Yashiro the Blind

But as time went on, the anger gradually subsided and turned into worry. Could something have happened... that he had fallen seriously ill somewhere, been injured in a fight, or unfortunately... died...?

More and more negative thoughts surfaced in her mind, and her young heart was filled with anxiety and unease, fearing that she might suddenly hear news of the other person's death. Because she was too scared, she simply became a coward. No matter how curious she was, she did not go to Jiro or Mai to ask if there was any news about Yashiro. It was as if closing her eyes and plugging her ears would make the good news disappear.

To distract herself, she worked even harder, putting her whole heart into both leg rehabilitation and academic studies. Her diligence was so great that others around her couldn't bear to watch and repeatedly advised her, "Chūyā, take a break. Don't overwork yourself."

"Don't worry, I'm fine." That's how the girl always answers, and then she continues as before. If someone tries to persuade her, she'll just smile and say, "I'm already nine or almost ten years behind others. If I don't work harder, I'll never catch up."

But even Chuya herself didn't quite understand what she was chasing. Perhaps it was a specific figure, perhaps a general image, or perhaps... the vast and boundless sky above her head.

Four years later, the girl, who was originally a small bundle, grew taller like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Although she was still far from being as tall as Jiro, and her chest was still not much to look at compared to her sister and brother, at least she no longer needed to look up at others.

It was amidst these gradual changes that, one day, Yashiro, who had been missing for so long, suddenly returned with her brother. The young girl was initially overjoyed, a weight lifted from her heart. However, after confirming that they were safe and sound, all her past anger and grievances surged back at her.

That wretched guy disappeared without a word for so long, and now he's acting all nonchalant. I have to teach him a lesson so he won't do it again next time. — I must say, the girl had a good plan, but unfortunately, her ambition was worn down in just a few days. In the end, she simply asked for a hug and wiped the slate clean.

How abominable!

She thought to herself angrily, but then sighed.

Well, it's good that she's back. Why bother with so many trivial things... After all, she already knew that Yashiro-neechan couldn't stay here forever and would leave sooner or later. Every day they argued was another day less of happy time together. Thinking of this, she not only stopped being angry, but also felt that the previous few days of arguing were a waste of time.

But she couldn't help thinking that it would be nice if the other person could stay—the little girl, who was growing up, naturally understood that this was a whimsical thought, so she only thought about it in her heart and never actually said it out loud...

However, things are unpredictable, and what seemed impossible suddenly took a turn for the better.

……

It was a cool afternoon.

It started raining heavily from early morning. Although a downpour doesn't last all day, it still pounded against the windows for several hours. The wind and rain roared, and the sky and earth were dark. The few teenagers who usually came to Longtai Temple to study were given a day off, and the temple became much quieter.

Yashiro originally wanted to sleep in, but Hatsume came over early in the morning and dragged her to Jiro's room, saying that the three of them wanted to play together. Ever since the two of them made up, the little girl seemed to have reverted to her old self, wanting to stick to Yashiro's side from morning till night, including eating and sleeping. Whether in the past or now, Yashiro has always tried her best to fulfill the little girl's requests and rarely refuses them, as long as Hatsume is happy.

The two entered Jiro's room, where he was reading as usual. Upon seeing them enter, he smiled wryly, put away his book, set up a chessboard, and began a game. Theoretically, it was Hatsume playing against her, with Yashiro offering advice. It seemed like a 2-to-1 situation, with Yashiro holding the advantage. However, in reality, Yashiro was struggling to think while also trying to stop Hatsume's occasional strokes of genius. After several games, she lost more than she won.

"Chuya..."

"What's wrong, Yashiro-neechan?"

"Did you do it on purpose?"

"How could that be, Yashiro-neechan? You're overthinking it." (Smiling)

Hearing this, Yashiro twitched her lips. She always felt that the other party was using this method to retaliate against her for ignoring her for the past few years, but she couldn't produce any evidence. So she pouted and looked aggrieved, which made Hatsume giggle.

Jiro, the monk standing nearby, was also smiling. After a while, seeing that Hatsume's attention was clearly no longer on the game, she immediately tidied up the board, got up and went to the kitchen to brew a pot of tea, and brought back some simple food. The three of them ate and drank while listening to the sound of the rain, chatting casually, letting time flow by slowly.

"...The rain has stopped."

