Chapter 20. Dream Awakening (20)

Obviously, since he was away with Baek Sang-Woon, Woo-Moon couldn't answer.

"That damn bastard ran away in the middle of the trip. I have to do something about him."

Just as the team leader was getting angry, a porter picked up Woo-Moon's luggage and put it on his back.

"Song Woo-Moon went to relieve himself and will be back in a bit. I'll be carrying his luggage until then."

Woo-Moon had hastily followed the nameless man, so he had naturally lacked the time to make such a request. However, he had always helped the other porters, so this man lied to the team leader, afraid that Woo-Moon would suffer consequences for his absence. At that moment, other porters from all over the place raised their hands and came forward as well, dividing Woo-Moon's luggage among themselves.

"Song Woo-Moon asked for my help."

"Hey, me too."

"I'm going to carry his luggage! Give it to me."

They all had received Woo-Moon's help or watched him help others during the business trip. When they all stepped up, the team leader had nothing more to say.

"Hmm, is that so? Then let's get going."

When the team leader reported to the guild that everything was ready, the guild started to head toward Go-Ryang Pyeong.

After a while, Woo-Moon returned to the guild and was moved to tears upon learning about the whole situation. People around him often ignored and despised him for being a fool when he still lived in a dream, but that wound appeared to be slowly healing now.

"Thank you very much..."

"Haha, that's too much. It's nothing, Song Woo-Moon."

"Of course! We're not strangers. Didn't you help us first?"

As he was handed over his luggage, Woo-Moon bowed deeply.

Go-Ryang Pyeong was just around the corner, but the sun had already gone down, so the guild found a spot to pitch tents and rest on the spacious plain. At that time, two warriors of the Leebi Merchant Guild came to visit Woo-Moon.

"The mistress is looking for you."

While one of them was a completely new face, he was fairly acquainted with the other. It was Yim Choo, after all—the man Woo-Moon had savagely beaten for acting like a gangster at Deungpyeong Inn a while ago.

Woo-Moon followed them, but Yim Choo couldn't even look at him.

Woo-Moon thought about why Yeon Si-Hyeon had called him.

'Is it because of the nameless man—no, the Palm Martial Emperor?'

Thinking about him, Woo-Moon stroked his chest once. In his breast pocket was the

Martial Arts Fundamentals

, the book he had received from Baek Sang-Woon. He had already read the first part during his free time.

It talked about internal energy and acupuncture points. As he read through it, Woo-Moon learned the acupuncture points' names, which everyone else knew. Of course, he already knew the acupuncture points' locations and cultivated his qi according to that pattern, but he didn't know their actual names. He just cultivated according to the image he had seen in the landscape painting.

Woo-Moon was momentarily lost in thought, and as he followed the warriors to Si-Hyeon, a vivid image of the sword qi the Palm Martial Emperor had shown him popped into his mind. He remembered the process of generating sword qi and converting it into sword threads and then into sword aura. All of it was played so vividly in Woo-Moon's mind he felt as if he was watching the scene replay right before his eyes.

'Yeah, that's what it looks like, so maybe that's why I'm doing it this way. To release stronger qi...'

As he was going through his imagery practice, Woo-Moon arrived at the center of the caravan, where Si-Hyeon was. He could see a small carriage, and next to it, Si-Hyeon was leaning against an empty coach seat. The coachman was nowhere to be found.

She was wearing her usual gauze veil, but even though her face could not be distinguished, her slender body drew the attention of those around her.

"We've brought him, mistress."

"Thank you. You did a good job."

Si-Hyeon had long, thin, and straight legs, which gave her a lean and slender look.

As Woo-Moon looked at her and wondered what she was going to say, Si-Hyeon, who had also been paying close attention to his face and body, finally spoke. "The coachman has a stomach ache and can't drive the carriage properly right now. Please fill in for him."

Woo-Moon was slightly taken aback by her words.

"I have never driven a carriage before."

"It's not that difficult. A little bit of practice will suffice."

After finishing her words, Si-Hyeon entered the carriage. Jo Mu-Jae, Si-Hyeon's escort warrior, came up to Woo-Moon and taught him how to drive the carriage.

"If you want the horses to go left, do this. If you need them to turn right, just do it the other way around..."

It certainly wasn't too difficult, and with his outstanding concentration, Woo-Moon learned how to do it immediately. After a short while, he could steer the carriage by himself.

At Si-Hyeon's command, Mu-Jae walked behind the carriage, escorting it.

'Is she planning on using me as a coachman to inquire about my relationship with the Palm Martial Emperor Baek Sang-Woon?'

Woo-Moon had been acting like an idiot for a long time, and there were many things that he was truly ignorant about, but he knew the greatness of these Absolute Masters—the Eight Heavenly Martial Emperors and the Six Rising Challengers.

However, looking back, Woo-Moon realized that they couldn't possibly figure out the nameless man's identity so quickly. Even though they knew that he was an excellent master, they were unlikely to realize that he was the Palm Martial Emperor. After all, how could they expect that such a mighty being would deign to interact with them?

Even so, it was only natural for the Leebi Merchant Guild to show interest in the nameless man. He was clearly a master and had caused a commotion, after all.

'What is she going to ask?'

Woo-Moon drove the carriage with tension. However, contrary to his expectations, Si-Hyeon didn't say anything.

