Yashiro the Blind

"Why?"

"It's very simple. A beauty like me, whose beauty rivals that of fish sinking and geese falling from the sky, whose beauty shames the moon and flowers, whose fame is known throughout the land and whose beauty is unparalleled in the East, would be unforgettable to anyone who has seen me once. And you actually say that I only look 'somewhat familiar'... How absurd!"

She spoke with an air of self-righteousness, but everyone listening was dumbfounded, thinking they had misheard—how could there be such a shameless person in the world? The key point was that although her words were shameless, they were also quite convincing, so for a moment no one spoke up to refute or ridicule her.

She then pointed and said, "Alright, my affairs are not important. What's important is what you're going to do next. Since this is a duel to the death, where are your duel letter and death agreement? Has your respected witness arrived? Judging from the atmosphere between the two of you just now, you don't intend to start empty-handed, do you?"

"This……"

Toyogoro was speechless.

"No way, no way, Da Hu Shangquan Yishi Shou's top disciple and nephew, you don't even understand such a simple rule? Or do you think that these few cowardly, greedy, and treacherous pieces of wood next to you, who have gathered around you because of your reputation, will take responsibility and stand up to explain and testify for this blind little dwarf after you are defeated and die?"

"In other words, what if you actually win a fight and kill that little dwarf over there? What do you plan to do with the little fool next to her? Or is it that your big, useless, worthless melon-like brain hasn't even thought of this, and you're just blinded by anger, eager to die?"

The barrage of questions not only left Toyogoro's face alternating between pale and green, but also left Yashiro, who had been unexpectedly hit by a "splash attack," with the same complex feelings as someone who had just finished drinking a large glass of masala aloe vera juice...

Who are you calling a shorty?

Despite bombarding him with questions, the woman showed no intention of listening to Toyogoro's answers. After a pause, she chuckled and said, "Forget it, with a melon-headed mind like yours that can't even count, these questions are indeed difficult... difficult for a melon."

"What do you mean by 'can't count'?" More than having his head repeatedly made a fool of, Toyogoro was more concerned about the incomprehensible parts of her words and immediately pressed for an answer.

"Haven't you realized it yet?" The woman clicked her tongue and shook her head, reminding her, "Look at the people around you, isn't one of them missing?"

“Wu Er took his leave last night, you…” Toyogoro explained, glancing around unconsciously, counting in his mind: one, two, three…

There were thirteen people in their group. Five of them were killed by Yashiro yesterday, and with Muu who left, there should be seven left now. However, after looking around and counting, there were only five people left. What happened?

Oh, wait, I forgot to include myself...

Even so, there are still only six people—where did the other one go?

Realizing this problem, a hint of doubt flashed through Toyogoro's mind. Just as he was about to ask someone else, suddenly, a flash of light appeared before his eyes!

One of his companions, who was standing close by, suddenly drew his sword. With a single swing, blood splattered, and he injured two people on the spot. Amidst screams, another person drew a short sword and lunged at Toyogoro!

His own sword was still lying at his feet, and there was no time to bend down and pick it up. But Toyogoro was, after all, the disciple of the sword saint Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, and his martial arts skills far surpassed those of ordinary people. Even though the attack came from the side, he reacted instantly. He stretched out his left hand, lowered his body, and narrowly avoided the sharp blade. Then, he pressed down on his shin-jaku and slashed...

"How……"

By the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late. The wakizashi he swung out only had the hilt; the blade had vanished!

It was only then that Toyogoro remembered that the person who had maintained his sword before he left was the very man standing before him now… This was a premeditated attack.

However, what's done is done.

He watched as the man's first strike missed, and the second followed immediately. This time, there was no way to dodge it; he could only try to avoid vital points, hoping that the blow wouldn't immediately kill him. At the same time, he was filled with confusion and bewilderment: why did these people want to kill him...

boom!

The blade's trajectory suddenly stopped. After a moment of stunned silence, Toyogoro saw a cane appear above the attacker's head and swing down hard, like a monk striking a wooden fish in a temple. The sound it made was indeed similar to the crisp sound of a wooden fish.

The attacker, who had launched the sudden attack, froze and collapsed to the ground, revealing the short-haired girl behind him.

Yashiro pouted, looking annoyed at herself for impulsively saving the guy, and then flung her cane away.

Another attacker had just cut down several unsuspecting "comrades" and was about to rush over when he was struck in the face by a cane with a whoosh, and fell backward to the sky.

Only one large front tooth, accompanied by blood, flew through the air.

"There is still one."

She swiftly moved, picked up her cane again, listened intently, and shielded Toyo Goro behind her. Just as she was about to make her move, she heard the woman beside her laugh heartily: "Leave it to me!" As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her hand, and the eagle had already spread its wings and soared into the sky.

