Chapter 196 Okita Souji was urged to get married [Breaking update 1W]
Ever since the Trial Guard Hall, under the command of Aonto, defeated the Little Chiba Sword Hall in the red-white battle at the "Plum Blossom Festival" more than five months ago, the Xuanbu Hall has been sending "promises" to the Trial Guard Hall.
"Invitation to War".
As for the current owner of Xuanbu Hall: Chiba Doisaburo, Aoto has only met him a few times and has almost no communication with him.
The deepest impression Chiba Michizaburo left on Aoto was that he was extremely taciturn.
His personality is a bit like Saito's.
They don't like to talk much and often have expressionless faces.
But underneath Dosaburo's paralyzed appearance, he has a very hot heart as a warrior!
If you want to improve your swordsmanship, you can't do it without sparring with masters! Not sparring with others or only sparring with people whose strength needs to be improved will only make your own strength worse and worse. Only by sparring with masters frequently can you improve your swordsmanship.
Practicing your talents will allow you to continuously improve your abilities - Michizaburo Chiba is a fanatical believer in this teaching philosophy.
Therefore, under the leadership of Michizaburo Chiba, the style of the Xuanbu Hall was... quite "simple".
It is a very qualified gathering camp for fighting madmen!
Influenced by Michizaburo Chiba, the apprentices there were very competitive and were proud to compete with the masters.
In the red and white battle against their Genbukan and Little Chiba Kenkan, the Shiwei Hall, which always loses more and wins less, unexpectedly defeated the Little Chiba Kenkan, Chiba Jutaro, Sanako, Shannan and other masters.
All were defeated... This aroused the strong curiosity of Chiba Michizaburo!
Chiba Douzaburo, who wanted to see for himself why the Weikan suddenly became so powerful, not long after being defeated by the Shiweikan in the small Chiba Sword Hall, he issued a "Let's have a red and white match" to the Shiweikan.
Let’s fight” invitation.
The Showeikan, which had a great victory over the Kochiba Kenkan, was on the rise of its career due to its increasing fame.
Both Shusuke and Kondo wanted to focus on developing the sword hall for the time being, so they declined Chiba Michisaburo's invitation to fight.
Michizaburo Chiba, who really wanted to see how the Test Guard Hall had become so strong, was not discouraged by this small failure.
In the past few months, Chiba Michizaburo has been unremittingly sending out invitations to the trial defense hall for fights every once in a while.
The Trial Guard Hall has always declined.
Last month, at the end of July, Michizaburo Chiba once again issued an invitation to the Tribune Hall to "let's hold a red and white battle together."
This time... the Trial Guard Hall did not refuse without hesitation!
Shusuke and Kondo, father and son, both agreed in a tacit understanding that after such a long period of development, it was time for a fierce competition to test how the current strength of the trial defense hall had improved.
The powerful Xuanwu Hall... is an opponent worth challenging!
Only by fighting against powerful opponents can you unleash your full potential.
So, this time, the Trial Guard Hall accepted the Xuanwu Hall’s invitation to fight!
After a brief discussion, the people from the two sword halls finally decided on August 20th as the time for the red and white battle.
After it was decided that they would have a red-white battle with the Xuanbu Hall for a long time, the atmosphere in the Trial Guard Hall these days was extremely serious and tense.
The list of players participating in this red-white match has not yet been determined.
The apprentices who are eager to be selected to have a big fight with Xuanwu Hall have all been training harder recently.
Speaking of Chiba Dosaburo, he is also a very legendary man.
Chiba Shusaku, the founder of Hokushin Itto-ryu and the first head of the Genbukan, had four sons: Chiba Kisutaro, Chiba Eijiro, Chiba Michosaburo, and Chiba Tamonshiro.
The eldest son, Chiba Kitsutaro, died young, and only the other three sons are still alive.
After Chiba Shusaku died of illness five years ago, Chiba Eijiro should have inherited the position of head of the Hoichen Itto-ryu clan and head of the Genbukan, whether based on seniority or strength.
