Yashiro the Blind

The roadside weeds shook violently, and a gray shadow pounced out like a wild beast. With a loud shout, the gleaming blade in his hand slashed directly at Zaemon!

The attack came so fast that the young man froze, his hand still gripping the katana tightly, completely forgetting everything else. He didn't even try to dodge, just staring blankly as the blade grew larger and larger before his eyes, about to fall...

The next second, the attacker suddenly screamed again, as if struck by something, and fell back into the bushes with a rustling sound. Zaemon stood there frozen for two seconds before finally reacting, cautiously raising his sword: "Who goes there!"

"Hmph... He's a master."

The man in the bushes stood up again, but his voice became slurred. He wiped his blood-stained mouth, revealing that one of his front teeth was missing. "To be able to counterattack at that distance... what kind of hidden weapon did you use!"

Zaemon blinked, his mind filled with questions. Hidden weapon?

What kind of hidden weapon?

Just then, he suddenly saw something bloody lying quietly next to the grass. It was a tiny thing, like... a fruit pit that someone had left uneaten and carelessly discarded.

But Zaemon immediately regained his composure and stared intently at the attacker who had nearly killed him—

This was a disheveled man with a stubble beard and tangled, messy hair. The hilt of his knife was casually tied with straw, and a flint and several dirty bags hung beside him. He was wearing a cheap shirt and trousers, and one sleeve of his shirt looked like it had been torn off, revealing his right arm gripping a gleaming large knife.

At first glance, he was the kind of typical thug, a wandering samurai who had gathered in the mountains and deserts. He was looking Zaemon up and down with his cloudy, yellowish eyes, and then his gaze went over Zaemon's shoulder to a man and a woman not far behind him.

"What? It turns out they just happened to be passing by... I thought that madman was chasing after us."

"What madman?"

"It's the Dragon Palace Attendant! The Dragon Palace Attendant! We just killed a few people randomly in Yuanjiang, who knew we'd be chased by that masked madman all the way, and we barely managed to shake him off by water..."

Rather than explaining to Zaemon, this samurai seemed to be simply venting his anger and fear. Zaemon listened expressionlessly, then his brow twitched slightly—he appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, he was terrified as he stared at the large sword in the other man's hand, which was clearly covered in grease and blood.

"I don't know the Dragon Palace attendant you're talking about," he said in a deep voice, trying to remain calm.

"Ah, I thought so too." The samurai cautiously surveyed the area, responding casually.

"So, I won't hold what happened earlier against you... let's pretend it never happened and let the three of us leave." Struggling to hold up his katana and project an image of "I'm armed too," Zaemon tried to negotiate while trying not to tremble.

To everyone's surprise, the samurai, who had been somewhat wary, suddenly relaxed upon hearing this: "What did you say? Let the three of you leave? Hahahaha, so you're scared too!"

Oops……

Zaemon's expression changed... but he didn't. His stoic demeanor was on full display at this moment, but unfortunately, the fleeting wavering in his eyes didn't escape the dark pupils of the samurai. The man with the missing front tooth grinned maliciously: "Looking closely, you don't even hold your sword properly. You're just a newbie... Excellent, excellent!"

He said "Great!" twice, the drafty sound echoing in the twilight, and then pointed to the house behind him with his thumb.

"I'm not afraid to let you die knowing the truth. Our leaders are inside discussing something with a big shot. We've made it very clear beforehand that anyone who passes by here during this period, no matter who they are, must be killed. Better to kill the wrong person than let one go..."

"So kid, you and your two companions are doomed. If you have to hate someone, hate yourself for choosing this path out of so many others."

……

Chapter 88 The Three of Us Are Really Amazing

The scene was tense and confrontational, with the atmosphere on the verge of conflict.

Zaemon gripped his sword with both hands, his face expressionless except for a slight tremor in his brows, like a taut bowstring poised to unleash a fierce storm. As long as he remained silent, he appeared to others as a genuine, cold-faced master, his icy aura alone enough to frighten away any petty villains.

Unfortunately, at this moment, staring at the blood-stained greatsword of the samurai in front of him, he suddenly turned into a newborn fawn, his two little legs almost trembling, his eyes darting around in panic, and the blade in his hand shaking violently, almost falling to the ground several times, but fortunately he managed to hold on at the last moment.

