Water and the Ways of the Water Bandits - 7
Gi Gangwang didn't return until about an hour had passed. "Han Un! Did I keep you waiting long?"
"Your Highness?"
But he didn't come from upstream where he'd chased the water bandits—he burst out from the waterfall's cascading stream tumbling down the cliff. Did he get swept into the falls and pushed all the way down the cliff? So why the hell was he emerging from there? You'd clearly been lounging around upstream.
What the heck is that?
Looking closer, Gi Gangwang had a limp figure dangling from his right hand and several swords clutched in his left. The guy in his right hand was probably a water bandit. Likely the leader of these waterfall-climbing types.
Swords?
But where'd the swords come from? You'd said wearing blades might tip off the bandits, so you'd gone in empty-handed, Gi Gangwang. How'd you snag those? Did you beat down the bandits and shake them down for spoils? Nah, that didn't fit—even the bandits swept down the water stream had swords. And you weren't exactly hurting for cash to loot bandit blades.
As I stared blankly at him, Gi Gangwang rapidly approached the ferryboat, chuckling as he tossed the bandit from his right hand onto the deck.
"Heh heh, sorry for making you wait when I said I'd be quick. Spotted something interesting on the way."
Then he grabbed my collar, hoisted me up, and slung me over his shoulder like a sack.
"...Your Highness?"
"Bear with me a sec. Got something fun to show you."
Much as I'd rather see "fun" after getting back to base, Gi Gangwang ignored any protests and bolted toward the Huangguo Great Waterfall. As the roaring cascade loomed closer, I let out a hollow laugh. Up close, it was even more spectacular.
I'm not a Hwagyeong master.
Taking a full-body hit from that torrent would hurt. Please, for the love of god, remember I'm just a first-rate scrub. You're the Hwagyeong—the one who's my grandfather.
After enjoying what felt like a full-body massage at 500 times normal intensity courtesy of the 80-meter drop, I spotted what Gi Gangwang meant by "fun."
"A cave back here, huh."
Right behind the Huangguo Great Waterfall's torrent was a cave. A long one, easily over 100 meters deep.
"Even I nearly missed it. The sect leader confessed they were hiding something, so I checked just in case."
"Yeah, you'd have to be looking hard to find it."
I glanced back at the falls as I replied. The Huangguo cascade was insanely thick. No way to see behind it with the naked eye, and the roar drowned out all sound inside from outside. You could scream your lungs out in here, and no one out there would hear a peep.
"And because of that, it was stuffed with all sorts of goodies. Guess they figured no one would find their warehouse."
Gi Gangwang swung the swords from his left hand as he strode deeper into the cave. Following behind, I pieced it together. The cliché waterfall-behind-cave, a water bandit lair unlike any in the Central Plains, and Gi Gangwang already farming swords.
Treasure trove central.
Specialty monster types must drop killer loot. Very considerate of them. If the rewards were solid, even tough hunts were worth it. Not like I was doing the grunt work anyway.
Oh.
At the cave's end, the haul was more impressive than expected. Piles of silver ingots like little mountains (slight exaggeration), decent-quality weapons and gear, and—who knows why—a stack of books in the corner.
"And they were building boats in here."
Finally, what looked like dozens of their ferryboats scaled up into a massive barge.
This was definitely their core base and warehouse. A boat-building spot was too vital to lose for bandits.
"Kinda iffy they went with a giant ferryboat of all things."
"Han Un. Not the shape—check the materials."
I was about to praise their barge obsession when Gi Gangwang's amused tone shut me up.
Materials? What was special about them?
Beats me.
Unfortunately, I wasn't a bandit-boat expert like him, so my ship-spotting eye was weak. I'd spent my life on classics and martial drills—no nautical studies there.
"Heh heh, that's a bi-jok-mok ferryboat."
"...Pardon?"
