The Fragile Elixer of the Fallen Clan

I wanted to snap back at Hwa-ryun’s comment, but I couldn’t because he wasn’t wrong. 

‘No, he’s absolutely right… I really do need to get stronger. I need to get stronger, and our family needs to get stronger too.’ That was the only way to ensure peace, prosperity, and long life without any accidents or misfortune. 

‘And then there’s this…’

I looked at Heukwol, the black phoenix, or rather the black silkie chicken, with a complicated expression. The silkie gracefully moved its head, pecking at the remaining feed before poking its beak slightly beyond the bars of its cage. Without thinking, I gently stroked the black beak. 

The silkie softly nibbled at my fingertips, releasing them with a gentle touch. I felt a warm glow from the contact. 

“If it were a real spiritual creature, wouldn’t it have escaped by now? It wouldn’t just be hanging around here,” I mused. 

“The person who feeds it is right here,” Hwa-ryun pointed out.

“Oh…!” 

He was right! 

I sighed inwardly. If it was becoming a spiritual creature by consuming my energy, of course it would stick around! 

“Still, I need to separate the chicken coop. This setup isn’t going to work,” I said, realizing that for the sake of the other chickens, things couldn’t stay as they were.

***

“What? The chicken escaped?” I exclaimed, barely believing what I was hearing.

“I was building a new coop, and separated them for just a moment, but this one is strong….” Mister Jeon from the kitchen looked like he was about to cry. I turned my eyes to the half-destroyed temporary coop, my face reflecting his distress.

It was a wooden fence with a flimsy lid, but any normal chicken wouldn’t have been able to break through it. Following the trail of the black silkie, I found myself at the southern wall. One of the tiles on top of the wall was shattered. The chicken must have somehow managed to jump up there.

While Mister Jeon was holding his head in despair, I sent him back and stood by the wall, swallowing my sighs. 

‘Did it head to the mountains? If so….’

“What are you thinking?” Hwa-ryun’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“I’m thinking it ran away even though the person who feeds it is right here…”

Hwa-ryun looked a bit awkward, glancing away as he came closer. I didn’t turn to look at him and continued, “I have to go find Heukwol.”

“You’re thinking something weird again, aren’t you?”

“It’s not weird. It probably ran to the mountains. What if Heukwol gets lost in the dark and gets eaten by wild animals?”

“If anything, it’s more likely to eat something than be eaten, considering its size…”

“To maintain that size, it needs a lot of food. A chicken that’s lived its whole life in a coop won’t know what to eat out there.”

“Then just send someone to find it.”

“I would, but Heukwol has a fierce side, and I’m worried something might happen. It looks unusual, too. What if someone steals it?”

“Steal a chicken from our family? They’d have to be crazy….” Hwa-ryun muttered. I was startled by his words and turned to look at him.

An awkward silence stretched between us.

Stealing a chicken is one thing, but would someone really kill over it? 

‘Is this… the potential future leader of the Demon Sect…?’ 

Had he always been this extraordinary since he was young? As I gazed at him with these thoughts, Hwa-ryun seemed to snap out of it and quickly said, “So what do we do? Are you really going to look for it?”

“Yes. Heukwol might be lost and unable to find its way back…”

And so, the dramatic rescue mission for the black silkie — assumed to be a phoenix — was decided. It was me, Hwa-ryun who couldn’t let me go alone, and Jeong-yeong, the bodyguard who was shocked at the idea of a sickly young lady climbing a mountain.

* * *

I climbed the mountain, following the faint signs of the silkie. The sudden hike left me breathless, and there were moments when I stumbled, but I pushed through. 

‘This place… the power of nature is overwhelming. Ugh, I’m dying. I should never live in a place like this. I need to be somewhere crowded with people.’

Climbing the mountain, where energy flowed like air, was exhausting, especially since my own energy was already depleted. The surreal beauty of the autumn leaves, my labored breathing, and the diminishing energy all made me dizzy.

