Yashiro the Blind

As he spoke, a rustling sound came from the surroundings.

But the first to appear weren't people, but a dozen or so drooling, vicious dogs. The stray dog ​​that had just snatched the girl's straw sandals and run away was among them, its glowing green eyes fixed on the three of them, subtly forming a circle around them.

Then came several men dressed in animal skins, looking dirty, some carrying swords, some holding spears, and some carrying bows and arrows. They looked at the three of them with ill intent, and naturally, most of their attention was focused on the girl.

Seeing this, Zaemon understood immediately: "Damn it, we've been tricked!"

There are many dog ​​training techniques circulating in the area. These guys are clearly thieves or samurai from the neighborhood. Upon closer inspection, Zaemon spotted a familiar face among them. The man had suffered a great loss at his hands last year; all his accomplices had died, and he was the only one who had escaped with his life. Now, he had gathered his companions again, intending to seek revenge.

It's likely that they discovered the two of them beforehand, deliberately lured the girl here, made the three of them fight each other, and then leisurely came over to reap the benefits.

Now that their true intentions were revealed, and noticing their undisguised killing intent, Zaemon's expression turned slightly cold. He took a step back, took his sword from his younger brother, and the two stood side by side, both prepared for a desperate battle.

Outnumbered and aided by so many vicious dogs, this time we're likely to suffer heavy losses...

"Young lady, we were reckless this time."

He lowered his voice and said to the girl behind him, "We'll create an opportunity for you later; you can just run away... If possible, I hope you can go to Ryutai Temple nearby and find someone named—"

Ryutai-ji Temple isn't far from here. Even if Yashiro and Jiro happen to be out, there are skilled monks like Haotian or Zongjun who can come to their aid. The brothers just need to hold out until reinforcements arrive. The situation is somewhat tricky, but it's not yet completely hopeless...

Before he could finish speaking, he was abruptly interrupted: "You two aren't with these people?"

The girl suddenly asked.

"What?" Zaemon was taken aback, and subconsciously replied, "Of course not. Wait, do you know them?"

"I think we chopped off their heads before, um... or maybe it was someone else? I can't quite remember." The girl tilted her head, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and in her speech, she seemed to completely disregard the few people and dozen dogs opposite her.

If the three of them hadn't yet clashed, Zaemon might have been intimidated by this "masterful demeanor." However, after a brief exchange, he had a pretty good idea of ​​the girl's skill level: neither too high nor too low, just about equal to the two brothers, so none of them could really say anything about the other.

The situation is extremely difficult. Even with the girl's help, the battle cannot be changed. It would be more practical to send her to fetch reinforcements as soon as possible. Thinking this, Zuoweimen was about to persuade her again when he suddenly heard the girl blurt out a surprising statement: "In short, you two don't seem to be bad people... Hmm, quick, knock me out!"

"Wha...what?"

"Knock me out already!" Seemingly convinced that she hadn't heard Zaemon's question clearly, the girl repeated it earnestly.

Zaemon was silent for a few seconds, then couldn't help but click his tongue: "...Stop joking. Get ready. As soon as we charge in, you turn around and run, understand?"

"Oh, you don't understand, just knock me out..." But the girl persisted.

Zaemon glanced at her, feeling somewhat annoyed. With a formidable enemy at hand, in this life-or-death situation, he was willing to risk his life to let her escape, and this little girl was still spouting some nonsensical nonsense…

Wang!

A bark drew his attention back. The dozen or so vicious dogs, driven by their owner, formed a crescent-shaped encirclement and were closing in. Their sharp teeth were like swords, and sticky saliva dripped onto the ground from time to time. It was hard to tell how long these dogs had been hungry, but their eyes were gleaming with ferocity.

Without a doubt, at the slightest command, they would swarm forward and devour him and the two people beside him completely.

It might not be so clean—well, that doesn't matter.

The important thing is...

"Little brother, we have to fight with our lives on the line." Zaemon took a deep breath.

Uemon wiped the blood from his face, his expression also turning serious: "Hmm."

"Three, two, one... Girl, run!" With three countdowns, the two brothers, in perfect unison, gripped their swords and charged forward before the enemy could attack. Even outnumbered—no, precisely because they were outnumbered—they needed to firmly grasp the initiative!

