Yashiro the Blind

"What's that look in your eyes?"

What kind of tone is that?

"You fatherless scoundrel!"

"You motherless bastard!"

In broad daylight, on the bustling streets of the castle town, two ronin, after a brief exchange of words, had drawn their swords and stood facing each other, their murderous intent escalating. If a similar scene had occurred in Nara or Suruga, it would have undoubtedly caused chaos, but at this moment, the surrounding pedestrians merely shouted, "This is going to be good!" "Hurry up and make your move, the town magistrate is on his way—" "I bet on the one on the left, two fine Yongle coins!" "I bet five coins!" "Three coins!"

In the blink of an eye, the crowd of onlookers had already formed a dense, impenetrable barrier around the two who were about to clash. Not only that, but it seemed that the betting had already been set up. A middle-aged man with a particularly lewd voice was darting around in the crowd, shouting and constantly taking copper coins from other people's hands.

In the midst of the bustling atmosphere, a loud shout suddenly came from the other end of the street: "The magistrate is here!"

"Oh no, let's get out of here!"

"Let's disperse, let's disperse—"

The crowd dispersed in a panic, and then someone else realized what was happening: "Hey, who was running a gambling den in the chaos? Give me my money back!"

"And my money!"

The group was making a ruckus, but the man with the lewd voice had already disappeared. By the time the town magistrate arrived with a few of his men, the townspeople who had been watching the commotion earlier had already returned to their places: some were setting up stalls, some were hawking their wares, and some were sunbathing. A monk, after a moment of preparation, began to play the shakuhachi.

Only the two ronin who had just been at each other's throats remained standing there, looking at each other, probably completely bewildered.

The town magistrate glanced at them: "From out of town?"

"what……"

"Fine, those two might be spies from another country. Tie them up and take them back. Although I don't think there could be spies that stupid, it's free to interrogate them anyway... Let's get started!"

The town magistrate casually waved his hand, and several of his men rushed forward, wielding sticks and beating the two ronin to the ground, tying them up like dumplings, and dragging them away.

The commotion, which had just erupted into a bloodbath, subsided in an instant, and the street returned to its usual noisy atmosphere, as if nothing had happened. Yashiro stood under the eaves for a while, then asked with a strange expression, "Is it always like this here...?"

“It hasn’t always been like this,” Ryuko replied.

"I'm just saying..."

"Sometimes it happens every two or three days, sometimes it happens two or three times a day... Anyway, the Hojo family is quite efficient, so it's not a big deal that no one gets killed."

“…I see.” Yashiro chuckled dryly. “As expected of Kanto.”

"Really? I don't see much difference between the west and here." Ryuko said, somewhat puzzled. "Putting everything else aside, Yashiro, haven't you been fighting quite a few people along the way?"

“I can’t refute it… Forget it, let’s hurry on our way before the next group of troublemakers comes out. Your home should be just ahead.” Thinking of his experiences these past few days—or rather, his suffering—Yashiro felt really awful and didn’t want to think about it anymore. He shook his head and changed the subject.

"Yes, we arrived just before dark..." Perhaps thinking about the harsh reality he would have to face upon returning, Ryuko's tone sounded somewhat downcast.

Yashiro patted her arm without saying anything, but the gesture alone made Ryuko chuckle softly. Just as she was about to say something more, a voice suddenly came from across the street: "Miss... is that you, Miss?"

Long Zi paused for a moment, then looked up. Their eyes met, and the speaker was immediately overjoyed: "It really is Miss Long Zi... That's wonderful, you're finally back!"

As they spoke, the other person walked quickly over. At first glance, she appeared to be a woman in her thirties or forties. Although she was empty-handed and unarmed, her steps were steady and powerful, clearly indicating that she was skilled in martial arts.

Judging from the intimate way she addressed the dragon prince, her identity was self-evident; she must be from Kashima Shrine.

As expected, the dragon prince called out, "A-Zhao, you..." He was about to ask when he remembered Ya-Shiro standing beside him and explained, "This is A-Zhao, my mother's most trusted maid; A-Zhao, this is Ya-Shiro, my friend."