At one point, Jiro turned his head, looked out the window, and said in a low voice.

"Yes."

Yashiro spoke softly as well, taking a piece of clothing from the side and covering Hatsume, who had fallen asleep sometime earlier. Then, picking up her cane, she stood up quietly, trying not to make a sound. Jiro glanced at her and asked, "Are you going out?"

"Let's go for a walk."

"Oh."

Jiro nodded, said nothing more, and picked up the book he had just put down, continuing to read intently from the page with the bookmark.

As the wind and rain subsided, the only sounds inside the room were the occasional turning of pages and the even, long breaths of the young girl. She had a smile on her face, and it was unclear what she was dreaming about. Yashiro smiled, gently opened the sliding door, and slipped out of the room.

A refreshing spring breeze greeted him. The fragrance of earth and grass after the rain was invigorating. Yashiro took a deep breath, leaned on his cane, greeted the monks he met along the way, and slowly walked out of the mountain gate.

I didn't have any specific purpose; I just felt that the weather after the rain was so beautiful, perfect for a walk. But after walking for a while, all sorts of thoughts started swirling around in my mind, like fluffy cotton candy clouds floating in the sky.

"what……"

Suddenly, I remembered something from the past.

When she first arrived in Tōtōmi, the Dragon Palace Fortune Stick given to her by the monk Jirō caught the attention of thieves. The thieves were incredibly generous; they not only delivered themselves to her door, saving her a trip, but also paid for her to stay at an inn for a few days when she was short of money, and treated her to several lavish meals... There is nothing better than free food.

Also coming to mind is the enthusiastic and cheerful waitress who always took every opportunity to recommend the various dishes and services of her hotel—although it was only a short visit of a few days, it is now a memorable interlude.

Yashiro quickly estimated in her mind that the inn shouldn't be far from Ryutai-ji Temple. If she quickened her pace, she should be able to return before nightfall. Since she had nothing else to do, she decided to take this opportunity to say hello to the young maid...

Thinking this way, a slight smile crept onto her lips. Recalling the approximate location, she strolled along, a gentle breeze caressing her face, butterflies fluttering about, and the fragrance of falling petals soothing her mood...

Unfortunately, her good mood didn't last long.

"what?"

Along the way, the place where I remembered the inn was, for some reason, was an empty space.

Yashiro tapped her cane lightly with her fingers. For a moment, she wondered if her memory, which had never failed her since she transmigrated, had finally gone awry. But then, a voice came from behind her: "Miss, are you here to pay your respects?"

Seemingly a local resident, seeing her standing there motionless, he kindly came over to strike up a conversation. Yashiro turned her head away: "Uncle, I remember there should be an inn around here... and what's this about offering condolences?"

"What? So you didn't know, little girl... I thought you heard the news and came here to pay your respects."

The man who had come over to speak was taken aback. "Since you don't know about this, I'll give you a brief explanation. It's just that a while ago, this inn unfortunately offended a few vicious samurai. They killed the owner, the staff, and the guests, and they even burned this building to the ground... I wonder what happened to those villains. Sigh, they're probably still living a carefree life somewhere. After all, good people don't live long, but evil people live a long life."

In the end, his tone inevitably carried a hint of resentment.

Yashiro did not respond verbally, but simply nodded slightly. After a long while, she whispered, "I see..."

Mai's earlier words flashed through her mind again: "...Those beasts! They were just passing by, yet they slaughtered the innkeeper, the staff, and the guests—more than twenty people in total—and burned the inn down. Only one infant survived by sheer luck..."

I see……

As Yashiro gripped the cane, her fingers tightened and loosened, then tightened again. Suddenly, she felt a sense of emptiness in her heart, unsure of what to think.

She had known about this for a long time, but at this moment, the content of Wu Yi's words seemed to finally come to fruition, and those twenty-odd people suddenly transformed from a light number into real living beings.

"..."

A sudden surge of anger ignited within her, but the flames of rage cooled instantly in the next instant—the murderers were already dead by her sword. Though it was an unintentional act, it was a way of avenging that little maid from back then. Despite this, she felt no sense of satisfaction, only a feeling of something stuck in her throat, a breath caught in her throat, unable to go up or down.

Even the sunlight pouring down from above seemed strangely unreal at this moment.

The fresh post-rain breeze that had been pattering against my face and body suddenly turned cold.

