Yashiro the Blind

"Two thousand four hundred... thirty-three!"

Since becoming an apprentice, regardless of whether the weather in the Kingdom of Yu was sunny or rainy, windy or thunderous, or snowing heavily, she has never missed a single day of practice, and she will not stop until she has swung her arms a thousand times in the air.

At first, he used wooden tools, but as his strength increased, he switched to real swords. Later, in a dream, he received guidance from a mysterious old man, which extended the usual three-foot sword to about five feet, making it heavier and more powerful. When he swung it, it was powerful and terrifying.

But Minji Maru himself was not satisfied.

She still often dreams of that night when she was six years old. On that day, she was playing and singing outside as usual, bouncing a ball. Because she was in the name of welcoming her father, her mother couldn't say anything to her. In addition, as samurai serving the country, they lived together in the mansions of the castle town. The neighbors all knew each other and were familiar with each other, so they weren't afraid of encountering any danger.

"Don't go too far!"

Occasionally, a reminder would come from behind the wall.

"Know it!"

She answered loudly, slapping the ball hard while looking across the street. Her father had also gone out to play chess with a friend. If there was nothing special, he would usually come back before dark, and he would often bring her some snacks.

My father wasn't a high-ranking official, and his salary wasn't much. Our family's finances were never very good. If my mother found out that he was spending money on snacks like this, she would nag him for ages, saying things like, "This kind of thing won't fill your stomach. Why don't you save the money to buy something more useful?" I was tired of hearing it.

The father never argued, letting the mother scold him, he just laughed happily. Later, he became smarter and deliberately kept it from his wife, secretly sharing with his daughter. The two of them would finish eating outside the house in a few bites, wipe their mouths, and then go inside.

"I wonder what delicious food we'll have today..." The little girl swallowed, her heart filled with anticipation. But as she waited and waited, the sky gradually darkened, and her father still hadn't returned. In her confusion, she accidentally bounced the ball a little too hard, and with a "smack," the ball suddenly flew away.

"Ah...no good!"

The girl hurriedly chased after it, but the ball rolled a long way before finally stopping outside the street. Just as she was about to pick it up, she looked up and saw her father—and the tall figure standing behind him.

The opponent approached silently, the blade in their hand cold and gleaming.

"father--"

The cry of alarm caught in his throat. Before he could even warn anyone, a flash of light appeared, and the assailant, covered in blood, turned and fled, disappearing into the night in the blink of an eye. Only his father remained, lying motionless on the ground, a deep, bone-revealing gash on his back from which blood gushed.

She walked over and nudged the still warm body: "Father...Father?"

My father was already dead at that time.

The murderer did not conceal his face or even try to hide it from others, so Minjimaru quickly learned his name from others: Sakagami Shuzen, a guest of the Mogami family, and a renowned swordsman in the Dewa region.

Although my father had many friends during his lifetime, no one was willing to stand up for him after his death. Even my lord, Mogami Yoshimori, only gave him a symbolic punishment, clearly unwilling to offend a powerful expert for the sake of an ordinary subordinate.

Since that's the case, she'll have to take revenge herself...

"Two thousand four hundred... thirty-seven... thirty-eight!"

In the blink of an eye, thirteen years had passed. She was no longer the playful little girl who couldn't do anything, but her father's killer was still at large, and the day of revenge seemed far off. Back then, she was young and ignorant, but it wasn't until she started practicing martial arts that she truly realized the gap between herself and Sakagami Shuzen.

Minji Maru didn't think that her act of becoming an apprentice could really be kept secret from Sakagami Shuzen. The reason she was able to grow up safely was mostly because the other party didn't take her seriously at all and cherished his reputation, which is why he didn't eliminate her completely and spared her life.

The more this happened, the more humiliating it became. In addition to hatred and anger, a sense of resentment gradually grew in his heart over the past ten years. For this reason, he traveled to various countries, enduring hardships and sleeping in the open, and tempering himself through various ascetic practices, hoping that one day he could fulfill his wish and personally kill his enemy.

It has to be done by hand.

"...Four hundred and fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine! Sixty!"

Sweating profusely, her heart pounding like a drum, her chest heaving like a bellows, her consciousness was somewhat hazy, but the girl gritted her teeth, relying on her stubbornness, she still gripped the long sword tightly, raising it and slashing down, raising it and slashing down... If a thousand swings a day weren't enough, then two thousand, if two thousand weren't enough, then two thousand five hundred, or even three thousand!

