A Sect Even Beggars Wouldn’t Pick Up On the Way (5)
Chung Myung tilted his head up with a grim expression. His jaw, clenched hard enough to crack, bent back a little farther.
A little more.
A little more.
And a little more.
“……”
Only after bending his neck to the brink of snapping did Chung Myung finally find the place he was looking for.
A sheer cliff.
So high it seemed to stretch on forever, its summit swallowed by the mist so completely that it could not even be seen, let alone reached. That terrifying cliff filled Chung Myung’s eyes.
“……You’re insane.”
A dry laugh slipped out of his mouth.
The people who lived on Mount Hua called this cliff Danjangae. Even among the Five Great Mountains, Mount Hua was famous for its harsh, jagged terrain, and this was the highest and most dangerous cliff of them all.
And in the middle of that perilous cliff was the place Chung Myung was looking for now.
Among Mount Hua’s countless hidden places, it was the most secret of them all. A place known to only the smallest handful on Mount Hua. No—among that handful, only the smallest handful!
“Well, I’m the only one who knows.”
Somewhere around the middle of this cliff there was a small cave that could only be found by climbing there directly.
Because of its danger, disciples were forbidden from practicing lightfoot skill here. But Chung Myung had been the sort of born troublemaker who grew itchy whenever someone told him not to do something, so he had delighted in training his lightfoot skill on Danjangae.
Then, by chance, he had discovered a small cave in the middle of the cliff, and from that day on, he had used it as his private hideout.
“It came in handy plenty.”
For example, drinking while hiding from his senior brother, the sect leader. Or eating meat while hiding from his senior brother, the sect leader. Or taking naps while hiding from his senior brother, the sect leader…
“Senior Brother.”
Why didn’t you just kill me?
You should’ve beaten me to death.
Now that the positions were reversed, Chung Myung could understand why the sect leader had barked at him so often. If he’d been in that position, he would’ve beaten himself to death too.
But right now, Chung Myung didn’t even need to imagine swapping places. He wanted nothing more than to beat his past self to death.
“No, seriously, what the hell…”
His neck felt like it was about to snap.
No sane person would ever think of using the middle of a cliff like this as a residence. Only a lunatic like Chung Myung could pull off something like that.
And now Chung Myung in the present was the one suffering for it.
If this had been the Plum Blossom Sword Saint Chung Myung, he could have climbed this cliff in two or three bounding leaps, but the Chung Myung of Mount Hua’s third generation had no chance of climbing it at all.
Why else was Danjangae called Danjangae?
There was nowhere to place his feet, nowhere to grip. The cliff face was so polished and smooth it was almost refreshing to look at.
It had always been like this.
Absolutely not because Chung Myung had painstakingly shaved the cliff flat in places so no one else would discover the cave.
“……That bastard really did everything, didn’t he.”
To feel murderous intent toward his past self—who on earth in the world had ever experienced that?
“Huu.”
After exhaling deeply, Chung Myung lifted his head again with hard, unwavering eyes.
“Still going!”
There was no turning back.
If anyone asked why he was climbing the cliff, Chung Myung would answer like this:
“Because there are elixirs up there, damn it!”
If his memory served him right, Plum Blossom Pills and Snow Plum Pills were in that cave!
Because that was where Chung Myung had gotten drunk, flopped down, and slept. It was where he’d hidden Plum Blossom Pills for curing hangovers.
I really was helpless back then.
Even if those pills had been lying around like pebbles, they were still elixirs, and yet he’d stuffed them into a cave for hangover relief. Only a man out of his mind would do something like that.
And yet it was also true that, because of that, the present Chung Myung had been given an opportunity.
Chung Myung stared at Danjangae with a resolute face, then turned around. He strode off into the forest on the opposite side.
“Huuuuuuuu.”
Chung Myung took a deep breath.
“No matter how I think about it, this is crazy.”
Chung Myung was now standing at the summit of Danjangae. He had gone around to the opposite ridge and climbed up from there. In his hands was a long rope braided from vines.
No matter how he looked at it, climbing from the bottom of Danjangae to the cave was impossible. Scaling that slick cliff was difficult enough, and the height alone was absurd.
