Episode 75. King of Martial Gambling 2

The arena where the pit fights were held had its stage sunken down below.

The ones fighting were below.

The ones betting money and watching were above.

In other words, the parties involved in martial gambling fought in the hollowed-out pit.

I don’t know when arenas became like this.

But dividing things into above and below like this had a clear meaning.

First, it put the fighters in a position where, if they tried to flee, the gamblers could easily attack them. In other words, it was a difference designed to make them fight from a disadvantageous position. Even gamblers who knew nothing of martial arts would throw stones or hurl daggers. It meant, I bet money on you, so how dare you run away?

After all, it was the same whether it was cockfighting or dogfighting.

The more money was at stake in a fight, the higher the spectators stood above the ones fighting.

Second, the spectators took seats at a higher place so that foul play could be spotted more easily. Pit fighting was, quite literally, a place where primitive force was contested, so poison was forbidden. A human winning because he was strong was pit fighting; winning because the poison was strong was considered cheating.

Third, it was an architectural structure showing that, one way or another, the gamblers who placed the money were above the bastards fighting. Even if that wasn’t actually true.

Fourth, the bastards above had all sorts of tricks to maintain their power somehow and guide the match in the direction they wanted.

Martial gambling did pit primitive combat against primitive combat, but in the larger picture, it also contained the political struggles of gamblers who held power.

That was about as much as I knew.

So the undefeated Dongbang Yeon had become the king of martial gambling through his own martial might, yes, but he maintained that seat as king of martial gambling because he also had a secret organization of wealthy gamblers on his side.

It was hard to explain in words, but…….

In any case, once you fought, you gradually came to realize these kinds of corruption. And if the one who realized that corruption didn’t belong to the vested interests, he was bound to meet death somehow.

That was why this place, too, was a pit fight.

Because, one way or another, it was a place where humans fought humans.

For now, I went to the gamblers’ seats and set down the bundle containing the enormous sum of over ten thousand nyang.

A pit fight was already underway down below.

Even if I threw ten thousand nyang down there right now, Dongbang Yeon wouldn’t come out immediately. I also had to face the gamblers here, and time was needed to get their permission and set up the spectacle.

In other words, I had to go through at least one preliminary match before the gamblers could gauge whether I was worth drawing a crowd.

Putting up ten thousand nyang and fighting Dongbang Yeon was my part.

But other money changing hands over that victory or defeat was the gamblers’ part.

After I arrived, the customers who had been watching me since the inn also gathered one after another in the pit-fighting arena and filled the seats. Among them was Ilbo the waiter.

As befitted a waiter who had survived here for a long time, Ilbo reported the inn duel I had caused to the manager in charge of the pit fights.

A short while later, when one round of pit fighting between a pair of useless bastards ended, someone announced to the crowd in a voice mixed with internal energy.

“I hear some surprising news. They say someone has appeared who wants to challenge Dongbang Yeon?”

It was a casual tone, as if he were speaking to a friend.

The owner of that voice was the pit-fight host, a bastard called Pyeong Gunsa. Pyeong Gunsa literally meant “Ordinary Strategist,” but calling himself ordinary was, if anything, closer to excessive arrogance. In truth, he really was an arrogant bastard.

After hearing Ilbo the waiter’s explanation, Pyeong Gunsa pointed precisely at me.

“They say the challenger is you. Is that right?”

The spectators and gamblers seated in the stands all stared at me at once. A match involving Dongbang Yeon was naturally a chance to make a great deal of money, so everyone’s eyes were shining.

I answered Pyeong Gunsa’s question briefly.

“I’m the challenger.”

Pyeong Gunsa pointed a finger at me and said.

“Another drifter who knows nothing of the world has come to throw away his money. Let’s give a round of applause for that stupidity.”

When no applause came at all, Pyeong Gunsa continued.

“Well, who knows? That fellow might be an incredible expert, and Dongbang Yeon’s undefeated legend may be broken today.”

Boos flowed out from the stands.

“Pyeong Gunsa, stop spouting boring nonsense and get on with it already.”

Naturally, gamblers judged after seeing the skill for themselves.

Pyeong Gunsa continued as if explaining to me.

“If you want to call Dongbang Yeon out, you have to show something too. When it comes to confirming skill, nothing beats a pit fight. If we call too high, there won’t be anyone to challenge you, so think of it as warming up lightly. How about a one-thousand-nyang duel? A one-to-one exchange duel depending on victory or defeat.”

If I won, I gained one thousand nyang; if I lost, I lost one thousand nyang.

It was a simple form of martial gambling.

