Yashiro the Blind

Everything has its limits; it's best to stop when you've reached a point. Yashiro swayed slightly and sat up a little more upright, seemingly finally ready for a serious conversation. But before she could speak, Hatsume glared at her: "Yashiro-neechan, eat first!"

"But Brother Wu Liu..."

Seeing that Mai was clearly in a hurry, Hatsumi hesitated for a moment, but then conceded: "We can talk while we eat."

Although many places have rules about not speaking while eating or sleeping, they are not from a prestigious family, so they are naturally more casual in this regard. At the same time, both Yashiro and the Tenji sisters prefer the lively atmosphere of everyone eating and chatting together around the stove to avoid such formalities.

Otherwise, it would be so boring if everyone at the dinner table was cold and silent.

"it is good."

Yashiro picked up her bowl of porridge, held it in both hands, and blew on it. "So when do we set off?"

"It's still unclear." Mai shook her head. Under Hatsume's silent gaze, she helplessly picked up her bowl and drank her porridge while speaking. "But that girl should still be staying around here. I'll come and call you again once we've confirmed her exact lodging location in the next couple of days."

"can."

"Then it's settled, and next is the gift..."

"Gift?"

“Of course, we’re going to visit them, we can’t just show up empty-handed, right? That would be too impolite. What if the other person is someone who values ​​etiquette a lot? We might even fall out over something as trivial as this.” Mai rolled her eyes. “Hatsume, could you help me think of something to bring as a gift?”

"Hmm..." Hatsume was feeding Mio when she heard this, and tilted her head, lost in thought.

Yashiro stroked her chin: "I think it's better to keep it simple. For example, the taro wine you bought last time was pretty good."

"That's just because you wanted to drink it!"

"Hoohoo."

"Alright, alright, I'll get you another win next time I pass by..."

"One case isn't enough, let's have two..."

Don't push your luck!

"understood……"

"So you're feeling wronged, huh? —"

As always, as soon as the topic becomes even slightly less serious, it immediately veers off in a bizarre direction. Hatsume is already used to this, so she just sighs softly, preferring to ignore it, and teases Mio: "Mio is the most obedient. Come on, have another bite of rice... Is it good?"

"Fanfan, good morning!"

Two children, one big and one small, were enjoying each other's company like sisters. Meanwhile, Yashiro had just blocked Mai's folding fan attack with a spoon when, just as Mai was about to pursue, she suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

"Want to beg for mercy? Too late—"

"No, I just suddenly thought of what gift to give."

With a flick of her wrist, the spoon separated from the fan, and Mai stared at her suspiciously: "Really?"

"of course it's true."

"Then what do you suggest as a gift?"

"How about a bowl of steaming hot wild vegetable porridge?"

"What are you saying..."

Mai was about to ask further questions when she suddenly paused, realizing that Yashiro's last words didn't seem to be directed at her, but rather... were a question directed towards the half-open window. She turned around abruptly, only to see half a patch of clear night sky.

The last stars flickered, and the crescent moon hung alone.

Under her gaze, slowly, a high ponytail of black hair began to peek out from underneath.

Then came a pair of very clear eyes, and an unusually long hilt of a sword strapped to her back—the girl was standing hesitantly outside the window, peering in and out, her mouth watering as she stared at the hot porridge in the pot. Not only Yashiro, but the Tenji sisters also heard the loud rumbling in each other's stomachs.

"..."

"..."

They looked at each other in silence, only their words flowed freely.

"that……"

The girl hesitated, then held up her fingers and gestured, "One bowl might not be enough. Can I eat two... no, three... four bowls?"

……

Chapter 111 The Girl Favored by the Gods

Sizzle, slurp, splash.

The girl squatted outside the window for a long time, smelling the aroma. After being asked a question by Yashiro, she shyly and obediently walked in, sat cross-legged next to the pot, and untied her long sword, placing it beside her.

Seemingly truly starving, she ignored the heat and downed a bowl of wild vegetable porridge in just a few gulps, then a second, a third, and a fourth bowl…

Although she had finished four bowls of hot porridge, she still looked somewhat unsatisfied, but she was too embarrassed to ask for more. She kept staring longingly at the pot while carefully licking the bottom of the bowl.

It looked somewhat like a listless big dog, and for a moment, the Tianzhi sisters seemed to see two drooping ears on the girl's head.

Chuya sighed with amusement, reached out and took the girl's empty bowl—the bottom of the bowl had been licked clean at least ten times, and it looked spotless, without a trace of rice—and then filled it with a large spoonful.

"Is...really okay?" the girl asked, her face filled with surprise.

"Eat up, one more bowl won't make a difference." Mai had already finished her portion and was crossing her arms, silently observing the girl from the intelligence report. Hearing this, she couldn't help but tease her, only to be nudged by her younger sister's elbow.

"Don't mind him, my brother always talks like this."

