A long time ago in a land far away, there lived a warrior named Yang, who trained with the Sad Flute
clan since he was a kid to become the greatest swordsman in history. He achieved this feat by
defeating the leader of the enemy clan and all his warriors; however when he found the leader's baby
girl, he couldn't bring himself to kill her too. Unfortunately this action made him an enemy of his
own clan, because no clan could truly win unless every single member of the enemy clan was dead,
and that included the baby. With the Sad Flute going after him and not being able to trust even
his own maid, Yang decides to burn down his house and take a ship to the USA, where he would find
his old friend and former warrior Smiley to ask for sanctuary for him and the baby. Sadly when
Yang makes it to the small town of Lode, there is bad news waiting for him: Smiley died three years
ago. Meanwhile in Yang's old home, his master Saddest Flute finds the ruins of Yang's house
and a note from the shipping company Yang hired. Deciding to follow him to America, Saddest Flute
gathers a big group of his clan's warriors to come with him. Back to Yang, the townspeople are wary
of him, especially the local drunk Ron, but circus troupe member Eight Ball is nice and takes him to
Smiley's old laundry shop so Yang can stay there with the baby if he wants. Later in the evening,
a woman named Lynne attacks Yang from behind with a stick and he lets her hit him in order not to
reveal his real identity. Lynne apologizes before explaining that she used to be friends with Smiley
and she thought Yang could've been a warrior enemy of Smiley. Seeing as Yang is a friend of Smiley
too and needs help to start over, Lynne decides to teach him how to do the laundry in order for
him to take over the shop. She has an idea of how everything used to work because she used to help
Smiley in exchange for him teaching him how to use a sword. Also, since Yang never got the baby's
name, Lynne decides to call her April. Yang cleans the shop to get rid of years-old dust and the next
morning, he's open and ready for business. A trio of teenagers tries to bully him when they
bring some clothes over, but luckily Eight Ball shows up and scares them away before inviting Yang
and April for lunch at the circus. The troupe is in the middle of building a Ferris Wheel,
hoping that will bring more tourists to their little town. Yang notices Lynne is practicing
knife throwing and she's awful at it, which puts her in a bad mood. Ron continues to complain about
Yang's presence in town, but the rest of the troupe is fun to hang out with. In the evening,
Yang walks near Lynne's home and hears some music for the first time in his life. Lynne hears him
outside and invites him in so they can listen to the opera music together. This is the first thing
Yang learns to do as a normal person, and the list just grows from there. The more days pass,
the more Yang enjoys his new life in town and the simplest pleasures of life, like the joy of making
things clean, making friends and hanging out with them, working as a group with the townsfolk,
playing games and feeling what it's like to lose at something, finding peace in private
after a long day of work, watching the sunset, and starting his own garden. This last one is Yang's
favorite because it allows him to bring life to this world instead of ending it. One afternoon,
Yang notices Lynne visiting the cemetery and asks Eight Ball about her past. Many years ago,
the town came under siege by a corrupt Colonel, who wanted a girl to have some fun with and chose
teenage Lynne. He took her through the nearest door for some privacy and they ended up in a
kitchen, which gave Lynne the chance to defend herself by throwing a pan of boiling grease at
his face. Lynne run out of the building and the Colonel shot her, so her parents together with
her sibling tried to come to pick up her body, but the Colonel shot them too. Later, after
the Colonel was gone, when the townspeople were moving the bodies to bury them, they discovered
that while the rest of the family was dead, somehow Lynne had survived. Later in the evening,
Yang sees Lynne complaining about her own aim while throwing little rocks around for fun.
