Chapter 178 Miss Sanako, please step back, its okay now
!" [Breaking update 1W5]
Feeling restless and frightened? I can’t think of the right words to describe it.
All in all, I have been feeling very unsettled since early this morning.
Maybe it's because the surveillance on Natsume Sōhachiro has been fruitless, and I can't help but feel anxious... Aonto explained this to himself.
Counting today, the surveillance of Natsume Sōhachiro has been going on for several days.
Continuous round-the-clock surveillance has been carried out, and as a result, Souhachiro Natsume has not been seen to have contact with any suspicious person until now.
No results have been produced yet... Such a situation made those at the top begin to put pressure on Qingdeng.
Originally, these superiors, who did not seek merit but sought no fault, and who only wanted to use the most conservative means to investigate the case, were very opposed to Ayoto doing such an extremely error-prone thing as "investigating Sohachiro Natsume".
Now that Aoto's investigation of Natsume Sohachiro has been fruitless, it is inevitable that those at the higher level will start to make irresponsible remarks about Aoto.
Look, I said it all, right? Natsume Sōhachiro has nothing to investigate, but you don’t listen! Look, manpower and precious time are wasted. Although those superiors did not tell Ayoto so clearly, Ayoto did.
You can read such thoughts from the looks they cast recently.
Qingdeng didn't care about the pressure from his superiors.
No matter what his superiors say, Aoto still firmly believes that the weird Natsume Sohachiro is the key to finding Sanako, so he is unwavering in his thoughts and has no intention of changing his current case-handling methods of monitoring Natsume Sohachiro around the clock.
While Kinoshita Mai was leaning against the alley wall with her eyes closed and concentrating, Aoto, who had hidden his figure in the shadow of the alley, continued the task of "surveilling Natsume's house" meticulously, keeping his eyes fixed on the door of Natsume's house.
At this time, Kinoshita Mai, who had just closed her eyes to rest, suddenly opened one eye slightly, and then used the opened eye to quietly look at Qingden's face next to her.
Looking at Aonto's face, which was extremely serious because he was concentrating on monitoring the Natsume family, a... strange emotion appeared between Kinoshita Mai's eyebrows.
His hands were folded in front of him, and the fingers were clasped together. His cute and pink toes, like white lotus root sprouts, grabbed the flat wooden clogs under his feet.
Aoto's investigation of Natsume Sohachiro was approved by the government.
Therefore, since he does not need to act secretly, he naturally does not need to dress up as a "little fox monk".
Similarly, Mai Kinoshita, who comes to assist Aoto in an open and honest manner due to Aoto's request, does not need to put on any disguise or change into the clothes of a "cat monk".
In order to cool herself down, and to facilitate movement, tonight... no, it should be said that during the past few days in response to Shimo Aoto's request for assistance, Kinoshita Mai has been wearing a refreshing and cool bright red thin yukata without socks.
Her fair feet are wearing a pair of red buttoned flat clogs.
Kinoshita Mai hurriedly turned her gaze away from Qingto.
"I just... I think you are so conscientious and responsible, Mr. Ju."
"Obviously other officials have the attitude of 'It's okay as long as I didn't make any big mistakes'."
"You are the only one who takes this case so seriously."
When Kinoshita Mai first came to help, Aoto mentioned to Kinoshita Mai his disgusting attitude in handling cases of "as long as no big mistakes are made, that's all."
"It's not a big deal." Qingden laughed dumbly, "After all, Miss Sanako... she can be considered my friend for the time being."
"Even if we don't mention the futile thing like 'officer's responsibility'."
"Just the reason of 'finding friends' is enough for me to do my best on this case."
Miss Sanako... when she heard this name from Qingto's mouth, the strange emotion that just appeared in Kinoshita's brows resurfaced again.
Mai Kinoshita clasped her hands together again, looked down, looked at her toes that were like white jade petals, and said softly in a... somewhat uneasy tone:
"Tachibana-kun, are you and that Chiba Sanako... very good friends?"
"Huh? It's not like we have a good relationship." Qingto, who only regarded the question raised by Kinoshita Mai as an ordinary chat, answered casually without thinking, "Strictly speaking... she and I may not be the same.
She is considered a friend. Since I met her, I have only spoken to her for a while."
"I know her brother Chiba Jutaro very well."
Hearing Qingto's answers... Kinoshita Mai pursed her lips slightly.
The eyes that were as beautiful as black crystals were gleaming, revealing an emotion that... could be barely interpreted as "lucky".
Then, Kinoshita Mai suddenly froze, then raised her hands and slapped her tender face vigorously from left to right.
"Miss Kinoshita?" Qingden quickly cast a doubtful look at Kinoshita Mai.
What are you doing? Aonto asked Kinoshita Mai with his eyes.
Kinoshita Mai, who understood Aoden's eyes, smiled a few times as if embarrassed.
"I'm punishing myself."
"While you, Mr. Ju, are thinking seriously about how to save people, I am thinking about some random things... This is really inappropriate."
"While punishing myself, I also remind myself: I came to assist you, Mr. Tachibana, to save people. Compared with human life, all other things are trivial. Focus on saving people first, and other things will wait for them.
We’ll talk about it after we’re rescued.”
There was a hint of guilt in Kinoshita Mai's tone.
Random thoughts? Random things?
Qingto, who didn't quite understand what Kinoshita Mai was saying, blinked.
Just when Ayoto was still wondering what Kinoshita Mai was talking about just now... Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Ayoto caught a glimpse of a black shadow shaking in the direction of Natsume's door.
Upon seeing this, Qingden quickly turned his gaze away from Kinoshita Mai, focused his gaze, and stared at the swaying black shadow.
Kinoshita Mai, who noticed Aoto's strange behavior, quickly stood up straight and followed Aoto to look at the door of Natsume's house, and then she also spotted the black shadow.
