本文翻译自@乐于助人史莱姆 的《椿花落时》第三章。原文链接：
原文四千字，翻译过来以后一万四千字（哭）
Chapter 3. The Branching Paths (Part 3)
It was late at night, in Inazuma City.
As a freshman of the Tenryou Commission, Amano Daichi thinks he is lucky to be arranged to patrol in Inazuma City instead of ordered to face a war that might break out at any time in Tatara-suna, like the peers he joined the army with three months ago, or sent to the Nazuchi beach, where Dourakumonos and other miscellaneous bandits are rampant.
In Inazuma City, the only two threats he has to face are the superiors he may meet on the road at any time, as well as the troublesome training of acting as a guard of honor on major occasions such as Matsuris.
"Oh come on! I am at the foot of the All Mighty Shyougun!" Amano Daichi often shows off to those who come back from the front line, "if anyone tries to make any trouble, he has to consider whether he can withstand the blade of Musoujin!"
As if he could really wield that katana.
This night, he also carried out the night patrol task as usual. The difference was that this time, a new comer was arranged here.
"It is said that Ando senpai came back from the front because he was injured. What a pity!" Amano walked out of the Kinami Restaurant and went to assemble on the corner.
Ando Jyuugo was very much different from Amano Daichi. As a veteran who had served for more than ten years, he had defeated the raid team from the Watatsumi Island several times and had rich experience in fighting pirates. The reason why he was sent back to Inazuma City was his age. He was no longer suitable for high-risk tasks.
From a distance, Ando saw today's partner, a new recruit who seemed slightly drunk, swinging slowly. "Hey, you!" Ando Jyuugo shouted, "how can a soldier who fights for the Shyougun be so loose!"
"Hey, it's all the same just patrolling around. It's just catching a petty thief at best." Amano said with a smell of sake, "it's better to think about what to eat after the patrol..."
There was a splat.
“Hey! How dare you just hit me? I won’t hesitate to fight back just because you are a veteran!" Amano was beaten a little sober and said angrily, covering his left cheek.
"If I hit someone, I ought to stay in the confinement room for half a day at most," staring at Amano hard, Ando said, “however, according to the Military Discipline, soldiers who get drunk while on duty will be sentenced to imprisonment for at least a fortnight! ”
Amano was fully awake, and then realized that he had just greeted his new partner with a kind of disrespectful words and deeds and an image of indiscretion.
So he quickly apologised and said, "I'm sorry, senpai... I promise I won't do this again next time, I mean really."
Ando looked at the sincere Amano and snorted coldly: "Now go patrolling first! Laws can't be violated. You can't escape the lawsuit!"
Amano completely collapsed. “Military sanctions…” he thought, “After confinement, will I be transferred to the front line?” Just thinking of it made him sweat. But he still had to silently take over the Kitain Cross Spear and start his last patrol in Inazuma City.
As doushins, their task is to maintain the public order in Inazuma City, including the responsibilities of arresting prisoners and calming the public. Today, their patrol range is from the center of Inazuma City to the border of the Byakko Plain, and then check it again along the edge of the city.
Tranquility and peace can be seen in moonlight which splashed into the city of eternity. Th** ** the first time that Ando Jyuugo had ever walked on the streets here in 13 years. Wth new people, new things and many other changes, he wondered if the eternity that Shyougun has always insisted on was violated. The veteran had a slight sense of fatigue, as the saying goes: “what comes from the soil will return to the earth.”
"Gosh! Senpai, look at that! " Amano's anxious voice interrupted Ando's reverie, "What…what had happened to the Chinju Forest?! "
Ando immediately clenched the Cross Spear and turned to the direction of the huge forest. Then he saw thick smoke floating over the thick forest which was tranquil in peacetime. Even those who have experienced big scenes would be astonished at the moment, let alone rookies like Amano.
"Seriously? Someone really dares to make trouble at the foot of the Shyougun!" Amano shouted out what Ando was thinking about.
"Don't talk nonsense! I'll sound the alarm first, and then we'll go and check it! " After all, as a veteran, he knows what to do. Ando Jyuugo immediately took out the standard loud-hailer hanging at his waist. He first sounded three long and one short signals (call for reinforcements), and then two short and two long signals (call for fire brigade).
"You mean go over there and check the fire? But we have to go across such a wide river! Senpai! " Amano Daichi was startled. He was just lazy in training on weekdays. Now facing this action that calls for both physical fitness and bravery, he was completely at a loss.
