After listening to Qingdeng's explanation, Tianzhangyuan bowed his head slightly and pursed his lips thoughtfully.
"I see, the Huo Fu Thieves changed the captains of the 5th Division and the 6th Division... Indeed, from what you said, the two of them are quite suspicious."
Tianzhangyuan raised his head again and looked directly at Qingdeng.
"So, Mr. Tachibana, what are your plans next? Do you plan to find the person who persecuted you first?"
"...Kanazawa-kun is my friend. He and I have been on the battlefield together, killed enemies together, and shed blood together."
The moment he finished speaking, Aomori's memory returned to the end of last year, to the day of the expedition to Kai to conquer the bandits.
The scenes of fighting side by side with Kanazawa Chusuke flashed quickly in Qingto's mind.
"As for Miss Kanazawa..."
A new picture came into Qingdeng's eyes.
He and Kanazawa Qin were sparring in the dojo of the Kochiba Kenkan; after Kai's bandits were pacified, Miss Kanazawa Qin took very good care of his daily life; Kanazawa Chusuke came to propose marriage... It was like watching a dusty old movie.
Aonto read the time he spent with Kanazawa Qin with mixed emotions.
He grabbed the hand that was along the quilt and pressed harder.
His face was filled with dark and cold clouds.
"The friendship between Miss Kanazawa and me is also very deep."
"No matter what, there is no way I can remain indifferent to their brutal deaths!"
"Even if you don't say anything, Your Highness, I will definitely investigate thoroughly the so-called 'trick drug' that is suspected to have caused the murder of Kanazawa-kun and Miss Kanazawa, and I will not stop until the truth is revealed!"
"It's just that before that... I have to find out the thieves who threatened to have a 'blood debt' with me!"
"Based on all the currently known information, what can be determined at the moment is that the thieves who led the fire in the Kodenma Town prison house and the tragedy of the Akabane family are by no means a single individual, but an entire group."
"Otherwise, one or two people alone would never be able to kill the Akabane family so cleanly, thoroughly, and quickly."
"There are so many people in the Akabane family. Even if they can't defeat the culprits, why can't they still escape? In the end, they were still wiped out."
"This shows that the number of thieves who attacked the Akabane family's residence at night must be very large, enough to make it difficult for all members of the Akabane family to fly."
"I suspect...the reason why the thieves stole my knife and left my knife at the murder scene after killing Akabane's entire family was to frame me and pour dirty water on me to lure the officials.
I am wanted, use the power of the government to find the 'missing' me."
"In order to find me and kill me, this group of thieves did not hesitate to set fires in towns and cities, steal things from government offices, and kill people everywhere... There is no doubt that they are a bunch of lunatics who will do anything to achieve their goals."
"My past life experience tells me: If you are targeted by a madman who does things recklessly, you must find them out and annihilate them as quickly as possible! Otherwise, there will be endless troubles."
"The way a madman thinks and acts is difficult to assess."
"They dared to burn down the prison today, and they dared to kill no one alive in a certain family. God knows whether they will burn down the Imperial Guard Hall, the Little Qianba Sword Hall, and attack my relatives and friends..."
"My relationships are not difficult to check at all."
"It doesn't take much effort to find out which places I often go to and who I have a good relationship with."
"For the safety of my relatives and friends, and for everyone not to be harmed, I have to... no, I have to settle this turmoil as soon as possible!"
Qingdeng's voice was sonorous and powerful. When he mentioned the two words "must" and "as soon as possible", his voice showed an extremely firm and solemn tone.
"Therefore, Your Highness, please allow me to temporarily decline the task of 'assisting in the investigation of the mysterious drug'."
When Tianzhangyuan heard the words, he slowly murmured as if chewing every word:
"'temporary'?"
Qingden nodded.
"Yes. 'For the time being'."
"As I just said, I will never sit idly by and ignore the brutal deaths of Kanazawa-kun and Miss Kanazawa."
"Your Highness, I promise you: after I deal with the thieves who have done so much to me, I will return to your command as soon as possible."
"When the time comes, I will definitely use everything I have to find out the truth and bring justice to Mr. Kanazawa and Ms. Kanazawa!"
Hearing what Qingdeng said, Tianzhangyuan showed a rather charming expression that was mixed with helplessness and regret.
"...Okay, I understand. Tachibana-kun, your request - I grant it!"
Qingdeng didn't have time to show his happy and thankful expression.
"However, I have a condition."
