Shanyin Country is an island country composed of hundreds of islands.
Honshu Island is very large, with many vassal kingdoms including Izumo, Akami, Owari, Mikawa, Nagano, and Akimoto.
Although it is a vassal state, its territory is actually not very large. Three or two vassals are roughly equivalent to one county of Luying.
The lord is called a feudal lord, usually also called a daimyo, which is understood to be similar to a vassal. They are independent of each other, conduct conquests, and are all nominally loyal to the royal family.
The divinely appointed royal family "Kamifu Clan", with its capital in Edo.
"Old Rune Man" is the shogun, who has great power and is almost the first person under the imperial power. This guy's life is also full of legends. He started as a small feudal lord and got to the present step by step.
This is the information Su Lun learned about Shanyin Country before.
From Pirate City to Yamagakuni, one usually takes the sea route into the inland river, changes to a small boat and goes directly to Nagano, and then changes to the land route to Edo Castle...
Now the ships of their Ninth Fleet were scuttled in the sea before they entered the inland river, so they can only take the land route.
On the winding mountain road, the beams of alchemy lamps and torches illuminated a long fire dragon.
Snowflakes were floating in the sky, and a thick layer of snow had accumulated on the roadside.
Under the moonlight, it is covered with silver.
"Bah! As soon as I came here, I encountered some kind of monster and sank the boat. It's so damn unlucky."
"It's best not to be far from the shore, otherwise we will be in big trouble."
"The evil fire just now was so damn terrifying that it disappeared just as soon as people said it was gone. I still don't understand what happened."
"Yes, I have heard about the monsters in Shanyin Country before, but they are rare to see. I didn't expect it to be so unlucky, but we encountered them."
""
The six to seven hundred people of the Ninth Fleet had just come out of the sea, shivering from the cold, shivering, and walking around cursing.
In the crowd, Su Lun listened to everyone whispering, and his thoughts were racing in his mind.
Is it really because throwing filth into the sea offended monsters?
Obviously it's not that simple.
Someone should stop them from going to Shanyin Country.
The captains and first mates of the divisions seemed to have guessed something was wrong, but the big pirate group had money to take and they also had obligations.
Now that I realize something is wrong, I can only bite the bullet and move on.
The group walked a few kilometers, and the guide Matsunagahide who was walking at the front suddenly spoke again, his attitude was still extremely humble, "Mr. Hands, there is a village in the mountain col ahead, called the 'Forging Sword Village'. There is a village hidden in our mountain.
Some special customs and some small places will also enshrine monsters for protection and safety. Therefore, no matter what strange sacrificial behaviors adults see this time, please be sure to ignore those rural people and try not to touch some taboos.
Otherwise, if you offend the monster, you will get into a lot of trouble."
""
"Tea Beard" Hanz listened, the corners of his eyes twitching slightly.
If it were before, he probably wouldn't take it seriously.
But after just experiencing the shipwreck, he no longer dared to be careless.
He even regretted that he had not listened to the guide's advice before, offended the monster, and suffered heavy losses. He said to the people behind him: "Did you hear it? When you enter the village, you will be honest and don't mess around like this."
Something happened. Let's continue on our way tomorrow morning!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Everyone replied listlessly that a big change had just occurred and no one wanted to cause more trouble.
But when Su Lun, who was at the end of the team, heard the guide's words, his mind became active.
Worship monsters?
He has been thinking about how the monster from Shanyin Kingdom came to be.
The origins of monsters, sea monsters, and even aberrations can all be clearly explained and traced back to their origins.
But this "monster" is special.
They are like rootless duckweeds. They clearly appear to be existences that should only appear in legends and stories, but they suddenly appear in reality.
The food chain, ecological chain, and reproductive chain are all difficult to explain using conventional principles.
It gives people the feeling that it seems to have appeared out of thin air from myths and legends.
After thinking hard to no avail, Su Lun continued to walk with the large army.
Not long after, they climbed over a mountain col and suddenly saw a small village.
There are not very bright lights in the village, which look like oil lamps and firewood. There is a layer of white snow on the roof, and smoke is still rising from the chimney.
The pirates of the Ninth Fleet suddenly became excited when they saw the village.
Not only did he have a place to stay, but more importantly, he saw a living person. The previous fear of being dominated by monsters dissipated a lot.
"Tea Beard" Hanz waved his hand and said: "Brothers, find a farmer to stay at. Each team will arrange a sentry post. We will set off early tomorrow morning!"
After a pause, he thought of something, and warned again: "We are not here to rob this time. Remember to stay in the house honestly and don't fuck around!"
"Okay, Captain!"
