Chapter 6 bed time story
"What's going on?!" Oni Kojima Yataro, who arrived first, asked out of breath.
Jinghu pointed at Xuangui's body with his chin, and Yataro ran over.The other generals also arrived, and they were relieved to know that Jinghu was safe and well, and gathered around Xuangui's body.
Yataro suddenly said, "Bring fire!"
One person brought the lamp from Jing Hu's room.Yataro took it, moved closer to Xuan Gui's body, and took off his hood. Everyone was shocked because his head was full of white hair.
"I've seen this person before." Yataro muttered, straddling the dead body without being too dirty, grabbed the dead body by both ears and pulled it up, staring at it for a long time, "I know! He is the Iga ninja used by King Kage , you see, although his hair is gray, he is indeed right!"
Everyone listened to what he said, watched carefully, and agreed: "That's right, it's really Hattori Xuangui."
Jing Hu also came over and asked, "Is that the person I saw in the Mishan Pharmacist Hall?"
"Yes! Look!"
Yataro brought Xuangui's face closer to Jinghu. Jinghu no longer remembered the impression Xuangui made on him in the Yaoshitang, so he backed away speechlessly.
As soon as Yataro put his hands down, Xuan Gui's head fell to the ground with a sound, and his chin protruded from the elastic force, moving as if he had come back to life, and everyone was startled.I saw that the chin receded little by little, returning to the position just now, and the big pointed nose was very clear under the light.
"Clean up the corpse immediately, and treat it as nothing, everyone remember!"
After Jing Hu ordered, he took the lamp and went back to the room with the musket.Before they left after cleaning up the bodies, he cleaned the muskets in the room, carefully wiped the barrels with a rag wrapped around a wooden stick, oiled them, and put them on the gun rack on the cot.
After returning to his seat, he listened attentively to the movement in the yard, and after making sure that there was no one there, he took out from his bosom the letter that Xuan Gui snatched from his mouth when he was dying.Having been bitten into several pieces by him, Jing Hu lay on the floor, making do with each piece, and looked at what was written on it.
"After the job is done, hire the person you recommend, and reward him as you wish!"
He recognized Qingjing's handwriting.He roughly knew what was going on, even so, he still felt the feeling of being slapped on the cheek suddenly, and anger overflowed his whole body.
"Why does he hate me so much?"
The words lingered in his trembling chest.
Then he thought: "Perhaps, our brothers will inevitably fight!"
However, when the emotional agitation disappeared, he felt an indescribable deep sadness and loneliness for himself who had not been loved by his father since he was a child, and his elder brother did not want him to live for him before he was an adult.
He wanted to cry, but tried hard to suppress the urge.
I don't know what kind of psychological effect, the appearance of Takeda Harunobu seen on the top of Misaka Mountain suddenly came to life, and he clearly remembered the towering majestic Mount Fuji, wearing a hunting suit, with an eagle on his fist, straddling The fair-skinned handsome young man on the black horse, and the slender and shiny eyes when he looked at himself.
"...he just exiled his father, but didn't kill him, because he was smart..."
Jing Hu stared at the upright, unshakable wick flame, letting his thoughts fly away.
Jiadang heard the sound of Jinghu shooting Xuangui.At that time, he was dozing off in a daze, the sound came to the mountain forest where he was hiding, the slight sound, but it woke him up immediately, thinking to the dark night sky: "It's like gunshots!" He has seen muskets.When he came to Genlai in Jizhou, he saw the martial arts monks in Genlai Temple practicing.They were separated by a narrow valley, the target was placed on the opposite mountain, and four or five people aimed and shot from the valley side.He heard the monks with bald heads wrapped in cloth scarves knotted in front of their foreheads say: "It's so far away, you can't hit it!" The shooting results were indeed not ideal, and some bullets still couldn't reach the opposite mountain, but the sound was indeed scary, and it echoed in the narrow valley, which was very scary.At that time, he thought that even if it was not easy to hit the target, the sound alone would be very powerful. Later, he saw a samurai carrying a musket to hunt at the foot of a daimyo castle on Sanyo Road. Duck. At that time, he was disguised as a merchant, so he walked over to chat with the samurai easily. "Brilliant, hit two with one shot!" The samurai said triumphantly, "It's nothing unusual, I've always been like this." "Since you have this powerful weapon, you must have made great achievements on the battlefield! As long as you see the general, aim at him and shoot him." "This thing is useless in war, it's too much trouble. Those ducks and pheasants won't rush at me, but the enemy will, while I'm still loading bullets, they've already pierced someone's chest and throat .Unlike bows and arrows that can be fired frequently, this thing can’t, it’s just a toy for adults and can only be used for hunting.” Kadang only knew that there were muskets in the western country, but he hadn't heard that there were guns in the eastern country, let alone the remote place of Echigo. He