"Position", stun... These thieves who committed crimes under the banner of "anti-barbarian patriots" had no idea what these meant.
They only instinctively sensed that this middle-aged man and woman were very difficult to mess with!
"Bullying the weak and fearing the strong" has always been the nature of this group of thieves who "only dare to use their blades on the weaker ones".
After realizing that they had hit a hard nail tonight, they hurriedly picked up the strong man who had fainted and tried to escape from this place.
But at this moment, another incredible scene appeared in front of the thieves.
Suddenly, the middle-aged man who was standing 10 steps away from them, shoulder to shoulder with the beautiful woman, disappeared from the place.
The map of Edo from 10 years ago that he was holding was still in the air. After hovering for a moment, it fell naturally like a fallen leaf.
Then, they saw the light green-colored Haori.
Flying in the wind, light green feather fabrics embroidered with "Platycodon flowers" filled their field of vision.
Flying in the night wind, there is also a cold light hidden behind Yu Zhi...
Pasha...that old map of Edo fell to the ground.
Falling to the ground at the same time were several lifeless corpses.
"Why do we always encounter robbers who block our roads...Are we so easy to bully?"
The middle-aged man muttered this while shaking the knife in his hand to shake off the blood on the blade, then put the tip of the knife back into the sheath and sheathed the knife.
"Perhaps it's because I'm so beautiful that it arouses the robbers' desire to rob not only their wealth but also their sex."
The beautiful woman picked up the old map of Edo and walked back to the middle-aged man with a smile.
The middle-aged man smiled slightly at the beautiful woman and did not comment on what the beautiful woman just said.
"You didn't let the blood splatter on your clothes, did you?"
"Don't worry, who do you think I am? No matter how I kill people... there aren't many people in the world who can be more experienced than me, right?"
Whether it is a middle-aged man or a beautiful woman, their expressions are extremely calm.
It's like I'm used to it.
It seems that whether you encounter robbers who block the road or steal money, or kill people with a knife... they are all used to it.
These days, it's just a very common thing for dead bodies to appear on the streets.
This is especially true for a large city like Edo, where there is a mixture of good and bad, and various forces are intertwined.
The "national thieves" killed by the crazy "anti-barbarian" people, the poor people victimized by bandits, the bandits who were killed... People have long been accustomed to encountering all kinds of corpses in this city.
.
Early tomorrow morning, there will be dedicated personnel to dispose of the bodies of these bandits, and then the "Three Chapters" warriors from the execution station will be dispatched to investigate the case - limited by the limited investigation methods and the "Three Chapters" daily
There are too many things to be busy with, and most cases will end in vain.
"Let's go." The middle-aged man said, "I have found the road. Go straight along this street, then turn right, and you should be able to find a hotel that is still open."
"Really...?" The beautiful woman cast a suspicious look at the middle-aged man, "You have been saying that since just now, and as a result, we have been lost until now."
"It doesn't matter if we go in the wrong direction again." The middle-aged man shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "We have plenty of time anyway, so at worst it will just be treated as a 'night trip to Edo'."
The beautiful woman thought for a moment and nodded:
"That's right... let's go then."
The beautiful woman held the hat on her head and strode straight forward with the middle-aged man.
After the two of them had walked a few steps, the beautiful woman seemed to have remembered something and asked the middle-aged man abruptly:
"Don't we really go to Thousand Things House tonight to meet Mamiya-kun and A-Wu?"
"It's late at night now," the middle-aged man replied, "Mamiya-kun and A-mai are probably ready to rest now. It's not appropriate to visit someone at this time."
"Anyway, we can meet them at Isamu Kondo's wedding tomorrow morning, so there's not much time left."
"Okay then... Speaking of which, we haven't seen Ah Wu for a long time, and we don't know how she is doing now."
Having said this, the beautiful woman smiled with a flash of reminiscence in her eyes.
"She should be old enough now to get married and start a family... Well, I'm a little worried."
"What are you worried about?" the middle-aged man asked in confusion.
"I'm worried about Ah Wu. It's not like you don't know what kind of character Ah Wu is."
