me like a bard.
"Gotta admit, when you first dropped 'righteous,' I had doubts! Figured Absolute Cry Nachal wasn't some brutal monster—negative vibes!"
What the hell.
"But I was wrong...! You meant 'righteous' purely 'cause it prints money! How can anyone be this vicious and evil?! Seeing righteousness through cash...! I'm thrilled!"
What kinda crazy talk.
"I'll follow you forever!"
"Damn right! Stick with me, Galbi Jong! I rate your admin skills sky-high!"
"Anything!"
"Kuhahahaha!"
"Puhuhuhu!"
"Kick kick... Love it when we all laugh."
We three cackled, toasting the den's triumph.
Bigger crowds mean bigger bucks. More cash lets us scale up rooms, boost muscle. Ride this wave, and Nachal Bang's rep soars.
Business boomed smooth, but trouble never vanished entirely. Obvious, right? Assholes everywhere, and we smashed 'em with fists.
"Argh...! M-mercy! My bad!"
A low-rent merchant groveled.
"Shut it!"
"Aaaah!"
Tears streaming, I pummeled him mercilessly. Stomped his back, clubbed down—full beatdown.
This punk skipped our protection fees but bragged he was under Nachal Bang wing. Freeloading on our security and stealing our clout. Punishable offense.
Slap 'em soft, and the whole operation crumbles from the roots.
"Guhk!"
After a solid thrashing, I called a grunt.
"Mun Do! Haul him!"
"Mun Do! Hauling!"
Lowlife scum like him? No one's hearing his sob story after some well-deserved violence. Drag him off, put him to work. That's business.
"Jae Mi-son. Back from that. Cocky bastard name-dropping us. Gave him a lesson."
Found Jae Mi-son post-mission.
"Kuk kuk, good work. Nip those early. Same on my end—cheater caught at the den, mediated."
"How?"
"Set it up so the victim hacks off the perp's wrist himself."
"Perfect!"
Gambling den's a battlefield. Cheat in war? Pay the price. Not cruel—just, hence noble.
That severed wrist? Displayed in the den corner.
"This'll boost our rep more... kuk kuk."
"Sweet."
No need to expand yet. Tight management lays solid foundations for growth.
Meantime, I poured into Nachal Bang, raking cash while training sword arts with Namgung Serin and aiding Wi Ha-young's research.
"Hah!"
Honing Gui Qi control, drilling Gui-gyeok-cham and Gui-hon-il-seom till I could shake it off and fight on. Intense stuff.
"Kuh!"
My skills climbed daily. Special powers plus grind? Unstoppable.
"Hey! Snagged a yodan!"
"Whoa, for real? Thanks, Ha-young!"
"Money buys anything."
Wi Ha-young handed over a small box. Inside, one tiny yodan.
Yup. Gang ops piled up cash. My cut included.
"Heh heh, sure does. Look at us, buying yodan like candy now."
"That's sects for ya. Warriors stockpile elixirs with capital."
Just swapped for yodan.
"Down the hatch. Prep it, Ha-young."
"Yup yup."
Under her guard, I swallowed the yodan.
—Shaaa.
Mystical feel, as always. No fireworks, but inner power ticked up.
"Kyaa! Stack a bit more, I could fire Gui-gyeok-cham thrice!"
"Hee hee, triple Gui-gyeok-cham barrage? Few could withstand."
"Peers, yeah."
"But Geun-hyeop. Fresh yodan... feel that throbbing urge?"
Not that again!
Anyway. Days rolled on peacefully.
Dark mountainside. A sinister aura erupted suddenly, sending beasts and yokai fleeing in terror, hooves pounding earth.
At the epicenter stood a blue-haired woman. Arms crossed, lost in thought, she soon chanted ominous spells, weaving flawless sorcery with fluid gestures.
The moment her hand touched ground—
—Crack!
A pale white hand burst from the dirt. It clawed wildly, like something from hell dragging itself out, unearthing its body.
"Gr... ugh... uuuugh...!"
Soon, a grotesque mummy twisted free onto the surface.
"Aah, aaah! Aaaaaaah!"
The unearthed mummy wailed in agony. Shouldn't it rejoice, risen from the grave? Lion's resurrection—dead returning to life, a miracle unparalleled.
But sadly, it wasn't truly revived.
"Aaaaaah!"
The blue woman eyed the tormented mummy.
"Awake?"
"..."
"Sihaeseon. Tell me what you saw."
The mummy's hollow eyes—called Sihaeseon—fixed on her.
"S-Saseon-nyeo...!"
Something worse than death. To a Taoist dreaming of transcendence beyond life... pure horror.