Heavy Rain Blocks the Road

"It feels cool and comfortable when applied to the skin, and it smells really good, too—a faint scent of jasmine." Shinozaki Ayumi played with the delicate little porcelain bottle, unable to put it down, looking quite delighted.

"Mm, as long as you like it. Apply it once every morning and evening, and we'll see if the scars fade in a few days." Xian Yu lazily turned over. With the jolting of the carriage, he had started to feel sleepy. The light outside was a bit harsh, so he buried his face in the girl's lap, the girl's natural scent drifting past his nose, making him feel incredibly at ease.

Feeling the pressure against her stomach through her clothes, Shinozaki Ayumi felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She carefully nudged the ninja tool pouch hanging at her waist to the side, terrified of bumping into her young master, and held her right arm across her chest to shield his face from the light with her sleeve.

The carriage continued to jolt, and the interior fell into a brief silence...

By noon, a torrential rain had begun to fall, though no one knew exactly when it started. Raindrops drummed against the carriage roof, a persistent and annoying patter.

"The road ahead is blocked!" someone suddenly shouted from the front of the caravan.

"Hm?" Xian Yu had been drifting in and out of sleep due to the sound of the rain, but the shouting snapped him wide awake.

"Xiao Yu, what's wrong?" The girl had likely been exhausted from the long journey, as she only startled awake once Xian Yu rose from her lap.

Xian Yu's expression turned grave. "Be careful. Someone shouted that the road is blocked ahead; it might be a barricade set up by bandits."

One had to remember that while the combat power of ninjas in the Naruto World was far beyond that of ordinary people, aside from someone like the Third Raikage, he had never seen anyone capable of taking on ten thousand enemies alone.

Ninjas were notoriously glass cannons with high attack but low defense; even if an ordinary person managed to sneak an attack on a vital point with a knife, if they failed to use defensive ninjutsu or dodge in time for any reason, they would die just the same. They were still flesh and blood.

"Understood." Shinozaki Ayumi's expression turned stern. Danzo's style of management didn't tolerate idlers, and as she was practically a disciple of Danzo, she was certainly no mere flower vase.

"Let's go out and take a look. This carriage is packed with rice, and it's stifling in such a small space," Xian Yu said, jumping out of the carriage.

The rain was heavy. The caravan was currently stopped in a valley with dense vegetation on both sides, the seventeen carriages lined up like a long dragon.

Xian Yu and the girl's carriage was at the very back, and due to the curtain of rain and the obstacles, they couldn't see the situation at the front of the caravan.

Xian Yu took a quick look; each carriage had a driver and two guards dressed in bamboo hats.

As soon as he stepped out, the heavy rain soaked Xian Yu instantly. However, his ninja uniform had a certain degree of water resistance; although it looked soaked on the outside, the water wouldn't seep through for a while.

"Excuse me, uncle, where have we arrived?" Xian Yu asked one of the guards, a middle-aged man with a square face who was standing nearby.

The square-faced guard glanced at him and the girl behind him, complaining, "We're in the Great Warm Valley of Kangsong Mountain. Damn it, this rain just had to start now. There's no village ahead or behind us, so we have no choice but to push through the rain."

"Tell me about it. Here, uncle, want a sip to warm yourself up?" Xian Yu fished a small wine flask from his pocket and handed it to the middle-aged man.

System: Host purchased high-quality rice wine (three-tael loose-packed wooden flask) x30, consuming 1 diamond. Current balance: 1439 diamonds.

Hearing the system prompt, Xian Yu figured that when out and about, one shouldn't skimp on necessary expenses.

Shinozaki Ayumi stood behind him, constantly scanning their surroundings.

The square-faced guard's eyes lit up. He carefully shielded the flask with his bamboo hat, pulled the stopper, and took a large gulp. "Refreshing! That's good wine, no worse than the Cloud Wine from Little Cloud Pavilion. Little brother, I'd wager this one sip alone is worth at least several dozen taels of silver. My name is Ya Midie, just call me Uncle Ya. Here, little brother, you want a sip to warm up too?"

"Sure thing. Uncle Ya, just call me Xiao Yu, and this is Xiaomei." Xian Yu took the flask and also took a large gulp. It was indeed good wine, mellow and sweet. Although he hadn't been a drunkard in his past life, he would drink occasionally. This high-quality rice wine wasn't exactly a rare vintage, but it was equivalent to the best farmhouse brew from his previous life.

Xian Yu appeared to be chatting and drinking with the guard, but in reality, he was using it as a cover to observe his surroundings. Finding no signs of an ambush, he asked, "Uncle Ya, what happened at the front of the caravan? We've been stopped for quite a while. Here, have another."

"It's all because of this rain. The valley entrance ahead is narrow, and there's been a landslide. The road is completely blocked; the carriages can't get through." Ya Midie found the boy increasingly likable and happily took the flask to drink again.

"Turn around! Turn around! Head to Yangxi Village! We'll spend the night at Yangxi Village tonight."

At that moment, shouts came from the front of the caravan, passing back from section to section. Before long, everyone knew they were diverting to Yangxi Village for the night.

"Yangxi Village is the closest village to here, with about twenty households. Xiao Yu, Xiaomei, you two get back in the carriage. It's raining so hard out here, be careful not to catch a cold." Ya Midie was quite the talker; seeing the two children soaked to the bone, he urged them to go back.

"Don't worry, Uncle Ya. Don't let our age fool you, we're ninjas, so a little rain won't hurt us. It's stuffy in the carriage, so we'll just walk and chat with you; it's quite nice." Xian Yu smiled. He had only been lying in the carriage earlier because the journey was dull. Since they would be stopping at the village soon, it was better to gather more intelligence.

After all, gathering intelligence was a ninja's primary duty.

Shinozaki Ayumi followed behind Xian Yu, acting completely invisible. She didn't join the conversation, just followed silently. She wasn't good at chatting with strangers; it seemed that most of the subordinates trained by Danzo in the original story had issues with interpersonal communication—they were cold and distant. Only a few were lively.

"Then I'll go get you two some bamboo hats." Ya Midie ran to the front carriage, spoke a few words to the driver, and returned shortly with two sets of bamboo hats and rain capes.

"Thank you, Uncle Ya," Xian Yu said as he put on the rain cape and bamboo hat.

"Thank you, Uncle Ya," Shinozaki Ayumi said in a crisp voice, also putting on her gear.

Along the way, Xian Yu chatted with Ya Midie about everything under the sun, managing to glean quite a bit of useful information. It wasn't until they had walked for over an hour that they saw a hazy outline of a village in the distance.

As they drew closer to the village, both Xian Yu and Ayumi frowned and exchanged a glance.

There was the smell of blood!

"Stop! Everyone stop!" The order came from the front of the caravan, signaling everyone to halt.

"I'm going to the front to see what's happening," Xian Yu said, running forward, with Ayumi close behind.

"Sigh, these kids..." Ya Midie was a bit worried. After telling his fellow guard, he followed them.

The lead carriage of the caravan was blocked by several fierce-looking men, and over a dozen caravan guards were in a standoff with them.

When Xian Yu arrived, he saw that further ahead at the village entrance, over twenty fierce-looking men were slaughtering about thirty people dressed as villagers. Seven or eight bodies already lay on the ground. Judging by the situation, the smaller group was holding an absolute advantage, while the larger group was being driven back in defeat.

The caravan leader, a fat merchant named Hua Qi, saw Xian Yu and Ayumi and scolded them with a gloomy expression, "Why are you coming over here? Don't go meddling in other people's business! If you provoke these bandits from Black Wind Stronghold, I won't care if you live or die."