Book 13 Chapter 2

Jump!!!

"You now know why the canyon is called the 'Heavenly Gap' or the 'Blood God's Step', and what the test you must take to cross it is!"

However, contrary to the noncommittal closing remarks, the delegates stood there, not "realizing" what they were supposed to do.

"??? "

Everyone's faces were filled with question marks, probably because they didn't understand a word he said.

At first glance, it seems like a simple estimation, but in fact it was very difficult, because it was beyond their consciousness and therefore impossible for their limited and impoverished imagination to estimate.

Only one person, except for Bi Ryuyeon!

"How interesting."

With an intrigued look on her face, she replied. She was the only one who responded.

"Ohhh, yes!"

Zhongqing exclaimed.

"You must have understood what Nobu said."

"Sure. I'm telling you to jump over that canyon with all your might!"

"I don't know," said Bi Ryuyeon in a confident tone. It was an answer that didn't even consider the possibility of being wrong.

But Zongqing wasn't so mean as to say that part right, part wrong.

"You guessed right. Too bad there's no prize for the correct answer!"

After receiving a rousing endorsement, Bi Ryuyeon shrugged her shoulders, looking very pleased.

"Is it just one?"

Bi Ryuyeon raised her index finger, and Zhongqing nodded.

"That's one!"

Jonghyun chimed in with a staccato beat. They seemed to have already fallen into a world of their own.

"Moo, what are you talking about? "

The Prince of Namgung asked her if she couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried, and although she was prepared to pay a certain price, she made an exception and answered him with a smile on her face.

"That means you're the one who has to jump that canyon called the Blood God Step!"

It was a kind and accurate explanation that brought tears to my eyes.

"Yes? Me, me, me? "

Namgungsang pointed a finger at himself, ready to poke his chin, as if he didn't understand why his name should be mentioned at all. Judging by the expression on his face, which utilized the full range of human facial muscles, he must have been thinking, "Please tell me this is a joke!" But Bi Ryuyeon's response was chillingly cool.

"Yes!"

Self!

At that moment, his friends next to him quickly moved away from him, as if he had some kind of dirt on him. It was clear that they didn't want to get burned by the flying sparks.

Isn't justice a pure and noble spirit that resists injustice by righting wrongs, excluding wrongdoing, protecting the weak, and yet not coercing!

Namgung Sang saw justice fall to the ground today. That's what I was taught when I was a kid, why not reality!

The king despaired. He washed his eyes and looked for an ally, but there was none.

It was as if there was a great unity in a place they didn't know, that one scapegoat was enough, and that they didn't have to sit on the sidelines.

As I wept in the ruins of the Friendship Garden, I hurriedly searched for the shadow of my only support, but I couldn't see where she'd hidden, not even a hint of her collar.

'Traitors!

Namgungsang felt the futility of the friendship he had spent so many years cultivating in his bones, and watched the end of the camaraderie like dust scattered by the wind. He felt so sad and wistful that he could almost burst into tears.

But we weren't going to sit on our hands.

"Shouldn't we ask those workers? It's not like the High Priestess can decide such an important matter alone……."

But the emperor soon came to resent his foul mouth.

Nearly inky black!

The arm bends inward, not outward, and the crayfish was on the crab's side.

Yeomdo said, tapping Namgungsang on the shoulder.

"Do well, don't let me down, or you die!"

But by the time he has disappointed Yindo, he is probably no longer in this world.

"Please! "

Binggum's face was emotionless and expressionless.

He looked around for a savior, but there was none to be found.

The fatal conclusion was not overturned.

"Am I going to get killed?

Namgung Sang could not ignore (默過: to shut up and look the other way, as if dumbfounded by the slickness of the tongue) that point. Award. He could not overlook (看過: to pretend to be blind despite having two good eyes) the smell of conspiracy in the air.

Of course, it could have been simple paranoia on his part, but the circumstances around him lent credence to his psychosis.

You've been named again (指名: not the act of picking up a girl in a closed bar). Would he ever make it to the other side alive with his current skills? He shook his head. He was not so foolish as to be overconfident in his abilities. He was hopelessly skeptical of the future.

