Chapter 95 Qingdeng: 'Let me be the general!' [8000 words]
"Shannan." Qingdeng lowered the bamboo sword he was holding in his hand and grinned at Shannan, "It's been a long time since I've seen you."
Aoto turned around and thought about it carefully - the day after he traveled to this era, he asked Shannan Keisuke, who happened to be studying at the Little Chiba Sword Hall, "Is the Shiwei Hall really related to the Xuanbu Hall and the Little Chiba Sword Hall?"
After the "Better Days", I never had the chance to see Shannan again due to various reasons such as being too busy on weekdays.
"Yes." Shan Nan answered, "That's why I came here to see you and say hello to you."
Shannan wore an elegant smile as usual. When he walked in front of Qingteng, he found Okita standing behind Qingteng.
Shannan, who was a member of the Little Chiba Sword Hall who often dealt with the Imperial Guard Hall, naturally recognized Okita, who was one of the celebrities in the Imperial Guard Hall.
"Okita-kun." Shannanji bowed slightly to Okita gracefully and saluted Okita to say hello.
Shannan's elegant movements made Qingto involuntarily think back to Sanako, who also behaved very elegantly.
But the elegance of these two people is completely different.
Sanako has the elegance of a very "young lady". Her manners make people think that she must have received a very strict "Yamato Nadeshiko" education.
The elegance of Shannan is the kind of elegance that "has the spirit of poetry and calligraphy in it".
To put it simply and vulgarly, Shannan is the kind of person who looks very knowledgeable and educated.
Okita looked at Qingden in surprise, then looked at Shannan, and after a moment he showed a look of sudden realization.
"Yes... I almost forgot, Tachibana-kun, you told me before that you are friends with Shannan Keisuke from the Little Chiba Sword Hall."
I forget the specific day, but in short, when I was chatting with Kondo and Okita one day, Aoto mentioned his relationship with Shannan to them.
A friend he hadn't seen for a long time came over to say hello, so Qingden couldn't be too rude.
He took the initiative to chat with Shannan.
After the two briefly exchanged greetings, they heard Shannan suddenly sigh to Qingdeng with a hint of helplessness and surprise.
"Tachibana-kun... you really made me understand deeply what it means to treat each other with admiration after three days of separation."
"In less than 2 months, you have become a bit unfamiliar to me."
"When I heard that the man who solved the murder case in a very short time and defeated more than two hundred "radical anti-barbarian" thugs with fewer strikes, I almost couldn't believe it.
ears."
Shannan's praise of Qingdeng showed no trace of hatred, jealousy or other negative emotions.
Some, there is only pure joy and congratulations.
Faced with Shannan's praise, Qingdeng smiled and said a few words of humility, then asked:
"Shannan, since you will appear here...do you also want to participate in the competition?"
"Yes." Shannan nodded, "I am very honored to be chosen by the master to participate in today's competition."
"Ha." Qingdeng smiled, "That means... the two of us are going to 'meet each other in war' soon."
Shannan chuckled a few times, then changed to a half-joking tone: "I won't show mercy later."
After all, Shannan is also a "player" who will play in the competition later. He needs to set aside a certain amount of time to check the bamboo sword and other equipment and warm up. He does not have much time to stay here and chat with Qingdeng.
So, after the two briefly exchanged greetings for a while, Shannan quickly left and returned to the "main formation" of their Little Chiba Sword Hall.
As soon as Shannan left, Okita put the bamboo sword in his hand on his shoulder, looked at Shannan Keisuke's retreating back, and said quietly:
"Shannan Keisuke is also going to participate in today's competition. The three top masters from the Little Chiba Sword Hall are all here today..."
"The three top masters of the Little Chiba Sword Hall?" Qingto turned his head and cast a confused look at Okita who suddenly spoke out a name he had never heard of before.
"Ah, this is a title I made up on my own." Okita smiled, "As a friend of Shannan Keisuke, you should also know that Shannan Keisuke is very powerful in swordsmanship, right?"
Qingdeng nodded. He knew that Shannan's swordsmanship was very powerful, but Qingdeng didn't know exactly how powerful it was. After all, he had never competed with Shannan.