Then I heard Tianzhangyuan suddenly change the subject.
"condition?"
Qingden raised his confused eyes.
"Let me and my new Yutingfan help you - this is my condition."
Qingdeng was stunned, and the expression on his face was instantly dominated by strong surprise.
"Didn't you just say: You want to eliminate the madmen who are chasing you first, and then focus on supporting me?"
"In this case, the sooner you free up your hands, the sooner you can come to help me investigate the mysterious medicine."
"In other words, providing convenience to you is equivalent to providing convenience to me, which will benefit you without any harm~~"
A smile appeared on Tianzhangyuan's pretty face.
It's not the usual "succubus-like smile" that seems to have some evil agenda.
It's not a formulaic fake smile either.
But a friendly smile full of true feelings.
Looking at the beautiful woman in front of him, looking at the smile in front of him... Qingdeng felt that the corners of his mouth were pulling up and extending uncontrollably.
"……I see."
Qingdeng bowed and bowed solemnly to Tianzhangyuan.
"Your Highness, thank you for your help!"
"Hahaha, you don't have to thank me so early."
Tianzhangyuan laughed and waved his hand.
"After I really do something practical for you, you can come and thank me again."
After saying that, Tianzhangyuan took half a step forward and sat closer to Qingdeng.
"So, what are you going to do next? The enemies are hiding in the dark, and it's not easy to find them."
"I plan to kidnap Kimura Suma and Hosaka Genzo for questioning first."
Qingdeng answered without hesitation.
"...You're not kidding me, are you?"
Tianzhangyuan's expression froze.
"I was serious."
Qingdeng continued the words with a serious face.
"One of the secrets of investigating crimes is not to let go of any small possibility."
"Among all the people I know, Kimura Suma and Hosaka Genzo have the most motive and ability to frame me."
"Whether they are innocent or not... this kind of thing will be answered after interrogating them."
Tianzhangyuan sighed in confusion.
"You actually want to kidnap the captain of the Huo Fu Thief Kai squad... I don't know whether I should praise you for being 'courageous' or scold you for being 'done in the head'..."
"Sigh... Anyway, let me draw a conclusion first: kidnapping Kimura Suma and Hosaka Genzo - this kind of thing is impossible!"
"Why?" Qingdeng asked puzzledly.
"'Hatamoto was killed all over the house' - this kind of shocking tragedy is the first time since the opening of Daigongen." (Daigongen: Tokugawa Ieyasu)
"Frightened by such vicious events, they became extremely angry. The panicked bannermen and imperial family members all united to put pressure on the Huosuke thieves, demanding Okubo Tadashi and Kurosawa Atsushi to arrest the murderer as quickly as possible."
Okubo Tadō and Kurosawa Atsushi: Aoto's superiors and the current leaders of the Hōfu Thieves Kai.
"So, after the incident of 'Akaban's Annihilation', all the officers and soldiers of the Huofu Thieves Kai were on high alert. In recent days, except for you who were 'missing' and the deceased Tadatsuki Kanazawa, all the captains of the Fire Thieves Kai were on alert.
Sit in the government office day and night and direct the team members to investigate this case."
"That is to say, for a long period of time now and in the future, Kimura Suma and Huosaka Genzo will always live in the government office converted by Huo Fu thieves."
"It's basically impossible to catch them alone, so it's convenient to kidnap them."
"That's it..." Qingdeng muttered and raised his hand to touch his chin, "Then... Your Highness, can you use your authority to summon them to a convenient place for 'the superiors have something to report' or some other reason?
Where are we going to kidnap them?"
Tianzhangyuan shook his head.
"If Elder Jing Yin had not yet passed away and the power of the 'Yitiao Sect' had not yet risen, perhaps we could still do this."
"Right now...the countless eyes of the 'Hitobashi Sect' are watching every move Iemo and I make."
"Whenever Iemo and I act erratically, a flood of impeachments and attacks will come to us."
"For no reason, he summoned a fire bandit who was not qualified to interact with the 'Zhengyi General' and the 'Odaisho' to change his captaincy, and the person who was summoned suddenly 'disappeared'... Guess what the 'Hitobashi Faction'
'How will people speculate and criticize me and Jia Mao after learning about this?"
"...That's right." Qingdeng said "Hey" and exhaled the remaining air in his lungs.
Seeing that Qingdeng seemed to be convinced by him, Tianzhangyuan smiled as if he was relieved.