Just when Jeong-yeong and Hwa-ryun were about to suggest giving up, I finally spotted the chicken under a large tree. Its black and red feathers glowed like flames.

“Heukwol!”

The silkie noticed my presence and lifted its head but didn’t come towards me.

The chicken stood gracefully by the tree, not moving an inch.

“Heukwol…?” I called out softly.

“It doesn’t look like it plans on coming back,” Hwa-ryun remarked.

I put a finger to my lips to shush him, tightened my cloak around me, and cautiously approached. When I got close, the silkie rubbed its cheek against my sleeve. “Heukwol, how did you get here? Was it hard? Let’s go home now….”

But when I tried to pick it up, it floated gently into the air and drifted back, not even making a sound with its wings. As I stared in surprise, Hwa-ryun came closer.

“Hmm. Seems like it’s leaving for good.”

“Can you be quiet for once?” I shot Hwa-ryun an annoyed look and turned back to the silkie.

But I couldn’t say anything more. The sunlight filtering through the branches made the silkie look truly mystical. “Oh… Are you really leaving?”

The chicken nodded once, then slowly and silently disappeared into the underbrush behind the tree.

“…”

“…”

“…”

I stared blankly at the spot where the silkie had vanished. “Did it just… really leave me?”

“Looks like it.”

“Just like that?” After all the time and care I’d given it, it disappeared without a trace? 

“It waited to say goodbye before it left. That’s not so simple….”

As I snapped out of my daze, I rushed towards the tree. Not that I could bring the chicken back, but I couldn’t just let it go so easily.

“Let’s head back,” Hwa-ryun said, tugging at my sleeve. “You just collapsed a few days ago. I’m not searching the whole mountain for herbs again.”

“I know, but….” It was my cherished chicken. How could I let go of it just because it nodded and disappeared?

As I hesitated, my eyes wavering, a strange sound pierced the air from afar. A sharp, ripping noise. 

“Shiaaaaaak!”

At the same time, a bright, auspicious rainbow light flashed above us, casting a large shadow over us.

The shape was that of a bird. The light shining from behind it made it almost impossible to see clearly, but there was no doubt. It had massive wings that could cover the mountain, a long tail, and a beautiful crest, all in a dazzling array of colors. The brilliant figure glowed in the sky before slowly fading away. In the distance, I thought I heard a faint chicken’s crow.

At that moment, a few feathers fluttered down from the sky, gently landing in my outstretched hand. They were bright red, like they were on fire.

“…”

“…”

By then, I knew it was time to let go.

“Well, I guess we can tell Mister Jeon that the chicken turned into a phoenix and flew away. No one will doubt it.”

“Just be careful you don’t get hauled off by the magistrate,” Hwa-ryun warned.

“Isn’t there a rule against government interference?”

“If the government changes its mind? And if it’s a phoenix, it won’t just be the government. Everyone from the White Path Alliance to the Black Heaven Sect will come running.”

“If they capture me for making a phoenix, you’ll have to bring me some sweets.”

“Is that all you need?”

“And some bingdanghoro. Not the ones my uncle makes. And it won’t just be the White Path and Black Heaven. Demon Sect will come too.”

Even as I said it, I felt a bit nervous. ‘Was I testing fate? Would I feel the pull of spirits?’ But Hwa-ryun just laughed.

“They’re too far away. It’s thousands of miles from here.”

“Right! Far away, so…”

I was about to say we should just stay here together forever when the feather in my hand suddenly burst into flames.

“W-woah!”

“!”

“Oh no, Miss!”

All three of us panicked. We tried wrapping it in cloth, dousing it with water, but nothing worked.

“Whoa… It’s not hot? And… the fire’s out… it’s gone?” The three of us stared at my hand.

My hand was wet from the water, but there wasn’t even a trace of ash left.

“Are you okay? Any burns?”

I shook my head, waving my hand to show I was fine. “No, I’m alright. My hand’s completely fine. Did you use some kind of advanced fire control technique?” I joked, but Jeong-yeong looked at me with a strangely hurt expression.