Yashiro the Blind

“Nothing has changed…” The girl tilted her head and sighed. “Interesting and regrettable, those are probably all lies, aren’t they? There’s not a single word of truth in your mouth.”

But at least one thing is true—

With a swift movement, his tall, thin body, as thin as a bamboo pole, suddenly covered several meters, and the long sword at his waist flashed with a silver light!

"You will die here."

"Is it?"

At the same time, Yashiro took a step forward, the sword in her staff transforming into a pool of autumn water, rippling with sunlight, passing by Kanna—

Swish!

She suddenly tilted her head, and the straw hat she was wearing broke in two. A few strands of hair floated in the air, and a shallow wound appeared on her forehead, from which blood dripped slowly.

Looking at Shen Wu again, he was completely unharmed. His body moved like a ghost, swaying and twisting as if he had never landed on the ground. He was only slightly touched, and immediately turned back, with a flash of sword light!

The girl spun with her left foot, lowered her body, and drew her sword again...

boom!

Swords clashed, sparks flew like stars, and immense force surged forth. Yashiro let out a muffled groan, her left hand holding the sword went numb and then ached, and the longsword almost slipped from her grasp. But though she was defeated, she remained calm and swung her cane out with her right hand... As it should have been, the cane was suddenly pressed down by her opponent as soon as it rose.

A follow-up kick landed squarely on her abdomen, powerful and heavy, sending her staggering backward. The wind whistled past her ears as the tall, slender figure closed in again. As if sensing her movement, Hachiko crossed her sword and staff in front of her, barely blocking the oncoming slash. Simultaneously, using the momentum, she shrunk back, transforming into a maple leaf, fluttering in the wind…

"Well!"

The moment she moved, a scabbard was already waiting there. Caught off guard, she crashed into it solidly, feeling a churning sensation in her lower abdomen, as if her internal organs had shifted, causing extreme discomfort. Before she could even catch her breath, another goosebump-like feeling washed over her. Instinctively, the girl drew her sword behind her back, and sure enough, another incredibly heavy slash landed!

Amidst the clanging of metal against metal, Yashiro was swept along by the force, stumbling forward several steps. Her body lurched and fell, and she braced herself against the ground with her cane, trying to use the momentum to leap up. However, Shinmu was like a shadow, his long sword never leaving her side, unleashing a series of slashes. It was as if he could completely predict her next move, anticipating every step and every attack. After several unsuccessful attacks, she was already in grave danger!

Left with no other choice, Yashiro could only retreat further and further. The more she retreated, the harder it became to counterattack. In addition, her agility was restricted, so she could only take Kanna's sword strikes head-on. The difference in strength between the two was too great. With each strike, her body shuddered, and blood flowed freely from the tiger's mouth of her left hand. In the end, even her defensive stance became chaotic, like a small boat struggling in a storm, on the verge of capsizing at any moment.

"You...can also use the Heavenly Maple Style?"

"Don't forget, I'm also 'Tenfu Goro'."

Shenwu's voice suddenly changed, turning back into Tenfu Goro's dashing laughter. "How is it, my good daughter, my dear daughter? All the moves you used were exactly what I expected. I am even more familiar with the Tenfu style than you are. You have no chance of winning—why not give up now? After experiencing just a moment of pain, you can reunite with your family... Your mother, your brother, your sister, and I are all waiting for you in the Land of the Dead."

"Since that's the case... how about this move!"

Yashiro, who had been retreating, suddenly stopped, threw away the cane in her hand, and immediately grabbed the hilt of the sword with her free right hand, changing to a two-handed grip on the sword. From bottom to top, a dazzling silver light suddenly burst forth!

Unlike her previous light and agile style, this sword strike she unleashed in a small space was bold and domineering. When it collided with the blade swung by Shen Wu, it produced an unprecedentedly loud and resounding clang!

Although the physical and gender differences were difficult to overcome, Kanna had always wielded her sword with one hand. After testing the girl's approximate arm strength, she used only 50-60% of her strength to conserve her energy. Faced with Yashiro's sudden change in swordsmanship, it was too late to change her move. With a calculated attack, Kanna was sent flying back after the first strike!

"This is... Toda Ittosai's Itto-ryu style? Unfortunately, this style is not suitable for you!"

But her opponent moved like a bat, retreating and advancing repeatedly. This time, she also wielded her knife with both hands, putting in nearly 90% of her strength, determined to completely overwhelm the girl's attack from the front—

Compared to the ingenious and versatile Tenfu-ryu, Toda Itto-ryu, as its name suggests, is a fierce style that aims to defeat the opponent with the first strike. It is a head-on style, most suitable for strong men who are confident in their strength, and is quite incompatible with light and delicate girls.

