That night, Fujiwara No Chiko held the Chihō in her arms and tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Now, not only was she free, but she also met a master with profound cultivation. Although he was cruel and merciless, he was also a good person. She secretly made up her mind to follow her master and cultivate well. In the future, she must use the Chihō in her hand to hack the guy named Matsumoto Takeyoshi, just like how her master hacked the ninja in white.
She thought in a daze as she gradually fell asleep.
The next day, at dawn, Fujiwara No Chiko got up early. After everything was ready, she carried her beloved Chihō downstairs and went to the courtyard.
As soon as she arrived at the courtyard, she found that her master, Ito Fumio, had already been waiting there.
"Master." Fujiwara No Chiko whispered. She thought she got up early, but she didn't expect her master to get up earlier than her.
"Yes." Ito Fumio nodded.
"Master, what are you going to teach me today?" Fujiwara No Chiko asked excitedly.
"Today, I have something for you to do," Ito Fumio said to Fujiwara Chiko. "When this matter is done, I will teach you martial arts." Ito Fumio looked at the puzzled Fujiwara Chiko and continued, "There are some caves on Mount Fuji. From today onwards, you will carry Chizheng to the caves on this mountain every morning and bring me a fist-sized stone. Remember, you can only take one stone from each cave. I will only give you two hours each time. Take as many as you can in these two hours. When you have taken all the caves on Mount Fuji, I will teach you martial arts. Do you understand?"
"Ah?" Fujiwara Chiko's heart sank when she heard what her master said. There were thousands of caves on Mount Fuji, big and small. Due to the volcano, new caves would appear from time to time. It was as difficult as ascending to the sky to count them, let alone going into a cave to take a stone. Fujiwara No Chiko's enthusiasm was instantly extinguished.
"Why, can't you do it?" Ito Fumio asked.
"I can do it." Fujiwara No Chiko said word by word. In order to learn real skills, she had to persevere no matter how hard and tiring it was.
"Yes." Ito Fumio waved his hand. "Go! Come back in two hours. If you exceed this time, everything that you did that day will be repeated. In addition, "Ito Fumio deliberately raised his voice," Don't lie to me. If I find out that you cheated, I will expel you from the sect. do you understand? "
"Yes, master." After Fujiwara No Chiko finished speaking, she carried Chihō on her back and walked up the mountain. As she walked, she pondered how to save her energy and not miss any of the caves. She, who was talented and intelligent, did not take long to come up with a preliminary plan.
First, she had to go up the mountain, and she had to go to the caves that were not far from her residence. The reason why she did this was because she was empty-handed and full of energy when she went up the mountain. Because she had to bring a stone with her when she came back, it was easier to go down the mountain. When she grew older and her energy got better, she would go to the caves that were farther away from her residence. She picked up a small red stone on the road and used it to mark the caves. This way, it would be clear at a glance which cave had been in and which had not.
After making up her mind, Fujiwara No Chiko began to speed up. She had been busy in the palace for two years, so her speed was not bad. In less than an hour, she found a group of caves. She did not dare to go too deep into the caves. After taking a few steps, she bent down to pick up a fist-sized stone and turned around to run. After all, she was just a child of ten years old. Facing the dark cave, she felt that a monster would suddenly run out.
Fujiwara No Chiko picked up five or six stones and left a mark outside the cave. After that, she immediately returned. It was not that she was lazy, but she had to calculate the time it would take to go back and forth. She also had to take into account the resting time. Five or six stones weighed more than ten pounds. Adding the Chihō on her back, it weighed more than forty pounds. This weight was already the limit for a ten year old child. Not only that, she also had to carefully hurry along the rugged path. The snow on the mountain made the path very slippery. If she was not careful, she would roll down the mountain. If that happened, not only would she lose the stones that she picked up with great difficulty, she might even lose her life in this uninhabited mountain. Although the cold air was bone-piercing, the young Fujiwara No Chiko was already sweating. She walked and stopped, and finally returned to her residence within two hours. She handed the five or six stones to her master, Ito Fumio.
From that day onwards, Fujiwara No Chiko woke up early every day before the sun rose. Then, she would go up the mountain as fast as she could to find as many stones as possible. She would also return within two hours. Every time she rushed back, she would find her master waiting for her in the courtyard. Beside him was an hourglass that he used to keep track of time. After returning, she would put down the stones and start to cook for her master, wash his clothes, and clean the wooden house.
For the rest of the time, other than exercising her body, she would quietly sit on the floor and read the books on her master, Ito Fumio's bookshelf. These books were as vast as the sea, and most of them were written in Chinese. She could not understand them at all. When Ito Fumio saw that she was reading so eagerly, he took time out every night to teach her Chinese. He found that this child was not only willing to endure hardships, but also loved to read. She was also very intelligent. She could infer many things from one example. Gradually, he began to like this child and imparted everything he knew to her.
