Chapter 10 Mountain Village

　　The Mountain Hidden Country is an island nation composed of hundreds of islands.

　　Honshu Island is very large, with many domains such as Izumo, Akaine, Owari, Mikawa, Nagano, Akikawa...

　　Although they are called domains, the territory is not very large. Roughly, two or three domains are equivalent to one county in the Lu Empire.

　　The lords are called domain lords, usually also called Daimyo, which can be understood as feudal lords. They are independent of each other, conquering each other, and nominally loyal to the royal family.

　　The divinely ordained royal family is the Shinobu clan, and the capital is in Edo.

　　"Rune Old Man" is the Shogunate General, with great power, almost the most powerful person under the imperial power. This guy's life is also full of legendary color, from a small domain lord marrying into the family, and then step by step to the present.

　　This is the information about the Mountain Hidden Country that Su Lun had learned before.

　　.......

　　To get to the Mountain Hidden Country from the Pirate City, you usually take the sea route into the inner river, change to a small boat to directly reach Nagano, and then take the land route to Edo Castle.

　　Now their Ninth Fleet's ships were sunk in the sea before they even entered the inner river, so they can only take the land route.

　　On the winding mountain road, the light beams of the alchemical lamps and torches illuminated a long fire dragon.

　　Snowflakes were floating in the sky, and a thick layer of white snow had accumulated on the roadside.

　　Under the moonlight, it was a silver-clad world.

　　"Damn it! We encountered some kind of monster as soon as we arrived, and sank the ship. What a damn bad luck..."

　　"It's good that it wasn't far from the shore, otherwise we would be in big trouble."

　　"That evil fire was too damn terrifying, people disappeared as soon as they were hit. I still don't understand what happened..."

　　"Yeah, I've heard of the monsters of the Mountain Hidden Country before, but they are rarely seen. I didn't expect to be so unlucky, and we just happened to encounter them."

　　"..."

　　The six or seven hundred people of the Ninth Fleet had just come out of the sea, shivering from the cold, and walking while cursing.

　　In the crowd, Su Lun listened to everyone's whispers, and his thoughts were racing.

　　Is it really because the dumping of filth into the sea offended the monsters?

　　Obviously, it's not that simple.

　　Someone from the Mountain Hidden Country side should be trying to stop them from going there.

　　Those few squad leaders and first mates seemed to have guessed something was wrong, but the Great Pirate Group had money to take, and they also had an obligation.

　　Now that they have noticed something is wrong, they can only bite the bullet and continue to move forward.

　　After walking for a few kilometers, the guide, Matsunaga Hisahide, who was walking at the front, suddenly spoke again, his attitude still extremely humble, "Lord Hans, there is a village in the mountain depression ahead, called 'Swordsmith Village'. We Mountain Hidden Country has some special customs, and some small places also enshrine monsters to protect peace. Therefore, no matter what strange sacrificial behaviors the lords see this time, please be sure not to pay attention to those villagers, and try not to touch some taboos, otherwise, offending the monsters will cause a lot of trouble."

　　"..."

　　"Tea Beard" Hans' eyes twitched slightly as he listened.

　　If it were before, he probably wouldn't have cared.

　　But after experiencing that shipwreck, he no longer dared to be careless.

　　He even regretted that he hadn't listened to the guide's advice before, and offended the monster, which caused such heavy losses, so he said to the crowd behind him: "Everyone heard that? When you enter the village later, be honest with me, and don't cause any trouble. We'll continue on our way early tomorrow morning!"

　　"Yes, Captain!"

　　The crowd replied listlessly, having just experienced a major change, no one wanted to cause any more trouble.

　　But Su Lun, at the end of the team, heard what the guide said, and his mind became active.

　　Enshrining monsters?

　　He had been thinking about where the monsters of the Mountain Hidden Country came from.

　　Magical beasts, sea monsters, and even aberrant monsters, all have a clear origin and can be traced back to their source.

　　But only these "monsters" are very special.

　　They are like rootless duckweed, obviously existences that should only appear in legends, but they suddenly appear in reality.

　　Food chains, ecological chains, reproductive chains... are difficult to explain with conventional principles.

　　It feels as if they were conjured out of thin air from myths and legends.

　　......

　　After thinking hard without success, Su Lun continued to follow the main force.

　　Before long, they crossed a mountain depression and suddenly saw a small village.

