Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Geomchang Sect
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The next morning, after hearing the story of Yu Jingwang from Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong, Dan Seolyeong gave a cold assessment.
"Yu Jingwang seems a bit crazier than I thought."
Chu Sam's reaction was much the same.
"Shouldn't we get out before we get more tangled up? Among the people I know, no one who's touched gambling has ever had a good end. Excluding the rare few who win massive sums, gamblers have a habit of dragging everyone around them down and ruining everything."
Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong knew it too. Yu Jingwang's attitude of throwing everything away without hesitation might seem cool at first glance, but no matter how you looked at it positively, the direction was off.
However, it wasn't as if they couldn't understand Yu Jingwang and the Geomchang Sect warriors' choice at all.
"They know they're acting strangely too. The problem is they have no other solutions."
Debts that would take generations to pay off.
Passing that burden entirely to the next generation wasn't an easy path for those involved. Gambling was simply the only breakthrough they'd found.
Dan Seolyeong stared at Dang Mujin with a sullen expression before finally shrugging her shoulders.
"That's true. And if they're gambling with their own money, what can we do by butting in? But Mujin, you can't pick up strange habits hanging around strange people."
Dan Seolyeong's words were clearly aimed at Yu Jingwang, but her gaze flicked repeatedly toward Namgung Myeong.
"What did I do?"
"You know full well... No, never mind."
Dan Seolyeong flashed a forced smile, cutting off Namgung Myeong's protest in advance.
*
Three days later, Yu Jingwang came to find Dang Mujin's group. He had an oddly unconfident air, as if he were about to make a burdensome request.
"Young Master Dang, Young Master Myeong. Could you head to Nanchang with me?"
"What's the matter?"
"I'm planning to settle things there this time."
Yu Jingwang rambled on at length, unlike his usual self, perhaps feeling embarrassed as he spoke.
Qujiang was not a large city, and the gist of the story was that no one would accept his challenge even next month. In conclusion, if he wanted to scale things up bigger, he had to leave Qujiang.
"So, you're going to throw the dice all the way in Nanchang?"
"Not dice. I'm thinking of getting in on cockfighting."
"Cockfighting? Chicken fights?"
"Yeah. Cricket fights or dice games have pretty much the same scale no matter where you go. But cockfights involve way more money. I even know a place where the stakes are big enough to bet everything I won last time."
"I get that, but why bring us along? I've never gambled before. I've only watched a couple cockfights back home."
When Dang Mujin asked, Yu Jingwang replied sheepishly.
"...I just thought you guys might bring good luck."
It was a pathetic reason even by his own standards, and Yu Jingwang's voice lacked confidence.
But that was typical gambler behavior. What gamblers believed in boiled down to superstitions, after all.
Dang Mujin turned down Yu Jingwang's proposal.
"We're not planning to leave Yu Manor. As I mentioned before, there's a group targeting us."
"That's exactly why you should travel with us. Wei Ying and Wei Huan will be coming along too."
Yu Manor had three peak experts. Manor Lord Yu Jingwang and the Wei brothers, Ying and Huan.
'He's taking all the experts with him. Makes sense—with stakes this high where a few rounds decide their fate, the Wei brothers must be desperate too.'
Dang Mujin didn't answer hastily and pondered deeply.
For now, with so many Geomchang warriors staying at Yu Manor, it might be safer to remain there than follow the three.
But the problem was that the warriors staying at Yu Manor weren't just sitting idle—they regularly departed on escort missions.
Once several groups left like that, Yu Manor wouldn't be particularly safe. It was far safer to stick with three peak experts. No matter how bold the attackers, they wouldn't recklessly charge four peak experts.
As Dang Mujin's deliberation dragged on, Yu Jingwang urged him again.
"You remember how I brought you into Yu Manor and guaranteed your safety? If anything happens, I'll protect you no matter what, so come with us just this once. I promise it'll be much safer this way."
In the end, Dang Mujin accepted Yu Jingwang's proposal—on the condition that Namgung Myeong, Dan Seolyeong, and Chu Sam came along too.
