The day after, in the afternoon, Li Kong went home after his work was done and took a refreshing bath before he prepared for his exploration.
"Okay, let's review my belongings. There's the water, herbs, beast-repellant... Uh, what else should I bring?"
"..."
"I think this is enough."
To not attract too much attention, Li Kong tried to bring as few things as possible which he carried inside a small bag strapped to his body. While his knives was hanging inside the specially-crafted pouch tied on his waist.
After checking for the last time, Li Kong went straight to the front door and started to sneakily left the village.
He walked as usual on the main road and met with the other villager and politely greeted at them which they replied.
As he reached the outskirt of the village, Li Kong got inside of the gap between the houses and swiftly navigated through it until he saw the rows of trees in front of him.
Li Kong successfully entered the forest and steered his way through the forest.
As Li Kong went deeper into the forest, he recalled the scene of the shooting star falling into the forest.
"The location where the star fell should be right there."
Li Kong changed his direction and continued treading forward.
He didn't encounter anything on his way and his exploration went smoothly.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps and with a lightning fast reaction, he hid his presence amongst the bushes and trees then slowed his respiration.
There emerged an imposing presence from the bushes.
With a hide stripped in orange and white color, it walked majestically through the forest. A distinct scar etched on its face sent a signal to Li Kong's brain.
'That's the bastard that stolen my hunt!'
The beast stopped for a moment to observe its surrounding and Li Kong completely stopped all of his body activities.
Cold sweats formed on Li Kong's forehead as the beast looked around for any abnormalities but soon after, the beast didn't noticed anything and continued its stride and disappeared from Li Kong's view.
Even though the threatening presence had gone, Li Kong still ceased to move and only after a few seconds, he huffed in relief and relaxed his body.
'Someday I'll get my revenge.' Li Kong grumpily said in his heart.
'But damn, I didn't realize that I was this deep into the forest already. Uncle and I usually only hunt in the outskirt of the forest.'
Li Kong recalled his uncle said that the tiger only roamed at the deep section of the forest and seldom appeared at the outskirts.
'Should I really continue deeper into the forest? What if I met with the tiger again? Wouldn't I be...'
Dead... was the word ringing in his head. Realization struck him as a sense of anxiety started to creeping up in Li Kong.
'Arghhh. Damn it. Why do I hesitate now?'
Li Kong slapped his own head and his thought immediately went clear.
After his hesitation ended, Li Kong embarked deeper to the forest and fortunately this time, he didn't encounter the beast. But to no luck, Li Kong still hadn't found the fallen "star" yet.
'How much longer do I have to search around this forest?'
Li Kong had arrived at the approximate place the "star" had fallen but after roaming for almost half a hour, his effort was to no avail and not to mention that he already spent too long inside the forest until the sky's hue had gradually changed to a more vibrant color.
'I'm dead if Uncle Zheng find out what am I doing here.' Li Kong gulped at the thought.
'Sigh... I'm going to look for one last time.'
Li Kong continued his search and he found a cave etched to the wall of the cliff. The cave wasn't too large but still big enough for Li Kong to pass with ease with its entrance reaching up to around 5 meters in length and 3 meters in height.
Li Kong looked at the cave's entrance suspiciously.
'It couldn't be fallen there, wasn't it? Hmm. What if it did fell there?' Li Kong mused.
'Wait a minute... What if it were a beast's den?'
Li Kong imagined the moment he entered the entrance suddenly he felt a warm breath behind him and slowly turned his head to saw a towering beast with its mouth open to chopped of his head.
Li Kong felt shiver flow across his spine but he immediately shook off the thoughts.
'Pa! Why am I always think about the worst?'
'Calm down, Li Kong. It's okay.' He repeated the words like it was a mantra as he took a deep breath.
He looked at the cave's entrance once again. The former seemingly normal entrance looked like it had completely changed. Li Kong felt like he was seeing an ominous air leaking out from the entrance and inaudible voice formed near his ears.
Li Kong instinctively gulped and thought to himself.
'But there's nothing wrong about being cautious, right?'