It is said that Tsukahara Bokuden, the founder of the Shinto-ryu school, once swung his sword 6,000 times a day for a thousand days when he was young, and finally comprehended the legendary One-Sword Technique. Minji Maru originally wanted to follow suit, but after actually doing it, he realized how terrifying it was to swing the sword 6,000 times in the air.

The Sword Saint truly lives up to her title; she's incomparable to an ordinary person like her.

"Two thousand four hundred...ninety-eight, two thousand four hundred and ninety-nine, two thousand...five hundred!"

With all her might, squeezing out the last bit of strength from her body, she stumbled under the weight of her long sword and almost fell to the ground. She used the sword to support herself, panting heavily, her whole body soaked as if she had just been pulled out of the water, looking utterly disheveled.

I saw stars before my eyes and heard a buzzing in my ears. Due to the lack of oxygen, my mind went blank, as if the whole world was receding into the distance, separated by a thin veil. After a long while, I slowly recovered and looked up to see that the sky was just beginning to brighten.

The sun hasn't risen yet.

A light white mist floated in the woods, and the mountain wind blew against his face, making his wet clothes flutter. A sudden chill ran up his body, causing Minji Maru to shiver involuntarily.

She rubbed her nose, preparing to go back inside to get some clean clothes, and then wash off the sweat in the nearby stream... Just as this thought flashed through her mind, the girl suddenly felt as if she had forgotten something again.

and many more……

What about her baggage?

What?! She was carrying a whole bag of belongings, including changes of clothes, travel money, and other odds and ends!

Minji Maru racked her brains for a long time, but still couldn't remember when her beloved little bundle had left her. Perhaps because practicing swordsmanship was too tiring, she was both tired and hungry, and her stomach started growling again.

This makes it even harder to concentrate.

"Oh no, I've lost something again... my money and clothes!" She clutched her head, letting out a mournful cry. The anger and resentment that had just filled her seemed to vanish without a trace. A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, but without money for food, one will starve to death on the roadside in less than ten days.

She could naturally distinguish which was more important and which was less important.

However, Minji Maru's biggest worry right now is not about food for the next few days, nor about what to do if he has no clothes to change into, but that he has no money and cannot pay for yesterday's dinner.

Although those people were all good people and didn't seem like they would ask her for money, whether they wanted it or not was one thing, and whether she would give it to them was another—Minji Maru still remembered her parents' teachings and wouldn't take other people's kindness for granted. She had originally planned to pay last night, but then that imposing older woman suddenly brought up such a frightening topic, and then went on to ask her if she wanted to know how two women... well, you know...

Minji Maru, who had lived for nineteen years, had never experienced such a shock. He was so frightened that he ran blindly and ended up knocking himself unconscious.

To be honest, she was quite afraid that her other self, who liked to "murder in her dreams," would suddenly go crazy. What if she woke up to find those kind people dead beside her? Just thinking about it made her scalp tingle. When she opened her eyes and found that the older sister was gone, and the other blind girl was sleeping peacefully next to her, not cut in half, she breathed a sigh of relief.

However, thinking about it later, this blind girl was probably the "Yashiro" that Ryuko often mentioned. Minjimaru didn't have many people she admired or respected in this world. Apart from her parents and her mentor, Higashine Gyobu Tayu, only Ryuko, the eldest sister, held a place in her heart.

Since the boss sent her to ask this blind girl for help, it means that the blind girl must be quite capable. Even if she really lost control in her dream, she shouldn't cause any serious trouble... That being said, I'm still worried about the things I should be worried about.

Besides, she came here to ask for a favor, and before she even asked for anything, she had already eaten a whole pot of porridge for free. If she didn't even give them a penny afterward, Minji Maru would think that such behavior was absolutely outrageous and infuriating. She was nothing short of an ingrate.

"What to do? What to do? What to do……"

She wandered around in the woods, agonizing over her own thoughts, until one day, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a figure standing beside a tree behind her—it was the blind girl named Yashiro.

The other person was still holding the little girl in their arms and carrying a cane in their other hand. It was unclear when they had arrived or how long they had been there, but they hadn't made a sound, and Minji Maru hadn't noticed them at all.

At that glance, her heart skipped a beat, and she almost jumped out of her skin. At the same time, her eyes met those of the little girl in Yashiro's arms.

