Chapter 18
*The next day.*
As soon as the morning sun rose, I finished preparing to leave.
All my Subordinates came out to see me off. Among them, Dongryong, who stood at the very front, asked me with a worried expression.
“Leader, will you be alright?”
“What about it?”
“Well... you’re not taking many people, just the Youngest, and you’re going all the way to Sichuan. How could I not be worried?”
Indeed.
Today, I was setting off for Sichuan to sell the treasures of the Shanxi Yu Clan that we had plundered earlier.
The person was accompanied by just the Youngest.
I waved my hand at Dongryong, who was looking at me with excessive worry, as if I were a child left unsupervised by a dangerous river.
“Stop it. If we take too many people, we’ll just draw attention. I only need the Youngest. Right?”
When I asked the Youngest, he replied spiritedly.
“That’s right! Don’t worry too much. I will serve the Leader thoroughly!”
At his bold reply, I patted his head once and opened my mouth.
“See? Our Youngest said he’d protect me, didn’t he?”
“Haa... I’m still uneasy...”
Oh, for crying out loud.
Dongryong truly worries too much; it’s his biggest flaw. I lightly tapped Dongryong’s forehead and said,
“You just focus on yourself, kid. Teach the others Martial Arts well and guard the stronghold.”
“Ah... Yes, sir. I’ll do my best while the Leader is away.”
I also spoke to Bangsam and Bongchun, who were standing next to Dongryong.
“You two, assist Dongryong well. While I’m gone, Dongryong is the leader, so follow his orders.”
“Of course, Leader.”
“I actually prefer the Deputy Leader over the Leader.”
This little bastard...?
After giving Bangsam, who at 26 was experiencing a late adolescence, a quick smack, I turned my head towards Jeokyeom and Eungchil, and the rest of the Muak Mountain Brotherhood behind them.
“You all, learn Martial Arts well from Dongryong during this time. Listen to Dongryong.”
“Yes, we understand!”
Perhaps because they were excited by the prospect of learning Martial Arts, their voices were filled with enthusiasm.
“Anyway... they all answer well.”
Truthfully, I wasn’t entirely without unease myself.
What kind of trouble would these ignorant fools get into without me? Would they be able to train their Martial Arts properly? I was worried.
But I had to leave. After all, for bandits, money was the most important thing.
“Alright, then, I’m off. It takes about ten days to get to Sichuan, so... you won’t see my face for roughly a month.”
“Oh yeah!”
“Oh yeah, my ass! Bangsam, I’ll deal with you when I get back.”
Leaving behind Bangsam, who was even more boisterous than usual today, I waved heartily at the others.
“I’m really leaving now. Everyone, take care of yourselves.”
“Have a safe trip, Leader!”
As I turned to leave, they all bowed 90 degrees in unison.
Seeing that sight, I felt like a nationwide gangster boss.
Ah, I’m a Bandit Leader, so is that similar to a Gangster boss?
Anyway, having someone see you off wasn’t such a bad feeling. I waved at them for a long time, then set off.
“Youngest, shall we go?”
“Yes, Leader.”
Let’s go to Sichuan.
Since there were only two of us, unlike when we arrived here, I also carried a load on my back. It wasn’t heavy for me, but the Youngest, being more slender than I, seemed to find it heavy.
“Hey, Youngest. Isn’t your load heavy? Should I carry a bit more?”
“No, Leader.”
The Youngest just chuckled at my question, showing no sign of difficulty. I chuckled back at him and said:
“Call me Elder Brother outside, kid.”
“Huh? But...”
“Do we need to let others know we’re bandits? Just call me Elder Brother.”
“Ah... if that’s the case...”
The Youngest hesitated slightly, then smiled shyly and said,
“I will call you that... Elder Brother...”
The Youngest, shyly calling me Elder Brother as if addressing his first love, seemed genuinely pleased.
And he had every right to be.
After all, the Youngest was the one among my Subordinates who liked me the most.
I don’t know why. He just liked me from the moment we first met.
I like the Youngest too.
And it’s not simply because he likes me.
“Youngest, didn’t you say you turned twenty this year?”
“Yes, that’s right, Elder Brother. Hehe.”
The Youngest is the only one among my Subordinates younger than me, so he feels like a younger brother. He’s positive about everything and always smiles.
And that’s not all?