"Although many people, including Brother Kondo, feel that apart from Mr. Jutaro and Miss Sanako, there are still some people in the Little Chiba Sword Hall whose swordsmanship level is higher than that of Shannan Keisuke."
"But I personally have always believed that, looking at all the apprentices in the entire Little Chiba Sword Hall, Shannan Keisuke's strength is only second to Mr. Jutaro and Miss Sanako."
"So I will collectively refer to Mr. Jutaro, Miss Sanako and Shannan Keisuke as the 'three masters of the Little Chiba Sword Hall'... huh?"
Just when Okita was halfway through his words, he seemed to have seen something extraordinary. His eyes suddenly opened wider and he raised his hand to point to the northwest.
"Tachibana-kun, weren't you looking for Mr. Chiba Sadaikichi just now? That is Mr. Chiba Sadaikichi!"
Listening to what Okita said, Qingto was stunned for a moment, and then quickly looked in the direction pointed by Okita's finger——
If... there is someone standing here who has never seen Chiba Nobuyoshi and has only heard of Chiba Nobuyoshi's name, then he will definitely be very surprised when he sees Chiba Nobuyoshi's face.
Qingdeng is a good example.
He was surprised now.
"...Okita-kun, is that Mr. Chiba Sadakichi?"
"Yeah." Okita nodded vigorously.
——That person...is Chiba Nobuyoshi?
At the end of Qingden's sight, there was a... big fat man with a kind-looking face.
The important founder of Beichen Ittou Style, the younger brother of Chiba Shusaku who created Beichen Ittou Style, and the current owner of the Little Chiba Sword Hall... A man with so many titles, his figure is actually very out of shape...
Chiba Sadayoshi is 63 years old this year. Judging from his age, he is undoubtedly an old man.
As an old man, he has a rather "middle-aged" figure: his body is severely overweight, and his protruding belly directly pushes up the clothes and fabrics in his belly.
The growth of his body made Chiba Nobuyoshi's face bloated, and his facial features were deformed due to being "stretched".
If you look carefully, it is not difficult to see that Chiba Nobuyoshi's facial features are still very good, with a broad face and a heavy face, exuding a majestic air.
It's a pity that his fat figure directly caused a devastating blow to his appearance...
Although Chiba Sadaki's appearance was a little bit beyond Ayoto's expectations, Ayoto did not treat Chiba Sadikichi differently because of this.
Firstly, it’s because Qingdeng never judges people by their appearance.
Secondly, it's because Chiba Nobuyoshi's status has reached such a high level that no one even has the courage to question his strength.
Chiba Sadayoshi's status in the current Japanese swordsmanship world... To put it bluntly, he is the undoubted great master, a legendary swordsman who is still alive even if the general of the Edo shogunate came to visit.
Such an identity naturally makes Chiba Nobuyoshi the idol of countless swordsmen.
After Chiba Sadayoshi entered the competition venue through a gap in the northwest corner, some spectators in the "auditorium" who recognized Chiba Sadaikichi immediately became excited.
"Look, it's Chiba Nobuyoshi!"
"Chiba Sadakichi is here!"
"Oh... I really want to ask him for advice... It's a pity that I heard that he will no longer accept advice from anyone because of his old age..."
…
Under the enthusiastic cheers of the audience, Chiba Jutaro and his party at the "main formation" of the Little Chiba Sword Hall rushed towards Chiba Sadaikichi.
In the "VIP auditorium", Zhou Zhu led his wife with a smile to meet his old friend who had arrived belatedly.
The attention of many people at the scene...including Qingdeng, was sucked away by the legendary swordsman who finally appeared.
Of course - what Qingdeng pays attention to is slightly different from others...
——A great person like Mr. Chiba Sadayoshi, I wonder if he has any special or extraordinary talent...
Qingto was very focused on guessing the talents that Chiba Sadaikichi might have, and thinking about how to compete with Chiba Sadaikichi...
He has heard that Chiba Nobuyoshi will no longer accept challenges from anyone due to his old age, so it will definitely not work to directly come to Chiba Nobuyoshi and say "I want to ask you for advice."