However, before Chiba Shu died of illness, Chiba Eijiro had already served in the Mito domain in order to improve his knowledge and swordsmanship, so he had no spare capacity to inherit the family business.
Therefore, the position of the second-generation head of the Beichen Itto-ryu clan, the second-generation head of the Xuanbu Hall...this huge family fortune fell on the shoulders of the third son: Chiba Michisaburo.
Many people who don't know enough about the Edo swordsmanship community often have the misunderstanding that Chiba Michizaburo reached his current high position entirely by picking up the slack.
It is true that if Eijiro Chiba had not served as an official in Mito Domain, it would never have been Chiba Michisaburo's turn to inherit this huge family business.
In terms of overall strength, Chiba Michizaburo is indeed far inferior to his second brother Eijiro... but only compared to his second brother, his swordsmanship level is still very low.
After all, Michizaburo Chiba is also a descendant of the Chiba family, the "Swordsman Family".
Because Eijiro's light is so dazzling, people often subconsciously ignore... Chiba Douzaburo is also a top-notch genius swordsman!
Chiba Jutaro once said this to Aonto in a certain chat - among the younger generation of their Chiba family, if they were ranked according to their swordsmanship talents, then his second cousin Chiba Ei
Jiro occupied the first gear, and then his third cousin Chiba Michizaburo occupied the second gear. He, Sanako, and his fourth cousin Chiba Tamonshiro were in the lowest gear.
At this stage, among all the members of the brother sword halls of Genbukan and Little Chiba Kenkan, only Chiba Sadayoshi, Chiba Eijiro, and Chiba Michizaburo have reached the state of being able to freely release "power".
!
Compared with Eijiro, Michizaburo is more low-key and inconspicuous.
But in the swordsmanship world of Edo, Dosaburo's various anecdotes are no less than Eijiro's.
Among the various anecdotes related to Michizaburo, the most famous one is "In order to defeat Eijiro, he developed the Hokatsu Two-Sword Style".
According to rumors - Dosaburo has always had the goal of surpassing his second brother, who is superior to him in both talent and strength.
In order to defeat his brother, Dosaburo worked hard on swordsmanship and thought about tactics.
After losing to Eijiro again and again, Dosaburo suddenly thought: Since I can't defeat my second brother with one sword... what will happen if I use two swords?
Dosaburo has a famous special skill: he can do two things at once.
His left and right hands can do two things at the same time without disturbing each other, and the efficiency of both hands is quite high.
Feeling that he could make full use of this special skill of his, Dosaburo practiced hard and finally brought a breakthrough innovation to Beichen One-sword Style, and developed a version of Beichen One-sword Style, the Two-sword Style, which is the "Beichen Two-sword Style"!
Dosaburo's strength has greatly increased after he cultivated Beichen's two-sword style. The swordsmanship of the two-sword style and his ability to do two things are a perfect match.
The two swords in his hands can attack the target from different directions and angles at different sword speeds and strengths at the same time.
Use your own strength to create a "double attack" effect.
People who play against Michizaburo often lose miserably because they cannot cope with this weird feeling of "you are obviously playing against one person, but it feels like you are fighting against two masters who have a very good understanding of each other."
.
It's a pity... Even though he worked hard to develop the "Hokushin Two-sword Style", Michizaburo still failed to defeat his brother Eijiro...
The Red and White War with the Genbukan is approaching, but as the second in command of the Imperial Guard Hall, Kondo has recently been busy with another matter that has nothing to do with the Red and White War, but is crucial to his own future.
They are trying to become the teacher of the Imperial Guard Hall, and the next head of the hall, Isamu Kondo, is finally getting married!
Kondo's marriage partner was the blind date that Shusuke had recommended to Kondo before: Tsune Matsui, the daughter of Matsui Yachigoro, a trainee of the Shimizu family, one of the three Tokugawa princes.
