Yashiro the Blind

……

They said they were leaving, but they weren't leaving immediately.

Yashiro went back to her room first, packed her small bundle, and originally wanted to say goodbye to Inosuke, but after waiting for a long time and not seeing him return, she had to give up. When it was completely dark, she went out the back door and met up with Hiyoshimaru and Koto, who had also packed their luggage.

"I'll lead the way..."

Hiyoshi took the lead and walked at the front. Because of Kabei's reminder, he did not bring anything for lighting. At first, it was fine, but after an hour or two, they were far away from towns and villages, and the surroundings turned into complete darkness. The dim moonlight tonight was not enough to illuminate the way ahead. After stumbling several times, Yashiro finally couldn't listen anymore and took the initiative to take over the responsibility of leading the way.

The two people behind her were startled. Hiyoshimaru's initial doubts gradually turned into praise: "Amazing, as expected of Yashiro-san!"

"Wow, amazing, girl! You're incredible!"

Xiaoqin clapped along, but didn't notice a protruding stone under her feet. Just as she was about to fall, Yaxun flashed and caught her, saying helplessly, "Be careful."

"it is good!"

"As expected of Yashiro-san."

"I've already heard that sentence once."

"As expected of Yashiro!" Hiyoshimaru readily agreed.

"Hmph, I truly feel unworthy of such praise and trust." Yashiro smiled slightly. "Speaking of which, Mr. Hiyoshi, did you trust me this much back at the training ground?"

Just as Yamazaki Genhachiro drew his sword to kill Koto, she was about to intervene when she heard Hiyoshimaru whisper, "Miss Yashiro, remember to save my life later—" Before she could ask for details, she had already darted out.

Then came the scene where the monkey provoked Toyogoro.

"In the past few days, I haven't shown my skills in front of you. Aren't you afraid that I'm not strong enough to stop Hikita Toyogoro, or that I won't even make a move?"

This is precisely what puzzled the girl. Even if Hiyoshimaru hadn't interfered, she would have still saved Koto. The fact that he spoke so eloquently in front of Toyogoro only served one purpose: to further enrage Toyogoro and his group, and to provoke Matsushita Kahei into intervening.

Not only was it unnecessary, but it almost cost him his life.

"Haha." Hiyoshimaru laughed loudly upon hearing this. "To tell you the truth, I, the monkey, was born with the knowledge of physiognomy. I can tell a person's personality and abilities from their appearance. Take Lord Kabei, for example. Although he is cheerful and hospitable, he is stingy with money. He wants to emulate the ancient practice of spending a thousand gold pieces to buy horse bones, but he only serves his guests miso and rice. How can he win the sincere allegiance of truly capable people like that?"

"Not only that, Lord Kabei also has a gentle and kind side. This kind of personality is good for ordinary people, but when it comes to a lord, it inevitably turns into indecisiveness. He can neither decisively give up Koto nor offend the nephew of Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami. If he is left to be caught in a dilemma and does nothing in the end, it will become a demon in Lord Kabei's heart when he looks back on it later."

"So that's why you deliberately provoked him and forced him to take action, so that he wouldn't hold onto this matter?"

"Indeed, inner demons are terrifying things. Even the kindest person can become a demon and do unimaginable evil things once their inner demons are stirred up—just like you, Yashiro."

"I?"

The tone and atmosphere, which had been casual, gradually became serious.

Hiyoshimaru stared intently at her: "That's right, Yashiro, you also have a demon within you, a formidable one at that. Although I don't know your past experiences, nor how this demon came to be, I know that you are furious..."

"You've been angry, and you've been trying to suppress it. That's good, but like a burning fire, if you don't remove the fuel underneath, the fire will only grow stronger and stronger, eventually engulfing you and everyone else around you... You have to find a way, whether it's killing someone, drinking and eating meat, or having sex, whatever it takes, to properly vent this anger before the fire completely explodes—for example, what do you think of me?"

They were talking about a very serious topic, but suddenly the conversation turned frivolous.

"I don't like men." Yashiro twitched the corner of his mouth.

"As expected." Hiyoshimaru seemed unsurprised.

"Aren't you surprised?"

