Yashiro the Blind

Jiro was clearly not trying to express anything through these words. Rather than sharing her past with Yashiro, she seemed to be talking to herself, organizing her thoughts and venting some long-held ideas.

In her 25 years of life, this is probably the first time she has opened her heart and spoken so freely.

One person spoke, and the other listened, completely unaware of the passage of time. When the woman came to her senses and looked up, she found that the eastern sky was already tinged with a faint pale light, and the entire night had passed just like that.

A familiar voice drifted from afar: "Jiro, Jiro! Are you still alive? Are you dead...? Hey, you bald monk, what are you doing hitting me!"

"You're the one who's dead! And you're a bald monk too!"

The noisy commotion was caused by two senior monks from Ryutaiji Temple. Knowing that they had come looking for him early in the morning because he hadn't returned all night and were worried something might have happened, Jiro felt a pang of guilt. Noticing their current posture, his face flushed slightly, and he hurriedly stood up, tugging at his wrinkled clothes.

Her guilty attitude was so obvious, completely unlike her usual self. When Yashiro heard this, she couldn't help but tease her, "Master, you're so flustered. Anyone who didn't know better would think we just did something shameful."

"Something shameful?" To everyone's surprise, the woman blinked, then asked with a blank expression, "What do you mean?"

"..."

Yashiro hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Master, do you know... how couples have children?"

“It was delivered by a crane,” Jiro replied without hesitation, taking it for granted. Then, noticing Yashiro's strange expression, she suddenly became doubtful: “Isn’t that right?”

"It was...it was delivered by a crane."

Perhaps because he spent most of his time living in the temple, Jiro, despite his advanced age, had very little knowledge in certain areas. Yashiro paused for a moment, then decided it was better not to be the one to break the ice.

She leaned on her cane, stood up unsteadily, stretched her numb hands and feet, and tapped her shoulders: "Well... since the two Zen masters have come to see you, I'll go back first. I'll visit the temple today or tomorrow."

"it is good."

Jiro nodded, picked up the spear leaning against the tree, and was about to walk out of the forest. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned back and saw golden light shining down from the swaying leaves in the middle of the forest, making everything in front of him seem to light up.

Under her gaze, the blind girl, wearing the same apricot-yellow short-sleeved dress from before, was tilting her head, basking in the sunlight, and gently patting the dewdrops off her clothes. Suddenly, the tip of her small ear twitched, clearly noticing her movement, and she asked curiously, "Master, is there anything else?"

The woman remained silent for a long time. If it weren't for the clear sound, Yashiro would have almost thought she had left silently. The shouts and bickering of Haotian and Zongjun grew closer. Just as she was considering whether to take the initiative to ask, she suddenly heard a voice:

“...Ayong.”

"What?" This abrupt question startled Yashiro.

On the other side, the woman closed her eyes briefly, seemingly hesitant about what she was about to say, but finally mustered her courage and continued, "This is my name before I became a nun, and it's been almost twenty years since anyone called me that. If you don't mind, in the future, when it's just the two of us, could you... could you..."

He had clearly rehearsed these words in his mind for a long time beforehand, but at the last moment, they became incredibly difficult to say. Only the last half sentence remained, yet he just couldn't bring himself to utter it.

As she hesitated, another morning breeze swept by, the leaves rustling and the sunlight shimmering. Yashiro tilted her head, slightly surprised, then suddenly laughed and said, "I know, Ayong—that's a really nice name."

The long-lost address, the unfamiliar feelings—the woman's eyes widened slightly, and then she smiled too—though she couldn't actually see it, in Yashiro's imagination, it was definitely a smile as clear as the morning sun.

……

After that night, something seemed to have changed, yet nothing seemed to have changed at all. At least in the eyes of others, Jiro was still Jiro, and Yashiro was still Yashiro. But the closer the person was to him, the more likely they were to detect something strange in the subtle clues.

"Tenfu Hachihiro".

For example, Tenji Mai, although she herself probably doesn't want to admit it, there is no doubt that she is one of the people Yashiro is closest to in this world, and that is why she noticed something was wrong almost at first glance.

