Chapter 59 Nine Dragons Struggle for Supremacy (4)

Chapter 59: Nine Dragons Struggle for Supremacy (4)

“Care for a drink?”

“Ah, yep!”

At Jie Longjian Jie Yi’s invitation, I quickly bowed my head and raised the cup above my head.

Why such a low posture?

Well, if I give these guys the wrong impression, masked night visitors will be knocking on my door before long.

Still, thanks to this low-key approach, I was able to clear up the misunderstanding about Jihwa Ran quickly, so I’m satisfied.

“By the way, what was so great about Jin Hwa?”

Jie asked like a half-crazed man, and the other two brothers looked at me with interested eyes.

“Well, obviously, it’s the heart.”

A firm answer.

Of course. From the very beginning, what caught my eye was her heart, as deep as the ocean.

“I didn’t see that coming. You’re a true romantic.”

“Heh heh heh.”

“Hmm.”

The three reacted in turn, and Jik delivered another provoking remark.

“ But what can we do? Jin-hwa is promised in marriage to a man her family arranged for her.“

”I know.“

”There’s a way to win her. Want me to tell you?“

”······What is it?“

”Go kill him.“

”Huh?“

”If you kill her fiancé, Jin-hwa will be yours, right? No one will take a woman who’s already been promised. Heh heh heh. “

No, are you even sane…

I don’t know for sure, but if this bastard goes to hell, even Satan would shake his head in disbelief.

”Brother Ji, you’re being too extreme.”

Ji Sam, who seemed the most normal of the three, murmured softly.

“Why kill him? Just cut off the thing in the middle, and the engagement will be broken off on its own…”

No. This guy was definitely insane too.

CRASH!

“You lot really have no progress at all. How can you, who claim to be the direct descendants of the Red Dragon Sect, be like this?!”

Red Sun slammed his fist down on the table with a loud thud.

“ Even if you dispose of the fiancée, since it’s a promise between families, her brother or relatives might step in. So wouldn’t you have to dispose of her entire family too?“

”Oh dear, I hadn’t thought that far. Heh.“

”Young Master, I’m once again humbled by your insight.”

No doubt about it. This bastard was Satan reincarnated.

I silently crossed myself to steady my nerves.

Still.

“······It’s fine now. I’ll just give up.”

Speaking it out loud eased some of the frustration.

“Unmanly.”

“Boring.”

“Lame.”

Well, I’d expected these lunatics’ reactions, so I shrugged it off.

Seeing my calm acceptance, Jik-il poured me a drink and asked.

“Have you truly given up?”

“What’s the point of liking a woman who’s already taken?”

If this were the modern era, I might try again. But this is medieval China.

Pursuing a woman with a husband would brand me a shameless scoundrel.

My heart aches, but letting go is the wise choice.

Then Jik-il made an unexpected proposal.

“What about our Hwaran?”

“No way, brother! Are you crazy? What kind of girl is our Hwaran that you’d pair her with some unknown nobody?”

“Brother Jik-il is right. Even if Jin Jo-jang’s martial arts are extraordinary, he’s no match for our Hwaran.”

I haven’t even considered it.

Besides, Hwaran is too timid—not my style at all…

…The words rose to my throat, but I dared not speak, crushed by the murderous aura radiating from the three of them.

Gulp.

Jik-il poured wine into his mouth and continued.

“You lot didn’t see today’s sparring matches, did you?”

“What value could sparring matches, so detached from real combat, possibly hold?”

“Exactly. And if Brother had entered, he would have swept away all the other factions’ greenhorns.”

The Red Dragon Sect did not participate in the Nine Dragons Contest.

Their martial arts, rooted in assassin techniques, were unsuited for formal sparring.

Instead, they managed the Nine Dragons Contest, reaping substantial profits—a profitable venture for the Red Dragon Sect.

“The Dragon-Returning Sword was defeated by Jin Zhaozhang here. And in a head-on duel, no less.”

“······!”

“······!”

At Zhi Yi’s words, the two men’s eyes widened.

