Chapter 19 Sea of Mermaids
On March 20th, the first year of Emperor Gofukakusa, Emperor Hoji, there were mermaids drifting from the Oura area of Tsugaru. The general description of its appearance is as follows: on the head, there is green hair as dense as slender seaweed, and on the face is the sorrow of a beautiful woman. , with a small red cockscomb between the eyebrows, the upper body is like crystal transparent with a faint blue light, the breasts are like two red fruits of Nantianzhu sticking side by side on the chest, the lower body is in the shape of a fish, with dense fish scales on it Arranged like a net, it is easy to see golden petals if you are not paying attention. The tail fin is golden yellow like a huge ginkgo leaf. Its sound is like the bamboo flute played when trapping skylarks, clear and melodious.Although it is a rare creature in the world according to legend, it is said that there are still many wonderful mermaids like this living in the remote arctic waters.
Once upon a time, there was a middle-aged samurai named Nakado Kinnai of Ura Makoto from the Matsumae Country① who was brave, courageous and straightforward.One winter, while performing patrol duties on various seashores in Matsumae, near dusk, he walked to the small bay called Salmon River, where he sought a boat, intending to arrive at the next port within the same day.There were five or six people on the same boat, and the winter in the northern country was rarely sunny. They were very lucky to sail towards the calm sea. Floating and sinking in the rough waves, all the passengers on board were so frightened that their faces were like ashes.Someone looked very uncomfortable and cried sadly goodbye, goodbye, the person I miss.Someone panickedly took out the Avalokitesvara Sutra from the bookcase, and didn't even realize it was reversed. He raised the Buddhist scriptures with both hands, and just spread them out to recite the scriptures with sobs.Someone pulled the gourd full of wine to his side and drank it down desperately. If he didn't drink all the wine, he would die with a grievance. The small gourd, which is less than five inches, is meaningfully displayed for everyone to see.Some people may be based on some kind of superstition, constantly smearing drool on their foreheads with their fingertips.Someone anxiously took out his wallet to confirm the amount in it, muttering to himself that a tael was missing, and the surrounding passengers stared at that person with disgust.There are also people who, at this critical moment of life, yelled that my feet are disabled for no reason.All kinds of commotions on the boat came and went, and as the waves got higher and higher, the boat shook violently up and down, and now everyone had exhausted their energy and stopped making noise.The boatman fell to the bottom of the boat first, crying hoarsely, please forgive me. All the passengers on the boat were crying in disbelief. Only Nakado Kinnai sat cross-legged with his back to the side of the boat from the very beginning, holding his hands silently. Folding it on his chest, he stared straight ahead at the movement in front of him. Soon the sea water in front of him turned golden. When he saw the five-color water droplets spraying out, the white waves split into two, and the mermaid suddenly appeared. (①The Matsumae Domain located in southern Hokkaido. ②The administrative officer in charge of coastal affairs is equivalent to the director of the Coast Guard.)
Her appearance is almost the same as the ones heard in the legends. She shook her head and brushed her green hair back. Crystal's arms swiped twice in the sea water, and she approached Jin Nei's boat extremely quickly like a snake. Then he opened his small red mouth and let out a crisp flute sound.When she got in the way of the boat, Jin Nei angrily took out a half-bow from the luggage, silently recited the name of the god, and shot the arrow with a bang, hitting the mermaid's shoulder impartially, and the mermaid sank silently among the waves In an instant, the violent wind and huge waves restored the original calm of the sea, and the setting sun shone warmly into the cabin. The boatman stood up in shock, and said in a daze: Could it be a dream?Kinnai was not the kind of warrior who would easily brag about his achievements, he smiled silently, and sat leaning against the side of the ship with his hands folded in front of his chest as before.The faces of the passengers on the ship were all pale, and some people gave out shrill laughter embarrassingly to conceal the fear and anxiety in their hearts.Some people finally drank all the wine in one gulp, but now they turned upside down the gourd, which was less than five inches long and had no drop of wine, and vigorously shook it upside down, repeating this stupid and ridiculous action.Another 80-year-old grandpa called out to the young concubine who stayed at home in pain. He said that what happened just now was terrible, while he calmly straightened his collar and concluded that this must be a legend. waterspout in.It is said that such waterspouts can often be seen on the sea in the Etsuchu Echigo area, especially in summer, when a large group of dark clouds sinks from the void, and the sea water presents a reverse vortex as if being sucked up. , The dark clouds and the tide merged into one sky-high water column. When you look closely, the head and tail of the faucet in the amazing water column are clearly visible and vivid, just like the concentrated description of monster stories.