Although tonight is a cloudy day with dim light and extremely poor visibility... such weather will not have any impact on Qingdeng.
Because Qingdeng has the gift of being able to see clearly at night: "Night Vision."
No matter how dark the space is, it is like daylight to Qingdeng.
After looking at the black shadow that suddenly appeared, Qingto immediately saw the full picture of the black shadow - it was Natsume Souhachiro!
I saw Natsume Sōhachiro alone pushing open the door of the mansion to a gap just enough for him to walk through, and then tiptoed out of the mansion along this gap, then turned around and headed straight towards the east side of the street.
Go on foot.
He looked left and right the whole time, with a nervous look on his face... as if he was alert to whether there were passers-by or followers around him.
After staying on guard for so many days... I finally discovered Natsume Sohachiro's unusual behavior.
There was no need for any verbal communication... and there was nothing to communicate. Aoto and Mai Kinoshita looked at each other at the same time with great tacit understanding. After looking at each other, the two walked out slowly side by side with silent and light steps.
He walked into the dark alley where they almost lived these days, and closely followed Natsume Sōhachiro, who was moving around strangely...
…
…
Edo is very quiet at night.
Natsume Takahachiro walked non-stop through dozens of deserted streets, and finally entered an inaccessible street. He turned into a street surrounded by thick darkness. No one could hear him even if he screamed inside.
remote alleyway.
"It's me, Natsume Sohachiro."
As he stepped into the deepest part of the alleyway, Natsume Sōhachiro lowered his voice and spoke solemnly to the darkness ahead.
"You came much earlier than scheduled."
The darkness in front of Natsume Sōpachiro "squirmed"... An extremely lean warrior with many pimple marks on his face slowly emerged from the darkness and stood in front of Natsume Sōpachiro.
There was no greeting... After the "acne warrior" appeared, Natsume Sōhachiro said quickly in an anxious tone that suppressed anxiety and fear:
"In accordance with your instructions, I have handed over to you the donkey cart containing the sake ordered by Mr. Bright that is scheduled to be delivered to the residence today! It's time to return Ah Yue to me!"
When Natsume Sōhachiro said this, his waist stooped so much that it made his whole person look smaller.
This "shrunk" body coupled with his pleading expression... "extremely humble" is the perfect word to describe Natsume Souhachiro's current posture.
Faced with Natsume Sohachiro's plea... the "Acne Scar Samurai" remained unmoved and his expression remained unchanged.
He lowered his eyebrows, glanced at Souhachiro Natsume with an indifferent look without any emotion, and showed a faint smile.
"Mr. Natsume Sohachiro, thank you for your cooperation with us these days."
"We greatly appreciate your assistance."
"Don't worry, we will abide by the agreement and let Miss Natsume Yue go."
"We never wanted to harm Miss Natsume Yue from the beginning."
The words of the "acne scarred warrior" were like sunshine, illuminating Natsume Souhachiro's originally extremely gloomy face.
Natsume Sōhachiro's originally rather cloudy eyes became much clearer at this time.
However... it hadn't been long before the light appeared in Natsume Sohachiro's eyes. The next scene that happened in front of him made his expression and body become as hard as stone.
Snapped!
The "Acne Scar Samurai" suddenly snapped his fingers vigorously. Immediately afterwards, the darkness in front of Natsume Sohachiro began to "squirm" again.
Two warriors of different sizes stepped out of the darkness and stood beside the "pox-scarred warrior".
At the same moment, Natsume Sohachiro heard footsteps behind him.
Natsume Sōhachiro hurriedly turned his head and looked behind him, and then he saw two more samurai behind him at some point. These two samurai blocked his way back with their bodies.
"What are you going to do?!" Natsume Sōhachiro glared at the "acne scar warrior" in horror, his voice trembled uncontrollably, and his tone became weird.
"Natsume Souhachiro." The faint smile that had appeared on the face of the "pox scar warrior" just now dissipated, and he looked at Natsume Souhachiro expressionlessly, "Next, we will carry out heavenly punishment."
"Wait, wait a minute!"
The blood on Natsume Sōhachiro's face was like ebbing tide, dissipating at an alarmingly fast speed.
"Heaven, Heavenly Punishment?! Why? Why?!"
"Why... is there any need to ask why?" A coldness appeared on the corner of the "acne scar warrior"'s mouth, "The only condition we discussed at the beginning was 'when the matter is completed, you will let your daughter go', right?"
"When did you get the illusion that we would let your daughter and you go?"
"Do you think we will let you go, a national thief who dares to do business with Yi Di?"
"..." Natsume Sohachiro was dumbfounded.
He opened his mouth forcefully, as if he wanted to say something loudly... but his extreme panic caused him to forget how to control his tongue and vocal cords for a moment.
The "Acne Scar Samurai" looked at Natsume Souhachiro's current expression with interest, and then sneered openly.
"Although you no longer need to think about living, you can rest assured about your daughter. We will indeed let your daughter regain her freedom intact. I can guarantee this."
"We are not some Yakuza who kill innocent people."
"We have always only killed the barbarians, national traitors, and some people who had to sacrifice their lives to achieve the great cause of expelling the barbarians."
"You are the one doing business with Yi Di, not your daughter. So we will not treat your daughter as a traitor to the country."
"Okay, I accidentally talked too much... suffer death, you national thief."
Choking!
The "Acne Scar Samurai" pulled out the katana from his waist, kicked the clogs under his feet, and rushed towards Natsume Sōhachiro!
The distance between Natsume Sōhachiro and this "acne scarred samurai" was only 6 steps away.
Such a small distance...it's almost a blink of an eye!
In just the blink of an eye, the "pox scar samurai" has arrived in front of Natsume Sōhachiro. He holds the knife high in the upper right position, and the sharp blade shines with a fascinating cold light.
