My name is Lin Yong, surname Lin, given name Yong.
Lin as in forest, Yong as in ordinary.
I showed signs of being extraordinary from a young age. I was only three when I picked up a long, straight wooden stick, my mind swirling with thoughts.
The stick in my hand was a stick, but in my eyes, it seemed to take on another form.
“A sword.”
That was the first time I recognized a sword. I stretched out my hand and swung the stick forward. There was no fierce force behind it, and my movement was soft, nothing like the strength of the sword path. Still, there was a hint of the Dao in it.
I froze, then gripped the stick tighter before letting go, because it was time to go home and eat.
I tossed the stick aside and ran home.
But there, I saw something I would never forget…
I won’t say exactly what it was, but after I saw it, I ran back to where I’d thrown the stick. The stick that had been there moments ago had vanished into thin air.
I knew that little wooden stick was never going to be my sword.
A stick is a child’s toy, something to cut down flowers and weeds. But when the child gets tired of playing and goes home, the stick can be tossed aside.
I clenched my fists, tears welling in my eyes but refusing to fall. Then I shouted at this unjust world:
“I want a sword, a real sword! A sword that can cut down every injustice in the world, a sword that can protect everyone I hold dear!”
After I shouted, a strange feeling welled up inside me. I followed it to a cliffside and found the “sword” that belonged to me.
A sword is nothing like a wooden stick. A sword is a weapon, a weapon that can cut through all the things I cannot accept! My name is Lin Yong.
I leap from the forest, ordinary yet extraordinary!
