The morning wind blew gently, blowing a strand of hair of a boy who was practicing martial arts.

His movements were slow, gentle, and elegant. With a wooden sword in his hand, it danced slowly. He was a handsome boy, with the charismatic aura of a warrior.

In the middle of his practice, he heard an old man call his name. "Yuezheng! It's time for breakfast!" he called, which naturally stopped the boy from practicing.

"Yes, uncle! I'll be there!" replied the boy, or by his name, Yuezheng, Shen Yuezheng. He then put down the sword in his hand and took steps back to his uncle's house.

Yes, Yuezheng is an orphan who lives with his father's brother, aka his uncle.

Yuezheng is a boy from the Shen family, a family whose name has long been forgotten. Although he is only eight years old, His self-defense skills can be said to be quite satisfactory.

His uncle was not a warrior, but his uncle had some knowledge of martial arts, which he used to teach his nephew.

With the serenity of the morning atmosphere in the middle of the forest, doing something energetic like martial arts training is very enjoyable.

They were not just the two of them, there was also his uncle's wife there. Even though they could not have biological children, Yuezheng alone was enough to make the small family alive.

Yuezheng has a bright and cheerful personality. He always smiles— Despite the... quite dire circumstances. Fear? Sadness? Anger? Nothing. Which, of course, makes him seem even more dangerous.

But don't worry, Yuezheng is a good and obedient boy. If he does something wrong, he'll apologize and try to make it right. He's a good boy, very good. Like a fallen angel.

However, have you ever wondered why the Shen Family seemed to disappear without a trace, leaving only Yuezheng, his uncle and his uncle's wife behind?

Yuezheng has a somewhat odd, yet... quite logical, personality. If he loves something, he'll do anything to get it. And if he hates something, he'll eliminate it at will.

Hopefully that's enough to help you.

The three of them lived in the middle of the forest with mountains all around, to avoid them.

Thankfully they are fine, their lives are running smoothly, without any obstacles or disturbances. Every morning, Yuezheng would go out after finishing getting ready for training, or helping his uncle hunt and find other necessities.

One day, while Yuezheng was practicing behind the house, he heard some strange noises inside. Curious, Yuezheng went inside to check it out.

Jab— SPLASSHHH!

Blood splattered before his eyes, and something seemed to roll off the floor. A head. Yuezheng's eyes widened, cold sweat pouring from his forehead.

He took a step back, his legs still shaking violently. He accidentally bumped into someone from behind, which naturally shocked him to death.

"Ahh!" he exclaimed, shocked.

"Oh, hmm? A kid? Wow, I didn't expect the Shen Family to have a son! Well, you're just a pest in the end. How annoy—" Before the man could kill Yuezheng, someone stopped him. "Stop."

A man, who was even more terrifying than the previous killer. "What? Why? Aren't we supposed to kill him?" asked the man.

“That’s because—” since they were wasting time by arguing, Yuezheng took the opportunity to defend himself.

Without wasting any time, he lowered his head, took the knife that was under him, and then—

Crash!!!!! "AAAAAAAARGHHHH!!!"

"?! You damn brat!!" the assassin cursed, then took out his sword and prepared to attack Yuezheng. Unfortunately, his agility, dexterity, and skill were no match for Yuezheng.

Yuezheng nimbly avoided every attack from the assassins, until one of the assassins managed to injure Yuezheng.

Splashh!

Annoyed. Yuezheng's calm bluish-green pupils shrank. He, who had previously been as human as a child, now felt as if a demon had entered his soul. "Bastard..."

Tuk— DUAGHHH!

Yuezheng in his madness attacked the group of assassins brutally, without mercy or sympathy.

Armed with only a dagger, he stabbed and slashed them with his small body. Screams of agony echoed throughout the forest, the assassins felt a sense of dread.

Finally, he managed to defeat the group of experienced adults. Blood was splattered everywhere, with a small child in the middle...

And satisfaction...

Tang!

"Hosh... Hosh..." his breath felt heavy, tired, and satisfied. The dagger in his grip slipped and rolled to the ground, slowly.