Natsume Sōhachiro was stimulated by the cold light of the blade and finally regained control of his body.
But it's too late... the sword of the "pox scar warrior" has already been slashed!
However, at this critical moment, like a piece of the black wall falling off, a tall black shadow silently jumped down from the alley wall next to Natsume Sohachiro and the "Acne Scar Samurai", steadily
He fell firmly between Natsume Sohachiro and the "Acne Scar Samurai".
This dark shadow is none other than Qingdeng!
choke!
The clang of the blade being unsheathed dominated this narrow alley.
Qingden quickly drew his sword, and the Dingguishen that popped out of its sheath accurately hit the sword that had been chopped down by the "pox scar warrior" in mid-air.
Everyone in the alley was unexpected by Qingdeng's sudden appearance.
The unprepared "pox scarred warrior" only felt an unstoppable force spreading throughout his body along the blade.
Then in the next moment, his knife was directly shot away.
The sword that cut off the "pox scar warrior"... Qingden quickly changed his moves.
He turned the sword that was used to hold ghosts and gods, and used the back of the sword to face the enemy. At the same time, he placed the blade horizontally on his right waist, and then rushed towards the armpit of the "pox warrior"!
When he passed through the armpit of the "acne scar warrior" and was about to pass by the "acne scar warrior", Qingden slashed across the belly of the "acne scar warrior" and pulled it down from Cong Xiyuan to the end.
If Qingteng had used a blade to chop, the "pox warrior" would have been cut in half, and his intestines would have flowed all over the floor.
But because Qingteng was now facing the enemy with the back of his sword, the "pox-scarred warrior" did not suffer any fatal injuries...but was so painful that he almost lost consciousness.
"Whoa...! Ugh, vomit, vomit -!" The "acne warrior", who had been hit hard in the stomach, vomited the dinner he had eaten tonight all over the floor. He covered himself like a soft-footed shrimp.
He fell on his stomach and tried to make himself feel better.
Killing the "Pox-scarred Samurai" instantly with one blow, Aoden didn't say a word... He silently stepped on his back foot and rushed towards the other two samurai who were blocking him and Natsume Souhachiro!
His figure was like an arrow leaving the string as he quickly approached the enemies in front of him.
When the two warriors saw Qingden rushing over, they hurriedly raised their hands to touch the swords at their waists.
One person successfully pulled out the knife. The other person was too panicked. Even when Qingdeng rushed to them, the guy couldn't successfully pull out the knife from the sheath.
The man who successfully pulled out the knife quickly raised the knife in his hand and struck Qingden.
Qingdeng made a mistake in his steps and easily dodged the man's knife. He ducked to the side of the enemy, aimed at the man's flank and swung the knife forcefully... This man also followed in the footsteps of the "pox scar warrior".
Holding his stomach, he vomited vigorously and fell to the ground.
The guy who just failed to pull out the knife in the first place finally succeeded in pulling out the knife... but it was of no use.
Qingdeng lowered his waist, raised his left hand and grabbed the wrist of his right hand that had just pulled out the sword, used a single-arm grappling technique to throw him heavily to the ground, and at the same time removed the sword from his hand.
The man who was thrown heavily to the ground by Qingdeng landed on his face... He watched helplessly as the dusty black ground got closer and closer to him, and then a shattering pain spread across his face.
All over my body, countless gold stars were flying in front of my eyes.
The three "pox-scarred samurai" who blocked Natsume Souhachiro's path were all subdued by Aoto at lightning speed... The only enemies who were still standing were the two samurai blocking Natsume Souhachiro's retreat.
After the two of them saw Qingden kill the "Pox Scar Warrior" instantly, Ben hurriedly pulled out his sword and strode forward, wanting to support their companions.
However... after Qingteng knocked down all three "Pox Scar Warriors", the two of them had not yet rushed to Qingteng...
In the time it took to speak, almost all of their companions were wiped out, and only two of them were left standing... The two people quickly stopped and looked at each other.
Although they were unwilling to do so, they still made a 180-degree turn and fled out of the alley.
However, as soon as they turned around, they didn't even see the scenery behind them clearly, and they felt a blur in front of their eyes - a bright red color floating in their eyes.
"Uh...!"*2
The two of them felt a sharp pain in their knees, as if they had been struck by some powerful whip. Their center of gravity was destroyed by the severe pain in their knees, and they both fell to the ground.
There was an intimate contact between my back and the ground beneath my feet.
It wasn't until they fell to the ground that the two men finally saw clearly who had knocked them to the ground - a girl wearing a bright red yukata, a pair of delicate bare feet and flat-soled wooden clogs with double red buttons.
It is Kinoshita Mai.
These two guys were in a hurry to escape, not caring about their buttocks, and completely ignored Mai Kinoshita who sneaked up behind them.
Because the attack on Kinoshita Mai was unexpected, Kinoshita Mai almost effortlessly kicked the two of them to the ground without much effort.
At this time... Qingdeng arrived.
Qingdeng stabbed each of the two men on the ground with the back of his knife.
Then these two people also joined the "vomiting army" and felt the severe pain that their intestines were about to twist together, making them unable to even stand up straight.
Finally, all the enemies in the alley were knocked down... Qingdeng let out a sigh of relief, then turned to look at Natsume Souhachiro, who was still standing there blankly.
"Tachibana, Mr. Tachibana...?"
Natsume Sōhachiro blinked hard and saw clearly the appearance of the samurai who suddenly appeared and saved him.
"..." Qingto ignored Natsume Sohachiro.
After only glancing at Natsume Sōhachiro, he carried the Seikijin and walked straight towards the "pox scarred warrior" who was still retching.
Just now, he and Kinoshita Mai had been lurking on the wall of the alley next to them. They heard the entire conversation between Natsume Souhachiro and the "Acne Scar Warrior" just now, word for word.