Li Kong grabbed a nearby rock and adopted a throwing stance while simultaneously prepared to escape immediately.
Li Kong swung his arm and the rock flew forward as it disappeared into the inside of the cave and making a 'thud' sound as it landed to the ground.
Li Kong's sense heightened as he prepared his feet to move the moment his ear caught slightly unusual sounds.
Few seconds had passed and Li Kong had yet to heard any semblances of howl.
Li Kong carefully treaded his way forward to the wall beside the entrance and peek a little to the inside of the cave.
The cave was medium-sized at best with no particular distinctions.
Li Kong heaved a sigh of relief and went inside of the cave. Li Kong's eyes roamed for a while, inspecting every nook and cranny of the cave. He couldn't find where the rock he threw was at but suddenly something caught his eyes.
He went deeper inside and found an odd-looking little white ball on the ground. The ball looked like it was made from a pristine white marble and an unfamiliar pattern etched on its surface. But except the pleasing marble-looking texture, there was hardly anything worth mentioning.
"Was this weird-looking ball the fallen star I had seen?" Li Kong having a hard time believing that he spent hours only to found this odd white ball.
He wasn't impressed at all.
In the end, he could only sigh in disappointment at the time wasted for this ball.
"I guess it still can fetch quite some prices." Li Kong further sank into disappointment as he reached for the exit.
But suddenly...
"Who dared to call this Venerable weird?" An unknown voice echoed in his head.
The moment the voice uttered its first word, Li Kong immediately went to full alert. He pulled out his dagger and warily scanned all of his surroundings.
"Hoh, not a bad reaction." The voice expressed his genuine amazement.
Li Kong gave no response and continued to observe his surroundings. His heart beat furiously as adrenaline surged through his whole body, further heightening his sense but no matter how, he couldn't detect the slightest presence of a person.
"For a mortal, that is." The voice turned cold.
As the voice's tone dropped, colors faded from Li Kong's appearance.
Li Kong's senses immediately peaked and the whole world appeared to be in a slow motion.
He spun his body to gain momentum and readied to brandish his knife but alas...
'Ah...'
In the slowed world, Li Kong watched powerlessly as the incoming attack aimed for his heart.
'I'm dead.'
A thud sound was heard coming from the inside of the cave.
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Li Kong opened his eyes and immediately gripped his chest tightly and breathed heavily. His face contorted in pain and he gritted his teeth.
After a while, his breathing had stabilized and he took the chance to observed his surroundings. He was still in the same cave.
'I'm not dead yet, am I?' Still in quite a shock, Li Kong sweated profusely.
He suddenly jolted and quickly turned his gaze to where his heart laid and heaved a sigh of relief looking at his still intact chest.
"What was that thing before? I thought that I was a goner." Li Kong recalled the seemingly almost transparent attack aimed at his heart.
Li Kong shivered at the sheer terror that attack gave to his entire being.
"Oh, you're wake up." Suddenly an ethereal voice rang inside of his head.
Li Kong's face immediately turn pale and he screamed on top of his lung.
"Aahhhhh!"
"Shut up, won't you? You're hurting my ear!"
Li Kong's mouth instantly shut and he felt his mouth was blocked with something and he couldn't open it. Li Kong fell on his back and rolled on the ground as he struggled to open his mouth with his hands.
Li Kong rolled for a good amount of time, but suddenly he realized that his life wasn't taken yet and he finally stopped rolling and looked around him in disbelief.
"Finally calmed down now?" The voice sounded exhausted.
Fear struck Li Kong but he hold his entire being from trying to escape and just nodded.
"Now you can open your mouth." The voice once again said.
Li Kong tried to open his mouth but to no avail, his mouth remain shut.
"Huh?" The voice sounded confused.
Listening to the confusion in the voice, Li Kong's face turned pale.
"Hey, wait, wait! Don't panic! Damn it, this is the problem being with no body."
Li Kong inhaled air like it was water and sweats started to form again on his forehead.
'Am I gonna be mute for the rest of my life?'
Li Kong felt like fainting but he persevered and listened half hopeful and half desperate at the voice.
"Listen carefully, kid. Look for the white bead you had with you before."
