I was a swordsman in ancient Japan

——Is it just...so far...?

Genichi felt his eyelids getting heavier, and his eyes gradually became half-closed, and they might close completely at any time.

——I have devoted my whole life to the sword... In the end... I still haven't been able to touch the higher realm of the way of the sword before I die...

——What a pity...

While Genichi's eyes were slowly closing, the light in his eyes also slowly became dim...

But, at this moment——

"It's a pity that I wasn't born in the same era as you... Even though you are an enemy, I'm also a swordsman. I really want to see how terrifying your strength is when you are at your strongest. "

Genichi suddenly heard - Nobuhide Toyotomi, who was walking towards him with unhurried steps, said this to him in an emotional tone.

"?!" Genichi, who felt as if two sharp needles had been pierced into his eardrum, was stunned, and his eyes, which were already half closed, slowly opened...

……

……

(Who are you?! Why are you sneaking around in front of my house! Huh? Genichi Kinoshita? I don’t have a family member like you in my house! Go away! Go away! Ha? Are you my uncle? I No uncle! Go away!)

……

……

"...ha...hahahaha."

……

It was very abrupt—Genichi, who put the knife on the ground and knelt on one knee, suddenly laughed in a low voice.

"Huh?" Toyotomi Nobuhide cast a puzzled look at Genichi.

No matter what Toyotomi Nobuhide thinks, Genichi, who was severely stabbed in the chest, is now doomed - he really can't think of any reason to laugh at Genichi who appeared now.

Toyotomi Nobuhide, who couldn't help being vigilant, frowned and asked Genichi:

"……why are you laughing?"

Genichi stopped laughing slowly.

"It's nothing... it's just... thanks to what you said just now, it reminded me of what I said to someone last night, and reminded me - I shouldn't be so weak that I just fell down like this right."

After speaking——

"Well……!"

Genichi leaned on the knife vigorously, stepped on the deck with both feet, and slowly raised his body.

I saw Yuan Yi's facial features twisted together due to pain.

Only Genichi's voice turned into a groan due to pain.

But even so, Genichi stubbornly stood up desperately.

"...Hey." Looking at Genichi who ignored the injury and pain, a look of astonishment appeared on Toyotomi Nobuhide's face, "Why torture yourself so much? Do you think you still have the strength to fight?"

"Exactly...so." Genichi, who was holding a knife in his hand, raised his head and grinned at Nobuhide Toyotomi, "I haven't... seen Xiaolin safe with my own eyes...I...can't just be like this Fell asleep……"

"...Oh." Toyotomi Nobuhide's face darkened, "Then I want to see what you can do with your old and seriously injured body."

After all, Toyotomi Nobuhide quickened his pace towards Genichi.

"Are you old and seriously injured..." Genichi softly repeated what Toyotomi Nobuhide said just now.

A faint smile, following Yuan Yi's upturned mouth, emerged on Yuan Yi's cheeks——

"Don't be complacent...boy..."

"...do you think...who is the person standing in front of you?"

"At this age, I'm not... so easy to deal with..."

"You just said: You want to know how terrifying my strength is when I am the strongest?"

"Didn't you...have you seen it long ago...?!"

Genichi, who was grinning loudly, had completely straightened his body at this moment.

It was obviously covered in blood, but it still stood upright on the deck like a mountain.

"My strongest moment—"

……

……

last night--

"Gan Shi, what's the matter? You suddenly pulled me here with a serious face." Yuan Yi casually placed his left hand on the Yangshen Saber at his waist, and put his right hand behind his back.

"It's nothing important." Feng Mo wrote lightly while kneading his lower back that was still sore, "I just want to stand in the position of a friend and talk to you from the bottom of my heart."

"Talking about yourself?" Yuan Yi chuckled a few times as if he was amused, "Look at your serious face, I thought what were you trying to do, so you just wanted to talk to me."

"Okay, then I'll be all ears."

Yuan Yi pouted in the direction of the temple gate.

"But keep it short. We're leaving for Koyasan soon."

Feng Mo nodded lightly: "There is no need to 'all ears'."

"I'm not going to start a long story."

"I just want to remind you: always pay attention to your body, don't forget that you are an old man now."

This simple sentence from Feng Mo made Yuan Yi raise his eyebrows slightly, and his expression changed slightly.

Ignoring the change in Yuan Yi's expression, Fu Mo continued:

"If I remember correctly, Yuan Yi, you are already 65 years old this year."

"I'm older than you, so I know very well what it means to be 65 years old."

Feng Mo, who was slightly hunched due to the back pain, let out a low self-deprecating laugh.

"This is... not an age where we can toss our bodies at will."

"Physical strength, strength, senses, reactions...all are completely weakened."

"Many movements that were easy to do when I was young are extremely difficult to do now, or I can't do them at all."

"In the eyes of outsiders who are not familiar with you, most of them will think that you don't look like an old man at all, and think that you are still the invincible 'sword master'."

"But in the eyes of me who knew you when you were still unknown..."

