Chapter 104 Chapter 14 Wood Chips

On the boat on the way home. There is a saying "to help each other in the same boat", which means: People in the same boat must help each other even if they don't like each other. Let alone wine. And fresh fish. In addition, the old woman and Kojiro had been like each other for some reason, and they talked a lot about their separation. "Do you still travel?" The old woman asked Kojiro. "Has your wish not been fulfilled?" Kojiro also asked the old woman back. Of course, the old woman's great wish refers to the matter of revenge by killing Musashi.But she said that there was no news of Musashi recently.After hearing this, Kojiro said:

"No, I heard that during the autumn and winter of the year before last, he visited two or three martial artists. I think he is probably still in Edo!" Kojiro cheers up Grandma. The half tile also opens: "Although our ability is limited, after hearing what happened to my grandma, I also want to help her. However, there is no news about Musashi now." The topic of each other is centered on the situation of grandma, and everyone seems to have something in common, so Banwa said: "Please teach me more in the future." Kojiro also replied: "Each, each other."

After Kojiro finished speaking, he cleaned the wine glasses, and poured wine for the attendants in order besides balancing the half tiles. Kojiro's strength has already been seen on the river bank just now.Therefore, the boy and Gujuro, the two attendants, also hope that the misunderstanding just now will disappear, and respect Kojiro unconditionally from the bottom of their hearts.In addition, Banwa Mijibei believes that the grandmother he takes care of is considered his own to each other and should treat each other with sincerity.And grandma is still grandma's idea, and now she has another backer.

"Some people say that there are no ghosts in troubled times. However, it seems that I have been blessed in the dark, that Mr. Kojiro and Boss Banwa take care of me like this... Maybe it is the blessing of Guanyin Bodhisattva!" The old woman said so much that she burst into tears. Seeing the gloomy atmosphere, Ban Wa changed the subject. "Mr. Kojiro, where are the four people you hacked to death by the river just now?" Kojiro had been waiting for Banwa to ask him, so he narrated everything triumphantly. "Ah! They—" Kojiro first smiled nonchalantly. "They are ronin who come in and out of Xiaoban's sect. I have visited Xiaoban five or six times to discuss the art of war with them. These people often interrupt from the sidelines, and they think they are quite accomplished in military and swordsmanship. So I said, that Just come to the bank of the Sumida River, no matter how many of you come, let you see the secret art of rock flow, and taste the taste of the clothes drying pole. Today, the other party reported that five people are going to the river bank... However, the two sides confronted each other. One of them ran away first. Haha! The ronin in Edo are not as powerful as the legends say."

Kojiro shrugged and laughed. "Who is Xiao Ban?" Banwa asked him. "Don't you know? It's the last generation of Xiaoban from the Takeda family in Koshu who entered Dao Nisei, named Kanbing Wei Jingxian. He was recruited by the royal family, and he is currently the military instructor of Duke Hidetada, and he even teaches classes!" "Ah! So it's Mr. Xiaoban!" Kojiro mentioned this well-known master like a treasure.Banwa looked at Kojiro and thought to himself: This young samurai still has bangs on his forehead, how capable is he? Six-party people are very simple. Although the affairs of the market are complicated, they think that a simple life is a real man.

Banwa sincerely admires Kojiro. This person is very powerful. Thinking of this, he was so impressed by the man in front of him. "I don't know what you like about something?" Banwa immediately discussed with Kojiro. "My place often has forty or fifty young people following me. There is also an open space behind my house, where I can build a martial arts gym." He expressed his heart to Kojiro, hoping that Kojiro could live in his home. "I can tell you that there are many princes who want to offer me three or five hundred shi to hire me, which makes me useless. And my condition is that I will never accept public office below a thousand shi. Therefore, there is still a period of time, I will Stay in the current residence and spend your days at leisure. But you can’t ignore your faith and leave suddenly. How about it! If it’s three or four times a month, I can go to teach.”

Hearing what Kojiro said, Banwa and his entourage respected him even more.Kojiro often has something to say in order to increase his social status, but Banwa and others don't realize it. "Yes, yes, I must ask you." They answered humbly. "Please come to my humble house." After Banwa finished speaking, Ashanpo immediately said: "We are waiting for you!" She reconfirmed to Kojiro. When the ship turned into Kyobashi Town, Kojiro said: "Please let me disembark here." After speaking, he went ashore. Everyone watched the warrior in the peony-colored vest leave from the small boat.See him walking into the street.

