"Does sir have such a severe mysophobia?"
After crossing the bridge blocked by Kira Weicheng, the group continued walking to the next village outside Nagashino Castle to the west. On the way, Ginkgo couldn't help but complain to Imagawa Shimoto.
"How can it be called mysophobia? I just love cleanliness." Imagawa Ujimoto said as he wiped the sweat on his back with a towel. "You were dirty from the fight just now. Can't you wash it?"
It was almost noon, and everyone's stomachs were growling. Nakasugi Tiger Chiyo volunteered to find prey, and soon came back carrying a pheasant.
"Good archery skills." Imagawa Ujimoto looked at the trophy in Nakasugi Tora Chiyo's hand - the pheasant was hit in the heart by an arrow, and the arrow even penetrated the body - such a result was shot with such an inferior soft bow, It's really not easy. But after he finished the compliment, he realized something was wrong - Nakasugi Torachiyo was clearly holding a pheasant in his hand! Chicken!
"People from the mountains naturally have some skills in hunting." Nakasugi Torachiyo was not modest at all, and handed the pheasant to Ginkgo with his backhand, "Sister, I don't understand the rest. I still have to trouble you about the cooking. .”
"Oh, it's so troublesome. You should go to the river and pluck its hair first. I'll come back later." Ginkgo, who had already sat on the stone to rest, was very reluctant to get up to work and put his legs on the stone. He curled up and turned his head, out of sight. Nakasugi Torachiyo couldn't take advantage of her sister, so she could only walk towards the river with a wry smile.
It was only then that Imagawa Ujimoto, who was stunned by the pheasant, came to his senses and added: "Do we...really want to eat pheasant?"
·
Soon after, the four of them sat around the campfire and watched Ginkgo grilling fragrant chicken with simple ingredients. Nakasugi Torachiyo and Hayasaka Nao were all salivating, but Imagawa Ujimoto had a sad face.
"Didn't you return to secular life, sir?" Ginkgo said dissatisfiedly when she saw that Imagawa Shimoto was not interested in her cooking skills, "Why don't you eat meat?"
"Aren't Tora Chiyo and Miss Ginkgo both from the samurai family? Even if they weren't, common people couldn't just turn a blind eye to the meat ban." Imagawa Ujimoto looked at the fragrant grilled chicken in front of him with a black line on his face. He grew up in Kyoto. He was so old that he couldn't accept the "treason" in front of him:
"Let's not mention pork and venison. This is the chicken in the 'Cow, Horse, Dog, Monkey, Chicken'. His Majesty the Emperor has expressly prohibited it. Killing animals is against Buddhist principles, and chicken is even more unclean. Eating it will cause It destroys the soul..."
"Haha, people from the mountains are not so particular." Nakasugi Torachiyo took a chicken leg without hesitation and chewed it in big mouthfuls, but the oil stains covered his mouth. The more Imagawa Shigen looked, the more nauseated he became, and he had to look away.
"If you don't want to eat, sir, then it's up to us to eat." Ginkgo also rolled her eyes at Imagawa Shimoto, then picked up the chicken wings and started eating. Hayasaka Nao was also tempted by the fragrance and looked at Imagawa Ujimoto eagerly. Imagawaji Moto nodded quickly in desperation, and Hayasaka Nao, who was pardoned, immediately picked up a skewer of meat and started to chew on it. Imagawa Ujimoto watched the three people eating happily, but his stomach growled louder and louder in protest.
"Forget it, I'll roast some mushrooms for Mr., there's really nothing I can do, it's so annoying to add more work to me." Ginkgo complained lazily, then picked up a sharpened wooden stick and skewered it. Some picked mushrooms were roasted together on the campfire. When it was almost cooked, he handed it to Imagawa Ujimoto. Imagawa Shimoto wanted to reach out and take it, but when he saw that the end of the stick was covered with mud, he resisted. After hesitating for a moment, he rolled up his sleeves, wrapped his hands in his sleeves and took the stick.
"Really, can this be said to be about cleanliness? It's clearly a mysophobia." Ginkgo rolled her eyes at Imagawa Shimoto again and complained, "People in the city are really troublesome. Do you want me to feed Mr. ?”
"Go and wash your clothes and hands after you finish eating." Although Imagawa Ujihara was eating ginkgo-roasted mushrooms, he refused to give in at all.
Then the two looked at each other and sighed in unison:
"There's really nothing we can do." - "There's really nothing we can do."
·
After lunch, the group continued on their way, and finally arrived at a small village in the north of Changxiao City in the evening, where they stayed at the only hotel in the village. After dinner, Nakasugi Torachiyo and Hayasaka Nao went to pack their luggage, while Imagawaji Motonori and Ginkgo took a walk on the village street.
Before walking a few steps, I suddenly saw a thin, palm-sized orange cat rummaging hard for food in a garbage dump not far away. But the village was already poor, with little to eat, and the few leftovers were divided up by other wild cats and dogs. This little orange cat didn't know why it didn't have its parents, so it could only find food all by itself, but found nothing.
