"Mr. Lin, the children are asleep. Would you mind talking for a bit?"
Haku's Mother tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Lin Qing glanced at the sleeping Xiaotao and Sasuke, then gestured for her to step outside and talk.
They went to the living room. Tea and snacks had been prepared on the table.
Haku's Mother invited Lin Qing to sit, then settled beside him and poured him a cup of tea.
The only thing was, they were...
Far too close.
Haku's Mother was only twenty-nine, still in the prime of her beauty, with a woman's most alluring curves. She seemed to have just taken a bath before coming over; the ends of her hair were still a little damp. A faint, delicate fragrance drifted from her. Her fair face, touched with a rosy flush, was like a ripe peach, radiating an irresistible allure.
As he watched her offer him the teacup, Lin Qing almost seemed to hear her say:
"If you care for me, then drink the last of my wine."
"Ha—"
Lin Qing chuckled.
Haku's Mother asked, "My lord, what are you laughing at?"
Lin Qing waved a hand and accepted the tea she offered. He didn't drink it, only set it on the table before asking, "Whatever you have to say, just say it. There's no need for this."
They were sitting very close, but when Haku's Mother met Lin Qing's clear gaze, the hint of romantic tension she had been trying to create vanished like steam rising from a cup of tea.
She stared blankly at the man before her, suddenly feeling that her earlier thoughts had been despicable and childish.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lin. I thought..."
She had thought that if she wanted to rely on Lin Qing and gain his protection, this was the least she could offer in return.
But now Haku's Mother understood.
What she had done was an insult to Lin Qing's character.
"Mr. Lin isn't like other men. How could I have thought that about him?"
Noticing the admiration in the woman's eyes, Lin Qing awkwardly scratched his cheek and looked away.
Haku's Mother remained kneeling. She took a letter from her clothes and respectfully held it out to Lin Qing with both hands.
"What's this?"
Haku's Mother didn't explain. She simply offered it to him again.
Lin Qing took it and opened it. The letter was covered in neat, closely written characters.
At the top was her name: Mayuri.
Below it was a detailed account of her ancestors, how they had come to Snowfall Village to escape the war, the work she was good at, and a thorough description of her Kekkei Genkai.
Mayuri placed both hands in front of her.
"Mr. Lin, from today onward, my children and I will follow you and see to your needs. If there's anything you want, you only have to ask me."
With that, Mayuri bowed deeply.
Lin Qing looked at the résumé in his hands, then at Mayuri, still kneeling with her head bowed. For a moment, he was dazed.
It seemed the job market had been just as bad in this life as it had been in his previous one.
Lin Qing folded the letter.
"I'm only taking you to a new village. There's no need to be so... formal."
Mayuri raised her head and gave him a faint smile.
"Maybe it's a woman's intuition, but I feel I'll be troubling you for a long time, Mr. Lin."
Lin Qing smiled, poured her a cup of tea as well, and lightly clinked his cup against hers.
"Then we have plenty of time ahead of us. I look forward to working with you."
After seeing Mayuri off, Lin Qing let out a breath of relief. He got up and walked out of the Haku family's home. Looking toward a patch of shadow, he said, "You can stop hiding. Come out."
"Heh heh..."
Blade Master emerged from the shadow by the wall, looking embarrassed. "I guess I picked a bad time to come."
"No, you came at exactly the right time."
Lin Qing had already planned to look for Blade Master before setting out tomorrow.
Now that Blade Master had come to him, it would save him time tomorrow.
"You came for those two broken Ninja Blades, didn't you?" Lin Qing asked.
Blade Master nodded.
For him, famous blades were more appealing than beautiful women, wealth, or power.
He'd tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. In the end, he'd gritted his teeth and come over.
"But..."
Blade Master scratched his head. "I didn't expect to hear your conversation as soon as I arrived. And I definitely didn't expect you to turn down her offer to serve you."
Mayuri had practically wrapped herself up and served herself to Lin Qing. All he had to do was open his mouth and take a bite.
They said sons took after their mothers. One look at Haku was enough to show how beautiful and charming Mayuri was.
Lin Qing asked, "What kind of person do you take me for?"
"A normal man."
Men traded secrets for trust.
Women used their bodies to show their loyalty.
In this wretched world, that was common knowledge.
Lin Qing was willing to protect a mother and her daughter. The mother offering her body to show gratitude and loyalty was perfectly ordinary.
Lin Qing chuckled. "And what do you think now?"
Blade Master patted his chest. "That you're a pure-hearted man of iron, just like me—immune to the charms of women."
Lin Qing shook his head.
It wasn't that he didn't like women.
He just couldn't accept the logic behind it.
Besides, her husband—or, rather, her ex-husband—was still asleep in the next room. Lin Qing knew the Naruto World had a Japanese setting, but this...
This was a little too Japanese.
Lin Qing went back inside and brought out the two broken blades, handing them to Blade Master.
Blade Master ran his fingers over the two legendary Ninja Blades, his expression complicated. After a long while, he sighed.
