Same Bed, Different Dreams (4)
After the interrogation, Go Pyeong collapsed, bleeding profusely. The two men had extracted a great deal from him. To be precise, Baek Gung-cheon had done most of the work, while Yeon Hojeong occasionally assisted.
Once the truth came out, Baek Gung-cheon looked utterly lost.
“……I was fooled.”
A shadow of unease crossed Yeon Hojeong's face. Normally, being deceived by someone would provoke a furious rage. But Baek Gung-cheon showed no such reaction. He seemed completely adrift, his mind unmoored by emptiness.
“Because of me…… my Ga-ryeong……”
Baek Ga-ryeong was Baek Gung-cheon's daughter.
The divine archers of Gwanil Valley were forbidden from marriage or having children. Gods symbolized perfection and could not entangle themselves with worldly mortals.
Yet Baek Gung-cheon had secretly taken a woman from the secular world as his lover. He had only recently learned of their daughter—and her illness.
Coincidentally, he discovered both her existence and her condition right before the competition. That was why he had caused all this chaos.
Yeon Hojeong opened the box on the bedside table. Inside lay several pitch-black pills.
These were the "medicine" Go Pyeong had given Baek Gung-cheon. Or rather, poison.
In short, Baek Gung-cheon's remaining lifespan was all thanks to Go Pyeong—or more accurately, his backer.
“Baek So-kyeong, was it? The one who sent that con artist your way.”
“……”
“I didn't realize that Exemplary Divine position was so coveted they'd resort to such dirty tricks just to claim it.”
Baek Gung-cheon looked up at Yeon Hojeong, his expression blank. His soul seemed to have fled his body.
He had been duped by a fraud sent by his rival, endangering not just himself but his daughter too. Even a seasoned warrior's mental fortitude would struggle under that weight.
Yeon Hojeong gazed down at him silently before asking abruptly,
“What about you?”
“……”
“Is your daughter more important, or winning the competition?”
In that instant, a fierce light blazed in Baek Gung-cheon's eyes. He transformed, if only for a moment.
“I never even wanted that Exemplary Divine nonsense! I just wanted to save my daughter…… in place of her dead mother……!”
He couldn't finish the sentence.
Yeon Hojeong nodded.
“Take me to your daughter.”
“……What?”
“I need to see her condition to know if she can be saved.”
Baek Gung-cheon's eyes widened.
“W-what? You can save Ga-ryeong?!”
“I didn't say I can save her. I said I need to check her first.”
“You…… you're a physician?”
“I'm not the one treating her. Not sure if they'll even come when called. But we have to try, right?”
Life returned to Baek Gung-cheon's face.
“Th-thank you! If Ga-ryeong's illness can be cured, I'll give you my life……”
“I don't need your worthless life. Just grant me one favor instead.”
“Of course! Anything!”
Yeon Hojeong smiled faintly.
“Contract…… established.”
Baek Ga-ryeong was a girl not yet ten years old.
After examining her, Yeon Hojeong realized her condition was dire but not immediately life-threatening.
He promptly sought out the local Beggar Sect branch.
“Send a renowned physician to the northernmost room on the second floor of Cheongsaru Inn. It's a child. Tell them to prepare for severe internal injuries.”
“Understood.”
“I'll be stepping out briefly, so assign someone reliable to watch the kid.”
“Don't worry.”
“And deliver this letter to the Jegal family. Same deal—urgent. As fast as possible.”
The person Yeon Hojeong wanted to summon was none other than Tongcheon Jin-in, the Tongcheon Divine Physician.
One didn't casually call upon a healer of his caliber. Fortunately, thanks to Jegal A-yeon's request, Tongcheon had already examined Yeon Hojeong once. He figured he could pull some strings again.
With those arrangements made, Yeon Hojeong emerged with Baek Gung-cheon in tow.
“Cough!”
Baek Gung-cheon hacked up a dry, ragged cough. No blood this time, but his face was deathly pale.
Yeon Hojeong sighed.
“Just tell me the location and wait here.”
“I'm done for.”
“……”
“I don't know how they wrecked my body this badly, but one thing's clear: I don't have much time left.”
“……Yeah.”
“Eating those pills probably shaved off even more years. Small mercy, I suppose.”
“It must hurt like hell. That stuff…… I don't know much, but it seemed damn good at numbing pain.”
“While eating away at my life in exchange.”
“……”
“Compared to the suffering my daughter endured…… this is nothing. And…… I can't forgive it.”
“Baek So-kyeong, right?”
“If it'd only been me, maybe. But she touched my daughter. Baek So-kyeong is mine.”
“Do whatever you want with her. But first……”
Yeon Hojeong's eyes flashed.
“Guide me to where Baek Hyang is.”
“……Got it.”
And so the two raced toward Bagong Mountain in Anhui.
Crack!
Baek Gung-cheon's lightness skill was astonishing. Despite his ruined body, he moved like a bird soaring through the heavens—swift yet minimizing internal energy consumption with ruthless efficiency.
Baek Gung-cheon glanced sideways. Yeon Hojeong was running with a furrowed brow. His breathing was steady, but pushing faster seemed taxing.
“Strange.”
“What is?”
They conversed even at this blistering pace. Baek Gung-cheon's mastery of lightness skills made it possible, while Yeon Hojeong's monstrous stamina kept up.
“Your martial arts felt incredibly combat-oriented. Honestly, they didn't seem inferior to the Nine Dragon Heaven Breaking Bow.”
“……”
“But your lightness skill is mediocre. Are you just relying on raw internal energy?”
Yeon Hojeong smacked his lips.
“My stamina's good enough.”