Li Kong immediately stood up and reached to his pouch but the ball was nowhere to found. He didn't lose his temper and calmly looked around the cave. He finally found it and held it tightly.
"Arghhhhhh! Don't squeeze it too tight!" The voice screamed in pain.
Li Kong confused but still loosen it and the voice's grunt stopped.
"Huff. Huff. Don't do stupid thing like that again." The voice sounded irritated.
Li Kong didn't get why the voice sounded so much in pain and he decided to did an experiment and squeezed the ball again but this time not too hard.
"You brat! What I told you before!"
As the voice finished its words, Li Kong suddenly felt something struck his head and gasped at the impact.
The ball rolled off from his grip and to the ground while Li Kong protected his head from further attack.
"You goddamned stinky brat. Were your ears not functioning well?" Now the voice was beyond irritated.
Li Kong rubbed his head a few times before staring right at the white ball and with a quivering voice, he pointed.
"You... You're a ball!"
Li Kong's perception of reality was warped at the incredulity of the situation.
'I was almost killed by a ball? A ball? A weird-looking little ball?' Li Kong felt the world was spinning with this one.
"I'm a bead! A magnificent bead! What the hell did you mean by a ball?" The ball sounded annoyed.
The ball or the so-called "bead" sighed at the sight of Li Kong who still in shock and mumbling something in a low voice.
"I know it must be hard for you to comprehend this but I mean you no harm so listen carefully." The voice in serious tone.
Li Kong regained his consciousness and without hesitation, he sat right in front of the bead.
Afterall the bead could kill him at any given moment, but it didn't. That was enough to convinced Li Kong.
Li Kong gave a full score to his mental calculation and raised his hand before the white bead.
"Before that can I ask something first?" Li Kong watched his manner carefully and uttered in the politest tone he could voiced.
"Speak." That was his cue.
"Why was you trying to kill me before?" Li Kong asked with the deepest part of his heart.
"That was just an illusion but your senses were too good for your own good and it caused you to perceived it as a genuine threat. Well, it was in itself a test to see how fast you'll react at immediate danger but you're the first of all to react that fast. For a someone who's still in a mortal state, at least. Others usually just surprised at something passed their chest but you genuinely thought that you were done for."
Once again, Li Kong fell into disbelief as he listened dumbfoundedly at the voice's calm explanation.
After its finished its words, the voice resounded once again in Li Kong's head.
"Place the bead on your palm."
Li Kong jolted off from his daze and quickly did what the voice told. Suddenly, a huge surge of information flooded Li Kong's brain as many scenes quickly formed in his head.
He saw the scene of group of people flying in the sky carefreely.
He saw the scene of the sea of clouds and mountains piercing through it.
He saw the scene of brave warriors fighting fiercely with a beast cladded in blazing flame.
He saw the scene of people partying and laughing glamorously.
He saw the scene of a blooming oath of a pair underneath the cherry tree.
He saw the scene of the broken oath in front of the burning tree.
He saw the scene of the merciless rain that washed everything in its embrace.
Li Kong saw the many facade of the memories before the memories stopped surging his brain and it all went away like a fleeting dream.
Li Kong closed his eyes and a single droplet of tear flowed out then he opened his eyes and he appeared as though he just awakened from a dream.
He wiped off his face with one hand and desperately gritted his teeth as hard as he could because if he didn't, he surely would broke down crying.
Something intense and foreign was welling up in Li Kong's psyche but weirdly, he couldn't told himself to reject the foreign feeling inside of him.
All of a sudden, he felt something warm was coursing through his palm and flowing gently to his head and the intense feeling slowly disseminated.
After that, he stayed silent for a moment before looking at the bead.
"What... What was that?" Li Kong asked in hoarse voice while making sniffing sound.
The bead didn't answered him and finally after a moment of silence, the bead spoke.
Li Kong turned to the source of the sound.
"I am the remnants of once a great cultivator and I've been tasked to roamed around the world to gave an opportunity to those who was fated and you..."
Although the bead didn't have any eyes, Li Kong could felt that it was staring right into his entire being.
"This encounter was fated."