After seeing someone coming, the wild cats and dogs all dispersed. Only this little orange cat, perhaps not yet learned to be afraid of people, actually cautiously approached Imagawa Shimoto and Ginkgo, raised its little head, and meowed pitifully.
Ginkgo thought that this smelly kitten would make the germaphobic Imagawa Ujimoto feel uncomfortable, but unexpectedly Imagawa Ujimoto squatted down on his own initiative, took out the flour pancake he had just bought for tomorrow's dry food from his arms, and tore it off He placed a few pieces in front of the little orange cat. The little orange cat immediately meowed a few times obediently, and then started eating in small bites.
"Look at it, how good it is." Imagawa Shimoto smiled and said to the ginkgo beside him, "How good it is."
"Sir, do you think this is good?" Ginkgo shook her head.
"What do you mean, Miss Ginkgo?" Imagawa Shigen turned her head to look at Ginkgo in confusion. Under the night, the look in her eyes was hard to see clearly.
"The reason why it is so good and pleasing to people is because if it is not like this, it will have nothing to eat and will be hungry." Ginkgo's voice gradually became softer, not only talking about the cat, but also saying goodbye. of what.
"Isn't this kind of 'sensible' who is willing to compromise more heartbreaking? If you are willful and will not be abandoned, who wouldn't want to choose whatever you want? Compared with it, those aloof pets who have no worries about food and clothing are actually... It's 'better', isn't it? Because they know that even if they are indifferent to their master, they will not be abandoned by their master, and their next meal will be provided for."
Imagawa Ujimoto fell into silence, staring blankly at the little orange cat in front of him eating the hard-won food. Its thin tail seemed to be broken for some reason, swaying listlessly, and its body was dirty. Could it have been beaten by someone else or a cat?
"I'm so sleepy, go back to sleep first." Ginkgo yawned, seemingly unaffected by the sudden sadness just now, and returned to his usual lazy and lively tone, "Sir, go to bed early, we have to get up early tomorrow to go on the road. Woolen cloth."
But when he turned his head, the sadness in his eyes could not be concealed.
Cats are like this, women are the same.
·
The next morning, Ginkgo woke up much earlier than usual. She always slept in and slept very deeply. If no one barks, there will be no problem sleeping until three o'clock in the morning. But she had something on her mind and didn't sleep well last night. I don’t know if it was because she was still dazed when she woke up in the morning, but in any case Ginkgo got up and knocked on Imagawa Jimoto’s door and walked in.
Then she was surprised to find a small nest made of a change of clothes next to Imagawa Shimoto's pillow. In the den, the little stray orange cat on the roadside yesterday was curled up into a ball and sleeping sweetly. Its body was wiped clean and a small bandage was wrapped around its tail. His face was close to Imagawa Jimoto's, and his beard gently rubbed against Imagawa Jimoto's cheek as he breathed, as if he slept particularly peacefully because of this.
"Miss Ginkgo?" Imagawa Shimoto was also awake, staring at the kitten beside the pillow. After noticing someone entering the door, he was reluctant to move.
"Good morning, sir." Ginkgo also said hello, her eyes also resting on the cat like Imagawa Shimoto. Then he took a few steps forward and sat down next to the cat's nest.
The movement between the two woke up the little orange cat. It frowned as if it was dissatisfied, then yawned loudly, revealing the little tongue in its mouth, and then got up sleepily.
"I named it Miao Miao." Imagawa Shimoto introduced the new member to Ginkgo with a smile. Miao Miao seemed to understand Imagawaji Yuan's words, she called out obediently, and then she nuzzled into Imagawaji Yuan's arms. Then, it found the big sister sitting next to it. It seemed that he was very interested in Ginkgo's fluffy hair, and it flew to Ginkgo's shoulder. Ginkgo, who was also awake, was tickled and couldn't stop laughing.
"Do you know why humans like cats?" Ginkgo raised her hand and gently stroked the cat on her shoulder. The gentleness in her beautiful eyes made Imagawa Shigen fascinated. Miaomiao also purred a few times as if she was enjoying it, wagging her tail happily.
"Because it feels really good to be relied on." Imagawa Ujimoto looked at the little orange cat leaning against Ginkgo's slender neck and replied without thinking.
"Sir, you really understand me." Ginkgo smiled knowingly, and there seemed to be a thousand kinds of charm in her smile.
Miaomiao seemed to be able to understand the conversation between men and women, blinking her eyes and wagging her tail cutely. After discovering a small flying car flying by in the room, he immediately jumped out from Ginkgo's body and swatted the flying insect to the ground. Then he came closer triumphantly and was about to crawl into Imagawa Shiyuan's arms.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Imagawa Shiyuan just saw clearly how Miaomiao's right paw swatted away flying insects. He hurriedly dodged and grabbed a handkerchief to wipe Miaomiao's claws. " Don’t rub it directly on my clothes!”
"Take him, I'll support you!" Ginkgo picked up Miao Miao with a smile, and put it on Imagawa Shimoto. Imagawa Shimoto hid in embarrassment, and in the end, a dirty patch was smeared on the hem of his clothes. Black mark.
