Chapter 177: It’s a Hope to Return to the Modern Era
After Izumi Heiji became a consultant, his first task was to help Yuan Ye find a doctor. He was quite enthusiastic about his work, and despite his injuries not having fully healed, he immediately took A Qian, A Yu, and a large sum of money to try and recruit someone.
The skilled old monk he recommended lived on Mount Hiei, a sacred Buddhist site in Japan. It wasn’t too far—barely next door to Owari. Mount Hiei spanned the provinces of Yamashiro and Omi, making it convenient to travel from Owari to Omi by simply passing through the gap in the Mount Ise Range.
Yuan Ye personally escorted Meng Ziqi to Old Wanjin to facilitate the old monk’s visit. That old monk had his quirks; it was said that he encountered a shipwreck when he went to the Ming Dynasty and hadn’t taken a boat in many years. It was inconvenient to go to Xin Wanjin, so Meng Ziqi had to be transported there.
Yuan Ye had nothing else to do during this time, so he stayed in Old Wanjin to wait. He even prepared to take Meng Ziqi to Mount Hiei for treatment if Izumi Heiji couldn’t find anyone. However, before Izumi Heiji could send back any news, Yuan Ye noticed something amiss while taking Meng Ziqi’s pulse daily—Meng Ziqi’s body seemed to be recovering again, or at least the deterioration had stopped.
He was greatly astonished and observed patiently for a few more days, realizing it wasn’t an illusion. Meng Ziqi’s physical condition had stabilized again, even showing slight improvement, with his pulse at least a little stronger.
Yuan Ye gazed west thoughtfully. The only difference between Xin Wanjin and Old Wanjin for Meng Ziqi was their proximity to the Mount Ise Range. Could the transmigration have affected them? Did they need to be close to the transmigration point to ensure that magical recovery ability?
This was unscientific, but no one dared claim that science could explain everything. At least their unfortunate transmigration was completely inexplicable within the current scientific framework.
Yuan Ye was almost impatient to transport Meng Ziqi to Mount Ise for further observation. However, considering he had already made an appointment with the doctor and Meng Ziqi’s condition had only just begun to stabilize with little improvement, he patiently waited for another month until the old monk finally arrived.
The old monk indeed had some skill, with profound attainments in acupuncture. However, after continuously applying needles to Meng Ziqi, there was still no reaction. Instead, the old monk became interested in the various prescriptions Yuan Ye had been using for Meng Ziqi for a long time, trying to pry for information through indirect questions. Eventually, Yuan Ye lost patience and sent him away.
Izumi Heiji was somewhat disappointed, as this was the most skilled person he could think of. However, Yuan Ye remained gentle, holding his hand and expressing his gratitude for his hard work. He then dispatched people with provisions to accompany Izumi Heiji to Kōka to gather fellow villagers.
After seeing Izumi Heiji off, he immediately took Meng Ziqi to Hibitsu Village, returning to the first place he arrived after his transmigration—Jikuro’s home.
He had left Hibitsu Village nearly three years ago, transforming from a fake Western Countries Rōnin into a miniature Minor Daimyo. However, Hibitsu Village hadn’t changed much; it was still incredibly poor. Only bald Jubei had become balder, and Jikuro and Aping had aged considerably.
They were pleasantly surprised to see Yuan Ye suddenly return. Yuan Ye didn’t put on airs; he gently reminisced with them and presented gifts one by one, once again thanking them for their past help and hospitality. All the gifts were prepared by Yayoi. The people who returned with him this time were the most loyal and senior group, either those who had followed him since Takeuchi Manor or the first batch of Old Wanjin residents he had bought.
He stayed in Hibitsu Village again, doing nothing except dealing with Maeda Toshiharu, who was curious about his return. He guarded Meng Ziqi daily, checking his physical condition eight times a day. After a month, he confirmed that Meng Ziqi’s recovery speed was faster here. Even though he still couldn’t wake up, his physical condition was slowly improving, even gaining a little weight, and his digestive ability seemed to have enhanced.
It was no wonder Meng Ziqi had been fine for over two years lying there, only to become skin and bones and nearly die within a year of moving to Xin Wanjin. Was it because it was too far from the transmigration point?
What was still affecting them there?
Was that the culprit behind their transmigration?
Was that the hope for their return to the Modern Era?
Yuan Ye did not hesitate. He immediately ordered A Man and A Qing to select the best from the internal guard unit, choosing a group of absolutely reliable personnel. Fully armed, with provisions and water prepared, he personally led the team into the Mount Ise Range the next day to search for the location of their transmigration, the place where a dense mountain fog had suddenly appeared.
More than twenty days later, he emerged dusty and disheveled. Apart from killing three wolves, eleven wild boars, and one bear along the way, he had found nothing else.
It couldn’t be said that there was no gain at all. He had found their original entry point into the mountains, which was still deep in the mountains during this Era. He followed the path from memory, hacking through thorns and walking back and forth several times. After killing a large number of wild animals, he roughly deduced the location where they had fallen into the mist. However, after searching and digging repeatedly, he found nothing. He neither found anything strange nor was he able to trigger the dense mountain fog again.