In addition, it is recorded in another book that a person once sailed from Edo to the Xingjin Sea on the Tokaido, and suddenly a group of dark clouds flew towards this ship from the void, and the boatman was terrified. As he was about to be sucked up by the waterspout, he hurriedly shaved off his hair and set it ablaze. Everyone in the boat immediately followed suit by shaving off their hair and igniting it. The stench filled the sky for a while, and the dark clouds dissipated in a blink of an eye.Among the passengers, a bald man stroked his head solemnly and said quietly: "What a coincidence, if this old man was still young, he would have cut off his hair right away, no matter what!"The man holding the Avalokitesvara Sutra turned to the side with a silly face, and said in agreement: Huh?That's it.All of this must be the power of Avalokitesvara blessing us, he murmured to himself in a low voice, just as he closed his eyes and silently recited the name of Namo Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, the other person found a tael of silver that had just disappeared from his bosom, Shouted ecstatically: Ah!Money found!And Jin Nei was completely unmoved, just watching all this with a smile on his face.Soon, the ship staggered into the port, and everyone didn't know that the benefactor who saved their lives was in front of them. They simply congratulated each other and set foot on the land together.
Nakado Kinauchi quickly returned to Matsumae Castle, and reported to his boss Noda Musashi the results of his visit to various seashores in detail, and then chatted relaxedly about the various famous products he saw during the journey, and the fact that he encountered a mermaid at sea was just a matter of fact. Lightly and truthfully stated, without any extra embellishments.Musashi is well aware of Kinnai's upright personality, and has no doubts about him. He simply believes that the incredible experience about the mermaid described by Kinnai must be true.Musashi was overjoyed when he heard that, he patted his knee, and said to Kinnei, this is the weirdest story I have heard in a while, thanks to your calmness and bravery, you saved the people on board, I will immediately report this matter to His Highness Make it public in front of the imperial court, and commend your righteous deeds.As soon as the words were finished, Jin Nei blushed, and hurriedly declined: "Wait a minute, wait a minute, such a matter of duty is not worth mentioning."Musashi knew very well that Jin Nei didn't like to ask for credit, so he strongly persuaded him: You can't say that, this is an unprecedented great feat, and in this way it can also inspire the rising stars of the princes and courtiers.After finishing the speech, he took Kinnei who was at a loss, and went to the imperial court of His Highness to make a public appearance. It happened that many important officials in front of the imperial court were present. Seeing this scene, Noda Musashi was refreshed, and he continued to tell the story of Kinnei during the journey. The strange talk that happened, and praised him for his rare feats in the world, including His Highness as the head, all present moved their knees to listen to Musashi's speech.Only one of them didn't take it seriously. His name was Aosaki Hyakuemon. His father, Momonojo, was the elder of Matsumae's family. However, he can sit on an equal footing with the important officials before the imperial court. Relying on his good family background, he despises his peers from time to time.Although there was an endless stream of people who came to Qingqi's home to propose relatives, many of them were rich and famous ladies, but at the age of 41 this year, he was still unmarried and lived a happy life of drinking and having fun all day long.Frankly speaking, as long as he said that he wanted to marry a wife, who wouldn't want to marry his daughter to him?Although this is the end caused by his own arrogance, after all, the world cannot agree that he always sneers at the princes and courtiers for nothing.He is unremarkable in appearance, nearly six feet in length, extremely thin, with slender fingers like pen shafts, small sunken eyes showing a wretched blue light, a big hooked nose, and a crooked face. With a slanted appearance, he looked like a green ghost from hell, and all the princes and courtiers hated him.This Hyakuemon, who hadn't heard half of Musashi's story, let out a sneer and shouted: Hey, Xuanzhai!He didn't care about the occasion, he just talked to Xuan Zhai, the owner of the tea house, who was sitting in the last seat.
