"Sister!" A boy of twelve or thirteen years old shouted excitedly from a distance, "I'm here, sister."
"Fate? Fate!" Xuedaba, who was dressed in peasant clothes, put down the basket in his hand and looked at the running boy in surprise.
In the house, Yukiyoba and Yukiyo En sat side by side and introduced to Kenshin opposite: "This is my younger brother, Yukiyo En. I occasionally write to him, but I didn't expect that he would come..."
"That's it..." Kenshin didn't seem to have the slightest doubt that the two of them were hiding in this remote mountain village. How did they find a young man? Perhaps this was part of his vague guess, but he didn't give up until the last moment.
Unwilling to pursue it seriously.
"You guys have a lot to talk about. I'll go take a look in the fields." Kenshin looked calm, stood up and left safely. Yukiyo En stared at Kenshin's back with hatred on his face, refusing to move until he saw him walking away.
When he opened his eyes, there was no sign of a young boy in his eyes. Instead, they were full of hatred... and seemed to have a little bit of jealousy...
"You surprised me by coming over suddenly. Is father okay?" Xuedaba made tea and looked at his brother with a gentle face.
"It's strange that he is so nice." The young man replied disdainfully.
"When did you leave Edo?"
"Six months ago, after you left, sister, I followed you."
"Yuan, where do you live now? Also, how do you know I live here?"
The young man curled up his mouth, raised his head, and his eyes flashed with pride: "Of course I know... because I am the contact person..." He ignored his sister's fearful expression and said more and more excitedly: "The time has come, it has been decided.
Be happy! Sister, finally... I can carry out heavenly punishment on Battousai! Isn't this your wish, sister! That's why you left your hometown and lived with him in such a desolate place... It's unforgivable
!”
Yukiyoba stepped forward and hugged the boy, with a rare seriousness in his tone: "Go back to Edo immediately, and go back alone!"
"What are you talking about, sister!"
"You are the eldest son of the Yukiyo family, right? You shouldn't get involved in this kind of thing..."
"It doesn't matter what happens at home! I just want to help my sister...so..."
"Go back right away, Yuan, do you understand?" Xuedaba held his brother's face in his hands and said with a face full of love.
"Sure enough... why is this happening..." Yukiyo Yuan broke away with all his strength, fell backwards on the floor and cried loudly: "Why should you protect that kind of person? He is my sister's enemy! He took away my sister's happiness with his own hands.
, you should hate him, right?"
Yukiyoba fell into silence. She didn't know how to explain to her brother. She was resentful of the death of her childhood sweetheart at the hands of Kenshin, and she had a vague good feeling after getting along with Kenshin for a long time. She did not dare, let alone continue to carry out the task of monitoring Kenshin...
…All of this made her feel uneasy and confused.
But no matter what, my younger brother shouldn’t get involved in this kind of thing!
In the field outside the door, Kenshin devoted himself to taking care of the radishes he planted. He deliberately walked far away from the house and did not stop until he could no longer hear any sound. After an unknown amount of time, he faintly heard Yukiyoba walking out of the house.
the sound of.
"Can you give this umbrella to your father and tell him to think of it as me?" Xuedaba sent her brother to the door. Although she could hear that her brother was perfunctory, she still said again: "Leave here,
Return to Edo, Yuan, I’m begging you.”
Yukiyo Yuan lowered his head, unable to see his expression, and his voice was somewhat low and unbecoming of his age: "I have already told you the location of the operation, in short..." He stared at Kenshin who was working, without any murderous intention in his eyes.
To cover it up, it was a look that took the utmost perseverance to restrain itself from immediately drawing the sword and killing Kenshin!
Kenshin stood up and looked at the young man's retreating figure. Then he turned to Yukidaiba who was standing quietly at the door. Time seemed to have calmed down.
Nearly three months have passed again.
Kenshin happily pulled out a huge round radish and smiled at Yukidaiba beside him: "It was just a whim at the beginning, and I wasn't confident that I would be able to harvest it, but it turned out to be pretty good."
Ever since he lived in seclusion with Yukiyoba, except for sleeping with his sword in his arms every day, Kenshin has never touched the close companion that was always in his hand. Either a hoe or an ax appeared in his hand, even every few days.
