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Hangzhou is a city that deserves to be called heaven on earth with its beautiful scenery. However, the true value of Hangzhou is revealed after the sun, which illuminated the beautiful scenery, disappears behind the western mountain.

The city that never sleeps (???(不夜城)).

When the five-colored lanterns hanging on every street light up the darkness, the splendid night of Hangzhou, where all the joys of the world are said to be gathered, begins.

The bustling voices of those filling the taverns.

The sound of laughter from people flocking to street stalls on every street.

A place where the sound of a courtesan playing guqin (?(琴)) and the sound of a beautiful song mix together somewhere.

This is Hangzhou.

But the world is not always what it appears.

If one were to step into a small alley next to the bright main road, the only things that welcomes them will be a dark and eerie small road, while the gleaming world as bright as day discreetly fades away.

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It’s a completely different world just a few steps away. Those with strong bones in Hangzhou, even the empire troops, would not dare to enter there without some level of resolve.

The first thing to see upon entering the alley is individuals in groups of two or three with dangerous looks in their eyes, casually puffing on something.

The bright light creates just as deep shadows.

Naturally, the night streets of Hangzhou, the brightest in the world, hold a darker side than any other city.

As one goes further along the alley, small doors that would never be noticeable from the outside appear.

Past the guards and into the door, you can see a room filled with people amid a cloud of indistinct smoke.

A foul stench that makes bones tingle and face distorted, and a scorching heat that causes a subtle discomfort. A place where shouts filled with anger and despair coexist with cheers like firecrackers containing all the joy in the world.

This is a gambling den of Hangzhou.

Five men were sitting in the center of Pleasure Court (???(歡喜院)), which had the highest stakes among the gambling dens in Hangzhou.

Taak!

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A man threw down a tile and grinned triumphantly.

“I won.”

“Damn it.”

“Swept it all.”

The man stretched out his hand and swept up all the silvers piled on the board and pulled them in front of him.

“Looks like my luck is in today.”

“…Enjoy it to your heart’s content, as you’ll be leaving empty-handed.”

“It would be nice if I could at least take that neck with me. Wouldn’t I?”

Threatening words poured out, but the man didn’t care one bit. No one is allowed to use violence within the gambling den. That was the principle of the Black Ghost Fortress which ran this Pleasure Court.

Even the infamous devil of Evil Sects, a high-ranking official who visits while hiding their identity, and even the merchant’s leader who dresses up in long robes to kill time do not violate this principle.

If there is someone who breaks the principles, it is Black Ghost Fortress that will chase them to the end of hell to rip off their skin and kill them.

The corner of the man’s mouth twitched as he looked at the silvers piled up so much that he couldn’t even think of organizing them.

Those who wander the gambling den know the physiology of gambling better than anyone else. They know there is no such thing as a permanent winner in gambling. The high pile of silver in front of him could disappear in a single round.

Those who know this, but cannot forget the pleasure of a single victory, are risking everything they have here and risking everything they have.

But….

“Kek, kek, kek, kek.”

A bitter laugh leaked from the man’s mouth once again.

Even in such gambling tables, there are times when absolute victory is guaranteed. Especially when a rich kid who doesn’t even know what gambling is gets involved in the game.

The man glanced over at the person seated across from him with just a flick of his eyes.

A blazing red long robe that looks ominous at first glance. His long hair, which appears to have never been combed properly, is unkempt, and his lips, visible beneath the hair that covers half of his face, are so dry that they are cracked.

Although he had a somewhat eerie impression, the man felt no threat from the person seated in front of him.

‘Stupid brat.’

It was obvious that the worthless vagabond, who was wandering from somewhere, came to gamble with the money he had saved. Judging by his calm appearance, he seems to have some skills for a vagabond, but that’s all.

Regardless of whether you are a skilled vagabond or a world-famous master, no one dares to cause trouble in this Pleasure Court managed by the Black Ghost Fortress. Anyone who tries would end up as a cold corpse rotting in some alley in Hangzhou before they could even scream.

No, even without the protection of Black Ghost Fortress, it would be the same.

The man didn’t need anyone’s help.

Because he is the third leader of the Hangzhou branch of the Black Ghost Fortress. He’s Black Hearted Yama (????(黑心閻邏)) Chae Gyu (??(蔡揆)).

“Come on, if you want to win back what you lost, let’s start the next round.”

“Tsk.”

The men threw five silver coins each to the center of the round table. Chae Gyu collected the tiles to shuffle them.

“Hey, Third Leader.”

The person sitting next to him asked awkwardly.

“What are the higher-ups planning to do?”

“About what?”

“I mean the Yangtze River, the Yangtze.”

Instead of answering, the man grimaced and bit his long bamboo pipe (??(長竹)). White smoke continuously billowed from his mouth.

“Ryeonju…. No, Jang Ilso is being like that, does that mean he’s going to keep watching?”

“Why are you asking me that? What would a mere Daeju know?”

“Still, you’d know more than me.”

“Cut the crap. Don’t bring outside talk to the sacred gambling table.”

“Tsk.”

The man leaned back in his chair with a disapproving look on his face. Only the smoke flowing from the bamboo pipe was scattered in a hazy haze.

“Here, take your tiles.”