"This guy is really interesting." Banwa sighed sincerely.The old woman said emphatically: "That's the real warrior. A general like this might not even spend five hundred stones to hire him!" Suddenly he said to himself: "It would be great if you could be like him..." Five days later, Kojiro came to visit Banwa. Forty or fifty attendants took turns entering the living room to greet him. "Your lives seem interesting." As Kojiro said, his heart seemed to be happy. "I want to build a martial arts gym here, could you please take a look at the Feng Shui here."

Banwa invited him to the back of the house. There is an open space of about 2,000 ping. There is a dyeing room in the open space, and the clothes pole next to it is full of dyed cloth.The vacant land is half a tile and is currently rented out to others. As long as it is taken back and used, it can be as big as it needs to be. "No passer-by will come in this open space, so there is no need to build a martial arts gym, just open air." "What if it rains?" "Because I can't come every day, so I can practice in the open air. It's just that my practice is more severe than that of Yagyu or the masters in the city. If you don't pay attention, you may lose your limbs or kill people. I hope you can understand first. at this point……"

"We've been aware of this for a long time." Banwa summoned all his followers to make an oath, willing to obey this will. The Banwa family decided to practice martial arts three times a month, every third, thirteenth, and twenty-third day.Kojiro can be seen in Banwa's house. "He's a man's man." There are legends in the vicinity.Kojiro's vigorous skill attracts attention everywhere. Kojiro practiced martial arts with a long wooden sword in the shape of a pipa. "Next—next, up!" He yelled loudly in the drying yard of the dyeing house and trained many disciples, which was particularly eye-catching.

