Chapter 93: Same Bed, Different Dreams (5) - The Divine Bow Muk Bi
The Divine Bow Muk Bi. She had been called the de facto number two of Heukje-seong thanks to her monstrous archery and outstanding combat prowess. And there she was—that person, no, that woman.
‘…….’
But she wasn’t the Muk Bi that Yeon Hojeong remembered.
She looked just like Baek Gung-cheon. Raw, honest emotion showed plainly on her stoic face.
It was……
Despair.
Kwaang!
The iron arrow sliced through the air, carving a long furrow in the ground before shattering a boulder. The scar it left was half a jang wide.
It was impossible to believe a single arrow had done this.
“Baek So-kyeong!”
Pabababap!
Baek Gung-cheon’s body left countless afterimages. He darted in from all directions—ground, trees, branches, rocks—closing the distance step by step.
Even in his rage, he used supreme lightness skill to methodically press his foe. That was the martial art he’d trained his whole life.
He didn’t charge recklessly just because he was angry. Amid the burning killing intent, the archer’s unique cool-headedness shone through.
“Hmph!”
The middle-aged woman snorted and drew her bowstring.
Peopeopeopeopeong!
Flames erupted in a three-jang radius in front of the approaching Baek Gung-cheon.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes wavered.
‘Firecrackers?!’
She’d fired multiple arrows rigged with firecrackers, creating a massive ring of flames between them. To a master like Baek Gung-cheon, the explosions did no harm.
But they were perfect for disorienting the enemy and blocking vision, even briefly.
Teureoung!
Baek Gung-cheon instinctively leaped back.
Peureong! Kwaeaeng!
An iron arrow shattered the unextinguished firecracker shield and grazed his shoulder. It was a rapid shot, so the power wasn’t overwhelming. But it tore off a chunk of flesh all the same.
If it had carried Dragon Fang Cannon-level internal energy, his left arm would’ve been blasted clean off.
“Using such lowly tricks!”
“I waited forever, thought you were dead. Guess you’re still kicking.”
Baek Gung-cheon’s face flushed red.
He’d planned to snipe Baek So-kyeong with the box from Go Pyeong. But now it seemed she’d known about it.
Charge an enemy who knew your plan? That was suicide. Even with the skill gap, she was a ghostly archer too. Her sniping was first-rate.
“You’ve turned the sacred Yi God United Battle into a filthy worldly brawl full of cheap tricks. There’s never been scum like you in Gwanil Valley history!”
“Don’t make me laugh! You hate Gwanil Valley more than anyone!”
“Why not just poison me instead!”
“Ha! Gotta lodge one arrow in the skull of the strongest ghostly archer to prove my worth, right?”
“You……! I’ll kill you myself!”
Tiririring! Peopeok!
Dozens of arrows tore through the air, turning the area into a zone of death.
The fight was reaching a fever pitch. No one could intervene in that chaotic melee.
But Yeon Hojeong had no interest in their battle.
Sabak.
“Huk!”
The startled woman—Baek Hyang—leaped up and nocked her bow. Incredible speed.
Preparation posture rivaling Baek Gung-cheon’s.
Confusion flickered across Baek Hyang’s face.
“W-Who?!”
Yeon Hojeong almost called her Muk Bi without thinking.
‘Still the same.’
Muk Bi looked early thirties despite being over fifty. Deep internal energy cultivation, plus a naturally youthful face.
‘That stance hasn’t changed.’
For a moment, regressed Yeon Hojeong felt pulled back to his Heuk-amje days of madness and violence.
Muk Bi’s unchanged face and posture turned him into the Black Dark Emperor again.
But he could fully shed that identity now.
Because of her eyes.
‘She’s scared.’
Eyes brimming with fear. The raw emotion poured unfiltered from both.
Baek Hyang shouted at the silent Yeon Hojeong staring at her.
“I-I don’t know who you are, but run! You’ll die if you’re not careful!”
Her voice overflowed with emotion.
‘Were you someone who could scream like that?’
Yeon Hojeong shook his head.
“Lower the bow.”
“Can’t you hear me? Run now!”
“I get it, so lower the bow. I’m not your enemy.”
“Ah……”
Only then did she realize she had an arrow trained on him. Baek Hyang lowered her bow.
Yeon Hojeong’s gaze deepened.
Face-to-face like this, he had nothing to say. But one thing was clear.
“You can’t stay here. Get out.”
“W-What?”
“I said get out.”
Resolve hardened on Baek Hyang’s fear- and confusion-filled face.
“I’ll escort you down the mountain. Move!”
That was when it happened.
Peureok!
A round hole punched through the tree above Baek Hyang’s head. A perilous moment.
She dropped into a low stance.
Peong!
The iron arrow that pierced the tree embedded itself in front of Yeon Hojeong’s foot. Not from Baek Gung-cheon—from Baek So-kyeong.
Even mid-fight with her foe, she’d tried to kill Baek Hyang.
It was a life-or-death contest where everyone had to die for you to live. A rivalry that made “competition” sound laughable, overflowing with killing intent.
Pak!
Baek Hyang dashed toward Yeon Hojeong.
‘As expected.’
Nothing compared to her days as one of Heukje-seong’s Five Divine Generals.
But still fast. Her fundamentals were honed to perfection—not just archery, but lightness skill ready to claim the world’s best.
“Sorry!”
Beonjjeok!
Baek Hyang vanished behind Yeon Hojeong. She’d charged frontally, then appeared at his rear.