A few months ago, when Qingteng had just finished the "Battle of Fanshu Tiaoshu" and was recuperating at home, Zhoushu and Abi were looking for a person for Kondo, who was 26 years old but still alone.
The girl who was highly praised by the matchmakers was Matsui Tsune.
On the matter of "Kondo's marriage", Shusuke and Abi, who often bickered due to disagreements, rarely reached a common opinion.
The old couple agreed that Kondo's marriage must not be delayed any longer!
After giving Kondo a fatal order to "get married this year," Shusuke and Abi forced Kondo to have his first blind date with Matsui Tsune in early April this year.
Kondo, who wanted to focus more on developing the trial clinic and did not want to get married so early, was very resistant to the blind date that Zhousuke and Abi forced on him...but it was difficult to disobey his parents' orders.
Originally, because Kondo had always emphasized that "I don't want to get married so early," Aotobu thought Kondo's first blind date might be quite unsatisfactory.
But who could have imagined that the whole process of Kondo and Tsune Matsui's first blind date... turned out to be extremely smooth!
Qingto felt that he might never forget the change in Kondo's attitude before and after participating in the blind date...
Before attending the blind date——
"Father, mother, I don't want to get married yet. I want to focus all my energy on running the trial clinic. If I get a wife, I'm afraid it will distract me!".
The above are the exact words Kondo shouted in a righteous tone before participating in the blind date.
After attending the blind date...
"Father! Mother! I have figured it out! There are three ways to be unfilial, and the worst is to have no offspring! I am already so old, it is really time to get married and have children! I want to get married! I want to get married!"
After returning from the blind date, Kondo knelt down in front of Shusuke and Abi in the standard earth-seat posture, and expressed his sincere emotions that he wanted to continue the Kondo family and get married... to be precise, he wanted to
The desire to marry Miss Matsui Tsune.
Why did Kondo's attitude change so drastically? Aoto conducted a simple investigation and the reason was quite simple.
Matsui Chang is indeed a pretty good girl.
Although Aoto had never met Matsui Tsune in person, both young people like Kondo and old people like Shusuke and Abi were full of praise for Matsui Tsune's appearance and temperament.
According to Kondo, Matsui was a beautiful woman with skin as white as snow, petite figure, delicate facial features, good temperament and good upbringing.
Kondo probably only mentioned one sentence about Matsui Tsune's temperament and then quickly ignored it.
The rest of the words are all introducing in detail how beautiful Matsui Chang is...
By the way - when introducing Tsunei Matsui's beauty to Aoto, Kondo mentioned in passing that he accidentally touched Tsunei Matsui's little hand.
"Tachibana-kun, do you know? When I was sending Miss Matsui out of the tea house, Miss Matsui accidentally stepped on the stairs going downstairs and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, I had the quick eyesight and hands to help her."
"Just when I reached out to steady Ms. Matsui, my right hand touched Ms. Matsui's left hand."
"Girls' hands are smaller than I thought."
"Ms. Matsui's hand is so small, so delicate, so delicate. I feel like I can cut off Miss Matsui's hand with just a little more force."
"Oh... I feel so embarrassed... I actually touched someone's hand..."
Having said this, Kondo raised his left and right hands. His right hand went around his throat from in front of him, and he grabbed the back of his neck with his palm. His left hand went around his chest and hugged his back. His cheeks turned red, and his whole body
The person was so embarrassed that he twisted into a ball, twisting slightly like a maggot. With this look, it seemed as if he wanted to find a gap to crawl in immediately...
A man who is almost thirty years old and has a body as strong as a gorilla would turn red in embarrassment and "hug himself" together because he accidentally touched a girl's little hand... This is really true.
It opened Qingdeng's horizons.
While his horizons were widened, Qingto also gained a deeper understanding of Kondo.
I never thought that a guy like you, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, could have such a simple side!
