Yashiro the Blind

"Wine... what's real about it?"

However, Daizo and Hikogoro looked at each other blankly, clearly not even having grasped the top horizontal stroke of the "王" radical in the character "理" (reason), let alone knowing what the next step would be.

Only Chuya's eyes sparkled as she clapped her hands vigorously, exclaiming, "Wow, that's amazing!"

"Hatsubud...did you understand?"

"No! It's precisely because I didn't understand that I thought it was so amazing!" the little girl replied confidently.

The two thought about it for a moment and felt that it seemed to make sense, so they also started clapping. The sparse applause left Yashiro speechless, and he didn't know what to say.

"...In short, this is a set of Qimen acupuncture techniques brought in by Master Jianzhen hundreds of years ago. The so-called Nine Gods are terms from Qimen Dunjia, namely Tianzhu, Tianqin, Tianxin, Tianren... Hmm, I won't go into the details, let's get straight to the point."

Even though she couldn't see, she could imagine the "wise" looks in the eyes of the three people in front of her. So she made a quick decision and got straight to the point, "This set of acupuncture techniques has a single function and cannot treat illnesses or injuries. It can only be used to remove poisons. Chuya, were you bitten by any poisonous creature when you were little?"

He sought the Way.

The girl frowned, racking her brains for a long time before saying, "I don't remember..."

“It seems there is indeed such a thing.” Da Zang chimed in from the side, “I overheard my elder brother chatting with the old monk before, and he mentioned that when Chu Ya was little, she was bitten by a poisonous snake or something and almost lost her life. Fortunately, someone was passing by and, I don’t know how, they managed to save her from the brink of death. Is this what you’re talking about?”

“That should be right.” Yashiro nodded. “Although I don’t know the specifics of the situation, I can roughly imagine it—when Hatsume was very young, she was accidentally attacked by a poisonous creature. To save her life, someone used this set of strange needle techniques… As the name suggests, the key to the life-locking needle lies in the word ‘lock,’ and it does not use ordinary needles, but rather hollow, specially made silver needles.”

She rummaged in her sleeve and took out a piece of tattered cloth. A fine ox-hair needle was stuck in the cloth, as black as ink. In the firelight, its original material could be vaguely seen.

Hikogoro sniffed, but couldn't smell anything because of the mask, while Daizo and Hatsume's expressions changed.

"It stinks..." The girl pouted, looking at the needle with a hint of disgust.

"Stinky?" Upon hearing this, Hikogoro removed his mask and immediately smelled a faint, pungent odor mixed with a sweet, fishy smell in the air.

However, he ignored the strange smell emanating from the needles and asked directly, "This is... the Life-Locking Needle?"

"Yes." Yashiro didn't keep him in suspense. "Generally speaking, there are nine Life-Locking Needles. The first needle firmly locks in the poison in the body, preventing it from spreading throughout the body via the bloodstream. The next eight needles gradually break down and weaken the poison, and then, through the special design of the silver needles themselves, blood containing the poison is drawn into the needles. Once most of the poison has been absorbed by the silver needles, a unique technique is used to force it out of the needles, and then the process is complete—"

"If everything had gone smoothly, this would have been how it should have been."

"However, the life-locking needles are extremely effective, but they also put a heavy burden on the body. If all the needles are not expelled in time, over time, the corresponding areas will gradually suffer from various adverse effects, such as poor blood circulation, nerve damage, and eventually complete necrosis."

"So... you mean that someone stuck several needles into Hatsume's legs to save her, and because they were never pulled out, Hatsume eventually lost feeling in her legs?" Although he didn't understand most of the technical terms, Hikogoro still managed to grasp the main points of the whole conversation.

"You can say that."

"That……"

If these words were true, he was momentarily at a loss for words, or rather, who to blame for them.

When I turned around, I saw that Chuya looked confused and sleepy, clearly not having understood what had just been said.

On the contrary, Da Zang glared at him and said, "This guy is so insensible! It's good that he saved Chuya, but the old monk said that if you're going to do something, do it to the end. Why did he suddenly give up on it later? Miss Ya Xun, since you know about this lock and needle thing, you must also know who that guy who did half of the job is! Can you tell me his name?"