　　There was dim light in the village, looking like oil lamps and firewood. The roofs were covered with a layer of white snow, and smoke was rising from the chimneys.

　　The pirates of the Ninth Fleet suddenly became excited when they saw the village.

　　Not only did they have a place to stay, but more importantly, they saw living people, and the fear that had been dominated by monsters before dissipated a lot.

　　"Tea Beard" Hans waved his hand and said, "Brothers, find your own farmers to stay with, and each team arrange sentries. Depart 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 cause any trouble!"

　　"Okay, Captain!"

　　"Got it, boss."

　　"Hahaha, we finally have a place to stay..."

　　Everyone responded in unison, they were already eager to go to the house to bake a fire and warm their frozen bodies.

　　The pirates didn't have any military discipline to speak of, and a group of people rushed down.

　　Whoever can grab a good house is the one who gets it.

　　Su Lun was still carrying the distributed single-soldier cannon on his shoulder, and Hei Ya was very quiet on his shoulder, looking like there was no danger.

　　But he was not careless, he walked all the way, swept all the way, carefully observing every corner of the village.

　　After walking a few steps, Su Lun found that the houses in the village were all similar in shape. But only one building, like an ancestral hall, was built very exquisitely.

　　Taking the opportunity to find a house, Su Lun walked over, and only then did he find that the ancestral hall was swaying with dim candlelight, and what was enshrined on the altar was not a spiritual tablet, but a "sword-shaped object". Because it was wrapped in strips of cloth like prayer flags, he couldn't see the full appearance of the sword.

　　It was not surprising that a village that originally made a living by forging swords enshrined a sword, but Su Lun glanced at it, and an imperceptible strange color flashed across his expression.

　　"Huh..."

　　A soft hum in his heart.

　　Because, he sensed a trace of strange soul fluctuation from that "sword-shaped object".

　　"Is it a monster, or the spirit of the sword?"

　　Su Lun thought in his heart.

　　In either case, he felt something was wrong.

　　Not to mention that it was a monster, the guide had also reminded him before that these villagers would enshrine monsters.

　　It was not surprising that there would be a demonic spirit fluctuation in the ancestral hall.

　　But if it was a sword with a spirit, then it was probably a masterpiece of the "Twelve Excellent Crafted Famous Swords" level. How could it appear in a village where the villagers were all ordinary people? No one came to take it?

　　It seemed that the guide's previous warning had worked, and no pirates disturbed this ancestral hall.

　　Su Lun didn't plan to make trouble, glanced at it, and walked straight to the end of the village.

　　There were people in the houses along the way, and when he reached the end, he found a house built with thatch and mud walls.

　　This Swordsmith Village was already very poor, and this family looked particularly poor.

　　So poor that the pirates were unwilling to settle down.

　　The window paper was broken, and there was no new paper to paste it on, but a pile of firewood was used to block it.

　　There was no light in the house, and it looked cold.

　　Other houses were crowded with seven or eight pirates, but there was none in this one. Before Su Lun came, he also saw a few pirates come, but after looking into the house, they cursed and left, and went to squeeze into the house next door.

　　Su Lun thought it was good to have fewer people, quiet, and no one to disturb him.

　　He walked in and greeted the old man at the door who was full of fear, "Excuse me, old man. I want to spend the night in your house."

　　In the soul perception, besides the old man at the door and the boy, there was another person in the house. It seemed that they were deliberately hiding, holding their breath, and had not made a sound.

　　But Su Lun didn't care, it was good to have a roof to block the wind and snow.

　　The old man watched Su Lun enter the house, and did not dare to refuse. He bowed and explained in horror, "There is no warm bed in the house, I'm afraid adults are not used to it."

　　Su Lun didn't mind, "It doesn't matter."

　　The old man watched the person come in, and did not dare to show any dissatisfaction. He greeted the boy at the door with innocent curiosity in his eyes, and called out, "Yoshino, go boil some water for this lord."

　　"Oh."

　　The boy responded and entered the house.

　　Su Lun was about to enter the house when the squad leader outside the door saw him and shouted, "Johnny, you and Sharp will guard the midnight post!"

　　The night watch was three shifts, but only the midnight sentry was cold and sleepy, which was a hard job.

　　Usually, it was the people in the pirate group who had a bad relationship who would be assigned to it.

　　Su Lun didn't care either, and responded, "Okay!"

　　From the next few rooms came Sharp's reluctant response, "Oh."

