Chapter 267 Meeting between the Executioner and the Buddha's Enemy
"Brother Ogata, you relied on the shabby secret book drawn by Gendai himself to understand the Wugo Two-sword style." Makimura added on the side.
Upon hearing Makimura's words, Asai and Shimada's eyes changed again.
Asai and Shimada looked at each other as if they were looking at a mutant with three heads and seven arms.
"...Amazing." Asai, who had always had a lukewarm attitude towards Ogata, his tone at this time was full of admiration.
Shimada on the side seemed to have not yet recovered from the shock, still casting his astonished eyes on Ogata.
"After I joined the Calabash House, Mr. Gendai gave me a secret book of Wugo Nito-ryu." Shimada said seriously, "After I studied it carefully several times, I threw it into the closet as a waste. Ogata-sama, you
How did you understand this secret book?"
In response to these compliments from Asai and Shimada, Ogata smiled bitterly and casually said something like "I'm just lucky."
"Since you have mastered the Selfless Two-sword Style, you can indeed be regarded as my lord's junior brother." Asai said calmly, "Master Genda will definitely want to see you very much. It's a pity that Master Minamoto and my lord are out practicing now, so you get
We won’t be able to see my lord and Master Genichi until tomorrow.”
Ogata had heard from the previous conversation between Mamiya and Asai that the master of their Calabash House and Genichi Kinoshita were not here now, and seemed to have gone to practice somewhere.
"Does your lord always go out to practice?" Ogata asked casually.
"Yes." Shimada nodded, a light of reverence flashing in his eyes, "My lord is the most diligent person I have ever seen."
"He is a genius with extraordinary talents, but he still continues to perform hard training that is no different from torture."
"My lord will go to other places to practice from time to time." Mamiya continued, "Sometimes he will go to a deserted forest, sometimes he will go to a waterfall... If Mr. Gendai is in a good mood, he will go to practice with his lord and be the lord.
As a sparring partner, I will provide guidance on swordsmanship to my lord."
Although they haven't met Mamiya and their lord yet, the appearance of a "cultivation madman" has already emerged in Ogata's mind.
While chatting, the food in the pot was cooked unknowingly.
"It's ready to eat." Mamiya took a large spoon and scooped out various ingredients in the pot and said softly, "Ogata-kun, we don't have enough bowls and chopsticks here, so you have to use your own pair of bowls
Here comes the chopsticks to eat."
"This is the first time I've seen a place where guests are required to bring their own dishes and chopsticks to eat..."
Ogata complained as he untied the bamboo tube hanging from his waist.
This bamboo tube was the bowl and chopsticks Ogata made himself on the way from Kii to Owari.
This bamboo tube, which is half a fist wide, can be used as a bowl. There are 2 chopsticks made of bamboo in the bamboo tube.
From Kii to Owari, Ogata has been relying on this pair of bowls and chopsticks to solve the problem of eating along the way.
"There is no way." Mamiya smiled bitterly, "Our Calabash House only has 6 pairs of bowls and chopsticks. The four of us, the Lord, and Genichi each have one pair each. There really are no extra bowls and chopsticks for outsiders to use.
"
Ogata took a closer look and found that the bowls and chopsticks in Mamiya's and others' hands indeed had their names written on them with indelible paint.
Mamiya's bowl and chopsticks are written with the character "马", Makimura's bowl and chopsticks are written with the character "木"... and so on.
Less than an hour has passed since entering the Calabash House, but Ogata has already learned a lot about this Calabash House.
Ogata originally thought that Calabash House was a place with a strong grassy atmosphere, similar to Wagang Village.
However, now it seems that this is not the case at all.
Everywhere in Calabash House is clean, and special attention is paid to personal hygiene. Everyone has their own dedicated dishes and chopsticks.
At the same time, the composition of the personnel is also very complex.
In addition to not knowing the origins of Mamiya and Asai, Ogata already knows the past of Makimura and Shimada - the former is from Yakuza, and the latter is from a prominent family.
The complex composition of the members gives Calabash House a bit of a strange atmosphere.
The place where Ogata and the others ate was in a courtyard inside the temple.
The reason why I chose to eat in the courtyard was probably because I was afraid that the burning firewood would set the wooden temple on fire.
Because the surrounding light was not bright, Ogata didn't notice something strange and tall growing on a tree in a corner of the yard until he was almost finished eating.
Looking intently at the big flag, Ogata could barely make out what this tall thing was through the light of the firewood at the bottom of the pot.
"A thousand gourds?" Ogata muttered.
