Yashiro the Blind

Unlike the shrill and piercing voice from before, what rang out now was a somewhat hoarse voice, seemingly that of a boy in the process of puberty. He was thirteen or fourteen years old, still quite childish, and his entire impression changed instantly. The sinister, bat-like aura vanished without a trace.

"To be precise, it should be that I could tell at a glance."

Yashiro smiled and shook her head. "Ventriloquism is indeed rare. I only learned a little bit by chance. Alright, before we chat, please close the window. If we can get soaked even if we stay in the inn, then my money for the accommodation will be a waste... Oh, it was paid for by this kind person. It's alright then."

She clasped her hands together in a half-serious, half-serious bow to the unseeing corpse of the merchant on the ground. As she turned around, the Dragon Palace attendant had already closed the window. With just a paper window, the opening and closing seemed to have kept the torrential rain and storm outside. On one side, it was like the end of the world, while on the other side, it was peaceful and serene, a scene of tranquility and well-being.

"Please sit down. It's a pity that it's so late and we don't have anything to offer you. Please forgive us."

"If you can't produce anything... then what is this thing you're holding in your hand?"

"It's my wine."

"That……"

“My… wine,” Yashiro emphasized, enunciating each word clearly.

"Ok."

The Dragon Palace attendant shrugged. "Anyway, I wasn't planning on drinking in the first place, otherwise my older brothers and sisters would get angry if they smelled alcohol when we got back... I mean, can't I really have a sip, just a tiny bit..."

"No."

"Alright, alright..." His eyes were fixed on the half-empty pot of cold wine, and he kept swallowing, clearly very eager for it.

But after realizing that Yashiro was truly determined not to share, Ryugu Doji had no choice but to give up reluctantly—just kidding, he didn't want to clash with such a ruthless star who could easily stab someone through with a single sword strike, not even the smallest one!

"Ahem... Well then, since you possess the treasure token, you are a distinguished guest of the Dragon Palace. According to the rules, within my capabilities, I can grant you one wish. Miss Yashiro, is there anything you wish to do but cannot do?"

He coughed, adjusted his posture slightly, straightened his back, and asked in a serious and methodical manner.

Without hesitation, the girl pointed and asked, "Could you bury this corpse for me?"

"Yes, yes..."

"Then this."

In the Dragon Palace Boy's "career" to date, this was probably the most direct, efficient, and shortest wish-granting process. Even the wish itself was so simple and unpretentious; it was just asking him to help dispose of a corpse.

Isn't this even simpler than eating and drinking?

"Is this really okay?" Just in case, he checked again.

“That’s right…” Yashiro was about to nod when she suddenly remembered something. “Oh, his money pouch is mine, is that alright?”

"Of course, no problem, but... is this really okay?"

"It's ready now. What, was it too difficult?"

"It's not so much that it's too difficult, but rather... too easy. So are you really not going to reconsider?"

The Dragon Palace Child's feelings were rather complicated. He thought that even if he himself encountered such an opportunity to have a wish granted, he would probably struggle for a long time before he could barely choose one from a large number of wishes.

Unlike the girl in front of him, who was so decisive and efficient, as if she didn't care about the matter at all... That's true, otherwise she wouldn't have so easily given away the first treasure token to someone else.

“I think there’s no need to consider it anymore.” Yashiro tilted her head. “Actually, I have many wishes, but unfortunately none of them can be fulfilled, so I have to settle for second best.”

"What is your wish? Tell me." The Dragon Palace attendant was somewhat unconvinced.

"Hmm, first of all, a world of great harmony."

"The world is...the same?"

It was clear that the Dragon Palace Boy didn't understand the meaning of the phrase, so Yashiro kindly explained: "It's a passage from the Book of Rites: 'When the Great Way prevails, the world is a commonwealth. The virtuous and capable are chosen, and trustworthiness and harmony are valued. People do not only care for their own relatives... Men have their roles, and women have their homes... People dislike seeing goods wasted on the ground, and do not hoard them... Conspiracy does not arise, and theft and robbery do not occur. Therefore, outer doors are not closed. This is called the Great Harmony.'"

She sank her consciousness deep into her mind, rummaged through the vast library and found the Book of Rites. She translated it briefly to make sure the meaning wasn't too different—this was one of the girl's golden fingers in this life: photographic memory.

Perhaps during the time travel, her soul was affected by some unknown factor, but when Yashiro regained consciousness, she was surprised to find that everything she had encountered in her previous life, no matter how small or insignificant, was clearly etched in the depths of her mind, like a giant open book that anyone could read anytime, anywhere. Even after more than ten years, it had not faded in the slightest.

