Yashiro the Blind

After all, although she had a lot of information in her head, none of it involved taking care of infants and young children—this was really not her fault. Back then, she didn't even have a girlfriend, so why would she specifically go looking for these things when surfing the internet?

This isn't just about being prepared; it's like trying to dig an air-raid shelter in the Stone Age to deal with nuclear weapons—it's pure idiom about having an astonishingly strange way of thinking.

Unfortunately, this "air raid shelter" just happened to come in handy, so he had no choice but to learn it on the spot.

On the other hand, even though Xiaoling had transformed from an orphan who relied on the charity of others into someone else's adopted daughter, the monks of Longtai Temple remained unchanged in their attitude. Every day, they racked their brains to find ways to please the little girl. Haotian even went so far as to ask a passing acrobat for advice and learned a few clumsy tricks, which always made the little girl laugh heartily, and he was quite proud of it.

The monk Zongjun was very unconvinced: "Your tricks are all just fancy tricks, not worth laughing at... Watch mine!" With that, he took the naginata and, in front of Mio, wielded it with great flair.

His martial arts skills were outstanding throughout the entire Ryūtaiji Temple. Apart from Master Nankō, he was only slightly inferior to Master Jīrō. If other knowledgeable people saw this sword technique, they would definitely exclaim how wonderful it was and praise it repeatedly. But this scene was obviously too early for Mio.

"Waaaah—" the little guy burst into tears.

"Look at you, you're more trouble than you're worth! Come, little benefactor, let the monk change your face." Haotian pushed the other person aside and moved closer, covering his chubby face with both hands. Xiao Ling blinked her eyes, and her crying gradually stopped.

"Wow!" Suddenly, Monk Haotian pulled his hands back, rolled his eyes, stuck out his tongue, and made a funny face.

"Wow ah ah!"

The little one started crying even harder.

"This, this, this..."

The two culprits exchanged a glance. Before they could come up with a solution, Jiro had already arrived at the sound. Seeing this, he first soothed the little guy with gentle words, then handed the swaddling clothes to Yashiro who arrived later. He turned around, his face slightly darkening: "My two senior brothers, come with me."

"Wait, Jiro, let me explain..."

"Yes, yes, no! Don't listen to him, let me explain first!"

With irrefutable witnesses and physical evidence, any words of explanation seemed so pale and powerless. Master Jiro remained silent, only smiling gently. This smile spoke louder than a thousand words. The two people on the other side gradually stopped talking, as if they had resigned themselves to their fate, and followed the woman to the temple with their heads down.

Yashiro stood by, holding the swaddled baby, joining in the fun while rhythmically bouncing the baby to soothe it. Suddenly, Mio let out a "woof" and bit her wrist again.

"Hey!"

"Ah, ah!"

"Oh, it's no use. I've told you so many times not to do that! It was fine when you didn't have teeth, but now that you're starting to grow them, I'm going to get angry if you keep biting me like that!"

"ah!"

Even when Yashiro raised her eyebrows and spoke in a more serious tone, Mio still looked cheerful, waving her arms as if to say, "No matter how strong you are, the bright moon still shines over the mountain."

Even without seeing the other person's expression, the laughter alone conveyed their arrogance. Yashiro tried to gather his emotions, attempting to adopt a fierce expression, but to no avail. In the end, he could only sigh helplessly: "Fine, my words carry no weight. I'll have the sorcerer teach you a lesson later..."

"ah!"

"Speaking of which, judging by the time, Saemon and Uemon should be arriving from Suruga in the next few days. I wonder if the old man has cured his facial paralysis... And Ryuko, I had someone write a letter and sent it to Sakaimachi, I wonder if she received it..."

Amidst the murmuring sounds, she held the swaddled baby in one arm and her cane in the other, turned around, and slowly walked into the house while listening to the indescribable sounds coming from the dojo.

As dusk settles and the sun sets, night is about to fall. But a few hours later, the sun will rise and the moon will set again, and spring will bloom on the branches... The unchanging daily life may make each day feel very long, but if you look back, you will be surprised at how quickly time has passed.

Like a still pond, it occasionally ripples. Most ripples are fleeting, just a small interlude in life, but sometimes, more intense waves inevitably appear... those caused by thousands or tens of thousands of people.

