Death Comes the Moment You Let Your Guard Down (3)
Xuanhuan Man-so looked left and right. Then he groped at his own neck.
"I-I'm alive... Ah, dammit! Uhehhehng!"
Xuanhuan Man-so burst into tears.
"Ttu―uk!"
Jin Yigang barked. And just like that, Xuanhuan Man-so stopped crying.
"If you lived, you laugh. What kind of idiot cries? And get that snakehead out of your mouth. What was so tasty about it that you were sucking on it like that?"
Xuanhuan Man-so hastily pulled the snakehead out.
"Hoo―ah! Heheheheh! Heuheuheuh! Kikikik! Hahahahahaha!"
Xuanhuan Man-so erupted into laughter. Those who had already been through it nodded along with knowing faces, while those who hadn't yet endured it stared at him with eyes that said lunatic.
"Rolling."
The moment Yul Han-cheon shook the dice cup, the faces of the three remaining men froze solid. They stared fixedly at the dice. Four were left now, and the odds of dying were two point five in ten. Survival was still the likelier outcome. But whether one lived or died here came down to nothing but luck. No amount of martial mastery could help.
"You want to go now?"
Dang Chwi-ryo asked, looking at Jin Yigang.
"They say it's better to take a beating first, don't they?"
"Too bad."
Dang Chwi-ryo tilted her chin toward the dice. The dice pointed to Jeok Sa-in's number.
"Whether it's too bad for him or too bad for me, nobody will know until this round is over. Right?"
"Well, fair enough."
While the two of them chatted, Yul Han-cheon brought the Devil Sword Barrel and the Life-and-Death Swords before Jeok Sa-in.
"I'll take number ten."
Jeok Sa-in spoke after a deep breath.
"Placing it now."
Yul Han-cheon slid a Life-and-Death Sword into the dead hole marked ten. With Jeok Sa-in's sword counted, seven blades now jutted from the barrel without anyone noticing when it had gotten so full. With seven daggers embedded in it, the Devil Sword Barrel looked like some kind of monster.
"That thing really does look like a monster."
Jin Yigang said, pointing at the Devil Sword Barrel.
"Mm."
Ji Yak-ran nodded.
"That's why they named it the Devil Sword Barrel."
"Fitting name, I'd say."
"Innkeeper."
Jin Yigang called for the owner.
"Yes?"
The innkeeper, who had been watching with bated breath, scurried over to Jin Yigang's side.
"Bring me something to eat."
"What would you like, sir?"
"All of that is mine, you know. So just bring whatever you like. Actually, wait — somen noodles. Cold somen."
Jin Yigang said, pointing at the deed lying at the center of the table.
"Yes, sir."
The innkeeper dashed off to the kitchen. The truth was, he was far more curious about the outcome of the wager than about preparing food.
"I'll tell you when he dies, so take your time with it!"
"Understood!"
The innkeeper shouted back.
Jeok Sa-in did his utmost to steady his mind as he glared at the Devil Sword Barrel. His heart pounded as if it might explode, and both his legs trembled like a man standing at the edge of a thousand-zhang cliff. Some mixture of sweat and tears blurred his vision until he could barely see what was in front of him.
"I can do it. I can do it. I can do it too."
He murmured the words like a chant, like an incantation.
"Please open your mouth."
Yul Han-cheon said.
"I can do it."
Jeok Sa-in spread his jaws wide. Yul Han-cheon immediately pushed the snakehead in.
"Here you are."
The innkeeper arrived with the food.
"You didn't just throw this together, did you?"
"Our somen is delicious even when it's thrown together."
"It had better be."
Jin Yigang picked up the noodles with his chopsticks and brought them to his mouth.
"Mm! Tasty."
"You can keep food down?"
Ji Yak-ran asked.
"The world works like this: the dying die, and the living eat to stay living. If the dying go hungry, that's no reason for everyone else to starve with them."
"Your stomach, accepting food in this situation, is truly impressive."
"Worrying doesn't change a thing, so I just figure — if he dies, I don't have to pay. Easy come, easy go."
Jin Yigang stuffed his mouth full of somen and chewed.
"Delicious."
He beamed.
"I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it."
Jin Yigang turned his head toward Jeok Sa-in. The man's entire body was drenched in sweat. Sweat poured from his face, urine streamed from below, and still he muttered I can do it over and over.
