"I can't even find the bodies of the three of them. I don't even know whether they were burned to death or suffocated by smoke..."
"From then on I was the only one left running the hotel."
"...I'm sorry." A deep apology appeared on his face.
"Hohohoho~~" Grandma Cai chuckled a few times, "No need to apologize, I have already let go."
"Man is inherently mortal."
"I was just lucky enough to die later."
"Although my husband, son, daughter-in-law, and grandson are no longer here, and I occasionally feel a little lonely, I am very happy every day now."
"There is grandma cake to eat every day."
"Every now and then there will be little surprises."
"Just like today - if I had died yesterday, I wouldn't be able to meet a handsome young man like you today."
"As long as you continue to live, you can experience these little surprises from time to time."
"If possible, I would really like to live for another few decades."
"Oh, did I talk too much? Did it affect your meal?"
The smile on Grandma Cake's face showed a hint of apology.
"Some guest officials have complained before that I disturbed their meal..."
"It's nothing." Ogata shook his head, "It doesn't affect my eating."
Speaking of this, Ogata paused.
After a moment of silence, the smiling ladies put their chins on the table.
"Grandma Cake, do you have any other specialties from your hometown?"
"Oh? Sir, you are interested in this."
"I've always been interested in food. Tell me more about the food in your hometown."
"Hoohohoho~~ I'm so happy. It's been a long time since I met a guest like you, guest officer, who took the initiative to ask me about the delicacies of my hometown."
"But if I introduce them one by one, it may take a long time."
"It doesn't matter." Ogata waved his hand, "I have a whole night to chat with you."
"Hoohohoho~~" Grandma Kuai's eyes flickered towards Ogata, "Sir, you are so gentle... Okay! Then I will introduce you in the same way!"
Just when Grandma Kui was preparing to introduce Ogata’s delicacies from her hometown one by one——
Click, click, click...
The hotel door was slowly opened.
"Is there any room available here?"
A powerful and magnetic middle-aged male voice sounded from the opened door.
Hearing this familiar voice, Ogata's pupils shrank slightly.
He suddenly followed the sound and turned his head to look at the door of the hotel.
At the gate of the hotel, there were a large number of samurai wearing special black uniforms.
The middle-aged man standing in the front row had a heroic face and full of righteousness - it was Heizo Hasegawa whom he hadn't seen for a while.
Several people headed by Hasegawa Heizo blocked Ogata's view, so Ogata could not clearly see how many subordinates were standing behind Hasegawa Heizo.
But according to my own visual inspection, Hasegawa Hei was hiding beside him, and the number of officials behind him was at least 20.
After seeing Hasegawa Heizou, Ogata subconsciously raised his hand and reached towards Daishiten and Daizizai who were placed on the tatami next to him.
But just as he stretched out his hand, Oburon suddenly remembered something.
After glancing at Granny Kui sitting next to him, Ogata retracted the hand that had reached for his knife.
Hasegawa Heizo is also like this.
After Hasegawa Heizo and Imai and other cadres beside him recognized Ogata, they also subconsciously reached for the knife on his left waist.
But just as he raised his hand, Hasegawa Heizo glanced at Granny Kumo - and then retracted his hand just like Ogata did.
At the same time, he gestured to Imai and others beside him, telling them not to be nervous and not to draw their swords.
Grandma Kagome, who didn't notice these little moves by Ogata and Hasegawa, was filled with excitement.
"Hoohohoho~~Mother-in-law, I am really lucky today. I have so many customers here."
"There are still available rooms in our hotel, but the number of rooms is not enough. There may not be enough rooms for all of you."
"It doesn't matter." Hasegawa shook his head, "We can share a room with a few of us. As long as we have a place to spend the night, that's enough."
"Okay! By the way - have you had dinner?"
"not yet."
"If it's convenient, would you like to have a meal here?"
"...Then it will be hard work."
…
…
When Hasegawa Heizo led his group of subordinates into the house, Ogata specifically counted the number of people including Hasegawa Heizo - there were 23 people including Hasegawa Heizo.
The number of people was much smaller than the last time they chased Kinoshita Rin in Tatsuno Domain.