It was a cliff far too cruel for a child as young as Chung Myung to climb.
But if he went down from the top? That was far easier than climbing from the bottom.
There was only one problem…
“It’s about ten times more dangerous.”
As he glanced down, Chung Myung swallowed dryly before he could stop himself. He could not see the bottom. All he could see was the sheer cliff face and the clouds hanging in its middle.
He took a step back.
Then clutched his chest.
“Fuck. This is making my skin crawl.”
Back when he used to wander here like he was strolling through a garden, it had been different. Now it felt like the entrance to hell. How many people in their right mind could even think of descending this place on a single rope?
But in this world, there were things you did because you wanted to, and things you did because you had to. This was clearly the latter.
“Once I die, twice I die… no, wait. That’s twice, isn’t it.”
Chung Myung first tied the rope tightly around a nearby rock protrusion. This rope was his lifeline. After tugging it several times to check the knot, he took a deep breath and stood at the edge of the cliff.
“Haa.”
Reviving Mount Hua was goddamn hard. What the hell was so important that he had to risk his life for it?
“Damn it!”
After spitting out the curse, Chung Myung boldly began climbing down the cliff.
Descending the slick face was absolutely no easy task. He could hardly find a single place to fit his fingers. Chung Myung braced himself on the tiniest of ledges, and whenever there was none, he clung to the wall with Absorbing Character Formula.
As he struggled down the cliff for what felt like forever, curses began pouring out of Chung Myung’s mouth on their own.
“Argh! Fuck! Damn it all! If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve learned Wall-Treading Skill or something!”
It had been martial arts he had dismissed as mere acrobatics, so he hadn’t bothered learning it. But now that things had come to this, even that acrobatic nonsense was starting to look appealing.
That was when it happened.
Crack! Crack-crack!
The rock protrusion he had stepped on crumbled and fell away below him.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Chung Myung stared blankly at the stones tumbling downward. The pebbles bouncing off the cliff plunged into the thick clouds.
And only after a long while…
Thud.
“……Wow.”
That took forever to hit the ground. There wouldn’t even be a corpse left if you fell from here. Seriously.
Shivering once all over, Chung Myung swallowed again.
Plum Blossom Sword Saint Chung Myung had never feared even the Heavenly Demon standing before him, but that was when the opponent had been the Heavenly Demon. Even if it was death either way, he absolutely refused to die by falling off a cliff.
Imagine dying here and ending up in the afterlife.
How would his martial siblings look at him if he ended a life granted to him again with a fall? From the hero who killed the Heavenly Demon to the greatest fool in all creation. Absolutely not. No way.
“Grrr…”
Chung Myung began moving his hands with quick, sharp precision.
At first it was awkward, but after a few repetitions he became as nimble as a lizard clinging to a wall, gliding along the cliff face.
It should be down there.
As he descended, Chung Myung frowned. A huge crack split the middle of the cliff.
Going inside is impossible.
Which meant he’d have to jump…
“Huu.”
After one deep breath, Chung Myung stared downward with firm eyes.
“I’m the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, for heaven’s sake!”
There was no way he could be scared of something like this!
He threw his body downward without hesitation. The moment he felt himself lift slightly, the cliff face rushed toward his eyes.
“Hup!”
At the right moment, he reached out and grabbed a protruding rock. Dangling from the cliff, Chung Myung shouted,
“Ugh, this is killing me!”
But thanks to that, he had covered quite a distance…
Crack.
“Huh?”
Chung Myung’s head jerked upward like lightning. His eyes landed on the protruding rock he was holding.
“No way?”
Crack-crack!
“……”
No, wait…
At least help a little. You’ve got no conscience.
Crack!
The protruding rock snapped in an instant. Chung Myung’s body began to fall.
“Hiiiiiieeek!”
Chung Myung flailed wildly in the air.
If I fall here?
I die. The result is so obvious there’s no room for debate.
Die?
Die? This Chung Myung?
That was when it happened.
Thunk!
Suddenly, a powerful impact struck his waist, and Chung Myung’s body was flung back upward into the air.
“Huh?”
A swaying rope came into Chung Myung’s field of vision.
Right!
Thunk! Thunk!
