Chapter 33 Chapter 15 Taro

The dog barked for a long time, something unusual must have happened. "I don't know what happened? Your Excellency Musashi! I'm so sorry! I'll go and have a look. Please sit down." As soon as Deyuan Sun Bingwei left, Murata and Sanwa Kimurasukekuro also said: "Sorry, please wait here!" They apologized to Musashi one by one, and followed Deyuan to the outside. In the darkness in the distance, the barking of the dog became more and more urgent, as if to announce something to the owner. After the three left, the barking of the dog became even more horrific.The flickering candles filled the room with an eerie atmosphere.

The strange barking of the police dogs in the city meant that something abnormal must have happened in the city.Although countries are now gradually able to live in peace, they have never relaxed their vigilance against neighboring countries.Because no one knows when another hero will rise up and show off his ambition.The spies of other countries even targeted those cities that they mistakenly thought they could sit back and relax, waiting for an opportunity to sneak in at any time. "strangeness?" The only surviving owner, Shoda Kizaemon, was also extremely disturbed, staring at the ominous short flame, and pricked up his ears to listen to the gloomy barking echoing around.

Suddenly, there was a moo—a strange howl with a long lingering sound. "what!" Kizaemon looked at Musashi. Musashi also whispered: "what!" At the same time, he patted his knee. "The dog is dead!" Kizaemon said almost in unison: "Taro was killed!" The two intuitively agree.Kizaemon finally couldn't hold back and stood up. "problem occurs!" Musashi seemed to have thought of something suddenly, and hurriedly asked the servant in the outer room of Xinyin Hall: "Is the boy servant Jotaro who came with me here waiting for me?"

The boy looked around for a while, and replied: "Didn't see your boy servant." Musashi was startled, and said to Kizaemon: "I'm a little worried. I want to take a look at the place where the dog died suddenly. Could you please lead the way?" "no problem!" Kizaemon led the way, and the two hurried to the outer city. The place where the accident happened was about 100 meters away from the martial arts hall, and they found it quickly because there were four or five torches gathered there.Murata and Idebuchi who had left the table earlier were also there, and the other ashigaru, guards, and guards who had heard the sound formed a black wall of people, causing a commotion.

"what!" Musashi peered from behind the human wall into the center of the circle of torches, to his great consternation. As expected, it was Jotaro standing there, his whole body covered in blood, like a little devil. Holding the wooden sword in his hand, he clenched his teeth, panting, and stared at the vassals surrounding him with white eyes. Beside him lay the black-haired Kishu Inutaro, grinning his teeth in a horrible death. "?..." For a while, everyone was silent.Although the dog's eyes were wide open towards the torch, it was obviously dead when it saw blood spitting out of its mouth.

Everyone was dumbfounded and there was no sound.Finally someone groaned and said: "Oh! It's the master's pet dog Taro!" "You boy!" A vassal walked up to Jotaro who was bewildered. "Did you kill Taro?" Phew—a slap across the face at him.Jotaro quickly moved away. "It's me!" He shrugged and growled. "Why kill it?" "I have a reason to kill it." "What reason?" "I want revenge." "what?" It wasn't just the retainer standing opposite Jotaro who showed a surprised expression.

"Avenge for whom?" "I avenged myself. I came to deliver the letter the day before yesterday, and this dog bit my face in such a way that I must kill him tonight. I searched and saw him lying there under the floor, To be fair, I woke it up and had a formal duel with me, and I won." He blushed and tried to make it clear that he hadn't won by mean tricks. However, the retainers who blamed him, as well as the solemn people on the scene, were not concerned about the outcome of this human-dog battle at all.They were angry or worried, because this police dog named Taro was the pet dog of the owner Tajima Somo, who is currently working in Edo, especially this dog was born of Kishu Yoshinobu's beloved dog "Thunder Drum", and Somo specially adopted it. , and a famous dog with a pedigree certificate.Now that it has been killed, it has to be held accountable, not to mention there are two paid people who take care of it!

Now this samurai standing in front of Jotaro, with a pale face and protruding veins, might be the samurai who took care of Taro? "Shut up!" Another punch hit him on the head. Unable to escape this time, he punched Jotaro in the ear.Jotaro covered his cheek with one hand, his kappa-like head was already bursting with anger. "What are you going to do?" "Since you killed this dog, I will treat him in the same way!" "I'm here to avenge the vengeance of the past few days. Is it right to repay the grievances? Don't you adults even understand this truth?"

For him, doing this is putting his life on the line.He just wanted to make it clear that the greatest shame for a samurai is to hurt his face, maybe he thought others would praise him! Therefore, no matter how the retainers who take care of Taro scold him or get angry, he is not afraid at all.On the contrary, I feel resentful at their unreasonable scolding, and try my best to refute. "Whispering! Although you are a child, you should be able to tell the difference between a human and a dog. Revenge on a dog? How can there be such a thing? I must kill you the way you treat a dog."

