A Blade in the Snowy Night, Protecting an Orphan Girl

Seven years ago, Shen Can, the fastest swordsman under heaven, grew weary of the bloodshed of the martial world. He concealed his identity and settled in a small town, earning a living chopping bones at a butcher shop. He thought a peaceful life would wash away the bloodshed, until one snowy night, a Jinyiwei expert kicked open his door. “Mr. Shen, you’ve hidden from the world long enough. It’s time to come out and settle your debt.”

The hand gripping his knife trembled slightly, but then a three-year-old girl walked out of the back room and hugged his leg. “Daddy, have you finished chopping the meat?” The Jinyiwei suddenly dropped to their knees as one. “The orphan of the Northern Pacification Commissioner has ended up here. We beg you, Mr. Shen, to keep her safe.”

Seven years. A full seven years.

The hand that once wielded the renowned “Jingzhe,” the fastest sword under heaven, now held this battered bone cleaver, its blade curled and slick with grease. He no longer killed martial heroes or imperial agents. He only butchered pigs and sheep that couldn’t breathe.

The stench of blood seemed to have faded, only to be utterly drowned out by the rank, meaty smell of day after day in the shop. It soaked into his palm lines and carved itself into his bones. Sometimes he felt that Shen Can, the fastest swordsman under heaven, might truly have died in some forgotten corner seven years ago. The only one still alive now was Wang Er, a butcher who chopped bones in this town…