The old man, Master Tao, looked around the dark bushes. "Hmph! There is another life here," he muttered.
He looked at the tiny baby in his arms, then at the blood on the grass. "His parents couldn't have gone far. A newborn can't survive alone for a minute in this place."
He walked a few steps and saw a shadow slumped against a tree. "Wait, miss!"
The woman looked up. Even though she was pale and sweating, her eyes were sharp. "Who are you, old man?" she asked, clutching her chest.
"I am Master Tao Dun," he said, standing tall. "They used to call me the Golden Dragon. I found your son."
The woman's face softened. Tears leaked from her eyes. "Oh... Master Tao. Please. Take care of my child. Protect him. Teach him how to live a better life than I did."
Master Tao looked down at the baby. "Miss, I think you're mistaken about something. Your child wasn't born for a quiet life. He has the mark of destruction and a new order on his soul. His path will be a bloodbath. No one can stop that, even if he wants to."
He sighed, looking at the sky. "The heavens will try to kill him because he has such a strong will to live. He won't let them walk over him. His path is inevitable."
"I understand," she whispered. "Just... please. I don't think I will make it until dawn. I have been poisoned so many times by those men chasing us."
Master Tao snorted. "You should live to guide him. Don't talk about dying yet. This kind of poison is nothing to me. I can cure it in no time." He looked at her tattered robes. "You look like you've been chased out of your own home."
"Yes," she said quietly. "We have nowhere left to go."
"That is no problem," Master Tao said. "Let me take you to your new home. It is in the middle of this forest. I hope you don't mind living in a wild place."
"Thank you, Master Tao. I don't mind at all as long as we are safe," she replied.
They walked deep into the thick trees. Finally, they reached a place that looked like it had once been grand. Now, it was a shabby, run-down sect. Trees grew through the roofs, and vines covered the walls. It was a ghost town, but a few rooms were still standing.
"Wait here for a while," Master Tao said as he laid the baby down on a clean patch of hay. "Let me go and prepare the medicines and antidotes for your recovery."
He disappeared into a side room and came back with three small bowls. "Take this first. It will pull the poison out of your blood. This one is for your deep wounds. And this last one is to help you get your strength back."
Seol drank the bitter medicine, her eyes never leaving her son.
I will survive, she thought, feeling the warmth of the medicine spread through her. I will live to see what kind of world my son builds.