Chapter 651

This pattern was quite interesting—he had heard his father mention it once in a while—because on Kyushu and Honshu there were some vicious sea bandits who would specifically come ashore to kill people.

Generally they would kill the grandfather and father, then take the mother, leaving only the child. After three or five years, one might well see, out at sea, children who had fallen into becoming sea bandits themselves.

It was a very interesting thing—some young masters of powerful clans on Kyushu even took pleasure in it, often sending their retainers and warriors out to hunt, competing with each other to see who could flush out more sea bandits.

Of course, this sort of thing would not spread among the common folk. The reason he knew was that his father recruited warriors, and ronin from Kyushu came to join him; after getting drunk they would mention it. The reason he had left Kyushu was precisely because he could not bring himself to do such things.

Yi Ichitaro felt this matter would breed hidden dangers, so he deliberately brought it up to teach his son: "If you're going to be a sea bandit, either only rob money and goods—kill no one if you can help it, leave a line for others—or slaughter the whole village, the whole clan, cut the grass and dig out the roots, leave no future trouble.

People like them, who kill but don't kill everyone, not for profit but only for sport, leaving behind such great future trouble and still preening themselves—someday they will be devoured by the backlash."

Yi Jianren at the time only felt they were cruel, but did not think they would suffer backlash: "Unless heaven punishes them, or the Great Ming imperial court speaks up for them, a bunch of commoners, all of them children—how could they possibly fight against those powerful clans on Kyushu who have warriors?"

Yi Ichitaro: "Don't underestimate the hatred of commoners."

Yi Ichitaro always acted with caution. Yi Jianren, though he didn't take it seriously, would absolutely never do such a thing himself, so he didn't argue with his father.

But at this moment, his father's words from back then flashed through his mind.

Was it because the Ōuchi clan had acted too ruthlessly, arousing the wrath of the Great Ming commoners, so that even across the vast ocean they still had to come for revenge?

Along the way, they too had endured many dangers. They had fought a skirmish with them in Kōchi Prefecture, and had dodged and slipped all the way to Honshu. Apart from the three days they stopped at Ichinomiya-dera, the rest of the time they ate very bad dry rations, and no one complained a single word. Whenever the Ōuchi clan was mentioned, their bodies would tense up and their eyes would fill with a gleam of hatred…

The hatred of commoners really could sustain them across the vast ocean to come here for revenge.

Yi Jianren did not dare to slight their hatred, and reported the information he had gathered carefully and earnestly.

"Ōuchi Hirotaka is a branch of the Ōuchi clan. It is said he was a subordinate of Sue Harukazu…"

Pan Yun tilted her head: "It is said?"

"Yes," Yi Jianren paused, then said: "Before this year, he was just a ronin wandering here and there. It was only because his surname was Ōuchi that taverns and shops were willing to give him face, letting him run up tabs for drinks and goods. Many people in the inner city knew him, so the moment I asked around, I found out."

Yi Jianren explained the source of his information and stressed its reliability, then continued: "Last autumn, he suddenly disappeared. When he came back, he had become a guard of the Ōuchi fleet, and he alone was in charge of two ships."

Pan Yun: "When did he come back?"

"Not long ago, about ten days, I think. So when I asked around, they all thought I had also come to flatter and curry favor with him, hoping to get into the Ōuchi trade fleet."

Pan Yun: "What does the Ōuchi trade fleet do?"

"I heard they're responsible for escorting the trade fleet to the superior country, protecting the tally trade."

Seeing Miao Zhen sneered: "There hasn't been any tally trade these past two years—are their fleets just drinking the northwest wind out at sea? Most likely they're protecting smuggling trade, and acting as sea bandits to plunder, right?"

Pan Yun nodded slightly: "Is he at the Yamaguchi mansion now?"

"Yes," Yi Jianren paused, his gaze swept over Pan Yun, Seeing Miao Zhen, and Miao He, and he said nothing.

Pan Yun understood at a glance, and said, annoyed: "Dilly-dallying, dilly-dallying—out with it, which brothel is he at?"

Yi Jianren's face flushed faintly, and he said softly: "We call them brothels here… I heard he often goes to one called Sakura."

"Lovely name!" Pan Yun asked: "Where is it?"

Yi Jianren sighed and said: "By the river in the inner city, near the outer city. You'll see it as soon as you go—it's hung all over with pink lanterns, just like cherry blossoms."

"What about the other person? Did you find out?"

"The one who earned the first merit in the contest with the Yamana clan for the village is called Naitō Mitsuo. He's the second son of Naitō Hiromasa."

Pan Yun: "From the sound of it, this Naitō Hiromasa is quite famous?"

Yi Jianren was already used to it—they were, after all, not Japanese. To them these people sounded like thunder in their ears, yet they didn't recognize a single one, so every time a name came up he had to introduce them in detail: "He is the Buzen shugo-dai, a jitō, and one of the three great retainers of the Ōuchi clan."

Pan Yun: "He does sound impressive."

Yi Jianren explained: "This contest over territory with the Yamana clan was planned and directed by him."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "So he's the man behind the scenes?"

Yi Jianren: "I don't know what the Ōuchi clan head is thinking, but since it was Naitō Mitsuo who struck, then Naitō Hiromasa must certainly know."

Pan Yun was thoroughly satisfied: "Excellent! This way, negotiating with the Yamana clan will be much easier."

Yi Jianren pretended he hadn't heard, and indeed he hadn't understood. He continued: "Naitō Mitsuo hasn't been going out much lately. I heard it's because he was attacked twice in assassination attempts. This morning he finally came out for once, and the result was that he had barely stepped onto the main street when he was assassinated by a shinobi."

Pan Yun's heart leapt up, and she hurriedly asked: "Is he dead?"

"No, he only suffered light injuries. The shinobi who tried to assassinate him was killed instead."

Pan Yun let out a breath of relief: "That's great—this makes it even easier to negotiate."

Yi Jianren: …

Pan Yun said: "Tell me Naitō Mitsuo's address."

Yi Jianren hesitated: "He's injured—he probably won't come out for the next few days."

"If the mountain won't come to me, I will go to the mountain."

Yi Jianren could only give her the address, and reminded her: "On my way back I detoured past his house and took a look. Although my skills are humble, I could still sense that many people were hidden around his house."

Pan Yun noted down the address, then burned the paper, and nodded: "I understand. What follows has nothing to do with you. Tomorrow we will rest here for half a day, and in the afternoon you take them to Ōmori-chō."

That was Yamana clan territory, and also Pan Yun's ultimate destination.

Yi Jianren acknowledged the order.

The moment he left, Xue Shao asked: "You're going to part ways with us?"

"You go on ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

Xue Shao frowned: "You want to kill two people at the same time—that won't be easy. Don't underestimate the Ōuchi clan. When we entered the city you should have noticed—this whole city is a bit strange, especially the location of the Ōuchi clan's cluster of houses. You could say it's been blessed by heaven, occupying all the fortune of this area.

Among them there may well be those well-versed in the mystical arts of the Way of the Gods."

Pan Yun: "I know. I'll be careful."

Xue Shao: "Leave a few people behind. Let's split into two groups." (End of chapter)