"Old man!"

Yashiro suddenly shouted.

The man behind her, who had been thinking of leaving after seeing her remain silent for so long, turned back upon hearing the voice: "Miss, is there anything else?"

"Excuse me... do you know where they are buried?"

She lowered her head and sighed softly, "I have a history with this family, and I originally came here to visit them... If I didn't know, it would be fine, but now that I know this tragic news, I should at least go to their grave to pay my respects... to express my condolences."

……

Chapter Ninety-Six: What Did the Innocent Child Do?

The sky cleared up for a short time, but then it started raining again.

It wasn't the torrential rain of the morning, but a light drizzle, as light as willow catkins, that fell on me, barely perceptible, like a thin mist spreading out of nowhere. For the time being, there was no need to use an umbrella or put on a raincoat.

Yashiro learned about the temple where the family in the inn was buried from the kind old man who had struck up a conversation with her. Taking advantage of the fact that the rain had not yet intensified, she quickened her pace and ran along the way. Her steps were light, but her heart was inexplicably heavy.

Even if you've long been accustomed to the passing of life, if someone you know dies, even if it was just a fleeting encounter, it's still a connection. The person's words, laughter, breath, heartbeat... all those things left in your memory are gone.

Thinking about this, I couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Think of those wild samurai who wiped out entire families; how many of them died under Mai's sword? And how many of the others who escaped were all slaughtered by her in Hitachi Province? Now, going to her grave to offer a simple prayer and remembrance is a way of bringing this acquaintance to a less-than-perfect end, but still having a beginning and an end.

With this thought in mind, she followed the old man's directions and walked in the unexpected spring rain. In no time, she arrived at a small temple nearby.

First, he knocked on the door from the outside, but perhaps because of the rain, no monk came out to open it for a long time. Hachiro tapped his cane lightly on the ground, circled half a circle around the wall, and then pushed himself up with his hands, his body as light and graceful as a swallow as he flipped inside.

Upon landing on the ground, he listened intently. The Buddhist temple was quiet, as if no one was there. However, he could faintly hear someone speaking in the direction of the backyard. The voices were very low, and even with Yashiro's hearing, he could not hear them clearly. He could only make out a hint of sobbing in the voices.

As they got closer, they could hear the person crying and calling out a name, apologizing between sobs: "Ah Cai... I'm so sorry, please forgive me, I didn't mean to, Ah Cai..."

Yashiro was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

According to the old man, the maid who was killed by the samurai was named Osamu, and she also had an older brother who worked as a cooper in the downtown area. As for why this topic came up, it was because Yashiro suddenly remembered what Mai had said. In that man-made disaster, the maid's whole family suffered misfortune, but the baby who was still in swaddling clothes escaped the calamity and was found and protected by Mai and the others.

But no matter how chivalrous and helpful the "Dragon Palace Child" is, it's impossible for him to take every child he finds home and raise them himself; he's not running an orphanage.

Hachi asked the old man and learned that someone had indeed been carrying a baby and asking around to find out if the murdered family had any other relatives nearby. After learning that the young wife had an older brother, he thanked the old man and left with the baby, most likely taking the child to the downtown area to be raised by relatives.

The one crying in the cemetery now is most likely the cooper brother of the little maid A-Cai.

What a coincidence.

Hearing him cry so sadly, Yashiro didn't want to disturb him, so she stood by the wall not far away, intending to wait until he finished crying and left before going over. She was also thinking to herself how good the relationship between the brother and sister was... But as she listened, she sensed something was wrong.

"Ah Cai, I'm sorry... I didn't want to do this either, after all, it's your only child... but... but I really had no choice, no choice at all... Please forgive me, please forgive your useless brother..."

The crying was less a lament for the death of her sister and more a confession of something, filled with remorse and self-blame.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind and placed on his shoulder.

The light rain was as soft as butter, carrying a slight chill. Being in a cemetery made the young man somewhat suspicious. In addition, he was also a little guilty. When he felt a hand reach out to him, his first reaction was not to turn around, but to scream and dart to the side!

She kept repeating, "I'm sorry, A-Cai, I'm sorry, I was wrong!"