Fujiwara No Chiko also found that this cruel and merciless master also had a gentle and quiet side. He would even occasionally joke with her. Every night, she would feel someone covering her with a blanket. There were only the two of them in the wooden house, and that person was naturally her master, Ito Fumio. Ever since her father's accident, this was the first time she felt that someone loved her like a father. But even so, she had never seen her master's true face. Every day, he would wear a veil and leave early in the morning and return late at night. He was still very strict with her. Once, she was greedy and took a dozen stones with her. Because she was carrying too much weight, she fell down halfway and could only limp back to her residence. When she returned to the courtyard, the hourglass had just finished emptying. Ito Fumio took the stones and threw them out of the courtyard without saying anything. He told her to pick them up again the next day.
Just like that, three years passed. Fujiwara No Chiko was diligent, rain or shine. Even if there was lightning and thunder outside, she would still go to the mountain to pick up stones as usual. She did not remember how many times she fell down, nor how many times she was bitten by the poisonous insects in the cave. She only remembered that she had to complete the task given to her by her master as soon as possible. She wanted to learn as soon as possible and avenge her father. Once, she had a high fever, but still struggled to get up. She carried a Chihō on her back and wanted to go up the mountain. However, she was discovered by Ito Fumio. If he did not order Fujiwara No Chiko to rest, she would still continue to go up the mountain to pick stones. This little girl's character was tenacious.
In the past three years, Chiko Fujiwara had transformed from a child into a slender and elegant young lady. In the past three years, not only had she filled the backyard with stones, but she had also become proficient in conversing with her master in Chinese. She could also read books written in Chinese that were difficult to understand. Today, Fujiwara No Chiko's leg strength was amazing, and her strength was incomparable. From her residence to the top of Mount Fuji in less than half an hour, she could still walk as if she was flying while carrying hundreds of pounds of stones on her back. All of this made Ito Fumio very satisfied.
On this day, after Fujiwara No Chiko came back from Mount Fuji in the morning, she excitedly went to Ito Fumio who was leisurely drinking tea in the courtyard. She poured a large bag of stones on the ground.
"Master," Fujiwara No Chiko sat on the chair opposite to Ito Fumio, picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for herself, "I have visited all the caves on the mountain, and I have completed the task you gave me." After that, she drank the tea in her hand. Now, she was not so restrained in front of her master.
"Okay." Ito Fumio put the teacup in his hand to his mouth under the veil and took a sip, then said quietly, "Starting tomorrow, I will teach you the swordsmanship."
"You don't want to check it out?" Fujiwara No Chiko was a little surprised, "Aren't you afraid that I will lie to you?"
"You didn't lie to me." Ito Fumio said lightly.
"How do you know?" Fujiwara No Chiko picked up the cup again and drank tea. She enjoyed the tea made by her master the most.
"I follow you up and down the mountain every day, and I know you didn't lie to me." Ito Fumio said as if nothing had happened.
"Puff …" Fujiwara No Chiko directly spat out the tea in her mouth. Cough, "Fujiwara No Chiko coughed and said," You … you followed me everywhere. " You follow me every day? "Ito Fumio's words made Chiko Fujiwara unable to believe her ears.
"Silly girl, why don't you use your brain?" Ito Fumio said with a smile, "When I took you up the mountain, there were Jonins chasing after you. How could I let you go up the mountain alone?" Ito Fumio picked up the teacup and took another sip of tea, "Not to mention, you have a Chihō on your back and a Spirit Jade Blood Phoenix. These two treasures are enough to make those people drool. If I didn't follow you, you would have died a thousand times. "
Fujiwara Chiko was silent. She thought about how her master, Ito Fumio, followed her every morning to ensure her safety. Moreover, he had followed her for three years. She looked at her master who was leisurely drinking tea in front of her and did not know what to say to express her gratitude.
"Master …" Fujiwara No Chiko's eyes were red.
"Okay," Ito Fumio put down the teacup, "Today's weather is good. You have been living on Mount Fuji for the past three years, so you must be bored. Today, master will take you to walk around the streets and buy you some clothes. At the same time, we will also visit your savior, Master Kong Wen."
"Really?" Fujiwara No Chiko immediately cheered. Although the scenery of Mount Fuji was beautiful, after three years of looking at it, no matter how beautiful the scenery was, she was already tired of it. Now, her master, who had always been arrogant and strict, actually wanted to take her out to walk around and buy her clothes. She had been wearing clothes made by Ito Fumio for the past three years. Since her father's accident, she had not worn any decent clothes. What made her even happier was that she would soon be able to meet her father's close friend and her savior, Master Kong Wen.
"When are we leaving?" Fujiwara No Chiko asked excitedly.
"Pack up, we are leaving now," Ito Fumio said with a smile.
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