Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign

Chapter 83: The Slacker, Runs Wild (4)

"Ugh!"

"Uaaaah!"

"That’s too bad! So close!"

The final die showed a five. Regrettably, Wi Yeonho's total came to thirty-five, not thirty-six.

"Still, that’s not bad!"

"Of course! If double sixes came out every time, who’d play dice? Even so, that number is hard to beat!"

The gambling hall began to stir.

Ever since that brat had suddenly walked in with a huge pile of gold and boldly challenged them, something had felt off. And now he’d pulled off a monstrous total of thirty-five.

‘How strange.’

The onlookers were starting to realize how odd things were becoming.

‘This feels fishy…’

Veteran gamblers—practically living in this den—had seen this kind of setup more than once. A staged game where someone lured in a sucker.

A match laid out from beginning to end with one target in mind.

But the problem here was that the roles had reversed. Normally, it should’ve been Dokbi who rolled the thirty-five. That way, the brat would lose everything and be chased out penniless, which was the usual outcome.

Yet this time, the one who rolled thirty-five was, absurdly, the brat.

‘Don’t tell me that brat set this up?’

The bystanders thought it absurd, but they couldn’t shake their suspicion entirely. The setup was too bizarre to dismiss. It felt like the game had been started with the express intent of emptying out the entire Golden Flower Manor.

"Thirty-five, huh…"

All eyes locked onto the dice.

In a normal match, pulling off a thirty-five was enough to guarantee a win. But the man sitting across from Wi Yeonho wasn’t just anyone—it was none other than Dokbi.

If it was Dokbi, the legend of Hubei’s gambling world, then pulling off another double six wasn’t just a dream.

The Golden Flower Manor fell into a silence so heavy, even a pin drop could be heard.

Gulp.

Someone audibly swallowed.

Dokbi stared silently at the dice for a moment, then raised his gaze toward Wi Yeonho.

"You were holding back, weren’t you?"

"Excuse me?"

"It feels like this whole match was set up from the start."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Dokbi gave a sharp grin.

"It doesn’t matter. If you rigged the game, that’s impressive. If you didn’t, it’s still impressive. But you underestimated me."

Chaaaak!

Like lightning, Dokbi swept the dice into the cup with one hand.

Thunk!

With all the dice inside, Dokbi slammed the cup down onto the table.

"You’ll regret trying to pull a fast one on me."

"I told you, I didn’t pull anything."

"Doesn’t matter."

Kang Cheonrip approached Dokbi and whispered,

"You can win this, right?"

"This is Dokbi you’re talking to."

"Right, I know… but if we lose, Golden Flower Manor’s really finished."

"That won’t happen."

Dokbi met Kang Cheonrip’s eyes with unshakable confidence. Kang Cheonrip, seeing that look, nodded and stepped back.

"I’ll trust you."

Without replying, Dokbi quietly stared at the dice cup, calming his breath.

‘Has there ever been a match like this?’

He’d lived in the gambling world for decades, but it had been ages since a match of this scale.

Feeling his blood boil, Dokbi bit his lip. Even if the heart surged, a gambler’s mind must remain cold.

"Hup!"

With a sharp exhale, Dokbi lifted the cup high into the air.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!

The dice fell in what seemed like perfect order, accompanied by crisp, rhythmic sounds.

"Double sixes!"

"Come on, sixes! We need sixes!"

As Dokbi moved, shouts burst out from every direction.

With a match like this, it was only natural for ‘gamblers’ blood to boil.

"Yaaawn!"

Even while yawning, Wi Yeonho didn’t take his eyes off Dokbi’s hands.

"Hyaaah!"

Dokbi shouted and slammed the dice onto the board.

Clatterrrrr!

The six dice spun wildly across the board. One by one, they began to settle down.

"Six!"

The first die showed six.

"Uaaah! My heart’s gonna burst!"

"Shut up! Quiet!"

The second die stopped.

"Six!"

Third.

"Six!"

Fourth.

"Six!"

Excited gamblers pushed others aside and surged forward.

"Move it!"

"Hey! Stop pushing!"

Heads were starting to poke out over the crowd.

"It—it’s stopping! The fifth one’s stopping!"

"Six!"

"It’s a six! Uaaah! a Six!"

"All five are sixes!"

Eyes widened to their limits.

"No way… can it really be six sixes?"

"It might just happen!"

"This is a historic match! Historic!"

Jin Soa clutched Wi Yeonho’s hand tightly.

"W-what do we do, Young Hero Wi!"

But Wi Yeonho remained perfectly composed.

"You really think it’ll be another six?"

"It came out earlier!"

"Oh, right? Then I guess it could happen again."

"How can you be so calm? If we lose here, we’re flat broke!"

"Not ‘we’—just me."

Wi Yeonho leaned back into his chair, staring blankly at the final die.

"Hmm…"

Roll roll roll.

The last die began to slow.

"Six…"

The onlookers watched as the die gradually revealed a six.

"Uuh…"

Six sixes!

It was just about to happen.

But then…

Spin.

At that very moment, as if someone had twisted it, the die spun again—and toppled onto its side.

A silence still as death blanketed the gambling hall.