The girl, who had been covering her mouth tightly with both hands, blinked and exclaimed in surprise as their eyes met, "Mom, we've been found out!"

"We've been discovered."

Hearing Minjimaru's rapid heartbeat, clearly startled by the two of them, Yashiro tilted his head, responding to the girl in his arms, and laughed happily.

……

"Sister, drink water!"

"Thanks……"

After the brief incident, as the sun rose, the three of them—two adults and one child—emerged from the woods and returned to the cabin. Concerned about his sweaty body and the potential odor to bother others, Minji Maru deliberately kept his distance from Yashiro and sat alone on a rock.

Yashiro noticed, but just smiled and didn't say anything. After she put Mio down, she heard the girl struggle to walk with her short legs to a small water jug ​​next to the warehouse, scoop up a ladle of water, hold it in both hands, and wobble back.

Despite being careful all the way, she still spilled most of the water. She tiptoed and handed the gourd ladle to Minji Maru. The girl was quite flattered. After sincerely thanking the two-year-old child, she accepted the ladle with both hands and drank it all in one gulp.

"Do you... want it again?"

"No need, thank you, um..."

She paused only slightly, but the girl immediately realized what she meant and pointed at herself, "Mio!"

"Oh, it's Mio. That's a lovely name. My name is Minjimaru."

"Mingming?"

"Minzhi Pill".

"Mingming!" Mio repeated, her words slightly slurred.

Although the two instances sounded exactly the same, seeing her head held high and a smug expression that said, "I was right this time," the girl silently swallowed the words of correction that were already on the tip of her tongue, and instead patted her head: "That's right, great job."

The girl seemed to enjoy being patted on the head, and immediately giggled, "Mommy, Mio, I got praised!" Just as she was about to jump into Yashiro's arms to show off and act cute, she suddenly remembered something, turned her head, exclaimed to Minjimaru, and pointed at Yashiro, "Yashiro, Mommy!"

“Yes, I know that, it’s Yashiro.” Minjimaru nodded.

"Yashiro, Mom!"

"Yes, Yashiro."

"Mom!" Mio said with a stern face.

Minjimaru finally understood what she meant: "Wait, that's your mother, not mine..."

“Mom!” the girl continued to emphasize.

"so……"

"Alright, Mio, come here." Just as the girl was racking her brains about how to explain, Yashiro, who had been listening quietly, finally laughed and waved her hand. Mio immediately rushed over, hugged her waist, buried her face in her chest, and took a breath, just like Yashiro had when she first woke up.

She gently tapped the girl on the back of the head, then smiled at Minjimaru: "You don't need to take it so seriously. She's just joking with you, right, Mio?"

"A joke?" Minji Maru was taken aback, scratched his head, and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief: "I see, I almost shouted it too."

"That won't do. Judging from your voices, you're probably only a few years older than me. If you call me 'Mom,' I'll be at a huge disadvantage."

Yashiro teased again, tapping a nearby tree trunk with her cane. The tree swayed, and a fruit fell. She caught it casually, wiped it on her sleeve, and was about to take a bite when she suddenly noticed Minjimaru's gaze: "You...want to eat it?"

"want!"

The girl nodded vigorously. Yashiro didn't hesitate either, and threw the fruit in her hand. She thought the other girl would definitely reach out to catch it, but Minjimaru tilted her head back and caught the fruit in mid-air with her mouth. She bit down hard, and juice spilled out.

"It's sweet and sour, so delicious!" she mumbled, happily munching away.

"..."

For some reason, Yashiro suddenly had an urge to reach out and pat the other person's head. However, doing so to a stranger he had only known for less than half a day seemed too presumptuous, so he shook his head and dismissed the inexplicable thought.

After Minjimaru had almost finished eating the small fruit, she asked, "So... I heard everything you and Brother Wuliu said yesterday. Miss Minjimaru, did you come to me for help to solve your, um, dream-killing problem after hearing Longzi's introduction?"

“Yes!” Minjimaru licked the remaining juice from the corner of his mouth, looking at Yashiro with a mixture of expectation and unease on his face. “Big Sister Ryuko said you definitely have a way to help me, but… actually, you don’t need to feel any pressure. After all, this problem isn’t new, I’m used to it, it’s just…”

She hoped that Yashiro was as powerful as Ryuko had said, able to help her solve this long-standing problem, yet she didn't want to put too much pressure on her. After all, they were complete strangers, only sharing a mutual friend, so there was really no reason for her to insist on helping her... With all sorts of thoughts swirling in her mind, Minjimaru spoke hesitantly, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

The general meaning was conveyed.