"So, it would be better to cancel the 'kidnapping of Kimura Suma and Hosaka Genzo'."
As soon as Tianzhangyuan finished speaking, Qingdeng's sonorous voice immediately sounded like a rivalry:
"No. I still want to kidnap Kimura Suma and Hosaka Genzo. They are the only clue I have at the moment, and I don't want to give up just like that."
Suddenly, silence fell between Qingdeng and Tianzhangyuan.
It wasn't until about 10 seconds later that Tianzhangyuan finally turned his anger into a voice:
"Tachibana-kun, did you understand what I just said? I should have made it clear, right? All the captains of the Huosuke Thief Kai group, including Kimura Suma and Huisaka Genzo, are gathering here day and night.
Inside the government office."
"I can't wait for the opportunity for them to be alone."
"Is it possible that you want to sneak into the government office where the Huosu thieves were reformed, and secretly kidnap Kimura Suma and Huosaka Genzo?"
"This kind of thing... is even more impossible!"
"Ji Jun, as the captain of the third division of Huofu Thieves Kai, you should know better than I do that the Huofu Thieves Kai Yamen is a heavily guarded 'fortress'."
"Don't say it's you. Even Tiancang Xiao, who is one of the best in the New Imperial Court series, doesn't have the ability to sneak into the government office where Huo Fu Thieves reformed."
Because he was impatient, Tianzhangyuan's tone seemed a little aggressive.
Her sincere desire to persuade Qingdeng to "change his evil ways and avoid taking the wrong path" was beyond words.
"...Your Highness, I understand everything you said."
Qingdeng nodded lightly.
Then, he changed into a tone that sounded like he was talking to Tianzhangyuan or talking to himself, and said calmly:
"But...it doesn't have to be 'sneaking in quietly and knocking people unconscious' to be called 'kidnapping'."
In an instant, Tianzhangyuan's boy's eyes shrank slightly and his red lips opened slightly.
"Ji Jun, do you want to..."
…
…
The next day, night——
Edo, the government office reformed by thieves and thieves——
…
"Um...junior, have you really made up your mind? Do you really plan to do this?"
"...Senior, when you were cleaning the Tsukinomiya Shrine or doing other tasks, have you ever felt like this: you felt so tired and bored at work, and you wanted to smash the entire Tsukinomiya Shrine.
"
"I, I, I, how could I feel like this! Tsukinomiya Shrine is my home! How could I want to destroy my home!"
"Senior, please tell the truth."
"This... this... um... how should I put it... when I am assigned to do some very hard work... I occasionally think about quitting it... as for smashing the Tsukinomiya Shrine to pieces...
This kind of thought...this kind of thought...is not unheard of...but it's not that extreme! I just thought about burning the torii gate, which is super troublesome to clean!"
"That's right. Senior, let me just say this, 'make a big fuss in the workplace' - I've wanted to do this kind of thing for a long time."
After saying that, Qingden tightened the face scarf and headscarf on his face, and then holding the bamboo sword, he ducked out of the alley and walked straight towards the door of the Huofu Thieves' Government Office not far away without any hesitation.
Saege, Yae, who also covered their faces with face towels and headscarves, and Amakura Owl followed closely behind.
"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here? Don't you recognize these two words? Leave now!"
Outside the gate, four guards shouted fiercely at Qingdeng and others. They pointed to the lantern hanging high on the eaves of the door with the word "Fire Thief" painted on it.
Qingdeng didn't reply, and just continued to move forward silently...while lifting his bamboo sword and assuming Kasumu Dan's stance...
…
boom!
The loud sound of the heavy wooden door being pushed open with brute force spread through the night sky!
…
"Hey! What's going on? What's going on with this noise?!"
"It's an intruder! An intruder has broken in!"
"What did you say?! Intruder?!"
"Who are these thieves who dare to attack the government office that I, the Huofu thieves, reformed?!"
…
January 19, the second year of Wanyan year (1861).
On this day, the "Special Police Force": Huo Fu Rogue Kai, which made countless villains fearful, encountered an emergency situation that had never happened since the team was established.
"General Headquarters" was attacked...!
The ones who invaded were—"Nioh" Tachibana Aoden and three ninjas!
What was coming to meet them was——more than half of the army of the Huo Fu Thieves!
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The pace of the story in today's chapter is really fast~ There is not even a single nonsense sentence~~ If it were me in the past, today's chapter would have at least 1,000+ words.
This chapter has been completed!