Yashiro the Blind

"Yes Yes Yes……"

And so, they were dragged all the way back to the castle town.

The town was as usual, with merchants and locals coming and going, each doing their own thing, like a vast ocean with surging waves. The disappearance of one or two people was like a pebble thrown into the ocean, not even causing a splash.

They first returned to the inn, and searched Kokoro's room thoroughly, inside and out. Unfortunately, neither of them were any great detectives, and after searching for a while, they still had no clue. Inosuke and Mankisai seemed to be still looking for someone outside, so they didn't run into them. However, the innkeeper heard about the incident and came over to comfort Yashiro—who had always thought Kokoro was her younger sister.

However, judging from her tone, she was probably more concerned about the business of her inn if the news of someone going missing got out. In a sense, the innkeeper's desire for the two to return safely was probably comparable to that of Longzi and the others.

"There are three possibilities now..."

Searching aimlessly like a headless fly wouldn't solve anything. The two finally gathered in Kotomi's room. Yashiro raised his finger and gently tapped one end of his cane, like striking a wooden fish, trying to focus his attention. "Either Toyogoro has been captured, or Kotomi has been captured, or both of them have been captured..."

“Isn’t there a fourth possibility?” Longzi interjected.

The girl paused in her tapping, pondered for a moment, and then shook her head: "After spending these past few days together, Toyogoro doesn't seem like that kind of person."

The fourth possibility is that Toyogoro kidnapped Koto. Logically speaking, he does have a reason to do so, since ultimately it was Yashiro who caused him to lose face at the Matsushita mansion, and the source of that incident was Koto.

Given Toyogoro's skill level, even if he harbored resentment, he should have known that it was unlikely he could directly retaliate against Yashiro. Therefore, it was reasonable for him to settle for taking action against Koto instead.

If they were still in Tōtōmi, Yashiro would have made the same guess. But having traveled together, they had gotten to know each other to some extent. She felt that Toyōgorō didn't seem like the type to do such a thing—he might be a bit simple-minded, but he wasn't a bad person. She wondered if he had been so focused on swordsmanship that his life had made him incredibly naive and lacking in judgment when it came to human relationships.

"Besides, if he had really hidden himself so well, he wouldn't have chosen to launch an attack at this time."

"really."

Longzi agreed, "But if we remove that possibility and only look at the three you mentioned, the most likely culprit is still the group that poisoned him before. Sigh, I really don't know who that sweet-headed guy offended. He's poisoned people, infiltrated others, and now he's even gone so far as to kidnap someone."

"It's probably related to Kamiizumi Ise no Kami... It's not easy to use the banner of the Sword Saint's nephew."

"Hmph, in my opinion, this is all Ise-no-kami's fault for not teaching his disciples properly." Ryuko crossed his arms. "If it were me, I wouldn't just let a fool like him go out and make his own way in the world."

"Actually... he's not alone." Yashiro thought for a moment and decided to say a few words in defense of the certain sword saint.

“Those fair-weather friends don’t count,” Long Zi said dismissively.

"No, initially there was a reliable old man by his side."

"Is that so?" Long Zi was taken aback. "I don't recall ever hearing about this."

"Because I killed that person before you arrived..."

"Oh……"

There was an awkward atmosphere for a moment.

"Anyway, the person is already dead, let's not talk about it. Let's think about where to find them."

Longzi naturally changed the subject, "Since they specifically kidnapped Melon Head, they probably won't just kill him easily. If they find him sooner, they might be able to save his life... But I don't quite understand, if their target was Melon Head, why did they kidnap Xiaoqin as well?"

“Perhaps… Koto wasn’t taken away by them.” Yashiro said thoughtfully.

"Do you have an idea?"

Seeing her expression, Longzi immediately pressed for an answer.

"Ah."

The girl nodded. "I gave her a jade smoky ornament for self-defense a while ago, but she hasn't had a chance to use it. It should be in this room... but I can't find it now."

……

"Cough, cough cough—"

The moment he regained consciousness, Toyogoro began coughing violently.

It felt like a knife was cutting into his throat, the pain was unbearable, tears welled up in his eyes, and his vision blurred. After a long while, the dry cough finally subsided. He wiped his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the entrance to the cave and the burning fire on the ground.

And Xiaoqin, sitting by the fire, her hands and face blackened and white by the smoke.

"here it is……"

His memory was a jumbled mess. For a moment, he only remembered sleeping in the room and vaguely smelling a strange odor. At first, he didn't pay attention, but by the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late. In his dazed state, he only saw a figure climb through the window and walk towards him...

