Yashiro the Blind

Incidentally, although Yashiro enjoys sake, he doesn't have a very high alcohol tolerance.

Even though most people in Japan at that time were brewing alcohol from grains, which was not very strong, she still got flushed after two cups, and felt dizzy and lightheaded after three cups. She couldn't drink much before she started feeling lightheaded and dizzy.

However, she herself did not think it was a problem, but rather a good thing—after all, having a low alcohol tolerance saves on both alcohol and money, and even if she has no money, she is not afraid of not drinking to her heart's content... Thinking about it this way, having a low alcohol tolerance is indeed an advantage for a heavy drinker.

This is especially true for the poor.

"Well……"

Moreover, having a low alcohol tolerance has another advantage: because you don't consume much alcohol, the hangover headache is relatively less severe.

Yashiro yawned and slowly woke up, feeling as if her mind was fogged up, as if veiled by a thin gauze. She lay there blankly for a long time, her mind blank, before the memories from before she fell asleep finally surfaced…

"Are you drunk...?"

The two met by chance and didn't know each other. They didn't talk about anything after that. They just drank water and drank alcohol in silence. Although they didn't say a word, the atmosphere wasn't awkward. When Yashiro couldn't hold her liquor and fell asleep, what happened after that was naturally none of her business.

I did a quick check. The internal organs were still there, the hands and feet were intact, and the eyes... oh, the eyes were already damaged.

The tattered clothes he was wearing showed no signs of being touched. The few copper coins tucked into his sleeves were still lying there peacefully.

They even took a fur coat from someone and used it as a blanket to cover her, probably because they were afraid she would catch a cold sleeping on the ground like that—what a kind person, Yashiro thought with some emotion, then reached out and threw the fur coat far away.

it stink!

"I forgot to ask his name... Oh well, we probably won't meet again anyway. Every encounter is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, that's the joy of travel."

She picked up her cane and walked around the camp. She found that the bandits' bodies had all been disposed of, but she didn't know whether they were buried or cremated... It was probably the former, because if they had set fire to the camp, she would have smelled it.

There were still some valuables left in the house. After a quick search, Yashiro's flat money bag suddenly became a little fatter.

Life is tough, and money is needed everywhere. For a transmigrator like her, who is young, physically weak, and has a proud and unyielding spirit, it is difficult to find a decent job. She can't play the pipa or shamisen, so it's impossible for her to sell her skills. She will never sell her skills in this lifetime. She can only visit various outlaws from time to time and barely make ends meet with their "help".

When you're away from home, you still need to rely on your friends.

Yashiro clasped his hands together and bowed to the former camp, now an abandoned settlement, silently thanking the host for his generosity and the jar of fine wine. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, and retrieved the smelly animal skin coat from before.

Sure enough, there was something in the coat pocket, light and silky to the touch, like a piece of paper the size of a palm. She brought it closer and smelled it; she could detect a faint sandalwood scent, the very scent of the nun.

It was precisely because she smelled the unique fragrance of the temple that she had previously addressed the other party as "Master".

If not for any unforeseen circumstances, this item must have been left behind by the woman on purpose.

The problem is... putting aside the fact that the two didn't know each other and had no reason to leave a letter, what Yashiro was more curious about was what kind of thought process the other person went through to choose to leave a piece of paper for her, a blind person who couldn't see anything.

It's somewhat ironic.

However, considering the other person's demeanor, it seemed unlikely that they would joke about something like this. So, Yashiro folded the paper and put it in his pocket, intending to find someone who could read to help him read what was written on it.

After putting away the letter, she happened to hear birds chirping again. The faint morning light shone down from above, and the slight warmth made her hangover headache disappear completely.

"Let's go..."

Leaning on my cane, I walked down the mountain. Birds sang incessantly all around, and dewdrops rolled on the branches, about to fall but not quite. Occasionally, a small animal would dart through the nearby bushes and disappear from sight, but the wild grasses would sway on their own for quite some time.

When she had both eyes, she—at that time, of course, was referred to by another pronoun—lived in a big coastal city, rushing around every day to make a living, going back and forth between two points, rarely having the leisure to look up at the blue sky and white clouds above.

Now, I've been transported to a foreign land hundreds of years ago, all alone and helpless, constantly shrouded in utter darkness. To outsiders, it's like falling from heaven to hell; the hardships are beyond description, and that's exactly what happened.

But amidst the hardships, she finally found the leisure to learn how to listen with her ears, touch with her fingertips, and use her other senses to experience this strange yet familiar world.

After losing her sight, she finally "saw" some small things in life that she had previously overlooked, just like what a character in a novel once said: the sound of snowflakes falling on the roof, the vitality of flower buds slowly opening in the spring breeze... and so on. Being able to appreciate these things is also a kind of blessing in disguise.

Du, du.

But no matter how beautiful the world is, we still have to move forward step by step. With the cane tapping and knocking, before long, the mountain path, which was once uneven, has gradually become smooth. We have probably come to an official road. The sounds of human society far and near drown out the noises of nature, giving one a feeling of suddenly returning to the secular world.

