Toad Sage

A newly purchased Polaroid camera sat on the table.

Lin Qing took a deep breath.

"Hermit Purple!"

Purple vines manifested, coiling around Lin Qing's arm. As he swung his hand down in a powerful chop, a faint golden Ripple flashed, and the Polaroid camera was shattered by the blow.

Miraculously, the broken camera continued to slowly spit out a piece of photo paper.

Lin Qing picked up the photo and gave it a shake; the face of a man gradually appeared.

Lin Qing remembered his name.

Amber Bearman.

He was a tall man with piercing, bright eyes.

He was the one who had represented the survivors, expressing their gratitude to Lin Qing and leading over one hundred and sixty survivors to build Hope Village.

In the photo, Amber Bearman looked terrible. One of his eyes was blinded, and his body was covered in bandages over various wounds. In the image, he was gritting his teeth while carrying a water barrel larger than himself, struggling to transport the cargo.

"Star Platinum."

Lin Qing switched Stands, activating the "Printer" effect of Star Platinum.

Star Platinum held the photo with one hand, while the other hand picked up a pen prepared on the table, sketching out details from the photo that were invisible to the naked eye onto a sheet of paper.

Soon, Lin Qing found a clue—

On the edge of the wooden barrel, a thumb-sized iron plate was embedded, inscribed with the words "Matsumoto Brewery."

Matsumoto Brewery?

Why would Amber Bearman be working for a brewery?

Looking at his pale complexion, he needed rest far more than he needed work.

Lin Qing exchanged glances with the others in the room. A similar answer formed in everyone's minds: after the massacre at Hope Village, the survivors had been treated as slaves and sold to work at the brewery.

The group scattered, entering the city to gather information.

Lin Qing had expected it to take some effort, but to his surprise, he found Amber Bearman that very evening.

Indeed, Matsumoto Brewery was a local business.

Amber was holding a tray, sitting with a group of porters to eat lunch.

Because it was heavy manual labor, Matsumoto Brewery provided a relatively hearty lunch—rice, fish, and even an egg.

Amber Bearman's tray contained only a single ear of corn, nothing else.

When Amber Bearman, who was gnawing on the corn, saw Lin Qing approaching, he froze. His only remaining eye turned bloodshot instantly, and tears began to well up.

Amber Bearman stood up and strode over. He was about to kneel, but remembered that Lin Qing disliked being knelt to, so he could only bow deeply, choking out:

"My Lord, I..."

He wanted to recount the hardships of the past few days, but so much had happened that a thousand words flooded his throat, and he didn't know where to begin.

Lin Qing gently patted his shoulder, transmitting a wisp of Ripple energy to mend Amber Bearman's injuries.

"No rush. Tell me slowly."

Xiaotao took out an orange: "Uncle, have an orange."

Amber took the orange and nodded vigorously.

The sequence of events was much as Lin Qing had guessed.

It was indeed an unprovoked massacre.

But what exceeded Lin Qing's imagination was—

"The killer seemed to be a madman, constantly talking to himself. He could transform into the shapes of various monsters and killed many people in the village."

Amber recalled: "But he wasn't killing just for the sake of killing; he was venting his emotions. I rushed up to fight him to the death, but I was knocked unconscious."

"When I woke up, I found the madman had already left."

"I counted the survivors; there were fewer than fifty, and most were injured."

Fearing the madman would return, Amber led the survivors to the town. He used the village's remaining savings to rent a small warehouse and bought medicine to treat the wounded.

But it was far from enough.

Amber and the others who were still mobile went out to work for money, trying to find ways to hire a doctor and buy food.

"...But some people gave up. They didn't want to work while injured for the sake of others, so they quietly left."

Lin Qing nodded.

It was understandable. Human nature is inherently selfish; after suffering such heavy blows, how many people had the spare mental energy to look after others?

Simply not committing suicide was already a sign of strength.

But precisely because it was difficult for ordinary people to do, those like Amber who stayed behind were all the more precious.

"How many of you are left?" Lin Qing asked.

"Counting myself, there are thirty-four left. Only five of us are fit to work; the rest are in the warehouse recovering from their injuries."

Over one hundred and sixty people had disembarked from the ship, and now only thirty-odd remained.

Lin Qing looked up at the azure sky. Even with the sun hanging high, he felt not a shred of warmth. This world was like a man-eating maw, the cycle of sun and moon merely a constant, rhythmic chewing.

Five people supporting twenty-nine.

No wonder the other workers were eating rice and fish while Amber was gnawing on a piece of dry corn.

He was saving his food money to pay for the wounded's medical care.

"Do you have any more detailed clues regarding the murderous madman?"

The activation of Hermit Purple required a certain catalyst. The more clues and causal links there were, the better it could lock onto a target.

Amber thought for a moment and said, "My lord, I... I haven't read any books, and I'm not good with words. Compared to me, the official wanted poster from the Land of Fire has it written down much more clearly."

"A wanted poster?"

It turned out the murderer who slaughtered Hope Village was a repeat offender. Starting from the north of the Land of Fire, six villages had been brutally massacred in succession, and the Land of Fire authorities had long since issued a bounty.

This order had also been sent to Konoha, and there were likely ninjas investigating in the surrounding cities even now.

"Take us to see it," Lin Qing said.

"Yes!"

Amber led the group out of Matsumoto Distillery. On the way, they ran into his foreman, who asked suspiciously, "And who are these people?"

Amber froze, not knowing how to address Lin Qing.

As he hesitated, he heard Lin Qing say, "We are his friends."

"Friends, eh! That's great! You don't know, but this guy Amber—he's clearly injured, yet he works day and night like his life depends on it. I'm truly terrified he'll drop dead on the job."

The foreman walked away.

Amber bowed his head slightly: "Lord Lin, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I don't know, but there is a distinction between the noble and the lowly."

Lin Qing shook his head slightly.

"To hell with noble and lowly. If you want to follow me, never mention that word again."

Setting aside the disparity in power between them, Amber was willing to gnaw on corn, haul heavy loads, and work himself to the bone for a group of people with whom he shared no blood relation.

A real man who dared to shoulder such responsibility was worth Lin Qing calling him a friend.

Lin Qing patted the stunned Amber on the shoulder and walked out of the distillery.

Amber sniffled hard, watching Lin Qing's retreating back. He felt a fire ignite in his heart, willing to follow Lin Qing and repay him with his life. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and strode to catch up.

The bounty notice was posted on the city's busiest commercial street.

Lin Qing walked over, ignoring the shock in the eyes of the onlookers, and reached out to tear it down.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

A rough, deep voice came from behind him.

Lin Qing turned to look.

A middle-aged man with messy white hair, red markings extending from the corners of his eyes to his chin, a forehead protector with the character "Oil," and a red haori stood smiling a few paces away.

"Who are you?" Lin Qing asked.

"I have many titles, but those who know me usually call me..."

"The Toad Sage."