While Qingto was still concentrating on how to compete with Chiba Sadaikichi, two very familiar figures suddenly appeared from the corner of Qingto's left eye.
"Tachibana-kun, Okita-kun, I finally found you."
"Mr. Kiryu? Miss Kinoshita?" Okita was surprised.
The two familiar figures who suddenly appeared in Aonto's peripheral vision were none other than Boss Kiryu and Mai Kinoshita.
Boss Kiryu was dressed like an "ordinary old man next door", and with a gentle smile on his face, he led Mai Kinoshita towards Ayoto and Okita slowly.
After Aoto and Okita looked over, Kinoshita Mai quickly bowed politely to them.
Aoto discovered: Kinoshita Mai seems to really like the color red.
Every time I see her, she is wearing the same style of bright red kimono and flat clogs with red buttons.
Because Kinoshita Mai wears the same clothes every time, Qingto couldn't help but wonder about her wardrobe - does she only have this one piece of clothing, or does she have several of the same style...
After Kiryu appeared with Kinoshita Mai, he instantly attracted the attention of many people in the trial gym.
Because Kiryu often showed up in the trial hall, many people in the trial hall recognized this old man wearing glasses.
Many people gathered around and took the initiative to say hello to Kiryu, and Kiryu enthusiastically responded to their greetings one by one.
"Boss Kiryu!" Kondo showed a surprised smile and walked quickly towards Kiryu, "Are you here to watch the game?"
"Boss Kiryu, Miss Kinoshita." Qingden, who was casting surprised eyes back and forth on the faces of Kiryu and Mai Kinoshita, echoed, "I thought you wouldn't come..."
"Hahaha." Kiryu chuckled a few times in a low voice, "It's rare that there is anything urgent today, so I brought the young master to have a look."
After briefly chatting with Aomori and the others, Kiryu raised his head and looked at the surrounding auditorium: "There are so many people... Tachibana-kun, when will the competition start exactly?"
Qingdeng: "At eight o'clock in the morning (2 p.m.)."
"Hey... Then it's almost time." Kiryu smiled slightly, "Then - I will go to the seats with the young master and sit down for the time being."
"Kondo-kun, Tachibana-kun, please work hard later. The young master and I will encourage you from the guest seats."
Qingden laughed and said, "Thank you. With your words, I feel that my whole person has become much more motivated."
Kiryu smiled freely: "Hahaha, Tachibana-kun, you are surprisingly eloquent."
…
…
There are less than 15 minutes left before the game starts.
Whether it is the Trial Guard Hall or the Little Chiba Sword Hall, all the contestants have basically warmed up, checked their equipment, and are nervously waiting for the competition to start.
The number of spectators gathered outside the competition venue is approaching 400...
Because there were so many people, the spectators who arrived late could only be blocked by the dense wall of people and could not see the scene inside the competition venue.
In order to get a good "viewing spot", a few people climbed a nearby plum tree - and were severely scolded by the shrine maidens of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine.
Qingto didn't know what was going on at the Little Chiba Sword Hall, but he knew what was going on at the Trial Guard Hall - almost everyone, including Kondo and Okita, was nervous...
Qingdeng even saw one of his senior brothers' hands and feet shaking as if they were swinging, making people doubt whether he could still hold the bamboo sword properly.
Qingdeng could understand why everyone was so nervous. After all, there were probably only a few people... In other words, it was almost impossible to hold a "red and white battle" in front of so many spectators.
Feeling nervous is inevitable.
Qingdeng's current mentality is not bad. After all, in his previous life, he frequently participated in activities such as "speech contests" that required showing off his talents in public. After undergoing training, he was watched by only 400 spectators.
It won't make Qingden feel nervous.
Because the number of spectators is still increasing, the scene is becoming more and more noisy.
Naturally, some strange sounds gradually increased and began to reach Qingdeng's ears...
For example, right now——
"What kind of swordsmanship is this trial defense hall? Why have I never heard of this swordsmanship hall?"
"It seems to be a sword hall that teaches some kind of Tenniroshi Shinryu."
"It's a natural flow."
"Ah, yes, yes, I remembered it wrong. It is the Natural Rise-Ryu, not the Tennian Rise-Ryu."