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"Um... your guest," Granny Ku said to Ogata apologetically, "I'm sorry, would you mind if these guests sit next to you?"
"I don't mind." Ogata smiled, "It would be nice to have a few more people to chat with me."
Seeing that Ogata agreed, Granny Kuai immediately beamed with joy.
And the person who came to sit next to Ogata was just as Ogata expected—it was Hasegawa Heizou.
Hasegawa Heizo led several of his subordinates to sit next to Ogata.
Although there are many people in Hasegawa and the others, if they squeeze together, they can barely sit down in the restaurant on the first floor.
Granny Kui quickly prepared the dishes ordered by Hasegawa and served them all.
Even a rural girl like Grandma Kuai could tell that Hasegawa and others were official servants - after all, no one else would wear such uniform uniforms except official servants.
Grandma Kui couldn't restrain her curiosity and couldn't help asking about the identities of Hasegawa and others.
Hasegawa didn't make any concealment, he bluntly told which government agency they were from, and revealed his identity.
After learning that this group of people were reformed government officials from Huo Fu thieves, and that the middle-aged man in front of her was the famous Hasegawa Heizo, Grandma Kuai showed a look of surprise on her face.
"You are Imadaoka Hasegawa Heizo-sama!"
"I didn't expect you, mother-in-law, would know..." Hasegawa smiled slightly.
"Of course! Those storytellers in Kyoto are always telling your stories!"
"I remember that the office under your command, Hasegawa-sama, specializes in hunting down thieves and arsonists, right?"
"That's right." Hasegawa nodded.
"While searching for thieves and arsonists, we also arrest murderers from time to time." Ogata, who was sitting next to him, continued in a half-joking tone.
"So! Are you bringing people here to investigate the Tianming Fire?"
Because of her emotional excitement, Grandma Kuai's body involuntarily leaned forward in the direction of Hasegawa.
"Huh?" Hasegawa was stunned when he heard Grandma Kuai's confusing question.
After a while, after coming back to his senses, Hasegawa smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Sorry, I came to your place this time not to investigate the Tianming Fire."
"The Tianming fire happened two years ago."
"It has been such a long time and there is no way to find out."
"Besides - the decision to fire tomorrow has already been finalized."
"It was a tragedy caused by a fire in an empty house on the outskirts of the city for unknown reasons."
"So there's nothing left to investigate."
A look of despair appeared on Grandma Cai's cheeks at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"But...but...I heard that the big fire was man-made..."
"Mother-in-law..." Hasegawa smiled bitterly, "These hearsay rumors cannot be taken to be true."
"This is also a common thing. Every time a major case occurs, various rumors will spread among the people in the market."
"These rumors are basically just made up by people after dinner."
"So, mother-in-law, you should follow the shogunate's announcement and stop listening to these rumors from unknown sources."
"...That's right." Grandma Cao raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a smile.
However, Grandma Gu's smile has a somewhat... far-fetched tone.
"Even if we really want to investigate, we still can't find anything after two years..."
"Ah, just at this moment." Ogata, who had half of the cake in his mouth, suddenly whispered, "Granny cake. I just discovered now - there is a lot of red bean paste wrapped in this cake. It's sweet.
Yes, it’s so delicious.”
"Yes." After hearing Ogata's words, Granny Cake's eyes regained some sparkle, "The grandmother cake I have here is the most authentic grandmother cake. Eat more of it."
"Hasegawa-sama." Ogata handed a piece of grandmother cake on the table towards Hasegawa, "Don't just talk, let's eat some of this grandmother cake together, it tastes quite good."
When he said, "Don't just talk," Ogata emphasized his tone.
After hearing that there was something in Ogata's words, Hasegawa narrowed his eyes slightly.
After saying "I'm welcome", Hasegawa stuffed the grandmother cake Ogata handed him into his mouth.
The moment the cake entered his mouth, Hasegawa's eyes lit up.
"Mother-in-law, let's continue the topic we just talked about." Ogata smiled at Grandma-in-law and said, "Tell me about the various specialties of your hometown, Asai Kusatsu."
"Hoohohoho~~Okay!" Grandma Cai seemed to be quite interested in this topic, with a bright light on her face and eyes.
"Hasegawa-sama, are you interested in listening together?"
