Taxes, Choices, The Lame Man

"Five times?!"

The villagers gaped in shock.

"My lord! Five times... aren't you just asking for our lives?"

"Lives?"

Dire Wolf sneered: "Your lives aren't worth much. If you have money, pay up; if you don't, hand over your grain. If you have neither money nor grain, pack your belongings and come with me."

The chaos in Mirage City had spread far and wide, and even the remote Snowfall Village had heard rumors of the human trafficking trade. Someone cried out in alarm:

"You're going to sell us?!"

Second Brother walked over and kicked the speaker in the stomach.

"Say 'my lord.' Truly unruly peasants, you don't understand the slightest bit of etiquette."

Dire Wolf waved his hand, maintaining a kindly smile: "Don't be like that. In the words of County Magistrate Senmura, they are 'means of production.'

Everyone, it's not selling; it's inviting you to work in a place where it's easier to make money.

This village limits your potential to the point where you can't even pay a pittance in taxes. I will send you to a place where you can demonstrate your value."

For instance...

The coal mines.

"You have one night to scrape the money together. Go."

The villagers scattered, running back to their respective homes. At first, there was arguing and weeping, but soon, looting and beatings broke out.

Those families who couldn't gather the money were robbing others of their grain and wealth.

The so-called camaraderie of living in the same village for years vanished like bubbles in the face of a true life-or-death crisis.

Dire Wolf sat on his carriage, eyes narrowed, treating the wails, curses, and screams as an accompaniment to his wine. He tapped his fingers lightly against his scabbard, drinking and singing, thoroughly enjoying himself.

The remaining four brothers surrounded the perimeter of the village, ensuring not even a bird could fly out.

The chaos lasted from dusk until the early morning of the next day.

Some produced money and grain.

Some resigned themselves to their fate.

Others died.

Dire Wolf drank the last drop of wine and tossed the flask aside.

"Fifth Brother, Fourth Brother, take them and head back to the county seat first. I'll wait another two days; if that 'Doctor Lin' hasn't returned by then, I'll head back."

"Understood, Big Brother!"

Fifth Brother drew a long whip from his waist and cracked it, driving the villagers forward like livestock.

Among them, the family of three including Haku could clearly be seen.

Just then, a carrier pigeon flew down and landed in Dire Wolf's hand.

He glanced at the secret message, his brows arching.

"Wait a moment."

"What is it, Big Brother?"

"I'll take the people back myself."

Dire Wolf licked his dry lips: "County Magistrate Senmura says two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen have arrived. I must rush back to host them."

The deal between Yagura and the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water, the status of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the career path of County Magistrate Senmura... numerous thoughts flashed through his mind, and his intuition told Dire Wolf—

The time had come.

The time for County Magistrate Senmura to soar into the heavens had arrived!

He had to return to be a witness.

As for Lin Qing?

Dire Wolf didn't believe his remaining four brothers couldn't handle him.

One jonin and three chunin were more than enough.

The carriage had three horses; Dire Wolf took one and led forty or fifty people back to the county seat.

Now, fewer than twenty people remained in Snowfall Village. Some of them had paid enough taxes, while others were deemed unworthy of being taken back.

For instance, the elderly who lacked the ability to work, or those who were physically disabled.

They were left in the village to await death.

Blade Master stood by the window, looking at the desolate village, the veins on his hand gripping the hammer bulging.

If only his right arm weren't injured.

If only he were thirty years younger.

He had to smash the heads of these scumbags with his own hands.

"Thump, thump."

The door was knocked upon.

Blade Master walked over, opened the door, and saw it was The Lame Man.

His wife had been snatched away again.

This time, there was no Lin Qing to stand up for him; he could only watch helplessly as Dire Wolf's whip lashed against his wife, dragging her away like cattle.

The Lame Man knelt at the threshold.

"Blade Master, I beg you to lend me a blade."

He was thin and lean with delicate features; many called him a sissy, a coward hiding behind his wife's skirts.

But today, there was a look of absolute resolve in The Lame Man's eyes.

"You want to throw your life away?"

"I want to bring my wife back."

Blade Master shook his head.

Never mind a cripple, even a man with all his limbs intact could not possibly defeat a ninja.

He remained silent for a long time before drawing a short blade from his waist and tossing it in front of The Lame Man.

"Leave the village and head straight north. Before you freeze to death or are killed by a bear, find Lin Qing and bring him back. That is the only way you should be throwing your life away."

"Me? But—"

The Lame Man looked at his severed leg: "Blade Master, wouldn't it be more appropriate for you to go?"

Blade Master gripped his hammer tightly and reignited the furnace fire.

"I have to forge his blades. Only then, when he returns, will he be able to kill."

The Lame Man understood.

He picked up the blade from the ground and limped his way out.

The village blockade had long since been lifted; after all, anything of value and anyone capable of labor had already been hauled away. Whether those who remained stayed or left was of no concern to them.

The Lame Man's silhouette, accompanied by the rhythmic clanging of Blade Master's forge, vanished into the wind and snow.

Mei Terumi sat by the shore, grilling fish.

Little Sasuke and Xiaotao were nearby, practicing close-quarters combat with "hee-hahs." Under the influence of their breathing techniques, the two children fought with impressive vigor; every punch and kick carried a faint, shimmering luster.

As for Lin Qing—

Mei Terumi looked at the frozen lake and turned to ask Sasuke: "That guy has been down there for nearly twenty minutes. Is he really not going to suffocate?"

Over the past ten days of getting to know him, Mei Terumi had roughly figured out that this so-called Ripple was a power derived from every inhalation and exhalation.

Lin Qing had submerged himself in an icy lake; how was he supposed to breathe?

