Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Teaching Rules to Those Living Without Law
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After hearing my words, everyone looked stunned for a moment. The first to snap out of it and raise his hand was Dong-ryong.
Dong-ryong said, his face still puffy and swollen.
“But, bro, how long do we need to gather these guys?”
“No time to waste, so by tomorrow. Just one rep from each bandit den.”
“But our underlings aren’t just around here—they’re scattered all over Hunan Province, so rounding them up in a day is impossible….”
“…Dong-ryong, my club’s starting to howl.”
“Boss’s orders! Call the fastest guys right now and send ’em to every den—! Ah, no, I’ll go myself—!”
I casually lifted my club, and Dong-ryong jumped up from his seat, rushing to take command of the others.
**
The next day at noon.
“Ha… damn, it’s fucking packed.”
“…I’ve brought the chiefs of all nineteen dens under us.”
“Nineteen dens… Dong-ryong, you really busted your ass conquering them, huh.”
I didn’t mean it sarcastically, but Dong-ryong flinched hard and bowed his head.
“…Because of me, I brought danger to our den. Sorry again.”
Dong-ryong looked genuinely remorseful.
Seeing his face, I nodded. Sure, I wasn’t fully over it yet, but he was my first underling, ugly or not.
And he wasn’t the irresponsible type. Yesterday, to carry out my orders, he’d run all over Hunan Province all night.
Not just because I waved my club, but because he truly repented his mistake.
I patted the shoulder of Dong-ryong, who’d toiled through the night, and whispered in his ear.
“Dong-ryong, good work yesterday. But….”
“…….”
“If there’s even one more fuckup like this, underling or not, I’ll report you to the Murim Alliance. Got it?”
“…Yes, sir.”
At least Dong-ryong was the type who got it after one warning. The problem was the guys in front of me now.
I looked at the nineteen bandits waiting for me and was purely impressed.
“Whew… you guys look seriously badass.”
“…….”
They seemed pissed at me suddenly insulting their faces, but none dared speak up.
After all, Dong-ryong—the guy who’d smashed them all a month ago—was right beside me.
As soon as Dong-ryong and I finished talking, Jeok-yeom up front started introducing me.
“Here is the chief of Mount Wuyi’s Green Forest Den, and the Great Chief of us all.”
Naturally, murmurs erupted the moment Jeok-yeom introduced me.
“…Great Chief? He looks like a damn kid.”
“Does that mean he’s stronger than Dong-ryong?”
“Looks like he’d shatter if I poked him.”
Yeah, just going by looks, I wouldn’t seem that strong. I was used to these kinds of stares by now.
And I knew exactly how to handle it.
Chin.
I placed my hand on Dong-ryong’s shoulder again and roughened my tone.
“Dong-ryong, these punks all surrendered to you, right? Yeah?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“Then why the fuck are they yapping in front of the boss? Huh? They need more education?”
“…My apologies.”
“Bash your head.”
Thud.
Before I even finished, Dong-ryong automatically slammed his forehead into the ground.
The chiefs flinched at the sight.
They’d probably strutted around their territories, spitting wherever, maybe even lived like kings.
But just a month ago, they’d all been crushed by Dong-ryong. They knew the gap in skill between them and him.
So seeing me treat Dong-ryong like this—someone they’d underestimated—had to be a shock.
In fact, I didn’t sense any strong inner energy from any of them. They’d probably only trained external arts, skipping proper martial cultivation.
In that case….
Ssshh—
“……!”
“……!”
…I just had to leak a bit of killing intent, and they’d get the picture.
Surviving as bandits this long meant they had decent instincts.
Sure enough, the moment I released a hint of it, they instinctively sensed my skills far outstripped Dong-ryong’s, turning into rabbits before a beast.
Much better now that it’s quiet.
I sat on Dong-ryong’s back as he kowtowed and called out to the guy right in front.
“Hey, you.”
“…Yes, y-yes, Great Chief.”
Hadn’t even set it, but my title was already Great Chief. Not a bad ring to it.
“Starting with you, go rightward and say how many in each den.”
“Ah… y-yes! I-I command a total of fifteen.”
After that, they started reporting their numbers one by one.
Roughly ten to twenty each. A few had over thirty.
“…Yes, I’ve got about twenty-three men.”
“You’re the last? Then total….”
I was about to speak up after roughly calculating in my head when….
“Three hundred ninety-one.”
“I knew that, punk. Was gonna say it.”
The maknae beat me to it.
