Book 13 Chapter 2

Jump over it!!!

"Now you will know why this gorge is called 'Ten Tribulations Between' or 'One Step of the Blood God'! And also what kind of trial you will have to undergo to cross this pass!"

However, unlike what Jong-kwe said, the delegation stood idly by, not having 'realized' what they had to do.

"???"

Perhaps because they didn't fully understand his words, everyone's faces were full of question marks.

At first glance, it seemed simple to infer, but in reality, it was extremely difficult. This was because it was beyond their conscious limits, making it impossible to infer with their limited and impoverished imagination.

Only one person! Excluding Bi Ryun-yeon!

"This is indeed interesting."

Bi Ryun-yeon replied with an intrigued expression. He was the only one who reacted.

"Oh ho! Indeed!"

Jong-kwe exclaimed.

"It seems you have understood my words correctly."

"Of course. In short, you are telling me to cross that gorge as best as I can!"

Bi Ryun-yeon said with a tone of absolute certainty. His answer did not entertain the possibility of being wrong.

However, Jong-kwe was not so malicious as to deliberately say the correct answer was wrong.

"You got it exactly right. It's a shame there's no prize for the correct answer!"

Bi Ryun-yeon, having received Jong-kwe's praise, shrugged with a very triumphant expression.

"Is one enough?"

As Bi Ryun-yeon raised one index finger, Jong-kwe nodded.

"One is enough!"

Jong-kwe chimed in with perfect timing. The two seemed to have fallen into their own world.

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

Namgung Sang asked with a dumbfounded face, unable to figure it out no matter how much he wracked his brain. Although he had been prepared to pay some price, Bi Ryun-yeon, unusually, did not scold Namgung Sang and even added a bright smile as he kindly replied.

"In other words, it means that you have to cross the gorge called the 'One Step of the Blood God'!"

It was an explanation so kind and accurate that it was almost tear-inducing.

"What? Me?"

Namgung Sang pointed to himself as if he were about to pierce his chin with his finger. His face showed that he could not understand why his name was being mentioned at this place. Reflecting on his expression, which utilized the full range of human facial muscles, he was undoubtedly thinking, 'Please tell me this is a joke!' However, Bi Ryun-yeon's reaction was refreshingly blunt.

"Yes!"

Rustle!

At that moment, as if he had dirt stuck to him, his friends next to him instantly moved a few feet away. It was clear they didn't want to get burned by the flying embers.

Isn't justice a pure and noble spirit that corrects wrongdoings, eliminates injustice, protects the weak, and yet does not coerce, resisting unrighteousness!

Namgung Sang witnessed that justice fall to the ground today. He had certainly learned that when he was young. Why was reality like this!

Gungsang despaired. There was no ally to support him, no matter how hard he looked.

It was as if they had united in secret, thinking that one scapegoat was enough and there was no need to be implicated unnecessarily.

Standing alone in the ruined garden of friendship, shedding tears of blood, he frantically searched for the shadow of Jin-ryeong, his only support, but she had disappeared, and not even the hem of her clothing could be seen.

'Traitors!'

Namgung Sang deeply felt the emptiness of the friendship he had built over many years and witnessed the end of camaraderie, which was like dust scattering in the wind. Tears threatened to stream down his face with a pitiful and sorrowful heart.

However, he could not just sit there.

"Shouldn't we ask those elder masters? The Senior Disciple Master cannot decide such an important matter alone…"

But Gungsang soon had to regret his blabbering mouth.

'Proximity to ink leads to blackness!'

The arm bends inward, not outward, and the crab sides with the shrimp.

Yeom-do patted Namgung Sang's shoulder and said,

"Do well! Don't disappoint me! Otherwise, you will die!"

Die? But by the time he disappointed Yeom-do, he would probably no longer be in this world.

"Please!"

Bing-geom's face was expressionless, showing no emotion.

Why was no one objecting to this decision? He looked around for a savior, but there was no such being anywhere.

The fatal conclusion was irreversible.

'Am I going to be killed like this?'

Why is it always me again? Namgung Sang could not overlook this point. It was suspicious. He could not overlook the scent of conspiracy emanating from it.

Of course, it could have been his simple paranoia, but the surrounding circumstances reinforced his suspicion.

He had been nominated again. Could he really step on the land on the other side alive with his current strength? He shook his head. Namgung Sang was not foolish enough to overestimate his abilities. The future was despairingly uncertain.