What do you think about this?It is not thoughtful to tell His Highness a story that is not worth mentioning at all.There are no monsters in the world, there is no magic, monkeys have red faces, and every dog has four feet.As for the mermaid, isn't it only found in children's fairy tales?Isn't it stupid and ridiculous to believe in a red cockscomb on the forehead at a very old age?Then, as if there was no one else around, the tone of voice became higher and higher.Hey, Xuanzhai!Well, that strange fish called a mermaid is said to live in the North Sea, and it is said to have shot an unprecedented monster. In my opinion, it cannot be done without magical powers.How could it be possible to cure monsters with three-legged cat kung fu?Birds have wings and fish have fins.A bird flying in the sky, you said it would be easier said than done to shoot a swimming goldfish, let alone subdue that kind of monster whose upper body looks like crystal, if you can't shoot the bow and arrow Hachiman Daibodhisattva 3, Minamoto Yorimitsu 4, Genyoshi Tsuna 5, Zhenxi Hachiro 6, Tahara Fujita 7, etc., these forces are gathered together, and they have such a powerful ability. I don't think there is even a door to defeat the monster.No, facts speak louder than words. Here, the spring water in the courtyard of the minister's house raises goldfish, you know that.You only need a little shallow water to swim freely with your fins swaying. A few days ago, I was so busy that I shot 200 small arrows with a small bow, but I couldn’t hit the goldfish. A sudden whirlwind hit the sea, and when I was panicking, I was lucky to shoot the drifting rotten wood! (③Warrior of Japan. ④Japanese military generals in the middle period of the Heian period, good at archery, heroic and brave. ⑤Heian period late Japanese generals. With a strong bow, he is a famous bow and arrow master. ⑦ That is Fujiwara Hidego, also known as Tahara Fujita, a military general in the middle of the Heian period in Japan.)
He still couldn't figure out the situation, and the coy tea master came to His Highness, mocking and abusing him.Noda Musashi couldn't bear the ridicule, and suddenly turned vigorously and faced Hyakuemon's direction and said: I didn't expect your knowledge to be so shallow!Musashi had long been dissatisfied with Hyakuemon's arrogant and unreasonable behavior. Seizing the opportunity, Musashi retorted in a tone of gnashing teeth: In short, only a half-knowledgeable person would say that there are no inconceivable things in the world, no monsters. That blatant way of speaking is putting on a show over there.Japan has been a kingdom of God since ancient times. This is an unbelievable reality beyond common sense, and it is an obvious existence.It is really puzzling to compare the clear and shallow spring water in your home.In the three thousand years of the Kingdom of God, there are many strange creatures appearing within thousands of miles of mountains and seas, and there are many similar records in ancient times.For example, during the reign of Emperor Nintoku, there were two-faced people in the Hida area⑧; On the fifth day, there was a three-faced evil spirit with a length of eight feet and a width of one foot and two feet, who came from a faraway country. If the above examples can be accepted, there is nothing to doubt about the mermaid this time.Musashi took advantage of the victory to pursue, and finished speaking in one breath.Hyakuemon's pale face was even paler now, and he said with a cold smile:
In my opinion, your Excellency is the one who knows only a little and is playing tricks.Ministers don't like debates. Debates are done by inferior people, no different from those who are eager for quick success.I am no longer a child.Talking nonsense with blue veins will only deepen the result of each other's stalemate.Debates are uninteresting and tedious.The minister did not say that there are no mermaids in the world.Just never seen it.Since Jin Neijun made such a great contribution, why not bring the mermaid here to present to the imperial court?With hatred, Hyakuemon provoked the opponent with big words. (⑧Located in the northern part of today's Gifu Prefecture.)