Aoto couldn't help but sigh: Kondo Isamu and Hijikata Toshizo, two brothers with different surnames, are really interesting.
The former accidentally touched a girl's little hand and became shy and excited, as if he wanted to throw him over his shoulder and throw him out.
The latter has so many girlfriends that it feels like they could form two football teams to play each other there.
In short - after having the first blind date with Tsune Matsui and seeing what Tsune Matsui looked like with his own eyes, Kondo never objected to blind dates and marriage.
Kondo fell in love with Matsui Tsune at first sight, and Matsui Tsune and her family were also quite satisfied with Kondo, who was tall and burly, with a dignified and masculine appearance, and a very samurai-like appearance.
Since both families are quite satisfied with each other, things will fall into place naturally.
In mid-June, the elders of both sides finalized their determination to become friends of Qin and Jin.
On July 5th, Kondo and Matsui Tsune officially got engaged.
The couple's wedding is scheduled for September 1st.
In recent days, under Abi's request and supervision, Kondo has to squeeze in at least 2 hours of time every day to practice wedding etiquette.
After all, we are practicing how to get married. This kind of practice can be considered painful and happy at the same time...probably.
The Red and White Battle with Genbukan will be held on August 20th
The wedding ceremony of Kondo and Tsune Matsui will be held on September 1st.
In the next month, the Trial Guard Hall is bound to be quite lively and busy.
…
…
That night--
Trial Guard Hall, Dojo——
Qingden stood alone in the middle of the empty dojo.
Qingdeng stood casually, holding a bamboo sword in one hand and swinging it vigorously.
While confirming the length and weight of the bamboo sword that feels a little unfamiliar because I haven't wielded it for a long time, I moved the muscles of my arms and waist.
When he felt that the muscles and bones in his arms were almost fully mobile, Qingden took a deep breath, held the bamboo sword with both hands, and assumed a standard mid-section stance facing the air in front of him.
Whirring whirring--!
The empty dojo resounded with the sharp sound of breaking wind.
Qingden quickly swung his sword and practiced cutting back.
Cut back: One of the basic movements in swordsmanship practice. First make a slash from the front, then the left and right sides, and so on.
After practicing until he felt his breathing became a little faster, Qingden slowly stopped holding the sword in his hand.
"My body is so stiff..."
Qingden grinned vigorously and raised his hands to massage his arms.
The day before yesterday, Qingdeng returned to Ren Medical Hall in accordance with Bei Ren's doctor's instructions to "come back every 7 days for a re-examination."
Bei Ren is such a good doctor. Every time he re-examines Qingdeng's body, he does his best and is never sloppy.
After carefully inspecting Qingden's body from head to toe, Bei Ren revealed a relieved and satisfied smile.
"Mr. Tachibana, your recovery ability is really amazing. Your body has completely recovered. There is no need to come to Renyitang for a review in the future."
"Then can I exercise my body and practice swordsmanship as usual?"
"Of course. You have recovered, feel free to exercise and hone your sword skills!"
Now that his body had recovered, Qingden began physical rehabilitation.
After two full months of leisurely life without even touching the sword, Qingdeng's body became horribly stiff.
It will take some time for the hands to regain the feeling of holding the sword and for the muscles of the body to regain their former vitality.
At this moment, Qingdeng is recovering.
After massaging the muscles of his shoulders several times, Qingdeng took a short rest and once again held the sword with both hands, holding the bamboo sword steady in front of him.
Just when Qingden was about to practice the "cut off" again, there was a sound of footsteps suddenly coming from the direction of the gate of the dojo.
Familiar footsteps.
Walking as light and energetic as a puppy.
Qingdeng, who has lived in the Trial Guard Hall for nearly 8 months now, couldn't have heard it wrong.
"Okita-kun, didn't you go take a shower?"
Qing Deng accurately called out the name of the visitor without looking back.
"Hmm? Ju-kun, you can actually tell that it's me who's coming."
"How long do you think I've been living here? I already know everyone's footsteps by heart."
