The two men's confessions were the same... After the cat monk finished the above-mentioned weird action, he moved forward and knocked them down to the ground using his superb fist and kick skills.
After learning the whole story of how these two people were captured by the cat monk, Qingto thought it sounded so familiar. After a brief recollection, he remembered that three months ago, he and Saito went on a business trip to Fujisawa Juku to search for arrests.
A group of snitches who had committed many evil deeds had just arrived at Fujisawa, only to find that the group of snitches he wanted to catch had been caught first by the cat monk.
The experience of the group of snitches at that time was exactly the same as what happened to the two wanted criminals.
The cat monk suddenly appeared, then put on a strange posture, shouted "It's the cat monk", and then knocked them all to the ground with superb unarmed skills.
Mao Xiaoseng helped them catch the prisoner... The officers at the prison headed by Bo Jing all had mixed feelings about this.
The wanted criminal who has been absconding has been caught, which is naturally a good thing.
But the person who helped them catch the wanted criminal was the great thief Neko Monk... It was impossible for Usui and the others not to feel awkward.
While feeling awkward, all the officials of the enshrinement office headed by Bosui were also quite puzzled - what on earth does this little cat monk want to do?
Why do you want to help them pursue the thieves they caught?
Is it just random? Or is there some intention?
Thinking of Mao Xiaoseng's previous tip-off to Qingdeng and helping Qingdeng successfully rescue the Fanshu Adjustment Institute, in the minds of the officials, the image of Mao Xiaoseng was cast into a thicker layer of fog.
The wanted criminal that they had never caught was caught by the thief Mao Xiaoseng...
If this matter spreads, it will not be nice and will damage the reputation of the practice.
Therefore, in order to save its reputation, the practice tried its best to prevent the news that "the cat monk caught the thief for the practice" from spreading.
Not long ago, the practice institute had done something similar - if people knew that Qingdeng was able to rescue the Fanshu Diao Institute in time thanks to Mao Xiaoseng's tip-off, it would cause the reputation of the practice institute to be damaged.
, his ability has been questioned, so when publicizing this matter to the outside world, the practice has always tried its best to reduce the presence of Mao Xiaoseng, and only highlighted the contributions of the others headed by Qingdeng.
But this kind of thing cannot be hidden at all.
When Mao Xiaoseng informed Qingto, there were many witnesses including the town fire department officers present.
When Mao Xiaoseng caught the two rapists who had been absconding for a long time, Nightingale, who was almost attacked by the two wanted criminals, and several others witnessed the whole process of Mao Xiaoseng catching the thieves.
In ancient society...and the extremely weak municipal management of Edo, which relied on the assistance of "township citizens' self-governing organizations" like the Edo Executive Office, could barely control Edo, its control ability could not control public opinion at all.
No matter how hard the practice tried to control the spread of news, the deeds done by Mao Xiaoseng during this period spread rapidly in the market.
As expected, Cat Monk's reputation has risen again.
More and more people are praising this big monster thief: Cat Monk is really a chivalrous and courageous righteous thief, what a good man! Compared with the famous Mouse Monk back then, he is even better!
Mouse Monk - a great phantom thief who was active in Edo 40 years ago.
According to legend, the Mouse Monk’s real name is “Jiroji” and he was originally a construction worker specializing in high-altitude operations.
When he was young, he was kicked out of the house by his father because of his addiction to gambling and excessive drinking.
When I was wandering around outside, I suddenly woke up because I saw the suffering in the world.
After seeing through the depravity of the carnivores and determined to do something practical for the bullied poor people, Jiroji gave up his gambling addiction and began his "phantom thief career".
During the day, he is an ordinary construction worker, and at night, he is a monster thief who manipulates the Edo Office.
Relying on the ability to climb over walls and climb over walls that he had developed at his previous job, Jiroji sneaked into the mansions of notorious samurai and merchants to steal money, and then distributed the stolen money to the poor.
Jiroji, who robbed the rich and gave to the poor, and was a good thief, quickly became a chivalrous and righteous man among the people, and was very popular among the people.
