Book 15 Chapter 10

Golden Friday Pass (金曜關)

- Fall

The man was a beggar.

Despite his ragged appearance as a beggar, he was, in fact, a direct disciple of 'Humble Sleeve Woo Gyeom,' the Dragon Head Master of the Gaengbang, one of the Nine Great Sects. And, unfortunately, he served a very ill-tempered Senior Disciple. He was fine with everything else, except for that one thing.

The beggar, Noh Hak, was crawling on the rough ground. The ground he was crawling on was peculiar; it was a vast field of massive rock formations where only dust-like fragments of soil could be found. It was extremely uneven, with protruding rocks and cracks here and there, far from being flat.

Noh Hak crawled on the rock surface with all his might. His face, as he crawled on the ground, was filled with a caution that allowed no carelessness, and sweat beaded on his solemn, furrowed brow.

It was bewildering that such caution was necessary just to crawl on the ground. Still, he remained vigilant, his usual lightness nowhere to be seen.

Crackle!

"Huh?"

Noh Hak's eyes widened.

The rock he had carefully stepped on had crumbled into dust within his right fist with a "crush," a dying gasp. He couldn't believe it. It was also something that shouldn't have happened. He had clearly seen the person in front of him step on this rock with his own eyes.

However, he was not given the time to grab the person ahead and ask what was going on.

Crackle!

This time, the rock he had firmly stepped on with his left foot crumbled like a sandcastle.

"Whoa, whoa?"

'What kind of pesky errand is this!'

Even in the fleeting fragments of thought that flashed for a moment, he couldn't comprehend what was happening to him. It was like a lie, lacking realism.

"Hey, you… Hey, you, Ji (地) Ga (家)!"

The ground was getting further and further away from him. No, it was he who was moving away. As if the ground had lost its gravity, his body was floating up from the surface. He had certainly never learned esoteric arts like the Empty Sky Path or the Aerial Walk or levitation. Therefore, it was evident that this was not a phenomenon he was experiencing voluntarily through his own strength. It was being experienced involuntarily, against his will, through external force. This was an unavoidable event.

He raised his head and glanced forward. There, he saw a piercingly blue sky. This time, he cast his gaze down. Far, far below, he saw the ground.

Only then did Noh Hak recall where he was.

'Ah, that's right!'

He remembered. He wasn't crawling; he was climbing. And what he saw before him was not the ground but a wall. Moreover, it was a sheer cliff, so high that not even a goose could cross it in one go. That was the true nature of the place he had been crawling on.

So, what was his current situation after falling from there? And what would he have to experience next?

Perhaps it would be the first thing he experienced in his life, and also the last. And he anticipated it would be a deeply shocking and stimulating event, one that would easily bring his lifespan forward by about fifty years.

Even at the brink of despair, Noh Hak did not give up. When the sky falls, there is always a hole to escape through. Everyone had tied a life-line around their waists in preparation for such times.

A rope flickered before his eyes. It was the very rope that bound nine lives together. The content of the 'Golden Friday Pass' was for nine people to climb this cliff together.

"Remember this. Never cut this rope. It's not just because this rope will protect your lives. For any reason, the moment this life-line is cut, that team will be automatically disqualified. So please keep this in mind!"

'Yes, as long as I have this rope…'

But, for some reason, the end of that last hope was smoothly severed, as if on purpose.

'Damn it!'

Even though it happened in an instant, it felt as if time was deliberately slowing down, dragging its feet.

He slowly (purely in his own perception) raised his gaze to the person directly in front of him, or rather, above him.

'That guy is definitely…'

Was it the fourth or fifth? He was definitely the one who used a sickle. A chained one…

He had a very unpleasant face too. His mouth was probably as foul as a sewer. And now, in his hand, a dagger, as unpleasant as his face, or perhaps a little more, glinted in the sunlight.

'The Seven Heavens…!'

He wanted to hurl curses and imprecations all at once, but there wasn't time. There wasn't even enough time to figure out which of the seven he was.

But that was not an important issue at all right now.

'Damn it, I didn't like that face from the start!'

And Noh Hak saw.

Above him, he saw cold eyes, like a winter blizzard, looking down at him with an indifferent gaze…

The lost speed of time was gradually returning to its original pace.

The power of the messenger of death, which would later be called 'gravity,' grabbed his body and pulled him down with all its might. It was a grip that would make even a drowned spirit weep.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

And, feeling an immense sense of loss, his body began to fall.

At the same time, as if he didn't want to experience the moment of becoming a flattened pancake while conscious, his mind went blank. He would consider himself lucky if he could lose consciousness before his fiery kiss with the ground turned him into a bloody mess.

"Huh? What is that?"

Bilyeon recognized at a glance what object was falling from above, as if proving it had no wings. It was something he often saw. He had used it to handle various errands. It was sometimes rebellious, but it had its uses. He had something entrusted to it even now.

'Noh Hak!'

He didn't even have time to grumble, 'Why is that guy falling from there?'

Bilyeon's actions were swift. He didn't hesitate, as it was definitely more convenient than not having it. He was not the type of person who would waver at a crossroads and end up regretting it.

Life-line, according to the rules of this pass, if the rope breaks, it's disqualification. Even though he seemed indifferent to such things, he knew everything he needed to know. If disqualified, he would only receive the lowest score. He knew that too. But Bilyeon cut the rope without hesitation.

"Ryuyeon!"

Nayeon cried out in shock as she saw him. But the life-line had already been cut. And then she saw an even more astonishing sight.

Flying Thunder Sect's (飛雷門) Unique Body Movement Technique (獨門運身步法)

Phoenix Dance (鳳凰舞) Ultimate Secret (奧義)

Straight Ground Swift Run (直地疾走)

Bilyeon began to run down the cliff face to the lower right, as if it were flat ground. Boldly, without a hint of hesitation. His speed was so fast, like a shot arrow, that it elicited admiration from onlookers. It was a technique of the vast 'Bidamjuwall' (Bilyeon's cliff-climbing technique). (Jikji (直地) meant 'straight ground standing at a right angle.')

Beneath his rapid advance, the cliff was clearly being ignored in its meaning. His eyes, sharp like a hawk hunting prey, never left Noh Hak's falling body.

Nine Jang… Eight Jang… Seven Jang… Six Jang… Five Jang… Four Jang… Three Jang…

Three Jang… Three Jang… Three Jang…

The speed at which the earth's hand was pulling him was too fast to close the distance further. This was not the full extent of his speed, but if he went any faster, there would be stability issues. This was not flat ground, but a sheer cliff. But if he continued like this, he couldn't prevent Noh Hak from having a violent kiss with the ground with his own eyes wide open. He hadn't embarked on this crazy endeavor just to watch a disciple turn into a bloody mess.

"Ryuyeon!"

He could hear Nayeon's voice calling him from above. It felt like a distant longing, as if something similar had happened before. It was remarkable that she could afford such leisure in such a desperate moment.

But, for some reason, her voice felt very far away.