"S-Stop right there, you lot!"
The young woman who had called Jin Muhon "uncle" trembled as she backed away.
Uncle? Could she be my brother's daughter?
Jin Muhon thought of his older brother, who had been even stricter than their bedridden father. He'd gotten married around the time Jin Muhon left home, so if he'd had a child then, she'd be about this girl's age. But what could have happened to make her end up chased by scum like these?
"Hey, Miss Jin. It's already been five days past the due date for your payment. You think we're digging holes for a living or something?"
"Y-You said I could pay it back by selling herbs!"
"Heh. What kind of valuable herbs grow on this crappy back mountain? Just close your eyes and pay up this once. I'll even forgive this month's interest."
"Get back!"
The woman snatched up a sickle from the ground and thrust it forward. Her slender wrist shook violently.
"Whoa! Why're you waving that blade around so dangerously?"
"Yeah, yeah, Miss Jin. Put that down. Our clubs are plenty for you."
"Kekeke. Brothers, aren't you teasing poor Miss Jin too much? Give me a shot too."
"Tch! Even cold water has a top and bottom. Know your place, you lowlife."
Vulgar laughter echoed off the mountainside. The woman's face flushed crimson with shame at their crude obscenities. Even so, she turned her head and shot Jin Muhon a desperate look.
"Hero! Hurry and go down the mountain! These guys are dangerous!"
"..."
"They've got business with me, so they won't do anything to me! Please, hero—you've got no part in this—go now!"
She called him uncle yet refused to ask for his help. Worried he might get hurt, she'd even changed how she addressed him. Jin Muhon regarded her with a glint of interest.
"What's with that guy?"
The three thugs turned toward Jin Muhon. Even a dead tiger leaves its pelt. He simply stood there unmoving, but the ruffians flinched and stepped back, sensing some indefinable menace.
"Hey, who the hell are you? You know Miss Jin?"
"Fuckin' creep. No answer. Embarrassing us like this."
Amid all the commotion, Jin Muhon said nothing. He merely gazed up at the sky for a moment before lowering his eyes to his parents' graves.
"Hey! If you've got no business here, fuck off quietly!"
"Goddamn, what a mood-killer. Hey, asshole! You wanna end up like that bitch's dead parents? Who the fuck are you?!"
"..."
The air grew chill in an instant.
Jin Muhon slowly turned his head. It was a calm motion, but the thugs who met his gaze stumbled back in panic.
"Sh-Shit…"
"What kinda eyes are those?"
The ruffians' voices quavered. Having clawed their way up from the gutters, they had decent instincts. They'd caught the scent of death. Fixing them with his stare, Jin Muhon spoke in a heavy tone.
"Miss."
"Y-Yes? Yes?"
"What was your father's name?"
"J-Jin… Jin Mutae."
"..."
Jin Mutae. Yes, that was his brother's name.
"Did your father pass away?"
"…Yes."
A sudden wave of grief welled up, and a single tear dropped from the woman's eye. The clear droplet hit the dusty ground, forming a small stain.
"And your mother?"
"Mother… passed too."
Her voice grew even fainter.
"…Any siblings?"
"It's just me."
Jin Muhon squeezed his eyes shut. The girl had lost her grandparents and both parents. Her rough hands were caked in dirt beneath shabby hemp clothes. While he'd been out severing heads like a madman, the last of his blood kin had been scraping by in misery.
Father. Mother. Is this what I should be doing?
If he hadn't come to the graves, he wouldn't even have known she existed. It was almost as if he heard his father's voice from somewhere.
Muhon. I beg you.
Slowly opening his eyes, Jin Muhon bent down and picked up the iron sword lying on the ground.
"H-Hey! Put that down! Why're you grabbing a sword, you bastard?!"
"Fuck! You know who we are? You picking a fight?!"
The weaker the foe, the louder they bark. The thugs bellowed to shake off their inexplicable fear.
"Hey, asshole! Shut up and grab the girl first!"
"R-Right!"
One of the ruffians charged at the woman. Jin Muhon kicked off the ground. Fallen leaves scattered with a rustle, leaving an afterimage.
"Gah!"
"Urk!"
By the time the thug reached out for the woman, Jin Muhon was already at her side. Though he'd lost his inner energy, he was a man who had stood at the pinnacle of swordsmen under heaven. What chance did a few hundred street rats have against the Sword Demon?
Shing!
The sharp blade flashed with silvery light.
Sfxxt!
With a gruesome sound, the thug's arm was severed cleanly from the elbow. Crimson blood poured from the stump.
"Aaaagh! My arm! My aaaarm!!"
The ruffian clutched his severed limb and reeled back in horror. The thick scent of blood filled the air.
"Fuck this!"
"Get him!"
The remaining two drew axes from their belts and rushed Jin Muhon. Their heavy footsteps thudded against the earth. In contrast, Jin Muhon's steps forward were as light as a breeze.
