Kannabi Bridge and the Inner Landscape

"You filthy peasants, hand over all your grain..."

"The lords don't have a choice, either. Kannabi Bridge was blown up, and it has to be repaired. How are they supposed to do that without money or grain?"

"Once the bridge is fixed, we can trade with other villages again. Otherwise, we'll all go hungry and poor. So stop resisting and hand over your money and grain!"

"But this is the last food our family has. Please, have mercy. We'll starve to death without it!"

"You filthy peasants have no sense of the greater good! As people of the Land of Grass, you should be willing to sacrifice your own households for everyone else! Forget it. I'm tired of wasting words on you. Men, take it by force! Anyone who gets in the way is a traitor. Kill them without mercy!"

"No, ah..."

"Big brother, are you all right? Wake up, big brother..."

Barely conscious, Lu Zeming heard an uproar around him. He struggled to open his eyes and found chaos everywhere.

A group of fully armored samurai were seizing the villagers' grain.

Whenever anyone resisted, the samurai swung their blades. Weeping, screams, and pleas for mercy filled the air.

As a Chinese man through and through, Lu Zeming felt his blood boil at the sight. He tried to get up and fight.

The moment he moved, searing pain shot through his chest. Looking down, he saw a six-inch gash that was still bleeding.

His head felt heavy and muddled, too. When he touched his forehead, he found a large indentation, apparently left by a blunt weapon!

Most alarming of all, his once-sturdy, five-foot-ten body was now less than four feet tall. His arms and legs were so thin that a gust of wind might knock him over.

This is a mess. Let me think.

Japanese samurai, thatched houses, villagers in traditional Japanese clothing... And did someone just mention Kannabi Bridge and the Land of Grass?

Wait. Kannabi Bridge was blown up. Kakashi, Obito...

Holy crap, did I end up in the world of Naruto? Is this payback for watching adult videos late at night?

Lu Zeming's thoughts were in turmoil when the light suddenly dimmed. A young face with dark skin appeared above him.

Tears streaked that little face. "Big brother, don't die. Big brother..."

Every part of Lu Zeming hurt, and he had no desire to respond. But when he saw the snot bubble about to drop from the child's nose, he endured the pain and shifted his head aside.

"I'm fine. I won't die just yet!"

The child hurriedly wiped away tears and snot, then gripped Lu Zeming's arm as though afraid he might leave.

Lu Zeming looked around again. The samurai seemed interested only in food and valuables, not in killing everyone, so he stayed where he was.

He had no choice. His body could not take it. Otherwise, he would have taught those scum what the fist of justice felt like.

Soon the village had been stripped bare. Led by a man with a goatee, the samurai left with cattle in tow, chickens in their arms, and carts of grain behind them. The surviving villagers stared at the devastation, some bewildered, others numb.

Lu Zeming did not dare wait long. With the child's help, he drank some water, then found a needle and thread in the house and roughly stitched and bandaged his wound.

Feeling a little stronger, Lu Zeming surveyed the house. It was built entirely of wood, with a raised floor and sliding partitions: a typical Japanese home.

If not for the two bodies, it would have been a cozy little place.

The bodies belonged to the original owner's parents. His father had died outside the granary, and his mother in the bedroom.

Traditional Japanese customs at work. Lu Zeming was at a loss for words.

The dark-skinned child was the original owner's five-year-old sister, Rin. Peasants had no right to a surname.

Lu Zeming was not worried about his future. He had studied traditional Chinese medicine and was sure he could become a renowned doctor in the world of Naruto. He conveniently overlooked the fact that he had only reached his first year of university before crossing over.

The immediate problem was harder. This body had been weak to begin with and had lost a great deal of blood. Without medicine or food, he could easily die.

Lu Zeming wanted to gather herbs. The nearby hills were lush and densely wooded, so there should be plenty. But he did not even have the strength to stand. What could he do?

At that thought, Lu Zeming looked toward Rin.

Rin came over at once. "Big brother, are you feeling sick? Are you hungry? I'll dig up some bracken for you. Mom used to take me—"

Rin stopped abruptly, glanced toward the bedroom, and her eyes reddened again.

Lu Zeming did not know how to comfort her. He could only reach out and awkwardly pat her head.

Once Rin had calmed down a little, Lu Zeming said softly, "Sorry to trouble you, but could you gather some herbs for me?"

Rin looked at Lu Zeming with surprise and confusion.

Lu Zeming asked Rin to bring him charcoal and a wooden board, then drew several common medicinal plants on it.

After Rin went out on her little legs, Lu Zeming fell into a deep sleep.

By the time Lu Zeming woke again, the sky had darkened. He turned his head and saw that Rin was back and cooking bracken soup. The herbs she had gathered lay beside him.

The scratches Rin had gotten while gathering herbs moved Lu Zeming.

He steadied himself and examined the herbs. There were dandelions, notoginseng, and Sichuan lovage. Lu Zeming was delighted.

Sichuan lovage had to be sliced and dried in the shade before use, but the dandelions and notoginseng could be prepared simply and applied directly. They could help prevent infection, stop bleeding, disperse clotted blood, reduce swelling, and ease pain.

Following Lu Zeming's instructions, Rin soon brought over a bowl of sticky green paste. Lu Zeming endured the pain of applying it and, with Rin's help, ate a bowl of bracken soup before going back to sleep.

With so little food in his stomach, Lu Zeming woke in the middle of the night feeling painfully hungry and queasy. He glanced at Rin sleeping beside him, sighed, and decided to try lulling himself back to sleep.

When Lu Zeming had trouble sleeping before, he would listen to sleep broadcasts. A woman with an especially gentle voice would guide listeners' thoughts and help them become aware of their bodies.

Lu Zeming imagined that soft voice:

Take a deep breath. Breathe gently. That's it. Relax your shoulders and let them sink into the pillow;

Feel your toes... your calves... your back. Let your whole body relax. Slowly, slowly feel your awareness sink deeper, deeper...

Suddenly, Lu Zeming felt as though he had entered a strange, dreamlike state. His whole body seemed weightless.

Before him appeared a tiny figure the size of his palm. Its chest and head were visibly damaged, and faint motes of light drifted from the wounds.

Countless similar motes floated through the surrounding space, brighter than those leaving the figure, like fireflies in the night.

That figure is my body as it is now. So what are these motes?

Lu Zeming reached out to catch one and found that it miraculously merged into the tiny figure.

A faint, pleasant feeling followed, as though a deflated balloon were slowly filling up.

To Lu Zeming's delight, as he caught more and more motes, the damaged figure began to heal before his eyes.

Could it be natural energy...?

Lu Zeming had a vague suspicion, but wasn't natural energy something only those who practiced Sage Mode could use?

Lu Zeming had glimpsed the threshold but could go no further. For now, he could only call this state the Inner Landscape.