Turning his head wearily, he saw a woman dressed in rough linen, holding a handkerchief, quickly walk up and pull Lin Yu, gently wiping away the fine beads of sweat from his forehead.
“Aunt Huizi, it hasn’t been that long, just about the usual.”
Lin Yu smiled, his expression gentle.
This woman was the wife of the couple who adopted Lin Yu, and also the mother of Ikoma and Chu Ying.
“What do you mean 'about the usual'? Look, your hands are trembling.”
Seeing Lin Yu's arms slightly trembling from exhaustion, the woman's face showed a hint of anger, her bright eyes fixed on Lin Yu, as if Lin Yu wouldn't get away with it today unless he gave her a reasonable explanation.
Facing the woman's concerned questioning, Lin Yu chuckled, reaching up to rub his nose, somewhat unsure how to answer.
Seeing Lin Yu remain silent, Huizi spoke earnestly.
“Lin Yu, I’m not against you practicing swordsmanship, but you’re still young. You must not ruin your body. When you get a bit older, your uncle and I will figure out a way to send you to a martial arts school…”
“No need, Aunt Huizi, I’m just practicing on my own, and I’ll be careful in the future.”
Seeing the self-reproach in Huizi's tone, Lin Yu was somewhat amused and quickly tried to comfort her.
A martial arts school was not a charity; it cost money, and he did not want to make their already difficult life even harder because of his swordsmanship practice.
Besides, with the system, there was no need at all.
The husband, Kami, and the wife, Huizi, this couple could be said to be one of the few shining examples of humanity in this dangerous world.
Having lived in poverty themselves, they did not hesitate when they saw Lin Yu wandering the streets and adopted him directly.
They treated him as their own, with no difference from Ikoma and Chu Ying.
They took great care of him daily, both working from dawn till dusk to make a living, just so their three children could eat their fill.
It can be said that upon arriving in this world, what Lin Yu first felt was not the cruelty of this world, but the rare warmth.
Hearing Lin Yu's words, Huizi affectionately stroked Lin Yu's cheek, then wiped it with a handkerchief, and said softly,
"Your clothes are soaked with sweat. Go back inside and change quickly. There's porridge left on the table for you and Ikoma. Your uncle and I are going to work."
As she spoke, the wooden door of the dilapidated small house behind her opened again from the inside, and a middle-aged man with a somewhat thin build, ordinary appearance, but bright eyes walked out.
"You mischievous brat, you're truly a handful, but seeing how diligent you are, perhaps you really can become a Samurai of the Fujiwara Family in the future!"
Kami's rough, calloused hand clapped Lin Yu's shoulder, his hearty voice echoing in the alley.
"Alright, alright, quiet down, the children are still sleeping!"
Huizi was not as gentle with Kami as she was with Lin Yu; she slapped Kami's hand off Lin Yu's shoulder and scolded him a bit.
Kami wasn't annoyed; he scratched the back of his head with a simple smile.
"Lin Yu, Ikoma and the others are in your care. We're off to work first. If all goes well, we'll bring bread back for you to eat today."
Watching Huizi and Kami walk away, Lin Yu looked at his tender hands and sighed silently in his heart.
This already impoverished family became even more difficult after his arrival.
Kami and Huizi were both commoners in Sugu Station, and they were among the poorest in the entire fortress city.
Their dwelling was also in the "danger zone" near the city wall's drawbridge.
Their daily means of livelihood was only to participate in grain cultivation near the city wall to earn a meager salary.
This low-income and somewhat risky work was all that sustained this family.
The reason Lin Yu trained so desperately, enduring wind and rain without interruption, was not only to improve his strength but also to help Kami and his wife share some of the burdens of life.
However, due to his current age, there wasn't much Lin Yu could do; at most, he could take Ikoma and Chu Ying out to do some small business to supplement the household income.
It wasn't that Lin Yu hadn't considered using modern knowledge to improve their lives, but in his previous life, he was a carefree university student with no worries about food or clothing, so even if he had the will, he lacked the ability to achieve it.
Even for the upcoming Kabane invasion, he currently had no confidence.
It wasn't that his current strength couldn't deal with Kabane, but that he was limited by his weapons.
There were only two ways to deal with Kabane.
One was to destroy its heart, which was encased in an iron film, to kill it.
This point immediately left Lin Yu helpless; even a nichirin blade made of steel, if used improperly, could be broken by that sturdy iron film, let alone a wooden sword.
Unless Lin Yu's strength had reached the point where he could cut through anything by merely plucking a leaf or throwing a flower, which was clearly impossible at present.
The second was to decapitate the Kabane.
Although the Kabane's primary weakness was its heart, a headless Kabane also lost its ability to move; Mumei in the original work had decapitated Kabane multiple times.
(PS: In the original work, there was a scene where Mumei decapitated a Kabane, and the red light in the Kabane's eyes gradually disappeared, and its body fell to the ground.)