"A bad guy tried to grab you just now."

Xiaoqin spoke cheerfully, a happy smile blooming on her face, which was flickering with light from the flames.

"Hmm, I remember now... but why are you here, Kotoko? And where is this place..." Toyogoro rubbed his throbbing head, asking several questions in quick succession, but immediately regretted them. How could Kotoko possibly know any of this...?

"Never mind, just pretend I didn't ask..."

He sighed, and before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly heard Xiaoqin reply in a serious tone, "I don't know where this is, but I'm here to save you. Those bad guys were just driven away by the good guys, and they shouldn't be coming back anytime soon, so you can rest assured."

"what?"

Toyogoro suddenly looked up, staring at Kotomi with a hint of disbelief. Although his words were spoken in the same phrasing as always, Kotomi, in her usual manner, probably wouldn't be able to deliver such a long speech so fluently.

Not only that, but upon closer inspection, Xiaoqin's eyes were sparkling, reflecting the firelight, and seemed even brighter than usual.

"you……"

Not stupid anymore?

The question was almost out of his mouth, but fortunately, Toyogoro swallowed it back at the last moment. After being called "sweethead" so many times, he had learned a little about the art of speaking, and at least he knew that saying this would easily offend others.

Still filled with doubt and unease, curiosity even outweighed her concerns about her current situation. Under his gaze, Xiaoqin's signature carefree smile returned. She picked up a nearby branch and poked at the campfire: "I don't know what happened myself, but..."

She tilted her head, as if thinking about how to describe it, then pointed to her forehead, "It's here. It was really hard before, but after the bad guy hit me hard, it suddenly felt like it became... a little lighter."

"This..." Toyogoro's attention was elsewhere. "You were beaten up?"

"I hit you twice, but it didn't hurt much," Xiaoqin said with a smile. "I couldn't sleep, and when I heard the noise and saw you being led out of the window by the bad guy, I followed him all the way here... Even though I was discovered, Yashiro gave me a round thing and told me to throw it if I was in danger, so I smashed it hard into that bad guy's face—"

"Is that round thing... an iron ball?"

"It doesn't seem like it, it wasn't that heavy! But after I threw it, a lot of very strong-smelling smoke came out, and those bad guys kept coughing, so I took the opportunity to take you away."

"So that's how it is..." Toyogoro scratched his head, "And then you brought me here?"

"No, and then I got caught again," Xiaoqin said.

He was taken aback: "Caught again... What?"

At that moment, Toyogoro's mood was like jumping off a cliff, rising and falling. Just now he thought he had escaped danger, but now it seemed that the two of them were still in the hands of the enemy and had not yet escaped the situation of being at the mercy of others.

"—Then I was rescued again." Xiaoqin added.

"..."

Toyotaro clutched his chest. Although Kokoro seemed to be speaking more coherently than before, communicating with her was still incredibly difficult.

Could she have done it on purpose...?

A strange thought suddenly popped into his mind. Looking into Kotomi's innocent eyes, untouched by knowledge and wisdom, he dismissed the obviously impossible conjecture.

"So...who saved us?"

Just as Xiaoqin was about to speak, a mature female voice suddenly came from outside the cave:

"it's me."

Before the words were finished, a tall figure, slightly bent over, slipped in from outside.

She was a shrine maiden, or at least a woman dressed as one. She was about thirty years old, with a beautiful face, a curvaceous figure, and long, neatly combed, jet-black hair that hung down her back. In her hand, she held a slender naginata—the bloodstains on the blade were still wet.

She entered the cave, straightened up, nodded to Kotomi who was waving and greeting her, and then looked at Toyogoro: "You are Kamiizumi Hidetsuna's nephew?"

Today, Nobutsuna Kamiizumi's name is still Hidetsuna.

"Yes, may I ask if you are... a friend of my uncle?" Toyogoro asked hesitantly.

The priestess chuckled, "I don't know any of those famous people. I just owed a favor to some old man, and now he's come knocking on my door asking for my help in finding someone. If you want to thank me, you two should go thank Wan Guizhai... Hmm?"

She was speaking when she suddenly paused, as she heard a commotion approaching from outside the cave.

"That's it!"

"Look, there's still blood on the ground. They must be hiding in here—"

"Blood?"

The shrine maiden froze, her gaze shifting to her naginata. Then, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes widened in shock. "Oh no! I forgot to wipe the blood clean after I killed someone!"

……

Chapter Forty-Six: Life is as light as a feather

Blood dripped onto the ground, meandering like a small snake all the way to the cave entrance.

