Chapter 16
My *Weeping while Executing Ma Su* continued until dawn.
“I pledge my loyalty to you, Leader...”
By then, Jeokyeombu’s face, not just his beard, had turned entirely red, befitting the nickname. It was because I had beaten him to a bloody pulp with my fists.
Yawning, I spoke to the swollen-faced Jeokyeombu.
“Hey, why be so formal with “Leader” between us? I’ll grant you the special privilege of calling me Elder Brother.”
“...Thank you, Elder Brother.”
Anyone could see that Jeokyeombu looked a dozen years older than me, but in the world of bandits, the stronger one was always the Elder Brother.
“Leader, this side is also taken care of.”
It wasn’t just Jeokyeombu, the Leader of the Muak Mountain Brotherhood, whose Rank Adjustment was complete. The rest of the ruffians were also subdued by Dongryong and lay sprawled on the ground.
“Haaah~, good job, Dongryong.”
“You look very tired. I’ll handle the rest, so would you like to catch some sleep?”
I nodded at Dongryong’s suggestion. I’d already overdrunk yesterday, and moving my body until dawn made my eyelids feel heavy as lead.
I yawned once more, then asked Jeokyeombu, who was kneeling before me.
“Hey, Little Brother.”
“...Yes, Elder Brother.”
“The biggest building in the center, that’s your house, right?”
For a moment, he flinched, but then he gritted his teeth and nodded.
“...Yes, that’s right.”
“Then I’ll go sleep there for a bit. You help Dongryong with the cleanup. The Mountain Stronghold is a mess.”
Of course, the Mountain Stronghold was a mess because of Dongryong and me, but I felt no guilt. Right now, I was just too sleepy.
“Oh, and by the way, Dongryong is also higher ranked than you, so you need to treat him with respect. Got it?”
“...Y-yes.”
“Tsk, your answer isn’t enthusiastic enough. Hey, Dongryong. This guy’s just big, but he’s a pushover, so don’t be intimidated and make good use of him.”
“Yes, Leader. Please go in.”
Leaving the somewhat beaming Dongryong behind, I entered Jeokyeombu’s original house (now mine) and lay down.
As soon as I lay down, sleep came immediately. It had been a truly exhausting day.
**
“Leader.”
“...Mmm.”
“Leader!”
“...Mmm? Ah.”
Someone kept waking me, so I forced my eyes open to see Bangsam in front of me.
...You damn brat, Bangsam. Do you want to die? How dare you wake the Leader from his sleep...
“No, the sun is high in the sky. You should get up now. I woke you because lunch seems to be ready soon.”
“...Lunch?”
“Yes, these Muak Mountain Brotherhood ruffians... I mean, our new Subordinates, they’re just whipping it up themselves.”
Come to think of it, a rather savory and appetizing smell was wafting in through the slightly open crack in the door.
As I got up, Bangsam poured me some water and said,
“By the way, Leader. First-grade Dugangju really is good, isn’t it? I drank and slept, and when I woke up, I suddenly had forty-three Subordinates.”
...You little punk. Do you know how much Dongryong and I suffered all night because you, Bongchun, and Youngest were dead drunk yesterday?
“Sorry. But after we sobered up, the three of us worked hard to manage the new subordinates, so please don’t be too angry.”
Listening to Bangsam’s explanation, I stumbled out.
“Hey, hey, bring some more firewood over here!”
“I told you to wipe up the blood here. What are you all doing?!”
While I had been sleeping soundly, the Mountain Stronghold was bustling with activity, as if it had started its day long ago. The first thing I saw were the ruffians diligently cleaning, perhaps still carrying out my order to tidy up the stronghold.
But even those who were moving quickly...
“Huh...”
They stopped all their actions the moment I stepped outside.
And then...
...Greetings to our new Leader—!
...As if on cue, they all bowed their heads towards me.
As I stared blankly for a moment, Bangsam whispered proudly beside me.
“The Deputy Leader and we instructed them to greet you immediately when you woke up. Good job, right?”
“Good job, my foot... hah...”
I really disliked this kind of burden.
Looking at those bothersome men, I suddenly realized what I had done yesterday.
I had merely found the process of building a new Mountain Stronghold and settling in troublesome, but in doing so, I had unintentionally become the leader of dozens of bandits.
“I prefer small groups...”
Well, what could I do? I couldn’t just abandon them.
I decided to just accept it as a good thing. More than anything, my stomach was burning, and I desperately needed a hangover cure.
“Hey, someone... bring me a bowl of warm soup.”
“Yes—!! The Leader wants soup—!!”
“The Leader wants soup—!!”
Over forty Subordinates answered at once, their resounding voices echoing through the mountain.
After a quick meal, I gathered all the subordinates in one place.
I found a large empty clearing in the Mountain Stronghold and had everyone sit there. Even though it was quite a spacious area, it quickly filled up with so many people.