Seeing this scene, it naturally lost all its deterrent effect and only made people laugh.

The samurai burst into laughter: "Where did this coward come from? You can't even hold a sword properly, yet you dare to challenge me? You're courting death! Fine, since all three of you are about to die anyway, why should I bother with you?"

After laughing, the man brandished his knife, his eyes flashing with a fierce light. Their eyes met, and Zaemon swallowed hard, involuntarily taking a step back. When he came to his senses, a strong sense of shame welled up within him—how could a descendant of samurai be so cowardly!

"Brother, take the girl and run!" he shouted, taking another step forward before returning to his original position. Though the tip of his blade swayed, it still pointed at the filthy samurai.

The next moment, footsteps sounded, but they weren't moving away; instead, they were approaching!

"you……"

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his younger brother, Uemon, looking timid as he ran over with his wakizashi and stood beside him.

"What are you doing!" Zaemon frowned slightly. "Didn't I tell you to take the girl and run!"

"No, no, no, I don't want to! We're brothers, if we live, we live together, if we die, we die together!" Uemon gritted his teeth, his usually hesitant tone revealing a generous and resolute spirit.

Zaemon paused for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing: "Fine, then we'll all die here together today! Yashiro, we'll buy you some time, you'd better run!"

Originally, she thought that Yashiro was blind and would be at a disadvantage if she ran away alone, so she wanted her younger brother to take her away. However, after thinking about it again, in terms of speed, Yashiro didn't seem to be much behind them... This was a euphemism. In reality, sometimes even Zaemon was struggling to keep up. The two big men were panting heavily, but the little girl didn't even break a sweat.

In that case, it shouldn't be a problem for her to escape alone, right?

Zaemon steeled his resolve, gazing at his younger brother, with whom he had depended on for over twenty years. In that instant, he felt a raging fire rise from the depths of his heart, his legs and hands stopped trembling, and only boundless heroic passion surged forth.

As his fear subsided and reason regained control, he stared at the wild samurai's fierce face, and a sudden realization dawned on him:

The two brothers had never actually fought anyone with swords and spears. On the contrary, judging from the appearance of the opponent's weapon, it was clear that he had already killed more than one person. The two sides were not even in the same league. If they let the opponent make a move, even if it was two against one, they would still be sure to die...

To win, you have to get there first!

"Drink ah ah ah!"

Taking a deep breath with all his might, Zaemon suddenly roared, raised his sword above his head with both hands, and then slashed down fiercely!

But at the same time, he saw a hint of mockery and ridicule in the eyes of the samurai opposite him. Just as he charged forward, the other man seized the opportunity, leaped backward, and swung his blood-stained greatsword upward in a smooth slash...

In a flash, Zaemon seemed to see his tragic future—his slash would miss, and the samurai's blade would pierce his body, possibly splitting him in two, or getting stuck in one of the bones in the middle... Either way, he would surely die.

Uemon, standing nearby, cried out in alarm and tried to rush to his aid, but that short step now seemed like an insurmountable chasm. Only the panic and despair in his eyes intensified...

Snapped!

Something flew over.

The younger brother felt a sharp pain in his wrist, and the wakizashi, which he hadn't been holding tightly to begin with, flew out. Whether by chance or intention, it struck the blade that the samurai had raised. The force wasn't great, but it still caused the angle to shift, grazing past Zaemon's body and cutting through nothing but air.

Snapped!

The second soft sound followed immediately. The sword that Zaemon had mustered the courage to slash out had just been used up. His old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet emerged. His whole body was in a stiff and straight state. The samurai opposite him was different.

Having killed many people, he gradually learned how to conserve his strength. He only used about 50-60% of his strength in the slash he had just made. When his move missed, he twisted his wrist, and within inches, the blade drew an arc in the air, about to slash at the cold-faced youth again!

Suddenly, my knee hurt.

It was a familiar pain. Just now, the same pain had caused him to lose a front tooth, his mouth full of blood. At first, he thought it was that cowardly guy with the expressionless face who did it, but then he thought it was another man with a short sword. Seeing him approaching, the samurai lowered his guard...

