The Child with the Extreme Yin Severed Meridian
The beginning of the memories a boy possessed was, after all, from inside his mother's womb.
“Dear, it's a very spirited little boy!”
“Yes... A boy with a wonderful smile.”
A boy born from two people who fell in love with each other like a man and a woman.
Jeok Ja-hyeok.
That was the boy's name.
So, Jeok Ja-hyeok, born from the parents, had some talent in the absence of a martial bone, and from childhood under his parents' hands, he began to wield a sword.
“Hoho... The martial bone is quite tough, so I don't know if this child will even make a name in the martial world. Wife.”
“Hoho... I see.”
Ja-hyeok's father was a great martial artist who had reached the peak realm, so his realm soared like a rocket under his father's guidance.
“Son. This is a fragment of the sword shown by parents. If you understand this, you will climb to a higher realm...”
Clang—!
“You—!! I told you not to bully my Ja-hyeok by using the excuse of teaching him swordsmanship!”
“Ueeek...!! This time, it was really to teach him! Wife!”
Of course, Ja-hyeok's father had a bit of mischievousness, so using the pretext of teaching swordsmanship, he spanked his child.
But anyway...
So, Ja-hyeok lived a happy life, his realm rising gradually, and on the day he turned 5.
“Ja-hyeok. Your younger sibling has been born.”
A beautiful younger sister who would become a turning point in the boy's life who was about to rewrite history in the martial world.
Jeok So-ye.
From his mother, he inherited white hair like ten thousand years of snow, and even if he brought the best beauty of Central Plains, he thought his sister wouldn't be as pretty.
“Euppa...”
“Called oppa...”
“Hihi...”
Moreover, that child was so pretty when smiling, and her appearance when calling him and smiling warmed Ja-hyeok's heart that had been frozen behind a wall.
“So-ye. No matter what happens to oppa, I will always protect you.”
So, Ja-hyeok, with his heart open, held So-ye's slender hand and began to make a promise from the closing eyes.
“A promise that no matter what happens to oppa, I will protect you.”
A plain promise.
“Haha! Our Ja-hyeok is protecting So-ye. Father is proud of Ja-hyeok.”
Ja-hyeok's father patted his back, proud of such Ja-hyeok.
“So-ye will be happy to hear that oppa promised to protect her.”
Ja-hyeok's mother conveyed the words of happiness on behalf of So-ye who couldn't speak properly yet.
Truly, a harmonious family daily life.
Such a life didn't take long to break, and the promise made in childhood was realized.
“Kyaaa—!!”
“So-ye—!!”
Even in the worst form.
***
By now, So-ye was 5 years old.
“It's a brother I wouldn't hurt even if I put him in my eyes... already 5 years old...”
So-ye, who had been mumbling, in the past when she said 'euppa...' and held hands, was like yesterday, but how time passed so fast.
“Opba...”
“Haha! So-ye! Is there anything you want to eat?”
Moreover, our So-ye is getting prettier every day, so even if compared to the best beauty of Central Plains, the best beauty of Central Plains would be less pretty than So-ye.
Even if it's bean skin, but our So-ye has an appearance that even bean skin can't cover.
“Euh... Tanghulu given by oppa? That one?”
Hmm... Tanghulu, if So-ye wants, I can buy 30 easily...
Recently, So-ye was not brushing her teeth well, so I had to give some with a bit of prickly advice.
“So-ye, oppa will buy Tanghulu, so can you brush your teeth well?”
“Yes! As oppa said, from now on I will brush my teeth properly!”
“Then, this oppa will buy 3 Tanghuluses that So-ye likes so much!”
“Waaaa! Thank you! Opba!”
Kruu... Indeed, our So-ye's smile is better than any elixir in the Central Plains.
“Hmm... Anyway, I'll go to the marketplace to buy Tanghulu for So-ye to eat, so wait at home.”
“Yes!”
Honestly, I wanted to eat snacks with So-ye at the marketplace using the allowance I received from father, but...
So-ye, because she has a slender woman's body, from childhood her body was weak, so she couldn't go out of the house easily, so it's truly a painful situation.
