Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 180

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 180. The Sword Demon’s Gambit
Silence settled over the Cheongeumgwan.
Then cheers erupted.
“Wow! That takes real nerve, doesn’t it?”
“He’s insane! That much silver could feed a man for months!”
“Ha, kicking fortune’s blessing away with his own feet!”
The gamblers around the table mocked the middle-aged man’s choice.
Yet even as they did, their eyes gleamed with anticipation.
They were all compulsive gamblers, after all.
“You’re saying you want to cover again?”
“That’s right.”
“With Shuanglu again?”
“Correct.”
…….
Myeong Chil hesitated—in ten years working the tables, he’d never encountered a customer like this.
When someone hit Shuanglu, the normal play was to fold, give thanks to fortune, stop by a pleasure house, and drink oneself dizzy celebrating the windfall.
But this?
Shuanglu again?
‘He’s lost his mind. Thirty silver taels equals one and a half gold taels. Even if he were some rich merchant’s son, I could understand the greed—but this beggar-looking wretch? He’s got it bad.’
Still, the house had no reason to refuse when someone wanted to gamble.
“Very well. How about the rest of you?”
“Ahem! Odd again!”
……Middle, then.”
“I’ll stick with Even this time.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Roamer, Toe Ki, and the Bamboo Hat Man wagered the same amount on the same outcomes as before.
“Here we go!”
Rattle! Rattle!
Myeong Chil shook the Bronze Vessel with enthusiasm.
Clusters of gamblers pressed close, their eyes fixed on a single point.
“Ha!”
Myeong Chil lifted the Bronze Vessel with a shout, and gasps rippled through the crowd.
“Ahhh!”
“Ohhh!”
“Ha, too bad—wait, what?!”
Myeong Chil had been about to offer sympathy for the expected loss when shock froze his face.
The two white dice showed the same number again.
Six. Six.
“Shuanglu again!”
“He won again!”
“The God of Gambling himself has arrived!”
“Hey there, friend! Buy us all a round!”
The Cheongeumgwan blazed with heat and excitement.
The middle-aged man had drawn Shuanglu twice in barely a moment.
In this single hand alone, he’d won more than forty-five gold taels.
“Who the hell are you? Can you see the future?”
“Ah……”
The Roamer marveled at the middle-aged man’s fortune, while Toe Ki—now stripped of every coin—exhaled a sigh of despair.
Yet the middle-aged man showed no flicker of emotion, and opened his mouth once more.
“Shuanglu.”
“You can’t possibly mean……?!”
“Again?!”
“Stop, friend! Forty-five gold taels is almost the price of a Gold Ingot!”
“If you win this…… hell, you’re looking at over a thousand gold taels!”
A few onlookers tried to dissuade him, but most watched Myeong Chil with expressions of eager anticipation.
Would he accept?
Gulp!
Myeong Chil swallowed hard, his eyes trembling as the stakes climbed beyond reason—he turned toward the house master.
The rotund house master’s face had gone rigid and stern. He began signaling with hand gestures across the gambling floor.
At that, rough-looking men began rising from their seats one by one.
‘Accept it.’
‘But… I…’
‘Use that.’
……
Myeong Chil, having exchanged hand signals with the dealer, nodded.
“Shuanglu. Cover bet. No take-backs.”
“Fine.”
“Well, well—looks like a serious game just opened up. Say, friend, looks like you’ve been on a winning streak. Mind taking me along? Shuanglu!”
“I… I’m not…”
Nangyin placed his bet on Shuanglu following the middle-aged man’s lead, while Toe Ki hesitated, then flashed an awkward smile at the Bamboo Hat Man beside her.
“Um, sir?”
“What is it.”
“Could you… lend me some money?”
“No.”
“I promise I’ll pay it back. In many different ways.”
Toe Ki leaned closer, her voice dripping with coy appeal.
But the Bamboo Hat Man merely pinched his nose and spoke with irritation.
“Ugh, that stench. Won’t it wash off?”
“Please, please! The children at home haven’t eaten in days!”
“Stop spouting nonsense. Then what were those two silver taels you got earlier?”
“That… that was the last money we received by mortgaging our tavern.”
“Don’t care. No money, get out.”
“Ahhh…”
At the Bamboo Hat Man’s refusal, Toe Ki covered her face with both hands, tears streaming down.
Yet no one among them showed her sympathy.
Karmic Retribution was the iron law of the gambling house.
“I’m in on Shuanglu. This is everything.”
Clatter!
The Bamboo Hat Man then emptied his purse into the Bronze Vessel with a satisfying clink.
At a glance, it was a substantial sum—more than fifty taels in gold.
