Chapter 41: Teaching Rules to the Lawless

As soon as they heard my words, everyone had a moment of dumbfounded expressions. The first to come to his senses and raise his hand was Dongryong.

Dongryong spoke with a swollen face.

“But Big Brother, until when should we gather the guys?”

“There’s no time, so by tomorrow. Just one representative from each mountain hideout will do.”

“But the mountain bandits under us are scattered all over Honam Province, not just around here, so it’s impossible to bring them all in one day…”

“…Dongryong, my club is getting impatient.”

“It’s the Boss’s order! Call the fastest guys right now and send them to each mountain hideout-! No, I’ll go myself-!”

As I quietly lifted my club, Dongryong hurriedly got up and began to lead the guys.

**

The next day at noon.

“Ha… it’s extremely crowded.”

“…I’ve brought all 19 leaders of the mountain hideouts under us.”

“Nineteen mountain hideouts… Dongryong, you’ve really worked hard to conquer them.”

I didn’t mean to be sarcastic, but Dongryong flinched greatly and lowered his head as soon as he heard my words.

“…I’m sorry once again for bringing danger to our mountain hideout.”

Dongryong looked genuinely apologetic.

Seeing Dongryong’s face, I nodded, though I wasn’t completely over my anger yet.

Whether I like it or not, he was the first to become my subordinate.

And he’s not someone without a sense of responsibility. Yesterday, Dongryong ran all over Honam Province all night to carry out my order.

It was partly because I lifted my club, but also because Dongryong genuinely repented for his mistake.

After patting Dongryong’s shoulder a few times for his hard work, I whispered in his ear.

“Dongryong, you did well yesterday. But…”

“……”

“If this happens again, I’ll report you to the Murim Alliance, subordinate or not. Got it?”

“…Yes, sir.”

Still, Dongryong is someone who understands when told once. The problem is the guys in front of me now.

I looked at the 19 mountain bandits waiting for me and was purely amazed.

“Wow… their faces look really fierce.”

“……”

The guys seemed very displeased with my sudden insult to their faces, but they couldn’t say anything.

Dongryong, who had beaten them up over the past month, was standing next to me.

As soon as Dongryong and I finished talking, Crimson Beard started introducing me.

“Everyone, this is the Boss of the Green Forest Hideout on Mount Muak and our Grand Boss.”

Naturally, as soon as Crimson Beard introduced me, murmurs followed.

“…Grand Boss? He looks so young.”

“Does that mean he’s stronger than Dongryong?”

“He looks like he’d break if I just poke him.”

Yeah, I probably don’t look that strong just by appearance. I’m somewhat used to these kinds of looks.

And I know well how to respond in these situations.

Tap.

I put my hand on Dongryong’s shoulder again and changed my tone to a harsher one.

“Dongryong, these guys all surrendered to you, right? Isn’t that right?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then why are they so noisy in front of the Boss? Huh? Didn’t you educate them properly?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Bow your head.”

Thud.

Before I even finished speaking, Dongryong automatically bowed his head to the ground.

As soon as they saw that, the leaders flinched.

They probably spat a lot in their own territories. Maybe they even lived like kings.

But here, all of them were defeated by Dongryong in just a month. They must have realized the difference in skill between themselves and Dongryong.

So, seeing me treat Dongryong like this would naturally be shocking.

In fact, I couldn’t feel a strong flow of Inner Qi from any of them. They probably didn’t properly train in martial arts and only focused on External Martial Arts.

If that’s the case…

Shaa-.

“……!”

“……!”

…Just a little bit of killing intent from me would make them submit.

Surviving as mountain bandits means they have some level of awareness.

As soon as I released a bit of killing intent, they instinctively felt that my Martial Prowess was far above Dongryong’s, and they became like rabbits in front of a predator.

Now it’s finally quiet and nice.

I sat on Dongryong’s back, who was bowing his head, and called out to the guy in front.

“Hey, you.”

“…Yes, Grand Boss.”

Without deciding, my title had become Grand Boss. It wasn’t a particularly bothersome title.

“Starting with you, tell me how many people are in each mountain hideout, going to the right.”

“Ah… Yes! I-I have a total of 15 people under me.”

Then each of them started to say how many people they had.

Roughly, they all had more than 10 and less than 20 people. There were a few who had more than 30.

“…Yes, I have about 23 people.”

“You’re the last one, right? So, in total…”

I was about to speak after roughly calculating the total number in my head…

“391 people.”

“I knew that, you brat. I was about to say it.”

The youngest spoke up first.

Although I spoke gruffly, I patted the youngest’s head for being clever.

I liked that the youngest was quick-witted.

“Anyway, 391 people… Damn… Suddenly, the number of family members has increased a lot.”

Hearing that number, it finally felt real. 391 people is an impossible number for me to control individually.