Not to be outdone, Musashi took a step forward and roared loudly: For a samurai, nothing is more important than a letter.If it is said that you have to have your hands and eyes to believe it before you are willing to believe it, alas, your heart and soul seem to be worthy of pity.If the mind is unwilling to believe, there is no entity in this world.If you have to see it to believe it, even if you see it with your own eyes, it is tantamount to daydreaming.Recognizing the existence of entities must first start with faith.Faith, however, is rooted in the love of the heart.From this we can see that there is neither love nor faith in your heart.Everyone present here has seen that Mr. Jin Neijun was treated with such a vicious tongue and ruined his reputation. He has been trembling since just now, and his heart is bleeding and crying.Jin Neijun is different from your Excellency. Youdao is a kind person with clever words, but don’t you know that Jin Neijun has always been an honest and honest person?Musashi's words are true, leaving the other party speechless, which shows that Hyakuemon is not his opponent at all.
That, His Highness got up and returned to the bedroom.Doesn't look very happy.Hyakuemon said in a majestic tone, then turned around and knelt down to the castellan.
Oops, you bastards are just causing trouble.He stood up muttering in a low voice, full of bad things in his head, saying it is honest and not deceitful, spreading dreams or superstitions as if they are true, only people like you can bewitch the world people's hearts.Hyakuemon hurriedly dropped this sentence, and exited the hall as silently as a catwalk.The rest of the important ministers either hated Hyakuemon's bad-heartedness, or hated Musashi's aggressive talking, and thought that both of them were at fault, and someone was dozing off just now, and they didn't know why the debate was triggered, so they stood up in a daze, Everyone present left the table one after another, and in the end only Musashi and Kinnai remained in the hall.Musashi gritted his teeth regretfully and said:
It's all my fault for talking too much.Kim Nai-kun, in my opinion.You are a samurai, so you should have realized something, no matter what, I, Musashi, will support you.Do whatever you want and call it a day.Musashi tried his best to comfort him, but Kinnai still felt inexplicably sad and indignant after hearing these words of comfort. He couldn't even say a word for a while, and wept silently.Unhappy people, despite the sympathetic protection of others, are more aware of their own misfortune and pain than of joy.As if losing his direction for a moment, Jin Nei cried and cried. He realized that his life was about to end. He wiped away his tears with clenched fists, raised his head, and said with a choked voice:
The humble job is grateful.Just now Hyakuemon repeatedly uttered bad words, and wanted to ignore it, and forgive Kinnai for being reckless. This matter really put the humble official in a dilemma. In front of His Highness, he endured and endured, but he could only swallow tears of regret. We have made up our minds to die.Although it would be easy to chase Hyakuemon right now and stab him with a knife, but then the princes and officials will think that Kinnai was caught by Hyakuemon's lies, and thus become angry and make the move of stabbing the opponent with a blade. The said mermaid story will also end because of this, which will only add unnecessary trouble to you.I don't know what to do with a lowly job, and I continue to live in this world with this useless body. It's better to take this opportunity to live a little longer and go to the bay of Salmon River to reconnaissance. I believe that Yuya Hachiman will not leave me alone. When we find the body of the mermaid, it will be the evidence that Kinnai's martial arts has not yet ended. Let the princes and courtiers take this to see with their own eyes. After that, we can beat Hyakuemon without any scruples.In this regard, we have already realized that we must die, and even if we cut seppuku, we will still be smiling.After finishing speaking, Musashi felt quite regretful and wept alongside him:
I, Musashi, are really useless. It was all my fault that I wanted to commend your achievements in front of Your Highness.Inexplicably engage in a mermaid debate with the other party.Which can be tolerated and which cannot be tolerated, that man must die.I forgive you, Jinnai, you will still be a good warrior in your next life.Musashi turned his face away and stood up and said: You don't have to worry about your family, I will take care of them.After making such a strong guarantee, he left the hall.