As Qingto expected... Natsume Yue was also kidnapped.
In addition to knowing that Natsume Yue was indeed missing, Qingto also heard many words that he could not ignore at all.
Residence, Mr. Bright, Sake...
These words suddenly piled up the number of questions currently piling up in Qingto's mind about Natsume Sōhachirou and the "Acne Scar Samurai".
Things are all prioritized.
Although there are many questions I want to ask, I have to ask them one by one in order of importance.
Qingdeng decided to first interrogate the "acne scar warrior" with the question he wanted to ask the most.
The reason why he faced the enemy with only the back of his sword the whole time just now was to spare the lives of the "pox scarred warriors" to answer his question.
Qingteng put the Dingkishin back into its scabbard, then pulled out the wakizashi, then squatted down and pulled off the socks on the right foot of the "pox scarred warrior".
"If you don't want to suffer, just answer my question."
"Besides Natsume Yue, did you also kidnap Sanako Chiba? Where are the people you kidnapped now being imprisoned?"
He didn't have any mood or leisure time to chat with these guys. In the opening remarks, Qingto directly asked questions in a neither sad nor happy tone, while putting the tip of the wakizashi's knife close to the toenail of the big toe of the "pox scarred samurai".
"..." "Acne Scar Warrior" didn't utter even a single word.
Still suffering from severe stomach pain, he barely suppressed his desire to vomit, raised his head with all his strength, and looked at Qingdeng.
Although he didn't say a word, Qingden had already understood what he meant from the eyes of the "acne scarred warrior".
Don't expect me to say a word - he said this to Qingdeng with his eyes.
Since everyone had said so... Qingdeng gave him the response he had prepared early in the morning without mercy.
Qingden pushed the wakizashi, which was directly facing the gap between the toenail of the big toe on the right foot of the "pox scarred warrior", and the sharp tip of the knife penetrated directly into the gap between the toenail and the flesh, and the toenail cover was completely pushed open.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh——!!!”
A shrill scream erupted from the mouth of the "pox warrior".
The blood flowed like a gush, and a large amount of blood dripped from the toes where the toenails were pushed open, and flowed all over the floor.
Fortunately, the area they are currently in is an almost uninhabited area, and no one lives here. Otherwise, the sharp and extremely miserable wail of the "Pox-Scarred Warrior" would have attracted many "spectators" immediately.
The extremely intense pain caused the "Acne Scar Warrior"'s entire body to convulse uncontrollably.
When trimming toenails with a toenail clipper, accidentally cutting the flesh inside the toenail can cause excruciating pain. The entire toenail cover is directly opened with a knife... The pain is so painful that just imagining it makes people feel like they are on the scalp.
numb.
Facing the "pox warrior" who screamed as if his entire vocal cords were about to be torn apart, different people showed different expressions.
The remaining companions of the "Pox-scarred Warrior" who were still lying on the ground were pale and had cold sweat on their foreheads.
Natsume Sōhachiro showed a dumbfounded expression.
Mai Kinoshita, who was standing next to Qingteng, couldn't help but shrink her swan neck.
On the other hand, Qingdeng...he was unmoved.
"Besides Natsume Yue, did you also kidnap Sanako Chiba? Where are the people you kidnapped now being imprisoned?"
After repeating his previous question in a tone that was neither sad nor happy, Aoto pointed the tip of the wakizashi's sword at the gap between the toenail of the next toe of the "pox scarred samurai".
…
…
Edo, somewhere——
A cockroach crawled by Sanako's feet.
Sanako raised her eyelids slightly, glanced at the thin cockroach crawling by her feet, and then half-closed her eyes again.
Before half-closing her eyes again, Sanako glanced at Natsume Yue beside her... Natsume Yue was drooping her head, her small chin close to her collarbone, her eyes dull and empty.
These days, she and Natsume Yue have been locked in this cellar.
He was not allowed to move around at will, and could only be tied to the wooden post with hemp rope.
There were almost no living people seen. The person I saw the most was a woman with very thin lips. This woman seemed to be responsible for taking care of the two of them.
Although this woman often meets Sanako and the others, she has almost no communication with Sanako and the others. Every time, she hurriedly takes care of Sanako and Natsume Yue and then leaves.
I can't do anything, I can only sit here all the time; I don't even know what time it is; I don't know why I was tied here; I don't know if I will ever be free one day... intense
A sense of powerlessness and a suffocating atmosphere.
Natsume Yue, who had been tortured both physically and mentally by this, could no longer even cry, and could only stare blankly with a pair of eyes.
Compared to Natsume Yue, Sanako's spirit is undoubtedly much better.
Ever since she woke up, Sanako has been doing one thing persistently.
Something that keeps Sanako in a positive spirit to this day.
Something that could be their hope of escape.
--Well……!
The sudden pain in her right thumb made Sanako almost scream.
She quickly bit her lower lip to stop the urge to cry out in pain.
After the pain in her right thumb subsided a little, Sanako used the thumb and middle finger of her right hand to hold the iron nail she pulled out from the wooden pillar again, and continued to use the slightly blunt nail tip to cut and bind her hands.
of hemp rope.
Sanako has been using this iron nail to cut the hemp rope on her hand... except for sleeping and occasional rest, basically without interruption.
The hemp rope that bound her and Natsume Yue's hands was almost two fingers thick, and the iron nail that Sanako pulled out by luck had a very long rusty tip due to its long history.
The ground is dull.
Using such a blunt nail tip to cut such a thick hemp rope... Sanako's fingers cramped countless times.
Just like just now - her thumb cramped again. If Sanako hadn't reacted quickly and bit her lip in time, she would have almost screamed.
Sanako relied on her tenacious willpower to endure countless pains during these days...and now, the rich fruits composed of these pains are finally blooming.
