The Cliffside Path of the Thousand-Li Precipice (2)
The cliffside path Seo Baek's group was traversing was, unfortunately, a steep uphill slope.
Left to its own devices, the carriage would roll straight back down.
In that dire moment, the unorthodox swordsman slaughtered the donkeys. The now-unpowered carriage barreled toward Seo Baek with enough force to flatten him.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Lying on the ground, Seo Baek rolled backward frantically, dodging the wheels.
Springing up, he seized the carriage with both hands.
Thud.
A massive carriage that required two donkeys to haul.
Yet it ground to a halt in Seo Baek's grip.
But the crisis persisted. One of the lifeless donkeys toppled sideways off the path.
The carriage lurched, its wheel—propped against a sword—popping free. Jolt.
In that instant, a young man charged from behind to lend his strength.
Among the martial artists who had passed the Sichuan Tang Clan's test, Seo Baek and this youth were among the youngest.
Their combined might held firm—even with one wheel dangling in midair, the carriage didn't budge an inch.
Screeeeech...
A gust from the tilt dislodged the black cloth draped over the crates, sending it fluttering downward like a massive bird. It remained visible for an unnervingly long time.
The cliff's depths were abyssal.
Meanwhile, the unorthodox swordsman slashed at the carriages that had passed ahead.
"Hya! Wait, donkeys aren't 'hya,' right? Er, whatever—hya!"
Threatened by his wild swings, the donkeys bolted madly along the narrow ledge.
Beasts that hadn't flinched before revenants.
But witnessing two fellows slain by a single stroke had filled them with terror.
Wang Yi Sam bellowed at the sight.
"You mad bastard! Grab that unorthodox scum!"
He yanked his broad dao from his belt and vaulted toward the carriage to pursue.
Seo Baek shouted.
"Hold!"
"Why? We gotta carve that prick up now—"
"Step back from the carriage."
"..."
Wang Yi Sam froze at the warning.
Seo Baek had spotted black powder swirling around the carriage.
Tilting his head for a closer look, he gritted his teeth.
Just as I suspected.
One crate aboard was split wide, gunpowder leaking from the gash.
The unorthodox swordsman had already sabotaged it.
He's been plotting since we lagged at the rear.
The donkeys had vanished into the distance; the swordsman had looped back onto the path.
He drew a fire starter from his bosom.
"What a killer view. Croak here, and you'll all ascend straight to paradise—so thank me! Hahaha!"
He puffed the starter ablaze and hurled it at the crate.
Plop. It landed atop the wood.
"Everyone—run!"
Seo Baek snatched his sword from the ground one-handed and slung it onto his back.
He locked eyes with the young man. A nod—and they shoved the carriage toward the precipice.
Clunk.
The right-side wheels left the path; the carriage tilted violently.
Wang Yi Sam, baffled, demanded,
"What's happening?"
"The carriage is about to explode."
"...!"
The rear martial artists, oblivious until now, jolted awake.
Seo Baek and the others wheeled about and fled.
Wang Yi Sam glanced back.
"Not blowing yet?"
"It will."
Seo Baek's tone brooked no doubt.
Embers from the tossed starter would ignite the scattered powder eventually.
And his prediction proved dead-on.
The listing carriage lost balance and plunged over the edge. Gunpowder gushed from the crate's fissures.
The fire starter vanished into the black dust.
Sizzle... KABOOM!
The carriage detonated.
The deafening blast seemed to shred their eardrums. A ferocious gale, laced with black soot, roared through.
Whooooosh!
One martial artist stumbled in the blast and tumbled off the cliff.
"Aaaah!"
Flailing wildly, he snagged Wang Yi Sam's pant leg—dragging the veteran off-balance too.
"J-Junior... a little... help..."
Then the carriage erupted anew. Flames leaped to the other crates.
Already teetering, Wang Yi Sam was hurled airborne by the fresh gale.
Seo Baek finally spotted him and cried,
"Senior!"
Too late. Wang Yi Sam plummeted into the void.
The young man yanked his leather pouch from his back and flipped it open. A coil of thin rope spilled out.
He flung it toward Wang Yi Sam.
The line snaked through the air like a serpent.
"Grab it!"
Tumbling through empty space, Wang Yi Sam lunged instinctively.
But the rope just missed his fingers...
Then Seo Baek kicked off the path and soared.
Whoosh.
Twisting midair like a coiling dragon, he looped the rope around his wrist. His free hand shot toward Wang Yi Sam.
"Senior!"
Clasp. Their hands locked.
At the same instant, the young man whirled, wrapping the rope around his torso. With a fierce kiai, he slammed one foot down.
Thud.
His stamp cratered the unyielding rock ledge.
The rope snapped taut. Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam halted their fall, dangling midway down the face.
Wang Yi Sam exhaled in shaky relief—then peered below on impulse.
The chasm's floor was lost to infinity.
A drop like that would've ground his bones to dust!
"Alive... thanks..."
