The Art of Survival

“And yet, if you’re a monkey, you should know how to climb a tree.”

“W-well, yes.”

“Do you know how to climb a tree?”

“……I’m not very good at it, but I will do my best.”

“Haa……. Truly, you are a lower lifeform that can’t even do what a monkey can.”

Seol Ah-heon put on a regretful expression while grumbling to himself.

‘No, do you think the saying “Even monkeys fall from trees” came from nowhere? If you look, there are plenty of monkeys that don’t know how to climb trees, right? ……Probably?’

But in this world, while there might be monkeys that can’t climb trees, there was no such thing as a “Peak Master” who couldn’t use light-foot skills (Gong-gong).

“Consider it an honor. I will teach you personally.”

Baek Geon-ha approached him. His characteristic pressure surged forward.

Feeling the crisis, Seol Ah-heon tried to step back. But he was afraid that doing so would only make Baek Geon-ha angrier.

While he hesitated, unable to move forward or backward, the man reached his nose. Baek Geon-ha grabbed Seol Ah-heon by the back of the neck in a firm grip.

Then, he threw him straight toward the cliff.

“U-ugh, aaaaaaah!”

Seol Ah-heon screamed as he was sent flying in an instant. It felt just like bungee jumping—a bungee jump without a single safety device.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

His body, which had soared upward, began to plummet. The heartless laws of gravity were working exactly as they did in his original world, dragging Seol Ah-heon down toward the ground.

Below was a cliff. If he hit the jagged rocks, he would die instantly.

He could see clusters of conifers here and there, but he didn’t think he would survive even if he fell into them. At best, he would just suffer for a longer time before his breath finally left his body.

“No……!”

Seol Ah-heon flailed his arms and legs wildly. He looked like a baby bird learning how to fly. But he was a human, and no matter how much he thrashed, wings were not going to sprout.

The ground approached rapidly. Seol Ah-heon squeezed his eyes shut. A flash of his life passed before his eyes within the darkness of his eyelids.

The faces of part-time job interviewers who felt troubled after finding out Seol Ah-heon was only a middle school student when he was told by his parents to earn his own food money.

The relatives who kept aggressively pushing multi-level marketing schemes on him, even though they knew his family situation was bad.

The time he had pulled himself together to study and entered a prestigious university’s history department thanks to The Chronicles of Mount Hua, only to wander aimlessly after graduation because he couldn’t find a job…….

‘No, why is my life like this?’

For some reason, the sad memories were overwhelmingly more numerous than the happy ones. He wouldn’t be able to close his eyes in peace even in death like this.

Seol Ah-heon let out a battle cry as if he were casting a spell.

“I don’t want to dieeeee!”

In that instant, internal energy flowed into movements that had been nothing more than simple flailing.

‘Seol Ah-heon’s’ body began to exert its true power.

Tap!

He stepped onto the air. It wasn’t the level of “walking on the void,” but merely a move brought on by desperation—yet, his falling speed decreased.

Tap, tap.

His other foot moved in succession. He repeated it, again and again.

Before he knew it, Seol Ah-heon was running along the cliffside. His precarious footwork held steady.

‘Am I actually doing this……?’

The moment he inadvertently wondered that, his feet tangled. As soon as that happened, his body plummeted.

“Ugh!”

Seol Ah-heon wrapped his arms around his head. It was an instinct to protect his head at all costs.

CRACK!

Pain exploded along with the sound of snapping branches.

Snap, thwack, craaack…….

It didn’t end with just one. Seol Ah-heon, having fallen into the trees, tumbled downward while snapping branches along the way.

His skin was scraped by sharp twigs. His limbs, which had collided blindly with branches, throbbed. But he didn’t care about that level of injury.

“I-I survived…….”

Seol Ah-heon felt relieved as he finally hit the ground. He survived. Wasn’t that enough?

Furthermore, he had gotten a feel for the light-foot skills; it was an incredible harvest.

“Ah, you didn’t die.”

Baek Geon-ha landed gracefully from the air. It was masterful footwork, embarrassing to compare with Seol Ah-heon’s.

Mu Il-young, who had followed him, said:

“The bet is my victory, then.”

“My, my.”

Clicking his tongue lightly, Baek Geon-ha tossed money to Mu Il-young.

Clack. Mu Il-young caught it and performed a fist salute.

“Haa……. Even if it was a bet made for fun, losing never suits my temperament.”

Baek Geon-ha said as if pouting. For Seol Ah-heon, listening to this, it was just ridiculous.

‘They made a bet on me……?’

Looking at the situation, it seemed Baek Geon-ha had bet on the side where he would die.

In other words, he had thrown him off the cliff while thinking he might actually die.

Seol Ah-heon, realizing the full extent of the situation, felt a surge of rage.

“Well. It would have been a great shame if the efficacy of the Soul-Snow Divine Pill I stole from you was only that much.”