After using the hemp rope in his hand to cut the hemp rope on his wrist for a moment, Sanako twisted his hands vigorously.
The hemp rope that was originally tied very tightly has now become very loose because she has cut several ropes with iron nails.
Sanako took a deep breath, exerted all her strength, and pushed her tied hands to both sides - the hemp rope broke, and her hands were finally free again.
In the darkness, Sanako touched her wrists, which were sore and swollen from the hemp rope. Although she was happy in her heart, her face remained calm.
Freeing your hands... This is just the first step to a successful escape.
While Sanako vigorously massaged the wrists of both hands that were still behind her back, she raised her gaze to look at the wooden stairs leading to the cellar room not far ahead...
She silently clenched her right fist, letting the sharp nail head emerge from between the index finger and middle finger, and then...
"Uh...! Uh...! Uh...! Uh...!"
Sanako closed her eyes tightly, showing a painful expression while twisting her body crazily and screaming with all her strength.
Natsume Yue, who was frightened by Sanako's strange behavior, quickly turned to look at Sanako.
Miss Sanako, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? - Natsume asked Sanako anxiously with her eyes.
Sanako turned a blind eye to Natsume Yue's gaze and continued to twist her delicate body while screaming.
The mouth was tied with a cloth, so he couldn't make a loud sound...but it was more than enough to make a sound that could be heard by the guards outside the cellar.
After a while, the sound of rapid footsteps came from the stairs connecting the cellar room and the outside.
"What's wrong? What are you doing?"
A short man wearing a wakizashi around his waist quickly walked up the stairs to Sanako with an impatient look on his face.
"Smelly woman! What are you screaming about? Do you want to poop?"
Sanako raised her head towards the dwarf, stretched her neck, and opened and closed her red lips tied with a strip of cloth, as if she had something to say.
"Tsk...it's really troublesome...!" The short man twitched the corner of his mouth and leaned down angrily, trying to untie the cloth on Sanazi's mouth and listen to what Sanazi wanted to say.
At the moment when the short man leaned down, Sanako's eyes suddenly focused.
Immediately afterwards, she was seen reaching out her newly freed hands from behind her back with lightning speed, covering the dwarf's mouth with her left hand, and hitting the aorta in the dwarf's neck with her right fist.
The dwarf's eyes bulged forward like goldfish, and countless red bloodshot eyes covered the whites of his eyes.
When Sanako retracted his right fist, the nail heads between his fingers were covered with blood.
Punch out, punch back, punch out, punch back... Sanako kept repeating this set of actions.
She covered the dwarf's mouth with her left palm, preventing him from making any sound.
After punching the short man on the neck more than ten times, Sanazi finally felt that the short man's body was "softening".
The dwarf, whose life force was constantly leaking out from the dozen bloody holes on his neck, rolled his eyes upwards... and collapsed to the ground like noodles, no longer alive.
"Huh...huh...huh...huh...huh..."
For a moment, Sanako's heavy breathing dominated the entire cellar.
Natsume Yue on the side now looked like "what a ghost", her eyes widened, and she looked dumbly at Sanako, who was now splattered with a lot of blood...
——I killed someone...
This is Sanako's first time killing someone.
Seeing the dwarf's dead expression, a strong sense of nausea surged out from Sanako's throat.
——Now is not the time to feel disgusted...!
After scolding herself in a stern tone in her heart, Sanako swallowed hard several times to resist the desire to vomit.
When she had calmed down a little, Sanako stretched out her right arm and pulled out the wakizashi from the waist of the short man who fell at her feet, and cut off all the hemp ropes on her and Natsume Yue's bodies.
"Miss Sanako..."
As soon as Sanako pulled off the cloth on Natsume Yue's face, Natsuki looked at Sanako blankly and murmured Sanako's name softly.
Her eyes, which had been lifeless at first, regained their sparkle.
"If you have anything else to say, wait until you escape." Sanazi crouched down and groped for the short man's body, looking for other weapons or other useful things.
The wakizashi that Sanako was currently holding in his right hand seemed to be the only weapon the dwarf carried... He touched the dwarf from head to toe, but found nothing but air.
——Is this the only weapon that can be used...
Sanako lowered his eyes and glanced at the not too sharp wakizashi in his hand.
The only weapon the two of them could use now was the Wakizashi...but Sanako didn't show any signs of discouragement or frustration.
"Ah Yue."
Sanako took a deep breath, raised his eyes and stared at the stairs leading to the cellar in front of him.
"Follow me and I'll take you home."
Sanako used her own clothes to wipe off some dirt on the Wakizashi blade.
The clean blade reflected a dazzling cold light.
Also bursting with sparkling light were Sanako's pupils, which were now full of determination.
…
…
Sanako and Natsume Tsuki bent down and walked out of the underground cellar where they had been imprisoned for several days one after another.
The long-lost breath of air came to her face... Sanako couldn't help but take several deep breaths.
She pressed her back against the wall next to her and poked her little head out to look at the corridors on the left and right outside the wall.
The empty corridor was empty, only rich darkness.
After confirming that it was safe outside, Sanako waved her hand to Natsume Yue behind her butt.
Sanako's goal is clear - the door or window leading to the outside of the house.
This is a task that may be difficult to say, but not easy to say simple.
The reason why it is said that it is "not difficult to say" is because the connection with the underground cellar is naturally the first floor of the house.
So now that the two girls have just left the cellar and are on the first floor of the house, it is not a particularly difficult task to find a door or window that can lead to the outdoors.
As for why it is said to be "not simple even if it is simple"... the reason is also very simple.
There are many guards in this house.
Sanako suddenly heard voices coming from a room in front of him.
She quickly turned her head to signal Natsume Yue behind her to be silent.
Natsume Yue nodded vigorously, raised her two small hands to cover her mouth and nose, and tried her best to calm down her breathing.