“A hundred taels of gold in play!”
“Madness! I’ve never seen stakes this high in my life!”
“If we win, three thousand taels of gold!”
The atmosphere in the gambling house grew fevered beyond measure.
Three thousand taels of gold—enough to build a palatial mansion in Beijing and live like a lord.
‘Three thousand taels of gold? That’s more than the Cheongeumgwan itself is worth. The dealer would have to cough up every hidden coin he’s been stashing.’
Myeong Chil’s trembling hands dropped the dice into the Bronze Vessel.
‘But it won’t happen anyway. This roll is fixed—one and two, no question.’
“Here we go!”
Rattle! Rattle!
Myeong Chil made an exaggerated show of drawing everyone’s attention to the Bronze Vessel, then slipped his opposite hand beneath the table.
Whish! Snap!
From Myeong Chil’s sleeve, a piece of metal the size of a pebble shot forth into his palm.
‘Ha ha—every die in the Cheongeumgwan has Magnetic Stone embedded in it.’
What Myeong Chil had retrieved was magnetite, a device designed to pull the Magnetic Stones already lodged in the dice, artificially controlling which numbers came up.
Through this method, the Cheongeumgwan had cunningly manipulated the odds of each game, raking in enormous profits.
‘Ha ha! Thank you, shill, for your help! Thanks to you, I’m about to empty this clueless young lord’s pockets nicely!’
Myeong Chil silently thanked the middle-aged man.
With the middle-aged man’s assistance, the wealthy lord had thrown down a fortune; a cut of it would soon be warming his own pockets.
Rattle! Rattle!
“Now, the numbers are revealed!”
Swish!
Myeong Chil held the magnetite beneath the table as he lifted the Bronze Vessel.
“One! Two! Wh—what?!”
Clang!
Myeong Chil dropped the Bronze Vessel.
Six. Six.
A third pair of dice—sixes—sat plainly on the table.
Faced with this impossible reality, Myeong Chil let out a wail.
“How… how is this possible?!”
“Aahhhhh! I got it! I got it!”
“Heh heh.”
“…….”
The Roamer punched the air in delight, the Bamboo Hat Man wore a knowing smile, and the Middle-aged Man still stared fixedly at the dice.
“He, he actually did it!”
“These lunatics!”
“O celestial spirits and deities! Heal my mother’s illness, I beseech you!”
“Your mother got sick because you were gambling, you fool!”
The onlookers witnessed the impossible—Shuanglu appearing three times in a row—and their excitement reached a fever pitch.
Then, just as the fervor burned hottest, a cold splash of water came down.
“Come now! Step back, if you please.”
“We’re closed for the night!”
“Return tomorrow.”
“Eh……?”
“Who, who are these people?”
“Don’t push!”
A mob of rough-looking men came surging forward and began herding the spectators out of the gambling den.
Step, step, step.
“Ha ha. Welcome, fortunate winners. I am Myo Hae, the proprietor of the Cheongeumgwan.”
Behind the men came a stout, middle-aged figure walking with an easy smile.
Thump! Crash!
“What is the meaning of this?”
“A gesture of welcome, naturally.”
“Ha! So that’s how it is, then?”
The Roamer drew the Great Sword from his back and watched all directions warily.
“Ah…….”
“Yawn.”
“…….”
Toe Ki crawled under the table to hide, the Bamboo Hat Man yawned without a care, and the Middle-aged Man kept his eyes on the dice.
“Listen here! This is no time to be yawning so casually!”
“Yawn. Friend. I haven’t been sleeping well lately—I’m exhausted.”
“One wrong move and you’ll sleep forever! These thugs don’t look like they intend to pay up, not one bit!”
“Ha ha, when did I ever suggest otherwise? The sum is simply so large that we must verify your identities. Would you kindly accompany us?”
“Nonsense! Don’t come any closer!”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Hap Jae swung his Great Sword in broad, savage arcs as he spoke.
“You two there! Hire me! I am Hap Jae, master of the Jincheon Shuangdao, and proprietor of an Upper-tier Roamer Faction! A first-rate master!”
Shing, shing, shing!
Having introduced himself, Hap Jae made his proposal to the Bamboo Hat Man and the Middle-aged Man while releasing a saffron-colored Blade Qi.
“Twin blades that shake the heavens? How grand a title for a mere foot soldier.”
Now that the spectators had vanished, Myo Hae revealed his true colors.
With a cold smile spreading across his lips, Myo Hae addressed Hap Jae.
“You call them twin blades—so why do you wield only one?”
“The other is in my heart, you bastard!”
“Heh heh, a masterpiece indeed. Gong Seo.”