Qingdeng laughed dumbly, put away the bamboo sword in his hand, and turned back.
At the gate of the dojo, Okita stood holding a bathtub containing only towels, soap, a change of clothes and other items in his arms.
"I don't know what happened today. It's already this time and there are still many people taking a bath at Chihiro House." Okita smiled helplessly, "I have no choice but to come back temporarily."
"Okita-kun, you really like to be alone in the bathtub..."
Okita has an extraordinary obsession with "exclusive use of the large bath".
In order to be able to enjoy the huge bathing pool of Chihiro House all to himself, Okita didn't take a bath until late at night when Chihiro House was almost closed and there were almost no customers coming.
There are no exceptions.
Qingto has stayed at the Imperial Guard Hall for so long, and he has never seen Okita go to Chihiro House except late at night.
"Of course!"
Okita inserted his left hand that was not used to hold the bathtub to his waist, and pushed his flat chest forward.
"Tachibana-kun, don't you think it's nice to be the only one in the whole bathtub?"
"Spread your arms and legs as much as you want, lie down in the bathtub in any position you want."
"You will never encounter the embarrassing situation where you can't even straighten your legs, and you will accidentally kick someone else just by stretching your legs."
"Well..." Qingdeng blinked, "That's right..."
Aoto can quite understand Okita's pursuit of "exclusive use of the large bath".
After all, you are the only one in the huge bathtub. You can soak as much as you want and lie down in the bathtub as you like. It is indeed a great feeling.
"Ji Jun, it's so late at night, are you still practicing your sword here?"
This time it was Okita who asked Qingnobo questions.
"Well. I have nothing to do anyway, so I might as well come and practice my sword for a while."
"Tachibana-kun, you are indeed very diligent... How is your physical condition recovering now?"
Okita and others who lived under the same roof as Aotobo knew that Aotobo was actively engaged in "physical rehabilitation" in recent days.
"I think I'm recovering in an orderly manner," Qingdeng said half-jokingly. "The muscles and bones are still very stiff. It should take some time to fully return to the state before the injury."
"Just recover smoothly. Will my staying here affect your practice?"
"It's okay." Qingden waved his hand, "It's better to say...Okita-kun, you came just in time. I happen to have something I want to talk to you about."
"Want to talk to me about something?" Okita tilted his head in confusion.
"I heard from Hijikata this afternoon." Aoto smiled and said, "Your eldest sister Okita Hikaru and your eldest brother-in-law Okita Rintaro are coming to Edo to attend Kondo-kun's wedding. Is this true?"
Okita was stunned.
Then he reached his left hand behind his head and played with his ponytail.
Under the play of Okita's fingers, the slender ponytail danced lightly on the back of his head.
"Mr. Hijikata told you about this... Yes, after learning that Kondo-san was getting married, my eldest sister and my eldest brother-in-law wrote to me, saying that they would definitely come to the wedding to congratulate you."
"Originally, my second sister also wrote a letter saying that she wanted to come, but because the place where she lives now is too far away from Edo, she had no choice but to give up."
Okita has two sisters who are already married.
The eldest sister, Mitsuru Okita, married to Hinojuku in Tama County, which is not far from Edo. Her husband was a live-in son-in-law, and after marrying Mitsuru Okita, he changed his name to Rintaro Okita.
The second sister, Okita Kanazawa, married to a place quite far away.
"When will your eldest sister arrive in Edo?"
"I don't know. Sister, she didn't say in her letter when they would arrive."
Speaking of this, Okita raised his doubtful eyes towards Aoden.
"Ji Jun, why do you seem to care so much about my eldest sister?"
"Because of Miss Okita Hikaru's name, I have already heard it like a thunderbolt." Aoto smiled and said, "Kondo-kun and Hijikata both mentioned to me: you and your eldest sister look very similar, they are carved from the same mold.
Same."
"So I've long wanted to see with my own eyes whether your eldest sister is really that similar to you."