Silence engulfed the room for a moment, leaving only the sound of Yuezheng's pounding heart and labored breathing. His fingers gripping the dagger trembled, with drops of blood dripping continuously onto the floor surface.

He gritted his teeth, with his eyes wide open— and shedding tears.

Finally, the cries of an 8-year-old child broke out. Yuezheng, who had previously seemed so sturdy and strong, now collapsed in tears.

"Huwaaaaa!!! Uncle! Sob... Auntie!!!" he screamed, sobbing.

Track...

The sound of a door opening was heard, revealing a group of robed men outside. It was unclear whether they were part of the group with the assassins or not.

"A snot-nosed kid managed to fight and defeat a group of assassins?..." a man in a black robe muttered, a sinister smile visible behind his fans. "Interesting..."

Yuezheng, still exhausted, could only stare blankly at them. Staring at them, who continued to chuckle at him. Mocking, and praising, as if there is no difference.

The black-robed man slowly approached him, a sinister smile still on his face. He bent down to meet the young Yuezheng's height. "Hey, you horrible little brat... Look, you don't have any family anymore. Who were you calling them? Uncle? Well, your uncle and aunt are gone, where else can you live?"

With slow steps, the robed man circled Yuezheng, as if proving that he could use anyone as his pawn. "Did you know? In this forest, you could be eaten by lions at any time. Don't you think that's very scary?" asked the black-robed man, glancing slightly at Yuezheng.

"Well, actually, if you follow us, you'll be walking into the wolf's den. But who cares? Wolves are meant to be in their dens." thought the man, stopping in his tracks.

"So you better get out of here, before you get eaten for real," he said, smiling kindly at Yuezheng.

"Ah, but unfortunately... Would there be a place that would accept such a deadly brat?" he asked, putting on a worried expression as he continued to stare at Yuezheng.

Then, he smiled. A sinister smile, a smirk. "But don't worry! Because there are still many good people here... Obviously, those good people are us!"

He grinned widely, glaring at Yuezheng who just continued to stare at him blankly. He remained where he was, with his hand outstretched to Yuezheng. "How about you just stay with us, and start a new life?"

For a moment, Yuezheng remained silent. That blank stare slowly faded... "Really?"

It was a simple answer, without a yes or no. But it made the man in the black robe laugh out loud. "HAHAHAHAHA! OF COURSE! THAT'S THE ANSWER I WANTED!!!"

Grab!

Roughly, the man grabbed Yuezheng's long hair. With a maniacal grin still forming on his face, "That was an agreement, and I'll never take it back!"

In a moment, they seemed to teleport to another place. A place with many buildings like palaces and kingdoms. There, he saw several groups of children the same age as him practicing martial arts in similar clothing, as if they were students studying.

"What the heck is this?..." thought Yuezheng, with his long hair still held in the black-robed man's grip.

"Welcome to the Dark Sword Sect! In this place, you will learn the martial arts with dark spiritual power!" the robed man said loudly. "And the place where all the abandoned children live!"

"So... everyone must live fairly without any discrimination!!!" Without warning, the black-robed man, who was still holding Yuezheng's long hair, cut Yuezheng's hair without permission.

"Ack!?" Yuezheng hissed, shocked that his hair had been cut at will.

"In this way... Wait, what's your name? Well, Zhengyue, has officially become part of the Dark Sword Sect!"

Dun-dum!!!

All eyes were on Yuezheng, making the timid Yuezheng feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. With his hair cut short, his confidence plummeted.

The black-robed man, who was still holding onto Yuezheng's strands of hair, let go of them and let them fly away in the wind. This naturally made Yuezheng very upset. “W-why did you cut my hair?” Yuezheng muttered, tears slowly falling from his eyes.

"Hm? Are you crying? Seriously!? You're weak!" the man snapped, then dragged Yuezheng somewhere. A place that seemed to be his room.

The man then sat Yuezheng down before tying his hands behind his back very tightly, which would of course leave marks from the very tight rope ties.

"Ugh! Let go of me!" Yuezheng continued to struggle, but unfortunately, his strength and stamina were already exhausted from the previous action.

Plak!

