I Never Said I Wanted to Be the King of Bandits - Chapter 2

I am not a physician. But I knew how to distinguish between herbs and non-herbal plants.  Thanks to spending so much time in the mountains, I naturally became able to tell them apart, but I also learned to identify them because I would take them to the apothecary to sell and get paid for them.  So even if I wasn’t particularly interested, I had no choice but to learn. The more money I make, the better, after all.  

I pulled my foot out from the limp man’s arm and hurriedly ran to rummage through Jang Gon’s room. Jang Gon didn’t like me going in and out of his room, but I paid no mind and visited frequently. I was hoping to find something useful.

There, I found the Golden Wound Medicine that Jang Gon sometimes used when he returned from hunting with minor wounds. I packed the Golden Wound Medicine and white cloth, then struggled to carry the water bucket and placed it next to the man. I also gathered a handful of herbs that seemed useful, ones that Jang Gon had paid attention to.

The thought that the man might die made cold sweat trickle down my back. But I couldn’t stop.  

Now that I believed this man knew something I was curious about, I couldn’t just let him die.

All of his injuries were severe, but the most concerning one was the wound on his abdomen, from which blood was pouring out incessantly. I immediately pressed my hands over the wound, squeezing it tightly, and put some herbs into my mouth.  

While chewing them, I had to focus intensely to keep from looking at the blood soaking my hands. As soon as I felt the herbs were crushed enough in my mouth, I quickly applied them to the man’s abdomen.

“Keugh!” 

A painful sound escaped from the man’s mouth. 

“This is how you survive. If I go to call a physician, you’ll die in the meantime. So just a little, just a little…” 

As I pressed the wound with the herbs, it seemed like the bleeding had slowed down a bit. Once I confirmed that, I immediately shook the Golden Wound Medicine and sprinkled it onto the man’s injury. 

I soaked the cut cloth in water and wiped the area around the wound, and I went around the man’s body, which was as heavy as a thousand pounds, with great difficulty, and tied a white cloth to stop the bleeding.

After treating the most severe wound on his abdomen, I repeated the same process on his arms, shoulders, legs, and neck… tending to all the injuries across his body. Then I looked and the sun had already set.

I sat down on the dirt floor, staring at the man’s face, which seemed much more at ease than before. It was an unfamiliar face.  I brushed away his tangled hair and wiped his disheveled face with the last of my strength, revealing a rather handsome face.

A king, he said. Before he collapsed, he uttered the words, “My King.” Does that mean there’s a king here? Then, is Jang Gon the king? My mind involuntarily began to race with possibilities. 

Maybe he’s the king of a fallen kingdom? Someone who tried to live in secret, then took pity on an abandoned child and decided to take them in. 

‘That’s a story that would only fit in a fusion historical drama.’

It was the moment I chuckled at my frivolous thoughts. 

“Noksan!!!!”

Boom!

With a desperate cry, the door to the four-sided courtyard house crashed open.  

“Oh. It’s broken.”

No, it really broke. It was because Jang Gon kicked the door open with his foot. 

Jang Gon, seeing the man sprawled on the dirt floor right in front of the main door and my disheveled state, panicked and rushed over. 

“Wh, what happened! Are you okay?!” 

*** 

Jang Gon skillfully finished the treatment I had started clumsily. It seemed like he was familiar with the man, as he didn’t appear suspicious in the slightest. 

“Stay inside. It’s not something you should see.”

“I’ve already seen it all. I’m okay.”

I had watched medical dramas when I was younger, but Jang Gon was stubborn. 

“Didn’t I tell you to go in?”

“….”

“Whoo… I know you’re curious about a lot of things, but I’ll explain later. Right now, I need to save this guy. But if you keep watching me like that, I won’t be able to do anything.” 

Only after hearing those words did I return to my room. That’s when I realized—I wasn’t okay. 

I hugged my knees and bit my fingernails. The last time I had checked before coming in, the man’s breathing had been stable. So, he should be fine. Yeah, I must have saved him. 

