Episode 1
Prologue – Encountering a Legend
Chirr… chirr…
The low, resonant sound of crickets filled the night.
On a night full of those insect cries, a man staggered along the village street.
A brown liquor bottle clutched in his hand.
His appearance was extremely shabby.
His rough beard and unkempt hair had grown so long that his face was almost unrecognizable.
Perhaps because it was a small village—or maybe because the man was well-known—someone who recognized him stepped aside, muttering.
“Tch, there he goes again. Living recklessly while he’s still young… he’ll ruin himself.”
From early morning to night, the shabby man would stagger around the village drunk. Many would point fingers and snicker at him.
He was a mysterious stranger who had suddenly appeared in the village.
At first, the villagers looked at him with curiosity, but soon they began to see him as pathetic, a young man who did no work and spent every day drunk.
No matter who spoke to him, he always drank alone without responding.
And today was no different.
He was like a deaf, blind man.
He paid no mind to anyone’s words or to everyone’s pointing fingers.
“Ugh! The smell of alcohol!”
A passing middle-aged woman covered her nose and complained at the overwhelming stench of alcohol emanating from him. Even facing disapproving glances, he raised the bottle to his lips, as if none of it concerned him.
Even while staggering drunkenly, he always made his way to his home. His dwelling was somewhat distant from the village, requiring about half an hour to reach.
He dragged his drunken body up the mountain path.
After some time, a shabby house perched on the mountainside, seemingly about to collapse, came into view.
This was his home.
Barely able to protect him from the wind and rain, the house was in utter disrepair.
Plodding forward, he raised the bottle to his lips. The remaining liquor burned as it slid down his throat, and then he slowly lowered his hand.
Right as he reached the doorstep, a low, deep voice came from his mouth.
“Who’s there?”
Through the hair that had grown wildly over his face, his eyes blazed sharply—an expression completely opposite to his previously messy appearance.
The moment the man, now transformed, spoke, the closed door slowly opened.
An elderly man appeared, looking well over seventy. Tall, with soft yet powerful eyes, he smiled gently.
“You’re late. Have you been out too long, Tian Yao?”
The name “Tian Yao” came from the old man’s lips—it was the shabby man’s name.
As soon as Tian Yao recognized the man, the wariness in his eyes gradually faded.
Standing silently, Tian Yao met the old man’s gaze.
“What are you doing? Won’t you come inside?”
“If anyone else saw this, they’d think it’s your house. But this is my place.”
“Haha, why quibble? Come on in.”
At the old man’s words, Tian Yao slowly entered the house.
The inside was a mess.
Small, untidy, cluttered.
Tian Yao pushed aside the things strewn across the floor with his feet and sat opposite the old man.
Barely had he settled when the old man spoke.
“How long has it been? Has it been about ten years since we last saw each other?”
“I don’t know when the last time was, but seeing a face I didn’t particularly want to see doesn’t make me very happy.”
“Is that so? I thought of you from time to time over the past ten years.”
“My sleep was disturbed quite often—because of you, I suppose.”
“Haha. Even though we were enemies, our relationship wasn’t entirely bad, was it?”
“So that’s why you’re still alive even though you’ve shown up before me now.”
His indifferent reply carried arrogance and confidence. The old man didn’t look like an ordinary person, and the man spoke to him without hesitation. Anyone watching would have found the scene intriguing.
Tian Yao touched his lips and said,
“Enough chatter. Why did you come?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why you sought me out. Surely there’s a reason you came to me.”
Ten years.
A whole ten years.
During that long time, the man hadn’t even asked about his well-being. Now, the sudden appearance of the old man meant there was certainly a reason.
The old man gave a faint smile at Tian Yao’s question.
Silence fell between them.
Tian Yao spoke with some impatience.
“If you have nothing to say, I’ll be leaving…”
“Protect her.”
The words made Tian Yao flinch.
The old man continued, gazing at him intently.
“You’re the only one. The only one who can protect that child.”
A longer silence fell than before.
The silence, which seemed endless, was broken by Tian Yao.
“…We’re not at the sort of relationship to make requests, are we? Why me?”
“Why else?”
The reason for choosing him was singular.
“You alone can protect her from the world.”
No one else could be trusted to protect someone so perfectly, perhaps especially since it might mean turning the entire martial world into enemies.
Bending slightly forward, Tian Yao met the old man’s gaze.
“Who is she? The child the world is after?”
“My granddaughter.”
“Your granddaughter?”
