Yashiro the Blind

Tenfu Ittō-ryū, a ninja martial art emphasizing agility and elusive movements, with footwork as graceful as a leaf, has a final, deadly strike as its ultimate technique. Tenfu Goro once used this very strike to break through his Heart Seal Technique and escape with his life. Now, his daughter has used the same move against him.

Success is a failure.

What a fantastic battle...

A strange sense of pleasure inexplicably surfaced in his heart, which should have been as calm as a still well. Before he could even process it, the sharp blade had already severed the girl's neck… It was over. He thought to himself that he could almost see the blood spurting out and the head flying off, and he felt a mixture of pleasure and regret—

However, at the same time.

He watched helplessly as his knife fell inch by inch, saw cracks covering almost the entire blade, saw a deep notch that had appeared out of nowhere, and watched the sharp blade break apart bit by bit, starting from the middle...

The last thing to glide across the girl's neck was a broken blade, just an inch short, brushing past her fair skin.

Even so, the gale generated by swinging the sword still left a red line on that slender neck. The snow-white skin and the crimson line of blood were so beautiful in Shenwu's eyes.

Why……

His thoughts seemed to stretch out endlessly at this moment. The clanging sounds of weapons clashing echoed in his ears once more. He had thought he had the upper hand, but now, in retrospect, he realized that every clash of weapons, every seemingly helpless resistance from the girl, had actually struck the same spot precisely.

It took dozens, even hundreds, of strikes to create that gap.

I see……

The broken blade fell, the old force not yet exhausted, new force hard to generate, the body momentarily unable to move. In that split second, Shen Wu quietly pondered the details she had previously overlooked, while watching the narrow, light sword, which had grazed the girl's arm, swing to its limit, stopping in mid-air, reflecting a fleeting ray of sunlight. Then, she released her grip…

Then he gripped the hilt of the sword with his other hand—his right hand.

From right to left, from top to bottom, a slash straight ahead, against the wind... one strike!

……

One knife, one sword.

The knife was broken, one half lying on the ground, the other half hooked by fingertips, about to fall but not quite. The girl looked up, her left arm completely powerless, hanging limply at her side. She had one bare foot, was covered in blood, and was covered in wounds. The long sword in her right hand was deeply cleaved into Shen Wu's body.

From his left shoulder to his right rib, it almost splits his entire body in two.

A breeze rustled through the air; it was almost noon, and the sunlight shone on them, warm and comfortable.

After a long while, Shenwu chuckled slowly, his voice carrying a belated realization: "What a fine sword... So you're not left-handed after all."

"I am indeed... not left-handed."

The girl forced a weak smile, coughing up blood as she did so.

"Then it seems I didn't lose unjustly."

"Actually, no matter what you do today... cough cough, you can't win."

"Really? I don't believe it, you..."

He tried to say something more, but suddenly, a whooshing sound came from afar, and an arrow pierced the back of his head, its tip protruding slightly from between his eyebrows. Shenwu died with his mouth agape.

Red and white splattered onto Yashiro's face. She shook her head and muttered, "Look, there's another one trying to steal a kill over there..."

He then collapsed as well.

……

Chapter 71 No Feasting Allowed

Yashiro slept for three days and three nights.

The scenes in her dream were bizarre and fantastical, as if someone had thrown her decades of past and present lives into a juicer and churned them up violently. For a fleeting moment, she even seemed to dream of tricolor dumplings and Pepsi holding hands and dancing the samba...

Her consciousness would suddenly become clear, then become muddled again, and her body would alternate between hot and cold. She would often wake up with a start, thinking she was awake, only to find herself in another, even more absurd dream... one dream after another, like a dream, like reality.

Finally, for some unknown reason, the girl even felt she had died. Her body was placed in a coffin, sprinkled with flowers, and she transformed into a butterfly. Everyone she had known in this life came to participate in the ceremony. The monks of Longtai Temple chanted sutras, the air filled with the fragrance of incense, and a continuous feast was laid out. A group of people sang and danced, joining the samba procession led by Pepsi. People and cans held hands, their faces beaming with smiles. Only Longzi stood alone, holding a large basin, wailing and frantically eating the food...

Her own soul floated in the air, drooling as she looked at the familiar home-cooked delicacies she hadn't tasted in over a decade: the glistening braised pork, the melt-in-your-mouth preserved vegetable braised pork, the soft and glutinous steamed pork with rice flour, the spicy and flavorful twice-cooked pork, and the tender and delicious Dongpo pork that had been simmered for a long time, so tender that it could be easily pierced with a chopstick...

