Chapter 17: I’ll Teach You Martial Arts And Leave

“The look on that bastard’s face when he said that… Of course, my subordinates and I couldn’t stand his nonsense and rose up against him. I couldn’t hold back either at that time.”

Crimson Beard’s aura, as he recalled the past, seemed as if he would grab an axe and charge out at any moment.

“But… the County Magistrate stopped me. What did he say… Ah…! He said that the Non-Aggression Pact with the Government must be upheld no matter what. He said that no matter what cracks appear in the tradition of hundreds of years, it must be preserved. He even imprisoned us to stop us from attacking that guy.”

“…So what happened then?”

“What do you think happened? We had no choice but to watch that guy leisurely return to his home from inside the prison.”

“……”

Damn.

What a shitty and tragic story.

I had to hold back from asking what that bastard’s name was halfway through the story.

But the hardest part was that his story wasn’t over yet.

“In prison, I thought to myself. Ah… I should have killed him when my subordinates suggested it. That bastard doesn’t even follow the laws of the country, so why did I stupidly think of following the law? Regret surged within me. It was hard to endure. And it was the same for the other subordinates who were imprisoned with me. When people’s minds come together, the bars blocking our way seemed incredibly light.”

“Did you break out of prison?”

Crimson Beard nodded as if I was right.

“Yes. We all gathered our strength, broke the bars, armed ourselves, and went to his house. It was disgustingly grand. That bastard was calmly drinking on his porch after killing all the people in our village.”

“He was drinking even in that situation? What a real bastard.”

Dongryong, who was listening with me, couldn’t hold back his anger and shouted curses.

Dongryong’s face was so red it looked like it would burst, and he couldn’t control his anger, probably because he was deeply empathizing with the story.

I calmed Dongryong down and listened to more of Crimson Beard’s story.

“That bastard was still shouting about the Non-Aggression Pact with the Government even when we were right in front of him. He laughed, saying what could the government officials do to the martial artists…”

“So what did you do?”

“I shouted back at him. We’re no longer government officials, just a band of armed bandits. I shouted that and swung my axe.”

“……”

Something about this doesn’t feel right. Government officials who broke out of prison attacking a prestigious family, declaring themselves as bandits and wielding weapons?

This story couldn’t possibly have a good ending.

“But damn it, martial artists are strong… That human trash easily blocked my axe. I couldn’t even follow his movements with my eyes.”

“……”

“After that, other bodyguards of the prestigious family appeared everywhere. Since I had already declared myself a bandit… their swords were merciless. More than sixty of us attacked, but less than half, only twenty-six, came out alive.”

“After that, you were chased as criminals and settled in the mountains…”

Crimson Beard gave a bitter smile and nodded.

“Yes, that was eight years ago. We had already lost our families… We had to survive somehow… So we decided to truly become mountain bandits.”

“…I see.”

In fact, from the beginning, I had noticed something different about these Brotherhood of Mount Muak guys compared to other mountain bandits.

First, when I first met Deputy Leader Eung-chil.

‘This is the territory of the Brotherhood of Mount Muak. Who are you to make such noise in the mountains at this late hour?’

His tone was quite polite for an uneducated mountain bandit, and he didn’t draw his sword against us first.

It could have been because he didn’t fully grasp our identity, but he seemed quite accustomed to such polite speech.

A polite mountain bandit? That was strange from the start.

Moreover, the movements of the Brotherhood of Mount Muak members all showed signs of unified training.

The well-organized mountain hideout and strict hierarchy showed that, unlike other mountain bandits, they had strong cooperation and loyalty.

At first, I just thought, ‘What are these guys? Interesting.’ But it turns out they were originally government officials.

“……”

I couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

As I mentioned before, I prefer to operate on a small scale. I don’t want to attract too much attention.

So, after gathering them, if I judged that they weren’t suitable to live with me, I planned to drive them out and live with the original five members of the Mount Hyeongak Green Forest Hideout.

But…

‘Damn, they’re so pitiful.’

Their story was so tragic and pitiful.

I’m a bad guy, but that doesn’t mean I lack sympathy.

The circumstances of Crimson Beard and the Brotherhood of Mount Muak were enough to move my heart.

And…

“Hey, that…”

“…Yes?”

“I’m sorry for beating your face so badly.”

I felt a bit guilty for making that poor guy’s face a bloody mess.

