Companions
The moment Han Yuhyeon finished recovering his spiritual energy and opened his eyes, Geom Jung-gun launched into a complaint as if he had been waiting for exactly that.
"Took you the whole damn day. And you still claim you had the strength left to keep moving after that."
"Who asked you to wait? Why the hell were you hanging around in the first place? You lost. You should've gotten lost."
The words came out harsher than necessary. Three magic tools was a cheap price for beating a cultivator six stars above him, but it still left a sour taste.
"Don't tell me you're angling for a rematch."
"I'm not that shameless. Admitting I lost to a Qi Condensation eight-star stings my pride, but I know when to concede."
"Oh. Good."
If the man had started nitpicking about draws and technicalities, it would have been a headache. Then again, Geom Jung-gun's dossier had mentioned he was reasonably fair-minded.
"So. Why'd you wait?"
"Curiosity, mostly."
"About what?"
"…How you knew I liked that sort of thing. Even my subordinates at Socheong-chae don't know."
Geom Jung-gun's face flushed red. When Baekri-wan blushed, it looked radiant. When this man blushed, he looked like a drunk whose liver was already failing. Apparently he had been keeping his fondness for cute things a carefully guarded secret out of pure embarrassment.
"Why would I tell you that? There's an unspoken rule among cultivators—you don't ask about each other's methods."
"Come on, even so—"
"Even so nothing. Not telling. Asshole."
It wasn't that he refused to explain. He simply couldn't. Explaining would mean explaining the Mongan Hyeolseo, and that was Han Yuhyeon's secret.
"You waited around all this time just because of that one question?"
Han Yuhyeon glanced up at the sky. When he had been absorbing spiritual energy the sun had been blazing; now dusk was slowly climbing from the horizon.
"That, and…"
Geom Jung-gun twisted his index fingers together and fidgeted. Watching a man who looked like a bandit chief act like a girl facing her first crush made Han Yuhyeon's stomach turn.
"Spit it out. Stop being disgusting."
"I—I just wanted to see that cute little friend of yours one more time before I left. It was stuck to your back the whole time and never showed its face."
So that was it. He had waited just to look at Biyong. Han Yuhyeon spoke without thinking.
"Are you a fucking idiot?"
"Watch your mouth. I'm still your senior, aren't I?"
"We just tried to kill each other. What senior treatment are you expecting? All my magic tools got wrecked because of you."
"…"
Everything Han Yuhyeon said was so thoroughly correct that Geom Jung-gun's head drooped. No matter how much the cultivation world obsessed over rank, once you had nearly fought to the death, the whole senior-junior nonsense was frozen garbage.
Still, showing Biyong was no great hardship, so Han Yuhyeon called out.
"Haaah. Biyong."
"Kkyang?"
Biyong responded and clambered up onto Han Yuhyeon's shoulder. Geom Jung-gun's eyes lit up like lanterns.
"O-oh! Ooooh! Ooooooh!"
"Ugh. Gross."
Watching the bandit gush over Biyong was nauseating, but Geom Jung-gun seemed deaf to any criticism.
"M-might I… touch it, just once?"
Geom Jung-gun puffed hot breath through his nostrils and raised a hand. Sensing the lecherous intent in that touch, Biyong stretched all four legs rigid and shrieked.
"Kaaaaaak!"
It was a refusal sound Han Yuhyeon had never heard from Biyong before. With legs and fur bristling like that, the little dragon clearly hated the idea. Geom Jung-gun's face fell into a pitiful pout.
"Happy now?"
Han Yuhyeon plucked Biyong off his shoulder and stuck the creature to his calf. Biyong immediately buried its face against his leg and went back to sleep. Dragons really did sleep a lot.
"A bit short, but… still enough to satisfy me."
"Then I'd like to know how Socheong-chae plans to move from here."
Baekri-wan, who had stayed silent until now, finally spoke. The Biyong fuss and Geom Jung-gun's theatrics had briefly fogged the issue, but the two of them had fought over the relationship between Socheong-chae and Baekun-pa in the first place.
"I have no intention of acting petty after a loss. From this day on, Socheong-chae will not treat Baekun-pa as an enemy."
