By Zephyria Gambling Den (2)
Luzhu didn’t stop there, he even invited them to a lavish private room to serve tea and alcohol.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll take care of some urgent business and we’ll depart right away.”
Luzhu maintained a calm demeanor until he left the private room and arrived at his own room. But as soon as he entered a safe place, he began to vent his anger.
“God damn it!”
He slammed the table.
‘That bastard… Just what is he? I didn’t know he’d be this strong.’
The miscalculation was that the escort Seong Mu-yeon had was far beyond expectations. He thought he could somehow push through with numbers, but…
‘Why isn’t he coming!’
Luzhu paced anxiously around the room.
As soon as he heard that Seong Mu-jae had arrived, he sent the messenger bird that the man in black had left for contact, but he still hadn’t shown up.
‘I have to hold them until he comes.’
Since there was no way to deal with Seong Mu-yeon’s group by force, that was the only way out.
After organizing his plan, he calmed his mind and returned to the private room, leading Seong Mu-yeon’s group to the backyard.
An ordinary cargo wagon without windows was waiting for them.
“The gambling den is a converted warehouse. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary material warehouse, and goods come and go from time to time, so it doesn’t stand out.”
Luzhu got into the wagon first, and the others got in without much suspicion.
The wagon slowly drove out of the residential area and headed to a secluded outskirts. Before long, they reached a huge warehouse building. On the surface, it was a place to store valuable materials, so it didn’t seem special even if high wooden fences and guards patrolled the area from time to time.
“This way.”
It was only after passing through a dark corridor and several iron doors that the gambling den revealed its true appearance.
“Wow…”
Those who came here for the first time couldn’t close their mouths and looked around.
The vast space with a hollow center was densely packed with people. The somehow murky air, noise, and smell of alcohol gave the illusion of entering another world.
“Isn’t it wonderful?”
Luzhu wore a satisfied smile. This gambling den was his dream come true with great effort, so he was full of pride. But soon his face darkened. Bringing them here meant that this place would soon become a stage for scattering blood.
“There is a separate space for special guests to stay. I’ll guide you there. Follow me.”
Even while moving with Luzhu, they couldn’t take their eyes off the gambling den spread out below the railing.
The Cheongdang that they entered following Luzhu was a place where wealthy guests gambled. Some recognized Luzhu and greeted him.
Seong Mu-jae seemed familiar with the place as he entered a resting area with curtains drawn. It was a space he always used, as if he had his name written on it whenever he came to the gambling den.
‘It’s not difficult to make them gamble all night long.’
There were plenty of things to see and enjoy that he couldn’t easily take his eyes off because he had decorated it with great care.
“Oh, brother. Lend me some Gold Coins.”
Seong Mu-jae said.
“What? You came without seed money! You really…! No way! You’ve already borrowed as much as you can, so unless you put your neck on the line, you won’t get a penny!”
“Ah, who said you’re borrowing in my name?”
Seong Mu-jae grabbed Seong Mu-yeon’s shoulder and pushed him forward.
“I’ll borrow in my younger brother’s name.”
“What?! Brother!”
“Little one, don’t you trust this brother? I’ll multiply it several times and return it.”
“…”
Seong Mu-yeon’s face turned pale, but he didn’t refuse until the end. Luzhu snorted inwardly.
‘So the Young masters of the Demonic Cult are no different.’
The miserable end of many people who come to the gambling den usually starts like that. After a gambler borrows as much as they can to their limit, they drag in their family when there’s no other source of money.
“Hmm. I can lend to the Seventh Young Master. What do you say? Your own will is important.”
“…I’ll borrow.”
“How much?”
“Of course, you have to get the maximum amount! Brother, I’m counting on you!”
“Haha…”
Seong Mu-yeon seemed to have given up everything.
“Alright. I’ll prepare the contract, so please look around.”
As soon as Luzhu left the place, he called the head of security.
“Lock all the doors.”
“Yes?”
“Not even a rat should escape. Hurry!”
“Yes, yes!”
The head of security rushed away. Before long, the sound of iron doors being locked could be heard faintly. Now, not even a rat could escape from this gambling den.
He looked around his dream once again.
No matter how good a dream is, it can’t be more precious than life.
He shook off all his regrets. And he moved busily to prepare the documents to put the shackles on Seventh Young Master Seong Mu-yeon.
The Cheongdang that Luzhu left. Seong Mu-jae checked that he had completely left and then drew the long curtains.
“Brother, that thing…”
“Shh.”
The curtains were just thin pieces of cloth, so they didn’t block the sound. The outside was quite noisy, and Bang Gyeom and Gang Woong were guarding the front, so there was no one eavesdropping, but it was better to be careful.
