ADLK 04

Chapter 4

Who Was It Again?

Once, Yun Heo had said:

“Everything has its use. Bandits and pirates are the same.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Back when Gyo-ha’s body was still cute like other children his age,

the young Gyo-ha looked up at Yun Heo with swollen eyes.

Then did that mean there were good people among bandits?

At his dissatisfied look, Yun Heo let out a brief chuckle.

“Sure, what they do isn’t right.”

Whatever the reason, they were men who took others’ money.

“But they, too, have a role. The mountain isn’t dangerous only because of bandits.”

“…Beasts.”

At Gyo-ha’s reply, Yun Heo nodded.

“Right. And darkness comes quickly in the mountains. Lose focus and you’ll lose your way. Bandits clear the paths and protect such travelers in exchange for a toll.”

Gyo-ha’s eyes widened.

It was the first he’d heard of such a thing.

“Strictly speaking, the yamen1 should do it. But they can’t mind every last thing. So even knowing bandits exist, they turn a blind eye. Some major trading groups even contract with bandits or pirates. Cross the line, though, and they’ll be suppressed…”

If they extort too much or kill indiscriminately, trouble comes.

But if they don’t cross the line, they won’t be purged.

A necessary evil.

“Then if we meet bandits, should we not fight and just hand over money?”

At his question, Yun Heo’s brows arched.

“What nonsense.”

“But you just said they’re necessary…”

“I said they’re necessary scoundrels, not that they aren’t bad.”

Gyo-ha blinked.

Then what was he supposed to do?

When Gyo-ha’s eyes turned impish, Yun Heo scowled.

Gyo-ha quickly averted his gaze.

Yun Heo spoke to him:

“Think again before you kill. Taking tolls isn’t a capital crime. Beat them moderately and they’ll surrender on their own. If necessary, you can break an arm or a leg.”

He stated something frightening as if it were nothing.

Lost in thought, Gyo-ha tilted his head.

“…Even if they try to kill me?”

“No. Then they should die.”

Yun Heo answered with a look that said, Why ask the obvious?

“Whether they’re good or evil doesn’t matter. If you’re going to kill someone, you must be prepared to die yourself.”

His tone was cold.

Speaking of death, Yun Heo looked not like a Taoist adapt but a warrior.

“Enough idle talk. Get up.”

“…I’m not healed yet.”

Gyo-ha rubbed at his aching side.

But the look he got in return was only cold.

“You can bear it now. Your breathing’s been steady for a while.”

“…”

As expected, there was no escaping Yun Heo’s eye.

Gyo-ha stood with a grimace.

And then came the one-sided violence.

Back then he only hated it, but now he even missed that pain.

‘…No, what am I thinking.’

Forcing himself to shake it off, Gyo-ha looked ahead.

In the distance were huts, a crude stockade, and the men guarding it.

Every man wore leather.

Blades and axes hung at their waists.

It was the bandit stronghold.

The bandits chattering at the palisade only noticed him when he came near.

A few flinched at his bulk, then frowned when they saw his face.

“What is it?”

One bandit approached with a rough look.

But Gyo-ha asked him calmly:

“This is the bandit stronghold, right?”

“What?”

A stronghold was a stronghold—what was “the” stronghold supposed to mean?

The bandit was perplexed, but Gyo-ha stroked his chin.

“Eh, maybe it doesn’t matter? If not, maybe I should go check out another spot.”

“What’s this brat babbling about?”

The bandit grabbed Gyo-ha by the collar.

He meant to shake him, but Gyo-ha didn’t budge.

It felt like a rock had been set there.

As bewilderment filled the man’s eyes, another bandit watching from behind stepped up.

“What are you doing with a kid? Hey.”

The newcomer tapped Gyo-ha’s cheek.

“Looks like you crawled out of some backwater and came here with half-baked heroics. We’re busy, yeah? Leave your gear and clothes and we’ll let you go. Hm?”

Just then, something caught the eye of the bandit holding his collar.

An unusually baggy sleeve.

Beyond it, black iron showed.

He hadn’t noticed because of Gyo-ha’s naive face.

“Wait, something’s off…”

“Hm?”

There was no need for him to say it.

Gyo-ha’s hand was already clamped around the wrist that had been tapping his cheek.

Pressure slowly sank in.

Crack.

Bone sounds rang in the quiet mountains.

“Gaaah!”

The bandit writhed.

When Gyo-ha let go, a grotesquely bent wrist was revealed.

Finger marks were stamped into it.

At the unreal sight, everyone around froze.

The first to recover was the one holding his collar.

He released him and whipped out the blade at his waist.

Vwoom.

A blade with its edge all chipped. Despite that, it looked menacing nonetheless.

But—

Tok.

It, too, was already stopped in Gyo-ha’s hand.

Gyo-ha held the blade between two fingers.

“This, you guys started it first, right?”

He pressed his fingers, and the blade split in two.

A huge hand clamped over the startled bandit’s head.

Then it hurled him into the palisade.

Kwagang!

The palisade collapsed.

At the same time, a bell rang within the stronghold to signal an intruder.

Hearing it, Gyo-ha loosened up, ck, crack.

“Well, not that it matters.”

Who started it hardly mattered.

Gyo-ha looked at the bustling stronghold and lifted the corner of his mouth.

