Yashiro the Blind

Moreover, it wasn't just his skills and knowledge that improved. Not long ago, with the help of his companions, Zaemon successfully married a wife. He was so immersed in the happiness of marriage that he gained several pounds. Now, he's starting to worry about his younger brother's marriage and even sought help from Hachi for it.

Are you sure you want to ask me?

The blind woman, who had been single since her past life, forced a smile, a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Zaemon wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "N-nothing... Oh, right, this is some pickled vegetable my husband made. He specially asked me to bring it over for you to try. Please, you eat, Miss Yashiro, I won't bother you anymore..." He chuckled twice and hurriedly ran away.

Yashiro sat there, picked up the pickled eggplant that the other person had given him, and took a bite.

"It's actually quite delicious... Humph, how dare they show off their love in front of me, they're really asking for trouble." She said indignantly, then seemed to be defending herself to someone else, "I simply don't have such thoughts, otherwise, let alone one wife, ten or eight would be a piece of cake, I could sleep with them every day and enjoy the bliss of having multiple wives, ha, hahaha..."

The more he talked, the emptier he felt, and finally, dejected, he ended the conversation alone.

Life is a journey of wandering and uncertainty, with only age constantly creeping in. Even disregarding past lives, I've already crossed the threshold of twenty again, and I even have a child—adopted, no less—when will I finally meet a beautiful young woman willing to be close to me...?

Yashiro thought sadly as she took another bite of eggplant.

It's starting to taste a bit salty...

……

Suddenly recalling this past event, and thinking that even the stuttering Uemon got married last month, while he was still single, and the Crystal Palace he longed for was still nowhere in sight, Yashiro couldn't help but feel sad again.

Hatsune looked at her suspiciously, feeling that the other was thinking about something absurd again. Similar situations had happened many times before, so she was used to it. She just looked up at the sky and said, "Yashiro-neechan, it's almost noon. You said you would pick up Mio before lunch, shouldn't we set off?"

"Yes."

Yashiro realized what had happened. She had left Mio at Ryutaiji Temple yesterday, promising to pick her up at noon. If it took too long, the little girl might start crying again.

The monks at the main temple were always complaining that they hadn't seen Mio in a long time and missed her terribly—though "long time" usually meant only three or four days, and at most less than a week—but they couldn't resist the persistent nagging of these burly monks, and Mio herself enjoyed playing with these "bald old men," so Yashiro would often take the little one down the mountain to stay at the temple for a few days. When Mai wasn't home, Hatsume would usually come along too.

That was the plan yesterday, but after that night, for some reason, Yashiro felt inexplicably embarrassed when she met Jiro again. Although Jiro hid it well, he probably felt the same way. The subtle atmosphere between them was something even Haotian, who was usually not good at reading people, realized was wrong.

"Master Yashiro, did you have a fight with Jiro? Did Jiro upset you? If so, I'll help you beat her up to vent your anger!" the fat monk said gruffly, already rolling up his sleeves.

Yashiro nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Master."

"Okay... Ah, you're serious? I... I was just kidding..."

“Master, monks do not lie.”

"A monk doesn't lie, but I can't beat Jiro!" His words had backfired, and the monk Haotian was almost in tears. "Benefactor Hachisuke, please have mercy and save my life! Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda!"

"Hoohoo."

Having transferred the joy to himself, Yashiro stopped making things difficult for the simple-minded monk. Instead, he mustered his courage, braced himself, and pretended to chat with Jiro as usual, drinking a cup of tea. Then, he made up a reason to leave Mio there, promising to come back for her the next day, while he hurriedly fled back to the mountain.

I don't know why, but it was just really awkward.

She thought and thought, but still couldn't figure out what this strange feeling was. She had no choice but to put it aside for the time being. After all, there's an old saying that goes, "Escape is shameful but useful"—no matter what, she still had to pick up the child. Yashiro stretched, leaned on her cane, stood up, and waited for Hatsume to pack her things before the two of them headed down the mountain.

The mountains are dangerous, so she naturally didn't feel comfortable leaving Chuya alone.

"Yashiro-neechan, please carry me on your back like you used to, okay?"

"No."

"Then hold me—"

"No."

"Then at least hold hands."

After being refused twice, and hearing Hatsume's slightly aggrieved voice, Yashiro thought for a moment and then extended her empty right hand. Hatsume happily took it, while mentally clenching her little fist.

Asking for an exorbitant price and then settling for less—the strategy my older sister taught me is indeed very useful!

