The golden rays of early morning bathed the village in warmth, piercing the morning mist and setting the wildflowers ablaze in color. Jiho sat on a small mat just outside their hut, basking in the soft sun with his mother.
Han Soeun gently braided strands of hemp thread while Jiho leaned lazily against her lap, playing with grass like a baby philosopher.
"Two full years," Jiho thought, squinting at the sky. "Two years in this world. No cheats, no training, no flashbacks of secret martial arts scrolls. Just me, goat milk, cold baths, and a growing list of weird uncles who pinch my cheeks like it's a ritual."
He let out a tiny sigh as he plucked a blade of grass and studied it seriously.
"But I'm alive. I'm fed. I'm loved. That's more than I ever had back on Earth."
Soeun glanced down and smiled, brushing Jiho's hair softly. "What's going on in that little head of yours, my clever boy? You look like you're solving the world's problems already."
Jiho gave a tiny, innocent smile that melted her heart.
She leaned down and whispered, "Today is your birthday. Your papa's bringing you a gift when he comes back from the village. Something special, just for you."
Jiho blinked slowly and stared at his hands.Tiny. Weak. Untrained. But for the first time, a spark of longing lit up inside.
"A gift, huh?"
He tightened his fist.
"No matter what it is… I'll treasure it. Because it came from them."
Evening
The scent of roasted pork, wild mountain herbs, and hot broth filled the small hut like a festival. Han Soeun, still in her cooking apron, hummed happily while laying out flatbread and a simple carrot stew. She even made a crude but adorable crown of dandelions for Jiho and placed it on his head.
Jiho felt like royalty."From a corporate slave to king of the hut. Not bad."
Then came the knock at the door.
Han Daesik entered, his leather boots covered in dust, and behind him stood Village Chief Shin Xiao, wearing his finest blue robes that looked... a bit too tight around the belly.
Jiho gave a small clap and tilted his head.
"Uncle Xiao really out here looking like a dumpling wrapped in silk. Respect."
"Happy Birthday, my boy!" Daesik said with a big smile. "I brought something I should have given you long ago."
He reached into a wrapped cloth and revealed… a small wooden training sword.
Carved from red ironwood, it was dull at the edges but perfectly balanced for a child. It even had the Han family symbol burned onto the hilt—a tiny sun with four rays.
Daesik knelt and held it out. "This... is your first sword. It won't cut. It won't stab. But it'll help your hands learn the shape of courage."
Jiho stared at it like it was glowing.
"A wooden sword… It's not flashy. It's not enchanted. But it's real. It's mine."
"And I'll make it my beginning."
He stood up, wobbling a little, and grabbed it with both hands.
Village Chief Shin Xiao chuckled. "Look at that grip! He might be small, but he holds it like a future warrior already."
He patted Daesik's shoulder and pulled out a small wooden box. "Now it wouldn't be right for your uncle to show up empty-handed."
He opened the box and revealed a dried ginseng root, knotted and aged like twisted bone.
"This," Shin Xiao said proudly, "is a hundred-year-old mountain ginseng. Not spiritual, mind you. But if brewed right, it'll cure nearly any illness. Might save his life someday. Or yours."
Han Soeun gasped, "Chief! This is too much—"
"No," he said, smiling. "It's just right. He's not just your son anymore. He's the youngest heartbeat of our whole village. If we don't protect him, who will?"
Jiho felt something deep inside.
Not power.Not cultivation.Just responsibility.
That Night
Jiho lay beside his parents, the wooden sword hugged to his chest like a stuffed toy.
The fire had gone out. The hut was dark.
But Jiho's eyes remained open.
"A sword. A ginseng. A crown of weeds.""No one would think much of those… But I know what they really are."
"They're love, disguised as gifts."
And as the night wind whispered through the cracks in the walls, Jiho whispered to himself for the first time in years:
"Thank you."
End of Chapter 8