This tall thing in the corner of the yard is a horse print.
It is the seal of a thousand gourds and horses.
Horse seals are a unique thing in Japan.
Horse seals, also known as horse marks and horse seals, are markers specifically used to indicate the position of military commanders on the battlefield. Generally, only warriors with more than a thousand troops under their command are qualified to use horse seals.
Qiancheng Gourd is one of the most meaningful horse seals.
Every time he won a battle, he added a small gourd, hoping for hundreds or thousands of successes, so it was eventually called Qiancheng Gourd - this is the meaning of Qiancheng Gourd.
After Mamiya noticed that Ogata noticed the Qiancheng gourd standing in the corner of the yard, he smiled and introduced to Ogata:
"My lord likes gourds very much."
"That's where the name 'Calabash House' comes from."
"In addition to taking the name 'Calabash House', we also regard Qiancheng Gourd as the symbol and flag of our Calabash House."
"So Qiancheng Gourd is the 'family crest' of our Gourd House."
"I see..." After muttering, Ogata said in a half-joking tone, "Your lord has very good taste."
Something like the Thousand-Cheng Gourd, which is rich in positive connotations, is indeed quite suitable to be used as a symbol of an organization.
After dinner, Mamiya said "Ogata-kun, please go to bed early" and then dispersed with the others.
There didn't seem to be any entertainment facilities or entertainment activities here in Calabash House. After dinner, they dispersed and went back to their respective rooms.
After eating and drinking, and seeing everyone else leave, Ogata also followed his memory and returned to his room.
Before today's dusk arrived, Ogata had been on his way.
The fatigue that had arisen while on the road gradually emerged from Ogata's body.
He spread the futon that Shimada had given him before on the tatami and lay down on it.
Although he was sleeping in a strange place and on strange bedding, Ogata slept particularly soundly - wandering outside for a long time had long ago allowed Ogata to develop the skill of "being able to fall asleep anywhere".
After spending a peaceful night, Ogata habitually got up when the sun just rose above the horizon.
After packing up the bedding and placing it in a corner of the room, Ogata opened the paper sliding door and walked out of the room.
As soon as the paper sliding door opened, a stream of moist air immediately rushed towards Ogata's face.
Because the base of Calabash House is located deep in the mountains, there is quite a bit of dew in the morning, and the air seems to be filled with droplets of water.
The air was a bit cold, and after just standing outside for a while, Oujiang felt that the clothes on his body were a little wet, so he had to retreat to the room.
As soon as he returned to the room, Asai's voice suddenly came from outside the room:
"Ittosai, are you up? I'm here to bring you breakfast."
"Get up."
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, the sliding paper door of his room was opened unceremoniously, and Asai's extremely handsome face appeared within Ogata's field of vision.
Asai was holding a bamboo basket in his hand, and what was contained in it was probably the breakfast he just mentioned.
"I have been ordered by Mamiya to bring you breakfast. To save trouble, I have brought my own share. Let's eat together."
Having said that, Asai was not polite and put the bamboo basket on the tatami and opened it. Inside there was a basin of hot porridge, a plate of pickles and a plate of fish.
Hot porridge is not ordinary white porridge, it has a lot of ingredients in it.
Looking at the sumptuous breakfast, Ogata raised his eyebrows.
"I thought I was going to eat a big pot again..."
"My lord is back, of course there is no need to cook a big miscellaneous pot anymore." Asai said calmly, "This breakfast was made by my lord. Let's enjoy your master's craftsmanship."
Ogata's pupils shrank slightly: "Is your lord back?"
"I came back with Mr. Yuan Yi before dawn."
"Genichi-san is sleeping now, and the Lord is having breakfast with Mamiya and the others."
"My lord and Master Gendai both know about you."
"Ittousai, after breakfast, come with me. My lord is very interested in you and wants to see you."
"I understand." Ogata nodded, "Then let's eat quickly. I happen to be hungry too."
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He took out his homemade bowl and chopsticks and filled a bowl of porridge. After taking a bite, Ogata's eyes immediately lit up.
"Your master's craftsmanship is really good..."
"After all, cooking is my lord's hobby and one of my proudest talents. Come and eat."
Asai closed his eyes tightly, clasped his hands together, and after muttering "I'm starting" softly, he picked up his bowl and chopsticks and began to eat happily.
Since last night, Ogata has discovered that Asai seems to be a person who pays great attention to etiquette.
During dinner last night, only Asai and Shimada would say "I'm starting" before eating.
