Chapter 25 Chapter 07

An ox cart came along the road, and the cart was full of sacks, whether it was rice or beans, it seemed that they were alms-giving items from wealthy donors.A wooden sign was inserted on the car, with the words "Dedicated to Xingfu Temple" written in black ink. Whenever you mention Nara, you will think of Kofuku-ji Temple, and when you mention Kofuku-ji Temple, you will think of Nara.Jotaro seems to only know this famous temple. "Oops! My car has gone away." He sprinted to catch up and immediately jumped onto the rear of the car. Turn around and sit down, the seat size is just right.What's more extravagant is that the soft cloth bag just serves as his backrest.

Along the way, you can see green tea gardens, budding cherry blossoms, and a farmer who is plowing with a lotus hoe while praying for God to bless the wheat fields this year from being destroyed by soldiers and horses. You can also see women scooping water and washing vegetables by the river. This is a peaceful and peaceful Yamato street. "This bullock cart is really comfortable!" Jotaro was in a good mood and planned to sleep all the way to Nara.Occasionally, the wheels ran over rocks and rattled, and the shaking of the car body made him very happy.The thought of sitting on something that moved—and not only moved, but advanced—was enough to make the boy's heart go wild.

oops!oops!It's jumping like chickens and dogs!Granny!Didn't you see the little mouse stealing the eggs? ... Whose child fell down and kept crying?A horse is coming! These scenes flew by from the corner of his eyes, all arousing Jotaro's interest.Leaving the village, there were two rows of trees in front of him. He grabbed a camellia leaf by the side of the road and put it between his lips to play the tune. The coachman walking in front heard it and looked back to see what happened. "who is it?" The driver saw no one, and continued on his way. This time the driver dropped the ox rope, walked around to the back of the ox cart, and punched him in the head.

"You wild child!" "Wow, it hurts!" "Who gave you a ride?" "Can't you?" "Of course not!" "It's not the old man, you are pulling the cart, what's the relationship?" "Still poor-mouthed!" Jotaro was thrown to the ground like a ball and rolled to the roots of the trees on the side of the street. The wheels rattled away from him as if mocking him.Jotaro scrambled to his feet, suddenly his face changed drastically, his eyes widened, and he looked around on the ground—as if something had dropped. "Huh? It's gone!"

After he sent Musashi's letter to Yoshioka Wukan, the other party handed him a reply letter asking him to bring it back.He specially packed the letter in a bamboo tube and hung it around his neck so as not to lose it—now, this thing is gone! "Oops! Oops!" The scope of Jotaro's search is getting wider and wider.At this time, a woman dressed as a tourist saw his appearance, approached him with a smile and asked: "Did something drop?" Jotaro raised his head, glanced at the woman's face under the bamboo hat, and replied: "Ok……" He nodded absently, his eyes immediately returning to the ground.Tilting his head and frowning, he continued to search.

"Dropped money?" "Uh...uh..." No matter what the woman asked, Jotaro ignored it and didn't listen to anything. Traveling woman smiling. "Then... is it a bamboo tube about a foot long and tied with a rope?" "Yes! That's it!" "If you're right, did you tease a horse tied to the roadside at Wanfu Temple just now, and was scolded by the groom?" "what……" "When you ran away in fright, the rope of the bamboo tube broke and fell on the road. At that time, there was a warrior who was talking to the groom, and he seemed to have picked it up. Go back and ask."

"real?" "real." "Thanks!" He was about to run. "Ah! Hey! No need to go! That samurai just came over. Look! That man is wearing coarse trousers, walking over with a smile, that's him." Jotaro looked at the person the woman was pointing at. "that person?" Jotaro stared wide-eyed, waiting for him to come. The man was about forty years old, and of heavy build.With a goatee, broad chest and shoulders, different from ordinary people.He wears leather socks and straw sandals, and when he walks, he is down-to-earth and vigorous.Jotaro guessed that that person might be a retainer of some prince, but now he was so tactful that he couldn't open his mouth.

Fortunately, the other party spoke first: "Little Maotou!" "yes." "Is it you who dropped this letterbox in Wanfu Temple?" "Yes, that's right!" "What's right? No thanks." "Sorry." "It contains important replies, right? The courier still teases horses and rides all the way, so playful, if time is delayed, how will you explain to your master?" "Uncle Samurai! Have you read the content?" "If you find something, you should check it before returning it to the original owner. However, I didn't read the content of the letter. You should make sure before taking it back."