climbed out of the forest, crossed the ridge, and came to the hillside facing the city, overlooking the movement in the city.There were only two lights in the city, and the rest was pitch black.The two places with lights were also quiet, there was no movement at all, it didn't look like there was a change happening. He looked at it for a while, then returned to the place where he had just hid and lay down, and soon snored slightly.He seemed to be in a deep sleep, but he seemed to be very aware of the passage of time. When it was almost time for Xuan Gui to come back, he got up. "I think he probably failed! The one just now must have been a gunshot, and he probably doesn't know about it yet!" He packed up his clothes and went down the mountain to the city gate.He didn't wear a ninja costume. If Xuangui failed, he would either be arrested or killed, and the city would be on guard. It would be too dangerous to sneak in at this time. Therefore, he only planned to walk around the city to spy on the movement. . He circled the city and found that there was no movement in the city.He was convinced that Xuan Gui had indeed failed, and was indeed killed, or at least seriously injured, but there should have been some alarmed reactions in the city, but there was silence in front of him. "Strange!" His belief was a little shaken: "Perhaps, that wasn't the sound of gunshots...but if it wasn't, Xuan Gui should have come back. It must have been the sound of gunfire, but it was so calm..." He became more and more confused, not knowing what to do.He went back to the mountain first, and began to hide in the samurai's house the next night, thinking that if there was any change in the city, the samurai would definitely tell his family or visiting friends.However, he went to several houses, but he didn't hear anything about it, but there was a lot about the shooting at Jing Hure Middle School. "He is very focused and works on it at night. He puts it next to his pillow when he sleeps, and he is reluctant to leave even when he sleeps." "That thing is useless on the battlefield. He is still young and childish. He probably loves it like he has a new toy." Now Jiadang understood that Jinghu had a gun, and that Xuangui was indeed shot dead by him, but he still had no clue about the real situation, just because of this, it was driving people crazy. A few days later, a frosty morning.Looking down from the mountain, Kadam found that there were many people gathered on the small road leading from the villages around the basin to the outside of Tochio Castle.Those who walk on winding paths in fields and plains that are as bright as light snow are either carrying baskets or burdens.There were men and women, and some with children, and they all went in the direction of the city, and none of them went in the opposite direction. Jiadan thought for a while, and suddenly realized: "By the way, there may be a market today!" He immediately thought of a clever plan. He happily got up and prepared, rinsed his mouth and face with the clear water gushing from the middle of the mountain, combed his messy hair reflecting the water, brushed off the dust on his body, smoothed the wrinkles of his clothes, and dressed as a mountain monk again, leaning on a vajra staff, Diagonally cross the opposite mountain to the city, and disappear into the woods.Before long, he was heading for Tochio along a tributary of the Kariyata River. On the way, he met a middle-aged farmer and walked side by side with him naturally. "There seems to be a market today!" "That's right." It was a middle-aged farmer with a dull expression. There were cages hanging from both ends of the shoulder pole. The rear cage was filled with grain, the front one was stuffed with leafy radishes, and there was a fat female with tied wings and paws. chicken.The hen kept pecking at the vegetable leaves, but the people didn't notice it. Although Gadang saw it, he had something in his heart and didn't say anything. He still spoke calmly: "How many days does the market here have in a month?" "Two days, three days and twenty-three days, the city hopes to add another day, but there seems to be war." "Where is the market? Is it near the city?" "Where, in front of the Akiba Temple directly opposite the city, by the way, is Master going to worship Akiba Bodhisattva?" Although Jiadang didn't know that Autumn Leaf Sanchifang Bodhisattva was welcomed to this place, he responded, "Yes! I came here to pay homage to Sanchifang Bodhisattva. Is the market at the gate of the temple? The temple has been built for a long time right?" "Not at all, it was only built the year before last." When Jia Dang heard this, he deliberately pretended to be regretful and said, "Oh? So new? I came here because I heard it was very old..." "This temple is not old at all. The Bodhisattva in Zangwang Mountain was burned down the year before last. At that time, Mr. Jinghu in this city said that the Sanchifang Bodhisattva was moved here." "So that's it, I made a mistake." Then, when the topic changed, Jiadang chatted with him, and by the way, asked who would be Jing Hu's most important family. "The most important ones are of course Lord Honjo and Jinjin Xinbingwei. However, his favorite is Yataro Oni Kojima. Yataro's wife is his nurse when he was a child. She is extremely powerful and can even go to battle with a knife." Gadden chatted, and then brought the topic to muskets. "I have