Yashiro nodded and greeted them. The woman named Osho was overjoyed: "What? Did I hear that right, Osho? Miss Ryuko, you've made friends too? That's wonderful! I must hurry back and tell the old master this good news... Ah..."

At the end, she paused, as if she had thought of something, and suddenly stopped.

Seeing this, Longzi's heart skipped a beat. After a moment's hesitation, he gritted his teeth and asked, "I was just about to ask you, Azhao. I heard that Grandpa had an accident. What exactly happened?"

Azhao, however, seemed hesitant to speak, constantly glancing at Hachishiro with her eyes.

The girl vaguely sensed something and was about to tactfully back away, but Longzi was one step ahead, reaching out to grab her right arm and shaking his head: "She is my friend, you don't need to hide anything from her."

Feeling the hand gripping her trembling slightly, Yashiro sighed inwardly and stopped moving.

Ah Zhao glanced back and forth between the two of them, seemingly lost in thought. He was first taken aback, then startled, and finally revealed a strangely complex expression, as if he had tasted a bitter pill pickled in sugar, a mixture of emotions.

After a moment, she replied, "Alright, since you say so, Miss Longzi... the old man, he..."

The hand gripping his right arm tightened its hold, probably turning a bit blue. Yashiro forced himself not to grimace, silently making a mental note of this, determined to get his revenge someday—but Ryuko's increasingly rapid heartbeat was transmitted through their skin, and his palm was damp with sweat, sticky and making Yashiro feel a pang of pity.

"The old man... he's gone." Ah Zhao finally managed to utter the last part of the sentence.

"No, gone?"

The dragon prince, who had already prepared for the worst, was stunned upon hearing this. "What do you mean?"

“It means they’ve disappeared.” Ah Zhao glanced around, as if afraid of being overheard, and pulled the two of them a few steps toward the corner of the eaves, deliberately lowering his voice, “This news hasn’t spread yet. Ah Zhao is only telling you, Miss… and your friends. Please don’t tell anyone else.”

Then he began to recount the whole story, from beginning to end. Yashiro listened silently, knowing he was just an outsider caught in the middle. Even if he had doubts, he didn't voice them easily, but kept them in mind, preparing to ask Ryuko about them when the opportunity arose.

As she listened, her expression grew increasingly strange, until finally she felt as if she had something stuck in her throat and needed to speak out.

……

The strange phenomena surrounding Tsukahara Bokuden likely began more than half a month ago.

Although this swordsman is already 66 years old, he is still vigorous and strong. He beats his three sons as easily as beating his own sons. He still eats the same breakfast and lunch every day without fail. Even if there is no pickled vegetable, he can eat three bowls of rice with just soybean paste soup. Occasionally, he will take his hunting falcon into the mountains to hunt a deer or a wild boar to change things up.

The same thing happened the day before yesterday.

Not long ago, a close friend gave Tsukahara Bokuden a musket. He was very fond of this new type of weapon and kept praising it, saying, "This thing is much better than swords!"

After studying it for a while, he picked up his arquebus and went up the mountain. Ignoring the advice of his companions, he shot down a wild boar with one shot. He then ordered the others to drag the boar to a nearby village, fetch a pot, pick some wild vegetables, and cook the boar on the spot. He then had a hearty meal with the villagers. It is said that the old man alone ate almost half of the boar, which amazed the others at the table.

"It looks like I can live for another twenty or thirty years."

He was laughing so happily at the time.

But after returning home, the old man's condition began to deteriorate. He patted his stomach and frowned, saying, "I probably ate too much..." Someone hurriedly called a doctor over, and after the examination, it was confirmed that there was nothing wrong. They thought the matter was over.

However, two days later, the old man started sighing again: "I feel a little unwell..." When asked where he felt unwell, he would only answer: "Headache." or "Back pain, waist pain... I just feel pain everywhere."