"Then let's try another move..."

Hearing the fierce approach of the long sword, Yashiro remained calm and stood still. With a light flick of his toe, he kicked up the cane he had just thrown away, sheathed his sword, held the end of the cane in one hand and the middle in the other, and actually used the cane as a spear, assuming a standard spear stance.

"The spear technique of the Grand Master of Ceremonies, Sheng Zhong? Interesting!"

Shen Wu let out a soft exclamation, his moves unchanged, and swung his sword down. The girl neither retreated nor dodged, holding her spear level with all three points facing each other, and thrust her cane in front of him, missing the blade. Relying on her length advantage, she only attacked and did not defend, intending to injure both sides!

Logically speaking, this cane has no spearhead; even if it were used to pierce someone, it would only cause a brief pain and at most break a couple of bones. However, if his blade were to strike, Yashiro would be instantly cleaved in two. But Kanna's gaze fell on the cane's tip, her eyes filled with apprehension. After a moment's internal struggle, she finally managed to withdraw before her attack ran out of steam—

click!

At the same time, a soft click of a mechanism being activated rang out. He instinctively shifted his body to the side, trying to avoid the stray poisoned needles that shot out. But the next second, instead of hearing the sharp sound of the needles piercing the air, he smelled a pungent fragrance...

Wine aroma?

Looking up in surprise, she saw the girl turn her cane upside down, raise her head, stretch her neck, and gulp down several mouthfuls of wine poured from the cane. She then wiped her mouth with her sleeve, took a step forward, and her sword flashed again. This time, she was in a completely different stance—she held the hilt of the sword with both hands, sheathed the longsword at her side, and the tip of the sword hung down behind her. The blade and hilt were almost completely blocked by her raised elbows and body.

If viewed from the front, this stance would only draw attention to her elbows, making the crucial blade invisible.

"The Car Design of the Kashima Shinto Style..."

After fighting for so long, Shenwu finally showed a serious expression.

……

Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Heartless Person

"Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Even children understand the principle of playing to one's strengths and avoiding one's weaknesses. Unfortunately, there are too many people in this world who are so stupid that they cannot see their own level. Not only that, but they can even turn it upside down and mistake their weaknesses for strengths. They have no self-awareness at all. Those who do not know how to fight command troops, and those who do not know how to plan offer plans. In this way, how can the world not be in turmoil and how can the people not be displaced?"

"Your father and I once made an agreement that if you ever come to me willingly, whether with good intentions or not, you can take something from me or learn a skill. Judging from your current state, material possessions are probably useless to you. As for skills, I can teach you a thing or two... As for what I will teach you specifically, and what you will learn, that depends on your talent and luck. I always teach according to your aptitude. You should understand yourself, consider carefully, and then tell me what you want to learn."

Five years ago, Chu Chu was rescued and taken in by Layman Guoxin. The girl spent a few days in a daze. When she was able to get out of bed and move around a bit, she heard Layman Guoxin leisurely say the following: He told the girl to think carefully about what she wanted to learn, what she wanted to learn, and what she was capable of learning. Otherwise, she would not only waste her own time, but also lose face for him.

The latter is clearly the key point.

"You told me to think about what I want to learn, but can you really teach me what I want to learn?" At that time, she had just encountered a great disaster, and her emotions were inevitably a bit extreme. Even though she knew that this person was her savior, she couldn't stand his condescending attitude and couldn't help but retort.

Kato Dan, who was hiding nearby, gasped as he listened. Perhaps he was recalling some terrible past events. He was in his fifties, but he was trembling, looking helpless and pitiful.

Guoxin wasn't angry at all; instead, she seemed to find it amusing and chuckled, "Not bad. Young people should have some spirit, unlike Duan Zang, who looks like he's half-buried at such a young age. It's painful to look at him—"

"What do you mean 'young age'? I'm already forty-seven..." Kato Danzo muttered to himself.

Guoxin glanced at him, ignored him, and casually waved his hand: "How about this? Although I once said that I would no longer accept disciples, as long as you can tell me anything that I cannot teach you, I, Guoxin Jushi, will make an exception and accept one more disciple, and pass on all my hidden skills to you. How about it?"

"Is this true?"

“You can ask others if I, Guoxin, have ever broken my promise, even once.”

"Isn't that obvious? Anyone who dares to speak the truth will be..." Kato Danzo continued to mutter under his breath.

"Hmm?" came a nasal sound.

"I won't talk, I won't talk anymore, hahaha." The person immediately fell silent.