My words were gruff, but I stroked the clever maknae’s head fondly.
As expected, the maknae’s quick wits pleased me.
“Anyway, three ninety-one… shit, my crew just ballooned overnight.”
Hearing the number made it real. Three ninety-one was too many for me to micromanage.
And… that was exactly why I’d gathered these bastards here.
“Alright, listen up. From now on, I’m laying down the rules for our twenty Green Forest dens.”
“Green Forest… twenty dens?”
“Twenty dens total, so Green Forest Twenty Dens.”
“Ah….”
Seemed they got it, so I started with the first rule.
“First rule. From now on, tolls and protection fees are limited: minimum one silver tael for the poor, maximum five for the rich.”
“Whaaat…?!!!”
“No, what the…!”
As expected, the first rule sparked massive backlash.
“That’s insane—!”
“No, boss… what kind of boss says that? Where’s the old rip-’em-off chief who’d fleece ’em dry for a few silvers…?”
“Where’s the guy who’d rob the Shaanxi merchants blind….”
“Shut the fuck up, you punks.”
The first rule drew huge resentment not just from the new recruits, but even from old hands like Bangsam and Bongchun.
Fair enough.
Bandits were all about short and thick—big scores when the chance came, not thin and long. Five silver taels wasn’t chump change, but to them, it’d feel like pennies.
But I wasn’t backing down.
“Some asshole’s already got the merchants on high alert. If we gouge too hard here, it’ll definitely reach the Murim Alliance’s ears.”
“Ha, but… that won’t even cover our food.”
“No, long-term, this is better. Fix the fees, and merchants will pass through our mountains worry-free. Don’t kill the golden goose, alright?”
“Geese lay golden eggs?”
“Yeah, something like that. Moving on. Second rule.”
I went straight to the second, and I could see them swallowing hard. First one was a bombshell, so they were nervous about this one.
“Our Green Forest Twenty Dens aren’t just talk—we’ll actually protect Hunan Province’s mountains.”
“…Actually protect? What’s that mean?”
“Patrol teams every hour to watch for trouble. If travelers fight, we mediate. If tiger attacks look likely, we handle it. We’ll be Hunan’s vigilant neighborhood watch.”
Through efforts like this, we actively polish our image as Hunan’s headache into something positive. Then when word reaches the Murim Alliance, they might just shrug it off.
“And third rule. We maintain all mountain paths province-wide and build rest stations at key points to run.”
“Whaa? We ain’t government workers….”
“What are we, a charity? We’re broke….”
As their grumbling continued, I pulled out the pre-prepared writ from my bosom.
“Here, fifty gold nyang. Divide it up and use it to pave paths and build those stations.”
“…F-Fifty gold nyang?”
“Obviously, anyone who skims gets killed by me. I’ll stake everything to rip you apart.”
“…….”
I meant every word.
Fuck, my hard-earned fifty gold nyang.
But no choice. Gotta take some losses to survive.
“Fifth… shit, I’ll throw in ten more gold nyang, so buy some new clothes, all of you.”
“What’s wrong with what we got….”
“What’s wrong? Shit, if we joined the Beggars’ Sect like this, the sect leader’d personally welcome us. If the bosses look this ragged, imagine the grunts? First impressions are everything, and since your faces are ugly as sin, at least wear clean clothes to look decent.”
“…Yes, sir.”
Free clothes shut them up; they all nodded in agreement.
“Sixth, try not to kill anyone.”
“…….”
“No, not ‘try’—just don’t, unless you have to. Everyone passing here is weaker than us anyway, so no killing. Let’s live like humans for once.”
Nothing rallies the Murim Alliance like innocent blood. The sixth rule was crucial for that.
This time, instead of silence, they quietly nodded.
At least no psychos looked bummed about no killing.
Relieved, I gave the final rule.
“And seventh… never betray. Big or small, I won’t tolerate any form of it.”
“…Yes, sir—!!”
They felt my sincerity; tense faces answered in unison.
“That’s all the rules. The smart ones get it—my goal’s thin and long. Let’s all stick around a while. Make even the Murim Alliance think, ‘Eh, these guys ain’t trouble, leave ’em be.’ Got it?”
“Yes—!!”
“If you get it, grab your share of the cash and haul ass back to your dens. I’ll be watching if you follow the rules, so do it right.”
“Understood.”
Not entirely trustworthy, but they nodded and lined up for the money.
Alright, time to kick off the Good Bandit Project.