When he learned from his confidant that Makimura had escaped from prison, Abe felt angry and aggrieved.
Angry at Makimura's escape.
He felt aggrieved because he had no way to save Makimura from escaping.
Makimura swaggered out of prison with the help of Hasegawa Heizo.
Hasegawa took Makimura away from prison on the pretext that he needed the prisoner Makimura to help him investigate the case.
Hasegawa's reason for taking Makimura away from prison is impeccable.
Abe was completely blameless for Hasegawa's approach of almost forcibly taking Makimura away from prison.
As a special security force, the Huo Fu Thieves have the privilege of temporarily transferring prisoners related to the case under investigation from prison.
Abe had no reason to protest or stop Hasegawa from taking Makimura away.
Thinking of this, Abe felt quite aggrieved.
In order to adjust his emotions, Abe walked slowly to the window and looked at the scenery outside the window.
The window of Abe's office just faced Nijo Castle in the distance.
As long as you stand in front of the window and look outside, you can see the magnificent Nijo Imperial Palace.
Looking at the Nijo Imperial Palace in the distance, a bit of jealousy flashed in Abe's eyes.
Abe Riri, who is just a major figure in Kyoto, is not qualified to participate in the banquet held in Nijo Castle tonight.
Abeleli raised his hand and touched the hair on his temples.
Abe's temples were already pale.
Touching the white hair on his temples, Abe couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
He is not young anymore.
So he knew that for the rest of his life he might not be able to go any further and reach a level where he could participate in a banquet of this level like tonight.
Putting down the hands stroking the white hair on his temples, Abe let out another long sigh.
"Lord Abe!"
Just then, there was a shout outside the door.
This is the voice of Abe's confidant.
After hearing the cry from his confidant, Abe immediately responded:
"Come in."
The sliding paper door was opened, and his confidant quickly walked behind Abe, who was facing the window.
"Lord Abe, someone found Makimura Yahachi on Sanoji Street."
After hearing the name "Makimura Yahachi", Abe immediately opened his eyes wide, turned around, faced his confidant and said loudly:
"Did you find Makimura Yahachi on Sanoji Street?"
"yes!"
The confidant used the simplest possible sentences to explain to Abe the unexplained explosion that occurred on Sanjiji Street and the nearby officials who went to check and found out about Makimura Yahachi.
"...Are you sure that person is Makimura Yahachi?"
"There are very few people with the height of Makimura Yahachi. I can be sure that the person who just appeared on Sanjiji Street is Makimura Yahachi." The confidant responded.
After his confidant finished speaking, Abe was silent for a while.
Then, a look of ecstasy appeared on his face.
"Go!" Abe shouted, "pass my order - go after Makimura Yahachi!"
Abeleli is very happy now.
Just now, he was troubled by the fact that he had no way to take out the escaped Makimura Yahachi, but now Makimura Yahachi himself has handed over the clue.
Hasegawa can indeed use "case handling needs" as an excuse to remove Makimura Yahachi from prison.
But this does not mean that criminals released from prison can be allowed to walk freely on the streets.
Now that Makimura Mihachi appears on the street, Abe has enough reason to chase Makimura back.
Not only that, after recapturing Makimura, Abe could also use the excuse of "taking away the criminal but failing to take good care of the criminal" and give the chief who dared to go against him and took Makimura away from prison under his nose.
Tanichuan gave a harsh impeachment.
Upon hearing Abe's order, a slight hesitation appeared on the faces of his confidants.
"Lord Abe, the explosion on Sanjiji Street..."
Abe, who knew what his confidant was planning to say, said first:
"We will investigate slowly after the explosion on Sanjiji Street! Chase Makimura Yahachi back first!"
There was a bit of reproach in Abe's words.
After noticing the accusation in Abe's tone, his confidant hurriedly said in a panic:
"Yes, yes! I will go and do it immediately!"
"etc!"
When the confidant was about to leave the room, Abe called out to the confidant.
"I want to take action myself!"
After saying that, Abe took down the knife placed on the knife holder beside him, then, holding the knife in his hand, he led his confidants and walked quickly out of the room.
Abeleli is very happy now.