He hadn't even proposed to Jin-ryeong yet… He hadn't even spent his wedding night… Dying like this felt too pitiful given the bright future that lay ahead.

There was one thing he suspected.

Was it because of his nickname? He recalled the incident of the Twin Thunder Demons in Thunderclap Valley. Oh, right! They aren't the Twin Thunder Demons anymore, are they? They lost their names that day. They barely preserved their lives, but lost their honor and dignity instead.

It was clear that the Senior Disciple Master was dissatisfied with his nickname, even if he wasn't saying anything. Thinking about it that way, all of the Senior Disciple Master's countless 'scoldings' towards him made sense.

'Thunderclap Sword Dragon!'

Although he had always thought it was an undeserved nickname, he never dreamed that it would trip him up like this in such a place. He never imagined he would be killed here because of it…

The more he thought about it, the more tragic it was.

Was it because he didn't know his place! He shouldn't have been so delighted to get a name that didn't suit his standing.

The man who had ended his long inner wandering raised his gaze to the other side of the gorge. But in his eyes, where hope had already withered, he felt no stirrings of life.

Before he knew it, Gungsang found himself standing alone on a field covered with thick, overgrown grass. The others had already taken their seats far away and were watching him with eager eyes. His friends were sitting far away in a safe place, cheering him on at the top of their lungs. It was a friendship so wonderful it made him sigh (and cry?).

Some were making bets on whether he would succeed or fail, making a lot of noise. At the center of it all was, as expected, Senior Disciple Master Bi Ryun-yeon. Where had he bet his money? He must have bet on me failing, right? As death approached, his mind wandered to trivial things.

The other side of the gorge was a desolate cliff made of rock, with not a single blade of grass or shadow of green to be seen.

Only after raising his head a little could he finally see the edge of the opposite gorge. This was due to the fact that the other side was about seven or eight zhang higher than this side. In other words, even if the gap of the gorge was about twenty zhang, he would have to leap much further to reach the other side.

'Damn it, it's really far!'

Despair settled in the void where hope had withered.

"Are there… any footholds?"

Namgung Sang asked, shrinking his neck before the majestic grandeur of nature that overwhelmed him, with a glimmer of hope.

"Don't worry! There are no such conveniences here that would make people complacent!"

A firm answer came back.

Namgung Sang's face immediately fell.

"Are you saying I have to leap over there with nothing but my bare body? I enjoy jokes, but I didn't think you would try to make a fool of me with such absurd words."

"A joke? Aren't you making a grave mistake right now? It's absolutely not a joke, so don't worry! If there's no path, you just have to make one and cross!"

He still couldn't accept the reality that had suddenly befallen him. The young man retorted again.

"Are we really crossing? Really?"

"What's wrong? Why do you keep asking obvious questions, you who should know better? In fact, some people argued that we should install a crossbow firing mechanism to recreate the situation from a hundred years ago more vividly. They suggested it should fire all at once the moment the challenger leaps across the gorge! However… that proposal was rejected. It was regrettable. The prevailing opinion was not to make excessively unreasonable demands!"

The delegation stared at Jong-kwe, who spoke of an incredible feat so casually, with disgusted expressions.

'Unreasonable demands? It's already unreasonable enough!' Namgung Sang wanted to shout hysterically but barely restrained himself.

"What's the matter? Only one person! Only one person needs to cross to the other side. How easy is that condition? Of course, you can't use ropes or receive help from others. Everything else is allowed, so figure it out on your own."

As Namgung Sang remained silent without any reply, Jong-kwe continued.

"The children from the previous locations crossed here with ease. This proves that it is not impossible to cross."

Namgung Sang, and indeed all of the Chunmu Academy delegation's eyes widened in unison. 'Why don't you tell us such important facts in advance!' They wanted to shout, but they managed to suppress it, expending ten years' worth of self-control.

"So, the Machun Pavilion delegation arrived before us?"

Namgung Sang asked with a look of shock.

"That's about right. Not only did they arrive first, but they also crossed first. Why are you dawdling without hurrying? You're not planning to spend the night here getting bitten by the night dew, are you? It gets very cold here in the mountains at night."

'Ughhhh… It's wide!'

All other expressions seemed meaningless. Yeom-do narrowed his eyes and roughly estimated the distance to the other side of the gorge.

15 zhang? No. It seemed to be at least 20 zhang. Moreover, the height of the opposite side alone looked to be at least seven or eight zhang.

