A Man's Romance

Stepping out of the cave, Yuehua Ai couldn't help but squint slightly as the light suddenly brightened.

He did not put on any rain gear, letting the rain beat down on his face and body. Before long, the puddles beneath Yuehua Ai's feet began to turn a faint, hazy red.

Rubbing his hands together to ensure no blood remained, Yuehua Ai wiped the rainwater from his face and took a moment to smooth down his hair. Ever since his rebirth, he had never been fond of standing in the rain, yet today, bathed in the downpour, he felt a rare sense of peace.

The traces that had splattered onto him earlier had been washed away. In truth, after killing, Yuehua Ai's heart was not as calm as his expression suggested.

Rain had a way of making one feel quiet. Standing still in the downpour, he felt as though the vast curtain of rain could cleanse his soul. The reason he had loved rainy days in his past life was precisely because the raindrops could wash away the negative emotions buried deep within him.

Yuehua Ai's heart was far from as ruthless as he appeared; his decisive slaughter of the bandits was driven more by inner fury.

Fueled by the hot blood rushing to his head, he had completed his killing, but in the aftermath, he felt only an endless void. When Nagato had tried to dissuade him earlier, one thing he said rang true: killing was not a fun thing to do.

Today was the first time in both his lives that Yuehua Ai had taken another person's life. Even though the man truly deserved to die, he could not help but feel a lingering sense of depression after the deed was done.

For the sake of research, back when he was Lu Beichen, he had performed countless autopsies. He had studied not only humans but many other animals as well.

Whether in his past life or this one, looking across the world, there were few, if any, who possessed a more meticulous understanding of human and biological anatomy than Yuehua Ai.

To earn extra money while scavenging for materials, Yuehua Ai had often taken on autopsy work; the experiences of his past life had granted him an incredibly rich foundation of knowledge.

But today was different from the past. His former experience held little weight in this moment.

Accustomed to death as he was, he had always remained calm and composed when facing all sorts of corpses. Yet, when it came to taking a life with his own hands, the psychological impact was entirely different.

According to his initial plan, Yuehua Ai had wanted to execute all the bandits by cutting them in half at the waist. He felt that only by letting those subhuman beasts suffer before they died could he do justice to the women who had perished.

But when it came time to act, he realized he truly couldn't do it. He was, after all, neither an executioner nor a sadist. His emotions prevented him from torturing them while staring into their pleading, desperate eyes, even if it were a matter of judgment and punishment.

"I suppose I'm still too soft-hearted," Yuehua Ai sighed helplessly.

"Soft-hearted!?"

Footsteps sounded from behind, and three slightly exhausted figures emerged from the darkness. As soon as Yuehua Ai turned his head, he met Yahiko's Byakugan.

"Is it settled?" Although it was a question, Yuehua Ai knew it was redundant.

"Yeah." Yahiko nodded. He was holding two katana in his hands, and he tossed one of them toward Yuehua Ai.

Yuehua Ai reached out and caught the hilt. This katana was slightly longer than the one Yahiko used; the blade itself was about a meter long, nearly as tall as he was.

This was the blade that had belonged to the bandit leader, Tōkichi. It seemed that the wretch had died at Yahiko's hands.

"You've always wanted a bladed weapon, haven't you? I happened to find this one and thought it was of decent quality, so I brought it for you."

Back when Jiraiya was teaching him swordsmanship, Yahiko had seen the longing in Yuehua Ai's eyes and knew he was very interested in the art. Although Ai had likely seen this blade when they took it from the bandits, it didn't stop Yahiko from using it as a gift.

There were still some bloodstains on the blade, but Yuehua Ai didn't mind. He swung it casually, the edge slicing through the rain and carving out a crescent-shaped mist of water.

The blood remaining on the katana was washed away by the rain, and the narrow, long blade shimmered with a cold, chilling light.

"Not bad."

Yuehua Ai spat out the two words succinctly. He couldn't be bothered to say more; given their friendship, there was no need for words of gratitude.

Yuehua Ai was quite fond of weapons like swords. After all, possessing the soul of a Chinese man, how could he not have a dream of being a wandering hero?

It was a pity that while he had yearned for it in his past life, he never had the energy, and in this life, he had been too busy cultivating ninjutsu to even begin.

Weapons were a man's romance; no one could dislike a fine blade.

Yuehua Ai flicked his finger, infused with chakra, against the blade. Hummm— The sword let out a light chime, and the water droplets were shattered into white mist by the vibrating steel. The mist clung to the blade, as if hiding it within a cloud.