Time flies like water, and in the early summer of the third year of Yonglu, a piece of news spread from the palace, and like a bird with wings, it flew to all corners of the land. Whether in a large country or a small country, whether a samurai or a commoner, everyone who heard the news was shocked:

Yoshimoto Imagawa, the most powerful and influential daimyo of the Minamoto clan, who ruled the Tokaido region and possessed a million koku of land in Suruga, Tōtōmi, and Mikawa, finally issued the order to his retainers to launch a military campaign after years of planning and preparation.

His goal was simple, so simple it was terrifying—

Shangluo, King Qin, conquer the world!

……

Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Storm Is Brewing

Day after day, it was early summer again. It was the third year of Yonglu's reign. The new leaves on the branches were dripping with dew, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and the wheat in the fields was lush and green. When the wind blew, it looked like a surging ocean.

A figure was walking briskly among the fields.

He was a man in his early twenties, wearing a straw hat and leggings, dressed like a traveler, with sparse stubble on his face. He seemed quite familiar with the area, and without stopping, he walked through the wheat field and headed up the mountain.

Compared to the hustle and bustle of the villages and towns at the foot of the mountain, the mountains were much quieter, with no human voices, only the rustling of leaves like waves. The man pushed up his straw hat and walked along the mountain path for a while with practiced ease. Suddenly, the view opened up before him. He saw that the surrounding trees had been cut down, clearing a space where several small houses had been built.

He went to one of the rooms and knocked on the door: "Blind girl...blind girl, there's a letter for you!"

After waiting for a while, there was no response from inside the house. Instead, there was a creaking sound from the side, and the door of another wooden house was opened. A little girl, about half a year old, peeked out and looked over: "Who is it... Ah, it's Mr. Kuwahara."

"Miss Hatsume," the man greeted her, then pointed to the small house in front of him and asked, "Where is the blind girl? Did she go out?"

"Yes, I just went out."

"Oh, I see... What a coincidence."

The man sighed, then took out a letter from his pocket and handed it over. "This letter was entrusted to me by Lord Yamamoto to deliver to the blind girl. Since she's not home, please keep it with you for now. Please take good care of it. I'll be going now."

"Okay." Hatsune took the letter with both hands and nodded, but seeing that the other party was about to turn and leave, and noticing that his hair under his hat was wet with sweat, she couldn't help but say, "Mr. Kuwabara, it's so hot, won't you stay and rest for a while? Or at least have some water."

The man shook his head. "No, I have urgent business to attend to and need to get back to Owari as soon as possible."

"Urgent?"

"That's right, it's an extremely urgent matter." After saying this, the man pulled up his straw hat and hurried away without lingering.

Hatsume leaned against the door, watching the figure disappear quickly. She blinked, then looked down at the letter in her hand and hummed softly, "A letter from Koshu, Lord Yamamoto, most likely written by that Kotoko again... Hmph."

There was a subtle emotion in her words that even the little girl herself didn't notice.

She folded the letter and put it away carefully. Holding onto the door panel, she limped back into the house. Even though the veins in her legs had largely recovered, she had been paralyzed for many years and her chronic illness was difficult to cure, so she still couldn't walk as briskly as a normal person.

Despite this, Chuya didn't feel particularly disappointed. Perhaps it was because she had a role model who was physically disabled but mentally strong, and she was very open-minded about it. As the other person often said, "It's okay to be blind, you can still use a cane to find your way and walk slowly; but if a person's heart is blind, that's a real problem."

The little girl thought so too.

Even if my legs are not very good, it just means I have to walk a little slower. The world is vast, and I can still go anywhere.

On the contrary, many people are physically healthy and agile, yet they never see mountains and seas or feel the vastness of the sky in their entire lives. Although they are physically fit, they cannot travel far and wide, and spend their entire lives just wandering around in their own little world, wasting their time.

Compared to myself, this kind of person is more pitiful!

It was because of this mindset that the little girl did not lament her fate. Even though misfortunes often occurred in her life, she almost never focused on these bad things, but instead kept looking into the distance, hoping for good things to come.

"Judging by the time, Yashiro-neechan should be back soon... I need to cook dinner first, otherwise we'll go hungry."

Muttering to herself, she busied herself around the house, lighting the stove, chopping up the vegetables the two brothers, Saemon and Soemon, had brought over the day before, and putting them into a pot to simmer. After washing her hands, she sat down in front of the stove, keeping an eye on the fire, and picked up a book from the floor next to her, casually flipping through it.

