Chapter 240: Lingering Disease, Misfortune Around The Corner
The Land of Rain was located in a basin with the plateau area of the Land of Earth on the northwest and the mountain chain of the Land of Wind on the southwest. The warm and humid air blowing towards the Ninja World’s northern side and southern side from the oceans was trapped here after reaching the Land of Rain.
The cold wind from the northwest direction blew in through the gap between the plateau and the mountain chain to meet the warm and humid air in the Land of Rain. This was also the reason for the heavy rain all year round in the Land of Rain.
In the evening, the sky was densely covered with thick clouds and lightning flashed through the sky like a poisonous snake sticking out its tongue frequently. In a small border village between the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind, because of the war, the villagers who lived there had moved to other places temporarily.
Under the dark sky, there was just one house that had its lamps on. A warm yellow bedside lamp illuminated the small bedroom. Outside the window, the rain was falling in the quiet night. A pale-looking little boy with silver hair was snuggled up in a woman’s arms staring at a cartoon book in her hands.
He couldn’t understand most of the words in the book so he could only look at the illustrations and imagine the scenes from the woman’s words. “A little duckling swam and swam, and finally arrived at the shore and found the mother duck.” After the woman finished the sentence, she hugged the little boy a bit tighter.
Cough, cough… the little boy showed a pained look and coughed heavily. The woman put down the book in a panic and patted his back. She asked with distress, “Does it start to hurt again? Your dad will return soon and we’ll have the medicine.”
The little boy nodded with a pale face and looked up at the woman. He innocently asked, “Mama, am I going to die?” The woman shook her head and with a forced smile, she caressed the boy’s back. She replied, “No, as long as you rest well, you’ll get better soon.”
The little boy’s eyes were filled with mist. He looked into his mother’s eyes earnestly and in a crying tone, he said, “After I die, you’ve to give birth to someone as obedient as me and accompany you for me.”
The woman felt like something was stuck in her throat. She hugged the little boy in her arms tightly. Tears slowly flowed down her cheeks and she continued to force her smile to comfort him. “Don’t think nonsense, you’ll be… fine soon…”
Cough, cough… Hearing the little boy in her arms coughing weakly, the woman felt heart-wrenching pain. The boy had contracted a rare disease. The old doctor in the village was helpless. He couldn’t even find the cause. In the beginning, the family condition was not good, so they thought that the disease would heal on its own if they nurtured him slowly.
But when the little boy was just three years old, his condition deteriorated rapidly. He couldn’t walk normally. He couldn’t remain in the wind or bask in the sun. At this time, the Third Great Ninja War began and all the villagers left.
This boy’s parents chose to stay behind to accompany their child during his last days. After some time, the sounds of heavy footsteps came from outside the house.
Squeak… “Dad has returned with the medicine, you’ll be better soon.” When the woman heard the sound of the door opening, her eyes were filled with hope. She quickly got up and went to see her husband.
However, when the woman arrived in the living room, she saw that he was soaked in rain. He stood at the door with empty hands, his eyes red, and his face haggard. Moreover, he had his head lowered as if he was afraid to look at his wife.
The hope in the woman’s eyes faded, and she asked, “Have the people from other villages also left?”
The man didn’t answer. He squatted slowly and put one hand on his knee and the other on his forehead. He nodded silently. The woman pursed her lips and took a deep breath. She said while choking with sobs, “It doesn’t matter since you can’t buy it, let’s go see our child.”
The man silently sighed and stood up taking support of the shoe cabinet. He dragged his tired body to the bedroom door. He raised his head and took a deep breath. Patting his cheeks lightly, he brushed his messy hair and forced himself to cheer up. He walked in with a smile on his face.
The little boy was staring at the bedroom door. When he saw his father walking in with a relaxed expression, he spread his hands and called out, “Dad.” The man walked over to the bed and wiped his right hand on his trouser. He gently rubbed the little boy’s silver hair. The boy’s eyes narrowed and a cheerful smile appeared on his face.
The woman leaned against the bedroom door and watching them, she felt a little sour in her heart. She wiped the tears that were about to overflow and softly said, “It has been a tiring day, I’ll go to cook.”
Hearing his wife’s words, the man withdrew his hand and turned around. He walked over to his wife and took her hand. Looking at her stomach, he said, “I’ll go. You’ve to take care of your health.”
The woman lowered her head slightly and nodded. The man turned back and gave the little boy a deep look. He silently walked to the kitchen and started to prepare dinner.
Soon, chopping sounds came from the kitchen.
Whoosh, whoosh… The wind was blowing, and like someone was pushing the window hard, there were continuous rattling sounds. The rain curtain shook in the wind and was getting heavier. Soon, it turned into a downpour.
The hazy mist seemed to be blown away by the wind and the world outside the window became dusky and distinct. The man put down the kitchen knife and walked over to the kitchen window. He stretched out his hands to close it.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he saw an abnormal flame lighting up the distant mountain forest. “F***, that’s a ninja’s ninjutsu.” He quickly shut the window and turned off all the lights in the room. The woman came out of the little boy’s room and asked with a puzzled face, “What’s wrong?”
The man solemnly replied, “Hide quickly, I saw ninjas fighting in the distance.” The two quickly moved together. The man was responsible for closing the doors and windows and drawing the curtains, and the woman was responsible for wrapping the little boy with a quilt and putting him in the small closet.
“No matter what happens later, you can’t make a sound. Do you understand?” Although the little boy didn’t understand what was going on, he nodded sensibly. It was pitch-black in the closet and he felt a little scared.
Fortunately, there was still a gap left in the closet door and he could see the bedroom through the gap. He saw his mother leaving the room in a hurry and closing the door.
After the door was closed, the entire room fell into dead silence. Time passed bit by bit. The little boy gradually felt drowsy and slowly fell asleep.
Bang! A loud noise on the door woke up the sleeping little boy with a start. But he remembered his mother’s instructions that he couldn’t go out no matter what. He shrunk into the quilt and stared at the gap in the closet door.
He heard sounds and unfamiliar conversations outside the door. “What kind of weather is this? It rains at every turn. If it’s not heavy rain, it’s light rain. I’m already getting moldy.”
“This place is still better. Since it’s close to the Land of Wind, we can see a few sunny days.”
“Let’s find something to eat, I’m going to vomit from eating just ration pills.”
“Captain, there seems to be someone here. Look at the cutting board in the kitchen, there are still vegetables that have just been cut.”
“Tosa, check the surroundings with your perception ninjutsu. Find them and ask for information.”
“Alright, captain.”
“Ninja-sama, sorry sorry, I was sleeping and didn’t notice your arrival.”
The little boy heard his father’s familiar voice.