"I have never heard of the name of the sword academy or the name of this school..."
"This swordsmanship hall seems to be just a very inconspicuous swordsmanship hall in Edo."
"Why can such an unknown small sword hall compete with a famous big sword hall like Xiao Qianba sword hall? This kind of competition is completely unspectacular, right? The strength of the two sword halls is so different, Xiao Qian
Won’t the swordsmen of the Ye Jian Hall suppress the swordsmen of the Trial Guard Hall on one side?”
"Who knows how these two sword schools got the opportunity to compete together. In short, the reason why I made a special trip to watch this competition is that I just wanted to see Chiba Sanako and take a look at the swords of the famous Xiao Chiba sword school.
How powerful the soldiers are."
"Tsk tsk, that Chiba Sanako is really beautiful."
"Look at her bear and butt, how long she is. The rest of her body is so thin, but only those few areas have so much meat."
"Hey, tell me - Chiba Sanako is so big there, when the game starts and the fight gets fierce, will her side shake a lot?"
…
This conversation came from the mouths of four middle-aged people sitting in a certain auditorium on the west side of the "main formation" adjacent to the trial defense hall.
These four middle-aged men were all wearing heavily patched clothes. At this moment, the four of them were still talking there.
They also knew that what they just talked about would offend everyone in the trial hall, so they all tried their best to keep their voices down.
However - they are all very bad at speaking softly.
Although they had tried their best to lower their voices, Qingto and others who were waiting for the start of the game in the "main formation" still clearly heard the conversation of these four people.
In an instant, everyone's faces suddenly showed a look of annoyance.
Qingdeng's brows also frowned at this moment, and there was visible displeasure in his eyes.
However, Aoto was only displeased, and was not as angry as when he heard Chiba Tamonshiro call the Imperial Guard Hall a "third-rate sword hall".
Because the properties between the two are different.
Although the remarks made by those four people just now are not pleasant to hear, what they said are iron-clad facts that cannot be questioned...
The reputation, scale, number of apprentices, and quality of their student body of the Imperial Guard Hall are indeed far inferior to those of the Little Chiba Sword Hall.
The reason why there are so many spectators for this match that is about to start is largely due to the small Chiba Sword Hall.
Many of the spectators present in the auditorium must have been attracted by the name of Little Chiba Sword Hall.
Trial Guard Hall? What did you come from? I don’t know him at all. We came to see the Little Chiba Sword Hall.
Several apprentices with bad tempers turned their heads at this time and cast vicious glances at the four middle-aged men.
After the middle-aged people noticed the gazes that were about to condense into concrete murderous intent, they immediately realized that what they had just said might have been heard by everyone in the trial defense hall. Their faces instantly turned pale, and they hurriedly turned around and left.
Someone stood up and wanted to chase the four middle-aged men, but Kondo stopped him.
"Where do you want to go? Come back!"
After the man looked at Kondo angrily for a few times, he gritted his teeth and sat back down in his seat.
Kondo naturally heard the unflattering remarks made by the four middle-aged men just now.
The competition was about to begin, and it was naturally impossible for Kondo to let his apprentices interfere with the competition.
Besides... Kondo, like Aoto, has a rational judgment on what those people just said.
What they just said was not wrong. If you try to argue with them, everyone in the Trial Guard Hall will ignore it.
In order to train Kondo, Zhousuke gave all the management and command rights of today's game to Kondo to take full responsibility.
He himself will not interfere in any matters related to the game today. He will stay in the "VIP seats" with Abi and watch the game until the end.
Kondo, who shoulders such a heavy responsibility, took a deep breath after looking at the people with dissatisfied and displeased expressions on their faces:
"Everyone pay attention! Don't pay attention to those people's trivial remarks!"
In order to revive everyone's morale, and also to relieve everyone's tension as much as possible, Kondo launched a short but passionate "mobilization speech."
Kondo's "mobilization speech" was quite effective, and many people looked much better after listening to it.
Qingdeng also suppressed his displeasure a little.
At this time, Qingto suddenly discovered that in the "main formation" of Xiaochiba Kenkan opposite, Sanako was still warming up there.
