Ogata, Hasegawa and others quietly listened to Granny Ku's chatter all night.
It wasn't until late at night and Granny Cao's physical strength failed that she finally ended the conversation, which was mostly done by Granny Cao.
After returning to his room, Ogata did not lay down the quilt directly to sleep.
Instead, he sat by the window holding Da Shitian in his arms.
As if waiting for someone.
And the person Ogata was waiting for didn't make Ogata wait too long.
After a while, a magnetic middle-aged male voice came from outside the door:
"Ogata Ittosai. It's me - Hasegawa Heizou."
"Just open the door and come in."
Wow.
The paper sliding door was opened.
Hasegawa Heizou's not very majestic figure appeared in Ogata's field of vision.
Hasegawa came alone.
Not only did he come alone, but he also took off the knife from his waist and carried it with his right hand.
After entering Ogata's room, Hasegawa walked to Ogata casually and knelt down in front of Ogata as if he were entering his own home. He was not timid.
"...Ogata Ittosai." Hasegawa said softly, "You seem to have guessed that I would come to see you secretly."
"Of course." Ogata shrugged, "Seeing me, a person who was supposed to have died on Butterfly Island, reappearing in front of you, you can't not come to see me, right?"
"I didn't expect you to escape from Butterfly Island..."
"Not to mention a small butterfly island." Ogata chuckled a few times, "Even if I am trapped in hell, I will try my best to fight my way out."
Speaking of this, Ogata tightened his grip on Daishiten in his arms.
"Let's stop chatting here, Hasegawa-sama."
"Want to fight or draw - you choose."
"If we want to make peace, we two groups will pretend that we have never met each other - I welcome you warmly."
"If you want to fight, take me, the thief, back to prison - I will accompany you at any time."
"But if we want to fight, let's change the venue first and then fight."
"It's not easy for Grandma Cai to run this hotel by herself."
"I don't want to kill people here and affect Grandma Cao's business."
A dead person appears - a taboo in hotel management.
If a war breaks out here, regardless of breaking things, just the bodies that die here will seriously affect the reputation and business of Granny Kuo's hotel.
After saying this, Ogata said nothing and quietly waited for Hasegawa to give his answer.
Hasegawa looked Ogata up and down several times with complex eyes.
Then——
"...Let's just pretend that no one has seen each other."
Hasegawa sighed softly.
"If I start a war with you, I don't care whether I win or lose."
"Even if we can win, I'm afraid there won't be many people left who can stand properly."
"I still have important tasks to carry out in Kyoto. I can't just arrest you and affect the tasks that should be completed."
"It turns out you didn't decide not to start a war with me because you respect me?" Ogata asked in a half-joking tone.
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"I do respect you as a person." Hasegawa said softly, "But after all, I am an official and you are a thief. Keep public and private affairs separate - this is the principle I have always abided by."
Hasegawa grabbed the tatami that was placed on the tatami next to him.
Just when Hasegawa was about to leave, he suddenly stopped his feet as if he remembered something.
"By the way. Ogata Ittosai." Hasegawa turned around again, "Just now you suddenly stuffed me with cakes and told me, 'Don't just talk,' I always felt that there was something behind your words - your
Do these words mean anything?"
"...Hasegawa-sama, do you know why Grandma Cai suddenly asked you if you could investigate the Tianming Fire?"
"have no idea."
Ogata explained to Hasegawa concisely and concisely how her originally happy family was destroyed by the Tianming fire.
After listening to Ogata's explanation, Hasegawa looked shocked.
"So that's it..."
After listening to Ogata's explanation, Hasegawa immediately understood why Granny Kui had just asked him whether he came to Kyoto to investigate the Tianming Fire...
"...Thanks for letting me know."
After leaving these words, Hasegawa left Ogata's room without staying any longer.
After seeing Hasegawa leave, Ogata also closed his eyes, leaned against the wall behind him, hugged Dai Shiten in his arms, and began to sleep.
Compared to sleeping lying down, Ogata is now more accustomed to sleeping sitting up.
If he sleeps sitting up, once something happens - for example, an assassin attacks, he can respond quickly.