As Myo Hae stepped back, a grim, middle-aged man with an eye patch over his left eye came forward.
“Hehehehe! Blade Qi, how charming.”
Boom, boom, boom!
The one-eyed man raised both hands, and crimson flames of Qi Flame wreathed his palms.
“Qi Flame! He breathes Qi Flame! A Jeol Jeong Go Soo!”
“Hehehehe! I am the Named-rank Roamer known as Gong Seo, the Ghosthand of the One Eye. No grudge against fellow gamblers, you understand—but I’ve been hired for this job.”
“Ahahaha! Resistance is futile! With Gong Seo at our side, you haven’t a prayer!”
With Gong Seo leading the way, Myo Hae crowed triumphantly, his voice ringing out toward the two still seated at the table.
“You! How dare you commit fraud gambling! I’ll sever your heads and hang them at the gate as a warning to all!”
Myo Hae’s intention was transparent.
Under normal odds, Shuanglu appearing three times in a row was impossible.
Even excited spectators, if they thought calmly, would sense something was amiss.
“Hm, the fraud gambling was your doing.”
“What?”
“I know a thing or two about Magnetic Stone. I’ve even made one myself.”
Just as the Bamboo Hat Man chuckled and spoke.
Toe Ki, who had been hiding beneath the table, picked up the Magnetite that Myeong Chil had dropped and tilted her head, extending her hand.
“This… what is this?!”
Clink! Clink!
The moment Toe Ki placed the Magnetite on the table, the dice snapped to it like mandarin ducks finding their mate.
“You goddamned cheaters! Give me back my money! Do you know what that money meant?!”
Realizing she had been the victim of Fraud Gambling all this while, Toe Ki wept openly, her voice breaking with anguish.
“Tsk, one more corpse. Master Gong.”
“Understood. Four including the woman. I’ll dispose of them.”
Whoosh!
Gong Seo rushed forward.
Qi Flame roiled across his hands like ghostfire, radiating Killing Intent.
“Hyaaah!”
Boom!
Hap Jae swung his Great Sword horizontally with one hand while drawing his other across his waist in a single motion.
The difference in level between Gong Seo, who exhaled Qi Flame, and Hap Jae, who summoned only pale Blade Qi, was unmistakable.
Crash! Crack-crack!
As Gong Seo seized Hap Jae’s Great Sword, lightning-shaped fractures began spreading across the blade.
“Heh! Your futile resistance—”
Whistle!
In that moment, the Willow Leaf Flying Blade—thin and delicate as a willow leaf—flew from Hap Jae’s other hand like a swallow.
“What?!”
The blade struck precisely at the corner of Gong Seo’s Eye Patch, and he twisted his body away in alarm.
Thud!
“Nngh!”
“Damn it! Missed!”
Hap Jae’s Willow Leaf Flying Blade, aimed at the heart, buried itself instead in Gong Seo’s left shoulder.
Struck by this sudden blow, Gong Seo erupted with fury, spewing forth a torrent of scarlet Qi Flame.
Roooaarrr!
“You bastard! I won’t give you a clean death!”
“Damn it! My apologies, friends. Looks like the mission’s a failure.”
At Hap Jae’s apology, the Bamboo Hat Man smiled thinly and spoke.
“I never hired you in the first place.”
“Quite the cold parting words, aren’t they? If we’ve gambled at the same table, we’re practically brothers.”
“Hmph, that was a rather sharp ambush. Combined with the Willow Leaf Flying Blade—was it the Jincheon Shuangdao?”
“Pity I couldn’t show you the full Jincheon Shuangdao technique in this state. My beloved blade is ruined.”
Crash! Crack-crack!
As Hap Jae struck his fractured Great Sword against the floor, the blade shattered into fragments.
“Krahaha! Now I’ll grind you to dust!”
Whoosh!
Seeing this, Gong Seo charged at Hap Jae, now reduced to Empty Hand Combat.
Swish.
“Then allow me to demonstrate.”
“Huh?!”
Hap Jae, assuming a combat stance, started in surprise, glancing to the side.
The Bamboo Hat Man was suddenly standing right beside him.
Rustle!
The man’s robes billowed as he drew back his shoulders, his white fist clenching with purpose.
“Behold. This is Jincheon Shuangdao—Thunder Heaven technique.”
“Raaahhh! I’ll kill you first!”
Whistle!
As Gong Seo unleashed a palm strike wreathed in scarlet Qi Flame.
The Bamboo Hat Man’s fist rose skyward as if splitting the heavens.
Krrraaack!
In that instant, a brilliant azure light flashed, and a thunderous sound that shook heaven and earth roared through the interior of Cheongeumgwan.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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