Mamiya and Makimura led Ogata to run and leap through the mountains and fields.
It wasn't until the sky was almost dark that the shadow of the building finally appeared in Ogata's field of vision.
Looking at the building in front of him, Ogata was stunned.
Although he didn't know much about architecture, Ogata could still tell that it seemed to be the gate of a temple.
Mamiya, who saw Ogata's doubts, explained:
"This place used to be a temple."
"It was later abandoned for unknown reasons."
"My lord saw that the location of this temple was good, so he slightly renovated the temple and used it as the base of our Gourd House."
"I see..." Ogata muttered while looking around.
I have to say - the location of this temple is indeed very good.
There is a small stream flowing next to the temple, with a sufficient and stable water source.
At the same time, it is hidden deep in the mountains, so it is not easily discovered by others.
Although the temple door was closed, Ogata could still vaguely see a faint light coming from the temple.
Mamiya stepped forward and knocked hard on the temple door.
Mamiya's knock on the door directly broke the silence of this deep mountain.
The knocking on the door "hovered" in the sky above the temple door and "reverberated" for a while before gradually dissipating.
Ogata noticed that Mamiya didn't knock randomly when he knocked on the door.
Instead, he knocks on the door in a specific rhythm.
After the knock on the door fell, Ogata heard footsteps coming from far and near from behind the temple door.
Squeak...
The temple door was slowly opened a crack.
The gap at the door is very small, but it is enough for people behind the temple door to observe what is going on outside.
After the temple door was opened a crack, and the person who opened the door looked through the crack to see who was knocking, a bland, almost emotionless young male voice sounded from behind the door:
"Mamiya-kun, Makimura-kun, you are back. It's been a long time."
"Well, it's been a long time since I last saw you, Asai. It was still winter when I parted ways with you, but now it's almost summer."
"It seems you two have brought a guest back... Come in first."
After that, the temple door, which had only been opened a small gap, was slowly opened, and a large opening large enough for people to pass through was opened.
It was only at this moment that Ogata finally saw clearly what the man responsible for opening the door and talking to Mamiya just now looked like.
He is a handsome boy - this was Ogata's first impression after seeing this man.
The man's age should be between 20 and 25 years old.
Like Ogata and Mamiya, this handsome boy did not shave his head, but kept his hair long and in a regular bun.
His face is so handsome that it can make people exclaim in surprise.
He is neither fat nor thin, his eyebrows are curved and long, his eyes are sharp, his nose is straight and high, his lips are rosy and have beautiful lines, his skin is fair, and his skin quality is so good that Ogata is sure that this guy's skin must be very jealous of women.
.
If I had to say that this person has any shortcomings, it would probably be that he is short.
If this person's height is converted into modern earth length units, he should be only about 1.6 meters.
Of course, this height was considered adequate in the Edo period, and could be classified as "slender".
All in all - this is a thoroughly handsome man who is absolutely popular with women.
He is the most handsome man Ogata has seen since he came to this Edo period. He is so handsome that Ogata can't help but feel a hint of envy.
When Ogata was sizing up this handsome man, this handsome man was also sizing up Ogata.
As for Mamiya, he stood between the two of them and introduced them.
"Ogata-kun, this is Shichirobe Asai. He is one of the other two members of our Calabash House that I told you just now."
"Asai, this is Ogata Issei. He is the executioner Ittousai."
"Oh?" After listening to Mamiya's introduction, Asai raised his eyebrows slightly, "You are the executioner Ittosai..."
Asai sounded as if he had known Ogata a long time ago - but Ogata was not confused about this.
After all, it is quite normal to know that he is such a person. After all, his wanted orders can be said to be all over Japan.
After bowing to Asai, Asai led Ogata and others through the temple gate and headed towards the depths of the temple.
As Asai led the way, Mamiya kept throwing questions at Asai one after another.
"Is my lord here?"