He had already begun to imagine the scene of recapturing Makimura Yahachi.
The reason why he ordered the arrest of Makimura Yahachi tonight was to complete a perfect plan of "killing three birds with one stone".
1: After capturing Makimura Yapachi, I can really disgust this guy who has always had a bad relationship with him since becoming Kyoto Yuriki.
Two: Makimura Yahachi can be used as a witness to impeach Koshinosuke Kamiyama for "appointing someone who is not even an official to intervene in major cases."
Three: After successfully impeaching Kamiyama, who has always been at odds with Toda, he can be praised by Toda Tadahiro.
When he just learned that Makimura escaped with the help of Hasegawa, Abe thought that his perfect plan had gone bankrupt.
And now, the reality before Abe tells Abe: his plan can still be implemented!
And this plan evolved into a perfect plan that "killed four birds with one stone".
If Makimura Yahachi can be recaptured this time, Hasegawa Heizo, who dared to oppose him tonight, can be impeached for "dereliction of duty and failure to properly monitor criminals transferred from prison, causing the criminals to escape."
This perfect plan of "killing four birds with one stone" is really hard to find even with a lantern.
And it is not difficult to complete this perfect plan - just recapture Makimura Yahachi.
When he thought of this, joy appeared on Abe's face uncontrollably.
Under the impact of this strong joy and excitement, Abe decided to take action personally and lead the team to recover Makimura Mihachi...
…
…
Kyoto, Nijo Castle, Ninomaru Garden.
If you want to say who has the highest status in this banquet tonight except the Daimyo Tokugawa Munemu of the Owari Domain, then no matter you ask anyone present, he will definitely answer:
Toda Tadahiro was appointed as the deputy director of Kyoto, and Hota Mashun was appointed as the deputy director of Osaka Castle.
Osaka Castle - the representative of the shogunate in Osaka Castle, responsible for the city defense of Osaka Castle, and in charge of the shogunate servants on duty in Osaka. At the same time, it monitors the Kansai daimyo, and holds the power of military command and litigation in the event of an emergency in Kansai.
In terms of position level, it is equivalent to that of Kyoto.
"Hotita-sama! Please!" Toda, who was sitting next to Hota, once again enthusiastically toasted Hota.
After Toda raised his glass to toast him again, Hota immediately put a smile on his face and responded to Toda's toast.
Toda, who was toasting Hotta, had a smile on his face, but the smile on his face was mixed with a bit of... provocation.
Hota, who noticed the provocation on Toda's face, instantly felt angry.
Hota understood what Toda's smile that was a bit provocative meant - Toda was showing off to him that he had won Tokugawa Munumu's favor again.
After putting down the wine glass, a slightly unnoticeable expression of displeasure appeared on Hota's face.
Hotta and Toda were not on good terms.
Toda Takashi was appointed as the agent of Kyoto, but he kept neglecting his duties - Hota hated this deeply.
Hotta wanted to report Toda more than once.
However, Toda has not made any achievements in terms of political ability. On the contrary, he has always done a perfect job in "preventing accusations and impeachment from others." He has been unable to find anything to arrest Toda.
Toda also knows that Hota has been trying to find excuses for him, so while Toda is working harder to make everything watertight, he also looks for every opportunity to provoke Hota - just like just now.
After receiving a few words of praise from Tokugawa Munumu tonight, the proud look on Toda's face has not dissipated until now.
Looking at Toda's triumphant face, Hota felt inexplicably angry.
Because Toda came to toast him again just now, the wine glass on Hota's desk was empty.
Upon seeing this, the maid on the side quickly ran to Hota's side and refilled Hota's wine glass.
While the maid was pouring wine for Hota, she suddenly turned her head to one side and whispered something in Hota's ear.
When the maid finished speaking, Hota's pupils shrank suddenly.
He turned his head and looked at the maid with surprise.
The maid deliberately pretended not to notice Hota's gaze. After pouring the drink, she quickly left Hota's side.
Hota pursed her lips and fell silent.
After thinking for a moment, Hota stood up from behind the table and walked quickly outside the banquet.