She held a bamboo wakizashi, sometimes striking the air in front of her with a heavy slash, and sometimes turning the blade and stabbing forward.
His expression was serious and meticulous.
Qingden always felt that even if he called Sanako now, she would not be able to hear any other sounds except for the sound of her own sword as she was warming up extremely intently.
Looking at Sanako's extremely focused face... Qingto couldn't help but tilt his head and sighed in a low voice to Okita beside him:
"Miss Sanako looks very motivated..."
Okita glanced at Sanako opposite and smiled: "Miss Sanako is a person with a very strong personality."
"Because she has such a strong personality, she is extremely serious, focused and energetic no matter what she does."
"Because she has such a strong personality, Sanako-san... cares about winning or losing."
"Tachibana-kun, do you still remember what I told you: Our Imperial Guard Hall defeated the Chiba Sword Hall twice in the 'Red and White Battle'?"
"I'm very impressed. Every time we beat Chiba-chan, Miss Sanako would show a very unwilling expression."
At this point, Okita suddenly licked his lips.
"Ah... I seem a little thirsty."
Okita raised his head and looked behind him.
"Ji Jun, I remember there is a sugar water stall not far behind. Would you like to drink a bowl of sugar water with me now?"
After hearing what Okita said, Qingto realized that he was also a little thirsty now.
So without thinking too much, Qingden nodded to Okita.
There is still a little time, enough for Aoto and Okita to go to a nearby place to drink a bowl of sugar water and then come back, so Kondo did not stop Aoto and Okita, but only reminded them to "come back early".
Qingto and Okita ran to the candy stall that Okita mentioned was very close to the competition venue.
The sugar water stall happened to have few customers at this time, so Qingdeng and Qing Deng each ordered a bowl of sugar water and drank it all in one gulp.
"Ha... After drinking what you like, you won't feel so nervous anymore." Okita sighed as he handed the empty bowl back to the owner of the sweet water stall.
"Okita-kun, are you nervous now?" Qingden poured the last sip of sugar water in his hand into his mouth.
"I was quite nervous just now." Okita chuckled, "But after drinking my favorite sugar water, I felt much better."
"That's good." Qingto returned the empty bowl to the sweet water stall owner, and then continued in a joking tone, "Okita-kun, you are the absolute main force of our trial gym. If you are too nervous and cause
If you don't perform properly, you'll be in trouble."
"...Actually, no matter what my current state is, there will be no difference in the result - we will definitely not be able to defeat Xiao Qianba Sword Hall today. All we can do today is to lean in
We are just trying our best to show the power of our natural Rishin-ryu to the onlookers around us.”
Qingden was startled, then turned to look at Okita who was pressing his lips tightly.
"The two main players in our trial defense hall: Uncle Minamoto and Mr. Hijikata are not here today."
Uncle Minamoto and Mr. Hijikata... After Qingto thought for a moment, he remembered that these two people Okita said were important members of the Imperial Guard Hall that he had never met until now: Genzaburo Inoue and Toshizo Hijikata.
"The only two games we faced against the Chiba Kenkan were the only ones we won, and they were barely won by all the main players from our trial gym."
"Uncle Minamoto and Mr. Hijikata are both absent today. No matter how you think about it, our chance of winning today at the Imperial Guard Hall is slim..."
At this point, Okita stopped abruptly, then shook his head vigorously, causing his slender ponytail to fly in all directions.
"No, no, no, no, no, how can you talk about these unlucky things before the game has even started..."
Okita raised his hands and rubbed his cheeks vigorously.
After he put down his hands, his expression returned to his bright smile.
"Okay, Mr. Tachibana, let's go back! If I go back too late, Brother Kondo will definitely scold me again."
"……Um."
Okita walked in front, leading Qingto back along the original path.
At this time, without any expectation, a set of conversations came from not far away, making Qingto and Okita pause in their tracks.
…
"Tsk... I'm so nervous... It's my first time to compete with someone in swordsmanship in front of so many people..."
"Me too... Look, I'm so nervous now that my whole hand is shaking."