The highly respected physician was summoned again, and he shakily took Tsukahara Bokuden's pulse, but still couldn't find anything wrong.

The old man's condition worsened day by day. Although he still ate as much as he was supposed to at his two regular meals, he mostly stayed indoors, locked himself in his bedroom, and no one was around to see him. No one knew what he was doing.

Until five days ago, early in the morning, after finishing his third bowl of wheat porridge with his wife's help, he put down his chopsticks, exhaled, and suddenly said, "I'm leaving! Quickly go and call my good-for-nothing sons and apprentices over, hurry, or it will be too late!"

Seeing his anxious demeanor, his wife hurriedly went out to call for help, but by the time a large group of people arrived, Tsukahara Bokuden was nowhere to be found in the bedroom. The window was open, and on the quilt where he had been sitting, there lay only a musket—the very one they had used to hunt wild boar not long ago.

"So, A-Zhao, that's why you said... Grandpa is missing?" Upon hearing this, Longzi finally couldn't help but interject.

“That’s right.” The woman nodded.

Longzi asked in confusion, "But if that's the case, why did the story eventually turn into the fact that Grandpa is dead? The two versions are quite far apart..."

"As for that... it's because there was a note left on that cannon..."

"A note?"

……

According to A-Zhao's description, the note had a line of words written on it in a flamboyant style: "I have already disintegrated from my military service, leaving no trace of my physical form. Go back to where you were, and do not worry about me."

This line of text is clearly in Tsukahara Bokuden's handwriting, and perhaps to prevent others from not understanding, there is a footnote below this sentence:

"Note: 'Bingjie' means to attain liberation through weapons. In ancient times, there was a man named Guo Pu... Dun did not believe it, and when he opened the coffin, there was no corpse. Pu attained the way of 'Bingjie' and is now known as the Water Immortal Master." This passage, drawing on classical texts, explains the meaning of "Bingjie" in a simple and profound way.

"...After reading this note, opinions differed. Some believed the old man had truly died by suicide, citing the fact that his body was missing, leaving only a cannon. Others said it was a joke, that the old man wasn't dead... Both sides held their ground, arguing fiercely, leaving me, Ah Zhao, unsure what to do. Fortunately, Miss, you're back. With you here, Madam has someone to rely on and won't panic too much..."

The woman breathed a sigh of relief as she spoke.

Yashiro, who had listened to the whole story, was both amused and exasperated.

Is there even a need to argue about this? It's obvious that Mr. Tsukahara Bokuden is just joking around and playing with people!

Making up an excuse of suicide is one thing, but it's as if he's afraid no one will understand his burden. He not only left a note but also added annotations. Compared to the joke itself, this kind of excessive effort is even more amusing.

However, at the same time, Yashiro secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She thought to herself, Tsukahara Bokuden clearly lived for more than ten years, so there was no way he could have died so early... In this way, Ryuko, who had been worried all the way, could finally relax...

With a huge weight lifted from her heart, she was about to tease the dragon prince and tell him to let go of the hand that was gripping her. But as soon as she turned her head, she felt that the grip was not loosening, but rather tightening even more, which almost made the girl cry out in pain.

The next second, another loud sob was heard.

For a moment, Yashiro was stunned. Then she heard Ryuko sniffle again, gripping her forearm tightly while pouting and crying like a child.

"Waaah, Grandpa—"

"..."

She actually believed it!?

……

Chapter 75 A Sword Like a Dream

"So, Yashiro, you mean... sobbing... Grandpa, he's not dead?"

"I can't guarantee it completely either..."

"Woo-"

"Okay, your grandfather should be fine and still alive!"

Yashiro originally wanted to speak carefully and cautiously, but as soon as she said that, Ryuko seemed to be about to cry again, which made her feel very confused. In order not to make the situation more complicated, she could only make a quick promise.

"Really...really?" Ryuko sniffed and asked, her voice choked with emotion.

"It's really true."

Since she had already spoken, Yashiro had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue.

“But Grandpa said… he wouldn’t lie to me.” Longzi still didn’t believe it.