Understanding where her inner anger comes from now, Yang decides to help her and takes her to
the circus to teach her to aim. He explains her problem isn't her arms but her focus, and Yang
blindfolds Lynne before making her throw knives at him, successfully landing them all without hurting
him. Lynne thanks him by calling him Sad Flute, revealing she's always known who he was because
of Smiley's stories. She also takes the chance to ask why the clan is called that, and Yang explains
they're the Sad Flutes because when you cut the throat, the last sound is a sad flute. Next,
Lynne asks him why he joined the clan in the first place. Yang tells her about his father,
who worked in the field and died when a swordsman killed him just to test his sword. Yang had been
angry at his father back then, and that's why he decided he wanted to become stronger than
that. Noticing Yang is sad now, Lynne gifts him a necklace that used to belong to her mother. This
reminds Yang of the only time in his life that he received a present: he was just a kid in training,
and Saddest Flute gave him a cute little dog. Afterward, Yang shows Lynne his single-edged
sword, which has been sealed to its scabbard so he can't kill again and nobody will hear the
weeping of the souls he's taken. However he also has a couple of twin short swords, and he uses
those to pick up Lynne's training where Smiley left it, which Ron finds curious. Meanwhile,
Saddest Flute and the clan have taken over a ship by force, killing the entire crew. The USA is a
big country but Saddest Flute isn't worried, he knows he'll find Yang easily when he gives up and
grabs the sword again, they just need to listen. Back in town, Yang's new life continues as normal,
dealing with the teenagers' pranks, cleaning the locals' clothes, taking care of the flourishing
garden, training Lynne, and teaching April to take her first steps. When Christmas comes,
the circus troupe throws a big party. Yang attends but refuses to dance, and when Lynne asks him to
take her for a spin, they go back to training. Lynne finally manages to come close enough to
put her sword on Yang's neck and she takes the chance to kiss him, but Yang is too confused to
reciprocate. At that moment, the Colonel and his men arrive in town, letting their horses stomp
all over Yang's garden. The Colonel is wearing a mask now to cover the burns Lynne left him,
and he interrupts the Christmas party by bullying the circus troupe. His men use the clown as target
practice, and when Ron tries to stop them, the Colonel catches him with his whip around the neck
and makes one of his men drag him through the sand while riding a horse. Then, the Colonel shoots the
clown in the foot before deciding he wants a girl for the night. The townsfolk know Lynne will want
to take revenge and do something stupid, so they tie her up in a cellar and Yang takes her swords.
However, she has a knife hidden in her boot, and after the men leave, Lynne frees herself. While
Yang wonders if he should take out his sword, the Colonel gathers the local women and chooses
one that turns out to be married. When the husband tries to defend her, the Colonel shoots them both,
causing their daughters to come out from hiding to cry for them and the Colonel ends up choosing
them instead. He has dinner while the girls wash, but his meal is interrupted by Lynne,
who has dressed up as a dancer and pretends to volunteer to be the Colonel's entertainment for
the night. The townsfolk discover Lynne has escaped, and when Yang hears about this, he
decides it's time to break the seal of his sword. Saddest Flute hears the seal being broken and the
wailing of Yang's sword, so now he knows in which direction to guide his clansmen. Back to Lynne,
she tries to attack the Colonel with her knife by surprise, but it turns out he's known who she is
since the beginning and is waiting for her with his gun. With a shot at the ceiling, the Colonel
summons his men and makes them drag Lynne to the bed so he can finally get what he wants from her,
but they're interrupted by the sudden arrival of Yang through the window. He easily kills the other
men and is about to kill the Colonel too, but Lynne stops him because she claims the Colonel
is hers. Deciding to use Lynne as a shield, the Colonel grabs her and pushes her with him through
the window before running away as he rejoins the rest of his men. Lynne follows him and uses her
newfound focus to throw her knife, effectively killing the Colonel - or maybe not. When the
townsfolk come closer and take off the mask, it's revealed the body belongs to a random guy that was
used as decoy, and the real Colonel got to escape with his men. Yang goes to pick up his things and
April, intending to leave town before he's found by Saddest Flute because he doesn't want them
to be in danger. However Eight Ball points out they're already in danger because the Colonel will
come back for revenge with even more men. Yang accepts to stay to help yet the townsfolks think
he won't be enough, but it doesn't worry Eight Ball, because he points out they also have Ron.
