Chapter 214 The two biggest heroines in this work finally meet [4300]
Today, Zuo Nazi is still running around looking for the "missing" Qingdeng.
Traveling to and from various places in Edo during the day, and gathering at the Imperial Guard Hall to share information at night - this has almost become the daily routine of Sonazi, Souji, Mai Kinoshita and others these days.
In order to facilitate movement, when she went out to look for Qingteng, Zuo Nazi was dressed as a "female warrior", that is, wearing a white upper and lower blue kendo uniform, three thousand black hair tied into a light and smart high ponytail, and a waist belt for self-defense
Use wakizashi.
Of course, in such a cold weather, a guy who goes out wearing only a single coat is either an anomaly who is not afraid of the cold, or a fool with a bad brain - Zuo Nazi is naturally neither of the two.
Therefore, she stuffed warm cotton clothes under her kendo uniform and wrapped her favorite blue scarf around her neck.
Logically speaking, if you wear such thick clothes, no matter how outstanding your figure is, it will be covered up.
However... I can only say that Zuo Nazi is really talented.
If we talk about Zuo Nazi wearing single clothes, his figure is 100% conspicuous.
Then Zuo Nazi, who changed to wearing cotton clothes, has a figure conspicuousness of 80.
It's just a difference from 100 to 80.
The majestic places are still majestic, the slender places are still slender, and the places that look like plump peaches still look like plump peaches.
Starting this morning, Zonazi began searching the outskirts of Edo.
Due to limited productivity, the suburbs of Edo are basically semi-developed areas or even undeveloped areas.
Underfoot is a dirt road covered with weeds that turns dusty when it's sunny and turns into mud when it rains.
Surrounded by ancient trees that have grown for who knows how many years, they may be older than the Edo shogunate.
Looking up, although it cannot be said to be deserted, it can also be said to be deserted.
Sometimes I could walk for miles without seeing a single living person.
There are grass everywhere, trees everywhere, and similar scenery everywhere.
Although she didn't want to admit it... Zuo Nazi was indeed lost...
Fortunately, just when Zuo Nazi didn't know what to do, she met a flying kicker.
Hikka - can be roughly understood as a courier in the Edo period.
Just like the "travelers" in ancient China, in Japan's Edo period, there was also a profession called "hikyo" that specialized in delivering letters and packages.
Among them, the fastest one is called "Ji Feijiao".
The so-called "Ji Feijiao" means that when Feijiao arrives at each station, he does not stop, but changes horses or people and leaves without stopping.
Both hikaku and jihikaku were originally used exclusively by the shogunate. It was not until 1663 that the Edo shogunate recognized private hikaku, but jihikaku was still only used for official business.
Folk flying kicks are often called "machi flying kicks".
Machiki often hang bells on their bodies, and when they run, the bells jingle loudly.
Over time, the sound of the bells has become a unique characteristic of the town's hikaku.
When people heard the sound of the bell, they knew that the town was coming.
Some feudal lords will develop their own logistics systems. This type of flying foot belonging to the daimyo of a certain vassal country is called "daimyo flying foot".
The basis of logistics is transportation and means of transport.
Without convenient means of transportation and excellent transportation construction, logistics is impossible to talk about.
As for Japan in the Edo period... transportation capacity basically relied on human legs and Japanese ponies; the traffic situation was basically dirt roads that were impassable when it rained.
One can imagine how high the cost of a long-distance transportation was based on the transportation capacity and traffic conditions in the Edo period.
If you are transporting items within East Japan, the cost is relatively low because there are "Five Streets" connecting Kanto, Gyeonggi and Tohoku.
But in Western Japan, which does not have a developed transportation system like the Five Streets... transportation costs are staggeringly high.
The shogunate's step kicks and the feudal daimyo's daimyo kicks are often used for military and political purposes, so they are regardless of cost and price, so let's ignore them for now.
With profit as the first goal, Machi Express generally provides two services, one is "ordinary express delivery" and the other is "express express".
The former is cheaper and can be afforded by ordinary people, but the disadvantage is that it is extremely slow. For the same trip between Osaka and Edo, the shogunate's journey only takes 4 days, and the fastest is about 3 days.
However, "ordinary express delivery" by Machi Hikka can take more than a month or even longer.
As for the latter, it is basically the opposite of the former. The transportation speed of the latter is extremely fast and can basically be as good as Jifeijiao, but the price is extremely expensive. The shipping fee can range from a few taels of gold to a dozen taels of gold...
Usually only when major business opportunities arise, businessmen will spend a lot of money to use Machi Hikka's "express express".
