However, based on the information he had received, once he became stronger, he should be able to take seeds from there freely.
That meant he had to focus on training again.
Im Beomhyeon returned quickly.
In his hands, he carried two black-skinned gourds that resembled watermelons in shape.
He handed one to Bok Taejin.
Bok Taejin took it, surprised by its weight—it felt as heavy as a large bottle of water.
Im Beomhyeon grabbed his own gourd, twisted off the top near the stem, and broke off a small section of the rind along with it.
Transparent liquid immediately flowed out in a steady stream.
Without hesitation, Im Beomhyeon lifted it and began drinking.
Bok Taejin followed suit, twisting off the top.
To his surprise, the inside was completely filled with water.
At first, he only took a small sip, hesitant.
A sweet and refreshing taste spread from his lips to his throat, smooth and pleasant.
Unknowingly, he started drinking faster.
By the time he finished, he still wanted more.
He raised the empty gourd husk toward Im Beomhyeon. "What is this?"
Im Beomhyeon had already discarded his own gourd husk and answered casually, "The villagers call it an ink gourd. It's an interesting thing—its outer skin turns black when it's fully grown, which means it has stored up a lot of water, and the taste is sweet. When it first sprouts, it's green, but inside, it's full of fibrous stuff—too tough to eat, and bitter too."
Bok Taejin silently committed that to memory, then curiously examined the gourd husk for a while before discarding it as well.
Im Beomhyeon didn't let him rest for too long before leading him forward again.
This time, they took the left path.
After a short while, they encountered another fork in the road, splitting in three directions—one leading further up the mountain, another continuing straight ahead, and the last winding downward.
Im Beomhyeon led him down the winding path.
The descent was much easier to walk, and before long, they arrived at a small valley.
The air here was damp and cold, with lush greenery all around.
Bok Taejin had worked up a sweat from hiking, but as soon as he stepped into this place, he felt an eerie chill.
It wasn't the kind of cold that made one shiver or gave goosebumps; instead, his body still felt warm, but his bones seemed on the verge of freezing solid.
Only after a while, when he finally warmed up a little, did he get the chance to take a proper look around.
The valley was filled with bamboo!
The outermost bamboo was slender, about as thick as an arrow shaft, with numerous branches and dense leaves.
Deeper inside, the bamboo grew thicker and taller.
When he looking around, Bok Taejin spotted a few sturdy bamboo stalks standing tall in the depths of the valley.
They had very few leaves, with long, evenly spaced segments.
Lowering his gaze, he saw several young bamboo shoots just emerging from the soil, along with some older ones.