Kojiro didn't know when he would put on adult clothes.But he appeared to be in his mid-twenties and still sported bangs.Sometimes he took off half his sleeves, and he could be seen wearing dazzling Momoyama embroidered underwear.The shoulder straps are also purple leather. "Attention, if you are hit by my pipa wooden sword, even your bones may be broken. I hope you will be aware of it. Who will be next? Are you afraid to come up?" In addition to wearing gorgeous clothes, Kojiro's tone is also full of murderousness, which sounds even more stern. Let's talk about his martial arts training.This martial arts instructor is not sloppy at all. It is only the third time since the training ground in the open space started to practice martial arts, but one person in the Banwa family has broken his leg, four or five people have been injured, and they are still lying in the back moaning! "Is no one going? Are you not practicing anymore? If not, I will go back!" He began to speak viciously again. "Okay, I'll go." A follower stood up tremblingly. He walked up to Kojiro and was about to pick up the wooden sword.It was too late to say it, and the follower was knocked to the ground before he got the wooden sword. "Swordsmanship is the most taboo of inattention. This is what I taught you just now." Kojiro said while looking at the faces of thirty or forty people around him.Everyone was parched and trembling from his rigorous training. Someone carried the man lying on the ground to the well and flushed him. "It can't be done." "do you died?" "No breath." Someone ran over to check, causing a commotion, but Kojiro didn't even look at it. "If such a small matter scares you, then it's better not to practice swords. Aren't you men who are known as the six-party fighters, and you are very good at fighting?" Kojiro stepped on the open space wearing leather socks, and said in a lecture tone: "Those from the six directions! Think about it. As long as your feet are stepped on, you will immediately find someone to fight. If your sword is touched by someone, you will immediately draw your sword to face each other. However, when you really want to draw your real sword to decide the outcome , your body will become stiff! You will give up your life for women or other trivial things. However, I don’t think you have the courage to sacrifice for righteousness. When encountering a small matter, it is impossible to immediately act emotionally! " The more Kojiro said, the more excited he became: "If you don't have the faith to stand the test, you don't deserve to be called brave. Come, get up!" At this time, one of them couldn't bear to listen any longer, and rushed towards Kojiro from behind.However, when Kojiro lowered his body, the sneak attacking man missed. "It hurts!" The man yelled and fell heavily to the ground.At this time, the pipa wooden sword had already hit his waist bone, which made him scream like this. "That's it for today." Kojiro dropped the wooden sword and went to the well to wash his hands.The follower who was killed just now was already lying on the running water table by the well like a piece of tofu.And Kojiro was washing his hands beside the dead man's face, not even saying a word of mercy to the dead man.He put his sleeves back on and said with a smile: "Recently, I heard that the area around Jiayuan is full of people and it's very lively...you all have fun too! Can anyone take me to see it tonight?" Play when you want to play, drink when you want to drink. Kojiro's conceited and straightforward personality is quite appreciated by Banwa. "Haven't you been to Jiayuan? It's impossible not to go and see. Originally, I wanted to accompany you, but someone died, and I had to deal with the aftermath." After Yajibei finished speaking, he gave the money to the two attendants, the young attendant and Gujuro. "You take him to play." When going out, the boss Yajibei reminded again: "Don't worry about playing tonight, you should take Master around well." But as soon as the two attendants left the house, they completely forgot what the boss said. "Hey man, how nice it is to have an errand like this every day!" "Master, in the future, please always say that you are going to Jiayuan to play?" Two attendants egg on Kojiro. "Haha! Well, I'll say it often." Kojiro walked ahead. The sun went down and Edo was shrouded in darkness.The nights in Kyoto have never been darker, and the nights in Nara and Osaka are brighter.Although Kojiro has been in Edo for more than a year, he is still not used to walking in the dark. "This road is really difficult. You should bring a lantern." "You will be laughed at when you walk around Flower Street with lanterns. Master, there is a small mound of dirt, please go down." "However, there is water everywhere. Just now I slipped into the reeds and got my shoes wet." As they were walking, they suddenly saw a red light reflecting on the surface of the Zhen River in front of them.Looking up, the sky on the other side of the river is also red.It turns out that there is a busy street ahead, and a mirror-like bright moon hangs in the sky. "Master, that's right there." "Oh……" Kojiro opened his eyes wide.The three of them walked across a bridge, and Kojiro was about to cross the bridge, but turned back to the bridge head. "What's the name of this bridge?" He looked at the writing on the stake.A follower replied: "It's called the Boss Bridge." "It does say Boss Bridge, but why is it called this name?" "Probably the owner named Shoji Jinnai opened up this street, so he got this name! There is such a popular song in Hana Street!" The attendant Juro looked at the lights of Hana Street and chanted in a low voice. "Let me lend this to Master as well!" "what?" "Cover your face with this." The boy and Gujuro wrapped their heads and faces with red handkerchiefs. "I see." Kojiro imitated them, took out a dark red handkerchief wrapped around his trouser belt, covered his bangs, and tied a knot under his chin. "It's so handsome!" "It suits you very well!" As soon as they crossed the bridge, they saw brightly lit lights along the way, and there were many figures inside the lattice door. Kojiro and others walked along the teahouse one by one. Some teahouses have red curtains, while others have light yellow twill curtains.Bells are hung on the door curtains of