At the same time, Zaemon shouted, hoping that the girl behind him would stop causing trouble at this crucial moment and obediently go to Ryutaiji Temple to fetch reinforcements. Perhaps they could still save their lives; if they were any later, they would probably only be able to feed themselves to the dogs...

"it is good!"

The girl seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation, stopped joking, and responded in a clear voice.

Then...

Pong!

There was a muffled sound.

Zaemon's charging steps faltered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl resolutely ram her head into the tree trunk beside her. The force was so great that the entire tree shook, and leaves fell in a rustling sound, bathed in sunlight!

"What, what are you doing..."

For a moment, he thought she had died, her brains splattered, but upon closer inspection, the girl had only fainted and was still breathing... However, with her down, the three of them facing this pack of vicious dogs were practically doomed to die...

“Brother, be careful!”

A moment's distraction, though brief, was an opportunity the enemy wouldn't miss. When Zaemon regained his senses, he saw a vicious dog lunging at him, its foul-smelling mouth wide open, about to bite his shoulder! In an instant, with no time to dodge, Zaemon had no choice but to steel himself, prepared to trade blows, and cleave the dog in two with a single stroke—

Hand up, knife down.

Minced meat, entrails, and blood were splattered all over Zaemon's face and body.

The vicious dog's lower body flew out, while its upper body hovered in the air for a moment before landing with a "thud" at his feet.

Zaemon blinked, and saw a long sword emerge from behind him, seemingly cleaving the large dog, weighing several dozen kilograms, in two with a mere flick of the wrist.

The blood-stained blade remained as smooth as a mirror, reflecting his incredulous gaze.

The same gaze and expression appeared on the faces of the several samurai opposite them. Not only the humans, but even the beasts seemed to be intimidated by this strike. Their fierce aura from just now had vanished, and they tucked their tails between their legs, making whimpering sounds in their throats, and subconsciously shrank back.

"..."

Humans and dogs, surprise and joy, anger and fear—all sorts of gazes fell on one person in an instant.

The young woman with the ponytail had stood up at some point, holding a knife in one hand. Her forehead was flushed red, her eyes were closed, and her breathing was even and deep, almost as if she were asleep. Under everyone's gaze, she took a step forward as if floating on air...

Swish!

The distance of more than ten meters vanished suddenly. The speed was so fast that the two brothers could only see a white light like a thread passing through the middle of those vicious dogs. Amidst the flying blood and flesh, the girl with the ponytail spun around and wielded her long sword as if it were an extension of her arm, cutting the nearest wild samurai in half at the waist!

Her movements were so light, her strikes so ruthless, a stark contrast to her previous demeanor. Amidst the swirling rain of blood, the girl's face remained serene, as if she were asleep...

……

Chapter 110 Hungry, Time to Eat

When the girl slowly woke up, sure enough, the surroundings were in a mess again.

Various red and white severed limbs were scattered around the woods, and half of what looked like human or dog intestines hung from a tree branch. The strong smell of blood made it hard for her to breathe. She moved her fingers and her consciousness slowly returned to her body—good, her hands and feet were still there, and her head was still intact on her neck.

She's still alive...

Her mind was a jumbled mess, and it took her a while to recall what had happened before she fainted. The girl let out a long breath, got up from the ground, and picked up the long knife lying to the side. The knife was covered in blood. She pursed her lips, wiped it a few times with some unfortunate soul's clothes, and then rewrapped it with strips of cloth.

"Speaking of which, I didn't see those two people from earlier. Were they dead? No, wait..."

Looking around, I didn't see that unforgettable, cold face. Besides, recalling the two people at the time, they didn't seem to have much hostility. They even seemed to want to help me leave, so they must have been good people.

Human nature is unpredictable, and good and evil are hard to fathom, but the young girl's criteria for judging good and bad people are quite simple and brutal: just take a nap. If someone dies after waking up, they are a bad person; if they don't die, it means that the other person doesn't seem to have any obvious hostility towards her at the moment, so she can tentatively consider them a good person.

The girl breathed a slight sigh of relief when she didn't find the two brothers among the pile of corpses. However, the two were not nearby; they may have taken the opportunity to escape, or they may have been busy with other things.

She didn't know how long she had been unconscious. The sky was now a deep orange-red, the setting sun hanging halfway over the mountains, and the air had already grown noticeably cooler. Of course, it could also be because she had just woken up amidst a pile of mangled corpses, and there was still a lingering unease in her heart. The sticky, rusty smell made the girl feel nauseous.

