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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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In an inn somewhere in Yunnan, Yeo Il-ye frowned at the feeling of the flowing robes she couldn’t remember the last time she wore.
Having worn the Jeomchangpa uniform all her life, she couldn’t adapt to it at all.
Moreover, taking off the red marten fur that she always wore made her feel empty.
As she let out a sigh, the fluttering cotton threads bothered her.
‘When will that person appear?’
Yeo Il-ye, who was about to return to the Outcast Inn with the sword payment, received a mysterious letter.
At the mention of providing information related to her enemy, Yeo Il-ye had no choice but to turn her steps towards Yunnan.
‘Although I didn’t set a specific date, I don’t feel at ease.’
It was a proposal from her benefactor, who offered to pay 5 taels of gold, a bargain price, for her cherished sword.
Although there was no promise of when the payment would be made, since she had already received the sword without handing over the money, courtesy dictated that she should give it as soon as possible.
Anticipating that this matter would take a long time, Yeo Il-ye had the payment delivered to the Outcast Inn through a messenger.
However, she wanted to meet her benefactor directly and express her apologies, which was not to her liking.
Frustrated, Yeo Il-ye grabbed the cup to take a refreshing sip of tea, but realizing that she was wearing cotton robes, she stopped her hand.
“Hahaha! It seems you’re not used to cotton robes!”
Yeo Il-ye frowned.
A man who had been persistently watching her from earlier finally spoke to her.
“I am Guang Yingzhe. Even in Yunnan, if you mention the Guang family, people recognize it. I’ll arrange a seat on the third floor, so how about taking off your cotton robes and having a cup of tea comfortably?”
“I’m not interested. I’m waiting for someone, so please step aside.”
Yeo Il-ye refused curtly.
She didn’t care whether he was from the Guang family or whatever, and since the meeting place was on the first floor of this inn, she had no intention of leaving.
“You wench! How dare you refuse the young master’s kindness!”
“Now, now, calm down, warrior. Wasn’t it us who approached her first?”
“Leave.”
At Yeo Il-ye’s rapidly shortening words, not only the warrior but also Guang Yingzhe’s face stiffened.
As soon as Guang Yingzhe’s hand that had been blocking the warrior’s way lowered, it flicked.
Yeo Il-ye saw this and let out a derisive laugh.
‘After being snubbed once, he immediately signals the warrior. It seems he was planning to forcibly drag me away from the beginning.’
While Sichuan was completely a righteous faction’s territory, Yunnan was traditionally a place where the evil faction thrived.
Especially as the evil factions chased out of Sichuan settled in Yunnan, this tendency became even more pronounced.
In broad daylight, they sat in an inn and pressured a lady using warriors.
Yeo Il-ye realized anew that she had come to the evil faction’s domain.
Yingzhe’s hand flicked again.
Confirming the signal, the warrior drew his sword.
“The young master personally showed kindness because of your slightly superior beauty, yet you refuse to drink and instead choose to be punished!”
“You’re really troublesome.”
The warrior flared up and thrust his sword at Yeo Il-ye’s neck.
“If you obediently follow…”
Yeo Il-ye’s hand grabbed the warrior’s sword. She gently grasped the tip of the sword and…
Snap!
She broke the warrior’s sword in two.
The two warriors and Guang Yingzhe’s complexions instantly turned pale.
For the three of them, who were at best on the verge of first-rate, it was a realm of mastery they couldn’t even dream of!
Guang Yingzhe quickly prostrated himself.
“S-sorry! Lady! We didn’t recognize your eminence…”
“Get lost.”
“Yes, yes!”
The three of them fled out of the inn like the wind.
From the way they prostrated themselves and ran away without any lingering attachment, Yeo Il-ye realized that this wasn’t the first or second time they had done such a thing.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to make a decision and run away so swiftly.
Should she chase after them now and break an arm or leg?
As Yeo Il-ye was pondering this…
“Haha, the young lady’s appearance seems to shine like seven kinds of jewels.”
“…If I had to specify the part those jewels suit?”
“The young lady’s appearance is outstanding from head to toe, but if I were to pick the cream of the crop, wouldn’t it be that slender waist?”
‘It’s this person.’
Yeo Il-ye looked up at the other party.
An ordinary middle-aged man.
Upon examination, he didn’t seem to be wearing a human skin mask or anything like that.
The Seven Treasures Jade Belt (七寶玉帶).
It was one of the treasures that remained vivid in young Yeo Il-ye’s memories of the Yeoga Mountain Villa.
Although there were many items that could be called treasures in the Yeoga Mountain Villa, no treasure exuded such a noble appearance as the Seven Treasures Jade Belt.
That middle-aged man was definitely the person she was supposed to meet today.
Considering the gazes around her, Yeo Il-ye spoke.
“He’s a hopeless fellow. Flirting with a woman in broad daylight. Your habits need to be corrected.”
“Haha, I was just stating facts.”
“Get up. You wouldn’t want to be embarrassed among all these people, would you?”
The middle-aged man, Jeon Hudam, left the inn with Yeo Il-ye following behind him.
“I am an information broker called Jeon Hudam. If you check later, you’ll find out that I’ve been an information broker in Sichuan for quite a long time.”
“Fine. So what do you have to say about the Seven Treasures Jade Belt?”
“The Seven Treasures Jade Belt is in the possession of Mo Yeobu, the leader of the Gaewang Faction, one of the Seventy-Two Bandits of the Lush Forest.”