The corridor adjacent to this room where voices are constantly coming from outside is the only way Sanako and the others must pass...
I can't go around it... I can only go through it with all my heart!
Sanako let out a long breath silently, then gathered her mind and tiptoed forward.
As we get closer and closer to the room, the sounds coming from the room become clearer.
"Damn...it's so annoying. Why are we sent to guard those two women?"
"Oh, I'm also very depressed. Others can have a big fight at the residence tonight, but we can only stare at each other here."
"The reason why I joined the anti-barbarian group is to fight against those barbarians... I didn't come here to guard two stinky women."
"Okay, don't mention these depressing things. Speaking of which, is it time to change shifts? Whose turn will it be next to stand guard at the cellar door?"
"Damn it, the more I think about it, the angrier I get... I really want to go to the settlement to witness with my own eyes how those abominable Yi Di people were burned..."
…
Tonight, residence, barbarian subjugation group, burning human beings... the combination of these words made Sanako's eyes widen little by little, and his steps slowed down uncontrollably.
Natsume Yue, who was behind Sanako, had a similar expression at this time. She was still covering her mouth and nose tightly, and looked at the room next to her with a shocked face where many people were chatting.
One after another, horrific conjectures emerged from Sanako's mind uncontrollably, as if they had a life of their own.
At this moment, a sudden change occurred, leaving Sanako no time to take into account these crazy and terrifying conjectures in her mind - the sound of two groups of people's footsteps suddenly came from the corner ahead!
Despite Sanako's will and character, she couldn't help but be startled by the unexpected footsteps and her expression changed slightly.
She quickly looked around, trying to find a place to hide.
She and Natsume Yue are currently in an awkward position... They are currently in the middle of the corridor.
The empty corridor has no place to hide.
Those two sets of footsteps moved very fast... It was too late to return the same way!
The anxiety in her heart caused a drop of cold sweat to break out on Sanako's smooth forehead.
Suddenly, at this moment - Sanako suddenly discovered that there was a large hole in the ceiling that had been in disrepair for many years, just two steps in front of her.
And this big hole is just big enough for petite women like Sanako and others to get in and out...
If you continue to stand here like this, you will only be discovered... So Sanako gritted her silver teeth, leaned her head back, and whispered something to Natsume Yue...
…
…
"I pooped a lot. I feel like I've lost weight."
"Why are you so good at pooping? You can poop five times a day, and every time you poop a big poop."
"Maybe it's because my digestion ability is better."
The owners of these two sudden footsteps, which made Sanako's face change slightly in shock, were a fat man and a thin man.
Listening to the footsteps and voices coming from below... Sanako felt her heart beating so fast now.
At this moment, she and Natsume Yue were hiding on the ceiling of this corridor.
There was no other hiding place except crawling through the big hole into the ceiling.
Therefore, Sanako could only take a risk. After a brief discussion with Natsume Yue, Sanako used the method of "first climbing to the ceiling on Natsume Yue's shoulders, and then pulling Natsume Yue up". The danger was again
Before the fat man and the thin man turned into this corridor, they climbed into the ceiling.
The top of the ceiling... was extremely dirty, and everywhere was covered with dust so thick that it couldn't even be blown up.
While resisting the strong itching sensation deep in her nose caused by the flying dust, Sanako quietly waited for the fat man and the thin man under the ceiling to leave.
This "fat and thin pair" chatted about shit for a while and then became silent.
Just when Sanako was fully thinking that hiding on the ceiling would be foolproof, something happened.
Because he was hiding on the ceiling, Sanako didn't see it now - under the ceiling, the thin man suddenly frowned.
The thin man, who was frowning coldly, was lowering his gaze and looking at the floor of the corridor ahead.
To be more precise, I was looking at the clusters of wool-like thick dust on the ground.
This was the dust that Sanako and the others had inevitably kicked down when they climbed up to the ceiling.
After the thin man stared thoughtfully at the clusters of dust on the ground for a few times, he slowly raised his gaze and looked at the ceiling, looking at the big hole that was on the same vertical line as the clusters of dust...
…
Sanako suddenly heard the footsteps below stop.
The feeling of doubt has not yet taken shape...
Boom!
A knife suddenly stabbed into the ceiling from bottom to top, turning the unformed doubts in Sanako's heart into shock at the speed of lightning!
The knife didn't stab Sanako... but it did stab Natsume Yue!
The sharp blade directly cut through the flesh of Natsume Yue's right shoulder.
"Well……!"
Out of instinctive reaction, Natsume let out a cry of pain.
Her cry of pain was very low...but it was enough for the fat man below and the thin man who was stabbing the ceiling with a knife to clearly hear the sound and their expressions suddenly changed.
The unexpected turn of events caused Sanako to forget how to breathe for a moment.
When the body could remember how to breathe again, Sanako quickly stabilized her mind and at the same time, a flash of determination flashed in her eyes.
I saw her delicate body roll, follow the big hole, and fall back to the ground below the ceiling. As she fell, she used the momentum of her falling body to quickly swing her wakizaki vertically, and the sharp blade hit the thin man's head, knocking him out.
He fell to the ground with one blow, and then before the fat man could react, he dug the blade into his chest.
Although Sanako had launched the attack as fast as possible... her actions were still half a step too late.
"There is a thief!" - The moment before her blade fell, the thin man shouted this sentence in a clear and bright voice in time.
The room next to him, where voices had been heard, suddenly became commotion.
"Ayue! Let's go!"
Now that his whereabouts have been exposed, there is no need to hide anything anymore.
Sanako quickly greeted Natsume Yue and came down from the ceiling, then took Natsume Yue's hand and ran away.
At this time, the door of the room where many people were chatting opened with a bang.
"Hey! Those two stinky bitches escaped!"
"What? How did they escape?"
"Don't worry! Go and chase!"