‘Well… How was I supposed to know he was like that? I just wanted to establish the hierarchy clearly…’

Crimson Beard’s face momentarily showed fear at the mention of his beaten face, but he soon gave a hollow laugh.

“No, it’s fine. Haha…”

At first, he just looked rough, but now he seemed so pitiful.

After a moment of contemplation, I spoke with difficulty.

“Do you still want to take revenge on that bastard?”

“…!”

At my question, all traces of a hollow laugh disappeared from Crimson Beard’s face. All that remained was venom and killing intent.

“Not for a single moment… have I forgotten. Even now, I dream of cutting his throat. But…”

“It’s impossible.”

Crimson Beard nodded bitterly in response.

“…Yes. I’m ashamed to admit it, but that’s true. I still don’t have the confidence to defeat him. A lot of time has passed, so he must have become even stronger. We tried to learn martial arts on our own, but… it wasn’t easy.”

“Of course.”

Learning martial arts on your own without any guidance is impossible unless you’re a genius.

It must have been difficult.

I pointed to the four original members of the Mount Hyeongak Green Forest Hideout and spoke to Crimson Beard.

“The four here are stronger than your forty-three. That’s because they have trained in martial arts.”

“…Yes. I know. We couldn’t possibly match them…”

“I will teach you martial arts as well.”

“Yes…?”

Crimson Beard widened his eyes as if to confirm what he had heard. I repeated myself so that he and the members of the Brotherhood of Mount Muak behind him could all hear.

“I will make you true martial artists. I will make you strong enough to take revenge on that bastard.”

“Why would you bestow such great grace upon us…”

“Well… I like the mountain hideout and the mountain is beautiful… I want to live here. So I’ll teach you while living here.”

“……”

Even after a long time had passed since I finished speaking, Crimson Beard looked at me with a bewildered expression. Then…

Thud-!

He prostrated himself, pressing his forehead to the ground.

“If you do that for us, we will never forget this grace-!!”

As he bowed, the other members of the Brotherhood of Mount Muak also began to prostrate themselves.

“We will never forget-!!”

Thud-!

Crimson Beard pressed his forehead to the ground once more and then raised his head. His eyes seemed slightly wet, as if they were filled with tears.

“If you teach us martial arts, we will pledge our loyalty to you until the end… We will never betray you.”

“……”

“Please become the Boss of our Brotherhood of Mount Muak…”

I felt a bit embarrassed by Crimson Beard’s earnestness. So I turned my back and spoke.

“Damn, what’s with the name Brotherhood of Mount Muak? Let’s just call it Mount Muak Green Forest Hideout.”

“…Yes! Thank you, Boss!”

And so, I became the Boss of the Mount Muak Green Forest Hideout.

**

After sending them off to do their respective tasks, I called Dongryong separately.

“Did you call for me, Boss?”

“Yes, Dongryong. There’s something you need to do.”

Dongryong, who seemed slightly nervous, listened as I commanded him.

“The Brotherhood of Mount Muak… I mean, the new subordinates. Teach them martial arts.”

“M-Me?”

As expected, Dongryong was greatly surprised and shook his head as soon as he heard my command.

“I-I can’t do it. Boss. I’m not skilled enough to teach anyone…”

“I’m not asking for something difficult. First, make them do intense physical training like I did with you. Teach them the Incantation of the Cultivation Technique I taught you so they can build their Inner Qi.”

“If it’s just that, I can manage…”

“And when you think the time is right, teach them the martial arts of the Northern Peng Family that you know.”

“……!!”

Dongryong’s eyes widened in surprise, and he stuttered as he spoke, not expecting to hear the words Northern Peng Family from my mouth.

“B-Boss…! How did you know my martial arts are from the Northern Peng Family…”

“Dongryong. If you want to hide it, don’t make it obvious. Anyone can tell you learned martial arts from the Northern Peng Family by the way you wield your blade.”

“……”

“I don’t know how you ended up leaving there, but you must have your reasons. I won’t ask. Instead, teach the subordinates martial arts.”

Dongryong seemed to hesitate for a moment but soon nodded. Then he asked me.

“But Boss. Didn’t you usually teach martial arts yourself? Why this time…”

“I have something important to do.”

“What is it?”

I pointed to the pile of treasures from the Shanxi Yoo Family in one corner and spoke.

“I need to turn those into cash. If we leave them to rot, they’re just junk.”

“So…?”

“Yes.”

It’s been a while, but it’s time to go down the mountain.

“I’ll be out for a while.”