Chapter 6

Han Je stood at the entrance of the classroom, took a deep breath, and firmly held the letter containing the secret that his mother had given him.

As the saliva dripped from the corner of Baekho's mouth and hit the floor, at that moment, Baekho roared and pounced on Han Je.

Without a moment's hesitation, Han Je leaped off the cliff. The fierce wind slapped his face. Bumping into branches growing by the cliff, Han Je was falling rapidly. The branches broke helplessly, and in an instant, he reached the middle of the cliff.

'Father, Mother, forgive this unfilial son.'

Han Je couldn't help but think of his parents. He could even hear the mocking voices of his relatives in his ears.

At that moment, Han Je suddenly felt something pulling him with tremendous force, and he was sucked into a small cave between the cliffs. He stuck tightly to the cave wall. Although dazed, he could still feel the immense force.

How long had it been? The force slowly disappeared, and Han Je fell to the ground.

Regaining his senses, Han Je mustered all his strength to get up. His clothes were torn by the branches and his body was covered in wounds. He felt an intense pain in his right shoulder, which began to swell. The pain surged like a flood, and cold sweat trickled down. He thought his bone might be broken.

★ ★ ★

With a pale face, Han Je clenched his teeth and stood up. Looking around, he seemed to be in a small natural cave. Sunlight shone through the cave entrance, and bird and animal corpses and bones were scattered everywhere.

While looking around, Han Je noticed a fist-sized black hole in the back wall, the depth of which he couldn't estimate.

Han Je thought the force that had just pulled him came from this hole. The black hole seemed to randomly and suddenly pull things in. The corpses and bones on the ground must have been sucked in and met their end like him.

Han Je endured the pain in his shoulder and tried to move away from the hole. Suddenly, the animal corpses and bones on the ground started moving and were sucked into the hole. Larger bones stuck to the wall and blocked the hole.

Han Je quickly rolled to a corner.

'Such tremendous force from such a small hole!'

The pulling force continued. Then, a bird flying in the sky was suddenly sucked into the cave and hit the wall with a 'thud,' splattering blood everywhere.

How long had it been? The force from the black hole disappeared.

Han Je looked at the bird's corpse on the ground with a shocked face.

About two hours later, the black hole started moving again. After several such movements, Han Je finally figured out the pattern. The black hole would continuously pull for about half an hour, stop, and then start again after two hours.

When the pulling force from the black hole disappeared, Han Je quickly approached the corner of the wall where the hole was and stuck to it. He was gradually losing strength, and his shoulder was so numb he couldn't feel the pain. Thinking about his situation, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"If I stay stuck here, I'll die. But I can't jump either. If I keep this up, I'll starve to death... Ah..."

He hesitated for a moment but then brought a bird's corpse, covered in blood, to his mouth and took a bite. The metallic taste of blood overwhelmed him, but he forced it down. Slowly, a warm sensation began to spread in his stomach.

Han Je quickly ate half of the bird. Nausea rose, but he quickly stood up and took a deep breath to suppress it.

Throwing the remaining bird's corpse to one side, Han Je leaned against the wall and thought about various things. He remembered his parents, his fourth uncle, the mocking faces of his relatives, and the cold gaze of the middle-aged man in black at Dae San Sect.

In a daze, Han Je stared at the half-eaten bird's corpse he had thrown aside. It was a meaningless action, but he soon noticed something strange. There was a fist-sized red pearl inside the bird's body. He pulled it out.

'Why is there a pearl inside the bird?'

Han Je's heart started beating. He had read a book at the village school that mentioned a treasure called a 'stone pearl' (石珠) that could be found in the bodies of animals that had lived for a long time. It was said that eating this pearl could grant immense strength, longevity, and even the ability to survive severe injuries.

At the time, Han Je had laughed it off. But hadn't he recently witnessed something he once thought was a myth?

Han Je's heart raced. If this pearl was the real stone pearl, eating it would heal all his injuries and make it easy to leave this place. He would surely pass the Dae San Sect's test.

However, the stone pearl was too hard to eat. Han Je cleaned it with his clothes.

The stone pearl was gray with five cloud patterns on its surface. It seemed quite old. Han Je bit it, touched it, and even applied it to his wound, but nothing happened.

"Han Je, what kind of foolish dream are you having? How could such a thing exist in the world? And for it to be inside a bird that just flew in, that's ridiculous."

Sighing deeply, the sun set, and darkness fell. Feeling drowsy, Han Je placed the pearl on the ground and curled up in a corner, falling asleep.

It was already autumn. The nights were quite cold, especially in the mountains. Han Je curled up in his sleep. The night passed.

At the bottom of the cliff,

The next morning, bright sunlight shone into the cave. A drop of dew from the ceiling fell onto the pearl and then flowed to a nearby bone fragment.

Han Je soon woke up. His shoulder was still swollen, and his condition seemed to be worsening.

Han Je sat on the ground in despair.

"Am I destined to be trapped here for the rest of my life?"

