Chapter 32 Chapter 14 The Round Cushion

"I am back!" After Jotaro came back, his expression had returned to normal, and he came to Musashi. Musashi was startled when he saw his face.His face was covered in scratches like a chessboard.The nose is also like a strawberry dropped into the sand, a bloody mess. Musashi knew that something unpleasant must have happened to him, and the wound must be in pain, but Jotaro didn't say a word about it, so Musashi didn't ask. "Here is the reply." He handed Musashi the reply letter from Shoda Kizaemon, and described what had happened in a few words, and blood flowed from his face again.

"That's it, is there anything else?" "No. You worked hard!" As soon as Musashi's eyes fell on Shoda Kizaemon's reply, Jotaro covered his cheeks with both hands and rushed outside. Xiaocha followed behind him, looking at his face worriedly: "What's wrong? Jotaro!" "Bite by a dog." "Hey! Where's the dog?" "In the city—" "Ah! It's that black Kishu dog. That dog! A few more Jotaro's are no match for it. Once, spies from other places sneaked into the city and were bitten to death by it!"

Although he was often bullied by him, Xiaocha now kindly took him to the back to wash his face, and helped him apply medicine to his face.Today Jotaro stopped being naughty, and kept saying: "thanks, thanks!" But he couldn't lift his head up. "Jotarou! A man, why did you bow your head so easily?" "But……" "Although we often quarrel, I really like you." "me too." "real?" Jotaro's skin was flushed red between the gaps in the plaster.Xiaocha's face was also hot, so she quickly pressed it down with both hands. No one was around.

The dried horse manure was evaporated by the sun to give off heat.Bright red peach blossoms float down from the sunny sky. "But, Jotaro's master will leave here soon, right?" "It seems to be waiting for a while!" "It would be great if I could live there for a year or two..." The two were lying on their backs on the haystack of the horse grain warehouse, holding hands.His whole body was so hot that Jotaro suddenly bit Xiaocha's finger frantically. "Ah! It hurts!" "It hurts? Sorry!" "No, it's okay, bite again!"

"Really?" "Ah - bite again, bite harder!" The two cuddled like puppies, covering their heads with hay and appearing to be fighting.For some reason, they hugged each other like this.At this time, the grandfather who came to look for Xiaocha couldn't help being dumbfounded when he saw this scene.Then, suddenly scolded with a straight face: "You bastard! You specialize in making trouble, what are you doing here?" Grandpa grabbed the collars of the two of them, dragged them out, and hit Xiaocha's buttocks several times. From that day to the next day, for two days in a row, Musashi was thinking about something, folded his hands on his chest, and hardly said a word.

Seeing his serious expression and frowning, Jotaro was a little scared, thinking that maybe the master already knew about his playing with Xiaocha in the hay warehouse. Occasionally woke up in the middle of the night, looked up at Musashi, and saw him lying in bed, still staring at the ceiling with his deep expression frightening. "Jotarou! Go and call the accountant to settle the accounts." It was already the evening of the second day, and it was dark outside the window.Jotaro ran out in a hurry, and Wataya's clerk came immediately.Soon, the bill came, and Musashi had already used the time to pack things for the road.

"Do you want dinner?" asked the man at the inn. "don't want." he answered. Xiaocha stood blankly in the corner of the room, and finally spoke: "Guest officer! Are you not coming back here to sleep tonight?" "Well. During this time, thank you Xiaocha for taking care of me!" Xiaocha covered her face with her hands and began to cry. --Goodbye! --please take care! The manager of the cotton house and the maids stood at the door to see off the traveler who had to leave the mountain city at dusk for some reason. "?..." Musashi left the inn, walked for a while, looked back, and found that Jotaro had not followed, Musashi walked back about ten steps, looking for him.

It turned out that Jotaro was in the warehouse next to the cotton house, and was reluctant to part with Xiaocha.Seeing Musashi's figure, the two immediately separated. "Goodbye!" "Goodbye!" Jotaro ran to Musashi, worried about Musashi's eyes, and couldn't help but look back frequently. The lights of Yagyu Valley Mountain City were quickly left behind the two of them.Musashi remained silent and continued walking forward.Jotaro couldn't see Xiaocha when he turned his head, so he had to quietly follow behind Musashi. Musashi finally spoke: "Haven't you arrived yet?"

"Where?" "The gate of Little Yagyu Castle." "Going to the city?" "Ok!" "Are you going to live in the city tonight?" "Not sure yet." "The gate is here, it's over there." "Is it here?" Musashi stopped. The stone walls and gates were covered with moss, and the huge trees made rustling sounds like sea waves.Behind the dark multi-doored stone screen, lights peeked out from the square windows. They called for the door, and immediately a guard came out.Musashi showed the man Shoda Kizaemon's letter.

"I am Miyamoto who was invited. Please inform us." The guard already knew that there was a guest tonight, so he said immediately without waiting for an announcement: "I've been waiting for a long time. Please come in!" After finishing speaking, he led the guests to the Xinyin Hall in the outer city wall. This Xinyintang is a lecture hall for disciples living in the city to study Confucianism, and it seems to be the library of the clan.In the rooms on both sides of the corridor, the walls are covered with bookshelves. "The Liusheng family's martial arts are famous all over the world. Now it seems that they are not only proficient in martial arts."

When Musashi stepped into the city, he had a better understanding of the Yagyu family. Its depth and history were beyond his imagination. "As expected of Yagyu's family!" Everything made him nod his head. For example, the cleanliness of the road from the gate to here, the response of the guards, the austere atmosphere around the city, and the soft lights all show the spirit of the city. Just like visiting a family, as long as you take off your shoes at the door, you can immediately feel the family style of this family.In this atmosphere, Musashi came to a wide room and sat down on the floor. All the rooms in the Xinyin Hall did not have tatami mats, and this room only had a wooden floor, so the servant brought round cushions woven from straw. "Please use the cushion." "thanks!" Musashi was also polite, and sat on it with it.Of course the attendant, Jotaro, was not qualified to come here, and they asked him to wait outside in the waiting room. The boy reappeared and said: "Welcome to come here tonight. Mr. Kimura, Mr. Deyuan, and Mr. Murata have been waiting for a long time. Only Mr. Zhuangtian happened to be on business, so he was a little late. He will come right away, please wait for a while." "I'm just a guest here to chat, please don't mind." Musashi moved the round pad to the corner pillar and leaned his back against the pillar. The firelight of the short lamp shone in the courtyard.There was a faint sweet fragrance in the air, and Musashi looked out, and it turned out to be wisteria and white vines, petals falling down with the evening wind.Also, there was also a frog croaking outside that he hadn't heard this year, which made him feel very rare. There seemed to be the sound of gurgling water nearby.Musashi wondered if spring water was flowing under the floor, but after he calmed down, the sound of water could be heard under the round cushion.Finally, even the wall, ceiling, and the short oil lamp seemed to have the sound of water, and Musashi was surrounded by a chill. But—in this loneliness, Musashi's heart boiled uncontrollably.His blood was like boiling hot water. What is Yagyu? Sitting on the round cushion in the corner, Musashi has the aura of looking down on everything. He is a swordsman, and I am also a swordsman.At this point, we are equal. No, I'm going to break this equal relationship tonight, and let Yagyu bow down to me! He has such conviction. "I am so sorry to keep you waiting." At this time, Shoda Kizaemon's voice was heard, and three other people came together. "welcome!" After saying hello, the other party reported their names sequentially. "Ma back to Kimura to help Kuro." "Below is Nato Murata Yozo." "I am Deyuan Sun Bingwei." The food and drink have arrived. The homemade local sake is served in rustic wine glasses and is very mellow.Side dishes are served on wooden plates and placed in front of everyone. "My distinguished guest! This is a remote mountain city with nothing in it. Don't be restrained!" "Come on! You're welcome." "Sit wherever you want!" Four hosts pay homage to one guest.And try to be as relaxed as possible. Musashi is not good at drinking.It's not that I hate wine, but I haven't tasted the real taste of wine. However, tonight he said: "Do first and respect!" Pick up the glass and drink it down. It's not difficult to drink, but it doesn't feel special. "You look good at drinking!" Kimurasuke Kuro poured him another drink.Because I was sitting right next to Musashi, I kept talking to him endlessly. "The cut peony branch you mentioned a few days ago was actually cut by my lord himself." "No wonder you are so clever." Musashi slapped his knee hard. "But……" Help Jiulang walk forward on his knees. "Why did your Excellency know this man's skill when he saw the cut of the soft twig? We are very surprised at this." "..." Musashi tilted his head, as if he didn't know how to answer, and finally asked back: "yes?" "of course it's true!" Zhuangtian, Deyuan, and Murata said in unison: "We can't see it...It is true that the eyes of the eye can recognize the hero. Can you explain this to us who are less advanced?" Musashi drank another glass. "I dare not take it." "No, you are too modest." "I'm not being humble, honestly, it's just a feeling." "What kind of feeling?" The four disciples of the Yagyu family went to the bottom of the matter, and it seems that they want to detect the reality of Musashi.At the first sight when they met, the four masters were surprised that Musashi was so young; then they noticed his burly figure; they were highly alert to his eyes and behavior, and felt sincere admiration. However, as soon as Musashi drank the wine, the gesture of holding the cup and holding the chopsticks began to become rough. aha!What a rough man. I couldn't help but treat him as a young apprentice who hadn't yet learned, and began to despise him a little. Musashi had only drank three or four cups, and his face was as red as hot copper.He felt a little embarrassed and pressed his cheeks with his hands frequently. He looked like a young girl, which made the four disciples couldn't help laughing. "Can you talk about what your so-called feeling is? This Xinyintang was built especially for Sensei Kamizumi Isemori when he lived in this castle, so it has a deep connection with swordsmanship. Here It is most appropriate to listen respectfully to His Excellency Musashi's explanation." "How should I say it?" Musashi had no choice but to answer: "Feelings are feelings, which can only be felt, not expressed in words. If you force me to express it, I can only make gestures with a knife!" Musashi only wanted to seize the opportunity to get close to Shi Zhouzhai and compete with him, hoping to make a generation of military masters submit to his sword. I want to add a dazzling star of victory to my crown. ——Musashi came, and Musashi left. He wants to leave his footprints on this land. Fiery blood was burning all over Musashi because of this ambition, but he remained calm.The night was silent, and the guests also kept silent.The flames on the bushes, like squids, spit out puffs of black smoke from time to time.The evening wind was gentle, and from nowhere came the sparse sound of frogs. Zhuangtian and Chuyuan looked at each other and smiled.What Musashi just said—— If you force me to express it, all I have to do is gesture with a knife! His tone, though steady, clearly challenged them.Deyuan and Shoda were older among the four high disciples, and they quickly noticed Musashi's domineering. boy!What are you talking about? They could only smile wryly at Musashi's naivety. They chatted all over the world.Talk about swords, talk about Zen, talk about the legends of various countries, especially when it comes to the battle of Sekigahara, Deyuan, Shuangtian, Murata and the third class all went out with their masters. At that time, Musashi and them belonged to the hostile Eastern and Western armies , so there is something special to talk about.Not only did the master find it interesting and chattered endlessly, but Musashi was also in high spirits. Time flies in chatter— If you miss tonight, you will never have a chance to get close to Shi Zhou Zhai again! Musashi was in such deep thought when the other party said: "Guest, let's eat some wheat rice!" He removed the wine glass and replaced it with barley rice and soup. While eating, Musashi thought: How can I meet him? That was the only thought in his mind.Finally, I thought: Come to think of it, ordinary methods must not be able to get close to him.Just do it! He had no choice but to choose a method that even he thought was the worst strategy, which was to irritate the other party and draw the other party out.However, when he was in a calm state, it was difficult to provoke others, so Musashi began to deliberately speak nonsense and behave rudely.But Shoda Kizaemon and Idebuchi always laughed it off and didn't take it seriously.It can be seen that these four high-achieving disciples are not ordinary impetuous and shallow people. On the contrary, Musashi was a little anxious. He would regret it for the rest of his life after entering Baoshan empty-handed.He felt that his details were about to be seen through by the other party. "Come on! Take it easy!" During tea time after dinner, the four disciples each sat on the round cushion in the most comfortable posture, some with their knees hugged, some with their legs crossed. Only Musashi remained leaning against the pillar, and finally remained silent and unhappy.He might not win, maybe he would be killed, even so, if he left this city without fighting Shi Zhouzhai, he would regret it for the rest of his life. "what?" Suddenly, Murata Yosan walked under the eaves and muttered to the darkness: "Taro keeps barking, and the sound is very unusual. Is something wrong?" It turned out that the black dog's name was Taro.Indeed, the screams from Ercheng were very shrill, as if they were calling for ghosts in the surrounding mountains and forests, even dogs would be afraid of them.