“I’ve said it before, I was born with the ability to judge people. Miss Yashiro, although you wear the skin of a woman, what’s inside is not a woman… or rather, not a normal woman,” he said confidently.

These words made the girl's eyebrows twitch. Could it be that he really knew about this?

"If I'm not a woman, then what am I?"

"He's blind."

"..."

"Haha, don't rush me, I'm not kidding you!"

Noticing that Yashiro's hand was gripping the end of the staff, Hiyoshimaru, knowing that there was a sword inside, quickly waved his hand and explained, "There is an old saying that goes, 'Of all things that belong to a person, none is better than their eyes.' If a person's heart is upright, their eyes will be bright; if their heart is not upright, their eyes will be dim and evasive. So you can know a person's character just by looking at their eyes."

“But you are blind, Yashiro. The things in your heart can’t get in, so they get stuck inside. If they get stuck for a long time, your mind will become narrow and you will get stuck in a rut. Things that you could see and know will become invisible. I’m not talking about your body, but about your heart. The great demon inside has blinded your mind and made you blind.”

"Although I, Monkey, cannot eliminate that great demon for you, I can at least let you vent your anger a little... How about it, do you feel much better now?" He stroked his chin, revealing a smug smile.

Yashiro paused for a moment.

"Indeed... what you said may have a point, but using murder to vent anger, I think... is ultimately wrong."

Even if the other party is an utterly wicked person?

"Correct."

Snapped!

Hiyoshimaru suddenly clasped his hands together, a look of surprise on his face: "That's great!"

"What's so good?"

"This is the first time in the world I've met someone with such a compassionate heart, which is why I said it's wonderful!"

Are you... mocking me?

"Absolutely not! This chaotic world has lasted for almost a hundred years, and the reason it can't be pacified is because there are too many ordinary people!"

Hiyoshimaru waved his arms, his tone impassioned, "Whether it's the high-ranking generals and nobles or those wealthy commoners, regardless of their status, they all follow the old order and ideas, living and dying ordinary lives. Such people are destined to be unable to end this chaotic world, because the old order has been completely broken, and a new order must be established! And only extraordinary oddballs like you and me can establish a brand new order!"

No, no, no, I can't compare to you, the future ruler of the world... Yashiro thought to herself, but Hiyoshimaru looked like he had found a kindred spirit, his eyebrows dancing with excitement as he spoke. She had to interrupt him: "Mr. Hiyoshi, I am flattered that you think so highly of me. But let's take our leave now."

"Huh?" Hiyoshimaru was taken aback, then realized, "Oh, right, you did say you had something to do in Suruga."

"Yes."

"What a pity, I was hoping to get a bodyguard for free."

He sighed jokingly, "Then let's say goodbye. Kotori and I will go to Owari. If you ever need anything in the future—or if you don't, you can come to Nakamura to find me. I may not have much else, but when it comes to food, it will definitely be better than what you eat at Lord Kabei's house!"

"Then I'll look forward to it. Goodbye."

Yashiro smiled, no longer hesitating, nodded to Hiyoshimaru, and turned to leave. But after a few steps, he heard a sound of footsteps following closely behind him.

"Xiaoqin?"

At the same time, I heard Hiyoshimaru's puzzled voice.

Sure enough, the person following behind her was Xiaoqin.

"Why are you following them? Come on, come with me, I'll take you to eat something delicious..." Hiyoshimaru reached out his hand, but Koto suddenly shrank back and clung to Yashiro's side again.

"..."

"..."

The two looked at each other, bewildered and unsure what Xiaoqin was thinking.

However, the person involved immediately said, "I don't want to go with the monkey. Monkeys are bad and they will peep at people taking a bath."

"Mr. Hiyoshi..."

"It's a misunderstanding! I didn't peek at her while she was taking a bath!" Hiyoshimaru hurriedly explained.

"So you were spying on others?" Yashiro grasped the key point.

"Hahaha……"

At this point, Xiaoqin added, "A new guest like this won't peep at others while they're showering, so he's a good person."

This time, it was Yashiro who covered her chest with her hand.