But between them, not a single thread of plain silk was laid. Only nameless mountain birds were flying around frantically in search of food.

'Is there a collective habitat for mountain birds?'

No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't come up with a clear solution.

'How is Gungsang supposed to cross that?'

Yeom-do, who knew more about the boy, who was like a disciple, than his own parents, the heads of the Namgung family, knew more about his abilities.

Since meeting Yeom-do through Bi Ryun-yeon, Namgung Sang had made incredible progress at an astonishing speed. It was development that should be called evolution rather than progress. Perhaps even his parents would faint if they saw his true abilities.

However! Even Yeom-do couldn't help but be skeptical this time. The thought that he might be sending a young life to the heavens for no reason lingered in his mind. Yeom-do glanced at Bi Ryun-yeon. But he was still confident!

Yeom-do was only now beginning to understand a part of that confident lump.

Bi Ryun-yeon never made reckless bets. This was because reckless bets led to financial losses. His creed was that he would never do anything that would result in a loss. Conversely, his creed was also that he would do anything that would be profitable, even if it meant death. And as Yeom-do himself knew, he had never lost a bet before.

'Did I bet wrong again…'

Regret suddenly flooded him. Yeom-do, who had secretly bet ten taels of silver with Bi Ryun-yeon, began to feel uneasy. But he soon shook his head vigorously.

'No! Eolumttaeng also bet that that guy would fail! I will win this time!'

However, looking at his past betting record, he had a record of 177 losses in 177 games! He had never once taken money from Bi Ryun-yeon. He had even resolved not to make any more money-related bets with Bi Ryun-yeon, but found himself making bets with Bi Ryun-yeon again, both voluntarily and involuntarily, autonomously or coercively, and wondered, 'Why did I do this?' He reflected again. In fact, like many gamblers who go bankrupt at the gambling table, Yeom-do's obsession with victory grew as his losing record piled up.

However, the most terrifying thing about Bi Ryun-yeon was that he always won miraculously in bets that were unbelievably absurd, where defeat was certain, and where there was not a shred of chance of winning, by some trick. Oh! Then does that mean Namgung Sang is safe?

For a moment, he was happy, but then he immediately became dejected again.

'Huh? Then does that mean I have to be a 'defeated dog' again!'

'Congratulations! 178 losses in 178 games!' the tempting echo reverberated in his ears. It was by no means a welcome situation. Suddenly, it felt strange and unsettling, like going to the bathroom without wiping.

'Huh? Come to think of it, do I really want that guy to succeed or fail?'

If Namgung Sang succeeds, he will lose the bet again and lose his precious silver. Conversely, if he fails, he is almost certain to die, but he will win his first victory against Bi Ryun-yeon. However, no master would wish for the death of someone who is like a disciple. Perhaps!

Suddenly, the calculations became complicated.

'Why is it so complicated?'

Discovering his contradictory thoughts, Yeom-do's head began to ache. Was I only this kind of person? Suddenly, he began to hate his own primal, instinctive, pure, and honest self. Along with it came a deep skepticism about humanity.

"Um, I'm suddenly curious about something…"

Namgung Sang bravely opened his mouth.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Do you know what happens if I fall?"

The old man seemed taken aback for a moment. Even with his keen intuition, honed by living twice sixty years, he could quickly discern the worries contained in those bright, earnest eyes. The old man burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! To think that someone who should know better would worry about such a trivial thing! Don't worry! It will never happen!"

Namgung Sang also laughed along, relieved.

"Hahaha! Right? There's no way that would happen! My concerns were clearly unfounded. It's absurd to think there are no safety measures or contingency plans down there."

Namgung Sang laughed heartily, as if he had heard a very funny joke, but Jong-kwe, who had been laughing with him moments ago, was no longer laughing.

"Don't worry, don't worry! I have no intention of installing safety nets that would make you complacent and dull your fighting spirit and resolve!"

His voice was low but firm, filled with resolute will. At that moment, Namgung Sang's face turned as hard as stone.

"Wh-what? Are you saying there are no safety measures below to preserve the challenger's life?"

It was a plea that contained the deep and earnest meaning, 'Please don't try to put me in a difficult position with any more absurd words.'

Jong-kwe then glared at Namgung Sang with eyes like he was looking at a monster. Gungsang flinched.

"Have you ever heard the proverb that a cornered rat will bite a cat?"

"Yes! Of course, I have. But what does that have to do with this story…"

"It has a lot to do with it! A very close relationship!"