Although he has closed his eyes and fallen asleep, Ogata is actually in a state of half-asleep and half-awake - this is also a skill that Ogata has developed unknowingly.
When you fall asleep in this half-awake state, you can immediately notice and wake up if there is any movement around you.
Although the surrounding rooms were occupied by officials who had been converted from fire thieves led by Hasegawa Heizo, Ogata still slept exceptionally soundly without any psychological pressure.
Hasegawa also obeyed what he said - pretending not to see Ogata, and spent the night peacefully with Ogata.
Hasegawa, who still has a mission to attend to, does not want to lose his precious subordinates because of Ogata.
And Ogata didn't want to cause trouble in his life and bring trouble to Granny Kui.
Ogata, Hasegawa and others spent a peaceful night like this.
When it was just dawn, Xu Feng heard noisy footsteps coming from outside the door.
The noisy footsteps slowly moved from outside the door to the door of the hotel.
Ogata, who was awakened by the noisy footsteps, turned his head and looked out the window.
Hasegawa and his party have already mounted their horses and are getting ready in front of the gate of Granny Ku's hotel.
After watching Hasegawa and his entourage leave, Ogata withdrew his gaze, tightened the sword in his arms, and went back to sleep - Hasegawa and his friends had staggered their travel times with him and avoided each other.
Just what Ogata wanted.
…
…
"Your Majesty! Come! This is for you!"
After sleeping for half an hour longer, Ogata stretched and stood up slowly, preparing to leave Granny Ku's hotel and head towards Kyoto.
Just when Ogata was about to leave, Grandma Cai suddenly stopped him and handed several grandma cakes to Ogata.
"This is?"
"This is for you!" Granny Cake smiled.
"Ah, this..." Ogata was just about to politely refuse, but Grandma Kui stepped forward and said:
"Just accept it with peace of mind! It's just a few pastries! They're not worth much!"
Speaking of this, Grandma Cai paused.
Then he slowly revealed a warm smile.
"Thank you for chatting with me for so long last night with Hasegawa-sama and the others. Mother-in-law, I haven't had such a long chat for a long time."
"...You're welcome, then - I'll accept this grandma cake."
…
…
On the distant horizon, you can already vaguely see the shadow of a large blurry building.
Standing in the distance, Ogata looked at Kyoto, which was already very close at hand.
After learning that Xinni Village was very close to Kyoto, even if it only took less than half an hour on foot, Ogon temporarily left his horse in the care of Grandma Kuai.
Riding a horse into Beijing is not only too ostentatious, but also how to place the horse in Kyoto is also a problem.
So it would be more convenient not to ride a horse when entering Beijing.
Regarding Ogata's request to take care of the horse, Granny Ku accepted it without hesitation.
Grandma Cai, who has been alone for a long time, not only has no objection to this kind of work of taking care of animals, but even welcomes it.
Ogata is racking his brains now.
I racked my brains to think of ways to enter Kyoto.
Ogata has not forgotten his identity - a nationally wanted criminal.
Although he was arrested once by Hasegawa and others, it is unknown whether his wanted order was revoked when he was imprisoned a few months ago.
In this era of backward information circulation, it is not uncommon for criminals to have been arrested for a long time, but the wanted orders are still hanging out.
Ogata didn't want to encounter too many troubles outside Kyoto before he even entered Kyoto.
Just when Ogata was thinking about whether there was a safer and safer way to enter Beijing——
"Hehehehe..."
There was a low laugh from behind.
"Sir Samurai, you seem to have encountered some troubles, and I may be able to help you solve the trouble you are encountering now."
Ogata turned his head and looked behind him.
It was a short old man who was grinning at him.
Ogata couldn't help but look at the old man's face a few more times.
Because this old man's front tooth is missing - it's really hard to stop looking at it.
"Oh? Do you know what my trouble is now?"
"I don't know how to enter Kyoto - am I right? I have met many people like you, so I can tell at a glance that you are also the kind of person who can't show off for various reasons.
People who enter Kyoto."
The old man's words were actually no different from Ming's statement: "You are a wanted criminal."
"You know that I am the kind of person who cannot enter Kyoto openly, but you still dare to come and talk to me." Ogata said in a joking tone, "Old man, you are also very brave."