It turns out Ron used to be an outlaw and when he retired, Eight Ball buried all his weapons in the
cemetery, so now it's time to dig them out. While Ron tests his aim and confirms is as good as it
used to be, Lynne talks to Yang. She's already guessed that he'll leave when it's all over and
she wants him to consider taking her with him and April when the time comes. With the weapons,
Ron finds his old cowboy clothes and takes them to Yang for cleaning. While the rest of the town
uses the explosives to prepare traps, Ron and Yang bond over their pasts. Ron always knew Yang was a
dangerous man because he could smell the blood, and Yang confesses he's always known about Ron
too because of the same reason. The two of them shake hands and Ron explains he quit his very
successful career as a thieving outlaw because the rangers that were trying to catch him killed
his wife. Before dying, Ron's wife asked him not to pick up a gun again, and he's stuck to
that promise since then. Today however it's an emergency, and Eight Ball had told Ron his wife
would've understood. Ron advises Yang that if he truly loves someone, he should stay away from
them not to bring them pain. Afterward, Yang gives Lynne her swords back and reminds her of the best
places to stab a man for a quick death, making her shiver with his gentle touch. The next day,
one of the teens hides with April in a cellar while Yang waits at the town's entrance, and Ron
positions himself on the Ferris Wheel. When the Colonel and his troops arrive, they ride ahead and
stomp all over the garden again, falling for the dynamite the townsfolk had hidden there earlier.
The explosion kills a bunch of them and creates a dust cloud that allows Yang to move unnoticed as
he kills more of the men. The Colonel orders his men to move ahead and reach the circus,
where the carnival machines are suddenly activated and create more explosions. Ron
begins shooting at them from atop the Ferris Wheel, and when the Colonel's men begin climbing
the wheel to reach him, the circus troupe shows up to shoot them off. While Yang continues to
move in the shadows to kill more men with his sword, Ron uses as many bullets as possible
before sliding away on a cable. Once he reaches safety, they make the Ferris Wheel explode,
taking everyone down. The circus troupe comes out from their hiding spots, thinking they've won,
but the Colonel and some of his men are actually still alive. Many of the performers are killed,
and when the Colonel's men are about to surround them, the chase is interrupted by the sudden
apparition of Saddest Flute and his warriors. A new fight starts between gun and sword users,
and Yang tells Lynne to run with April while he joins the battle. Both sides keep losing men at
an alarming speed, especially because Yang kills opponents on both sides. He runs after Lynne and
April to protect them since the Colonel's attention is on them, but when they find
themselves surrounded, Lynne gives April to Eight Ball for him to take her away while she helps
Yang. Once they've defeated the warriors around them, Yang and Lynne go to find Eight Ball only
to discover the Colonel killed him and took April away. The Colonel hides with April in a hotel
room, leaving a bunch of his men outside the door for protection. After more Sad Flutes get killed
while trying to reach the baby, Yang shows up at the hotel too and quickly kills all the bodyguards
before entering the room. With a quick movement of his sword, Yang disarms the Colonel and gets
April back yet he doesn't kill him, leaving that opportunity to Lynne, who shows up as well. Lynne
and the Colonel engage in a sword fight that begins with the Colonel having the upper hand,
but soon Lynne turns it around and kills the Colonel with great satisfaction. Afterward,
it's time for Yang to confront his old master, who insists on the need to kill April because she'll
always be the enemy. Saddest Flute doesn't think Yang has the guts to kill him in battle because
he's always been soft of heart: when he was a kid, he had a lot of trouble killing the dog when his
master ordered him to, and even as an adult, he couldn't even kill a baby. However, Yang will
do anything to protect his loved ones and doesn't hesitate to kill his master, so Saddest Flute dies
expressing his pride. Now it's all over, it's time for Yang to leave. Remembering Ron's advice, Yang
not only decides not to bring Lynne with him, but he also leaves April with the circus troupe so she
can have a life away from danger. Months later, Yang is living on a frozen land while selling
the fish he catches. Unfortunately, he's found by an assassin here too, thus after killing the man,
Yang retrieves his sword and the necklace Lynne had gifted him before burning down his latest
house, including another opera record he had acquired. On his way out, he's found by more
Saddest Flutes, meaning there will always be some fighting for him to do before finding a new home.