I haven't even proposed to Jinryung yet……. I couldn't even spend my honeymoon night……. It was too pathetic to die like this, with so much life ahead of me.

There was one thing I could have guessed.

He thought back to what had happened to the lightning stallions in Lightning Valley. They lost their names that day. They had barely escaped with their lives, but they had lost their honor and dignity.

It was clear that Dae-hyung was unhappy with his nickname, even if he wasn't saying it. In that way, all of Daehyung's countless 'cravings' for him made sense.

"Thunder Blade Dragon!

I always thought he was an undeserved star, but I never thought it would come back to haunt him in a place like this. I never thought it would get him killed in a place like this…….

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how sad it was.

He didn't know the fraction, so he wasn't thrilled to get a name that didn't fit his fraction.

When he had finished his long wanderings within himself, he lifted his gaze to the other side of the canyon, but there was no stirring of life in his eyes, for hope was already dead.

Before he knew it, he found himself alone on the grassy plain with the tall grass. The others had already taken their seats a short distance away and were watching him curiously. His friends sat in the safety of the distance, cheering at the top of their lungs. It was a sigh-worthy, tear-jerking display of friendship.

Some were making a big fuss about whether he would fail or succeed, and at the center of it all was the grand old man himself, Bi Ryuyeon. Where would he put his money? He must have bet on me failing, right? He was so close to death that he was unnecessarily concerned.

The other side of the canyon was a desolate escarpment with rocky walls, not a single patch of grass, not a shadow of green.

Only after raising his head a bit could he see the rim of the canyon on the other side. This was caused by the fact that the other side was about seven or eight zhang higher than this side, meaning that even if the gap in this canyon was only twenty zhang, he would have to jump a much greater distance to reach the other side.

"Holy shit, that's a head!

Despair has set in on the empty lot.

"Do you have…, like, a scaffold or something?"

Craning his neck at the majesty of nature that overwhelmed him, he asked, just in case.

"Don't worry, we don't have any of those amenities that make people complacent!"

The answer was emphatic.

Namgungsang's face quickly turned grim.

"Gee…do you mean I'm supposed to run barefoot across that place with no path, no stepping stones? I mean, I enjoy a good joke, but I wouldn't try to make people laugh with something so absurd."

"Are you kidding me? Are you under some kind of grave illusion? I'm not kidding you, I'm not kidding you, I'm not kidding you! If there's no road, I'll build one and cross it!"

He still couldn't accept what was in front of him. The young man argued again.

"Really cross? Really?"

"What's wrong? Why does someone who should know better keep asking the obvious?" In fact, some even suggested that a crossbow firing mechanism should be installed to more realistically recreate the conditions of a hundred years ago. But… the proposal was dismissed! It was a shame, because the consensus was that we shouldn't ask for too much!"

The entire delegation looked on with bemusement as he spoke with an air of nonchalance.

'Too much to ask? I have enough as it is!' Namgung-san wanted to shout paroxysmally, but managed to restrain himself.

"Why not? One person! Only one person needs to be able to get across. Of course, you can't use a rope or get help from anyone else. Other than that, you're good to go."

When Namgungsang remained silent, Zongqing continued.

"The kids from the other place have already crossed this bridge. That proves that it's not impossible to cross."

The eyes of the Southern Palace and the entire Heavenly Martial Academy delegation widened at the same time. It took me a decade's worth of self-control before I managed to suppress the urge to shout, "If you're going to tell me such an important fact, tell me in advance!

"Well, does that mean that the delegation from the Temple of Heaven arrived before us?"

Namgungsang asked in disbelief.

"I suppose so. Not only did you arrive first, but you crossed first. What are you waiting for? You don't intend to spend the night here in the dew, do you? It's very cold at night in the mountains, after all."

'Mmmmmmm……. That's big!'

All other words seemed meaningless. Squinting, he roughly estimated the distance to the other side of the canyon.

Fifteen? No. It was more like 20, and the other side of the tower was at least seven or eight stories high.

But there wasn't even a thin strand of silk between them, just a bunch of nameless mountain birds flying around frantically in search of food.

"Is there a colony of mountain birds?

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't come up with a solution.

"How is that even possible?

He was a child, a pupil, and his abilities were now known more than even his biological parents, the Namgungseju.