"Think nothing of it."
But another thunderous roar echoed from above?
Rumble rumble.
"Another blast?"
Seo Baek glanced up sharply.
"Landslide this time."
"...!"
The cataclysmic explosion had fractured the cliff face. House-sized boulders calved free.
One plummeted straight for the young man anchoring them.
No time.
Seo Baek drew a deep breath into his lungs, then expelled it in a rush.
Hoooo...
Shika Heart Method invoked.
He reeled in his arms, binding the rope tight around the wrist gripping Wang Yi Sam. His freed hand drew the sword from his back.
One-handed, he drove it into the cliff.
Squelch.
The blade pierced the millennia-weathered stone like soft tofu.
The young man glanced up, clocking the boulder—right as Seo Baek barked,
"Over here!"
As the rock smashed down, the young man vaulted into the void.
Wang Yi Sam's mind blanked in horror.
Their lives hung on that rope—and its holder had just leaped away? All three doomed!
"What the hell are you—"
Seo Baek snapped his wrist. The rope whipped midair.
Perfectly coiling around the hilt embedded in the rock.
KABOOM!
As the boulder pulverized the path, Seo Baek and the young man dangled from opposite ends.
The line bridged flawlessly over the sword hilt—their sole lifeline!
Debris whistled past, narrowly sparing them all. By sheer fortune, unharmed.
Wang Yi Sam felt truly reborn.
Perfectly synced in that split second...!
Any hitch in rhythm, and they'd all be ghosts.
The grizzled sword-for-hire Wang Yi Sam grasped it anew.
Heaven beyond heaven.
Skies beyond the sky.
Experts abounded in the murim. But for every master, a greater loomed!
The landslide subsided. Seo Baek and the young man shared a glance.
The youth pendulumed off the wall, building swing to launch onto the path.
Planting his feet solidly, he hauled up Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam. Seo Baek wrenched free his sword and scaled the face.
Bearing both men's full weight on the line.
Yet the young man reeled them in effortlessly, like drawing a well bucket.
Moments later, all three stood safe on the ledge.
Wang Yi Sam bowed deeply to Seo Baek.
"My thanks. You saved my hide again."
"Not like you to bow, senior. Enough."
He inclined his head to the youth as well.
"Obliged. I'll settle this debt."
"I'll hold you to it."
The young man grinned, coiling the rope.
Not the thick iron cable for carts or loads—but slender hemp twistings.
Why carry something like that?
Wang Yi Sam pondered silently. No matter—it had saved them.
The youth's face was pale and refined, like a bookish scholar. Yet hoisting two grown men betrayed monstrous external strength.
Seo Baek remarked,
"It's for tethering to arrows."
"Sharp eye."
As the youth stowed it in his leather pouch, his bow and quiver caught Wang Yi Sam’s eye. Wang Yi Sam couldn't resist.
"Archer, eh?"
"Still am."
"Archers usually sit the imperial exams for official posts."
"Flunked a few, wandered awhile. Now I work for the Murim Alliance."
"Murim Alliance? Your sect...?"
"No sect."
Securing the pouch, he added,
"Just an archer who shoots straight—and wields sword or blade if needed."
"Sword-for-hire Wang Yi Sam here. This is..."
"Seo Baek."
"Pleased. Yu So Un."
* * *
A black dust cloud from the blast choked the path's midpoint.
Fortune smiled: the plunge and detonation had spared the ledge major damage.
Plenty sturdy for martial artists to traverse. An on-path blast would've collapsed the whole span.
Seo Baek, Wang Yi Sam, and Yu So Un had emerged on the unorthodox swordsman's side during the climb.
One martial artist lost to the fall; the three trailing had dodged the explosion.
Seo Baek called to those beyond the murk.
"Everyone all right?"
"We're fine."
"Plans now?"
"..."
No reply at first. They huddled, conferring.
Soon enough:
"We'll backtrack to the pit, cross it, and hunt that bastard down."
With all carriages commandeered ahead, crossing would be simple.
"Understood."
"And you?"
"We'll stick to the path and pursue."
"Good. We'll pinch him from both ends! Then..."
Footfalls receded as the trio turned back.
"Let's move."
As Seo Baek pivoted, Wang Yi Sam ventured,
"Shouldn't we loop back too? This path's a deathtrap..."
"Too much detour. We dawdle, we're too late."
"Why? Snag him before Shu Dao Pass..."
"Can't."
Seo Baek shook his head, elucidating.
"Tang Clan carriages are unclaimed. First to Shu Dao Pass with one gets paid—anyone."
"Hadn't considered that."
"He links with the lead group? He'll scheme. Eliminate us, they claim all the prizes."
"...!"
"No us means bigger cut per head. Allies for sure. We grab him first."
Finishing, Seo Baek mused inwardly.
Ally or not, I won't lose.
But courting hardship for no gain was fool's play.
His gaze turned icy with resolve.
Catch him before he joins the others.