The spectators, Dokbi, even Wi Yeonho himself... all of them could do nothing but stare blankly at the dice for a long while, saying nothing.

"Ah…"

"Th-three!"

"It’s a three!"

"Thirty-three!"

"The brat won!"

"Uwaaaah! A hundred gold tael! He won a hundred gold tael!"

The gambling hall exploded into madness.

The roof tiles nearly shook from the ‘gamblers' uproar, as if they themselves had just won.

"To think I’d witness a match like this!"

"Amazing! This is going down in legend!"

"Someone actually walked out of the Golden Flower Manor with a hundred nyang!"

Jin Soa burst into tears and clung to Wi Yeonho.

"Young Master Wi!"

"You’re heavy."

"Young Master Wi! We won! We really did! We won a hundred gold tael!"

"Looks like it."

Wi Yeonho scratched his cheek.

While Wi Yeonho and Jin Soa were sharing in the joy, Kang Cheonrip stared dazedly at the dice.

"W-we lost?"

He muttered something to himself, then suddenly shouted at Dokbi.

"You said you could win, didn’t you?!"

Dokbi remained silent.

"You said you could win! You said you could! So what is this?! What is this mess?!"

"Please calm down!"

"Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down right now?!"

Kang Cheonrip wanted nothing more than to faint.

A hundred gold tael!

Right before his eyes, a hundred gold tael had vanished into thin air.

That was ten thousand silver nyang.

With that amount, he could live in luxury for the rest of his life anywhere. It also amounted to several years' worth of Golden Flower Manor's profit.

And all that money was gone in an instant.

"N-no, this can’t be. Without that money…"

Just as Kang Cheonrip reached for the betting pile, Ha Daebung casually stepped forward and blocked him.

"Huh?"

"The match has been decided, so we’ll now handle the payouts."

At Ha Daebung’s clap, his men swarmed in and began collecting the money piled next to the board.

"Here you are."

He then handed Kang Cheonrip a promissory note for twenty gold nyang—repaying all of Wi Yeonho’s debt.

"This settles all financial matters between the Golden Flower Manor and Young Master Wi Yeonho. Everyone here, including myself, Ha Daebung, is a witness. Isn’t that right?"

"Indeed!"

"I saw it myself!"

Ha Daebung smiled and placed a box full of coins on the gambling board.

"Let’s all share in the joy today. To those who made the atmosphere lively—please help yourselves to some silver!"

"You're the best!"

"Ahahaha! This is why I can never quit gambling!"

Ha Daebung reached out to shake Wi Yeonho’s hand.

"Congratulations."

"...Isn’t that my money?"

"Sorry?"

"Why are you pretending to be generous with my money?"

Sweat began to bead down Ha Daebung’s back.

"I-I’ll pay it back."

"I’ll be counting on you."

"Yes…"

Ha Daebung turned away, clicking his tongue.

The brat just won eighty gold tael—couldn’t even toss a tip? People ought to live with a little grace!

"I-I'm ruined…"

Kang Cheonrip collapsed where he stood.

He looked so devastated, it almost stirred sympathy. Dokbi’s face had paled, but surprisingly, he maintained a calm expression.

"That was a fine match."

When Dokbi bowed his head, Wi Yeonho abruptly stood from his seat.

He returned the gesture with a clasped-hands greeting and a deep bow.

"It really was a fine match."

Jin Soa looked on in wonder. Not once before had he seen Wi Yeonho treat someone with such courtesy.

"Well then."

As Dokbi turned and walked away in silence, Wi Yeonho watched his retreating back for a moment before sitting down again.

"Yaaawn!"

Stretching and yawning, Wi Yeonho looked at Ha Daebung and said,

"First, put this money into the pawnshop."

"Naturally."

"Then I guess I can go home now, right?"

"What about the Royal Inspector Sword? I’m nervous holding onto it. You should take it back."

"Alright, bring that too."

"Understood."

Wi Yeonho slowly stood up again.

"Alright, time to go."

"Young Master Wi, my legs are shaking so badly I can’t even walk."

"You didn’t even do anything."

"Just watching all this drained all my strength. Are you alright, Young Master?"

"I’m always tired."

Wi Yeonho chuckled and turned around.

"Ha Manor Lord can take care of the remaining money. For now, let’s go home. Eat something, and have a nice, long nap."

"I’ll tear the roots off taverns if I have to!"

"You’re not eating that much."

As Wi Yeonho and Jin Soa laughed and headed for the exit, the heavy door curtains suddenly swept aside with a sharp sound, and a group of people poured inside.

"Hmm?"

Wi Yeonho tilted his head.

He hadn’t called anyone else—so who were all these people?

Burly men clad in deep black robes blocked the entrance.

"Uhh…"

Wi Yeonho looked over at Ha Daebung.

"Do you know who they are?"

Ha Daebung’s face was rapidly stiffening.

"Judging by the black spider emblem on their robes, I believe they’re from the Black Land Manor."

"Black Land Manor?"

Wi Yeonho searched his memory, trying to dig up the vague name Black Land Manor.

At that moment, the black-robed men parted to either side. From between them, a well-built middle-aged man stepped forward and shouted,

"Which one of you is Wi Yeonho?"