Seeing that the girl hesitated and did not reach out to take the bowl, Chuya simply handed it to her: "Here, don't be shy, it's just some simple food, you can eat as much as you want."

"Thank you so much! There are still many good people in this world!" The girl was moved to tears by these simple words. Since both her hands were occupied, she couldn't wipe her tears and could only let them roll down her cheeks and fall into the porridge.

"She's crying!" Xiaoling waved her arms, her face full of confusion, as if she couldn't understand why this older sister she had never met before was crying so suddenly.

Was the rice too hot?

In fact, not only her, but everyone else was also completely bewildered. Mai almost blurted out, "It can't be that bad," but noticing the extended warning from Hatsume, she shrugged helplessly, knowing that silence was golden. And so, under the watchful eyes of two curious and one bewildered gazes, the girl finally put aside her concerns and began to devour her food again.

The fifth bowl, the sixth bowl, the seventh bowl... The reason she didn't eat the eighth bowl wasn't because she was full, but because the pot was completely empty.

Chuya smiled and shook her head, then used her spoon to gather the remaining rice and vegetable leaves together, managing to fill another half bowl. Watching the girl finish it in one bite, she asked, "Want some more? Although the porridge and rice are gone, there are still some pickled vegetables... I can go get them for you."

"No need to trouble yourself!" the girl quickly shook her head. "I'm already full, I can't eat anymore!"

"Really?" Hatsune asked doubtfully.

"Really, really!" The girl nodded vigorously.

"That's good..." Chuya smiled, then stood up. "I'll go get some wine and some snacks... You wait here for a moment, I'll be right back."

She said she was going to get the wine, but she didn't put down Mio in her arms. Holding the little one, she slowly walked out, supporting herself against the wall.

Of course, Hatsume didn't actually go to get the wine. As clever as she was, she immediately realized that the girl carrying a long sword who came to her door to freeload was the strange person that Mai had just mentioned to Yashiro.

Not knowing whether the girl was friend or foe, and considering the worst-case scenario that the two sides might even come to blows, she and Mio, being non-combatants, would only get in the way. So she made an excuse to leave early, leaving the space to the other three.

Although there was no evidence, Chuya always felt that this girl couldn't be a bad person.

Hopefully, they won't fight. Otherwise, if they accidentally break the house, they'll have to move to Yashiro's house before it's repaired... Huh?

Thinking of this, the little girl suddenly stopped, her face changing, blushing, her heart in turmoil, caught in a fierce struggle.

"No, no! Chuya, you're a good girl, you can't think about things like that!"

The night wind rustled against her face. Noticing that Hatsune had suddenly stopped moving, Mio nestled in her arms, tilted her head up curiously, and poked Hatsune's cheek with her finger.

His little eyes sparkled: "It's all red..."

How interesting!

……

Hearing Hatsume's heartbeat suddenly quicken, Yashiro, sitting by the window, tilted her head in confusion.

what happened?

Before she could decide whether to go out and check the situation, her heartbeat returned to normal. After listening for a while and confirming that there was nothing unusual, she finally relaxed a little and brought her attention back to reality.

The girl was talking to Mai, or rather, Mai was trying to subtly probe for information—but after only a few sentences, Yashiro couldn't bear to listen any longer.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the way the dancers spoke; on the contrary, it went too smoothly.

The girl seemed to have no wariness whatsoever. After being fed, she immediately wagged her tail and came over, answering almost every question. As soon as the dancer started talking, she started rattling off a whole bunch of things about herself.

As Mai chatted, her tone became increasingly off. Perhaps she felt a little embarrassed about scheming against such an innocent child, and she would occasionally glare at Yashiro beside her, hoping that the latter could chime in and share the burden of her guilt.

Yashiro pretended not to see—after all, she really couldn't—and sat down beside him with a smile, listening and laughing to herself. She even picked up the gourd and took a small sip. She hadn't gone to visit Jiro-sensei these past few days, so the wine in the gourd had been preserved and hadn't been replaced with tea.

Alcohol is definitely the best drink...

She thought about it happily.

On the other side, seeing that her eye contact attack had failed, Mai gritted her teeth, but could only grit her teeth and continue to "coax" the innocent and simple girl: "...In other words, you were originally from the country of Deyu, but left your homeland because your father was killed, and are now traveling to various countries to train as a martial artist?"

“That’s right!” The girl nodded vigorously. Perhaps because they were talking about serious matters, her expression became serious, and her eyes flashed with the light unique to young people. She was just like the long sword beside her, sharp and piercing... just as she should be.

Unfortunately, the rice grains around her mouth and the vegetable leaves stuck between her teeth completely ruined her martial arts aura.

All that's left is a simple, honest strength emanating from within.

It leaves one speechless.

But the girl herself was completely unaware, still staring intently at Mai. As the saying goes, only sincerity wins people's hearts. Being stared at so seriously, Mai couldn't laugh in front of the person in question, no matter how much she wanted to. She could only desperately suppress her smile and try her best to put on an equally serious expression.