When someone calls another person by their full name, it usually means that the person in the costume is not in a good mood.

"what happened?"

"Can you please stop wearing that silly smile all the time? It's really annoying, you know?"

"Well, it's only natural to laugh when something makes you happy, there's nothing I can do about it."

"That's why I've asked you several times, what is it that makes you so happy?"

"Hoo hoo, I won't say it, it can't be said, it can't be spoken... Ouch, don't hit my head, what if you make me stupid!"

"No need to hit you, you're already stupid enough! Humph, you look like an idiot from morning till night, it makes me angry just looking at you... Fine, out of sight, out of mind, I'm going out."

Mai picked up her fan and smacked Yashiro on the head repeatedly, chasing her all over the room. In the end, Yashiro even climbed out of the window, swinging a straw hat off her cane as if to surrender. Then she snorted and turned to say, "Hatsume! You should also stay away from this idiot, lest you catch it."

"Take care, brother."

Chuya smiled and said, but her expression clearly showed that she wouldn't listen obediently. Mai slapped her fan against her palm twice more, getting even angrier, but she couldn't bear to scold her younger sister as well. So she glared at the still-swaying straw hat outside the window, opened the door, and went out.

Once the footsteps had completely disappeared, Yashiro climbed back through the window. As soon as she landed, before she could even stand properly, the humanoid koala immediately came over and clung to her, rubbing against her.

"Alright, alright." Yashiro was already used to Hatsume's behavior, so he patted her back and tried to tear her off. "You're all sweaty, don't rub it on."

"I don't mind."

"But I mind."

"Oh."

"If you understand, then go down."

"do not do it!"

Hatsume struggled for a while, but was eventually torn off. Pouting, she sat back down. But the physical contact seemed to have satisfied her. As soon as Yashiro sat down cross-legged, she immediately moved closer again.

"I understand, Yashiro-neechan!" she said, staring intently at the other woman.

"What do you know?" Just as Yashiro was about to use his cane to prop Hatsume away, thinking she was going to use the same trick again, he was slightly taken aback when he heard this.

"Now I know why you've been so happy these past few days—it's related to your older sister, isn't it?" Although Hatsune asked a question, her tone was very certain. And noticing the momentary stiffness in the person in front of her, she knew that her guess was indeed true.

"How did you know?" Now that she'd been found out, Yashiro didn't bother making excuses to cover it up. After all, it wasn't something she couldn't tell anyone; she was just curious why she'd been guessed. She thought she'd kept it a pretty good secret. For example, look at Mai—she was completely clueless and could only erupt in impotent rage.

"It's my intuition, and also because my older sister seems to have encountered something good recently, she seems to be in a very good mood."

"I see……"

"Yes, so, Yashiro-neechan, what exactly happened between you and my eldest sister? Can you tell me?" Hatsume's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"I'm sorry, this is a secret between me and the sorcerer, and we agreed not to tell you." Yashiro replied with a smile. After waiting and waiting, and not hearing Hatsume speak, she thought for a moment and then opened her arms. "Come on, although I can't tell you the secret, as compensation, give me a hug."

"it is good."

The little girl responded cheerfully, then transformed back into a koala, giving him a warm hug. However, unlike her cheerful tone and affectionate actions, her expression wasn't so happy. Instead, she frowned, her little eyebrows furrowed, and there was a struggle in her eyes that even she herself wasn't quite sure about.

There is indeed something that Chuya doesn't quite understand.

Logically speaking, even if Yashiro didn't want to tell him what happened between her and his older sister, judging from their expressions, it must be something good. He loved Yashiro the most, and he loved his older sister the most too. He should be happy that his two favorite people were happy together.

But why do I always feel a tightness in my chest, a discomfort, as if something is blocking my way, whenever I think about this...?

Is he sick?

……

Chapter 108 Wise Generals and Sprouts

The two rolled around on the ground and wrestled for a while, until finally, Hatsume, lacking martial arts skills and being physically weak, was defeated, panting heavily. Yashiro brushed his messy bangs aside, stretched, and leaned against the wall, showing no remorse for bullying the child, even sporting a smug expression.