"That's natural. If businessmen like us who travel all over the world are not brave enough, we won't be able to achieve anything."
"I don't usually have the habit of reading wanted posters, so I don't know who you are - but this kind of thing is not important."
"Whether you are a law-abiding commoner or someone like you who is inconvenient to show off, the best way to enter Kyoto is to take the 'Seven Gates of Kyoto'."
"'Seven mouths of Kyoto'?" Ogata, who didn't know much about Kyoto, frowned.
"Two hundred years ago, after Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed his unification of Japan, he built a fortification called 'Odoi' in Kyoto."
This old man with a missing front tooth spoke to Ogata.
"The so-called 'Odoju' can be understood as a city wall."
"'Odoi' starts from Omiya in the north, Toji Temple in the south, Kamogawa in the east, and Kitano Shrine in the west. It surrounds almost all the main streets in Kyoto."
The old man knew the history of Kyoto very well.
“With the establishment of the ‘Odoju’, Kyoto was divided into ‘Luo Zhong’ and ‘Luo Wai’.”
"Although it is divided into two parts, almost all the best parts of Kyoto are in Luozhong."
"So it can be said - Luozhong is Kyoto, and Kyoto is Luozhong."
"And what connects Luozhong and Luobei is the 'Seven Ports of Beijing'."
"The current 'Seven Exits of Kyoto' are Nagasakaguchi, Kuramaguchi, Oharaguchi, Awataguchi, Fushimiguchi, Noriyuguchi, and Tanbaguchi."
"But actually - there are more than just these 7 gates to enter Kyoto."
"The gates entering Kyoto are not always the same. In addition to the construction of the imperial palace, there will also be new gates set up in the name of building imperial palaces and shrines."
"The number of checkpoints sometimes even reaches more than 10."
"As far as I know - there are currently 9 open gates."
"But when people go in and out of Luozhong and Luowai, they mainly take the 7 entrances I mentioned just now."
"If you want to enter Kyoto, there is no other way but to go through these passes."
"Besides taking these passes, is there no other way to enter Luozhong?" Ogata asked, "For example, taking the waterway or something like that."
The old man shook his head.
"If you don't go through these passes, the best way to enter Luozhong is probably to forcefully climb over the 'Otsutoju'."
"But 'Odoju' is not that easy to translate."
"'Odoui' is a fortification that Toyotomi Hideyoshi spent a lot of money to build."
"In the past two hundred years, the shogunate has never slackened in the maintenance and repair of the Odoju."
"Even the most skilled ninjas can't get past Otsuchi."
“If you want to enter Kyoto, the safest way is to take the ‘Seven Exits of Kyoto’.”
Having said this, the old man grinned his mouth wider.
The smile on his face also became a little more intriguing because his mouth opened wider.
"I still have a pretty good deal I want to make with you. This deal will allow you to pass through the 'Seven Ports of Beijing' and enter Luozhong in one go. What are your intentions?"
"...tell me about your business."
…
…
The Gion Festival is the busiest time of the year in Kyoto.
It's not just ordinary people who love the Gion Festival.
Those businessmen loved the Gion Festival very much.
Before daybreak, a large number of traveling merchants from all over the country gathered outside Kyoto, counting the goods they had shipped and calling for their companions. There were shouts in various accents.
These businessmen from all over the country have been preparing for this year's Kyoto Gion Festival dozens of days or even months ago.
Every year, the Gion Festival is a time for the common people of Kyoto to revel in carnival. They spend money they would normally be reluctant to spend at this time, so it is impossible for any businessman to let go of this great opportunity to make money.
As one of the largest and most important cities in Japan, Kyoto naturally cannot allow cats and dogs to come and go here at will.
A large number of officials are deployed at each of the "Seven Ports of Beijing".
Every caravan will be subject to heavy inspections when entering Kyoto.
The officials held books in one hand and pens in the other, checking all the merchants who planned to enter the capital one by one. While interrogating each traveling merchant who planned to enter Luozhong, they also collected tolls.
This is also the main reason for setting up the "Seven Gates of Kyoto" - to collect "passing fees" to fill the treasury of the shogunate.