“Breaking Zhen Mu’s sword technique felt downright satisfying.”

“···Now that I see him, he truly is a formidable martial artist.”

“I knew he was skilled, but this much?”

The attitude of the two who had just been berating me as a good-for-nothing changed instantly.

Seeing them like that, it seems the value of a martial artist really does lie in their martial arts prowess.

Of course, Jeon Mook was a worthy opponent.

Had it not been for my training with North Palace Baek, I wouldn’t have defeated him.

After all, there are limits to waging guerrilla warfare using my specialty, the Jeonwangbo, in the confined terrain of a duel platform.

As I briefly recalled the duel with Jeon Mook, Jik Il asked again.

“I ask again. What about our Hwaran?”

“······I am inadequate.”

“Of course you are. I’m merely asking your thoughts.”

It’s not that I’m necessarily inadequate······.

“I’ve never thought of her as a woman.”

Back in the days of the Ascension Pavilion, when she approached me with such familiarity, I did wonder, ‘Does she like me?’

But once I learned her status, I promptly tossed that thought into the trash.

There was no way the precious jewel of a chaebol family could possibly like someone like me, who was worthless.

And even if it did work out, wouldn’t that be a problem?

I’d have to treat these crazy killers like my brothers.

‘Just thinking about it is terrifying.’

When I stated this firmly for that reason, Jik-il let out a burst of energy.

Shhhhh.

“So you mean you don’t like our Hwaran?”

“No, it’s not that… She’s just so beautiful, I couldn’t even dream of it.”

Fearing trouble, I quickly explained.

“You’ve been eyeing our Hwaran all this time? You wanna die?!”

“Kekeke, my Blood Red Sword will taste blood again after so long.”

The other two cast murderous glances.

No, what do you want me to do…

* * *

Somehow, I managed to get through it, drank a few more cups, and finally escaped using tomorrow’s martial arts match as an excuse.

‘This isn’t some old-school company dinner.’

They clung to me so tightly I broke out in a cold sweat. Still feeling horrified just thinking about it, I shuddered as I stepped out the door of Honghwaru.

“Are you done?”

Jik Hwaran, who had been crouched by the door, spoke up.

Gone was her earlier dazzling attire; she wore plain clothes now.

The moment our eyes met—her eyes as round as pearls—I immediately apologized.

“Ahem, I’m sorry about earlier. I got carried away and…”

It’s not because the Ji brothers are above me.

Really, it’s not.

“It’s okay. After hearing what you said, I realize I was wrong too.“

”Still, you suddenly started crying. That startled me.“

”I’m sorry.“

”No, it’s fine. I didn’t do anything right either. Like you said, if I’d come right after the war ended, none of this would have happened…“

”…Yeah… Probably?“

”Huh? Why are you choking up again? Hey, I really am sorry, okay?“

I hurriedly glanced up at the fourth floor. I was afraid the Jik Il-sam brothers might suddenly appear.

”If you come often from now on, I’ll forgive you.“

”······But you guys are way too expensive. It’s tough on an Oedang team leader’s monthly salary.“

”Tch.”

Jik Hwa-ran made a sulky face, then smiled again and said.

“Instead, I’ll introduce you to a lady.”

“Is she pretty?”

“······Well······of course! She’s incredibly beautiful. She’s the younger sister of the Sixth General, the one you ‘used to’ have feelings for?!”

“Woo-hoo!”

Then I should come more often.

As I cheered, Jik Hwaran finally stood up.

Thud.

She slapped my back hard, then beamed as she said,

“There’s a martial arts match tomorrow, so hurry inside. You’ve wasted time just because of those brothers.”

“Got it. See you next time.”

* * *

A short while later.

Rushing straight to the Red Dragon Hall, Jihwa-ran found Yook Jin-hwa and grabbed her arm.

“Will you be my sister?”

* * *

Heavy.

Carrying today’s winnings on my back, I checked the weight and gasped in awe.

1,650 taels.

In modern terms, that’s over 1.5 billion won.