This was a copy of the *Ten Lessons*, the handwriting on which was crooked and messy, hardly pleasing to the eye, even to the point of being complimentable. As Mai would say, it was like "a radish field trampled by a thousand horses after a storm," but Hatsume didn't find any fault with it and read it with great interest. This was simply because the book was handwritten by Yashiro herself with the help of her older sister…the siblings and the monk Jiro. How could one expect neat handwriting from someone who is blind?

Incidentally, Yashiro was initially reluctant, but later, probably after hearing what they said: "Mio will soon be learning to read. As her mother, don't you want your daughter to remember your handwriting first?"

"But my handwriting must be terrible..."

"Just practice more. Come on, I'll teach you."

Jiro, adopting the same commanding manner he used when teaching children, pushed forward the topic without further ado, while leaning forward and resting half of his body against Yashiro's back—Yashiro stiffened, and the somewhat reluctant expression on his face suddenly vanished without a trace.

Not only that, but he also inexplicably became motivated: "Okay, let's learn!"

"..."

When she saw this scene, Chuya felt a little uncomfortable for some reason. However, this feeling came and went quickly, and even today, the little girl still doesn't understand what kind of feeling it was.

In any case, taking this incident as an opportunity, Yashiro, who had hardly ever touched a pen in her life, finally started writing again. However, she didn't take it very seriously and didn't spend much time practicing, so even after more than half a year, the characters she wrote were still crooked and messy, like duckweed in the rain, and she didn't make any progress.

On the contrary, the three people who taught her to write have gone from guessing and deciphering at the beginning to being able to read through this miserable "radish field" without any difficulty.

If this continues, will Mio be led astray in the future...?

Occasionally, when Chuya thinks about this, she can't help but feel worried.

"anyway……"

The vegetable soup in the pot gradually became lively. She skimmed off the foam with a spoon, but her gaze didn't return to the book. Instead, she casually looked out the window. Once summer arrived, the sun's rays became hot, and the cicadas' chirping was usually incessant, but today it was quiet.

Even the cicadas in the mountains have been my old neighbors for almost two years, Chuya thought.

Her life so far has only been a short ten years or so, but looking back, it feels incredibly fulfilling.

When her parents were still alive, the family was happy and harmonious. Later, she followed her brother and wandered around, relying on each other for survival. Then she met her eldest sister and Zen Master Nanxi, and got to know Hikogoro, Daizo and others. Then came the arrival and departure of her sister Yashiro, and their reunion four years later. What she thought was just a fleeting moment was extended because of Mio's appearance.

After adopting Xiaoling, perhaps considering that the woman was alone with an infant and that staying in the temple for a long time would attract gossip, even though Zen Master Nanxi and the monks told her not to worry and just stay, Hachiro moved out of Ryutai Temple early and built a wooden house in the nearby mountains and moved in.

Not long after, two more wooden houses appeared nearby. After discussing it, the Tenji sisters moved in together. Firstly, they could look after each other. Secondly, as they spent more time together, they gradually became familiar with Yashiro's personality and learned that she was not as reliable as she seemed on the surface. Especially in her daily interactions, she gave people a somewhat careless impression. If they left her to take care of the child alone, who knows what kind of trouble might occur.

Although they lived in the mountains, they still needed to help each other with their daily lives and meals. Especially during the period when Xiaoling was still breastfeeding, the three of them were helpless and could only ask a wet nurse to raise her. It wasn't until she turned one year old and her teeth gradually grew in that she was able to slowly eat some other foods, which meant they had overcome the initial difficulties.

Compared to adults, children grow up incredibly fast, especially from birth to a few years old, when there are new surprises every day. It seems like only a blink of an eye, and the tiny baby stretches out its arms and legs, from crawling to walking. Although it still seems clumsy, it is already able to take its first steps and toddle forward.

The babbling sounds from his mouth were somehow replaced by indistinct, unclear pronunciation.

"Mama...ma!"

Remember when Mio first uttered those two words? Although Yashiro seemed nonchalant, Hatsume caught a glimpse of a tear in the corner of Mio's eye. Of course, she would never admit it, stubbornly insisting, even after being exposed, "You're just seeing things!"

Chuya is always magnanimous. Since she said that her eyes were playing tricks on her, then let's just say that her eyes were playing tricks on her.

After some time, Mio's pronunciation gradually became clearer. She began to say some simple words and even express her thoughts in short sentences. Not only Yashiro, but also the Hatsume sisters were genuinely happy for this growth, as if it were their own child.