After a long, one-sided conversation, Mai had roughly figured out the girl's background:

Her name was Asano Minjimaru, and she was from Dewa Province in the Tohoku region. Her father was originally a samurai of the Mogami family, but he was murdered when she was six years old because of a feud with a colleague. Her mother died soon after due to excessive grief. Minjimaru was left all alone as a child, and was passed around like a ball among her relatives, spending a turbulent and wandering childhood.

However, these unfortunate experiences did not make Minji Maru dejected; on the contrary, they aroused her indomitable fighting spirit. From childhood to adulthood, a burning desire for revenge has always resided in her heart. She wants to master superb martial arts skills to avenge her father...

This is by no means an easy task.

According to the girl herself, her father's killer, Sakagami Shuzen, was a famous master swordsman in Dewa Province. His swordsmanship was said to be "unparalleled throughout history," and he was even hailed as "the Tosa of Dewa." Here, Tosa is not a common official title, but specifically refers to Tsukahara Tosa no Kami Bokuden, which means "Tsukahara Bokuden of Dewa Province."

Being compared to the Sword Saint of Kashima is enough to show that this Sakagami Shuzen is quite capable—if he didn't have some real skill, he wouldn't dare to accept this nickname, and he would be used as a stepping stone to be trampled over in no time.

At the time, Minjimaru was just a greenhorn, and the idea of ​​revenge was completely unfounded. She was well aware of this and never easily voiced her intention to seek revenge, lest the words reach the ears of Sakagami Shuzen. If the other party was ruthless and wanted to eliminate any future troubles, he might come and kill her with a single blow, which would be truly tragic and hopeless.

Burying this thought deep in his heart, Minjimaru secretly followed his father's friend, Higashine Gyobu Tayu, to learn the Shinto-ryu swordsmanship. Every night, he would go to the forest and practice sword fighting against the big trees for a thousand days, rain or shine, without interruption for a single day.

After finishing their practice, they would not forget to visit an abandoned shrine near the woods to pray for blessings.

That day was her sixteenth birthday.

"By the god Lin Qiming above, please bless me so that one day I may be able to personally avenge my father's death—"

Despite it being her birthday, nothing changed. The girl, covered in sweat, clasped her hands in prayer before the statue of the god, making a sincere wish. Then, seeing that it was getting late and that there was a storm, she simply made do with sleeping on the floor inside the temple for the night.

That night, Minjimaru had a strange dream.

I can no longer remember the specific details of the dream, but I vaguely remember an old man with white hair appearing and saying to her, "One day you will be able to establish your own school and become famous throughout the world, but before that, you must first master your own sword technique."

"My own...swordsmanship?"

"Try this knife." The old man casually tossed something over, and Minjimaru caught it in a flurry. When he opened his eyes again, he found that half of the shrine's worship hall had been blown down by the storm, and a piece of wood had inexplicably appeared next to him.

The log is about five feet long.

She recalled the contents of her dream, and although she was skeptical, she still asked someone to forge a large sword of similar length. It was indeed much easier to wield than an ordinary three-foot sword, and her skills improved rapidly. About a year later, her master, Donggen Xingbu Taifu, had already taught her all his skills, and there was nothing more for him to teach.

"However, you still have no chance of defeating Uesaka Uesugi Suzen. If you still want to avenge your father, you can't limit your vision to this small island. Pack your bags and go out and see the world! Only in adversity and life-or-death situations can you hone your truly first-class swordsmanship."

"Yes!"

Encouraged by his master, Minji Maru's confidence soared. He went home, packed his bags, and set off on his journey with great pride and high spirits.

Two days later, her baggage was stolen.

Not only was she penniless, but she was also unlucky enough to be targeted by a group of bandits. It seemed that the bandit leader had taken a fancy to her looks and wanted to take her back to be his wife. Although Minji Maru resisted desperately, she was too inexperienced in actual combat. After a few moves, she accidentally fell into the enemy's trap and was knocked unconscious by a blow.

Oh no, this is terrible...

Before she lost consciousness, she thought desperately.

However, when Minjimaru woke up again, she found herself unharmed in the same spot, her clothes neat and tidy. On the other hand, the bandits lay dead on the ground, missing limbs and dying in a gruesome manner. In her hand, she tightly gripped a long sword that had been drawn from its sheath, the blade covered in blood.

The girl was stunned for a long time before she realized what was happening and vomited violently.

That was the first time she had killed someone. Although even Minji Maru herself didn't know how she killed them, there was no doubt that these bandits all died by her blade. Similar things happened one after another after that. Every time she encountered a powerful enemy that she couldn't defeat, or even when she was ambushed while sleeping, the enemy was already dead inexplicably lying on the ground when she came to her senses.

"Isn't this a good thing?"

Upon hearing this, Mai couldn't help but ask.

"To be honest, it is a good thing... but I still feel very uncomfortable."