"I believe in Brother Qing!" Sasuke said.

Mei Terumi rolled her eyes. Stupid brat, all he knows is blind hero worship.

BOOM—

She heard a peal of thunder and looked up.

The sky was overcast, but anyone with a shred of common sense knew that in the dead of winter, thunderstorms were virtually impossible.

Mei Terumi quickly realized the thunder did not come from the sky.

It came from the bottom of the lake.

Streaks of golden electricity appeared across the thick ice, and with another crack of thunder, the ice surface collapsed and shattered, sending the lake water surging.

Sasuke and Xiaotao walked over to Mei Terumi's side.

They watched as the lake water heaved and parted to both sides, revealing a staircase formed entirely of flowing water.

Lin Qing stepped up the stairs, one step at a time, not a single drop of water clinging to his body.

Mei Terumi handed him a grilled fish: "Has your divine art reached perfection?"

"Divine art... who did you learn that word from?"

Mei Terumi raised a hand and pointed at Little Sasuke.

"Still a little short," Lin Qing said.

He was already very familiar with the transformation of the three Ripple properties—crimson, cyan, and silver-white—but he had yet to achieve the true transformation of the most powerful Sunlight Yellow Ripple.

To train, Lin Qing had left Snowfall Village and come to this permanently frozen lake, using the day-after-day chill to hone his Ripple power.

The freezing lake water covered his skin, forcing him to resist and shifting his focus from breathing with the outside world to concentrating on the flow of air within his own body.

It was not a comfortable process.

Lin Qing would grope for his limits amidst repeated suffocation, and in that fleeting moment of reaching the limit, he would perceive the flow of the Ripple.

But he was still a little short.

He was still missing a catalyst.

Lin Qing took the grilled fish handed to him by Mei Terumi and ate it in large bites, replenishing his exhausted stamina.

"Why do you train so hard?" Mei Terumi asked.

Lin Qing countered, "Does becoming stronger need a reason?"

In his impression, apart from a few lazy ninjas, most were either training or on their way to a mission, almost never stopping.

"Of course it does. Ninja training is either to protect the village, to get ahead, or to earn money... There must always be a purpose to drive you to do something so uncomfortable."

Mei Terumi stared at Lin Qing. "What is your purpose?"

Lin Qing had no village to belong to.

He was not lacking in money.

As for getting ahead... with his power, he could join a Daimyo's household as a retainer whenever he wished.

Mei Terumi had observed Lin Qing for a long time, and she found his personality to be very simple—what you see is what you get, with no complex twists or turns.

Yet, she could not see through such a simple, straightforward man.

"Purpose..."

Lin Qing looked at the lake, which had returned to calm. "I suppose it is the hope that I, and those around me, have the power of 'choice' no matter what predicament we face."

The flip side of "the power of choice" is "submitting to fate."

Lin Qing did not want a day to come where:

A friend is captured, and because they cannot fight back, they resign themselves to their fate.

A loved one falls gravely ill, and because there is no money, they resign themselves to their fate.

Mei Terumi said, "So, you are being pushed forward by the fear in your heart."

"The forces that drive people forward are divided into fear and desire. I thought someone like you would have clear desires."

"But Lin Qing, have you ever thought that some people do not want the power of choice?"

"When faced with a choice, they become terrified, even actively begging those in power to strip them of their right to choose and whip them like livestock."

"Only then can they feel at ease in their suffering."

Lin Qing looked at Mei Terumi in surprise. "Are you sure you aren't talking about some terrible fetish?"

"Pervert!"

Mei Terumi's cheeks flushed red, but she quickly recovered.

"When you rescued the survivors in Mirage City, you said, 'Stand up, you are not allowed to kneel.' Isn't that also a form of stripping them of their right to kneel?"

Lin Qing pondered for a long time, just when Mei Terumi thought he wouldn't answer.

"People must first stand up and look at the world from the perspective of a human being."

"After that, whether they stand, kneel, or gladly face death, that is their choice."

"I just can't stand that some people and some things are always pressing down on people's heads, and I want to overturn everything I can't stand."

Mei Terumi chuckled. "Then what you want to overturn is this entire ninja world."

Lin Qing did not smile.

"Who knows."

Silence fell between the two, leaving only the faint clicking sound of branches snapping as the campfire for the grilled fish burned.

Mei Terumi hugged her knees, watching Lin Qing's profile.

The man before her was different from anyone she had ever met.

Very different.

If it were him... perhaps it really is possible.

Mei Terumi took a deep breath. "Lin Qing, you—"

"Doctor Lin!"

A voice echoing from far away in the woods interrupted Mei Terumi.

Lin Qing stood up and looked over, spotting The Lame Man stumbling toward them.

One of his arms was gone, and there was a deep claw mark on his chest; Mei Terumi recognized it at a glance as being from a bear.

His cotton-padded jacket was long gone, and he was wearing only a single layer of clothing.

They were a full eighty miles from the village; no one knew how The Lame Man had managed to walk here.

Upon seeing Lin Qing, The Lame Man collapsed with a thud into the snow.

Lin Qing rushed over, picked him up, and channeled the Ripple into his body to stimulate his vitality.

It had no effect.

Along the way, The Lame Man had long since drained every ounce of his vitality.

"Doctor Lin, I beg you... save the village..."

"Very well."

Hearing Lin Qing's reply, The Lame Man finally revealed a smile and closed his eyes.

Many people had mocked The Lame Man for not being a real man, hiding behind his wife his entire life.

In this moment, he had fulfilled a man's duty.

The Lame Man was dead.

Lin Qing stood up.

But today, he would certainly not be the only one to die.