Yashiro the Blind

"If not a gentleman, then what is he?"

"The Dragon Prince."

During the rather mundane chatter, Yashiro unknowingly drank two or three more cups of wine. Normally, given her low alcohol tolerance, she would have been feeling quite tipsy by now. But at this moment, she remained completely calm and composed, seemingly red-faced and even reminiscent of the carefree spirit she had when chugging beer straight from the bottle in her past life.

Even she was like this, so it goes without saying that a true heavy drinker like Longzi would throw away the wine dish in the blink of an eye and pour two bottles into his mouth. He still wasn't satisfied, so in the end he simply stopped drinking altogether. He took out a special rice ball bigger than his face from his bag—which he had asked the innkeeper to make before he left—and ate it with dried squid, munching away with both hands.

To describe someone's particularly "bold" eating habits, one would often use the metaphor of a starving ghost. However, listening to the noise of Ryuko eating so much, Yashiro felt that the metaphor of a starving ghost was too conservative. He was just like Zhong Kui, the kind of person who would dip a ghost in soybean paste and eat it raw, bite by bite.

Horror!

In an era when everyone was struggling to get enough to eat, and even after Tokugawa Ieyasu became Shogun, he only ate rice with pickled radish, just how wealthy must a family have been to support such a gluttonous person? If he had been born in Iga, he definitely wouldn't have survived more than three years.

"Speaking of which, what did you mean by what you just said?"

"Which one?"

"Being a wanderer is not bad."

"Oh." Yashiro suddenly laughed, "Because you think about it, the titles of Grand Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and Shogun sound impressive, but they certainly wouldn't dare to sit leisurely under the tree like us, enjoying flowers, drinking wine and eating dumplings, right?"

“That makes sense. Although they gained power, they lost their freedom as a result—” Ryuko nodded, then asked, “If you had to choose, would you rather be a ronin or a lord?” “Lord Kubo” was the respectful title given to the shogun at the time.

“Of course it’s His Highness, the Prince,” the girl replied immediately.

Ryuko laughed heartily. In the short time it took to say those few words, she had already finished the rice ball that was the size of her face. She patted her stomach, turned around, and lay down quite naturally. There was nothing wrong with lying down after eating, but when she did this, Yashiro froze.

"Little Dragon Prince..."

"Lord Dragon Prince."

“Alright, Lord Dragon Prince.” She lowered her head stiffly. “What are you doing?”

"You can see for yourself. I'm full, so I'm lying down to digest." Longzi said, patting his belly contentedly.

"Then...why are you lying on my lap?"

"Because there are no pillows here."

Ryuko's words were so confident that Yashiro was momentarily stunned. Oh right, since there were no pillows here, using her thigh as a pillow seemed...maybe quite reasonable?

Reasonable size!

"...Get down here!"

She raised her hand to knock, and Ryuko laughed, rolled over, and rolled away. Suddenly, she jumped up again, sat down, put her arm around the girl's shoulder, and half-forcefully pulled her over. She changed her tactics, this time letting Yashiro lie on top of her.

"how about this?"

Yashiro froze completely.

I wanted to jump up, but someone kept pressing on my shoulder. It wasn't a lot of force, but I couldn't break free for some reason.

With each breath, the faint cherry blossom scent that was originally on the tip of my nose was gradually replaced by another smell—unfortunately, it wasn't the legendary girl's natural fragrance, but rather the smell of alcohol mixed with wheat rice, and a hint of dried squid... To be honest, it was quite appetizing.

"Isn't this... a little too intimate?" she muttered, giving up the struggle.

"Really?" Longzi seemed to tilt his head.

"Have."

"Oh."

"So please let me up."

"why?"

Talking to Ryuko often feels like being lost in a maze. Yashiro sighed, "Because it makes us seem very close..."

"Yes, you just said that. And then?"

"It wouldn't be good if others saw this..."

"why?"

The topic has come full circle.

Just as the girl was speechless, she suddenly heard Ryuko laugh, as if he had thought of something interesting: "Yashiro, you can't see others, yet you care so much about what others think of you—that's strange."

"..."

She laughed to herself for a while, then realized that Yashiro remained silent, and belatedly asked, "Huh, did I say something wrong?"

"No, you're right... absolutely right."

Yashiro answered softly, then relaxed all the tension in her body, no longer bothered by anything else, and comfortably lay down on the other person's lap.

Although Longzi mentioned that she could eat whatever she wanted and never gain weight, when you actually touched her, you would find that she was actually quite plump. Here, plumpness does not refer to the kind of heavyweight who weighs two or three hundred pounds, but rather a well-proportioned figure. Unlike her, she was full of healthy vitality, graceful and charming.

