Black Bear Village (2)
Was it a misunderstanding of Mu-jin’s blatant stare?
“Wh-why are you staring at me like that?”
“Heheh. Brother, could it be that guy is… you know, into men?”
“Kill him! Kill that bastard first!”
The bandits suddenly started spouting nonsense.
“Let’s start by beating them up.”
As soon as Mu-jin charged at the bandits.
Screams of the bandits echoed over the previously quiet mountain ridge.
* * *“Hey! Looks like you still have some strength left to move?”
One of the bandits, who had been face-down in the dirt, staggered to his feet. Mu-jin asked with a fierce glare.
“My head… it hurts so much.”
The bandits, with their heads buried in the messy dirt ground, felt like their heads were splitting open.
“Why? Didn’t you say you worked hard to clear this path? Then why does your head hurt?”
“……”
The bandits were at a loss for words and continued to groan as they buried their heads again.
“Stand up.”
When Mu-jin gave the order, the bandits stood up with an uncharacteristic, military-like discipline.
Realizing that the military-style training had worked well, Mu-jin smiled in satisfaction and spoke.
“Take off your clothes.”
“What?”
This order was unexpected, causing puzzled voices among the bandits.
“What?”
When Mu-jin glared and issued the command again, some of the bandits, despite their burly appearance, started to undress with almost tearful expressions.
“Why are they covering their chests?”
It was disgusting to see the burly men, who were all obviously men, striking a modest pose.
Avoiding the sight for eye protection, Mu-jin pointed to the bandits’ clothes scattered on the ground and spoke to his party.
“Pick what you want to wear.”
“What do you mean?”
“Pick what?”
“Those?”
“Why?”
His companions looked utterly confused. Mu-jin sighed and replied.
“Why do you think? If we’re going to pose as bandits, we need to wear bandit clothes.”
“Why do we need to pose as bandits?”
“Because we’re in Guangxi Province now.”
The thought that Mu-jin had when facing the bandits was to disguise themselves as bandits.
To operate in the territory of the dark factions, it was best to disguise themselves as part of the dark factions. And the Green Forest was one of the seven pillars of the Demonic Alliance, one of the Demonic Alliance’s Seven Great Pillars.
Though the shabby bandits they encountered weren’t part of the Green Forest.
“Oh, so that’s why you made them take off their clothes!”
Understanding the situation after all the explanations, his companions exclaimed in admiration, making Mu-jin sigh and ask.
“Then why else would I make them take off their clothes?”
“To torment them?”
All four of them answered in unison, leaving Mu-jin speechless.
“……Fine, now pick what you want to wear.”
Mu-jin began rummaging through the bandits’ clothes scattered on the ground, and the others followed suit, looking for clothes that fit them.
Cheongsu Dojang, Mu-yul, and Mu-gyeong had all grown their bodies through training, but they weren’t particularly large in build.
As a result, finding clothes that fit them wasn’t much of a problem.
As for Mu-jin, despite being quite large for this era at six feet (183 cm) and having a sturdy build, there was a rather large bandit among the bandits, so he managed to find clothes that fit.
But the problem was Mu-gung.
“None of these fit.”
At over six feet three inches (192 cm) tall with enormous shoulders and muscles, there were no clothes that fit Mu-gung.
“Just tear them and wear them. They’re bandit clothes anyway, so why bother?”
Mu-jin criticized Mu-gung and picked out the largest clothes he could find, then ripped them around the shoulders, arms, and thighs with his strength and made Mu-gung wear them.
Mu-gung, now dressed in torn leather clothes (which were real leather with animal fur still attached), looked…
“Perfect.”
He embodied the very image of a bandit.
His menacing muscles peeking through the torn leather would naturally make any passing merchants hand over their money out of fear.
“You should be the bandit chief.”
With such a perfect bandit leader appearance, Mu-jin willingly conceded the role of leader to Mu-gung.
“Why should I be the chief? You do it!”
“Should we take a vote on who looks more like a chief?”
Although Mu-gung protested, a fair vote eventually led to Mu-gung being appointed as the chief.
“See, even they think you look more like a bandit chief.”
Pointing to those who voted for Mu-gung while trembling in their underwear, Mu-jin said, causing Mu-gung to glare at them with a sharp look.
Amused by the scene, Mu-yul, who had been smiling all along, suddenly posed a very profound and important question.
“If senior brother is the chief, what’s the name of the bandit gang?”
A name for the bandit gang.
After pondering for a moment, Mu-jin looked at Mu-gung who had become the leader.
“Black Bear Village.”
A name that perfectly matched Mu-gung’s appearance as a black bear.
* * *
After forming the bandit gang and appointing a chief, Mu-jin turned to the former bandits who had handed over their clothes and asked.
“Is there a mountain that merchant groups must pass when traveling between Guizhou Province and Haji County?”
Jiangxi Province’s Haji County.
There was a group there that Mu-jin had business with this time.
A group like the Paedobang or Taeeulmun, which were shadowy forces pretending to be legitimate organizations.
Though Mu-jin had a primary goal in Guangxi Province, now was the perfect time to attack that place while disguised as bandits.
“Haji County is surrounded by mountains, so it’s impossible to pass without going through one. Among them, if heading towards Guizhou Province, Lao Mountain is unavoidable.”
“Hmm. So, are there bandits like us in that area?”
“There is a bandit gang called Great Tiger Village, but they’re no match for you, sir.”
“Really? Then how do we get to Lao Mountain from here?”
