Yashiro the Blind

Wan Gui Zhai has three rules for not treating patients: he doesn't treat the illnesses of wealthy people, he doesn't treat the illnesses of high-ranking officials, and he doesn't treat illnesses he can't cure. These three rules essentially limit his patients to a very small group, and it could even be said that he only treats the poor and needy.

The old man never charged money. He not only didn't charge a penny for the diagnosis, but also gave away the herbs and other things for free. Usually, this kind of loss-making business is just to make some noise and then stop after a while when the reputation is established. But Wan Gui Zhai has been doing it for ten years.

The most amazing thing is that he not only did not starve to death, but lived a very comfortable life, and could easily pull out a piece of gold to treat guests.

"Could it be that he has another way of making money?"

"Probably. My master asked me the same question, but the old man just smiled and didn't answer. Although I was curious, I didn't press him for an answer."

"Do you want me to ask for you?" Longzi volunteered.

"If Your Highness is curious, you are free to inquire for yourself. There is no need to invoke my name."

"You're so stingy!"

Ryuko turned her head away angrily. Yashiro was about to say something when she suddenly stopped. A few seconds later, a shadow fell over her and Ryuko.

It was the Ten Thousand Ghosts Abode.

"These two little girls seem to be whispering among themselves. I think I even heard my own name mentioned. Could they be talking badly about me?"

"That's absolutely not the case."

"really?"

“I swear on Kato-senpai’s name,” Yashiro said solemnly.

"Hahaha, that old bird must have had terrible luck in his past life to have a junior sister like you."

The old man burst into laughter. In the lobby of the inn, besides the group of six, there were seven or eight other guests scattered around, all sitting and resting. Hearing the laughter, they all looked over curiously.

But Wan Guizhai didn't care at all. He plopped down in front of the girl, tapped his knee, and said, "Yaxun girl, if I'm not mistaken, you came here to inquire about your dead father, right?"

……

Chapter Forty-Three: Life and Death

Mankisai and Tenfu Goro were old acquaintances and had a very close relationship.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to speak about a deceased person in this tone in front of the other party's daughter.

According to Yashiro, the old woman came to Kinki three years ago to pay respects at the grave of Tenfu Goro. Later, seeing that it was on the way, she also visited her master, Kashin Koji, in Nara. By chance, she learned from Kashin that there was still a young girl in the Tenfu family alive.

"To be honest, I did hear some things recently, that your father is actually still alive, and I thought you might come to me to ask about it—and sure enough."

The hall was noisy with the comings and goings of waiters and servants, the merchants whispering and discussing things, the travelers slurping down bowls of rice porridge, and the distant sounds of birdsong and insects, as well as the messengers galloping by on horseback along the main road...

No one noticed the conversation taking place, but Longzi glanced over and, realizing that the upcoming topic wasn't suitable for her to eavesdrop, moved to a different spot and pulled Xiaoqin aside to play with hand shadows.

This game is simple, fun, and easy to learn. She taught Xiaoqin how to play it, and the two of them would play it to pass the time, which made them quite happy.

Wan Guizhai sat cross-legged on the ground, glanced around, and asked, "First of all, what do you think about this, Yashiro?"

"What do you think..."

"So, if this is true, and your father is still alive, what do you plan to do? Hmm... that sounds too roundabout, not in line with my personality. Let's get straight to the point."

He rested his elbows on his thighs, leaned forward, and stared intently at Yashiro. "—Do you hate him?"

Of course not...

The girl opened her mouth, the answer was clearly on the tip of her tongue, but for a moment she felt as if a fishbone was stuck in her throat, and she couldn't make a sound.

Does she hate her father, whom she took advantage of in this life?

What reason is there to hate him?

"...It's so dark and so cold..."

There probably is.

If Tenka Goro hadn't died that night, those scheming relatives wouldn't have dared to come looking for trouble, turning her brother, sister, and mother into victims, and she herself was nearly killed.

She had always believed that this was an inevitable tragedy. Moreover, the culprits, her uncle and others, were dead, and now even the target of her revenge no longer existed. This hatred and anger had nowhere to be vented, so she could only keep it deep in her heart and let it gradually fade away with time.

But what if the father actually faked his death...?

What did the deaths of his wife and two children mean to him?

Is it a victim of a deception, like the cicada molt in the Golden Cicada Ninjutsu?

Unbeknownst to her, although the girl's expression hadn't changed, her hands, which were resting on her knees, clenched tightly. She lowered her head and remained silent, but this was, in itself, an answer.

Wan Guizhai smiled and asked again, "So, do you still want to keep asking?"

"I……"

Her clenched fist slowly and quietly relaxed. Yashiro remained silent, then nodded slowly.

"understood."

She thought the old man's next question would likely be about what she would do after finding her father, but to her surprise, Wan Guizhai just chuckled and slapped his thigh. "Since that's the case, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. I did see him once half a month ago."

"this--"

The girl was taken aback. Although her first stop in Suruga was to find Mankisai, she didn't have any expectations because she only knew this one person. Who knew that as soon as she opened her mouth, she would be given such a bombshell.

