Chapter 139

quack--

The quiet morning was broken by the hoarse cry of a crow.

Dododo, dododo.

The wooden door was knocked continuously, urging the people inside to come over and open it.

But it waited and waited but no one opened the door for it, and the crow's mood suddenly became bad.

It tilted its neck and listened, and finally it flapped its wings and flew to the back of the kitchen.

"It's Jiro. You came a little early today." Horikawa Kunihiro, who was feeding the Tokito brothers his moves, paid a little attention to him. However, the eyes of the Tokito brothers, who were treating him as an imaginary enemy, lit up.

There is a flaw!

The two brothers tacitly grasped the wooden sticks in their hands and attacked the black-haired boy.

However, such a crude and unplanned attack meant that even if Horikawa Kunihiro had paid more attention, he would still have been able to knock the wooden sticks out of the hands of the two brothers.

"Phew! That was a close call." Horikawa Kunihiro breathed a sigh of relief. "Ichiro-san and Muichiro-san, you two are truly gifted in kendo. We were so close to being beaten."

Tokito Ichirō and Tokito Muichirō looked up at the wooden sticks that were supposed to be weapons in their hands but were flying in the sky, and looked at each other, and finally their eyes were dead.

If you don't make such exaggerated expressions or gestures when you say this, they will really believe it.

The wooden stick was knocked away, and the desire to overthrow the strong was gone. Tokito Ichiro and Tokito Muichiro no longer had the momentum they had before.

The two men ran to pick up the wooden sticks that had fallen to the ground and continued swinging them on their own.

After taking a look at the two brothers who were working very hard, Kunihiro Horikawa went to the front yard at Jiro's urging.

As they walked, he explained to it, "The master and Higekiri-dono have gone into the woods.

We set up a few traps earlier, and since we're all celebrating New Year's Eve together tonight, we're going to go over there and see if we can find anything."

"Ah, this is—"

Turning the corner and walking to the front yard, he saw the big backpack under the eaves and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Grandpa Qin and Grandma Su asked me to bring it here." Jiro said.

"This, isn't it a little too much?" Kunihiro Horikawa curiously lifted the cloth covering the mouth of the backpack and looked inside.

White radish, sea bream, crab... The most eye-catching thing is that there is also a dish of Osechi.

Although the box was not big, it had five layers. Together with the few New Year's dishes they had originally planned to make, the New Year's dinner for the five of them and one crow in the mountains this year was definitely sumptuous.

While Horikawa Kunihiro was speaking, he had already picked up the backpack and walked into the kitchen.

There is a chef at home, so he'd better wait until the chef comes back and discuss these things with her.

However, after a while, he walked out of the kitchen and went back to the back of the kitchen.

"Ichiro-san, Muichiro-san, there is a package at the bottom of the backpack that Jiro brought. Would you like to stop for a moment and go into the house to open it and take a look?" Interrupting the two brothers' swinging of their sticks, Kunihiro Horikawa shook the large package in his hand at them when they looked towards him.

The two brothers looked at each other, and finally, driven by curiosity, they put down the wooden sticks in their hands, went to the well to fetch cold water to wash, and then walked into the house with Horikawa Kunihiro.

"Is this... the clothes Granny Su made for us?"

Inside the room, three people squatted on the floor, looking at the opened package with their heads touching.

Inside were two sets of very thick-looking winter clothes.

Tokito Muichiro picked up a set and looked at it, then said with some uncertainty.

Kunihiro Horikawa watched from the side. "That's right. Higekiri-dono and I can't wear them. The master is a girl, and Granny Su wouldn't use fabrics with colors more suitable for boys to make clothes for the master. The remaining two sets of clothes can only be prepared for you two, Ichiro-san and Muichiro-san."

"But," Tokito Muichiro hesitated to speak. Will his brother accept Grandma Su's kindness?

He was careful and secretly glanced at his brother, then lowered his head to look at the clothes in his hands.

The clothes are well-sewn, with no visible seams. Interestingly, both garments have kittens embroidered on the back, but the number of kittens varies: one has two, the other has three. If you put the two garments together, you can see that the kittens on the backs fit together. It's a picture of five kittens playing with a ball of yarn.

Tokito Muichiro: "..." Good, so cute, and also... "So happy."

The boy's voice was soft, but the two people next to him could hear it.

Tokito Ichiro's expression changed again and again, from the initial dark and ferocious face to later struggle and giving up resistance and having to admit it.

It's happiness.

The arrival of Qingxi and the other two and their life together in the past six months since their parents left can be said to be a happy time.

I don't have to worry about not having enough rice in the kitchen, or the expenses for oil, salt, sauce and vinegar. Before winter comes, I don't have to worry about the quilt at home not being thick enough and needing to add cotton. Even now, I don't have to worry about whether my brother and I will be able to save enough money to buy each of us a new set of clothes in a few years.

Because, this year alone, my brother and I have received three sets of clothes from Sister Axi.

She had even considered everything for the two of them. The three sets of clothes were slightly larger when they were made. As expected, this year the clothes would be a size larger for her and her brother, but next year they would be taller and the clothes would fit them just right. By the year after, the clothes might be a little smaller, but it didn't matter, as they would still be wearable then. In this way, she wouldn't have to worry about clothes for the next three years.

By the time they really needed to worry, he and his younger brother were already thirteen or fourteen years old. They were already grown-up children and could support themselves.

Besides, they didn't have to wear those three sets of clothes now and save them for next year, because before that, they still had their own old clothes, the two sets of clothes that Sister Axi gave them last year and the year before...

The atmosphere was slowly turning towards warmth at this moment, but before it could get any warmer, it was instantly broken by the chatter of a girl outside the house saying a bunch of instructions to people inside.