Guo Xin then withdrew his gaze with satisfaction: "Come on, just say something that I can't teach you. If you can't say it, don't even think about talking big in the future."

Although she didn't know who this man in front of her, who called himself Guoxin Jushi, was, her intuition told her that she had better not miss this opportunity. Fortunately... what might be a difficult problem for others was a piece of cake for her.

"I want to learn..." The girl swallowed, hesitated for a moment, and under Koshin's interested gaze and Kato Danzo's pitying look that seemed to say, "This kid is about to get a beating from reality," she replied, "I want to learn how to operate an excavator... Can you teach me that?"

"Dig... dig what?" Guoxin stammered for once, which was rare for her.

“Excavator,” she repeated.

"..."

"..."

After repeated questioning, and seeing that the girl could describe every detail vividly, it was finally confirmed that the so-called "excavator" was real and not something she made up. From then on, Koshin Koji had another disciple, and Kato Danzo had another junior sister who was more than thirty years younger than him.

In the end, Yashiro never learned the excavator skills she "longed for".

Instead, there was a one-on-one private lesson with Master Guoxin. This master, whom Hachika had met after falling off the cliff, truly lived up to her promise, imparting all her skills to him without reservation. She even shared all kinds of precious book knowledge without holding back, teaching Hachika everything from the Four Books and Five Classics to ancient and modern military strategies...

Then I discovered that Yashiro didn't seem to need any teaching at all. Not only could she memorize any article after just one listen, but she could also help Koshin correct some of the mistakes, omissions, or missing words, or the parts that were written incorrectly when she copied them by hand.

"How do you know all this?" she asked curiously.

The girl only replied, "I've seen it in my dreams."

I've heard it in my dreams.

Or you could simply say, "This was taught to me by a strange person in my dream."

I initially thought that Laywoman Guoxin wouldn't believe these obviously excuses, but to my surprise, she frowned and started agonizing over it: "Which despicable person came to steal my disciple... Could it be her? No, it must be her..."

After listening to these rambling, mystical musings, this time it was Yashiro's turn to be a little scared. She hadn't slept well for several days, and then Koshin had half-coaxed, half-forced her to drink a bowl of sticky stuff that tasted indescribable. Afterwards, she asked, "Did you dream about that strange person again?"

"That's all, that's all." The girl shook her head vigorously, like a rattle-drum.

Then, a small cheer was heard from Kokoro, who seemed to clench her fist and wave it, though it was unclear what she was celebrating. In any case, the matter was considered closed, and Yashiro's curiosity about her master's origins grew even stronger…

Unfortunately, I dared not ask.

Not long after, her innate superpower was discovered by Guoxin Jushi. There was no need to hide it; it was simply photographic memory. Of course, in her current situation, it should be called "ear-memory," but the meaning is roughly the same. However, the consequences of being exposed made the girl regret it deeply and feel unbearable pain.

She truly experienced what real cramming education is like. In comparison, her entire senior year of high school in her previous life could be described as running wild and having fun.

Those five years of spiritual practice were like hell.

……

"You dare to be distracted while fighting me?"

when!

With a single swing of the sword, the blade traced a path through the boundless, clear blue sky, where white clouds drifted in the wind. The girl's faded, worn-out sleeveless top, too, spun around in the gust of wind generated by the clash of swords.

Amidst a shower of sparks, Shen Wuhu's body shifted to the side, and a piece of his clothing at the shoulder was blatantly ripped off!

The dark fabric fluttered like butterflies in the comfortable morning light. Yashiro stopped in her tracks, her whole body slightly stunned, as if she had just woken up from a long memory, but a trace of confusion still remained on her face: "What... what is there to be afraid of?"

Having said that, she suddenly raised the hilt of her sword, and with a press and twist, clear wine poured out from the hidden compartment. Although the girl opened her mouth to catch it, she was in the wrong position, and most of the wine spilled out, soaking her face and body, making her look like a drowned rat.

“You know… I usually don’t drink a drop of alcohol when I’m fighting someone… One reason is that I tend to lose control of my strength when I’m drunk, and another reason is that I always feel that fighting or killing someone while I’m in a drunken state is extremely disrespectful to others…”

Although strictly speaking, she had only drunk the equivalent of three cups and two small dishes so far, for Yashiro, who was particularly frugal with her drinks, this was enough to make her half-drunk. She wiped her face, let out a burp, and appeared to sway and stagger, but just as Kanna suddenly closed in, she also suddenly swung her sword out amidst her stumbling—

"But this time is an exception, because you... need no respect!"

It is the Kashima Shinto style!