Hatsume lay sprawled on the ground, taking advantage of Yashiro's inability to see, and brazenly lifted her clothes, exposing her white belly. If Mai saw this, she would inevitably give her a long and earnest lecture, from the possibility of catching a cold or getting sick to the lack of elegance in her posture, nagging like an old woman.

As the saying goes, the eldest brother is like a father and the eldest sister is like a mother. Wuyi is like a woman who takes on both roles.

"Speaking of which, Brother Wu Liu seems to be in a bad mood lately... Although he's always like this, it's been particularly bad lately. Has something happened in the Yuanjiang area?"

Hearing Yashiro's question, Hatsume turned her head, about to answer, when suddenly she saw a cane reaching out and gently pushing it back over her clothes, which had been partially lifted.

Incidentally, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the tip of the cane gently poked her lower abdomen.

"Wow!"

The icy sensation made Chuya shiver, and her cheeks flushed bright red with embarrassment and anger—she had been discovered!

The little girl reached out to grab it, but the cane was as agile as a snake, swaying for a moment before retracting.

"Yashiro-neechan".

"what's wrong?"

"You are bad!"

"Hoohoo."

Seemingly noticing Hatsune's angry little eyes, Yashiro stopped teasing her, took the gourd from his waist, and took a big, hearty gulp.

Seeing this bold and unrestrained demeanor, Hatsume was taken aback. She thought that Yashiro had finally developed a high alcohol tolerance through perseverance. However, the next moment, she discovered that what was wafting from the gourd was not the aroma of wine, but a faint fragrance of tea.

"Yashiro-neechan, what are you doing..."

"The sake has been confiscated," Yashiro sighed.

"Oh..." Chuya suddenly realized.

As for who exactly replaced the gourd of wine with tea, since the question was so obvious, Chuya wisely refrained from asking further.

Her eyes darted around, and she picked up the topic the other person had brought up earlier: "Actually, I don't know exactly what my brother is busy with, but I overheard him talking to my uncles once, and they mentioned a strange man with a long sword..."

"Uncles Zuo and You?" Yashiro recalled for a moment: "Oh, it's Zuo and You."

"Wait... wait, Yashiro-neechan, you haven't forgotten about those two, have you?!"

"How could that be? Ha, ha, ha..."

"..."

A silent gaze is the most hurtful.

But Yashiro certainly hadn't forgotten these two lively brothers who had followed her all the way from Hitachi Province... Well, she might have forgotten them for a second or two, but it's nothing to worry about!

In fact, Saemon had been eagerly following Mankisai for a year and a half, almost as soon as Mankisai's treatment ended.

After the old man's meticulous treatment, although the older brother Zaemon's facial paralysis was far from cured, he could at least twitch the corners of his mouth and manage to show one or two not-too-frightening expressions. Regardless of what others thought, the two brothers were quite satisfied with the result and were even more grateful to Yashiro for giving them this opportunity.

Upon arriving in Tōtōmi and learning that she had adopted a daughter and decided to settle down there, the two initially wanted to stay and work as servants for Yashiro, running errands and doing odd jobs, but she refused—Yashiro even had a serious talk with them about it:

"I don't need servants."

"Can……"

"Zuo, You, there are only the three of us here. If we speak, only the heavens and the earth can hear us, besides our six ears. So don't worry about anything, just say what you're thinking."

The two brothers responded with a "yes".

Yashiro nodded: "In that case, I'll get straight to the point. You said earlier that you wanted to stay by my side, right?"

"Correct."

"N-no, that's right..."

"What's the purpose?"

"What's the purpose..."

“There’s nothing wrong with saying it. People always have a purpose in doing things, especially since we are not related. You certainly didn’t just pick someone off the street and bow down to them. You must have taken a liking to my skills or my future prospects… To be honest, I am just a wandering woman now and have no intention of entering officialdom for the time being. If you are thinking of making a name for yourself and want to make a name for yourself in this chaotic world, then following me is just a waste of your time.”