Jin Nai's private house lives with his daughter Yae and the maid Xiaoju.At sixteen years old, she was a tall, fair-skinned girl with a straight nose and a fresh look, while Xiaoju was twenty-one years old, petite, lively and lively.Jinnai's wife died of illness six years ago.On that day, Jinnai tried his best to appear cheerful and returned to the private house.Then I packed my bags and prepared to go on a long journey. I only said this to my daughter Yae. Maybe this trip will take a long time, so you should take a good look at your home.He stuffed almost all the savings he had saved into the pockets in his arms, and then left the house as if fleeing.
Father, it seems a bit unusual.Yae said this to Xiaoju after sending her father out.
You are right.Xiaoju agrees lightly, Jin Nei is not good at lying.No matter how cheerfully he smiled on the surface, he couldn't hide his true feelings.Even the sixteen-year-old daughter and the servant could tell.
You see he took a lot of money with him.Yae even saw clearly that his father took away the money.
This matter is not simple.Xiaoju nodded, with a completely different attitude, and murmured.
I feel very uneasy.Yae said, covering her chest with her sleeves.
Not sure what to expect?I hope it's not a bad thing, I'm going to clean the house right now, inside and out.Xiaoju quickly rolled up her sleeves and started to work.
At this moment, Noda Musashi quietly came to Jinnai's private house in casual clothes without even bringing his entourage.
Kim Nai-kun, are you out?Ask Yae in a low voice.
Yes.Went out with a lot of money.
Musashi smiled wryly, after all it was a step too late.
Your father may be here for a long time.During the housekeeping period, if you encounter any difficulties, please don't be polite and remember to come to me to discuss.This is a small gift from this seat.After Musashi finished speaking, he gave Yae a considerable amount of money, and then left.
Now, Yae was even more convinced that something must have happened to her father. After all, she was the daughter of a samurai. From that night on, she hugged her sword tightly every night and slept curled up like this without even taking off her belt.
On the other hand, Nakado Kinnai set out to find the mermaid, and when he reached the bay of the Salmon River, he called all the fishermen of the village, and gave them all the money he had brought out.But he didn't treat them as servants. Nakado Kinnei told them quietly about the major events that happened to him, and sincerely asked the fishermen for help. It was obvious that he was an upright, public and private person. He paused for a moment and began to blush.I don't know if the fishermen believed Jin Nai's words.He smiled wryly, finished his opening remarks timidly, and began to tell stories about mermaids in the past. Jin Nei bet his life and begged them for help. He must find the corpse of the mermaid from the bottom of the sea. Seeing it with his own eyes, he was convinced, so how could Jin Nei hold on to his face as a warrior?Although it was hard work in this cold weather, I hope they will go all out to help find the carcass of the strange fish. At that time, Yuxue Feifei danced wildly on the rough seashore, he begged hoarsely, and several old fishermen believed that And sympathized with his experience, while the young fishermen doubted whether the mermaid he said was true or not, even so, it still aroused their curiosity to some extent.In short, I cast a big net and tried to fish under the seabed, but what I caught was herring, cod, crabs, sardines, flounder, etc., which are common fish, and I couldn’t see anything like that strange fish at all. , I returned without success this day, and then it was the same for two consecutive days, and I got nothing.
The whole village mobilized the boats to work on the sea surface, endured the biting cold wind, sometimes cast nets and sometimes dived into the bottom of the sea. After all kinds of tribulations to search, all were in vain. The young fishermen began to cry out.One of the fishermen was the first to attack. You look at the eyes of the samurai. He must be crazy. We actually believed what a lunatic said. It’s stupid to dive into the sea in such cold weather. I don’t want to do it anymore. up.Instead of continuing to search for mermaids in the sea aimlessly, it would be happier to let the mermaids in the village warm me up.They gathered around the fire by the sea, telling cheap jokes and talking and laughing loudly.Kinnai pretended not to hear it sadly, and prayed for the blessing of the Dragon God. If the mermaid could be found in this bay, it would be fine even if it had only one scale and one hair. Musashi-kun's reputation is more important than my face. .At the same time, he remembered that he had vowed to insult Hyakuemon in front of everyone, and to prove his innocence, to give the other party a good knife, at least to give the other party a positive lesson, so as to dispel the hatred in his heart, Kinnai stuck his head out and looked The gesture to the bay is really sympathetic, and the old fisherman beside him couldn't help but burst into tears when he saw this scene.