And Mio wasn't the only one who grew up.

Over the past two years, Chuya's body and mind have matured. Due to her leg condition and her own interests, she did not study martial arts like her brother, but instead devoted herself to knowledge. At a young age, she was already very learned, and her bright eyes often sparkled with a thoughtful light.

As for Mai, like most samurai of this era, she focused her energy on the training of military strategy and martial arts. Ultimately, the reason she disguised herself as a man and called herself Tenchi Takeryu was because she had made a vow at her father's grave to restore the status and reputation of the Tenchi family with her own body—it was obviously easier to achieve this goal by being a man than a woman.

Although Mai is no longer as eager for quick success as before after the Tiger's Scroll incident, as her closest younger sister, Hatsume understands better than anyone that Mai is simply hiding her anxiety deep inside, silently sharpening her claws like a tiger, waiting for the right opportunity...

But when exactly will this so-called golden opportunity appear?

The two sisters had no idea what to do.

Only time passed by day by day while we waited.

……

Just as the vegetable soup was boiling thoroughly, the sound of a cane tapping on the ground drifted from afar. A moment later, Yashiro, carrying the girl on his back, pushed open the door and entered the house. He sniffed the air, and before he could speak, Mio behind him cried out, "Vegetables, soup! It's hot!"

Hatsune got up and helped Mio down, then patted the dust off her clothes: "How was it? Did it sell?"

"It's been sold, at least for now."

"How much did it cost?"

"...Can I not answer this question?"

"all right."

"Then I won't answer." Yashiro shook his head and smiled bitterly. The next moment, Mio tugged at Hatsume's sleeve. When the latter lowered her head, the little girl gestured with her fingers, making a secret gesture.

Chuya understood immediately, and smiled without saying a word.

Yashiro's trip was to sell her wood carvings in a nearby town. This was a hobby she had only recently taken up. Not only was carving itself interesting, but it also helped her train her fingers and control over swords from another perspective. At the same time, as her skills improved, she could sell her carvings to supplement her family's income, which was a win-win-win situation.

Unfortunately, reality is often disappointing. Although they were both carving and drawing with knives and swords, wood is much more difficult to work with than human flesh. The few statues they painstakingly carved were sold for very little money after being hawked at the market for a long time, which was truly embarrassing. Now that Chuya was no longer asking questions, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She didn't notice the little commotion the two people were making beside her. She simply put down her cane, sat cross-legged by the stove, and picked up little Mio, who was crawling around beside her, and put her in her arms: "Brother Wuliu, haven't you come back yet?"

"No. He went to the downtown area today to practice swordsmanship with his brothers Saemon and Uemon. He said he would have lunch there and wouldn't be back until evening."

"Oh, you went to find Ah Zuo and Ah You?"

While they were talking, Hatsume had already served her a bowl of rice and poured a few spoonfuls of soup over it. Yashiro took it, blew on it a few times, and then fumbled to pick up a leaf of vegetable with her chopsticks and put it to Mio's lips, saying, "Chew it well before you swallow it."

"Okay!" Little Mio replied in her childish voice, and with one open mouth, she ate the vegetable leaf along with half a chopstick.

"Open your mouth."

"Ugh!" The little girl shook her head to indicate her unwillingness.

Yashiro tried to pull it out with a little force, but Mio bit down hard and she couldn't get it out. She didn't dare to use too much force, so she could only sigh and say, "This brat... Hatsume, get me a new pair of chopsticks."

Hatsume smiled and agreed. After a moment, instead of bringing chopsticks as she had asked, she took a wooden spoon, scooped a spoonful of soup and rice from her bowl, and held it to Hachiro's lips: "Come on, open your mouth."

"Did you feed the wrong person...?"

"No, come here, Yashiro-neechan, open your mouth, ah."

"I can eat by myself..."

“But you don’t have chopsticks.” Hatsune blinked and retorted logically. At the same time, she exchanged a glance with the girl in Yashiro’s arms. Mio was sucking on the tip of a chopstick like a pacifier, and her eyes crinkled as she smiled.

"Ugh……"

After a brief standoff, Yashiro obediently opened her mouth, allowing Hatsume to feed her a spoonful of rice and vegetables. The little girl then showed a satisfied expression, turned around, and used the same spoon to feed herself a mouthful as well.

"Go eat your own food!"

"Food tastes better when it's in someone else's bowl."