"Make way, everyone! Make way!"

A loud, energetic shout came from afar, and Yashiro stepped aside to avoid the galloping horse.

Those who ride horses on such official roads are mostly subordinates of local lords. They are rushing about so hurriedly, one wonders what changes have occurred somewhere...

Her understanding of this period of Japanese history is primarily based on a game by a famous game company, starting with the Battle of Okehazama and focusing on the lives of three powerful figures: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. She is relatively less familiar with other regions.

Especially now that there are still six years until Okehazama, who knows what Imagawa Yoshimoto is doing at this time, or what historical events have occurred in Tōtōmi...

Although she has the advantage of being a transmigrator, she can still figure it out if she really wants to, but it's none of her business anyway, so there's no need to worry about it.

Shaking her head, Yashiro put aside her small curiosity and continued walking forward. As the sunlight overhead grew stronger, she licked her lips, feeling a burning sensation in her throat, and her stomach began to rumble.

After all, since last afternoon, he hadn't eaten anything except for half a boiled taro. The wine was good, but it wasn't filling, so he needed to eat something... Although he still had some emergency food in his bag, it didn't taste very good. Unless absolutely necessary, Yashiro really didn't want to use this last reserve.

Just then, she heard a commotion of voices not far ahead, along with the clear aroma of tea carried on the breeze. She swallowed hard, quickened her pace, and followed the sound. Soon, the voices were right in front of her.

It was a small tea shop located by the roadside, selling not only simple tea and snacks, but also travel essentials such as straw hats and sandals.

It was midday, and the weather was hot. The teahouse was full of customers. The young waitress tiptoed around for a while before finally leading Yashiro inside and squeezing her into a seat in the corner.

The girl wasn't picky about the environment; she casually ordered a pot of tea, along with the cheapest millet rice and salty soup.

While waiting for the food to arrive, I shrank even further inside to make myself less noticeable, so as not to accidentally cause any trouble.

The world is full of hot-blooded young men and lewd people with impure intentions. If you get provoked by them, you might not be afraid, but you'll inevitably cause trouble... She's hungry right now and just wants to eat a full meal in peace. She doesn't have the energy to play with these people.

But the more you hold this idea, the more likely you are to encounter unexpected complications.

"Hey, little girl!"

Before the food and tea arrived, a voice that sounded to be about thirty years old, with a somewhat comical quality, came over.

Yashiro was not surprised by this. The man was sitting right across from her and had been staring at her ever since he sat down. After a few minutes, he finally couldn't help but speak up.

Seeing that she didn't respond for a while, the man called out again, "Little girl, I'm talking to you." He even tapped the table as he spoke.

She then raised her head, but still didn't speak. The man didn't seem to care and said directly, "I see you're not very old, and your eyesight isn't good. How come you're traveling alone? Where are your parents and siblings? Why aren't they with you?"

"None of your business," Yashiro replied in his hometown dialect.

"What?" The man was stunned.

"It just means thank you for your concern." Yashiro smiled slightly. "My father is busy, so he told me to come and get something to eat by myself. He'll come to pick me up in a bit."

"I see, that's good, that's good." The man nodded repeatedly, and didn't say anything more for a moment. He poured himself a drink and gulped down several cups of cold tea. His eyes darted around, and he said again, "By the way, young lady, I have a way to make a lot of money easily. Do you want to learn it?"

"Make a lot of money?"

"That's right. I wouldn't normally teach this to anyone else so easily, but I find you quite pleasing to the eye, little girl. For just three... no, one penny, I'll teach you this method. You'll be able to easily earn a fortune every day, and your father won't have to work so hard outside anymore. He can spend more time with you. How about it? Just one penny, guaranteed to teach you everything. Interested?"

"One penny..."

Since he was idle anyway, and seeing that the man didn't seem to have any obvious hostility, Yashiro didn't want to turn on him immediately. He pretended to look troubled, hesitated for a moment, and slowly took out a coin from his sleeve. Just as he was about to hand it over, he suddenly smelled a faint scent of blood... There must have been some blood splattered on it. He quickly replaced it with a clean coin and placed it on the table.

"Here, take it."

She stammered as she spoke, clearly sensing that the man's gaze had become more intense. He reached out and took the coin, laughing happily to himself.

"So... what's the way to make big money?"

"The way to make big money is this: there is no easy way to make big money in this world."

The man grinned. "Little girl, just consider it a lesson learned for a penny. Don't believe such obvious lies next time. Others aren't like me, only cheating you out of a penny. They'd love to eat you clean, skin and bones."

"..."

"Hey, hey, don't be angry, okay, okay, I feel bad about lying to a little guy like you, so I'll give you back this coin... Huh? What the heck, where's my money?" He shook his head, trying to return the money he had taken, but when he turned his hand over, he found his palm empty. The copper coin he had been clutching had mysteriously vanished.

While scratching his head in confusion, he looked up and saw Yashiro smiling and shaking his left hand, with a round copper coin between his index and middle fingers—it was obvious where the coin came from.

The man stared blankly for a long time, only to see the girl put the copper coin back on the table and gently push it away: "Here, take it."