Seong Mu-jae carefully stepped onto a chair. When he touched the ceiling here and there, one of the boards wiggled and revealed a dark interior space.
Seong Mu-jae put his hand inside and groped around.
Soon, there was a black pouch on his palm as he got off the chair.
“…Is this it?”
It was smaller than half the size of his palm. When Seong Mu-yeon reached out his hand, Seong Mu-jae sharply slapped it away. Then, with careful hands, he began to untie the pieces of cloth that were wrapped tightly in multiple layers.
“…”
Seong Mu-yeon swallowed hard.
He didn’t know what that thing was, but the more precious something was, the smaller and heavier it was. Seong Mu-yeon’s heart gradually began to pound.
The thing that finally revealed itself was…
“Spirit Pill?”
The small, round sphere had a very familiar shape. The Mind Stabilizing Pill he had given to Namgung Cheon-chu, and the Soul Confusion Divine Pill that Seong Mu-ryong had handed over, were also in this form.
But there was something different from other Spirit Pills in that the color and scent were strange. The color was darker than a pearl, and the surface even had a shine.
Seong Mu-jae let out a long sigh.
“It’s Fourth Brother.”
“…What did you say?”
He carefully stroked it with his thumb and then continued in a locked voice.
“It’s a Spirit Pill that came out of Fourth Brother’s body.”
“…Please tell me more. What happened? Are you saying a Spirit Pill came out of a human body?”
A Spirit Pill was a condensed inner force, and it was something found in the bodies of Mystical Creatures that had lived for a long time. But Fourth Young Master was human, and he hadn’t lived long enough for a Spirit Pill to form, so it was absurd.
Seong Mu-jae stared at Seong Mu-yeon with sunken eyes.
“Seong Mu-yeon, you’re making that suspicious face again? You’re thinking I killed Fourth Brother.”
“…I’ll judge after I hear the story.”
The more he looked at the Spirit Pill, the more strangely he felt drawn to it, so Seong Mu-yeon couldn’t help but avert his gaze.
“As you know, Fourth Brother and I were close friends. That day, I met Father with Fourth Brother and shared a drink together. When Father passes away, someone will become the next Cult Leader, but it’s clear that it won’t be me or Fourth Brother, so we couldn’t help but worry.”
“…”
“We talked for a while, and it got late, so I left Brother’s residence. But the atmosphere was strange. It was strangely quiet. Isn’t that strange? The main Demonic Cult, where thousands of people reside, was so quiet.”
Seong Mu-yeon nodded. It was a place where eyes and ears were always everywhere.
“Feeling strange, I reached for my waist, but my sword was gone. I had left it in Brother’s room. I immediately went back. But Brother was already… already collapsed.”
Seong Mu-jae’s breathing became slightly rough as if he was recalling that day.
“Brother was not dead yet, but he had suffered a fatal wound to his chest and was bleeding a lot, and his consciousness was fading… It felt like a dream. In a very short time, who, how!”
“…”
He paused a few times, perhaps because he was overwhelmed with emotion, before continuing.
“Only then did I realize that the blood pooling on the floor was not simply flowing out, but was part of some pattern. And Brother… Something began to come out of Brother’s body. At first, I could only feel a faint energy, but it gathered and gathered to become this Spirit Pill.”
The Spirit Pill shone quietly on Seong Mu-jae’s palm.
“Until then, Brother was not dead. Even with his fading consciousness, Brother gestured for me to come closer. He barely said one word… Run away. At that time, he came back.”
“Who came back…?”
Seong Mu-jae’s face twisted horribly.
“Third Brother, no, that cruel bastard who doesn’t even deserve to be called Brother! It was Seong Mu-geuk!”
Third Young Master Seong Mu-geuk…!
Seong Mu-jae, who had unknowingly raised his voice in excitement, hurriedly lowered his voice.
“With a blood-stained sword! He looked straight at me. And he laughed. Do you know what that damn bastard said to me while laughing?”
“…What did he say?”
“‘You shouldn’t have come back.'”
According to Seong Mu-jae’s explanation, Third Young Master’s subordinates then attacked, and he desperately ran away, taking the Spirit Pill with him even in the rush. In the process, he witnessed Fourth Young Master’s subordinates dying in a miserable state all over the residence. He soon joined the subordinates who had set out to find him, and ran away like that.
Third Young Master seemed to have been targeting only Fourth Young Master from the beginning. As soon as Seong Mu-jae left, he wiped out everything in an instant. But unfortunately, Seong Mu-jae had witnessed that scene.
“…”
It’s Third Young Master again.