Everything happened like a spark on a stone, a flash of lightning. He was suddenly attacked, the unexpected attack causing the samurai's left leg to buckle, and he involuntarily stumbled forward. The blade he had already swung naturally missed its mark, and at the same time, Zaemon's katana, having overused the move, stopped in mid-air—

The knife tip pierced directly into his mouth and then emerged from the back of his head.

Two more wild fruit seeds rolled on the ground, one in front of the other.

"what……"

After a long while, Zaemon's heart, which had nearly leaped out of his chest, finally calmed down a little. He still gripped his dagger, his eyes fixed on the unseeing eyes of the samurai. The distance between life and death was less than a foot.

"I...I won, I won!"

My mind went blank; I couldn't remember what had happened in that brief moment. But no matter what, since the enemy was dead, it was definitely a victory. As for how exactly I won... did it really matter?

A surge of elation at escaping death welled up within him, only to be quickly replaced by the terror of witnessing a dead body up close. However, neither of these emotions lingered in Zaemon's heart for long. Years of wandering had gradually shaped this cold-faced young man into a practical person. Without indulging in either joy or fear, he immediately began to think about more useful things.

"Quick, little brother, and Yashiro-san too, let's get out of here now!"

Although the enemy in front of them was dead, according to what the enemy had said before, there must be other accomplices in that house. Once they heard the noise and rushed out, the three of them would probably be doomed. While urging the other two to prepare, Zaemon suppressed his nausea, pressed down on the samurai's head, and with a sudden force, tried to pull out his sword...

It wouldn't budge.

"...Drink it!"

This time, he mustered all his strength and pulled hard, finally freeing the katana from the skull. However, at the same time, Zaemon was splattered with disgusting red and white scum, some of it even getting into his mouth. He spat twice, not bothering to wipe himself, and turned to grab his younger brother's shoulder. "Let's go!"

"well!"

The younger brother, Uemon, hunched his shoulders, seemingly having calmed down from his earlier impulsiveness and reverting to his timid self. However, the two brothers hadn't taken more than a few steps when they noticed Yashiro still standing there, not moving an inch. Uemon couldn't help but anxiously say, "Miss, if we don't leave now, it'll be too late!"

“It’s too late.” Yashiro shook his head and pointed casually. The two brothers turned to look. Zaemon wiped his face with his sleeve and then saw clearly that two rough men dressed as samurai had stepped out of the wooden house. Their two vulture-like, sinister gazes first lingered on their companion’s corpse before landing on them.

"This……"

His grip on the sword tightened, and although his voice was hoarse, Zaemon forced himself to say, "Little brother, you take one, I'll take one. Are you confident?"

Even though he knew he was just putting on a brave face, Uemon still nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes!"

Then they watched as two more people came out of the house.

"Brother, you...you two, me two, how about that?" Zaemon felt his calves cramping again.

"it is good……"

But when the fifth and sixth men emerged from the small wooden hut, Zaemon, the fat man with a swollen face, could no longer maintain his facade. He had initially felt a slight surge of pride after inexplicably killing a samurai, thinking that one enemy might be manageable, and two might even be worth a fight. But even in his wildest imagination, he hadn't considered the possibility of taking on three at once…

Why would so many people be hiding in a small house?

He was speechless with emotion, and could only pull his younger brother along again, hurriedly calling out to Yashiro, all his unspoken words condensing into a single shout:

"...Girl, you're trying to escape!"

……

In the end, he still couldn't escape.

The two brothers were already exhausted from traveling all day, let alone carrying a burden. They hadn't gone far when they were surrounded and blocked by two wild samurai. The others followed closely behind, surrounding them and grinding their teeth, sucking blood, as if they were about to eat them raw, dipped in soybean paste.

"How to do?"

"What do you mean, what to do? Our men have all been killed by these two brats. Of course, we should kill them."

"Wouldn't it be too easy for them to just kill them like this... And that woman, wouldn't it be a waste to just kill her like this..."

"Then let you have some fun first?"

"really?"

"Of course it's fake, you idiot! You wouldn't get a chance to try something this good; the boss would have to have it first."

Seemingly confident of their victory, the samurai loosely surrounded the three, hurling insults at them. Zaemon bit his lip, gripping his blood-stained katana, and together with his brother, they each flanked the blind girl, protecting her behind them.