The little girl thought smugly, laughing like a little mouse that had stolen lamp oil.

……

A straw hat and a long knife.

Her long, black hair was tied into a ponytail at the back of her head, swaying with her light steps, making her look very energetic. The girl with an oval face carried a five-foot-long sword on her back, walking and stopping intermittently, finally stopping at an intersection, looking around with a worried expression.

"Yuanjiang, Yuanjiang... Where is the expert that Sister Longzi mentioned? And this is a fork in the road, which way should I go... Never mind, I'll just use the old method." She muttered to herself, took off her left straw sandal, threw it out, and planned to use the same trick again to ask for directions.

Actually, I was going to throw stones, but stones are too small and easy to lose, and it's troublesome to collect them. So I decided to throw straw sandals instead—it's such a big straw sandal, I can't possibly lose it, right?

No sooner had the straw sandal been thrown than a dirty wild dog darted out from the side, snatched it up, and ran off in a flash. The girl, still standing on one leg, stared in disbelief at the scene, unable to turn around for a long time.

“My shoes!”

With a mournful cry, she stumbled after him, her steps uneven, rushing forward without noticing the scenery around her. Before she knew it, she had plunged into the woods. It was a sparse grove of trees, the leaves providing shade from the midday heat and sunlight.

The girl carrying the long sword was panting heavily. She finally saw the wild dog stop, drop its straw sandals on the ground, and then disappear again. She limped over, looked at the drool on the sandals with disgust and confusion on her face, and after a while, she frowned and put the sandals on.

"So dirty...tsk, although I don't know who you are, remember to buy me a new pair of straw sandals!" the girl said angrily.

But apart from her voice, the only sound in the woods was the rustling of the wind, which then returned to silence, with no other sounds.

"I've already spotted you. How long are you going to hide? Don't force me to make a move!" As she spoke, she reached for her knife. Suddenly, another gust of mountain wind blew by, and two more people appeared in the woods, one in front and one behind, vaguely forming an encirclement.

"Friend, you—"

Standing opposite the girl was a stern-faced young man dressed simply, with a knife tucked into his waistband, the hilt of which was engraved with the character "left".

He stared blankly at the girl, about to speak in a deep voice, when he noticed her expression of utter disbelief.

"Wow, there really is someone here?"

Shocked, she even blurted out her hometown dialect.

“…Huh?” The cold-faced young man was stunned.

"I was just bluffing you guys. Boss Longzi said that bluffing a little now and then might bring unexpected gains..."

The girl tilted her head, looking at the two similar-looking young men in front of and behind her. Her eyes darted around, and suppressing her slight guilty conscience, she said with a grin, "Um, brothers, I didn't eat enough breakfast today, so I don't have much energy and don't really want to kill anyone. So, let's make a deal. Let's pretend I didn't say anything, and we can go our separate ways and go home, okay?"

Amidst the laughter, she had already quietly grasped the hilt of the knife behind her.

The next moment, the five-foot-long sword, which had no scabbard and was simply wrapped in a strip of cloth, was suddenly thrown out and slammed heavily onto the ground.

"Of course, if it really comes down to a fight, I'd be happy to oblige—"

The girl grinned.

……

Chapter 109 A Worthy Opponent

The sunlight was blinding, and the blade was menacing.

The girl with the ponytail waved her hand, and the long sword wrapped in cloth behind her swept through the air and crashed to the ground, making the fallen leaves and pebbles tremble.

She flashed a fearless smile, her voice crisp and clear, subtly defiant, perfectly masking the hint of fear deep in her eyes—no kidding, this guy in front of her looked cold and ruthless, clearly the kind of person who would kill without blinking an eye; if they fought, she'd most likely be at a disadvantage…

Want to escape?

Normally, she wouldn't hesitate. If the situation turned unfavorable, she would have dragged her knife and run ten or even nine miles away. Why would she stay and entangle with someone? However, the other party was obviously prepared this time. The girl glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw that her retreat route had been blocked by another person.

Surrounded from both sides, the newcomer seemed hostile. The girl felt as if she were a fish in a barrel, a bead of cold sweat silently trickling down her forehead. She tried her best to bluff while racking her brains for a way to escape unscathed. So focused was she that she didn't notice the slightly trembling legs of the cold-faced young man in front of her.

This is probably the end...

Despite wearing a cold expression, Zaemon was on the verge of tears inside.

