Yashiro the Blind

Blind Girl Hachiko (Author: Qingbai Buzuiren)

Introduction

In 16th-century Japan, human life was cheap, war raged, and the tides of the times were at a delicate balance between conservatism and innovation.

The flames of war raged for over a hundred years, from the Oda dynasty to the Toyotomi, a new wave of conflict spread across the land. However, contact and conflict with the southern barbarians also forced the eventual winner, the Tokugawa shogunate, to choose to close the country to the outside world. This lockdown lasted for hundreds of years, until the arrival of the black ships from afar knocked on the country's gates, pressing the accelerator and destabilizing the situation.

But this distant past - or future - has nothing to do with Yaxun for the time being.

She was just a little blind girl who happened to travel to ancient Japan and had been blind since her mother's womb.

In this cruel era, what can a blind woman with no one to rely on do?

"Let's set a small goal first..."

Picking at the dry and hard-to-swallow food in front of him, Yaxun clenched his fists tightly.

"One day, I'm going to buy a big house in Sakaimachi, where I'm going to eat steaks, drink red wine, and feast on honey cakes every day!"

……

Book One: The Swordsman's Life

Chapter One: The Blind Girl

The year was 1554 AD. If we focus on a certain Far Eastern island nation, many people would refer to this year as the 23rd year of the Tianwen era.

Going back nearly a century, a turmoil known as the "Onin War" almost destroyed the prestige of the Muromachi Shogunate. Local warlords rose up, and various warlords carved up the land. The old order was on the verge of collapse, and a wave of gekokujō (overthrowing superiors) rolled in like a wheel, thus opening the curtain on the Sengoku period.

In the eyes of later generations, just seven years later, a surprise attack in the rain at Okehazama not only destroyed the hegemony of the powerful Imagawa family in the Tokaido, but also made one of the undisputed protagonists of this period officially step onto the stage and show his ambition to unify the world by force.

However, for people living in the present day, Oda Nobunaga is just an ordinary country daimyo, someone who might at most make a few sarcastic remarks when they hear about his strange deeds, just to pass the time.

Compared to such insignificant figures, they are more willing to pay attention to the powerful figures of the era whose every move can stir up a storm, such as the tripartite alliance that Kai Takeda, Sagami Hojo, and Suruga Imagawa are about to form. Although this matter has not yet been finalized, relevant information has already reached the ears of many interested parties through various channels.

A mountain rain is coming—

Then, a faint rumble of thunder came from the horizon.

……

"It looks like it's going to rain..."

Hearing the distant rumble of thunder, the girl stopped, tilted her head, and muttered something under her breath.

She was wearing only a tattered, patched-up dress and a pair of old straw sandals. She had short, slightly messy hair that reached her ears, and a thin, small figure. She carried a small bundle on her shoulder and leaned on a wooden cane in her left hand, tapping it repeatedly. Her eyes were closed.

"...There's no one around, so we probably won't find a village to stay in... Getting caught in the rain isn't a big deal, but catching a cold or fever would be a real problem. These days, there's no cold medicine or herbal remedy to drink. If we're not careful, we might end up with a serious illness, and then we'd be completely helpless. Just thinking about it gives me a headache..."

She kept muttering to herself, her words containing phrases that would leave others completely bewildered.

After a while, as the air became increasingly humid and the mountain wind grew stronger, the girl seemed to have finally made up her mind. She tapped her cane and walked out quickly, albeit unsteadily.

Her destination was a nearby grove of trees. The rustling wind grew closer, occasionally accompanied by the sound of birds flapping their wings. She hurried along, and finally, before the first drop of water fell on a leaf, she crashed into the lush canopy of trees.

Tick, tick, tick... splash splash splash!

Sudden rain and strong winds always come unexpectedly. As if in the blink of an eye, what were originally just a few light wisps of rain have turned into a torrential downpour, thoroughly washing away the dust and debris from the world.

The girl looked up, feeling the large raindrops falling through the gaps in the leaves, and sighed softly: "Oh well, that's fine... I hope it doesn't thunder later."

She gave a bitter smile as if giving up, stopped struggling, sat down against the rough tree stump, put down her crutch, and groped her way out of her bundle to take out half a cold rice ball. She held it in both hands and began to nibble on it like a hamster.

At this time of year, these rice balls are certainly not made from cooked rice, but from millet and chrysanthemums. They are already quite dry, and now that they have been left to cool completely, they are even more difficult to swallow.

The girl ate with great relish, a satisfied smile on her face, as if she were enjoying some delicious food. Occasionally, when she choked, she would take off the bamboo tube from her waist and drink a couple of sips of water to help her swallow.

She ate the rice ball, which was about half the size of her palm, for a full fifteen minutes. In the end, she even licked the crumbs on her fingertips and palms carefully until she was sure that nothing was left behind. Then she breathed a sigh of relief, tilted her head back against the tree trunk, and yawned leisurely.

"It seems like there's still some time before dark, but with this heavy rain, we can't keep going. What should we do... maybe take a nap?"

