Chapter 136: Warrior

“This honorable warrior, my name is Wu Lang, and I am very grateful to you for rescuing my younger sister, Mitsuko!”

After a moment of astonishment and some explanations, Mitsuko’s older brother, together with two other young men, pressed their fists to the ground and knelt in deep gratitude, burying their foreheads into the dirt.

He, who was obviously more experienced than Mitsuko, understood how fearsome such warriors could be.

He was also amazed at the luxuriousness of Wu Ming’s warrior attire, and especially at the blank space where no family crest was supposed to be: “Could he be a ronin, a wandering samurai? But with strength equaling dozens of ordinary men, any lord or daimyo would surely be delighted to have him.”

“Alright, you deal with this bear and bring it to the village. I need to rest now!”

Wu Ming said bluntly.

It was only natural for superiors to give orders to inferiors, and indeed, Wu Lang and the others immediately obeyed.

The three of them lifted the bear, while Mitsuko led the way.

As they entered the village, they inevitably drew a crowd.

“It’s the Wind Demon Hall!”

“The Wind Demon Hall has been defeated!”

Groups of tenant farmers and children gathered from afar but dared not approach, their eyes filled with awe.

“That man must be a powerful warrior. Just look at how he beheaded it in one strike…”

Someone said in reverence.

“Perhaps he’s a wandering swordsman! To sever its head with one slash not only requires immense strength but also an excellent sword!”

This person, who had some knowledge, fixed his gaze on Wu Ming’s waist: “Perhaps it’s a famous blade!”

Listening to these discussions, the hunters who carried the bear were visibly excited and proud. Wu Lang, however, looked at Wu Ming’s back and clenched his fists tightly, having made a firm decision.

“…A famous sword?”

Although the people deliberately lowered their voices, it did nothing to hide their words from Wu Ming.

He found it somewhat amusing to realize that, due to the villagers’ exaggerations, his reputation was growing more inflated.

Even the average-quality katana at his waist was beginning to be described as a legendary, famous blade.

“Hmm…perhaps you can even earn a name like ‘Wind Demon Slayer’ or ‘Black Bear Severer’ and truly become a renowned sword!”

Upon entering the village, he saw paddy fields and simple bamboo and wooden fences around the settlement, immediately understanding that this place was not very peaceful.

Or rather, the entire country was not very peaceful, so self-defense was necessary.

“Wu Lang, take me to your home. I’ll have a meal there!”

Wu Ming said casually, but Mitsuko and Wu Lang were greatly startled: “But…we have no experience serving great lords…”

“There’s no need. Just do as I say. Besides, you still need to help me deal with this black bear!”

Wu Ming insisted with a wave of his hand.

Actually, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to visit someone of higher status, but he felt a bit uneasy. It would be better to visit this family first and gather some information.

When they arrived at Mitsuko’s home, they found a middle-aged couple who looked nervous and uneasy, along with several timid children already kneeling at the entrance: “Greetings, my lord!”

“Alright, rise. I’ll be relying on you today. Also, peel the bear’s hide for me!”

Wu Ming pretended to reach into his robe but actually took out a small piece of gold from his Tian Gong Ring: “This is for you!”

“Thank you, my lord!”

They kowtowed respectfully again, thinking this young warrior was indeed unique.

…

“My lord…please enjoy your meal!”

Mitsuko knelt before Wu Ming and placed a wooden tray in front of him. On it were two snow-white rice balls, a dish of pickled plums, and a bowl of miso soup.

Looking at the plate with only two pickled plums, decorated with green leaves, Wu Ming felt somewhat speechless.

Of course, he knew the family had done their utmost, and even on New Year’s Day, they probably couldn’t usually afford such a feast.

Earlier, when he passed by the kitchen, he saw the family’s children eating something dark and unappetizing, a mixture of wild vegetables and bran, making it hard for him to swallow.

This feeling was even stronger when he saw the bright, longing eyes at the doorway.

“Mitsuko, leave the miso soup and take the rest to your younger siblings!”

“And tell Wu Lang to leave the bear paws and roast them for me!”

Wu Ming waved his hand.

Gulp!

Mitsuko clearly made a gulping sound and hesitated: “My lord…”

“Go!”

Wu Ming waved again, somewhat disgruntled. Soon, he heard Mitsuko go out and be surrounded by joyful laughter. Faintly, he could hear: “Such snow-white rice balls! If you don’t eat them carefully and drop a single grain, it’s a sin against heaven!”

After a while, the head of the household came in, nervously rubbing the hem of his clothes: “Apologies! I’m truly sorry for serving you such humble food!”

“There’s no need. I have some questions for you!”