Yashiro chuckled softly, patted the girl in her arms, and helped her stand up to the side. Then she herself stood up, leaning on her cane. In the dappled sunlight of the rising sun, she stood under the tree, tilting her head and thinking for a while.

"Anyway... why don't you try cutting me first?"

……

Chapter 114 The Song of My Hometown

"Try cutting me once."

"……what?"

Minjimaru initially thought it was another joke, but after confirming it several times, she realized that Yashiro was actually serious this time. Reason told the girl that the other party must be fearless to dare to say such a thing, but emotionally... this was the first time in her life she had heard such a strange request.

This caused me to be a little caught off guard.

"As the saying goes, hearing is believing, seeing is believing... But as you can see, I'm having a bit of a problem in this area, so let's try a different approach. Since it's a matter of swords, let's settle it with swords." Yashiro smiled and added, "Don't worry, I know what's important, I won't hurt you."

"That's not what I'm worried about... Never mind." Minjimaru shook his head, hesitating to say something. He wanted to say that he was worried that if a fight really broke out, swords would have no eyes and he might accidentally hurt the other person... The words lingered on his lips, but he felt that saying that would seem a bit disrespectful.

She was ultimately the one asking for help, and now that Yashiro had agreed, why should she say anything more? Minjimaru understood the difference between right and wrong to some extent, so in the end she said nothing and only replied with an "okay".

However, although they were going to fight, they wouldn't start immediately. After all, the girl had just finished her morning training, and the two thousand five hundred swings of her real sword had almost drained the last bit of strength from her body. Even though she had rested for a while, her body was still exhausted, especially her arms, which felt like they didn't belong to her. They were limp and powerless, and she even had to drag the long sword along the way.

In addition, he was starving and parched, so his fighting ability was practically nonexistent. He didn't even need to face Yashiro. Even Hatsume, who had no martial arts skills, could easily knock out Minjimaru with a single blow.

Yashiro certainly didn't have any bad intentions to deliberately bully her; he simply settled the matter, arranged a time, and then went to prepare breakfast. Mio followed beside her, waddling along like a little duck, while energetically shouting that she wanted to help.

Minji Maru watched the unusual mother and daughter enter the house hand in hand. She scratched her head and suddenly felt a little envious. Perhaps she had once had such a warm family time, but unfortunately, it had been too long and she could no longer remember it.

"Sigh... I should take a shower first, otherwise I'll be all wet. Wait..." Finally remembering her change of clothes, the girl hurriedly chased after him. "Miss Yashiro, I have a favor to ask. Could you lend me one of your clothes? I will repay your kindness in the future!"

In fact, Minjimaru didn't even need to say anything. Her mutterings in the woods had already given everything away. By the time she caught up, before she could finish the second half of her sentence, Yashiro had already pulled out a loose-fitting piece of clothing from a corner and handed it to her.

If this were hundreds of years in the future, given the size difference between the two, the young girl might not be able to fit into the dress, or even if she could, it would be too tight, and there might even be scenes that viewers would enjoy, such as buttons popping off. However, nowadays resources are scarce, and ordinary families don't have much fabric available. On average, each commoner only has one or two clothes to change into, so people are basically fine with anything they can wear and don't care about the size.

If it's a little shorter, then it's a little shorter. If it's too long, just fold it a few times at the waist and tie it with a belt, and you can wear it for several years or even more than ten years.

Yashiro happened to have two old clothes that were folded several times on hand. She took them out, unfolded them, and laid them flat so the girl could try them on. Coincidentally, the size was just right. She thought it was just a casual favor, but to her surprise, Minjimaru's eyes reddened, and she cried with gratitude.

"You cry so much, could you be Liu Bei, the Imperial Uncle?"

"what?"

"fine……"

One of the most awkward things in history is trying to make a meme but no one responds.

Yashiro sighed. At times like these, she missed Jiro the monk the most. Among her group of "unlearned" friends whose minds hadn't been polluted by knowledge, only the monk was well-read and knowledgeable. He could usually get a response to any joke she casually threw out.

This is especially valuable.