The beautiful woman with a worried look on her face sighed softly.
"Ah Wu is good at everything, but her personality is a bit too innocent... Her ears are too soft, and she is easy to be coaxed. Sometimes she is very stubborn."
"People with her personality are particularly easy to be fooled and deceived by some bad guys who are good at smooth talk."
"To be honest, with Awu's temperament...even if she is foolishly coaxed into becoming someone else's mistress or concubine in the future, I wouldn't be surprised at all."
"A-Machi, you are simply over-worrying." The middle-aged man smiled nonchalantly, "A-Wu is no longer an ignorant child. You should give her more trust."
"Besides - isn't there Mamiya-kun here?"
"Jian Gongjun is taking care of A Wu, what are you afraid of?"
"If A Wu shows any sign of going astray, Mamiya-kun will definitely take action immediately to pull A Wu back from the wrong path."
"That's true...but..." Amachi was about to say something more, but was interrupted by a middle-aged man:
"In addition to Mamiya-kun, there are also Miss Lin, Makimura-kun, you, me... With so many of us supporting A-Wu, there should be no girl in the world who is safer than A-Wu.
"
The middle-aged man showed a confident and meaningful smile, then raised his right hand and placed it on the handle of the saber on his left waist.
"Although I don't have the ability to persuade Ah Wu to return from her lost ways, I do have the ability to deal with the bad guys who dare to bully and deceive Ah Wu."
"And it's huge."
…
…
The next day——
The first year of Wanyan (1860), September 1st——
The lively and joyful month of August, filled with all kinds of wonderful summer activities, has finally passed.
For most people, today is just the first day of September, a very ordinary and ordinary day.
But for Kondo, Shusuke, and Abi, today...the day they have been waiting for a long time; the day they have been preparing for a long time; the day when Kondo Isamu and Matsui Tsune's wedding will be held, is bound to be a day they will never forget.
!
Even though all aspects of the wedding had been rehearsed countless times in advance, when the day of "actual combat" finally arrived, the faces of Shusuke, Abi, and Kondo's family still showed uncontrollable nervousness.
color.
In this tense but festive atmosphere, the Trial Guard Hall ushered in the sunshine of September 1st...
Edo, Koishikawa Kohinagayanagicho, the imperial examination hall, the main entrance——
"Oh! Yuan! Long time no see!"
"Hahaha! Mr. Amanyin!" Inoue quickly stood up with a smile on his face and walked quickly to meet a young couple who was walking quickly towards him. "We haven't seen each other for a long time! Come on, come on, come on.
Please come in, please come in!"
"Congratulations to you today! Congratulations to your young host on his wedding! Come on, please accept these! It's disrespectful!"
"Mr. Tianyin, you are too polite!" Inoue raised his hand and blocked the package of gift money handed by Tianyin, "We are very happy that you and Lingzheng are willing to come to the young master's wedding today!
There’s no need to be so polite! Stop fucking around outside! Come in quickly!”
As soon as Inoue ushered Tianyin and his wife into the trial defense hall, a group of new guests arrived. Inoue immediately put on his warm smile again and quickly returned to the gate of the trial defense hall and returned to his post.
Weddings in ancient Japan were mainly divided into three types: weddings in front of gods, weddings in front of Buddha, and weddings in front of people.
These three types of weddings can be roughly inferred from their names just by looking at their names.
As the name suggests, a shrine-style wedding is a wedding held in a shrine. It is the most complicated of the three types of weddings.
The Buddha-style wedding is a wedding held in a Buddhist hall, and it is the least popular among the three types of weddings.
As for the in-person wedding, it is a wedding held at home.
Whether it is a wedding before gods or a wedding before Buddha, the links are quite complicated.
Take the most complicated wedding before a god as an example. The steps required for a wedding before a god are: participation in the ceremony, the purification ceremony, and the prayer of the host.
After these three ceremonies have been held, the wedding officially begins. The bride and groom will then perform the three dedication ceremonies, recite oaths, perform blessing dances by witches, and enshrine jade strings...
