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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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“Follow us closely. There are traps.”
“If you follow the path we walked, you’ll be safe.”
The conclusion they had reached was to take me to the leader. They might have been planning to tie me up and give me to the leader as a whole, but these robbers were always thirsty for talent. Rather than human-trafficking a man who had even just dipped his toes in martial arts, they would want to use him actively.
“Oop.”
As they said, the path to their base had traps everywhere. If you were to rush out recklessly because you had stolen money, you could be crippled by the poisoned arrows or thorn traps they had set up on trees. Even a robber with only a 5-tael silver bounty had such thorough defenses, so what would it be like if it were a 30-tael one?
I wouldn’t have a pleasant experience, that’s for sure.
I muttered to myself as I followed in their footsteps. The robbers were yawning or discussing what to eat for dinner, moving on ahead. When the outline of a wooden fence became visible through the gaps in the trees, one of the robbers raised his hand and said,
“There it is.”
The place looked like a small castle.
It looked like a clumsy wooden fence made by giants playing soldier, or it looked like part of the artificially grown forest. To better camouflage the wooden fence, branches were placed between the walls, and the robbers standing in the watchtowers also had leaves pinned to their bodies, looking around.
“Who is it!”
Someone with good night vision shouted in a low voice. A blade flashed in the watchtower, reflecting the moonlight. Just in case, I hid behind a tree and waited for their next action, and one of the robbers waved his hand and said,
“It’s us. We brought a new guy.”
“A new guy?”
“He seems to know some martial arts? The leader should like him.”
Even assassin groups didn’t use codes for simple dialogue like this.
“Come in.”
The Green Forest was beckoning me. The inside of the fence was lit by torches, making it look like another world.
When I actually entered, I found myself in a world that was slightly different from what I knew.
“What, who’s that?”
“It’s a newbie. A newbie. He’s got some martial arts skills so you won’t be crossing paths.”
“Oh my, how did a man who had learned martial arts end up here?”
Everywhere I looked, men wearing barbaric clothing were displaying the crude and vulgar nature of the gang. Each of their faces looked like illustrations from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, so I frowned and turned my gaze away. These people, with their yellow and black teeth, didn’t think about their body odor as they pushed their faces forward to get a better look at me.
“Hey! Show us a sword dance!”
I ignored the ridiculous request and decided to focus on examining the interior layout rather than their appearances. The size of the gang seemed to be about 20 to 30 men. Judging from their numbers and experience, it was impossible for me to annihilate them all.
Although they had built watchtowers and wooden fences, the fence was not very high or sturdy, leaving many gaps to escape through.
There were two large tents positioned near the entrance, and there were two more buildings with tents attached with wood. There were also two more clean tents that seemed to be for personal use, smaller in size than the others.
One of the clean tents I was looking at began to bulge, and from inside, a man who looked like a bear crawled out. Just by looking, he was a large man who overwhelmed others, and a scar was clearly visible on his eye.
His face had no hair, including on his head, giving him a bizarre impression. After looking around with his white eyes, the man looked directly at me and said,
“A new guy?”
The Green Forest man nodded and said,
“Yes, Vice Leader! First, we’re planning on meeting with the leader, and then we’ll discuss what to do next.”
The vice leader seemed upset by his subordinate’s words. The smell of alcohol wafted up as he took a step closer to me.
“What, I should stay out of it. Is that it? Huh?”
“N-no! Vice Leader! Of course you too! You have the authority to talk to him as well!”
The subordinate screamed in a flustered manner, and the vice leader looked satisfied with the response. He raised the corner of his lips and burped, then nodded and said,
“Good. That’s more like it. Bring him to me after you’re done talking with the leader. I need to have a word with him.”
He seemed to be having a power struggle with the leader. He kept glancing at the leader’s tent, and his drunk appearance was tinged with arrogance.
“Oh, honey. Hurry up and go inside to rest.”
Behind the vice leader was a woman of average appearance. She smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around his waist, and the vice leader was led inside as if he couldn’t refuse. She glanced at me, her face lighting up for a moment, and she gave me a smile with her eyes.
She was sending flirty glances to a newcomer right away; she seemed to be quite the slut.
I ignored her gaze and followed the robber to the most luxurious-looking tent.
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“What?”
Unlike the vice leader, the leader was muscular, but not a giant. He was shorter than me, but his body was full of muscles, and his eyes had the look of someone who had killed people. He also smelled of alcohol inside the tent, and a large *bō dāo* was hung on the wall behind him.
The handle was worn, but the blade was clean, meaning that he was meticulous in maintaining his weapon. He held a wine glass and scanned me while asking,
“Who are you?”
I immediately bowed my head to his question. It was to give him a good first impression.
“I heard of the famed Leader Yunho! I was captivated by his martial prowess and have come here to join you! I am Park Do-cheol!”
When I raised my head, the leader and the robber who had brought me both had bewildered expressions. The leader pointed a finger at me and gestured to the robber, and the robber shook his head.