He and his younger brother spent more than a year in Tōtōmi Province, mostly working with Tenji Bōryū and others. Their days were busy and fulfilling, especially after they obtained the Great Floating Stream's military strategy book from Yashiro. The two brothers trained hard in the sweltering summer and freezing winter, fearing that they would disappoint Yashiro's expectations. Although someone didn't really have high expectations for them, having a reason to work hard was always a good thing.

Hard work pays off. After more than a year of diligent practice and study, the two, while not completely transformed, were at least no longer the clueless individuals they once were.

In particular, the founder of the Da Fu Liu school was originally a street performer. Even after mastering his skills, he never forgot his roots. When facing opponents, he would come up with all sorts of strange tricks and win by surprise. The two brothers had been together since childhood and had a great understanding with each other. When they joined forces, they brought out the unique features of this school to the fullest.

Although there were only two people and two knives, the fight seemed to have grown three heads and six arms out of thin air. More than ten swords and knives gleamed, so real and illusory that, caught off guard, even the strongest fighters would inevitably be beaten badly and suffer a crushing defeat.

After gaining the approval of the Tenji Martial Arts School, the two brothers, for reasons unknown, became so confident that they were eager to show Yashiro their progress over the past few months... Unfortunately, they couldn't even force Yashiro to use her staff sword before someone swung their cane and knocked them to the ground with two loud thuds.

What was even more hurtful was that Yashiro added somewhat apologetically, "Sorry, I hit a little too hard... but you didn't really need to hold back. Were you worried I'd get hurt?"

"No...this is already the best we've ever done..."

"Huh? Oh... I'm sorry."

This crushing defeat directly suppressed the budding arrogance of the two, and also made the once somewhat inflated Zaemon rediscover his former self. From then on, he became more and more cautious in his actions, fearing that one day he might run into a brick wall and lose his life.

After all, things are different now. He has a family now, and even if not for himself, he has to think about his newlywed wife and the child in her belly that isn't yet pregnant. But... Zaemon glanced at the long sword again, his eyes trembling, and swallowed hard.

Having roamed the world for many years, he was experienced and knew that there were certain types of people in this world who should not be easily provoked, such as the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, pregnant women, and those carrying infants. These people were inherently vulnerable, and if they dared to go out, they must have something to rely on. If one rashly ran into them, one would at best suffer a head injury, and at worst, die.

Besides, those characters carrying all sorts of strange and obscure weapons, regardless of their appearance, are definitely not ordinary people—the reason is simple: in this day and age, bandits are rampant, ferocious beasts roam freely, and fighting is a common occurrence. If someone were to force themselves to carry an unsuitable weapon just to show off, it would be tantamount to playing with their life. There are very few such fools.

The girl in front of him looked youthful and was quite young, yet she carried a five-foot-long sword that was almost as tall as herself. She was clearly a master swordswoman, and she was also infamous for her ruthlessness. In the recent past, she had killed several groups of bandits, leaving them missing limbs or cut in half at the waist. They all died tragically and in a miserable state.

Although according to the intelligence they had gathered, those who had died by the girl's blade so far were all wicked villains, a master of unknown origin and purpose would always make people wary. With the idea that it's better to be cautious than to make a big mistake, after hearing that the girl was about to pass through the Ii Valley area, Wu Liu sent out all his men to find this mysterious girl and find out whether she was friend or foe, so that the heavy weight on his heart could be lifted.

As luck would have it, the brothers ran into their target. The girl seemed to have mistaken the stray dog ​​that had stolen the straw sandal for their pet, and she was clearly upset, so her attitude wasn't very good—indeed, the stray dog ​​had nothing to do with the two of them.

Zaemon was still crouching in the woods, hesitating whether to go out with his brother to confront the enemy directly, or to leave one of them to keep watch while the other went back to call for reinforcements. With more people, they wouldn't die too badly in the event of a fight.

Before he could make up his mind, he saw a wild dog with a straw sandal in its mouth rushing towards the woods like a madman. Then it spat out the wet sandal and disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, the girl chased after them barefoot, aggressively forcing them to reveal themselves, leaving them in a dilemma. They couldn't fight back, nor could they ask questions. They wanted to escape, but they were afraid that if they turned around, they would be cleaved in two by a long sword.

The atmosphere was tense for a moment.

Three people, six eyes, their gazes wavering, each feeling guilty. The girl maintained her stance of supporting herself with her long sword, her eyes darting back and forth, trying to find a weakness in the encirclement from the front and back. Meanwhile, Zuo Weimen was tense all over, wary of the girl, whose friend or foe was unclear, suddenly launching an attack. He would occasionally exchange a glance with his younger brother across the woods, unsure of what to do.

