Monochrome Sovereign (Novel) - Chapter 90 - Same Bed, Different Dreams (2)
Chapter 90 – Same Bed, Different Dreams (2)
===================
Translated by Heavenly Cat
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
===================
Yeon Ho-jeong, the beggar, and So-cheong dashed out of the beggar’s den.
In their sight, three beggars were seen coming down the mountain path in the distance.
So-cheong’s eyes widened.
“Why are those guys suddenly…?”
At that moment, Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
“Keep this for me until I come back for it.”
Kwang!
Yeon Ho-jeong, who threw his axe down carelessly, immediately moved.
Huuung! Hwareureuk!
He opened his lungs wide with the White Tiger Qi and heated his heart with the Vermilion Bird Qi. Simultaneously, he poured Jade Gauze True Qi into both legs.
Teo-eo-eo-eong!
Yeon Ho-jeong struck out at a faster speed than ever before.
A serious light dwelled on his face.
‘Murderous intent!’
Beon-jjeok!
Behind the beggars riding down the mountain path, a streak of sharp murderous intent arose.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes trembled.
“Danger!”
Peo-eo-eok!
One beggar fell, vomiting blood.
It wasn’t his torso. It was his head. Something that accurately struck the back of his head pierced through his forehead and was embedded in the ground.
‘An arrow?!’
“Uaaaah!”
The remaining two beggars increased their speed even more. The two, who were completely terrified, were not in their right minds.
Yeon Ho-jeong increased his speed further.
Teong! Teo-eong!
It was fast, but at the same time, it was slow.
The distance was too far. He was faster than before, but he lacked the ability to close the distance in an instant.
‘Damn it!’
Peo-eok!
Another beggar collapsed. This time too, his head was pierced.
Yeon Ho-jeong raised his head.
He saw someone standing on the mountain peak far away. The sight of them pulling the string while holding a massive great bow was clearly imprinted in his eyes.
‘From there?’
It was incredible.
The straight-line distance alone would surely exceed seventy jang. To accurately hit the head across such a long distance.
Beon-jjeok!
Once again, a sharp murderous intent arose.
The distance narrowed sharply. The distance from the beggar was now a little over ten jang.
In an instant, a red flash flickered in Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes.
Hwareureureuk! Kwang!
He narrowed the distance in a single breath with the three steps of Blood Wing Sweeping Heavens.
At that moment, the string was drawn.
Sswae-ae-ae-aek!
A terrifying speed.
The atmosphere around the spinning arrow seemed to whirlpool. It was an incredibly fast direct shot.
‘Fast. I’ll miss it.’
The time for the arrow to penetrate the head would be faster than the time to reach out and pull the beggar away.
He made a judgment in an instant. He contained Black Tortoise Qi in his outstretched hand.
Kwang!
“Keueok!”
The beggar was flung to the opposite side. It was because of the repulsive force of the North Heaven Twelve Walls.
Sa-ak! Peo-ok!
The arrow that grazed the beggar’s forehead also grazed Yeon Ho-jeong’s arm and flew away to be embedded in the ground.
Yeon Ho-jeong quickly pulled out the arrow embedded in the ground and ran up the mountain path as he was.
The beggar would have lived. Internal injuries would be unavoidable, but saving his life was something.
Now, the important thing was that nameless archer. He just had to catch that archer.
Was it surprising that the arrow missed?
The archer, who stood for a moment and watched this side, hooked a string to the great bow.
Kagagagak!
The sound of pulling the string seemed to be heard even here. It seemed to be a bow that required immense tension.
‘Could it be…?’
A flash of light appeared in Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes.
‘Muk Bi?!’
Is that guy really Muk Bi? Could he meet Muk Bi this early, and by chance at that?
All sorts of thoughts came to mind, but now was the time to empty his head. The target of that archer’s arrow was none other than himself.
The archer let go of the string.
Ti-i-i-i-ing!
Simultaneously, Yeon Ho-jeong’s body moved diagonally to the left.
Peo-ok!
The arrow pierced through a tree and was embedded in the ground.
He had realized it when the Beggars’ Gang disciple died, but it was truly an incredible power. It pierced through a thick tree as if it were tofu, and even the fletching of the arrow was embedded in the ground.
