By Zephyria Gambling Den (3)
“He must have been trying to frame me.”
Seong Mu-jae gnashed his teeth in anger.
“Why would he do such a thing…”
Seong Mu-yeon muttered, and Seong Mu-jae scoffed.
“Ha, it’s obvious. Think about it. To gather 1 gapja of inner force, it would take 60 years of constant meditation. Isn’t it easier to steal it from someone else?”
Seong Mu-jae continued.
“I must have been the perfect prey. All of us brothers grew up eating precious spirit pills since we were kids! He must have been blinded by the desire to become stronger, to become the Cult Leader.”
Seong Mu-yeon immediately retorted.
“That doesn’t make sense. If it were that easy to steal someone else’s inner force, why haven’t we heard stories of masters passing on their inner force to their disciples? It’s impossible.”
Absorbing another person’s inner force was similar to receiving a blood transfusion. If the constitution or the inner energy cultivation method aligned, some absorption was possible, but the efficiency was extremely low. Receiving 1 out of 10 given was considered fortunate.
The Demonic Cult had a technique called the Great Absorption Art, which supposedly allowed one to absorb and steal another’s inner force, but even the slightest disruption of energy could cause the inner force to run wild, leading to Qi deviation, and the forcibly stolen energy was unstable and extremely dangerous.
However, despite Seong Mu-yeon’s skeptical attitude, Seong Mu-jae did not back down.
“What if Seong Mu-geuk found a way to solve the compatibility issue?”
He stared intently at the small sphere in his palm.
“What if this Spirit Pill contains the inner force that Fourth Brother accumulated through a lifetime of cultivation?”
…If that were true, it wouldn’t be surprising if Third Young Master Seong Mu-geuk became the Cult Leader, surpassing the First and Second Young Masters. In fact, in the original story, Third Young Master did become the Cult Leader. Seong Mu-yeon wouldn’t have even imagined it if he hadn’t known it in advance through the original story.
But the idea of killing people to extract their inner force was hard to believe, and he didn’t want to believe it.
‘Yak Seon might be able to answer.’
It was a problem that he couldn’t solve no matter how much he thought about it now. Seong Mu-yeon decided to ask Yak Seon later and tried to shake it off.
“Is this the first time Third Brother has committed such an act? By the way, Instructor Baek, what happened to that matter?”
Baek Ryeo-il had been silent all along. He had been listening to the story with a frown, and when Seong Mu-yeon spoke to him, he only rolled his eyes to look at him.
“What matter?”
“The one that happened in Hubei.”
Listening to Seong Mu-jae’s story reminded him of a forgotten memory.
Seong Mu-yeon had once been kidnapped by a Demonic Cult branch while running away from Baek Ryeo-il. There, he had coincidentally met Namgung Cheon-chu and saved him from his impending doom.
“I saw a strange altar there, and Chief Heo was kidnapping people and plotting something. Has the Namgung Clan mentioned anything special about it?”
After that incident, the Namgung Clan took charge of cleaning up the hideout, and Seong Mu-yeon had been too busy adapting to Mount Hua to pay attention, but the mention of Seong Mu-geuk’s name brought it back to his mind.
“Hmm. I don’t remember anything special. If there had been anything unusual, the Namgung Clan would definitely not have let it pass.”
“I see…”
Another chilling memory surfaced.
At that time, Chief Heo had clearly blocked Seong Mu-yeon from leaving, insisting that he wait for Third Young Master.
He couldn’t help but think that if he hadn’t stopped him then, Seong Mu-yeon might have become a Spirit Pill alongside Namgung Cheon-chu. However, if the purpose was really to steal inner force, Seong Mu-yeon would not have been of much help.
On the other hand, most of the people Chief Heo had kidnapped at that time were ordinary civilians, not martial artists like Fourth Brother or the young master of the Namgung Clan. They wouldn’t have been suitable for making Spirit Pills either.
Since it didn’t add up, Seong Mu-yeon gave up thinking about it. Then, he reached out to Seong Mu-jae.
“For now, give me that Spirit Pill.”
“What have you been listening to? This is Fourth Brother. I can’t give it to anyone.”
Seong Mu-jae clutched the Spirit Pill tightly to his chest, reacting sensitively. Seong Mu-yeon, flustered, jumped up.
“Didn’t you promise?”
“Help me, Seong Mu-yeon.”
Seong Mu-jae stared at him intently with an unusually serious attitude and voice, and continued.