“Stamina is finite. Lightness skills are essential.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. Should've learned a decent one.”
“Want me to teach you one?”
Yeon Hojeong was inwardly startled.
“You're offering to teach me a lightness skill?”
“Problem?”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
Baek Gung-cheon tilted his head, looking genuinely puzzled by Yeon Hojeong's question.
“Thanks to you, I can summon a great physician. Now I know that old fraud's true colors. I've received your grace—shouldn't I repay it?”
It made sense, but……
What the hell is with this guy?
Come to think of it, Baek Gung-cheon hadn't even suspected Go Pyeong was a fraud. For an expert like him, discerning lies from truth should have been child's play. He should have at least harbored doubts.
Yet he'd fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.
And that wasn't all. Even in his desperation, after such a betrayal, he should have doubted everyone—including Yeon Hojeong.
But no. Baek Gung-cheon harbored no suspicion, only boundless gratitude. Hell, he was even offering to teach a lightness skill.
It was something one might do for a lifesaver, but still worth hesitating over.
He has no experience.
Yeon Hojeong finally understood the root of Baek Gung-cheon's foolish innocence.
He's barely been out in the world. He knows about it in theory, but hasn't felt it.
No one's deceived him. No one's ambushed him without reason. He's never even been picked on in a quarrel.
To him, the world was transparent. He'd spent his life honing martial arts, with zero real social experience.
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
“I'll pass.”
“Why?”
“I'm planning to find one that suits my body. I appreciate the offer, but I'm good.”
“But……”
“If I really need to go faster, just say so. Stamina's my strong suit.”
Baek Gung-cheon nodded.
“Understood.”
How long had they run?
“I've got a question.”
“Shoot.”
“How do you know Baek Hyang?”
“……”
“That's not all. You knew about Dragon Fang Cannon. It's one of the Guryong Palace's secret techniques—no one outside Gwanil Valley should know it.”
Yeon Hojeong shook his head.
“Can't tell you that.”
“Fair enough.”
Surprisingly, Baek Gung-cheon didn't press. He didn't want to put his benefactor in a tough spot.
Watching him, Yeon Hojeong thought,
His heart's completely gone from Gwanil Valley.
Otherwise, he wouldn't react like this.
Impressive.
He'd devoted his life to the place, yet discarded it so coldly. Gwanil Valley clearly wasn't some idyllic group.
Yeon Hojeong set aside thoughts of the valley. Right now, Muk Bi—no, Baek Hyang—was what mattered.
A day passed like that.
The two crested a ridge on Bagong Mountain.
“There.”
Baek Gung-cheon pointed to a relatively low peak.
“Not sure if she's still there.”
“If not, nothing we can do. Thanks for the guide.”
“No problem.”
“And……”
“Speak.”
Yeon Hojeong sighed.
“I get your situation, but you killed a Beggar Sect disciple. And the Beggar Sect is the one bringing in the healer for your daughter.”
“……”
“Once your revenge is done—if you're still alive—go apologize.”
Baek Gung-cheon nodded.
“If my life holds out that long, I will. If I die……”
“I'll pass it on. But try to do it yourself.”
“Thank you.”
Then—
Boom!
Rumble!
Their eyes snapped toward the source of the explosion. Several trees shattered into splinters.
It was an immense distance away, yet visible even to ordinary eyes. Those were massive trees.
And it didn't stop.
Rumble!
Crack!
Dozens of arrows crisscrossed, whipping up gales that pulverized trees and boulders alike.
Tremendous destructive power. Archery fueled by profound internal energy.
Surprise flickered across Baek Gung-cheon's face.
“Nine Dragon Palace Technique!”
Whoosh!
Yeon Hojeong plummeted down the mountain at terrifying speed.
Baek Gung-cheon hesitated a moment before following. Baek So-kyeong might be there.
Whoosh!
Despite starting late, he overtook Yeon Hojeong in seconds. Even if Yeon Hojeong neglected lightness skills, the speed was jaw-dropping.
Then, crimson flame aura erupted from Yeon Hojeong like a blazing sun.
Boom!
Kaboom!
Boom!
Each step cratered the earth with deafening blasts. The gap widened again.
Baek Gung-cheon's eyes bulged.
That lightness skill?
No, not lightness—a movement technique. The one he'd used to kill that Beggar Sect witness.
In close combat, it seemed faster than Dragon Flight Instant Step.
Chaining it like that……
Incredible internal energy. No wonder he turned down lightness training.
Whoosh!
Baek Gung-cheon accelerated too, quickly shadowing Yeon Hojeong.
Soon, he overtook him. Chaining Blood Wing Swing Heaven drained energy massively; Yeon Hojeong was pacing himself.
But it was fine. They were nearly at the battlefield.
Boom!
Crack!
A small boulder floated midair before smashing through trees and plummeting.
Thud!
Baek Gung-cheon kicked off the tumbling rock and soared, light as a feather.
Kaboom!
Yeon Hojeong pulverized another boulder with a monstrous fist strike and charged ahead.
Then, from where Baek Gung-cheon had vanished, a lion's roar echoed.
“Baek So-kyeong!!”
Yeon Hojeong's eyes gleamed. The Vermilion Bird Qi heating his heart surged fiercely.
Flash!
In one burst, he covered twenty-odd zhang and crested the ridge.
He surveyed the devastated battlefield, where dozens of giant trees lay felled.
Baek Gung-cheon unleashing a barrage of great arrows at horrifying speed.
A middle-aged woman dodging them all with superhuman evasion.
And in a shadowed corner, behind an intact massive tree, a woman nocking an angled bow.
“Muk Bi!”