Ming stared at Hao with a mix of curiosity and confusion.
Something about him felt… wrong.
A grown man shouldn't behave like a frightened child.
Before Ming could question him further, a calm voice came from behind.
"Hey… let him go."
Ming turned around.
A pale young man stood there, wearing a simple white robe.
His expression was tired but gentle, and his presence felt strangely steady in this chaotic forest.
Ming narrowed his eyes.
"And who might you be?"
The young man stepped forward and bowed slightly.
"My name is Shenyi. Please, let him go. He means no harm."
Ming didn't argue.
He released Hao immediately.
As soon as Hao was free, he ran straight toward Shenyi, clutching his sleeve like a scared child.
"Brother! He was trying to hurt me!"
Ming blinked, confused.
"…Is he mentally ill?"
Shenyi nodded with a bitter smile.
"Yes. Something happened to him. Ever since then, he's been like this. I didn't expect to find any other human out here…"
Ming let out a slow breath.
"It was the same for me."
Shenyi's eyes shifted to the giant beast Ming had just killed.
His expression tightened.
"If you don't mind… can we take some of this meat? There are people with us who haven't eaten in days."
"Of course," Ming replied.
"You can take everything you need. I'll come with you."
He wasn't surprised they were starving.
One glance at their bodies told him they hadn't eaten properly in far too long.
What shocked Ming was something else—
these people were normal. No cultivation, no martial arts… nothing.
And yet, somehow, they had survived in a forest where even Ming, with his training and abyssal body, had nearly died many times.
It made no sense.
Ming lifted the beast's massive body onto his shoulder and followed Shenyi through the dense trees.
The deeper they walked, the colder the air became.
After a moment, Shenyi broke the silence.
"So… what crime did you commit to get thrown into the Red Line?"
Ming sighed.
"It's a long story."
He glanced at Shenyi.
"But what about you? How in the world did you survive here without cultivation?"
Shenyi gave a tired laugh.
"I know exactly what you're thinking. But we… don't survive by fighting."
He pointed ahead.
"We survive by hiding. We've been living inside a cave for months. We never leave unless we absolutely have to."
He shot a sharp look at Hao.
"And today was our first time coming this far. Only because this idiot ran off and stumbled into you."
Hao stuck close to Shenyi, his childish expression unchanged.
Soon, Ming noticed something odd ahead — a thick wall of bushes that looked unnaturally dense.
Shenyi pushed the branches aside.
"Here. This is our home."
Ming stepped inside.
His eyes adjusted to the dim light.
And then — his heart tightened.
A girl lay on the ground, tied with rope, body trembling nonstop as if she was trapped in a nightmare.
Beside her sat another man, motionless, staring at the cave wall.
Only his back was visible.
He didn't move even an inch.
Another person stood near the entrance, looking directly at Ming.
"And who might you be?" the man asked.
Before Ming could reply, Shenyi stepped forward.
"He met me while I was searching for Hao. And look—he even hunted that huge bird. We can finally eat properly."
At those words, the man who was sitting motionless against the wall slowly turned around.
He smiled faintly.
But when Ming and the man locked eyes—
Both froze.
Ming's hand instinctively moved.
Shing—!
He unsheathed his sword and jumped back.
Because the man sitting against the wall…
was Jisoo.
Jisoo stared at him for a moment, then gave a tired smile.
"So… you're still alive."
Shenyi looked back and forth between them.
"What is going on? Do you two know each other?"
The tied girl stopped struggling, lifting her head weakly to see.
The silent man near the entrance didn't move.
He just kept watching Ming carefully — like measuring him.
Jisoo finally broke the tension.
"If you want to kill me… you can try.
But don't harm any of them."
His clothes were torn. His skin was pale. His eyes… empty.
Ming frowned.
"You've become weak. How can a general fall this low?"
Jisoo let out a broken laugh — the kind that carried more pain than humor.
"I'm not a general anymore," he said quietly.
"I'm just a useless human. Nothing more."
Ming wasn't angry.
He tightened his grip on his sword because he knew — if he wanted, he could kill Jisoo in a single breath.
But he didn't draw it to threaten him.
He drew it because he wanted to understand.
"What happened to you?" Ming asked.
Jisoo glanced toward the monster corpse and exhaled shakily.
"I'll tell you…" he said. "But let me die with a full stomach."
They ate in silence.
Ming's gaze shifted toward the girl tied in ropes. Her wrists were bruised, her eyes swollen. She looked like a person who had cried every night until the tears ran out.
"Why is she tied?" Ming asked.
Shenyi sighed.
"If we untie her, she tries to kill herself… every time."
Ming walked closer.
When the girl lifted her gaze, Ming froze.
Her eyes—
They were exactly like his.
Filled with sadness.
Filled with rage.
Filled with guilt for surviving when others didn't.
"What happened to you?" Ming asked gently.
"Why do you want to die? Why not take revenge?"
She shook her head, voice trembling.
"With what? What strength? I'm nothing… nothing but an ant. I can't even stand before them."
Ming stared at her, and for a moment…
he saw himself.
If not for my master… I would have said the same words.
He kneeled beside her, silently unsheathing a small blade, and sliced the ropes binding her hands.
She didn't run.
She didn't scream.
She just stared at him — lost, scared, hopeless.
Ming extended his hand.
"If you truly want to die," he said, voice cold and steady,
"no one will stop you."
Her lips trembled.
"But…"
Ming's voice hardened like steel.
"If you want revenge — if you want to kill those who destroyed you —
then grab my hand."
The cave fell silent.
Even Jisoo looked up.
The girl stared at Ming's hand.
Her chest shook as she struggled to breathe.
And then…
She grabbed it.
Not with strength.
Not with courage.
But with the last piece of will she had left.
Ming nodded once.
"Good," he said.
"Then from today… you walk the path of revenge with me."
What you're name.
She reply my name is Meiyun.
Ming slid back down beside Jisoo, watching Hao gnaw on the roasted meat like a starving child.
Only then did he finally ask, his voice low:
"Jisoo… what happened to you?"
For a long moment, Jisoo said nothing.
His hands trembled slightly, as if even speaking was painful.
Finally, he exhaled.
"I'll tell you everything," he said. "But let me eat first.
If I'm going to die today, at least my stomach should be full."
They all sat in a rough circle, the fire crackling between them.