If you want to hold a complete divine wedding, it may take half a day just to go through the complicated procedures.
When it comes to the complexity of weddings, weddings in front of Buddha and Gods are equally comparable.
Because weddings before gods and weddings before Buddha have quite a lot of links and battles, only people with wealthy families have the ability to hold these two types of weddings.
Due to limited financial resources, most civilians and samurai held weddings in front of people with simpler procedures and extremely low cost.
In-person weddings are basically held at the groom's home.
The groom takes the bride to his home, then holds a three-part ceremony and reads out the oaths in the presence of relatives and friends. After the oaths are recited, the wedding can be declared over.
If you find it too troublesome, you can even omit the three-presentation ceremony. After you take the bride to your home, you can read out the oath in the presence of your relatives and friends, and then have a banquet and end it all.
Because there are so few links, if you move quickly, it usually only takes 10-15 minutes to hold a wedding in front of people.
After the wedding, the bridegroom and the bride had a lively dinner with their relatives and friends from afar.
The Kondo family is not a wealthy family, so the wedding ceremony used is the most common, ordinary and down-to-earth wedding in front of people.
It was just after 8 o'clock in the morning, and relatives and friends of the Kondo and Matsui families arrived at the test hall in a steady stream.
Zhousuke sent Genzaburo Inoue, who knew etiquette but was also very mature due to his age and understood "adult social etiquette", to be responsible for "guarding" the gate of the Trial Guard Hall and entertaining all arriving guests.
Today's weather is really beautiful for the Kondo family.
Since the beginning of summer, sunny days have been quite rare. The blazing light, like a nailed whip, continues to torture everything exposed to the sun.
Only today, the sun's "temper" has become quite mild.
The sunlight has changed from a "nailed whip" to a "smooth satin". Although you will still feel the heat, you will no longer have that burning stinging sensation.
The warm sunshine enveloped the Trial Guard Hall, making it look like a golden screen had been erected for the Trial Guard Hall.
It seems that even God is blessing this marriage today.
In terms of status, Qingnobo, Nagakura, and Saito are all guests of the Imperial Guard Hall today.
Therefore, as a guest, Qingdeng did not have to do anything today. He only had to sit and wait for the wedding to start, and then sit and wait for the banquet.
When attending other people's weddings, it is basic etiquette to dress appropriately and formally.
In order not to be rude to others, Qingden put on his most formal and gorgeous clothes early this morning: white clothes and black hakama, and a burgundy haori on his upper body. Both the haori and the clothes on his upper body were embroidered
There is the family crest of their Tachibana family: gentian leaf.
There is still nearly half an hour before the wedding officially starts.
Less than a third of the guests have just arrived.
Qingteng, who was currently very idle, and the boss, who was also very bored because he had nothing to do, were sitting side by side in a corner of the banquet hall, chatting at random.
"Tachibana-kun, that physically very strong man is Kondo-san's biological brother: Miyagawa Otongoro."
The general manager, who was introducing Qingden to who each guest was, raised his hand and pointed to a young man in the distance.
Qingden looked in the direction pointed by the director's finger.
I saw that the facial features of the young man Souji was referring to were very similar to Kondo's...especially his big mouth. This young man had a mouth as big as Kondo's that felt like it could fit an entire adult's fist.
"Although Brother Kondo was adopted by his master as the adopted son of the Kondo family, Brother Kondo still maintains close contact with his original family and some people in his hometown... Ah, Miss Ashin and the others are also here. Mr. Tachibana, see
Is that the couple over there? That couple is Mr. Hijikata’s sister and brother-in-law: Ms. Oshin and Mr. Hikoro Sato.”
"Hijikata's relatives are here too?" Qingteng blinked in surprise.
"of course."
The director-general smiled "hehe".
"Mr. Hikoro Sato is an old acquaintance of ours at the Imperial Guard House. He is Tama...that is, brother Kondo and Mr. Hijikata, a big landowner in their hometown."
"In order to guard against bandits and bandits, rural areas in many places often hire samurai to teach them martial arts during their off-farm periods... Tama is no exception."