*
The group heading to Nanchang was larger than expected. Not only the three Geomchang peak experts but also ten first-rate warriors tagged along.
Excluding those who had to leave soon for escort missions, pretty much everyone had joined the group.
Nanchang wasn't far from Qujiang. The group soon arrived and checked into a lavish inn.
"Cockfights are happening here at this inn in four days?"
"That's right."
Unlike ordinary inns where each floor was tightly sealed off, the second and third floors of this inn had the center of the floor hollowed out in a wide square shape. It seemed built from the start with floor shows in mind.
As the group looked around the inn, a man with a bland expression stared down at them impassively from the third floor. He clearly had the air of a martial artist, yet his presence felt strangely faint.
"Manor Lord Yu. Do you know that guy up there?"
"No. First time seeing him. Doesn't seem all that skilled either."
Dang Mujin felt uneasy inside but hesitated to interrogate a man who showed no overt hostility.
While Dang Mujin hesitated, Yu Jingwang started heading straight out of the inn.
"Where are you going?"
"To check on the chickens. Since it's come up, come with me."
Following Yu Jingwang led to a small house behind the inn.
Gambler-looking types surrounded the house in layers, each holding something in hand and pitifully calling out to the owner.
"Hey, owner! Feed this to the chicken! It's water brewed from aged ginseng—it'll give it bursting energy if you feed it now."
"I caught a big frog—take it!"
Dan Seolyeong made a disgusted face at the clamor.
"Why are they acting like that?"
"They're hoping to make their chicken win by feeding it precious food—or maybe feed it something weird to make an opponent's lose the match."
At that moment, the owner appeared and chased the gamblers away.
"Go home! I've raised fighting cocks for twenty years, but I've never let them touch food from strangers!"
As the people grumbled and left, the owner finally took a chicken from the coop and began training it.
He made the chicken peck at fast-moving bugs and leap high toward food. He trained it with the utmost care, as if teaching a person rather than a bird.
"Such devotion."
When Dan Seolyeong commented, Yu Jingwang replied.
"It's because if his chicken wins, the owner makes money too. He gets three or five mace of the pot, but if it loses, he gets nothing and loses a valuable bird."
"You lose the chicken?"
"Cockfights end when one side dies. See those blades hanging in the coop?"
Yu Jingwang pointed to a pair of blades about the size of a finger joint dangling there. Crudely made, but meticulously maintained to prevent rust.
"What's with those blades?"
"Chicken blades. You tie them to the chicken's spurs."
"That's cruel."
When Dan Seolyeong recoiled, Yu Jingwang shook his head.
"It's actually more merciful. Without them, it takes forever until one dies. That's far crueler."
"Really?"
"Of course. All chickens can do is kick, claw, and peck with their tiny beaks. How long would a big bird like that suffer to die that way? But with blades, the chicken suffers less, and the result comes quick. The spectators enjoy it more too."
"...Even so."
"Besides, the winning chicken only survives because of those blades."
"What do you mean?"
"Losing chickens die, but even winners get killed if they're injured. No one bets on a hurt bird. The only way for a chicken to survive is to win fast and clean."
"Hmm."
Yu Jingwang knew not just dice but everything about cockfighting too—whether out of necessity or interest, who could say.
While the group talked, the owner finished training the second chicken and headed inside. But there were three chickens total. One untrained bird remained caged in the coop.
Unlike the other fighting cocks with upright combs and heads held high, this one had a problem.
While the other two for the fights were twice the size of an ordinary chicken, this one was noticeably smaller. Still bigger than average, though.
"Hey!"
Yu Jingwang called out loudly to the owner. The owner glanced at him annoyedly but quickly turned polite upon seeing the sword at Yu Jingwang's waist.
With so many rogue martial artists around, it was hard to predict what tantrums they'd throw if offended.
"What is it?"
"That small chicken in the coop—is it fighting in four days too?"
"Yes. It is."
"Then why aren't you training it?"
