episode_0149

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The board continued.

When four people mix their cards once, it is called a round. Until the 5th round, the three people continued to lose only the basic stake to Ho Cheon-an. One time, Heukjeo couldn’t stand it anymore and tried to compete, but he only lost an additional five nyang of gold.

Five times.

Three people on the board. And in the outfield, dozens of gamblers disguised as employees or other gambling customers watched Ho Cheon-an shuffle the cards with wide eyes, but no one could guess Ho Cheon-an’s number.

Seeing Ho Cheon-an wiping out the basic amount of each hand, he was just looking for the next opportunity.

Sometimes three nyangs of gold. I tried to show my face for five nyang, but only gold was piled up in front of Ho Cheon-an.

Another five rounds were made and new goal cards were replaced. It was a goal loss that memorized the turn in advance, but it didn’t change anything. Once Hocheonan goes through the hands of Hocheonan, who knows the numbers of the goal cards until his turn comes, a card that only Hocheonan knows and the other three do not know is completed.

Even after looking at it again and again, I couldn’t figure out the number of Hocheonans.

When the fifteenth turn came, Hakjeo closed his eyes tightly and gave a signal.

“I will change my hand.”

Sibi came in holding a goal plaque with his work written on it. Important cards were marked with scratches, cracks, glue joints, etc. that only they could recognize. Ho Cheon-an turned the card around as if he knew he had messed with it and just laughed as if it was ridiculous.

Still, Cheongseo increased his concentration. It was a card I had prepared to use when it was important, but I had no choice. In the face of an opponent who felt like his best efforts were not enough, playing with his trump card and conserving his cards was the worst choice.

“Let’s see if we can keep smiling!”

Heukjeo showed his fighting spirit, and Hakjo and Cheongseo also gathered their spirits while looking at Heukjeo.

The three people exchanged glances. Yes, there is one opponent and there are three of us. Just as Heukjeo awakened the two with their fighting spirit, all they had to do was utilize their individual strengths and put pressure on the opponent.

The days continued to flow.

Ho Cheon-an clicked his tongue as if things were not going well. This was because the three people continued to bury the marked important paddles underneath. He raised only the revealed cards upward and did not give Ho Cheon-an a chance by only playing low cards.

Ho Cheon-an’s movements, which had been making a profit of three gold coins each time by sweeping the base amount, were put on hold.

“Die.”

In a situation where it was obvious that a low card was in hand, Ho Cheon-an also had no choice but to die.

Hocheonan, which had been building a tower of gold by collecting the basic amount without hesitation, was stuck in a sluggish trend.

An antagonistic state in which there is neither loss nor gain. The flow of the game did not change, with only a series of 3-nyang and 5-nyang bets to shake up the opponent, which worked well because each had an element of uncertainty. Ho Cheon-an actively raised the lower paddles to break the game, but the three also just died in defense.

‘Opportunity will come.’

Rather than turning the tables, it’s only after using the trumpet that the number is equal. Although Hu Tianan’s emotions were still unreadable, the three gamblers were convinced that the more he controlled his emotions, the more nervous he felt. Because they are on the defensive, they are probably hiding their emotions even more thoroughly.

‘If you block an important paddle… there will definitely be an opportunity.’

In the meantime, the opportunity would definitely come someday.

And after holding my breath and continuing the game, the opportunity finally came.

Hakjo looked down at his cards. The unmarked number 31 was caught, completing a considerable hand.

’31. ‘Is it 33?’

Hakjo looked at Hocheonan’s card. No, I looked at the entire board. And Hakjo desperately pulled himself together.

‘come.’

The long-awaited reversal has finally arrived. Hocheonan’s tiles included tiles marked “30”. Even taking into account all the cases in the area of uncertainty, excluding the hands that have been revealed so far, there was no way to beat a hand of 64 with 30 other than scoring 75 points, which is a combination of 30 and 15.

However, the top card of the goal card was not drawn. The top card was 15. A scar on the bottom of the back of the goal badge indicated that the goal plaque was number 15.

The opportunity to win has finally arrived!

Hakjo turned his head even faster.

‘The number 31, which is not marked, has never appeared on the board yet.’

In other words, from Hocheonan’s perspective, both of Hakjo’s cards are unknown numbers. Since about half of the cards have been revealed in several turns so far, there are clues to guess the cards, but it is not possible to be certain of the numbers based on that level of inference alone.

The timing was also appropriate as a major event was taking place.

The previous and previous editions ended quietly without shaking, so it was time for shaking using uncertain elements to appear in this edition.

If you pretend to be a shaker, go in, raise the board, and encourage a gutsy fight, you can win big!

“Three nyang of gold.”

“Good. Three.”

“I have three too.”

Heukjeo and Cheongseo have not noticed the situation yet. You probably know that 33 is written in advance, but you don’t know that 31, an uncertain element mixed by Ho Cheon-an, is held in Hak Jo’s hand.

“Five.”

Ho Cheon-an raised the betting amount. Hakjo sensed that Hocheonan’s number was quite high. Probably late 20s at best. Maybe it was 32.

30’s and late 20’s. No, assuming it was 32, I would have confidently entered the game. Because 62 points was a number that could have been covered and won.