For a blind girl, day or night makes no difference, but in these chaotic times, with war raging everywhere, bandits running rampant, and wild beasts roaming, she would prefer to travel a little further during the day if possible, so that she might be a little safer...

It's only slightly safer.

Another lazy yawn, sitting and listening to the continuous rain, was the most drowsy thing. Just as the girl felt she was about to fall asleep, suddenly, the ground shook slightly.

It wasn't an earthquake, but something much fainter, the sound of something running...

Crackling and scraping—

The rapid sound of horses' hooves rang out from the other side of the rain curtain.

The girl frowned slightly. The road she was on was not an official road, but rather went through mountains and forests. In the absence of war, messengers or scouts of famous samurai would rarely pass through here. And apart from these two, people who were capable of training horses were not common in this day and age.

Sure enough, as the sound of hooves broke through the wind and rain, getting closer and closer, even through the gale, she could still smell the unique scent of fur, and even more so—the pungent smell of blood that seemed to overwhelm all other food.

Few people know that even though they are all blood, the blood of different animals smells completely different. Chicken and duck, fish and human blood. Perhaps ordinary people with sharp ears and eyes would find it difficult to distinguish the difference in an instant. But there are gains and losses in everything. The girl who had lived in the dark for a long time twitched her nose slightly and recognized that it was undoubtedly human blood.

The blood and qi have not yet dissipated.

The sound of horses' hooves had already reached us.

The rider whistled, pulled on the reins to stop his mount, and looked down at them from his elevated position.

Although they didn't make eye contact, the girl could feel that the man's gaze first fell on her face, paused for a moment, and then moved down, licking her entire body.

She sat there, tilting her head, sketching out the approximate appearance of the person on horseback in her mind:

The heartbeat is strong and powerful, which suggests regular exercise. The breathing originates from a high place, and considering the location of the heart, the person's height should be around 1.7 meters...

Just as he was galloping away, the sound of metal clashing rang out. He had a sword at his side and wore an animal fur coat. His clothes and body were stained with blood, smelled of alcohol, and had a slight burning odor...

In an instant, the image of a tall, burly man with a rough appearance appeared in his mind. He was a standard, or rather, an overly standard, bandit. If nothing unexpected happened, the man had probably recently pulled off a "job," attacked a village, killed people, drank alcohol, and then burned someone's house to the ground.

She had "heard" similar things more than once since she traveled through time.

Only at times like these does the girl feel grateful for the eye disease she was born with, which spares her from witnessing those bloody and tragic scenes.

Thoughts flashed through his mind, and in a flash, the bandit on horseback looked her up and down a few times. Suddenly, he reached out and used his whip to forcefully lift the girl's chin. She did not resist and obediently raised her face, letting the other party look at her without restraint.

"Although he's blind, he's not bad looking." After a while, the bandit clicked his tongue in approval.

Just as she had guessed, it was a gruff, hoarse male voice that made her want to frown, "Since we didn't get anything this time, I'll take you back to entertain the brothers. At least the trip wasn't a complete waste. Hey, blind man, get up—"

As he shouted, he saw that the girl was still sitting there, motionless. The bandit frowned, raised his whip, and was about to lash her out. In his mind, this slender girl could be half-dead with just one lash. He could then tie her to his horse and take her back, which would be easy... And if the lash was too heavy and she died on the way, it would just be her bad luck.

Anyway, it was just a pastime I picked up on the road, so dying is fine.

The thought flashed through his mind, and the whip he swung shattered the raindrops, transforming into a black shadow in mid-air as it hurtled down!

Swish!

However, the next second, the dark shadow suddenly changed direction and flew into the depths of the forest like a snake.

He held the broken whip, a look of surprise on his face. He blinked, and suddenly, his right hand felt light. Something fell to the ground with a "plop," staining the small puddle red.

Two or three seconds passed before the bandit finally realized that the "thing" that had fallen to the ground was actually his right hand.

On the front of the right arm, with the wrist as the boundary, the hand that held the broken whip had vanished.

"This……"

My mind went blank. Although I had begun to feel the pain, it was still floating in mid-air, not yet settling into reality.

He stared blankly at the severed hand on the ground, then at his own arm, let out a cry of "Ah!", and suddenly fixed his gaze on the short-haired girl who was sitting motionless:

"You damned thing, what are you doing?!"

He wasn't an idiot. Under these circumstances, if anyone had done something to him, the only candidate would be this seemingly harmless girl in front of him. Even though the bandit couldn't figure out what methods she had used, the blind girl hadn't moved a single finger under his watchful eye...

wrong.

His gaze suddenly narrowed as the bandit stared at the wooden staff that the girl had somehow grasped in her hand. A deep sense of terror washed over him; his scalp tingled, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably. "You, I, this, what... what is it..."

Before the man could piece together these fragmented words, the girl, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke: "My name is Yashiro, remember that?"

"Eight...what?"