Oh, no problem.Although the young people are full of sarcastic remarks, but ah, we did see the mermaid shot by you, the samurai, sinking to the bottom of the sea in this bay.In the sea near here, there have been all kinds of incredible fishes in the past, and the young people don't know these things.When we were children, well, there was a big fish named "Old Ancestor" in this sea area. When it appeared, the momentum was really incredible.The old man is not bragging, the body of that fish is two or three miles long, no, it may be even bigger.No one has ever seen the full extent of the fish.Whenever that fish appears, there will be a loud noise like thunder on the bottom of the sea, and there will be huge waves even though there is no wind, and whales and the like will run away one after another, avoiding them, even the people on the fishing boat It will also shout loudly: Hey, the ancestor fish is here!They warned each other and rowed desperately back to the beach. Not long after, the ancestor fish surfaced. It looked like several large islands suddenly appeared on the sea surface. In fact, it was just the back or fin of the ancestor fish. It's just the visible part, the whole fish is very, very big, and there's more to it than that.It's hard to measure at all.This ancestor fish doesn’t care about small fish at all. I heard that it only eats whales to survive. It can swallow a whale of twenty or thirty fathoms in one go. The way it swallows it is like a whale swallowing sardines. , Is it amazing enough just by imagining it?Therefore, as long as the whales hear the roar of the bottom of the sea, they will be frightened and run away in all directions.do you know?And very scary fish.In the past, there were many monster-like fish like this in the Sea of Ezo.Mr. Samurai's tale of a mermaid sounds, to us, nothing out of the ordinary.There is nothing surprising about this.In the past, this is the sea area where the ancestor fish with a length of two miles and three miles traveled. Well, now we will definitely find the carcass of the mermaid, and we must win back the face of Mr. Samurai.The old fisherman tried his best to comfort Jin Nei with a dull tone, and even helped him shake off the snow on his shoulders, treating him so tenderly and carefully.
Ahhh, in the end, I still received the pity of such a kind old fisherman and turned into a useless man with a bad fate. Under the comforting words of the old fisherman, I always felt full of despair and abandonment, and Jin Nai had a strange idea again. , so he stood up furiously, and said to the fishermen: Please!We did shoot a monster fish in this bay.I swore to Yuya Hachiman that I would find it no matter what.please.Please try to find it harder, even if there is only one scale and one hair, please find that mermaid for me.Leaving this sentence behind, he kicked the snow towards the shore, grabbed the wrists of the fishermen who were about to go home and said: Please, just one more time!Said with almost pleading eyes.The fishermen have already taken the money beforehand, but now they have lost their enthusiasm and are somewhat dispirited.As if perfunctory, they walked to the shallow water near the shore, cast the net with a plop, and then disappeared one by one, and at some point even a dog was no longer visible on the shore.As the sunset gradually became darker, the wind ⑨ was blowing more and more strongly, and suddenly a blizzard blew so hard that you couldn't even open your eyes, Kinnai was like a wandering Junkwan ⑩ drifting to the island of the ghost world. The place where the waves hit the shore stomped back and forth, and did not return to the village at night.As for the bed, he settled down in the boathouse near the water at first, and in that cabin he dozed half-sleepingly, but before dawn he rushed to the shore again and saw the beautiful The algae layer that came over thought it was a mermaid and was pleasantly surprised, but when they found out it was not, they were about to cry in frustration. When they saw the rotten wood floating near the shore, they also thought it was a mermaid and immediately jumped into the sea to find out what happened, but they were in vain. And turned back to the shore.After coming here, he hardly had any food, but he kept saying the mermaid, come out, the mermaid, come out, and it gradually became a little weird, and the whole person was lost. (⑨North wind, which refers to the wind in winter, and also refers to the cold wind. ⑩In the Japanese classic "The Tale of Heike", three people drifted to the island of the ghost world, and one of them was Shunkuan Sengdu.)