At this time, Qingden suddenly noticed: Okita's expression at this time... was a bit strange.
The long eyebrows were slightly frowned, the eyelids were lowered, the lips were slightly pursed, and there was a hint of sadness between the brows. The left hand that reached behind the head stopped and no longer hung on the back of the head.
ponytail.
"Okita-kun, why do you suddenly look sad? What's wrong?"
"Huh? Ah, it's nothing."
Okita's body trembled slightly.
Immediately afterwards, Qingden saw Okita's iconic sunny smile that he was very familiar with.
The slender ponytail danced lightly on the back of Okita's head again.
"I'm just worried about how to deal with my eldest sister and brother-in-law's urge to get married when they arrive."
"Urge to marry?" Qingdeng was stunned.
A look of helplessness and bitterness that was visible to the naked eye slowly appeared in Okita's pupils and cheeks: "My eldest sister is the kind of person who believes that 'it's not too late to get married'."
"Last year, when I just celebrated my 15th birthday, my eldest sister started writing letters to urge me to get married, and started looking for a blind date for me..."
Having said this, Okita sighed heavily.
"I don't want to get married and start a family yet..."
"I have told my eldest sister many times that I have no intention of getting married at the moment. Don't urge me to get married again, and don't help me find a blind date anymore."
"But the eldest sister didn't listen to me at all..."
"well……"
Qingdeng raised his hand and scratched the hair on the back of his head, and agreed with a wry smile:
"Your eldest sister... is probably too anxious."
"Although Okita-kun, you are indeed old enough to get married now, but you are still far from the time when you need to rush to get married."
"That's what I told my eldest sister!" Okita bared his teeth in annoyance, "But eldest sister, she just can't get enough of it!"
"Oh...it's so annoying..."
After sighing forcefully again, Okita took a deep breath and calmed down his expression and tone.
"Forget it... Mr. Ju, let's not talk about this for now."
Okita put the bathtub in his hand on the ground at his feet.
"I don't know how long it will take until the Qianxun House becomes empty."
"Tachibana-kun, why don't we two compete now?"
Qingdeng raised his eyebrows vigorously: "Sparring? Now?"
"Well!" Okita put his hands on his hips and said with a smile, "It's already this time, and Tachibana-kun, you are still staying in the dojo to practice swordsmanship... Your diligence makes my blood boil!"
"I happen to have a lot of free time right now, so why not take advantage of the opportunity to have a sparring match!"
"The two of us haven't competed for a long time."
As soon as Okita finished speaking, Qingto nodded immediately without thinking.
"Well, okay!"
The long-awaited sparring session with Okita... This is exactly what Aoto wants!
Competing with masters like Okita will be of great benefit to his rehabilitation, allowing his body to recall the feeling of fighting with others faster!
Ayoto and Okita walked quickly to the edge of the dojo one after another, each took a pair of protective gear, and put them on one by one with skillful movements.
At this time, Okita smiled at Qingto and said coldly:
"Ju-kun, speaking of it...it seems I haven't mentioned it to you yet."
"What did you mention?"
"I've recently gained a new understanding of our natural flow!"
"Enlightenment? What enlightenment?"
Okita laughed "hehehe" and showed a mischievous smile.
"Based on Ping Qingyan and Wuming Sword, I figured out a new trick!"
Ping Qingyan: The basic sword-holding stance in swordsmanship, a variant of the middle stance, and one of the most commonly used stances of Natural Rishin-ryu.
Wuming Sword: A stabbing technique in the Natural Rishin-ryu. Among all the sword skills in the Natural Rishin-ryu, this is the sword technique that Ayoto has practiced best, and it is the sword skill that Ayoto is best at using.
Qingdeng was startled and grinned.
"Have you figured out a new move? What kind of new move? Can you let me see it later?"