As the coin slid right in front of him, the man didn't reach out to take it. Instead, he clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Good, good, good, little girl, you're quite capable. I misjudged you this time! Come, come, this meal is on me as an apology. Please don't be shy."

"it is good."

"Um...you really won't be polite?"

"Since it's your treat, may I order a few more dishes?"

"Um, yes, it's possible, but..." The man wiped his sweat, "To be honest, I'm not sure I can afford it, so I hope you can be a little more polite, young lady. If it's just a little bit, I might grit my teeth and agree..."

"Kidding."

Yashiro smiled. She could tell that although the other party's behavior was suspicious, he was genuinely short of money. If he were just a conman, that would be fine. But since he had already decided to return the money to her, and the amount he asked for at the beginning was not large, just a penny, there was no need to go too far. It was enough to stop there.

"Really? Really? Really? Really?" The man was overjoyed.

“Of course it’s true, and I’m asking you for a small favor with this penny… Can you read?” Yashiro asked, a thought forming in his mind.

"You can read?" The man nodded. "I can recognize a few, but not many."

"That should be enough. Could you please take a look at this paper and tell me what's written on it?" She reached into her bosom and pulled out the paper tucked inside her fur coat. Instead of handing it over, she took it in her hand, opened it, and showed it to the man.

"what?"

The man's reaction was somewhat unexpected.

"What's wrong? Are they some uncommon characters?"

“It’s not about whether it’s rare or not…” The person blinked, seemingly unsure how to begin, and hesitated before replying, “You’re like a blank sheet of paper; nothing’s written on it.”

"White...white paper?"

"That's right, it's just a blank sheet of paper, without a single word or even a drop of ink."

The man spoke with such certainty that he didn't seem to be lying. In front of so many people in the teahouse, he really had no reason to lie. After all, it's one thing to forge or deceive people about written content, but to simply say that the paper was blank would be an insult to the intelligence of so many people.

But if what he said is true.

In other words, the nun who became a nun last night deliberately left her a blank sheet of paper with nothing written on it.

What are you doing?

Just as Yashiro was completely bewildered, and the man was probably wondering if the girl was using this method to get revenge for the arrow she shot him with, suddenly, a customer dressed as a merchant at the next table stood up and looked over with surprise and delight: "Little girl, this thing in your hand is quite something!"

The tea shop wasn't very big to begin with, and the interaction between the two people was quite interesting. In addition, the merchant didn't try to keep his voice down, which gradually attracted the attention of many people. When they saw the white paper that Yashiro took out, no one else reacted, but the customer next to him suddenly became excited.

The next moment, the waitress who was about to bring the tea came to the side, and when she saw the white paper, she was also stunned: "This is... a treasure divination slip from the Dragon Palace?"

"That's right, this material and size must be the legendary Dragon Palace Treasure Token!" The merchant and the maid, both speaking with a heavy local Yuanjiang accent, exclaimed excitedly, "Legend has it that as long as you hold this treasure token, you can make a wish to the all-powerful Dragon Palace attendant, and any wish will be granted!"

Dragon Palace... a pageboy?

Upon hearing this strange name, for some reason, Yashiro suddenly thought of the spear-wielding woman who had sent the bandits flying with a single blow last night. The woman's demeanor seemed rather incompatible with this boy. In comparison... Musashibo Benkei would be a better fit.

"Little girl, can you sell me this precious token? I'm willing to pay any price you ask for!"

The merchant was about to come this way when he was stopped by someone—none other than the man sitting opposite her who had just tried to cheat her out of a penny.

"Little girl, this paper...this precious fortune slip..."

The other person wasn't tall; he was short and stocky, but also extremely fat. He was alright when sitting, but when he stood up, he was like a rock. He not only blocked the excited guest from entering, but also cast a large shadow over Yashiro.

But he hesitated for a long time, as if he wanted to speak but found it difficult to express his request. After a while, he finally sighed and said, "Never mind, just pretend I didn't say anything."

However, his eyes remained fixed on the so-called Dragon Palace Treasure Scroll in Yashiro's hand.

"Ok."

Then Yashiro nodded readily, slowly folded the paper piece by piece, put it back in his pocket, thanked the waitress beside him, took the soup and rice, and began to eat with relish.

"..."

"Ahhhhhh."

"..."

"Gu dong gu dong."

"..."

Throughout the tea shop, everyone from the waitresses to the owner and the customers was observing the commotion, whether openly or secretly.

Finally, the short, stout middle-aged man swallowed hard and said cautiously, "Young lady, aren't you curious...don't you want to ask another question?"

"Do not want to."

Yashiro took another bite of rice. Although the texture was still rough, the fact that it was steaming hot was enough to make her feel happy.

She chewed slowly, savoring the simple joy of contentment, until she had swallowed it all. Then she took a big gulp of tea to moisten her throat before replying, "Father said, when you're out in the world, don't meddle in other people's business..."

"I am an obedient and good child."

The girl said in a very serious tone.

Chapter Four: The Nosy Fat Man

Dragon Palace Attendant.