Perhaps it was because she hadn't had a proper feast in a long time, but in her dream, the dining table seemed to be filled with these hearty dishes that fitness enthusiasts would avoid at all costs. Yashiro watched as Ryuko gradually evolved from eating one piece of meat with each chopstick to eating a whole plate of meat with each chopstick, and then to eating a whole table of meat with each chopstick. She grew fatter and bigger with each meal, until she reached a state that was almost like the manifestation of heaven and earth, crushing the entire Japanese island. Mountains roared and the sea raged, causing the heavens and earth to weep and the earth to tremble. Ryuko, however, remained sitting cross-legged in the middle of the sea, eating and eating and eating...

"At least... at least leave me a piece of Dongpo pork—"

With a weak, hoarse cry, the girl finally awoke from this indescribable and terrifying dream.

The faint, unappetizing aroma of barley rice wafted into my nostrils, accompanied by the slurping sounds of people eating and drinking. Then the sounds stopped, and someone poked their head in: "Hey, Yashiro, you're awake! What did you say you wanted to eat? I didn't hear you clearly."

"I……"

"Anyway, here's a slice of radish for you to eat first, to tide you over—" she said, stuffing something into the girl's mouth. But she used a little too much force with her chopsticks and almost shoved the whole piece of pickled radish down her throat, causing Yashiro to choke and roll her eyes back. Ryuko was startled when she saw this and quickly pulled the slice of radish out.

Then another furious voice came, seemingly from Wan Guizhai: "Dragon! Prince! How many times have I told you! Don't stuff things into the patient's mouth, especially when Yashiro hasn't even woken up yet. You could accidentally kill her!"

"Crunch, crunch... But she's already awake, and she's clamoring for food." Longzi chewed on a radish, his tone sounding somewhat aggrieved.

"Really? No way... I'm still dizzy!"

"She did wake up just now..."

The two voices faded into the distance. Yashiro subconsciously licked her lips. The faint taste of the radish awakened her dormant taste buds. Her stomach rumbled incessantly. Suddenly, she began to miss the lavish feasts in her dreams, and the leisurely days when she could order barbecue in the middle of the night with her phone and enjoy it to her heart's content in just over half an hour...

My Dongpo pork...

The girl thought regretfully, and drifted back to sleep once more...

……

When I woke up again, it was already late at night outside the window.

All around was silent, with the faint chirping of a few unknown insects and the sound of rushing water beside them.

Hachiko was in a daze, and for a moment she thought she had finally died. This was the sound of the Sanzu River or the River of Oblivion flowing—which river it was, depending on how the Ten Kings of the Underworld judged a person's current status—but after a few seconds, she gradually realized that this was still the world of the living.

Someone came over with a wet cloth and rubbed it against her chapped lips, applying it repeatedly.

She closed her eyes and let the other person do as they pleased. Only after the person removed the cloth did she say in a hoarse voice, "Remember next time... wring it out first."

"Oh."

Lord Ryuko readily agreed and immediately wrung out the wet cloth a few times... and the water that came out splashed all over Yashiro's face.

"Wow!"

Even someone as carefree as Long Zi knew he had probably messed things up again. He let out a cry of surprise and hurriedly reached out to wipe it.

Before Yashiro could stop it, the person who had been sitting on the windowsill couldn't stand it anymore and sighed, "What deep-seated grudge do you have against this little blind girl? She's already half dead, and you still have to torment her like this."

But it was the voice of Mochizuki Chiyo.

"what?"

Ryuko was stunned, as if he hadn't reacted yet. Chiyome sighed again, jumped off the windowsill, and waved her hand helplessly, "Alright, we'll help you. You go and rest."

"No, I promised to take care of Yashiro," Ryuko insisted.

Chiyo was taken aback by those words, but after a moment's thought, she said, "Okay, you take care of her. Now go downstairs and call someone to make something to eat and bring it up as soon as possible. She's been sleeping for so long, she must be very hungry. Don't let her get sick from hunger."

"That makes sense, I'll be right back!"

This time, Longzi readily agreed and, without saying a word, ran downstairs.

After the most boisterous person left, the room fell silent. Chiyome looked down at her without saying a word. Yashiro closed her eyes, silently feeling her gaze. At a moment, she suddenly asked, "You sent Ryuko away...you weren't planning to assassinate me, were you?"

