Martial Artist Lee Gwak Episode 114

Same Bed, Different Dreams (2)

Novel- Martial Artist Lee Gwak

Beads of sweat formed on Lee Gwak’s forehead.

This was due to the overwhelming aura that Yong Cheon Myeong was emitting, an intensity that a common outer hall martial artist dared not withstand.

Had it been Seok Yi Cheon or Go Cheon Gwang in his place, they would have likely collapsed. However, Lee Gwak clenched his teeth and endured the imposing aura.

Using the Eight Sects Sword Art could have made it easier to withstand Yong Cheon Myeong’s pressure. However, Lee Gwak refrained from doing so.

The Eight Sects Sword Art was his last resort and a secret that had to be kept at all costs. He could not afford to recklessly reveal his final trump card in a moment of impulsiveness.

He gritted his teeth even harder.

Sweat poured from his face and down his back like rain.

Despite clearly seeing Lee Gwak’s suffering, Yong Cheon Myeong did not withdraw his aura.
Time seemed to stand still.

For Lee Gwak, it felt like an eternity, whereas for Yong Cheon Myeong, it might have been but a fleeting moment.

Unaware of Lee Gwak’s endurance, Yong Cheon Myeong unexpectedly remarked, “The weather is quite nice. It would have been the perfect day to enjoy a drink while listening to Yul Seon. What a pity! That we have to long for each other from afar.”

“……”

“Make sure to visit the Musical Performance Hall someday. You might feel like it’s heaven on earth.”

Yong Cheon Myeong smiled gently as he looked at Lee Gwak.

Seeing Lee Gwak’s face twisted in agony, he feigned surprise.

“What’s wrong? Ah! It was my mistake. Getting carried away and raising my aura like that. Are you alright?”

He slowly retracted his aura.

“Cough!”

Finally released from the pressure, Lee Gwak spat out blood.

The crimson blood indicated he had suffered significant internal injuries.

Bent over and unable to lift his head, Lee Gwak was a sight of misery under Yong Cheon Myeong’s cold gaze.

Yong Cheon Myeong didn’t look sorry at all, but the words that came out of his mouth were different.

“Tsk! I apologize. I got carried away and injured an innocent man.”

He helped Lee Gwak to his feet.

When Lee Gwak finally looked up, Yong Cheon Myeong’s face was filled with regret.

Suddenly, he reached into his robe and pulled out a small wooden box.

“This is the Revival Elixir Pill. If you consume it and practice your qi circulation, it should fully heal your internal injuries.”

“Thank……you.”

Lee Gwak barely managed to receive the box.

Yong Cheon Myeong patted his shoulder a few times, as if to cheer him up.

However, with each pat, Lee Gwak felt his internal organs jolted, shaking violently.

“Ugh!”

“It seems the room cleaning is done. I should head in now. You should also go inside and rest.”
Yong Cheon Myeong walked towards the building with a bright smile on his face.

Lee Gwak, bent over like a shrimp, watched Yong Cheon Myeong’s retreating back. His gaze was deep in thought.

‘Yong Cheon Myeong!’

It was now clear.

The fact that Yong Cheon Myeong harbored malice towards him.

There was only one reason for him to be hostile.

‘Yul Seon.’

Their only connection was her.

She was the sole reason for Yong Cheon Myeong to hold any malice towards him.

Lee Gwak dusted off his waist and stood up straight.

In an instant, a large snake seemed to awaken and coiled around Lee Gwak’s body. The internal injuries left by Yong Cheon Myeong were healed in a moment, and Lee Gwak’s complexion returned to its natural state.

Lee Gwak looked at the Revival Elixir Pill in his hand for a moment.

Despite Yong Cheon Myeong’s ill feelings towards him, Lee Gwak did not think he would have given him a fake elixir.

Stashing the pill into his robe, Lee Gwak looked around. He could feel the eyes of the entire area focusing on him.

Yong Cheon Myeong was a well-known figure. Such a prominent person privately met with an outer hall martial artist in full view of others.