Because Jiro Ji came and went without a trace and moved as silently as a mouse, he gradually gained the nickname "Mouse Monk".
It is said that Mouse Monk stole hundreds of times until his death, and the amount involved was as high as 12,000 taels.
It's a pity that there are always gaps in the secrets. When the little monk Mouse was stealing something, he accidentally missed it and was caught by the officials of the execution office.
The little rat monk who had stolen hundreds of times and offended some fat meat-eaters in Edo was undoubtedly sentenced to death.
After Mouse Monk was beheaded in public, a large number of poor people who had benefited from Mouse Monk cried bitterly.
Even though more than 40 years have passed, many people still remember Mouse Monk.
After Mouse Monk's death, a large number of people in the literary and art circles adapted the Mouse Monk's story into storytelling or kabuki in memory of this martyr.
Thanks to the efforts of these people in the literary and artistic circles, the name of Mouse Monk has not gradually become dusty with the passage of time, but has become more and more shining.
The reason why the Edo Administrative Office gave the Neko Monk the code name "Cat Monk" is because the Neko Monk's ability to fly over walls and walls, and his style of only attacking those with notorious reputations are quite similar to the Mouse Monk back then.
That's why I chose a codename that is quite similar to Mouse Monk.
As the reputation of the Cat Monk further increased, more random rumors about the Cat Monk also sprung up.
According to incomplete statistics, the recent rumors related to Cat Monk include:
Cat Little Monk is not actually a person, Cat Little Monk is actually an organization.
Cat Monk is actually a child of some ninja family.
Cat Monk is actually a descendant of a very famous samurai family.
Mao Xiaoseng is pursuing all the spies, and a certain official in the prison is the companion of Mao Xiaoseng.
…
In a word - these rumors are all unfounded and far-fetched fantasies of ordinary people in the market, and have basically no credibility or use value.
Due to his feelings for the profession of "Phantom Thief" in his previous life, and the fact that Cat Monk once helped him, Qingto has always been interested in the Great Phantom Thief, and he has been paying attention to various news about Cat Monk recently.
But recently, Qingdeng has gradually turned his attention away from the news about Mao Xiaoseng.
As the swordsmanship competition between Aizu Hou is approaching, Qingnobo is now focusing on preparations for the competition.
…
…
In the first year of Wanyan (1860), on April 13, in the evening——
Edo, Gofu Bridge, Beifansuo——
"Mr. Tachibana, let's go first!" Harada raised his hand and touched his stomach, "I have been busy all day and I am very hungry, hahahaha."
"You didn't do any hard work at all today, right? You just patrolled the area." Nagakura complained silently.
"I mediated a couple's quarrel on the street today. This kind of work is quite tiring for a person like me who doesn't like to use his brain..." Harada stretched out his right thumb and rubbed the center of his brow vigorously.
, showing a look of exhaustion, "I can't do anything like the paperwork Todo did today."
Todo smiled helplessly: "Those paperwork actually doesn't require much thinking..."
"If you are hungry, go and have dinner quickly." Qingdeng smiled and said, "Go back and have a good rest. See you tomorrow."
Through this period of time together, Qingdeng has gradually understood the personalities and specialties of his subordinates.
Nagakura and Harada... To put it simply, these two people are two reckless men, especially Harada.
Harada's most common words are "I don't like to use my brain" - after working with him for so many days, Qingto found that he is really not self-effacing...
As for how Harada doesn't like to use his brain... I won't mention anything else, just a simple "literacy" issue: Harada basically doesn't understand kanji... he can only read and write kana, and the only kanji he can write is his
name.
Seito once asked him: As a samurai, why can't he even know how to write Chinese characters? No matter how poor his family is, he can't afford to read Takiya, right?
Harada Yoshimasa answered eloquently: When I was a child in a private school, for some reason I would get sleepy whenever the teacher started talking. Because I refused to change my ways, I was kicked out of the private school by the intolerable teacher. Since then, I have not been to school again, and
I'm too lazy to study anymore. Anyway, didn't Liu Bang and Liu Xuande of Tang Dynasty, who committed suicide by the Pearl River, also say that? To study, as long as you can write your own name, it's enough.