"Children say the darndest things, children say the darndest things." Hiyoshimaru, feeling he had won back a point, chuckled as he helped to smooth things over. Then he looked at Kotomi and asked, "Are you really going to go with Yashiro? It'll be too late to regret it once we're separated."

"No regrets." Xiaoqin shook her head repeatedly.

"Alright." Seeing that Xiaoqin seemed to have made up her mind, Hiyoshi stopped trying to persuade her and instead asked the girl, "What about you, Yashiro? If you think this girl is a nuisance, don't hesitate to say so."

“Hmm…” Yashiro hesitated for a moment, “One more person is fine, but I might encounter dangers on the way, and I don’t know if I will have the strength to take care of her…”

"I'm not afraid of danger!"

Before she could finish speaking, Xiaoqin interrupted, rattling off a string of words as if she were promoting herself, "And Madam praised me, saying I'm very useful. I can serve you tea, cook rice, pickle vegetables, serve soup, help you change clothes, wash your feet, and more, and more..."

Her eyes darted around, then suddenly lit up, "And I'll have your children!"

"...The last one is unnecessary."

Yashiro was so shocked by this remark that she almost fainted, while Hiyoshimaru next to her was clutching his stomach and laughing so hard that he was about to roll on the ground laughing.

"Hahaha! Since Xiaoqin is so sincere, I think you shouldn't refuse anymore, Miss Yaxun... Haha, I wish you both a healthy baby soon!"

As the other party's teasing became increasingly excessive, the girl began to seriously consider how much impact it would have on future historical development if she were to destroy the monkey's body and erase all evidence right there.

"—It was my fault! Please, have mercy and spare my life!"

……

The butterfly's wings ultimately failed to flap.

Hiyoshimaru is quite loyal. He said that part of the money Matsushita Kabei gave him was used for Kotomi, and since Kotomi is not waiting for him to leave, he should naturally transfer that money to Yashiro.

The two discussed it for a while. Originally, Hiyoshi insisted on a 70/30 split, with him taking 30% because he was a man and had plenty of opportunities to make money. In contrast, the other two, one disabled and the other simple-minded, needed to have more money to rely on.

Then Yashiro shut him down with a single sentence: "I can fight better than you."

"I'm all alone, and I have nowhere to spend money..."

"I can beat you."

"I……"

"I can beat you."

"I know, I know!"

With sheer force prevailing over skill, the two finally settled on the fairest deal: splitting the copper coins given by Kabei fifty-fifty. Kotori then volunteered to take Yashiro's bundle and tried to reach for her cane, but the girl blocked her, pouting slightly annoyed: "I'm very strong..."

"It's not a matter of how strong I am..." The girl had a bit of a headache.

Hiyoshi looked at her with a grin: "How about I give you an extra ten percent?"

"I can beat you."

"Could you please say something else..."

"I really can beat you."

"I believe, I believe..." he muttered, carefully putting the money pouch back close to his body. After saying goodbye to Yashiro and Koto, he cautiously made his way into the night and headed west.

In the darkness, Xiaoqin stared blankly as his figure receded into the distance, disappearing into the vast night. "The monkey's gone."

"Well... let's go too."

"it is good!"

Just as the girl was about to turn around, she suddenly heard Hiyoshimaru's shout in the distance again:

"Yashiro-chan—"

The sound drifted over on the night breeze.

"If I, a monkey, am fortunate enough to become the ruler of a country and a city someday—how about you come and become my retainer—"

With a pause on his cane, Yashiro answered loudly, "I'll think about it—"

"think about it!"

"one time!"

Down--

The sound carried on, but it was unclear whether Hiyoshimaru heard it or not. In any case, there was no more sound from that side. She called out to Kotomi and turned to walk east.

Amidst the clattering of the cane, Xiaoqin hurriedly followed behind, tripped, and nearly fell, but was caught by the girl's outstretched hand.

"Thank you!"

Xiaoqin was straightforward. After thanking him, she rolled her eyes and asked, "By the way, what does the monkey mean by 'retainers'?"

"It means a wage earner and a scapegoat."

"A working...boy?"

"Yeah, being ordered around by the boss to run errands is really awful..."

……

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Toyogoro's Comeback