traveled around the world and seen a lot of new things. I remember seeing something called a musket when I went to Kishu Nerai Temple. I have never seen such a terrible thing." He was talking leisurely, but suddenly changed his tone: "However, it seems that there is nothing unusual here. I heard that the city lord recently got a stick from somewhere, and he is very enthusiastic about practicing. You have heard of that, right?" "I've heard of it. I haven't seen it, but I've heard the sound. When I was outside the city before, I heard guns being fired in the city. I was almost scared out of my wits." "Yeah, I heard that the city lord often practices, and killed an assassin with a gun a few nights ago." The farmer's eyes suddenly lit up, "Is there such a thing?" "Oh, haven't you heard? There's a lot of rumors from Qiji, saying that a shot shattered the assassin's shoulder, and he died. Although the city owner is young, he is a character. Everyone praises him so much." "yes?……" The farmer also had a moved expression, but when he suddenly found the hen pecking at the vegetable leaves, he yelled in fright: "You thief chicken, you have pecked out everything you want to sell, damn it!" He stopped, put down the cage, grabbed the chicken with one hand, and the vegetables with the other, with annoyed expression on his face, "Can you still sell people like this?!" "Oops, I didn't notice it, I'm sorry!" Caden reassured him. He broke up with the peasants in front of the temple, walked up the high stone steps, and came down after paying homage to the Bodhisattva. There were already rumors in the market that Jinghu killed the assassin with a gun a few nights ago.He was secretly happy and left quickly. That night, he sneaked under the floor of Yataro's house and waited for dawn.He hid in the bedroom of Yataro and his wife, and they fell asleep as soon as it got dark.Jiadang didn't need to peep, he could tell from the atmosphere that the child's quilt was sandwiched between the husband and wife, and that it was a one-year-old, seven- to eight-month-old boy.The husband and wife had little pillow talk, and fell asleep quickly, only the sound of Yataro's snoring rang out in the quiet night, but the child woke up in about an hour and began to cry irritatingly. Songjiang reached out to pat the child, but the child cried more and more.The snoring became slightly quieter, and soon stopped suddenly, and I heard Yataro say, "Are you hungry? Or are you wet?" Songjiang patted the child again, but the crying was louder. "He must be hungry, feed him milk!" Songjiang got up, picked up the child, and sat on the bed.The child stopped crying immediately and made a sucking sound of tsk tsk. Soon, Song Jiang suddenly asked, "I heard that Young Master Jing Hu killed an assassin with a gun, right?" "What?" Yataro was a little surprised. Caden immediately pricked up his ears. Songjiang said lightly: "I heard that it was just a few nights ago, the musket is so effective?" "have no idea!" Yataro's reaction was very cold, as if he didn't want to answer.
Yataro's voice was cold, but Kadang felt that something was different, and he expected Matsue to pursue it further. "Why don't you know? It's so fierce inside and outside the city." "Who did you hear that from?" Yataro's voice was tinged with anxiety, and Kadang was now joyful. "Who said that? Everyone said that! Today is the market! I'm going to see what I can buy, and I hear this wherever I go. You won't hide it from me, right?!" "That's what the market says?" Yataro's tone was a little surprised. "I think you can tell me the truth!" Yataro didn't make a sound. "Where did the assassin come from? Did it come from Santiao? Or an ordinary thief?" Songjiang just finished speaking, followed by a voice coaxing the child: "Hey, go to sleep!" She seemed to put the child back on the bed, and continued: "Just tell me! Young Master Jing Hu is your master, and also my master! And I once took him with him, and now he kills the assassin even when he farms the fields. Isn't it shameful that all the farmers know about it, but I don't? Just tell me!" "..." "Can you keep this from me? Tell me the truth! Where did the assassin come from?" She probably grabbed Yataro's clothes with her hands, and there was a creaking sound on the bed.Jia Dang was listening under the floor, wondering that this woman was full of vulgar language, it was hard to imagine that she was the nurse of Xiping Erjinghu. Ya Taro probably couldn't stand being pulled by her, "Let go! I'll just tell you, but you must not talk nonsense about this matter outside. Young Master Jinghu has specially ordered that since there are rumors outside, I will tell you. Is such that……" He told me everything that happened that night. "Who is an assassin?" "Hatbu Genki is the Iga ninja that King Jing used before his death." "It's him! Is he still working for Chunri Mountain? Or has he already worked for another family?" "He's still from Mount Kasuga." "In that case, why did he sneak into the city?" "I don't know at all. Young Master Jinghu seems to know, but he didn't say anything, and we don't know either. I only know that Xuangui sneaked into the city that night, ran to the front yard where he lived, and was shot dead by him. " "..." Yataro and Matsue continued talking, Kadan felt that there was no need to listen any more, but he patiently waited for the couple to slip out of the floor after they fell asleep.