At this point, it was obvious that there was something special about him, and he would be the center of attention.

Yong Cheon Myeong not only inflicted internal injuries on Lee Gwak, but also put him in danger by revealing his existence to the Celestial Demon Troupe.

‘How cunning.’

Lee Gwak couldn’t help but admire Yong Cheon Myeong’s meticulousness. However, there was one thing Yong Cheon Myeong didn’t know.

Lee Gwak’s martial arts were not as ordinary as he thought. And that, due to today’s events, Lee Gwak had become wary of Yong Cheon Myeong.

‘He is not a man of noble character, nor is he broad-minded. Such a person wouldn’t lead a delegation into a dangerous situation without any calculations. There must be another motive.’

Shaking his head, Lee Gwak walked towards the building.

Just then, he saw some vagrants coming out of the building. Many of them were those he had seen at the vagrant market.

They seemed to remember Lee Gwak’s face and flinched.

They recalled how Lee Gwak had quickly subdued the Mad Blood Trio.

Although the chaos caused by the Spirit Granny had diluted Lee Gwak’s martial prowess somewhat, it still left a significant impact on the vagrants who were present.

As their gazes met Lee Gwak’s, the vagrants quickly turned away. However, one of them was an exception.

He was the Ghost Wanderer, Gong Hwak.

Along with Bloodhound Leopard Cha Moo-gyeong, he was one of the strongest martial artists who joined the delegation. His pride was high, and his temper was foul.

He approached Lee Gwak with a swagger.

“Are you the one who humiliated the Mad Blood Trio?”

Gong Hwak’s eyes blazed red as he stared at Lee Gwak, not hiding his killing intent.

“And you are?”

“My name is Gong Hwak.”

“Gong Hwak?”

“I am known by the nickname Ghost Wanderer.”

Pride filled Gong Hwak’s face as he mentioned his nickname.

In the world of vagrants, having a nickname was rare. It required possessing either exceptional martial prowess or achieving significant feats that left a lasting impression.

Gong Hwak was a vagrant who met both of these criteria.

He considered his participation in the delegation a great opportunity.

He was the first to volunteer when it was announced that the Jade Heaven Alliance was recruiting vagrants to escort their young master.

Successfully completing this mission would elevate his nickname “Ghost Wanderer” from merely a vagrant to a great master in the Jianghu.

Naturally, many of the vagrants were loyal to Gong Hwak, and they told him about Lee Gwak.

They said that there was a powerful individual in the outer hall who had quickly subdued the Mad Blood Trio. This piqued his curiosity.

“Is it true that you subdued the Mad Blood Trio?”

“……”

“Your eyes show the strength of someone who has practiced martial arts, but acting recklessly will get you silently taken down. So, it would be wise for you to be cautious.”

Gong Hwak warned Lee Gwak.

Normally, even Gong Hwak wouldn’t dare to treat a formal martial artist of the Jade Heaven Alliance like this. Provoking Lee Gwak would inevitably lead to retaliation from the Jade Heaven Alliance.

Being classified as a low-ranking martial artist within the alliance or receiving their disdain was one thing, but an external martial artist provoking them would lead to severe consequences.
Gong Hwak knew this. Yet, he acted so boldly because they were on the battlefield.

Anything could happen on the battlefield. It was not uncommon for a martial artist walking around fine one day to be ambushed and killed the next.

Even if Lee Gwak was protected by the name of the Jade Heaven Alliance, he was virtually defenseless on the battlefield, just like any vagrant.

“Be careful. Just because we’re vagrants doesn’t mean we’ll take orders lightly. We might follow the young master, but taking orders from an outer hall nobody would not sit well with our pride.”

Gong Hwak smirked.

While it seemed he was acting impulsively towards Lee Gwak, in reality, it was backed by a cold calculation.

That’s when it happened.

“Enough, Gong Hwak.”

A familiar voice reached the ears of Gong Hwak and the vagrants.

With heavy footsteps, a middle-aged man in a red robe approached, causing Gong Hwak to flinch.