“…Since he’s a bandit, is there a possibility that he stole it from someone else?”
“That possibility isn’t zero. But according to the informant, he’s had it for a very long time.”
A bandit.
The fact that he had the Seven Treasures Jade Belt alone was enough reason to investigate Mo Yeobu.
After all, there was irrefutable physical evidence called the Seven Treasures Jade Belt, unlike the Golden Thread.
“Moreover, can you trust and act solely on what I tell you? It would be convenient for me, but it doesn’t seem like you would.”
Yeo Il-ye silently nodded.
“What is your purpose for making me move?”
“There are many people who want the bandits gone.
And many people wanting something means it becomes money.”
Although suspicious, it wasn’t a nonsensical story, so Yeo Il-ye had no choice but to nod.
“Alright. I’ll have to check with my own eyes.”
Whether he looted the Seven Treasures Jade Belt or directly took it out of the mountain villa, it was physical evidence connecting him to the enemy of the mountain villa.
Yeo Il-ye felt that she had to investigate that evidence herself.
If Mo Yeobu was the one who attacked the Yeoga Mountain Villa 15 years ago, she could immediately approach the true identity of her enemies.
“The destination is Mount Hyeonggwi.”
Looking at Jeon Hudam leading the way, Yeo Il-ye moved her steps.
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What is the biggest problem with gambling?
It’s greed.
Although values differ from person to person, even for any individual, the absolute majority of people place a very high value on money.
The more a person values money, the more likely they are to fall for the allure of gambling.
In the case of the Tang family, it could be said to be secret weapons and poisons.
You can easily obtain secret weapons!
This was precisely the reason why Tang Guanglie challenged Tang Do-gyeong to a gamble and lost his reason.
“Hey, outcast! I am not a gambling addict! What I want to request from you now is to retrieve the Family Head’s personal secret weapons that Do-gyeong has! What I want to learn from you is technique, technique!”
Gambling addicts never acknowledge that they are addicted to gambling.
“Hoho, is that so? But you see, it’s not that the Family Head lost the personal secret weapons because he was bad at gambling, right?”
Look at the way he’s talking.
He’s spouting the exact lines of gambling addicts.
The world is out to get me, and I’m just trying to win back the money I lost.
I am absolutely not a gambling addict! If I win now, I’ll quit gambling and walk away!
After listening to the whole story, if we told Tang Do-gyeong that his current behavior was excessive and to return the secret weapons he won from gambling, the issue would be resolved.
However, overconfident in his own gambling skills, he tried to strengthen the Family Head’s authority through gambling with Tang Do-gyeong, but things turned out like this.
The stakes weren’t the secret weapons but authority, and he royally messed it up.
“That’s…! Ugh…”
Tang Guanglie’s face turned red and blue, but since it was the truth, he couldn’t react.
Tang Do-gyeong had already completed his mindset and skills as a gambler.
From the fact that he had followed my hands in the final shell game, he acknowledged that one must abandon the mindset of a martial artist and approach gambling as a gambler, and he had even acquired the skills.
However, the condition of patient Tang Guanglie was serious.
Although he had not a single bit of the mindset of an actual gambler, he was already in a state of believing that he was a gambler who had reached the realm!
To be honest, the Tang Family Head’s request was a request that completely sold out one’s conscience.
If I had known the client’s condition and the content of the request, I would have refused even if the other party was not the Tang Family Head but the Grand Elder of the Tang family.
What kind of ordinary secret weapons would the Tang Family Head use?
Basically, the quality would be different from what the direct line members use.
If Tang Do-gyeong and the Tang Family Head sat at the gambling table again, Tang Do-gyeong would definitely take out the least valuable secret weapons one by one.
Why?
Because Tang Do-gyeong had already acquired the mindset of a gambler.
In the end, for the Tang Family Head to retrieve the personal secret weapons through gambling, he would have to take away most of Tang Do-gyeong’s secret weapons.
Like the early Tang Do-gyeong, the Tang Family Head was also just a beginner as a gambler, despite having a lot of gambling experience, a martial arts supremacist.
The Tang Family Head’s request was to make this novice gambler win against Tang Do-gyeong, whose framework as a gambler was already established.
But what? Just teach him some techniques and make him win? Is gambling a joke?
The Tang Family Head and the Feng Ying Hall Master didn’t even realize how difficult the request they made was.
So first, there was a need to designate him as a subject for unhealthy gambling treatment.
What’s so special about unhealthy gamblers?
If they don’t understand their own capabilities and only act out of greed, they become unhealthy gamblers and candidates for jumping into the Yangtze River!
Moreover, to be honest, if you really wanted to resolve the issue of the Family Head’s secret weapons being taken, you could just tell Tang Do-gyeong and have him return only those secret weapons.
Make a private deal or propose an exchange with other secret weapons.
The behavior shown by the Tang Family Head was a typical behavior of “I can just win it back”.
Is this the worldview of a certain card game where debts incurred through duels can only be repaid through duels?
Looking at the Tang Family Head’s face, which seemed full of dissatisfaction, I picked up the cards.
As someone who had countless times educated unhealthy gamblers, I already knew the answer.
“First, let’s play a round. If I lose even a single round, I will fully comply with the Family Head’s words.”
Even for a severe patient, a beating can cure them.
It seemed that I would have to do some intense work for a while.
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