Let's leave quickly...

Shouldering her long sword, the girl glanced around and set her sights on the east. She started walking, knowing that the sun was setting and that walking in the opposite direction was the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, her main purpose in coming to Yuanjiang was to find the mysterious master mentioned by Sister Longzi and ask him for help. However, the girl had no idea where the master was and couldn't find anyone else to ask for information. She could only wander around and try her luck.

The only thing to be thankful for is that she has always been lucky.

The girl was leisurely thinking. Although she had just experienced a battle that even confused her, and had narrowly escaped death, she quickly adjusted her mood and was about to regroup and continue searching for people. But she had only taken a few steps when her eyes suddenly fell on the stone next to her.

To be precise, it was a piece of paper that was pressed down by a stone.

"This was... left behind by those two people?"

……

"...So, you just left that girl in the woods and came back?"

Mai—or perhaps more accurately, Martial Arts—taped her folding fan in her palm, slightly furrowed her brow, and looked at Saemon and Uemon in front of her.

Uemon's gaze darted around, clearly showing some guilt, while his brother maintained his unchanging poker face, nodding: "Boss, you didn't see it with your own eyes. That girl was incredibly ruthless. One slash, and a grown man was split in two... Forget killing, even splitting a melon wouldn't be that swift and clean. I really didn't dare stay there waiting for her to wake up; I felt like I could die at any moment. But, before leaving, I left her a letter..."

Unfortunately, his trembling voice completely betrayed him.

Wu Yi remained silent for a while, then pressed her fan to her brow and sighed with mixed feelings.

These two weren't always like this. While they weren't exactly daring and brave, they were at least willing to take risks and fight for what they wanted. Especially after practicing the Great Floating Flow martial arts, their confidence grew day by day. Plus, with Yashiro vouching for them, she even considered grooming them as her confidants. If only they could train them for a few more years...

The idea had barely crossed their minds when, as if they had eaten the gall of a bear and the heart of a leopard, they went to challenge Yashiro to a duel. Who was Yashiro? Among the people Mai knew, perhaps only Jiro could rival him. Everyone else, including herself, was far from being a match for him. They might joke around and tease each other, but when it came to a real fight, everyone knew who would win and who would lose, and they wouldn't go looking for trouble.

By the time she learned the news and tried to stop it, it was too late. The two brothers were beaten up without any suspense, and it is said that they were also stabbed in the back by Yashiro's unintentional words. It was a heartbreaking scene that would make anyone who heard it weep. Mai felt that if she were there, she would probably be so angry that she would turn into a pufferfish and explode on the spot.

The two brothers weren't furious, but they were also humiliated and had one of their arms broken. The diagnosis and medicine cost over 700, leaving a deep psychological scar on Zaemon. He would grimace and feel heartbroken every time he mentioned it.

Since then, the two of them seemed to have grown up by more than twenty years, suddenly becoming "mature and prudent".

That's just how she is; you can't force her. In her heart, Wu Yi secretly made a straw doll out of that guy and kicked it a few times, but on the surface, she still maintained a calm and breezy demeanor: "Alright, from your description, that girl isn't a bad person... Moreover, she was originally quite ordinary, but after falling into a coma, her strength suddenly increased dramatically, as if she had divine assistance, and she defeated the enemy as easily as cutting melons and vegetables?"

"Yes."

“That is intriguing… Well, thank you both for your trouble this time. But I’ll have to trouble you to make another trip and call back Daizo and the others, lest they be picked off one by one by the enemy. As for that girl…” She paused, “I will go and see her myself.”

"Yes."

Zuo Weimen had no objection and nodded in agreement. After more than a year of getting along and cooperating, they were completely convinced of their young leader's abilities. In their hearts, he was second only to Yashiro. Although the swordsmanship that the ponytail girl displayed after falling into a coma was truly amazing, since their leader had said so, it meant that it was definitely a sure thing and there would be no mishaps.

Thankfully, Wu Yi didn't have the ability to read minds and didn't know that these two brothers trusted her so much, otherwise she would have felt guilty.

She knew her own situation best. Although she had studied martial arts with Zen Master Nanxi and Master Jiro for many years, she was limited by her talent and her strength could not reach the first-class level. Of course, whether it was first-class or not was Mai's own standard. Above her were Master Jiro and Yashiro, and below her were people like Mishima Doppo, who had a notorious reputation in the world but were still no match for Yashiro and were killed.