"...You'll drive your sister crazy sooner or later!"

It's hard to say whether Chiyo had any murderous intent at that moment, but as a mature adult, she simply took a few deep breaths, glared at the girl with a bit of annoyance, and then sat down next to her.

He asked impatiently, "Want some water?"

"want."

With her help, Yashiro sat up with some difficulty. Chiyome wiped her face, removing all the water stains, and then took a small bowl from the side and brought it to her lips. The water was still warm, and Yashiro took a few small sips, finally feeling a little better in her parched throat.

I didn't feel anything when I was lying down, but now that I'm sitting up, I feel pain all over my body, like my body is falling apart. Fortunately, the places where I was cut by the knife have been bandaged and treated with medicine, and there is a slight coolness in the pain.

"Speaking of which, it's a good thing you're still alive, Hachiko. You were unconscious for several days and had a high fever for a while. We almost thought you wouldn't make it." Chiyo said, then grinned. "Afterwards, I have to go out and return the coffin you just bought to the shop... Tsk, just thinking about it is troublesome."

At the end, she clicked her tongue as if trying to cover up her mistake.

But Yashiro's attention was completely focused on the last sentence—So you've already prepared a coffin while I've only been unconscious for a few days!

I was speechless for a moment, but then I thought about it and realized that this probably showed how critical my situation had been a few days ago. Otherwise, these people would not have gone to the trouble of "preparing for a rainy day" and spending so much time and effort to bring back a coffin as a backup.

With her mouth slightly moistened, the girl reached out and pushed the small bowl away. Whether it was because she had slept too long, was too badly injured, or was too hungry, her whole body felt limp, and even this simple action felt incredibly tiring.

"Is Kagami... dead?"

"Don't worry, that guy is definitely dead this time. Lord Yamamoto personally cut off his head and brought it back to the manor for the lord to examine. He also collected your reward for you, saving you the trouble of making a special trip to the mountains of Kai."

Chiyo finished speaking with a smile, then suddenly changed the subject, "As for why I'm still here, Hachiko, don't get the wrong idea that I'm worried you'll miss me. It's just that Lord Yamamoto specifically instructed me to stay and protect you before he left, so that no one would try to harm you... I initially thought this worry was unnecessary, but then I realized that your life is indeed in grave danger... mainly because that little guy named Ryuko could easily kill you."

At first glance, this statement seemed to make no mistake, but after a moment's thought, Yashiro seemed to detect a subtle sense of arrogance in it—considering that her current state was really not good and she probably couldn't beat the other party, she wisely did not expose this.

On the other side, after mocking Ryuko's performance over the past few days, Chiyome shook her head. Perhaps fearing that Yashiro might have misunderstood and developed a rift with Ryuko, she turned around and spoke up for him: "But that's true, that little guy is indeed clumsy, but he really cares about you. These past few days, he's been by your side the whole time, almost never leaving from morning till night, even eating his meals here. I can tell that the little guy has probably never taken care of anyone like this before; you might be the first one."

The implication is that although Ryuko is not very good at practical operations and is prone to turning minor injuries into serious ones and living people into dead ones, he at least has a kind heart and good intentions, and wants Yashiro not to mind the series of "attacks" just now.

"I understand."

The girl laughed.

She could easily sense the dragon prince's enthusiasm, so she felt no anger or dissatisfaction. On the contrary, recalling the dragon prince's usual confident and smug demeanor, and comparing it with his flustered state after messing things up, this rare display of clumsiness even made her find it somewhat endearing.

It's like seeing my niece, who's just started elementary school, clumsily helping her parents with chores; it warms my heart... Wait a minute, isn't this analogy a bit inappropriate? It sounds like something an older man would say—she's still a lively and beautiful fifteen-year-old girl!

Although she didn't really know what she looked like, she figured she might as well call herself a beautiful girl since it didn't cost her any taxes.

Thinking this, she chuckled softly. Sensing Chiyome's questioning gaze, Yashiro shook her head with a smile and changed the subject, asking her about what happened after the battle.

Although Chiyo was knocked unconscious by the backlash of the Heart-Seal Technique early on, she was not the main target of Kanna's attack. She was just caught in the crossfire and woke up quickly.