The people around him only thought that Hotta might be going out for convenience, so no one paid attention to Hotta's sudden departure.
After quickly leaving the banquet, Hota first pretended to go to the toilet.
After they were far away from the banquet site, they suddenly turned behind a big tree.
Behind this big tree, stood a middle-aged man.
A...middle-aged man who has been waiting here for a long time for Hotta to come over.
"Hotita-sama." The middle-aged man was the first to say hello.
"Lord Kamiyama."
Hota said in a calm tone. He and Kamiyama were just acquaintances, so his tone was a bit cold.
"Stop talking about pleasantries and get straight to the point. Tell me your plan that will give Toda Tadahiro a sharp blow."
The man standing behind the big tree, waiting for Hota to come, was none other than Kamiyama Koshinosuke.
At the same time, it was Kamiyama who bribed the maid and asked the maid to let Hota go behind this conspicuous tree when she was pouring wine for Hota.
Kamiyama asked the maid to tell Hota: Koshinosuke Kamiyama wants to discuss with you a plan that can give Toda Tadahiro a sharp blow behind the big tree.
"Hotita-sama." Seeing that Hota didn't intend to make more greetings, this was exactly what Kamiyama wanted, "There is a group of people secretly plotting something in Kyoto."
Kamiyama straightforwardly stated that the wife and daughter of the owner of the Inaba Academy of Metaphysics were kidnapped by a group of mysterious people, who made strange requests to the owner of the Inaba Academy, and that the wife and daughter of the owner of the Inaba Academy had been successfully rescued.
Tell Hota everything.
After listening to Kamiyama's words quietly, Hota frowned slightly and said:
"Then what? What are you going to do?"
"I brought Master Inaba's wife and daughter here disguised as my family members. The two of them are now sitting next to my seat."
Shenshan's tone was now a little more meaningful.
"Hotita-sama, if you take the wife and daughter of Lord Inaba to the feudal lord, and tell him: 'There is an extremely powerful force that is secretly plotting something in Kyoto, but the lord of Kyoto is still unaware of it.'
, guess what will happen?”
Upon hearing Kamiyama's words, Hota raised his eyebrows slightly.
After a while, Hota smiled and said:
"I see……"
"The wife and daughter of the owner of Inaba Hall are our witnesses. And we not only have witnesses, we also have physical evidence."
After saying that, Shenshan leaned down and picked up a long object covered with cloth that was lying at his feet.
After tearing apart the cloth covering the long object, Hota looked shocked and said:
"Iron cannon?"
"This is an iron cannon seized from the group that kidnapped the wife and daughter of Inaba Hall Master. As you can see - this is an extremely rare Nanban iron cannon. Not all forces can buy this iron cannon.
Cannon, if you go to see the feudal lord with this iron cannon, you will be able to sit back and watch 'there is an extremely powerful force secretly plotting something in Kyoto'."
"... We have witnesses and physical evidence. Lord Kamiyama, you are really well prepared." Hotta sighed, "No weapons are allowed at this banquet. I'm really lucky that you were able to bring this iron cannon in."
Shenshan's face showed a bit of helplessness:
"I feel ashamed to say that this witness and physical evidence were sent by others, not by me."
"As for the method of bringing the iron cannon in... I can say that it is the Kyoto town's practice. Try to bring in a long pole object that is not too conspicuous - I can still do this kind of thing."
Having said this, Shenshan paused, and then his tone gradually became serious:
"Hotita-sama, I know you hate Toda Taduhiro. And I also hate Toda Taduhiro."
"Although you and I don't have a close friendship, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"Xiaguan is just an official in the Kyoto town, and he talks lightly."
"It is up to you, as Osaka Castle, to bring this personal and physical evidence to speak directly to the feudal lord. Only then can you inflict the greatest damage to Toda Tadahiro."
"So——Hotita-sama, are you willing to cooperate with me?"
Almost as soon as Kamiyama finished speaking, Hota said loudly:
"Of course! I will never refuse something that can really make Toda Tadahiro disgusted."
Upon hearing Hota's words, a smile of relief appeared on Kamiyama's face.
Kamiyama and Hota returned to the banquet site one after another.