"Your grandfather never lied to you?" The girl was taken aback.

"He did lie before, but last time he said it was the last time, and it wouldn't happen again. And the time before that, Grandpa said the same thing, and the time before that, and the time before that... wait?"

As he spoke, it seemed even Longzi himself felt something was amiss. His tone grew increasingly hesitant, and finally he let out a soft "Eh," conveying a thousand unspoken words.

The maid, A-Zhao, stood by with a bitter smile, while Ya-Xuan was heartbroken over the collapse of her idol. In just a short while, the once tall and imposing figure of Tsukahara Bokuden had been completely shattered into pieces.

The girl shook her head and briefly analyzed the situation with Longzi, telling him not to worry, as it was probably just another joke by her grandfather. Although Longzi was still somewhat skeptical, he eventually stopped crying.

Considering that Longzi was somewhat of a celebrity in this area—after all, given his status and personality, it was impossible for him not to be famous—while no one else was paying attention to the commotion, Azhao led the two into a nearby alley and hurriedly returned to the shrine.

During this time, she deliberately slowed down and whispered her thanks to Yashiro: "It was really thanks to you just now. If it were just me alone, I really wouldn't have been able to appease Miss Ryuko... And what you said does make sense."

“You’re welcome…” Yashiro hesitated for a moment, “Miss A-Teru, do you also believe in this theory of self-destruction?”

Although the two had only just met, she felt that the other person was probably a mature person. Could such a person also be deceived?

Upon hearing this, A-Zhao gave a wry smile: "Generally speaking, I wouldn't believe it, but the problem is..."

"What's the problem?"

"This family is no ordinary family..."

Ah Zhao let out a soft sigh, his tone carrying a sense of calm that came from having experienced many vicissitudes of life.

Yashiro was silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you for your hard work."

"hehe."

She covered her mouth and chuckled softly, everything understood without words.

……

The journey was uneventful, and we arrived at Kashima Shrine.

The three arrived at the door, where servants greeted them: "Ah Zhao, and... Miss Longzi?!" Noticing Longzi behind them, the man was equally surprised and delighted.

"Don't just stand there. Miss looks travel-worn. Quickly fetch some water for her to wash her face. Also, have someone prepare some of the things Miss Longzi likes to eat. Once the food is ready, take it all to Madam..."

Azhao gave instructions in an orderly manner. On one hand, she had the male servant take the fine horse that Yashiro and the others had "borrowed" from the bandits to feed it. On the other hand, she called a maid and asked her to lead Yashiro to the guest room to rest. She also emphasized that this was Miss Ryuko's honored guest and that she should not be neglected.

After everything was arranged, A-Zhao pulled Longzi along—presumably to prevent him from escaping—and said with a smile, "Come, Miss, let's go see Madam together. It's been so long since we last met; she must miss you terribly."

"kindness……"

Longzi was eager to return home and was extremely anxious. He rushed back day and night to confirm his grandfather's life or death. However, after listening to Baxun's analysis, he felt that it made a lot of sense. His grandfather was probably alright. Once the weight was lifted from his heart, he immediately regretted his decision.

Especially when A-Zhao mentioned her mother, the little girl looked visibly resistant and unwilling, constantly glancing at Hachiro as if pleading for help. Unfortunately, the latter didn't say anything to stop her and just watched helplessly as she was dragged away...

What a heartless fellow!

Wait, without realizing it, she forgot that Yashiro is blind... So, isn't this literally giving a flirtatious look to a blind person? Wait, this isn't a flirtatious look either!

As always, Longzi's thoughts wandered wildly. In the midst of this random musings, he was led away by Azhao's hand and they went far away.

Yashiro shrugged. She wasn't unaware of Ryuko's plea for help, but she just didn't know how to help—it's only natural for a mother to want to see her daughter, so why should she stop her? Of course, on the other hand, she felt that although Ryuko seemed somewhat reluctant, she didn't really not want to go see her mother with Akira, but rather it was more like she was being difficult.