Now that things have come to this point, and he knows in his heart that there is no way to escape, he is no longer afraid at all, but he is no longer as excited as before, and his heart is at peace.

Out of the corner of his eye, he met his brother's gaze and found the same emotion in his eyes—after twenty-five years of mediocrity, to be able to die a heroic death here today, and to die protecting his employer, his parents and ancestors would surely be proud of them if they knew.

"I am Tarozaemon, from a farm in Tōtōmi Province, and this is my younger brother, Jirōemon! You bunch of beasts and scum who are not worthy of being called human, if you want to kill my brothers, then bring it on! I'll cut you all down right here!"

His heart was as still as water, yet a surge of heroic spirit welled up within it. Zaemon gripped his sword in one hand; the blood of the wild samurai still clung to the blade, and the faint scent of blood lingered in his breath, making him even more fearless. Life is a long journey of decades, but death is but a fleeting moment.

A momentary impulse can overcome the human instinctual fear of death.

Hearing his loud curses, the rude samurai all changed their expressions, and some were about to draw their swords. Zaemon swallowed hard and tried his best to protect his employer behind him, even if it was just for a minute... no, even for a second. He wanted to become a samurai and fight to the death for his lord.

At this moment, his lord is this woman named Yashiro. A rice ball when he was starving, and her magnanimity when he went astray—this kindness is worth repaying with his life.

But it was precisely at this moment—

"Stop, stop!"

Then someone else came up from behind, shouting and parting the crowd, and came up to the three of them.

This man was clearly not one of the wild samurai. He was dressed in bright and shiny clothes, dressed like a samurai. Although he was middle-aged, he still looked handsome and spirited. The two swords hanging at his waist were obviously not ordinary. The hilts were decorated with many metal products, and the scabbards were also painted with exquisite family crests.

The middle-aged man was holding a fan, which he hadn't opened. He clapped his hands repeatedly and shouted, "You rude scoundrels, stop right now!"

At the shout, the few wild warriors who had been eager to fight retreated.

"mound……"

Someone tried to speak, but was glared at fiercely by the middle-aged man and hurriedly shut their mouth. The latter then smiled at Zaemon: "Long time no see, Miss Yashiro, do you remember me?"

Oh, so you weren't smiling at him.

Saemon belatedly realized what was happening and followed suit, only to be filled with surprise again: Who is this person, and why does he know Yashiro?

“Judging from that voice…” The blind girl, who had remained silent since being surrounded, finally spoke. Her voice was as soft and gentle as ever, showing no sign of worry about the current situation. “Could the person who has come be Lord Tsukahara Takehira?”

"Haha, it's me. Oh dear, we only met briefly four years ago, I thought you wouldn't remember me, Yashiro-san."

Tsukahara Takehira laughed heartily, then glared reproachfully at the group of samurai, "You bunch of blind fools, do you even know who this is! She's my father's close friend, despite the age difference. If any of you cause her to lose a single hair, I'll chop you all down on the spot!"

"You're joking. It's just a hair, how could it be enough to take someone's life?" Yashiro smiled and shook his head. "But four years ago... I thought you, Lord Takehira, would definitely dislike me."

"It's a misunderstanding, haha, just a little misunderstanding, please don't take it to heart. You know I'm a heavy drinker, and I tend to get into trouble when I'm drunk. You don't know, my older brothers scolded me quite a bit after that incident. I've long since turned over a new leaf, but it's a pity I haven't had the chance to see you again, Miss Ba Xun, and apologize."

"It's a rare opportunity to meet like this. Come on, let's not say anything more. I'll treat you and your two friends to a drink at a nearby tavern. That way, those idiots will have a chance to apologize, and we can have a good chat and make some new friends. Wouldn't that be great? So, I don't think you'd refuse me this favor, would you?"

He waved his fan and said with a smile.

"How could we refuse Lord Wuping's request..." Yashiro then laughed, "But, judging from this, these... heroes, are they friends of Lord Wuping?"

“Hey, I know what you want to say, young lady. To be honest, these guys are indeed a bit low-class, but I'm just making friends with them. Back in the day, among Lord Mengchang's many retainers, there were also some petty thieves and scoundrels... Speaking of which, I need you to help me cover this up. If my father and elder brother find out that I'm associating with them, I'm afraid I'll get a scolding again.”