"What, do you suspect that I'm talking nonsense?"

Wan Guizhai spoke in a teasing tone, his smile widening, "Let me state beforehand that I don't know if that's the real Tenkaze Goro, after all, there's a possibility that someone else is impersonating him, but at least in terms of appearance and voice, the other person is exactly the same as the Goro I remember. If it really is someone else impersonating him, that imposter must have a deep understanding of your father."

"You must be wondering what he said to me when we met, but that time lasted less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and we met halfway through the journey. Apart from exchanging pleasantries as old friends, the man who called himself Tenka Goro only left a message, saying that if it was convenient for me, I should go to a certain place to meet him in half a month."

The old man counted on his fingers and said, "The appointed time is in the next few days. If you want to find him, you might as well make the trip for me. My old arms and legs can take this opportunity to rest."

"Then thank you very much, sir." Yashiro bowed his head in thanks.

"Of course, of course. It's only right to grant the wish of a dear friend's daughter, a joyous occasion for family reunion." Wan Guizhai smiled and waved his hand. "Then it's settled. I'll tell you the agreed location later. As for these few days, you and your companions can stay here. If you come across any shops or markets around here that you want to eat or want, just buy them and put the bill on my tab."

"This...isn't good."

“What’s wrong with it? Money is just an external thing; you can’t take it with you when you’re born, and you can’t take it with you when you die. I’m not afraid of you spending money; I’m only afraid that you won’t spend enough. This gold is so heavy, it’s really uncomfortable for me.”

……

People always compromise.

If someone says they're going to treat someone, but then acts stingy, complaining about the dirty kitchens at restaurants and the hassle of cooking at home, diluting their drinks with water from empty bottles, and then expecting guests to bring several pounds of peanuts to their door, people will inevitably have some complaints.

However, if someone like Wan Guizhai confidently declares that they are not afraid of spending a lot of money, but only afraid of spending it all, it can leave people bewildered in another sense.

Knowing what others would think in this situation, Yashiro and his group became hesitant after hearing this. They ate cheap food for the past few days, while Ryuko continued to eat and drink extravagantly, but he paid for it himself, spending money like water.

Wan Guizhai once asked her, and Longzi replied with a smile, "Things that I buy with my own money taste the sweetest—I'm not willing to deprive myself of them."

"Hahaha, that's absolutely right!"

The two, one old and one young, seem to get along very well in some ways.

On the other hand, starting from the second day, it is possible that the news of Wan Guizhai staying there gradually spread, and patients or their relatives came to the door for help from time to time.

The old man was generally open to all who came, without asking about their background or origin. He would simply let them sit down, take their pulse, and diagnose them. After examining them, he would either go to a nearby shop to buy some medicinal herbs or take out his silver needles to treat them on the spot. For ailments that could not be treated immediately, he would ask where the person lived, arrange a follow-up appointment, and whether the person would come over or he would go to the shop himself.

He sees at least five or six patients a day, and sometimes as many as twenty. Just as the rumors have been, Wan Guizhai not only doesn't charge a penny, but the medicinal herbs and medicines he buys out of his own pocket add up to quite a sum, making people even more suspicious of his source of income.

There was also a side story.

One night, when all was quiet and most of the people in the inn had fallen asleep, a fast horse suddenly galloped in, banging on the door. The rider introduced himself as a member of a certain samurai's faction, saying that someone had fallen seriously ill and he needed to ask Mr. Manguisai to come and treat him.

The man spoke politely, but his hand remained on the hilt of his sword, and his expression and tone were condescending. Although he said "please," if Wan Guizhai didn't know his place, that "please" might turn into "tie him up."

Faced with such a fierce-looking person, the innkeeper naturally dared not stop him. He immediately led the person upstairs with a smile and found the Wan Gui Zhai.

This commotion certainly didn't escape the notice of Hachishiro next door. Although their rooms weren't exactly close, with Ryuko and Kotoko in between, as well as two other unfamiliar guests—Suruga was a bustling area with many merchants, and wanting six adjacent rooms at once was unrealistic—she had already woken up when the person downstairs started banging on the door. She grabbed her cane and listened intently.

She had originally thought that if anything happened, she would have to help out and not let Wan Guizhai be kidnapped like this. Meanwhile, there were also noises coming from Longzi's and the two men's rooms, as if they had been alerted just like her and were paying attention to the development of the situation.

All that could be heard was Wan Guizhai shouting through the door: "In the middle of the night, whose vicious dog is disturbing my peaceful sleep!"

"you--"

"What do you mean, 'you'? It's an ominous sign that a dog is spitting human language! Get out of here!"

During the day, when dealing with ordinary patients, Wan Guizhai always had a smile on his face and would occasionally crack a joke or two, making the originally worried patients and their families laugh along and easing their tension.

But at this moment, he started cursing as soon as he opened his mouth, his anger flaring up.

Sensing the increasingly tense atmosphere, Yashiro secretly tightened his grip on his cane, about to intervene, when he heard a sharp sound of a sword being drawn, followed by a short scream—a scream that came from the retainer of that samurai.

