There were no tools or materials to paper or block the windows, so the four ronin could only stand close together and use each other's body heat to warm themselves.
"The snow outside seems to be lighter." The thin ronin looked out the window, "Although it is still very cold."
"To use the words from the Chinese book "Shishuo Xinyu"..." the tall ronin on the side continued, "the snow now is like 'sprinkle salt in the air to make the difference.'"
As soon as the tall ronin finished speaking, the fat ronin sitting next to him patted him hard on the shoulder.
"Oh~~ I didn't expect that you are such a knowledgeable person! I have read some of "Shishuoxinyu" before, but no matter how many times I read it, I can't get into it."
"What's the use of being knowledgeable..." The tall ronin smiled bitterly, "Isn't it better to become a helpless ronin..."
The tall ronin's words instantly made the atmosphere in the temple become heavy.
Everyone present was a ronin who had left his respective domain for various reasons.
The tall ronin's words immediately brought back bad memories for them.
"...Sigh." After a moment of silence, Fat Ronin let out a long sigh, "The world is in ruins now... I'm afraid it's just like this during the Warring States Period."
"I never thought that I would become a ronin one day..." the short ronin on the side continued, "I don't know how long I can live like this wandering life..."
The four of them had a tacit understanding and did not ask each other why they became ronin.
Because they all know that there must be some unspeakable reasons for leaving the feudal clan and becoming a ronin.
Therefore, they all remained silent on this issue with great tacit understanding and did not reveal their respective scars.
"Rituals in this world are ruined." Thin Ronin said softly, "Look - last autumn, wasn't there a sensational lord murder incident in Hirose Domain?"
"Ah, I know about this." Fatty Ronin continued, "That 'Executioner Ittosai' is really awesome..."
"'Executioner Ittosai'...?" The short ronin looked at the others in confusion, "Who is this? Why haven't I heard of this person?"
"It's normal that you haven't heard of it." The tall ronin replied, "After all, for people like us who live all over the world, it is difficult for us to know what changes have happened in the world. I only found out a few days ago.
This guy."
After saying that, the tall ronin cleared his throat.
Then he spoke loudly:
"Last year, the patriarch of the Hirose Domain, Kurunagazaemon, decided to assassinate their lord of the Hirose Domain, Matsudaira Gennai, for unknown reasons."
"In order to assassinate Matsudaira Gennai, Kuranazaemon recruited a young samurai from their Hirose domain who had excellent swordsmanship—Ogata Issei."
"They chose the day of the assassination when Gennai Matsudaira was out hunting."
"About last autumn, this assassination attempt with a huge disparity in combat power between the two sides began."
"Ogata Issei launched a single-handed assault."
"With one person, he killed hundreds of guards in Matsudaira Gennai."
"And in the end, he successfully killed Matsudaira Gennai."
"According to rumors, the swordsmanship used by this Ogata Issei is the Sakakihara Ittō style created by the late swordsman Denichiro Sakakihara who was famous in the Izumo area."
"He killed hundreds of people with his Itto-ryu swordsmanship, so the title of 'Executioner Ittosai' became popular."
"Hundreds of people?" The short ronin took a breath, "Really or not? Is there really such a swordsman in this world who can defeat a hundred people with one person? So, where is this Ogata Issei now?
Earth? Is it dead?"
"I think this should be true." The tall ronin continued, "After the assassination incident was over, the instigator of this incident Kuranaga took the initiative to write a letter to the shogunate, confessing what he had done."
"And after writing a letter to the shogunate, he committed suicide by caesarean section."
"According to rumors - Kuranaga concealed the existence of Ogata Issei when he wrote to the shogunate."
"It wasn't until the shogunate sent people to the Hirose Domain to investigate that the shogunate learned about Ogata Isse, and that it was Ogata Isse who killed Matsudaira Gennai and all his bodyguards with a sword."
"It's a pity that when I learned about the existence of this person, Ogata Issei had already left the Hirose Domain and became a ronin who broke away from the domain. He disappeared long ago."
"A ronin who has escaped from the domain?" the short ronin exclaimed, "that means - that Ogata Issei is still alive?"
"Maybe he's still alive, or maybe he's dead." The tall ronin shrugged, "After learning that Ogata Yoshi killed Matsudaira Gennai, the shogunate immediately issued a high reward."
Speaking of this, an intriguing look appeared on the tall ronin's face.
“Do you know how much the head of ‘Executioner Ittosai’ is worth now?”
"How much?" The short ronin swallowed.
The tall ronin raised three fingers.
"300 taels."
"3,300 taels?!" the short man couldn't help but exclaimed.
"A very exaggerated number, right?" The tall Ronin smiled, "Such a number is enough to drive many people crazy."
"After learning about this reward, there must be many ronin who are crazy poor but confident in their own skills to look for traces of 'Executioner Ittosai'."
"Not only will there be pursuit by these rogues who were deceived by the bounty, but they will also be pursued by people from the government."
"With his head being stared at by someone like this, 'Executioner Ittosai' might be dead."
"300 taels..." A look of greed appeared on the short ronin's face, "Should I also try to chase down the 'Executioner Ittosai'..."
"I advise you not to be stupid." This time it was the fat Ronin who said in an angry tone, "Who is he? He is the 'Executioner Ittousai' who can kill hundreds of people by himself."
"This title is forged with the blood of others."
"Where do you have the confidence to think that you can defeat the 'Ittosai' who can fight one against a hundred?"
"The 'Ittosai' might have killed countless fools who thought they could get these 300 taels."
"Hehe..." The short ronin giggled a few times with an embarrassed look on his face, "I was just talking casually..."
Just when these four ronin were chatting -
"...It's so wrong. Where did you hear these rumors?"
A young male voice that was quite unfamiliar to these four ronin sounded.
The four ronin were stunned for a moment, and then turned around.
The four people's sights were fixed on the ronin who was leaning against the wall in the corner of the ancient temple and sleeping with a bamboo hat covering his face.