But when Shimada said "I'm starting", he just said it casually. Unlike Asai, he would clasp his hands very respectfully and close his eyes tightly.
After the two of them quickly swept away all the food in the bamboo basket, Asai put the empty dishes back into the bamboo basket, and then said softly:
"Okay. Ittousai, come with me, I will take you to see the lord."
"Yes." Ogata picked up the two sabers beside him and stood up, "You don't have to keep calling me 'Ittosai', just call me Ogata."
"No." Asai shook his head gently, "It's too troublesome to recite Ogata, but it would be easier to recite Ittosai."
"...As long as you like it." Ogata, feeling a little speechless, sighed softly.
Ogata's pronunciation is "ogata", and Ittousai's pronunciation is "yitousai". Both of them have three pronunciations. Ogata really doesn't know what the basis is for Asai to think that "Ogata" is harder to pronounce than "Ittousai"...
…
Ogata followed Asai around this abandoned Buddhist temple that was used as a base by Calabash House.
After a while, Asai took Ogata to the largest area of the temple - the Buddhist hall.
After taking off the Daishiten from his left waist, holding it with his right hand, and entering the shrine one after another with Asai, Oburon saw Mamiya, Makimura, and Shima who were kneeling respectfully on the left and right sides.
There are 3 people in the field.
"Good morning, Ogata-kun." Mamiya smiled slightly at Ogata, "My lord will come back after a while, please wait here for a while."
Mamiya pointed towards the middle of the Buddhist hall.
"Yes." Ogata nodded lightly, knelt down where Mamiya pointed, and then placed Daishiten on the right side of his body.
After Ogata sat down, Asai walked slowly to Shimada's side and knelt down beside Shimada.
Mamiya and Makimura were kneeling on the left side of the hall, Asai and Shimada were kneeling on the right side of the hall, and Ogata was kneeling in the middle of the hall.
Looking at this situation, Ogata couldn't help but smile.
This scene is like an envoy coming to meet a famous person from another country.
Ogata was the envoy, and the four Mamiya people were the daimyo's ministers.
While waiting for Mamiya and their lord to arrive, Ogata observed the surroundings in boredom.
In fact, there is nothing to observe.
This Buddhist temple can be described as empty.
There is no Buddha statue where the Buddha statue should be.
There's nothing else of note around.
The only thing worth noting is probably the thousand-year gourd and horse sign that was planted in front of Ogata.
Ogata didn't expect that there were thousands of gourds and horses in this Buddhist temple.
But this horse mark is much smaller than the one in the yard.
Just when Ogata was idle and started to count how many gourds there were on the horse mark, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming from far and near behind him.
——Is it finally here...
Because he had to wait for a long time, Ogata, who was already a little impatient, turned around with a touch of resentment and went to see who the Lord of Calabash House was, whom he had heard about for a long time.
However - after turning around and seeing the face of the visitor clearly, Ogata's pupils immediately shrank back in surprise and astonishment.
——This, this guy is Mamiya and their lord...?!
Just when Ogata was wondering whether this person was Mamiya and their lord, Mamiya and the others' next actions answered Ogata's question.
The four Mamiya people all looked serious at this time.
He put his hands on the ground and bowed respectfully to the man who was slowly walking into the Buddhist hall.
Ogata's astonished eyes were fixed on this person, and his eyes followed him from the door of the Buddhist hall to the front of him.
After Mamiya and their lord sat down under the thousand gourd horse seal, they said in a cold yet majestic voice:
"Everyone, please raise your heads."
"Yes!"*4
The four Mamiya people shouted loudly in unison, and then slowly raised their heads.
But Ogata still hasn't recovered from his shock.
After a while, Ogata finally muttered slowly and involuntarily:
"woman……"
Black hair as high as the chin, a round face, big bright eyes, a delicate mouth and nose, and an average height for this era - this is the person sitting under the Qiancheng Gourd Horse Seal.
The appearance of their lord, the owner of the Calabash House, who is known as "Buddha's Enemy".
He is probably around 20 years old.
The face is not very beautiful, but it is not ugly either.
On the right waist is a wakizashi with a white handle and a white sheath.
The left hand holds a sword with a black handle and a black sheath.
After sitting down under Qian Cheng's gourd and horse seal, she placed the black-handled and black-sheathed sword on the left side of her body.
"First meeting, Executioner Ittosai Ogata Issei." Mamiya and their lord whispered in a cold tone, "I am the owner of Calabash House - Kinoshita Rin, for now... I have the nickname of 'Buddha's Enemy'