"I know, boss."
"Hahaha, I finally have a place to stay."
Everyone responded in unison. They couldn't wait to go inside the house to warm themselves up by the fire and warm their frozen bodies.
The pirates had no military discipline, so a group of people swarmed down.
Whoever can grab a good house belongs to him.
Su Lun was still carrying the issued individual artillery on his shoulders. He was not walking fast and fell behind the team.
When he passed the mountain pass, he was watching the guide Matsunaga Hide earnestly and repeatedly persuade the pirates who were going on not to touch some taboos.
Seeing that there was no one in the group, the guide also left.
Seeing him walking beside her, Su Lun asked casually: "Mr. Guide, is there any explanation for why this place is called 'Sword Forging Village'?"
Yongxiu glanced at Su Lun, bowed with fear on his face and said, "You can't afford to be a 'sir'. Just call me Yongxiu."
He buried his head and said: "We are now in the 'Izumo' territory. This area is rich in black iron ore. It has also produced good swords since ancient times. In the past, many villages near here made a living by mining and forging weapons. This village is also the same."
Later, due to some changes, the village declined."
"oh"
Su Lun looked stunned when he heard this.
I wanted to ask a few more questions, but unexpectedly, Yongxiu quietly fell behind and did not follow.
Su Lun glanced at the guy, a flash of thought passed through his eyes, and he muttered in his heart: "The fleet's itinerary is arranged by the guide. If anyone really wants to stop this team from going to Edo City to collect taxes. This guy is very suspicious.
"
But there was nothing special about the soul perception, so he didn’t think about it any more.
This sword-forging house could not survive for more than a hundred households. When Su Lun came, the bigger and better houses had already been occupied by those powerful pirates.
Because people usually go to Edo by water, almost no outsiders come to this village. Those villagers who have never seen outsiders are very frightened, and they carefully serve this group of pirates who have the word "evil" written on their faces.
The food on the voyage was not bad, but the food was very monotonous, with mashed potatoes being the staple food. The pirates who had eaten dry food for a few days were happily catching livestock, chickens and ducks in the cages, and the village was full of chickens and dogs.
Fortunately, the captains of each division had greeted us in advance and there was no trouble.
Su Lun was carrying the artillery and the camouflaged black rune umbrella. The black crow was very quiet on his shoulders, and there didn't seem to be any danger.
But he didn't care. He walked and swept all the way, carefully observing every corner of the village.
After walking a few steps, Su Lun discovered that the houses in the village were all similar in shape. But there was only one building that looked like an ancestral hall and was particularly exquisitely built.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to find a house, Su Lun walked over. When he took a look, he discovered that the ancestral hall was swaying with dim candlelight, and what was enshrined on the table was not a tablet, but a "sword-shaped object". Because the package
Even with the cloth strips like prayer flags, the whole sword cannot be seen clearly.
It was not surprising that a village that originally made a living by making swords enshrined swords, but Su Lun took a look, and an imperceptible strange color flashed across his expression.
"Huh"
There was a soft sigh in my heart.
Because, he sensed a strange soul fluctuation from that "sword-like object".
"A monster, or the spirit of the sword?"
Su Lun was thinking in his mind.
No matter what the situation was, he felt something was not right.
I won’t say it’s a monster. The guide also reminded me before that these villagers will worship monsters.
It’s not surprising that the spirit waves of monsters appear in the ancestral hall.
But if it is a spiritual sword, then it is probably a famous sword of the "Twelve Good Swordsmen" level. How could it appear in a village where the villagers are all ordinary people? No one comes to take it?
It seems that the guide's previous warning worked. There are no pirates to disturb this ancestral hall.
Su Lun didn't intend to be too troublesome. He took a quick look and walked straight to the end of the village.
There were people in the cottages along the way, and at the end, I found a house made of thatch and mud walls.
This Zhujian Village is already very poor, and this family looks particularly poor.
He was so poor that no pirates were willing to come and stay.
The holes in the window paper were not covered with new paper, but piles of firewood were used to block them.
There were no lights in the room, so it looked cold.
There were seven or eight pirates crowded into other houses, but there was no one in this one. Before Su Lun came, he saw several pirates coming, but when he entered the house and took a look, he left cursing and went to the next house to crowd in.
A squeeze.
Su Lun actually felt that it was nice to have less people, it was quiet and no one would disturb it.
He walked in and greeted the frightened old man at the door: "Sorry to bother you, father-in-law. I want to stay at your house for one night."
In the soul's perception, in addition to the old man and the half-grown man at the door, there was another person in the room. It seemed that he was hiding deliberately, holding his breath and making no movement.
