In a dank underground gambling den, a middle-aged man sat in a corner, fiddling with a set of bone tiles. His head drooped.
“…I’m done for.”
A pair of glasses—an item imported from the Western Regions—rested on his nose. Until a few days ago, they would easily have been worth dozens of silver nyang.1
Not anymore.
The lenses, said to magnify objects several times over, were cracked like rice paddies in a drought.
Two men watched him from a distance.
“Is that him? Is he really…?”
“That’s Kwak Cheolyung. No doubt about it.”
“Good heavens. I never thought I’d live to see one of the legendary Dogons in person.”
One had narrow, birdlike eyes, while the other sported a goat’s beard. Otherwise, they were ordinary gamblers of the sort one could find anywhere.
As they watched Kwak Cheolyung shuffle the bone tiles again, the goat-bearded man asked, “But what happened to him?”
It was a fair question. Kwak Cheolyung looked dreadful.
His face was haggard, and his beard had gone untrimmed. His silk clothes were black with grime and torn in several places.
They said he had spent his entire life moving from one gambling table to another, amassing an enormous fortune along the way.
Now, however, he looked like nothing more or less than a gambler who had lost everything.
“Did something happen?”
“It did. Something serious.”
The narrow-eyed man nodded. Unlike the goat-bearded man, who had arrived in Henan late, he knew exactly what had happened to Kwak Cheolyung recently.
“What was it? Don’t keep me in suspense. Tell me.”
“He lost a bet.”
“Winning and losing are common in this business, aren’t they?”
“They are. But what if a thousand silver nyang1 were at stake?”
“Gasp! A thousand silver nyang1!”
The goat-bearded man’s eyes widened.
That was enough money for someone to live in luxury for the rest of his life—no, enough for three generations to live like kings.
Regretting that he had missed such a massive game, he smacked his lips and asked, “It must have been the biggest wager since the founding of the country. Who was his opponent? A-Gwi? Or Jjak-Gwi?”
“My friend, I already knew you were hard of hearing, but you’re completely out of touch with recent news. A-Gwi had his wrist cut off by a fellow called the Mount Qingcheng Guillotine a couple of months ago, and Jjak-Gwi disappeared long ago.”
“Then who besides those two could possibly have beaten Kwak Cheolyung?”
“The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi.”
“Who?”
“Jin Taekyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan. The Fire King’s disciple.”
The Fire King was one of the Ten Kings and a Supreme Peak master whose reputation resounded throughout the world. There was no reason for such a man’s disciple to gamble with a Dogon.
The goat-bearded man thought for a moment before crying out as if in a groan.
“Dodo!2 He played Dodo2 at the Star-Array Grand Banquet.”
“Correct.”
The Star-Array Grand Banquet’s betting games were considered the greatest gambling matches anywhere under heaven, and were therefore called Dodo.2
At last, the goat-bearded man understood what had happened and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk. Kwak Cheolyung did something stupid. The odds on the preliminaries may have been high, but he should have realized that meant the risk was high, too.”
“Do you think he bet without thinking? He must have had his reasons for being confident.”
“What did he bet on, and against whom?”
“The Iron-Water Divine Dragon taking first place in the preliminaries.”
“I suppose he’s strong, being the Seafaring King’s disciple, but I don’t think he’s quite that good.”
The narrow-eyed man shook his head.
“He seems to have gained some insight recently. I heard the Iron-Water Divine Dragon blew away a tenth of a cliff with his Ship-Breaking Fist.”
“…Is that even possible?”
The goat-bearded man had heard tales of Murim masters shattering the earth and cleaving the sky, but he had never imagined they were capable of anything like that.
While he was still reeling in astonishment, the narrow-eyed man said something even harder to believe.
“What’s so impossible about it? Right afterward, the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi brought down the entire cliff.”
“…!”
The goat-bearded man asked haltingly, his eyes as wide as plates.
“H-He brought down a cliff?”
“That’s right. According to the witnesses, the whole thing came crashing down.”
“……”
The goat-bearded man said nothing. He merely stared at his friend in disbelief.
“Isn’t that just a wild rumor?”
“Everyone else, myself included, dismissed it as one at first. A man of flesh and blood bringing down a cliff with his bare hands? It didn’t seem possible.”
“Exactly.”
“But what can we do when it’s true? Kwak Cheolyung sitting over there is living proof.”
“Why would Kwak Cheolyung be proof…? Ah. He must have lost a thousand silver nyang.1”
“Five thousand.”
“What?”
“What do you think it feels like to lose money in a game you were certain you’d win?”
“C-Could it be…?”
“Is Kwak Cheolyung any different from the rest of us? In the end, he’s just as addicted to gambling.”
