The exquisite lavender kimono, the bun hair style specially designed for married women, and the handsome appearance that seems to be carved from the same mold as Souji - it is Souji's eldest sister, Hikaru Okita.
Okita Hikaru blinked his beautiful eyes vigorously a few times, as if to confirm his vision.
About 5 seconds later, the surprise turned into a voice:
"Ju-kun, you are finally back!"
As she spoke, she ran to Qingdeng in three steps and two steps at a time.
Qingden responded with a soft smile.
"Miss Okita, long time no see."
"Those tedious and annoying tasks have finally come to an end."
"So I can finally go home."
"Miss Okita, let's not talk about me for now. Let's talk about you. Why are you here?"
When Okita Hikaru heard this, he immediately showed an expression of helplessness and excitement.
"I'm here to help."
"Recently, more and more people have decided to visit Nioh's hometown because they admire Nioh, and become disciples of Natural Rishin-ryu."
"You may not believe it, but the current number of apprentices in the Trial Guard Hall has almost exceeded 800!"
"Master Kondo is already too busy. As a last resort, he has no choice but to ask Rintaro and I to help."
Rintaro—that is, Okita Rintaro, Okita Hikaru’s husband-in-law, and Souji’s brother-in-law.
Qingdeng raised his eyebrows vigorously and exclaimed uncontrollably:
"800 people? That many?"
800 people - this number is almost approaching the three major sword halls in Edo, including Genbukan!
It is not wrong to call the Imperial Palace the hometown of Qingdeng...
It is no exaggeration to say that the Trial Guard Hall is the starting point of Qingdeng.
It is not only the starting point for him to become stronger, but also the starting point for his current network of contacts.
Without the Imperial Guard Hall, Ayoto would not have been able to get to know the "Heroes of the Imperial Guard Hall" headed by Souji, and furthermore, he would not have been able to meet the members of the Chiba family.
Therefore, the Trial Guard Hall not only provided him with a core team to build his career, but also provided him with two wives.
Based on this deep friendship, it is not an exaggeration to say that Qingdeng considers the imperial examination hall as his hometown.
Qingdeng gradually grew into a powerful benevolent king, and the reputation of the Imperial Guard Hall also increased accordingly.
Today, the Trial Guard Hall is no longer a "Taro Dojo" with no reputation and few apprentices.
Natural Rishin-ryu is no longer the despised "peasant swordsmanship".
At first, the reason why Natural Rishin-ryu was scornfully called "peasant swordsmanship" by others was because most of its disciples were farmers from Tama, and secondly, because the moves of Natural Rishin-ryu were very simple and not flashy.
Rustic.
It’s okay to laugh at its audience, after all, it’s a fact. In the past, only farmers in Tama would learn Natural Rishin-ryu.
However, it would be complete ignorance to laugh at the natural Rishin-ryu technique.
To put it more elegantly, Natural Rishin-ryu inherits the ancient style of the Warring States Period.
To put it simply, Natural Rishin-ryu is a school that only pursues practicality.
He only pursues killing enemies cleanly, so naturally he doesn't have those fancy moves.
Since Yuanhe and Yanwu, warriors no longer need to wield swords and guns, and practical martial arts have lost the ground for development, instead giving rise to those fancy schools that look beautiful but are actually just superficial.
These flower shelf genres have greatly influenced people's aesthetics.
When people judge the level of a martial arts school, the standard based on it is no longer its practicality, but whether it is gorgeous and chic enough.
In recent years, as the Zunxing movement has been in full swing, a "retro style" has emerged across Japan.
People gradually abandoned those fancy schools and began to pursue practical martial arts that could break formations and kill enemies.
In this way, after the Warring States Period, Japanese martial arts ushered in a long-lost second spring - but unfortunately, in this era when guns and cannons became popular, the rise of swordsmanship was meaningless.
The reason why Shiweikan is able to usher in today's vigorous development is not only the "endorsement" of Aoden, but also partly because of the practical attributes of natural Rishin-ryu, which is very in line with the current trend.
Qingto and Okita Hikaru exchanged pleasantries for a moment, then turned their eyes to the big fat man not far away, and proactively said hello:
"Mr. Dongcheng, long time no see."
The other party nodded slightly and responded:
"Tangerine-kun, it's been a long time."
Fat body, dirty clothes, slovenly appearance... Such an impactful appearance is none other than Aonto's old acquaintance - Kitaban Sadacho Kaiyuriki, the leader of the "Tojo Group", Tojo Shintaro.
I think back then, there were two major factions in the Hokuban Shojo clan - the "Arima-gumi" to which Aoto was affiliated, and the "Tojo-gumi" to which Nishino Hosejiro belonged.
Although the two factions occasionally cooperate, they are more competitive and often attack each other in order to snatch good cases.