Wu Ming, not caring about the misunderstanding, directly asked and skillfully inquired about various things.

“My lord…please enjoy your meal!”

After waiting for quite a while, Wu Lang finally brought in the roasted bear paws, his face red with embarrassment.

“Mmm…indeed, a delicious taste!”

Bear paws were the essence of the bear, thick with fat and the most delicious part. Although the seasonings were limited, Wu Ming endured and gave a compliment.

At this point, he had more or less figured it out. The people of Izumo Province indeed maintained peculiar customs, just as in his past life.

Firstly, they believed that the meat of any livestock running on the ground was unclean and that eating it would cause one to be reborn as an animal in the next life.

Therefore, mutton, chicken, and duck were all forbidden. The only acceptable meat was fish.

The higher the nobility, the stricter these dietary rules became. Some even reached the point of abstaining from fish as well, eating only plain white rice.

In their view, only rice was truly fit for the upper class.

As for meat? Except for fish, it was considered food for the lower classes, a truly heartbreaking habit.

Of course, the result of this was that the ruling aristocracy inevitably weakened, and power gradually shifted to the warrior class, the lower-ranking samurai.

At that time, each warrior was skilled in archery and horsemanship, expert in the art of killing, and a first-rate war machine, an elite soldier.

Moreover, as nobles, they had privileges. Commoners had to bow when they saw them and could even be killed on some trivial pretext, such as testing a new sword.

In this village, there was a samurai with a stipend of two hundred koku (approximately 200 acres of rice fields annually), making him a powerful local figure.

In Izumo Province, the people were generally divided into three classes: the “kuni” (local lords with some power and military strength), peasant farmers, and the “yajin” (wild people who rejected authority, living in the mountains and often becoming bandits, sometimes even daring to hunt samurai.

“A two-hundred-acre landlord is considered a powerful local figure…”

Wu Ming was quite speechless: “By that standard, the Wu family’s two thousand acres would make them a powerful local clan, and with their fortified manor, they might even qualify as a minor daimyo?”

This hierarchy reminded him of the feudal knights of the West.

Of course, the estates of ordinary low-ranking samurai were only a few hundred acres, far smaller than those of Western knights, but roughly equivalent to a squire.

Mid-level samurai were more or less on par with Western knights.

“Alright, Wu Lang, your cooking is excellent! Give me the bear hide, and the rest of the meat is yours!”

Of course, at this time, Wu Ming was merely playing the role of a wandering samurai. Eating meat wasn’t a big deal, although it did surprise people, it was still within the bounds of acceptance.

“Thank you, my lord!”

Even for hunters, catching such a beast was extremely difficult.

After all, there were hundreds of pounds of meat! Not only Wu Lang but even his father immediately expressed their gratitude with joy.

“By the way…I want to sell this bear hide. Where is the nearest city or commercial town?”

Wu Ming asked casually.

“The nearest city? That would be Numata Castle of the Yamada family…Sometimes Wu Lang sells the furs to merchants.”

The head of the household replied.

From the previous conversation, Wu Ming knew that the Yamada family was the major landlord ruling this area. Perhaps they could even be considered a local daimyo?

“Wu Lang, in your opinion, how much is this bear hide worth?”

“My lord, I think it’s worth at least twenty strings of coins!”

There were also copper coins here, with one string being one thousand coins, equivalent to one tael of gold.

Of course, because Japan had more gold and less silver, gold was usually used for large transactions.

“Very well, I’d like to ask Wu Lang to accompany me to Numata Castle. Is that possible?”

Wu Ming said. With the gold and silver reserves in his Tian Gong Ring, he originally didn’t need to sell the fur.

But this wasn’t about making money; it was about spreading his reputation. After all, there were countless wandering ronin and swordsmen, and he wouldn’t immediately draw attention.

“Well, the priority now is to give myself a surname…”

Wu Ming thought with some frustration.

Whether he was a masterless ronin or a wandering swordsman, it didn’t matter, but he couldn’t be without a surname, or he would be considered a commoner.

Moreover, the name had to be localized. Otherwise, once his reputation spread, enemy reincarnators would surely find out, which would be a very basic mistake.

“Oh…this is really a bit troublesome…”

Since he was a noble and part of the privileged class, there would certainly be genealogical records to check. Fabricating something wouldn’t work.

Wu Ming was a bit troubled: “Should I pretend to be a foreign warrior? That also carries risks… Or perhaps I should just pose as a practitioner of the arcane arts? In this world full of demons and ghosts, a mage’s status should be very high, right?”

He was rapidly thinking, but on the surface, Wu Ming remained calm and composed, exuding the demeanor of a noble warrior, which secretly made Wu Lang envious and melancholy.