"Hey, Ozo, don't be rude..."

Just as Hikogoro was about to stop him, he heard Yashiro speak up and say, "...The Life-Locking Needle is profound and mysterious, and has almost been lost. As far as I know, if we don't mention overseas, at least in this country, there are only three people left who can use this move, including myself. Considering the time and place, I do know who the person who performed the needle on Hatsume back then was."

"who is it!"

"If I tell you, what do you plan to do?"

"Of course!" Da Zang snorted. "We'll go and pay him a visit to express our gratitude! If what you said is true—since my elder sister believes you, I certainly do too—if it weren't for his help back then, Chu Ya would have been dead years ago. That's a great favor, so of course we have to thank him. But after thanking him, I still have to ask him why he abandoned the rescue halfway through. If he can't give me a reasonable explanation, don't blame me for giving him a good beating!"

"I see."

"So, Miss Yashiro, since you know, just tell me already, don't keep me in suspense, who exactly is that person!"

The girl didn't answer immediately this time, but paused for a moment, as if she was thinking about something. Daizo stared intently at her, while Hikogoro looked left and right, unsure whether he should stop Daizo from asking any more questions.

In the silence, each lost in their own thoughts, a soft sigh finally broke the silence.

"As I just said, there are only three people in the world who can use the Life-Locking Needle, and the one who passed through this place back then, if nothing unexpected happens, should be the fourth person—"

Yashiro sighed again, a faint, misty smile appearing on her face, her tone tinged with a touch of sorrow, "His name is Tenfu Goro... he is my father."

……

Chapter Ten: Card Games

There are only three people in the world who know how to use this move, but the one who saved Hatsume—and incidentally left her paralyzed—was a fourth.

This statement may seem contradictory, but Hikogoro understood its meaning immediately.

He exchanged a glance with Chuya. Although the girl was young, she was quick-witted. It was one thing if she didn't understand the more complicated and professional things, but she could instantly grasp the unspoken meanings like these.

They exchanged a glance, understood each other perfectly, nodded, and tacitly decided to let the topic pass by gently, without delving into it further, so as not to touch on the girl's sore spot.

But if they don't point it out, others will: "Why are you talking so strangely! One minute you say three people, the next you say four. Are you trying to take advantage of me because I can't count?"

Da Zang glared with his large, bell-like eyes and retorted angrily.

By the time Hikogoro tried to stop him, it was too late. He then said, "Since you say that person is your father, the old monk said that you shouldn't scold a child's parents in front of him, so I won't scold him in front of you. Miss Yashiro, just tell me where your father is, and I'll go ask him directly!"

Before he knew it, the awkward honorifics had disappeared, and this was clearly the young man's usual way of speaking. He finished speaking in a fierce manner, slapped his thigh, leaned forward, and stared intently at Hachiro across the stove.

Crack!

The fire burned, and a few sparks landed on Da Zang's dark face.

He then silently sat back down.

Yashiro listened to all the commotion, smiled, and shook her head: "You want to see him?"

"Of course!"

“That might be a bit difficult.” She pointed to the ground. “Your father passed away five years ago. If you want to see him, you might have to follow the example of Izanagi and make a trip to Yomotsu Hirasaka.”

The girl said this in a teasing tone, which Hikogoro and Hatsume had expected and were not surprised. Only Daizo froze: "N-nothing?"

"Gone."

"So he's dead?"

"died."

Before he could finish speaking, Hikogoro finally got up and lunged forward, intending to cover the other man's mouth, which was full of malice. But Daizo was one step ahead—he raised his hand and slapped himself hard with his large, fan-like hand, leaving five bright red handprints on his left cheek.

"Sorry, I misspoke! If you're angry, feel free to beat me up, I promise I won't dodge or flinch, I'll beat you until you're satisfied!"

Well, that inexplicable nickname is back again...

