Volume 3 Buddha's Enemy Chapter 120: A Head Worth 300 Taels
There were no tools or materials to paste or block the windows, so the four ronin could only huddle together and use each other's body temperature to warm themselves.
"The snow outside seems to be lighter." The thin wanderer looked out the window, "It's still very cold though."
"To use the words from the Chinese classic Shishuo Xinyu..." the tall wanderer at the side continued, "The snow now is like 'sprinkling salt in the air '."
As soon as the tall ronin finished speaking, the fat ronin sitting next to him patted his shoulder vigorously.
"Wow~~ I didn't expect you to be such a learned person! I have read some of "Shishuo Xinyu" before, but no matter how many times I read it, I just couldn't get into it."
"What's the use of having knowledge..." The tall ronin smiled bitterly, "I'm still a helpless ronin..."
The tall ronin's words instantly made the atmosphere in the temple heavy.
All the people present were ronin who had left their respective fiefdoms for various reasons.
The tall ronin's words immediately brought back bad memories for them.
"...Alas." After a moment of silence, the fat ronin sighed, "This broken world nowadays...I'm afraid it's just like the chaotic times of the Warring States Period."
"I never thought that I would become a ronin one day..." the short ronin at the side continued, "I don't know how long this wandering life will last..."
The four of them tacitly agreed not to ask each other why they became ronin.
Because they all know that those who escape from their clan and become ronin must have some unspeakable reasons.
So they all tacitly remained silent on this issue and did not expose each other's scars.
"The world is in chaos now." The thin ronin said softly, "Look - last fall, didn't a shocking murder of the lord happen in the Hirose Domain?"
"Ah, I know about this." The fat ronin continued, "That 'Executioner Ittosai' is really amazing..."
"'Executioner Ittosai'..." The short ronin looked at the others in confusion, "Who is this? Why have I never heard of this person?"
"It's normal that you haven't heard of him." The tall wanderer replied, "After all, for people like us who live in the world, it's hard for us to know what's going on in the world. I only learned about this person a few days ago."
After that, the tall ronin cleared his throat.
Then he narrated:
"Last year, the elder of the Hirose clan, Kuranaga Saemon, decided to assassinate the lord of the Hirose clan, Matsudaira Gennai, for unknown reasons."
"In order to assassinate Matsudaira Gennai, Kuranaga Zaemon recruited a young samurai from the Hirose Domain who had outstanding swordsmanship - Ogata Yoshisei."
"They chose the day for the assassination when Matsudaira Gennai was out hunting."
"It was probably in the fall of last year. This assassination attempt between the two sides with a huge disparity in combat power began."
"Ogata Issei launched the assault alone with a single sword."
"He killed hundreds of Matsudaira Gennai's guards with his own strength."
"And in the end, he successfully killed Matsudaira Gennai."
"It is rumored that the swordsmanship used by this Ogata Issei is the Sakakibara Ittoryu created by the late swordsman Sakakibara Denichirō, who was famous in the Izumo region."
"He killed hundreds of people with his swordsmanship, and thus the name 'Executioner Ittosai' spread."
"Hundreds of people?" The short ronin gasped, "Is this true? Is there really such a swordsman in this world who can defeat a hundred people alone? Then, where is this Ogata Issei now? Is he dead?"
"I think this is true." The tall ronin continued, "After the assassination, Kuranaga, the instigator of the incident, took the initiative to write to the shogunate and confessed his actions."
"After submitting a letter to the shogunate, he committed suicide by disembowelment."
"It is rumored that when Kuranaga wrote to the shogunate, he concealed the existence of Ogata Issei."
"It was not until the shogunate sent people to the Hirose domain to investigate that the shogunate learned about Ogata Issei and knew that it was Ogata Issei who wielded a sword to kill Matsudaira Gennai and all his guards."
"It's a pity that when people learned about this person's existence, Ogata Yoshisei had already left the Hirose Domain and became a ronin, and disappeared long ago."
"A ronin who escaped from his clan?" the short ronin exclaimed, "So that means - that Ogata Noriyoshi is still alive?"
"He may be alive, or he may be dead." The tall ronin shrugged. "After learning that it was Ogata Issei who killed Matsudaira Gennai, the shogunate immediately issued a high reward."
At this point, an intriguing look appeared on the tall ronin's face.
"Do you know how much the head of 'Executioner Itosai' is worth now?"
"How much?" The short ronin swallowed.
The tall ronin raised three fingers.
"300 taels."
"3,300 taels?!" the short man couldn't help but exclaim.
"It's an exaggerated number, isn't it?" The tall ronin smiled, "Such a number is enough to drive many people crazy."
"After learning of this bounty, there will surely be many ronin who are desperate but confident in their own skills looking for the trace of 'Executioner Ittosai'."
"Not only will we be chased by these wanderers who are tempted by the bounty, but we will also be hunted by government officials."
"With his head being stared at by such people, 'Executioner Ittosai' might be dead already."
"300 taels..." A greedy look appeared on the short ronin's face, "Should I try to chase after 'Executioner Ittosai'..."
"I advise you not to be stupid." This time it was the fat ronin who said in a bad tone, "Who is he? He is the 'Executioner Ittosai' who can kill hundreds of people by himself."
"This title of mine was forged with the blood of others."
"Where do you get the confidence to think you can beat 'Ittosai' who can fight a hundred people alone?"
" Ichidosai may have already killed countless fools who didn't know what was good for them and thought they could take the 300 taels."
"Hehe..." The short ronin laughed foolishly with an embarrassed look on his face, "I was just saying it casually..."
Just as these four ronin were chatting enthusiastically—
"...This is so wrong. Where did you hear these rumors?"
A young male voice that was quite unfamiliar to the four ronin sounded.
The four ronin were stunned at first, then looked in the direction of the sound.
The four people's sight was fixed on the ronin who was leaning against the wall in the corner of the ancient temple, sleeping with his face covered by a hat.