Did you really see the mermaid?Could it be fake that he shot a mermaid?Could it be a dream?Standing on the snow-capped uninhabited shore, Jin Nei laughed wildly alone, ah, if only he passed out like the passengers on the same boat at that time, and didn't see the appearance of the mermaid.His desire to give up halfway started to grow stronger. Seeing the unbelievable in this world but encountering such tribulations in front of his eyes, he envied those who saw nothing and knew nothing, and then pretended to be serious. In fact, they each have their own bottom line, and they are vulgar people who live in this world hypocritically.There must be.There are incredible beautiful creatures in this world that people can't imagine.There must be.However, just because of one glance, he will fall into hell like himself in an instant.Maybe I didn’t know what kind of karma I created in my previous life to live such a worthless life. Maybe it’s like a person born under an evil star, who has no other way to survive except to die miserably.I really want to just plunge into the bottom of the sea on this rough shore, and become a mermaid in the next life.He walked along the bank dejectedly, always feeling as if he was fascinated by death, and then, he still couldn't forget about the mermaid.The sky was getting brighter, and he glanced at the sea ahead, ah, at least he could catch a big old fish like what the old fisherman said, but it was not so easy to find that kind of fish, he was serious and full of regret sighed.It's a pity that this warrior has really gone crazy, and it seems that he can only live for a day or two at most.
Yae, the daughter who stayed at home, prayed to the gods and Buddhas from morning to night, hoping that her father would return safely.Three or four days later, the teacup at home suddenly cracked, the laces of the straw sandals suddenly broke, and the pine branches in the yard were crushed even though there was not much snow. Unable to stay at home any longer.That night, she quietly came to Musashi's house to inquire about her father's whereabouts, and learned that her father was in the bay of Salmon River, so she immediately packed up Xiruan and her maid Xiaoju, and set off for Salmon River overnight by the glimmer of light reflected on the snow.Sometimes resting under the eaves of the houses, sometimes in the caves on the coast, the master and the slave listened to the sound of the waves constantly lapping over and fell asleep.Yae's plump cheeks became thinner, and it was extremely difficult to walk in the snow. Even though the two cheered each other on, the girl couldn't walk fast. Finally, on the evening of the third day, she arrived at the coast of the Salmon River.God!Amitabha, his father was already lying on the broken straw mat, his whole body was cold and stiff.That morning, Jin Nei's body floated to the seashore, and the people in the village helped to carry the body ashore and temporarily placed it on a broken straw mat.It is said that there were many seaweeds wrapped around Kinnai's head at that time, and it looked like a mermaid from the outside.So the master and the servant accompanied the corpse from one side to the other, crying loudly without saying a word, and even the fishermen who made a fuss couldn't bear to look at it and turned their eyes away.
His mother died young, and now even his father abandoned him, and Yae didn't want to live anymore, crying and crying until he couldn't make a sound.Soon, she came to her senses, raised her pale face, and said:
Xiaoju, let's die together.
OK
Just as the two stood up quietly, they heard the sound of Tatar's horse's hooves behind them.
Wait, wait!Noda Musashi shouted in a rough voice, that voice was really reassuring.
When he got off his horse and saw Jin Nei's body, he lowered his head sadly.
Alas, how could it be so bleak.Well, now that things have happened, it doesn't matter whether the mermaid is not a mermaid.Musashi is very hot, really very hot.For the furious Musashi, revenge does not need any reason.So what if it doesn't make sense?I don't care what other people say.Mermaid or something is not a problem.Whether it exists or not is the same.Now I just want to kill that nasty guy!Hey, fisherman, I want to borrow a horse for these two girls to ride.Get me one quickly!Musashi roared furiously, and Yae and Xiaoju looked at each other speechlessly.
Such a sad face is really hard to watch.Your father's enemy is still alive, understand?I will immediately ride back to the city and rush into Hyakuemon's house to avenge your father. If you cannot take down the spirit in heaven in the comfort fund for his head, you are not worthy to be called the daughter of a samurai.Stop crying and crying!