…
The sound of footsteps, which was as oppressive as waves, appeared behind Sanako and the others.
Sanako's running speed is no slower than that of men.
However... Natsume Yue doesn't have Sanako's physical fitness.
Even though she ran with all her strength, her slow steps still hindered Sanako, slowing down the overall speed of the two of them.
In just a moment, Wuyangyang's warriors caught up with the two girls! In desperation, Sanako could only exchange places with Natsume Yue, and she personally moved to the rear to meet the chasing soldiers!
"Be careful! Mr. Kamino has an order not to kill this woman! Use the back of a knife!"
Suddenly in the darkness, a white blade flashed, and a sword with the back of the knife facing her slashed towards Sanako's shoulder. Sanako blocked it with a swing of the knife. Without any time to breathe, a second white blade struck.
Sanako was unhurried, holding her breath and concentrating. She lowered her body, blocked the second incoming white blade, and then struck back at the opponent with a fierce knife, forcing the opponent to retreat hastily.
At this time, a person suddenly turned to the front of Sanako and slashed at Sanako with the back of his sword.
The slashing knife made a sound in the wind, fierce and powerful.
Not to be outdone, Sanako counterattacked fiercely. The knife Sanako counterattacked contained skilled moves and superb force-relieving skills.
The samurai whose attack was deflected felt numbness in his palms, and his body was wide open. Seizing this momentary flaw, Sanako quickly took a step forward and stabbed the opponent's shoulder silently.
The feeling of the blade piercing into the flesh was strong. The opponent yelled and staggered back. Sanako took advantage of the situation and took back the wakizashi.
Sanako is indeed a female swordsman with the reputation of "genius swordswoman".
Holding a short wakizashi in her hand, she fought with multiple samurai at the same time in this narrow corridor, fighting and retreating without losing any chance.
But no matter how powerful Sanako is, she can't resist the surprises that keep coming one after another.
"Ahhh!"
There was a scream from Natsume Yue's side...
Sanako hurriedly looked at the sound and saw a samurai appearing in front of Natsume Yue with a sword at an unknown time and place!
Seeing this, Sanako didn't hesitate at all - she returned to Natsume Yue's side as fast as she could, raising her sword to block the samurai's attack that was originally slashing at Natsume Yue.
Sanako's reincarnation defense... was quite reluctant.
He hurriedly ran back from a place 7 steps away and parried the enemy's powerful and heavy attack... He forced himself so hard that his body, which had become quite stiff after being imprisoned for several days, made Sanako's posture uncontrollable.
The instability of the bottom plate caused a flaw.
A certain samurai keenly caught the flaw that Sanako accidentally exposed. It was the "horn-eyed samurai" who was solely responsible for guarding Sanako and Natsume Yue.
I saw the "Hanged-Eyed Samurai" walking forward quickly, swiping his sword to kill Sanako who had not yet adjusted his posture!
Sanako's pupils shrank slightly, knowing that she had no time to parry this attack, she could only retreat and dodge. But she was still half a beat too slow, and the back of the "Horn-Eyed Samurai" hit Sanako's left thigh.
The broad back of the knife was no different from an iron whip. Severe pain instantly spread throughout Sanako's entire left thigh, and then spread throughout Sanako's body.
——This man... is a master...
Whether it's his keen awareness of the opponent's flaws or his sharp sword skills, it all proves that this "horn-eyed warrior" is a master of superb swordsmanship.
Sanako endured the severe pain in her thigh, swung her sword to drive back the "Horn-Eyed Samurai", and then continued to escort Natsume Yue out.
At this time, Sanako saw an old stand as tall as a person leaning against the wall of the corridor ahead.
An idea flashed through Sanako's mind, and he pushed the old rack to the ground. The rack that was pushed to the ground had a certain blocking effect. The "Hankou-Eyed Samurai" and the others and the two girls were thrown to the ground by the fallen rack.
The shelf was blocked, and Sanako took the opportunity to hold Natsume Yue's hand and seize the opportunity to escape.
After experiencing so many accidents and setbacks, the two girls finally found the door to the outside world.
Pushing open the door and entering the outside world, there was a completely unfamiliar neighborhood outside the house. Sanako could only find a random direction to escape.
"Is there anyone?! Is there anyone?!"
While running away, Sanako yelled, trying to summon the surrounding residents. As long as they could summon a large number of passers-by, the "Horn-Eyed Samurai" and others would definitely attack the rats.
However, no matter how Sanako shouted, the surroundings were silent... No one responded to her call, and there seemed to be no residents in this place.
Sanako, who didn't even dare to take a breath, led Natsume Yue across two streets. Suddenly, Sanako stumbled and fell to the ground.
"Miss Sanako?" Natsume Yue exclaimed and helped Sanako up, "What's wrong with you?"
"It's okay..." Sanako looked at his left leg that had just been slashed by the back of the sword of the "Hanged-Eyed Samurai" with a sullen face, "It's just... I can't walk a little bit..."
Sanako thought that the injury to her left leg could be tolerated for a while, but after dragging her leg to escape, the pain in her leg did not lessen at all, but instead continued to intensify.
After holding on until now, Sanako finally couldn't bear it anymore... Her left leg was now so painful that even if she touched the muscles there a little, the severe pain would make her grit her teeth.
Sanako guessed that the bones in his left leg were injured.
That series of oppressive footsteps...are coming.
Dong dong dong dong...like a heavy thunder.
Natsume Yue looked back with despair, looking at the "Horn-Eyed Samurai" and others who appeared behind them again.
"Miss Sanako, hurry up! I'll help you up!"
Sanako, who was helped up by Natsume Yue, looked at his legs solemnly, and then looked at the "Horn-Eyed Samurai" and others behind him.
"... Ah Yue, my legs can't run anymore. You run away first and call someone over. I'll buy you time to escape."