Whenever he recalls these past events, Qingdeng will be filled with emotions, and he truly understands what "times have changed" mean.
He left Beifansuo long ago.
And his three seniors - Hideyuki Arima, Hanjiro Inoya, and Masaji Ushiyama - are no longer "capital police".
Qingden has never forgotten the guidance and help Arima and others gave him back then.
After Tachibana Takayuki died unjustly, they have been investigating the cause of their old friend's death in their own way.
During the operation to track down the true cause of death of Genfusuiyo and Takayuki Tachibana two years ago, the information provided by Arima Hideyuki was of great help to Aomori.
Qingdeng will always remember the kindness of these three seniors in his heart.
Therefore, not long after he was promoted to a powerful side minister and servant of the imperial government, he began to reciprocate the favor.
At this time, Qingdeng was no different from a powerful official, and was favored by the general and the imperial court.
For him at that time, promoting Arima and others was just a piece of cake.
So, after some operations on his part, Arima and others all moved to the right and were upgraded several levels in a row——
Arima Hideyuki was promoted to the position of chief foreman, responsible for the outer appearance of Edo Castle and the large and small construction projects of the shogunate. He had jurisdiction over the chief foreman of Arima, the chief foreman, and the chief foreman of Kyoto.
Inotani Hanjiro was promoted to Hayashi Nobu and was responsible for managing the shogunate's forests. All matters including cutting, planting, maintenance, and transportation were managed by this position.
Ushiyama Masaji was promoted to the rank of Prime Minister and was responsible for managing the repairs of stone walls, moats, and bridges in Edo Castle, as well as managing Kanda, Tamagawa Josui, empty houses in Edo City, and homage houses (mansion given to ministers by the shogunate)
).
Two are in charge of civil engineering, and one is in charge of forestry... Anyone with a little common sense knows how powerful these three positions are!
Qingdeng's kindness to these three seniors is evident.
Everyone in the "Arima-gumi" has gone their separate ways... In other words, the "Arima-gumi" in Kitabansuo no longer exists.
As for the "Dongcheng Formation", it has also undergone earth-shaking changes.
Shintaro Tojo is still the leader of the "Tojo Group", a member of the Hokkaido Town Council, but... the core member of the "Tojo Group" is Hoseijiro Nishino, who is known as "the best master of solving crimes in the Hokkaido"
.
He had already unfortunately died in the line of duty during the operation to trace the Huan Fu Lake 2 years ago.
The "Arima Group" was disbanded, and the "Tōjo Group" lost its soul... The fierce scene of the "two groups fighting" will no longer appear again.
Every time he thinks about it, Qingdeng feels inexplicably sad.
Aoto still has a good impression of Shintaro Tojo.
Although he is the leader of the "hostile forces", Qingden does not hate him.
He is easy-going and has no airs, so he is considered a qualified leader.
His only shortcoming... is probably that he is too slovenly and indiscreet.
He doesn't like to take baths, his body and clothes are always dirty, and he often picks his nose in public, which is really as disgusting as possible.
In addition, his alcoholic personal style is also criticized.
It is reported that he goes to an izakaya to drink every night, often staying up all night long.
He also has a huge appetite, and every meal must include big fish and meat. Over time, he developed this extremely fat body.
However, it is interesting to say that this fat, greasy man is also a very mysterious person, and he has many secrets.
For example: his past.
Another example: his skills.
Shintaro Tojo rarely talks about his past, and even when he is drunk, he remains tight-lipped about his past.
At the same time, almost no one knew him when he was young.
Everyone doesn't even know his exact age.
Based on his appearance, we can roughly estimate that he is almost 40 years old.
As for his skill, it is also a huge mystery.
According to rumors, although Tojo Shintaro is very fat, he has very good skills and is a very flexible fat man.
So far, there is still no concrete conclusion on this matter - because no one has ever seen him take action to defeat the enemy.
After a brief hello, Qingdeng went straight to the point:
"Mr. Dongcheng, why are you here?"
Logically speaking, Shintaro Tojo, who is a member of the Sadauchi Huiyu force, should be processing paperwork in the office right now.
Tojo Shintaro shrugged and replied:
“Recently, it’s the season when fires are easy to occur, and colleagues at Gao Ji Jian Hui are very busy.”
"Due to the shortage of manpower, all the "Sanchai" warriors who are currently idle have been sent to assist Gao Jijianhao."
Gao Ji Jian Hui - One of the important departments of the execution office, responsible for patrolling the urban area, checking the messy lumber and goods at the front of the store, and providing reminders to prevent fires.
"The reason why I am here is because of that——"
Shintaro Tojo raised his right index finger and pointed to the courtyard not far away.
"Look at your pile of wood. It's so messy. It's really dangerous."
"If it's not good, it can cause serious accidents."
Qingto looked in the direction pointed by Tojo Shintaro.
