Mirror Dream Tree 4. The Susa City

rin, holding the reins of his horse, enters Susa City and looks around. Two days have passed since he left ho, and this is the first city of his journey. The streets are alive with people, each busy with their own concerns—vendors shouting, children running, carts rolling by.

He glances around and thinks, "I should find an inn first."

Leading his horse through the bustling streets, he searches for a suitable place to rest. Several inns appear along the way, but none have stables. He passes them by. Eventually, he cos across a place called Traveller's Resting Place, a modest but clean inn with a stable beside it.

Satisfied, he ties his horse outside, steps in, and after a short exchange at the counter, pays one round coin for a two-day stay for him and his horse. A worker then guides him up the wooden stairs and down a quiet hall before opening the door to his room.

rin enters, sets his pack down, and finally exhales. The room is simple but clean. A bed, a small table, and a window that opens to the street below. Enough for now.

After cleaning himself, he leaves his room and walks out of the Inn. But before he starts roaming the city, he walks to the stable beside the Inn and checks his horse. Finding his horse being fed, he leaves the inn to check the city.

The main reason for his leaving his ho was to advance to the Great Samurai Realm. For that, he needed cultivation techniques that led to the Great Samurai Realm, but he did not even have cultivation techniques that led to the High Samurai Realm.

The technique he has, the Bear Body technique, can only be practised up to the Middle Samurai realm. As he walks around the city, he thinks he cannot buy High Level Samurai techniques even he has the money, but moreover he does not have money.

He already has an idea of how to get the techniques for higher realms. Samurai Cultivation Way is a physical cultivation path. So, practising any Samurai Cultivation technique their would be traces on the body.

So, he has to check the body of the High and Great Samurai and decipher the technique from their body. And create one for him. But why would High and Great Samurai would let him check their body.

The only way to check their body is when they are sick and he becos one of the best healer that can treat them. For that he has to gain fa and spread his na and capabilties far and wide. So, without going to them for treating they would ask for him.

And now, as rin stands in the city square, the air thick with chatter and footsteps, a loud voice rises above the noise. On the raised podium, a man in city official robes announces loudly, "The Mori Family head seeks a healer for his daughter! Anyone who can heal her will be rewarded with one Purple Star Coin!"

The crowd murmurs at the announcent. rin's eyes widen slightly. A Purple Star Coin?

In the Owani Kingdom, the currency system is: fifty Square Coins equal one round Coin, and one hundred round Coins equal a single Purple Star Coin. That kind of reward could fund a healer's clinic for months.

But rin's interest isn't in the money alone.

"This is it," he thinks, eyes steady on the podium. "A chance to make my na known in this city. If I can treat her, the Mori family's influence alone will spread word of my skill. And in a city like this, there must be high-level Samurai—so may seek my help once they hear of my success."

His hand tightens on the pouch at his side. He steps forward, ready to approach the official and offer his service, but stops himself.

"Why are they making such an announcent in the city square?" he wonders. "A family like the Moris should have better channels."

He turns to the man standing beside him and says politely, "Sir, can I ask you sothing?"

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The man glances at him. "What?"

"Why is the Mori family announcing the need for a healer like this?"

The man replies with a sigh, "Because they have no choice."

rin frowns slightly. "What do you an?"

"Their daughter's been unconscious for a week. Every healer in the city failed to treat her. So now they're calling out publicly—hoping a traveller might succeed."

rin nods. "Thank you."

He walks away and confirms the sa from other people nearby. Every answer is similar. It seems the Mori family truly is desperate. That eases his doubt. He decides he will check the girl, but first, he needs to ease his hunger.

He heads into a restaurant and finds an empty table near the window. A waiter soon approaches.

"What do you have?" rin asks.

The waiter recites a list of local dishes. rin listens, then orders three of them—each portion ant for three full-grown n.

The waiter raises an eyebrow, then bows slightly and walks off without a word. He's likely guessed from the order alone that rin is a Samurai. No ordinary man eats that much unless he's a Samurai.

Samurai don't draw strength from the world's energy. Their energy is drawn from food for their training.

rin doesn't know the reason behind this inefficient practice. Drawing energy from the world is faster than getting energy from food. During the process, more than half the energy is lost.

But there should be a reason, like Samurai didn't create techniques for absorbing the world's energy directly or is unable to absorb the world's energy. He can only find that when his soul is fully unsealed and his divine consciousness is unlock.

For now, he must rely on food to restore his energy. As he waits, he glances around the restaurant. At a table not far from his, a group of four people sit together, talking quietly.

A few monts later, the waiter returns and places rin's order before him. He wastes no ti and digs in, eating efficiently and cleanly. By the ti he finishes, the group of four also rises from their table, having finished their al.

After paying the fee, both rin and the group exit the restaurant—but as he steps outside, he finds his way blocked. The group ahead has stopped just outside the doorway, now caught in a heated argunt with another group waiting in the street.

rin halts silently and listens. Harsh words fly back and forth—taunts, threats, and insults—but no one draws a blade. He chooses not to get involved. It's his first day in the city, and waiting a few minutes costs him nothing.

Within monts, the rising tension breaks as a pair of city guards approach. Both groups spot the uniforms and scatter imdiately, disappearing into nearby alleys in opposite directions. No confrontation cos to blows.

rin steps into the street, casting a thoughtful glance after the fleeing groups. From the exchange, he gathers they belong to rival gangs—one calling themselves the Viper Gang, the other the Wolf Gang. The insults hurled revealed no clear reason for the quarrel, and rin doesn't care to know. Gangs are common in cities, especially in tis when the court's control weakens.

He adjusts the pouch at his side and resus his journey, now heading directly toward the Mori family estate.

rin knocks on the heavy wooden gate of the Mori family estate. A mont later, a small hatch opens, and a guard peers out.

"Yes?" the guard asks.

"I heard your announcent in the city square. I'm a healer. I wish to examine the patient."

The guard studies him briefly, then opens the gate. "Co in."

rin steps inside and finds himself in a surprisingly spacious courtyard. From the outside, the estate seed plain, but within, multiple houses are scattered throughout the compound, separated by small gardens and a gently flowing stream that winds through the grounds.

The guard leads him past a few smaller buildings toward the large central house. Just before reaching it, the guard takes a side path and approaches a smaller structure nestled beside the main residence. He steps ahead and knocks on the door.

A mont later, a female servant opens it. Her eyes first land on the guard, then shift to rin.

"Another healer?" she asks with a tired voice.

The guard nods.

"Co in," the servant says, and gestures for rin to follow. She leads him through the narrow halls into a quiet room where a girl lies in bed. Her skin is unnaturally pale, and her breath is shallow. She appears to be around rin's age—beautiful, but now hollowed by illness.

rin approaches and sits beside the bed, placing two fingers gently on her wrist. A minute passes in silence before he lets out a faint breath and frowns.

"She's not sick," he says, turning to the servant. "She's been poisoned."

The servant bows her head slightly. "We are aware. But… can you identify the poison?"

"Not yet," rin replies. "I'll need ti and so equipnt to analyse it properly."

The servant nods without hesitation. "Then please, sir, co et my master."

She leads him out of the small house and through a side door into the large house. The interior is richly furnished but carries a solemn air. After a few turns through quiet corridors, they enter a room where a man sits waiting. He's around the sa age as rin's father, with a stern face and tired eyes.

rin bows lightly and takes the seat offered to him, now facing the man who must be the head of the Mori family.