At this moment, Feng Mo pursed his lips as if he couldn't bear to speak any more.

After pausing for a moment, he continued:

"...No matter how powerful Yuan Yi was when you were young, you are still a mortal, and there is no way to stop time from engraving the marks of time on your body."

"According to my estimates—whether physical strength or strength... Your current physical strength is not half of what it was in the whole province, right?"

"I'm not trying to stop you from saving Xiaolin on the grounds of 'old age'."

"I just want to remind you here: don't forget that you have passed your prime, you are no longer a young man, and you don't have the power you had when you were young."

Feng Mo sighed lightly.

"I'm afraid that when you went to rescue Xiaolin, your blood surged for a while, you forgot your physical condition, and did something that an old man like you should not do..."

Yuan Yi has been quietly listening to Feng Moyan's sincere and thoughtful words, without interrupting, just listening to the end in silence.

Until the voice of Fumo completely fell——

"Hahaha……"

Genichi, who has been maintaining the posture of holding the knife with his left hand and his right hand behind his back, chuckled a few times with a hint of glee on his face.

"It's been a long time since I heard someone ask me to pay more attention to this aging body."

Yuan Yi sighed softly.

"The last time I heard someone ask me to pay attention to my age... It seems to be on a night half a year ago. Xiaolin asked me to drink less wine and drink more health-preserving soup."

After teasing himself, Yuan Yi pursed his lips, then raised his head, looking up at the full moon that was about to rise to the highest point above his head.

"It's not young anymore...it's past its prime..."

He softly repeated the words that Fengmo had said just now.

"...Gan Shi, I have dedicated my whole life to 'Sword'."

谷嚽

"Huh...?" Fumo looked at Yuanyi in confusion, who suddenly changed the topic to a direction that had nothing to do with what he just said.

Genichi ignored the confused Fuma, and continued on his own:

"Ever since I held a wooden knife for the first time in the sword hall that taught no outflow, I have fallen in love with swords and swordsmanship hopelessly."

"In order to study swordsmanship, in order to achieve the 'extreme level of swordsmanship', I did not hesitate to break with my father, disregarding the so-called 'toyotomi revival cause' that should be carried by my eldest son, ran away from home, wandered around, and honed swordsmanship."

"My life is dedicated to the sword, and it is also a life of traveling and fighting."

"In the past 65 years, I have hacked all kinds of people. I have challenged all kinds of masters."

"The swordsman who is obsessed with swordsmanship like me, the evil monk who fell into the devil, the obsessed ninja, the pirate in England, the French musketeer who claimed to be a knight, the former Pope's guard who served in the Vatican, and the tyrannical Cossack Cavalrymen, Indians who nearly took my head off with a tomahawk..."

"I love swords more than anyone."

"But it's a pity—the sword doesn't seem to love me."

A wry smile appeared on Yuan Yi's face.

"I have painstakingly practiced swordsmanship. In order to hone my swordsmanship, I don't know how many times I have risked my death to challenge strong opponents."

"But... since about 20 years ago, I feel like my sword skills have completely stagnated."

"It's like bumping into a huge wall, and you can't get any further."

"After realizing that I seemed to have fallen into a bottleneck that was difficult to break through... To be honest-at that time, I was quite depressed."

"I am very puzzled: I have dedicated everything I can to the sword, why not let me climb a higher 'mountain' and see a new 'landscape'?"

"I can't improve my swordsmanship-this is a very frustrating result for someone like me who has dedicated my life to the sword."

"I'm very scared."

"I'm afraid that my swordsmanship level has stagnated like this, and I can't make any progress."

"But the changes in the world are always so wonderful."

"When you are depressed and hopeless, a turning point may come unexpectedly and quietly."

"It didn't take long after I realized that I was stuck in a bottleneck that was difficult to overcome, and I finally got on the boat to go back to Japan, and set foot on the homeland after 30 years of absence."

"Not long after returning to Japan... I met Xiao Lin."

Genichi stretched out his hand and compared it to his thigh.

"When I first met Xiaolin, Xiaolin was only 9 years old, only this tall, a tiny one...ah, although she is also a tiny one now."

"When I first met Xiaolin, I suffered a lot."

Yuan sighed helplessly.

"Xiaolin has quite a big prejudice against me, an uncle who only listened to his name and never saw him, and never showed up after his family lost all their profitable labor force and encountered great difficulties."

"As soon as you see me, you roll your eyes at me or speak ill at me."

"Don't call me 'Bo Gong', but call me 'this who' and 'that who'."

"However——even though Xiao Lin treated me so badly, I couldn't help but give all my patience and tenderness to her."

Yuan Yi slowly put away the helpless look on his face, and replaced it with a gentle smile.

"I dedicate my time, energy...everything I can to the 'sword'."

"The 'love' that should have been given to a certain woman, I also gave the 'sword'."

"In the end, I didn't start a family until my head grew silver threads. I had no wife, no children, and no daughters."

"I've been alone for most of my life—until I met Xiaolin."