"Tama has a strong spirit of martial arts, and the people of Tama are all proud of practicing martial arts."
"The unpretentious but powerful natural Rishin-ryu is very popular among the people of Tama."
"So when the master was young, he was often hired by the people of Tama to teach them Nian Rishin-ryu."
"This is why Natural Rishin-ryu is so popular in Tama."
"That's also why natural-risin-ryu was often called 'peasant swordsmanship' by good-hearted people in the past, because the main practitioners of natural-risin-ryu in the past were the farmers of Tama."
"It was when Tama was teaching swordsmanship that the master met Brother Kondo...and Mr. Hikoro Sato."
"Mr. Hikoro Sato once became a disciple of his master and practiced Natural Rishin-ryu for a period of time, so he can be regarded as our senior brother."
"Probably more than ten years ago, Mr. Hikoro Sato built a Natural Rishin-ryu dojo in Tama: the 'Sato Dojo', and he often invited the master and Brother Kondo to come and give guidance."
"It was through this dojo built by his brother-in-law that Mr. Hijikata got to know Natural Rishin-ryu and Brother Kondo, who often showed up in the dojo."
"Afterwards, Hijikata-san developed a strong interest in Natural Rishin-ryu and intended to further improve his sword skills. Last year, he officially became his master and transferred from the Sato Dojo to the Shoeikan."
"So Kondo-san and I met Mr. Hijikata and became close friends with Mr. Hijikata, all thanks to Mr. Hikoro Sato."
"Thanks to the relationship between Mr. Hikoro Sato and Mr. Hijikata, the relationship between the Kondo family and the Hijikata family is as good as one family."
"So when Kondo-san gets married, it's impossible for Mr. Hijikata's relatives not to come over to celebrate."
After listening carefully to the brief "History of Kondo Hijikata" from the Director-General, Aoto nodded lightly.
"I see...it turns out that Kondo-kun and Hijikata-kun still have such a bond..."
Japan is a mountainous island country, with nearly three-quarters of its land covered in hills and mountains.
The terrain of this country is simply the best breeding ground for bandits and bandits.
Farmers have always been troubled by bandits and bandits, so many rural areas will spontaneously raise wooden knives and other weapons to form a garrison force.
Although the Edo shogunate did not allow people to carry swords, this rule was flawed - it did not prohibit people from practicing martial arts or using swords.
Moreover, the Edo shogunate only prohibited common people from wearing swords, and did not control wakizashi at all. Therefore, many civilians would carry wakizashi for self-defense when they went out.
The general manager moved his finger in the next direction, preparing to tell Qingto Dai about the identity and origin of the next guest.
But at this moment, Tufang’s voice suddenly floated from the distance:
"Hey! Souji!"
I usually dress casually, but today I rarely dressed up.
The hem of his ornate clothes, embroidered with their Hijikata family crest, swayed slightly as Hijikata walked quickly.
Hijifang's footsteps are very fast.
As soon as Seito and Souji raised their eyes following the sound, Hijikata had already arrived in front of them.
"What's the matter?" asked the Director-General.
"There are more and more guests coming, and Uncle Yuan is a little overwhelmed, so the master wants to invite the two of us to help Uncle Yuan."
"Uncle Yuan? Okay, I understand." Souji nodded vigorously without thinking, and then stood up neatly with a carp roll, "Tachibana-kun, I have to go do some work, and we can chat slowly later.
Right. Remember to reserve my seat and don’t let others take my seat!”
Hijikata, Souji and Kondo are as close as brothers and are basically a family. Therefore, they are no different from Kondo's step-brother and step-sister. They don't have to do anything like Aoto and Saito.
After the general manager left these words, he and Hijikata hurriedly rushed to the gate of the trial defense hall.
Without Souji as his chat partner, Qingden suddenly became bored.
Nagakura, Saito and the others don't know where they are now.
He was surrounded by people he didn't know.
Occasionally, some people would recognize Qingteng as the now famous "Renou" and come over to say hello to Qingteng.
But a wedding banquet is always a place not suitable for socializing with others.
