The Eccentric of Monghwan Lou
"Come on! What the hell are you doing? Roll the dice already!"
In the darkness where a grimy oil lamp barely flickered, the stuffy indoor air assaulted the nose with the acrid stench of stale tobacco smoke and sour booze.
"Uwaaaah! Fuck! Why the hell did that come up?!"
"Uahahahaha! Jackpot!"
Despair for some, ecstasy for others.
Whether in his past life or this one, in such a sealed-off space, filthy desires and despair always mingled like dog food.
"Hey, Cheolgeom. You're really going all in, right?"
I nodded at the one-eyed bastard grinning ear to ear in front of me.
"Just roll 'em."
"Heh heh heh. Your luck's run out now, you fucker."
Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.
It had been five years since I'd dropped into this world.
I'd played the righteous hero for a bit, made some honest coin, but in the end, here I was in a shady back-alley gambling den.
"Here we go!"
Thud!
The one-eyed prick let out a shout as he slammed the dice cup onto the table.
The onlookers clamored like men dying to peek under a woman's skirt, urging him to open it already.
"Woooah! Eleven!"
"It's eleven!"
"Cheolgeom's gonna lose this time!"
They called me Cheolgeom instead of my name.
A nickname from always carrying this rusty iron sword at my waist.
For a moment, I vaguely wondered what my name had been in the old world.
'What was it... Kim Dong... something.'
I took the dice cup and stared blankly at the swaying lantern flame.
"Heh heh heh. The great Cheolgeom's chickening out? Hurry up and roll."
"......"
Tap-tap. Rattlerattle. Tap-tap. Rattlerattle.
I shook the cup in a steady rhythm.
The one-eyed fucker's single eye gleamed like a snake's as he glared at my hand, and the onlookers fell dead silent, gulping audibly.
"Asura thunderclap. Asura thunderclap."
The one-eyed bastard furrowed his brow and looked up.
"What the fuck are you mumbling? Open it already!"
"It's a prayer to the Martial God. Why you bitching?"
"You fucking shit! Open it quick or I'll chop off your goddamn hand!"
Thud!
How much had this prick lost to me?
He was the type to rig the game with every cheat in the book, and if things didn't go his way, out came the blade.
Gambling dens like this naturally drew all kinds of lunatics, but this guy was top-tier crazy.
Having gotten burned by me repeatedly, his one good eye was bloodshot, flickering with madness.
"Ooooh!"
"What is it? How many? Come on!"
I slipped a bit of my internal energy into my fingertips, nudging the dice cup with subtle clicks.
It was the half-year's worth of qi I'd built up over five years of training.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
He'd cheated first, so no complaints.
"You cheating fuck! You rigged it!"
The one-eyed bastard's eye bulged like it would pop out.
He seemed a little salty about it.
I put on an innocent face and scolded him mildly.
"You saw it with your own eyes and you're still bitching? What cheat?"
"Open it, you bastard! Hurry up!"
"As you wish."
I slowly lifted the cup.
Two grimy dice gradually revealed themselves beneath: double sixes.
"Woooaaah! Twelve!"
"Cheolgeom wins again! Cheolgeom wins!"
"Fuck!"
Crash! Bang! Clatter!
The one-eyed prick flipped the table.
Silver coins piled on it flew into the air.
I gazed blankly at the coins sparkling like stars in the lamplight.
And in that moment.
His dagger tickled under my chin.
"You dog-fucking bastard! I ain't letting this slide today! You dared trick me!"
I nudged his dagger tip away with a finger and said,
"No need to get heated. I'll spot you the house cut."
"House cut my ass! Yeah! Let's see some of your blood today! Uwaaaah!"
Even in this murim world rife with blood and guts, casually slitting throats got you branded a demonic cultist.
Yet this retarded fuck was coming at my neck over some lost coin.
Gambling was one scary bitch.
"Hup."
"Hek!"
I leaned back from my seated position, dodging his dagger.
At the same time, I flicked my knee up a bit.
Not intentional, but there was a nice crack from his family jewels.
"Kweeeeeek!"
The one-eyed bastard gaped his mouth and let out a pig-slaughtering squeal.
I grabbed his wrist with my left hand and twisted my body, slapping the floor with my right.
Thud!
Before I knew it, his dagger was in my left hand.
"Pain's best forgotten with greater pain."
To ease his suffering, I plunged the dagger deep into his right hand.
"Kaaaaaaaak!!"
By now, the nut-cracking agony should've faded.
Wasn't this true compassion in the law of the jungle?
"You fucking shit!"