"Sir, what...what is this...?"

"Don't worry, just drag this person's body out and throw it outside. The dutiful townspeople will come to clean it up at dawn." There was another sound of swords falling to the ground. It seemed that Mankisai had thrown away his weapon and returned to his usual cheerful tone, smiling as he spoke to the shopkeeper.

He then clapped his hands, as if brushing off some dust, and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll go back to sleep."

"Mmm...Mmm."

The boss blankly agreed, then stood there for a long time before suddenly coming to his senses. He hurriedly told his employees to throw the man out under cover of night and clean up the bloodstains. But for a long time afterward, he lived in fear, worried that the man's owner would come looking for revenge.

If he only targeted Mankisai, that would be one thing, but based on his understanding of those samurai, one head might not be enough for them. In the heat of the moment, who knows how many people might die.

However, he waited and waited, but the revenge he expected never came. Even the routine investigation that usually happened when a murder occurred was nowhere to be found. When he opened the front door of the inn the next morning, the body had vanished without a trace. After that, no one mentioned it again, as if the person who died that night was not a person, but really just a dog.

When a dog dies, naturally no one will care.

After that incident, whenever he encountered Wan Gui Zhai again, even though the old man was still as kind and amiable as ever, the boss always felt a little uneasy and became more cautious and reserved in his interactions with others.

This was just a minor incident during my stay, nothing more than a casual remark.

On the seventh day, around 7 PM, someone gently knocked on the girl's door.

She was enjoying a dessert called dinner.

Although most people nowadays only eat two meals a day and do not eat after noon, especially since it gets dark early at night, candles are expensive, and there are not many entertainment options, they can only go to sleep to achieve the great harmony of life, so they do not need dinner to replenish their energy.

But given the habits she had developed over two or three decades in her previous life, Yashiro still habitually puts something in her mouth around six or seven o'clock in the evening, whenever possible. When she's hungry, she eats rice, and when she's not hungry, she usually takes out the salted plums she carries with her and licks them to give her mouth a little taste.

You could say it's purely about enjoying the atmosphere.

However, Yashiro was in a more moderate state today, his stomach was somewhere between hungry and not hungry, and he happened to hear some shouts earlier, so he asked a vendor for some sweet rice dumplings and bought them to enjoy.

This sweet rice dumpling, also called yi zong, is a dessert made of glutinous rice. Although it has the word "zong" in its name, it tastes more like rice cake with its sticky and chewy texture. Wrapped in straw, it has a faint fragrance. Apart from that, it is basically just the taste of glutinous rice. It's a small business, so there's definitely no sugar to add.

On the one hand, the taste is okay, and on the other hand, the price is relatively cheap. Glutinous rice itself is also very filling. I heard that not only ordinary people love to eat it, but even ordinary samurai would buy some to keep as emergency food. I don't know if the vendors selling glutinous rice dumplings are just bragging.

Anyway, Yashiro really loves to eat. Whenever someone sells it, she will buy some to satisfy her craving. At this moment, she took out the sugar rice dumpling, fumbled to unwrap the straw wrapping, poured a cup of wine, took a sip to moisten her throat, and prepared herself. She flattened the glutinous rice snack with both hands and stuffed it into her mouth with a "whoosh".

The first bite satisfies the craving, and the second bite is when you start to savor it slowly—that's her eating style.

The girl's mouth wasn't big, and even though the rice dumpling was also small and delicate, it was still completely full, with a little bit overflowing. She squeezed it back in forcefully, chewing with the effort of a squirrel, while holding her cheeks in her hands, reveling in this small satisfaction...

Then the doorbell rang.

"Mmm, mmm--"

Because she was so focused on her taste that her other three senses became dulled, she didn't even hear the footsteps beforehand. The sudden knocking startled Yashiro, and the mouthful of glutinous rice naturally got stuck in her throat, unable to go up or down.

This is a matter of life and death!

She coughed violently, pounding her chest and stamping her feet. After a long while, she was finally out of danger. She wiped away her tears, cleared her throat, poured herself a glass of wine, and slowly drank it down.

The reason she didn't offer him wine when he choked was because Yashiro knew her alcohol tolerance was only a few cups, and she couldn't afford to waste such a precious limited amount on something she couldn't enjoy. She'd rather die than be like Pigsy from Journey to the West.

After she had roughly tidied herself up and felt that there were no oversights, the girl regretfully put away the other two rice dumplings, opened the door, and sure enough, Wan Guizhai was waiting outside.

As if he hadn't heard the series of chaotic commotions just now, Wan Guizhai chuckled and said, "Yaxun girl, are you ready?"

"Ready."

Yashiro nodded gracefully.

Tonight is the night the old man and "Tianfeng Wulang" have agreed to meet.

"Let's go then. But before that..."

"Before this?"

"Wipe the sticky rice off your mouth first."

"..."

After a long silence, when she heard the old man turn around and start walking, she quietly wiped her hand with the back of her hand and licked it a few times with her tongue.

sweet.

……

Chapter 44 Tianfeng Goro’s Ambition