Therefore, these people who came to get close to Qingdeng were not in a position to talk to Qingdeng. They basically exchanged a few words with Qingdeng and then left.
Qingdeng, who was so idle, opened the pocket watch he carried with him, checked the current time, and then looked up at the window in front of him, passing the time by counting the patterns of clouds in the sky outside the window.
Suddenly, a gentle male voice came into Qingdeng's ears.
"Excuse me, is there anyone sitting here?"
The sound came from Qingdeng's rear.
Qingdeng reflexively turned his head and glanced behind him - a middle-aged couple looking down at him with kind smiles.
The middle-aged man is dressed as a samurai, wearing dark blue clothes and black hakama, and a light green haori.
Although he was dressed as a samurai, his waist was empty - this was natural. How could anyone bring a sword to someone else's wedding? All the samurai attending today's banquet had their sabers, including wakizashi's, collected before entering.
The middle-aged woman standing shoulder to shoulder with this middle-aged man is a very beautiful mature woman.
She has not turned old and yellow due to the passage of time, but has a beautiful face with a different kind of charm.
The exquisite kimono with a red background and a white sash perfectly outlines the beautiful woman's attractive and concave figure.
The clothes of this middle-aged man and woman are both embroidered with the same family crest...the "Platycodon flower" which belongs to the same "floral family" as Qingdeng's "gentian leaf" family crest.
They had the same family pattern on their clothes...the intimate position of shoulders touching each other...Qingdeng guessed that the middle-aged man and woman were a couple.
Except for the seats closest to the place where the groom and bride came forward to read the wedding vows, all seats were allocated to immediate family members of the two families, and no detailed arrangements were made for the rest of the seats at the banquet.
In other words, guests other than the immediate family members of the groom and bride can sit wherever they want.
Since the wedding banquet will officially begin in a short time, the banquet venue is already full of distinguished guests, and more than 80% of the seats at the banquet are occupied.
The area around Qingdeng is one of the few places where there are still many empty seats at this moment.
This middle-aged man and woman must have seen that there were still many empty seats around Qingdeng, so they wanted to come over and ask if they could sit down.
The middle-aged man pointed to the seat on Qingteng's right with a very polite gesture... The seat reserved by the Qingteng gang chief was on his left hand side, and there was no one sitting on his right, so Qingteng greeted the polite couple.
The couple smiled slightly:
"The seats here are empty. Please take a seat."
After saying that, Qingdeng moved his body to the left.
"Grateful."
The middle-aged couple bowed slightly, bowed slightly to Qingden, lifted up the hem of their lower body clothes, and sat down with their knees bent.
The middle-aged man is sitting next to Qingden... The light green feather fabric and the burgundy feather fabric complement each other close at hand, forming a strong but natural color contrast.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the hall, blowing the feathers of Qingden and the middle-aged man.
"Gentian leaves" and "Platycodon flowers" are flying in the wind...
——Huh? This person’s right hand...?
Only then did Qingdeng realize that the middle-aged man sitting next to him had a strange skin color on his right hand...
The entire right hand exposed outside the haori was as burnt black as firewood.
At first glance, it looks like it has been scorched by fire.
But if you look closely...it doesn't seem to have anything to do with fire.
Such colors, such textures... reminded Qingden of trees struck by lightning.
Could it be that this man's right hand was struck by lightning?
As soon as this idea popped into Qingdeng's mind, Qingdeng laughed at himself and shook his head to reject it.
Got struck by lightning? Then the grass on this person's grave might be taller than mine!
Qingdeng didn't know the middle-aged man, so although he was very curious about why the middle-aged man's right arm was this color, Qingdeng tolerated his curiosity out of politeness.
After noticing that the middle-aged man's right hand had a different skin color than ordinary people, Qingdeng's gaze had been unconsciously glancing in the direction of the middle-aged man...that is, his own right hand.
It may sound childish, but Qingden really thinks that the middle-aged man's charred right arm looks like it has been struck by lightning... it's a bit cool...
When Qingdeng secretly looked at the middle-aged man's right hand, he unconsciously looked at the middle-aged man carefully from head to toe.