Yuan Ye was confused again, unable to understand what was affecting them. There was an influence, but why couldn’t he find anything?
A Man was also confused and asked him for the hundredth time, “What exactly are you looking for? What are we doing wandering around in the mountains?”
If it were anyone else, she would have slapped them across the face. Wandering and digging aimlessly in the mountains like headless flies—was he trying to toy with her, Lord A Man?
A Qing also looked up, not understanding why Yuan Ye was going back and forth in the mountains. In the past twenty-odd days, seven or eight people had suffered injuries from falls or bites from snakes and insects, with one nearly dying. The losses were utterly meaningless.
Yuan Ye didn’t answer for a moment. He stood on the mountain ridge, gazing at the layered mountains, and after a long pause, said blankly, “I don’t know what I’m looking for, but there should be something here…”
A Man and A Qing exchanged glances. A Man pointed to her temples, indicating if Yuan Ye’s head had been kicked by a donkey again, and if it was time for his usual bout of madness. A Qing shook her head, stating that the second-hand donkey from home hadn’t come along, so Yuan Ye was having his episode spontaneously.
They couldn’t understand why Yuan Ye had suddenly gone mad again, but they could only follow him now. A Man simply asked, “So… what now? Should we mobilize more people? However, if we bring in more people, we’ll have to have a good talk with that old fellow Maeda Toshiharu. This is his domain, after all. It’s not ideal for so many of us to stay here for so long, and he might get the wrong idea.”
Yuan Ye stood there, lost in thought for a while longer, and sighed, “Not for now. Let’s go back and rest first!”
There was definitely something wrong here, but he couldn’t figure out what it was, so he could only plan for the long term.
Yuan Ye returned to Hibitsu Village with his bewildered subordinates and immediately checked on Meng Ziqi’s condition. He found that his physical condition was indeed improving and he was completely out of danger. Apart from still being very thin, there were no signs of him being close to death.
This was probably the only good news from this trip. At least under some mysterious condition, there was no need to worry about Meng Ziqi suddenly dying, which lifted a great burden from his heart.
As for other gains…
He didn’t know if this counted as seeing hope of returning to the Modern Era. Even if he didn’t know what that hope specifically was, it was still some hope, wasn’t it?
Yuan Ye stayed with Meng Ziqi for a while, his resolve strengthened. He decided to continue searching. He then went to Aragiko Castle to have a good talk with Maeda Toshiharu and make a deal so that Meng Ziqi could stay in Hibitsu Village for long-term recuperation. He could also station a small team of elite personnel there to continuously explore the Mount Ise Range. Perhaps his timing was wrong, as transmigration was closely related to time, and perhaps certain things only revealed themselves, became visible, or exerted their effects at specific times.
Of course, the reason he gave Maeda Toshiharu was fabricated. He simply stated that he wanted to establish a hunting ground near Hibitsu Village, where he could bring Inu-hime to hunt and play when he had free time, essentially creating a small separate residence, similar to a vacation home.
Maeda Toshiharu was naturally a bit surprised by this. However, given Yuan Ye’s willingness to supply saltpeter and a large quantity of novel products at a low price for an extended period, he readily agreed. After all, he wasn’t afraid of Yuan Ye occupying Hibitsu Village. He was currently a vassal of Oda Nobunaga, and if Yuan Ye dared to cause trouble and seize territory in the heart of Owari, Oda Nobunaga would be the first to intervene on his behalf.
Once this matter was settled, Yuan Ye began selecting personnel for the search team and establishing shift rules. As long as he lived, he would search the Mount Ise Range every day. He also ordered Xin Wanjin to quickly transport building materials to construct a large house in Hibitsu Village, so that his foolish son could live more comfortably there. Meanwhile, he remained persistent and planned to lead another expedition into the mountains, hoping to have better luck and discover something this time.
However, as he was busy with these plans, desperately trying to return to the Modern Era, A Man approached him with a serious expression, bringing him bad news.
Oda Nobuyasu, the Shugodai of the Upper Four Districts of Owari and lord of Iwakura Castle, Oda Nobunaga’s paternal uncle, had met with misfortune. His son, Oda Nobukata, also known as Saburo, had successfully rebelled and driven him out of Iwakura Castle. He had now fled to Kiyosu Castle with his second son, Oda Nobuie, in a sorry state. It was rumored that he was so enraged that he coughed up blood incessantly and was on the verge of death.
The reason Oda Nobukata, this unfilial son, was able to succeed in his rebellion was largely due to Saito Yoshitatsu, who lent him a large number of men. Iwakura Castle had now fully sided with Saito Yoshitatsu, no longer an ally of the Lower Four Districts of Owari, but instead becoming Saito Yoshitatsu’s vanguard in dealing with Oda Nobunaga.
In short, the natural barrier between Owari and Mino, the “Kawanami” region along the Kiso River and Nagara River, had been taken by Saito Yoshitatsu without a single soldier.
Yuan Ye was speechless after reading the intelligence. He felt that Saito Yoshitatsu was indeed a menace. Just as he was busy with his own affairs, this fellow was causing trouble again, only adding to his difficulties!