The same applies to this life. Although the phrase "photographic memory" sounds somewhat inaccurate due to her blindness, everything she hears, smells, and touches is clearly imprinted in her memory. Combined with her more acute senses than the average person, she can immediately recognize strangers she has only met once or even just brushed past.

If she lived in a different era or had a different background, this cheat ability would have been enough for her to easily and reasonably achieve her goal of becoming a plagiarist. In ancient times, she could have easily passed the imperial examination and achieved fame and fortune. In modern times, she could easily gain both fame and fortune. Unfortunately, she has now traveled to Japan during the Warring States period, and Yashiro really can't think of how to make a big splash in this world.

After all, Hosokawa Fujitaka, one of the most famous writers of this period, who combined ancient and modern teachings and the best of medieval poetry, actually did only so-so. Not to mention the others.

What use is a talented person on the battlefield?

As the saying goes, what's past can't be kept, and what's gone can't be chased. Now, her dream of becoming a plagiarist has long been shattered. These thoughts passed through her mind for a moment, then she let them go. Her attention also returned to reality, waking up from the many memories of her past and present lives.

"The Book of Rites?"

Just then, I overheard the Dragon Palace boy repeating his words with wisdom.

So this is where it all starts?!

The girl sighed and explained in a different way: "Simply put, everyone can eat their fill and stay warm, no one will starve or freeze to death, and the elderly and children will not be abandoned in the mountains to fend for themselves. This is the world of Great Harmony."

"Everyone can eat their fill..." The Dragon Palace Boy was stunned for a moment, then shook his head repeatedly. "How can there be such a good thing? If some people can afford to eat, then some people definitely can't. If some people can wear thick clothes, then some people will definitely freeze. The Great Harmony you're talking about is simply impossible to achieve."

"That's why I said you can't achieve it."

"Um... anything else?"

"And then there's... immortality, eternal life, and eternal youth? You certainly can't do that either."

"nonsense!"

"Then only one is left... a harem of three thousand beauties, how about it, is that achievable?"

"Consorts of the Imperial Harem?"

"Beauties of the Imperial Harem"

"female?"

"female."

"Three thousand people?"

"Three thousand people."

"...Are you dreaming?" The Dragon Palace Boy looked at her in disbelief, his expression and tone behind the mask extremely complex.

"Everyone should have dreams."

Yashiro answered seriously, then shrugged, "So you see, none of my three wishes are things you can grant, so we can only make do with what we have to do to solve our immediate problems, right?"

"..."

"Alright, since you have no objections, then it's settled. You help dispose of this corpse, and all the money and other valuables on it are mine. If any other trouble arises afterward, you'll be solely responsible."

"Wait, that's not what you said just now..."

“Anyway, he came for you anyway, didn’t he?” Yashiro’s question silenced the Ryugu Prince, who had been about to argue.

"You...how do you know?"

"Given his skills, he's far more than just a traveling merchant, not to mention the intense murderous aura he exudes, clearly indicating he's killed many people. While the idea that the Dragon Palace Child can grant wishes sounds tempting, it's not enough to drive a desperate criminal to such elaborate schemes, repeatedly resorting to robbery. Thinking about it this way, the answer is obvious... He has a grudge against you?"

The Dragon Palace Boy was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "Two years ago, he and his two brothers were vicious mountain bandits roaming around this area. The other two were killed by me... cough cough. He probably wanted revenge, which is why he and his accomplices tried to attack you twice."

Although there was a clear pause and transition in the sentence, the girl didn't care and just smiled slightly: "So, I've actually solved a problem for you."

"You can say that."

"Now, let's talk about the second problem."

Before the Dragon Palace attendant could speak, Yashiro continued, "If the first one can be considered good luck, the second fortune slip is clearly aimed at me. It's not that I have a wish to ask for your help, but that you have a request of me... Let's not beat around the bush, just say it. What do you want me to help with? If it's within my ability and the reward is reasonable, I will consider it."

"Well... alright, then I'll get straight to the point."

The Dragon Palace Boy took a deep breath, as if he were undergoing some kind of difficult mental preparation. The next moment, he suddenly fell forward, prostrating himself on the ground, and sincerely bowed deeply to Yashiro. Perhaps due to excessive nervousness, his voice trembled: "I want to ask... I want to ask Miss Yashiro, you, to save someone."

Even when he heard him kneeling on the ground, Yashiro didn't react at all, only slightly furrowing his brows, looking somewhat displeased.

But upon hearing the next sentence, she was taken aback: "Save someone? Not kill someone?"

