Blood Ties and Connections

Yuxiang's and Rofu's injuries were manageable. Traditional medicine had ways to set bones and stop bleeding. But Haruki's severed arm left Lu Zeming at a loss.

Reattaching an arm was a job for Western medicine. Traditional medicine had no good way to do it.

Seeing the pleading look in Yuxiang's eyes, Lu Zeming gave in. He might as well try, even if the odds were hopeless.

He thought his Wood Spiritual Root might help repair the arm.

He lined Haruki's severed arm up with the stump, pressed a hand to Haruki's shoulder, and slowly channeled Wood Spiritual Root-infused Spiritual Power into his body.

As the Spiritual Power flowed in, Lu Zeming could clearly sense the meridians and blood vessels inside Haruki's body.

The Spiritual Power traveled along them toward the stump, only to reach a dead end.

"I need to reconnect the severed blood vessels and meridians!"

Without realizing it, Lu Zeming began picturing their shapes, and the Spiritual Power changed shape with his thoughts.

Anyone looking closely would have seen countless tiny, green-glowing tendrils extending from the stump of Haruki's shoulder.

The tendrils swayed and felt their way forward. The moment they touched the severed arm, they burrowed in as though they had found their way home.

As more and more tendrils entered, the arm joined more firmly to his shoulder.

Flesh slowly began to grow across the break, spreading until it filled the entire gap.

Though still unconscious, Haruki's furrowed brow gradually relaxed.

By the time Haruki's arm was as good as new, Lu Zeming was drenched in sweat.

Yuxiang had watched the whole thing. Overjoyed, she bowed to Lu Zeming again and again in thanks.

Lu Zeming was about to offer a few modest words when Rofu cried out.

"Ah! What's going on? Why is my hair falling out?"

Lu Zeming scratched his head awkwardly. "Ahem. Losing your hair means you're getting stronger!"

Rofu actually believed him.

"Huh. Now that you mention it, I do feel a little stronger than before!"

Looking into Rofu's clear, guileless eyes, Lu Zeming couldn't help sighing.

If only all my future patients were like Rofu. Doctors and patients would get along beautifully!

As they chatted, Lu Zeming learned more about the three of them.

Yuxiang and Haruki belonged to the Mind-Listening Clan, but the clan had fallen on hard times.

People said the Mind-Listening Clan was cursed. Shunned wherever they went, its members had been forced to wander from place to place.

According to Yuxiang, the root of their troubles was that no one wanted someone else to know their innermost thoughts—every last one of them.

As the saying went, the sun and the human heart were the two things one could not look at directly.

Anyone would have that concern, but Lu Zeming doubted the explanation was that simple. Still, they had only just met, so he couldn't press her.

"If everyone's afraid you'll hear their thoughts, why is Rofu willing to spend time with you?"

Yuxiang didn't answer. She looked over at Rofu.

Rofu had already forgotten about his hair loss and was rummaging through his backpack for food, looking utterly carefree.

Lu Zeming realized his question had been unnecessary. Why would someone as simple and openhearted as Rofu be afraid of anyone hearing his thoughts?

"Can everyone in the Mind-Listening Clan hear thoughts?"

"Of course not. Only a tiny few can. Haruki can hear the thoughts of birds and animals because their minds are simple, but human thoughts are too tangled and chaotic for him to hear!"

"Oh, I see. Wait, I feel like I've forgotten something... Never mind. It's already dark. I'll deal with it tomorrow!"

Had Mui and Shinbu Kosuke, still waiting where he had left them, heard that, their hearts would have broken.

That night, Lu Zeming kept watch while the three injured people rested and recovered.

Yuxiang lay in her sleeping bag, pretending to sleep while peeking at Lu Zeming's profile through narrowed eyes.

The flickering firelight cast his face in and out of shadow, but it could not hide the brightness of his eyes.

They shone like stars, making Yuxiang's heart beat faster.

Ever since she and Haruki had set out, they had endured nothing but scorn and prejudice. Lu Zeming was the first person to make her feel truly respected.

Even after learning that she could hear people's thoughts, he had shown no desire to distance himself from her.

That moved her deeply. And he had done so much for her without asking for anything in return.

Yuxiang slept soundly that night, more soundly than she ever had before.

At the first hint of dawn, Lu Zeming heard Shinbu Kosuke's feeble-sounding shout.

"Lu Zeming, you bastard! Where the hell did you go? Did a dog eat you? Even if it did, you could've answered us! Bastard! You left the two of us waiting in the cold all night!"

In truth, Shinbu Kosuke had spotted Lu Zeming already. He was shouting to make sure a certain bastard heard him.

Lu Zeming kicked off a shoe, sending it straight into Shinbu Kosuke's face.

Shinbu Kosuke stopped cursing and threw the shoe even farther away.

"Damn it, you really are a dog!"

Lu Zeming laughed as he cursed and hopped off to retrieve his shoe.

Mui wanted to laugh, but after his mouth twitched for a while, he still couldn't manage it. Remembering his frozen expression, he ran ahead and kicked Lu Zeming's shoe even farther away!

Now Lu Zeming couldn't even see where it had landed!

So he simply kicked off his other shoe.

"Ah, when patients get violent, even the best doctor can't do a thing!"

After the joking died down, Lu Zeming introduced everyone. When Mui and Shinbu Kosuke heard that Yuxiang and Haruki were from the Mind-Listening Clan, they both took two steps back.

Haruki, who had regained consciousness, looked embarrassed. Yuxiang lowered her head in shame.

She felt she had embarrassed Lu Zeming.

Lu Zeming threw an arm around Yuxiang's shoulders and gave the other two a wicked grin.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you looking down on my friends?"

Mui and Shinbu Kosuke shook their heads at once.

"Then get over here."

Mui and Shinbu Kosuke came back over, though both looked as if they wanted to laugh at Lu Zeming.

Yuxiang was much taller than Lu Zeming. To get his arm around her shoulders, he had to stand on tiptoe, making him look comically endearing.

Yuxiang no longer dared look at anyone. Her face had turned as red as an apple.

Lu Zeming let go of her shoulders and asked the three of them, "Your injuries are mostly healed. What do you plan to do next?"

Yuxiang was silent for a long while before she answered firmly.

"We still want to try. Only if we become ninjas will the Mind-Listening Clan have any hope of recovering!"

Before Lu Zeming could speak, Shinbu Kosuke cut in. "Stop dreaming. Do you know how many people will be selected in the end? Twelve. Eleven spots have already been claimed by the various families. That leaves just one for ninjas without family backing like you. Who do you think you can beat? Forget everyone else—even Zeming could wipe the floor with all three of you."

The three of them went ashen.

Shinbu Kosuke wasn't finished. "Some things can't be achieved just by trying your hardest. Even if you somehow make it into that final twelve, I guarantee that the moment someone in charge learns you're from the Mind-Listening Clan, you won't be allowed to become a ninja."

Yuxiang sank to the ground, nearly in despair.

Lu Zeming sighed. He had known the rules of the Naruto World all along.

Take Konoha's Chunin Ninja Exams. Sakura was the only ninja there without family backing.

Rock Lee and Tenten? Come on. Just look at who Rock Lee's teacher was.

Tenten's family could afford to run a Ninja Tool Shop in Konoha, and she scattered weapons around in every fight as if they cost nothing. Who would believe she had no family backing?

And Sakura's fighting ability had only truly begun to develop after she became Tsunade's disciple.

This world ran on blood ties and connections. For an ordinary person, getting ahead was extraordinarily hard.