Yeong

Yeong had been with Master Lu for as long as anyone could remember. He had always worn a mask which covered the upper part of his face and dropped just below his nose. No one knew the truth behind his origins. Some said he was the prince of an unknown faraway kingdom that had been sent into exile by his father because unpardonable sins he had committed. Others argued that he was an old man who had been cheated upon by his wife with a younger man and had gone to plea with Buddha to restore his youthful charms. In exchange for his youthful appearance, Buddha had cursed him with a scarred face, hence the face mask. Some said he was Master Lu's secret brother. There had been different versions of rumor surrounding Yeong. The truth simply was that Yeong had been an orphan who felt deeply indebted to the Old Master Lu who had taken him in after finding him on the streets brutally beaten for pick pocketing. The young boy had been nameless and the Old Master Lu had decided to call him 'Gil Yeong'. As the time went by, people started to plainly call him 'Yeong'.

Growing up with the current Master Lu, the Old Master had made him his son's personal bodyguard. They had trained and mastered all tactics of swordsmanship together. Therefore, they knew each other best. Yeong had also been present at the death-bed of Old Master Lu – for he considered him his son.

The little story behind his face mask was a tragedy that had occurred when he went hunting together with Master Lu after the death of the Old Master. They had been chasing a wild boar. They had made a bet with others in the group to bring back any animal they caught alive. After shooting the boar with arrows and avoiding the vital parts, the boar had been quite weak. They had almost gotten it when the wicked animal regained strength and jumped at Master Lu. Yeong had shielded his master with his own body and he had paid heavily for it; for the animal scratched his face badly; scarring it for life. Only few of those they had grown up with knew the true story behind his face cover.

Yeong was one of the best swordsmen in the whole kingdom. In fact, very few people could boast of having a one-off fight with him. The few people that had been opportune to train under him could testify to his immense strength and brutality during trainings.

A delighted grin appeared on his face as soon as Master Lu confirmed he will train the boys.