Yashiro the Blind

The next second, a headbutt slammed into her chest.

……

Chapter Twenty-One: The Unfaithful

A moon, two knives.

The moonlight, clear and bright, falls into the water, and a stream flows quietly, while upstream, it is already glowing red from the blazing fire.

Looking out from among the overgrown weeds, one could vaguely see figures, holding torches, carrying knives and sticks, and one person even carrying a long tube-like object, probably a cannon, scattered in twos and threes, searching for his whereabouts.

"Woo..."

The young man let out a muffled groan through his teeth. With a piece of wood in his mouth, it was impossible to tell whether he was groaning in pain or venting his anger... Considering his current situation, it was probably a combination of both.

Because he looked so disheveled, his clothes had been soaked through with blood several times over, the dried blood mixed with the bright red blood, layer upon layer, making it impossible to tell which side was the enemy's blood and which side was his own.

The right sleeve was also missing half, and a hideous wound ran across the slender arm, with the flesh torn open and the bone visible. The entire arm looked almost useless.

He gritted his teeth, tightened his shirt slightly to cover a certain part of his skin, and then tore off a bloodstained strip of cloth and tightly wrapped the hilt of his wakizashi around his left hand. His original weapon broke after killing a few people and was no longer usable. This short sword was something he had temporarily taken from the corpses. After slitting the throats of two people, the blade had become dull.

This time, we're probably going to suffer a major setback...

The thought flashed through Tenji Muryu's mind, but the next moment, he suddenly thought of his little sister's smiling face. If she knew about his death, she would definitely cry for a long time, just like when their father and mother died.

They were the only two people left in this world, each relying on the other. If even they perished here, leaving only Chuya, how would they survive...?

"hateful……"

I should have known better than to be so arrogant.

Knowing that his group was being watched, and that his elder sister and Master Nanxi had warned him several times to be careful, he never took it to heart.

This time, he also sneaked into the home of a wicked merchant in Guichuan who lent money at exorbitant interest rates and burned all the loan receipts he had accumulated to ashes—this was a wish made by a commoner to the "Dragon Palace Child".

Although the Dragon Palace Treasure Sign is said to be based on fate, in private, who gets it and who doesn't, what wish the recipient might make, and whether that wish is within their capabilities, etc., are all carefully investigated beforehand to prevent the Treasure Sign from falling into the hands of evil people and causing any bad consequences.

While feeling relaxed and happy after doing a good deed, he couldn't help but let his guard down. As a result, he was ambushed on his way back. Although he managed to fight back with great difficulty, he was still wounded. The ambush continued unabated, and he fought and fled all the way until he was almost completely exhausted.

The reason he has been able to hold out until now is not only because of his outstanding strength. Tenji Martial Arts is not stupid. He can naturally sense that the other party intends to capture him alive. Otherwise, they would not have been so hesitant and fearful in the fight, missing several opportunities to kill him.

Not only that, if it weren't for a big fat man suddenly appearing out of nowhere, yelling something like, "I only killed a few of you, why are you still chasing after me? Are you so vengeful? You have no gentlemanly manners at all, it's heartbreaking! But since you want to fight, I'll fight you and see how many of you die before I can take away your worthless life, Qing Tian! Come on, come on, hahahaha!" He kept babbling on and on, waving his big knife and jumping around, drawing away a large portion of the pursuers, Wu Liu felt that he might not have been able to hold out until now.

So, who exactly is that fat guy...?

Even now, the young man is still completely confused. However, judging from the other party's shouting, it seems that they also have some kind of personal grudge against these guys who attacked him. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I hope he will be safe and sound.

However, he didn't have the energy to worry about others.

As the pursuers, carrying torches, drew ever closer, and knowing that continuing to hide would lead to certain death, Tenji Muro steeled his resolve, his body pressed against the ground, and he slithered away like a gecko in the opposite direction. He couldn't escape for long; he had to find a suitable opportunity to break out, or perhaps…

"Found it! There's blood on the ground!"

Someone shouted from behind, followed by a loud "bang." The arquebus flashed in the darkness but missed. Considering the reloading speed of the matchlock musket, this arquebus would probably be useless for a while.

However, more footsteps were approaching. Tianzhi Wuliu kept glancing behind him out of the corner of his eye, constantly changing direction to keep his distance from the pursuers as much as possible. Only when he caught sight of an exceptionally tall figure in the shadowy crowd did he deliberately slow down.

Step, step, step——

Soon after, the torches loosely formed a circle, trapping him in the center.

"We finally caught them!"

"Look where you're going!"

"...Do you think you've got me cornered?" The young man spat out a piece of wood from his mouth, glanced around, and looked arrogant, like a wounded lone wolf.

After several days of pursuit and fighting, both sides had a good understanding of each other's strength. Despite their numerical superiority, they were all startled by his fierce glare, with some of the more timid ones even taking a half-step back instinctively.

When they came to their senses, they were inevitably enraged, and one of them blurted out, "Kid, you think you're so great? There are so many people here, how many can you kill—"

"I'll kill you first." Before he could finish speaking, Tenji Martial Arts interrupted him with a cold laugh.