I nodded.

“Arrange it.”

Pyeong Gunsa scratched the back of his head and sighed.

“I don’t know why young bastards these days are so curt. What a world……. Now, everyone heard that, right? Anyone want to challenge the man who says he’ll challenge Dongbang Yeon? The money is one thousand nyang. Barehanded or with weapons, it doesn’t matter. No one? Ah, right. Of course there wouldn’t be no one.”

Three figures moved from the stands at the same time and landed on the arena floor.

Pyeong Gunsa spoke to the three of them.

“Who said we were doing three-on-one? Have a staring contest among yourselves, then two of you get lost.”

The three looked each other over, then the strongest one remained, while the other two clicked their tongues and headed back to the stands.

Pyeong Gunsa introduced the man left alone.

“You all know him, but that drifter might not, so I’ll introduce him. This is Banggaek, who often steps up for one-thousand-nyang duels. Anyone not know Banggaek? Seems only that drifter doesn’t.”

Of course, that drifter was me.

Naturally, I knew Banggaek. I had even been beaten by that Banggaek and had my money taken from me, so there was no way I wouldn’t know him.

The reason Pyeong Gunsa went out of his way to introduce Banggaek again was because words and behavior like this encouraged gambling. Every word and action in this place was connected to money.

“What place does a shield have in the martial world? But once you see Banggaek fight, those words go right back in. As you all know, Banggaek lost to Dongbang Yeon in the past. In other words, he is a man silently training for revenge. Now, let’s simply get into betting on the winner here. Banggaek is white, and that drifter challenger is black.”

As the attendants began moving around, the gambling began.

Pyeong Gunsa had not even called me down, in order to hide my information.

And yet an enormous amount of money poured out from the stands. This time, the attendants collected the money while writing it down in ledgers at the same time.

Only then did Pyeong Gunsa call me.

“Country bumpkin, come down. Leave the money there and come down. We’ll take care of protecting the funds, so don’t worry.”

That was true.

I held out the bundle to the attendant who approached. Like someone who had trained in the martial art of collecting money, the attendant took out the common silver pieces and counted out one thousand nyang. I set the bundle down and slowly descended into the arena.

Pyeong Gunsa ran his mouth.

“My, my, what remarkable composure. Now, we’ll be closing soon, so anyone who wants to bet on that relaxed fellow, put down more money. Empty your pockets, I said.”

Even when he spoke so blatantly, these gambling-addicted bastards opened their pockets on their own just fine.

As I walked to the center, I looked at Banggaek for the first time in ages.

He was in his mid-thirties. He wore a large iron shield on his back like a turtle’s shell, and a podao hung at his waist.

As I looked at Banggaek, I was briefly confused as to whether this was a dream or reality. All I could do was laugh.

Banggaek was a calm man, so he studied me as I laughed without saying a word.

I had lost to Banggaek in my previous life, but he was not a man I held any particular feelings toward, so I did not run my mouth as usual.

Strategist Pyeong checked the situation in the audience seats, then said,

“Both of you, get ready. Finish things up in the seats as well. I’ll count to ten.”

After the cutoff was called, the entire audience fell silent.

Strategist Pyeong stood between Banggaek and me and declared the start of the match.

“A one-thousand-nyang duel. Let’s begin. The one who dies fighting is just unlucky. The one who wins should buy us a drink today with that thousand nyang. I sincerely hope neither of you dies, and that you fight here until you grow old and die. Martial gambling……”

Strategist Pyeong took out his folding fan and drew it vertically through the air as he said,

“Begin.”

Banggaek brought out his shield and gripped his podao.

In the martial world, shields were sometimes treated as tools of heretics and unorthodox paths, but that was not the case in fighting matches. A shield was an efficient tool for combat. And this man had learned how to use one on the battlefield. You could say he was a skilled fighter who could easily toy with half-baked, third-rate martial artists. But whether in the past or now, this man was in a position where he never challenged Dongbang Yeon and only occasionally earned a thousand nyang. And he was also a man now separated from me by an immeasurable gap.

As I drew Heukmyoa, I said,

“Let’s take it easy. Turtle man.”

Banggaek narrowed his brow, then advanced while swinging his podao. I knocked the podao aside with Heukmyoa, then immediately thrust out a front kick and struck the shield.

With a thud, Banggaek was pushed back.

I had pushed him back with external strength alone, and perhaps thinking my kick was weak, Banggaek grinned.

I laughed along with Banggaek.

“Laughing, are you?”

“Heh heh.”