"Its training finished long ago. Wasn't planning to use it for cockfighting."
"What do you mean?"
The owner sighed deeply before answering.
"It's a backup I prepared for emergencies. Actually, another was supposed to fight next, but..."
"Where'd that one go?"
"A weasel took it a few days ago. Had to fill three birds, so this one's stepping in."
"You're using a discard card, huh?"
"Exactly. It's quick, brave, and well-trained, but size and strength matter—without them, it's meaningless."
Normally, the owner might not speak so bluntly about wins and losses, but it was so obvious anyone could see, so he didn't beat around the bush.
Yu Jingwang nodded and said.
"I'll bet on that one to lose."
Namgung Myeong interjected.
"Won't make much even if you do. Not even one mace—maybe five cash at best?"
"Risk is part of it, and if the outcome's certain, no reason to pass it up."
Dan Seolyeong stared intently at the small chicken. As if sensing her pity, the little chicken pecked the ground a couple times and looked up at her repeatedly.
Dan Seolyeong asked Yu Jingwang.
"Will anyone bet on that one?"
"Some desperate for a windfall might, but not many."
A bit whimsically, Dan Seolyeong saw her old self in the small chicken.
Someone no one expected anything from. Someone who existed only as a stepping stone to the next stage.
In the past, she might have just pitied it and moved on, but now Dan Seolyeong was different. She knew even lives with no expectations held possibility.
"If that chicken wins, the bettors make a fortune, right?"
"Right."
"Then let's bet on the little chicken to win."
Yu Jingwang frowned.
"Miss Dan, as I've said, size is everything in these fights. Losing is obvious. Anyone betting on that isn't even a proper gambler."
Dan Seolyeong snorted.
"Who said anything about gambling? I hate gambling. Smart people don't rely on luck—they find solutions and solve problems."
Yu Jingwang understood her meaning four days later.
To be precise, when the new blade tied to the little chicken's spur sliced clean through the thick feathers of its larger opponent in one stroke.
Yu Jingwang clutched his money, now multiplied tenfold in an instant, his hands trembling. His dream was inching toward reality.
*
In just a few days, the gold Yu Jingwang held was too heavy to count in taels—it was better measured in nyang.
"How much more do you need to earn?"
When Dang Mujin asked, Yu Jingwang replied with chattering jaw.
"Th-this... this should do it. This much, and I can go to the Myeongum Manor Lord."
"Go to him?"
"The finale is throwing dice against the Myeongum Manor Lord to decide it. And at this amount... two dice wins at most should suffice."
Dang Mujin frowned.
"Why stick to that weird obsession? Just move to another area, do a few more cockfights, and call it. You've found a surer path—why leave it to chance?"
"No, that's not up to me. Throwing dice for the final round is the Myeongum Manor Lord's rule."
"What a strange rule. Can't you just take the money?"
"No idea what he's thinking. The Myeongum Manor Lord's famous for his eccentricity."
"Sigh."
Dang Mujin felt inwardly dissatisfied. They'd come this far, only to leave everything to luck again.
Of course, Yu Manor's fate had no direct tie to Dang Mujin. If it fell, it was Geomchang Sect that crumbled—not Dang Family Clinic. But if possible, better to leave them without debts.
No, setting aside calculations, he genuinely hoped these people he'd grown acquainted with would wrap things up well.
"You said the Myeongum Manor Lord is in Luoyang? Heading straight there now?"
"Yeah. But not straight to Luoyang. Planning to pass through Kaifeng on the way."
Kaifeng. Dang Mujin pictured the route in his head. Detouring through Kaifeng to Luoyang wouldn't add much distance—just a day or two at most.
The problem was he couldn't guess why go to Kaifeng at all.
"What's in Kaifeng?"
"Heard there's a Gambling God there."
"Gambling God?"
"Yeah. Recent rumor: there's an insanely lucky gambler in Kaifeng. I'll find him and have him throw the dice for me."
"You know him?"
"No acquaintance. But they say in Kaifeng's gambling dens, anyone you ask knows who Hong is."