Swoosh!
No inner energy.
But the instincts honed through countless battles and his profound understanding of the sword remained. He didn't even need fancy techniques. His decades-trained body was more than enough for trash like this.
Slash! Slash!
Two bolts of sword-lightning flashed before their eyes. The arms gripping the axes flew into the sky.
"Gaaah!!"
"Aaaagh!"
The men who'd been leering at the woman moments ago now howled in agony, each missing an arm. Red blood splattered onto the ground.
"Quiet. Shall I cut your throats?"
Even after tasting their blood, Jin Muhon's voice remained even.
"Hiiik!"
"Hic!"
"N-No, sir!"
Weak against the strong, strong against the weak—that was the way of third-rate riffraff. The three dropped to their knees, screams dying in their throats.
"S-Sir! Forgive our ignorance! Spare our lives, please!"
"Mercy! We'll wipe Miss Jin's debt clean!"
"Mercy, sir!"
Jin Muhon looked down at the groveling worms. Useless pests. Better to crush them—but instead, he flicked the blood from his blade.
"Get lost."
"Th-Thank you!"
"Thank you, sir!"
Forgetting even their severed arms, the thugs scrambled down the mountain. Jin Muhon watched them go.
The Sword Demon was gone now. He didn't want his sole remaining kin to see him decapitate men. Slowly, he turned. The woman stared at him with wide eyes.
She's not shaking.
Jin Muhon's lips twitched awkwardly. She flinched, but to him, it was a smile.
"What's your name?"
"…Ah! Hayeon. Jin Hayeon, sir—Uncle!"
She bowed politely. Her voice mixed awe and fear.
"Right."
Jin Muhon looked up at the blue sky. He'd thought everything was lost.
But now, it seemed he had something to protect again.
***
The Unbong Jin Family had once been renowned for their swordsmanship.
But as generations passed, their secrets were lost, their fortunes declined, and by Jin Muhon's time, they teetered on ruin. The final blow came when the head of a local gang challenged his father to a duel. His father fell into qi deviation, reduced to a half-corpse on his sickbed, and that was the end of the household.
Still, his only brother had scurried about trying to revive the family. But the collapse was irreversible. Around then, Jin Muhon fled home.
"We're here."
"..."
Jin Muhon's steps halted. The mansion hadn't fully crumbled yet—a miracle. The front gate hung half-off its hinges, creaking; cracks spiderwebbed the walls; holes gaped in the roof tiles. Even Jin Muhon, hard to surprise, gaped slightly at how different it was from his memories. This was a haunted house if ever there was one.
"Baek No! Baek No!"
Yet Jin Hayeon ran inside with a bright voice. As if expecting her, an old man appeared from the courtyard depths, leaning heavily on his cane.
"Cough! Miss, where've you been? Cough!"
"Baek No! Look who's here! Quick!"
Jin Hayeon supported the old man as they approached Jin Muhon. With death so near, he moved slowly despite her help. Jin Muhon watched silently.
That's…
His ashen white hair, deeply wrinkled face, liver-spotted skin radiating the aura of death. Beyond it, Jin Muhon recognized the man.
Baek No.
The servant who'd come with his mother as her dowry. More loyal than any, he'd guarded the family to the end even as others fled the declining house. And now he approached, so aged.
"Baek No! Recognize him?"
Jin Hayeon beamed, glancing between them. Baek No struggled to open his nearly shut eyes and peered up at Jin Muhon. Crusted and teary, they wouldn't focus.
"...?"
A moment later.
Light returned to the old man's dulled eyes. Then they widened in shock.
"Y-Young Master?"
His voice shook like aspen leaves.
"…It's been a while."
"Young Master!"
Baek No flung his cane aside and rushed to Jin Muhon, embracing him and bursting into sobs.
"Waaah! Young Master! You're alive! Thank heavens! Truly! Waaah!!"
His frail frame heaved against Jin Muhon.
"..."
"Sob! Baek No, don't cry. Why on a good day? Hic."
Jin Hayeon wiped her tears with her sleeve, bawling like a child. Jin Muhon stood still, offering his chest, eyes on the crumbling rooftop. Cobwebs draped every corner—was this really a home?
Father. Mother. Brother. Sister-in-law. I… I'm late.
"Waaaah!"
"Waaah!"
His chest grew damp. Jin Muhon gently patted Baek No's back.
"Baek No. You're not well—let's go inside."
"Wah! Yes! Yes! Of course! Cough! Cough!"
Baek No retreated inside the gate, coughing. Then he stood beside Jin Hayeon and bowed deeply.
"Welcome home, Young Master."
As if it were twenty years ago, the night he'd come home drunk after sulking. Baek No greeted him warmly. Jin Muhon clenched his jaw slightly and nodded.
"…I'm back."
Jin Muhon had returned to his hometown after more than twenty years.