The narrow-eyed man looked at Kwak Cheolyung with pity.
The disheveled man was staring blankly at the tiles in his hand.
“Three days ago, when the Iron-Water Divine Dragon withdrew from the Star-Array Grand Banquet and returned to the Yangtze, Kwak Cheolyung completely lost his mind.”
“Did he keep playing Dodo?2”
The narrow-eyed man nodded.
“After the Iron-Water Divine Dragon, Kwak Cheolyung chose Jong Sam of the Hunroe Leg. He bet on him receiving the highest score in the leg-technique assessment.”
“That Peak master who was said to have no equal in kicks throughout Guangxi?”
“Yes. Though by now, he probably has quite a few equals. One of his legs was broken.”
“Don’t tell me the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi did that, too.”
“Are you starting to understand? That’s right. The two of them got into a minor dispute and agreed to exchange one clean blow each before calling it even. But one kick from the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi supposedly broke Jong Sam’s shin.”
“H-How?”
“I don’t know. They say he gave it a casual kick, and the shin snapped with a crunch.”
“……”
“The Hunroe Leg even struck first, but the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi just scratched his calf a few times afterward, and that was it. And next was probably…”
The stories that continued to pour from the narrow-eyed man’s mouth about the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi were nothing short of shocking.
The Kunlun Sect’s Kunlun Cloud Dragon, said to possess the finest qinggong3 among all the young prodigies under heaven, leaped five jang4 from a standing position—only to come crashing down with Jin Taekyung’s foot planted on his face.
The Beggars’ Sect’s Successor Beggar flew into a rage when he could not close the distance between himself and Jin Taekyung during the movement-technique assessment. Unable to contain his anger, he grabbed Taekyung by the back of the neck and was promptly beaten like a dog.
“The fifth assessment was mechanisms and formations. This time, everyone was certain the Zhuge Clan’s Lesser Family Head would take first place, but…”
The goat-bearded man, who had been listening with a vacant expression, cut him off.
“It was the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi again, wasn’t it?”
“Exactly.”
“But seriously, how? What kind of freak is proficient in mechanisms and formations, too?”
“He isn’t. He’s just proficient in martial arts. The ignorant bastard had no idea what anything was, so he smashed everything in his path and forced his way through.”
“……”
“Anyway, the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi took first place in the preliminaries, and Kwak Cheolyung, who bet on someone different every time, was left completely penniless. I heard he sank all the money he’d earned into it, then even mortgaged the estate and land where he’d planned to retire to borrow from loan sharks… Tsk, tsk.”
The narrow-eyed man gazed at Kwak Cheolyung with sympathy.
Only a few silver nyang1 sat before the legendary Dogon who had once amassed a tremendous fortune. They were probably all he had left in the world.
“Whether you earn it or lose it, it all happens in one shot. Isn’t that right?”
Only then did the goat-bearded man come to his senses. He licked his parched lips.
“Five thousand silver nyang.1 Whoever won that must have hit the jackpot.”
“He certainly struck it rich. Why else would they call him the Gold-Faced Young Master?”
“The Gold-Faced Young Master? Did he bet on the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi?”
The narrow-eyed man nodded.
“He has incredible foresight. He must have won tens of thousands of silver nyang1 from this Dodo2 alone. Why else would he go around wearing a mask made of gold?”
“Good heavens.”
“They say he hasn’t even turned thirty yet… I suppose some men are simply destined to succeed.”
“Damn it. Some of us have reached this age without even owning a proper house. Hoo…”
The two men let out a deep sigh.
Then a chair scraped across the floor as someone rose to his feet.
Kwak Cheolyung staggered out of the gambling den. All he held were a few iron coins5 he had received as a consolation handout.
The Star-Array Grand Banquet was a long race, lasting at least half a month and sometimes as long as a full month.
After the three-day preliminary assessments ended, the applicants were given a day of free time.
That included me.
“Ahem. Ahehem!”
“Youngest! Youngest!”
“Captain! Captaiiin!”
“…Oh, please.”
Don’t. Don’t shout in a place this crowded. I’m already dying from all the attention, and now you’re making even more people stare.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
I hurried toward my companions as quickly as I could.
As though he had been waiting for me, Jin Wikyung’s bear-like bulk charged forward with both arms spread wide.
“Youngest! My wonderful little brother!”
Whoosh! Grab!
The moment his bear paw locked around my upper body, Hyuk Mujin seized the back of my hand and rubbed his cheek against it.
“Ohhh, Captain! Top scorer in the Star-Array Grand Banquet preliminaries! The pride of the Jin Family of Taiyuan! The beacon of Shanxi Province! Our Captain! My lord!”