Compared to the matter of her adoptive father, it was this honorific title that came from who-knows-where that annoyed Yashiro more. However, she could tell that he wasn't being sarcastic, but genuinely thought the title was good. For the moment, she couldn't find an opportunity to correct him, so she could only grit her teeth and bear it.

"I'm not angry."

But this wasn't exactly a pleasant topic. Ya Xun smiled, then changed the subject, "In any case, this matter concerns my father, so I naturally can't stay out of it. However, the Nine Needles of the Locking God are extremely complex. I only managed to force out the silver needle located at the Ziwei Tianchong point. The location of this needle is fairly accurate, so it's relatively easy to find. As for the remaining eight silver needles, it might require a little more effort..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yan Wulang interrupted, "Miss Yashiro, you don't need to worry about that. My elder sister has already told us that as long as you are willing to lend a hand, we will definitely arrange everything for you, including your food, clothing, and lodging."

"That's right, you can just stay here, and don't worry about food and drink. There will be plenty for you. Tomorrow I'll go up the mountain and see if I can hunt a wild boar for you to enjoy!"

Da Zang rolled up his sleeves, full of enthusiasm.

Chuya was also looking this way with expectant eyes.

Since the conversation had already progressed this far, Yashiro stopped being polite. After all, it was free food, so why not take it? She immediately nodded.

"Then it'll be hard work."

……

So it was decided.

Daizo was a man of his word. The next day, he dragged down a wild boar from the nearby mountains, cooked a huge pot of meat, and made Yashiro eat until his mouth was greasy and he exclaimed how delicious it was.

Although wild boar meat certainly can't compare to the taste of domestic pigs raised in her previous life, and the so-called wild taste is in other words, it's gamey and fishy, ​​and it makes her cheeks ache when she chews it, she has lived a miserable life for more than ten years in this world. She can hardly eat fish, shellfish and seafood, so opportunities to eat meat like this are extremely rare.

The girl enjoyed the meal immensely, and her impression of the villagers improved even more. Over the next few days, she stayed by Chuya's side almost constantly, meticulously studying the location of the remaining eight silver needles.

After all, this is a delicate art. If the positioning is wrong, the sword might not only fail to force out the silver needles but also pierce a transparent hole in the girl's leg, which would be quite a mess.

It's also because she's too weak. If it were her father or master, they could have just poked her with their finger and done it. Why go through all this trouble, brandishing swords and almost getting misunderstood as having ulterior motives towards the young girl? It's sad to think about.

Life is often like this: once a tall man of over 1.8 meters, he spent his days holed up in an air-conditioned room, pounding away on a keyboard; now he's a short man of less than 1.5 meters, and has started fighting and killing every day...

"big sister?"

A clear, crisp call brought her back to reality.

"It's your turn."

"Oh."

The girl tilted her head, and the sounds around her became clear once again. It was still that familiar house, which seemed to have originally been where Chuya and her brother lived. The latter had gone out on business and wouldn't be back for a while, so she naturally moved in and spent her days with the little girl.

It was still daytime. The hearth in the middle was not lit, and the iron hook on top was empty. Hatsume sat to her left, holding a few square pieces of wood in her hand. Opposite her was Hikogoro, and next to him was Daizo—the familiar quartet.

Firstly, to avoid suspicion, and secondly, adhering to the idea that it's better to avoid trouble, Yashiro, although vaguely guessing that this was not an ordinary village, did not intend to investigate further. He tried to minimize going out and stayed indoors to play with the little girl whenever he had nothing to do.

Besides Hatsume, the only people they interacted with daily were Hikogoro and Ozura, whom they had met before, and a woman who came every day to cook, wash clothes, and do housework for them.

The woman's name was Yoshino. She was gentle, spoke softly, and was very efficient at all kinds of housework. Yashiro initially thought she might be the sister of Okizo or Hikogoro, but later learned that she was actually Okizo's wife and had even given birth to two children.

Even knowing that people in this era generally marry and have children early, Yashiro was still quite taken aback when she actually witnessed it. After all, at that age, most people would still be college students or even high school students in later years, but now she was already a mother of two. Moreover, seeing how loving the two of them were, she felt that two was far from the end, and sooner or later they would have a whole football team of children...