Everyone: Okay, the good atmosphere is gone.

The three of them looked at each other, and Tokito Ichiro took the clothes from his brother's hand and rolled them together with his own clothes to make a new bag.

He was the first to stand up and urged, "Let's go and see what they have gained today."

In the afternoon, heavy snow fell again, making the already vast expanse of white even whiter, and the temperature dropped a few degrees.

But it doesn’t matter. This is not a problem at all for the Shitou family located in Jingxin Mountain.

As long as the two flints in the house were moved to the kitchen, the whole kitchen would be warm again. Everyone was so busy preparing for the New Year's dinner that their backs felt a little hot and a thin layer of sweat appeared.

"Glutinous rice and meatballs symbolize family reunions; steamed river fish symbolizes abundance year after year; braised pheasant symbolizes good fortune; radish and pork ribs symbolize a good harvest; eight-treasure duck symbolizes a bountiful harvest; steamed dumplings symbolize wealth; stir-fried cabbage symbolizes prosperity; cold-mixed bean curd sheets symbolizes a prosperous life... Add in the Osechi cuisine, and you've got it all."

As each dish was cooked, the girl's voice introduced it to the people around her at the right time.

Tokito Ichiro swallowed hard, "What's with that reluctant tone of voice? There are only five of us. Even though it's New Year's, you cooked eight dishes in one go, and you've got to include Osechi. Isn't that enough?"

"This is the New Year, which comes only once a year. The meat was caught in traps, the fish was caught in the river, the vegetables were given by others, and I grew and stored them last year. The bean curd sheets were made by ourselves before winter came this year, and the Osechi cuisine was also given by Grandpa Qin and Grandma Su. In short, it didn't cost much money, so don't be stingy, Youyilang." Qingxi came over, hugged the boy's arm, and said with a good-natured smile.

"Besides, if we don't eat well during the New Year, how can we expect a prosperous new year? We have to have a good start, right?"

The girl spoke in a very coherent way, leaving the boy with no way to refute her.

Seeing the boy's frustrated look, Qingxi "abandoned" him and said to the others, "I cooked two pots of rice today, one pot of beach rice and one pot of strawberry rice. Everyone should have some strawberry rice later. It means prosperity and it will be more lively that way."

"oh!!!"

As someone in the room responded, even if Tokito Ichiro wanted to say something, he was interrupted by the current atmosphere.

Tokito Yuichiro: "..." My brother is not helping me.jpg

Half an hour later, looking at the two brothers feasting heartily in the room, Qingxi nodded silently in his heart.

No one can hide from the "Real Fragrance" series, no one can hide from it!!!

"Master." Horikawa Kunihiro suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?" Qingxi made a single sound through his nose.

"Do you have a real knife?"

Qingxi's attention was originally on the dishes on the table that were disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye, but after hearing what the black-haired boy said, her attention was all on him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's like this." Accustomed to Qingxi's habit of chatting at the table during meals, Horikawa Kunihiro adapted well and said while putting food into his bowl, "Ichiro-san and Muichiro-san are both very talented in swordsmanship. They have been training with wooden sticks before, but now I want them to train with real swords... Well, they must feel the feeling of holding a real sword in their hands... If they wait until danger comes before picking up the sword, it may take time for their bodies to adapt.

If the two sides were of similar strength, and something like this happened on my side, my life would be taken away by the other side."

Qingxi ate with a pained look on her face. She said, "Yes, yes..."

Her gaze stopped its whirlwind mode upon hearing about her opponent and swept over the two brothers. "Before I planned to come here, I had originally wanted to get close to every swordsmith who came to the Butterfly House to reforge a broken sword and then personally delivered the Nichirin Sword to me, to see if I could get a Nichirin Sword from them.

After all, the Sun Blade can't be thrown away even if it's broken. The materials used to forge it, the Gorilla Crimson Iron Sand and the Gorilla Crimson Ore, are not inexhaustible. It is necessary to melt the broken blade and re-break it."

"But..." Her face showed an indescribable expression. "No matter whether they are old or young, they are all stubborn.

So I didn’t get the Nichirin Sword.”

Noticing the disappointment in the eyes of the two Tokito brothers, Qingxi changed the subject, "But I can give you my Nichirin sword wakizashi. For the remaining sword, I can only get an ordinary samurai sword. As you know, the government is currently enforcing a sword ban.

Although there is only one Sun Blade, think positively. It is impossible for a ghost to just run into this mountain and specifically target you.

Anyway, it's a bit pale for me to say this now, but even if there is only one Nichirin Sword, it is better than nothing, isn't it?

...If that doesn't work, prepare some more wisteria scent. Wisteria is like poison to ghosts; just a little bit will kill them. Of course, if a little doesn't work, then add more, it'll be even more effective."

"What will you do if you give us the Nichirin Sword?" Tokito Ichiro frowned.

After spending so much time together, he knew his sister would never lie about big things, but as for the little things... haha! Every failure is a learning experience. So, since she was talking about man-eating ghosts, then they really existed. Since his brother wasn't planning on moving, he shouldn't be taking any chances.

This is on the mountain. There is no one else on the entire mountain except their family. If a ghost comes and eats them and their brother one day, no one may notice... Therefore, they really need this Sun Blade for self-defense.

But if this happens, Sister Axi will have nothing to protect herself.

"Me? You don't have to worry about that." Qingxi waved her hands, and said with a dead pig fearless of boiling water: "I will ask the lord for help later.

I only use one every year or two years. I am much more frugal than other ghost hunters in the Demon Slayer Corps."

When Tokito Ichiro heard this, he felt relieved.

It would be great if she could get another one.