Episode 1

An old pavilion in Jinyang County, Shaanxi Province

At the entrance of the pavilion was this board, which said Medical Change Clinic.

An old man who seemed unwell looked at the entrance and shouted.

“Seok Du, Seok Du, come out now!”

This middle-aged healer wearing a white bandana around his forehead came running from the inside.

“Elder, you came? Please come inside.”

“Today is supposed to be a free day, remember? Why are you still here now? This is why I told you to go find a partner.”

“Hehe. Then please set a match for me, elder.”

The old man who entered the main hall nodded confidently.

“I understand. Well, there was one woman who hadn’t gotten married yet.”

“As I thought, the only one who cares for me is the elder. Who is this woman?”

There was this hint of mischief on the face of the old man, but then it vanished.

“My friend. There is one who is still alive.”

The healer waved his hand with a startled look.

“Ugh, Elder, please. How can you introduce me to someone who is like a grandmother to me?”

The old man had a wide grin on his face and placed a wrapping cloth on the table.

The smell of amazing food spread across the room.

“And this is?’

“I brought it because I thought you would be all alone during the holidays. I asked my daughters-in-law to pack a couple of things for me.”

The healer looked at the cloth and seemed shocked, as if he were so moved by it.

“Why do all this…? I will use it well, Elder. But how are you feeling?”

“What do you think? I feel like the air is going to run out of me soon enough. How long have I got to live?”

The healer rolled his sleeves up and began to feel the area around the old man’s forehead.

His face went dark at this.

“The blood vessels seem to be getting narrower. It looks like the tumor inside has grown. At this stage, your condition is already….”

“It seems like you are saying that there is nothing strange even if I died this moment. It’s fine. I have no regrets in this life.”

The healer didn’t respond, but he said,

“Have you lost consciousness in the middle?”

“It hasn’t happened yet. But I do get dizzy at times.”

The healer held the teapot in his hand, filled an empty cup, and held it to the old man.

“It seems like the huge internal qi in the body of the elder is protecting your blood vessels. If you don’t want to succumb to it, make sure to take care of your health.”

“What’s the point of struggling to live a little longer when I’m an old man in the corner room of the house waiting to die?”

“Phew. Still, didn’t you say that you feel happy when you see your granddaughter? You should live a little longer and watch your granddaughter get married.”

This made the face of the old man brighten. He seemed to like the thought of his granddaughter.

“Well, that’s nice too. I live for the taste of seeing my youngest child grow up. Not only is she pretty, but she is so special and is probably the one who’ll be responsible for the future of our family.”

“But looking at her natural muscles and body, the child will grow up to be amazingly talented. But more than that, Elder should be worried about a certain thing.”

“I know. I know my body the best.”

The healer let out this heavy voice with a concerned look.

“Don’t give up already. It is said that there are many people in the world of martial arts who have lived long enough that the healers were shocked. You are training regularly, right?”

“I am just cultivating. I think it’s been about 30 years since I put the sword down.”

“But you still have to train your body, Elder.”

The old man had a faint smile on his lips.

He emptied the teacup in one go and got up.

“Train, huh… I am too old for it now. Well, I really enjoyed that tea.”

“Wait!”

The man handed a pouch full of medicinal herbs to the old man, who was about to leave.

“You said the medicine wouldn’t work, though? Why do all this then?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just something minimal to help you with blood circulation and digestion.”

When it was forced into his hand, the old man couldn’t shake it off, so he nodded and turned his back.

“Don’t cause trouble tomorrow, and come to the Yu family’s home. We can have a meal together.”

“Haha. Let me think about it.”

The old man walked lightly as he stepped out.

This was where he had lived for more than a year.

His eyes sank deeply as he looked at the plum trees in a row.

‘Now… I have to clear things.’

Every scene was being captured in his mind without missing anything. This was because he instinctively felt that the end of his life was approaching.

The head of the Yu family.

It was a family he had worked hard to build all his life.

Looking at the wall in the distance, he was filled with regret. And for a moment, his eyes suddenly wavered.