Without mercy, the man slapped Yuezheng's face very hard. "Stop struggling and don't make my job difficult, you bastard," the man said, looking at him with disgust.

Unable to do anything, Yuezheng could only hold back his frustration.

Seeing Yuezheng finally become obedient, the black-robed man grinned sarcastically. "Well, you should have been like that from the start. Isn't being obedient easy? Just be a good boy."

"Bastard... Why am I so weak?..." His whole body trembled, tears slowly flowing. Strangely, Yuezheng looked cute when he cried. Almost like a little girl.

"This kid is kinda pretty... Should I just sell him to a brothel? It's possible, I could make a lot of money."

Before the black-robed man could touch Yuezheng, a messenger suddenly came to report something to him. "Master, the Sect Leader wishes to see you for a discussion."

"Discuss? Ah, yeah. I'll be there in 5 minutes," the black-robed man replied, glancing slightly at Yuezheng, who was still tied to the chair. The reporter then left, leaving them alone.

"You should be grateful that I was called, otherwise I would have done something to you... Well, sit here quietly, and be a good boy. Don't even think about going out... Or I will kill you, and sell your internal organs..." threatened the man, before leaving the place.

A child hearing that would naturally be terrified, just as Yuezheng felt. He was afraid, but he also had the urge to run away. In his fear, he didn't panic, unlike most children. He looked around, trying to find something sharp.

If he looked again, there wasn't a single sharp object within reach. At first, he just wanted to wait in despair. But eventually, he came up with a brilliant idea.

He checked the rope tied around him, trying to see if it could be loosened a bit. Unfortunately, the rope was too tight, neat and flawless.

On the wall, ancient scrolls of paper. A table cluttered with ink, brushes, and candles. A soft mattress in the corner, messy and smelling of old sweat. A cupboard in the distance, too far to reach.

Looking through the blind spot, he finally remembered that the rope was made of natural fiber. The good news is, natural fibers do have weaknesses, namely fire and friction.

According to his estimates, the bed was 2 meters away, the desk about 3 meters away, and the closet about 5 meters away. Nothing was within easy reach. But only one thing crossed his mind— using his body as a tool.

With a backward motion, he began to rock his body, not struggle. Counting one, two, three, his chair slowly shifted little by little on the stone floor. Not much, but enough.

With a final swing, he finally managed to knock the chair to the right. The loud impact nearly caught him off guard.

Thud!!!

His back hit the floor, pain engulfing him. But thanks to that, his body was horizontal, with gravity as his ally. The belts around his waist and legs were made of coarse fiber. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and prepared himself for what was to come.

He rubbed the rope on his feet against the corner of the stone floor, turning his body ever so slightly. Using the friction of the stone and the fibers, wear and tear occurred. Not quickly, but surely.

The skin on his feet began to chafe, blood slowly oozing out. Seeing this, Yuezheng took advantage of it and rubbed them against the rope. The blood and sweat acted as a natural lubricant.

The rope slowly slid down, not cutting through the skin. Finally, one of his legs was freed, albeit covered in blood.

With one free foot, he kicked the floor, dragging his body and the chair. Now, the distance between the mattresses was only about 1 meter.

The mattress wasn't clean, but there was an old spring wire underneath. Yuezheng bit into the fabric, pulling with her teeth, until it tore. He pulled out the thin, rusty wire. "It worked! What else should I do...? Ah, there it is!"

He clamped the wire between his toes, even though it hurt, the important thing was that it was stable.

He bit the other end of the wire, and now the wire was taut between his legs and mouth, like a living saw.

He shifted his body until his back was pressed against the floor. With the wire wedged between his legs, he guided it backward, toward his wrists.

In a painfully reckless manner, he slowly pulled his legs toward his chest, moving his shoulders and back, creating a frictional motion between the wire and rope. It was as if his body were a saw.

Finally, the rope around her wrist broke. One hand is free, immediately helps the other hand, and so on at the waist.

"Finally, what else is there to do—?" Before he could do anything else, the door suddenly opened, which of course surprised him.

Creak...

"I told you that there was no way he could escape from—" the man in the black robe was seen with a man in a brown robe.

"...This bastard...?!"