The bandits, having been thoroughly educated by Mu-jin, eagerly provided the information.
However, their politeness was just a facade.
“Heh heh heh. You’re dead if you go there!”
Unlike themselves, who were nobodies, the Great Tiger Village was a bandit gang belonging to the Green Forest, one of the Seven Pillars of the Demonic Alliance.
Unlike the many scattered bandits, those in the Green Forest were trained in martial arts, with many masters among them.
So, while the bandits outwardly displayed politeness, they secretly wished for Mu-jin and his group to go to Lao Mountain and be killed by the Great Tiger Village.
But for some reason, despite having confirmed everything they needed, Mu-jin didn’t leave immediately.
“Even if we leave, we need to finish our business here first.”
“What business do you mean?”
“What business? Your business.”
Seeing Mu-jin’s somewhat cruel smile, the bandits began to tremble.
“P-please spare us! It’s our first time!”
“We swear we’ll never do banditry again! Please forgive us!”
Maybe it was their wounds or the fact that they were begging in their underwear.
“Shouldn’t we just let them go since we’ve already beaten them enough?”
Mu-jin’s companions, feeling sorry for the bandits, tried to persuade him, but Mu-jin was unyielding.
“A dog doesn’t stop eating feces. Do you believe them? We’re lucky we got away unscathed, but what about the people who’ll get robbed by them later?”
“It really was our first time! Please spare us!”
“We’ve never killed anyone!”
“Fine. I won’t kill you, so don’t worry.”
As the young ones were not accustomed to killing, Mu-jin didn’t intend to kill them.
But still, it wasn’t a problem.
“I’ll just break your Danjeon and one arm and one leg, so you’ll never do this again.”
They would live a fate worse than death.
* * *
After dealing with the bandits who gifted them the clothes, they moved in the direction the bandits had indicated for two days.
“Damn, this is really disgusting.”
Mu-jin cursed as he ate the protein supplements he brought from the Tang family, to consume enough protein while traversing the mountain paths.
He ate it yesterday and again this morning, but no matter how much he ate, he couldn’t get used to the terrible taste.
“Why do you keep making us eat that awful stuff?”
His companions, also forced to eat the supplement, glared at Mu-jin with resentment.
“Who are you boneheads loitering in someone else’s territory?!”
Finally, the long-awaited voice was heard.
Rough-looking men dressed similarly to them, clearly bandits, appeared.
“Are you the leader of the Great Tiger Village?”
Mu-jin asked for confirmation, making the bandits scowl and growl.
“Did you just call him a bastard?”
“Hey, you bastard, do you think our leader is your friend?”
But unlike the bandits spouting curses, the man who seemed to be the leader asked seriously.
“Who are you to seek our leader?”
“We are Black Bear Village, and this is our leader, Brother Black Bear.”
Mu-jin confidently stepped forward to introduce Mu-gung, then grinned
.
“And from today, Lao Mountain is ours. You cat bastards.”
* * *
Soon after.
Mu-jin and his party were being guided up the mountain by the bandits of the Great Tiger Village.
Judging by the bruises on their faces, it was clear they were forcibly guiding them.
“If you go a bit further up this path, you’ll reach the mountain village, Brother Black Bear.”
The bandit, who had been acting tough earlier, now spoke to Mu-gung with a groveling expression.
“Uh, uh-huh.”
Still uncomfortable being called leader or brother, Mu-gung awkwardly nodded while clearing his throat.
Amidst this awkward atmosphere, they climbed the mountain for a while.
Wooden fences and huts made of bushes. Rough men in leather clothes patrolling around the fence.
It was truly a place befitting the name ‘mountain village’ that appeared before Mu-jin and his group.
“Who are those guys!!”
“Squad Leader Three! Who are those guys?!”
When a bandit standing on the wooden fence shouted, the bandit guiding Mu-jin and his group hastily replied.
“They’re crazy bastards invading our territory! Kill them immediately!!”
The bandit who had been groveling suddenly changed his attitude as soon as the mountain village came into view.
Of course, Mu-jin never expected the bandits to genuinely reform.
“From today, Lao Mountain is ours! Let’s go, boss!”
“Uh, o-okay!!”
Mu-jin shouted and awkwardly responded, Mu-gung followed him towards the fence, followed by Cheongsu Dojang, Mu-yul, and Mu-gyeong.
“Hmm? These bandits are quite strong?”
Though the bandits who guided them earlier and those who lent them clothes were certainly skilled, they were still no match for Mu-jin and his group, who were top masters even among the orthodox later generations.
Mu-jin and Mu-gung knocked out one bandit each with a single punch using their brute strength, while Mu-gyeong and Cheongsu Dojang displayed exquisite movements uncharacteristic of bandits.
“Die, you damn monkey!!”
Even Ling-ling seemed to be toying with the bandits.
“Don’t bully Ling-ling!!”
Despite Ling-ling tormenting the bandit, for some reason, Mu-yul beat up the bandit who cursed at Ling-ling.
As Mu-jin and his party wreaked havoc at the entrance of the Great Tiger Village, a large man dragging a huge axe came out from a sizable thatched house in the center.
“Who dares disturb the nap of this Black Axe Mountain Lord?!”
“Chief!! Those bastards are invading our territory!”
“Heheh. They must be eager to die!”
The Great Tiger Village leader laughed, emitting a murderous aura.
“Hi-ya!”
“Oo-kee! Oo-kee!!”
But Mu-jin and his party, instead of paying attention to the leader, were busy knocking down the surrounding bandits.
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