His next words nearly made my brain short-circuit. Even a ship-illiterate like me knew bi-jok-mok. Lightning-struck jujube wood, born when extreme yang thunder hit yang-rich jujube trees. Famous for ghost-repelling talismans and insane durability. Purely natural—you couldn't manufacture it—so any whisper of a struck tree had merchant caravans from across the Central Plains swarming. Legendary stuff.
They built a boat out of that...?
A boat that size? In ferry form, no less?
"Crazy bastards."
"Pfft!"
Gi Gangwang burst out laughing at my slip. No regrets—building a ship from bi-jok-mok was madness beyond words.
That level of crazy lets you climb waterfalls, huh.
These lunatics were raising the water bandit baseline all by themselves.
"Alright, sightseeing's over. Load the goods onto the boat. No sense leaving our finds behind."
"Y-yes, sir."
I hustled to obey. A proper extermination included looting spoils, after all—
"I'll fetch the openers, so hang tight and pitch in."
"Pardon?"
Was he ditching me? I turned, but he'd already vanished through the water curtain ages ago.
...Damn it.
Felt like I'd been set up. Sure, he'd crushed all the bandits, so it wasn't one-sided, but still.
The bi-jok-mok water bandit barge's maiden voyage happened under Gi Gangwang's command, not theirs. When it finally hit the water, the few bandits coming to had despair-filled eyes as they gazed helplessly at him. Like victims watching their lover get stolen.
Stay knocked out—why wake up to torture yourself?
"Your Highness's majesty and wisdom soar high and deep— this humble servant could not resolve the issue, yet you solved it in a flash! How could I not be moved to tears!"
Anyway, once Gi Gangwang dragged in the whole bandit crew alive and looted everything to boot, the Branch Manager greeted him like he was performing a grand kowtow. I got it. Gwiju had been peaceful until these pirates turned it upside down—must've been hell. Problem solved in a blink? Tears weren't enough.
"Now, we shall display their heads to proclaim Your Highness's might and Gwiju's peace to all under heaven—"
"Hold off on that. What's the point in just killing them?"
"Your Highness's mercy is vast as the sea!"
The Branch Manager bowed without question or doubt at the veto. Absolute obedience to superiors—a model bureaucrat.
Says the guy who massacres bandits on cooldown.
Unlike him, I eyed Gi Gangwang with complicated subtlety. What was this now?
"Han Un."
"Yes, Your Highness."
I bowed fast at his voice. No need for him catching my weird look—trouble brewing.
"With these captures, how about forming a special unit? Could be fun."
"A... unit, you say?"
"Yeah. Waterfall-climbers like these can go anywhere. Perfect for rooting out hidden bandit nests."
His pleased tone soothed me. Ah, so that's why he spared them—buildup to slaughtering more. Penalty squad for the greater good? Totally reasonable.
They say slackers get culled.
Good thing Gi Gangwang wasn't due for culling yet. This was the man I knew.
I smiled watching the water bandits dragged to the correctional office jail. They were pests plaguing the realm's peace and tormenting the people. Left alone, they multiplied endlessly—exterminate on sight.
But even among vermin, useful ones pop up. Spare one beneficial bug to wipe out a hundred pests? No need to kill.
The Yangtze is a tangled mess of terrain.
Not just long and wide—the Yangtze was a monster of countless branches, savage gorges, and waterfalls everywhere. No maelstroms like the Yellow River's twists, but it matched its size with whims and ferocity.
Some spots blocked official troops or ships. But these bandits climbed falls and held position with ferries in the torrent—certified madmen.
Deployable anywhere.
Terrain you'd normally abandon or assault overland. Bandits fleeing to creek-like streams? Now accessible everywhere, catchable anything.
Spare thirty-odd lunatics to kill hundreds, thousands? Worth the merit. Merit covers faults—that's the way.
Keeping them alive will yield more fun inventions.
They were nuts enough to build a massive bi-jok-mok ferry. What else might they craft? Exciting.
Thanks, Han Un.
So I gazed at Han Un chatting with the Branch Manager from afar. His letter had netted me these fun, useful slaves.