In the years since he had bonded with Yin Dao through the Bi Ryuyeon, Nan Gongsheng had advanced at an incredibly rapid pace. It was more of an evolution than a progression. Even his parents would be shocked to see his true colors.

But! This time, even Yeomdo was skeptical. He couldn't help but wonder if he was sending a young life up the wrong way. Yeomdo glanced at Bi Ryuyeon, but he remained confident!

It's a Yeomdo that I've only recently begun to understand as a lump.

He would never gamble recklessly, because it would result in financial loss. He would not do anything that would cause him to lose money, even if it meant dying. On the other hand, it was also his creed to die for something that was profitable. And as far as Yin knew, he had never lost a gamble or wager in his life.

'I must have made a mistake…….'

A sudden wave of regret washed over him. The Yeomdo of the ten silver coins she had secretly bet with Bi Ryuyeon was beginning to make her uneasy, but she shook her head vigorously.

'No! I bet that icy bastard he's going to fail, too! I'm going to win this time!'

But if you look at her record of bets, big and small, she's won 177 and lost 177, and she's never had to scrape money out of me. I had promised myself that I would never bet with her again, but when I found myself betting with her again, either voluntarily or under duress, I wondered, 'Why did I do that? ' It was the Yeomdo of reflection once again. In fact, in line with the reason why many gamblers lose at the gambling table, the Yeomdo also increased as the number of losses accumulated, and the obsession with winning became more and more intense without end.

But the scariest thing about biliuyun is that they always seem to miraculously win, no matter how absurd the odds, in gambles where they are guaranteed to lose. So, does this mean that Namgungsang is safe?

I was happy for a moment, but quickly turned sour again.

"What? That means I'm going to be the losing dog again!

"Congratulations, 178 for 178!" the mesmerizing echo rang in his ears. It was never a good feeling. Suddenly, he felt very weird, like he hadn't wiped his behind in the bathroom.

Do I want him to succeed or do I want him to fail?

If he succeeds, he loses the bet again, and as an added bonus, he loses the Blood Tears. Conversely, if he fails, ten times out of ten he is a dead man walking, but he gets his first win from Bi Ryuyeon. But there is no master in the world who would want to see his disciple win a death wager. Perhaps!

Suddenly, the math started to get complicated.

"What's so complicated?

His head began to ache as he realized the contradictions in his thoughts. Suddenly, he began to hate himself for being so primal, so instinctive, so pure and honest. A severe skepticism of humanity arose in him.

"Hey, I'm suddenly curious about something……."

Namgungsang mustered up the courage to speak.

"Huh? What?"

"Do you know what happens if it falls? "

The old man was dumbfounded for a moment. It was easy for the old man, who had lived for two centuries, to see the worry in those two eyes that shone so brightly and eagerly. The old man laughed out loud.

"Heh, heh, heh! I can't believe someone you know would worry so much about such nonsense! Don't worry, it's never going to happen."

Namgungsang laughed out loud, relieved.

"Hahahahaha! That can't be right, can it? That can't be right, that can't be right, that can't be right, that can't be right, that can't be right, that can't be right, that can't be right, that can't be right, that can't be right."

Namgungsang laughed heartily, as if he hadn't laughed in a long time at such a funny joke, but Jonghyun, who had been laughing along with him just a moment ago, was no longer laughing.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I don't have the slightest intention of dulling your fighting spirit and determination by placing a safety net at the foot of that cliff!"

His voice was low but firm, filled with determination. For a moment, Namgungsang's face turned as hard as stone.

"Oh, so you're saying that there are no safeguards down there to keep the challenger alive?"

It was a deep, desperate way of saying, please don't embarrass me with more nonsense.

Then Zongqing stared at Namgungsang as if he were looking at a monstrous creature. Gongsang was stunned.

"Have you ever heard the old saying that a cornered mouse bites a cat?"

"Yes, of course I've heard of it, but what the hell does it have to do with this story……."

"There is a relationship, and a very close one at that!"

Zongqing exclaimed, cutting short the words of Namgung Sang.

"The above proverb has a very instructive message: when humans are pushed to the limit, they perform at dozens of times their normal potential!"

