Chung Myung raised his head with a grim look. Clenching his jaw, he bent his neck up.
Little more.
Just a little more.
And a little more.
"…"
It was only when his neck was tilted to the extent that it looked like it would break, was he able to see what he wanted.
A shaved cliff.
A terrifying cliff, endlessly high with the top obscured by mist, filled his eyes.
"… crazy."
A smile on his lips.
Dangerously Disconnected cliff was what the people living in Mount Hua called it. The highest and the most dangerous cliff, famous for being rugged even among the five mountains.
And in the middle of this perilous cliff was the place Chung Myung was looking for.
The most secretive location in the world. Very few people from Mount Hua would come here, and even less knew about the secret.
"Well, I'm the only one who knows."
In the middle of the cliff was a small cave that couldn't be found without climbing the cliff directly.
The steep peak was a place where the people of Mount Hua were prohibited from training. However, Chung Myung was someone who reveled in being disobedient. So, he enjoyed coming here frequently.
Then, by chance, he discovered a small cave in the middle of the cliff, and from then on, he used it as his exclusive hiding spot.
"It helped me out a lot."
For example, drinking alcohol while avoiding the eyes of his sahyung, eating meat while hiding from his sahyung, or taking a nap while ignoring his sahyung…
"Oh sahyung."
'Why did you even keep me alive?'
He should have beat him to death.
Now that he had changed his position and began acting as a guardian for Mount Hua, Chung Myung could understand his sahyung's constant lectures. If anyone in the current Mount Hua behaved like the old Chung Myung, he would beat them to death.
Even Chung Myung wanted to kill his old self.
"No, was I crazy…?"
It felt like his neck was going to break. No sane person would even consider using the middle of a cliff like this as a shelter.
And now Chung Myung has a weak and damaged body.
Chung Myung, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, could have happily skipped his way up this cliff. But it's impossible for Chung Myung, the third-class disciple, to climb this.
Why! Why did he have to be a child!
There was no place to step and no place to grab. The cliff was too smooth for him to move up.
This cliff was always like that.
"… I've had it. Really."
He wanted to hurt his past self for choosing this place!
"Phew."
Taking a deep breath, Chung Myung looked up at the cliff again.
"Still, I need to go!"
There was no going back.
If someone asked why, Chung Myung would answer.
"There are vitality pills in there! Damn it!"
If his memory was clear, then there should be Plum Blossom pills and many other pills in that cave!
Because that cave was where he would get drunk and sleep, the pills he used to relieve his hangovers should also be there.
'There's no other solution.'
No matter how much the alcohol kicked his ass in the morning, it's still a precious vitality pill, but they were hidden in a cave to recover from hangovers.
This wasn't something any sane person would do.
But thanks to that, Chung Myung had a chance.
Chung Myung looked at the steep cliff with a determined face and turned around. He strode into the forest on the other side.
"Phewwwwww!"
He took a deep breath.
"It's crazy no matter how much I think about it."
Chung Myung was now standing on top of that cliff. He came to the edge of it with a long rope, woven from vines, in his hands.
No matter how much he thought, climbing up was impossible since it was difficult to climb a smooth cliff, and the height was too much for him.
With a child's body, it was too harsh to climb up.
Then how about descending down to the cave from the top? It must be more manageable than climbing up. But the problem was…
"It is ten times as dangerous."
Chung Myung glanced down and gulped. He couldn't even see the ground. All he could see was the cliff and a veil of mist hiding what lay beneath.
He stepped back and grabbed his chest.
"Ah fuck! I'm shaking."
He enjoyed being here in the past, like walking into his own personal garden, but now it felt like the entrance to hell. How many vines did he have to combine to get himself down with a single rope? How many people would think of climbing down this cliff with just a rope?
Right now, he had to do it, no other choice or option.
"You only live once, not twice…no, this is my second life…."
Chung Myung tied the rope in his hand to a nearby stone. This was going to be his one lifeline. He pulled on the rope several times to ensure it would hold him and then stood at the edge of the cliff.
"Haaa."
Saving Mount Hua is so difficult. He even had to risk his life like this.
"Damn it!"
Chung Myung cursed loudly and boldly started going down the cliff.
It was never easy to go down a steep cliff. It was challenging to find any stable footholds. Chung Myung leaned his body on the cliff to move slowly and attached himself to the walls.
After struggling and yelling out, Chung Myung slowly moved down.
"Ahh! Fuck! Damn it! If I had known I would have learned acrobatics!"
It was something that Chung Myung didn't learn in the past.
It was then.
The stone ledge he stepped on as he moved down crumbled.
Tuk! Tuk!
Chung Myung blankly stared at the falling stones. The rocks bounced off the cliff and burrowed into the thick mist below.
....Tyk!
After a long time, a noise lightly echoed back.
"… Whoa."
It takes so long to fall to the bottom from this height. If Chung Myung fell, there would be no corpse left to find. Realizing that, he unconsciously gulped in fear.