　　.......

　　The house was not big, only three rooms.

　　It was no exaggeration to say that this family was destitute. Besides an old table and two bamboo chairs, there was nothing that could be considered furniture. The house was full of hay, which was used to store firewood and to block the wind.

　　Su Lun walked in, not wanting to cause trouble for others, so he deliberately avoided the room where the person was hiding.

　　The old man pointed to the main room and said with a humble face, "Lord, if you don't mind, you can rest here tonight."

　　The bed was covered with thick straw, and there was only a thin blue blanket, which made people not feel any warmth in this snowy day.

　　Su Lun frowned.

　　It wasn't that he felt he couldn't get used to living there, but he felt that in this leaky house, how would the three people in the house spend the winter?

　　There was only this one bed in the house, and the room where the person was hiding was a wood room.

　　In other words, Su Lun was sleeping on the bed, and the old man and the other two could only spend the night in the wood pile.

　　He sighed slightly, and felt a little guilty for coming to disturb them.

　　At this time, the child who had gone to boil water earlier also came in carefully holding a porcelain bowl.

　　The bowl was steaming hot.

　　The old man took it and handed it to Su Lun, with a dry smile on his face, worried that he was not taking good care of him: "It's a joke for the lord to see. There are no cups at home, and no tea, so I can only put some boiled water in a porcelain bowl. I'm not taking good care of you..."

　　Su Lun guessed that there was probably not even a complete porcelain bowl in this family when he saw the chipped porcelain bowl.

　　He didn't mind at all, took it and took a sip, and said, "Thank you."

　　The warm boiled water entered his stomach along his throat, and Su Lun felt uncomfortable.

　　He had been in this world for a long time, and had seen many poor and suffering people. But never before had he felt so bad as he did tonight.

　　Is it human nature to pity the weak?

　　Or did he feel that this world could be better?

　　Su Lun didn't know.

　　Just as he was thinking, he turned his head and saw the old man and the boy standing there restrainedly, as if they didn't dare to leave without his "lordship" speaking.

　　Su Lun saw the boy's oversized clothes and asked, "The clothes don't seem to fit?"

　　It looked like a robe, but also like a long gown, washed white and patched all over.

　　The stitches were very rough, and it didn't look like a woman's handiwork, probably the old man's handwriting.

　　Looking down, the shoes under his feet were still showing his toes, which were frozen purple.

　　The boy looked a little timid and didn't dare to speak when asked.

　　The old man heard and said with a wry smile, "Reporting to the lord, this is the old man's clothes that have been altered. It's not that they don't fit. It's just that they are used as clothes during the day, and as quilts at night. They are made a little bigger so that they can be covered."

　　"Oh."

　　Su Lun said lightly after hearing that.

　　He had actually guessed that before when he saw that there was no quilt on the bed.

　　Without saying much, he took out a few pieces of clothing and shoes from the storage ring and handed them out, "These old clothes are not worth much, just consider them as a compensation for my lodging."

　　Seeing his actions, the old and young not only were not happy, but immediately knelt on the ground, even more frightened: "Lord, it is a great honor for the Koike family to have you as a guest at home, we would never dare to accept your things..."

　　To these villagers who had never been out of the mountain village, the foreign pirates were probably very remarkable "big shots".

　t be offended.

　　Su Lun put the clothes on the bed and said lightly, "Accept them."

　　He was afraid that the two would be frightened, so he wanted to find some topics to ease the atmosphere. Suddenly thinking of something, he casually said some lighthearted topics: "I also knew a girl named Koike before, who happened to be from your Izumo, I wonder if you know her. Um... her name is Koike Teppei."

　　This was the geisha he met at the "Naganoya Geisha House" before, and Su Lun had a good impression of her.

　　Hearing this, the boy suddenly exclaimed and couldn't help but say, "My sister is also named Teppei!"

　　Su Lun thought it might be a coincidence and said, "I met her in Gold City, she is a geisha."

　　The boy's eyes lit up and he spoke again: "My sister is also a Kabuki in Edo!"

　　Hearing this, Su Lun also thought it was a coincidence, this was probably really the home of that Koike Teppei.

　　Hearing this, the old man couldn't help but get excited and said, "Lord, have you seen my daughter? Is she... is she doing well now? Cough cough..."

　　He couldn't help but cough twice.