Several people followed the trail of blood and gathered not far away, peering into the dark cave entrance. From this angle, they couldn't see the specific situation inside, only a few shadows reflected on the rock wall by the firelight.

"Is this it?"

"should be."

"That dull-witted woman should be here too."

"And then there's that shrine maiden with a naginata who suddenly appears out of nowhere; she's really troublesome... What should we do?"

Amidst their chatter, the group exchanged glances, all hoping someone else would step forward to investigate. But despite their tireless efforts, no one dared to emulate Mao Sui and step forward.

Finally, one of the middle-aged men, who seemed to be the leader, cleared his throat and took a step forward—the other men's evasive eyes immediately lit up.

"You're dawdling! Go now!"

Then he raised his hand and slapped the shifty-eyed kid next to him, scolding him.

Everyone else's expression remained unchanged, but the one whose name was called immediately fell flat. He pressed the back of his head, angry but not daring to speak out. He could only grip the sword at his waist, and cautiously made his way towards the cave entrance with trepidation.

The distance was only a dozen steps, but he walked slowly, stopping every three steps, his back view filled with tragic grandeur.

"Actually, we could light a fire and smoke them out..."

Someone suddenly whispered.

The person whose name was called turned around abruptly, his expression a mixture of surprise and delight. But the leader glared at him and shouted angrily, "We don't have that much time! It's just a kid and two girls, what's there to be afraid of? Go get them!"

There's nothing to be afraid of, so why don't you go and do it yourself...?

The unfortunate fellow muttered to himself, but he couldn't fight city hall. Gritting his teeth, he drew his sword. The gleaming blade emboldened him, and seizing the opportunity, he stepped to the cave entrance and shouted, "You people inside, get out of here right now—"

Before he could finish the last word, his eyes suddenly lit up, and sure enough, something was sticking out of the hole.

It wasn't a person, but a blood-stained naginata!

Whether intentional or simply a coincidence, the tip of the knife stopped precisely in front of the person's nose, less than a finger's width apart. The gleaming blade reflected his dazed face, the bloodstains still on it, and a strong stench of blood filled the air.

"……what!"

The scream came belatedly; his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground. The naginata swept across his face again, the back of the blade striking him hard, sending his head flying through the air, along with several badly worn, yellow teeth.

He landed with a thud, and had already passed out.

The air seemed to freeze. Everyone, including the once arrogant leader, paled and exchanged bewildered glances, instinctively holding their breath as they watched the naginata disappear into the cave, followed by the emergence of a tall woman dressed as a shrine maiden.

Then two more people came out, namely Kokoro and Toyogoro.

Several days of diarrhea had severely weakened this young swordsman, who was already somewhat famous. Even now, he was still weak in the lower body and walked unsteadily. Xiao Qin kindly supported him as he stumbled out.

Looking around, while the shrine maiden was confronting the other people, Toyogoro mustered his strength and went to the ronin who had been knocked away. He pried open his fingers, took the katana that the ronin had pulled out but hadn't had a chance to use, and swung it once. His expression regained some confidence.

Although they were still outnumbered, the group looking at the shrine maiden wielding the naginata were terrified, like stray dogs, and had already lost ground in terms of morale. The shrine maiden sneered, "A bunch of cowardly thieves, clowns, daring to try and commit evil deeds like humans, how laughable."

"You... this matter clearly has nothing to do with you, so why did you meddle in other people's business and kill several of my brothers for no reason!"

After a brief standoff, the leader forced himself to speak.

"If it has nothing to do with me, then who does it have to do with? Or let me ask you directly, who is your target, male or female... Oh, it's a male."

Before they could answer, the shrine maiden noticed the direction of their gazes and understood. She laughed and said, "Judging from your skills, you should be from the Yinliu school, and you're probably not disciples of Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami, right?"

"you……"

"Looks like I guessed right. Coincidentally, I also heard that six days ago... no, it seems like five days ago, a swordsman claiming to be the rightful successor of the Yin-ryu school and the closed-door disciple of the Aizu Ikō-sai issued a challenge to Izumi Ise-no-kami, demanding a life-or-death duel with him—"

"what!"

Upon hearing this, Toyogoro was startled. "Is this really true?"

"Why would I lie to you?" The shrine maiden rolled her eyes at him. "I came from Ueno myself. In a few days, the rumors about Ise no Kami's duel should be all over the place. You can ask around and confirm it then. Of course, that is, if you can live to see that day."

She glanced at Toyogoro's unsteady steps with a hint of disdain, "You're so young, you should take care of your health."

"I...you've misunderstood..."

Feng Wulang felt a lump in his throat and was eager to explain.