Chapter 12
I’ve encountered them dozens of times in my past life too.
Those bandit bastards who call themselves ‘mountain bandits,’ ‘horse bandits,’ or ‘sea bandits.’
It’s funny, but even these bandit bastards have their own order and rules.
They are endlessly benevolent to Murim-in with strong Mu-Gong, and kind to government officials with power, but they have the characteristic of transforming into Yaksha towards powerless commoners.
I’ve hated them since my past life.
Of course, it’s not that I hated bandits because I was good or righteous.
Because I, who was an assassin, was 100 times worse when it comes to being bad.
I just found their attitude towards life disgusting.
Those who are strong against the weak but grovel like rats to the strong, while spouting b*llshit about being a great man or a hero, and sometimes even imitating righteous bandits.
So I used to beat bandits half to death sometimes.
It wasn’t an act of righteousness, I just beat them up as I pleased, and every time the bandits would beg for their lives.
Of course, this time.
No, from now on, I’m going to hold back a bit and deal with them rationally.
Otherwise, how can I keep doing this for a long time?
Come to think of it……
If I ‘rob’ the bandits’ wealth, do I become a ‘bandit’ too?
Honestly, I don’t know.
In times like these, I need mental victory, so let’s define ourselves as a good person with malicious intent.
Anyway, it’s the truth of the world that if you nitpick about right and wrong, you can’t even do this kind of thing.
◈ ◈ ◈
“My Lord. Shall I bring you your meal?”
“I’m good with the meal. How’s So-yun?”
“So-yun just fell asleep.”
“Didn’t she look for me?”
“Not at all? She was playing happily with me, and then she fell asleep as soon as I told her old stories.”
“Ah.”
I expected her to not sleep, not eat, whine, and throw tantrums if I wasn’t there.
She didn’t even look for me?
I was a little dumbfounded and disappointed, but I was also proud that this 17-year-old housekeeper seemed to be doing her part.
“My Lord.”
“Speak.”
“It’s nothing much, but could you please speak comfortably to me? You’re the one I should serve, and you’re older than me, but you’re speaking formally…… I don’t know what to do.”
“Okay. I’ll treat you comfortably from now on.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Ye-rin, our live-in housekeeper, is an orphan.
I didn’t ask how she became an orphan, but the fact that she was an orphan played a big role in my hiring her.
I have a particular compassion for orphans.
Of course, that’s because I was also an orphan in my past life.
Orphans are pitiful people.
Even if parents feed, clothe, and raise their children with all their heart and soul, it’s difficult for a human to grow up to be a good person.
What about orphans who don’t receive anyone’s care?
Most orphans in Jungwon are likely to live unhappy lives.
Even I was kidnapped by the Demonic Cult and became a professional assassin, and ordinary boys become street thugs or, if they’re lucky, join a local petty ruffian organization and spend their whole lives doing bad things, only to get stabbed in the streets and die.
It’s the same for girls.
If they’re unlucky, they’ll get caught by human traffickers and wander around red-light districts, and usually, they’ll become servants to old geezers or meet a man in similar circumstances and suffer a lot.
Ye-rin, who was struggling with labor exploitation for a monthly salary of 100 Mun while relying on an inn, was rather lucky.
“Ye-rin.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“How was your first day of work? Taking care of So-yun won’t be easy.”
“It’s not easy. But thanks to having hope, it didn’t feel too hard.”
“Hope……”
“I had no hope. I had to be content with not starving even though I received a meager monthly salary, and I just accepted it when rude guests played disgusting pranks on me. There are countless people in Jang’an who are worse off than me.”
“……”
“But My Lord, you gave me hope. With this monthly salary…… I have the hope that someday I can save up money and open a restaurant in my name. I’m content with this.”
Ye-rin’s appearance, illuminated by the starlight, felt poignant.
Even without asking in detail, I think I know what kind of life Ye-rin has lived.
Having no hope.
It’s an indescribable pain, like pitch-black darkness where you can’t see an inch ahead.
I was like that in my past life too.
Back then, I had no hope like Ye-rin.
“Ye-rin.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“I don’t know how long you’ll be working, but make yourself comfortable while you’re here. I don’t expect much from you. For example, I’ll take care of my own meals and things, so you can just focus on So-yun.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“A writing teacher will come from tomorrow. If you’re interested, study too. Knowledge is always beneficial. Therefore, it’s better to learn to read and write when you can. Although the writing teacher coming tomorrow failed the civil service exam, he’s still young and promising, and he was called a genius when he was young.”
“Yes! My Lord. I wanted to learn to read and write too.”
“Okay. Anyway, you’re also in charge of So-yun now. I’ll increase your monthly salary as our situation improves, so you’ll be able to open a restaurant in your name in a few years.”
“I’d have nothing more to wish for if that happens.”
“It’s late. Get some rest. As you can see, there are many rooms in this house, so feel free to use any room you want. I’ll mostly be sleeping with So-yun, so keep that in mind. I’m planning to go out to work as soon as the sun rises tomorrow, so take care of So-yun’s breakfast.”
“Yes. Oh, My Lord!”
“Yes.”
“……This is a presumptuous question, but what kind of work do you do, My Lord? I’m not trying to be nosy, but I think I should know what you do, as the one I’ll be serving and the father of So-yun, whom I’ll be taking care of.”
What I do……
I didn’t know how to answer, so I just instinctively blurted out again.
“For now……”
“Yes?”
“Let’s just say I’m a good person with malicious intent.”
◈ ◈ ◈
“So-yun. Daddy’s going out. I might be late, so go to bed early when the sun sets. Play with Ye-rin Unni and study when the teacher comes.”
“Okay, Daddy! So-yun will play nicely with Ye-rin Unni and be good, so come back!”