"Yes, and this person is probably... probably only you can save her. It's a matter of life and death, please do your best to save that child... I beg you, I beg you!"

The dragon palace attendant remained kneeling, pleading repeatedly in an extremely earnest tone.

But Yashiro immediately grasped the key point of the whole sentence:

She, that child...

The boy who called himself a Dragon Palace attendant was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and the girl he referred to as "this child" must be even younger...

A young little girl...

"Okay, I promise you."

Yashiro abruptly stood up, tossed aside her cane, and asked with great enthusiasm, "When do we set off?"

……

Chapter Seven: These are the Rules

That was how it was settled.

Perhaps Yashiro agreed too readily, which made the Dragon Palace Boy a little suspicious and full of questions. In the end, he didn't say a word, but simply reached out and picked up the merchant's corpse from the ground.

He bowed deeply to Yashiro again before turning and jumping out of the window. His black clothes vanished into the vast night in an instant, disappearing without a trace.

A short while later, as dawn broke, a heavy money bag was suddenly tossed in through the window. Yashiro, who was half asleep, raised her hand, caught it steadily, used it as a pillow behind her head, turned over, and continued to snore.

By the time I finally woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.

Fortunately, the rain and wind were heavy last night, and no one noticed the brief altercation in the room. The young maid brought in the food as usual. After spending the past few days together, and given that the two were close in age—at least that's how they appeared to be—their relationship had grown quite close. As she set out the dishes, she casually asked:

"Sir, isn't our food delicious?"

"delicious."

"Then let's stay a few more days."

"I'm afraid that won't work." Yashiro sighed. "Even if the food is delicious, I can't eat it if I don't have money... As you can see, I'm very poor."

She pointed to her patched old clothes, the physical evidence clearly more convincing than words.

"Oh……"

The young waitress looked a little disappointed, but immediately smiled again, "So, where are you going next, sir?"

"do not know."

"do not know?"

“I don’t have any particular place I want to go or want to go. If I had to say…” Yashiro thought for a moment, “I’ll probably head east next, and visit the famous Kashima Shrine.”

"Just see if I can run into the famous Carrot Sword Saint. If I'm lucky, I might even be able to learn a few moves from him," the girl added in her mind.

“Kashima Shrine…” the little maid blinked, “It’s so far, so far away.”

"is it far?"

“It’s very far!” She nodded vigorously. “I’ve heard from other people that it takes many days to walk there, and the same goes for taking a boat. Moreover, the sea is very rough, and if you’re unlucky, you might fall into the water and get eaten by fish!”

"It's really quite scary."

"Yeah, right."

As they chatted casually, the young maid was determined to dissuade Yashiro from leaving, suggesting that he stay at the inn for at least a few more days. So she vividly described various stories she had heard from others.

In her words, it was as if once you left Yuanjiang, the rest of the region was a den of demons, teeming with monsters and ghosts, like the eighteen hells, sending chills down your spine.

Yashiro listened quietly, occasionally chiming in with a word or two to encourage the other person to continue speaking happily.

Unfortunately, this harmonious and pleasant atmosphere didn't last long. A loud shout came from downstairs, and the young maid sprang up like a spring, rushing out in a panic: "Oh no, oh no, I'm going to get scolded by my mother..."

Snap, snap, snap...smack!

The sliding door opened, footsteps returned, and a fluffy little head poked in again: "By the way, watch out for fish bones!"

Before Yashiro could respond, the other party had already dashed off again.

She smiled and began to focus on her meal.

After a while, having finished her meal, Yashiro cleaned up the dishes, sat back in the corner with her cane, and lowered her head. To outsiders, she probably looked like she was dozing off, but she was actually immersed in the world of memories, trying her best to study... study... let's just pretend she was studying.

Thanks to this time-traveling cheat, she lived a very fulfilling life even in ancient times when entertainment was extremely scarce.

From poems and songs to miscellaneous articles, as well as online novels that often run to hundreds of millions of words, and even long comics, videos, animations, movies, and television shows, there are many things that I only glanced at in my previous life and had no impression of at all. Now they all lie quietly in the library of my memory, ready to be read at will.

If I had this ability in my past life, how could I have worried about not achieving hegemony or the revival of the Han Dynasty...

With these meaningless thoughts swirling in her mind, Yashiro's consciousness briefly swept over a few serious books before leisurely flipping through a Sichuan cuisine cookbook.

I spent ages drooling over the photos of Sichuan-style spicy chicken, and before I knew it, it was already evening, the sun was setting, and another day had been wasted.