Although his favorite weapon was the Tang dao, such a thing did not exist in this world. The katana he had just acquired was similar in style to a Tang dao, and its quality, as demonstrated just now, exceeded his expectations. Yuehua Ai was quite satisfied with this blade.

Yuehua Ai, secretly pleased, did not know that this nameless katana had a bit of history.

Though Tōkichi had been reduced to a bandit, the history of the Tōkichi family was well-documented in the Land of Rivers. The family had been samurai for generations; his grandfather and father were once renowned warriors in the country.

Tōkichi's grandfather had served as a personal bodyguard to the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers, and this katana had been commissioned from a master swordsmith in the Land of Iron during his tenure. While it couldn't compare to legendary blades, it was far superior to standard-issue weapons. Thus, even after decades of battles, the edge remained undamaged.

Possessing such quality, it naturally held value as an heirloom. After his grandfather retired, he passed the blade to Tōkichi's father.

Later, as war engulfed the ninja world and the Land of Rivers was caught in the crossfire, Tōkichi's father and grandfather died in the conflict. The family fortune declined, and in the end, all Tōkichi inherited was this weapon, which still carried a hint of historical significance.

Now, this katana, which had carried the history of a family, had fallen into Yuehua Ai's hands. This meant that everything it once stood for would be erased; from here on out, it would have a new beginning.

When he first clashed with Tōkichi, Yuehua Ai hadn't paid much attention to the katana. The blade was superior to Yahiko's in every way. The reason Yahiko gave it to him was likely because he had noticed its value.

Stealing a glance at Yahiko's own katana, Yuehua Ai keenly noticed several chips in the blade. He understood immediately how the other had noticed the quality of this one.

"Being young still has its advantages. I suppose you have a conscience after all, Yahiko!" Yuehua Ai felt a touch of gratitude for Yahiko's generosity and attentiveness.

"I'll call you Cangyun. Cangyun Dao, Cangyun Blade... yes, that sounds good!" Looking at the ancient, long blade shrouded in mist, Yuehua Ai silently gave it a name.

Since his gratitude was reserved for Yahiko, his concern naturally turned to Konan.

"By the way, Konan, are you alright?"

"I'm fine now..."

At these words, Konan shook her head. Her face remained as pale as paper, and she clearly did not look well.

"Ai, if you had told us about the scene in there earlier, we wouldn't have ended up like this!" Yahiko grumbled with a pout.

"Ai didn't do it on purpose. His perception is much more detailed than what we saw. He could handle it himself, so how could he have guessed we would react this way? It's just that we were too weak!"

Hearing Yahiko's complaint, before Yuehua Ai could even react, Konan spoke up to defend him.

Konan's defense made Yuehua Ai awkwardly rub his nose; truth be told, he really had done it on purpose...

Yahiko felt a wave of helplessness at Konan's defense of Yuehua Ai. After all, who else could he be but the youngest among their own?

The youths had reached the age of budding romance. Seeing the look on Konan's face, Yahiko felt a pang of heartache. In truth, it wasn't just him; Nagato also harbored feelings for Konan. They were all aware of this, yet they never spoke of it—and, of course, there was no need for words.

"Let's leave this place first!"

Nagato truly did not want to linger in this area any longer.

Yahiko and Konan nodded, sharing the same sentiment. They had been traumatized by the scene in the thicket earlier, and then, fueled by rage, they had slaughtered the bandits. Now, they all felt their spirits had reached a breaking point.

Although they were far from the cave entrance and that nightmarish place, and the group of bandits they had killed lay deep within the cavern, they still felt as if the faint stench of rot and blood was constantly drilling into their nostrils just by standing there.

Their minds were still reeling; images of corpses crawling with maggots and bandits collapsing in supplication flashed incessantly through their thoughts.

Fear, anger, and regret leaked uncontrollably from the expressions of the youths.

They only wanted to flee this place now. Everything that had happened here today had brought their minds to the brink of collapse. Every second spent here was a form of torture for them!

Leave, get far away from this hell!

Four figures darted rapidly through the mountain forest. Watching the three of them flee as if escaping, Yuehua Ai couldn't help but feel a secret pang of regret. Although this was a cruel world, they were, after all, still just children. This shock had indeed been a bit excessive; while it might force them to mature rapidly, they were currently under Jiraiya's care and generally wouldn't encounter any danger.

Perhaps a gradual approach was the best way to foster their growth.

Just as Yuehua Ai was caught in his own wavering thoughts, a young man with white hair styled in a kabuki-like fashion appeared on the mountain path. The road he was traveling led directly to the cave where the bandits had been stationed!