The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 96

“Puh, heuk, puhaah, cough, cough!”

 

Having barely made it onto the pirate ship, I gasped for air repeatedly and threw up water several times in a row. 

 

Pat, pat.

 

Damho carefully patted my back. Soon, one of the pirates urgently brought a thick cloth, and he quickly covered me with it.

 

“Yeong!”

 

After my coughing finally subsided, I rubbed my red eyes and lifted my head.

 

Looking at me, Damho wore an expression as if his heart was truly aching.

 

“Ugh, I’ll dry you off quickly so you don’t catch a cold.” 

 

Damho shook his head, took another cloth, and carefully wiped my wet hair and cheeks several times.

 

“Are you okay? You’re really okay, right?” 

 

I wanted to answer that I was okay to Damho’s continuous questions.

 

But before my lips could even part, a cry burst out first.

 

“Heu, heueuu…”

 

Tears streamed down the cheeks he had just wiped.

 

In the fear of death, the only person that came to mind was the Chief.

 

My fingertips trembled, and all the strength drained from my body.

 

My mental state, which had already begun to crumble when I saw Uncle Gaeddong’s blood, seemed to have finally reached its limit. 

 

I tried to hold it in, over and over again, but.

 

I had truly been to the threshold of death. It felt as if emotions were surging up from deep within my chest.

 

I couldn’t suppress it anymore.

 

“Heuk, heuu, Daaaad…”

 

I sniffled and shed tears just like a little child.

 

I felt sad, wronged, and above all, so scared.

 

“Uh, uh…”

 

Damho seemed to hesitate for a moment, not knowing what to do, but soon opened his arms wide and hugged me tight. 

 

“Hic!”

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay!”

 

Small arms wrapped around my shoulders. As if he didn’t care at all about his clothes getting wet.

 

Damho pulled me into his embrace and carefully rested his cheek on my head.

 

And then, he started patting my back again, albeit clumsily.

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay, everything will be okay. It’s not scary, it’s okay.”

 

Just like the Chief did.

 

His touch was surprisingly similar to the Chief’s, so my tears stopped like magic. My heart, which wouldn’t easily calm down, also began to subside little by little.

 

Whoosh—! 

 

At that moment, the back of Damho’s neck, who was hugging me, was roughly pulled.

 

“Who are you?”

 

It was Park Dohyul, who had finally composed himself. 

 

Standing with a pale face as if he would collapse at any moment, he was glaring at Damho with cold eyes.

 

He looked ready to swing his fist at any moment.

 

Swoosh.

 

At his fierce momentum, the nearby pirates reflexively flashed their eyes sharply, picked up their weapons, and took a vigilant stance.

 

But Damho himself wasn’t intimidated at all.

 

Instead, he looked at Park Dohyul with a bewildered face and spoke nonchalantly.

 

“Me? I’m Yeong’s friend?”

 

“Friend…?”

 

Park Dohyul narrowed his brows.

 

It certainly wasn’t an easy situation to understand.

 

A pirate who suddenly appeared, and the son of the pirate captain at that, was my friend.

 

Park Dohyul looked at me as if he needed confirmation.

 

“Yeong, is this kid… really your friend?”

 

I was in a state of exhaustion from having just been pulled out of the water. I nodded weakly. 

 

“Mhm. A friend.”

 

“…..”

 

For a moment, Park Dohyul’s expression faintly stiffened.

 

“Hehe, see, I told you. I’m Yeong’s best friend!”

 

Damho smiled brightly, showing his missing tooth.

 

It was a smile like a puppy who knew nothing, but for some reason, I felt like Park Dohyul’s eyes became strangely cloudier.

 

While an awkward atmosphere hovered without them even properly exchanging greetings.

 

Bang! Clank—!

 

The pirates seemed to stop rowing with all their might, then dropped the anchor and brought the ship back to the dock.

 

Barely coming to my senses, I turned my head and looked beyond the ship.

 

There were Gaon and his subordinates.

 

And fortunately.

 

Uncle Gaeddong was also there, clutching his side. His complexion was pale, but he had his eyes open with difficulty.

 

I unconsciously covered my mouth with my small hands.

 

“Phew, the situation seems to be settled for now. Of course, they’ll swarm back soon.”

 

Park Dohyul looked toward Gaon and let out a small sigh of relief.

 

As he said, the Prime Minister’s private soldiers were no longer in sight.

 

It was highly likely that once the life of Jo Mujin, the ‘Prime Minister’s right arm’ who was commanding them, was cut short.

 

The soldiers, losing their direction, scattered and fled.

 

However, as Park Dohyul said, it wasn’t over yet.

 

In this country, the Great Ho Kingdom, the Prime Minister was the core of power commanding the largest scale of private soldiers.

 

So the troops that reached here right now couldn’t possibly be all of them.