“…….”

The rebellion that had barely managed to raise its head immediately wilted.

Yes, what could he say? ‘Seol Ah-heon’ was just a rat who had stolen and eaten Baek Geon-ha’s spiritual elixir.

“Now, the issue of footwork is resolved. Right?”

“……Yes.”

If he said no, it seemed he would just be thrown again. Seol Ah-heon answered obediently.

“We should start now.”

Baek Geon-ha turned his body. Just as he said, the atmosphere was one of immediate departure.

It would have been nice to rest for just five minutes to calm his racing heart, but what could he do? Once he lost sight of Baek Geon-ha, it would be impossible to catch up. And he wasn’t the type to care about his circumstances.

Seol Ah-heon chewed on his dissatisfaction. Only internally, of course.

Soon, three figures shot into the space between the trees shrouded in deep darkness.

*************************************

Is this… touring the Murim?

Baek Geon-ha’s destination was Sichuan.

Naturally, Baek Geon-ha hadn’t told him, but he had overheard the conversation with Mu Il-young and figured it out.

When he realized that fact, Seol Ah-heon held his head in his hands and groaned.

‘No, they’re going all the way to Sichuan?’

Even if he wasn’t well-versed in Central Plains geography, Seol Ah-heon knew the famous regions.

Especially Sichuan—didn’t it frequently appear as a background in martial arts novels? That’s because the Tang Family, one of the Five Great Clans, was located in Sichuan. Not to mention the Emei Sect and the Qingcheng Sect.

The problem was that Sichuan was quite far from Xinjiang, where the Demonic Cult was located…… but in truth, this was unavoidable.

Since the Demonic Cult itself was isolated from the Central Plains, it was bound to take a long time no matter where they went.

Thanks to this, Seol Ah-heon became stuck in the fate of running and running like a racehorse.

“Huff, huff……!”

Every time he kicked off the ground, the scenery whizzed by. It was a considerably fast speed, not lagging behind track athletes or even horses.

That his light-foot skills had improved this much was all thanks to—no, because of—Baek Geon-ha.

Because he was chasing him relentlessly from behind.

Whenever his speed slowed, Baek Geon-ha would fold his eyes into crescents, smile, and hurl insults. So, how could he find a moment to rest? Even if his legs lost strength, even if his dantian felt completely empty, he had to run.

Since the situation was like this, his light-foot skills had no choice but to improve.

“Huff, huff, ugh…….”

Still, he couldn’t help that his stamina was wearing thin, so Seol Ah-heon was having a miserable time.

This wasn’t an exaggeration; if he moved for even one more shichen (two hours) like this, he would surely collapse. Though Baek Geon-ha would likely just abandon him if he did.

“…….”

Being abandoned by Baek Geon-ha meant death. He wouldn’t keep a ‘burden’ alive who was just in the way, let alone useful.

Recalling this, Seol Ah-heon gritted his teeth. Right, even if he died, it would be better to collapse from exhaustion than to be killed by a sword.

“Stop.”

Fortunately, the welcome order fell.

Seol Ah-heon put down his bundle. He wanted to just stand still, but his waist bent forward on its own. He clutched his knees with both hands and gasped for air.

Chirp, chirrup.

Grass insects were crying somewhere. Instead of the scorching sun, a cool breeze blew and cooled his sweat. When he lifted his head, sunlight was twinkling through the leaves of the trees.

Finally, he could feel the mood of early summer.

However, he didn’t have the luxury of admiring the scenery. He knew from experience that Baek Geon-ha wouldn’t give him enough rest. If he didn’t want to collapse while spitting blood later, he had to circulate his energy now.

Looking to the side, Baek Geon-ha was already in the middle of circulating his energy. He looked like a painting.

‘No…… just looking at his face, he’s an angel.’

He was sitting upright in a proper posture with his eyes closed. His usually gorgeously beautiful face had a noble atmosphere when his eyes were closed.

The soft sunlight shone on Baek Geon-ha’s face. Even though it was a natural phenomenon, it looked like a special effect.

“…….”

His silver hair fluttered softly. At first, he thought it was fluttering in the wind, but that wasn’t it. It was because it was moving in a direction clearly different from the flow of the air.

It was proof that Baek Geon-ha’s internal energy was profound, but in Seol Ah-heon’s mind, it was just…….

‘He’s truly handsome.’

……That was the only thought.

He couldn’t help it. Humans are animals weak to visual stimuli. That’s why, despite knowing Baek Geon-ha’s cruel nature, he couldn’t help but admire him helplessly.

Just then, his eyes met Mu Il-young’s.

Since one becomes vulnerable to external stimuli while circulating energy, Mu Il-young was standing guard for Baek Geon-ha. He was likely a subject of his vigilance, too.

Seol Ah-heon, feeling sheepish, sat down. As if nothing had happened, he crossed his legs and relaxed his body.