"Big bro!"
Bastards like this always rolled with a crew.
Two of his lackeys lunged at me from behind.
I snatched my iron sword from the floor and sprang up.
"You dog bastard!"
The lackey was a hefty brute.
I bent diagonally to dodge his fist, then smashed the sword hilt's pommel into his jaw with a thwack.
"Grk!"
Red blood and yellow teeth sprayed beautifully.
"You son of a—!"
Realizing he was outmatched, the other drew his sword.
I vaulted onto the brute's back, spun, and drew my iron sword.
Shing!
"Kgh!"
The rusty blade halted right at the sword-wielder's throat.
Clang.
Where'd that Guan Yu bravery go? He dropped his sword, trembling like a leaf.
"S-spare me."
"Spare you?"
"Please spare me! Cheolgeom! My old mother waits at home—"
Thwack!
I flipped the sword and cracked his jaw too.
As expected, blood dripped as he crumpled to his knees.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The gambling den, turned into a chaotic mess in an instant.
In the blood-scented darkness, incongruous applause rang out.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
"Cheolgeom. Causing a ruckus again?"
There stood a stunning woman, elegant as a fairy descended into hell.
Behind her, a black-clad guard followed.
"I-it's the Monghwan Lou Owner!"
"The Monghwan Lou Owner!"
Monghwan Lou, where lost men's desires writhed like dreams.
This beauty was its mistress.
I sheathed my sword with a click and shrugged lightly.
"Self-defense."
"Self-defense twice, and you'll have killed a bunch."
"Didn't kill 'em. They're all fine."
"Hmm..."
The Lou Owner glanced down at the writhing men like bugs, then spun gracefully.
"Let's talk privately."
"Sure."
I followed her through the stinking crowd.
The Monghwan Lou Owner's private quarters inside.
Fitting for a woman's domain, a pleasant fragrance wafted unlike the gambling den's stink.
As I entered, the Owner turned from facing away, smiling sweetly.
"Neatly handled again."
"Glad you're satisfied."
"That bastard's been scaring off customers for months—sales were in the toilet. The girls were tormented too. Should've just drowned him."
I plopped into a chair by the table, eyeing her furrowed brow.
A fine silk pouch sat on the table.
"Killing folks carelessly brings ghosts."
"If big brother handled the dirty work, my job would be easier."
"Told you. Ghosts."
"Yes, yes."
Truth was, Monghwan Lou wasn't your average gambling joint.
It was the Hao Sect's Hubei branch.
Like a beautiful flower with thorns, this Lou Owner was really the branch leader.
"Still, thanks to big brother, things'll be quiet here for a while. Call you if more trash shows up?"
"If the pay's right."
"Hohoho! I stuffed it generously."
I checked the silk pouch on the table.
Heavy, so I had hopes—but it was silver taels, not gold.
Well, overkill for handling small fry like that.
"Got any decent gigs?"
"Oh? You seeking work first for once?"
"Tired of small fry. Getting itchy."
It'd been five years in this godforsaken world.
Me, a regular office drone, sucked into a wuxia game.
Made me wanna lose my shit.
In a world where blades and poison could strike anytime, I'd prioritized survival, thrashing through vivid pain.
'Gotta stay alive first to find a way back.'
My achievements: nine level-ups.
But scrubs weren't cutting it for EXP anymore.
Settle as the Hao Sect's top fixer?
Or seek new paths?
Time for a change.
"Let me see. Something fitting..."
The Owner grabbed a few papers from the desk, flipping through.
"Honam Jin Clan escorting their young master to the capital."
Bodyguarding some rich kid.
Sounded tedious, no EXP.
"Too basic. Anything else?"
She glanced at me surprised, then back to the papers.
"Basic, huh. Then..."
She flipped more, picking one up.
"Ah. Got a good one. Bounty quest."
"Bounty?"
My interest piqued.
Bounties meant no small fry.
Right target, and I'd bag bounty plus EXP.
"Some lecher on the loose. High bounty too. Ten gold taels."
"Nice!"
One gold could feed a family of four for a month here.
Ten meant big game.
"High for a pervert. Tracking team wiped?"
"Nah. Slippery bastard. Bounty keeps climbing from the family he hit—begging someone catch him."
"Hmm. Risky but good pay..."
"You in?"
"Who'd turn that down?"
"Hohoho! As if you've ever listened to me before."
Business done.
I stood and headed for the door.
Her languid voice came from behind.
"Portrait and map to your inn. Fee's ten percent."
I raised my right hand slightly without a word and left.
Time for a hunt after so long.