Nangong Shang's expression turned dumbfounded, swallowed by a wave of ridiculousness.

"Well, isn't that a bit of a misinterpretation? I think you're stretching the inherent meaning a bit too far, and besides, isn't the subject of the proverb a mouse, not a human?"

Then the old man looked at the inexperienced young man with a rebuking gaze.

"Let's not be so petty, Mr. Blacksmith! Rats and humans are the same creature. Besides, there are no shortage of other discoveries to show that humans are capable of more than their limits when pushed to extremes, so how can a safety net diminish the extremes a challenger can barely attain, and the dulling effect it can have on their resolve, determination, and fighting spirit!"

The old man's mind and will were as steadfast as a thousand-year-old boulder.

"Mmmmm, of course!"

Beside me, Bi Ryuyeon crossed her arms and nodded in understanding.

How could he possibly be sympathetic? The delegates' dumbfounded gazes pierced into Bi Ryuyeon's body, but he seemed to have no sensation or emotion.

'Man, I can't believe this…….'

Despair swirled in the lake of his heart. But Namgungsang decided to summon up his courage once more.

"So what Senior Noh is saying is…, if you try and fail, you can go to……."

Zhongqing was kind and gentle, even though he didn't listen to Namgungsang to the end. The courage was virtual, but the result was confirmed death.

"You uncharacteristically keep asking the obvious, yes, you'll die if you fall, but what can you do? If you're lucky enough to fall into the water, there's a one in ten thousand chance you'll survive, so don't give up hope prematurely!"

The old man didn't bother to mention that the one-in-ten-thousand odds had been reduced by a thousandfold. Namgung swallowed hard and looked down the sheer cliff once more. The old man was right, there was no safety net to protect the preciousness of human life.

From far below, I could hear the echoing sound of the rushing waters of the valley, crashing against the jagged reefs here and there.

It was too deep and too dark. You couldn't even tell the color of the water from up here. It was just a grotesque, terrifying shape, like darkness and gloom with its gaping jaws open, waiting for its prey to fall in.

Namgungsang swallowed dryly once more and, as a test, dropped a rather heavy-looking boulder down the gorge.

The experiment piqued the interest of Bi Ryuyeon, Yidao, and Binggum, and the three of them joined the cliffside to listen.

Easy…easy…easy…easy…easy…….

The boulder, which had been falling for a long time, was soon buried by the wind, which was slowly blowing through the cliffs, and then drifted further and further away.

Poof!

When the stone finally fell into the water, it was just about the time they gave up listening. It was the smallest sound they could hear because they had trained their ears to hear.

Namgungsang tried to imagine himself in the place of the stone. He imagined what would happen if the stone's fate became his own.

Easy, easy, easy!

A cold wind whipped across his face, and the dark floor that seemed to lead to the bottom of the eight levels of hell drew closer and closer to him. The God of Death stood there, arms outstretched in welcome with an eerie smile.

It's falling, it's falling, it's falling, it's falling, it's falling…, it's falling.

For a moment, Namgungsang is completely lost in his own world.

"What are you doing?"

"Yes, it's still falling."

Still lost in his own world, Namgungsang replied with a blank expression.

"……? "

Of course, she didn't understand.

It was a long time before Namgungsang woke up in a world of his own.

"Kaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"What is it?"

"What is it? "

"Who are you?"

Bang! Bang!

Chop, chop, chop!

Shhhh!

The sudden outburst startled not only the salt and ice swords, but also Bi Ryuyeon and the distant delegates. The screams were so urgent and terrifying that for a moment they thought the assassins had returned. After realizing that it had been a freak accident, they quickly gathered up their weapons, but that didn't stop them from casting suspicious glances at the Southern Palace Lord.

Upon returning to the real world, Namgungsang's face was as white and bleached as if he had just returned from a visit to the afterlife. His entire body was drenched in a cold sweat. His bulging, bloodshot eyes stared at the ground.

"Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph!"

Namgungsang was breathing hard and fast, as if his lungs were about to burst. People were dumbfounded.

"mince meat……."

"What?"

She leaned in closer to hear his faint voice.

"Red… minced meat……."

Still looking dazed, Gung Sang muttered.