Nagakura and Harada, who act recklessly and crudely, can only be assigned patrols, detaining suspects and other physical tasks that only require physical strength.
Not so with Fujido.
Although Toudo's swordsmanship is far inferior to Nagakura and Harada due to his age and experience, he is a man of both civil and military skills.
He was very knowledgeable, with considerable exposure to Chinese studies, Mito studies, and other subjects, and he was also good at handwriting, so Aonto would occasionally hand over some simple paperwork to Toudou for help.
Todo, who has an honest and quiet personality, is also very suitable for handling these boring paperwork.
After saying a simple goodbye to his subordinates, Aoto led Saito and strode back to the Imperial Guard Hall under the afterglow of the setting sun.
After turning into a busy street that must be passed on the way back to the Trial Guard Hall, the flow of people suddenly increased.
It's the "rush hour after get off work" now, and the roads are crowded with residents eager to go home.
Although the lives of ordinary people have become extremely unstable due to the riots of the "anti-barbarians" and the constantly turbulent political circles, they still have to live their lives, and they will not feel that it is difficult to make money because of the current social instability.
And stop making hungry noises.
Qingto put his left hand on the scabbard of the saber on his left waist, and he and Saito walked straight along this busy street toward the west intersection of the street without saying anything.
He doesn't know yet - there is someone waiting for him at West Street Entrance...
…
…
Kinoshita Mai, who was wearing a bright red kimono as always, was holding a basket filled with fresh vegetables in both hands and standing against the wall with a nervous look on her face.
At this time, she discovered a pool of relatively clear water not far from her footsteps.
After hesitating for a while, she stuck her head over and used the water as a mirror to look at herself on the water.
I carefully checked several times that there were no stains on my face, and my hair, which was tied into a Shimada bun, was neat and not messy.
After carefully checking that there was nothing wrong with her appearance, Kinoshita Mai raised her left hand, pressed her plump breasts, took a deep breath, and then poked her little head outside the wall she was standing next to, toward the outside of the wall.
The streets kept looking around.
Finally - she found her target: Aoto who was walking home with Saito in tandem.
After accurately finding Qingden in the chaotic flow of people, Kinoshita Mai was startled, and then quickly retracted her head behind the wall.
"ha……"
Kinoshita Mai raised her hand to press her chest, let out a long sigh, held her breath, and then showed a resolute expression. Her white and tender feet without socks kicked the flat wooden clogs with red buttons, and she took long strides.
After walking out of the hiding wall, he walked towards Qingdeng.
"Huh? Tachibana-kun, Saito-kun? What a coincidence, I bumped into you here. Are you ready to go home now?"
"Miss Kinoshita?" Looking at Kinoshita Mai walking quickly towards them from the front, Qingto raised his eyebrows, then smiled and said, "What a coincidence, I didn't expect to meet you here."
"Yes, we are getting ready to go home. Are you here to buy dinner for today?"
Qingden glanced at the vegetable basket filled with fresh vegetables that Kinoshita Mai was holding in her hand.
"Well." Kinoshita Mai raised the vegetable basket in her hand in front of her face, "I want to eat roasted vegetables tonight, so I went to buy some fresh cabbage!"
Qingto, who was about to go back to the Imperial Guard Hall, and Mai Kinoshita, who was about to go back to Chishiya, happened to be walking the same way for a while.
Ever since - after a brief exchange of greetings with Aoden, Mai Kinoshita, whose cheeks were slightly red due to nervousness and other emotions, pretended to be casual about Aoden with a slightly stuttering tone.
Den made a suggestion: "Well, let's go back together."
Qingdeng, who only regarded this as an ordinary invitation between friends, nodded happily and accepted without thinking too much.
Men and women walking side by side chatted and chatted with each other at various times along the way.
"Tachibana-kun, I heard that you are planning to participate in the swordsmanship competition held by Lord Aizu in three days. Is this true?" Kinoshita Mai suddenly asked Ayoto.