 

I knew that better than anyone else. Because I knew how much hardship Park Dohyul had to endure to fight his father in the original story.

 

‘I have to get out of here with my uncles quickly!’

 

I sprang up from my spot and immediately trotted to the end of the deck.

 

Then I waved both arms vigorously and jumped up and down so they could see me.

 

My wet clothes flapped, and drops of water fell everywhere.

 

“Uncleeeee!”

 

Perhaps because of the ordeal, my voice was completely hoarse, but I raised my voice as loud as I could and called them.

 

Soon, tears trickled down due to the welling emotions.

 

“Lower the boarding plank!” 

 

The Captain, who was positioned at the front directing the way, shouted resoundingly. 

 

At his command, the pirates moved agilely.

 

They easily lifted a large wooden plank and placed it long across between the dock and the ship.

 

Then Gaon was the first to jump into the pirate ship.

 

Without a single word, he pulled me into a tight embrace.

 

“Heuk.”

 

I buried my face in Gaon’s chest.

 

When I rubbed my face against his chest, Gaon stroked my head and lowered his gaze.

 

“You kid, why would you dangerously charge at the enemy like that! Falling into the water and all! You almost…!”

 

He lifted my face and got very angry. I barely managed to speak with tears in my eyes.

 

“I’m fine, so don’t be mad!”

 

“Hah, do you know how shocked I was? Seriously…!”

 

Perhaps overwhelmed with emotion, Gaon couldn’t continue his words. After letting out a deep sigh for a moment.

 

He hugged me tightly again.

 

“…I was worried.”

 

The words grumbled like a soliloquy held warmth.

 

At the same time, the sound of his pounding heart, thump thump, was clearly transmitted to my cheek resting on Gaon’s chest.

 

I quietly hugged him back tightly.

 

“Uncle Gaeddong!”

 

After finishing my greeting with Gaon, I ran to Uncle Gaeddong, who had staggered onto the ship.

 

When he saw me, he showed a faint smile.

 

“What do we do, Yeong. Uncle is sorry. I just suddenly collapsed.”

 

He still didn’t look like he was in good condition. With a pale face and gestures drenched in fatigue.

 

“We have to hurry back and get you treated, Uncle!”

 

“There are many other injured besides Gaeddong. We have to quickly move to a place where we can treat them.”

 

Gaon also approached and added his words.

 

Just then, a familiar person approached.

 

“Nice to meet you! It seems we’ve met before, right?”

 

The captain stood in front of us with confident steps. Beside him stood Damho, still smiling innocently.

 

Gaon straightened his posture, looked at Damho and the captain, and asked carefully.

 

“You are Captain Kang. I believe an explanation is needed on how you knew to come here.”

 

“Well, well… it’s truly been a long time. The master archer who lives in the mountain instead of the sea, unfortunately! Your name was… right! Gaori, wasn’t it?”

 

“It’s Gaon.”

 

“Ah, was it? Hahaha!”

 

The Captain, who had been laughing boisterously, suddenly stopped and narrowed his eyes. 

 

Then he turned his head toward the distant land, stared vigilantly, and spoke in a low voice.

 

“Let’s talk later. How about we depart first? It seems we don’t have much time.”

 

“But you must first tell us where we are going.”

 

Gaon asked guardedly, but the captain smiled warmly again and patted my head.

 

“Of course! We must escort you and this child home!”

 

“You’ve been through a lot. Little one. Let’s go home now.”

 

“Home?”

 

At that moment, Park Dohyul, who was nearby, strode forward.

 

“But the current is too strong. It’s much stronger than expected, so it won’t be easy to take this waterway now…”

 

“Don’t worry. Child. Water is a friend to us pirates.”

 

The Captain laughed leisurely and signaled to a subordinate standing on the ship.

 

Then the pirate drew a large circle, sending a signal back.

 

The carts loaded with gold and silver treasures, the injured, and even Gaon’s subordinates. Everyone seemed to have successfully boarded.

 

“Good!”

 

The captain looked back at us and warned with a mischievous smile.

 

“Hug each other tightly and hold onto something. We’re departing soon!”

 

The pirates hurriedly brought ropes so we could tie our bodies.

 

Confirming that all preparations were complete, the captain raised his hand sharply.

 

“Let’s goooooo—!”

 

“Waaaaaah!”

 

Just as the sails unfurled, the pirates began to row all at once. With a very skilled and terrifying momentum.

 

“Hold on tighttttt! Let’s go to the home of us pirates!!!”

 

Whoooosh—!

 

Following the current, the massive pirate ship began to descend.

 

Gaon hugged me tightly, putting strength in his arms as if he would never let go no matter what happened.

 

The ship, even while being swept by the fierce current, surprisingly navigated perfectly, avoiding the reefs with astonishing accuracy.

 

And finally.

 

A vast ocean unfolded before us!