Sanako gently pushed Natsume Yue who was supporting her, then faced the pursuers and held her wakizashi in front of her.
"What...?" Natsume Yue looked at Sanako blankly, "Miss Sanako, what are you talking about! We want to be together..."
"Ayue!"
Before Natsume Yue finished speaking, Sanako interrupted her with an impatient tone.
"Don't be a mother-in-law! It's annoying!"
"I am your master, and it is my duty to protect my disciples!"
"I can't move my legs! If we two escape together, we will both be dead!"
"Go quickly!"
After saying that, Sanako pushed Natsume Yue behind her with a slightly rough movement, and then stood up with a knife, facing the pursuers who were rushing toward her like waves hitting the coast.
Due to their varying speeds, the pursuit team of the "Horn-Eyed Samurai" and others was a very long column. The one who rushed to the front because he ran the fastest was a rather tall and strong man.
.
——Two, four, six...twelve...
After carefully counting the number of pursuers, Sanako's already ugly face became a little more solemn.
If she was not injured, Sanako would still have the confidence to fight twelve samurai alone with just one wakizashi.
However, her left thigh is now injured...Fighting twelve samurai without a leg...No matter how optimistic Sanako is, no matter how much she deceives herself and others, she can't think of any positive words.
Gritting her teeth, Sanazi spread her legs and got into a good posture. The movement of her left leg caused the heartbreaking pain in her buttocks to spread throughout Sanazi's body.
Feeling the pain in her left leg... For no reason, an idea floated out of Sanako's mind:
——If my martial arts skills could be better, I should be able to dodge the attack just now...
The next moment, a memory fragment that had been buried deep in Sanako's mind flashed quickly in front of her eyes...
…
(Miss Sanako, unless you are a person favored by the gods, no matter how hard a woman practices martial arts, she will never achieve great achievements. Let me put it bluntly, your current strength is too weak, and it will be difficult for you to do so again in the future.
No matter how strong you are, the road I am going to take next is undoubtedly a road of thorns. It will be very difficult for me to take you on the road with you like this.)
…
——I should be in trouble tonight...
A strange sadness emerged uncontrollably between Sanako's brows.
If anyone could observe Sanako's current expression... they would definitely be surprised.
The eldest lady of the Chiba family, who was usually as cold as ice... now actually showed a pitiful and sad expression, as if she was about to burst into tears.
——What a pity...I haven't proven to that bastard that even a girl can be very powerful...
Boom, boom, boom!
Footsteps... approaching!
The strong man at the front had already rushed to Sanako and raised the sword in his hand high!
Sanako half-closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Sanako, who relied on willpower to suppress the uncontrollable grief that surged wildly from her heart, once again had a sharp light under her eyes.
——At least it is the responsibility of the master to let Ah Yue escape safely...!
Sanako clenched her teeth and let out a powerful scream, while holding on to the determined will to "die together", she pounced on the strong man who was slashing at her with a sword.
Just at this time.
Just the next moment.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sanako suddenly caught a glimpse of a silver light flashing on her right side.
As the daughter of a samurai family, Sanako is very familiar with this type of silver light.
This is the light of the white blade!
Sanako witnessed this incredible scene with her peripheral vision - a ray of silver light jumped high from the roof of the house next to her, reached the highest point in the air, and then fell straight down in a beautiful parabola.
The strong man fell in front of Sanako!
The silver light, which was pulled into almost a straight line, passed through the strong man's body and cut the strong man's body in half from the left shoulder to the right belly!
The strong man opened his eyes and glanced at the lower body that had been separated from his upper body with a horrified gaze.
Holding this silver light is a tall figure.
The tall figure and the silver light in his hand fell steadily to the ground, landing between Sanako and the strong man who had been cut in half.
Sanako was lunging towards the strong man, her beautiful eyes widened in surprise. She wanted to stop her lunging, but due to the influence of inertia, she was unable to stop her lunging body in time.
Stop.
But fortunately - this tall figure suddenly appeared and put his arms around her, saving Sanako from falling.
"Miss Sanako, I finally found you."
Familiar male voice...
Sanako opened her red lips slightly, raised her head, and stared blankly at this familiar face that was very close to her, as if she had lost her soul.
"Miss Sanako, please step back."
The man let go of Sanako, then turned around, holding the bloody knife in his hand, and faced the remaining pursuers.
"It's okay now."
"Tachibana-kun...?"
Sanako recited the man's name softly.
**********
**********
It’s really not that the author deliberately broke the chapter. The author originally wanted to write a huge chapter of 2,000 words for everyone to enjoy, and also finished the battle of Qingdeng, but it was a pity that it failed.
I kept writing until 3 o'clock in the morning this morning, and my waist hurt so much that I could hardly stand up straight... Because my body really couldn't bear it anymore, I can only write this temporarily (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)
Today’s chapter is updated to make up for the debt I owe to Silver League [Handsome is My Handsomeness]. I still owe this book friend 9 chapters to update.
The author still owes 11 chapters worth 10,000 words.
If you don’t give me a monthly pass for this chapter today, you’re really going too far (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)
Please give me monthly votes! Please vote for recommendations!
The current number of monthly votes for this book is 528. As long as today’s monthly votes can reach 630, I will continue to be crazy today and write another 10,000+ chapter tomorrow!
Let’s make a blind guess: There must be a group of people playing “Shui Shuishui” again, “I wrote more than 10,000 words, but the plot didn’t advance at all.”
Alas, I can’t even figure out what these people’s definition of “plot advancement” is.
The plot of these two chapters has obviously developed as fast as the wind and waves, are you still not satisfied...
[Qingto keeps getting stronger and finally becomes the "Nioh"] - I finished the entire plot of this book in one sentence, how do you think? Is the plot advancing very quickly? Are you satisfied?