“Then let’s have ourselves a brawl.”

How long had it been since he got into a fight?

Gyo-ha’s eyes began to gleam.

He went forward with lively steps.

---

Kwaang!

Every time the large body moved, a bandit went flying.

The bandits stumbled back in fear.

A few declared surrender, but Gyo-ha’s fists were even-handed.

If anything, he picked off the runners first.

Seeing them tremble, Gyo-ha smiled slightly.

“I won’t kill you, so don’t worry.”

For all appearances, he was a Taoist disciple; he didn’t kill recklessly.

The bandits glanced at the fallen.

Some didn’t so much as twitch, like the dead.

Naturally, they couldn’t trust his words.

But what they thought didn’t matter.

Gyo-ha, dropping bandits without pause, halted.

“…By the way, where’s your boss?”

He’d been too absorbed in the fight to notice.

Had the boss already fled?

But the remaining bandits were all looking to one side.

A man with his upper body stuck in a hut, only his lower half protruding.

Seeing it, Gyo-ha pouted.

‘I figured a bandit chief would at least have some bite.’

He was starting to tire of fighting bandits.

There was no tension.

‘…Still, I should finish properly.’

Nothing was more unfair than some getting hit and others not.

‘They might end up fighting later.’

That had to be prevented.

As expected, he was very considerate.

Nodding, he made the rest match the others.

“Phew. It really is different from training alone.”

Gyo-ha wiped his sweat.

It was a pity that it ended too quickly because the bandits were weak.

Looking around, only groans came from all sides.

“…Ah, right, I need to find someone.”

He thought to wake a bandit, then shook his head.

There was no need.

He sniffed, and a scent different from the bandits’ rose up.

Without hesitation, he moved and stopped before a hut.

“Here.”

Unlike the others, its door was iron.

But before Gyo-ha, it meant nothing.

He grabbed the handle and pulled, tearing the door free..

At last, the inside showed.

Inside were iron bars, and behind them half-clothed women shivered, staring at him.

Reading the despair and fear in their eyes, Gyo-ha knit his brows.

The bandits hadn’t only coveted wealth, they had also kidnapped women.

“…One round wasn’t enough.”

Had he known, he wouldn’t have held back.

If the fallen bandits heard it, they’d be horrified—but it was true.

He had done his utmost not to kill them.

Gyo-ha approached and pulled the bars apart with both hands.

The bars spread as easily as bending sugarcane. Then he spoke to the trembling women:

“It’s safe now. You can come out.”

They eyed him warily at first, but at his simple smile, they came out one by one.

A few bandits who’d come to and seen it quietly pretended to be unconscious.

When all the women were out, Gyo-ha tilted his head.

There were only women inside.

Was he already too late?

His face darkened.

“Who was it again? Ah, Noh-sam. Do you know Uncle Jang Noh-sam?”

At his question, the women looked to one spot.

Luckily, he didn’t seem dead.

The problem was, that direction was where the bandits lay.

One bandit, apparently awake, carefully raised his hand.

“…I am Jang Noh-sam.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

Gyo-ha froze for a moment, then shook his head.

There were plenty of people named Noh-sam in the world.

“No, not you, sir. The youngest son of the granny who sells candied hawthorn in the upper village.”

“…That’s me.”

“…Huh?”

“…Eh?”

Blinking, Gyo-ha furrowed his brow.

The one who’d gone to reclaim his brother’s inheritance had become a bandit instead.

How was he supposed to take that?

‘…Should I just ignore it and tell granny I couldn’t find him?’

Maybe that would be better.

When Gyo-ha’s gaze cooled, Noh-sam shuddered.

But before he could act, the misunderstanding cleared.

“Brother Noh-sam looked after us.”

“Yes. He was kept because he had talent.”

The women behind spoke up for him.

Gyo-ha blinked, and the women spoke one after another.

---

“So.”

Gyo-ha summarized what he’d heard.

“You came to recover the inheritance and nearly died, then the bandit boss noticed your talents and coaxed you to become a bandit, right?”

“Yes. I refused at first, but…”

“Then you saw these sisters, and you joined the bandits on the condition their situation be improved. That it?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

Noh-sam bobbed his head in a hurry.

Why was this big man calling the women “sisters” and himself “uncle”?

He wondered, but didn’t show it.

He knew his life hung on Gyo-ha’s whim.

Noh-sam wore the kindest look of his life as he gazed at Gyo-ha.

Gyo-ha scratched his head.

White dandruff fell, but no one stopped him.

“…And you didn’t do bandit work?”

“No.”

“That’s right!”

Not only Noh-sam but the woman beside him nodded.

From their reaction, it didn’t seem a lie.

‘He became a bandit, but didn’t do banditry?’

Hard to believe.

But another question came first.

“…How great are these talents, exactly?”

Why did the boss, having been refused, imprison him instead of killing him?

Hearing his mutter, Noh-sam spoke, bashful.

“I’m quick at sums.”

“Not just sums, he cooks well too!”

“He can tan hides, as well.”

“And he sings amazingly.”

The last voice wasn’t one of the women.

A bandit who’d woken had been listening and butted in.

When Gyo-ha’s cold gaze fell on him, the sooty-faced man ducked his head at once.