I saw that in the corner of the yard, there were piles of wood as high as a hill.
Qingdeng couldn't help but ask:
"Ms. Okita, what's going on with all this wood?"
Okita Hikaru smiled awkwardly.
"Uh... well... the number of apprentices in our training hall has increased dramatically recently, right?"
"So Master Kondo planned to expand the dojo."
"These timbers are prepared for future expansion plans."
"It's really our fault... we piled the wood haphazardly in the yard."
"Mr. Dongcheng discovered this pile of randomly placed wood, so he ordered us to rectify it."
"I was negotiating with him, and you guys, Mr. Tachibana, are here."
Having said this, Okita Hikaru folded his hands in front of him, turned sideways, and bowed to Tojo Shintaro.
"I'm so sorry! We will get rid of the wood immediately!"
Stacking wood in random directions - In the Edo period, this was indeed a serious safety hazard, otherwise the administrative office would not have set up a department to specifically inspect this matter.
Shintaro Tojo nodded.
"This is your first offense, so I won't fine you this time."
"However, just in case, I want to conduct a thorough inspection of your sword hall."
"Anything that is not up to standard should be corrected as soon as possible."
Okita Hikaru nodded like he was pounding garlic.
"That's natural!"
Then, she turned to Ayoto and Hijikata Toshizo and said:
"Jijun, Suisan, you go in first!"
"Master Kondo is teaching in the dojo!"
"I will take Mr. Dongcheng to check various places in the sword hall now, and then I will come to you!"
…
…
Okita Hikaru led Tojo Shintaro and left quickly.
Aoto and Toshizo Hijikata walked slowly towards the dojo of the Imperial Guard Hall.
The sound of the clash of bamboo swords, the sound of feet scraping against the floor... became louder and louder.
At the same time, a familiar old male voice came to Qingdeng’s ears——
"Footsteps! Footsteps! Pay attention to your steps! Your steps are too stiff! Relax more!"
"Don't lift the heel of your hind foot! 'Lifting the heel of your hind foot' is a typical 'dojo sword'! If you are used to using a light bamboo sword, it is easy to have such a bad habit! The real sword is very heavy! When holding it
When using a real sword, you must tighten your feet and keep your heels firmly on!"
"Up! Up! Up quickly! Don't be afraid! Attack bravely! The key to fighting is momentum!"
…
For a moment, the bustling scene of the dojo came into Qingdeng's eyes.
He raised his eyes and saw Kondo Shusuke holding a bamboo sword and walking around in high spirits.
Whenever he found that someone's movements were not standard, or someone's moves were wrong, he would rush over, sternly correct the other person, and teach the other person.
Kondo Isamu, the fourth-generation head of the natural Rishin-ryu clan, has already followed Aoto to Kyoto to make a living.
As a last resort, Kondo Shusuke, who had just retired, had no choice but to come out again and take charge of the overall situation of the trial defense hall again.
Compared to the past, the dojo of the Trial Guard Hall is indeed more lively.
There are young figures everywhere interacting with each other.
At this time, Kondo Shusuke finally found Aoto and Hijikata Toshizo standing at the door of the dojo.
"Eh? Tachibana-kun?!"
His voice immediately attracted the attention of the entire audience.
A bunch of eyes focused on Qingdeng.
In the blink of an eye, the entire dojo fell silent - this silence only lasted for 1 second.
One second later, the whole place was in a state of excitement!
"Hey! It's Nioh! Nioh is here!"
"What? Niou is back?"
"Nioh-sama! My name is Ono Usan! I have always admired you!"
…
Apprentices came in droves.
The apprentices who were resting, the apprentices who were practicing their postures, the apprentices who were sparring... Everyone present put down what they were doing.
Everyone looked excited and rushed towards Qingdeng, fearing that they would not be left behind.
This scene really looked like a zombie coming out of its cage.
In just the blink of an eye, Qingdeng was surrounded by people, three circles inside and three outside, and it was so crowded.
There are people who repeatedly roar with excitement.
There are people who keep introducing themselves as if they are on a blind date.
More people said nothing, stretched their necks, and stared at Qingteng, just wanting to take a good look at the true face of the famous "Nioh" Tachibana Qingteng.
Although Qingden has long been accustomed to encountering fans.
But in such a fanatical occasion as now... he rarely experienced it.
Qingdeng felt like he had squeezed into a bus or subway during the morning rush hour. There were dense crowds of people in front, back, left and right. He couldn't even lift his hands, and the pungent body odor penetrated directly into his nostrils.
Kondo Shusuke clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Aoto with a smile, who was trapped in the sea of people and could only "go with the flow".
"Ju-kun, you came back just in time!"
"Quick, quick, quick! Pick up the bamboo sword! Come and communicate with your junior brothers!"
*******
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This chapter has been completed!