"My father spent his whole life making blades. All he wanted was to create one that surpassed the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's blades. In the end, he died with that regret.
"I spent my whole life making blades, too. At my age, I thought the dream passed down through two generations would follow me to the grave..."
"Thanks to you, I'll be able to forge a blade capable of cutting through the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's blades."
Lin Qing smiled.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen's blades had indeed reached the pinnacle of the Ninja Blade field.
But if you couldn't beat the established powerhouses in a traditional field, switching to a new, more specialized track could give you a chance to overtake them on the bends. Experience had proven it was an effective approach.
"I'll leave Sasuke and Xiaotao's blades to you. I'll come back for them in a while."
Blade Master smiled.
"Of course. Leave them to me!"
After Blade Master left, Lin Qing summoned Aero Smith and had it circle the area. Once he confirmed that no one else was looking for him, he went back inside. Holding the unfinished cup of tea, he sat down before his draft paper and continued calculating what he had gained this time.
"Before I reached Snowfall Village, I had 310 Soul Shards."
Lin Qing wrote 310 on the paper.
"Killing Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, and Fifth Brother from the Dire Wolf Squad gave me 270."
"Killing Dire Wolf gave me 240."
"Killing Biwa Juzo gave me 480."
"Killing Raiga Kurosuki gave me 460."
The current total number of Soul Shards...
1,760.
That worked out to 176 draws!
As long as Lin Qing wasn't too unlucky, that would be enough to draw a new five-star Stand.
"Should I draw?"
This time, Lin Qing had nearly been driven into a corner by Biwa Juzo and Raiga Kurosuki working together.
Once word got out that he had killed two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the enemies who dared to come after him would only grow more troublesome and cautious. They would make targeted plans against every one of his abilities.
A new Stand would definitely make a powerful trump card for Lin Qing.
If he drew Death Thirteen, Whitesnake, or a similar Stand, it could even help him resist genjutsu.
But...
Lin Qing summoned Star Platinum.
At Level 2, Star Platinum had lost the element of surprise that came from its information advantage. It could no longer crush and kill shinobi on the level of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
If the enemy came as a squad, once Star Platinum was tied down, Lin Qing would have to face the others alone.
"Leveling Star Platinum up to Level 3 will greatly improve its direct combat ability."
And if the JOJO System had been designed according to the original manga, then for Star Platinum to gain Time Stop, it would most likely have to reach max level—Level 5.
Should he draw a new five-star Stand, or strengthen Star Platinum?
Lin Qing scratched his head.
"Now this is a nice problem to have."
After much deliberation, he made his decision—
"Level up Star Platinum!"
There were too many unknowns when it came to drawing a new five-star Stand.
If he drew a Stand with an overlapping ability, or one like Aero Smith that leaned toward support, it wouldn't be of much use to him right now.
Lin Qing decided to raise Star Platinum, which had the greatest potential, to Level 3 first.
Soul Shards scattered in a rush. Countless fragments shimmering with rainbow light fell across Star Platinum's body.
Normally, leveling Star Platinum from Level 2 at 0% to Level 3 at 0% would cost 1,000 Soul Shards.
But after Lin Qing had built up the pool, he had gained quite a few scattered experience points. In the end, he spent 830 Soul Shards to level Star Platinum up to Level 3.
It grew even more imposing. The sharpness in its gaze became more ferocious, and its already terrifying strength, speed, reflexes, and precision all improved across the board.
What surprised Lin Qing even more was that Star Platinum had gained a new ability.
"Platinum Skin: Hardens Star Platinum's skin to its limit, allowing it to withstand enemy attacks to an extreme degree."
Before, when faced with an ordinary slash from a blade or axe, or a blast of fire or wind, Lin Qing had to make Star Platinum dodge or block with its fists, slowing down its charge.
With Platinum Skin, it could ignore most attacks and charge straight up to its enemies, beating them to death with a flurry of punches.
"Going from Level 2 to Level 3 takes 1,000 shards. Going from Level 3 to Level 4 will take 2,000... That's expensive!"
But it was worth it.
Whether for the direct boost to its combat strength or the chance to gain Time Stop in the future, those 1,000 shards were well spent.
There were 930 Soul Shards left.
Lin Qing decided to save them for now as a strategic reserve.
If he came up against a tricky enemy in the future and urgently needed more power, he could draw a card.
If there was no rush, he would keep saving them to level up Star Platinum and get Time Stop as soon as possible.
Early the next morning.
Lin Qing, Sasuke, Xiaotao, Mayuri, and Haku set out for the survivor village.
Only a handful of villagers came to see them off, and Haku's father was not among them.
Lin Qing waved to Blade Master, the Village Chief, and the others, then tugged the reins. The carriage slowly rolled away.
The Village Chief lowered his hand as the carriage disappeared into the distance. Suddenly, a cry of alarm rang out behind him.
"Something's happened! Haku's father hanged himself!"
The villagers hurried over, only to find a lifeless corpse.
The old Village Chief sighed.
"He brought it on himself."
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