When Jiadang returned to the mountain, he couldn't help feeling sad for Xuangui.Iga ninjas rarely die well.Because Iga has many mountains and little arable land, the residents left their hometowns to make a living with ancestral skills for generations, but almost all of them did not end well because of their work. Ghosts and burials are considered good, most of them are discarded in the barren mountains and wild places, becoming the bait of wild animals and birds. Most of the people in Iga were psychologically prepared for such an end, and they left their hometown because they had this awareness, because it was better to go out to make a living than to stay in their hometown and live a life of hunger and cold. Regarding this action, Jiadang didn't know what kind of agreement Xuangui and Qingjing had. Xuangui only told him: "When things are done, Qingjing Guild will hire you." However, Jia Beware thought that besides giving Xuan Gui a considerable amount of bounty, Qing Jing might also agree to take Xuan Gui's seat by himself in the future. Xuan Gui was a legendary ninja in his hometown of Iga, but unfortunately he is old now and is no longer as powerful as before.It was very wise for him to think of resting his hands and returning to his hometown at this time to enjoy his life in peace.He may have had this idea a long time ago, and he has a lot of gold and silver around him. With this reward, he can live a comfortable old age.It's a pity that he ended up tragically, and people have to feel sorry for him. The more Jiadang thought about it, the more he sympathized with Xuangui. He thought: "I want to avenge him, and I want to let them know how terrible and stubborn the Iga ninjas are! This is also for the sake of the future of the villagers!" He fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake up until it was three poles in the sun, and then he kept thinking about how to take revenge.He came up with many clever plans, but he didn't know which one to choose the best. In the afternoon, he climbed to the top of the hill and looked down at the city from the shade of the trees, still thinking about it.He heard gunshots in the city, intermittent, echoing echoes that shook the bright still daylight of the Basin air. He wandered around, looking for the source of the gunshots. "Ah! Is that over there?" In an open space in the outer city with good sunlight, seven or eight bean-like figures were wriggling there.On the outskirts of the clearing, near Chenghao, there are a few pine trees with intertwined red trunks. There seems to be a target under the trees, and the embankment raised by the mound looks a little inclined.Among the bean-like crowd, a puff of white smoke rose with a "boom", and dust and smoke rose from the target, followed by a deafening sound. Gardan watched them practice all the time. After finishing the practice and returning to the hiding place, he was still thinking about revenge.That night, after he fell asleep listening to the sound of the wind and falling leaves, his disorganized thoughts suddenly became clear. "I want to avenge Xuan Gui wholeheartedly. I'm such a fool! Even if I kill Jinghu, Xuan Gui can't be resurrected, and Qingjing is in vain. Even if he hires me, I don't think he has any future. According to my intuition, I'm afraid he won't last long, but Jing Hu will have a bright future, maybe I should change this stupid idea and work for Jing Hu instead!" He then thought: "As a ninja, I still want to go back to my hometown to enjoy the rest of my life. This plan is wrong. Xuangui died when he had this idea, and he was not killed by someone. Also, did he survive? How much gold and silver, what agreement with Qingjing this time, he didn't tell me a word, it's too outlandish, wouldn't it be a waste of effort to avenge this kind of person?! Moreover, Xuan Gui said that Qingjing agreed to this time After the matter is completed, let me take over his seat, but there is no basis for it. If I go back after finishing the matter, and Qingjing denies this agreement, there is nothing I can do. I didn't understand this matter when Xuan Gui was alive. What's more, he is dead, and Qingjing is not good at talking, if I want to take it seriously, wouldn't I be making fun of myself?!" He thought about it, and his mind became clearer. "Forget it, I'll follow Jinghu's example! Brother Xuangui, although I'm not mean enough, everyone has their own ambitions. I only hope that you will become a Buddha soon, Namo Amitabha!" After all, put your palms together and bow.
Kadang couldn't wait until dawn, and went down the mountain to Yataro's house.This time he entered through the entrance in a dignified manner. "I'm Kato Kusaku, a native of Iga Township. If I have something to ask, can I talk to you!" Song Jiang came out to receive him. In her left hand, she held the young man with flushed cheeks and strong skeleton.Her beautiful face and strong figure remained, and the child seemed extremely light in her hands. "Wait a minute, he's going to work in the city later, I'll ask him if he wants to see you!" Her language is indeed vulgar, but her manner is very sincere. Jiadang thought of hiding under their couple's bed the night before and eavesdropping on their pillow conversation. He couldn't help but wanted to laugh, but he held back his smile and replied with a restrained face: "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I just hope that when he enters Let's talk in front of the city." "Really?" Songjiang put the child on her lap, opened her chest, took out her big white breasts and stuffed them into the child's mouth. She looked at Jiadang for a while, "You are dressed as a mountain monk, but you just said yes Iga's..." "Katou Hisaku, a native of Iga." "Are you a ninja?" "Exactly!" "Oh! Then I'll go and tell him." Songjiang carried the child into the inner room, and after a while he came out and said, "Please go around the yard! Don't take off your shoes and put them on again, if you trouble me, I will trouble you too!" Jiadan obediently entered the courtyard through the wooden door on the side of the entrance.It was from this courtyard that he had sneaked under the floor the night before, and he had been careful not to leave any footprints, so that in this courtyard lined with frost pillars, he left no trace at all.He is very satisfied. Yataro was sitting on the inner side of the verandah floor, already fully dressed, his bloody face and the corners of his slightly raised mouth and chin seemed to be full of energy. Kadang walked to the front of the porch and was about to announce