When he traveled to nearby villages with Xuedeba disguised as a herbal vendor, what was hanging on his waist was not a weapon, but a herbal gourd.
The murderous aura condensed by frequent killings in the past was gradually erased by the comfortable life and the beautiful women, but Kenshin did not adapt at all. He had become accustomed to and even began to enjoy the ordinary life of this farmhouse.
At night, the iron pot hanging on the fire pit exuded a fragrant smell. Xuedaba opened the wooden lid, revealing the stewed ingredients inside, including taro, radish, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and unknown meat mixed together.
Flipping it up and down makes this pot of rustic and solid Chikuzen-style cooking particularly attractive.
The most important thing is that all the ingredients are not purchased, but are harvested by the two of them!
Kenshin picked up a piece of boiled soft and glutinous radish, put it in a bowl with the crystal white rice, and swallowed it. Looking at the woman opposite who seemed to be looking at him in rapt attention, Kenshin was slightly startled and asked:
"What's wrong."
"It's nothing... you seem to be eating with gusto." Xuedaba said softly, "If we were a real couple, we would live like this every day. Farming in the fields and eating what we grow..."
Kenshin put down his bowl and chopsticks and said slowly: "After I came here, I had an idea. I follow the principles of Feiten Yuken-ryu. In order to protect the weak people, in order to make more people happy, in order to create a new era, I will do whatever it takes to
The master refused to join the team and lived in the bloody storm he created every day, thinking that he could usher in a new era."
Kenshin, who was immersed in memories, did not notice Yukidaiba's increasingly pale face. He continued: "But I don't know how arrogant I am! Even if I try my best to maintain the status quo... I only know now that I
I didn't know what happiness was in the past, but now... The pastoral life with you has made me finally understand what I have been fighting for all this time, and whether I should continue to fight in the future... The answers to these questions, you let me
I've completely figured it out."
Kenshin's eyes became unusually eager. His faint confession caught the woman off guard. Yukiyoba lowered her head and remained silent. Finally, she mustered up the courage to look into Kenshin's eyes and said softly: "Me too.
I have something to say to you, is that okay?"
"ah……"
"My home is in Edo." Yukiyoba turned slightly, as if unwilling to face Kenshin directly, "My father was a low-level samurai. He was knowledgeable in civil and military affairs and was very kind to others. My mother was weak and sick, and she died not long after giving birth to Yuen.
So to Yuan, I am both a sister and a mother. Our life is not a blessing, but at least we don’t have to worry about food and clothing, and I have already decided... my marriage..."
Kenshin was shocked! He opened his eyes wide and tightened his pupils, not daring or unwilling to believe the words of the woman in front of him.
Yukiyoba lowered his head and did not look at Kenshin's expression: "The other person is the second son of a low-level samurai family. I and I are childhood sweethearts. After the marriage was decided, my younger brother made a big fuss and didn't want me to get married. But other than that, the wedding should be
I hope it can be held smoothly..."
"But..." Xuedaba's voice began to tremble a little, and her hands couldn't help but tightly grasp the skirt of her clothes on her knees, "But he came to the turbulent Kyoto before getting married... and he can never come back..." She
With tears in his eyes, he tried to keep his voice calm, "I was restless after learning about his death, so I came to Kyoto alone, and then...I met you. This is me..."
Kyoto, a man who died under his own sword, an ambush by ninjas, a woman who suddenly appeared in the rain of blood, the scent of white plums, Yukiyoba's brother who appeared here inexplicably... Kenshin seemed to already know something, but he seemed unwilling to believe it.
, he forced himself not to think in the worst direction, but a terrible thought always lingered in his mind, and for a while he didn't know how to speak.
Thanks to the woman's efforts, tears kept gathering in the corners of her eyes. Yukidaiba did not have the courage to look at Kenshin. He just lowered his head and touched his lips tremblingly: "I'm sorry... I... to you..." Yukidaiba did not say anything after all.
There were words of rejection, but it seemed that there was no need to speak.
Outside the house, light snow fell quietly, but the two people inside did not notice that a petite figure loomed in the snow, and disappeared into the darkness in a few breaths.