Cutting off Namgung Sang's words decisively, Jong-kwe exclaimed.

"The proverb above conveys a very instructive message that humans exhibit dozens of times more potential when pushed to extreme situations!"

Namgung Sang's face was swallowed by a wave of disbelief, turning vacant and foolish.

"That, isn't that a rather wrong interpretation? It seems like an overinterpretation of the inherent meaning. Moreover, the subject of that proverb is a mouse, not a human."

The old man then looked at the immature young man with a chiding gaze.

"Let the trivial things pass, a true man! Whether it's a mouse or a human, they are both living beings. Furthermore, there are not a few other discovered cases that humans exhibit abilities beyond their limits when pushed to extreme situations! Therefore, how can we carelessly commit the heinous act of dulling the extreme situation that the challenger has just acquired and the resolution, determination, and fighting spirit that result from it with safety nets!"

The old man's thoughts and will were as firm and unshakeable as a great rock that had endured a thousand years.

"Mmm, of course!"

Bi Ryun-yeon nodded from the side, with an expression of complete understanding.

Did he really agree? The bewildered gazes of the delegation intensely pierced Bi Ryun-yeon's body, but he seemed unaffected.

'How can this be so unreasonable…'

Despair swirled in the lake of his heart. However, Namgung Sang decided to muster his courage one more time.

"So, Elder Master, you mean… if I fall there…"

Jong-kwe replied kindly and gently even before Namgung Sang finished speaking. His courage was admirable, but the result was a confirmation of death.

"You keep asking obvious things for someone who doesn't look like it! If you fall, you die, what else would happen? If you're lucky enough to fall into water, you might survive with a one in ten thousand chance. So don't give up hope too early!"

The old man didn't bother to mention that the probability of one in ten thousand was a thousand times smaller. Namgung Sang swallowed dryly again and looked down at the sheer cliff. As the old man had stated, there were no safety nets anywhere to protect the preciousness of human life.

The sound of the roaring valley stream, hitting the sharp rocks jutting out here and there from the bottom, echoed.

It was too deep and too dark. Even the color of the water could not be distinguished from above. It was a grotesque and terrifying shape, as if darkness and abyss were gaping open, waiting for prey to fall.

Namgung Sang swallowed dryly again and, as an experiment, dropped a stone that seemed quite heavy into the gorge below.

This experiment seemed to pique the interest of Bi Ryun-yeon, Yeom-do, and Bing-geom, as the three of them also listened intently from the edge of the cliff.

Whoooosh… woosh… woosh…….

The stone, which had been falling for a long time, was soon gradually lost in the wind blowing between the cliffs and disappeared into the distance.

Thump!

Finally, the stone hit the water right around the point where they had given up trying to hear it. It was a very faint sound that they, who had accumulated tremendous auditory training, could hear.

Namgung Sang replaced himself with the stone. He imagined what would happen if the stone's fate became his own.

Whooooosh!

The cold wind hit his face, and the dark ground, which seemed connected to the bottom of an eight-story hell, approached him. The god of death welcomed him with a chilling smile, arms spread wide.

Falling. Falling. Falling. And… continuing to fall.

For a moment, Namgung Sang was lost in his own world, completely absorbed.

"What are you doing?"

"Yes. I'm still falling."

Namgung Sang replied with a dazed expression, still lost in his own world.

"……?"

Of course, Bi Ryun-yeon didn't understand.

Namgung Sang emerged from his own world a long time later.

"Kyahhh! Hoooook!"

"What?"

"What?"

"Who?"

Clang! Clang!

Charing! Charing!

Swish! Swish!

The sudden scream startled Yeom-do, Bing-geom, Bi Ryun-yeon, and even the delegation members far away. The scream was so urgent and terrifying that they thought assassins had attacked again for a moment. After realizing it was an absurd accidental incident, they put away their drawn weapons, but they couldn't stop the suspicious gazes from being cast upon Namgung Sang.

Namgung Sang, startled and brought back to reality, had a face as white as a sheet of paper, as if he had returned from visiting the afterlife. Moreover, his entire body was drenched in cold sweat. His bulging, bloodshot eyes stared intently at the ground.

"Huff! Huff! Huff! Hahahaha!"

Namgung Sang gasped for breath as if his lungs would burst. People looked at him in bewilderment.

"Ground meat…"

"What?"

Bi Ryun-yeon strained his ears to properly hear the faint voice.

"Red… ground meat…"

Gungsang mumbled, still with a dazed expression.

