Xiuguang carefully looked at the young man in front of him who claimed to be collecting medicine for a moment. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Men are not very old, at most in their early twenties. He was dressed in the cloth of an ordinary family, with a turban wrapped around his head, and in his hand he held a small mud-stained hoe used to collect medicinal herbs, and the large basket on his back seemed to contain many strange medicinal herbs.

He has been crying and laughing on his face since he was discovered by Irisawa. Although the surface is funny and embarrassing, in the face of the murderous aura of Irizawa, he can still be so calm.

This person may not be a lie, but he is definitely not an ordinary person. Staring at the man in front of him, Xiuguang secretly made this judgment in his heart.

"You look like you've had a great day."

Xiuguang looked at the man's big back basket and said tentatively.

"Ah, that's right."

The man listened to what Xiuguang said, shook the back basket with a smile, and patted it,

"Today, for some reason, I suddenly dug up a lot of precious medicinal materials. The villain estimated that there should be a noble person passing by here today. ”

The man narrowed his eyes and said this with a smile.

When Xiuguang heard his last words, he didn't say anything, he just smiled, and asked politely:

"I wonder if Mr. is a pharmacist or just an ordinary farmer collecting medicine?"

"I have a medical center in Himeji Castle."

At the mention of the medical hall, the man straightened his chest with some pride,

"The physician and the pharmacist are all me. I often look for medicinal herbs here. ”

"I see, it turns out that Your Excellency is a healer of Himeji Castle. We're being rude, sorry. ”

Hidemitsu looked at Irizawa Shinai and motioned to him with his eyes to let him put down the short knife in his hand. Although Irizawa was a little worried, he still obeyed Hidemitsu's order and withdrew the short knife into his waist.

"It's okay, it's okay, anyway, the villain, I'm just passing by to collect medicine, and I'm sorry to disturb your villains!"

When the practitioner heard Hidemitsu's apology, he touched the back of his head nervously and said with a smile that it was okay. At the same time, his attention had gradually shifted from Iris to Xiuguang.

He looked at the dusty and mud-stained outfits of Xiuguang and his group, and asked curiously:

"The villain looks at you all dressed up for a long journey, I don't know where you came from?"

"We're from Kyoto, and we're looking for someone in Himeji Castle."

Xiuguang continued to make things up.

"It turns out that a few adults came all the way from the capital!"

The practitioner showed a surprised expression that he didn't know whether it was true or not, and clapped his hands,

"Villain, I can meet you in the mountains by chance, it can be regarded as a kind of fate! And you look like you've been on a long journey, and you must be exhausted. I wonder if I can enjoy my face and come to the villain's medical hall for a while? ”

He seemed to have noticed a long time ago that it was not the adults who seemed to be strong in martial arts who had the right to speak and command in this group of people, but the calm and calm teenager in front of him. Therefore, he has always spoken to Xiuguang and invited.

In the face of the enthusiastic invitation of this medical practitioner whose identity is full of doubts, Irisawa is full of vigilance.

And Xiuzong, who was already tired, shouted to go when he heard that there was a place to rest.

Xiuguang saw the smile in the practitioner's eyes. Although he always had an expression on his face that he couldn't see through, his intuition told Xiuguang that the young man in front of him had no ill intentions.

Maybe he just wants to hear something about us. Xiuguang thought so.

"Since Your Excellency has invited you so warmly, then we might as well be respectful."

Xiuguang smiled and happily agreed to the doctor's invitation.

"Oh! That's great! Then please come down the mountain with me, Himeji Castle is below. ”

Hearing Xiuguang's nod of agreement, the young practitioner happily shook the two baskets, then got up and cleared the grass and led Xiuguang and his group to prepare to descend the mountain.

“…… My lord. ”

"Let's go."

Hidemitsu saw Irisawa's gesture to him, so he shook his head at him and continued to follow the practitioner down the mountain.

Irizawa Shinnai, the Xiu family, and Xiuzong glanced at each other, shrugged helplessly, and immediately packed up their luggage and followed the footsteps of the two in front of them.

The road down the mountain is steep. Because this place is too deep in the mountains, it is rarely inhabited, so there is no such thing as a "road". Xiuguang and the others could only rely on the rocks and trees around them to stabilize their shape, so as to avoid rolling down the valley with one foot in the air.

Not only ordinary people like Hidemitsu Hidemune, but even professionally trained ninjas like Irizawa Shinnai and Tsurunosuke are also very cautious about this. Compared with the caution and caution of Xiuguang and his party, the practitioner walking in front of them was extremely familiar with this, and he didn't look nervous at all, as if he had been walking here for many years.

Looking at his sturdy figure, Irizawa Jinnai also became more and more suspicious of his true identity.

"Your Excellency seems to know the terrain of this place very well."

Walking and walking, Xiuguang suddenly asked.

"Ah, yes."

The young practitioner who walked in front turned his head and smiled,

"I've been living in Himeji Castle for years. Well, it seems like it's been almost six years. I come here every few days to pick some medicinal herbs, and after six years, I should be familiar with this place. ”

"Six years? That's a long time. Have you been practicing medicine here all along? ”

"Hmm. However, when it comes to practicing medicine, I'm actually just a half-ass. ”

"Huh? Dabbler? ”

Listening to the words of the practitioner, Xiuguang asked back with some surprise.

"I picked a lot of precious medicinal herbs today."

The young practitioner did not answer Xiuguang's question, but said it as if talking to himself.

"However, no matter how precious and good the medicinal materials are, they are useless in the hands of a half-baked person like me."

He patted the back basket and said to Xiuguang:

"What if these herbs are not in my hands, but in the hands of the famous doctor, Mr. Qu Naase?"

“…… That would definitely play a bigger role. ”

Xiuguang had not yet understood the meaning of the practitioner's words.

"yes. In fact, the same is true for people. ”

The practitioner did not look back at Xiuguang, but kept looking ahead and continued to descend the mountain.

"People are not just living for the sake of living, but for the sake of what they are pursuing. What is the meaning of life when you can't use it in a way? The present of me and one of my past masters is like these herbs. ”

Listening to the words with a slight sigh in his mouth, Xiuguang seemed to understand, but he didn't seem to understand.

Perhaps this is the young practitioner's view of life.

At the same time, Xiuguang became more and more concerned about the identity of this practitioner and the background behind him.

What kind of person is he and what has he experienced to have this view of life?

Also, who is the "master" in his mouth?