If things keep going like this, reaching my dream goal of ten thousand taels is just a matter of time.

As if understanding my thoughts, Myohyang smiled brightly and swung open our house’s main gate wide.

“Let’s go.”

And so, with vigorous strides, we headed toward the venue where the Nine Dragons Tournament was being held.

“1.1 times?”

The odds were pitiful.

“Yes, and they say I could only bet 200 nyang.”

“No, why?”

“I suppose it’s largely because Team Leader Jo won so decisively against Hwaryongdo in the last match. Most of the money poured into Team Leader Jo’s side.”

Damn it! I should have controlled my strength.

Seeing Yook Jin-hwa arrive with his lover, I completely lost my head.

As he heard this disheartening news, Cheong So-so seemed to have a good idea and clapped his hands.

“If the odds are that bad, why not bet on another match?”

I don’t know for sure, but if Cheong Jang-ju had seen this, he would have grabbed Cheong So-so by the hair and dragged him away in an instant.

After all, no parent in the world would tolerate a gambling-addicted daughter.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Isn’t it uncertain? Our goal is to earn money honestly, not to gamble.”

“With a master’s eye, can’t you roughly tell who will win?”

I shook my head at Cheong So-so’s argument.

“There are no absolutes in the martial world. Above all, matches with high payouts tend to have participants of similar skill levels, making it hard to predict the winner.”

As the cleaner said, one can roughly gauge martial prowess.

But a slight difference in skill won’t decide the outcome.

Instead, observing the fighter’s condition that day is far more helpful.

“Hmph, what a waste…”

“Can’t be helped. We’ll have to bet at least 200 taels.”

As I handed the money to Myohyang, she nodded and headed toward the counter.

Watching her, Cheongso reached out to me.

“Then give me my money. I’ll bet separately.”

“……What if you lose it?”

“Hmph! I’m Cheongso. The prized jewel of Cheonggajang. Do you really think I’d care about losing a mere pittance?”

A pittance? Not long ago, you were arguing with me over a 10% commission.

“I don’t have time. Hurry up and give it to me.”

“I clearly tried to stop you.”

I opened the sack and settled the Cleaner’s share.

“Here’s 168 nyang. Count it.”

“Why is that all?”

“If you’re really suspicious, why don’t you count it yourself?”

The Cleaner brought over a twig, scribbled on the floor here and there, then took the money.

Then he suddenly started arguing.

“Isn’t the fee too expensive?”

“We agreed on this earlier, so why are you complaining now?”

“Still, give me a little discount!”

Wait, just now he was calling it the Qing family’s precious treasure…

I tossed the cleaner 12 more nyang, making it 180 nyang.

It stung, but since I hadn’t paid the treatment fees all this time, I decided to settle everything now.

“In return, all past treatments are covered. No arguing about fees later.”

“Hehe, thanks.”

The cleaner, clutching the money, grinned like an idiot and dashed to the reception desk.

Oh dear.

Even a professional career woman like her gets sucked into gambling. It’s no wonder housewife gambling rings are a social problem.

And the match began.

Bang! Knocked out.

The match ended disappointingly.

My opponent, Eunryongdang’s Ho Jungjin, had advanced to the round of 16 thanks to good draw luck; his martial arts skills weren’t particularly high-level.

He seemed aware of this too, for after a few exchanges, the moment his shield shattered, he conceded defeat.

“I lose.”

“It was a good fight.”

After descending from the stage, not long passed.

Waaah!

The Golden Dragon Sword, Geum Pil-dae, and the White Dragon Sword, Baek Mu-ha, stepped onto the stage.

Amidst the audience’s cheers, a sound bordering on a scream mingled in.

Kyaaaah! Golden Dragon Sword, win!

It seemed the cleaning crew had made a strange choice after all.

Kyaaaah! White Dragon Sword, you’re awesome!

Myaohyang was also cheering for Baek Muha, letting out a dragon’s cry.

“…”

It was a moment that reaffirmed the dangers of gambling.