Thousand Years Cultivator

4 To Wiro's Village

"I want to know what has happened in the world during... during my time here," Kevin said carefully. "There is much I wish to learn."

Wiro, whose hands and feet had been untied by Kevin earlier, reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a glowing rectangular object. "Deity Kevin, this is called a handphone."

Kevin stared at the object with wide eyes. The thin device emitted light and displayed moving images. This was something he had never seen before.

"With this object, Deity Kevin can learn everything," Wiro said while showing the screen of his handphone. "Inside it there is something called AI. Deity Kevin simply needs to ask anything and the AI will answer. About what is happening in the world, about technology, about anything."

Kevin took the handphone from Wiro's hand and examined it carefully. This object was so small yet seemed to hold vast knowledge. 'The world has developed this far,' Kevin thought in amazement.

"I cannot accept this for free," Kevin said.

"Deity Kevin doesn't need to pay anything! After everything Deity Kevin has done for me and for the villagers all this time..."

But Kevin had already slipped his hand into his robe and pulled out a bar of gold that gleamed under the light of the glowing stones on the ceiling. The gold weighed one kilogram.

Wiro's eyes widened. "Deity Kevin, this is too much! That handphone isn't worth this much!"

Kevin looked at the handphone in his hand, then at the gold in Wiro's hand. "This object can answer all my questions about a world that has changed for a hundred years. In my opinion, this object is far more valuable than a bar of gold."

Wiro shook his head quickly. "No, Deity Kevin. One kilogram of gold could buy thousands of handphones like this. I feel unworthy to receive this."

"Take it," Kevin said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Consider it my thanks for trying to protect my cave."

Wiro finally accepted the gold with trembling hands. The object felt heavy and real in his grasp. With this much gold, he could build a new house for his mother, pay for all his family's needs for years to come.

They walked out of the cave together. The afternoon sunlight greeted them with gentle warmth. Kevin halted at the cave mouth and looked back one last time, gazing at the place that had been his home for a hundred years.

"Deity Kevin, if I may ask, where will Deity Kevin go after this?" Wiro asked.

Kevin was silent for a long while. He gazed at the sky beginning to turn orange with the approach of dusk. Thin clouds drifted slowly above, indifferent to everything that had just happened on this mountain.

"I don't know yet," Kevin answered honestly.

Wiro immediately responded, "In that case, Deity Kevin should come with me to my house first. My house is at the foot of this mountain. It is indeed small and modest, but at least Deity Kevin can rest first and think about where to go."

Kevin looked at Wiro. This simple village youth possessed a rare sincerity, the sincerity that had made Kevin heed his words to let Gito go earlier. And now, having lost his dwelling place, Wiro's offer felt like the only sensible thing.

"Very well," Kevin said. "I will come with you."

They began descending the slopes of Mount Lembean together. Behind them, the cave that for nearly a century had been a sacred place now lay wide open, empty, and silent. That era had ended.

And for Kevin, after seven thousand years of life and a hundred years of seclusion, a new journey had just begun.

---

Throughout the journey down the slopes of Mount Lembean, Kevin walked beside Wiro in silence.

His steps were light, barely leaving traces on the rocky ground, while Wiro occasionally tripped over tree roots because his legs were still trembling after everything that had happened today.

As they began to approach the village at the foot of the mountain, Kevin stopped walking.

"Wiro."

Wiro immediately turned around alertly. "Yes, Deity Kevin?"

"Do not call me Deity," Kevin said calmly but firmly. "From now on, call me just Kevin. And I want you to promise me one thing."

"Anything, De... Uh... Kevin."

"Do not tell anyone that I am the one who lived in that cave all this time. Do not tell anyone what you saw inside the cave. Do not tell anyone about my abilities." Kevin looked at Wiro intently. "Tell the villagers that the Deity who lived in the cave has left. That is all. There is no need to say where or who. Do you understand?"

Wiro nodded quickly. "I understand. I promise I will not say anything to anyone."

"If anyone asks about me, just say I am a friend of yours from the city who is visiting."

"Alright, Kevin."

They continued walking. As soon as they entered the footpath that cut through the village, several villagers who were going about their activities turned to look at them. A woman hanging laundry in her yard waved at Wiro, but her eyes immediately fell upon the strange young man walking beside him.

"Wiro, you came from the mountain? Who is that with you?" the woman asked.

"Oh, this is Kevin. My friend from the city. He's visiting our village," Wiro answered, trying to appear as casual as possible.

Kevin nodded politely at the woman. The woman paused for a moment, examining Kevin's face more closely, then her eyes widened slightly. She hurriedly turned to her neighbor who happened to be passing by and whispered something. That neighbor also turned to look at Kevin, and her expression immediately changed.

All along the way to Wiro's house, the same thing kept repeating. Every time they passed someone, that person would inevitably stop for a moment and stare at Kevin.

The men looked with ordinary curiosity, but the women looked in a different way. Some immediately turned their faces away in shyness. Others secretly kept glancing from behind their house windows. A young girl drawing water from the well nearly dropped her bucket when Kevin passed by.

Wiro, noticing all of this, could only smile faintly. 'It's only natural,' he thought. 'There has never been a man with a face like Kevin's in this village. Even actors on television probably pale in comparison to Kevin's handsomeness.'

Their village was indeed a small, remote village at the foot of the mountain. Most of the men here had sturdy bodies from hard labor, dark skin burned by the sun, and faces hardened by a difficult life.

Kevin's presence with his almost perfectly smooth face, his clear eyes, and his calm yet charismatic aura was like dropping a diamond in the middle of a field. Extremely conspicuous.

Wiro's house was a simple wooden house with a zinc roof rusted in some places.

Its yard was small but clean, with several neatly arranged potted plants. In front of the door, an old woman sat in a rattan chair peeling cassava.

"Mother, I'm home," Wiro said.

Wiro's mother looked up. Her heavily wrinkled face immediately brightened upon seeing her son, but then her eyes shifted to the strange young man beside Wiro.

"Wiro, you brought a friend?"

"Yes, Mother. This is Kevin, my friend. He's from the city. He'll be staying at our house for a while. Is that okay, Mother?"

Wiro's mother looked Kevin over from head to toe. Though old, her eyes were still sharp. She could see that this young man was different from ordinary people. There was something in his eyes, a kind of depth that an eighteen-year-old youth should not possess.

"Of course it's okay," his mother said, smiling warmly. "Please come in, young Kevin. Forgive us, our home is humble."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Kevin replied politely. He bowed slightly, a habit from ancient times that still clung to him.

They had just entered the house and sat down in the small living room with only a woven mat on the floor when the roar of car engines was heard from outside. Not just one car, but several. The sound was loud and aggressive, like a pack of wild beasts approaching.