Chapter 159 Chapter 12 Mr. Nothing

This is the fish shop street in Okazaki. There is a board standing in a clearing, which seems to have been written by a vagrant This is probably a private school. But the words written by the teacher are not neat.Literate people may smile wryly after reading it!But Mr. Nothing is ashamed. "I'm just like a child, I'm still learning." Every time he answered like this. There is a bamboo forest at the end of the clearing.At one end of the bamboo forest is the horse farm.When the weather is good, dust is everywhere.The elite of the Mikawa samurai, that is, the retainers of the Honda family, practiced horseback riding here.

Now the dust is blowing up. In order to keep out the dust, Mr. Wuke hung a curtain under the eaves to block the light, making the originally narrow room even darker. He was all alone. It seems that he just took a nap, when the sound of buckets came from the well, after a while—— what! There was a huge sound in the bamboo forest, it was the sound of cutting bamboo. A bamboo fell to the ground.Mr. Wu Ke thought that using it as an arrow was too thick, so he cut off a section of it and walked out from the bamboo forest. He had a gray turban on his head, gray clothes, and a knife on his waist.He looked very young, and although he was dressed modestly, he looked no older than thirty.

After cutting off a section of bamboo, he took it to the well and cleaned it, and walked into the room. There was no niche in this room, only a board was placed on the corner of the wall, and on the board was a portrait of the ancestor painted by someone. Mr. Wuke put the section of bamboo in front of the board. It was originally used as a vase. He picked some weeds and morning glory and put them in it. Not bad—he admired quietly. Then, Mr. Wuke sat at the desk and began to practice calligraphy.On the table is a model of Chu Suiliang's regular script, and some rubbings of master calligraphers.

It has been more than a year since I lived here.Perhaps Mr. Wuke is diligent in practicing calligraphy, and his current handwriting is even more beautiful than the words on the signboard. "The teacher next door!" "yes." He puts down his pen. "Is it the aunt next door? It's very hot today! Come in and sit down!" "No, no, I won't go in... I heard a loud noise just now, what is it?" "Haha, I was playing a prank." "You are the one who teaches children, how can you play tricks?" "To be honest..." "What were you doing just now?"

"I'm going to chop bamboo." "I wish I could. I thought it was happening again, and I was taken aback. My husband's story may not be reliable, but I heard from him that there are wanderers around here often, and they may want to kill you. . . . ..." "It doesn't matter, my head is not worth three pennies at all." "It's easy to see how you say it. Maybe you've had enemies before, and you don't remember... You'd better be careful. I don't care, but if you were killed, the young girls in the neighborhood would cry for you!"

The neighbor is a pen maker. The husband and wife are very kind, especially the proprietress who often guides the single Mr. Wuke how to cook food, and sometimes even helps him wash socks and mend clothes. There is one thing that makes Mr. Wuke very difficult. "I know a nice girl who I can introduce you to." She often matches him. "Why on earth do you not marry? Do you hate women?" She broke the casserole and asked the bottom line, often leaving Mr. Wuke wondering how to answer. But it's not her fault, Mr. Wuke is not good either. I am a ronin from Banshu, I have no family problems, and I want to learn more knowledge.After seeing a lot in Kyoto and Edo, I came here hoping to open a good private school and settle down here.

He also told his wife next door about his experience.The neighbors and his wife saw that he had reached the age of marriage, he was a good character, and he was also very honest. Therefore, in addition to taking the initiative to prepare three meals for him, of course they would think of his life-long events, which is understandable.In addition, Mr. Wuke sometimes walks outside, and many girls see him, and they all tell the pen maker couple that they hope to marry Mr. Wuke. Any ceremonies, dances, Buddha worship on the other shore day - although the life here is very small, people live a busy and lively life.Even the funeral ceremonies, which are full of sadness, and the care of the sick, everyone works together to complete them.

This is the warmth of living in the back street. A person lives alone in this lively back street. How interesting! Mr. Wuke sits at the small table, hoping to learn more about the principles of life from the mortal world. However, not only Mr. Wu, but it is impossible to predict what kind of people will live here in this world.Because the current situation is turbulent, and there are all kinds of people. Until a while ago, in the back street of Liubaba in Osaka, a craftsman with a shaved head named Youmeng lived in.As a result of the investigation by the Tokugawa family's subordinates, it turned out that the man was the former prefect of Tosa Town, and his name was Nagsoga's official Nai Shaofu Shengqin.This incident immediately caused a commotion, and when people nearby knew about it, he disappeared overnight.

Also, on the streets of Nagoya there is a man who does divination.Seeing his strange behavior, the Tokugawa family launched an investigation, and it turned out that the person turned out to be a servant of Sekihara's remnant Katsunaga Mori, named Taketa Nagao. For the Tokugawa family, people like Yukimura of Kudosan and Goto Kichiji, a wandering hero, must be paid close attention to. They must remain anonymous and be careful not to attract attention. This is their survival principle. It's not just these big figures who hide their names in the world, but also some unknown little people.These big and small people, dragons and snakes, are mixed together, making it impossible to distinguish them. This is the mystery of the back street.

As for Mr. Wuke, it has been rumored recently that his name is not Wuke, but Musashi. "That young man is called Kanmoto Musashi, and the private school he runs is just a cover. He once won a great victory in a martial arts competition under Shimatsu and Yoshioka of Ichijo Temple Village. He is a famous swordsman." However, people have not been encouraged to spread the word. "how is this possible?" Someone said so. "yes?……" Others expressed doubts.People often spy on Mr. Wuke secretly.Residents nearby even spy on him secretly from bamboo forests or open spaces at night.The wife next door often reminded him that someone was going to take his life.