Speaking of Hyakuemon, as a maid, Xiaomari nodded secretly and asked further: You should be talking about Aosaki Hyakuemon, right?
That's right, that guy!
I guessed right.Xiaoju said calmly: That Aosaki Hyakuemon once took a fancy to our young lady's beauty, and repeatedly asked a matchmaker to propose marriage, asking our young lady to marry him. Our young lady said that if she wanted to marry that eagle-nosed She would rather die, she didn't expect that even the old man would
Well, when it comes to this matter, I am very clear.This bastard, on the surface, said he hated women and was determined not to marry for the rest of his life, but in reality, he was an unreliable man who was abandoned by women.The more you look at it, the more you want to spurn him.If you can't get the woman you want, you even point the finger at Jin Nei, it's too deceiving, it's really stupid and ridiculous!The more Musashi talked, the more excited he became, he wished he could sing the triumphant song one step earlier.
That night, Musashi led the way, and two women armed with long swords, charged all the way into Hyakuemon's mansion. At that time, Hyakuemon and his concubine were drinking and having fun in the inner room.Musashi struck first, cutting off Hyakuemon's slender right arm with his sword, and Hyakuemon also drew his sword without hesitation.Xiaoju strode over and attacked his lower body with his sweeping leg, causing Hyakuemon to squat on the ground with one foot propped up, but he still refused to be outdone and fiercely slashed at Yae.Musashi suddenly cut the knife into Hyakuemon's left shoulder. Hyakuemon couldn't bear the severe pain and fell on his back, but he was still breathing, his body twisted like a snake, and he threw the dart sharply at Yae. The danger flashed by, but because of the deep obsession with revenge, she subconsciously looked at each other with Musashi.
In the end, Hyakuemon's head was finally taken down, and Yae and Komari rushed to the beach of Salmon River.Musashi returned to his mansion, and recorded the assassination incident in its original form. It is a felony to kill Hyakuemon without the permission of the city lord, and he must plead guilty to the city lord.Musashi put all the blame on himself, and the next day he immediately went to the palace and ordered his retainers to play the Shuwen to the city lord. Now that his wish was fulfilled, Musashi did not hesitate to perform a tragic seppuku to express his apology.He really is a daring warrior.
Yae and the maid Komari placed Hyakuemon's head in front of Kinai's body as a sacrifice, and after earnestly finishing their father's funeral, they returned to the private house, closed the door and waited for the castellan's decision.The two of them were wearing Bai Wugou ⑾ kimono, they were already mentally prepared for seppuku.At this time, the important officials in the court and the central government inquired and evaluated the results of the whole city. Hyakuemon was a villain rarely seen in the world. In addition, Musashi had committed suicide by harakiri. There is no doubt that this was a personal grievance battle, and the city lord also acquiesced this resolution.The master and the servant finally succeeded in avenging their father's shame, but they were praised by the city lord, thinking that they can avenge their master's aspirations, so the master betrothed Yae to the important minister Imura Zuemon's youngest son, Sakanosuke. Daughter-in-law, and officially inherits the title of Nakado Kinnai.The maid, Xiaomari, is a handsome young bodyguard who is married to Toi Ichizaemon, the official worshiper. （⑾表裡完全純白色的和服。古代日本，白色是神聖的顏色，室町時代末期至江戶時代，生產、葬禮、切腹都穿這種和服。明治之後，神道結婚儀式新娘也著白無垢和服。）
後來，過了約百日之後，某個深夜裡，有人來自北浦春日明神的海邊有急事欲進城稟報，說有不可思議的骨骸被海浪打上岸邊，身上的肉已腐爛被海水沖刷只留下骨架，其上半身幾乎與人類相近，而下半身毫無疑問是魚的形態，但外觀看上去著實令人毛骨悚然，於是匆忙向城主急報。朝中的奉行很快地對此進行調查，發現在那奇形怪狀的骸骨肩上不偏不倚地插著中堂金內光榮的箭鏃。這下子八重的家可說是雙喜臨門。此段故事的說法深具說服力。（武道傳來記，卷二之四，致命的人魚之海）