Book 22 Chapter 15

My eyes are wide with gambling

-Deep in the Heart of the Sea

Not a willing guide, Bai Xiaochun led the envoys of the Heavenly Martial Academy to the Eastern District of Kanghorando. It was a place of burning nights and gambling, a place where anyone with money was welcome. Of course, if you ran out of money, you were thrown out the door. Ganghorando had a wide variety of gambling games, not only those that required you to know the intricacies of the rules before jumping in, such as mahjong and sabre, but also those that you could play without knowing the rules, such as turtle racing, cricket racing, dog racing, and cockfighting.

"Haha, we're aiming for a happy gambling house where the whole family can always play together."

The first time I was introduced to "static electricity," Mr. Zhu, the owner of the gambling house, rubbed his palms together.

"I thought you had already been challenged. I think we've all had enough for one night, so goodbye."

Baekye quickly excused himself and turned away, not wanting to be in the presence of such a person for a moment.

"You're going?"

"If I stay in this filthy place, I'm going to get sick. I'm going to get sick. It's horrible to think about."

"You don't gamble, do you?"

Then Baekyeon gave me a look that said it was horrible enough to imagine.

"I have no desire to touch such a filthy thing that has been roughed up by so many dirty hands."

"So you're not spending any money?"

Passing through multiple hands wasn't just a challenge, it wasn't just money. It was meant to pass through many hands. It was inappropriate to criticize those who were doing their job. Baekyeon's answer was a masterpiece of absurdity.

"I only use silver, and only pure silver that has been boiled in a furnace for eight days to remove impurities."

I resisted the urge to say, "Why don't you try mercury?" because I couldn't believe she could be so particular about cleanliness. In fact, I was even tempted to offer to scoop up some mercury for him, but decided against it. I was the boss, and I had to stay in control.

"Goodbye, then. Have fun."

He was giving me the vibe not to hold on, but I decided to bother him one last time.

"Are you sure you want to play?"

Finally, Namgungsang asks a question that has been on his mind. He asked if there were any pitfalls. Of course, he didn't expect an answer. What Namgungsang wanted to see was an immediate reaction, but Baekyeon's response was bland.

"You'll be able to play with it."

With those enigmatic words, Baekye left the gambling hall. Already, the men in the back were bustling around, looking at all the different games. As the place was meant to be a family amusement center, there were also a lot of cute gambling games that women would be interested in, so the female spectators also started to react and wander around.

"I gave you something to enjoy, so you might as well enjoy it."

However, it took less than a day to see how bad that decision was.

The human psyche is a strange thing, and the gambling house is one of the few places where it is exploited to the fullest. Like so many penniless people, they started small.