The leader put down his wine glass, cleared his throat, and said to me,
“…Okay, I see. The Green Forest is always in need of more men. A guy who has learned some martial arts is a desperately needed talent. But you, you seem to know some martial arts. Do you have a weapon that you’re good at using?”
I shook my head.
“No! I don’t! I joined a third-rate sect after paying the entrance fee, and for years, all they taught me was some weird exercises and the Seizing Hand! I couldn’t stand it and left!”
The leader chuckled at my words. Looking to the side, the robber was also nodding and smiling.
“Looks like there are more guys like the Hongryun sect around here. Well, that’s why guys like us run amok. That’s how the world is. Even the guys who talk about morality and justice are no different from us if you look inside them.”
It seemed that there were some other groups doing similar things around here. I nodded, agreeing with the leader’s words.
“That’s right. They’re all just thieves.”
He took another sip of his alcohol and said,
“Alright. Since you’ve joined our Green Forest, I can’t ask you to fight with your bare hands. Hey.”
At the leader’s gesture, the subordinate who brought me here stood at attention and said,
“Yes, Leader!”
“Go to the warehouse and give him a tour. Give him an ax as well. I’ll teach him how to properly use it tomorrow.”
“A tour of the warehouse?”
I tilted my head, questioning the leader’s unexpected suggestion. The leader nodded and smiled, and the subordinate smiled, revealing his teeth.
“There are very unusual sights to see in the warehouse.”
Sights?
I couldn’t understand what he meant, so I just tilted my head. There were so many things that could be called “sights” in this Central Plains.
“But the vice leader said that he wanted to talk to him…”
“Tell him to do it tomorrow.”
The leader cut off the subordinate’s story with a single word, and picked up his bottle again. The subordinate shrugged and gestured me to follow him.
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The tent with the attached wood that I had seen a little while ago was the warehouse. When I stopped at the entrance to look around, the subordinate patted my back and said,
“This is the warehouse. Go inside, take whatever weapon you like, and take a look around.”
I was more worried about the sights in the warehouse than him patting me on the back. Did they have someone pickled in a jar? What was so amazing that he wanted me to take a look so badly?
I shrugged and opened the door to the warehouse. The warehouse, which looked wide from the outside, had nothing valuable inside.
There were only old weapons, some that looked sturdy, and broken weapons.
There was also a large iron cage, but it was too dark inside the tent to see what was inside.
I observed the iron cage and then turned my gaze towards the weapons.
Since he said he would teach me how to use an ax, it was best to grab an ax for now.
I grabbed one of the axes that looked usable and looked at it.
“Looks like we got a newbie.”
“Oh, shit!”
I was startled and turned around. It was because I heard a woman’s voice from the darkness. A voice with a tone I had never heard before was ringing clearly in my ear.
“Why would a moth come flocking to this hopeless mountain camp? You know, why did you come here? This camp doesn’t even have that much money.”
The voice was not ringing in my head.
“Wh-what? Who are you?”
The iron cage.
A shadow was talking to me from behind the dark iron cage.
The shadow had initially hidden itself so well that I couldn’t even guess at its shape. Then, it faintly revealed its slender form, and finally, it pressed itself closer to the bars of the cage.
“Me? You’re curious about my name? You? What’s your name?”
Behind the iron cage, a woman with a shabby appearance was shining red eyes.
Her hands were in shackles, and her eyes were sharp. Her appearance was no different from a beggar’s, but her tone did not express poverty or depression. It was like she was using a tone that was detached from the situation.
I told her,
“I am Park Do-cheol. Do-cheol.”
The woman’s eyes gleamed as she asked again. She seemed to be suddenly very interested after hearing my name. I flinched.
“Do-cheol? What characters do you use to write it?”
It was probably the Do as in morality and some Cheol. I couldn’t remember clearly, so I tilted my head and said,
“What Do and what Cheol do you think it is?”
She explained in a gentle tone, her voice flowing with rhythm.
“*Tāo* (饕) as in crave, and *Tiè* (餮) as in consume. They say it’s an evil spirit that craves and consumes everything until nothing is left. Do-cheol.”
“I like it.”
It was a name I liked.
Because that was the way I wanted to live.
If I had come to a world where strength was everything,
it was only natural to steal, plunder, destroy, and make everything mine.
Then, rather than talking about morality in my name, it was right to engrave my life philosophy in my name.
I’ll destroy everything, and everything will be mine.
I sat down and laughed at the objective that emanated from my name.
“Then, from now on, my name will be Do-cheol, using *Tāo* and *Tiè*. I like that better.”
As I smiled, the woman’s eyes sparkled even more.
She stared intensely at my face and asked,
“Do you believe in fate?”
I nodded.
“Yeah. I’m a fatalist.”
Then, as if she was about to break through the iron cage, she leaned closer and said,
“My name is Sanyeo (酸與).”
Her voice seemed to hold a desperation that wanted me to respond.
I nodded and said,
“That’s a great name.”
The two voices mingled in the air.
We were both calling the same name.
“Sanyeo.”