'What is he talking about?'

But despite Bi Ryun-yeon's confusion, Gungsang said nothing more.

"What did he see to come back like this? Strange guy!"

Bi Ryun-yeon shook his head as if he found it pathetic.

"That guy! He's really broken!"

Namgung Sang, who had drawn everyone's attention with the unexpected incident, regained his composure after a while. Reality was drawing closer to his skin.

Hoping to survive by falling here was an incredibly arrogant thought.

"No! Pessimism breeds nothing! Positive! Positive!"

Namgung Sang shouted to himself as if chasing away the ominous thoughts that followed in a chain reaction, shaking his head vigorously.

"It's okay! I can survive even if I fall here! It's water below! It's water below! There's an old saying that you must fall off a cliff at least once to become a master! Cheer up, Namgung Sang! This is nothing! You can survive!"

Namgung Sang muttered to himself as if reciting a spell, trying to suppress the fear that welled up through self-hypnosis.

His voice seemed to have been heard by Bi Ryun-yeon as well, who casually said,

"But the bottom is full of reefs, isn't it?"

'Huh! Has it already been decided?'

Bi Ryun-yeon's voice seemed to imply that something was already a foregone conclusion.

Cold sweat flowed down his back like rain.

"What do you mean 'okay'? You die if you fall, obviously! Do you think anyone can survive falling off a cliff? Those not chosen by heaven cannot survive falling off a cliff, even if they came back from the dead."

Bi Ryun-yeon, who did not offer comfort or encouragement but cruelly doused the remaining embers and the efforts to rekindle them, was resented.

Even a powerless frog is killed with its insides exposed by a stone thrown without thought!

Tears welled up in his eyes.

Not only that. Reality was much harsher than he thought. His personal feelings seemed to be merely a hindrance and not a problem at all.

Jong-kwe urged him again.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you jumping? Aren't there people waiting behind you? As I said before, someone needs to cross to the other side and lower a rope ladder. If you don't want to, turn back and go home."

The thousand-zhang cliff was not a lie or a joke, but a reality laid out before him. The hillside on the other side of the gorge felt as infinitely distant as the moon and stars in the night sky. It felt like a different place in a different world, not existing in this world where he stood on two feet.

At this moment, Jin-ryeong's face caught his anxious eye. Her complexion was poor, perhaps due to worry. Come to think of it, he hadn't even sent a matchmaker to formally propose to her, let alone spend his wedding night! The 'plan for a happy life of thirty years' that he had secretly formulated was still in its infancy.

Namgung Sang's eyes glinted sharply with firm resolve. He clenched his fists.

'Yes! Let's quit!'

Foolishness and courage must be distinguished!

Namgung Sang turned around to face Bi Ryun-yeon without a moment's hesitation.

Namgung Sang's face, which had been tensed with a certain resolve, softened like sugar melting in warm water.

"Hehehe! Senior Disciple Master!"

Namgung Sang gazed at Bi Ryun-yeon with eyes that sparkled and shimmered excessively like glints of light reflected on a lake, sometimes making people feel queasy.

Perhaps it was because he was on the verge of life and death? Judging by this reckless action, he might have lost his reason. His condition did not look good.

Bi Ryun-yeon, who considered himself a self-proclaimed pacifist full of warmth and affection, could not cruelly reject this young man, who had the strange dual relationship of being his disciple and junior disciple.

He simply smiled kindly and said the following.

"Gungsang-ah!"

His voice was as soft as a spring breeze, which was like bellows fanning the flame of hope in Namgung Sang's heart.

"Yes! Senior Disciple Master!"

Bi Ryun-yeon smiled his characteristic smile, patting his shoulder forcefully like a drum of hope.

"As a descendant of the martial arts, you must have heard this story, right?"

Here, Bi Ryun-yeon paused for a breath.

As Namgung Sang saw the increasingly dark, chilling smile appearing on the red lips, which were exposed by his messy bangs, he felt the shadow of anxiety hanging over his heart grow denser and expand. The shadow gradually encroached upon the illuminated area, crossing the barrier of light and hope and flooding into the white area where positive thoughts and hope were showering their abundant light.

Bi Ryun-yeon spoke slowly and clearly.

"A lion throws its cubs from a cliff of ten thousand fathoms to raise them strongly!"

At that moment, Namgung Sang gave up everything, humbly accepted his entire existence, and then quietly turned away. Today, his shoulders seemed unusually slumped.