Confused as to why she would suddenly reveal her identity at this moment, the bandit forcibly suppressed the inexplicable fear in his heart. Just as he was about to muster the courage to shout and question her, he heard the girl who called herself Yashiro sigh softly:

"It doesn't matter if you can't remember, I just wanted you to die knowing the truth... Alright, now you can die."

A completely random sentence.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the bandit felt a chill on his neck.

That slight chill was also the last thing he ever felt in his life—

Click.

With a soft sound like a sword being sheathed, the man's tall figure, sitting on his horse, swayed slightly, and his head, which had been frozen in surprise and doubt, flew into the air and rolled to the ground in the damp mud!

Yashiro still gripped the cane, her fingers tightening and loosening repeatedly, remaining silent and lost in thought.

Time passed silently, second by second. The downpour did not last all day. In a short while, the originally fierce rain gradually subsided and finally stopped. As the mountain breeze swirled, it seemed as if warm sunshine was shining down.

It fell on the girl through the branches and leaves.

The light also shone on that head that died with its eyes wide open.

"Another murder..."

A barely audible sigh escaped from her tightly pursed lips.

Yashiro reached out and grabbed the tree trunk behind him, swaying as he stood up. Leaning on his cane, he walked over step by step, groped around and closed the man's wide-open eyes. He then searched the man's body and found a few copper coins, which he put into his sleeve. Finally, he skillfully dug a hole next to him and buried the man's head along with his headless body.

He filled the mound with soil, making a small mound, and stood before this hastily constructed earthen grave. He clasped his hands together, moved his lips, and recited a scripture for the deceased's rebirth in a better realm.

This series of actions was not only time-consuming but also laborious. By the time she finished, the sunlight falling on her had become dim and faint, and the mountain wind blowing in her face was getting colder and colder. It was probably getting dark.

"...Gamuni, Gagana, Jitakali, Svaha... Alright, death is like a lamp going out, all things end at the end. May you ascend to the Pure Land soon and be reborn. Next..."

She nodded slightly to the grave mound, slung her bundle over her shoulder, turned around, and faced the horse that had been quietly standing beside her.

"If I didn't know, that would be fine. But since I know there's a group of vicious bandits around here, even though it's none of my business, I can't just stand by and do nothing... As the saying goes, an old horse knows the way. My horse, please take me for a ride and send those bandit brothers to the Western Paradise as soon as possible so they can repent and start anew."

Whether the horse understood what he was saying or not, after letting out a long neigh, it actually lowered its head and let Yashiro give it a gentle hug.

The girl then tucked her cane into her bundle, and somewhat clumsily climbed onto the horse's back. Instead of sitting upright like a normal person, she used both hands and feet, clinging tightly to the horse like a drowning person clinging to a piece of driftwood, her voice trembling slightly: "Good...good horse, let's go, remember to go a little...a little slower..."

Another screech.

Crackling and scraping—

A strong wind blew in her face, and in the pitch-black darkness, the girl couldn't help but cry out softly, "Slow...slow down!"

……

Chapter Two: Crimson Spear

The experience of horseback riding varies from person to person.

Some people love the exhilarating feeling of riding the wind, others are captivated by the ever-changing scenery around them, and still others, though they don't say it aloud, thoroughly enjoy the superior feeling of sitting high on horseback, looking down on others, and so on...

Unfortunately, all of this was out of Yashiro's reach.

For her, horseback riding was somewhat similar to roller coasters in her previous life—equally thrilling and exciting, equally beyond her control, equally thrilling and exciting, and equally dark—she always kept her eyes tightly closed when riding roller coasters.

If there's any difference, it's probably that one has a seatbelt for protection, while the other is completely at the mercy of fate.

Fortunately, the horse she was riding was quite intelligent and, perhaps sensing her emotions, gradually slowed down after running for a short while.

Throughout the journey, Yashiro clung tightly to the horse's back, trembling uncontrollably, hoping no one would see her like this, or she would look terrible...

The strange thought flashed through her mind. A strong wind howled in her ears, making them ring. She didn't know how much time had passed when suddenly the wind stopped. The horse had stopped and neighed, as if to remind her.

After a while, Yashiro finally shakily and carefully slid down from the horse's back, using both his hands and feet.

"Th-thank you, you can leave now, but be careful not to get caught."

She patted the horse's neck, and it called out again. Then it turned and ran off, the clattering sound fading into the distance, and in the blink of an eye it was gone.

As for Yashiro herself, she was still recovering from that cloud-riding experience, feeling dizzy and it took her a while to recover. After listening carefully for a while and roughly determining the direction she needed to go, she slowly started walking.

Du, du.

The girl moved with the lightness of a cat, her straw sandals landing silently, the only sound being the tapping of her cane on the ground. Occasionally, a few birds would be startled, creating a rustling noise that was carried far away by the wind.

At the same time, as she walked along, sounds gradually came from the other side of the wind. At first, it sounded like a person's angry shout, but in an instant, it turned from an angry roar into a scream. Clang, clang, and weapons clashed, but after a few exchanges, they were drowned out by even louder wails.

"This is……"

His body paused slightly, the unexpected commotion causing Yashiro to be momentarily stunned.