"I can't let you see it yet." Okita shook his head vigorously, and the slender ponytail on the back of his head flew high, "This new move of mine is still under development, and there are still quite a lot of things that need to be improved. It can't be done yet.
Show it to others."
Having said this, Okita paused, grinned, and showed a big smile to Qingden with both eyes turning into crescent moons.
"After I have completely developed it and practiced it, I will show you my new move!"
"Although there are still many imperfections, I have a hunch that this new trick of mine will definitely surprise you, Tachibana-kun... no, it will surprise everyone!"
Qingden smiled: "Then I'm looking forward to it."
While talking, the two people, who had put on protective gear, were already standing on the left and right sides of the center of the dojo.
Just when the two men who were squatting and standing were about to start fighting——
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
There was a sudden knock on the door from the direction of the library door...
Qingto and Okita were both stunned.
"Is this... a guest coming?" Okita muttered, putting down the bamboo sword in his hand.
"It's so late, it's unlikely that he's a guest." Qingdeng frowned slightly, "Let's go and have a look."
It was so late at night, and someone knocked on the door of their training hall at this time... Aoden and Okita felt a little vigilant in their hearts.
There was no time to take off their protective gear, so Qingto and Okita just wore protective gear and strode towards the door of the museum.
"Coming, coming!" Okita walked quickly and shouted towards the wide wooden door that had appeared in front of him after leaving the dojo, "Who is it?"
"Director-General, it's me. I'm back."
Behind the gate, a rich middle-aged male voice spoke in a gentle tone.
"?!" The moment this rich male voice sounded, Okita's eyes suddenly widened, and his eyes shone with excitement.
"Ah!" Okita exclaimed excitedly, quickened his pace, and ran towards the door in bounds.
The middle-aged male voice just now was very unfamiliar to Qingdeng. Qingdeng had never heard this voice before.
But Qingto keenly noticed that the owner of the male voice called Okita "Soji" in a very affectionate tone.
Combined with Okita's reaction at this moment... Qingto thought of someone.
Someone whose name he had heard of on the first day he moved into the Imperial Guard Hall, but had never had the chance to meet.
Bang... While Qingto was thinking, Okita quickly opened the latch of the door.
As the two-person-high wide door was slowly pushed open by Okita, Qingto quickly followed the crack in the pushed door and looked out the door.
Standing outside the door was a middle-aged man wearing a pair of swords and carrying a large package behind him.
This middle-aged man looks to be about forty years old; his slightly dark complexion shows that this face has been associated with the sun for a long time, and his facial features are ordinary, very typical of "you can't find it in a crowd"
s face.
I'm not particularly tall, just over 1.6 meters tall. I'm neither strong nor thin.
I don't know if it's because of his appearance, but Qingdeng just feels that this person has always exuded a kind and honest temperament.
Such a face, such a temperament... make this middle-aged man look more like an ordinary old farmer than a samurai.
The only part of this man's body that is more eye-catching and more likely to attract Qingden's attention... is his eyes.
This middle-aged man's eyes were very bright, as if there was sunshine in his eyes.
These bright eyes make this middle-aged man look radiant and energetic.
Qingdeng originally wanted to take a closer look at this middle-aged man's appearance.
But at this time, Okita's excited shout beside him interrupted his thoughts.
"Uncle Yuan!"
The excitement on his face was so intense that Okita was jumping towards the middle-aged man like a rabbit.
While jumping, he continued to shout excitedly:
"Uncle Yuan! You are finally back!"
"Soji." The middle-aged man whom Okita called "Uncle Minamoto" put on a friendly smile like an elder, raised his right hand and gently rubbed Okita's head, "Long time no see."
…
…
The imperial examination hall, the living room—
"Yuan, you're finally back!" Zhouzhu burst out laughing, "If I count, you've been away from the Trial Guard Hall for more than half a year!"
"Master, I'm sorry for causing you trouble." Inoue Genzaburo bowed to Shusuke in front of him and smiled apologetically, "I didn't expect that I would be away from the trial defense hall for so long this time.
time……"
"A friend from my hometown asked me to help him reclaim wasteland."