Jotaro pulled off the cover of the letter box and glanced inside.The reply letter from Yoshioka Martial Art Museum was indeed still there, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, immediately hung the bamboo tube around his neck, and said to himself: "This time I won't lose it again!" The traveling woman saw Jotaro ecstatically, and also infected his joy, and thanked him: "Thank you for being so helpful and polite." The goatee warrior, Jotaro, and the woman walked side by side, and asked: "Girl! Is this little boy with you?" "No, I don't know him at all."

"Hahaha! No wonder it doesn't look right no matter how you look at it. This little guy is so funny, and the bamboo hat has 'Inn' written on it!" "It's so innocent, I don't know where to go?" Sandwiched between the two, Jotaro was alive and kicking again. "Me? I'm going to Hoboin in Nara." After finishing speaking, she stared at the old brocade bag on her belt and said: "Eh? Miss, you have a letterbox too? Don't lose it!" "Postbox?" "The one in your belt!" "Hehe! This is not a bamboo tube for credit, this is a flute."

"Flute—" With a curious look on his face, Jotaro approached her chest unceremoniously.Then thoughtfully, he looked at her again from head to toe. Although he is a child, he can still tell the difference between beauty and ugliness.In addition to beauty and ugliness, you can also feel pure or not. Jotaro looked at the woman in front of him respectfully, thinking she was so beautiful!When I thought of being able to travel with such a beautiful woman, it was such an unexpected blessing, I suddenly felt a little deer in my heart, and then I felt very happy. "So it's a flute?" He had a little more admiration and asked: "Auntie! Can you blow?" As soon as he opened his mouth, Jotaro immediately remembered the young woman who called the wormwood shop "Auntie" last time, and was scolded by the other party, and then hurriedly changed his words: "Girl! May I ask your name?" He was serious and asked this irrelevant question. The traveling woman laughed when he asked her. "Hehehe!" She didn't answer Jotaro's question, just looked at the goatee samurai walking on the other side of Jotaro, and couldn't stop laughing. The goatee warrior, as strong as a bear, showed his white and strong teeth, and laughed loudly: "It seems that you are a little boy, you really have two tricks - before asking someone else's name, you have to give your own name first to be polite." "My name is Jotaro." "hehe……" "How cunning! I'm the only one who reported my name. That's right! Uncle Samurai hasn't reported his name yet." "me?" He also had a troubled expression and said: "My name is Zhuangtian." "Mr. Shoda—where's your daimyo?" "The name will not be announced." "It's a girl change this time! The two men have already reported their names, it would be impolite for you not to say so." "My name is Atong." "Miss Atong." I thought he was satisfied now, but he didn't expect it to be endless. "Why are you carrying a flute?" "It's the treasure I use for my living." "Then Miss Atong is a flute player?" "Hmm... I don't know if there is such a profession as a piper, but I can walk such a long distance with this flute. I should be called a piper!" "Are you playing Kagura like the ones played by Gion and Mount Kamo?" "no." "Is that a dancing flute?" "No." "Then which one do you play?" "It's just an ordinary fife." At this time, Samurai Shoda caught a glimpse of the long wooden sword on Jotaro's waist. "Jotaro! What is that hanging around your waist?" "Samurai don't even know wooden swords." "I'm asking why you bring this wooden sword?" "To learn swordsmanship!" "Do you have a master?" "Yes, I have!" "Aha! Is that the recipient of the letter?" "That's right." "The person who can be your master must be very capable?" "Not really." "Isn't he great?" "Well, everyone seems to say he's not good enough." "It's very troublesome to worship a master who is not good enough?" "I'm stupid too, so it's okay." "Have you learned a little bit?" "Not yet, I haven't learned anything!" "Ahahahaha! I don't feel tired when I walk with you. It's great... By the way, this girl! Where are you going?" "I don't have a specific destination. To be honest, I've been looking for someone for many years. I heard that many ronin have gathered in Nara recently. I don't know if it's true or not. Anyway, I'm going to see it. I'm on my way now." Uji Bridge appears in front of you. Under the eaves of Tongyuan Teahouse, an elegant old man is preparing tea pots, offering elegant teas to passers-by who are resting here. As soon as he saw Zhuangtian, the old tea seller seemed to see an acquaintance. "Oh, the retainer of Koyanagi's family! Please come in and rest for a while." "Let's take a break—bring the kid some refreshments, please." After receiving the snacks, Jotaro couldn't sit still, and saw a hill behind the house, so he climbed up to play. A Tong tasted the fragrant tea and asked: "Is Nara far from here?" "It's far! People with fast feet can reach Kizu before dark, but women may have to rest in Taga or Ide." The goatee warrior immediately interrupted the old man and said: "This woman has been looking for someone for many years, saying that she wants to go to Nara. Recently, a single woman went to Nara. Is there anything wrong? I don't worry about it!" When the old man heard this, his eyes widened. "I can't do it!" He waved his hand to stop. "It's best not to go. If you can be sure that the person is in Nara, it's another matter. Otherwise, it's better not to go to that kind of turbulent place—" The old man painstakingly gave many examples to explain the danger there, so as to dispel her thoughts. When you mention Nara, you will think of the monastery full of nostalgia and deer eyes.Everyone thinks that only this peaceful ancient city is free from war and famine and the eye of a typhoon.But this is not the case.Having said that, the old man in the teahouse drank a cup of tea himself. How do you say this?After the Sekigahara War, from Nara to Koyasan, countless defeated ronin hid here.They are all from the Osaka side of the Western Army.After the defeat, they lost their salaries and had no hope of finding other employment.The Tokugawa shogunate in the Kanto region has become more and more powerful, making them almost never have the opportunity to hold their heads high and hold their heads high. Most people in the world say that the number of ronin who fled after the Sekigahara Battle has probably increased to 120,000 to 30,000 in the past five years. After this war, the territory confiscated by the new Tokugawa shogunate is said to have 6.6 million koku.Later, in addition to those who were punished and allowed to revive their family reputation, more than 80 princes were annihilated by the shogunate, and the territory of 3.8 million shi to which they belonged was also changed at the same time.As for the rogues who fled from these places to the underground of the various countries, assuming that there are three people in a hundred stones, plus the family members and remnants of the remaining party in their hometown, no matter how conservatively estimated, the number will not be less than 100,000. Especially in the Nara and Koyasan area, there are many temples, and it is almost impossible to intervene by force, which happens to be an excellent safe haven for these ronin.As a matter of fact, Kudosan has Sanada Zaemon Weiyuki Village, Koyasan has Nambu Ronin Kita Juzaemon, Sengoku Soya near Horyuji Temple, Kofukuji Nagoya has Naodanemon, and others include Onjuku Manbei, So-and-so from Xiaoxi Rangren, anyway, these heroes who are unwilling to die of old age, are waiting for the world to be in chaos again, like a dry land waiting for rain. Although these ronin with names and surnames live a life of seclusion, they still have some power and ability to live.However, as soon as they arrived in the back area of ​​Nara, there were unemployed samurai who had pawned their swords everywhere. They abandoned themselves, were lawless, and caused trouble everywhere. They just wanted to disturb the society under Tokugawa's rule and prayed for the early revival of Osaka.For a beautiful woman like Atong, going to that kind of place alone is like a moth to a flame. The old man in the teahouse wanted to stop A Tong from going. According to him, going to Nara is really a horrible thing. Atong was silent. If Nara has clues to follow, she doesn't care no matter how dangerous it is. However, at present, she has no news of Musashi at all—since she broke up at Hanada Bridge under Himeji Castle, she has just traveled around aimlessly and wandered around for a few years.We are only in the middle of this illusory journey now. "Is your name Atong?" The goatee warrior noticed her bewilderment and said: "How about it? I said it at the beginning, instead of going to Nara, it's better to follow me to Koyanagi's house." Then, the Zhuangtian revealed his real name. "I am a retainer of the Koyanagi family, called Shoda Kizaemon. My lord is nearly eighty years old. He has been in poor health recently, and he is depressed all day long. I thought you said that you play the flute for a living. Maybe you can play the flute to comfort you. My lord, how is it?" The old man in the teahouse also agreed and advised her on behalf of Kizaemon. "Girl, you must go with him. Maybe you don't know that the old master of Xiao Liusheng's family is Mr. Liusheng Zongyan, who has retired and changed his name to Shi Zhouzhai. His young master, Mrs. After returning from the military service, Edo immediately recruited him to be the teacher of the shogun's family, and he was honored and favored. Just being invited to such a famous family is already a rare blessing. You must agree to him. " When Atong heard that Kizaemon was a vassal of the Yagyu family, a famous military master, he thought that he must not be an idler, and he silently agreed in his heart. Kizaemon asked: "Still undecided?" "No, this is a wishful thing. But, I can't play well, how can I play in front of such a prestigious person?" "No, no, if you think that the Liusheng family is the same as ordinary princes, then you are wrong. Especially now that the master has changed his name to Shi Zhouzhai, he just wants to enjoy a simple old age, just like ordinary old people. He doesn't even like others to treat him He was respectful." Atung thought that instead of going aimlessly to Nara, it would be better to go to Yagyu's house first and still have a glimmer of hope.The Yagyu family is the number one master of swordsmanship after Yoshioka, and there must be many practitioners visiting, and there may be a register of these people.Maybe the "Miyamoto Musashi" I have been looking for is also registered on it!If so, how delightful it would be! Her expression suddenly brightened. "Then I'm not welcome, I'll go with you." "Really? It's very kind of you to come!" Hizaemon was overjoyed. "But you are a woman, and you can't make it to Xiao Liusheng's house before dark, Miss Atong! Can you ride a horse?" "Yes, I can ride." Kizaemon walked outside the house and waved to the head of the Uji Bridge. The groom who was resting there immediately rushed over and gave the horse to Otong, while Kizaemon walked all the way. At this time, Jotaro, who was playing on the mountain behind the teahouse, saw them. "Are you leaving?" "Hey, let's go!" "Wait for me." Jotaro catches up with them at Uji Bridge.Kizaemon asked what he was doing just now?He said that in the woods on the mountain, many adults gathered together, playing some fun games. The groom smiled and said: "Little brother, those ronin are gambling! The ronin who have nothing to eat will snatch travelers and strip them naked before letting them go." On horseback sat a beautiful woman wearing a bamboo hat, Jotaro and the bearded samurai Shoda Kizaemon walked on both sides, and the groom was in front. After crossing the Uji Bridge, we finally came to the bank of the Kizu River.The sandy land beside the river is wide, and the sky is dotted with colorful larks. The scenery is picturesque. "It looks like this...it turns out that the ronin is gambling." "It's not bad just for gambling - some even lend usury and seduce women. They are too domineering, and no one dares to touch them." "Does the lord not care?" "The lord can still catch the weak ronin. However, when the ronin from Hanoi, Yamato, and Kishu unite, their momentum will surpass the lord." "I heard there are ronin in Koka too." "Tsutsui Ronin fled there in droves. It seems that these people can't disappear completely without fighting another battle." Jotaro heard the conversation between Kizaemon and the groom, and said: "What are you talking about ronin, ronin, there are good people among ronin, right?" "Of course there is." "My master is also a ronin!" "Hahaha! Are you complaining about this? You really know how to speak for Master—you said just now that you want to go to Baozangyuan. Is your master in Baozangyuan?" "Just go there to know where the master is." "Which school of swordsmanship is he?" "have no idea." "The disciple doesn't even know the school of the master." Upon hearing this, the groom said: "My lord! In this society! Swordsmanship is so popular that even cats and dogs can practice martial arts. Now you can see at least five to ten practitioners walking on the road every day!" "Really?" "Isn't this also due to the increase in ronin?" "Maybe!" "All the feudal lords will scramble to recruit people with excellent sword skills, and they will give them a salary of five hundred stones or one thousand stones, and everyone flocks to them." "Hmph! This is a shortcut to getting ahead!" "Look! Even that little boy wears a wooden sword at his waist, and thinks that he can become a man if he only needs to learn a little bit of skin. This idea is terrible. If there are samurai everywhere, everyone will inevitably say that they are just scumbags." .” Jotaro is angry! "Ram! What are you talking about? Try saying it again!" "I said——you are like a flea carrying a toothpick, talking but not practicing." "Hahaha! Jotaro, don't be angry, don't be angry. Otherwise, you will lose the important things hanging around your neck again!" "Okay! I'm not mad." "Oh, we've arrived at the ferry of Kizugawa, it's time to say goodbye to you. It's getting dark, don't be playful on the road, just concentrate on your journey!" "Where is Sister Ah Tong going?" "I've decided to go to Koyanagi's castle with Mr. Shoda. Take care of yourself." "What? I'm alone?" "It doesn't matter, if there is a destiny, we will definitely meet again in the future. Jotaro, you are your home everywhere, and I was just like you before I found that person." "Who are you looking for? What kind of person?" "..." Atong didn't answer.Just smiled at him from the horseback and said goodbye to him.Jotaro ran away from the river and jumped onto the ferry.When the ferry boat floated to the center of the river, reflecting the red sunset, Jotaro turned his head and saw Otsu and Kizaemon walking to the Kasagiji Temple path by the upper gorge of the Kizu River.The mountain shadow shrouded the mountain road early, and the hazy figure accompanied the lantern all the way away.