However, it is worth mentioning that as the largest city in Japan nowadays, people and logistics in Edo-machi have not been so convenient.
Therefore, some merchants with a keen sense of business opened a "city delivery service" in Edo.
That is to transport mail from one place in Edo to another place in Edo. The price is very cheap, the average cost ranges from 24 to 34 fen, and even ordinary people can afford it.
What Zonazi met was a local deliveryman who was performing the "city delivery service".
Finally meeting a living person, Zuo Nazi quickly stopped him and asked for directions.
As far as the results are concerned, Zuo Nazi asked the right person.
The town flyer she stopped happened to frequent this area.
He told Zuo Nazi: Go straight along this dirt road, turn right when you encounter the first fork in the road, then go straight, and then you will encounter another fork in the road, turn left at this fork, and then keep walking.
, it won’t take long to come across a shrine called “Moon Palace”. As long as you can find this shrine, everything will be easy. Walk straight to the east of Tsuki Palace Shrine and you will be able to return to the crowded streets.
Zuo Nazi thanked the other party, and then walked straight ahead along the road pointed by the other party.
In this way, after walking for nearly 20 minutes, Zonazi finally saw the classic building of the shrine: the vermilion torii gate.
Where there is a torii gate, there must be a shrine nearby.
That must be Tsukigong Shrine... Zuo Nazi thought to himself with certainty.
Finally finding the destination, Zuo Nazi couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.
However, she still has a long way to go.
Although the torii gate has caught Zonazi's sight, this is purely because she is standing on a higher ground and her eyesight is very good.
Roughly speaking, there is still a distance of 2 or 3 miles from Zonazi's current location to Yuegong Shrine...
Looking at the long road under his feet, Zuo Nazi, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, couldn't help but feel discouraged.
"Let's take a rest for a while..."
After murmuring like this, Zuo Nazi looked around and soon found a large, flat stone not far away.
Zuo Nazi walked over in three steps, holding his skirt in his hands, and sat down gracefully.
Although the cold stone surface was a bit cold for the buttocks, it also relieved the fatigue of the thighs very well.
The long-awaited rest made Zuo Nazi so comfortable that he couldn't help but half-close his eyes.
After a while, she leaned down, reached out and gently rubbed the toes of her right foot through her snow boots and cotton socks.
A feeling of soreness and swelling, as if filled with lead, spread throughout Zuo Nazi's body along his toes and calves.
To be honest, Zuo Nazi wanted to take off his snow boots and socks directly so that his feet could get the most rest.
However, the reserve of the daughter of the samurai family and Yamato Nadeshiko prevented her from doing such a crude thing as openly taking off her shoes and socks outdoors.
In order to find Qingdeng as soon as possible, Zuo Nazi's walking mileage in recent days has directly exceeded her total walking distance in at least the past two months.
The accumulation of fatigue over the past few days had already put Zuo Nazi's legs and feet in a state of being overwhelmed.
Chiba Jutaro, Souji and other relatives and friends all advised Zuo Nazi to take a rest and not to tire himself out.
However, Qingdeng has not returned home yet... This big stone hanging in Zuo Nazi's heart has not yet fallen, leaving her with no intention to spend her days leisurely.
After a while, the north wind that was still howling just now gradually died down.
Zuo Nazi raised his head and looked at the sky. The thick branches blocked the clouds and blocked the sun. Through the gaps, one could catch a glimpse of the sun that was about to reach the highest point in the sky.
"It's almost time to rest..."
Zuo Nazi stretched his legs and feet. Although he only sat on the stone for a moment, the soreness in his thighs, calves and soles of his feet had been greatly relieved.
Just when Zuo Nazi was about to get up and embark on the journey again——
"Eh? Miss Zuo Nazi?"
A neutral voice that was extremely familiar to Zuo Nazi came into her ears from behind.
Zuo Nazi turned her head - before her eyes was a petite figure running straight towards her.
On the back of the petite figure's head, the soft short ponytail hanging down to the neck is flying high.
"Okita-kun?"
Zuo Nazi blinked his beautiful eyes several times in surprise.
The person who came was none other than Chief Okita.
"Miss Zuo Nazi! What a coincidence! I didn't expect to meet you here!"
The director-general said cheerfully.
"Okita-kun, why are you here? The area you are responsible for searching today should not be here, right?"
In order to improve the efficiency of the search, Zuo Nazi and others would discuss every night when they gathered in the trial defense hall to divide the areas that everyone would be responsible for searching tomorrow.
In other words, logically speaking, Zuo Nazi should not encounter the General Secretary.
Upon hearing Zuo Nazi's question, an unnaturally embarrassed look suddenly appeared on Souji's face.
