Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: You Teach Them Martial Arts, I'll Be Right Back
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"Don't worry, it's just your average bandits-17
“Man, the look on that bastard’s face when he said that shit… Of course, my men and I couldn’t stand for it and rose up in rebellion. Even I couldn’t hold back at that point.”
Jeok Yeom, lost in the memory, looked ready to grab his axe and charge right then and there.
“But… the county magistrate stopped me. What did he say… Ah…! He said Officials and Warriors Do Not Interfere must be upheld no matter what. He blocked us, saying not even the tiniest crack could form in centuries of tradition. He even threw us in jail for trying to go after the guy.”
“…So what happened?”
“What do you think? We had to watch from behind bars as that bastard leisurely headed home.”
“…….”
Ha, fuck.
What a shitty, tragic backstory.
Halfway through the story, I had to fight the urge to ask the bastard’s name.
But the real kicker was that his tale wasn’t even over yet.
“In jail, I thought to myself… Damn, we should’ve just killed him when my men suggested it. That fucker doesn’t even follow the law himself, so why did I stupidly think I had to? Regret came flooding in. It was unbearable. And it wasn’t just me—the other men locked up with me felt the same. With all our resentment united, those bars blocking our way suddenly looked flimsy as hell.”
“No way… you broke out?”
Jeok Yeom nodded, so it looked like that was exactly it.
“Yeah. We pooled our strength, smashed the bars, grabbed our weapons, and headed straight for his house. And damn, was it fancy. That bastard had wiped out our whole village and was sitting on his porch, calmly drinking like nothing happened.”
“Drinking even in that situation? What a fucking prick.”
Dongryong, listening alongside me, couldn’t hold back his rage and yelled out a curse.
His face was redder than red, looking ready to burst—he’d gotten so immersed he couldn’t control his anger.
I held Dongryong back and listened to the rest of Jeok Yeom’s story.
“The bastard kept yelling Officials and Warriors Do Not Interfere even after we were right in his face. Sneering like, ‘What’re the officials gonna do to us martial folk?’…”
“So what’d you do?”
“I yelled back at him. Said we weren’t officials anymore—just a band of armed bandits. And with that, I swung my axe.”
“…….”
Something about the flow felt off. Officials breaking out of jail, storming a martial clan’s place, declaring themselves bandits, and swinging weapons?
No way this story ended well.
“But damn, martial artists are strong… Even that human scum blocked my axe like it was nothing. I couldn’t even track his movements with my eyes.”
“…….”
“Then his clan’s other guards started showing up everywhere. Since I’d already declared us bandits… their swords showed no mercy. Over sixty of us went in, but only twenty-six made it out.”
“So after that, you became wanted criminals and settled in the mountains…”
Jeok Yeom gave a bitter, awkward smile and nodded.
“Yeah, that was eight years ago. We’d already lost our families… and we had to eat somehow… So we just became real bandits.”
“…I see.”
Truth be told, from the moment I first saw these Muak Mountain Brotherhood guys, I’d sensed they were different from your average bandits.
First off, when I ran into their second-in-command, Eungchil.
‘This is Muak Mountain Brotherhood territory. Who the hell are you, making a racket in the mountains this late?’
His speech was way too polite for some uneducated bandit, and he didn’t draw his sword on us first.
Maybe he just didn’t know who we were, but he seemed pretty damn comfortable with that courteous tone.
A bandit with manners ingrained? That was suspicious right there.
Plus, every single one of the Muak Mountain Brotherhood moved with traces of unified training.
Their stronghold was well-organized, their hierarchy strict—unlike other bandits, they seemed tight-knit with real camaraderie.
At first, I just thought, ‘Huh, weird. Interesting.’ But they were ex-officials?
“…….”
I had no choice but to mull it over.
Like I’d said before, I prefer operating small-scale. Don’t wanna draw attention.
So I’d gathered them up, planning to kick them out if they didn’t seem worth keeping around, and go back to just the original five from Hyeonak Mountain Green Forest Stronghold.
But…
‘These poor bastards.’
Their story wasn’t just tragic—it was pitiful.
Sure, I’m a bad guy, but I’m not heartless.
Jeok Yeom and the Muak Mountain Brotherhood’s plight was more than enough to stir me.
And…
“Hey, uh…”
“…Yes?”
“Sorry for beating your face so badly.”
I felt a twinge of guilt over turning that poor guy’s face into a bloody mess.
