In an alternate Murim world, there once lived a happy family. Though they were poor and money was scarce, they found joy in their simple mountain life, built on unconditional trust and mutual support. The family consisted of four members:
Nij Haeryun, the father.
Mia Haeryun, the mother.
Jake Haeryun, the oldest child.
Jane Haeryun, the youngest child.
Every day, Nij and Jake would head into the deep forest to hunt for wild boar, ensuring they had food for the table. This ritual hardened Jake, and by the age of fifteen, his hunting skills were on par with a seasoned adult, honed as though he'd been practicing for a decade. Nij had diligently taught his son everything, driven by a father's foresight: if he ever fell ill and couldn't hunt, his wife and daughter wouldn't starve because they had Jake.
Meanwhile, Mia and Jane managed the household, effortlessly handling the chores. They would also wash the boys' clothes and lovingly massage away their aches and pains. Though she was only ten, Jane executed her tasks with the grace and efficiency of her mother. This family's happiness was rooted in this beautiful, essential dependency on one another.
But then, the day Nij had always feared arrived: he fell gravely ill. He could no longer hunt. Just like that morning, Jake was the family's sole provider.
Jake went to his small room, collected his dagger, bow, and arrows, quickly geared up, and headed toward the forest.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
What the Haeryun family didn't know was the secret of Jake's growth. Ever since he turned twelve, his body had gained preternatural strength—to the point where he could destroy a large tree with a single punch. He could even conceal his presence flawlessly, as if born with the instincts of an apex predator. After three years, his growth had become terrifying. He was no longer on a normal human level; he could probably destroy an entire mountain.
Jake leapt from tree to tree, his presence completely undetectable as he searched for prey. He had already spotted several smaller, edible animals, but he was holding out for a bigger catch. After ten more minutes, he spotted a massive wild boar. It was huge, easily eight hundred pounds—more than enough for his family.
Jumping to another tree, he looked down at the boar as it foraged. He pulled out his dagger and leaped down, aiming for the boar's neck for a quick kill. Jake was ecstatic to have secured such a large catch. But then, he sensed six more presences: six baby wild boars clinging to their dead mother.
Jake looked at the piglets, his face stoic. "Sorry, but this is the reality," he muttered. "We need to kill to live. If you were in my situation, you would do the same."
Jake then hoisted the massive wild boar onto his shoulder. With today's hunt secured, he started for home. As he walked, he noticed the six little boars were following him, likely drawn by the scent of their mother. He didn't mind and simply let them follow.
He hadn't walked long before he heard a scream. Although he was far from their home, the sound reached him clearly, as if he were right outside the door. And it was his mother's scream. Dropping the wild boar, Jake concentrated all his strength into his legs and sprinted toward their house.
Moments after Jake vanished, a figure appeared where the dead boar lay.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Nij was in dire straits. His left arm had been cleanly severed by this strange man—handsome, yet with a disturbing look of madness in his eyes. Nij, already sick, was weak and useless, clutching only a kitchen knife. He had been trying to protect his wife and daughter, but now he knew he couldn't last another second. Even in his healthiest state, he likely wouldn't be a match for this person. Are they a martial artist? But why target us? We live in a secluded area and have no enemies. Why us?
The man lifted Nij's severed arm, brought it to his mouth, and began to eat it. Seeing this, a profound chill ran down Nij's spine. Having his arm cut off was painful enough, but watching it be eaten was a different, sickening kind of violation.
The man lunged at him, targeting his eyes with sharp claws. Nij tried to defend himself, but to no avail. The enemy was so fast he couldn't even be seen with the naked eye.
"Arrghhhh!"
"Daaaddd!" Jane rushed at the attacker, trying to push him away, but before she could even reach the man, her head flew from her neck. Seeing this, Mia screamed.
The enemy seemed annoyed by the noise and began to walk toward Mia. Her body trembled as she held her daughter's head, crying tears of blood. She bit her lip so hard it bled.
Hearing the screams of his wife and the death of his daughter, Nij collapsed to his knees and begged. "Please, stop! I don't know why you're doing this! Please stop! We will do anything, please!"
The man smirked. "Beg more. Crawl. Bark. Cry. Strip. Do everything, and maybe I can spare your life. Not your wife's, though." After saying this, the man sliced Mia's left and right arms, then her feet, and finally struck her head with his claws.
Hearing his wife's dying scream, Nij fell into utter despair. His will to live vanished. The man began to laugh maniacally, then started to munch on both Mia's and Jane's bodies. Hearing the sickening sounds, Nij bit his lip until it bled, paralyzed and helpless. All he could do was wish this man would leave.
"What are you angry about? Don't make that face," the man taunted. "This is the reality. Just like how you treat livestock, that's how I view you humans. You are nothing more than livestock."
Hearing this, Nij realized the man was not a human, but a monster. He had only thought he was dealing with a crazy martial artist.
"Just like I said, I will spare you, so within ten seconds, if you're still within my view, I will eat you too. I'm hungry. I've starved for so long that I don't even know when I will get full."
So, he really plans to kill me too? He was just toying with me from the beginning. He never intended to let me live. My son, Jake, still hasn't returned. Maybe he was killed by this guy, too? There's no meaning left to live if my entire family is dead. "Kill me! Just kill me! There's no meaning in life. We were just four in our family. Killing them all is like killing me, so please kil—"
"Hold up. Wait a minute. Something's not right."
Hearing the man talk, Nij stammered, "Wh...what do you mean?"
"You mean there's still one food! BUWAHAHA! Thank you for the tip!"
Nij realized his catastrophic mistake. His son was not dead yet.
"No... no! We're only three! I just blurted out something! Don't believe me!"
Seeing Nij's face, the man smiled. "Right, right. Then why don't we wait until he comes home?"
Hearing this, Nij sank deeper into despair. How pathetic! I just got my son killed! Please, son, don't come back yet! Let this man, this monster, leave! But before he could complete the thought, someone opened the front door. Hearing the sound, Nij froze. The fear he had been waiting for finally washed over him.
Jake opened the door.
He saw his mother's and sister's mutilated bodies. He saw his father kneeling, eyes squeezed shut and streaming tears of blood from lips bitten so hard they bled. Jake cried out, a sound of pure rage.
"So, you've come, my last mea—Whaaaat the hell did you do?!" The man screamed, a sound of fury that confused Nij.
Jake's voice was a low, broken growl. "Hah! I'm so angry that I don't even know what to do. Seeing my only family like this puts me in absolute despair. Here's a gift."
Jake threw something toward the man. Seeing it, the man became so enraged his eyes bled tears.
"If that monster hadn't interfered, maybe I could have gotten here faster. Because of that, this is the sight I'm witnessing right now. I'm so broken that my entire body is trembling. So, everything that is going to happen now is karma that you've accumulated. Bear my wrath, you monster!"
The book has been closed.
"How was it, Jin? It's a good story, right? This is the diary of our ancestor, but it's not the original."
"But, Dad, you didn't finish the story! Please, please finish it! I won't sleep if you don't finish it!"
Hearing his son whining, Jace laughed. "Okay, okay. I will continue the story now, but before that, make sure you go to sleep, right? Pinky promise."
"Okay, Dad. Pinky promise."
Then, the father and son locked their pinky fingers.