Hakjo looked at Ho Cheon-an with eyes trembling with tension and then took a deep breath.

“Column.”

“…I’m dying.”

“Die.”

Heukjeo and Cheongseo’s cards were cards that could be easily inferred from Ho Cheonan’s perspective, so the two of them folded them without hesitation.

Ho Cheon-an looked at Hak-jeo, and Hak-jeo kept his eyes fixed on the center of the gambling table and waited for Ho Cheon-an to speak.

“Ten—Five.”

“…Twenty.”

Ho Cheon-an’s eyes deepened. The entire gambling hall held its breath. Yu-gyeong and Sima Kyung-hwi also swallowed their saliva.

backbone.

Will Hakjo, Heukjeo, and Cheongseo be able to give Ho Cheon-an a shot? Or will Ho Cheon-an be able to beat the numbers of these three people and dominate the game?

It was obvious that the momentum would completely change depending on who was the winner in this game.

“Thirty.”

“Forty.”

“Fifty.”

Hearing Hocheonan’s declaration of 50 golden characters, Hakjo took his eyes off the gambling table. Heukjeo and Cheongseo were looking at him with tense eyes. And Ho Cheon-an was looking at him. Schoolwork is just a moment. I saw Hocheonan’s eyes shaking very slightly.

Hakjo presented a gold wonbo equivalent to 50 nyang of gold.

“100!”

The air on the second basement level of Cheonsangru stopped. If Ho Cheon-an receives this bet, the outcome of a total of 210 nyang of gold, including the 5 nyang of gold from Heukjeo and Cheongseo, will be decided!

Also, if either Hakjo or Hocheonan lost in this game, they would suffer a huge mental blow.

“Good.”

Hocheonan also added Geumwonbo.

“Is it a success?”

“Okay.”

No deposit. After the betting was completely over, Hakjo put down the card with trembling hands.

“Sixty-four! It’s a high point!”

Exclamations flowed from the surroundings. Hakjo twitched the corners of his mouth and stared at Hocheonan. Ho Cheon-an’s face still showed no emotion, but Hak Jo was confident. Ho Cheon-an is a human being like himself, and as a human being, he has no choice but to reveal his flaws. That moment of shaking before placing the last bet was definitely not an illusion.

gulp.

Someone looked at Ho Cheon-an and swallowed dry saliva. Ho Cheon-an’s hand began to go down. Everyone in the gambling hall stuck their heads out without realizing it. The same was true for Emperor Yu Jing and Admiral Sima Jinghui.

Sweet.

Hocheonan’s card was handed down with a little noise… thirty and…

“Fifteen! Seventy-five points!”

“Ahh…!”

It was fifteen.

“No way!”

Hakjo stood up and turned over the remaining cards. This was clearly fifteen, but how could fifteen be in the hands of Ho Cheon-an…

Hakjo turned the card over and sat down as his legs became weak.

The hand with a scratch in the same place as the 15 was 23. The two gamblers, who were taken aback by Hakjo’s sudden behavior, also opened their eyes wide. They also thought the score was 15, but when they turned it over, it turned out to be 23.

How did you know that the scratch at the bottom was 15? And when did you get the same scratch? How did you know that Hakjo had a high level of cards? Are you saying that he performed well even though he had the strongest score of 30 and 15?

No, not in the first place.

‘When..from where…’

When and where was it discovered and manipulated?

Hakjo felt distant. A feeling of being far away from the world, similar to before you black out after drinking too much, or like when you are less conscious in the morning.

“It’s my turn.”

Ho Cheon-an piled the gold wonbos in his place and casually returned and shuffled the goal cards that Hakjo had turned over.

widely. widely.

Hakjo took in the view of the gambling table, which seemed far away. Next to Hocheonan, gold wonbos were piled up. And Hocheonan’s goals were being mixed up.

Ho Cheon-an is showing honest hand movements at a very steady beat with a slightly bored look in his eyes, as if he is not doing anything.

As I was looking at that scene, I burst out laughing. Honest hand movements with a steady beat? Even though he had been treated so harshly in the previous game, it still seemed that way to his eyes.

Hakjo burst out laughing.

You must never reveal your true intentions in a gambling room. It doesn’t matter what kind of facial expression you make, but your true feelings should not be revealed. Exposure of one’s real expression even once would provide clues to sharp-eyed gamblers that would be able to detect fake facial expressions.

But what good is that?

What use is it to manage facial expressions when you are being completely fooled by the other person?

widely. widely. widely.

With the constant sound of Hocheonan shuffling the golpae, Hakjo felt as if he was falling into the abyss.

Even though I made the best move at the optimal moment using the best moves I had prepared for three days, I lost miserably.

rather. If Ho Cheon-an had burst out laughing and hugged the gold and rejoiced, he wouldn’t have been so miserable. Ho Cheon-an, who just calmly headed to the next round without showing any special emotions after winning 110 gold coins, felt as if he was from another world, as if he had just sorted out a small piece of food, as if he had removed a stone from the road.

‘I can’t win… I can’t.’

Hakjo’s heart turned black.

There was no rebound in Hakjo, Cheongseo, and Heukjo.

By the time Ho Cheon-an returned to the imperial palace that day, he had made a profit of 300 nyang.