But since the couple is happy with it, there's nothing to say.

Just like now—

"Good boy, good boy..." Jia Nai sat behind Daizo, carrying a baby on her back and holding another in her arms. She gently coaxed him while glancing up at the last two wooden cards in Daizo's hand. "Yashiro, the leftmost card is the Joker. Be careful not to take the wrong one... Ah, he switched them."

"Hey!" Da Zang's eyes widened.

"What's wrong?" she asked with a gentle smile.

"It's nothing..." His arrogance vanished instantly. The young man hunched over, looking aggrieved as he swapped the two wooden pieces in his hands.

This time, no one was there to sabotage him. With a smile, Yoshino focused on comforting the baby in her arms again. Hatsume looked around at the group with a grin, then made a face at the boy with empty hands: "Hikogoro-nii is so weak!"

Hikogoro pursed his lips, wanting to refute, but had nothing to say.

Why was he the first one eliminated?

However, the game the girl came up with called "Drawing Jokers" was really fun, as were the previous games like Othello, Gomoku, and Flying Birds. They were all things he had never heard of before, but they were incredibly interesting, and he couldn't help but become addicted to them once he started playing.

Especially the youngest, Hatsume, was completely captivated by it, pestering Yashiro to play with her from morning till night. In just a few days, the girl laughed and had fun more often than in the previous few months. Hikogoro had always treated her like his younger sister, so he was naturally happy to see this.

It's a pity my older brother hasn't come back yet, otherwise he would definitely be even happier than I am...

The eliminated player sat alone, lost in thought, while the other three continued their tense and exciting battle of the Jokers.

As it turns out, playing Joker is indeed a simple and easy-to-learn game, suitable for all ages, and a low-cost way to pass the time throughout history. Of course, Yashiro's creation of playing cards and simple board games was not intentional; it was simply because he had been too bored these past few days.

If she were alone, she could simply close her eyes and let her mind wander through the vast sea of ​​memories in her mind, and a few days would pass in the blink of an eye. But now that she's with other people, she certainly can't just watch movies or read books by herself.

Out of sheer boredom, he casually asked someone for some useless wood, shaved it into pieces, carved different patterns on it, and made a simple deck of cards. He then taught a few people the basic gameplay, which included games like drawing jokers and playing neurasthenia.

The response was unexpectedly good. After discovering that not only Hatsume, but also Hikogoro and the Okura couple were so obsessed, Yashiro suddenly had the urge to mass-produce them and sell them in places like Sakaimachi...

I wonder if there were any authentic playing cards available in Europe at that time. If not, perhaps we could sell them to Portuguese and Spanish merchants and make a small profit.

It doesn’t seem impossible…

But after thinking about it, she finally gave up on this tempting idea.

There's no other reason than that carving a wooden plaque by hand is just too tiring... Maybe another time.

While lost in thought, Yashiro leaned forward and reached out to touch the wooden plaques in Daizo's hands one by one.

The first card shows no change in the opponent's heartbeat or breathing.

When he encountered the second card, the young man's heart started beating faster and his breathing became rapid.

"..."

The girl felt more or less like she was bullying someone. The game, in theory, involves observing the expressions and demeanor of others to guess which card in your hand is the joker. It's a game of reading between the lines, easy to learn but difficult to master.

That's why, after she taught the rules and tricks of the game to the others, Hatsume and Yoshino even felt that the game was somewhat disadvantageous to the girl herself, and although the two boys didn't say it out loud, it was obvious that they felt the same way.

Then she marched on triumphantly, pinning them to the ground and giving them a thorough beating.

Even now, the four of them probably still don't understand how she won.

Yashiro wouldn't be foolish enough to reveal the truth. She could adjust her expression and fake her movements, but few people would consciously control their heartbeat and breathing without realizing it. As long as this remained unchanged, she would be invincible in this game.

"Hey."

Without hesitation, she drew the crucial card.

Daizo's tightly clenched expression suddenly crumbled: "We lost again..."