However, there was practically no room to flinch, especially when Ando had tied his spear on the back and was signaling Amano to enter the water together and rush to the accident scene.
"Hurry up! It's time for us to fulfill our oath to the All Mighty Shyougun!"
Ando Jyuugo commanded calmly, "if you keep hesitating there, I'll add another charge of dereliction of duty when reporting!"
"Damn it!" Amano cursed in a low voice, but jumped into the water and resigned himself to fate.
Five minutes later, Amano Daichi, who felt tired to death, was picked up by Ando holding his collar, "Really... I mean really, senpai, just let me have a rest. I'll be fine in a minute." Amano breathed heavily and said.
"No way! We should be the first doushins to get here. We should get in there as soon as possible to reduce the loss!"Ando cried, “I am a decade older than you, yet I am still stronger than you! look at what you are like now! If I were you, I would rather hold the spear with my mouth and squad around the corner to be a mascot! ”
(Taroumaru: ???)
"Hey! Don't look down upon me!" Amano was angry and stood up with his weapon.
The two rushed into the Chinju Forest together, and saw that the an****t woods covered with fluorescent grass was vaguely like purgatory at the moment. All kinds of animals living in the forest rushed away from their homes, and mourning and screaming was heard from up hill to down dale.
"Damn it!" Ando Jyuugo clenched the spear and cursed, "As rumors have it that the tanuki, which has disappeared for many years in Inazuma, is hiding in the forest. Now, I'm afraid this damn fire is going to destroy them all!"
"Senpai, what should we do now..."
"Look around and see if there are any abnormal people here. We are not a fire brigade and can't put out the fire, but there is still something we can do." Ando Jyuugo calmly made a judgment, "next to the river, at the foot of Mt. Yougou, the environment here should be humid. But the fire is now burning here. This must not be so simple! "
Suddenly, Ando dimly saw a group of figures running through the thick smoke. At first, he thought it was h** **lusion until the beam of katana broke through the thick fog and cut directly towards him.
"Enemy attack!" Ando Jyuugo shouted, and immediately put the spear up. There was sound of metal hitting. Ando's thumb was numb, and his weapon almost fell off.
"Gee, unexpected... Trouble." The whisper seemed to surround Ando from the fog, cold and clear; Then a tall warrior in dark red armor appeared in Ando's sight, holding the samurai katana that had almost killed Ando.
"Hehe... I didn't expect that there would be a Tenryou Commissioner who would come and support so quickly..." Under the scarlet mask, the devil whispered.
"No wonder there was a fire!" Seeing the appearance of the visitor clearly, Ando confirmed the conjecture in his heart, "how dare you outlaws burn the Chinju Forest!"
This group of outlaws have mastered the manufacturing technology of Rune paper called "Kannagara". This Rune paper can ignite most things in the world. It is said that the designer borrowed some idiosyncrasies from "Pyro Hypostasis".
In this way, it is not difficult to explain why fire can break out under such extremely humid conditions.
"Hehe... Don't be so ugly. We're more used to calling ourselves' floating wave warriors' or 'wave fighters'." The samurai smiled darkly, and leapt up all in a sudden, stabbing Ando Jyuugo in the abdomen.
In the face of danger, Ando Jyuugo kept calm and moved with his weapon. He aimed the blade on the side of the Cross Spear at the forearm of the samurai, cut it off, and dodged sideways at the same time.
When attacking the enemy, you should aim at where he must save.
Under such circumstance, the samurai stopped the blade and took a sharp turn. Unexpectedly, he transferred his strength to his feet and conversed the front into a kick. His feet stamped heavily on Ando's chest.
Ando Jyuugo fell down and hit a tree. After all, he was no longer young. His physical fitness deteriorated with the years. Out of breath for a moment, he had to support the ground with weapons and wait to die.
Closing his eyes, Ando remembered the days when he just joined the army, the deep friendship with his former comrades in arms, the beautiful matsuris he missed, and the blood droplets splashed in the rain…
"Human life is not eternal…After all…" After a sigh, Ando dropped the weapon. His eyes darkened and he passed out.
On the other hand, Amano Daichi was not attacked by the enemies. After hearing the warning from his Senpai, he directly threw down his weapons and ran wildly.
"Baka yarou! I'm so tired. I'm so unlucky today! " With a feeling of survival, he thought, "if I can escape, I must go to Uyou Restaurant to have a high-grade ryouri! And sake!" As if to comfort himself, Amano patted his chest gently.