Only after bouncing twice did his movement settle down. Dangling from the rope, Chung Myung let out a deep sigh. A moment later, he burst into clear, relieved laughter.
“See? A person’s gotta be prepared!”
If he’d come down without tying the rope, he’d have been dead for sure. He hadn’t been sure whether a rope braided from vines would really hold, but thankfully it seemed sturdy enough to support one small Chung Myung.
Chung Myung casually turned his gaze.
There it is!
His eyes gleamed.
Not far from where he hung, he could see a bulging outcrop. Right below it was the hideout he had used to come and go from. He’d judged the rope length by rough guesswork, and somehow it had lined up perfectly!
“Kuh. Even heaven is helping me.”
Chung Myung took a breath and grabbed the rope. First he had to cling to the cliff. Which meant he needed to build some momentum…
“Hup!”
Chung Myung began swinging his body. At first the rope didn’t move at all, but as he kept shifting his weight, it slowly started swaying back and forth.
Now, get the angle right.
Whoosh.
Whoooosh.
Dangling from the rope, Chung Myung’s body swung away from the cliff, then rushed back toward it, again and again. The arc grew wider and wider until he was almost touching the face of the cliff.
“Hraaah!”
He reached out and grabbed for the cliff, but the rock was so smooth that brute strength alone couldn’t get a proper hold in one go.
“Once more!”
Chung Myung kicked off the cliff and threw his body back. Now, when he came in again, he’d grab it with both hands…
Crack-crack!
“Huh?”
Chung Myung’s head snapped upward. And his gaze, absurdly enough, found exactly the part he had wanted.
The vine rope was half snapped and hanging by a thread.
“Ah, come on.”
No, wait.
Usually, at times like this, it would hold until he got close to the cliff, and then break once he latched on—
Crack!
“……like hell it would! Aaaah!”
With the momentum of the recoil still carrying him, Chung Myung’s body fell again.
“Hiiiiiik! I’m dead! I’m seriously dead!”
At least the rebound had brought him close to the cliff. Drawing up every last shred of inner power he had, Chung Myung drove his hand into the cliff face.
Crack!
His bone snapped with a sharp pop, and Chung Myung’s body plummeted even faster.
“Aaaaargh! Crazy bastard!”
His wrists couldn’t bear the weight now that speed had been added to it. With desperate force, Chung Myung stabbed his other hand into the cliff.
Crack.
But the result was the same.
“What the hell! What are my bones made of, reed scraps? Why are they breaking so easily, you rotten body!”
If he wanted to live, the body needed to cooperate!
Chung Myung flailed both arms and both legs furiously. It looked like he was swimming in midair, but somehow the effort worked, and little by little he managed to get close to the cliff face.
“Hraaaah!”
If his hands wouldn’t do, then his whole body would!
Chung Myung clung to the cliff like a frog. His feet scraped at the wall while his arms, instead of his broken hands, wrapped around the rock.
“Aaagh! Hot! Hey, hot!”
His whole body rubbed against the stone, and a fierce heat seared through him. But it was effective. His falling speed dropped sharply.
Now, if only he could find something sticking out here!
Lowering his gaze, Chung Myung smiled in satisfaction.
There was no way there’d be anything sticking out.
This was Danjangae, after all.
But apparently heaven had not decided he should die today, because he found something better. Something far safer than a jutting rock protrusion.
“Heh. The ground.”
It was the ground.
Falling was over in an instant.
Still smiling faintly, Chung Myung’s body slammed straight into the earth.
BOOOOOOOM!
“Ghk.”
The rebound launched him a full jang into the air before he crashed down again.
Thud!
Dust exploded everywhere. Buried beneath the fluttering cloud, Chung Myung’s whole body trembled.
“I’m… alive.”
Thanks to clinging to the cliff and slowing himself down, he had avoided dying on the spot. But it felt like every bone in his body had been smashed to pieces. There wasn’t a single place that didn’t hurt.
“Grrrgh…”
After a long struggle, Chung Myung finally managed to push himself up and glare at the cliff with eyes full of murderous intent.
“……I’ll get up there no matter what I have to do, you damn cliff!”
Crack.
Ah. His jaw had dislocated.