At the same time, with a flick of his left hand, the cold blade of the wakizashi, illuminated by the torchlight, added to the grim atmosphere.

The person being stared at choked, the rest of his sentence stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter it.

Upon seeing this, the young man burst into laughter: "I thought you guys were something special, bullying the few with numbers and you're still so scared? That's hilarious!"

"Come on, my head is right here. Anyone with the guts can come and take it. I'm afraid all of you here are cowards, unable to even beat someone injured like this, hahaha!"

He laughed loudly, then struggled to raise his bleeding right hand and patted his neck twice, his defiant attitude unmistakable.

"You bastard, do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you...?" Someone was furious and was about to step forward when his companion pulled him back. "What are you doing!"

"Don't be impulsive. The master instructed us to capture him alive. If we kill him, none of us will benefit... Let's leave this to Lord Mishima."

His companion tried to persuade him while pulling him aside, making way for the towering figure behind him.

A man with a head of dark red, unruly hair like a lion's, covered in a dense web of scars, had a thin nose and missing ears, making him unrecognizable. His two exotic eyes were scrutinizing the young man from head to toe with a strange look in them.

The man carried his sheathed katana as usual. Although his face was covered in scars, making it difficult to discern his expression, he appeared relaxed and even somewhat bored. Despite this, his height and physique made the entire space seem to quiet down as he took a step forward.

Even the breathing of the other people became lighter.

"Tianzhi Wuliu, I've seen you make a move these past few days, and you do have some skill, but you're still no match for me."

His tone was flat, as if he were simply stating a self-evident fact: "Put down the knife and accept your fate, or I'll break a few of your bones first and then drag you back to report—the choice is yours."

The young man remained silent for a few seconds.

The ronin didn't urge him, but just stared at him listlessly, tapping his shoulder with the scabbard, the sound carried far away through the forest on the wind.

"Mishima Doppo... or should I call you by another, longer, more difficult-to-pronounce name?"

As soon as Tenji Takeru spoke, Mishima Doppo's slightly narrowed eyes suddenly widened, his gaze piercing straight at him like an arrow.

"What do you want to say?"

"Since you want to be enemies with the Dragon Palace Child, you should understand what it means to know your enemy and yourself, and you will never be defeated... Your reputation is not small, so it will not be difficult to investigate you."

The young man smiled, though his face was pale from blood loss and exhaustion, it did not diminish his confident demeanor.

“Brother Mishima, I know what you want. What you want, they can’t give you—” he said, pointing around, ignoring the shouts and commotion from the others, and just quietly looking at the ronin.

"Lord Mishima, don't listen to this brat's nonsense!"

"That's right, hurry up and take him down!"

Amidst the surrounding noise, Mishima Doppo seemed oblivious, tilting his head and making a crisp "crack" sound in his neck: "What they can't give, you can?"

"I can."

"Why should I trust you?"

“You don’t have to believe me,” Tenji Martial Arts replied. “If you have enough patience, you can wait forever, for ten years, a hundred years, and you will eventually get what you want—if you really have that kind of patience.”

As the conversation veered off course, someone noticed something amiss and instinctively tried to intervene: "Wait, Lord Mishima, please don't let this kid be bewitched, he..."

The words stopped abruptly.

"Noisy."

With a casual remark, Mishima Doppo sheathed his sword, flicked off the bright red and white stains, and two seconds later, the headless corpse beside him swayed and collapsed to the ground.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment; there was so much silence you could hear a pin drop…

Then it suddenly erupted!

"What...what are you doing?!"

The stench of blood spread with the wind. Except for the others from the Tenji Martial School, they finally realized what had happened and scattered in panic, wishing they could keep a great distance from Mishima Doppo. They were still uttering harsh words: "How dare you betray us! Don't think that the master will let you off easily!"

"Didn't you guys also try to break the agreement last time and make me kill that old man named Kato Danzo?" Mishima Doppo grinned, completely unconcerned. "We're all treacherous scoundrels, so stop pretending... Oh, and you, wait a minute."

Swish!

Before he finished speaking, the broadsword flew through the air like a javelin, moving with lightning speed, and pierced through the chest of one of the men who had no time to dodge, pinning him to the ground!

"Everyone else can leave, but you can't... Your voice is too loud; you disturbed my afternoon nap last time."

He said it casually, not knowing whether the reason was true or false. While picking his ear with his little finger, he watched with some boredom as the others fled into the woods like birds and beasts. The firelight and moonlight reflected each other, creating a strange and eerie atmosphere throughout the forest.

He then looked away and turned to the young man again: "The man has been driven away. Now, give me what I want."

“No.” The young man shook his head.

Surprisingly, Mishima Doppo wasn't angry. Instead, he seemed to understand and asked, "Why?"

“Because what you want isn’t in my hands right now.” Wu Liu paused, then added, “But I can help you get it, provided you do as I say.”

"Sure, but don't forget, you only have one chance."

"The Tianzhi Martial Arts School never needs a second chance when it does things."

……

"We have news about our eldest brother!"

It was another early morning, before dawn, when Hikogoro hurriedly arrived at the door, covered in dust, and found the monk Jiro reading.