"My lord and Mr. Yuan Yi went to the mountains to practice hard."
"Have you gone to practice again... When will you be back?"
"They started practicing three days ago, and they will probably be back tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning... That's okay. It's rare for guests to come to the door. If they don't come back for ten days and a half, it will be troublesome. What about Shimada? Is Shimada here now?"
"Shimada is preparing today's dinner now. You guys came back just in time. Dinner is about to start. If you come back later, there won't be food for you."
"That's great, we happen to be hungry. Ogata-kun, before eating, let me take you to your room. We don't have much here, and we have the most vacancies."
"Okay, then it's time to work."
…
…
The room Mamiya arranged for Ogata was very simple. It should be the wing room where the monks who originally lived here lived.
Although the room is not spacious, it is very clean and has all kinds of furniture.
Ogata bent down and touched the floor casually - his fingers were clean and not a trace of dust.
"It's so clean..."
"My lord likes to be clean," Mamiya said, "At my lord's request, this temple must always be kept spotless."
"Every day, villagers from the village down the mountain that serves as our outpost of Calabash House come over to help us clean."
"You should rest here for a while. I will ask someone to call you later when dinner is served."
"Um."
After watching Mamiya leave, Ogata stretched hard and then sat down on the tatami at his feet.
I was riding on horseback this morning, and I stayed in the Calabash House this evening. For some reason, this rapid change in life gave Ogata an unrealistic feeling.
Just when Ogata was thinking about how many days he would stay here, there was a gentle knock on the door.
"Please come in."
The sliding paper door was opened, and a young face that he had never seen before appeared in Ogata's field of vision.
The young man who knocked on Ogata's door was holding a quilt in his hand.
"Excuse me, is this the guest brought back by Mamiya-senpai and Makimura-senpai—executioner Ittosai Ogata Issei?"
"That's right." Ogata nodded, "Who are you?"
"This is Shimada Katsurokuro. Following the order of Mamiya-senpai, I'm here to deliver bedding to Ashito and to ask him to come down for dinner."
——Katsuroku Shimada...
Ogata chewed this name silently in his heart.
——This should be the last of the other two members of Calabash House that Mamiya mentioned...
——Except for their mysterious master and Genichi Kinoshita, I have met all four members of Calabash House...
The first impression Shimada made on Ogata was that he was young.
He is very young. Judging from his appearance, he should be less than 20 years old, and his face still has a childish look.
He has regular facial features, sharp eyebrows and starry eyes - he can be considered handsome, but there is still a big gap between him and a handsome man of Asai's level.
He wears his hair long and in a bun, and has two knives neatly pinned to his left waist. His height, converted into earth length units, should be only about 1.57 meters.
After placing the quilt in his hand respectfully on the ground, Shimada raised his chin outward.
"Master Ittousai, please come down with me. I will take you to a place to eat."
"Okay. You don't need to call me Ittousai-sama, just call me Ogata."
"Yes, Ogata-sama, please come down with me."
"There is no need to add the suffix 'sir'...forget it, you can call me whatever you like."
…
…
Under Shimada's guidance, Shimada and Ogata walked one after another on the way to eat.
"It's been a long time since we had guests at Calabash House."
Shimada, who was walking in front, smiled at Ogata behind him as he walked.
"I'm very happy, I can finally see new faces here."
"I won't stay here for too long." Ogata smiled, "After all, I'm just here as a guest. I'll leave after 1 or 2 days."
Through this brief contact, Ogata has discovered two characteristics of Shimada.
The first characteristic - talkative, very willing to talk to others.
When leading Ogata, he never stopped talking.
The second characteristic - he exudes the temperament of a noble man.
Whether Shimada speaks or moves his hands, he has an air of elegance.
This made Ogata certain that Shimada must have a good background and a very good family background.
"Shimada." Ogata took the initiative and said to Shimada, "How old are you this year?"
"17." Shimada responded without hesitation.
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"17...so young."
