The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 19

“We can’t.”

 

No, I thought it had been decided.

 

‘Wait, why? It’s a fairly influential middle-class family… They seem reputable, have considerable wealth, are relatively young, and they even seem to cherish their daughter—so it doesn’t look like they practice severe gender discrimination… And above all, they’re famous for their benevolent nature, distributing grain to the starving peasants.’

 

By anyone’s standards, this seems absolutely perfect!

 

However, with the final document (?) placed atop the rock, the Chief crossed his arms and exuded a terrifying aura, radiating pure intensity.

 

“Ah… why is it not acceptable this time?”

 

Gaon and Dupil asked, clearly unable to understand.

 

I, too, was just as curious about the reason.

 

“How can one… how can one judge a person by just a single sheet of paper like this!”

 

The Chief spoke with unexpected conviction, his eyes gleaming solemnly.

 

“I must see and verify it with my own eyes.”

 

“No, what exactly do you mean by ‘verify’?”

 

“Buu? (Right?)”

 

The Chief glanced once at the puzzled faces of me and his subordinates, then abruptly sprang to his feet.

 

“From now on, you must follow my orders and move with precision, without the slightest deviation.”

 

With a solemn expression, as if carrying out a 007-style operation to steal state secrets.

 

Ciiik—!

 

The Chief tore the paper he was holding.

 

“Forget everything you’ve seen and thought so far. We’ll see and judge for ourselves. Pack your things—we’re heading down to the village.”

 

At the chief’s thunderous declaration, the bandits widened their eyes and looked at one another in shock.

 

Then, they let out an even more astonished cry.

 

“Of course, the baby will be coming with us.”

 

In other words, it meant they were taking me out of the mountain stronghold and into a civilian village for the first time.

 

* * *

 

And so, the Chief, Gaon, Dupil, and I set out for the village.

 

However, the bandits’ hideout was tucked away deep in the middle of the mountain.

 

In other words, it took a full two days to reach the nearest village from the mountain.

 

“Abu, bu…”

 

The chief dressed me in several layers to keep me warm and wrapped me tightly in a sack before carrying me on his back.

 

Along the way, he brought some rice to cook my baby food, and as we descended, he occasionally built a fire to prepare my meal when it was time.

 

Because of that, the journey was delayed by about two and a half days.

 

‘Still, it’s fine since the Chief is carrying me.’

 

Since we were traveling, it wasn’t exactly comfortable.

 

The Chief often adjusted my position, taking careful measures to ensure I wasn’t uncomfortable.

 

Thanks to that, I was able to endure the difficult journey.

 

“First, we disguise ourselves.”

 

After arriving at the village, we first stopped by an inn to have a meal, then changed into the new clothes we had brought along.

 

“Perfect. No one will recognize us like this.”

 

The Chief put on a gat and draped a durumagi over his jeogori, dressing himself to look like a nobleman. 

 

Dupil and Gaon dressed themselves to look like servants following the Chief.

 

After that, we headed to the household of the family that had been chosen as the final candidate.

 

‘It’s incredibly grand.’

 

A large tiled-roof house built on a grand scale.

 

I was carried on the Chief’s back, taking the opportunity to look around anew.

 

Everything was completely fascinating.

 

‘This place really feels like a historical drama set.’

 

Actually, ever since I died and became a child, I had been in the mountains from the moment I opened my eyes.

 

There were also moments when I couldn’t quite grasp that this place was a world different from the one I knew in my previous life.

 

But coming down to the village and seeing the common people with my own eyes, I truly realized it.

 

‘This world is completely different from the one I came from.’

 

Though it’s called the ‘Great Ho Kingdom’… the way people dress, their houses, and so on are quite similar to what I knew of the Joseon Dynasty. 

 

‘A man with a topknot, a woman in a hanbok, people passing by carrying a jige… There are also noblemen wearing gat and government soldiers with swords.’

 

Swish—!

 

At that moment, as the government soldiers passed by, the Chief turned his head and covered his face with his sleeve.

 

‘Chief… It seems you’re a wanted criminal.’

 

I guessed it from the way he acted.

 

That they might be even bigger criminals than I had imagined.

 

Anyway, they were perfectly disguised.

 

After locating the households that were candidates for adoption.

 

The Chief revealed his plan to his two subordinates.

 

“To raise a child well, one must have a lot of compassion.”

 

Gaon and Dupil looked at each other and soon nodded.

 

“From now on, we will test how much compassion they have. You two just do as I say.” 

 

“What should we do?”