With this level of penetration, even Yeon Ho-jeong could not block it from the front. He had no choice but to snatch it in the middle or avoid it.
Of course, it was not a speed that could be easily snatched.
Teo-eong! Teo-eong!
Yeon Ho-jeong approached quickly.
‘What is it?’
The archer did not run away. He took out three arrows from his waist and hooked one of them to the string again.
It was a clear threat. As the distance grew closer, his forehead tingled from the sharp murderous intent.
‘That guy….’
Even in the urgent situation, Yeon Ho-jeong could not hide his doubt.
‘His physique is different.’
His physique was larger than Muk Bi’s.
In other words, that person is not Muk Bi. He was more stalwart than Muk Bi, and his limbs were longer.
Crucially, Muk Bi used a horn bow, not a great bow. Continuous rapid firing using a specially made horn bow was Muk Bi’s specialty.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s gaze turned cold.
He knew the opponent was not Muk Bi. There was no need to go easy.
The red energy that extended from his heart spread throughout his body in an instant.
Kwa-ang!
The ultra-fast Blood Wing Sweeping Heavens jumped over three rocks in an instant.
It was a suddenly increased speed. As if flustered, the archer fired the remaining two arrows as well.
Peo-ok! Peo-ok!
They didn’t hit.
A battle with an archer was a battle of distance. Blood Wing Sweeping Heavens was a footwork technique with high internal energy consumption, so it was burdensome to use it continuously, but there was no choice now.
Kagagagak!
The string was drawn once again.
Huuuung!
He released the Vermilion Bird Qi and let go of Blood Wing Sweeping Heavens. The movement technique using the Jade Gauze True Formula was slower than Blood Wing Sweeping Heavens, but it was smoother and freer.
‘Twenty zhang!’
At this distance, even if he ran away, he could catch his tail somehow.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who focused his eyes on the archer until the end, suddenly glared.
Huuuuuung!
It was just a single arrow. Moreover, it was not a specially made iron arrow, but a common wooden arrow.
However, what was this sense of intimidation?
‘Spiral Power?’
The energy concentrated at the tip of the arrow was creating a massive whirlpool. It was a high-level spiral to the point that the surrounding air was being sucked in.
The problem was that Yeon Ho-jeong also knew what that arrow, no, what that martial art was.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s mouth hung open.
‘Dragon Fang Cannon!!’
The archer let go of the string.
Buaaaaaang!!
The atmosphere seemed to be burning up.
The moment he recognized that it was the Dragon Fang Cannon, Yeon Ho-jeong gave up on catching the attack. He threw his body behind a tree in an instant.
The swirling arrow struck the tree as it was.
Kwa-ang!
The arrow, which ground up a whole thick tree, crushed a rock and exploded the ground.
Kugugugung.
The tree fell and the shattered rocks flew in all directions.
Kwajik! Kwajijijik! Kugung!
Rock collided with rock, and the flung rocks broke a few more trees and pushed another rock.
A small-scale landslide occurred due to a single shot of a terrifyingly powerful arrow. As if it were a low hill with a weak foundation to begin with, as trees fell and rocks rolled, it became an uncontrollable disaster.
Kwakwakwakang!
The entire front within fifteen zhang of the archer was devastated.
Kugugung!
Finally, the earthquake stopped. Thick dust rose from everywhere.
The archer slightly lifted his bamboo hat.
A flash passed through his sharp eyes.
“……I caught him.”
At a distance of fifteen zhang, one can sufficiently feel a presence. However, no presence was felt.
It was certain he was dead.
‘Should I catch more?’
One beggar was missed. Among the three beggars, there was one who had seen his face. For safety, he had to catch them all.
It was then.
Tadadak.
He felt many people flocking from far away. Among them, Murim people were also included.
‘I have no choice.’
Well, at this point, it didn’t matter even if they saw him. He just tried to catch and kill them all just in case, because the carriage had already started rolling anyway.
However, what weighed on his mind was the young man who charged at him until the end.
‘He was a great expert.’
He didn’t know he would end up even bringing out the Dragon Fang Cannon. If it weren’t for the Dragon Fang Cannon, he might have been caught.
Sarak.
The archer turned his body. His business was over.
However, he needed to be a little more thorough.