Suddenly, a fire burst out in the distance, "what the heck is that? Is there a special matsuri today? does everyone in Inazuma have to burn something to celebrate?" Amano Daichi was startled, "no... isn't it from the direction of the Kamisato Estate?"
(Naganohara Ryuunosuke: Yes, I did it. There are special fireworks on sale today!)
Driven by curiosity, Amano moved forward under the shade of the woods. With a lesson from the past, he only dared to leak his head out to see the surrounding situation after running quickly to a big tree.
"That's..." Amano was stunned when he saw it. "Are the Fa…Fatuis invading Inazuma?"
What was unveiled in front of Amano Daichi was such a creepy scene:
Corpses lays in all directions outside the Kamisato Estate. Most of the people were dressed in the uniforms of the Fatuis’ advance team and Shyuumatsuban ninjas. The posture of two corpses dressed in ninja clothes was particularly strange. They died on their knees with a katana in hand. A big hole was opened on the wall of the Kamisato Estate. In the hole, five Fatui members were besieging a young boy with katanas. The boy’s clothes was saturated with blood. It seemed that the clothes was originally a white robe representing his noble status. He seems to be desperately guarding the room behind him, not letting the five enemies to get close.
Strangely, the beam of Hydro around the young man shows that he is the owner of a Vision. In his hand, a long blue and white katana dances airtight, cooperating with the force of Hydro to repel the Fatuis holding strange weapons once and again.
"Oh my Shyougun...What am I looking at? Is there a coup breaking out in Inazuma?!" Amano Daichi was shocked and unconsciously sighed. It is widely acknowledged that the one who controls the Yashiro Commission was the Kamisato Clan. Amano has once heard that the former owner died early. And this boy must be the current owner. "If he goes on fighting like this, he will undoubtedly lose…"
Sure enough, taking advantage of the gap exposed by the Hydro barrier after being attacked, a Fatui waved a strange long knife, and broke through the blood-clad boy's defense, drew a deep bone visible wound on his chest. The boy then slipped down and hit the wooden door behind him.
Dispite all these, he was still trying to get up and wield his katana.
Amano Daichi's eyes widened, but no miracle happened.
The boy was pierced by three enemies with the blades and was nailed directly to the dark wooden door. Above, it was the Tsubaki pattern symbolizing the Kamisato family. Although at a distance, Amano Daichi also saw the boy's round eyes and the anger and unwillingness revealed therein.
The Vision belonging to the boy seemed to feel the remaining will of its owner, and the blue bluster burst into a Hydro barrier, covering the last room of the house that was once called "Kamisato Estate".
The blood clad boy's eyes were dim and completely loosened the precious katana in his hand. The treasure weapon fell to the ground with a slap.
What happened at present has completely shocked the mind of Amano Daichi. After all, ordinary people may not have had a chance to witness the battle of the Vision owner in their whole life, and he, an ordinary doushin, not only saw it, but also became the testimony of a great event that shocked Inazuma’s politics 30 seconds ago.
“Well, have you seen enough?”
A ghostly voice suddenly sounded in Amano Daichi's ear, which directly scared him into incontinence.
"What…What do you want?"
The mysterious speaker was hidden in the shadow of the forest. Amano only heard a whisper: "originally, I was thinking about making efforts to find a scapegoat. Now it seems that he has brought himself right away to me." After speaking, she waved a handful of medicine and was inhaled by the frightened Amano, which immediately blurred the poor guy’s consciousness.
Amano's last consciousness stayed at the moment he fell down. What he saw through the slit of his eyelids was a violet thunder, a sight to be hold, like the three tails of a divine fox.
译者言：至今遗恨迷烟树，列国周齐秦汉楚。兴，都做了土；亡，都做了土。
Now the legacy of animosity has vanished into the smoky woods.
All those empires and mights,
Whether thrive,
Or die,
Have all crumbled into silence.
注释：
Ando Jyuugo：安藤十五
Amano Daichi: 天野大地
Tatara-suna: 踏鞴砂
Nazuchi Beach: 名椎滩
Taroumaru：太郎丸
Naganohara Ryuunosuke：长野原龙之介
Ryouri: 料理
Chinju forest: 镇守之森
Kitain Cross Spear: 喜多院十文字
Pyro Hypostasis：无相之火
Sake: 清酒
Kinami Restaurant: 木南料亭
Musoujin：无想刃（无想的一刀）
Baka yarou：蠢货（感叹词）
Uyou Restaurant: 乌有亭
Kannagara: 惟神
Rune paper: 符纸
Scapegoat: 替死鬼