He’s good at his work, the most handsome among everyone in our Green Forest apart from me, and his Martial Arts progress is incredibly fast.
Even I was surprised.
He absorbs everything I teach him so quickly that it makes me wonder if he’s a genius.
When his attributes are listed one by one, he’s truly an overpowered character.
In the past, I once wondered if our Youngest might be a character from a novel, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t recall any character with the same name as him.
So, I decided to just consider the Youngest an overpowered extra who didn’t appear in the novel. Perhaps because he’s not a novel character, he feels more like a real person than the others, which might be why I feel even closer to him.
I poked the Youngest’s cheek playfully and asked.
“But, Youngest, why did you become a bandit?”
“Huh? Why are you suddenly asking that...”
“Well, I’m curious. The Muak Mountain Brotherhood guys had their reasons, so I wondered if you had something similar.”
There isn’t a bandit in this world without a story.
Everyone becomes a bandit by fleeing to the mountains, escaping something, for unavoidable reasons.
I, Dongryong, Bangsam, and Bongchun all have our own stories, even if we don’t speak of them.
I thought that, with just the two of us, now might be an opportunity to hear the Youngest’s story, but...
“Because I like it.”
“Huh?”
“I just like this life, so I’m a bandit. I like everyone, Elder Brother, Elder Brother Dongryong, Elder Brother Bangsam, Elder Brother Bongchun... That’s all there is to it.”
The Youngest just smiled shyly as always, his face unreadable as to whether he was sincere or not.
“Hmph, if you don’t want to talk about it, don’t, kid.”
“Ah, no, I really mean it...”
Finding the Youngest’s expression somewhat annoying, I put him in a gentle headlock, and we continued our journey towards Sichuan, playfully teasing each other.
Then, suddenly, the Youngest asked me.
“But Elder Brother, why are we going all the way to Sichuan? Couldn’t we sell these items closer, in Hubei or Hunan?”
At the Youngest’s naive question, I clicked my tongue and replied.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Youngest. What do you think would happen if we just sold these Shanxi Yu Clan items anywhere?”
“What do you mean, “what would happen”? Wouldn’t we just make a lot of money?”
I’ve noticed this before, but the Youngest is truly naive in these matters. If anything, you could say his bandit talents are a bit lacking.
I slowly explained it to the Youngest.
“For a Martial Artist, his or her affiliation and tradition are important. Now, look at what kind of items we have from the Shanxi Yu Clan.”
“Hmm... well, Secret Arts or elixirs, things like that? Ah...!”
“Exactly. Secret Art manuals containing their Family’s Secret Arts, and precious elixirs imbued with their essence. These truly symbolize the Shanxi Yu Clan’s sense of belonging and tradition. So, what do you think would happen if we just naively sold them off? They’d go ballistic, wouldn’t they?”
“Right... wouldn’t they?”
“What’s more, these items are so rare that the moment we sell them, they’ll trace us, and those guys will chase us until we die. Then we’d be screwed.”
Talking about the Shanxi Yu Clan reminded me of Yoo Somyung’s face after a long time.
She really loved her Family, didn’t she? I wonder if she resents me for raiding their Secret Vault.
Thinking of her chasing me with an angry face, I found it somewhat amusing and laughed.
A smile appeared on my face as I thought of Yoo Somyung, but in contrast, an anxious expression settled on the Youngest’s face as he listened to my story.
“Then, Elder Brother... if we can’t sell them, aren’t they useless just to keep?”
“That’s why we’re going to Sichuan.”
“Is Sichuan different somehow?”
“Yes, there’s a place in Sichuan where we can sell these.”
The Youngest tilted his head and asked me.
“Perhaps... a Black Market? A place where we can sell these without the Shanxi Yu Clan finding out...”
“A Black Market... it’s similar, but a little different. Well, you’ll see when we get there.”
I patted the Youngest’s head, who seemed full of questions, and grinned.
“Coincidentally, we’re the two most handsome people here. Since we’ve come down from the mountain after a long time, let’s quickly finish the deal and have some fun in Sichuan.”
“Have fun... in Sichuan?”
“You’ll find that out when we arrive too. You’ll enjoy it, I bet.”
It's always the quiet ones.
Those who appear innocent on the outside are often cunning on the inside.
I chuckled, certain that the Youngest would have more fun than anyone in Sichuan.
The Youngest, not understanding the meaning of my laughter, merely tilted his head.