Merin, holding the reins of his horse, enters Susa City and looks around. Two days have passed since he left home, 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 comes 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.

Merin 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 home 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 becomes one of the best healer that can treat them. For that he has to gain fame and spread his name and capabilties far and wide. So, without going to them for treating they would ask for him.

And now, as Merin 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 announcement. Merin’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 Merin’s interest isn’t in the money alone.

“This is it,” he thinks, eyes steady on the podium. “A chance to make my name 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—some 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 announcement 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 something?”

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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.”

Merin frowns slightly. “What do you mean?”

“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.”

Merin nods. “Thank you.”

He walks away and confirms the same 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?” Merin asks.

The waiter recites a list of local dishes. Merin listens, then orders three of them—each portion meant for three full-grown men.

The waiter raises an eyebrow, then bows slightly and walks off without a word. He’s likely guessed from the order alone that Merin 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.

Merin 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 moments later, the waiter returns and places Merin’s order before him. He wastes no time and digs in, eating efficiently and cleanly. By the time he finishes, the group of four also rises from their table, having finished their meal.

After paying the fee, both Merin 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 argument with another group waiting in the street.

Merin 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 moments, the rising tension breaks as a pair of city guards approach. Both groups spot the uniforms and scatter immediately, disappearing into nearby alleys in opposite directions. No confrontation comes to blows.

Merin 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 Merin doesn’t care to know. Gangs are common in cities, especially in times when the court’s control weakens.

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

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

“Yes?” the guard asks.

“I heard your announcement in the city square. I’m a healer. I wish to examine the patient.”

The guard studies him briefly, then opens the gate. “Come in.”

Merin steps inside and finds himself in a surprisingly spacious courtyard. From the outside, the estate seemed 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 moment later, a female servant opens it. Her eyes first land on the guard, then shift to Merin.

“Another healer?” she asks with a tired voice.

The guard nods.

“Come in,” the servant says, and gestures for Merin 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 Merin’s age—beautiful, but now hollowed by illness.

Merin 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,” Merin replies. “I’ll need time and some equipment to analyse it properly.”

The servant nods without hesitation. “Then please, sir, come meet 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 same age as Merin’s father, with a stern face and tired eyes.

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

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep