Yashiro the Blind

The pattering rain gradually grew louder, and for a moment, it almost drowned out the young man's urgent explanation.

"But...but who knew that wretched woman, who agreed so readily, actually took A-Cai's child away while I was out delivering goods yesterday evening and secretly abandoned her in the mountains. When I returned and discovered this, she not only showed no remorse but also had a huge argument with me, saying that if she fed this child, her own child would go hungry, and so on...I couldn't win the argument, and I didn't want to hit her in front of the child, so I rushed to the mountains to look for her..."

"And then?" Yashiro, who had been silent the whole way, finally spoke up. "Did you find that child?"

"We found it, but..."

"But?"

"I thought about it again later, and I felt that what that woman said did make some sense. You see, she only has so much milk. It's just right for one person, not enough for two. If we add another mouth to feed, all three of them will be fighting over the milk and will surely starve to death... Our family is poor and can't afford a wet nurse. We really have no other choice..."

The young man swallowed hard. "So, although I did find the child, I don't know why, maybe I was possessed for a moment, but I didn't take her home... But I still gathered some branches from the surrounding area and built a small thatched hut for her so she wouldn't get cold. Woodcutters and hunters often visit these mountains, and I thought that if a kind person found the child and took her home to raise her, it wouldn't be a bad thing for her, so, so..."

Perhaps sensing the emotions of the person behind him, he spoke softer and softer: "I didn't know it would suddenly rain so heavily today..."

Yashiro remained silent.

Whatever the reasons or logic behind it, the couple ultimately abandoned an infant in the mountains. Not to mention that wild beasts roam the wilderness these days, a tiny baby would probably be nothing more than a mouthful for them. Even if they were lucky enough not to encounter any ferocious beasts, the storm this morning would have easily destroyed a fragile life.

She didn't think that the shabby shed that the young cooper had casually built out of branches could survive the storm that lasted for several hours—but even if she was just fooling herself, at least at this moment, Yashiro still held a sliver of hope.

Who knows, maybe something really will happen?

"...Ah, I've got it! That's it, the shed I set up last night..."

Before long, the two of them, one after the other, finally arrived at the place in the young man's memory.

Seeing the shed he had built himself in the distance, the young man's face lit up with joy. Ignoring the slippery ground, he rushed over, eager to find the child as soon as possible. However, as he got closer, his excited words suddenly stopped.

There was only a devastating scene of devastation. Branches lay scattered on the ground, mostly broken into pieces, bearing the marks of wild animals trampling them. Rainwater had gathered into streams, trickling through the broken branches, and in a larger puddle floated a crumpled piece of cloth.

The young man's face paled. He recognized the color of the fabric; it was almost identical to the swaddling clothes of A-Cai's child.

Although the most important child himself was not seen, it is easy to imagine what had happened to that child, given the dilapidated shed, the wild animal footprints, and the fragments of the swaddling clothes.

"I, I..." If the child is safe and sound, all will be well. But if something happens, the young man suddenly thought of that gleaming sword again. He looked at the blind girl behind him again, mustered his courage, and suddenly said, "Maybe it was swept away by the water. I'll go look for it nearby!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already rushed out, staggering as he ran wildly down the mountain.

Yashiro tilted her head, switched the cane to her right hand, and reached into her sleeve with her free left hand, pulling out a black shuriken. After a slight hesitation, she put it back.

Nothing more...

No matter what, the other party didn't deserve to die. If we killed them here, it would be satisfying, but it would only be venting our anger...

It rained harder and harder.

She hunched her shoulders and involuntarily shivered. She hadn't brought a raincoat or even a straw hat when she left home, and it would be unwise to go back in the pouring rain like this. After thinking for a moment, she simply picked up her cane and slowly sat down under a big tree.

"so cold……"

She couldn't help but whisper.

For a moment, it was hard to tell whether the coldness was in the body or in the heart.

The cane he leaned against could easily kill a group of vicious thieves, but those who were killed by them and suffered misfortune because of their actions would never come back.

Every time Yashiro encounters something like this, he feels a deep sense of powerlessness.

"Ugh……"

With a soft sigh, she quickly composed herself and stopped feeling down. After all, she had encountered similar things many times over the years, and this was just another one. Even so, she still felt uneasy. As she was thinking about how to pass the time while waiting for the rain to stop, suddenly, a rustling sound came from the woods.

It wasn't a person, but some kind of animal that emerged from the forest and approached her. Sensing that the animal meant her no harm, Yashiro didn't react immediately. She remained seated under the tree, listening to the clattering footsteps approach. The animal lowered its head and gently nudged her with its horn.

It was a wild deer.

Normally, wild deer are wary and would not easily approach others, but this one seemed completely different, even a bit familiar. It not only butted at people with its antlers and made a soft call, but also used its mouth to tug at Yashiro's sleeve, not with force, but just gently tugging at it.

"You mean... I should come with you?" Yashiro asked, somewhat puzzled. He didn't know if the wild deer understood him, but it called out again and continued to tug at his sleeve.

After a while of this stalemate, she finally couldn't persuade the wild deer. She stood up unsteadily, holding her hands over her head to shield herself from the rain, and followed the deer forward, leaning on her cane.

The crisp sound of hooves echoed through the wind and rain, passing through the woods and a small clearing, until the rain overhead suddenly disappeared, revealing a cave. Unlike the cold wind and torrential rain outside, the cave was quite warm, with several newborn fawns huddled together for warmth. Hearing the sound, they all looked over.

They weren't afraid of people at all. They didn't scatter and run away, and they didn't even move. They just sat there and after a while, as if they had lost interest, they turned their heads back.

The stag behind her cried out twice more and nudged her back with its antlers. Caught off guard, Yashiro staggered forward a couple of steps. When she regained her balance, she suddenly froze—she hadn't noticed it before because of the wind and rain, but now she realized that among the few fawns sitting down, there was a faint heartbeat... it was a human heartbeat.

She stood there for a moment, until the stag couldn't resist butting her again, then she stepped forward, hesitated, and reached out her hand towards the faint heartbeat, like a candle in the wind, that was surrounded by several fawns...

A sudden chill ran through my fingertips.

But even in the coldness, there was still a hint of warmth.

"...?"

The warmth traveled up her fingertips, and the next second, a small hand suddenly grabbed her finger, seemingly wanting to put it in its mouth. But after pulling twice, it couldn't budge it. The baby, lying in the tattered swaddling clothes, blinked, seemingly a little confused, and then suddenly giggled.

……

Chapter Ninety-Seven: A Drink and a Peck

"So... your main takeaway from this trip was getting caught in a downpour, and incidentally, you also picked up a little girl from the mountains?"

After the rain stopped and the sky cleared, the sound of a baby crying suddenly rang out from the solemn gate of Longtai Temple.

Inside the guest room, the Tenji sisters and the monk Jiro were all gathered together, making the room feel somewhat cramped. Mai, still dressed in her usual clean and neat men's attire, leaned against the wall, arms crossed, looking Yashiro up and down in the corner, while speaking in a mocking tone.

"That's pretty much it... Achoo!"

Before he could finish speaking, Yashiro, wrapped in four or five layers of clothing, curled up in a ball, shivering, and couldn't help but sneeze again.

Seeing this, Wu Yi curled her lip and said, "So dirty."

"Always making sarcastic remarks..." Yashiro muttered, but unfortunately, she was dizzy and had no strength to argue with the other person. She could only force herself to muster her strength and take another sip of the steaming ginger soup in her hand: "Hiss, so spicy!"

"What's so spicy about it? Hurry up and drink it all in one go! This is... cough, this is ginger soup that Chuya specially boiled for you. Drink it all, not a single drop is allowed!" Wuyi glared at him, waving her moral cudgel, and said aggressively.

Hearing this, Hatsune was taken aback: "Brother, I..."

"Huh?" Wu Yi shot her a sharp look. "What do you mean, 'you'? Are you trying to say that you didn't cook this ginger soup yourself?"

"It's nothing." As the saying goes, a wise person knows when to yield. The two sisters looked at each other for a moment, and Chuya rolled her eyes. The words that were about to come out of her mouth were immediately swallowed back.

Mai nodded in satisfaction, then continued to threaten Yashiro: "Hurry up, if you dare to disappoint my sister, I'll force you to drink it all down even if I have to hold your nose—show your usual drinking spirit, and down it in one gulp!"

"Ugh……"

Like a dragon stranded in shallow waters, mocked by shrimp, or a tiger fallen into the plains, bullied by dogs, the powerless Yashiro, though she had a thousand words to say, could only submit to the other party's tyranny, her little face contorted in pain, and forced herself to drink the entire bowl of hot and spicy ginger soup.

It wasn't that she was being delicate or anything, it was just that this bowl of ginger water was a bit too "real" in terms of ingredients. I really don't know how many pieces of ginger the person who cooked this stuff actually put in. You don't even need to taste it; just the pungent smell alone is enough to overwhelm most people.

Due to historical limitations, this soup naturally doesn't contain sugar or other sweeteners; it only has a pure ginger flavor that rolls down your throat, giving the feeling of eating a whole ginger root—truly unbearable!

But she couldn't refuse, otherwise, given Mai's personality, she might really get angry and rush over to give her a full-on service of pinching her nose and pouring soup down her throat. Afterwards, she probably wouldn't admit that this was her creation, but would only push it to her younger sister, Hatsume, and attribute all her actions to her love for her younger sister.

Similar incidents had occurred several times before, giving Yashiro a better understanding of Tenji's personality. If she were healthy, it would be fine, but in her current state of lethargy, the only option was to avoid her and compromise.

"I...I finished it." After finally finishing the bowl of this unknown food, which was almost like concentrated ginger liquid, I must say, although it didn't taste very good, it really warmed up my cold body quite a bit, especially my stomach, which felt hot as if a sun was burning inside.

Yashiro handed the empty bowl out from the thick pile of clothes. Mai took it and immediately beamed with joy.

"Is it good?"

"Do not……"

"Ok?"

"It's delicious, so delicious..."

"Oh, I see." She smiled even more broadly. "I'm glad it suits your taste. Don't worry, there's still plenty of soup left. I'll go to the kitchen and get you another bowl."

"Wait--"

"You are welcome!"

I wanted to stop them, but the light footsteps had already rushed out the door and were running towards the kitchen.

Yashiro's outstretched arm froze in mid-air before falling slumped down. "Did I do something to upset him...?" she asked, on the verge of tears.

Although Mai's gender was an open secret to the group of people present, they still tacitly agreed not to reveal it when it was mentioned. On the contrary, Mai herself became increasingly reluctant to hide her identity from Yashiro after it was exposed.

“Well, my brother has always been like this.” Hatsune, who was standing next to him, also smiled wryly.

"Are you referring to his stubborn denial, or his poor cooking skills?"

"All."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it then." With the lingering spiciness in her mouth, Yashiro stuck out her tongue and sighed with a smile.

"Yes, there's nothing we can do," the little girl sighed. But then she changed the subject, "But I think your brother might actually be a little angry with you..."

"Is it because of what happened last night?"

"kindness."

Hatsume nodded obediently, but rather than explaining for her "brother," she was using the opportunity to express her own slight dissatisfaction. Understanding the unspoken meaning, Yashiro could only apologize with a wry smile: "I'm sorry..."

She was indeed somewhat in the wrong in this matter.

Yesterday, I told Jiro that we were going out for a walk and would be back before dark at the latest. But due to a series of unexpected events, we ended up in the deep mountains and forests, and were even trapped in a cave by heavy rain, accompanied by a few wild deer.

Hearing the rain and wind raging outside the cave, and knowing she had neither an umbrella nor a raincoat, nor even a large leaf to cover her head, she knew she couldn't rush out rashly. So she huddled with the wild deer for the night. The baby woke up a few times during the night but didn't cry much. After being held by Yashiro, the baby babbled a few times and then drifted off to sleep again.