his name when Yataro said, "I already know, sit down!" He pointed to a round mat that had been prepared on the side of the corridor. "Thank you!" Garden sat down. "What can I do for you?" Yataro asked directly. "I learned ninjutsu in my hometown, and I intend to serve the public. I heard that the lord of the city, Xiping Erjing Hujun, has courage and insight. He is a rare military commander. If you can recommend it for Mr. Jinghu, I would be very grateful." Yataro didn't answer right away, but just stared at him more keenly, "Do you know a person named Hattori Genki? He is also your Iga ninja." Jia Beware finally came, but on the surface he replied calmly: "I only heard his name, but I don't know him. Although he is very famous among Iga ninjas, he will be relatively young next year, and Mr. Xuan Gui has long since left his hometown. , We have no chance to meet each other. When I was in the village, I heard that Xuan Gui was serving in Chunri Mountain City in your country. You must know Xuan Gui. If so, you can ask him about my tricks. Although we have never met before, he should have heard about my skills." Yataro stared at Kadam again, wondering what was going on in his mind.In fact, Jiadang guessed the question he was thinking at the moment, but whether he could believe what Jiadang said, maybe he and Xuangui were of the same breed and came for the same purpose, but they might also come here with sincerity Otherwise, she wouldn't have such a calm and steady look. After Songjiang came out with tea, she carried the child on her back, and her two chubby little feet hung down from the straps on Songjiang's buttocks. "thanks!" It was really cold, Jiadang took the teacup and held it tightly with both hands.The teacup was steaming, holding it in my hand was indescribably warm and comfortable.He hadn't touched anything warm for days.After his hands were warm, he sipped his tea slowly.In this cold weather, hot tea is more delicious and sweet. Yataro asked, "Are you famous in this industry?" Jiadang smiled and said: "Fei Jiadang under the Xiahun name may not be well-known in the Eastern Kingdom, but he is well-known in Kyoto and the Western Kingdom. If you doubt it, you can ask Brother Xuangui for confirmation." "Since the name is Feijiadang, he is very good at flying and jumping!" "I can jump over about seven meters without a run-up, I can easily jump over ten meters with a pole, I can jump over three meters in a high jump, and I can jump over a four-meter-high dirt wall with a three-foot pole, but this Kung fu is nothing, what is great is that bows and arrows or even the muskets popular in Western countries cannot hit the target, as long as the distance is 20 meters away, it will definitely miss." Yataro opened his eyes wide.
Jiadang heard the sound of Jinghu shooting Xuangui.At that time, he was dozing off in a daze, the sound came to the mountain forest where he was hiding, the slight sound, but it woke him up immediately, thinking to the dark night sky: "It's like gunshots!" He has seen muskets.When he came to Genlai in Jizhou, he saw the martial arts monks in Genlai Temple practicing.They were separated by a narrow valley, the target was placed on the opposite mountain, and four or five people aimed and shot from the valley side.He heard the monks with bald heads wrapped in cloth scarves knotted in front of their foreheads say: "It's so far away, you can't hit it!" The shooting results were indeed not ideal, and some bullets still couldn't reach the opposite mountain, but the sound was indeed scary, and it echoed in the narrow valley, which was very scary.At that time, he thought that even if it was not easy to hit the target, the sound alone would be very powerful. Later, he saw a samurai carrying a musket to hunt at the foot of a daimyo castle on Sanyo Road. Duck. At that time, he was disguised as a merchant, so he walked over to chat with the samurai easily. "Brilliant, hit two with one shot!" The samurai said triumphantly, "It's nothing unusual, I've always been like this." "Since you have this powerful weapon, you must have made great achievements on the battlefield! As long as you see the general, aim at him and shoot him." "This thing is useless in war, it's too much trouble. Those ducks and pheasants won't rush at me, but the enemy will, while I'm still loading bullets, they've already pierced someone's chest and throat .Unlike bows and arrows that can be fired frequently, this thing can’t, it’s just a toy for adults and can only be used for hunting.” Kadang only knew that there were muskets in the western country, but he hadn't heard that there were guns in the eastern country, let alone the remote place of Echigo. He climbed out of the forest, crossed the ridge, and came to the hillside facing the city, overlooking the movement in the city.There were only two lights in the city, and the rest was pitch black.The two places with lights were also quiet, there was no movement at all, it didn't look like there was a change happening. He looked at it for a while, then returned to the place where he had just hid and lay down, and soon snored slightly.He seemed to be in a deep sleep, but he seemed to be very aware of the passage of time. When it was almost time for Xuan Gui to come back, he got up. "I think he probably failed! The one just now must have been a gunshot, and he probably doesn't know about it yet!" He packed up his clothes and went down the mountain to the city gate.He didn't wear a ninja costume. If Xuangui failed, he would either be arrested or killed, and the city would be on guard. It would be too dangerous to sneak in at this time. Therefore, he only planned to walk around the city to spy on the movement. . He circled the city and found that there was no movement in the city.He was convinced that Xuan Gui had indeed failed, and was indeed killed, or at least seriously injured, but there should have been some alarmed reactions in the city, but there was silence in front of him. "Strange!" His belief was a little shaken: "Perhaps, that wasn't the sound of gunshots...but if it wasn't, Xuan Gui should have come back. It must have been the sound of gunfire, but it was so calm..." He became more and more confused, not knowing what to do.He went back to the mountain first, and began to hide in the samurai's house the next night, thinking that if there was any change in the city, the samurai would definitely tell his family or visiting friends.However, he went to several houses, but he didn't hear anything about it, but there was a lot about the shooting at Jing Hure Middle