Mr. Wuke himself seemed to be aware of being in danger. I already knew that. Therefore, although the wife next door came to remind him again today.At night-- "Couple next door, I'm going out, please help me pay attention to the door." After saying hello, he went out. The door of the pen maker couple's house is open, they are having dinner, and Mr. Wuke who is about to leave can be seen from the house. He was wearing a gray singlet and a bamboo hat on his head. Although he wore a pair of big and small swords when he went out, he didn't wear a hakama, and only wore ordinary plain clothes. If you put on cassocks and alms bags, you will look like an ascetic. The proprietress of the pen shop was amazed and said: "Where is he going? Teaching children in the morning, taking a nap at noon, and going out like a bat at night..." Her husband laughed and said: "He's a bachelor! There's nothing you can do about it. If you want to take care of other people's night outings, there's no end to it." Walking out of the open space, you can see the night of Okazaki.Although the heat of the day has not disappeared, the lights have been lit up all over the street at night.Amid the swaying figures, the sound of arrows, insects, and calls for watermelon and sushi can be heard.There are also some travelers who wear cool clothes and come out for a walk.This place is different from the lively atmosphere of the newly developed Edo. It is stable and has the style of a busy border town. "Oh! The teacher is gone." "There is no teacher." "He left without looking at us." The girls in the city exchanged glances and whispered.Some of the girls saluted him too.The whereabouts of Mr. Nothing had become their topic of conversation. But his footsteps still go forward.Long ago, this area specialized in making bows and arrows.There are many inns and prostitutes here to attract customers, and until today, Okazaki girls are quite famous on Tokaido.However, Mr. Wuke was unmoved. After a while, he came to the west side of the city.In the darkness, there was the sound of rushing water, which made people feel cool. There was a bridge about 380 meters long. Through the starlight, one could see the writing on the first bridge pillar: There was a thin monk on the bridge, and the two of them seemed to have agreed to wait there long ago, and the other said first: "Brother Musashi?" Mr. Wu Ke replied: "Is it another eight?" The two greeted each other with smiles. That's right!The other is Motota Matahachi.He was the one who was beaten with a hundred boards in front of the execution office in Edo and exiled. No but Musashi's pseudonym. The two stood on the bridge of bow and arrow, under the starlight, there was no old hatred between them. "Where is the Zen master?" Musashi asked. "I haven't come back from a trip, and there is no news." Another eight answered. "long time." The two sides muttered to themselves and walked across the Bow and Arrow Bridge side by side. On the other side there is a hill covered with pine trees, and on the hill there is an ancient temple.Because there is a Badie Mountain nearby, the ancient temple is also called Badie Temple. "Youba, the practice in the Zen temple is very hard!" They came to the mountain gate and climbed the dark ramp, Musashi asked. "It's really hard work." Youba honestly answered with his head down: "I wanted to run away several times. If you have to work so hard to become an adult, I even thought that I might as well hang myself." "You haven't obtained Master Shan's permission yet, so you're not considered a formal disciple. Now it's just the first step in your practice." "But—thanks to you, recently I have been urging myself not to be too cowardly." "Just by doing this, you can see the results of your cultivation." "When I am in pain, I always think of you. I believe that what you can do, I can do too." "That's right, what I can do, you can't do it." "In addition to thinking of you, I also think of my life saved by Zean, and the pain in my heart when I was punished with a hundred slaps in Edo, which often makes me clench my teeth. Sooner or later Be unremitting and motivate yourself to continue practicing.” "After you overcome the hardships of this road, you will definitely taste the supreme happiness. Pain and happiness are always with us day and night in a person's life, and they are inseparable. These two waves are constantly fighting each other. If you only choose one of them If you just want to live in peace, it is not called life, and you cannot experience the joy of existence.” "...I gradually understand this truth." "Just take yawning for example! The yawns of those who devote themselves to cultivating in suffering are completely different from the yawns of lazy people. Many people live in this world, but they can't really experience the taste of yawning, and even A lot of people just die worthless like worms." "In the temple, I can hear the truths of the people around me, which makes me very happy." "I really want to meet the Zen master sooner and entrust you to him. I also have questions about the 'Tao' and I want to ask the Zen master." "I don't know when he'll be back because I haven't heard from him for a year." "Let's say it's just a year, there are many Zen practitioners who live like a floating white cloud for two or three years without a fixed place. This is a common occurrence. You finally settled in this land, you'd better be enlightened, It's worth waiting four or five years." "Will you also stay in Okazaki during this period?" "That's right! I live in the backstreet, and getting in touch with the lowest level of the world is also a kind of practice. I don't just sit around and wait for the Zen master to come back. I also live in the city for the sake of practice." The mountain gate is not resplendent, it is just a thatched gate, and the main hall looks rather simple. Monk Youba led his friend into a small room next to the kitchen. Youba has not officially become a member of the monastery, so the monastery arranged for him to live here until Master Shan came back. Musashi often came here to look for him, and they would chat with him until midnight before going back.Of course, the two of them have rekindled their old friendship. As for how Youbayou abandoned all entanglements and reached his current state, there is also a story—this story must start when he left Edo.