He grabbed Jotaro's lapel and looked up at the people around him for the first time, trying to win everyone's support, as if announcing to everyone that this was his duty and he had to do so. All the vassals nodded silently.Although the four master disciples looked distressed, they didn't say a word. Even Musashi remained silent. "Quick! Brat! Call Wang Wang!" The other party grabbed Jotaro by the collar, spun him around two or three times, and pushed him to the ground while he was dizzy. The vassal who took care of the pet dog Taro took a wooden stick and beat him down.

"Hey! Brat! I want to replace the dog and kill you like you killed it. Get up! Come and bite me like a dog barking!" Jotaro seemed unable to stand up all of a sudden, he gritted his teeth, propped up the ground with one hand, and then leaned on the wooden sword, slowly propped up his body.Although he was a child, he stared as if determined to die, his kappa-like red hair stood on end, and his expression was stern. He really roared like a dog. This is no bluff. He firmly believes that: What I did was right, I was not wrong! Adults are angry and sometimes reflect on themselves, but when a child is angry, only his biological mother can comfort him.Coupled with the fact that the opponent was holding a wooden stick, Jotaro burned like a fireball. "Kill it! You kill it!" He exuded a murderous look that didn't look like a child at all, and cried out in tears: "go to hell!" The stick whistled. This blow would definitely kill Jotaro.Clang—a loud bang, deafening. Musashi's expression was indifferent, until now he had kept his arms around and watched quietly from the sidelines. Phew——The wooden sword in Jotaro's hand flew into the air.Almost unconscious, he received the first blow with the wooden sword, but of course the wooden sword flew out of his numb hand. "You bastard!" Shouting, Jotaro leaped forward and bit the enemy's belt. He used his teeth and nails to hit the opponent's vitals desperately, and the opponent's wooden club was swung twice.The man had no idea he was bullying a child.And Jotaro's expression was indescribably stern, he opened his teeth and bit the enemy's flesh, and danced his claws to grab the enemy's skirt. "Brat!" Another wooden club appeared behind Jotaro, and it was about to hit his waist.At this time, Musashi finally let go of his wrist, moved quickly, and passed through the crowd like a stone wall in an instant. "mean!" They saw the two sticks, with their master, twirl in the air, and roll like a ball twelve feet away. Then Musashi scolded: "You rascals!" Grabbing Jotaro's belt, he held him high above his head. Then he said to the retainer who quickly picked up the stick again: "I have seen everything that happened. Have you ever asked? He is my boy servant. Are you going to question this boy or my master?" The retainer howled hoarsely: "Needless to say, of course I'm asking you two." "Okay! Then the master and the servant will fight with you, catch it!" As soon as the words fell, he grabbed Jotarou's body and threw him vigorously at him. The people around have been wondering since just now: Is he crazy, holding his own boy servant high, what the hell is he going to do? Everyone stared at Musashi, seeming to guess what he was thinking. Suddenly, he threw Jotaro from a high place to him with both hands. "what!" The crowd immediately moved away and took a few steps back in confusion. It turned out to be hitting people.Everyone gasped when they saw Musashi's random and unexpected approach. Jotaro, who was thrown by Musashi forcefully, looked like the son of Thunder God who fell from the sky, his hands and feet were tightly curled up, and he slammed into the arms of the opponent who couldn't dodge. "Wow!" The man seemed to have dislocated his jaw, and let out a strange cry: "Gah!" The man's body couldn't bear Jotaro's weight, and he fell straight back like a sawed tree trunk. I don't know if the back of his head hit the ground when he fell to the ground, or the stone-like Jotaro broke his ribs, anyway, after he let out a "Gah!", the retainer who took care of Taro immediately sprayed blood.And Jotaro rolled on his chest, and rolled to a place three meters away like a rubber ball. "How dare you do it?" "Where did the ronin come from?" This time, regardless of whether they were Taro's caretakers or not, all the retainers of the Yagyu family who surrounded him cursed in unison.Few people know that he is Miyamoto Musashi who came to the city as a guest at the invitation of the four master disciples.Seeing the situation in front of them, it was inevitable that everyone would be furious and murderous. "I say--" Musashi confronts them again: "Everyone!" What the hell is he going to say? With a stern look on his face, he picked up the wooden sword that Jotaro dropped just now, held it in his right hand, and said: "The crime of a child servant is the crime of the master! I will bear all the punishments. However, you should regard Jotaro as an upright warrior with a sword. How can a duel with him be like killing a dog? Beat him with a wooden stick! I want to fight with him Let’s make a statement here first.” Not only is this not an admission of guilt, it is clearly provocative. If Musashi apologized instead of Jotaro and tried to appease the emotions of the vassals, maybe the matter could be resolved satisfactorily.Moreover, the four masters who have not expressed their opinions may also say: "Forget it, forget it, don't pursue it!" and act as a peacemaker between the two parties. However, Musashi's attitude ran in the opposite direction, wishing to make the matter bigger and better.Zhuangtian, Mucun, Chuyuan and other four disciples all frowned and thought to themselves: "Strange!" They stepped aside, staring at Musashi with sharp eyes. Of course, Musashi's rude remarks made not only the four disciples, but also everyone else angry. Except for the four high-ranking disciples, none of the Liusheng family knew the details of this man, let alone figure out his current thoughts.The emotions that were about to erupt were fueled by what Musashi said. "What did you say!" They cursed at Musashi: "I don't know what's good or bad!" "Where did the spy come from? Arrest him!" "No, he should be executed!" "Don't let him escape!" Musashi, who was surrounded by the noisy crowd, and Jotaro, who was pulled beside him, were almost drowned by the white sword. "Ah! Wait a minute!" Shoda Kizaemon finally spoke. Kizaemon yelled, and Murata and Sanhe Debuchi Sun Bingwei also said: "Danger!" "Don't act rashly!" Only now did the four masters come forward actively, and said to everyone: "Get out of the way, get out of the way!" "Leave it to us here." "Everyone go back to their posts!" Then he said: "This man seems to have some premeditated plan. If someone is injured by him accidentally, how can we explain to the lord? Taro's matter is important, but human life is at stake. The four of us will bear the responsibility for this incident. I will definitely not cause trouble to you, so you can leave in peace!" After a while, there were only the hosts and guests who sat opposite each other in Xinyin Hall just now. It's just that the relationship between subject and object has changed now, and it has become a hostile relationship between the criminal and the referee. "Musashi! Unfortunately, your plan failed—according to my observation, you must have been ordered by someone, either to investigate the reality of Koyanagi Castle, or to disturb the law and order, right?" Four pairs of eyes stared at Musashi and questioned.Among these four people, all martial arts have reached a certain level.Musashi held Jotaro under his armpits, his feet seemed to have taken root, and he never moved a single step.However, even if Musashi has wings now, it is difficult to find a space among the four to fly. Sun Bingwei went out of the Yuan and said: "Hey! Musashi!" He held the handle of the knife, pushed it forward slightly, and set up a stance. "When a plot is seen through, self-determination is the character that a samurai should possess. Although you have ulterior motives, it is considered courageous to enter Xiaoliusheng City with only a servant boy. In addition, we are also regarded as one night. Friendship, so - harakiri! We'll give you time to prepare. Show us your samurai spirit!" The four masters think that everything can be solved in this way. Because they decided to invite Musashi privately without reporting to the lord, and without asking his real name and purpose, they were anxious to conceal this matter. Of course Musashi refused. "What? Musashi committing seppuku? I won't do such a foolish thing!" He shook his shoulders proudly and laughed. Musashi spared no effort to provoke the opponent, hoping to set off another storm. The four master disciples, whose emotions are not easily fluctuated, finally couldn't help frowning. "it is good!" The tone is calm, but very decisive. "We are merciful to you, but if you don't accept it, we have no choice but to be rude!" After Debuchi finished speaking, Sukuro Kimura went on to say: "It's useless to talk too much!" He walked around behind Musashi, pushed him hard, and said: "Walk!" "Where are you going?" "Prison!" Musashi nodded and walked forward. But he strode forward in the direction of the city. "where do you want to go?" Sukuro immediately circled in front of Musashi and held back with open arms. "Cells don't go from here. Turn back!" "No retreat!" Musashi said to Jotaro who was close to him: "Go to the opposite pine tree." Near the pine tree seems to be the vestibule close to the entrance of the city. There are lush pine trees everywhere, and the sand on the ground seems to be sifted, fine and shining. After hearing what Musashi said, Jotaro ran away from under his sleeves and hid behind a pine tree. look!My master is going to show off again! He thought of Musashi's majestic posture in the Prajna Wilderness, and he was also like a hedgehog, with hairs all over his body standing on end. Taking a closer look, in just a split second, Shoda Kizaemon and Idebuchi Son Heibei surrounded Zhun Musashi from left to right, held his hands, and said: "go back!" "not going back!" The same conversation was repeated again. "Aren't you going back without saying anything?" "Hmm! Not even one step back!" "Humph!" Sukuro Kimura, who was standing in front of Musashi, finally couldn't hold back and patted the handle of the knife.The older Zhuangtian and Chuyuan hurriedly signaled him not to make a move.said: "If you don't come back, you won't come back. But, where are you going?" "I'm going to see the lord of your city, Shi Zhouzhai." "what?" Even the four master disciples couldn't help but look stunned.They only knew that this young man must have a special purpose, but no one expected that he wanted to get close to Shi Zhouzhai. Zhuangtian asked again: "See what our lord is doing?" "I am a young man practicing the art of war, and I want to seek advice from the master of Liu Shengliu." "Why didn't you apply to us according to the rules?" "I heard that the master has not seen anyone, and he no longer guides practitioners." "That's right." "If this is the case, then there is no other way but to challenge you to a martial arts competition. However, it must be difficult to invite him out of the thatched hut just for ordinary martial arts competitions. Therefore, I want to use the whole city as an opponent, and hereby request a competition .” "What? A battle?" The four disciples were stunned and asked Musashi back.Looking directly into Musashi's eyes again, wondering if he is crazy? Musashi let the opponent hold his hands like this, and looked up at the sky, because there was a clattering sound in the darkness. "?..." The four disciples also looked up.I saw a vulture flying across the starry sky from the dark night of Mt. Kasagi, and landed on the roof of the warehouse in the city.