After returning to the banquet, Hota led Inaba and his daughter, who had been sitting at the Kamiyama seat, towards Tokugawa Munumu's side.
Due to his position, Kamiyama did not have the power to approach Tokugawa Munumu.
But Hotta does.
After arriving at Tokugawa Munumu's side, Hota whispered a few words into Tokugawa Munumu's ear.
Tokugawa Munemu, whose expression changed slightly, slowly put down the wine glass in his hand, said loudly, "Everyone, continue, I'll leave for a moment," and then followed Hota, Inaba, his wife and daughter towards the outside of the banquet.
Looking at Hota and Tokugawa Munemu who suddenly left the table, Toda's expression changed.
He instinctively had some bad premonitions...
It didn't take long for his bad premonition to come true.
A maid quickly ran to Toda's side, and after saying something to Toda, Toda walked calmly in the direction where Hotta and Tokugawa Munemu just left...
Not long after, the three of them and Inaba's wife and daughter came back.
The expressions and looks on the faces of the three people are different.
Hota's face felt refreshed.
Tokugawa Munumu had a cold face.
Toda's face was pale and he was a little unsteady when he walked.
After returning to his seat, Toda quickly waved to his subordinates who were waiting not far away.
"Go!" Toda said in a deep voice to his subordinates, "Go and give the order to Abeleli. Tell Abeleri exactly what I will say next..."
…
…
Kyoto, in an inconspicuous street.
"Lord Fuma." Amachi asked Fuma in a surprised tone, "How did you find us?"
"Komachi, have you forgotten?" A faint smile appeared on Fuma's face, "I used to be a ninja after all. Isn't 'tracking others' one of the things we ninjas are best at doing?"
"What's more, I'm also familiar with Kyoto."
"It's extremely easy for me to find someone in Kyoto."
After saying that, Fuuma casually threw the male ninja in his hand in front of Ogata and Atachi.
"Lord Fuma." Ogata asked this time, "What's going on with this guy?"
"It's a long story."
Feng Mo spoke eloquently.
"Because I encountered something related to Brother Ogata, I decided to come to you two and report to you."
"I was looking for it, and suddenly I found four guys dressed as male ninjas from Shiranui jumping up and down, as if they were looking for something."
"I was just curious, so I went over to take a look."
"Then I heard them mention Atachi's name."
"So I walked over and asked them what they wanted from Komachi."
"I didn't want to conflict with them. After all, I made an agreement with Shiranui 10 years ago and I would never take the initiative to cause trouble for Shiranui again."
"However, these four ninjas didn't answer my questions. They kept asking me if I had anything to do with Atachi."
"I told them honestly: I have a good relationship with Ating."
"Then they suddenly drew their swords and asked me if I knew the whereabouts of Ating."
"Now that they have drawn their swords, I can only fight back."
"I was once a ninja after all, so my counterattack was a little... stronger. I killed three of the four ninjas in one go, leaving only this guy."
Speaking of this, Fuma pouted angrily at the half-dead male ninja at the feet of Ogata and Omachi.
"Because I still wanted to ask him what he was doing with Atachi, so I gave him a break."
"Are you looking for A-Machi..." Ogata's eyes narrowed slightly, "A-Machi, do you know this person?"
At this time, Omachi leaned down and glanced at the face of the dying male ninja lying at her feet.
After seeing the male ninja's face clearly, A-Machi's face sank:
"...Well, I know him. His name is Heitaro, he is our jonin in Shiranui..."
"Sigh... I don't need it anymore when I'm old..." Feng Mo let out a long sigh at this time, and then sat on the ground aside, "It only took a few moments, but my legs were so painful that they have been shaking until now...
well……"
Ogata looked at Fuma's legs - indeed, as Fuma said, Fuma's legs were trembling slightly.
Looking at Fuma sitting on the ground resting, Ogata couldn't help but asked:
"Master Fuma...are you really in your seventies?"
"Hehehe." Feng Mo chuckled a few times, "I'm sure he's over seventy years old. I didn't have an easy time in that battle just now... Ah, that's right, that's right, I almost forgot about the business.
.I came to you specially to give you a message."