Only by surpassing Mishima Doppo of yesteryear can one be considered to have entered the realm of the first-rate. Before this, Mai had never been confident in her martial arts skills, and ever since being taught a lesson by Jiro, she rarely took such dangerous actions again. Otherwise, it wouldn't matter if she died alone, but leaving Hatsume to struggle alone in this world would be too shameful to face her deceased parents.

"...That's it. So it's not that I'm afraid of death or anything, it's just that I'm thinking of asking you for help to go see that little girl with the long sword, considering Hatsume's situation."

In the mountain cabin, a fire was burning in the stove, and the aroma of steaming soup wafted out from the half-open window.

Mai sat up straight and spoke with an air of seriousness. The bud she mentioned was sitting next to her, sipping hot soup.

Tonight's dinner was also prepared by the virtuous Chuya, who cooked wheat rice and wild vegetables together into porridge. The taste was simple, but its strength lay in its freshness. Compared to the endless pickled vegetables of winter, the taste of fresh ingredients is always refreshing and makes one's mouth water.

"Yes, yes..."

Yashiro placed her bowl of vegetable porridge aside, not drinking it for the time being. Not only her hearing, but her other senses were also more sensitive than ordinary people, which made her very afraid of being burned. She was used to waiting for everything to cool down a bit before eating it. While listening to Mai's conversation, she was also listening to the sounds around her, and from time to time she stretched out her cane to stop Mio from wandering around and touching the hot stove and food.

Two-year-old children have just learned to walk and are in the period of their most energetic period. Apart from sleeping, they are almost never idle. At first, they walk unsteadily, and when they get tired, they use their hands and feet to crawl around and have a great time.

This small room might seem a bit cramped to an adult, but in Xiaoling's eyes it was like a huge playground, where everything seemed new, interesting, and sparkling.

"mom!"

Mio called out indistinctly, pointing to the bowl with her hand.

"Is Mio hungry?"

"Uh! Okay!" the little guy repeated unclearly.

"Is that so? But it's still very hot. Wait a little longer, or you'll burn your tongue." After Yashiro finished speaking, she shook her head, seemingly unsure if the little guy understood, and looked at Hatsume again.

Seeing this, Hatsume put down the bowl she was holding and opened her arms: "Mio, come here."

"ah!"

Mio immediately pounced on her. Hatsume caught her, swayed her a couple of times to make sure the little one was sitting comfortably in her lap, then picked up a spoon, scooped up about half a spoonful of porridge, blew on it a couple of times, and put it into Mio's mouth: "Here, are you hungry? Eat your food... Is it too hot?"

"This nourishing soup is wonderful!"

"Right, right? This porridge isn't hot at all. It tastes better when it's piping hot. Little Mio is so good, unlike someone else..." Compared to the previous sentence, the following sentence was clearly a veiled attack, with the intention of getting something out of nothing. As she spoke, Hatsume didn't forget to glare to the side.

That gaze felt tangible, like a knife piercing through Yashiro. He shrank back, muttering in protest, "I'm just afraid of getting burned, what can I do... Besides, look, Brother Wuliu hasn't eaten a single bite yet, there's no reason for him to only glare at me..."

"Because I'm talking to you about serious business!" Mai gritted her teeth.

"Because your brother is talking to you about something important," Hatsune said with a smile.

"Yes! I'm so happy!" Little Mio chimed in her childish voice.

Clutching her cane, Yashiro said aggrievedly, "What kind of heroes are you three, bullying one of us? If you're so capable, come at me one by one... Okay, okay, I know, let's get down to business."

Before Wuyi could get truly angry, she quickly steered the conversation back on track: "I understand what Brother Wuliu means. It's roughly that a very powerful swordsman recently passed through Yuanjiang and killed quite a few people. You want to investigate his strength but are too afraid to go alone, so you want to call on me to come and give you courage... Is that what you mean?"

"No! That's not it!" Mai gritted her teeth.

"Huh, so that's not it after all?" Yashiro feigned surprise.

"Huh, so that's not it after all?" Hatsune asked in surprise.

"No, you like it?" Mio swallowed the food in her mouth and mimicked the surprised expression on her face.

“…Be serious, or I’m going to get angry.” Mai sighed.

"clear."