Chwararak.

Chae Gyu, who divided the tiles, turned over one of the tiles in the center.

“It’s reverse (?(逆)).”

The people at the round table exchanged their tiles. A suitable bout of eye contact ensued, along with a subtle tension in the air. Chae Gyu grabbed a handful of silver from in front of him and threw it into the center.

“Ten nyang.”

“Shit… that’s a hefty bet. I’m out.”

“I’ll follow.”

Then Chae Gyu’s eyes turned to the vagabond sitting across from him. The vagabond, who seemed to be slightly worried about his hand, nodded slightly and pushed all the silvers in front of him forward.

Deureureuk.

The clattering sound of silver drew Chae Gyu’s eyes, filled with greed. The betting money gathered here could amount to his annual salary.

“Now, reveal our tiles.”

“Three.”

The man sitting to his left opened the card with slightly trembling hands. The vagabond across slowly flipped his tiles as well.

“Four.”

As the vagabond’s hand headed towards the pile of silver stones in the center, Chae Gyu reached out and grabbed his hand.

“….”

“You’re hasty.”

Chae Gyu tapped his tiles with his free hand. The revealed hand was 5. It was Chae Gyu’s victory.

“Hahahat. My apologies, but how should I put it, brother?”

Chae Gyu swept all the silvers in front of him.

“It seemed like you were winning quite a bit at the start.”

“Gambling is always like this.”

“Just when you think you’re winning, you can lose it all in one go.”

Those sitting on the left and right spoke grumpily. Chae Gyu quickly organized the tiles again and threw five nyangs into the center again.

Chwarak. Chwarak.

Silver flew in from both sides, but the wanderer seated across did not move.

“…What’s up, brother? Run out of money?”

“Then you should stand up. There are a lot of people waiting for a seat.”

The tip of the vagabond’s chin moved slightly. In Chae Gyu’s eyes, it seemed as if he could see the distorted eyes of the vagabond hidden beneath the hair covering half of his face.

The vagabond was silent for a moment, then slowly inserted his hand into his bosom. Chae Gyu’s eyes narrowed when he saw that.

‘This bastard?’

He thought the man was about to cause a scene and was gathering his internal strength when suddenly,

Tok!

A bundle of paper the vagabond pulled from within fell onto the center of the round table.

“…What’s this?”

“It looks like a slip?”

“Slip? Why are the slips so yellow. It seems to be decades old…”

“How much is it all worth? How much?”

As Chae Gyu looked with bewildered eyes, the vagabond’s dark lips slowly opened.

“Can I use it as a bet?”

“…Wait a moment.”

Chae Gyu briefly asked for understanding and raised his voice.

“Hey, rat punk (???(鼠崽子))!”

As soon as those words were out, the rat-faced man who had been snooping around and managing the table came running towards Chae Gyu.

“What is it, great sir?”

“Check this out. Can this slip be exchanged?”

“A slip? Let’s see…”

The rat-faced man quickly checked the slip on the round table and then slightly squinted his eyes.

“It’s a slip from Daeryuk Bank. But it was issued… over a hundred years ago.”

“So, can it be done or not?”

“Of course, it can be. However, we can’t give you the full amount. We have expenses to cover, too… Oh, let’s say we deduct five percent.”

Chae Gyu gestured to the vagabond.

“What do you say?”

The vagabond slightly nodded as if it didn’t matter.

Chae Gyu was strangely uncomfortable with his reaction, as he couldn’t understand his emotions, but decided to ignore it.

“Then we’ll convert it into silver for you. It seems like there’s quite a bit.”

“No.”

At that time, for the first time, negative words flowed out of the vagabond’s mouth.

“Huh? Do you have any problem….”

“Let’s do it with silver ingot (???(銀元寶)).”

“S- Silver ingot, you say?”

The man nodded slowly. Then he slowly raised his head and looked at Chae Gyu.

“Raise the bet.”

“…With just one silver ingot?”

“Yes.”

One silver ingot is worth fifty silver nyang. This guy has just raised the stake fifty times in an instant. Normally, it would not have been a situation where even Chae Gyu would have intervened.

But now Chae Gyu’s eyes showed a greed that could not be hidden.

‘It seems this vagabond must have robbed somewhere. He crawled in here like a pushover.’

This place gathers only the most cunning in Hangzhou. Fleecing a greenhorn who doesn’t even know what a tile game is, is nothing. Gambling with luck can be risky, but this was a game in which luck had no room to intervene.

“Well, you have a good personality. Good! I’ll change everything else to silver ingot.”

“…The stake is getting too big. I don’t have enough money.”

“I’ll lend you some, so don’t even think about running away.”

“Shit. It’s like being fleeced down to my underwear, and now even risking my life on it.”

His companions on either side also exaggerated their reluctance, subtly aligning with him. Who would pass up the chance to win all that money?

Those who were greedy sat down with their chairs pulled closely. As the stakes changed to silver ingot, those with fierce eyes quickly began to shuffle the tiles.

In this gloomy gambling table, only the vagabond draped in a red robe remained unchanged, watching everyone with an indifferent gaze from the beginning.

Despair and joy, fear and ecstasy. All these emotions swirled at the end of this mortal coil.