"Good."
Only after hearing the firm pledge from the chief of Socheong-chae himself did Han Yuhyeon finally exhale in relief. Even so, his deep-rooted distrust of cultivators briefly lifted its head.
"You're not going to say that now and then stab us in the back later, right?"
"Even if we are bandits, bandits have their own brand of honor."
"Bandit honor. That's even less funny than the joke about cultivators keeping their morals."
"If we didn't keep our word, we wouldn't have lasted this long. In So-ui-ju, we're the weak ones."
Unexpectedly, Geom Jung-gun answered in a serious voice. He wasn't wrong. Most leaders of any real group in So-ui-ju had at least reached Foundation Establishment.
Even if the Cheongrim were a scattered pack of mountain thugs, a chief stuck at Qi Condensation Completion was undeniably a weakling.
"But why did a Yeongil-ju sect come to So-ui-ju in the first place? You can't have been unaware you'd be looked down on."
Geom Jung-gun asked as if the question had just occurred to him. Cultivators from Yeongil-ju sects crossing into So-ui-ju was hardly common.
"We received an invitation to a cultivator sect gathering from the Wonhu Sect."
Baekri-wan answered. Geom Jung-gun's eyes widened as if the answer had caught him off guard.
"A Yeongil-ju sect was invited to that cultivator gathering?"
"I don't know why they invited us either."
"We're going too."
"Hm?"
This time it was Han Yuhyeon and Baekri-wan's turn to stare. Han Yuhyeon spoke with pure disbelief.
"What kind of sect gathering invites a pack of bandit bastards? You're not even a proper sect."
"Hearing that from a Yeongil-ju sect brat is genuinely insulting. At least we live in So-ui-ju."
Geom Jung-gun scowled. While Han Yuhyeon snorted, Baekri-wan watched with a heavy, thoughtful gaze, turning the implications over in her mind.
"They invited everyone from Yeongil-ju sects all the way to the Cheongrim… The Wonhu Sect must have something in mind."
"Honestly, I find it strange too. It's rare for them to invite people like us to a cultivator gathering. Sure, the Cheongrim are spread across the entire Central Plains, but every stronghold has wildly different power levels and almost no real solidarity. They have to know we're basically separate factions."
Only then did Han Yuhyeon stroke his chin and start thinking. But the Wonhu Sect itself had barely registered as a blip in the game, so nothing useful came to mind.
"Ahem, ahem. Well then, since things have turned out this way, I have a proposal for you."
"What proposal?"
"You're headed to the Wonhu Sect anyway, aren't you?"
"I suppose so."
Baekri-wan answered coolly. In contrast, Geom Jung-gun kept squirming like a dog that urgently needed to shit.
"How about traveling together?"
"Traveling together?"
The suggestion was so unexpected that both Baekri-wan and Han Yuhyeon frowned. They had nearly killed each other moments ago, and now he wanted to travel as a group?
"Why?"
"Does there need to be a reason? I'm just saying we go in together."
As he spoke, Geom Jung-gun kept glancing at Biyong still stuck to Han Yuhyeon's calf. It looked exactly like a pervert on the subway staring at a woman in a short skirt—thoroughly unpleasant to watch. Baekri-wan clearly noticed as well and let out a sigh.
"What do you think, Disciple? This seems like something you should decide."
Baekri-wan asked Han Yuhyeon. Since Biyong was his pet, the choice was his.
"But shouldn't we get the Sect Master's permission first?"
"In my opinion, the Sect Master has no reason to stop us. He's looking for any foothold he can find in So-ui-ju."
Even if that foothold was a bandit gang from the Cheongrim? Then again, when had cultivators ever possessed that kind of moral compass? This was a world where every individual cultivator was basically a bandit already. So in the end, the decision fell to Han Yuhyeon. He pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"Fine. Let's do it."
"Oh!"
"On one condition."
Han Yuhyeon raised a hand and cut off Geom Jung-gun's cheer.
"You do the grunt work while we travel. Booking rooms, setting out utensils at meals—that kind of labor."
The joy that had flooded Geom Jung-gun's face immediately twisted into a scowl.
"You want me to clean up after you brats from Yeongil-ju?"