“There's a Du Gogeo with the exact same sword and appearance as the one I used! I'll buy it cheaply for 5 taels of silver!”
“Tanghulu! Very sweet and crispy Tanghulu for 10 coins!”
So, at the marketplace, merchants were shouting as they sold iron-made swords and various snacks, and it felt a bit nostalgic.
However, it was nostalgic, and I stood in front of the Tanghulu shop where I always went to buy, ordering Tanghulu.
“Uncle Mun-geum. 3 Tanghulus today.”
“Huh? Ja-hyeok?! Are you here to buy Tanghulu for your younger sister again today?”
So, when I ordered Tanghulu, the one who came out was Uncle Mun-geum, an acquaintance from when I was young, roaming the streets with father.
These days, the guy who was blunt in the past became just like a doting older brother to his sister, teasing him.
“Yes... I like the Tanghulu Uncle sells the most.”
“Ku ku... Yeah, it's the same as my Tanghulu making skill being the best in the world.”
And most of all, it was easy to talk to Uncle Mun-geum.
It was easy to talk without making the other person feel awkward, and the person himself was a kind person.
“That’s right.”
“Anyway, seeing you, the guy who didn't talk back when adults said things when I was young, now that my sister was born, became very...”
But I really don't like it when he teases me occasionally.
“Uncle Mun-geum!”
“Haha! It's a joke! Joke! Here, the 3 Tanghuluses you wanted.”
“30 coins for 3 Tanghuluses.”
“Ehe... Today, just give me 25 coins.”
“Seriously, if you keep selling like this and go bankrupt, what will So-ye do if she can't eat the Tanghulu Uncle sells?”
“Son... It's okay because I sell only to people I can discount to, right?”
It was really going to go bankrupt, but it was fortunate that Uncle Mun-geum was discounting to people.
“Then, I'll go since So-ye is waiting!”
“Alright!”
So, heading to the house where So-ye was waiting, what I saw in front of my eyes was...
“Ah... So-ye!”
Kwang—!
“Why isn't the sword... entering!”
The house was surrounded by inexplicable ice, and So-ye was not visible.
Mother was screaming seeing the invisible So-ye, and father was trying to melt the ice with his martial arts as much as possible, but it didn't work because the ice was too hard.
“Kyaaa—!!”
And from inside the ice, the scream made of So-ye's slender voice, my reason snapped...
I don't remember what happened after that.
*Twitch...
“So-ye—!!”
Kwaaang—!!
I dropped the Tanghulu I bought for So-ye and stabbed the sword I had in my pants towards the ice that was trapping So-ye.
***
My head was throbbing.
“Ja-hyeok! Are you awake!”
What I saw was father...? Why was he hugging me while crying...
“Thank you... If it weren't for you, So-ye would...”
So-ye? What happened to So-ye... Ah! For a moment, So-ye was still trapped in the ice, I had no time to lie around lazily.
“Kyuu...! So-ye! Opba will...”
I had to force my body to get up and save So-ye quickly...!!
“Stop it, Ja-hyeok. So-ye was able to come out of that ice thanks to you.”
But at the moment when I was thinking like that, when father said So-ye had come out, my head that was burning hot cooled down.
“Thank goodness... Our So-ye is fine...”
“...”
Truly, it was fortunate.
If So-ye had been trapped in the ice like that, I wouldn't have been able to imagine it.
But father's expression when he said that was gloomy.
I didn't know why his expression was gloomy, but immediately I realized why his face was so gloomy because of the one word he said.
“So-ye has... Extreme Yin Severed Meridian.”
Extreme Yin Severed Meridian
A worst severed meridian disease where, despite not filling even the 9 important blood meridians that are strong yin qi in the human body from birth, the lifespan is over and ends up dying young.
“No... So-ye has such a severed meridian disease.”
It was truly hell for So-ye.
“So-ye. No matter what happens to opba, I will always protect you.”
So, the thought that I had to protect So-ye and the compulsion to keep the promise from childhood met...
“Opba... I will never let So-ye die.”
From that day on, my life's goal changed to finding a way to save So-ye no matter what I had to do.