Thousand Years Cultivator

Thick mist shrouded the peak of Mount Lembean like a white shawl that never leaves the mountain's body.

Among the ancient trees whose roots gripped the rocky soil, the wind blew carrying sounds that made the hair on the back of one's neck stand on end.

Sometimes it sounded like a long, heartbreaking moan. Sometimes like a sharp shriek that split the silence of the night. The villagers at the foot of the mountain were accustomed to those sounds, and they believed they were the voices of the supernatural beings who inhabited that sacred mountain.

But Mount Lembean was not merely a haunted mountain. To the villagers, it was a holy place that had provided blessings for nearly a hundred years.

On one of its slopes, there was a cave believed to be the dwelling place of a Deity. Legend had it that whoever came to the cave with a sincere heart and prayed for healing, from within the darkness of the cave a single pill would be thrown out. Once that pill was swallowed, the disease that had been gnawing at the supplicant's body would vanish instantly, as if it had never been there.

It wasn't just healing. There were also those who came trapped in debt, their lives on the line, and as they prostrated at the mouth of the cave crying for help, from a small hole in the cave wall a lump of gold would be thrown out. Enough to pay off debts, enough to start a new life.

That is why for nearly a century, Mount Lembean had been a place of pilgrimage. People came from various villages, climbing the steep slopes with hope burning in their chests, believing the Deity in the cave would extend a helping hand.

But today was different.

Today, twenty people climbed the slopes of Mount Lembean with heavy, noisy steps. Nineteen of them were large-bodied with fierce, scarred faces.

Tattoos decorated their arms. Their eyes were sharp and cold, like the eyes of predators who know no mercy. Some carried knives tucked in their waists. Some carried firearms. And one among them carried a large backpack whose contents would make anyone shudder. Bombs.

The last person was different from the rest. His body was thin, his clothes were simple, and his face was pale with fear. He did not walk willingly. Every few steps, one of the thugs behind him would shove him roughly, almost causing him to stumble.

His name was Wiro.

"Please, don't do this!" Wiro turned back with tears welling in his eyes. "You don't know what you're doing! This cave is sacred! The Deity inside has helped hundreds of people for nearly a hundred years!"

A thug with the largest build shoved Wiro's back so hard that Wiro stumbled and his knee hit a rock.

"Shut up! Keep walking! If you talk too much again, I'll break your legs and drag you up there."

Wiro rose with a trembling body. He looked around, searching for a shred of mercy in those faces, but all he found was brutality and indifference. Nineteen people. All armed. He was helpless.

'Deity, forgive me,' Wiro thought as he continued walking under duress. 'I cannot stop them.'

Over the past month, the employer of these thugs had come repeatedly to the sacred cave. The employer's grandfather was gravely ill, and they begged the cave's inhabitant for a healing medicine. But unlike others who always received help, this time the cave remained silent. No pill was thrown out. No sound. No sign of life whatsoever.

And because of that, the employer was furious. If the Deity inside the cave would not help him, then he would destroy the cave.

The group continued climbing. The air grew colder and the mist thicker. The trees around them began to change. Their trunks were bent like the bodies of stooped elders, and their roots jutted from the ground like frozen snakes.

Strange sounds began to be heard faintly from a distance. A few thugs glanced around warily, but they quickly masked their fear with loud laughter and coarse curses.

Finally, after nearly two hours of climbing, they arrived at the mouth of the cave.

The cave wasn't very large from the outside. Its mouth was just wide enough for three people to stand side by side. But once inside, the ceiling rose high and the chamber widened.

The cave walls were damp with dew and mossy in some parts. On the right wall, there was a small hole that for nearly a century had been the source of miracles. From that hole, the healing pills and lumps of gold had always been thrown out.

"So this is the so-called sacred cave?" A thug spat on the cave floor. "Nothing special."

Another thug laughed and began kicking the cave walls with their heavy boots. The sound of the kicks echoed inside the cave, bouncing from wall to wall.

Wiro felt his chest tighten watching the scene. "Please, don't act like that. This is a holy place. If you are disrespectful, the Deity will be angry."

"Deity? What kind of Deity hides in a cave like a rat?" The thug with the dragon tattoo on his arm spat again, this time right near the small hole in the wall. "If you're really a Deity, why don't you come out and face us?"

Their laughter filled the cave.

Some men began to work. They opened the backpack containing explosives and started placing bombs on the inner wall section, right around the small hole where the pills and gold were usually thrown. They worked skillfully, attaching the explosives, wiring the cables, and preparing the remote detonator.

At that moment, footsteps were heard from the cave entrance. A young man about twenty-five years old strode in with an arrogant air. His clothes were expensive. The watch on his wrist gleamed under the flashlight beam. His face was handsome but cold, and his eyes radiated incurable greed.

Gito. The young master of the wealthy family who had ordered all of this.

"How is it? Is it ready?" Gito asked, casting his gaze around the cave.

"Almost finished, Young Master."

Gito nodded in satisfaction. He walked closer to the inner wall and tapped it with his knuckles. "If all this time gold could come out from in there, there must be something behind this wall. Maybe a gold mine." His eyes glinted. "We'll destroy this wall, then we'll see what's hidden inside."