School. "He is very focused and works on it at night. He puts it next to his pillow when he sleeps, and he is reluctant to leave even when he sleeps." "That thing is useless on the battlefield. He is still young and childish. He probably loves it like he has a new toy." Now Jiadang understood that Jinghu had a gun, and that Xuangui was indeed shot dead by him, but he still had no clue about the real situation, just because of this, it was driving people crazy. A few days later, a frosty morning.Looking down from the mountain, Kadam found that there were many people gathered on the small road leading from the villages around the basin to the outside of Tochio Castle.Those who walk on winding paths in fields and plains that are as bright as light snow are either carrying baskets or burdens.There were men and women, and some with children, and they all went in the direction of the city, and none of them went in the opposite direction. Jiadan thought for a while, and suddenly realized: "By the way, there may be a market today!" He immediately thought of a clever plan. He happily got up and prepared, rinsed his mouth and face with the clear water gushing from the middle of the mountain, combed his messy hair reflecting the water, brushed off the dust on his body, smoothed the wrinkles of his clothes, and dressed as a mountain monk again, leaning on a vajra staff, Diagonally cross the opposite mountain to the city, and disappear into the woods.Before long, he was heading for Tochio along a tributary of the Kariyata River. On the way, he met a middle-aged farmer and walked side by side with him naturally. "There seems to be a market today!" "That's right." It was a middle-aged farmer with a dull expression. There were cages hanging from both ends of the shoulder pole. The rear cage was filled with grain, the front one was stuffed with leafy radishes, and there was a fat female with tied wings and paws. chicken.The hen kept pecking at the vegetable leaves, but the people didn't notice it. Although Gadang saw it, he had something in his heart and didn't say anything. He still spoke calmly: "How many days does the market here have in a month?" "Two days, three days and twenty-three days, the city hopes to add another day, but there seems to be war." "Where is the market? Is it near the city?" "Where, in front of the Akiba Temple directly opposite the city, by the way, is Master going to worship Akiba Bodhisattva?" Although Jiadang didn't know that Autumn Leaf Sanchifang Bodhisattva was welcomed to this place, he responded, "Yes! I came here to pay homage to Sanchifang Bodhisattva. Is the market at the gate of the temple? The temple has been built for a long time right?" "Not at all, it was only built the year before last." When Jia Dang heard this, he deliberately pretended to be regretful and said, "Oh? So new? I came here because I heard it was very old..." "This temple is not old at all. The Bodhisattva in Zangwang Mountain was burned down the year before last. At that time, Mr. Jinghu in this city said that the Sanchifang Bodhisattva was moved here." "So that's it, I made a mistake." Then, when the topic changed, Jiadang chatted with him, and by the way, asked who would be Jing Hu's most important family. "The most important ones are of course Lord Honjo and Jinjin Xinbingwei. However, his favorite is Yataro Oni Kojima. Yataro's wife is his nurse when he was a child. She is extremely powerful and can even go to battle with a knife." Gadden chatted, and then brought the topic to muskets. "I have traveled around the world and seen a lot of new things. I remember seeing something called a musket when I went to Kishu Nerai Temple. I have never seen such a terrible thing." He was talking leisurely, but suddenly changed his tone: "However, it seems that there is nothing unusual here. I heard that the city lord recently got a stick from somewhere, and he is very enthusiastic about practicing. You have heard of that, right?" "I've heard of it. I haven't seen it, but I've heard the sound. When I was outside the city before, I heard guns being fired in the city. I was almost scared out of my wits." "Yeah, I heard that the city lord often practices, and killed an assassin with a gun a few nights ago." The farmer's eyes suddenly lit up, "Is there such a thing?" "Oh, haven't you heard? There's a lot of rumors from Qiji, saying that a shot shattered the assassin's shoulder, and he died. Although the city owner is young, he is a character. Everyone praises him so much." "yes?……" The farmer also had a moved expression, but when he suddenly found the hen pecking at the vegetable leaves, he yelled in fright: "You thief chicken, you have pecked out everything you want to sell, damn it!" He stopped, put down the cage, grabbed the chicken with one hand, and the vegetables with the other, with annoyed expression on his face, "Can you still sell people like this?!" "Oops, I didn't notice it, I'm sorry!" Caden reassured him. He broke up with the peasants in front of the temple, walked up the high stone steps, and came down after paying homage to the Bodhisattva. There were already rumors in the market that Jinghu killed the assassin with a gun a few nights ago.He was secretly happy and left quickly. That night, he sneaked under the floor of Yataro's house and waited for dawn.He hid in the bedroom of Yataro and his wife, and they fell asleep as soon as it got dark.Jiadang didn't need to peep, he could tell from the atmosphere that the child's quilt was sandwiched between the husband and wife, and that it was a one-year-old, seven- to eight-month-old boy.The husband and wife had little pillow talk, and fell asleep quickly, only the sound of Yataro's snoring rang out in the quiet night, but the child woke up in about an hour and began to cry irritatingly. Songjiang reached out to pat the child, but the child cried more and more.The snoring became slightly quieter, and soon stopped suddenly, and I heard Yataro say, "Are you hungry? Or are you wet?" Songjiang patted the child again, but the crying was louder. "He must be hungry, feed him milk!" Songjiang got up, picked up the child, and sat on the bed.The child stopped crying immediately and made a sucking sound of tsk tsk. Soon, Song Jiang suddenly asked, "I heard that Young Master Jing Hu killed an assassin with a gun, right?" "What?" Yataro was a little surprised. Caden immediately pricked up his ears. Songjiang said lightly: "I heard that it was just a few nights ago, the musket is so effective?" "have no idea!" Yataro's reaction was very cold, as if he didn't want to answer.
