The Slender Samurai and Lin Pingzhi

Man at leisure, cassia flowers fall; quiet night, spring mountain empty. The rising moon startles the mountain birds, singing now and then in the spring valley.

Deep in the forest, a serene quietude reigned. Looking up, the sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, flickering like stars in the sky—somewhat dazzling, yet exceptionally bright and beautiful, revealing an unpredictable tranquility.

"Clang! Clang! Clink! Clank!"

"Clink! Clang! Clong! Clank!"

The crisp and fierce clashing of weapons suddenly echoed through the forest, instantly shattering the silence.

Two figures clashed fiercely like meteors, sending sparks flying. One held a curved katana, its blade as cold as frost; the other wielded a straight spear, its tip gleaming like a star.

They were Lin Pingzhi and the slender samurai.

Both had previously suffered severe injuries. When Tai Yuan appeared, he had used his mental power to hypnotize them, reducing their physical exhaustion.

Three hunters had carried them back to their home, and Tai Yuan immediately treated their wounds. Once their conditions stabilized, although the hunters warmly invited Tai Yuan and the others to stay, Tai Yuan politely declined their hospitality due to their impoverished state.

Not far away, at the foot of the mountain, Tai Yuan built a few wooden cabins. With his abilities, cutting trees into building materials was as easy as pie, and the construction was completed in less than half a day.

Afterward, he asked the hunters to go to the town to buy some pots, pans, and rice, and they temporarily settled down.

Fortunately, both Lin Pingzhi and the slender samurai were martial artists with superior constitutions. In less than seven days, their wounds scabbed over, and after a month, they had fully recovered.

At this moment, the two were sparring on the open ground in front of the wooden cabins.

Lin Pingzhi held his spear, thrusting it like a dragon with starlike gleams; the slender samurai wielded his katana, his blade light cold and his wind howling.

The two moved like lightning, their moves fierce, each clash producing rings of clanging steel.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! ——" Suddenly,

Both exerted force simultaneously, their weapons locked in a stalemate as sparks flew.

Immediately, they used the rebounding force to separate, tapped their toes, and charged at each other again.

Lin Pingzhi's spear shot out like a serpent leaving its cave, thrusting straight at the slender samurai's throat. The latter tilted his body, his katana sweeping horizontally toward Lin Pingzhi's waist. Lin Pingzhi swung the shaft of his spear to block the blade, then twisted the spear tip to point directly at his opponent's wrist.

The two traded blows back and forth, their moves changing unpredictably, weaving a tapestry of blade light and spear shadows.

In the distance, Tai Yuan stood in front of the wooden cabin, quietly observing their spar.

The slender samurai had already revealed his name—Himura Shinta—and explained his background, helping Tai Yuan understand the general situation in Japan at this time.

When Himura Shinta was young, his parents died of cholera. While being transported by slave traders, they were attacked by bandits. Fortunately, he was rescued by Hiko Seijuro, the successor of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, who took him in as a disciple. During his training, due to a disagreement with his master regarding the state of the nation, Kenshin (as Shinta was also known) hoped to save the people with his own hands and fled to Kyoto.

This was the era when the Ashikaga Shogunate held power, but it was already highly chaotic, showing the signs of the Sengoku period.

It began with the Onin War—a conflict triggered by political struggles.

In 1464, the eighth Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, was thirty years old and had been married to Hino Tomiko for over a decade without an heir. Yoshimasa decided to have his younger brother, Gijin, who had entered the priesthood, return to secular life under the name Ashikaga Yoshimi, adopting him as his son and heir. Unbound by expectations, Tomiko gave birth to a son, Yoshihisa, the very next year.

Having a biological son, Yoshimasa and Tomiko naturally hoped he would inherit the Shogunate. Tomiko aligned with the powerful Daimyo Yamana Sozen to secure Yoshihisa's succession.

This drew the dissatisfaction of Yoshimi, who was backed by the Kanrei Hosokawa Katsumoto. The two factions fell into severe opposition over the Shogunal succession.

With the Shogunal succession as one of the causes, coupled with succession disputes within the powerful Yamana and Hosokawa clans, the ten-year-long Onin War erupted in 1467, thoroughly plunging Japan into the Sengoku period.

Ultimately, after a series of struggles, Ashikaga Yoshimasa handed the Shogunate to the nine-year-old Yoshihisa, who became the ninth Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate.

Confucius once said: "He who first made clay images to bury with the dead, did he have no posterity?" (The initiator of an evil practice deserves to have no descendants.)

The Onin War accelerated the decline of the Shogun and the protective Daimyo, while the status of those who held actual power gradually rose.

This phenomenon, known as *Gekokujo* (the low overcoming the high), spread continuously across the nation. Retainers rebelled against their lords, and protective Daimyo refused to obey the Shogunate. The protective Daimyo gradually transformed into Sengoku Daimyo, and Japan's Muromachi era entered a period of constant warfare. The remaining manor system and other old systems began to collapse rapidly, while forces holding new values began to emerge.

The decline of the old forces was accompanied by the rise of the newly emerging ones. The power of the Shogunate, the protective Daimyo, and the aristocratic manor lords weakened further. The Shogunate, heavily battered by continuous peasant uprisings in the Kinai region, completely lost its vitality.

They could not even maintain order in Kyoto. The wealthy moneylenders in the capital had to organize themselves, hiring Ronin and guards for local self-defense.

Himura Shinta descended the mountain under these circumstances, becoming a wandering Ronin hired by various organizations. He wanted to use his own eyes to seek the path of "Protection."

Due to his outstanding swordsmanship, he became an assassin specializing in eliminating key Shogunate officials and tyrannical Daimyo. Later, because his swordsmanship struck terror into the hearts of many leaders, coupled with his mastery of Battojutsu, he was dubbed "Hitokiri Battosai."

Yet once hatred began, it would flow endlessly, impossible to sever or untangle.

His enemies could do nothing to Himura Shinta, who had no fixed abode and wandered constantly. However, after learning of his lineage, a group of them gathered and tracked down the dwelling of his master, Hiko Seijuro.

First they poisoned him, then they surrounded him with volleys of arrows. Hiko Seijuro was, after all, a mortal who could grow weary, and he ultimately died with grievances.

After they intentionally leaked the news, Himura Shinta, upon learning of his master's death, came to their door alone with his sword.

But he did not expect the enemy to be fully prepared. A group of Ronin forming the Oniwabanshu surrounded and attacked him. As a guerrilla swordsman who had survived battlefields, Himura Shinta was well-acquainted with their combat style.

After a grueling battle of pursuit, during which he killed a large number of Oniwabanshu members, he finally slew the mastermind behind the plot, though he himself was left covered in wounds.

After his revenge, Himura Shinta felt somewhat disillusioned. Thus, he crossed the sea to the coastal regions of the Great Ming, intending to live in seclusion there.

As time passed, he befriended a family of hunters and stayed with them for a period. Their simple and honest way of living allowed Himura Shinta to feel a sense of peace, and their bond grew deep.

He did not expect to encounter the remnants of the Oniwabanshu. This time, knowing how formidable Himura Shinta was, they constantly targeted the hunters, making it impossible for him to protect everyone. Despite his fierce swordsmanship, he felt as if he were bound by invisible spiderwebs, unable to exert his full strength.

Just as he fell into a dead end, he met Tai Yuan and Lin Pingzhi.