He had actually come several times before. The first time was to confirm that Hatsume was safe and sound, and to thank and apologize to Yashiro. After that, each time he came and went, he was mostly to deliver information. However, he had never been able to find the Tenchi-mura school. Instead, he had fought with the enemy several times, with casualties on both sides.

He had just received some news and was about to speak with a look of anxiety when the woman stopped him.

"Wait a minute."

Having said that, he left him in the courtyard. Jirohoro then turned around and pulled Yashiro, who was still fast asleep, out of bed. He helped her wash her face and comb her hair, and after tidying her up, he came over to meet Hikogoro.

The latter, probably taking advantage of Yashiro's blindness, blinked and gestured frantically to Jiro, clearly asking, "Do you really want her to listen too?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Since you trust her so much, eldest sister..."

Hikogoro hesitated, but then saw Jiro smile slightly. "This matter has nothing to do with trust. The main thing is that Benefactor Hachisuke is well-informed. Even if we talk behind closed doors, she can still hear everything clearly. Since that's the case, we might as well do it openly and honestly."

"...Okay." This reason is indeed very convincing. After all, it's not illegal for someone else to have good hearing. You can't just plug her ears before you speak, can you?

If it were someone else, they might be able to think about it, but for Yashiro, even if Hikogoro had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare to do it.

With that thought in mind, he stopped worrying and, somewhat nervously, greeted Yashiro with a "Good morning," before getting to the point—though, if one were to summarize Hikogoro's long, stammering speech, it actually only covered one key point:

"Tianzhi has been captured?"

After hearing what he said, Jiro asked in return with some doubt.

“Yes…we only received the news recently…” Hikogoro nodded, took out a letter from his pocket, handed it to Jiro, and explained to Yashiro, “According to them, my brother has fallen into their hands, and his life or death is now in their hands. If you want my brother to live, you must bring something to a designated location at 5 PM tomorrow to ransom the hostage…”

"What is that?" the girl asked.

"Well... well... sigh, I really can't bring myself to say this."

For some reason, when the topic of ransom was brought up, Hikogoro hesitated and sighed, refusing to speak directly.

Knowing she probably wouldn't get any answers from him, Yashiro didn't press the matter. In this matter, she was still more or less an outsider, and it was always best not to delve too deeply into many things. If necessary, the other party would naturally take the initiative to explain.

"I see……"

After a moment, Jiro finished reading the letter, frowned, and sighed softly: "They actually have their eyes on the Tiger Scroll in my master's possession... This is going to be a headache."

"Tiger's Scroll... It sounds like a book?" Upon hearing this unfamiliar term, Yashiro couldn't help but feel curious.

To everyone's surprise, the woman seemed quite taken aback by the question. The letter rustled between her fingers, as if she had unconsciously crumpled a small portion of it: "Eighth-level benefactor... you are unaware of the Tiger Scroll?"

“I’ve never heard of it.” Yashiro thought for a moment and answered uncertainly, “But from what you’re saying, shouldn’t I know?”

"It's not a question of whether it should or shouldn't be done..."

The woman shook her head, seemingly pondering where to begin her explanation. "Simply put, the Tiger Scroll is indeed a book, a priceless ancient text, and its original owner... was your father."

……

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Tiger's Scroll

"...Four hundred years ago, the Minamoto and Taira families fought for many years. After his father Yoshitomo was defeated and committed suicide, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, known as the Judge of the Nine Realms, was spared death because his mother pleaded for him. He was then sent to Kurama-ji Temple in Kyoto to study. Later, by chance, he gained the favor of a strange person who passed on all his skills to him."

"After reaching adulthood, he went to Oshu and assisted his elder brother Yoritomo in defeating the Taira clan, avenging his father's death. He also laid the foundation for the Kamakura Shogunate for more than a hundred years to come, leaving his name in history and his contributions lasting for generations."

"As for the identity of that strange man from Kurama, there are many different opinions. Some say he is the tengu of Kurama Mountain, while others are certain that the strange man's name is Oni-ichi Hōgan, an onmyoji living in Ichijō Horikawa, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and the founder of the Kyo-hachi-ryū school, and so on..."

"As for the specific process of how Judge Kuro learned his skills, there are also different accounts. Some say that the two were a proper master and disciple, while others say that Minamoto no Yoshitsune successfully stole the military treatise passed down by Kiichi Hōgen by deceiving his daughter, and thus achieved several great victories, finally destroying the Taira army."

"It's just a military treatise, how could it be so powerful?" Upon hearing this, Yashiro curled his lip, quite unconvinced.

"Indeed, it's a story from hundreds of years ago, and some exaggeration and inaccuracies are inevitable. But there are always a few people in the world who understand this principle. There are always those moths drawn to a candle, whose hearts are stirred after hearing this story, wanting to emulate the old story of Judge Jiulang, to make a name for themselves in this chaotic world and achieve unparalleled fame... If I may say so, little girl, your father was one of them."

The speaker was a kind-faced old monk, around fifty years old. He was not particularly tall, but his breathing was deep and his heartbeat was steady and strong. It was clear from his voice that he was not an old and frail person.