Everyone wanted to speak, yet no one dared to utter a sound, as if a single word, or even the slightest movement, could instantly shatter this indescribable, delicate balance.

In the end, it was the older Zaemon who had seen more of the world. Compared to the girl opposite him, who seemed eager to fight, he managed to maintain a semblance of composure. He licked his lips, intending to casually bring up a topic to ease the atmosphere: "My friend, you..."

Suddenly, the leaves overhead rustled and shook, and a squirrel leaped out!

What should have been a common occurrence turned into a major shock for the three individuals, each with their own agendas. Zaemon, who was closest to the group, was startled and forgot the words he was about to utter. His right hand instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword at his waist...

This startled the ponytail girl so much that her hair stood on end. Forgetting everything else, she swung her long sword with both hands and swung it fiercely—

"Brother!"

Seeing this, Uemon's eyes turned bloodshot, and he rushed forward to try to stop it. But he had only taken two steps when a scabbard suddenly appeared in front of him, and he heard the sound of wind rushing towards him. Before he could react, the flying scabbard hit him squarely in the face, and he fell backward, blood gushing from his nose.

"Wow!"

At the same time, the girl herself exclaimed, "Get out of the way!"

It turned out that she had swung the sword too hard and accidentally flung the scabbard out. The gleaming blade flashed in the air, and as it fell, it carried the unsteady girl forward a few steps. With a "bang," her head snapped back and hit Zaemon's chin.

"pain--"

She clutched her head and tried to back away. Zaemon was so shocked by the impact that he saw stars and his ears were ringing. In his haste to defend himself, he drew his sword and slashed, but missed the girl and instead embedded himself in the tree trunk behind him.

The blow was quite forceful, cutting deep enough to be impossible to pull out immediately. He was terrified, even kicking one foot off the blade as he tried to pull it out with all his might. The girl, clutching her bright red forehead, was spun around in place by her 1.5-meter-long sword. A few steps away, Uemon was still struggling to get up, his hand still covering his bleeding nose…

A worthy opponent, both sides suffer heavy losses!

"I... I'm telling you, I'm very powerful. If you don't stop, believe me, I'll tear you to pieces and beat you until your own mothers wouldn't recognize you..."

Despite feeling dizzy and disoriented, the girl didn't forget to throw out a few harsh words. The Dragon Queen always said that even in defeat, one should not lose face; even if one is outmatched and killed, one should die with dignity, like a hero… But then again, she was too dizzy to see clearly; which way was "right"?

……

Whoosh!

Just as Zaemon had finally managed to pull his sword from the tree and was about to turn around to fight again, he suddenly heard a sharp whooshing sound outside the forest. He watched as an arrow shot towards him, but it wasn't aimed at him and the girl; instead, it was aimed at Uemon, who was still on the ground and hadn't gotten up yet!

"Shameless villain!"

Seeing his younger brother about to die, Zaemon roared and threw his weapon straight out. It collided with the arrow in mid-air and both landed on the ground!

The attack was swift and precise, even Yashiro would have to give it a thumbs up, but he also lost his sword in the process, leaving him empty-handed. He watched as the girl gradually regained her balance, stopped spinning, but was still somewhat dizzy, clutching her head and looking at him. Their eyes met, and Zaemon's heart sank.

I'm doomed...

But the girl's gaze lingered on him for only a moment before turning to the arrow on the ground. She then glanced at Uemon, who had just stood up, her face full of confusion: "Why was this arrow aimed at you?"

"what?"

Zaemon was taken aback by what he heard, and a guess vaguely appeared in his mind. Just as he was about to ask, another bowstring suddenly snapped!

The arrow came again, this time aimed straight at him. Zaemon took a deep breath. In this critical moment, he calmed down somewhat. Several techniques for catching and deflecting arrows with bare hands during the Great Floating Current flashed through his mind. Although extremely dangerous, he had no choice but to risk his life to try...

Pong!

"Why are you so dazed!"

Before he could even prepare himself, a long sword swept across from the side, actually blocking the deadly arrow that was coming at him. Zaemon was slightly taken aback, but then he saw that the girl who had just been facing him with her weapon had already flashed in front of him and shouted.

“Brother…” Uemon approached at this moment, pinching his nose to stop the bleeding, his sword already drawn, cautiously surveying his surroundings. “We’re surrounded…”