It was because there was something strange.

Why were dozens of residents crowded near the main gate, making so much noise? Their whispering conversation rang in his ears as if he were hearing it right next to them.

“What the hell is happening here?”

“What is this…? Shouldn’t we hurry up and inform the officials?”

“Who on earth would do such a terrible thing?”

This ominous feeling passed through the old man’s head.

He smelled this thick scent of blood at the tip of his nose. The closer he got, the more intense it felt.

The old man approached it quickly.

Crack!

As he ran after a long time, his bones were screaming.

“Euk!”

He couldn’t stop.

The old man approached the front door and squeezed his way through the crowd.

“Let me pass by for a moment.”

The residents who noticed him all moved away with a shocked look on their faces. Their eyes were all filled with sadness.

“Just how…? The elder is still alive.”

“Is everyone but the elder dead?”

“The heavens are being so indifferent…”

At that moment, the medicine pouch in the old man’s hand fell with a ‘tak’ sound.

Countless, ruthlessly cut corpses were scattered in the front yard of the manor. There were around 30 bodies of men, women, and kids.

It was clear that they were all related to him. Even the helpers and the guests who were staying in the manor. Everyone was dead.

“…”

With unsteady steps, the old man approached them. He truly couldn’t believe the sight that unfolded in his eyes.

“Dae Kwang… Chung Ah… General Jin….”

He called out the names of his family members one after another, but he knew he wasn’t going to hear any answers.

“…Huuuhuuuh.”

The old man fell to his knees as he sobbed for a long time.

The residents watching from the gate all had sad faces.

“It is the greatest injustice for a child to die before their parents. And everyone died but the elder… Just how did this happen?”

“The Yu family had no enemies, right? Then who did this?”

“How can I know? Rather, shouldn’t we stop?”

The old man grabbed the sword that was lying around and brought it to his neck.

There was sadness in his eyes, and there was no hesitation in his actions.

“NO. NOOOOO!”

“Elder, if you die like this, who will take revenge for that?”

“Live for now, and we will get another chance!”

The old man had lost his will to live, and there was no change in his expression. The look on his face appeared as if his soul had left his body.

The tip of his sword began to slowly push into his neck, and everyone realized they couldn’t stop him.

There was no pain because the mental pain was higher, and the physical one got buried in it.

A drop of blood was about to drip down the blade when he stopped. His ears had picked something up.

“…?”

After pulling the sword back, he looked around. At the same time, he held out his palm to the gate. A signal for people to be silent.

And then there was this faint sound of a child crying.

“Uwaaa.”

It came from the small yard next to the main hall.

The old man ran over there and removed the straws that were lying on the ground. There was this jar buried in the ground.

And when he opened the lid, he saw this baby wrapped in the blanket.

At that moment, drops of warm water flowed down the cheek of the old man.

“Chung Ha, my child. You did a good job….”

He had never thought that his granddaughter would be hidden here. He was already considering killing himself.

Suddenly, his face seemed full of life.

Unlike before, he had this firm determination of not wanting to die at all.

‘I will not die.’

The old man stepped into the main hall, holding the child in his left hand.

When he came out again, he had a spear in his hand. It was the Fire Dragon Divine Spear, the heirloom weapon of the Yu family.

“The Yu family has never done anything worth such resentment, so who on earth would do such a terrible thing?!”

Not a single person in the crowd answered.

He looked around with calm eyes.

The scars were so clear on the bodies. It was clear that the ones who learned martial arts were defeated without even being able to put up a fight.

‘Do I bury my family and friends…? No, Seol’s safety is what comes first.’

At present, it was impossible to guess what had happened.

But whatever the reason was, it was clear that someone wanted the Yu family dead.

And if they found out he was alive, as the head of the family, they would definitely come back. He was sure of this because of the numerous experiences he had.

“I am Yu Jinsan, the head of the Yu family! I swear in the heavens with every one of you as a witness. I will never shut my eyes until those who turned my family into this pay an equal price!”

After saying that, Yu Jinsan turned his back.