Banggaek let out a low laugh and charged in again. This time, I swung Heukmyoa infused with Mokgye qi, then unleashed the same kick, this time with internal energy behind it.

Boom!

Banggaek raised his shield to block, then, startled out of his wits, shot straight across the ground before losing his balance and rolling several times.

By the time Banggaek sprang to his feet, I was already in the air again.

With a flying kick, the signature technique of pathetic men, I struck the shield cleanly once more.

KABOOOOOM!

This time, Banggaek rolled across the ground over and over with his forehead smashed against the inside of the iron shield.

When Banggaek sprang up, his forehead was split open and blood was streaming down.

I closed the distance again, knocked his podao far away with Heukmyoa, then lifted my foot like a pathetic drunk in a street brawl and kept stomping on his shield.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Bang! Thud!

I stomped with external strength, then stomped with internal energy infused, switching back and forth and kicking as I pleased.

The core of this match was to show kicking so low-class that no one could possibly see me as a hidden master of the martial world.

Banggaek had grabbed his shield with both hands and was hiding behind it like a turtle, blocking my kicks.

As I stamped on the shield with my foot, I muttered,

“This bastard really turned into a turtle.”

Boom!

When I stomped down once more with internal energy infused, only then did Banggaek’s urgent voice come out.

“I lost!”

I put Heukmyoa back into its sheath, then looked at Strategist Pyeong.

“Hand over the money.”

Strategist Pyeong stared blankly at me.

“……”

“One thousand nyang.”

Strategist Pyeong approached me, pointed his finger, and said in a lecturing tone,

“What was that just now? You have to show your skills properly for the event to be a success, don’t you?”

I glared at Strategist Pyeong as well and whispered,

“Strategist Pyeong, you son of a bitch, quit saying stupid shit and announce the result unless you want both your cheeks slapped.”

Strategist Pyeong scowled and glared at me.

“……”

When I raised my right hand, Strategist Pyeong took a defensive posture with his folding fan and shouted,

“The Drifter wins! Banggaek loses!”

After the victory declaration, I had a brief staring contest with Strategist Pyeong, then opened my mouth.

“What? Why?”

Strategist Pyeong snorted and turned his gaze away.

The small number of gamblers who had boldly invested in me all shouted at once. Among them was the waiter Ilbo, who clenched both fists and let out a strange cry.

I could see the young gambler’s future all too clearly.

‘Being a waiter is a promising career, you idiot. Good grief.’

On the other hand, it was a little bitter, since that promising career only applied to me.

Strategist Pyeong fluttered his fan, then fixed his eyes on me.

“Listen, I know you must be itching to fight Dongbang Yeon right away, but today we need to call in more gamblers and set the event ablaze. We’ll treat you grandly today, so rest comfortably. We’ll sort things out today and arrange the fight for tomorrow. Understood?”

I nodded toward Strategist Pyeong, then replied,

“Let’s do that.”

“And you, a brat still green behind the ears—can’t you do something about that way of speaking?”

I pointed at Strategist Pyeong with my finger.

“If you want to fix the way I speak, two thousand nyang. Since you seem older than me, I gave you a special discount.”

Strategist Pyeong whipped his head away, spat once on the ground, then ordered an attendant,

“Escort the challenger to the Phoenix VIP room.”

“Yes, sir.”

As Strategist Pyeong disappeared while flapping his fan, Banggaek, who had been dusting himself off behind me, called out.

“Hey, young man.”

I looked back at Banggaek.

“What?”

Banggaek said with an impassive expression,

“Be careful of Strategist Pyeong. Why are you so prickly?”

I looked around, then replied to Banggaek’s words.

“Why? Does Strategist Pyeong use honey traps or schemes or something?”

Banggaek looked at me in surprise.

“You… have you been here before?”

“Have you ever seen me here?”

“No, but.”

Banggaek tilted his head. I took one silver coin as a consolation share from the bundle the attendant had brought and tossed it to Banggaek.

Perhaps Banggaek had never received a consolation share after losing in a fight, because he looked at me with a bewildered expression.

I pointed at Banggaek with my finger, then grinned.

“Your stomach must be killing you. Just go stuff yourself with gukbap. Don’t make a damn fool of yourself carrying a shield when you’ve got no skill.”

That was something Banggaek had once said to me.

Back then, it had probably been, “Don’t make a damn fool of yourself carrying a sickle when you’ve got no skill.”

I chuckled, recovered Banggaek’s thousand nyang, wrapped it in a cloth, and then headed for the Phoenix VIP room.

I was curious myself whether the beauty trap I had only heard about would be there again today.