"Don't want to? Then don't."
"I'll do it."
Geom Jung-gun's eyes blazed. Han Yuhyeon looked thoroughly done with the man. He had half expected a refusal, but apparently the guy really did love cute things that much. Then again, in a xianxia world crawling with grotesque monsters, spotting an actually adorable creature was rare.
"Disgusting."
Baekri-wan added a single word, apparently sharing Han Yuhyeon's feelings, but Geom Jung-gun did not seem to hear her.
"So no one else from Socheong-chae is coming?"
"Just me. We already know we're going to be treated like dirt. Why drag my subordinates along for that?"
Han Yuhyeon nodded. Looking out for his men's morale, caring about them—Geom Jung-gun seemed to value his subordinates more than most. Han Yuhyeon even found himself thinking that a Cheongrim mountain stronghold might be tighter-knit than an actual cultivator sect.
"Ah. Right—we were supposed to meet back at the market entrance at You-si."
He checked the sky. Evening twilight had already settled deep. You-si had come and gone long ago; they were well into Sul-si at the earliest.
"True. Your recovery took longer than expected."
"Not my fault, is it?"
"I'm not saying it is."
Baekri-wan drew a flying seat from her waist. A small leaf-boat unfurled and expanded until it was large enough for about four people. Baekri-wan and Han Yuhyeon boarded first, then Geom Jung-gun. Perhaps because of his bulk, the flying seat that had been hovering steadily above the ground wobbled slightly.
"You don't have a flying seat?"
Baekri-wan snapped her head around, voice sharp with irritation. Geom Jung-gun met her gaze and answered.
"No."
"Why not?"
"I used to drink every day while flying and kept crashing into things and breaking them. Eventually I just stopped buying new ones."
The instant the words left his mouth, Han Yuhyeon fired off a curse without hesitation.
"You're a fucking lunatic."
"Why?"
"That's drunk flying. You piece of trash."
"How is that trashy? You son of a bitch."
Han Yuhyeon was left speechless. The man answered with such pure, unshaken confidence that there was nothing left to say. Then again, this world had no such laws. After a brief internal struggle, Han Yuhyeon raised an open palm.
"Sorry."
"Unbelievable."
Having to apologize for cursing out a drunk flyer—what a goddamn stupid world. Han Yuhyeon reaffirmed that conviction once more.
"We're leaving."
Baekri-wan looked at the two of them with pure pity, then lifted the flying seat into the air.
The seat flew straight to the market entrance. The Baekun-pa cultivators were already gathered there. Even from a distance, their expressions did not look promising.
"Elder Baek, the time—"
The moment they disembarked, Geum Wi-hyeong started to scold Baekri-wan and Han Yuhyeon, but the words died in his throat. He had spotted the massive man standing behind them—Geom Jung-gun.
"Who is that?"
"The chief of Socheong-chae. The ones who attacked us."
"What."
The sour expressions on the other Baekun-pa cultivators flipped in an instant. Geom Jung-gun laughed with shameless good cheer.
"You're heading to the Wonhu Sect's cultivator gathering, yes? Socheong-chae received an invitation as well. Since we're going the same way, I thought it best we travel together."
"Ha… haha. Is that so?"
Un Song-byeok forced out a choppy laugh while staring holes through Baekri-wan. His eyes were clearly demanding an explanation of what the hell had happened, but Baekri-wan was not a telepath and could not decode the look.
How could anyone understand? The chief of the Socheong-chae they had just been killing was now cheerfully inviting himself along as a travel companion.
"Explain… later, please."
Un Song-byeok slipped up behind Han Yuhyeon and spoke in a very quiet voice. Han Yuhyeon nodded. At that moment Biyong woke up, made a noise, and yawned.
"Kkyang!"
"Ah! Our baby is awake!"
Even Han Yuhyeon had to admit Biyong looked adorable as it lifted its face from his calf and opened its mouth wide in a yawn. Watching Geom Jung-gun immediately charge over panting ruined the moment just as fast.
Un Song-byeok and the rest of the Baekun-pa cultivators went blank-eyed. One confusing situation piled on top of another until their minds simply checked out.