All he had was a spear in one hand and a baby in the other.

As he walked towards the back door, he glanced back. It was because the bodies of his kids, whom he couldn’t even bury, lingered in his mind.

It felt like someone was driving nails through his heart, but he couldn’t help it. Survival comes first.

His steps had just left the back door of the manor.

Suddenly, this black shadow came moving down the wall.

He instinctively realized it was a surprise attack.

‘Make sure to avoid with minimal movement.’

He could see the opponent coming, but he had doubts about how he had to move.

Yu Jinsan’s upper body was slightly tilted back.

Pang!

The blade of the sword grazed the bridge of his nose by just a sheet of paper.

A series of attacks continued.

‘Not bad!’

Yu Jinsan began to dodge the attack by moving just his upper back. The only thing that could give him the upper hand was the experience and strength he had.

The moment the sword grazed his side and was pulled back, he quickly went for the opponent.

In his mind, he wanted to kick the guy, but he wasn’t sure if his body would follow it.

He kicked the shaft of the spear from below, and he hit the opponent under the shin.

Crack!

“Kuak!”

Yu Jinsan widened the distance and looked at the other person.

The opponent had a mask on, so he couldn’t get a clear idea of who the opponent was. But he had one clue. It was the dragon tattoo on his neck.

For now, that was enough.

‘I am enraged, but I know there is nothing more I can do about this. If more people join, even retreating would become impossible for me.’

While the opponent was stumbling, Yu Jinsan quickly turned his back and ran.

His light footwork, which glided as if he were slipping on a cloud, was amazing.

However, it was natural that performing footwork for the first time in decades would strain his body.

Crack!

Yu Jinsan’s face crumbled as his back started to hurt.

He groaned without realizing it.

“Ugh, my waist!“

He wanted to rest, but he couldn’t stop there. When he looked back, he could see the masked man chasing after him.

When he saw the guy, he felt angry.

“You have no manners!”

If he were in his prime, he would have crushed the man in one hit. But he couldn’t do that now.

The only thing that mattered to him was his granddaughter’s safety.

And instead of answering, the masked man threw a dagger.

Yu Jinsan was able to avoid them with the quick senses he had.

‘How dare you?!’

He twisted his upper body with all his might.

Crack!

“Euk!”

It was the sound that came from the joints of his shoulder.

At that moment, the sharp blade of the dagger grazed his front chest.

The gap continued to narrow. And at this rate, it felt like he would be caught up any time.

If he couldn’t escape from here, there was another way.

‘If I cannot kill this person, I will end up suffering.’

Yu Jinsan stopped his footwork and took a crouching stance with the spear.

“Do not worry, my child. Grandpa will protect you.”

The baby cried like it understood what he said. The distance from the masked man was now closing in.

Yu Jinsan, who was facing him now, pulled the spear he was holding with one hand to his shoulder.

As the distance narrowed to less than 5 feet, the tip of the spear glowed. This thing, which was giving off this cold qi, was clearly the spear’s qi.

And the moment the distance was narrowed to less than 3 feet, a lion’s roar came from the mouth of the man.

“Kuaaaaakl!!!”

With a single loud shout, the sound wave that was filled with qi rushed towards the masked person.

He was hit right in front of his nose, making his body stumble back.

And Yu Jinsan aimed for that to deliver the fatal hit to the man.

Swish!

A beam of light cut through the air and went straight.

Soon, the tip of the spear pierced the opponent’s heart and began to pierce deep into it.

Puak!

“Cough!”

Blood poured out of the mouth of the masked man.

Yu Jinsan stepped closer and gave one tight slap to the man.

Slap!

“This fuckin’ cheap bastard.”

And his mask came off, revealing his face. And as he was thinking that, it was a familiar face.

It seemed like there was no need for him to find out more about the man since he was already dying.

Yu Jinsan grabbed the spear and kicked him with his foot.

Puak!

Now that he had retrieved his spear, there was no time to hesitate any longer.

Without another look, Yu Jinsan ran for his life.