some teahouses. As long as the guests open the door curtains, they will jingle, and girls will gather at the window when they hear the sound. "Master, it's useless for you to cover your face." "why?" "You said it was your first visit here, but some of the girls in this building turned pale in fright when they saw Master, and hid behind the screen. So, Master, you'd better do it honestly!" Both Gujuro and the boy said so, but Kojiro had no impression. "Strange, what kind of woman is it?" "Don't open your eyes and talk nonsense, let's go to the restaurant just now!" "Really, it's really my first time here." "You'll know when you go in!" The two pulled Kojiro back to the curtain that he had just passed.It was a door curtain with a pattern of three big cypress trees, with the word "corner house" written beside it. The pillars and corridors of this restaurant are very rough, like a temple.Moreover, there is a pile of damp reeds buried under the eaves.The house is neither eye-catching nor attractive, the furniture and sliding doors, the interior furnishings, all dazzlingly new. The three of them came to the hall on the second floor facing the road.The leftovers and used napkins left by the previous guests have not been cleaned up, and it is a mess. The woman who cleaned the room cleaned as roughly as a maid.The old woman named Ah Zhi was so busy every night that she hardly had time to sleep.If she worked so hard for three consecutive years, she might lose her old life. "Is this a brothel?" Kojiro looked at the wood-strewn seams of the soaring ceiling. "Oh, what a desolation!" He smiled wryly.Ah Zhi heard his words and replied: "It was built temporarily, and now the main restaurant is being built later. Maybe Fushimi and Kyoto can't find such a luxurious restaurant!" After Ah Zhi explained to Kojiro, he stared at him intently. "Samurai, I seem to have seen you somewhere! By the way, we saw you on the way from Fushimi to Edo last year." Kojiro has long forgotten about this matter, and after Ah Zhi said this, he also remembered the meeting between the stone Buddha on the roadside and the group of people in the corner house.Now he also learned from Ah Zhi that Shoji Jinnai was the owner of the restaurant at that time. "Really... Then we are really destined!" Kojiro gradually found it interesting.Gujuro said from the side: "Of course there is a lot of fate! Because there is a woman in this restaurant who knows you, Master!" After Gujuro made fun of Kojiro, he ordered Fu Zhi to call the girl out. Ah Zhi heard Gu Juro describe the girl's appearance and clothes. "Ah! I see." After speaking, he walked away.However, after waiting for a long time, Ah Zhi did not bring the girl out.Gujuro and the boy got a little impatient waiting, so they went to the corridor to find out. "Hey, hello!" The two clapped their hands and called Ah Zhi, and asked why. "The girl you asked me to call is not here!" "Strange, why is it gone?" "I asked the boss just now, and he was also puzzled. Because before on the small stone Buddha, the girl once disappeared when she saw Mr. Samurai and Mr. Jinnai talking. It's so strange!" This is a new house with beams just installed. Although the roof has been built, there are no walls and no partitions. "Miss Huatong, Miss Huatong!" A call came from a distance.When Zhu Shi saw the figure looking for him, he hid behind the pile of sawdust and wood piles like a hill. "..." Zhu Shi held his breath and concentrated, not daring to show up. The name "Huatong" was her stage name after she came to the corner house. "Hate, who will show up?" At first, Zhu Shi hid because he knew that the visitor was Kojiro.But Kojiro wasn't the only one who felt disgusted by hiding. Seijuro is also hateful, Kojiro is also hateful, and the ronin who caught Hachioji while he was drunk and took her to the horse grain hut to rape her is even more hateful. The tourists who play with their bodies every night are all disgusting. These people are all men.Men are their own enemies.However, she has been looking for another man all her life.Men like Musashi. Even if it looks like Musashi. She thought that if she met someone who looked like Musashi, even if it was not true love, Zhu Shi would be comforted in her heart.But there is no such person among the tourists. Zhu Shi kept pursuing this love affair.However, she finally realized that the fate between herself and Musashi was getting farther and farther.Only drinking is getting better and better. "Huatong, Huatong." Close to the back door of the corner house where the new building was built, the boss's voice came.In the end, even Kojiro and the other three appeared in the open space. The boss kept apologizing and explaining, and the three figures finally left the open space and walked towards the road.It seems that he has given up on finding himself.Zhu Shi walked out with a sigh of relief. "Oh! Miss Huatong, so you are here!" The woman working in the kitchen immediately asked loudly: "Hush." Zhu Shi waved his hand to signal her to be silent, and looked into the big kitchen. "Can I have a drink, please?" "What? Give you wine." "right." Seeing Zhu Shi's pale face, the woman quickly poured her a glass.Zhu Shi closed his eyes, raised his face and drank in one gulp. "Ah! Miss Huatong, where are you going?" "You're so long-winded, I'm going to wash my feet, and then go back to my room." The woman in the kitchen felt relieved and closed the door.But Zhu Shi found a pair of straw sandals that fit well and put them on his muddy feet. "Ah! It's so comfortable!" She staggered to the street. Many men walked shoulder to shoulder on the street covered with red lanterns.Zhu Shi seemed to be chanting a spell: "What are these people?" She spat and ran away. She came to a dark road and saw twinkling stars on the Zhen River.Zhu Shi was fascinated, and suddenly heard the sound of running behind him. "Ah! That's the lantern from the corner house. What a bastard! These guys take advantage of a woman's body when she's lost, make her earn money for them, and use the money their bodies earn to build a new house. It's abominable... I will never go back!" Zhu Shi is hostile to everything in the world.At this moment, she walked aimlessly into the darkness, and the sawdust on her hair reflected the starlight in the darkness, twinkling and twinkling.