The woman reached out and took an arrow. She casually drew back the heavy vine longbow, but did not shoot immediately or aim deliberately. She simply held it, a confident smile on her lips.

Suddenly, a sharp twang of a bowstring rang out, and the wind whipped through the grass as an arrow shot towards them!

"Well done!"

At the same time, she released her hand, and the arrow, like a meteor, struck the incoming arrow in mid-air, breaking off and falling to the ground!

"Your aim is good, but unfortunately you've run into my Dragon Prince. You're destined to suffer a crushing defeat. Alas, alas—go!"

With a soft shout, the woman simultaneously nocked and drew her bow again as she released the first arrow. The second arrow, like a shooting star, plunged straight into the forest and disappeared without a trace. But just a few seconds later, a man's mournful cry echoed from afar...

The sound stopped suddenly.

She gave another whistle, and the eagle immediately flew away, perhaps to check the harvest.

The woman who had fired the two arrows seemed to have accomplished her mission. She put down her rattan bow, turned her head, and only glanced at Toyogoro for a moment before looking away without much interest. Instead, she began to examine Yashiro with great interest.

"Shorty, not bad...interesting."

"...Could you please use a different form of address?"

"What should I call you?" The woman tilted her head. "'Xiao' refers to your age, and 'Dwarf' refers to your appearance. Combining these two accurately and vividly describes your characteristics. Adding 'zi' makes it sound more formal... I think this is a good name. Or do you want something more precise, like 'the short-haired little dwarf who can't see'? No, no, that's too long and hard to pronounce..."

"My name is Yashiro..."

"Oh. So what do you think of the short-haired girl?"

“My name is Ba Xun,” the girl said through gritted teeth.

"I know, you just said it once, so what?"

"So you can... call me Yashiro."

"Oh, I see! You should have said so earlier!" The woman clapped her hands. "How was I supposed to know what you were planning if you didn't tell me, right?"

"..."

Oh no, this seems to be the kind of troublesome person you'd better avoid...

Hachihiro realized this too late. The woman laughed and said, "You gave me a peach, I returned a precious jade. Since your name is Hachihiro, just call me Lord Dragon Prince."

"Dragon Prince?"

"Lord Dragon Prince!"

He's definitely a troublesome person.

Yashiro pressed his temples and replied somewhat helplessly, "Alright, Lord Ryuko."

"Yes, yes, that's it! Let's hear it a few more times!" Lord Dragon Prince immediately beamed with joy.

……

The two were having a pleasant conversation, while Toyogoro, who had been abandoned, stood there blankly, his eyes darting back and forth between the corpses on the ground. Just moments ago, everyone had been alive and kicking, even united in their support, surrounding him. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, both the betrayer and the betrayed would be dead?

Who exactly wants his life... So far, his life has been smooth sailing. Even though he has challenged several masters of the time on this journey of martial arts cultivation, he knows more or less that they are helping him out of respect for his uncle, helping him build his reputation.

The only unexpected event was the sudden clash on the training ground yesterday, which struck like a blow to the head, leaving Toyogoro dizzy and seeing stars. After a night of deep thought, he thought he had sorted out his thoughts, so he chased after them along the way, determined to prove his dignity as a swordsman by risking his life with his sword.

And then... this whole thing happened.

Compared to what just happened, the deaths of Yamazaki Genhachiro and the others, as well as Yashiro's words yesterday, seem insignificant.

He felt his mind was in turmoil, unable to express himself. Suddenly, he heard hesitant footsteps approaching.

Turning around, he saw Xiaoqin looking at him timidly, holding a bamboo tube in her hand: "Want some?" She shook it, and the clear water inside made a gurgling sound.

"No need..." Toyogoro sighed. He had extremely complicated feelings about the girl who had almost met with misfortune, and he didn't know how to face her.

"Oh," Xiaoqin responded blankly, then fell silent.

But perhaps because his tense mind had just relaxed, he was a beat too slow and felt thirsty. He wanted to get his water container, but found that the bamboo tube at his waist had been accidentally dropped on the ground during the battle, and the water inside had naturally spilled.

"Um, Miss Qin, I still..."

"Tons, tons, tons——"

Seeing Kotomi hugging the bamboo tube and drinking nonstop, Toyogoro swallowed the rest of his sentence.

Forget it, I'll just stay thirsty...

"Sweethead, do you know these two people who want to kill you?" Just then, the woman who called herself the Dragon Prince... finally had the leisure to pay attention to him. She walked over with her bow and arrows and casually nudged the corpses on the ground.

"I... don't know."

"So you almost did something stupid just now?" Ryuko's words were still as sharp and harsh as ever, but Toyogoro couldn't find any reason to refute them and could only nod awkwardly.

"Forget it, I didn't expect a melon to be of any use anyway. What do you think, Yashiro... Oh, you can't see it. As for this girl named Koto, there's no need to ask—good heavens!"