A brilliant movement technique.
Baek Hyang’s hand reached for his nape. Planning to knock him out, hoist him, and flee.
Then Yeon Hojeong’s hand slithered like a snake.
The same technique that neutralized Namgung Sanghwa in his first real fight post-regression.
Teureok!
“Agh!”
Shock filled Baek Hyang’s eyes. Her pulse point was seized.
“Heup!”
Yeon Hojeong inhaled sharply and spun at blinding speed. Baek Hyang’s body whipped through the air after him.
Kwaang!
Baek Hyang slammed into the ground. A loud crash, but she took no damage.
Bi-ra Jin-gyeol perfectly protected her body.
Baek Hyang looked up at Yeon Hojeong in bewilderment. Too sudden—she couldn’t grasp what happened.
Yeon Hojeong’s hand moved.
Pababak!
“Huk!”
Baek Hyang’s body froze. Three pressure points sealed.
Yeon Hojeong eyed his fingers. They trembled faintly.
‘Incredible internal energy.’
The sheer volume was terrifying. The rebound nearly snapped his fingers.
Superior in quality and quantity to any expert dispatched by the Myeong family, save Myeong Cheon.
Without Black Tortoise Qi-infused penetrating energy, he wouldn’t have sealed her properly.
Yeon Hojeong slung Baek Hyang over his shoulder.
“W-What are you doing?!”
“A soldier who won’t fight the enemy has no place on the battlefield.”
Baek Hyang’s eyes shook.
As Yeon Hojeong said, she couldn’t aim at Baek Gung-cheon or Baek So-kyeong.
The reason was simple, clear: to her, they were family, friends, masters.
Not just them. Every ghostly archer in this contest felt the same.
“Put me down! Untie the pressure points now!”
“You’ll die.”
Kwaaang!
Yeon Hojeong’s body soared skyward. A large crater scarred where he’d stood.
“What the hell?”
Parararak!
Baek So-kyeong closed in at terrifying speed. Baek Gung-cheon pursued, blood-soaked and staggering unsteadily.
Kadeudeudeuk!
Even at that velocity, her draw was steady. The martial art of an archer forged through grueling effort.
Baek So-kyeong bellowed.
“Hand over that bitch!”
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes blazed.
Tiiiiiing! Kwang!
The tree behind him exploded. Baek So-kyeong’s eyes bulged.
‘What?!’
She’d thought him caught for sure, but the man carrying Baek Hyang had vanished.
No trace of where he’d gone. Like a ghost.
‘Where?’
Then it hit.
‘……?!’
Her body grew heavy. Black mist seeped into her limbs, binding her joints.
The air thickened; her movements slowed.
‘This is?’
Killing intent. Monstrous killing intent poured down like a shower from above.
Papapang!
Baek So-kyeong slowed and looked up. Horror dawned on her face.
Parararak!
Her lithely raised leg fell heel-first like an axe. Merciless kick technique.
Not a leg—an actual axe swung. Immense killing intent and power.
Stay still, and her face would shatter.
Baek So-kyeong flung herself backward.
Yeon Hojeong’s foot hit the ground.
Kwaaang!
Wood chips, branches, leaves—all within five jang flew skyward.
Baek So-kyeong paled.
‘A monster like that!’
Whoever he was, an incredible master. Not inferior to Baek Gung-cheon, the strongest ghostly archer.
And that wasn’t all.
Huk!
As she retreated and nocked, he was already in her face. Absurd speed.
Three jang closed in a blink. Even Baek Hyang, deepest in Yong Bi Shin Haeng among ghostly archers, couldn’t match it.
Baek So-kyeong released the string. Yeon Hojeong’s hand flashed like lightning.
Kadeudeuk!
The arrow didn’t fly. Caught mid-bow, it thrummed endlessly.
Yeon Hojeong had gripped the fletching before it gained power.
More: He folded his arm, slamming her collarbone.
Peok! Kwaang!
“Kuhuk!”
A great tree caved in. Baek So-kyeong staggered up.
Then a furious roar thundered.
“Don’t kill her! Kulk! She’s mine!”
Paaak!
No telling where the strength came from. Baek Gung-cheon shoved Yeon Hojeong’s shoulder and kicked Baek So-kyeong’s gut.
Peok!
“Guk!”
Baek So-kyeong spewed blood, crashed into another tree, and collapsed.
Baek Gung-cheon pinned her shoulder with his left arm, her abdomen with his right knee.
“Kuheo……!”
Combat ineffective in seconds. String snapped when Yeon Hojeong grabbed the arrow; hand bones crushed. Simple arm swing broke her collarbone. Crucially, Baek Gung-cheon’s devastating kick ravaged her organs.
Fatal wounds; death wouldn’t be surprising.
Kadeudeuk!
Baek Gung-cheon nocked an arrow at her face, panting and grinding his teeth.
“Damn bitch. I’ll kill you!”
“Kulk! Kaak!”
Baek So-kyeong grinned through blood foam. Vicious smile.
“If not for that bastard, I’d have won.”
“Shut up! From the start, you……”
“Who knows? Sure, I overthought it, but even at full strength, I doubt I’d lose to a retard who can’t recognize his own flesh and blood.”
“……What?”
Baek So-kyeong cackled.
“What do I care if that girl’s your daughter or not?”
Baek Gung-cheon’s eyes bloodshot. Tears welled in the reddened gaze.
“Uwaaaah!”
Peureok!
Baek So-kyeong’s head exploded into fragments.