Beon-jjeok.
Before long, a shadow that had ascended above the mountain ridge stared at the place where the archer was running.
* * *
“So, did you catch them all?”
“I did.”
“Well done. Here, eat this.”
“Thank you.”
“No need for thanks. Both you and I are lives barely holding on at the edge of a cliff. You don’t have to be so grateful every time.”
Baek Jung-cheon, who picked up the pill the old man handed over, bowed his waist in an instant.
“Kulleok! Kulleok! Uweeeeek!”
Baek Jung-cheon, who spat out a dry cough, vomited blood.
The old man sighed.
“How long has it been?”
“……It’s been three days.”
“You man, if the seizure cycle has shortened, you should have said so.”
“…….”
“Such a frustrating person.”
The old man, who was rummaging through a few medicinal ingredients, took out a jet-black pill.
“Eat this too.”
“Thank you.”
Baek Jung-cheon, who swallowed the two pills, let out a low sigh.
The effect of the medicine was much faster than expected. His body became comfortable in an instant.
However, Baek Jung-cheon knew this was not a good thing. That the medicine’s effect was fast meant the medicine was that toxic, and having to eat toxic medicine meant his body was already ruined.
“There is something I want to ask.”
“What is it?”
“How much is left?”
“…….”
“My movements have become slower than before. The power to pull the string of the Flood Dragon Great Bow has also decreased. From some point, it seems my internal energy is also minutely dissipating.”
“……Dissipation of internal energy.”
The old man harbored a lament.
“You’ve already reached that stage.”
“……Is it very bad?”
“As I said before, Heart-Attaching Red is a poison, yet not a poison. The moment you are poisoned, the toxic qi gathers in the heart. If you don’t detoxify it immediately, that’s the end of it. The toxic qi that stayed in the heart infinitely sucks away life force.”
“I know. You told me before.”
“It’s because your will and internal energy study are great that you are still maintaining your life. But Heart-Attaching Red is toxic. Since it couldn’t easily suck away your original essence, it’s touching your internal energy as an alternative.”
“…….”
“Once it sucks in a certain amount of qi, that’s the end. Your heart vessels will burst, and you won’t be able to escape instant death on the spot.”
“That’s why I’m asking. How much is left.”
“Fifteen days.”
“…….”
“At most fifteen days. If it’s short, you might not be able to exceed five days.”
Despite hearing shocking words, there was no change in Baek Jung-cheon’s expression.
“Did you say Ga-ryeong’s procedure is tomorrow?”
“That’s right. As I said before, it will take seven days and nights.”
“Five days…… seven days and nights…… Southeast Southeast……”
Baek Jung-cheon stood up from his seat.
“I will start right today.”
The old man said urgently.
“You can’t. Since you vomited blood, you must take a rest for today.”
“There is no time. I don’t know when that guy will come out again. I have to be on standby from now on.”
“What if you collapse while doing that!”
“Pack me some pills or strong ones so that I don’t collapse.”
“Huu.”
In the end, the old man, who sighed, took out a small box from under the table.
“It’s something I made just in case. Take two pills each morning and evening.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“You’re the one who did all the hard work.”
“And please keep working hard in the future.”
Baek Jung-cheon, who received the box, walked toward the door.
It was then.
“Since when did Heart-Attaching Red turn into a fatal disease?”
Pa-ak!
Baek Jung-cheon, who quickly turned his body, pulled the string. It was truly a lightning-fast speed.
Baek Jung-cheon’s eyes flashed. He had captured a single shadow jumping into the window.
Pisyuk! Sswae-ae-ae-ae-ang!
Surprise appeared on Baek Jung-cheon’s face. He had missed.
Teong! Kagagagak!
He hooked the string again, but it was late. The shadow that came in at an incredible speed moved like a soft wave, and then subdued the old man in a single breath.
“Kkeuaak!”
The old man’s waist stiffened.
The young man, who twisted his arm behind his back and choked him, shone his eyes.
“We already greeted each other earlier, didn’t we?”
Baek Jung-cheon’s eyes trembled.
“You……?!”
“Your reaction speed is artistic. Your posture too, you’re a carbon copy of that fellow.”
Yeon Ho-jeong said coldly.
“Put the bow down.”