Yataro's voice was cold, but Kadang felt that something was different, and he expected Matsue to pursue it further. "Why don't you know? It's so fierce inside and outside the city." "Who did you hear that from?" Yataro's voice was tinged with anxiety, and Kadang was now joyful. "Who said that? Everyone said that! Today is the market! I'm going to see what I can buy, and I hear this wherever I go. You won't hide it from me, right?!" "That's what the market says?" Yataro's tone was a little surprised. "I think you can tell me the truth!" Yataro didn't make a sound. "Where did the assassin come from? Did it come from Santiao? Or an ordinary thief?" Songjiang just finished speaking, followed by a voice coaxing the child: "Hey, go to sleep!" She seemed to put the child back on the bed, and continued: "Just tell me! Young Master Jing Hu is your master, and also my master! And I once took him with him, and now he kills the assassin even when he farms the fields. Isn't it shameful that all the farmers know about it, but I don't? Just tell me!" "..." "Can you keep this from me? Tell me the truth! Where did the assassin come from?" She probably grabbed Yataro's clothes with her hands, and there was a creaking sound on the bed.Jia Dang was listening under the floor, wondering that this woman was full of vulgar language, it was hard to imagine that she was the nurse of Xiping Erjinghu. Ya Taro probably couldn't stand being pulled by her, "Let go! I'll just tell you, but you must not talk nonsense about this matter outside. Young Master Jinghu has specially ordered that since there are rumors outside, I will tell you. Is such that……" He told me everything that happened that night. "Who is an assassin?" "Hatbu Genki is the Iga ninja that King Jing used before his death." "It's him! Is he still working for Chunri Mountain? Or has he already worked for another family?" "He's still from Mount Kasuga." "In that case, why did he sneak into the city?" "I don't know at all. Young Master Jinghu seems to know, but he didn't say anything, and we don't know either. I only know that Xuangui sneaked into the city that night, ran to the front yard where he lived, and was shot dead by him. " "..." Yataro and Matsue continued talking, Kadan felt that there was no need to listen any more, but he patiently waited for the couple to slip out of the floor after they fell asleep.
When Jiadang returned to the mountain, he couldn't help feeling sad for Xuangui.Iga ninjas rarely die well.Because Iga has many mountains and little arable land, the residents left their hometowns to make a living with ancestral skills for generations, but almost all of them did not end well because of their work. Ghosts and burials are considered good, most of them are discarded in the barren mountains and wild places, becoming the bait of wild animals and birds. Most of the people in Iga were psychologically prepared for such an end, and they left their hometown because they had this awareness, because it was better to go out to make a living than to stay in their hometown and live a life of hunger and cold. Regarding this action, Jiadang didn't know what kind of agreement Xuangui and Qingjing had. Xuangui only told him: "When things are done, Qingjing Guild will hire you." However, Jia Beware thought that besides giving Xuan Gui a considerable amount of bounty, Qing Jing might also agree to take Xuan Gui's seat by himself in the future. Xuan Gui was a legendary ninja in his hometown of Iga, but unfortunately he is old now and is no longer as powerful as before.It was very wise for him to think of resting his hands and returning to his hometown at this time to enjoy his life in peace.He may have had this idea a long time ago, and he has a lot of gold and silver around him. With this reward, he can live a comfortable old age.It's a pity that he ended up tragically, and people have to feel sorry for him. The more Jiadang thought about it, the more he sympathized with Xuangui. He thought: "I want to avenge him, and I want to let them know how terrible and stubborn the Iga ninjas are! This is also for the sake of the future of the villagers!" He fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake up until it was three poles in the sun, and then he kept thinking about how to take revenge.He came up with many clever plans, but he didn't know which one to choose the best. In the afternoon, he climbed to the top of the hill and looked down at the city from the shade of the trees, still thinking about it.He heard gunshots in the city, intermittent, echoing echoes that shook the bright still daylight of the Basin air. He wandered around, looking for the source of the gunshots. "Ah! Is that over there?" In an open space in the outer city with good sunlight, seven or eight bean-like figures were wriggling there.On the outskirts of the clearing, near Chenghao, there are a few pine trees with intertwined red trunks. There seems to be a target under the trees, and the embankment raised by the mound looks a little inclined.Among the bean-like crowd, a puff of white smoke rose with a "boom", and dust and smoke rose from the target, followed by a deafening sound. Gardan watched them practice all the time. After finishing the practice and returning to the hiding place, he was still thinking about revenge.That night, after he fell asleep listening to the sound of the wind and falling leaves, his disorganized thoughts suddenly became clear. "I want to avenge Xuan Gui wholeheartedly. I'm such a fool! Even if I kill Jinghu, Xuan Gui can't be resurrected, and Qingjing is in vain. Even if he hires me, I don't think he has any future. According to my intuition, I'm afraid he won't last long, but Jing Hu will have a bright future, maybe I should change this stupid idea and work for Jing Hu instead!" He then thought: "As a ninja, I still want to go back to my hometown to enjoy the rest of my life. This plan is wrong. Xuangui died when he had this idea, and he was not killed by someone. Also, did he survive? How much gold and silver, what agreement with Qingjing this time, he didn't tell me a word, it's too outlandish, wouldn't it be a waste of effort to avenge this kind of person?! Moreover, Xuan Gui said that Qingjing agreed to this time After the matter is completed, let me take over his seat, but there is no basis for it. If I go back after finishing the matter, and Qingjing denies this agreement, there is nothing I can do. I didn't understand this matter when Xuan Gui was alive. What's more, he is dead, and Qingjing is not good at talking, if I want to take it seriously, wouldn't I be making fun of myself?!" He thought about it, and his mind became clearer. "Forget it, I'll follow Jinghu's example! Brother Xuangui, although I'm not mean enough, everyone has their own ambitions. I only hope that you will become a Buddha soon, Namo Amitabha!" After all, put your palms together and bow.