 

“That’s…” 

 

I swallowed hard as I listened to the Chief’s next words.

 

Curious about what scheme he had come up with, I listened closely.

 

* * * 

 

And two hours later.

 

“Just give me a single coin…!”

 

Dupil had become a beggar (?!)

 

All because of the Chief’s orders.

 

“Dupil, from now on, you will disguise yourself as a street beggar.”

 

“Creating a real situation is crucial. You must never act awkwardly. You have to fully immerse yourself in the role I’ve assigned. Do you understand?”

 

After the Chief’s orders, Dupil tore up the clothes he was wearing and smeared soot all over his face.

 

Then, he took a seat at a spot on the street where people frequently passed by.

 

With a wooden bowl in front of him—the kind anyone would recognize as what beggars use to ask for alms.

 

“The first thing we must observe is how much compassion they have.”

 

“We need to see whether they can give even a single coin to a pitiful beggar.”

 

And so, in its own way, the Chief’s adoption test had begun.

 

So, what have I been doing all this time?

 

“Baaaabeeuu! Baaabuuuu!”

 

I was now inside a woven wooden basket placed next to Kim Dupil, who had become a beggar.

 

“Above all, we must judge whether they have sympathy or compassion for the child.”

 

“So, let the child stay close. That means, Dupil, you are now a widowed beggar whose wife ran off with another man, leaving you to raise the child alone, and you ended up on the streets due to financial hardship. Do you understand?”

 

All this preparation is fine, but was it really necessary to set it up in such detail?

 

Anyway, the remaining issue is that the house I might be sent to for adoption must not see my face exposed.

 

The bandits covered my mouth with a thin cloth so that my face wouldn’t be seen.

 

“Now, you are the baby of a hungry and struggling widowed beggar. Can you do that?”

 

I, too, followed the Chief’s orders (?) and mimicked a pitiful, hungry baby, making babbling sounds.

 

“Baaaaaab~! (Food!)”

 

After waiting like that for a while.

 

Finally, our secret interviewee appeared!

 

‘He’s a candidate to be my father!’

 

Up close, he was a slender man with a pale face and a fairly respectable appearance.

 

“Just one coin! Please!”

 

As the man approached, Dupil raised his voice even more.

 

“Baaab! Bab, bap, bap! (Food, food, hungry, hungry!)”

 

I, too, put on a method acting performance, cooperating as much as possible, in order to be adopted into a good place.  

 

A quick glance.

 

The man flinched slightly as he glanced over both Dupil and me.

 

With a face pale as if he had seen something unbearable, he quickened his pace. And then. 

 

Crack—!

 

The wooden bowl that Dupil was holding shattered.

 

“Bya?!”

 

Even though he had only applied a little force, the wooden bowl splintered into pieces and fell.

 

“Just one coin.”

 

“….”

 

“You’re not going to give it to me?”

 

The next moment, Dupil’s eerie voice rang out.

 

Kikiiiek.

 

The prospective father, who had been about to pass by, cautiously turned his head again and stared at Dupil.

 

Only then did I begin to understand why he had tried to pass by Dupil and flee so quickly.

 

‘Uncle Dupil’s body… is too much like a King’s to be that of a beggar, isn’t it?’

 

What good is it to cover yourself in soot and take off your shirt to look like a beggar,

 

When a clear king(王) was marked on his stomach. 

 

The gleam in his eyes and the way he glared seemed to carry an unspoken threat: that if he didn’t get even a single coin, he might tear you apart.

 

“If that’s really not possible, I could even take half a coin.”

 

Dupil looked up at him with eerie eyes.

 

“Abyaabya… (still acting as a beggar…).”

 

“…!”

 

I wondered if my little muttering had worked.

 

He forced a smile onto his usually expressionless face.

 

Imagining a widowed beggar desperately and pitifully begging for survival, I desperately forced strength into the twitching corners of my mouth!

 

Hee—chuk!

 

As bandits always do, a terrifying smile spread across his rugged face.

 

“Would you be willing to give even half a coin?”

 

“Eek! I—I don’t want to die over half a coin!”

 

“Hmm?”

 

Clank—!

 

The man hastily threw a nyang coin toward Dupil, then, without a shred of dignity, turned and ran off as fast as he could.

 

Watching the scene, Dupil crossed his arms and said heavily.

 

“Passed.”

 

“Passed. To think he gave a whole nyang—he’s quite a kind person.” 

 

Gaon, who had been hiding behind the wood, also nodded and spoke.

 

“Failed.”

 

Finally, the Chief leaped down from the tree and said.