And… that’s why I gathered these guys in one place.

“Everyone, listen carefully. From now on, I’m going to tell you the rules of our Green Forest’s Twenty Hideouts.”

“Green Forest… Twenty Hideouts?”

“There are a total of 20 mountain hideouts, so it’s the Green Forest’s Twenty Hideouts.”

“Ah…”

Seeing that they seemed to understand my words, I started with the first rule.

“First rule. From now on, tolls and protection fees are limited to a minimum of 1 tael of silver and a maximum of 5 taels of silver, depending on the wealth of the person.”

“What…?!!!”

“No, that’s…!”

And naturally, the first rule caused quite a backlash.

“That’s ridiculous-!”

“No, Boss… That doesn’t sound like you… Where’s the rogue Boss who would take everything…?”

“Where’s the Boss who boldly took everything from the Yoo Family in Shanxi…”

“Shut up, you bastards.”

The first rule caused a lot of resentment not only from the newly gathered subordinates but also from my original subordinates like Bang-sam and Bongchun.

It’s understandable.

Mountain bandits inherently seek short and intense gains.

They want to make a big score when the opportunity arises, not go for a long and steady approach. Although 5 taels of silver is not a small amount, it would seem very little to them.

But I had no intention of backing down.

“Because of a certain someone, the merchants are already on high alert. If we continue to plunder heavily, it will surely reach the ears of the Murim Alliance.”

“But… that won’t even cover our food expenses.”

“No, in the long run, this is better. If we set a fixed amount like this, the merchants will feel safe passing through our mountains. Let’s not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Okay?”

“A goose lays golden eggs?”

“Since that’s the case, let’s move on to the next rule. Now, the second rule.”

As I was about to state the second rule, I saw the guys gulping. The first rule had a big impact, so they were probably worried about what the second rule would be.

“Our Green Forest’s Twenty Hideouts will not just be in name, but will actually take on the role of protecting the mountains of Honam Province.”

“…Actually protect? What does that mean?”

“We will form patrol teams every two hours to monitor for any incidents. If there’s a fight among travelers, we will mediate, and if there’s a threat of a tiger attack, we will prevent it. We will thoroughly play the role of a volunteer group in Honam.”

Through these efforts, we will actively improve our image, which is a major problem in Honam Province. This way, when the Murim Alliance hears about us, they might just let it slide.

“And the third rule. We will maintain the mountain paths throughout Honam Province and build pavilions at each point for travelers to rest.”

“What? We’re not government workers…”

“Are we a volunteer group? We don’t even have money…”

As the guys grumbled, I took out the paper money I had prepared in advance.

“Here, 50 Gwan of gold. I’ll distribute it to you, so use it to pave the mountain paths and build the pavilions.”

“…Fifty Gwan of gold?”

“Of course, if anyone embezzles, I’ll kill them. I’ll tear them apart even if it costs me everything.”

“……”

I was dead serious.

Damn, my precious gold.

But it couldn’t be helped. To survive, I had to endure some losses.

“Fifth, …Damn, I’ll give you an additional 10 Gwan of gold, so buy some new clothes.”

“What’s wrong with what we’re wearing now…”

“What’s wrong? Damn, if we all joined the Beggar’s Sect, the leader would personally come to welcome us. If the leaders look like this, what about the subordinates? Appearance makes the first impression, and since your faces are rough, you should at least wear clean clothes to make a good impression.”

“…Yes.”

Still, since I was giving them free clothes, they didn’t seem to have any complaints and nodded in agreement.

“Sixth, avoid killing as much as possible.”

“……”

“No, not just as much as possible, but don’t kill at all. The people passing through here are weaker than us anyway, so don’t kill them. Let’s live like decent people.”

Nothing gives the Murim Alliance a better reason to rise up than the death of innocent people. The sixth rule was very important in that regard.

This time, the guys didn’t say anything but quietly nodded.

At least, from their expressions, none of them seemed like psychopaths who were disappointed they couldn’t kill.

Feeling relieved, I stated the last rule.

“The seventh rule is… never betray. I won’t tolerate any form of betrayal, no matter how small.”

“…Yes, sir-!!”

I was sincere about this rule as well. The guys seemed to sense that and responded with tense expressions.

“That’s all the rules. The smart ones among you will understand, but my goal is to go thin and long. Let’s all see each other for a long time. Let’s make the Murim Alliance think, ‘Oh, these guys are no problem if we leave them alone.’ Got it?”

“Yes-!!”

“If you understand, take the money and go back to your mountain hideouts. I’ll be watching to see if you follow the rules properly.”

“Yes, sir.”

They seemed a bit unreliable, but they nodded and started lining up in front of me to receive the money.

Alright, from now on, the good mountain bandit project begins.