This person can be regarded as a "handsome uncle" for the time being.
Although he is not very handsome in appearance, his figure and temperament are very good.
He has a slender figure without any fat, a calm temperament, and an elegant manner.
This uncle should be a very educated man of letters! Qingdeng thought to himself.
The middle-aged man didn't seem to notice Qingdeng's "peeping" at him. As soon as he sat down, he started chatting with his wife beside him.
"The Trial Guard Hall...seems like nothing has changed."
"Yes, yes." The beautiful woman nodded in agreement. "Although the appearance has not changed, I heard that the Imperial Guard Hall has been developing very well recently. Both its reputation and the number of apprentices are not the same as before."
"Haha..." A trace of reminiscence appeared in the middle-aged man's eyes, and the corners of his slightly raised mouth revealed a...smile full of vicissitudes of life, "This small sect that didn't even have a formal name back then finally finally
It’s also quite stylish.”
Qingdeng, who overheard this conversation between the middle-aged man and his wife, thought to himself:
——It seems... these two people are relatives and friends of Kondo and the others.
Qingdeng only regarded the sudden appearance of the couple as an ordinary incident.
Qingdeng had no intention of eavesdropping on other people's chats. After calming down for a moment, he refocused his attention on the window in front of him, preparing to continue counting the patterns of clouds in the sky outside the window.
However, just as Qingdeng raised his eyes forward, his thoughts were swallowed up by a sudden intervention:
"Mr. Orange!"
Nagacang took three steps in one step and arrived in front of Qingdeng.
"What's the matter?" Qingdeng asked.
"Mr. Tachibana! I can't find my clothes. Have you seen the new black feather fabric I bought a few days ago?"
Nagakura raised his hand and pointed at his upper body, which was not covered with feathers.
"Haori?" Qingden recalled for a moment and shook his head, "I didn't see it. Did you forget your clothes at Chihiro House when you went to take a shower?"
"Impossible. I haven't worn that feathery fabric since I bought it. There's no way it was left in Chihiro House."
After speaking, Nagakura smacked his lips vigorously.
"Tsk...that's really weird...why did it suddenly disappear...I bought this new dress just so that I can wear it better at today's wedding..."
Nagakura raised his hand to scratch his hair and walked away.
Anyway, I have a lot of free time now... Just when Qingteng was thinking about whether to help Nagakura find clothes——
"Tachibana...?"
A muttering full of surprise attracted Qingdeng's attention.
The person who made this muttering...is right in front of me.
Qingden looked in the direction from which the sound came, and saw two pairs of eyes staring straight at him.
"Orange..."
This middle-aged man with a strangely colored right hand looked thoughtful while chewing on Qingdeng's last name.
Then, he half-closed his eyes and stared directly at Qingdeng's face.
"Excuse me - what is your name?" the middle-aged man asked Qingdeng.
"My surname is Ju, and my given name is Qingdeng."
"Oh..." The middle-aged man's eyes flashed with a hint of laughter, and he said with a smile, "You are the nio... I have really admired your name for a long time."
The middle-aged man straightened his waist slightly, turned slightly sideways, and faced Qingdeng. Then he bowed to Qingdeng in a very formal manner, neither humble nor overbearing.
"I'm Goro Komaki. This is my wife: Komaki Town."
"Gui'an." As soon as Goro Komaki finished speaking, the beautiful woman... Azimachi bowed slightly to Aomachi with a smile on her face.
People respect me one foot, and I respect others one foot - this is one of Qingdeng's social principles.
Seeing that Gu Mu and his wife were so polite to him, Qingdeng quickly returned the favor and said modest and polite words to them.
Being recognized by a stranger as the "Benevolent King" who is currently famous... Qingteng has long been used to this kind of thing. How to deal with it and what to say, Qingteng is familiar with it.
After exchanging pleasantries with Gu Mu and his wife, Qingden thought for a moment and asked:
"Mr. Komu, judging from your and Rei's accent...are you from Kyoto?"