Then they discovered the battle was over, and the two men, covered in blood, lay on the ground. For a moment, they thought they had both perished, and were terrified. Only after confirming that Yashiro was still breathing did they breathe a sigh of relief. At that moment, Ryuko, carrying a bow and arrows, rushed over and immediately checked Yashiro's breathing. He was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Thank goodness, she's still alive—oh dear!"

Suddenly, she was startled again: "Yashiro is still alive, which means I didn't need to shoot that arrow just now... Will she be upset that I stole her thunder and her life!"

Throughout history, merits on the battlefield have often been calculated based on the number of heads taken. The Tsutsuzaki-kan side has offered a high bounty for Kanna, and the bounty can only be claimed by bringing a head to the door. She looked down at the arrow that had pierced her skull, her brows furrowed, and suddenly reached out to pull the arrow out.

"Wait, wait, wait—" Chiyo quickly stopped her. What a joke! This arrow had pierced right through her from the back of her head to her forehead. If she were to pull it out by hand, her entire head would probably be shattered. She didn't want to see such a bloody scene. "Hachihiro is reasonable. He won't blame you. Let's take him back first. If we don't save him soon, this little guy will probably become a corpse soon too."

Thus, despite his expensive foreign clothes being stained with blood, Ryuko carried the unconscious girl and strode forward. Chiyome pouted and dragged the dead Kanna along unwillingly behind. When they returned to the town, Mankisai, who was anxiously waiting, immediately came to greet them. After a lot of work, they finally managed to rescue Yashiro from the clutches of the King of Hell.

"...In that case, I should thank Lord Mochizuki for saving my life."

"Hmph, it's a bit too early to thank me now. If you keep being so foul-mouthed and really make me angry, I might just kill you right here and now—like this." Chiyo used her hand as a knife and lightly slashed at her neck.

The girl didn't flinch; instead, she chuckled and offered her neck.

"please."

It displayed a submissive posture, as if it were about to be slaughtered.

Chiyome's raised hand chop didn't come down in the end. Instead, she used "Night Battle in All Directions" and lightly tapped Yashiro on the forehead: "What do you mean by 'adult' or 'not adult'? Call me 'older sister'!"

"...Sister." When you're under someone's roof, you have no choice but to bow your head. Feeling the blade so close yet so sharp, Yashiro could only "bear the burden" and obediently call out.

Chiyo nodded in satisfaction and smiled happily: "Hmm, that sounds nice." It was as if in her mind, just getting the girl to call her "sister" was already an incredibly great victory. For a moment, she was full of pride and felt a little giddy.

"correct--"

But even as she drifted along, she couldn't forget to ask a question that had been lingering in her mind for a long time: "Who exactly was that master who played the pipa back then?"

Although Chiyome was nearly unconscious at the time, she still heard the piercing sound of the pipa before she completely lost consciousness. Especially after just facing the secret technique of the Godless Heart Seal, whose mere aftershocks had utterly routed her, the pipa player had effortlessly broken through the Godless Heart Seal with just one string. This effortless yet powerful strength both terrified Chiyome and aroused in her admiration and even worship.

Yashiro and Yamamoto Kansuke shared a consensus: they could lose a one-on-one fight, but Kanna had to die. So, in addition to her and Ryuko, who was lying in ambush as a backup, Yamamoto Kansuke also laid a trap in a location that Kanna wouldn't notice, to ensure that even if Yashiro was defeated and died, Ryuko's arrows would not kill Kanna and would not allow him to escape again.

Since Yamamoto Kansuke had a backup plan, it was reasonable for Yashiro to have other arrangements. The sudden sound of the biwa was clearly the work of this young girl.

With this thought in mind, Chiyome had been itching to meet that unfathomable figure and ask him for advice in person for the past few days—an irresistible temptation for a musician.

Now that the girl has finally woken up, she immediately asked, "With such strength, you certainly can't be an unknown person. Where did you meet such a master, Yashiro? If possible, could you introduce her to me?"

But when he asked that question, he saw Yashiro completely stunned: "That biwa... it wasn't played by one of your people?"

"...No!"

Chiyo was stunned upon hearing this.

Just then, a commotion broke out downstairs, and Longzi's voice was the most prominent among the noise: "Strange, who put a pipa here... and why is there a letter too?"

……

Chapter Seventy-Two: A Pipa

The commotion below quickly subsided, and after a while, Ryuko came up to the second floor carrying a pipa and a letter, and placed the two items in front of Yashiro: "I heard that these are all for you."

"For me?"