The Plum Blossom Sword Saint isn't afraid of anything, not even the Heavenly Demon, but that's if the opponent was mortal. What about the ground below him? Between fighting the heavenly demon or falling to his death, it's a no-brainer which is worse.
Imagine dying here and going to the afterlife.
How would his Sahyung greet him? He would be downgraded from the hero who killed the Heavenly Demon to the idiot who fell from a cliff.
"Shit."
Chung Myung began to move. It was a little awkward at first, but after a few repetitions, he was moving like a lizard attached to the wall.
'It has to be down there.'
Chung Myung, who was descending, frowned. There was a huge crack in the middle of the cliff.
'Going inside will be tough.'
So, he would have to jump…
"Phew."
Taking a deep breath, he looked down.
"I am Plum Blossom Sword Saint!"
Can't be afraid of this!
He boldly threw his body. At the same time that he let go, he cried out.
"Ahhhhhh!"
He reached out and grabbed onto a protruding stone. Hanging off the rock, Chung Myung shouted.
"Ugh! I am scared!"
But thanks to the jump, he traveled a lot…
Tuk!
"Huh?"
Chung Myung looked up. The stone he was hanging onto…
"No."
Tutuk!
"…"
No, it's—
Help out a little, you conscience-less cliff.
Crack
The stone broke, and Chung Myung's body began to fall.
"Oh, my god! Oh, my god!"
Chung Myung desperately swung his arms and legs in the air.
'What would happen if I fell from here?'
Death. Certain death.
'Am I going to die?'
Die? Chung Myung?
It was then.
Thud!
Suddenly, a strong shock was felt from Chung Myung's waist, and his body floated into the air.
"Huh?"
The swaying rope came into Chung Myung's sight.
'Right!'
Tuk!
After bouncing a few times, the violent movements began to settle. Chung Myung, hanging listlessly from the rope, sighed in lament. A moment later, he burst into laughter and yelled.
"Indeed! A man must be prepared!"
He wasn't sure if the rope would hold up well as it was made of vines, but it turned out to be strong enough since it was only holding a child's body.
Chung Myung slowly looked around.
'There!'
His eyes shone. A bulge that wasn't far from where he was hanging. Below there was the hiding place of the former Chung Myung. Out of habit, he measured the rope, and it seemed like he guessed the right length!
"Kuak! Heaven is helping me out!"
Grabbing the rope, he took a deep breath. First, he was still hanging in midair from the rope. He needed to cling to the cliff…
"Ugh!"
Chung Myung began to swing his body, the still rope, then began to shake back and forth.
'I need to find the right angle.'
Woong!
Wooong!
Chung Myung's body, clinging to the rope, gradually swung closer and closer to the cliff.
"Ugh!"
He reached out and grabbed the cliff, but the rock was so smooth that he couldn't take hold of it.
"Once more!"
Chung Myung moved and kicked the cliff to straighten his body. And then with both hands, he would hold the—
Tuk!
"What?"
Chung Myung's head shot up like a thunderbolt at the sound. His eyes quickly found what he was looking for.
The rope was halfway torn.
"Ehhh"
No. That can't be true.
Usually, the line should stay until he reaches the cliff, and then it should break…
Riiiip.
"… NOOO! UAHHHHHHH!"
Chung Myung fell along with the momentum from rebounding towards the cliff.
"Hiiikkk! I am dying! Oh, my god!"
Since he was already close to the cliff because of the rebound. Chung Myung raised his qi and tried to grab hold of the cliff.
Crack!
The bones, which were overburdened, broke.
"Ah shit!"
His wrist couldn't handle the weight of the speed he was moving at. Desperately, he thrust his other hand with qi and held onto the cliff.
Crack!
The result was the same.
"Ah what!? They aren't some flimsy twigs! Why are the bones breaking down so easily!? What sort of damned body was I given!?'
Live a little more!
Chung Myung swung his arms and legs like he was swimming in the air, but somehow it didn't seem to work.
"Uah!"
If the hands don't work, use the body!
Like a frog, he clung to the cliff; instead of his broken wrist, he held the cliff with his arms and legs.
"Ahhh! Hot! Hot!"
With his body scraping against the sheer cliff, an immense, scorching heat could be felt. Despite the pain, it worked, and his falling speed reduced dramatically.
Now, all he had to do was find that protruding cave.
Chung Myung lowered his gaze.
He couldn't find it. Instead…
He was able to find something better than it. A much safer place than the protruding cave.
"Hehe. Land."
It was the ground.
It was a sudden crash.
Chung Myung's smiling body was plastered to the ground.
Thuuuuuud!
"Kuak!"
A cloud of dust scattered around. Chung Myung's body trembled as it was buried in the dust.
"I am… alive!"
Thanks to slowing down the fall, he escaped death. However, his entire body was shattered; every single spot ached and hurt.
"Kuak!"
After struggling in place for a while, Chung Myung managed to drag his weary body up and stared at the cliff with searing, scarlet eyes full of anger.
"… I will climb you no matter what means I have to use, you damn disgusting cliff!"