Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 129 Sandstorm

This guy is a huge problem.

“But he wants to kill you, with wolves.” The strange man seemed not to understand Boss Xu’s thought process.

"Then why don't you just block the wolf? It's not like you can't do it!"

"The wolves are driven by him; he wants to kill you."

Old Xu was practically going crazy. "Does it matter? Who is he? And who are we? He doesn't need a reason to kill us! At least with a pack of wolves chasing us, we still have a chance to survive. He'll stop when he's had his fun!"

"Everyone only has one life! Your lives are no different from theirs!" The strange man finally erupted in fury, but the reason for his anger was completely unexpected.

The strange man grabbed Boss Xu's shoulder and turned his face toward his underlings. He saw one face after another, faces that usually looked at him with either admiration or trust, but now they were filled with fear and disbelief.

Yes, he always knew why the wolves on the border existed, but the moment he learned the truth, he decided to take that secret to his grave. Even if he knew, what could he do? The nobles were simply not a force that commoners could contend with; they could do nothing but endure.

"Do you think it doesn't matter if they get killed by wolves?"

The strange voice lingered in his ears. It was the voice of a demon; he shouldn't listen to it, he shouldn't think about it.

Do you think their lives are less valuable than the thing lying there?

How can the descendants of noble families from great nations be compared to commoners from the desert? In the eyes of the world, they are nothing more than a grain of sand! But... but...

"They are all human beings, with facial features and limbs, capable of crying, laughing, bleeding, and dying. I only saw a wicked soul trying to kill its own kind, while a group of strong souls were fighting with all their might to survive, and still remembered to lend a helping hand to strangers passing by."

...But even ants want to survive, and they want to lead their brothers home safely!

"That's a damned beast!" Old Xu's vision blurred, and the mottled bloodstains before his eyes seemed to resemble that long and desperate night. He listened to the beast tearing and swallowing his friend's flesh and blood, and then the child, who was only as tall as an adult's waist, came and excitedly ordered the servants to open the carefully protected goods, then disdainfully threw the things away, and whistled to order the wolf pack to find the next prey.

The nobles looked down on the treasures they saw and didn't care about the life or death of their prey; they were simply enjoying the hunt itself. Xu Laoda's caravan, unfortunately, was the unfortunate target. He was lucky enough to survive, but he could only swallow his bitter pill and didn't even dare to collect the remains of his fellow countrymen.

This is what "ordinary people" in small countries are like.

The stinging sensation of the viscous liquid splashing into his eyes finally brought him to his senses. He saw a face distorted beyond recognition, filled with terror, tears, snot, and blood mingling together, so wretched that not a trace of its former arrogance remained. He stopped, bewildered, and looked up to meet a pair of golden eyes.

What kind of eyes were those?

It was calm and gentle, even with a hint of relief and kindness, much like a mother gazing at her child returning from a long journey for the first time. Yet it was clearly watching an act of violence, watching a commoner meet a nobleman's face with his fist.

"Are you feeling better?" he heard the voice say. "If you're still not feeling well, give him a few more punches. Just leave him breathing. He won't die as long as I'm here."

The nobleman fainted upon hearing this, and Xu Laoda swayed as he climbed off the nobleman and then suddenly knelt down again. But this time, the person he was kneeling to stepped aside and knelt down to support him.

"What are you doing? That's scary! Get up right now!"

"We want to live." Xu Laoda said this without thinking; he instinctively felt that the chance for them to survive was right in front of him.

"You haven't done anything wrong, of course you can live. Get up!" The strange man seemed to have changed a bit; the wrinkles around his eyes had faded, and the creases on his forehead had smoothed out, transforming him from a middle-aged man into a young man. He was smiling helplessly, trying to make himself appear more believable and approachable.

"I swear no one will bother you, or else let the evil spirits in the moon eat me. Please believe me."

"Thank you..." Old Xu suddenly remembered the name they had exchanged long ago; this strange man truly lived up to his name...

"Thank you, Lord Jinlun."

Like the sun, it is both warm and dangerous.

[Izuna-kun, how many nephews does the Daimyo of the Land of Earth have?]

"Why are you asking this in the middle of the night? I need to find some information first..."

I accidentally punched one, but considering what he'd done, I think one beating wasn't enough.

"Found them, there are seven. Which one did you beat up?"

[Lord of Bok-soo.]

"Oh, that guy, the one thrown to the border and out of favor, he's definitely trash. Planning to get rid of him?"

I'm thinking about it.

'Alright, he likes to go to the Gobi Desert. He's been going out hunting in a big way these past few days. Remember to bury it cleanly, and it'd be best to create some spectacle as cover.'"

"Is everything alright with the Daimyo?"

"I already said he's out of favor; his death is a good opportunity for them to reclaim their territory. That guy is petty, vindictive, and ruthless. Lord Golden Wheel, stop dawdling."

"Understood, thank you, Izuna-nii."

Jinlun didn't stop Xu Laoda and his men from finding the immobilized servants. They stole weapons and water from them, released all the horses and camels, and abandoned the half-dead nobles, leaving them to their fate. Their blood-stained clothes were burned, and the abundant water helped them wash away the stench from their heads and hands. Only after they were cleaned up did the caravan set off again, leaving this sorrowful place behind.

"Lord Jinlun, can they make it out of the Gobi Desert?" Old Xu asked anxiously. He knew that if that person made it out of the Gobi Desert alive, none of them would escape death, but the feeling of so many lives on his shoulders was really unbearable.

"Who knows? The weather in the desert is unpredictable; there might be a sandstorm." Jinlun didn't even glance back, remaining calm as if he wasn't the one who had slaughtered so many people that day.

This statement proved prophetic. A sandstorm swept through the area that afternoon. Although it came and went quickly, they managed to avoid being swept away by the sandstorm because they had entered the valley. Whether the people on the Gobi Desert could survive was unknown.

Old Xu pulled out his precious tobacco and smoked it all the way he'd come from during the sandstorm. He needed the smell of smoke to calm his chaotic mind and glean some incredible truth from the smallest clues. The sandstorm stopped, and he extinguished his cigarette, walking over to the person in the corner.

"Thanks you."

Jinlun opened his eyes slowly, seemingly a little tired, but still responded with a smile.

This is their unspoken little secret.