…He should be fine, right? 

I stayed up all night, trying to convince myself. Jang Gon stayed by the man’s side for a long time. His attitude, as if he were dealing with someone he knew, made it impossible for me to run over and press him for an answer. And so, as the morning star faded and the sunlight began to pour through the window, it was then that…

“Can I come in for a moment?”

I could hear Jang Gon’s voice. It seemed like he had finished taking care of the man’s wounds. 

“Yes.” 

At my response, Jang Gon opened the door and entered. He looked extremely weary. 

“Whoo…”

He let out a deep sigh and pulled a chair, moving it close to me as I sat down on the edge of the bed. Even on days when he had returned after slaying a tiger, he had always appeared calm, but today his face was clearly tired.

“Where should I start…”

“It’s okay.”

“…What?”

“Even if Jang Gon is a king, I’ll still keep calling you ‘Uncle.'” 

At those words, Jang Gon wore a bewildered expression. 

“Are you seriously expecting to hear ‘Your Highness’ now? It’s not easy to speak like that to someone who’s like family. And if I were to call a fallen king ‘Your Highness,’ I’d probably be dragged away. It’s suspicious.” 

If Jang Gon is the king, it all makes sense now—the unusually abundant spread of side dishes on the table. I guess some old retainers must secretly bring him good food without anyone noticing, right?

“No, stop. Stop. That’s not it.”

Jang Gon hastily shook his head. 

“No?” 

He seemed at a loss, his lips twitching a few times in vain. His face looked utterly helpless. Then, he pulled something out from his chest. It was the wooden box that had been hidden in the deepest part of Jang Gon’s room. I hadn’t even considered opening it since it didn’t have a keyhole. 

“Open it.”

“There’s no key, though?” 

“The key is in your hands. If you place it there, it will open. The front part, where the bamboo is engraved.” 

“Yes.,..?” 

Do you have fingerprint recognition in this day and age?

This lock didn’t have a keyhole. With a sense of doubt, I grabbed the lock, and after a few clicks and clinks, the lock opened with a creak. I wasn’t sure, but this wasn’t a mechanism you’d see easily in this era. 

When I opened the lid of the wooden box, inside was a single, worn-out iron coin. 

“Iron coin?”

I had expected that such a complex lock would protect treasures of gold and silver, but what greeted me instead was a single, worn iron coin with its edges frayed from years of use. I stared at it with a look of disbelief, and in response, Jang Gon met my gaze with a rather solemn expression. 

“Listen.”

“I don’t think there’s another strange device…”

The moment I held the iron coin, I realized. This coin was not the currency currently in circulation. And I noticed that, instead of a value, something else was engraved on it. It was as if someone had scratched into the coin with a knife, leaving a forced mark on it after the coin had already been minted.

“This…?” 

As I brought the iron coin closer to my eyes, I saw extremely fine letters engraved on it.

“Green Forest’s First Stronghold Leader?”

I stared at Jang Gon blankly for a moment. Jang Gon, who silently endured my gaze, eventually turned his head away with a swift motion.

“Green Forest?! The Green Forest I know?! Bandit?”

Green Forest’s First Stronghold Leader. In other words, it means the leader of the first mountain stronghold of the Green Forest. 

So, why is the mountain stronghold leader’s coin here? Jang Gon, who understood the meaning of my gaze, kept clearing his throat repeatedly. 

“Yeah. What you think is right.” 

“If you say ‘Green Forest’s First Stronghold,’ doesn’t that mean the first stronghold in the Green Forest? W, why is that coin from there here?!” 

“Because you’re the next stronghold leader.”

“What did you say?”

“You are the next Great King of Green Forest, Noksan.” 

What are you talking about! 

I released the arms that were wrapped around my knees and kicked the air.

*** 

Jang Gon, who waited patiently until my excitement subsided, explained slowly.