‘No way I could’ve known he was like this? I was just establishing dominance…’
At the mention of his battered face, terror flashed across Jeok Yeom’s expression for a second, but he quickly forced a hollow laugh.
“No, it’s fine. Heh heh…”
He’d seemed just rough-looking at first, but now why did he look so damn pitiable?
After a moment’s hesitation, I forced the words out.
“Uh… you still wanna get revenge on that bastard?”
“…!”
At my question, every trace of that hollow laugh vanished from Jeok Yeom’s face. All that remained was venom and killing intent.
“Not for a single moment have I forgotten. Even now, I dream of slicing his throat in my sleep. But…”
“It’s impossible.”
Jeok Yeom nodded bitterly.
“…Yes. Embarrassing, but true. I still don’t have the confidence to beat him. Years have passed—he’s surely grown even stronger. We tried learning martial arts on our own… but it wasn’t easy.”
“Yeah, figured.”
Practicing martial arts through self-study without guidance is impossible unless you’re some kind of genius.
Of course it was tough.
I pointed at the original four from Hyeonak Mountain Green Forest Stronghold and said to Jeok Yeom,
“These four here are stronger than all forty-three of you. That’s because they’ve trained in martial arts.”
“…Yes. I know. We couldn’t even come close…”
“I’ll teach you martial arts too.”
“Yes…?”
Jeok Yeom’s eyes widened as he lifted his head, like he was confirming he’d heard right. I repeated it loud enough for him—and all the Muak Mountain Brotherhood behind him—to hear.
“I’ll make you true martial artists. I’ll make you strong enough… to get revenge on that bastard.”
“Wh-why such a huge favor…”
“Hey… nice stronghold, pretty mountain… I wanna live here. So I’ll stick around and teach you on the side.”
“…….”
Jeok Yeom stared at me in stunned silence for a long while after I finished. Then…
Thud-!
He dropped flat to the ground, slamming his forehead against the floor.
“If you do that for us, I’ll never forget this favor—!!”
As he kowtowed, the rest of the Muak Mountain Brotherhood behind him followed suit.
“We’ll never forget—!!”
Thud-!
Jeok Yeom slammed his forehead again, then lifted his head. His eyes glistened slightly, wet with emotion.
“Just teach us martial arts, and we’ll pledge our loyalty to the end… We’ll never betray you.”
“…….”
“Please… become the leader of the Muak Mountain Brotherhood…”
His desperation hit me hard, and it felt kinda embarrassing. So I turned away and said,
“Fuck, ‘Muak Mountain Brotherhood’? Let’s just call it Muak Mountain Green Forest Stronghold, simple as that.”
“…Yes! Thank you, Boss!”
And just like that, I became the boss of Muak Mountain Green Forest Stronghold.
**
After sending them off to their tasks, I called Dongryong aside.
“You wanted me, Boss?”
“Yeah, Dongryong. Got a job for you.”
I gave the order to Dongryong, who looked a bit tense.
“You know the Muak Mountain Brotherhood… er, the new guys? You’re gonna teach them martial arts.”
“Me, me?”
As expected, he freaked out at my command and shook his head.
“I-I can’t, Boss. I don’t have the skill to teach anyone…”
“I’m not asking for anything fancy. Start with the brutal stamina training I put you through, and teach them the cultivation mantra I gave you. Get their internal energy going.”
“That much… I can manage…”
“And once they’re ready, teach them that Hebei Peng Clan martial arts you know.”
“……!!”
Dongryong’s eyes went wide—he clearly hadn’t expected Hebei Peng Clan to come out of my mouth. He stammered,
“B-Boss…! H-how did you know my martial arts are from the Hebei Peng Clan…?”
“Dongryong, if you wanna hide it, don’t make it so obvious. Swinging that sword like you’re yelling ‘I learned from the Hebei Peng Clan!’—how could I not notice?”
“…….”
“Dunno how you ended up there or whatever—everyone’s got their story. I won’t pry. Just teach the new guys some martial arts.”
Dongryong pondered for a moment, then nodded. He looked at me and asked,
“But Boss, didn’t you always teach us martial arts yourself? Why this time…”
“Got something important to do.”
“What’s that?”
I pointed at the massive pile of treasures from the Shanxi Yu Clan in the corner.
“Gotta cash those in quick. Letting them sit just turns ’em into junk.”
“So…?”
“Yeah.”
Time to head down the mountain for the first time in ages.
“Gonna step out for a bit.”