Among them, I called out to Jeokyeombu, who was sitting most demurely at the front.
“Hey, Jeokyeom.”
“Yes, Elder Brother.”
For reference, Jeokyeombu’s real name was Jeokyeom. His parents supposedly named him that because his hair was red from birth.
Anyway, I decided to call him by his given name, Jeokyeom.
“What’s the exact total number of members in your Muak Mountain Brotherhood?”
“Including me, exactly forty-three.”
“Forty-three, huh... that’s quite a lot. No, with our five, it’s forty-eight now, isn’t it?”
I hadn’t gathered forty-eight men in one place for any other reason.
“Hey, Jeokyeom.”
“Yes, Elder Brother.”
“Why did you become a Bandit?”
“...!”
Jeokyeom flinched at my question. It seemed there was a reason, but he appeared reluctant to speak of it.
So, I raised my fist high and asked again.
“Shall I *Weep while Executing Ma Su* again?”
“I-I’ll tell you...”
The fellow, well-trained by me, answered with a conditioned reflex the moment I raised my fist. Soon, he cautiously began to recount his story.
“Actually... we weren’t originally bandits. We were Soldiers who received a salary from the government. I was a Centurion.”
“Huh? You guys were Soldiers?”
No wonder their movements had a certain discipline, unlike ordinary bandits. I had been suspicious, but soldiers, really?
“All forty-three of you?”
“No, only the twenty-six who started with me were Soldiers. The rest joined along the way.”
“How did you Soldiers end up becoming bandits?”
“...”
Jeokyeom’s lips sealed shut again, but he soon resigned himself and continued, perhaps thinking I would raise my fist once more.
“Eight years ago... my subordinates and I went on an inspection to a village on the outskirts. It was a very small county, but it held significance for us. Some of my subordinates were born there, and some had family, like parents or wives, living there. Of course, I also had family living in that village.”
“So it was your hometown.”
“It was. Anyway, because many of our unit were from that village, the villagers treated us very well. Whenever we came for inspection, they would share alcohol and food, and that day a big feast would be held.”
As Jeokyeom recalled the past, a sense of happiness seemed to surface in his eyes. However, that emotion didn’t last long.
“But that day, the village was strangely quiet. It was odd. Even though it wasn’t a densely populated area, it wasn’t usually this quiet... and what was most unusual was...”
“...”
“It was the pervasive smell of blood in the village.”
“Blood?”
Jeokyeom seemed to be relaying his story calmly, but his words contained an undeniable despair.
“We felt uneasy and went to the village elder’s house. The elder’s house was the largest in the village, so we thought we could find someone there. Of course, we did find someone there... Yes, we did... but...”
“...”
“...”
As Jeokyeom struggled to speak, I glanced at the other Subordinates behind him. They were all gritting their teeth, as if holding something back.
“Some madman was drinking alcohol in the elder’s courtyard, sitting on the corpses of the villagers. That son of a bitch.”
“...”
“My family was there too. My parents, who named me Jeokyeom, were there. My wife was there. And even the families of my subordinates were there.”
“Ugh...”
Finally, someone in the back couldn’t hold it in and burst into tears.
Nevertheless, Jeokyeom continued his explanation with a trembling voice.
“My subordinates immediately rushed forward to tear that mad bastard apart... but at that time, we were Soldiers receiving a salary from the nation. I foolishly thought we shouldn’t punish him privately. So I stopped my subordinates. I told them to take those ruffians to the Magistrate’s Office. But to kill them by the law of the land.”
“...And then?”
“We apprehended the scoundrel and took him before the Magistrate. That madman just chuckled and didn’t resist, walking to the Magistrate’s Office on his own. I thought he had given up all will to live. But... but, damn it. That son of a bitch...”
From that point, it became difficult for him to hold back, and Jeokyeom’s previously steady tone began to tremble severely.
“That son of a bitch started running his mouth in front of the Magistrate, didn’t he? He claimed he was a Young Master from a certain Noble Family, and that he had mistakenly killed the villagers, confusing them with an Unorthodox Faction group he was chasing.”
“...”
“Of course, that was utter bullshit. There were no traces of battle there. Just... traces of a massacre. For whatever reason, that bastard gathered our villagers in one place and killed them all at once, then made that ridiculous excuse about confusing them with an Unorthodox Faction. Naturally, I told the Magistrate the truth. But...”
I could roughly guess what Jeokyeom was about to say next.
“*Non-interference between Officials and Martial Artists*... That son of a bitch brought up *Non-interference between Officials and Martial Artists*, claiming the Magistrate’s Office couldn’t punish him.”
*Non-interference between Officials and Martial Artists*.
The Magistrate’s Office and Martial Artists cannot infringe upon each other’s domains.
Just like in any murim novel, this setting also exists in this world.