First, the iron coin was said to be a token shared by the leaders of the eighteen mountain stronghold of the Green Forest Alliance. Since it was divided among them several hundred years ago, the currency used back then was different from the one in circulation now, making the coin unique and irreplaceable. Moreover, when the alliance was first established, each mountain stronghold competed for power, determining the order from one to eighteen, and it was agreed that the leader of the first mountain stronghold would take on the title of the Green Forest King. 

In short, this coin was not only the token of the leader of the first mountain stronghold, but also the coin of the bandit king… or rather, the King of Green Forest. 

And as for why it was here… 

“The king wished for you to stay here until you came of age, for your safety.” 

“Why?” 

“Do you know what kind of people the Green Forest bandits are?” 

“Big, muscular men…”

Uhm, I understand. 

What father would want his daughter to grow up among rough, burly men? No matter how much of a king he was, he probably wouldn’t want his child raised among sweaty men, especially not in a mountain full of bandits. 

Even though I’m still living in the mountains now, living in a stronghold is completely different from living in a mountain village. 

“…I understand that I’m a child kept hidden. But what do you mean by the next Green Forest King? I don’t know anything about that.” 

I don’t know much, but to become the bandit king, you’d have to be really good at fighting, right? Otherwise, how would you even collect tolls? If I, a powerless woman, went around claiming I was the Green Forest King in a place full of burly men, I’d just get laughed at. The only reason the current Green Forest King’s bloodline is respected is because he’s still alive. Once my father, the so-called king, dies, I’ll probably be dead right after him.  

“That…”

Jang Gon hesitated and sighed.

“You originally had three older brothers. Everyone believed without a doubt that one of them would inherit the throne.” 

“Had… had, as in they’re gone now? D, did they die?” 

Did they get hunted down by those righteous b*stards while they were bandits? 

I wasn’t a big fan of martial arts novels, but I hadn’t gone through life without reading at least one by the time I hit thirty as a corporate employee. And in martial arts novels, aren’t bandits the ones who fall like autumn leaves with a single swing of the hero’s sword?   

Did my older brother die like that too?

However, Jang Gon’s expression looked more complicated than I imagined.

“…They did.” 

Jang Gon, who had confidently said that I would be the next Green Forest King, muttered in a voice of uncertainty.

“What did you say?”

He glanced at me, then quickly averted his gaze and muttered.

“…They ended up following someone else.” 

“Someone else? What, did they join a sect or something?”

Yeah, I guess it’s possible they’d dislike being a bandit. They could go live in some monastery or whatever. As long as they hide the fact that they’re the son of a bandit king, they’d look like a skilled warrior who’s good at fighting and using strength

But it seems like my expectations were completely wrong.

“Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism.”

“…Yes?”

“That’s how it is.”

I stared at Jang Gon’s face, who wasn’t offering a detailed explanation. I had just heard what he said, but I couldn’t fully grasp it. Did I hear that correctly? Is that really it? Does that even make sense?

I struggled for a while, my mouth moving without sound, before finally managing to ask. 

“So… you’re saying… my brothers, no, those guys… one became a monk, one became a Taoist, and another became a scholar?” 

Jang Gon’s head gradually lowered.  

They really followed those great figures. Buddha, the Primeval Heavenly Lord, Confucius. Of course, they are supreme beings. 

“…You want me to believe that now?!”

Anyway, that’s how it happened. Jang Gon, answering in a barely audible voice, glanced at me. Perhaps thinking that now, when I was too stunned to speak, was the perfect opportunity, he began to nervously explain.

“First, Buljeong has been missing for a long time after following a bunch of monks to receive offerings at a mountain temple. Second, Dojin got interested in fishing and went off, only to cut ties completely after deciding to join a Taoist temple. Third, Yubyeok left to study for the civil service exams, but then…” 

Ah, this is crazy. Even their names all have elements of Buddhism (Bul (불)), Taoism (Do(도)), and Confucianism (Yu(유)) in them. Are they the ‘Three Pillars of Eastern Philosophy’ or something? But why is my name ‘Noksan’? It’s basically just ‘Nokrim’ (Green Forest) and ‘mountain bandit’ combined.