“……”
Jin Wikyung is my brother, so I’ll let it slide. But what the hell is wrong with Hyuk Mujin?
Doing my best to hide my bewilderment, I asked, “Are you out of your mind?”
“Yes. I’m insane! Your strength has driven me mad!”
“Are you seriously crazy? Let go. Let go already!”
Whack! Whack! Whack!
Even after I struck the crown of his head three times at lightning speed, Hyuk Mujin refused to budge.
Tears welled in his eyes from the pain, but he still would not release my hand.
“Thank you! Thank you for hitting me!”
“…Are you into that kind of thing?”
I had only heard rumors about people who took pleasure in being hit.
I had always wondered why he had never left despite the countless beatings I had given him. Now that I considered the possibility that he was one of those people, a chill ran down my spine.
“Respect-Your-Preferences Fist!”
Thump!
The blow landed squarely on Hyuk Mujin’s temple, and he collapsed to the ground.
At the same time, something bright and glittering slipped from inside his robes and landed on the floor.
“Huh? A gold mask?”
What is this now?
Is it a prop for that kind of play?
With a grave expression, I tucked the mask into my robes.
Hyuk Mujin, you dangerous bastard. This mask is confiscated for life.
Not a chance.
As I steeled my resolve, I noticed someone I had momentarily forgotten.
“Ahem. Ahehem!”
“Do you have a throat problem?”
Jeok Cheongang, who had been staring off at a distant mountain and repeatedly clearing his throat, flinched.
“W-What nonsense are you spouting?”
“You’ve been coughing this whole time.”
“Ahem!”
He kept looking away, clearly wanting to say something but pretending otherwise. The corners of my mouth rose on their own.
“I did well, didn’t I?”
“……”
“Perfect scores in all five assessments. Unanimous first place overall. That pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?”
“Ahem. Don’t get so pleased with yourself over something so trivial. Anyone could have done it, so stop making a fuss.”
“I heard it was the first time in the history of the Star-Array Grand Banquet.”
“These were merely the preliminaries. Have you forgotten what this old man told you? The world is vast, and there are many masters.”
“I beat three of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes.”
The Iron-Water Divine Dragon of the Yangtze River Channel League. The Kunlun Cloud Dragon of the Kunlun Sect. And finally, the Divine Marvel Dragon of the Zhuge Clan.
The Beggars’ Sect’s Successor Beggar was a master comparable to them, and the Hunroe Leg was a Peak master who had already made a brilliant name for himself throughout Guangxi.
Their backgrounds and specialties were all different, but the five of them now had one thing in common.
“I beat every last one of them.”
“That…”
For a moment, Jeok Cheongang was at a loss for words. Then he shook his head again and again.
“Bah. Pathetic weaklings.”
“I’m the strong one.”
“There you go, acting cocky again.”
“Could you just tell me I did well? I brought honor to you—Old Master, no, Master—and to the Fire Gate Clan.”
“You still have a long way to go!”
His words were stern, but the corners of his mouth were twitching.
It was obvious that he was barely holding back laughter.
I would have known that even without the Sound Transmission Jin Wikyung sent me a moment later.
—Don’t let it bother you too much. It seems he already went and bragged about you to the leadership to his heart’s content.
“Ahem!”
As if he had overheard us, Jeok Cheongang cleared his throat again at the perfect moment. Forcing a stern expression onto his face, he said, “Do not grow arrogant merely because you defeated a few nobodies. Compose your body and mind, and prepare for the main event. Understood?”
He was right.
Only the preliminaries had ended. The main event, where the true masters would reveal themselves, had not even begun.
Among those who had passed through the sieve of the preliminaries, there were likely quite a few masters comparable to the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes—or even stronger.
I had already spotted several such people while watching the assessments.
The world really is vast. He was right about that.
Anyone who had concealed their true ability during the preliminaries was not only strong, but clever.
I grinned and gave Jeok Cheongang a fist-and-palm salute.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Master.”
“That boy. Ha ha. Ahem!”
An unmistakable smile appeared at the wrinkled corners of Jeok Cheongang’s mouth.
Footnotes
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A silver nyang is a historical silver currency unit, not Korean won. Its value cannot be converted using a modern won exchange rate. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
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“Dodo” is the Star-Array Grand Banquet’s term for a gambling match; the name repeats the Chinese character for “gamble” (賭賭). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Qinggong is a martial-arts movement skill associated with light, swift leaps and travel. ↩
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A jang is ten ja, or about 3.03 m (9.94 ft). Five jang is about 15.2 m (49.7 ft). ↩
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Iron coins are lower-value currency than the silver nyang mentioned earlier. ↩
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