The wagon continued to move. Si-Hyeon sat alone in the carriage, looking out the window. She was wearing a cotton veil, so Woo-Moon couldn't see the expression on her face.

At some point, Si-Hyeon suddenly spoke behind the cotton veil. "What's your name?"

Woo-Moon answered, thinking that the time had finally come. "My name is Song Woo-Moon."

Woo-Moon guessed that Si-Hyeon's goal was one of two things: either she considered the nameless man an enemy and needed his help to exact revenge, or, conversely, she wanted to become friends with the nameless man, so she had called him over to find out more about the man.

However, Si-Hyeon asked a completely different question from what Woo-Moon had expected. "Woo-Moon... What does it mean?"

"It means 'foolish question.'[1] I was named that way due to a scholar who stayed at the inn when I was born."

"Why did the scholar name you that way?" Si-Hyeon asked with curiosity.

"If one keeps asking foolish questions and challenging what they are being told, they will eventually find the right path. Thus, they would acquire wisdom."

"Does that mean we need to ask a lot of foolish questions to get a wise answer? Not all foolish questions lead to that, though. What if you get a foolish answer instead?"

Woo-Moon thought for a moment and answered, "You have a point. However, I'll just keep asking foolish questions until one leads me to a wise answer."

His answer caused Si-Hyeon to be at a loss for words, but a few moments later, she started chuckling. If Woo-Moon could see her face beyond the gauze veil, he would've been blinded by her beautiful smile.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"I know you've been a fool for a long time," she replied. "But considering you no longer are, you've already gotten a wise answer at the end of the foolish questions."

'Did I really get a wise answer? No, that's not it. I'm still in the process of getting it.'

"Thank you for your praise."

Their conversation continued. Having completely brushed off his anxiety about talking to her, Woo-Moon asked her a question that had kept bothering him since the Palm Martial Emperor had left.

"Do you have a dream, mistress?"

"Dream?"

Si-Hyeon pondered about it for a moment. In fact, she had also never thought of something and said

'This is my dream!'

Hence, she just answered with the things she had always wished for.

"To be able to make my own decisions and act on my own—to be in control of my life. That's what I want."

Upon hearing that, Woo-Moon fell into thoughts.

'Deciding your destiny by yourself...it's easy to put into words, but hard to accomplish in practice. Each person grows in a different environment, and there are also different people who influence their lives. Ignoring it all and deciding what they want is harder than they think.'

"That could be what everyone in the world wants the most."

At Woo-Moon's response, Si-Hyeon smiled. "Well, it's really just an abstract dream. Realistically speaking, what I want right now... is to wake my father up from his coma, solve the financial problems that are endangering the guild, and successfully achieve the purpose of this trip."

Woo-Moon knew that Si-Hyeon's father, the guild master of the Leebi Merchant Guild, had suddenly become ill and fallen into a coma.

"We actually have that part in common. My mother is very weak, and my first goal and dream is to help her recover."

"Ah, is that so? I am sorry to hear that."

It was the same with Woo-Moon. He felt compassion for Si-Hyeon, thinking that she probably felt the same toward her father as he felt when looking at his mother. At that moment, the wagon suddenly rattled loudly, as if the wheel got caught in a stone beak.

"Kaaaah!" Startled, the baby silver tiger in Woo-Moon's arms stuck its head out with a sharp howl.

Surprised by the cub popping out of hiding, he hurriedly looked at Si-Hyeon.

"Oh my! It's so cute!" Si-Hyeon clapped as she looked at the beast in adoration, her eyes gleaming under her veil.

The tiny, big-eyed silver tiger was so cute that all she wanted was to hug it and pet it.

As it looked around, its eyes met Si-Hyeon's.

"Kaaaah?"

Si-Hyeon smiled and spread her arms out.

"Come here!"

Si-Hyeon seemed to really like the baby silver tiger, so Woo-Moon scratched its head a little, pulled it out of his coat, then put it down in the carriage.

The baby silver tiger cautiously walked toward Si-Hyeon, who grabbed and hugged it tightly when it stopped in front of her.

"

Kyaaaah...

" The beast was a little surprised, but it stayed still and basked in the warm feeling it hadn't felt in a long time.

"Is it a white tiger? Where did you find this beast?" Si-Hyeon asked, curious about the cub. White tigers were rare beasts, after all. She wasn't even aware that it wasn't just an ordinary white tiger—it was a silver tiger. This was because its silver stripes, a characteristic unique to its kind, only appeared upon reaching adulthood.

"I came across it on my way through the forest a few days ago. It was all alone, it seems that it lost its mother."

At that moment, the baby tiger's stomach rumbled. That was only natural, considering it hadn't eaten anything since its mother died.

"Oh my, this baby looks hungry. What does it like to eat? What can it eat, actually?"

Woo-Moon didn't know either. since he hadn't fed it anything yet. Hence, though doubting it a bit, he told her exactly what Baek Sang-Woon had told him. "It can eat anything."

Si-Hyeon nodded and called Mu-Jae, who was walking outside, asking him to bring her some leftover meat.

As he watched Si-Hyeon play with the silver tiger, Woo-Moon felt that something was strange.

'Why isn't she asking anything about the Palm Martial Emperor?'

1. Woo-Moon's name can be written as 愚問, which literally means "stupid question". ☜