As the rain gradually stopped, the moon was high in the sky. The stag that had led her there nudged her with its antlers, then bent down and gestured for Yashiro to sit on it. After hesitating for a moment, she picked up the baby and climbed up cautiously. To be honest, this was the first time she had ever ridden a deer in both her lives combined, and surprisingly, it felt pretty good.

Clucking and clattering, the wild deer led the two people, one big and one small, out of the woods. It put them down, stood under a tree, called out a few times, turned around, and its figure quickly disappeared into the cover of the foliage.

Afterwards, Yashiro carried the baby back to the temple. It was probably late at night. She didn't want to disturb anyone, so she thought she would go back to her room to change her clothes first, and then tell Jiro and the others about the baby when it was light, so they could discuss how to handle the aftermath.

However, when he tiptoed back to the guest room, before he even landed, he noticed someone staring at him.

Jiro and Hatsune were actually in her room. The little girl was fast asleep, leaning against Jiro, while the woman held a book in her hands, quietly reading by the light of a solitary lamp. Hearing the sound of someone climbing in through the window, she wasn't surprised, but simply yawned lazily and glanced up at Yashiro: "Benefactor, you're back? You..."

As soon as she opened her mouth, her gaze fell on the baby in the blind woman's arms. She froze, her eyes, which had been slightly sleepy, widening instantly: "Benefactor Ba Xun, you...you went out to give birth?"

"..."

Yashiro was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Who, who gave birth!" Upon hearing this, Chuya, who was drooling in her sleep, suddenly jolted awake. Before she even opened her eyes, she let out a shout.

The words weren't spoken loudly, but they were enough to wake the baby in Yashiro's arms:

"Wow!"

The child's cries echoed throughout the temple.

Now no one can sleep.

What followed was naturally a chaotic scene of fighting and chaos. When things finally calmed down, Jiro forced Yashiro to take off his wet clothes, wash him clean, and change him into clean casual clothes. Because he felt a little cold, he wondered if he had caught a cold. While sneezing, he put on several more layers of clothing, wrapping himself up like a ball.

After a while, just before dawn, Tianzhi, looking like a drowned rat, finally returned from outside, wearing a raincoat. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her face was full of worry, but she didn't hold back: "I've searched the neighborhood, but I can't find her. I don't know where she's gone... But thinking about it, with her skills, she probably won't cause any trouble. Let's ignore her..."

Before he could finish speaking, his gaze fell on someone huddled in the corner of the room, trembling with only half their head showing. He immediately swallowed the rest of his words.

"……Good morning?"

"Humph!"

With a snort, Mai turned and left. When she returned, she had brought a steaming bowl of thick ginger soup: "This was specially made for you by Hatsumi. Drink it!" She spoke with such confidence and righteousness that Yashiro almost believed her.

Fine, she said it was made by Hatsune, so let's just say it was made by Hatsune.

After finishing a bowl of ginger soup, regardless of the taste, at least his body felt warmer. Yashiro shifted his body and tried to reach out his hands from the pile of clothes to get his gourd, but his hands were stopped by Hatsume when he was only halfway there.

"doing what?"

"Rinse...rinse your mouth?"

"Use alcohol to rinse your mouth?" The young girl stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "If you're sick, just rest properly and don't even think about touching alcohol!"

"Well……"

"What's the answer?"

"I...I understand." Having just been bullied by her older sister, and now being completely controlled by her younger sister, Yashiro hung her head dejectedly, hesitant to speak.

Fortunately, at that moment, Jiro finally spoke up for her: "Alright, Hatsume, don't bully people too much. It's normal for you to want to rinse your mouth after drinking the ginger soup made by Takeru..."

"But elder sister, as for wine..."

"Of course, rinsing her mouth with wine is a bit of a waste. Go to the kitchen and pour her a bowl of hot water. Also, tell Wu Liu that while ginger soup is good, too much of a good thing can be bad. Drinking too much at once is harmful to your health. Leave the rest there for the other senior brothers to drink if they want."

"it is good."

Chuya happily agreed, and just in case, she also put the gourd away before opening the door and slowly walking out.