"Do you agree that pride is the most terrifying thing in this world?"
Jin Yigang asked Ji Yak-ran.
"I do."
Ji Yak-ran nodded.
"UAAAAAAAAH!"
Jeok Sa-in screamed and shoved the blade in.
Click!
"Son of a—!"
"Damn it!"
Curses flew from the mouths of Eum Gu-yeo and Sam Gwang-ho.
"Heuheuh! Hehehehe! Uhehehehhehng!"
Jeok Sa-in, just like Xuanhuan Man-so before him, oscillated between laughter and sobbing.
"Only three Life-and-Death Swords remain to be placed."
Yul Han-cheon shook the dice.
Drrrrruk! Drrrruk!
The dice rattled with a cheerful clatter.
"That man is enjoying himself. Really enjoying himself."
Jin Yigang stared levelly at Yul Han-cheon.
—People are getting killed in the middle of all this. Might as well have a little fun.
Yul Han-cheon sent a voice transmission to Jin Yigang.
"Can you blame me? That's all I'm saying."
Jin Yigang smiled thinly at him. Everyone else held their breath and watched the dice. Death had now narrowed down to one of three. Three point three in ten, the numbers said, but in truth those three men were already half-submerged in it.
"Stopped."
Xuanhuan Man-so shouted.
"Seven."
Every gaze in the room swung to Jin Yigang in unison.
"Can't tell if that's good luck or bad."
Jin Yigang looked straight at Eum Gu-yeo and Sam Gwang-ho.
"I'm betting on you dying."
Sam Gwang-ho said.
"Want to make it a wager?"
"A wager?"
"You just bet on me dying, so all it takes is my consent for the bet to be on. That's how it works, isn't it?"
"And what exactly do you have to bet with? From where I'm standing, you've got nothing."
"I've beaten you twice, haven't I? That's plenty."
"If you die, there's no need for a wager at all, is there?"
"Debt passes down to your kin, you know. In other words, me dying doesn't erase what you owe me."
"So you're saying..."
"If I survive, you have to call me Big Brother from now on. That's all."
"...Fine."
Sam Gwang-ho nodded.
"Know this much: if you break that oath, I really will kill you."
Jin Yigang picked up a liquor bottle and shook it. Empty.
"This won't do."
He popped the cork of a fresh bottle.
"Mind pouring this for me?"
Jin Yigang braced both hands on either side of the table and spoke to Ji Yak-ran.
"Why should I have to feed you?"
"Because somehow, if you feed it to me, I get the feeling I'll survive."
"And what do I get out of it?"
"Half of that."
Jin Yigang pointed at the pot of stakes.
"Not bad."
Ji Yak-ran gave a light flick of her hand. The liquor bottle rose gently into the air.
"If it's not poured straight from your hand, it's not half — it's a quarter."
"Just open your mouth, you brat."
The moment Jin Yigang opened wide, the bottle surged into his mouth. In the blink of an eye he drained the whole bottle. His drinking speed was nothing short of lightning-fast.
"Seven."
The instant the shout rang out, Jin Yigang spread his jaws wide again.
It's him.
Yul Han-cheon's eyes widened.
'Jujeong.' 'Seven.'
Seven years ago, in a shabby tavern reeking of swallow's-nest wine and smoke, he had heard that very voice. He remembered the cry — the drunken bellow that had rung out like a challenge to the heavens.
'And those eyes are the same too.'
Those eyes, cold enough to freeze marrow. Now Jin Yigang glared at the front of the room with those very eyes. Yul Han-cheon pushed the snakehead in and slid the Life-and-Death Sword halfway into hole seven.
"Push it in!"
Jin Yigang shouted. Even with the snakehead clamped between his teeth, his enunciation came through remarkably clear.
Yul Han-cheon looked at him. In those frigid eyes there was not a trace of any emotion to be read.
"I said push!"
"As you wish."
Yul Han-cheon drove the Life-and-Death Sword in with all his strength.
Thud!
The remaining length of the blade vanished into the barrel.
Click!
The sound of a lock releasing rang out.
"GRAAAAH!"
With a scream, Jin Yigang toppled backward in a heap.
"Oh no!"
"Ah!"
"He's—!"
The onlookers sprang to their feet. They stared down at Jin Yigang in silence. The fallen man did not so much as twitch.
