Chapter 127 - Chapter 127: 127, dependent on each other for survival

Chapter 127: 127, dependent on each other for survival

In front of the more than ten-meter-high vertical cliff.

Qing Chen had Jiang Xue take the nylon rope and walk around to reach the top of the cliff.

He tied the other end around his waist, to prevent him from falling to the ground in case he failed to climb successfully.

This height was already equivalent to that of a six- or seven-story building; if one were to fall from halfway while climbing bare-handed, death or serious injury would be certain.

With no trees on the barren top of the cliff, Jiang Xue could only wrap the nylon rope around her waist in loops and then dig a pit in the ground to step into for leverage, so her strength would be sufficient to withstand the impact force of Qing Chen’s potential fall.

As Qing Chen climbed bit by bit, she needed to continually tighten the rope. If Qing Chen made a mistake and fell, she needed to exert force instantly to catch the rope and prevent him from getting hurt.

At the same time, she had to prevent herself from being pulled down the vertical cliff by the force of Qing Chen’s descent.

Qing Chen stood in front of the vertical cliff, silently looking up.

Time and again, he remembered the words of his teacher.

Source: novgo.co

“From a distance, the cliff appears to be an unapproachable monolith, but as you draw near, you can see the intricate lines upon it.”

“In that moment, you’re like in the palm of a giant, able to see its creases.”

“That’s the shortcut that leads you to the sky.”

“It’s a path left by the world, though no one has ever walked it before.”

The vertical cliff before Qing Chen suddenly became three-dimensional; he saw the slightly protruding stones and the cracks within the rock face.

“At this time, all you need to do is make your palms, arms, soles, and legs the most powerful machines, understand them, master them, and command them.”

“Then, this path to the heavens belongs to you.”

Qing Chen took a deep breath and used his fingertips to latch onto every possible foothold, slowly climbing upwards.

He transformed every piece of instruction he had ever received from his teacher into his own knowledge and experience.

Memory, talent, and physical strength were what Qing Chen possessed.

But he realized, to reach the place closest to the sky, he also needed a bit of luck.

When Qing Chen reached a height of ten meters, a rock on the cliff wall suddenly came loose. The pupil of the youth’s eyes abruptly contracted as his previously stable tripod support was completely shattered.

He felt his body quickly separating from the cliff, falling downwards.

The strong sensation of weightlessness made Qing Chen feel as if death was slowly approaching.

In an instant, the nylon rope around his waist tensed up, abruptly suspending him in mid-air.

Jiang Xue stood at the top of the cliff, gritting her teeth as she tugged on the rope, then slowly lowered Qing Chen back to the ground.

The nylon rope rubbed against her waist and palms, tightening.

At this moment, Qing Chen recalled what had just happened, gaining a new experience: sometimes the world can deceive you, even a rock that seems solid can break.

But that’s not a problem with the world; all you can do is to be careful, then careful again.

Qing Chen spread out his palms to find small blisters had formed on his fingertips, slightly touching them would cause a stinging pain.

Jiang Xue poked her head out from the edge of the cliff and asked, “Xiao Chen, are you okay?”

Qing Chen smiled and replied, “Thank you, Aunt Jiang Xue, I’m fine, let’s continue!”

In the remaining days, Qing Chen failed time after time, then picked himself up again and again to climb that vertical cliff.

Watching his hands blister and callus, the young man seemed to train tirelessly.

From a distance, one could now see traces of dark red on the once pale-white vertical cliff after several days; that was the blood from the boy’s hands.

If it weren’t for the special medicine Jiang Xue brought back from the Inner World, Qing Chen’s hands probably couldn’t withstand such intense barehanded climbing training.

For five days, Qing Chen spent virtually every daylight hour on that vertical precipice, lying down underneath to nap when he couldn’t endure any longer, waiting for Li Tongyun to bring him and Jiang Xue food, and then continued training after filling his belly.

Tomorrow would be October 8th, the start of school; yet, Qing Chen felt the training was still insufficient.

If he weren’t concerned that taking leave would arouse suspicion, he might have stayed at Laojun Mountain for another two days, until the countdown returned to zero.

Jiang Xue asked Qing Chen, “Why are you training in barehanded climbing?”

Qing Chen simply replied, “Because climbing a high mountain can completely change a person’s life.”

Climbing the first mountain was the first life-and-death challenge Qing Chen had to face.

Jiang Xue didn’t ask anything more.

To her, as long as Qing Chen felt it was necessary, it was her job to support him wholeheartedly.

After each day’s training, she would tenderly clean his palm wounds with gauze and alcohol, painstakingly removing blisters and cleansing the dirt from the wounds.

Then she would apply the medicine.

The effects of the medicine lasted six hours; Qing Chen needed to reapply it promptly at midnight.

On the fifth night, as they slept, Li Tongyun suddenly noticed her mother tossing and turning in bed, seemingly in great pain.

She suddenly lifted Jiang Xue’s shirt and saw to her shock that at the spot where the Nylon Rope wrapped around her mother’s waist, there was a ring of bluish-red marks, with some areas blistered and others bleeding.

That was the injury caused by the rope cutting into her waist every time Qing Chen fell.

Li Tongyun was distressed: “Mom, does it hurt? Why haven’t you told us about it these past days?”

Jiang Xue smiled, “It’s nothing, Xiao Yun.”

“There’s still some of the special medicine from the Inner World left with brother Qing Chen, let me apply some for you,” said Li Tongyun as she began to search for the medicine.

Jiang Xue stopped her, “No, he’s got blisters on his hands again today, and abrasions on his body; he has to change his medicine again tonight. The medicine Mom brought back only has a little left, just enough for one person. We mustn’t drag him down at times like this, understand?”

Li Tongyun’s eyes reddened, “But the wounds from the rope on your waist look so painful.”

“Mom knows her limits,” Jiang Xue said with a smile. “These little injuries are nothing, and besides, I won’t face any danger when I go to the Inner World. Your brother Qing Chen has it tough; he’s gone through so much suffering, and it’s only us who can help him now.”

Li Tongyun wasn’t listening to all of that: “I’m also pained for brother Qing Chen, but he wouldn’t agree if he knew about this.”

As she was about to hop off the bed to tell Qing Chen about it, Jiang Xue grabbed her arm.

With seriousness, Jiang Xue said, “You must not tell your brother Qing Chen that Mom is injured, understand? If he knows, he definitely won’t want to use the medicine.”

Jiang Xue softened her tone, “Being able to do something for your brother Qing Chen is something to be happy about. We can’t let him shoulder everything on his own, right?”

“Yes,” Li Tongyun finally conceded.

What they didn’t realize was that Qing Chen had been standing outside the room for a long time. He had intended to discuss the return trip for the next morning, but instead, he overheard this conversation.

The door of the rural guesthouse was not soundproof.

Qing Chen stood there quietly, suddenly filled with a sense that in this vast world, there were people who relied on each other.

It was a warmth he had not felt in a long time.

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