But Shenwu was prepared and left as soon as he touched her. The sword missed its mark, but the girl used the force to spin around like a top. Her swordsmanship changed again, and the three-foot-long sword seemed to transform into a long spear, with points of cold light chasing after her relentlessly!

At this time, Hozoin Inei had not yet established his own school. He had comprehended the famous Cross Spear Technique from the moon reflection in the water. Most of his skills at this time came from the famous spear master, Daizen Daifu Moritada. When Hachisuke used the sword to wield the spear, he pointed out Inei's most proud move, the secret technique, Iron Break!

It is said that this highly skilled monk could easily pierce through a suit of iron armor with a single, powerful thrust of his spear, and killing a person was no more difficult than stabbing a piece of tofu. Although the girl's sword was not as powerful as Yin Rong's own, its momentum was even stronger!

With a long howl, Shen Wu suddenly leaped into the air, his arms outstretched like a bat, dodging the blow aimed directly at his back. The next moment, a sharp sound of wind breaking was heard!

Clang, clang, clang—several crisp sounds, like striking bowls, clashed almost in a straight line. He, still in mid-air, deflected several shuriken thrown by the girl with a series of slashes, but his body was forced to fall. Yashiro leaped forward, several meters away before, and in a single bound, like a monkey soaring through the air, he thrust forward, sword and all—

Shinkage-ryu, Sarutobi-hō!

The girl heard about the secret technique of the school that Hikita Toyogoro had only shown once, and she remembered it. Now she was using it. In terms of proficiency in the technique itself, she might not be as good as a proper Shinkage-ryu swordsman who had been immersed in this style for many years. But she leaped up and followed the sword. In the blink of an eye, she used a completely different style of swordsmanship.

So far, she has sparred with many opponents and fought against formidable enemies. From the Kinki region all the way to Tōtōmi, this short journey has already brought her tremendous gains. The techniques and moves belonging to different schools are now at Yashiro's disposal, as if they were her own arms, flowing smoothly and effortlessly. Amidst the flashing sword light, every move is exquisite and skillful. With each strike, a piece of clothing from Kanna's body flies up and is swept around by the strong wind!

Even though Kanna was equally learned, he still found it difficult to predict the direction and angle of the next move in the face of the strange and unpredictable sword techniques of the Hundred Schools. He was also unable to keep up with the girl as he had at the beginning. In addition, in order to play Inosuke, he had added many wounds to his body. Some of them had healed, while others had not yet fully recovered. After fighting for so long, the wounds in various places began to ache, making Kanna feel somewhat tired.

"Having seen this much, it should be about time..."

His steps suddenly stopped, and with a flick of his wrist, he raised the blade and held it horizontally in front of him, blocking Hachihiro's tricky thrust.

"If I keep watching, I might really lose my life here... Tsk tsk, at such a young age, she has mastered a hundred different sword techniques and can even integrate them. Brother Wulang's daughter is truly extraordinary. She is just as the saying goes, 'The student surpasses the master.'"

Although his clothes were tattered and torn, he still spoke with an air of ease and confidence.

"You should say 'but' now."

The girl chuckled softly, about to switch from a thrust to a slash and launch another attack, when suddenly, a soft sound reached her ears:

Pass!

“But—” Shen Wutong said at the same time, “Your life, everything you have, I will take it all.”

Pass!

That was the sound of a heartbeat.

The heartbeat of the god.

Up until now, Yashiro had been able to clearly hear this sound. She had previously relied on it to identify Kanna's true form, and during the battle, she mainly used listening to her heartbeat and breathing to determine Kanna's location. But at this moment, the sound of her opponent's heartbeat seemed to carry a special attraction, instantly occupying her entire consciousness.

It was as if nothing else existed besides this; the sword in my hand, the clouds in the sky—everything was receding into the distance, leaving only this heartbeat so close at hand:

Pass!

It was as if someone was beating a large drum or striking a gong beside her ear. Each heartbeat was more rapid and intense than the last. The girl was momentarily distracted and suddenly heard her own heartbeat, which seemed to follow her closely.

Pass! Pass!

The two hearts, like two inseparable entities, arrived one after the other, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Pass! Pass! Pass! Pass!

Kagami's heartbeat grew faster and louder, like a howling wind and a torrential downpour. The girl's own heart was also pounding rapidly. No matter how hard she tried to calm it down, all her attempts were in vain. In just a few seconds, their heartbeats were indistinguishable, completely mingling together.

Thud thud thud thud thud!

Rapidly, like raindrops!

Shenwu stared quietly at the girl in front of him, whose small face had turned bluish-purple. She had already thrown away her longsword and was forcefully choking herself. In just a few more seconds, her life would end under his gaze. From now on, he would be Tenfu Hachisuke.