Of course, that's assuming she doesn't speak.

After a moment, she changed her posture again, lying on her back. A petal fluttered down in the wind and landed in her hair, where Longzi gently picked it away.

For a long time, neither of them spoke. One lay down, and the other sat, letting the wind blow, the white clouds drift, and the blue sky stretch out.

"What a beautiful day."

At one point, the dragon prince chuckled softly.

She seemed to be looking up at the sky as well, and compared to her usual carefree and cheerful tone, her words at this moment gave people a strange and wonderful feeling.

"Yashiro, were your eyes like this from birth, or did you get them from an illness later?"

“It’s natural.”

"That's... such a pity." She sighed. "I really wanted you to see this blue sky too, it's so beautiful."

“It’s no pity. As for the sky, I’ve seen it in my dreams before,” Yashiro replied.

"In a dream?"

Most people would just laugh off such an absurd statement, but Longzi seemed to really believe it, and even his voice became happy: "That's good, then we have one more thing to share... But it's still a pity."

In the end, another sigh escaped his lips.

"Why this time?"

"Even if you've seen blue skies and white clouds in your dreams, and many other things, there's definitely one thing you've never seen before."

"what?"

"Of course, it's Lord Dragon Prince's stunningly beautiful face!"

"Forehead……"

There's really nothing to talk about today.

But the dragon prince didn't seem to be joking; he genuinely felt sorry for her: "If only I could appear in your dream. Otherwise, I'll go home and ask my grandfather if he knows how to enter a dream..."

He even started thinking about it seriously.

“No need for that…” Yashiro hesitated, feeling that if the other person’s condition continued to deteriorate like this, he might turn into a narcissus and drown himself in the lake at any time. In order to save a young and vibrant life in time, she quickly changed the subject, “Your grandfather… sounds like a very powerful person?”

She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth. Although the two of them were now in a relationship where they could rest their laps on each other's backs—although she was forced to do so 70% of the time—they had only known each other for a few days. Asking about her family background rashly could very well offend her and make her turn against her. Even if she didn't say it, she would inevitably leave a bad impression.

"Never mind, forget I asked that question..." she tried to salvage the situation, but then Longzi asked in confusion, "Why should I pretend I didn't ask it? Was there something wrong with the question?"

"It seems... there's nothing wrong..."

"If there's no problem, then why pretend I didn't ask this question?"

These repeated questions left Yashiro somewhat bewildered. But then again, since the person in question didn't mind, why should she worry? She chuckled softly, "That makes sense. Then I'll ask again: your grandfather must be a very important person, right?"

"Well, this..."

I thought Longzi would answer without hesitation, but to my surprise, she touched her chin and fell into deep thought.

A bird chirped as it flew overhead, and a few more cherry blossoms drifted down.

"I'm not quite sure if Grandpa was a remarkable person, but I've heard from others that he was quite powerful, and he used to be a particularly skilled swordsman... But from childhood to adulthood, I've never seen him use a sword. My father, on the other hand, practices swordsmanship every day and even said he wanted me to practice with him, but I refused."

"Refused?"

“Yes. Father’s swordsmanship, how should I put it, is too fierce, it just doesn’t suit me.” Longzi shook his head. “Later, he brought over a few other uncles, who were supposedly famous masters of some school, and asked me which one I wanted to learn from, but in the end I didn’t like any of them. Instead, I fell in love with archery and falconry, and even complained that close combat was not as safe as shooting an arrow from afar… This made Father very angry. He rolled up his sleeves and wanted to beat me up, but Grandpa stopped him.”

“What did Grandpa say back then… Oh, right.” She slammed her left fist into her right palm, “‘The dragon has nine sons, each different from the last. Since she has no interest in learning swordsmanship, we might as well grant her wish and let her focus on learning archery and horsemanship. She can achieve great things in the future.’ After persuading my father, we invited several master archers to teach me archery. Even the name ‘Dragon Son’ was suggested by Grandpa himself after that.”

"You are indeed very talented."

Recalling the opponent's amazing archery skills, the taut bowstring twanged and the arrow flew before the man fell. Even on the battlefield, this skill would be enough to overwhelm the entire army. Yashiro praised sincerely.

Longzi was very proud: "Right, right? That's what Grandpa praised me for too—" She paused, clearing her throat deliberately, as if to better imitate his tone, "Hmm, 'Little Longzi, although you have talent in archery, you must not become complacent and arrogant because of it. Do you know what the ultimate goal of archery is?'"

She suddenly stopped halfway through her sentence. Yashiro waited and waited, but the next sentence never came. Curious herself, she urged, "And then?"