"It's over."
Xuanhuan Man-so snorted a laugh. Relief was written plainly across his face. With Jin Yigang dead, there was no longer any reason to keep playing the Life-and-Death Sword Judgement at all.
"So it is."
Namgung Won-mu nodded as well.
"Now then, let us redefine the rules among ourselves."
Eum Gu-yeo said.
"You're talking out of your ass. Get up, you brat."
Mu Daebo, startled, had rushed over and jabbed Jin Yigang in the ribs.
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
Every gaze snapped back to Jin Yigang. At that moment, the fallen man snapped his eyes wide open.
"Didn't buy it, huh?"
He asked, looking up at Mu Daebo.
"You're not bleeding, you little bastard."
"That's right. No blood means I haven't lost the fight."
Jin Yigang picked up the Devil Sword Barrel and rose to his feet. The moment he stood, the faces of Eum Gu-yeo and Sam Gwang-ho turned corpse-pale. While Jin Yigang was still in the game, only one of three died. Now one of them must die.
"The liquor... is spinning like crazy."
Jin Yigang giggled and drained yet another bottle.
"Wine on top, pissing out the bottom — that's what the Life-and-Death Sword Judgement is all about."
"Your bottom seems perfectly fine to me."
Mu Daebo said.
"I took care of business before we started this. Anyway — how does this next round work?"
Jin Yigang asked, looking at Yul Han-cheon.
"Those two have yet to take their turn."
Yul Han-cheon pointed at Sam Gwang-ho and Eum Gu-yeo.
"Those bastards are done for."
Jin Yigang declared with utter certainty.
"Well, you see..."
Yul Han-cheon glanced at the two men. They stood stiff as statues, trembling violently.
"Even so, I must ask their intent. Shall we continue?"
Yul Han-cheon asked them. The two said nothing, as though they were mutes who had swallowed honey.
"If you intend to forfeit, you must state so clearly."
Yul Han-cheon's voice swelled, and internal force laced his words.
"I—I forfeit."
Eum Gu-yeo was the first to declare his surrender.
"I forfeit as well."
Sam Gwang-ho followed, shaking his head slowly.
"His Highness the Ghost King and His Highness the Power King are eliminated. We proceed directly to the second round. Eight remain, so we will use the ten-blade barrel as is — with one change. The number of Devil projectiles will increase to three."
"Three out of ten... now that's going to be juicy."
Jin Yigang grinned.
"Numbers remain unchanged. We begin."
Yul Han-cheon dropped the dice in and shook the cup.
Drrrrruk! Drrrrrruk!
The dice rolled again. A moment later, they stopped. Jeok Sa-in's number.
Yul Han-cheon pushed the Devil Sword Barrel and a single Life-and-Death Sword before Jeok Sa-in. Jeok Sa-in wrapped the barrel's snakehead in cloth.
"Getting thirsty, aren't you?"
Jin Yigang asked, looking at Jeok Sa-in.
"Heh."
Jeok Sa-in snorted.
"Full of confidence, aren't we?"
"You're the one who said it's better to take a beating first, weren't you?"
"I did. Well then — good luck."
"I'll take number five."
Jeok Sa-in chose his number and spread his jaws wide. Yul Han-cheon pushed the barrel's snakehead into his mouth.
"You'll push it yourself?"
Yul Han-cheon asked as he fitted the Life-and-Death Sword into hole five. Jeok Sa-in nodded.
"The human heart is a sly thing, isn't it?"
Jin Yigang asked.
"What do you mean?"
Xuanhuan Byeok turned to look at him.
"His situation right now is far more dangerous than before. Three out of ten means odds of dying at three point three in ten — yet he acts like it's nothing at all."
Jin Yigang said, sipping at his somen broth. Jeok Sa-in, who had been staring daggers at Jin Yigang, spat out the snakehead.
"When this wager is over, you will be the first man I kill. That is, if you live long enough."
"Nobody knows which of us dies. But right now, the odds favor me. Because you've got the snakehead in your mouth, and I'm sucking on liquor while chewing my noodles."
"I'll be done soon."
Jeok Sa-in clamped the snakehead back between his teeth and pressed the Life-and-Death Sword down with all his might.
Sssuk!
Click!
"Look—"
PWAAAAAK!
A brilliant red spray burst out from the back of Jeok Sa-in's neck.