Chapter 10 Chapter 06 Thorns

The earth is like a girl, and the soil and grass are exhaling hot breath.The sultry weather evaporated the sweat on the face into mist, and the noon in spring was silent. Musashi walked alone.He looked around anxiously in the mountains without any prey, using his black wooden sword as a walking stick, looking very tired.If a bird flies by, his sharp eyes must move with it.His body, covered in dirt and dew, is full of animal sensuality and wildness. "brute!" He wasn't scolding anyone, but this scolding triggered a wave of anger that could not be vented, causing him to swing the wooden sword vigorously.

"drink!" With a "snap", a thick tree trunk was cut in half. "Why do people in the village regard me as an enemy? As soon as they saw me, they immediately reported to the police; some saw my shadow, just like seeing a big wolf, and ran away..." He has been hiding in Zangan Mountain for four days! During the day, through the mist, one can see the old house left by the ancestors—the old house where the lonely sister still lives. You can also see the roof of Qibao Temple, which is quietly located among the trees at the foot of the mountain. However, he couldn't get close to either place.On the day of the Buddha Bathing Festival, he was among the crowd to see A-Tong, but he didn't expect A-Tong to call his name loudly in front of everyone.He thought that if someone found out, not only would she be implicated, but he would also be caught, so he ran away in a hurry!

That night, he also secretly went home to visit his sister, and it happened that Yatachi's mother just came.If she asked about Youba, how should she answer?How can I apologize to this old mother when I come back alone?He hesitated, so he had to peep at his sister through the crack of the door.Unexpectedly, he was discovered by the samurai in Himeji Castle, and before he could even say a word, he was forced to flee from his sister's house. Since then, he has been observing Mount Zangan, and found that the warriors of Himeji are conducting a blanket search for his possible haunts; the people in the village are also united, and every day this mountain and that mountain plan to work together. Arrest yourself.

"... Miss Atong, what do you think of me?" Even Musashi became suspicious of her!Everyone in his hometown has become his enemy, and he suspects that they are going to block all his ways of life. "It's really hard to explain to Miss Atong that Youpachi can't come back because of this reason...Okay! Let's tell Youpachi's mother! If this doesn't work, the village really can't stay here!" Musashi made up his mind and was about to go down the mountain, but thought that he would not be able to appear in the village before dark, so he took a small stone, knocked down a bird, plucked its hair and skin, and swallowed the warm flesh as he walked.

"what!?……" A person came towards me, and I didn't know who it was. As soon as I saw him, I immediately fled into the woods.Musashi was furious that this man hated him for no reason. "Wait a minute!" He jumped at the man like a leopard! It turned out to be a charcoal burner who often walked around the mountain.Musashi recognized him, grabbed his collar, pulled him back, and asked: "Hey! Why did you run away? Did you forget? I'm Shinmen Musashi from Miyamoto Village! I didn't say that I would eat whatever I caught. I just turned around and ran away without saying hello. Is that reasonable?"

"Yes Yes!" "sit down!" As soon as he let go, the other party wanted to run away again.This time, he kicked his waist fiercely with his feet, and made a gesture to hit him with the wooden sword. "Wow!" The man lay on the ground with his head in his arms, trembling all over his body. "Help, help!" Musashi really couldn't understand why the people in the village were so afraid of him? "Now I ask you something, you have to answer honestly!" "I can say anything, as long as you spare my old life!" "Who said you're going to kill me? Are there any pursuers at the foot of the mountain?"

"yes!" "Is there someone ambushing Qibao Temple?" "Have!" "Did the guys from the village come out to search the mountains today to catch me?" "..." "Are you one of them?" The man jumped up, shaking his head like a dumb man. "No! No!" "Etc., etc!" He grabbed the man's neck. "My sister, how is it now?" "Who is it?" "My sister——Sister Ayin from Xinmen's family! The people in the village were forced by Himeji's people and had to come after me. They wouldn't even let my sister go!"