Judging from his tone, it was as if he thought his younger sister had turned into a ghost and come to find him. Instead of being happy, he was frightened and lost his mind. But when he turned his head in surprise and doubt, he found that the person in front of him was not his familiar deceased sister, but another unfamiliar woman he had never seen before, holding a cane and with her eyes closed. After a slight pause, his panic turned into anger and embarrassment in an instant.

"Who are you?! What are you doing here, trying to scare people out of nowhere?!"

"Are you A-Cai's brother?"

A light drizzle fell into the puddles at his feet, the ripples shattering abruptly when his cane fell to the ground. Yashiro, pressing her hand on the cane, ignored his blustering rebuke and asked, "You just mentioned her child, and said you wanted her to forgive you, what exactly happened?"

Upon hearing this question, the young man seemed to have been struck by a sore spot, and his eyes widened immediately: "What, what does this have to do with you? Where did this little blind kid come from? Get out of here!"

"That's not the answer I want to hear."

With a vague suspicion already in mind, Yashiro shook her head, her tone becoming increasingly gentle, "I'll ask one more time, what happened to Aya's child?"

She asked in a soft voice.

"Hmph... How utterly absurd!"

The young cooper glanced at them with some annoyance, as if unwilling to continue the entanglement. He turned to leave, but suddenly his vision blurred as Yashiro stepped forward and placed his cane in front of him, blocking his way.

"Wait a minute."

"You'd better stop now! I didn't want to argue with you because you're blind and a woman, but if you really push me too far, believe me, I'll beat you up..."

While angrily threatening, the young cooper reached out to grab the cane, but a numbness and pain shot through his palm, and the end of the cane, which he had just grasped, suddenly slipped from his hand.

Then, a flash of silver light appeared.

Yashiro held a cane in his right hand, while a long, narrow sword appeared in his left. The bright blade outlined a cold glint in the rain, making the young cooper feel a chill in his heart. His anger and shame vanished without a trace, along with his clenched fist.

"I'll ask one last time, where is that child now?"

The rain was slightly chilly, and the sword blade was icy cold.

The woman's voice was equally cold.

"In, in..."

The young man stood there stunned for a moment, then suddenly his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground, looking utterly dejected. His face was pale and listless, and his lips trembled as he uttered a few words before finally letting out a deep sigh: "In the mountains... I think I'm still in the mountains..."

"You abandoned that child in the mountains?" Yashiro asked again.

The young cooper shook his head as if he had been electrocuted, vehemently denying it: "It wasn't me! It was my wife... She did it on her own, I didn't agree! So... so..." While explaining, he didn't look at the woman's face, but stared unblinkingly at the sword tip so close to him, his eyes filled with fear.

Upon seeing the sword tip move, he couldn't help but let out another mournful cry—but Yashiro didn't attack him. Instead, he slowly withdrew his staff and sword, and then reached out to pull the young man up from the ground.

"you……"

"Take me there, now, immediately."

It was a simple sentence, without any threat, but for the young cooper who had just witnessed the sharp sword hidden in the staff, it was more effective than any threat.

He swallowed hard, not daring to raise any objection, and nodded tremblingly.

"Okay, okay..."

……

"...Um, please let me explain, no, you absolutely must let me explain..."

The rain fell in fine threads, pattering incessantly among the leaves of the mountain forest. The young cooper stumbled ahead, glancing back every now and then at the staff-wielding figure who, though his eyes were closed, followed slowly behind him, his eyes filled with fear.

But as if he felt this would slightly ease the impression he had made, he continued to ramble on despite his fear: "Actually, I was really against it at first. After all, she was my only sister in this world. When I learned that she had been murdered, you can't imagine how heartbroken I was... That child was like a continuation of her life. I originally thought that no matter how hard or tiring it was, I would treat her as my own child and take good care of her as she grew up..."

As he spoke, he tripped over a tree root and stumbled a few steps, scraping his hand against the bark of a nearby tree, leaving several bloody scratches. He winced in pain but dared not show it, constantly glancing at the blind girl's expression, only to find her silent and expressionless. He couldn't help but feel uneasy and anxious.

Her mouth never stopped: "But...but I'm dirt poor. We're already struggling financially, and we have several children to raise. If another mouth to feed suddenly appears, it's really, really...Of course, even so, I've never thought of abandoning A-Cai's child. When my wife made this suggestion, I gave her a good scolding and told her she absolutely couldn't have such a terrible thought...Everything I'm saying is the truth, you have to believe me!"