There was silence. It wasn't until the Natural Rishin-ryu swordsman hit the tree that the shadow of a leaf in the empty mountain disappeared. This way of breaking through the space barrier and changing from extreme stillness to extreme movement shocked everyone, no matter it was
Everyone from the bandits to the caravan stared blankly at the empty mountain in the field.
Although the sword was not drawn, the originally arrogant Ping Qingyan Aiyi was kicked over, coupled with an extremely hoarse and harsh voice, this, this is definitely that adult...
"Sir!" Goro Nagamoto looked at the idol in front of him excitedly. His eager eyes made Sorayama Kazuha feel slightly uncomfortable. "Go get some water to wake up that impostor. I want to ask him something." Sorayama Kazuha said.
Ye ordered. "Yes, sir."
Ignoring the black bandits in front of him, Sorayama Kazuyo poured a pot of water on the fainted swordsman's head. The swordsman opened his eyes in a daze, and when he saw Sorayama Kazuyo looking at him coldly, his first reaction was not to turn around and run away.
Instead, he touched his waist. Although the sword had been thrown away, there was still a wakizashi, and he actually intended to fight for it. After seeing Sorayama Kazuha letting him pull out the wakizashi without caring about his attitude of launching an attack at any time,
He threw away the knife in his hand dejectedly.
"Haha, your courage is commendable, but your brain is not very good." Sorayama Kazuyo said lightly mockingly.
"Who are you? You must be famous all over the world for your martial arts. Why do you hide your head and show your tail?" The swordsman leaned against the tree and struggled to stand up.
Kazuyo Sorayama slowly took off his hat and mask, revealing the same face that appeared on the wanted notice that was spread all over the world by the shogunate. "If you dare to impersonate me, you should know me, right?" The swordsman who had just stood up felt his legs weaken and fell down again.
On the ground, he pushed the big tree backwards with all his strength, shouting in fear: "Kong, Kongshan, Lord Kongshan!"
It’s really this murderer! We just wanted to grab some property, how could we meet him! The bandits turned pale with fright, and they all took a step back. Half of the bandits threw away their bamboo guns and tried to run away.
Sorayama Kazuyo raised his head and glanced at the bandit, and the words in his mouth made the bandits freeze up: "Whoever moves will die."
Then he turned around and said to everyone in the caravan: "You have nothing to do here." Everyone felt at ease and couldn't help but get in front of Boss Shimada. They were curious about how Kazuha Sorayama could follow Shimadaya.
Having been cultivating a small caravan for so long, Boss Shimada was pleasantly surprised, but more than anything, he was frightened. When he thought that he might be caught by the shogunate on charges of harboring "national thieves" after returning to Edo, his heart twitched.
.
Kazuyo Sorayama ignored the reactions of both parties, and ignored Nagamoto Goro who continued to follow him as a thug, and continued to ask: "Tell me, why are you pretending to be me."
The swordsman smiled bitterly: "I just wanted to use your name to make the robbery easier, but I didn't expect to meet the master himself for the first time. Alas, it's God's will."
"Oh? Are you the leader of the bandits?" "That's right. I am Suzuki Zaemon, a warrior who broke away from the Tama Domain. He practiced Natural Rishin-ryu swordsmanship. He was wanted by the shogunate for participating in the Osaka Rebellion, so he had to flee into the deep mountains of Kai Country.
When it comes to bandits, my martial arts skills are certainly not worth mentioning in front of adults, but among these bandits, who are mainly mountain people and farmers, I can be considered a master. After beating away some murderous bandits, many of them
People elected me as their leader, and although life is a bit hard, I can barely survive." The bandit leader named Suzuki Zaemon introduced.
"You should know what I did in Edo. Tokugawa Yingxi will not let me go. Aren't you afraid that the shogunate will send a large army to encircle and suppress me after learning the news?" This is also what Sorayama Kazuha is most confused about. You must know that even if
Even if they successfully robbed all the property, it was not worth taking such a big risk. Once the news spread that "Korayama Ichiyo was hidden here" by the escaped caravan, this group of bandits would definitely not be able to escape the shogunate's pursuit.
This is not the densely populated Edo Castle. The shogunate does not have to worry about it. As long as it sends out a large group of elite soldiers armed with muskets, even Sorayama Kazuha himself can only temporarily avoid the danger.
Suzuki Zaemon smiled bitterly: "It is better to be killed than to starve to death. Sir, take a look at those so-called 'bandits'."
Only then did Kazuyo Sorayama take a closer look at these bandits, who in his mind were no different from the grass and trees in the mountains. Except for the dozen or so people standing at the front who were still energetic, the rest all looked languid. Under the light of the torch,
Below, those thin and somewhat deformed faces are indescribably ferocious and weird. It may be scary in this state, but when it comes to robbery... maybe there is no need for the strong men of several caravans to dispatch, with only more than two dozen martial arts
A strong ronin can kill this group of people.
"So you planned to bluff from the beginning, light more torches and pretend to have twice as many people, and then use my name to propose a contest. If everything goes well, you will be able to win without a fight just like the good-for-nothing that was scared away, even if
Those who have the courage to fight will not be able to perform at their best in martial arts. With your swordsmanship, victory will not be a problem, right?"
"Your Majesty, we have no choice. Recently, fewer and fewer caravans are willing to enter the mountains, and those who dare to come hire a large number of experts to escort them. Even if the robbery is successful, there will be heavy casualties. To be honest, Your Majesty, we have not been here for several months.
We have had a full meal. If it had not been summer, and there were wild vegetables and fruits in the mountains to fill our stomachs, and wild beasts to hunt, perhaps more than half of the people would have starved to death by now." After saying that, Suzuki Zaemon shouted to the surroundings:
"Stop hiding and come out."
After hearing the leader's order, the torches that were scattered around gradually gathered behind the bandits. A closer look revealed that these people were not bandits! They were women and children who were even weaker.
"Sir, do you know why you can't see the old man? I'm not cruel, the food is really not enough... I don't know when I will give up all women and children, and lead only the strongest men to become a group of the most ferocious beasts.
But that day must not be far away..."
Suzuki Zaemon was a little choked up, "Since I was caught by the adults, I just want to die, but my friends behind me were originally just good families who farmed and hunted honestly. If it weren't for the cruelty of the shogunate, they would have been forced to live.
Who wants to be a bandit... I hope you can spare them."
Sorayama Kazuha remained silent, and even Nagamoto Goro next to him showed a look of unbearable expression. As a well-known ronin in Edo City, although his life was very tight, he was far from what these people were living in.
The situation. Goro knew that with the martial arts skills of the natural-minded swordsman in front of him, it would be much easier to go to some big cities and be hired by merchants at will than it is now. It seems that the responsibility as a leader prevents him from giving up his companions to survive alone.
, can be said to be brave and resourceful, emphasizing affection and righteousness.
"I don't intend to kill you, nor do I intend to kill them, but I won't do anything to help you. Just take them and leave." Sorayama Kazuha said coldly. As Suzuki Zaemon knelt down to thank him, he turned around and returned.
In the caravan.
The next day, Suzuki Zaemon heard from his subordinates that some money and food were left where the caravan stopped yesterday, which was much more than the "road tax" paid by merchants in the past.
"Sorayama-sama..." Suzuki Zaemon couldn't help but burst into tears.