"I don't know, I don't know anything!" "You boy!" He swung his wooden sword at him. "The way you talk is so weird! There must be something wrong. If you don't do it, I'll smash your head with this!" "Ah! Be lenient! I say, I say!" A charcoal burner puts his hands together and begs for mercy.Tell him about Ah Yin's arrest, and the announcement posted in the village that anyone who gives food to Musashi or borrows Musashi for accommodation will be considered the same crime.At the same time, each household had to send a young man to search the mountain every other day, led by a warrior from Himeji.

Musashi got goosebumps from anger. "Really?" He kept asking: "What is my sister's crime?" He stared bloodshot eyes. "I don't know anything, I just did it because I was afraid of the lord." "Where was my sister taken? Where is the cell?" "The people in the village say it's Hinamakura." "Hinana warehouse——" His eyes were full of hatred, and he looked up at the mountain line on the border.Nearby was the spine of the Chinese mountains, speckled and fading in the gray twilight. "Okay, I'm going to save you! Sister... Sister..."

Musashi muttered to himself, using the wooden sword as a crutch, he strode toward the lake with the sound of water alone. The evening bell had just rung.The abbot of Qibao Temple has just returned from a trip these two days. It was pitch black outside, and I couldn't see my fingers.But inside the temple, you can see the red lights and the fire in the kitchen, the candles flickering in the guest room, and the figures in the room can be seen faintly. "Atong girl, come out quickly..." "vomit……" Musashi vomited gastric juice and was in great pain. Someone in the guest room heard the voice and asked:

"what is that?" "Maybe it's a cat?" Atong replied.Then, with dinner in hand, I walked across the bridge corridor where Musashi was hiding. what!A Tong girl. Musashi wanted to call her, but his stomach hurt too much for him to do so.Fortunately, she didn't bark, because someone followed her and asked: "Where's the bathroom?" The man was wearing clothes borrowed from the temple, tied with a thin belt, and had a towel around his neck.Musashi looked up and recognized that it was a samurai from Himeji Castle.He ordered his subordinates and the people in the village to search the mountains, and searched everywhere day and night exhaustedly.But I went to this temple to rest after dark, eating and drinking for free. "The bathroom?" Atong put the things down. "I'll take you there." She walked down the hallway and inside.The warrior with the mustache under his nose suddenly hugged A Tong from behind. "How about it? Let's take a bath together!" "oops!" He pressed her face with his hands. "Is it not good?" He brought his mouth to her cheek. "...No! No!" Atong is weak and weak.I don't know if his mouth was covered, and he couldn't even scream. Seeing this, Musashi no longer cared about his own situation. "What do you want!" He jumped into the hallway. He punched the samurai on the back of the head with a heavy punch from behind, and hurriedly hugged A Tong, and the man fell to the bottom. Atong also screamed at the same time. The warrior threw his feet up and shouted: "Ah! Are you Musashi? It's Musashi! Musashi has appeared! Come on! Come, everyone." Suddenly, the sound of footsteps and shouts in the temple was like a storm.They seemed to have agreed that if they saw Musashi, they would send a signal, so the clock tower rang. "Yeah drink!" Those who searched the mountain all gathered around Qibao Temple, and immediately started searching from the Zangan Mountain connecting the back mountain.However, at this time Musashi was already standing at the spacious door of Benbita's house! "Auntie! Auntie!" He peered into the lights of the main house and yelled. "Who is it?" Ashan took the fat candle and walked out slowly. The candlelight of the fat candle shone upwards from her chin, and her uneven face suddenly turned livid. "Ah? It's you..." "Auntie, I'm here to tell you something...Youba didn't die in battle, he was alive and living with a woman in another country... That's it, please tell Miss Atong." When he had finished speaking, he continued: "Huh! It's much more comfortable to say it!" Musashi immediately leaned on the wooden sword, turned and walked outside into the night. "Musashi!" Ashan called him to stop: "Where are you going now?" "me?" He replied sadly: "Now I'm going to break through the Hinamakura checkpoint, rescue my sister, and then go away, so I will never see my aunt again... I just came to tell you and Miss Atong that Yatachi didn't die in battle, and it wasn't I am willing to come back alone. I have no attachment to this village." "yes……" A Shan changed his hand to hold the fat candle, beckoned to him and asked: "Aren't you hungry?" "I haven't eaten for days!" "It's so pitiful... I happen to be cooking, so I can see you off for you. Before you're ready, go take a bath first!" "..." "Hey! Musashi, your family and mine have been old friends since Akamatsu. I really hate you to leave!" "..." Musashi bent his arms and wiped away his tears.The warm human touch eased his suspicion and vigilance, and reminded him of the warm skin of human beings. "Hurry... go to the back, it will be miserable if someone comes... Do you have any towels? By the way! There are eight underwear and casual clothes. When you wash, I will take them out and arrange some meals by the way... …you can take a bubble bath and take your time.” After Ashan handed him the fat candle, he immediately went to the inner room.Then the married daughter ran out quickly. The bathroom door was rattled by the wind, the sound of bath water came from inside, and the lights flickered.Ashan asked from the main house: "Is it comfortable to soak?" Musashi's voice came from the bathroom: "It's so comfortable... Ah! It's like coming back from the dead." "You can soak slowly to warm up your body, I haven't finished cooking yet!" "Thank you! If you know this, you should have come a long time ago! I was worried that my aunt would hate me..." His joyful voice was mixed with the sound of water, and he said two or three more sentences, but he didn't hear A Shan's answer. Ashan's daughter finally came back home out of breath—with about twenty samurai and searchers behind her. Ashan was waiting outside, and immediately whispered to them as soon as they came. "What? You tricked him into the bathroom shed? This guy finally showed up... Good! Catch him tonight!" The warriors were divided into two groups, crawling on the ground like reptiles. In the darkness, the candles in the bathroom looked even brighter. Something seemed wrong—Musashi's intuition made him shudder. "Ah! I was deceived!" he yelled. Naked and in a cramped bathroom, there's no time to think about what to do! It was too late to find out.Figures holding sticks, spears, and iron bars surrounded the bathroom.In fact, it was only fourteen or five, but in his eyes, it felt several times more. He couldn't escape because there wasn't even a cloth to wrap himself in.But Musashi was not afraid, the anger towards Ashan drove his wildness. "Okay! I'll see what you guys are going to do!" He doesn't think about defensiveness.In this case, he will only actively attack the enemy. While the hunters were still giving way to each other, Musashi kicked the wooden door from the house violently. "What are you doing!?" He yelled and jumped out. He was completely naked, with wet hair hanging out like a madman. Gritting his teeth, Musashi firmly grasped the handle of the enemy's gun that was stabbing at his chest, and threw the man away, and the gun became his own weapon. "asshole!" This method worked well when he was waving his spear left and right in the chaos, attacking the crowd with a few.He learned this technique of using the handle of the gun instead of the point of the gun in the Battle of Sekigahara. Oops!Why didn't we send three or four people to rush into the bathroom just now?These samurai who have regretted it too late, blamed each other one by one. In less than ten shots, Musashi's spear had been interrupted.He quickly raised the stone used to press pickles under the warehouse window, and threw it at the people surrounding him. "There, escape to the main house!" Ashan and her daughter heard this, and immediately fled to the backyard with bare feet. Musashi was walking around the house, rummaging through boxes and cabinets, making loud noises. "Where are my clothes? Where are they hidden? Return them to me quickly!" Although there were a few work clothes on the ground and a lot of clothes in the closet, he didn't even look at them. He looked around with bloody eyes, and finally found his torn clothes in the corner of the kitchen.Holding these clothes, he stepped on the edge of the earthen stove and climbed from the skylight to the roof. There was a commotion underneath, making a sound like a turbid stream breaking a bank.And Musashi went to the center of the big roof and put on his clothes slowly.He tore open the belt with his teeth, tied the wet hair tightly, and even raised his eyebrows and the end of his eyes! The spring sky is full of stars.