Emitting a ferocity not inferior to Gong Hwak was Bloodhound Leopard, Cha Moo-gyeong.

“You’re not planning to cause trouble with the Jade Heaven Alliance, are you?”

“Are you intervening?”

“I can’t just stand by and watch this mess. We’re going to be traveling together for a long way, so what do you hope to gain by threatening him? Get a grip, Gong Hwak.”

“Ugh!”

Gong Hwak’s face twisted in frustration.

He wanted to rip apart Cha Moo-gyeong, who was mercilessly crushing his pride, but he knew Cha Moo-gyeong’s martial prowess was not inferior to his own. He was not someone Gong Hwak wanted as an enemy.

“Let’s go!”

Gong Hwak led the vagrants past Cha Moo-gyeong, who was closely watched by the others.

“Hmph! Vermin.”

Even though he was a vagrant himself, he despised those who relied solely on their strength to intimidate others.

Cha Moo-gyeong shook his head and looked at Lee Gwak.

“Brother, Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t take it too hard. He is just trying to assert his dominance.”

“I understand.”

Lee Gwak’s response brightened Cha Moo-gyeong’s eyes.

“I heard you subdued the Mad Blood Trio. You’re no ordinary person. Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Bloodhound Leopard, Cha Moo-gyeong.”

“My name is Lee Gwak.”

“I’ve heard you’re an outer hall squad leader, is that correct?”

“Yes, I am the leader of the 13th squad.”

“I see.”

Cha Moo-gyeong looked at Lee Gwak from head to toe . His gaze was filled with curiosity rather than hostility.

Cha Moo-gyeong was one of the most sought-after vagrants in the vagrant market.

Due to his proven martial skills, character, and sense of responsibility, there was no shortage of people seeking him out.

At the time Lee Gwak clashed with the Mad Blood Trio in the vagrant market, Cha Moo-gyeong was on a mission for the Jade Heaven Alliance, scouting enemy lines.

Upon returning, he heard stories of a storm that had swept through the vagrant market.

The tale of the Spirit Granny killing Gok Woo Chang didn’t interest him much, as that figure was someone he could hardly aspire to. However, he was genuinely surprised to hear that an outer hall squad leader had easily subdued the Mad Blood Trio.

Despite their despicable nature, the Mad Blood Trio were considered among the top fighters in the vagrant market. Moreover, since they always moved together, confronting them was even more challenging.

Cha Moo-gyeong had never looked favorably upon the Mad Blood Trio. Still, he had left them up until now because there were three of them.

Initially, he thought the story of an outer hall martial artist subduing all three at once was a joke, as even someone of his renown found it a difficult task.

However, after verifying the rumors from various sources and confirming them to be true, his curiosity was piqued.

If Lee Gwak was capable of subduing the Mad Blood Trio, he could no longer be considered just an ordinary outer hall martial artist.

‘He seems so ordinary at a glance…’

His eyes narrowed.

Cha Moo-gyeong had often been told he had a keen eye for people, owing to his exceptional observational skills. Yet, no matter how much he observed, he couldn’t find anything particularly outstanding about Lee Gwak.

‘Could it be that his martial arts have reached such a profound level that he appears ordinary’
For a moment, Cha Moo-gyeong couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, thinking he might be getting ahead of himself.

While it was true that Lee Gwak possessed exceptional martial prowess for an outer hall martial artist, the idea that someone who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts would be content living as a mere outer hall martial artist seemed far-fetched to him.

“Anyway, since we’ll be traveling together for a long distance, I look forward to working with you. Squad Leader Lee Gwak.”

“I, too, look forward to working with you.”

“If Gong Hwak or any other vagrants give you trouble, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’ll take care of it for you.”

“Thank you.”

“No need for thanks.”

Cha Moo-gyeong smiled.

Lee Gwak silently observed Cha Moo-gyeong’s face.

His face was full of enthusiasm at first glance, and he was looking at Lee Gwak with curiosity.

But for some reason, his gaze felt burdensome.