As he muttered to himself, a drop of dew on a bone fragment caught his eye. Feeling thirsty, Han Je carefully picked up the bone and licked the dew with his tongue. The water tasted sweet, and suddenly warmth spread through his body, making him feel comfortable. He felt a slight tingling in his shoulder, and the swelling began to subside. Even after rubbing his eyes and looking again, the swelling was clearly reduced.

Han Je searched the area for more dew-covered bones but found none. Just as he was about to give up, he noticed a thin layer of dew on the surface of the pearl. He remembered that the dew had pooled on the bone fragment and touched the pearl.

Carefully, Han Je picked up the pearl and rubbed it on his shoulder. The cold, refreshing sensation from the dew on the pearl's surface spread to his shoulder. He kept his eyes fixed on his shoulder.

A moment later, Han Je's face lit up. The swelling in his shoulder had further subsided. When he moved his arm, he felt only a slight pain.

"This is really a stone pearl!"

Han Je couldn't hide his joy.

★ ★ ★

Several days passed. When he was hungry, he would tear and eat the corpses of birds and animals. Most of his time was spent collecting dew on the pearl and rubbing it on his shoulder.

After a few days, he had collected a significant amount of dew.

That day, Han Je evenly sprinkled the collected dew on a piece of his torn clothes, placed the pearl on top, wrapped it, and tied it around his neck, ensuring it wouldn't fall off.

When the pulling force from the black hole temporarily disappeared, he tore his clothes, tied one end to a rock in the cave, and the other end to his waist, and began to carefully descend the cliff.

When he had descended about ten feet, his hand slipped, and he plummeted. Fortunately, the clothes tied around his waist prevented him from hitting the ground, but the middle part of the clothes tore, causing his body to swing in the air.

Cold sweat formed on his forehead. Looking down, the ground was at least twenty feet away.

He grabbed a branch with one hand and the clothes tied around his waist with the other.

After tying the clothes to the branch, he felt a bit relieved and moved more cautiously.

After a long time, he reached the bottom of the cliff, rested for a moment, and continued descending.

However, the rope made of clothes was too short, and when he was about one foot from the bottom, he couldn't descend any further. Clenching his teeth, Han Je jumped.

As he jumped, a strong wind blew. The wind was so powerful it could break branches.

Breaking through the wind, his feet touched the ground, and Han Je curled into a ball and rolled.

The rocks on the ground were as sharp as knives, tearing his body and causing blood to flow. His right leg was severely injured, with the bone clearly visible.

When he stopped rolling, his tension eased, and his breathing became heavy. He bit the cloth wrapped around the stone pearl and sucked it.

The dew he had sprinkled earlier alleviated the pain. Han Je sat up with great effort and twisted the cloth wrapped around the stone pearl with his trembling hands.

A few drops of dew fell onto his right leg, and the pain gradually subsided.

At that moment, a sound came from a distance.

"Han Je, where are you?"

Han Je was startled and listened carefully. It was definitely his father's voice. At first, he thought it was an illusion, but after hearing it several times, he was sure.

"Father! I'm here!"

Han Je shouted at the top of his lungs. Soon, a rainbow appeared from a distance, circled the cliff, and disappeared. In its place stood Mr. Zhang from Dae San Sect, holding Han Je's father and frowning.

Isang-jae, tears streaming down his face, hugged his son.

"Han Je, you fool. Why are you doing this? Did you really try to kill yourself? If you do this, how can your mother and I live?"

Han Je chuckled. His father had misunderstood, thinking he had jumped off the cliff to end his life. Given his current state, it was understandable.

Mr. Zhang glanced at Han Je, then looked up and saw the rope made of clothes. He leaped a few times and quickly reached the entrance of the hole. Suddenly, the pulling force from the black hole appeared, and Mr. Zhang looked startled.

"It seems the heavens have prevented your son from committing suicide. We should return to the sect and follow the elders' decision."

Mr. Zhang approached and took the hands of Han Je and his father. Soon, they arrived at the base of Dae San Sect's mountain and climbed the stone steps.

Han Je's heart was complex as he climbed back up. People looked at him with disdain. Mr. Zhang approached one of them and whispered a few words. The person frowned and said coldly,

"Since you found him, take him to the guest room to meet his mother."

In the guest room, Han Je's mother burst into tears upon seeing her son. Through his parents, Han Je learned what had happened.

After Han Je left home, his parents immediately sought out his fourth uncle. They went to find Isang-hun, the father of Isan, but he refused to help due to lingering resentment. With no other choice, they went to Dae San Sect for help.

Initially, Dae San Sect did not want to get involved. However, since Han Je had left home because he failed their test, they feared negative rumors if something happened to him. Therefore, they joined the search.

As Han Je talked with his parents, someone brought in a medicinal soup. His mother quickly took it, thanked the person, and fed it to Han Je. As expected, the medicinal soup made by the immortals was effective, and the pain soon subsided.