The Toad Sage

A newly bought Polaroid camera sat on the table.

Lin Qing took a deep breath.

"Hermit Purple!"

Purple Vines appeared and wrapped around Lin Qing's arm. As he brought it down with force, a faint golden Ripple flashed, and the Polaroid camera was smashed to pieces with a single palm strike.

Miraculously, the shattered camera continued slowly spitting out photo paper.

Lin Qing picked up the photo and shook it. A man's face gradually appeared.

Lin Qing remembered his name.

Amber Bearman.

He was a tall man with a piercing gaze.

Back then, he had represented the survivors in thanking Lin Qing, then led more than a hundred and sixty of them in building a village.

Amber Bearman looked awful in the photo. One eye was blind, and bandages covered wounds of all sizes across his body. He was carrying a bucket even bigger than himself, gritting his teeth as he hauled goods.

"Star Platinum."

Lin Qing switched Stands and activated Star Platinum's "printer" effect.

Star Platinum held the photo in one hand and picked up the pen Lin Qing had prepared on the table with the other, sketching details from the photo that were invisible to the naked eye.

Soon, Lin Qing found a clue—

Embedded in the edge of the bucket was a thumbnail-sized piece of iron. The words "Matsumoto Brewery" were written on it.

Matsumoto Brewery?

Why was Amber Bearman working for a brewery?

With his pale complexion, he needed rest more than work.

Lin Qing exchanged glances with the others in the room. A similar answer occurred to them all: after the massacre, the survivors from Hope Village had been treated like slaves and sold to work at a brewery.

The group scattered in different directions to gather information around the city.

Lin Qing had expected it to take some effort, but they found Amber Bearman that very night.

That was right: Matsumoto Brewery was a local business.

Amber was holding a tray and eating lunch with a group of porters.

Since the work was physically demanding, Matsumoto Brewery provided a fairly generous lunch: rice, fish, and even an egg.

But Amber Bearman's tray held only a single ear of corn. There was nothing else.

As Amber Bearman gnawed on the corn and saw Lin Qing approaching, he froze. His one remaining eye instantly reddened, and tears streamed down his face.

Amber Bearman stood up and strode over. He was about to kneel, then remembered that Lin Qing disliked people kneeling before him. All he could do was bow deeply and say through a sob:

"My lord, I..."

He wanted to tell Lin Qing what he had been through lately, but so much had happened that a thousand words rushed to his lips, and he had no idea where to begin.

Lin Qing gently patted his shoulder, sending a thread of Ripple power into him to heal his injuries.

"Don't rush. Take your time."

Xiaotao took out a mandarin. "Uncle, have a mandarin."

Amber took it and nodded vigorously.

What had happened was much as Lin Qing had guessed.

It really had been an unplanned massacre.

But what Lin Qing hadn't expected was—

"The killer seemed to be a madman. He kept muttering to himself and could transform into all kinds of monsters. He killed many people in the village."

Amber recalled, "But he wasn't killing just for the sake of it. He was venting his emotions. I rushed at him, trying to fight him, but he knocked me unconscious.

"When I came to, the madman was gone.

"I counted the survivors. There were fewer than fifty of us, and most were injured."

Worried that the madman might come back and kill again, Amber led the survivors to the town. He used the village's remaining savings to rent a small warehouse, then bought medicine to treat the injured.

But it wasn't nearly enough.

Amber and the others who were still able to move went out to earn money, doing what they could to pay for a doctor and food.

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

Lin Qing nodded.

It was understandable. Human nature was selfish. After suffering one blow after another, how many people would have the strength to look after others?

Just managing not to take their own lives was already a sign of resilience.

But that was precisely what made Amber and the others who stayed so precious: ordinary people would find it hard to do what they had done.

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

"Thirty-four, counting me. Only five of us can work. The rest are recovering in the warehouse."

More than a hundred and sixty people had disembarked. Now, only a little over thirty remained.

Lin Qing looked up at the clear blue sky. The sun was shining brightly, but he felt not the slightest warmth. The world seemed like a huge, man-eating mouth, endlessly chewing as day turned to night.

Five people, supporting twenty-nine.

No wonder the other workers were eating rice and fish, while Amber was chewing on a measly ear of corn.

He was saving money on food to pay for the injured people's medical care.

"Do you have any more specific clues about the madman who killed them?"

Hermit Purple needed a certain trigger to activate. The more clues and connections there were, the better it could lock onto its target.

Amber thought for a moment. "My lord, I... I never went to school. I'm not good with words. The Land of Fire's official wanted notice has a much clearer description than I could give."

"A wanted notice?"

It turned out the person responsible for the massacre at Hope Village was a serial killer. He had started in the north of the Land of Fire, and six villages had been brutally slaughtered one after another. The Land of Fire authorities had already put a bounty on him.

The notice had also been sent to Konoha. Ninjas were probably already investigating in the surrounding cities.

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

"Yes!"

Amber led everyone away from Matsumoto Distillery. On the way, they ran into his foreman, who asked suspiciously, "Who are these people?"

Amber froze, unsure how he should address Lin Qing.

As he thought, Lin Qing said, "We're his friends."

"Friends? That's great! You have no idea—Amber's injured, but he works himself to the bone day and night. I'm always afraid he'll die on the job."

The foreman walked off.

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

"What are you apologizing for?"

"I don't know, but there are ranks of superiority and inferiority."

Lin Qing shook his head slightly.

"Forget that nonsense about superiority and inferiority. If you want to follow me, don't use that phrase."

Setting aside the difference in strength between them, Amber was willing to eat corn and haul heavy loads, working himself to the bone for a group of people who weren't even related to him.

A real man who was willing to shoulder responsibility was worth having as a friend.

Lin Qing patted the stunned Amber and walked out of the brewery.

Amber sniffed hard and watched Lin Qing's retreating figure. A fire seemed to kindle in his heart, and he was willing to follow Lin Qing and repay him with his life. He wiped away his tears and hurried after him.

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

Lin Qing walked over and, ignoring the horrified looks of the people nearby, reached out to tear it down.

"I wouldn't tear that down if I were you."

A deep, rough voice came from behind him.

Lin Qing turned around.

A middle-aged man stood a few steps away, smiling. He had long, unruly white hair, red markings that ran from the corners of his eyes down to his chin, a Forehead Protector engraved with the character "Oil," and a red vest.

"Who are you?" Lin Qing asked.

"I have many names, but people who know me well usually call me..."

"The Toad Sage."