But Su Lun didn't care, as long as there were tiles to keep out the wind and snow.
The old man watched Su Lun enter the house and did not dare to refuse. He bowed and saluted, and explained in panic: "There is no warmth in the house, because I am afraid that adults will not get used to it."
Su Lun didn't mind, "It doesn't matter."
The old man watched the people come in and did not dare to show any dissatisfaction. He called to the innocent and curious boy at the door and shouted: "Yoshino, go and boil some water for this adult."
"oh."
The boy responded and got into the house.
Just as Su Lun was about to enter the house, the squad leader outside the door saw him and shouted: "Johnny, you and Sharp are on guard duty at midnight!"
There are three shifts of night guard, but only the midnight guard is cold and sleepy, so it is considered a hard job.
Usually it's the people with bad connections in the pirate group who get their turn.
Su Lun also felt it didn't matter and responded, "Okay!"
Sharp's reluctant response came from several rooms next door, "Oh."
The house is not big, just three rooms.
It is not an exaggeration to say that this house is bare-walled. Except for an old table and two bamboo chairs, there is nothing that can be considered furniture. There are piles of hay everywhere in the house, which is used to store firewood and to keep out the wind.
.
Su Lun walked in. No one was causing trouble, so he deliberately avoided the room where people were hidden.
The old man pointed to the main room and said humbly: "Sir, if you don't mind, I can rest here tonight."
The bed was covered with thick straw and only had a thin blue blanket. On this windy and snowy day, people could not feel the slightest warmth.
Su Lun frowned.
It’s not that I can’t live in it, but I feel like how can three people survive the winter in a house that leaks air everywhere?
There was only this bed in the house, and the other room where people were hiding was the woodshed.
In other words, Su Lun fell asleep on the bed, and the old man and the other two could only spend the night in the firewood pile.
He looked at it and sighed slightly, feeling a little guilty that he was causing trouble to others.
At this time, the child who went to boil water before also walked in cautiously holding a porcelain bowl.
The bowl is steaming.
The old man took it and handed it to Su Lun, with a worried smile on his face as if he had not taken good care of him: "I made you laugh. There are no cups or tea leaves at home, so I can only put some boiling water in porcelain bowls. I have not taken enough care of you."
Su Lun looked at the chipped porcelain bowl and probably guessed that there was probably no intact porcelain bowl left in the house.
He didn't mind at all, took it, took a sip, and said, "Thank you."
The warm boiling water flowed down the throat into his stomach, and Su Lun felt something strange in his heart.
It had been quite a while since he had traveled to this world, and he had seen many poor and suffering people. But none of them made him feel as bad as tonight.
Do humans pity the weak nature?
Or do you think this world can be better?
Su Lun didn't know.
Even when I was thinking about it, I turned around and saw the old man and the young man standing there cautiously, as if they didn't dare to leave without his "adult" speaking.
Su Lun saw the loose clothes on the young man and asked, "The clothes don't seem to fit?"
It looks like a robe or a gown, starched and white, and covered with patches.
The stitching is very rough, and it doesn't look like a woman's handiwork, but probably an old man's.
When I looked down, I saw that the shoes under my feet were still exposing my feet, which were turning purple from the cold.
The young man seemed a little timid and did not dare to speak when asked.
After hearing this, the old man smiled bitterly and said: "Replying to your lord, these clothes are made from my father-in-law's clothes. They don't fit badly. They are just used as clothes during the day and as a quilt at night. Make them bigger so they can be covered more easily."
"oh."
Su Lun looked at it and said lightly.
He had actually guessed it since he didn't see a quilt on the bed before.
Without saying much, he took out a few pieces of clothes and shoes from the storage ring and handed them out, "These old clothes are not worth much, so just treat them as my overnight stay."
Seeing his behavior, the old man and the young man were not only displeased, but immediately knelt down on the ground, even more frightened: "Sir, it is the honor of the Xiaochi family that you come to our house as a guest, and we will definitely not dare to accept your things."
To these villagers who have never left the mountain village, foreign pirates are probably very big "big shots".
Not to be offended.
Su Lun put the clothes on the bed and said calmly: "Take it."
He was afraid that the two of them would be frightened, so he wanted to find some topics to lighten the atmosphere. Suddenly something occurred to him, and he casually talked about some light topics: "I also met a girl named Koike before, who happened to be from Izumo as well. , I don’t know if you know each other. Well, her name is ‘Koike Teppei’.”
This was the geisha she had met at the "Naganoya Geisha House" before, and Su Lun had a good impression of her.