As a "Sanchai" Tongxin who often interacts with people of all kinds, Qingdeng is quite familiar with several local dialects that are widely spoken.
Therefore, Qingdeng keenly noticed that both Gu Mu and his wife had a strong "Beijing dialect" in their speech.
As the group in Japan that loves regional blackness and has the most sense of regional superiority, Kyoto people gave the Kyoto dialect an extremely elegant nickname, "Kyoto dialect leaf", in order to show the nobility of Kyoto.
"Jingyanye" is characterized by a slow pronunciation speed and the use of long tones, and the development of honorifics. It is often spoken in jittery words, and the actual meaning is only one word: thank you.
"Oh? You have very good ears." Komaki Goro smiled, "Although my wife and I are not natives of Kyoto, we ran a small Japanese confectionery shop in Kyoto and lived in Kyoto for a long time.
time."
He did not misunderstand the accents of Gu Mu and his wife... Qingdeng was secretly speechless:
"Has my name already spread to Gyeonggi..."
"Hahaha, don't underestimate Kyoto."
Komugoro said calmly.
"Although Kyoto is far less prosperous than Edo and the 'commercial capital' Osaka, it is still one of the largest cities in the country. The speed of circulation of materials and information cannot be underestimated."
"About a month ago, the name 'Nioh' was first spread in Kyoto."
"But the scale of the spread is not too big. I only heard of your name by chance."
"It's strange..."
Having said this, Goro Komaki relaxed the lines on his cheeks, relaxed the corners of his mouth, and gave Qingden a peaceful smile.
"Perhaps it's because this country hasn't had a man of great fame for a long time just relying on the three-foot sword. After I first heard the title of 'Nioh', I inexplicably remembered his deeds and name.
"
"Nioh, you are younger and much more handsome than the rumors say."
"Haha." Qingden smiled, "Mr. Gu Mu, you have given me the award. I don't dare to be considered a man of the hour."
At this time, Qingdeng realized belatedly: His current mood... was so relaxing.
He couldn't explain why, but Qingdeng felt an inexplicable... intimacy towards this uncle Gu Mu.
After chatting with Goro Komaki, my mood became particularly peaceful and gentle without even realizing it.
It feels like you are getting along with your most familiar and best relatives and friends in the world.
Maybe it was influenced by Mr. Gu Mu's calm temperament... Qingdeng thought to himself.
Qingdeng has a modest personality and doesn't like to talk too much about his own affairs, so after humbly saying "I don't dare" several times, he took the opportunity to direct the topic elsewhere.
"Mr. Komaki, you are the owner of a wagashi shop, right?"
This uncle actually sells snacks... This surprised Qingden.
Komaki Goro's demeanor was full of the aura of a refined scholar. Qingden thought he was the kind of teacher who couldn't bear to kill a chicken.
"Hahaha, yes. I am an ordinary wagashi shop owner who can be seen everywhere in this country." Komaki Goro said in a half-joking tone, "The shop my wife and I opened is called 'Platycodon House'. In the future,
If you ever come to Kyoto by chance, please be sure to take care of our store's business."
"Okay, no problem." Qingto smiled and said, "I quite like eating Japanese confectionery. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely visit your store."
"Ah? Mr. Komaki, Miss Machi?"
At this moment, a certain woman's voice came abruptly.
Souji is back...and he is back with his sister Hikaru Okita and brother-in-law Rintaro Okita.
Souji, who returned to Qingtou's side, first looked at the Komu and his wife happily, and then glanced back and forth at the Komu and his wife and Aoto who was chatting with them in a lively manner.
"Okita-kun." Goro Komaki, with a relaxed expression on his face, nodded to the general manager, "It's been a long time since I last saw you. You seem to have grown a lot taller."
Director: "Mr. Komaki, Miss Machi, long time no see! Hehehe, compared to the last time we met, I have indeed grown a little taller."
Being praised for growing taller... This seemed to make Souji very happy.
Okita Hikaru and his wife, and Komaki Goro and his wife... These two groups were a pair of young people and a middle-aged couple. They obviously didn't know each other very well. They only exchanged simple greetings using ordinary social expressions without saying much.
communication.