"...Okay. I happen to be interested in this kind of delicacies from all over the world."
…
…
at the same time--
Kyoto, in a certain alley——
"belch……"
The drunken young samurai, Koga Shichisaburo, held on to the wall and moved forward along the alley bit by bit.
Because the Gion Festival is being held, the whole of Kyoto is immersed in a joyful atmosphere.
Affected by this joyful atmosphere, Kogashi drank a little too much tonight.
"It's so uncomfortable... I shouldn't have drank so much..."
Although he said this, there was no sign of regret on Koga's face.
In order to go home and rest early, Koga chose this shortcut that he didn't take often.
This shortcut is just an ordinary alley.
Although it is just a somewhat remote alley, it is not completely empty of people walking in this alley on weekdays.
At this moment, there were five people walking in this alley, including Koga.
With the help of the wall, Koga moved forward slowly and methodically.
At this moment - Koga suddenly saw someone standing still in front of him.
He raised his eyes and looked forward.
He is a samurai who also carries two swords at his waist.
The samurai just spread his legs carelessly and stopped in front of Koga.
"What are you doing?" Koga's mood was a little unstable due to drinking.
Koga continued to shout to the samurai blocking the road in front of him with an obviously impatient tone.
"Don't block people's way! Get out of the way!"
The samurai ignored Koga's words.
He only responded to Koga with... one action.
The samurai raised his left thumb on the sheath of the sword on his left waist, popped the blade of the sword out of the sheath, and then slowly pulled the sword out of the sheath.
The cold light reflected from the blade of the knife slightly illuminated this dim alley.
At this moment, Koga and this samurai were not alone in this alley.
Seeing this warrior suddenly draw his sword, other passers-by around him exclaimed in surprise.
"...Looks like he's someone who's looking for trouble for me!" Facing the samurai who suddenly drew his sword, Koga was not afraid at all.
Koga, who felt that he had sobered up a little from the wine, slowly pulled out his katana and said:
"Do you know who I am?"
"I am the third seat of Seigakukan - Koga Shichisaburo!"
"Although I don't know whether you are here to make money or simply to kill people."
"But you'll be unlucky if you run into me!"
"bring it on……"
Before Koga could even utter the last syllable of "Come here", the samurai in front of him suddenly kicked forward in front of Koga at a speed far beyond Koga's imagination.
His pupils shrank suddenly, and he subconsciously wanted to slash the samurai in front of him with his sword.
But before Koga could lift his sword, the samurai's blade had already sliced Koga's neck.
Large streams of blood spurted out from Koga's neck, splattering all over the nearby wall.
After killing Koga with one sword, the samurai didn't make any pause. He swung the katana in his hand downwards, shook off the blood on the blade, and left the place quickly.
Only a few other passers-by who happened to be in this alley were left screaming in terror...
…
…
After receiving reports from citizens, several colleagues quickly rushed to the murder scene in Koga.
Looking at the tragic death of Koga, these colleagues felt a discomfort in their stomachs.
"Hey!" one of them asked the citizens who happened to be at the scene when they were killed in Koga, "Have you seen the face of the murderer?"
The citizens nodded their heads one after another.
Seeing that these citizens had seen the appearance of the murderer, these comrades felt relieved.
Someone has witnessed the murderer's appearance - which will make it easier for them to investigate the case.
"I have to trouble you to come with us later." Another Tongxin said to these witnesses, "We need you to tell us the appearance of the murderer in detail."
There was an extremely obvious look of reluctance on the faces of these witnesses.
It was getting late now, and no one wanted to be questioned by the government warriors in such a late night.
Despite their reluctance, none of the witnesses clearly expressed their dissatisfaction.
After all, they are just ordinary people who usually keep their peace and do not have the courage to disobey the government.
Just when these Tongxin were about to take the witnesses back to their official offices, a man also dressed as Tongxin ran towards them.
"It's not good! There was also a murder in Miyuan District! A civilian had his throat slit and died!"
"Sanyuan District?" These colleagues exclaimed one after another.
Sanyuan District happens to be near here.
An unknown premonition emerged in the hearts of these concentric people.
Two murders occurred in such a short period of time - they had not encountered such a sensational thing for a long time...