"What are you talking about?

But despite Bi Ryuyeon's suspicions, Namgungsang said nothing more.

"What the hell did you see, you weirdo!"

Bi Ryuyeon shook her head pathetically.

"Boy, you're broken!"

It was some time before Namgungsang stabilized after the unexpected turn of events that quickly drew attention to itself. Reality was getting closer and closer to home.

It would have been very presumptuous of me to hope to walk away from this and survive.

"No! Defeatism leads to nothing! Positive! Positive!"

Namgung-san shouted to himself as he stomped his foot, as if he were trying to banish a chain reaction of ominous thoughts.

"It's okay! I can survive if I fall down here! There's water down here! There's water down here! You know what they say, you have to fall off a cliff at least once to become a superhuman! Come on, Namgungsang! This is nothing! You can live!"

He muttered to himself as if he were reciting an incantation, as if he were trying to frame and contain his welling terror through self-hypnosis.

The sound must have gone over well with Bi Ryuyeon, because he gave her a quick nudge.

"But it's reefy down there, isn't it?"

"Hmm, does that mean it's already decided?

Ryu's voice sounded like she was trying to preordain something.

Cold sweat trickled down my back like rain.

"What's the point of being okay? If you fall off a cliff, you're going to die! You think anyone can fall off a cliff and survive? Anyone who isn't chosen by God can't fall off a cliff and survive, even if they wake up dead."

I couldn't cheer her up with comfort or encouragement, but I resented her for pouring cold water on the embers that remained and her efforts to rekindle them.

A frog that is helpless against a stone thrown without thinking will be disemboweled and killed!

Tears pinged in my eyes.

The reality was far more harsh than he had imagined. His personal feelings were a mere afterthought, and didn't seem to matter at all.

Zhongqing urges once more.

"What are you doing, you? Aren't you running fast enough? Aren't there people waiting behind you? Like I said, someone has to cross over to the other side and lower the rope ladder this way, and if you don't want to do that, turn around and go back."

A heavenly cliffside lay before him, no lie, no joke, but a reality. The hills on the other side of the canyon seemed as far away as the moon and stars in the night sky. It was like a different place in a different world, one that did not exist in the world where he stood on his own two feet.

At this moment, Qin Ling's anxious eyes caught sight of his face, and his complexion was very pale from worry. He hadn't even sent a messenger to formally propose to her yet, let alone a newlywed! The plan he had secretly formulated for the next thirty years was still in its infancy.

Namgung Sang's eyes flashed with determination. He clenched his fists.

"Yeah, let's quit after all!

There's a difference between recklessness and courage!

Without a moment's hesitation, Namgungsang coldly turned toward Bi Ryuyeon.

His face, clotted with determination, melted like sugar in hot water.

"Hehehe, big brother!"

Namgungsang stared at the Bi Ryuyeon with eyes that sparkled and flickered excessively, like the zither of light reflecting on a lake, and sometimes made people's stomachs churn.

Maybe he was in a life-or-death situation? Judging by his reckless behavior, he may have already lost his senses. He didn't seem to be in very good shape.

A self-described pacifist who prides herself on being warm and affectionate, Bi Ryuyeon is unable to let go of the young man, who has a strange dual relationship with her as both disciple and priest.

He just smiled sweetly and said, "I'm sorry.

"Fool!"

It was a voice as soft as a spring breeze, and it was also the grass that kept the flame of hope alive in the heart of the Southern Palace.

"Yes, Big Brother!"

Tapping him on the shoulder like a drum of hope, she smiled her trademark smile.

"If you're a descendant of the Moo family, you've heard these stories, right?"

At this point, she paused to take a breath.

As he watched the creepy grin on the rat-eaten red mouth that was peeking out from behind his tousled bangs, he could feel the shadow of anxiety in his mind growing more and more dense and expanding. The shadow gradually encroached on the area of light and began to overflow and invade the white area where positive thinking and hope were shedding their gracious light, beyond the barrier of light and hope.

She spoke slowly and deliberately.

"The lion drops from unanimity to raise his cubs strong!"

In that moment, Namgungsang gave up everything, humbly accepted all that exists, and then quietly turned away. His shoulders seemed unusually slumped today.