"That's right." Shimada said with a bitter smile, "I am the youngest person in Calabash House, so my lord, Mamiya-senpai and others all treat me as a little brother, which makes me very distressed, even though I
He is already a man who can stand alone."
"Your family background must be very good." Ogata continued, "I think you are very well-educated."
"Yes. In terms of family background, my family background is indeed quite superior."
"The following is Hatamoto, the eldest son of the Shimada family, who has a height of 9,000 koku from Edo."
"Hatata?" Ogata couldn't help but tongue-tied.
Hatamoto Samurai - samurai directly under the shogun, have the right to directly meet the shogun, and have their own territory, but the total stone height of the territory is less than 10,000 stone.
There are also high and low distinctions between flags.
According to what Shimada said just now, their family's territory is as high as 9,000 koku - this is already considered a high-level capital.
"So you come from a famous family." Ogata couldn't help but sigh, "Why did you join Calabash House when you came from a famous family?"
The base is located in Calabash House deep in the mountains and old forests - this does not look like a place where such a noble man would come.
"Why did you join Calabash House..." Shimada raised his head and looked at the starry sky above his head, with a faint look of memories on his face, "Because I longed for someone, so when I came back to my senses, I had already followed that person.
People have joined Calabash House."
"Although I am a member of Calabash House, I have not been a member for a long time. I was only invited to join Calabash House last summer. I am the latest person to join Calabash House. Ah, Ogata-sama, we are here.
"
Ogata looked forward - he saw a pot sitting in the open space in front of him.
There is burning firewood laid out under the pot.
Five small stools are placed around the pot. Three of the stools have been used by Mamiya, Makimura, and Asai, leaving only two empty stools.
These two stools must have been reserved for Ogata and Shimada to sit on.
Seeing Ogata and Shimada arriving, Mamiya waved to them and motioned them to sit over.
After sitting down on the stool, Ogata looked at the hot water in the pot in front of him that was constantly spitting out bubbles and was about to be boiled, and said:
"What are you eating today?"
"Eat a mixed pot." Asai replied expressionlessly.
"Big miscellaneous pot?" Ogata asked doubtfully.
"Except for my lord, all of us are very... lazy when it comes to cooking." Makimura smiled bitterly, "My lord is usually responsible for our three meals a day. When my lord is away, to save trouble we
Can cook a big pot."
"The so-called mixed pot..." Asai said, picking up a pot of vegetables at his feet, "It means throwing all the ingredients into the same pot."
After that, Asai directly threw all the vegetables in the basin into the pot.
Makimura followed closely and threw in a few dried meat sticks.
Not to be outdone, Mamiya and Shimada threw all the materials on hand into it.
Looking at the four Mamiya people constantly throwing ingredients into the pot, Ogata somehow reminded Ogata of the witch who was throwing all kinds of strange things into the black cauldron to prepare potions...
The color of the originally clean soup in the pot gradually became weird as the ingredients were added...
Looking at the soup that had turned into a strange brown color, Ogata gradually felt that he had lost his appetite...
While waiting for the ingredients in the pot to be cooked, the five people started chatting casually.
"Mamiya." Asai asked Mamiya first, "Why did you bring the executioner Ittosai to our Calabash House? Did you successfully persuade him to join our Calabash House?"
"No. I have already sent an invitation to Ogata-kun, but Ogata-kun rejected it. Ogata-kun, he came to our Gourd House this time just to be a guest."
"A guest?" Asai frowned slightly, "Mamiya, my lord does not welcome us to bring outsiders in casually."
"I know." An intriguing look appeared on Mamiya's face, "But Ogata-kun is not an outsider."
"From a certain perspective, Ogata-kun can be regarded as the master's junior brother."
"What do you mean?" Asai's brows furrowed even more.
Even Shimada cast doubtful glances at Mamiya.
"Ogata-kun, he masters the Wuwo-style swordsmanship."