"Tachibana-kun, why did you start chatting with Mr. Komaki and the others? Did you know Mr. Komaki and Miss Machi before?" asked the Souji.
Qingden shook his head, and then told the whole process of how he got in touch with Goro Komaki in a concise and concise manner.
After listening to Qingteng's explanation, the director-general said "Oh!"
"So that's it! Then Mr. Ju, let me introduce it to you!"
The Souji sat up slightly, cleared his throat with a "hmm", and then said seriously:
"Mr. Komaki and Miss Machi are old friends of our imperial examination hall!"
"When the master was preparing to build a Natural Rishin-ryu dojo in Edo, he had no money to buy building materials and no connections to secure a good location. The establishment of the sword hall was not smooth."
"Thanks to the timely appearance and assistance of Mr. Komaki and Mr. Kiryu, Master finally got through the most difficult period and successfully completed the sword hall... which is our current trial defense hall!"
"It can be said that Mr. Komaki has been very kind to our trial agency! Although Mr. Komaki and Miss Machi live in far away Kyoto, our agency has always kept in touch with them."
"After Kondo-san's wedding date was decided, Master and the others immediately sent invitations to Mr. Komaki and Miss Machi, inviting them to attend Kondo-san's wedding."
"Ah, by the way - although there is a big age difference, Mr. Komaki and Mr. Kiryu are very close friends."
Talking about Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrived——
As soon as the director finished speaking, two familiar figures, an old man and a young man, appeared in the corner of Qingden's left eye.
"Uncle, my uncle? Auntie Machi?"
A young female voice whose voice was slightly broken due to strong surprise.
Immediately afterwards, a bright red shadow rushed towards Komaki Goro and Omachi like fire.
"Ah Wu!" Ah Ding, whose pretty face was full of longing and doting for a moment, opened her arms and hugged the girl who rushed towards her.
The old and young people who suddenly arrived were none other than Boss Kiryu and Mai Kinoshita.
The relationship between Senshiya and the Imperial Examination Hall is so close, there is no reason why Kiryu and Mai Kinoshita should not be invited to Kondo's wedding.
Kinoshita Mai wears a classic outfit: a bright red kimono and a bright yellow belt embroidered with many cute patterns, tightly wrapping her slender waist.
Kiryu's outfit is in perfect harmony with Aonto's - white clothes, black hakama, and a burgundy haori draped over his upper body.
Goro Komaki lovingly patted Kinoshita Mai's little head a few times, who was hugging Amachi tightly, then raised his gaze and met Kiryu's eyes with a smile.
"Kiryu, I haven't seen you for a long time."
When seeing Goro Komaki and Omachi, Kiryu showed slight surprise at first, and then quickly regained his composure.
"Well, it's indeed been a long time since we last met..." A faint smile appeared on Kiryu's old face.
*******
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Thank you everyone for your active voting yesterday! Yesterday’s monthly vote count exceeded the goal. To thank everyone, the author worked overtime yesterday to code words and successfully completed the goal of 10,000 words.
At the same time, because the number of monthly votes has exceeded the predetermined target by a lot, the author decided to continue to update tomorrow! Try to code 8,000+ words!
Therefore, for the sake of the author’s hard work, please be sure to actively vote for this book again today! (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)
Please give me monthly votes! Please give me advance votes!
A little teaser: Jutaro Chiba and Sanako will definitely come to the banquet based on the relationship between the Little Chiba Sword Hall and the Trial Guard Hall. So... you know.
I recommend a book to everyone - "Girl, don't worry first"
I am a town transport envoy from the town transport department.
What am I doing, you ask?
I'm helping the old lady cross the road.
Why do this?
Because the system said I wouldn't survive three days.
Oh, by the way, one more thing.
I discovered that there is a tunnel in my house that leads directly to the next door.
Then a princess moved next door to me.
Newcomer and new author, multiple female protagonists, the writing style is relaxed and humorous, very comfortable to read, and a bit sweet. If you are interested, you should not miss it.