"This……"

Having their thoughts laid bare, the two brothers exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of hesitation in each other's eyes. After speaking, Yashiro fell silent, seemingly waiting for them to speak.

After a while, Zaemon made up his mind first and bowed down: "Since Miss Yashiro is so frank, we two should not hide it anymore. At the beginning, we did have this idea, hoping that one of us could achieve enlightenment and all our relatives and friends would benefit from it."

He initially called Yashiro "master," but the latter couldn't stand being called "master" by a grown man. She felt like she was playing some strange game and tried to correct him several times. However, Zaemon was very particular about such traditional etiquette, probably influenced by his samurai father. He was as stubborn as a mule and refused to change his way of addressing her.

Finally, Yashiro, unable to bear it any longer, picked up her cane and had a "friendly" conversation with him, finally managing to get the stubborn mule to call her by her original name again. Jiroemon, who usually had little opinion of his own, naturally followed suit and changed it back, thus fulfilling Yashiro's wish.

Enough of the small talk, let's get back to the main point. Hearing that there was clearly more to his words, Yashiro didn't interrupt. Sure enough, Zaemon paused for a moment and then said, "However, now we've changed our minds a little... or rather, we've just come to a better understanding of reality."

"Oh?"

"To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. No matter what we do in the future, my brother and I are too weak right now."

Recalling his past near-death experiences on the roadside, Zaemon lowered his eyes and sighed, "Meeting you, Miss Yashiro, is the greatest opportunity of our lives, and we must seize it... Of course, I know my own level and won't say anything like wishful thinking as to become your apprentice. I just want to follow you and learn a move or two from you. That would be an incredible stroke of luck for my brother and me."

"I see."

Zaemon wasn't lying; this was truly his thought. Yashiro pondered this. If the two of them had initially expressed their desire to become disciples, she might have hesitated. But since they had already lowered themselves so much, refusing now would be inappropriate. Besides…

Recalling that talkative fat man, she sighed inwardly. Before Inosuke died, he entrusted her with the military strategy book of their Great Floating School, saying that if he were to die, he hoped that Yashiro could find another successor to carry on the Great Floating School for him.

Yashiro kept this matter in his heart, but after years of wandering around, he had traveled to almost half of Japan and still could not find a suitable candidate. Either their talents were not suitable, or their personalities were not compatible. He thought that if he found a person with bad intentions, not only would it not make the Great Floating Clan great again, but it would also tarnish the reputation of this lineage. When he went to Inosuke's grave to pay his respects in the future, he would have no face to face his deceased friend.

If it's these brothers...

However, to be on the safe side, she did not bring up the topic immediately. Instead, she asked the two brothers for their opinions first. After receiving their consent, she handed them over to Mai and let them temporarily follow Hikogoro, Ozora, and the others. This was partly to gain experience and partly to test their character.

According to Mai, after the incident involving Mishima Doppo, she and Jiro learned their lesson and stopped gathering everyone together. Instead, they dispersed and scattered throughout Tōtōmi Province, where each member led an ordinary life while secretly gathering intelligence and cooperating with the "Ryūgū Dōji." This way, even if enemies came again, they wouldn't be wiped out in one fell swoop.

Zuo Weimen had been wandering the martial world for many years. Although his strength was mediocre, his experience was rich. After joining the Dragon Palace faction, he thrived. In addition, he was diligent and conscientious, and quickly gained the trust of the others. After observing them for about half a year and having a general idea of ​​their abilities, Yashiro handed them the Great Floating Style's military strategy book, instructing them not to be lazy, to practice diligently, and not to tarnish the name of this school.

Encouraged and deeply grateful, the two brothers immediately began to train diligently. Whether it was due to their innate talent or the style of the Great Floating Stream that suited their temperaments, their progress was rapid, advancing by leaps and bounds. In just over a year, they successfully evolved from two weaklings into... two slightly stronger weaklings.

Yashiro herself felt that nothing had changed. After all, whether it was then or now, these two still couldn't withstand even one of her moves. However, from Mai to Hikogoro, everyone was praising these two, which meant that they probably, maybe, possibly... had indeed improved.