Kadang couldn't wait until dawn, and went down the mountain to Yataro's house.This time he entered through the entrance in a dignified manner. "I'm Kato Kusaku, a native of Iga Township. If I have something to ask, can I talk to you!" Song Jiang came out to receive him. In her left hand, she held the young man with flushed cheeks and strong skeleton.Her beautiful face and strong figure remained, and the child seemed extremely light in her hands. "Wait a minute, he's going to work in the city later, I'll ask him if he wants to see you!" Her language is indeed vulgar, but her manner is very sincere. Jiadang thought of hiding under their couple's bed the night before and eavesdropping on their pillow conversation. He couldn't help but wanted to laugh, but he held back his smile and replied with a restrained face: "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I just hope that when he enters Let's talk in front of the city." "Really?" Songjiang put the child on her lap, opened her chest, took out her big white breasts and stuffed them into the child's mouth. She looked at Jiadang for a while, "You are dressed as a mountain monk, but you just said yes Iga's..." "Katou Hisaku, a native of Iga." "Are you a ninja?" "Exactly!" "Oh! Then I'll go and tell him." Songjiang carried the child into the inner room, and after a while he came out and said, "Please go around the yard! Don't take off your shoes and put them on again, if you trouble me, I will trouble you too!" Jiadan obediently entered the courtyard through the wooden door on the side of the entrance.It was from this courtyard that he had sneaked under the floor the night before, and he had been careful not to leave any footprints, so that in this courtyard lined with frost pillars, he left no trace at all.He is very satisfied. Yataro was sitting on the inner side of the verandah floor, already fully dressed, his bloody face and the corners of his slightly raised mouth and chin seemed to be full of energy. Kadang walked to the front of the porch and was about to announce his name when Yataro said, "I already know, sit down!" He pointed to a round mat that had been prepared on the side of the corridor. "Thank you!" Garden sat down. "What can I do for you?" Yataro asked directly. "I learned ninjutsu in my hometown, and I intend to serve the public. I heard that the lord of the city, Xiping Erjing Hujun, has courage and insight. He is a rare military commander. If you can recommend it for Mr. Jinghu, I would be very grateful." Yataro didn't answer right away, but just stared at him more keenly, "Do you know a person named Hattori Genki? He is also your Iga ninja." Jia Beware finally came, but on the surface he replied calmly: "I only heard his name, but I don't know him. Although he is very famous among Iga ninjas, he will be relatively young next year, and Mr. Xuan Gui has long since left his hometown. , We have no chance to meet each other. When I was in the village, I heard that Xuan Gui was serving in Chunri Mountain City in your country. You must know Xuan Gui. If so, you can ask him about my tricks. Although we have never met before, he should have heard about my skills." Yataro stared at Kadam again, wondering what was going on in his mind.In fact, Jiadang guessed the question he was thinking at the moment, but whether he could believe what Jiadang said, maybe he and Xuangui were of the same breed and came for the same purpose, but they might also come here with sincerity Otherwise, she wouldn't have such a calm and steady look. After Songjiang came out with tea, she carried the child on her back, and her two chubby little feet hung down from the straps on Songjiang's buttocks. "thanks!" It was really cold, Jiadang took the teacup and held it tightly with both hands.The teacup was steaming, holding it in my hand was indescribably warm and comfortable.He hadn't touched anything warm for days.After his hands were warm, he sipped his tea slowly.In this cold weather, hot tea is more delicious and sweet. Yataro asked, "Are you famous in this industry?" Jiadang smiled and said: "Fei Jiadang under the Xiahun name may not be well-known in the Eastern Kingdom, but he is well-known in Kyoto and the Western Kingdom. If you doubt it, you can ask Brother Xuangui for confirmation." "Since the name is Feijiadang, he is very good at flying and jumping!" "I can jump over about seven meters without a run-up, I can easily jump over ten meters with a pole, I can jump over three meters in a high jump, and I can jump over a four-meter-high dirt wall with a three-foot pole, but this Kung fu is nothing, what is great is that bows and arrows or even the muskets popular in Western countries cannot hit the target, as long as the distance is 20 meters away, it will definitely miss." Yataro opened his eyes wide.