"After all, I am an old friend and I am embarrassed to refuse him."
"The wasteland my old friend wants to reclaim is much more difficult to deal with than I thought!"
"I only promised to help him pick up all kinds of gravel in that wasteland and loosen the soil in that wasteland."
"I thought this kind of work could be done in just three months."
"I didn't expect that I would be busy for eight months in the end... Sigh, I don't want to help others reclaim wasteland anymore."
"Hoo hoo ho..." Zhou Assistant raised his hand and touched his bare chin, "This is how land reclamation works. Without hard work for 2 or 3 years, it is impossible to cultivate a piece of wasteland with nothing into good farmland that can grow things."
At this moment, in the hall, all the current members of the Trial Guard Hall, including Kondo, Okita, and Abi, gathered together.
Aoto, Saito, Nagakura, Harada, Kyuubei... are currently staying at the Imperial Guard Hall. The new residents of the Imperial Guard Hall who are sitting behind Shusuke are all doubtful and curious now.
His eyes glanced at Gensaburo Inoue opposite.
Qingdeng thought to himself:
——Is this Genzaburo Inoue...
This middle-aged man who suddenly came to the Imperial Guard Hall late at night and was affectionately called "Uncle Gen" by Okita was none other than Genzaburo Inoue, whom Aoto had admired for a long time but had never met.
Gensaburo Inoue—the disciple of their trial defense hall and an extremely senior old man.
He is now 31 years old. In the fourth year of Honghua (1847), he became a disciple of the Shiweiguan and practiced the Natural Rise and Heart Flow.
In terms of seniority, even Kondo Isamu had to respectfully call him "senior brother".
Those who are of the same generation or senior level as Inoue Genzaburo have all left and scattered because they gave up halfway or successfully learned martial arts.
Only Genzaburo Inoue remains in the Imperial Guard Hall.
Therefore, among all the apprentices currently enrolled in the Imperial Guard Hall, Genzaburo Inoue is the oldest!
The reason why Inoue Genzaburo has been staying in the imperial examination hall is not because he is stupid and has been unable to graduate and has been "repeating" in the imperial examination hall.
The reason why he has been staying at the Trial Guard Hall is quite simple - he has such deep feelings for the Trial Guard Hall that he spontaneously stayed on without asking for anything in return and assisted the Kondo family in running the Trial Guard Hall.
Genzaburo Inoue stayed in the Imperial Guard Hall for more than ten years... and devoted all his youth to the Imperial Guard Hall.
Don't ask for fame, don't ask for anything in return.
Silently support the juniors in the Trial Guard Hall, and silently do everything they can for the Trial Guard Hall.
Just to make the Trial Guard Hall better.
In gratitude to Genzaburo Inoue for his long-term dedication and contribution, the Kondo family reciprocates with the highest respect.
A long time ago, before Okita even moved into the Imperial Guard Hall, Shusuke invited Genzaburo Inoue, who was renting a shabby house at that time, to live in their Imperial Guard Hall and eat together with them under the same roof.
Live together.
In order to better assist Kondo and others in managing this trial defense hall, Inoue Genzaburo happily accepted Shusuke's invitation.
Therefore, Genzaburo Inoue can be regarded as the earliest diner of Shiweikan.
Being able to be directly invited by Shusuke and the others to live in the trial defense hall... this shows that the Kondo family does not regard Genzaburo Inoue as an outsider at all.
On the first day after moving into the Imperial Guard Hall, Okita told Aoto: Gensaburo Inoue went back to his hometown because something happened in his hometown, and it would take some time before he could return to Edo.
This is why Aoto and others didn't meet Gensaburo Inoue for the first time until now.
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Yesterday’s monthly ticket reward goal was successfully achieved! So today I will update 1W as agreed!
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A little teaser~Tomorrow will be a long-lost fight scene.
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