She suddenly scratched her head vigorously, as if she had finally realized something. "As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. I need to stay away from you guys!"

Just as he was about to distance himself, he suddenly noticed that Yashiro looked thoughtful, and stopped in his tracks.

"Do you have any other ideas?"

"The swords these people are using..." Yashiro pondered, crouching down to touch the weapons the two men were using. Ryuko then followed, rubbing his chin and clicking his tongue, "Indeed, unlike the usual style, these two swords have little curve and seem rather narrow?"

"This is a ninja sword."

"Ninja sword?"

"To facilitate surprise attacks and assassinations, as well as combat in confined spaces, the swords used by ninjas are generally shorter, and they focus more on thrusting than slashing," Yashiro explained.

"You mean... these two 'melon hunters' are actually ninjas?" Ryuko exclaimed in surprise.

"Whether it is or not, you can ask them yourself when they wake up."

"You didn't kill him?"

"of course."

"Impressive," the dragon prince praised. "If you hadn't told me your name, I would be calling you 'the short-haired little dwarf who is blind but incredibly strong and knowledgeable.'"

The girl was silent for a few seconds: "...Just call me Yashiro."

“No problem. Since these people are still alive, we don’t need to rush to guess. Besides… Uncle Toad should be arriving soon.”

"Uncle Toad?"

"Hmm... Here it is."

Longzi pouted, and after a long while, a short, stout figure tumbled out of the woods she had just arrived at, flailing his arms and legs and shouting, "Help! Help! Help! Help me!"

Swish!

An arrow flew out and struck half of the opponent's straw sandal, pinning him headfirst to the ground in the middle of the hillside.

It was Aota Inosuke.

For some reason, Yashiro felt a sense of entitlement. She twitched her lips, and as she looked up, she felt his gaze fall upon her. Inosuke paused, then exclaimed joyfully:

"Oh, Yashiro-san, what a pleasant time you're in today, killing so many people again!"

……

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Seeking Medical Treatment in Suruga

Some people are particularly good at speaking; they can make others feel as if they are bathed in a spring breeze and drinking sweet dew with just a few words. We call this the art of speaking.

There are also some people who are "particularly" good at talking. They don't even need to say two or three words to make others grit their teeth in anger and want to kill themselves. We call this the art of dying. Obviously, Inosuke is a master of this art.

But Yashiro wasn't in the mood to settle scores with him at the moment; in fact, her feelings were rather complicated.

They managed to capture two survivors, and were hoping to get some information out of them. But as soon as they woke up, the two men took poison without hesitation, without even a moment's hesitation, and without giving Yashiro and the others a chance to stop them.

Silently listening to their heartbeats slow down and finally stop, the girl leaned on her cane and sighed, "Mr. Bo, it seems you've really messed with a formidable enemy..."

Ordinary assassins wouldn't deliberately hide deadly poison in their teeth to commit suicide if they failed. In fact, as far as she knew, even the elite ninjas of Iga Village wouldn't go to such lengths.

After all, no one is immune to the dangers of death, and the Iga clan is mostly composed of mercenaries who work for money. If trouble arises, their top priority is to protect their own lives and property, and they are unlikely to actually risk their lives. In contrast, the Koga neighbors, who have close ties with the Rokkaku clan of southern Omi, are much more professional in this regard.

In other words, this person is very likely a "domestic dog" raised by some daimyo. Considering the unclear identity of Tenfu Goro, Yashiro couldn't help but ponder.

However, now was clearly not a good time to ponder alone. She shook her head, and when she came to her senses, the others had already gathered around.

Inosuke and Ryuko stood together, talking in hushed tones. Koto shrank behind Yashiro, looking uneasily at the corpses on the ground. As for Hikita Toyogoro, he stood alone a little distance away, looking quite awkward and at a loss.

"So what do we say now?"

As their conversation came to an end, Longzi turned around and asked without any hesitation, "You seem to know them quite well, and you can tell which side they are... Oh, you can't see them, but just understand what I mean."

"Can not guess."

Yashiro sighed. No matter how good her hearing was, her age and experience meant she couldn't discern the opponent's style within a few moves. Besides, these two were really too weak; she took them down with a single blow, without even drawing her sword. As the saying goes, even a skilled cook can't cook without rice, so asking her to make a judgment under these circumstances was rather difficult.

Although there was still one archer left, they had just followed the falcon to the body and killed it with a single arrow to the throat. That's why the scream just now stopped abruptly; the sound was blocked by the arrow as soon as it reached the throat.

"Ok."

Longzi shrugged, showing little disappointment, perhaps because he hadn't taken the matter to heart at all. He then said, "In that case, if there's nothing else, shall we all go our separate ways?" Though it was a question, he didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he turned and left, walking away decisively.

But then Inosuke suddenly jumped up: