Chapter 73 Chapter 15

The warm sunshine melted the spring snow of the day before yesterday without a trace.The sun was shining brightly all of a sudden, making people want to take off their heavy clothes.Spring comes quietly with the warm south wind, making all the plants sprout buds. "Please donate something." It turned out to be a monk begging for alms bowl, and his feet were splashed with mud all the way to his back. He stood at the entrance of Karasuma's house, begging loudly for alms, but there was no one there.So, he walked around to the butler's account room by the side door, stretched his neck out of the window, and peeked into the house.

"It turned out to be a monk!" The boy behind him said so. The monk turned his head and stared at the strange child with questioning eyes, thinking: "Who are you?" How could there be such a strangely dressed child in Karasuma Mitsuhiro's mansion?It can be said that the whole body is out of tune with the official residence, which is jaw-dropping.The monk stared suspiciously at Jotaro with wide-eyed eyes. Jotaro was as usual, with a long sword hanging across his waist.He didn't know what was in his arms, his chest was bulging, and he pressed his hands on his chest:

"Monk, if you want to go to the kitchen for alms, don't you know the back door?" "Begging for rice? I didn't come here for this." The young monk indicated with his eyes the pouch hanging on his own chest. "I'm a monk from Nanzong Temple in Quanzhou. I have an urgent letter that I want to deliver to Zong Pengze'an face to face. Are you a little guy who works in the kitchen?" "I live here, and Master Ze'an and I are both guests of this house." "Oh! That's it! Can you inform Ze'an for me? Just say: People from Nanzong Temple have come to announce that his hometown Tajima has sent a letter, and there is a very urgent matter to inform him."

"Wait a moment, I'm going to ask Master Ze'an to come here." Jotaro jumped up the entrance, leaving dirty shoe prints on the steps.With this jump, several small oranges rolled out of his arms. Jotaro hurriedly picked up the fallen oranges, and ran to the backyard.Soon it was back to where it was. "Master Ze'an is not here!" He said to the people of Nanzong Temple: "I forgot that he went to Dade Temple in the morning." "Do you know when he'll be back?" "It should be on the way back now!" "Then I'll wait for him to come back. Is there any room available for me to wait for him to come back?"

"Yes, I have!" Jotaro walked out the door.He knew the mansion well, and walked ahead leading the way with a confident look.He brought the monk to the calf house and stopped: "Monk, you can wait here. If you stay here, you won't cause trouble to others at all." Straw, ox wheels and cow dung are everywhere here, and the envoy of Nanzong Temple looked surprised.After Jotaro brought the guests here, he ran away in a hurry. Jotaro came to the sunny "Nishiya" and shouted: "Sister Atong, I bought oranges." Ah Tong had already taken medicine and had the doctor examine him carefully, but for some reason the fever could not be reduced.

The persistent high fever made her lose her appetite. Ah Tong touched his cheek with his hand, secretly surprised. "Ah! I am so thin." She always thought it was just a minor illness, nothing serious; besides, the Karasuma doctor who treated her also assured that it was not a serious illness, so don't worry.But why is it so thin?She is sensitive and often has some troubles, coupled with fever, which makes her lips chapped.One day she suddenly said: "I want to eat oranges." Jotaro, who has been worrying about Atong not eating for the past few days, immediately replied after hearing what Atong said:

"Do you want an orange?" After asking clearly, he just left here to find oranges. He asked the people in the kitchen, and they said there were no oranges in the mansion.I ran to the fruit stand outside again, but I still didn't see any oranges. He heard that there was a market in Jingji Grassland, so he went there again to look for it.Whether it was a needlework shop, a cotton shop, an oil shop, or a fur shop, he would go in and ask: "Are there oranges for sale? Are there oranges for sale?" As he walked and searched, he couldn't find even half an orange. Jotaro wants to get oranges for Otong no matter what.Later, he saw a few sparse oranges on the wall of someone else's house, and he wanted to steal them.When I got closer, I realized that it was a pear fruit that could not be eaten at all.

After searching half of the streets in Kyoto, I finally found oranges on the worship hall of a shrine.In addition, sweet potatoes and carrots are placed on the plate to worship the gods.Jotaro took the orange and hid it in his arms before running away.Along the way, I always felt that the gods were chasing after him and shouting: "Thief! Thief!" Jotaro felt very scared.From the shrine to the Karasuma house, I kept apologizing in my heart along the way: "It's not what I want to eat, please don't punish me." Back at the mansion, Jotaro didn't tell Atong how the oranges came from.He sat beside her pillow, took out the oranges in his arms, and after arranging them one by one, picked up one of them:

"Sister Atong, this orange looks delicious, try it." He stuffed the peeled orange into A Tong's hand.A Tong's heart seemed to be impacted by emotion, he turned his face away, and had no intention of eating the orange. "What's wrong?" Jotaro stared at her face. A Tong buried his cheeks in the pillow in displeasure: "Nothing, nothing..." Jotaro was speechless: "I started crying again! I bought the oranges back, you should be happy, why are you crying instead? It's so boring!" "Chengtai, I'm sorry!" "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Let's eat later!" "Eat it after peeling it... Eat it, it must be delicious." "It must be delicious! Just Jota's intentions are enough... But, when I see food, I lose my appetite. It's a pity, though." "That's because you're in a bad mood. What makes you so sad?" "Because you were so kind to me, it made me cry with joy." "I don't like you crying. When I see you cry, I want to cry too." "I don't cry anymore... I don't cry anymore... Please forgive me!" "Then, just eat a little! If you don't eat anything, you will starve to death!"

"I'll eat it later, Chengtai, you can eat it!" "I will not eat!" Jotaro was afraid of the eyes of the gods, he swallowed while talking. "Chengtai, don't you like oranges?" "I like." "Then why don't you eat it?" "no reason." "Is it because I don't eat?" "Ok……" "Then I'll eat it—Jota, you too." A Tong raised his head and removed the white strands of the orange with his thin hands.Jotaro didn't know what to do. "Sister Atong, to tell you the truth, I have eaten a lot on the way." "That's it!" Atong had a piece of orange in his dry lips.She quietly asked: "Where is Master Ze'an?" "I went to Dade Temple." "I heard that Master Ze'an met Brother Musashi the day before yesterday." "Ah! You heard that!" "Hmm... Master Zean, did you tell Brother Musashi about my stay here?" "I think I must have said that." "Master Zean said he would bring Musashi here, didn't he tell you?" "He didn't tell me." "Maybe he forgot." "When he comes back, I'll ask him again?" "Ok!" She smiled for the first time: "You can only ask him when I'm not around!" "Can't you ask in front of Sister Atong?" "I would be embarrassed." "how come?" "Because Master Ze'an said that what I have is 'Tibetan disease'!" "Ah! You finished eating all at once!" "You mean oranges!" "Eat another one!" "I've eaten a lot." "From now on, you have to eat everything! When my master comes, you will have the strength to get out of bed to see him!" "Lian Chengtai, you are laughing at me too!" As soon as Atong and Jotaro talked about this topic, they left the fever and pain behind. At this time, a servant of the Karasuma family asked outside the door: "Is Cheng Tai in there?" Jotaro replied: "Yes, I'm here." The servant went on to say: "Master Ze'an, please go over immediately." "Oh! Master Ze'an is back!" "Please go and have a look." "Sister Atong, you won't be lonely, will you?" "Won't." Jotaro stood up from the pillow: "Then I'll be right back after we finish talking." "Jota...don't forget to ask about that!" "Which thing?" "Did you forget it?" "Oh! Ask the master when Master Musashi will come here, and urge him to come quickly, right?" On A Tong's haggard cheeks, there was a faint color of blood.She covered half of her face with a quilt, and exhorted: "Don't forget! Be sure to ask!" Zean went to Guangguang's living room and was talking with Guangguang. Jotaro opened the door and entered. "Master An, why are you looking for me?" Zean said: "You sit down first!" Mitsuhiro on the side showed an expression of forgiveness for Jotaro's recklessness, and smiled helplessly. As soon as Jotaro sat down, he turned to Zean and said: "A monk from Nanzong Temple in Quanzhou said that he wanted to see Master Ze'an urgently. Let me call him!" "No, I already know about this." "Have you met him?" "He also said you were a nasty little brat!" "why?" "He came all the way, but you took him to the little cow house, and then walked away!" "It was he himself who said not to disturb others!" Guang Guang laughed so hard that he rolled forward and backward, shaking his knees. "Ha! Haha! It's a mess to put guests in the calf house!" Immediately, Guangguang resumed his serious look, and asked Zean: "Aren't you going back to Quanzhou, are you going to go to Tajima immediately?" Zean nodded and replied: "I'm really concerned about the content of the letter, that's why I planned this. I don't have anything to do. I really can't wait until tomorrow, so I want to say goodbye and start now." Jotaro didn't understand the content of the conversation between the two at all, and asked in bewilderment: "Master Ze'an, are you going on a trip?" "There is something urgent in my hometown, I have to go back." "What's up?" "My old mother in my hometown has been bedridden, and I heard that she is seriously ill this time." "Master Ze'an also has a mother!" "I didn't burst out of a rock." "Then when do you plan to come back here?" "That depends on the condition of the mother." "If Master Ze'an is not here, then...then it will be troublesome..." Jotaro sympathized with Atong's mood, and at the same time considered the whereabouts of Atong and himself, so he asked: "So, I won't be able to see Master Ze'an again!" "How can such a thing happen? Of course we will meet again. I have asked the people in the official residence to take care of the two of you. A Tong will not be depressed anymore, so that he can recover soon. You should also cheer her up. This patient does not need to eat Medicine, but need spiritual support." "It's useless to rely on my own strength. If Master Musashi doesn't come, her illness won't be cured." "What a headache patient! You have such a fellow traveler in this world, and it's enough trouble." "Master Ze'an, did you meet Master Musashi somewhere the night before?" "Ok……" Ze'an and Guangguang looked at each other with wry smiles.It's inconvenient to say where we met, but fortunately, Jotaro's question was straightforward and he didn't ask these details. "When will Master Musashi come here? Master Ze'an, you said you would bring Master Musashi here. Sister Atong is waiting for him every day! Master Ze'an, where is my master?" Jotaro kept asking.As soon as I know where Musashi lives, I will definitely pick him up immediately. "Hmm... about Musashi..." Although Takuan was ambiguous, he never forgot to let Musashi and Atong meet.I was also thinking about this matter today, when I came back from Dade Temple, I stopped by Guangyue's house to ask if Musashi had returned.Guangyue replied with a embarrassed expression: Since the night before yesterday, Musashi has been staying in the fan house.He also said that his mother, Miao Xiuni, was also very worried, so she wrote a letter to Taifu Yoshino and sent it just now. Guang Guang widened his eyes after hearing this: "Oh... Musashi hasn't been back at Yoshino's house since that night?" His tone was half accidental and half jealous, which is why he exaggerated. There are many things that Zean can't say in front of Jotaro. "He's just an ordinary, useless guy. It's like a wunderkind's misfortune: generally, it doesn't work out in the end." "But Yoshino has also changed—how could he fall in love with a dirty samurai?" "Whether it's Yoshino or Atong, I, Takuan, really don't understand women's temperament. In my eyes, both of them are sick. Musashi is about to enter the spring of his life... From then on, for his practice, It's not the sword that's dangerous, but the woman. A third party can't intervene in this kind of thing, so we have to let nature take its course." After Zean talked to himself, he remembered the matter of hurrying on his way.He bid farewell to Guangguang again, and entrusted the mansion to take care of Atong and Jotaro on the hospital bed.Not long after, he left Karasuma's house and drifted away.The average traveler sets off in the morning.But for Takuan, morning and evening departures are the same.At this time, the sun is about to sink to the west, and the colorful sunset shines on the passing pedestrians and oxcarts. Someone kept calling "Takuan master! Zean master!" from behind - it was Jotaro!Zean turned around with a helpless expression.Jotaro was out of breath, pulled his sleeve and said: "Master Ze'an, please go back and talk to Sister Atong. Otherwise, when Sister Atong starts to cry, I don't know what to do!" "Did you tell her about Musashi?" "But she keeps asking me!" "That's why Ah Tong cried when he heard it!" "Maybe Sister Atong will seek death!" "How to say?" "She looks like she doesn't want to live. And she also said: When we meet again, we will die." "That means she doesn't want to die yet, don't worry! Don't worry!" "Master Ze'an, where is Tafu Yoshino?" "What are you asking this for?" "Isn't the master there? Isn't that what the official mansion and Master Ze'an said just now?" "Have you even told Atong about this?" "yes!" "She's a crybaby. If you say that, of course she says she's going to die. Even if I turn back, I won't be able to cure A-Tong in a short time. Just tell her that!" "Say what?" "Ask her to eat." "I say this sentence hundreds of times every day!" "For A Tong, this sentence is the only famous saying. I can't even do anything to a patient who can't listen to this sentence. Just tell her everything honestly!" "What should I say?" "Let's say that Musashi fell in love with a prostitute named Yoshino, and has been staying in Ogiya for three days now. It can be seen that Musashi doesn't miss Atong at all. What's the use of admiring such a heartless man? You Tell that crybaby that she's stupid, stupid." After hearing this, Jotaro felt that these words were inappropriate, so he shook his head desperately: "It's unreasonable! Master is definitely not such a person! If I really say that, Sister Atong will really seek death. You Ze'an smelly monk, you are the big idiot, you are so stupid!" "You're scolding me! Ha! Ha! Jotaro, are you angry?" "You said bad things about my master, of course it made me angry. And you also called Sister A-Tong an idiot." Sakuan patted Jotaro's head: "you are cute!" Jotaro tilted his head and shook off Zean's hand: "Since this is the case, we will not rely on you anymore. I will go to Master Musashi myself, and I will let him meet Sister Atong." "Do you know where it is?" "what?" "Do you know where Musashi is?" "I can ask, you don't have to worry about it." "You're just talking big, but you don't know Taifu Yoshino's home. Do you want me to tell you?" "No need! No need!" "What an impolite Jotaro! I have no enmity with Miss Atong, and I have no reason to hate Musashi. Besides, I have always prayed that they will have a lover and get married!" "Then why are you so mean?" "Doing this may seem to you to be evil. However, both Musashi and Atong are patients now. To treat physical diseases, you need to find a doctor, but to treat mental diseases, you have to say what I just said. The two of them Among them, Atong's illness is more serious, and Musashi's illness, don't worry about it, it will get better on its own. But for Atong's illness, I have no choice but to say to her: What's the use of unrequited love for a man like Musashi? It's better to cut the mess quickly, just forget about him, and eat more rice is more important." "Enough! You smelly monk, I don't ask you for anything anymore." "If you think I'm lying, you can go to the fan house on Liujoliu Street and see what Musashi is doing there. Then, tell Atong what you witnessed betting with your own eyes. At first, she might be in pain, but if you can make her It's worth it for her to wake up." Jotaro covered his ears and called out: "It's so noisy, smelly monk!" "What? You came here by yourself!" "Monk, monk, if you don't give alms to you, if you want to get alms, you have to sing a song." Jotaro still covered his ears with his hands, sang and scolded him, and watched Zean leave. After Zean's figure disappeared, Jotaro stood where he was, tears streaming down his face. He suddenly thought of something, raised his arms in a panic to wipe away his tears, and looked around at the pedestrians passing by.He saw a woman in a cloak passing by, and quickly stopped her: "Auntie!" he asked: "Where is Liutiaoliu Street?" The woman was startled: "You mean Fireworks Willow Lane!" "What is Fireworks Willow Lane?" "Ugh!" "What kind of place is that?" "Nasty child!" The woman glared at him and walked away. Jotaro didn't understand why this happened, but he didn't flinch, and asked all the way to the fan house on Liujo Willow Street.