Hearing this, the young man was suddenly startled and couldn't help but said: "My sister is also called Teppei!"
Su Lun thought it might be the same name and said, "I met her in Golden City. She is a geisha."
The boy's eyes lit up and he spoke again: "My sister is also a kabuki performer in Edo!"
Su Lun also thought it was a coincidence that this was probably the home of Teppei Koike.
Hearing this, the old man couldn't help but said excitedly: "Sir, have you seen my little girl? Is she okay now? Ahem."
As he spoke, he couldn't help coughing twice.
Su Lun heard from the cough that the old man had a big problem with his lungs, like pneumoconiosis.
He said: "It's very good. She is already an outstanding geisha at Naganoya in Golden City."
After hearing this, the old man's face finally showed a hint of joy, as if he was relieved to hear the news he had been waiting for for a long time, "She is doing well, that's good."
In the Shanyin Kingdom, the status of geisha is not low.
But usually the birth of geisha is very miserable. Most of them are young girls from poor families who were sold to geisha halls from an early age.
After selling, you can no longer contact your family.
Su Lun said that he knew Teppei Koike. The old man didn't speak as lively as before and could chat for a few words.
"I had a problem with falling mines before, and the iron powder was inhaled into my lungs. I had tuberculosis and I had no strength, so the mine owner wouldn't let me work in the mine. When I gave birth to Yoshino eight years ago, his mother also died in childbirth, and the family's income was completely cut off. I had no choice but to sell Teppei.”
"Master Yushou is very kind. He gave us a settlement allowance and a lot of help. Unfortunately, the old man was too stupid and was deceived by the rogues who came to the village."
""
After chatting for a while, Su Lun also learned about the situation of the Xiaochi family.
It's very sad to hear.
Shanyin Country is already poor, and this is really the kind of family where people have been poor for several generations.
But what is a little strange is that when Su Lun listened to the old man talking about "Master Yushou", there was almost fanatical admiration on his face.
What is the charm of Mitarai Hime, who is said to be "the most beautiful princess in the world", that makes people admire her so much? (It's not Mitarai's surname, don't take it seriously)
Perhaps because he thought Su Lun wasn't that scary, he peeked out his head from hiding in the woodshed while we were chatting. She was a fairly pretty girl, about thirteen or fourteen years old.
Su Lun's night vision was very good, but he pretended not to see it.
He made the young man named Yoshino wear the clothes he had given him, and gave the old man a healing potion. It could not cure the lung disease, but he could live a few more years.
As they chatted, the family members finally saw expressions other than fear on their faces.
The atmosphere gradually became harmonious.
Su Lun was very interested in the monsters of Shanyin Country and wanted to ask the locals about them. After thinking about it, he told his previous experience of meeting [Shiranui] and [Kappa].
The old man also said some things he knew.
Monsters have a very special meaning to the Shanyin people. They are scary and respectable, but they often protect them.
This statement is similar to what is written in Shenguiyizhi, and Su Lun did not get much useful information.
While chatting, Su Lun suddenly thought of the spiritual sword in the village ancestral hall, and asked: "Old man, when I passed by the entrance of the village before, I saw a sword enshrined in the village ancestral hall. What's the significance of it?"
What?"
"this"
Hearing this, the old man's face clearly showed a look of embarrassment, and he hesitated: "It's not that the old man didn't tell the adults, it's that telling you will bring misfortune to you."
When Su Lun heard this, he became even more interested, but he also said: "If it's not convenient to say it, that's okay."
At this time, the young man Yoshino on the side was a little anxious, as if he was afraid of neglecting the distinguished guest, and interjected: "Father, the eminent monk once said that people with upright hearts will not be affected. Just say it, Mr. Johnny is so kind
People who don’t know how to do it”
Eminent monk?
Su Lun listened and felt that the sword was really special.
The old man glared at his son, but he was helpless.
He felt that it was a bit neglectful to conceal it. He hesitated for a moment, then turned around and asked Su Lun again: "Sir, do you really want to hear it?"
Su Lun smiled and nodded: "Yes. I am indeed quite interested."
After hearing this, the old man sighed slightly, as if he had just decided to say it.
He paused for a moment, and then said: "Because it is a famous sword, "Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa"."
When Su Lun heard this name, he suddenly felt like his hair was about to explode. He said in disbelief: "The 'demon sword' that ranks third among the twelve famous swords, 'Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa'?"
This is a sword with twelve legendary names that has disappeared!
Actually in the ancestral hall of this small village?
As soon as he opened his mouth, Su Lun said it was impossible and felt something was wrong.
But the old man opposite him nodded with a complicated expression, "Yes."