"I feel pretty good. As soon as I thought that today's opponent is the trial court and today's 'red and white battle' will be a very easy match, I immediately felt less nervous."
"Ha... I don't know who gave the Shoeikan the courage to compete with us in the swordsmanship competition at the Plum Blossom Festival. In the past, their four main players were Kondo Isamu, Okita Souji, Hijikata Toshizo, and Inoue Genzaburo.
, are no match for us. Today, their Hijikata Toshizo and Inoue Genzaburo are both absent, what are they going to do to fight us?"
"Oh, I'm most tired of fighting the 'red and white battle' with the Imperial Guard Hall. There's no point in competing with them in swordsmanship. There are only four of them, Kondo, Okita, Hijikata, and Inoue, who are very strong. The rest...
…Ah."
"With so many people watching...if they were defeated before even a stick of incense arrived like they did in a certain competition half a year ago...ha, that would really make people laugh."
"I guess they never thought about winning from the beginning. I guess they just wanted to take this opportunity to show off their natural flow. As long as they play hard enough and play the game of 'It's honorable to lose'
The momentum can more or less convey their natural psychology."
"It's possible. I also think they didn't think about winning, they just wanted to take the opportunity to promote the natural flow."
"Okay, stop chatting. Have you finished eating? It's almost time to go back. Let's go."
…
The speakers were six young men standing in front of a grilled squid stall.
These six young men...Qingdeng all looked very familiar.
Just now, I saw these 6 people at the "main formation" of the Little Chiba Sword Hall. All 6 of them are today's contestants of the Little Chiba Sword Hall.
They probably wanted to eat something at the grilled squid stall to replenish their energy before the game started.
After enjoying the grilled squid, they began to talk about the trial court and the game that was about to start.
Because they were too focused on chatting, and also because of their position, angle of view, etc., they didn't notice until they strode away that their previous conversations had been overheard by Qingto and Okita.
"Ah, haha. Although what they said didn't sound very nice, they didn't say anything wrong."
Okita turned his head and smiled at Qingden pretending not to care.
"The current strength of our Imperial Guard Hall is indeed far inferior to that of their Little Chiba Sword Hall."
"They also correctly guessed our trial defense hall's intention to participate in this competition. The reason why we participated in the competition is indeed to promote natural rational flow. We never expected to defeat Chiba-chan without the main force.
Sword Hall."
"But it doesn't matter. Although we can't compare to the Little Chiba Sword Hall today, our Trial Guard Hall will be able to become stronger one day sooner or later."
"Look, we now have a reliable combatant like you, Ju-kun."
"The current strength of our trial defense hall is steadily increasing."
"One day, we will definitely make everyone look at our trial gym with admiration."
Okita probably didn't want Aonto to worry, so even though he was a little disappointed, he still smiled.
"Okay, let's go, Mr. Tachibana. If we don't go back soon, Brother Kondo will really scold us."
After saying that, Okita looked away and continued to stride towards the competition venue along the way he came.
However... as soon as he took a few steps, he discovered that Qingdeng, who was behind him, did not move with him...
I saw him standing there with no expression on his face, looking thoughtfully at the direction in which the six contestants from the Little Chiba Sword Hall left just now.
"Tangerine-kun?"
"...Okita-kun."
Qingdeng said suddenly.
"Let me confirm: in all the previous competitions between our Shiwei Hall and Little Chiba Sword Hall, Little Chiba Sword Hall will definitely send Mr. Jutaro and Miss Sanako to deal with you, right?"
"Huh?" Although he didn't know why Aoto suddenly mentioned this, Okita nodded quickly, "Well, every time there is a competition, Mr. Shigetaro and Miss Sanako will be sent to the Little Chiba Sword Hall to take care of me.
Delay me and prevent me from supporting others."
After finishing speaking, Okita smiled confidently.
"After all, if they don't send Mr. Jutaro and Miss Sanako to deal with me at the same time, they will have no other means to suppress me."
"...Okita-kun, can you do me a little favor later?"
"A small favor? What kind of favor?"
"Please accompany me later to ask Brother Kondo to let me be the general general of our trial defense hall in this game. If you can help me, my chances of persuading Brother Kondo will be more or less increased."
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