“I was too flustered to do anything but run away back then, but I…! I’m going to take this back to the Demonic Cult! I have to tell Great Brother that Seong Mu-geuk is plotting a vile scheme.”
“……”
“I had to watch the light fade from Fourth Brother’s eyes in his last moments… This Spirit Pill is no different from Fourth Brother himself. I promised him that I would definitely bring him home.”
Seong Mu-jae’s eyes reddened as he struggled to contain his overwhelming emotions. He almost glared at Seong Mu-yeon with bloodshot eyes.
“Since I’m helping you, shouldn’t you help me too?”
“……”
He stroked the Spirit Pill one last time, then carefully wrapped it up again and put it in his pocket.
The Spirit Pill eventually went into Seong Mu-jae’s chest.
Both of them couldn’t bring themselves to take the Spirit Pill right away, fearing that Seong Mu-jae would do something rash.
“First… let’s go back to Mount Hua. We’ll go and persuade Yakseon Daein.”
Seong Mu-jae reluctantly nodded, having no other choice.
He would try to persuade him, but even if Yak Seon didn’t agree, Seong Mu-yeon would have achieved his goal by simply delivering the Spirit Pill.
What happens after that…
Seong Mu-yeon shook his head.
Let’s think about the future later.
Having achieved their purpose in entering the gambling den, they decided to leave before Luzhu returned.
“Where are you going? I brought the Gold Coins.”
But as soon as they left the Cheongdang, Luzhu appeared with a clinking pouch.
“Ah, well, you see. I was bored while waiting, so I was just going to look around.”
Seong Mu-yeon swallowed a sigh and said.
“Is that so? The upper floors are better, but the atmosphere is good downstairs too. You know how to enjoy yourself, don’t you?”
Luzhu took the lead, guiding the group back into the gambling den. Seong Mu-yeon only moved his lips and whispered to Baek Ryeo-il.
“How do we get out of here naturally?”
“Let’s just flip it over.”
“That’s a bit much.”
Luzhu stopped where they were playing odds and evens.
“Ah, odds and evens is the most basic of basics. Who wants to try? You haven’t signed the contract yet, but I’ll give you a taste for one nyang.”
“Me, me! Brother! I’ll do it!”
Seong Mu-jae, who had been looking miserable the whole time, completely perked up and rushed forward, which was out of character. He took the money from Luzhu and joined the gambling game.
Meanwhile, Seong Mu-yeon anxiously looked around. He couldn’t stay still because he was so impatient. It was a matter of life and death for him to safely take Sixth Young Master and the Spirit Pill to Mount Hua, so it was only natural.
Besides the passage they had entered through, there were doors everywhere, but he couldn’t tell which doors led to the outside.
Since it was a place where entry and exit were strictly controlled, even using a baggage cart when leaving, he couldn’t be sure.
Baek Ryeo-il, who had been examining the structure of the building like Seong Mu-yeon, stopped and stared intently in one direction.
“What’s wrong?”
Seong Mu-yeon whispered softly, as the surroundings were noisy and Luzhu was focused on the game that Seong Mu-jae had joined, not paying attention to them.
“I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Where are you going? Is there a problem?”
“It’ll be quick. Stay here.”
Seong Mu-yeon was dumbfounded as Baek Ryeo-il disappeared into the crowd in an instant. To leave his post in such an urgent situation.
‘Should I have just told him to flip it over?’
The sound of someone cursing after losing money, and conversely, the sound of cheers filled with joy.
Suddenly, the noise of the gambling den felt unsettling.
‘I can’t be doing this.’
Seong Mu-yeon tried to suppress his anxious heart.
Baek Ryeo-il pushed past the densely packed people, striding forward. His unwavering gaze was fixed on his target.
Soon, he grabbed the shoulder of a man who seemed to be engrossed in a dice game. The man looked like any other ordinary gambler, but Baek Ryeo-il knew his name.
“Je Cheon-deuk.”
Baek Ryeo-il’s eyes sank coldly. He then asked in a cold voice.
“What are you doing here? Were you following us?”
The man, Je Cheon-deuk, eventually stood up.
“Following? What are you talking about? I came here to gamble too. It’s my hobby.”
He was surprisingly calm for someone who had been caught hiding. But before he could finish speaking, the gamblers burst into complaints.
“Hey, mister! If you’re not going to play, don’t just stand there and get out! You’re bringing bad luck. I’m losing because of you!”
“……”