"Now it's your turn to answer." Longzi blinked.

“I answered…” Yashiro was stunned. “Aren’t you imitating your grandfather?”

"You are indeed imitating, so now it's Grandpa's turn to ask you questions."

"Alright." Gradually getting used to Longzi's unconventional way of thinking, the girl stopped agonizing and thought for a moment, "Arrows hitting each other?" When it comes to famous archers in history, there are only a few stories repeated over and over again, so let's try mentioning one of them first.

"No, no." Longzi shook her head, speaking in a condescending tone, clearly imitating her grandfather again, "'Arrows flying in unison, each arrow hitting the previous one, while it sounds wondrous, it's really just about speed, not the ultimate.'"

"Then... it shot a stone and drank feathers, piercing all seven layers of armor?"

Both of these are anecdotes about Yang Youji. The former shot an arrow that struck a boulder, the fletching disappearing completely into the stone; the latter pierced seven layers of leather armor with a single arrow, utterly devastating and invincible. Ba Xun asked this question, but Long Zi shook his head again: 'Shooting through stone and piercing armor demonstrates superb archery skills and extraordinary bow strength, but essentially it's still brute force, not the ultimate achievement.'

These should also be her grandfather's original words.

"Shooting the halberd at the gate, hitting the bullseye from a hundred paces?" Ba Xun asked again.

“‘The principle is correct, yet it remains a visible arrow,’” the dragon prince replied again. Each time she answered, her tone became noticeably more cheerful. After saying this, she suddenly laughed, “We two are truly in sync; even the examples we use are exactly the same!”

"Really?"

"That's still false."

“Hmm… in that case, it should be—” After several rounds of questioning, Yashiro had a better idea of ​​the answer that Grandpa Ryuko wanted. Just as she was about to speak, Ryuko stopped her abruptly and covered her mouth with his finger: “Shh! I didn’t answer back then, so you’re not allowed to answer. Just listen to me and tell you the correct answer!”

Seeing that Yashiro agreed, she released her grip, then coughed and put on a serious expression: "'There are many famous archers in the world, but when it comes to the one who can truly be called the ultimate, it is only the archery of Bohun Wuren a thousand years ago, the archery of non-shooting.' Well, did you not guess that?"

"actually, I……"

"Tell me you didn't guess that!"

“…Wow, so it’s the ‘shooting without shooting’ from the ‘Outer Chapters of Zhuangzi’. What a surprise, I never would have guessed it!” Yashiro exclaimed expressionlessly.

But this level of reaction seemed to be enough to satisfy Longzi. She hummed twice and puffed out her chest: "Grandpa also said, 'Longzi, you have a good talent in this field. In addition, you are simple-minded and carefree. As long as you continue to work hard, you may one day be able to reach the legendary realm of 'shooting without intention.' He told me to take Bohun Wuren of that time as my goal. This trip is also to broaden my horizons, hone my skills, and comprehend the legendary 'shooting without shooting' as soon as possible!"

"I see."

After listening to Ryuko's long self-introduction, Yashiro felt as if a fishbone was stuck in her throat. She had so much to say, but she couldn't utter a single word... No matter how she thought about it, being carefree and shooting without thinking were not the same thing!

Heaven knows how this silly girl was so easily fooled by her own family. She thought the misunderstanding about "drinking at a brothel" was absurd enough, but it turns out there were even more skilled swindlers. Indeed, experience counts...

"Alright, I've answered your question. Now it's your turn."

Just then, Long Zi suddenly changed the subject and naturally posed a new question, "Yashiro, what kind of person is your father, that Tenfu Goro?"

"what……"

Yashiro then realized that he had already stepped into the other party's trap.

So that's where he was waiting for her...

……

Chapter 50: A Flashback

"Lord Dragon Prince, you..."

"what happened?"

Even if he couldn't see the other person's expression, Yashiro could imagine a smug smiling face in his mind.

She thought the topic had been dropped at the inn, but unexpectedly it came full circle again. The main reason was that she didn't expect that Ryuko, with her thick eyebrows and big eyes, would be so cunning. She had only asked one casual question, and the other party had talked a lot like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.

Since that's the case, and they've reciprocated my kindness with a precious jade, it would be rather unreasonable for me not to say anything when it's their turn to ask questions.

Besides... there's really nothing that can't be said.

I just don't know where to begin.

"my father……"

The girl muttered to herself, lost in thought. Seeing this, Ryuko didn't urge her, and didn't even look at her. He turned his head and looked at the cherry blossoms fluttering around him, his face showing a quiet expression that was different from usual.