Tian Yao asked, confused.
The old man seemed to read his curiosity.
“You’ll understand soon. For certain reasons… that child will be in danger. That’s why I ask you to protect her—my granddaughter.”
He didn’t elaborate on the reasons.
Tian Yao didn’t ask either.
Just knowing that the old man had personally come to him to make this request was enough to signal the danger. Enough to risk a dozen lives.
They weren’t especially close. In fact, they had been enemies. Yet this task required risking one’s life.
Even so, Tian Yao could not immediately refuse.
“…I owe you a debt. Is this your way of having me repay it?”
Ten years ago, he had owed this man a great debt.
“Exactly. I know it’s presumptuous. But you are a man unmoved by money or position. That’s why I have come, placing everything on the one favor I once did for you. I’ve traveled far, clinging to hope, to ask you to protect my granddaughter.”
The old man’s words were earnest.
After a long journey just to speak to this man alone, hoping he would agree.
Tian Yao spoke quietly.
“Very well. Then I’ll ask—if I accept this, what do you want me to do?”
“Ensure she lives a happy life.”
“You understand that it’s a difficult request, right?”
“I know. I also know it may take years, perhaps even your whole life. And the remaining life of my granddaughter too.”
“Her life… can I stake it on myself?”
“You ask if you may? Absolutely. Only you.”
The old man’s expression grew serious as he grabbed Tian Yao’s sleeve and pulled him closer. Their eyes met.
“Only you.”
With that, the old man fell silent.
Tian Yao pressed his lips shut, deep in thought, closing his eyes.
A debt owed to this old man. He had always known he would repay it. But he hadn’t imagined it would be like this. A retired martial artist must once again appear in the world to protect a single person.
His clenched fist trembled slightly.
From the moment the old man came, the answer had been clear.
“…I will protect your granddaughter.”
“Really?”
The old man’s voice trembled, letting go of his grip. He had traveled far to make this request, but still wasn’t entirely confident. This task could only be accomplished by Tian Yao.
“How should I protect her? Should I come to her, or will you send her here?”
“Neither. It’s better you remain hidden for now.”
“Then how do I protect her?”
“Soon, a significant event will occur in the martial world that everyone will notice. That’s when you will come.”
“Shall I come to you then?”
“No.”
The old man took a piece of paper from his chest and handed it to Tian Yao.
“The names of those who will assist you are written here. Go to them.”
“Understood.”
Tian Yao nodded.
“I need basic information about the granddaughter I am to protect. Please tell me what I should know.”
“Nothing too remarkable. She’s eleven years old…”
“Eleven?”
“Yes.”
“Hah… this is troublesome. I’m not good with children.”
“She’s a good child. You need not worry much.”
“Being only eleven, I assume she has no martial skills to speak of.”
Tian Yao’s main concern was the martial ability of the one he would protect. But at eleven, it was easy to gauge her level.
“Anything else you wish to know?” the old man asked.
“No. Nothing further.”
Satisfied, Tian Yao had no more questions.
The old man smiled.
“I’ve kept you too long. I cannot stay, so I will leave.”
“I won’t see you off. I’m tired.”
Tian Yao lay down immediately on the floor, turning his back to the door and closing his eyes. The old man watched him quietly, then slowly rose.
The narrow room allowed him to reach the door in a single step.
Stepping outside, he turned and spoke softly to Tian Yao, who lay with his back turned.
“Thank you for accepting an old man’s final request.”
Creak…
The door closed. Tian Yao’s eyes shone faintly in the darkness behind it.
After some time, he rose, picked up a portable brush, and went to the back of the house.
Amid overgrown bushes, a carrier pigeon stood in a cage. Tian Yao wrote swiftly on a piece of paper with the brush.
―Reactivating the sealed information network.
He tied the paper to the pigeon and sent it into the night sky.
Flap… flap…
The pigeon flew through the dark sky, and Tian Yao watched its disappearing path silently.
The late-night meeting between Tian Yao and the old man.
No one knew that the legend that would shake the martial world was beginning.
The old man walked down the mountain path.
At the bottom, a carriage awaited, with a middle-aged man rushing toward him.
“Did you meet well?”
“Yes.”
The middle-aged man’s face brightened at the old man’s smile.
“Everything went well?”
“Fortunately.”
“Congratulations!”
“Thank you. My mission is complete… I will leave now.”
As the old man opened the carriage door, the middle-aged man bowed and shouted,
“I will serve you, Martial World Leader!”
