"Mother, I'm heading out to the mountain to train. I'll be back by dawn," Jun called out as he stood at the door of their small home.

His mother looked up from her work, concern softening her features. "Alright, but be careful, Jun. Don't push yourself too hard."

"I will, Mother. Don't worry," he reassured her with a smile, turning on his heel. "I'll be going now. Take care."

"Goodbye, Jun," his mother said, waving after him.

Hours later, Jun found himself exhausted from training. He had pushed himself harder than usual, determined to master the martial arts his father had taught him. Still, he couldn’t bring out the full strength of his techniques. Frustrated, he wandered deeper into the mountain, searching for a pond to cool down and wash away the sweat.

"Ahh, this is bliss," Jun sighed as he slipped into the water, letting the coolness soothe his aching muscles. His mind still buzzed with thoughts of his father's training, but something caught his eye. On the nearby rocks were neatly folded clothes. Jun frowned.

"These aren't mine… wait, are these a woman's clothes?"

Before he could react, a sharp voice rang out. "You pervert!"

Startled, Jun turned around to see a woman glaring at him, her eyes filled with anger. She had caught him mid-bath, clearly misunderstanding the situation.

"I-I didn’t mean to—" Jun stammered, trying to explain.

"You didn’t mean to?" she interrupted, fists already flying at him. "Take that!"

"Please, stop hitting me!" Jun begged, trying to shield himself from the onslaught.

The woman, Myulan, finally stopped, a smirk curling on her lips. "Heh, alright, I'll stop hitting you…"

Jun sighed in relief, but it was short-lived. He noticed her hand slowly reaching for the sword at her waist. "W-Why are you unsheathing your sword, miss?"

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With a chilling grin, Myulan responded, "To make sure no one ever finds out what happened here. I'll shut you up for good."

Jun's eyes widened in panic. "Ahhh! I'm leaving!" he shouted, gathering all his qi into his legs. In a flash, he activated his qi gong technique, sprinting away from Myulan as fast as he could.

After running for several minutes, Jun finally stopped, panting heavily. "I-I got away," he muttered, his heart still pounding. "Crazy woman… Anyway, I need to get home. It's almost dawn. Mother must be worried."

An hour later, as Jun made his way down the mountain path, something stopped him dead in his tracks. Lying on the ground was the body of a man—a guard from his family’s estate. His eyes were wide open, frozen in an expression of shock and terror.

A sense of dread washed over Jun. His pulse quickened, and he broke into a sprint, racing toward his home. His heart pounded harder with each step, his chest tight with fear. Something terrible had happened—he could feel it.

When Jun finally arrived at the estate, his worst fears were realized. The grounds were littered with corpses—guards, servants, people he had known all his life. Blood stained the earth, the stench of death heavy in the air.

"No… no… this can't be real," Jun whispered, his body trembling as he stepped over the lifeless bodies.

He rushed to his family's living quarters, praying that somehow they had been spared. But when he entered the room, the sight that greeted him shattered his heart.

His mother lay beheaded on the floor, her eyes empty and cold. His siblings’ bodies were scattered, their limbs torn apart as if by beasts. Blood covered every inch of the room.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Jun screamed, collapsing to his knees, his hands trembling as he cradled his mother’s lifeless body. Tears streamed down his face as he shook her, desperate to wake her, to bring her back. "Why… why…" His voice was hoarse, cracking under the weight of his grief. "Why is this happening? Is this a dream? Please, tell me this is just a nightmare!"

But the silence was deafening. Only the cold bodies of his family surrounded him.

As the minutes passed, something in Jun snapped. His sorrow turned into a burning, all-consuming rage. Blood-red fury clouded his vision, and he screamed at the heavens, his voice raw with hatred.

"I'll kill them all! Everyone involved in this… every last one of them!" His fists clenched so tightly that blood dripped from his palms. "Anything that stands in my path will die!"

Jun screamed until his voice broke, collapsing from exhaustion. Hours passed before he stirred again. When he did, his face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, but his mind was set. He buried the bodies of his mother, his siblings, and the others from the estate. His hands were steady, though his heart was twisted with pain and vengeance.

Standing before the fresh graves, Jun muttered under his breath, his teeth grinding together. "I will cut them down… limb from limb. I will not stop until every last one of them is dead."

Thus, Jun’s journey of vengeance began, his heart fuellled by the flames of retribution, his path paved with blood.