　　Su Lun heard from the cough that the old man had a big problem with his lungs, like pneumoconiosis.

　　He said, "She's doing well. She's at the Naganoya in Gold City, and she's already a very good geisha."

　　Hearing this, a trace of joy finally appeared on the old man's face, as if he had heard the news he had been waiting for for a long time, and he looked relieved, "It's good that she's doing well..."

　　In the Mountain Hidden Country, the status of geisha is not low.

　　But usually the birth of geisha is very miserable, most of them are poor families who sold their little girls to geisha houses since they were young.

　　After selling them, they can no longer contact their families.

　　Su Lun said that he knew Koike Teppei, and the old man's words were not as unfamiliar as before, and he could chat a few words.

　　"I got sick from mining before, iron powder was inhaled into my lungs. I got phthisis and didn't have the strength, so the mine owner wouldn't let me go down the mine. And when Yoshino was born eight years ago, his mother died in childbirth... the family's income was completely cut off, and there was no way to sell Teppei..."

　　"Lord Mite was very kind, gave us a settlement fee, and also gave us a lot of help. It's a pity that the old man was too stupid and was cheated by the hooligans who came to the village."

　　"..."

　　After chatting a few words, Su Lun also learned about the situation of the Koike family.

　　It was very sad to hear.

　　The Mountain Hidden Country was already poor, and this was truly the kind of family where several generations were poor.

　　But what was slightly strange was that when Su Lun heard the old man mention "Lord Mite", there was a kind of almost fanatical worship on his face.

　　What kind of charm does that legendary "most beautiful princess in the world" Mite Yagihime have that makes people worship her like this? (Not the "Mitera" surname, don't be serious)

　　Probably because he felt that Su Lun was not so scary, while chatting, the little head hiding in the wood room also secretly peeked out. It was a girl who looked fairly pretty, about thirteen or fourteen years old.

　　Su Lun's night vision was very good, but he pretended not to see it.

　　He let the boy named Yoshino put on the clothes he gave, and also gave the old man a healing potion, which could not cure lung disease, but could also live for a few more years.

　　While chatting, the family finally saw expressions other than fear on their faces.

　　The atmosphere also gradually became harmonious.

　　Su Lun was very interested in the monsters of the Mountain Hidden Country and wanted to ask the locals. Thinking about it, he told them about his previous encounters with [Shiranui] and [Kappa].

　　The old man also said some things he knew.

　　Monsters have a very special meaning for the Mountain Hidden people, they are terrible, respectable, but often protect them.

　　This statement was similar to what was written in the Records of Gods and Ghosts, and Su Lun did not get much useful information.

　　.......

　　While chatting, Su Lun suddenly thought of the spirited knife in the village's ancestral hall, and asked, "Old man, when I passed by the entrance of the village before, I saw that the village's ancestral hall enshrined a knife, is there any particularity about it?"

　　"This..."

　　Hearing this, the old man's face obviously showed a troubled expression, and he stammered, "It's not that the old man doesn't want to tell you, lord, it's just that telling you will bring you misfortune."

　　As soon as Su Lun heard this, he became even more interested, but he also said, "If it's inconvenient to say, it's okay."

　　At this time, the boy Yoshino was a little anxious, seemingly afraid of neglecting the distinguished guest, and interjected, "Father, that high monk once said that people with upright hearts will not be affected. Just tell him, Mr. Johnny is such a good person, he won't..."

　　High monk?

　　Listening to this, Su Lun felt that the sword seemed very special.

　　The old man glared at his son, but he was helpless.

　　He felt that it seemed a little negligent to hide it, hesitated for a moment, then turned his head and asked Su Lun again, "Lord, do you really want to hear?"

　　Su Lun nodded with a smile: "Yes. I'm really interested."

　　Hearing this, the old man sighed slightly, seemingly only then deciding to speak.

　　He paused for a moment, and then said, "Because that is a famous sword, Onimaru Hyakume."

　　As soon as Su Lun heard this name, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine, and said incredulously: "The 'Demon Sword' Onimaru Hyakume, which ranks third among the Twelve Excellent Crafted Famous Swords?"

　　This was a Twelve Crafted Famous Sword that was said to have disappeared!

　　It was actually in the ancestral hall of this small village?

　　As soon as he said this, Su Lun immediately said in his heart that it was impossible, and also felt that something was wrong.

　　But the old man opposite him nodded with a complicated expression, "Yes."