Heaven's Net Is Wide by Lian Hearn (good books to read for 12 year olds .TXT) π
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- Author: Lian Hearn
Read book online Β«Heaven's Net Is Wide by Lian Hearn (good books to read for 12 year olds .TXT) πΒ». Author - Lian Hearn
Matsuda saw the expression on his face and laughed. βItβs nothing magical, no sorcery or anything like that about it. Anyone can do it. You just have to work hard and empty your mind. You prepare your body for the life force to enter it, and then you use it with an undivided heart. All it takes is training-training and practice. You are not patient now, but you will be.β
Shigeru set himself to copy his teacherβs movements, amazed that a man over three times his age could move so much faster. But by the end of the session, when the sun was at its highest point in the sky, heβd come to realize that the exercises he had learned gave his body the pattern in which to move. His muscles had been readied for this.
βItβs a question of stages,β he said to Matsuda as they wiped the sweat from their faces. βYou build one thing on another.β
βYes, like most things worth doing,β the old man said. βHard work, infinite patience, learning from those who have gone ahead.β
He seemed in a very good mood; Shigeru dared to say, βPeople say that you learned from goblins!β
Matsuda laughed. βI was taught by a holy man who lived in the mountains. Some thought he was a spirit-a goblin or even an ogre-but he was a human being, though a rare kind. I sought him out and served him as a disciple, just as you now serve me. But he was a harsher taskmaster than I am. I spent a year fetching his firewood and cleaning his dishes before he even acknowledged my existence. I was after all only a humble warrior-my time was my own. Your case has a greater urgency. We do not have forever.β
When they returned to the hut, someone had come silently and left offerings of millet cakes and dried mushrooms, two tiny salted plums and fresh bamboo shoots. Matsuda bowed in thanks.
βWho was it?β Shigeru said, looking around. βWho knows we are here?β
βThere is a small hamlet no more than two hoursβ walk away. They often come to leave offerings for the god who provides the water for their fields. They are sharing what they have with him and us.β
Shigeru also bowed in thanks, grateful to the unknown farmers who gave so generously.
βMy brother, Takeshi, wants to be taught by goblins,β he said, when the food was finished.
βHow old is he now? About ten?β
βHeβs four years younger than me; he turned eleven last year.β
βAh, time goes by fast,β Matsuda said. βI hope he will also come to Terayama.β
βHe will be a better fighter than I am. He has no fear. He killed a boy older than himself when he was eight.β After a pause, Shigeru admitted, βI have never killed anyone.β
βIn times of peace there is no need,β Matsuda said quietly. βAll your training may seem to be a preparation for war, but we hope it will also be its prevention. There are many ways to prevent war-alliances, marriages-but the best way is to be strong enough to make your enemy think twice about attacking you, yet not so aggressive that he feels threatened. Keep your sword sheathed as long as you can, but once it is unsheathed, use it without hesitation.β
βAre the Otori strong enough to prevent war with the Tohan?β Shigeru said, remembering the Kitano boys in Inuyama.
βThe Iida family are very ambitious. Once a man has set his foot upon that path to power, little will stop him save his own death. He will always strive to be the greatest, and he lives in constant fear that somewhere another is greater than he and will topple him. And of course this will happen, because everything that has a beginning has an ending.β
Just beyond the shade from the eaves, an army of ants were milling over a dead dragonfly, tugging at the body with their tiny jaws.
βThe dragonfly soars above the earth,β Matsuda said, βyet its body becomes food for ants. All creatures are born; all must die.β
βYou gave up the desires of the world to follow the teachings of the Enlightened One,β Shigeru said. βYou have compassion for all living beings. The Holy One taught his disciples to harm nothing. Yet you are my teacher in the art of war. Itβs not possible for me to follow you, even if I wanted to. I have duties to my family, my clan, my country. I cannot renounce that.β
βI would never expect you to. Your path is in this world. But it is possible to live in this world yet not be a slave to it. If I can teach you that, Iβll be happy.β Matsuda added, βAlong with swordsmanship and the art of war, naturally, for to answer your question clearly: Yes, the Otori will have to fight the Tohan. Within the next five years is my guess. Either in the south or on the eastern borders.β
βLord Kitano at Tsuwano has sent his sons to Inuyama,β Shigeru said. βIt suggested disloyalty to me.β
βNoguchi also has been making friendly advances to the Iida family. These are the straws that show the direction of the wind. Both these men are highly pragmatic; Noguchi is a coward and an opportunist. They expect war and they do not expect the Otori to win.β
βThey are traitors,β Shigeru said furiously, his former sense of patience completely destroyed. βI should be back in Hagi.β
βYour father is still the head of the clan; he must know how things stand. Itβs up to him and his advisers to deal with the situation.β
βMy fatherβ¦β Shigeru began, then fell silent, not wanting to sound disloyal himself.
βItβs one of the lessons of adulthood,β Matsuda said. βTo see our parents clearly and recognize their strengths and their weaknesses, yet still honor them as our parents.β
βMy father
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