"Hey hehehe...how should I say..."
She said slowly while reaching her right hand behind her head and playing with her ponytail.
"Miss Zuonazi, the area I'm responsible for searching today is the same as yours, it's the suburbs of Edo, right next door to you."
"In a place like the suburbs, there are grass and trees everywhere, and there is no one around. If you don't pay attention, you will not be able to find your way."
"So, I will... I will..."
Before the director finished speaking, Zuo Nazi interrupted him:
"I see."
"To put it simply - you're lost, right?"
Souji's hand playing with the ponytail suddenly accelerated, and the slender hair tail shook rapidly.
"Hey hey hey...yes..."
After saying that, as if trying to hide his embarrassment, Souji silently put down the hand that was playing with his ponytail, and then with a "grumbling" sound, he lowered his head and folded his hands in front of him.
The look the Souji made looked like a child who accidentally did something wrong and was waiting for his parents to reprimand him.
Zuo Nazi cast a helpless look at the chief executive.
"There's really nothing I can do about you...come with me, I'll take you out of here."
"Miss Zuo Nazi, do you know the way?"
"Of course I do."
Zuo Nazi said calmly, his face not red, his heart not beating.
"There is a shrine called 'Moon Palace' over there. You can return to the city by walking east along the shrine."
"Oh! That's it!"
She is indeed Miss Zuonazi! She is in such a complicated environment, but she actually knows the way. This meaning flashed in the eyes of the general manager when he looked at Zuonazi.
Zuo Nazi nodded slightly and accepted the DG's admiration with peace of mind, completely ignoring that he was also worried about losing his way not long ago...
…
…
Two beautiful figures, one tall and one petite, headed straight towards Tsukinomiya Shrine.
Both Zonazi and Souji are female swordsmen who have been trained for a long time. Both in terms of physical strength and leg strength, they are beyond the reach of others.
About 10 minutes later, the two women arrived under the torii gate successfully.
"Is this the Moon Palace Shrine..."
The general manager looked up at the tall torii gate and murmured.
Zuonazi looked around and found a stone statue of a fox standing next to the torii gate.
"It looks like this is an Inari Shrine."
Zuo Nazi said softly.
The fox is the messenger of the God Inari, so every shrine dedicated to the God Inari has a stone statue of a fox.
"Okita-kun, let's go. Next, we just need to keep walking eastward and we can return to the city."
Having said that, Zuo Nazi walked eastward without any hesitation.
She had just taken a few steps when she suddenly realized that there was no sound of Souji's footsteps behind her.
Before she could turn around to check the situation, she heard the Director-General shouting:
"Miss Zuo Nazi, wait a moment!"
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Zuo Nazi paused and turned his head - Souji put his hands together with a smile on his face.
"Come here, let's go to the shrine to pay homage and pray for him."
Even though the General Secretary didn't say it explicitly, Zuo Nazi knew who the "him" he was referring to was.
"Worship?"
Zuo Nazi frowned nicely.
"I'm not very interested in things involving ghosts and gods."
"I don't believe in gods or Buddha either."
The general manager said immediately.
"Just think of it as a lucky move, it won't take much time anyway."
After listening to this, Zuo Nazi pursed his lips thoughtfully.
"Okay... let's go and pay homage."
"Hehe~~"
The chief executive smiled brightly.
The two girls walked side by side, passed through the torii gate, stepped on the stone steps, and climbed up.
Two high ponytails, one long and one short, swung back and forth.
Soon, the two girls passed through the last torii gate and officially entered the "divine realm" of Tsukinomiya Shrine.
"This shrine seems to be newly built. The shrine and the torii gate are all brand new."
Zuo Nazi nodded and answered:
"This is the first time I've seen a shrine without moss on the stone lanterns."
The two girls chatted one after another while walking slowly and unhurriedly towards the main hall located not far away.
Along the way, they met many witches who were either sweeping the floor or selling ritual blessings such as magic-breaking arrows and magic-breaking bows.
Suddenly, the two women walked to the front of the money box in the main hall.
"Miss Zuo Nazi, do you have any change?"
"I'll look for it."
Zuo Nazi lowered his head, reached into his arms, and searched for his money bag.
At this moment...a beautiful purple color broke into the corner of her eye.
Zuo Nazi, who was attracted by this purple color, subconsciously raised his head.
The moment she raised her head, her eyes shrank slightly in shock.
I saw a stunningly beautiful woman wearing a white-on-white miko uniform and purple on the bottom, walking out of the main hall calmly...
****
****
Although this chapter is still a bit short, Leopard was so happy to write this chapter.
Sure enough, writing about women is the most interesting to me~~