"Huh? Yes." Qingdeng nodded, and then joked in a half-joking tone, "Ha, although there are still three days until the start of the competition, I have already begun to feel a little nervous involuntarily."
"Haha." Kinoshita Mai chuckled a few times and then asked, "Have you received any special training in swordsmanship recently for this upcoming competition?"
"No. Kondo-kun and others have taught me more strictly recently, but these are not special training. Now I mainly practice step by step and practice steadily. How I practiced swordsmanship before is how I practice swordsmanship now.
"Then...does that mean you still get up at eight o'clock in the evening (2 o'clock in the morning) every day and go to the dojo to practice swordsmanship as you did before?" Kinoshita Mai raised her head and winked at Qingden.
When Qingto was chatting with Kinoshita Mai before, he mentioned to her that he only sleeps for 2 hours a day and gets up at 2 a.m. every day to exercise.
"Yes." Qingdeng responded quickly without thinking.
"Isn't it true that you won't be exhausted?" Mai Kinoshita asked, "Aren't you very busy now in order to arrest the 'anti-barbarian' thugs who are rampant now? Is such a small amount of sleep really enough?"
"Don't worry." Qingdeng smiled and raised his hand to gently knock on his forehead, "I am the kind of person who only needs very little sleep to regain my energy. The sleep time is enough, so there is no need to worry."
"That's it..." Kinoshita Mai muttered, then smiled sweetly, "As long as you get enough sleep!"
"That's the case, I'm relieved!"
…
…
On the way home, I ran into Kinoshita Mai - in Qingteng's eyes, this was just a small episode in the day.
After chatting with Mai Kinoshita and walking together for a while, he waved goodbye to her.
After returning to the training hall, everything was the same as before - after dinner, I started to exercise my muscles.
When my muscles all over my body are sore and numb after practicing, I go to Chihiro House and take a comfortable soak in a hot bath which is good for soothing my muscles.
When the time came to 22 o'clock, he crawled into bed and went to sleep. Then, under the influence of the "Sleep God" talent, he woke up on time at 2 o'clock in the morning, quickly changed out of his pajamas, picked up his saber, and got ready.
Go down to the dojo and practice sword practice.
Saito and Kubei, who live in the "Dinner Room" with Aoto, are now completely accustomed to Aoto's routine of getting up at 2 a.m.
When he first moved into the Kaiwei Hall, Saito would follow Aoto when Aoto got up and went to the dojo to practice swordsmanship on the grounds that "it would be convenient for him to wake up in time and show up to protect Aoto in case of any emergency."
Go to the dojo together and sleep on the edge of the dojo.
Aoto felt that this was too inconvenient for Saito's daily rest, and he felt that he did not need to be so vigilant in the trial gym, so he strongly requested Saito not to go to such trouble, and that he no longer needed to follow him during his "morning exercises"
By your side, stay in the "diners room" and sleep well.
Being asked by Aoto, Saito had the obligation to "obey his employer's orders" and could only obediently do so. Therefore, he would no longer accompany Aoto who was doing morning exercises to the dojo in the early morning as before.
After changing his clothes, Qingdeng strode down to the first floor and arrived at the silent dojo because he had the "cat's eyes" that allowed him to see at night, so he didn't need to operate in the dark.
Qingdeng was not in a hurry to pick up the bamboo sword immediately.
When exercising, you must pay attention to warming up - this is a habit that Qingdeng has always adhered to.
He stood in a corner of the dojo, put the Jingkijin and Wakizashi that had been sent for training a while ago to his feet, lowered his center of gravity, stretched the muscles of his legs, and warmed up meticulously.
It was quiet at night and people were doing this monotonous and boring warm-up exercise. Qingdeng's mind became active unconsciously:
——The swordsmanship competition between Lord Aizu...will begin the day after tomorrow.
——I don’t know if any powerful opponents will appear...
This is the first time Qingden has encountered this kind of traditional one-on-one swordsmanship match with others since he traveled to this era.