Ha.
Don’t children usually cry and whine because they don’t want to be separated from their parents at this age?
Strangely, So-yun hasn’t been like that since she lived at Master Yi Si-jin’s mountain villa.
It’s a relief, but it’s also a bit disappointing.
“Ye-rin. Make sure to eat when it’s time. I might not be back until dawn tomorrow, so I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, My Lord. Don’t worry.”
After a brief farewell with So-yun and Ye-rin, I left the house without even having breakfast and met up with the Dongdong brothers.
“Il-dong. Where are the most vicious bandits around here?”
“Yes, Older Brother. If we expand the range to the entire Jang’an, we’d have to go as far as Dae-ak Mountain, but in the vicinity, the ‘Golden Tiger Lodge’ on the slopes of Mount Guangyang is the most vicious.”
“Golden Tiger Lodge…… What kind of bastards are they?”
“Well, they’re mountain bandits since they’re in the mountains. To be specific, they’re made up of former members of the ‘Five Dragons Gate,’ a rival organization of the ‘Green Gang’ that I was part of. The Five Dragons Gate are vicious bastards who kidnap orphans and even make them beg.”
“That’s what all those ruffian bastards do.”
“……”
“Why? Are you feeling guilty because you were also a ruffian?”
“A little bit.”
“You should have lived a decent life.”
At my rebuke, the Dongdong brothers became sullen and couldn’t say anything back.
But I’m going to keep reminding them of their dirty past.
Wouldn’t they be reformed the more they reflect on their mistakes?
Well……
Even if this is crazy, it’s still crazy.
“Let’s go. To the Golden Tiger Lodge or whatever it’s called.”
I immediately headed towards the foot of Mount Guangyang with the Dongdong brothers.
On the way, the young men of Sodam Village spotted the Dongdong brothers and widened their eyes in surprise. Some of them even clutched their chests in relief, and some ran away without a second thought.
There were even some who came up to them and flattered them by rubbing their hands together, and just by looking at this, I could tell what kind of life the Dongdong brothers had lived.
“Il-dong. And Yi-dong, Sam-dong.”
“Yes, Older Brother.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, Big Older Brother.”
“How badly have you guys lived that the villagers are reacting like that?”
“Older Brother…… We haven’t done anything that bad. We just drank, shouted, beat up guys we didn’t like…… That’s about it, right?”
At my question, Il-dong and Sam-dong were silent as if they had honey in their mouths, but Yi-dong, without a sense of tact, offered an excuse.
This is how the Dongdong brothers are.
They look alike, but their personalities are all different. The eldest, Il-dong, is violent but has a delicate side, and the youngest, Sam-dong, is the most gentle……
The middle one, Yi-dong, is recklessly ignorant and a bit shameless, you know?
“Yi-dong. It’s better to fight with strong guys, whether they’re from the Baek-do or the Heuk-do. It’s the worst to drink and pick fights with civilians.”
“Ah, I know. Big Older Brother. That’s why I left the organization and tried to live like a human being.”
“Yi-dong.”
“Yes, Big Older Brother.”
“And Il-dong, Sam-dong. Listen carefully, all three of you.”
“Yes, Older Brother.”
“Yes, Big Older Brother.”
“Don’t threaten civilians for no reason from now on. I’m not saying this because I’m a good person. We’re going to be bad guys who rip off bad guys anyway. But the reason I’m telling you this is because I can’t stand to see guys who learned Mu-Gong from me bullying the weak. You’ll understand when you raise your own children. It wouldn’t make sense to teach my kids to be good people while I’m the boss of bad guys, right?”
“Yes, Older Brother.”
“I understand, Big Older Brother.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
As we walked and talked, we had reached a remote village quite far from the town.
I gradually increased my stride and picked up the pace, and after about half a Sik-gyeong, I used the Fast Whale Steps to gauge the Dongdong brothers’ stamina.
“Gasp! Hyu, Older Brother!”
“Is that the Light Body Technique or something?!”
“Le, Let’s go together, Older Brother!”
As expected, the Dongdong brothers’ stamina quickly ran out.
Since they’re twice as big as other people, the burden on their bodies climbing the steep mountain path would be more than double, so it’s natural that they’d be tired.
“Get used to it. When you learn Mu-Gong properly, it’s normal for your breath to stink, and you’ll want to die a dozen times a day.”
At my words, the Dongdong brothers’ eyebrows furrowed sharply.
Is this something to be surprised about?
Could it be……
Were they thinking they could learn Mu-Gong without pain?
“Just in case you’re thinking of learning Mu-Gong painlessly with some special secret method, wake up. There’s no such thing as a shortcut in training.”
“I understand, Older Brother.”
“Then run at full speed from now on.”
“Yes!”
“I understand, Older Brother.”
“Yes!”
I stopped using the Light Body Technique and matched their speed, scolding them, encouraging them, sometimes kicking their butts, doing all sorts of crazy things, and finally arrived at the mountain fortress located halfway up the mountain, the Golden Tiger Lodge.
Murmur murmur━.
As we approached the lodge, a surprisingly large number of people stared at us.
Il-dong clearly said there would be about thirty people, but at a glance, their numbers exceeded a hundred.
“Older Brother. I think we’re screwed.”
“Why?”
“Those guys…… They’re not the original Golden Tiger Lodge guys.”
“Then?”
“I don’t know either. They’re guys I’ve never seen before. I guess the Golden Tiger Lodge was raided by an outside force that came from another region?”
So.
You’re saying that the guys who came to raid the Golden Tiger Lodge before us are acting like the owners?
“Come here!”
I shouted at the hundred or so bandits who were glaring at us with fierce eyes.
