Relying on Each Other for Life

In front of a vertical cliff more than ten meters high.

Qing Chen had Jiang Xue take the nylon rope and take a detour to the top of the cliff.

He tied the other end to his waist to prevent him from falling to the ground if he failed to climb.

This height is equivalent to six or seven stories high. If someone were to fall halfway up without any equipment, they would either die or be maimed.

The top of the cliff was bare, with no trees. Jiang Xue could only wrap the nylon rope around her waist, then dig a pit in the ground and step into it for leverage, so that she could catch the impact of Qing Chen's fall.

As Qing Chen climbed upwards little by little, she needed to constantly tighten the rope. When Qing Chen made a mistake and fell, she needed to exert force instantly to pull the rope to prevent Qing Chen from getting hurt.

At the same time, one must also prevent oneself from being pulled down the vertical cliff by the force of Qing Chen's fall.

Qing Chen stood before the vertical cliff, silently gazing upwards.

I recalled the teacher's words over and over again.

"From a distance, the cliff appears as a single, unbroken piece, but as you get closer, you see the fine lines and patterns on it."

"At that moment, you feel like you're in the palm of a giant, and you can see the lines on its palm."

"That is your shortcut to the sky."

"That's the path the world left for you, though no one has ever walked it."

The vertical cliff in front of Qing Chen suddenly became three-dimensional. He could see slightly protruding rocks and cracks in the rock wall.

"At this point, all you need to do is turn your hands, arms, feet, and legs into the most powerful machines, understand them, master them, and control them."

"Then this path to heaven belongs to you."

Qing Chen took a deep breath, gripped any available support with his fingers, and slowly began to climb.

He turned every word of his teacher's teachings into his own knowledge and experience.

Memory, talent, physical strength—these are all things Qing Chen possesses.

But he discovered that reaching the place closest to the sky also required a bit of luck.

Just as Qing Chen climbed to a position ten meters high, a rock on the cliff suddenly loosened, and the boy's pupils contracted sharply, as the previously stable triangular support balance was completely destroyed.

He felt his body rapidly leave the rock face and fall downwards.

The intense feeling of weightlessness made Qing Chen realize that death was slowly approaching.

In an instant, the nylon rope around his waist tightened, suspending him suspended in mid-air.

Jiang Xue stood at the top of the cliff, gritting her teeth and pulling 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 and gained a new insight: sometimes the world can deceive you, and even a seemingly hard stone can shatter.

But this isn't a global problem; all you can do is be extremely careful.

Qing Chen opened his palm and found that there were fine blood blisters on the pads of his fingers, which would hurt painfully if touched even slightly.

Jiang Xue poked her head out from the cliff and asked, "Xiao Chen, are you alright?"

Qing Chen smiled and said, "Thank you, Aunt Jiang Xue. I'm fine. Please continue!"

In the remaining days, Qing Chen failed time and time again, but each time he rallied and climbed the vertical cliff again.

His hands were covered in blisters and calluses, but the boy seemed tireless in his training.

From a distance, the originally whitish vertical cliff now shows streaks of dark red after a few days – 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 wouldn't have been able to withstand this high-intensity free climbing training.

For five days, Qing Chen spent almost every day on this vertical cliff. When he couldn't take it anymore, he would lie down at the bottom of the cliff to sleep for a while, and then wait for Li Tongyun to buy him and Jiang Xue food. After eating, he would continue training.

Tomorrow is October 8th, and school will start soon, but Qing Chen feels that the training is still not enough.

If he weren't worried about arousing suspicion by taking leave, he might have stayed at Laojun Mountain for two more days until the countdown to his return reached zero.

Jiang Xue asked Qing Chen, "Why do you practice free solo climbing?"

Qing Chen simply replied, "Because once you've climbed a high mountain, your life will be completely different."

After climbing the first high mountain, Qing Chen will face his first Life and Death Trial.

Jiang Xue didn't ask any more questions.

As long as Qing Chen felt it was necessary, she would cooperate fully.

After training each day, she would carefully use gauze and alcohol to clean the wounds on Qing Chen's palms, picking out the blisters little by little and cleaning the dirt out of the wounds.

Then I applied the medication to him.

The medication lasts for 6 hours, and Qing Chen needs to change his medication again at midnight.

On the fifth night, when Li Tongyun was going to bed, she suddenly noticed that her mother was tossing and turning in bed, looking like she was in a lot of pain.

She suddenly lifted Jiang Xue's clothes and was shocked to see that the area around her mother's waist where the nylon rope was wrapped had also been rubbed raw, with blisters in some places and bleeding in others.

Those were the marks on Qing Chen's waist caused by the repeated falls.

Li Tongyun was heartbroken. "Mom, are you in pain? Why didn't you tell us these past few days?"

Jiang Xue smiled and said, "It's alright, Xiao Yun."

"You still have some of the special medicine you brought back from the Inner World with Brother Qing Chen. Let me apply some for you," Li Tongyun said, rummaging through the medicine.

Jiang Xue stopped her, saying, "No, he got blisters on his hands again today, and he has abrasions on his body too. He'll have to change his dressing again tonight. There's only a little medicine left of the one Mom brought back, just enough for one person. We absolutely can't hold him back right now, understand?"

Li Tongyun's eyes were red. "But the marks on your waist from being choked look so painful."

"Mom knows what she's doing," Jiang Xue said with a smile. "This little injury is nothing, and I won't be in any danger even if I travel to the Inner World. Your brother Qing Chen has had such a hard time; he's suffered so much, and now we're the only ones who can help him."

Li Tongyun didn't listen to that much. "I also feel sorry for Brother Qing Chen, but he knows he won't agree to this."

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

Jiang Xue said seriously, "Don't tell your brother Qing Chen about Mom's injury, okay? If he knows Mom is also injured, he definitely won't want to apply the medicine."

Jiang Xue softened her tone and said, "We're very happy to be able to do something for your brother Qing Chen. We can't let him shoulder everything alone, right?"

"Hmm," Li Tongyun finally gave up.

Unbeknownst to the two, Qing Chen had been standing outside the room for a long time. He had originally come to discuss the return trip the next morning, but instead overheard this conversation.

The small wooden door of the farmhouse is not soundproof.

Qing Chen stood quietly, and he suddenly felt as if there were people in this vast world who depended on each other for survival.

This is a long-lost warmth.