While I felt a little bit of anticipation in my heart, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Qingdeng didn't know what level his current strength was compared to the newcomers in other sword halls.
If he had a very bad performance in the game, such as being defeated in the first round... Even if others would not look at him differently, Qingden himself would feel quite ashamed.
Moreover, if the extremely embarrassing situation of being eliminated in the first round occurs, it will not be conducive for him to collect talents from all the participating players.
Therefore, in order to avoid such a thing from happening, Qingdeng practiced a lot harder during this period and tried his best to squeeze out more time for training, hoping to further improve his swordsmanship before the competition started.
After completing a full set of warm-up moves in a proper manner, Qingden let out a thin layer of sweat on his skin, and then went to the sword bucket next to him to get a bamboo sword.
Start today’s morning exercise.
But at this time——
Click, click...
Qingdeng suddenly heard a small, strange noise coming from the ceiling above his head.
"Huh?" Qingden paused, frowned and looked at the ceiling above his head.
——Is it a mouse?
Qingden subconsciously thought it was mice running on the ceiling.
But as soon as this idea popped into his mind, he rejected it himself.
Kondo and the others have always paid great attention to the hygiene of the test hall.
The ashram and the mansion where they lived were always kept clean.
Qingdeng has never seen a mouse in the Imperial Guard Hall for so long...
Click!
Suddenly! A grid on the ceiling behind Qingden was moved away, creating a gap for an adult to enter and exit.
Then, a petite black shadow jumped down along the gap and settled steadily behind Qingdeng.
The moment his feet touched the floor, the black shadow spread his two palms flat, palms facing up... He seemed to be trying to make some strange posture.
But Qingdeng didn't give this person any chance to assume his posture.
Qingdeng's nerves during this period... were actually in a tense and alert state all the time.
After further offending the anti-barbarian group, it is not impossible that the anti-barbarian group would adopt a rather radical method to retaliate against Qingdeng based on their reckless behavior.
So, after hearing a strange noise coming from behind him and turning around to see a black shadow jumping from the ceiling behind him... Qingdeng barely hesitated at all——
"who?!"
Qingdeng roared loudly, and then swooped towards the black shadow like a sharp arrow that came off its string!
"Orange..." The black shadow opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something to Qingdeng.
But before he could utter a word with specific meaning, he was thrown to the ground by Qingdeng who didn't notice that the black shadow was about to speak...
Aintome originally planned to draw the sword directly, but because both Dingikigami and Wakizashi were resting at his feet, it would be too busy to bend down to pick up the sword, so he simply pounced on it and used the unarmed fighting technique that he was also good at.
It will save time and effort to put down this uninvited guest.
"Uh-huh——!" The black shadow let out a scream, and then twisted its body like a loach, trying to break free from Qingdeng's "embrace".
Qingdeng discovered that this black figure also had two brushes, and he actually knew how to break free from the control of others. He was unable to completely control him for a while.
There was no other way, Qingdeng could only increase his strength, and at the same time struggled to grab the black shadow's arms, preparing to use the grappling skills of his previous life to completely subdue this person.
While wrestling with the black shadow, Qingden suddenly realized that this person... smelled so good...
"Embracing" this person, Qingdeng smelled a faint fragrance on this person's body... This fragrance was very light, and he couldn't smell it at all unless he got very close.
And while smelling the delicious fragrance... Qingdeng felt his right arm touch something... strange.
Qingdeng's right arm was wrapped around Heiying's waist.
While fighting the black shadow, his right arm unconsciously raised slightly.
When I lifted it up... my forearm came into contact with two objects that had a very strange tactile feel.
Heavy, soft...
"Woo...!" After Qingdeng's right arm touched these two objects, the black shadow let out a low scream.
Immediately afterwards, the shadow freed up a hand and pulled off the scarf on his face.
"Tangerine-kun, it's me! It's me!"
"……Eh?"
A familiar voice.
Qingdeng tried to control the black figure's hands and paused, looking blankly at the person in his arms.
"Miss Kinoshita...?"
"Why are you... wearing Cat Monk's clothes?"
**********
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