"Reporting?" Amachi asked in confusion, "What happened?"
"A very bad thing happened." Feng Mo smiled bitterly, "Brother Ogata, do you know? The Six Great Sword Halls are now claiming that you killed their master and many of their disciples, and are asking you to go to Erxiang Town.
Confront them. There seems to be something weird about those people."
"...Lord Fuuma, please tell me and Atachi about this matter in detail."
…
…
Fuma explained to Ogata the ins and outs of the matter in as simple a sentence as possible.
"I just went to Nixiang Town to take a look. I hid in the distance and eavesdropped on the conversations of some of the disciples of the six major sword halls currently entrenched in Nixiang Town. I found that they were all talking about some strange things.
Weird things. So I think there is something weird about these people."
"Something weird?" Ogata asked.
"I heard them repeatedly mentioning the name 'Ryuunosuke' and talking about 'capturing Ogata Ittosai alive' and so on."
"It's a pity that because I'm getting older, my ears are not working as well. I can't hear other more useful things."
After Fuuma finished speaking, A-Machi immediately cast a worried look at Ogata.
"Ayi... these disciples from the Six Sword Halls who are still alive, could it be..."
"...Hmm." Ogata said in a deep voice, "They should be the members of the 'gravediggers' who have sneaked into the six major sword halls..."
After learning from Fuuma that the "disciples" of the Six Great Sword Halls who were entrenched in Nixiang Town had repeatedly mentioned the name "Ryunosuke", Ouba was convinced that these "disciples" of the Six Great Sword Halls who were still alive
"Disciple" must be Ryunosuke's subordinates, that is, members of the "Grave Diggers".
"What on earth are the 'Grave Diggers' planning to do..." Ogata let out a long sigh.
Based on all the information known so far, it is not difficult to deduce that the "gravedigger" is forcing him to go to Nixiang Town.
For Ogata, Nixiang Town is obviously the Hongmen Banquet.
Ogata feels...very irritable now.
The "Gravedigger" first disguised himself as him and went around killing people in Kyoto, causing him to take the blame for no apparent reason.
But now, for some unknown reason, he was poured a basin of black water on him "suspected of killing the masters and many disciples of the Six Great Sword Halls" and forced him to go to Erxiang Town to attend the Hongmen Banquet.
The "gravediggers" kept causing trouble for him one after another. To be honest, Ogata felt... a little annoyed now.
No, I should say - it's very annoying.
This irritability accumulated in Ogata's chest, making Ogata feel like his chest was blocked.
"Well..."
At this moment, Ogata and Atachi heard a low groan of pain coming from their feet.
The two followed the sound and looked towards their feet.
Heitaro, who had been in a semi-dead state just now and had been in a coma just now, faintly woke up...
…
…
The deafening thunderous sound and the rolling sound of air waves are still echoing in Makimura's ears to this day.
——I...when was the last time I heard the sound of this bomb exploding...?
Makimura asked himself this for no reason, and asked and answered himself...
——It seems...it was already 2 years ago...
…
…
2 years ago - March 7, the 8th year of Tianming (AD 1788).
Kyoto, somewhere outside the city.
"Shunroku, why did you drag me to this wilderness?" Makimura looked at Shunroku who was holding a square object in his hand with a puzzled look.
"Look." A proud smile appeared on Shunliu's face, "Didn't we catch a Nanman who smuggled over from Osaka in Kyoto a while ago and then fled to our Kyoto?"
"Of course I know. Isn't it the one who escaped from prison a while ago?"
"I learned a very interesting gadget-making technique from that Nanman."
"Very interesting thing?"
"Let you see it."
After that, Shunliu placed the square object in his hand under a big tree, then took out a fire stick and ignited a match rope-like thing on one side of the square object.
"Ah Ba! Come here!"
After lighting the match-rope-like thing, Shunliu hurriedly pulled Makimura towards a huge boulder in the distance.
Makimura, who didn't know what Shunliu wanted, allowed Shunliu to pull him and hide behind the boulder.
As soon as he dodged into the huge boulder, there was a loud explosion and a wave of air swept over him, causing Makimura's eardrums to ache.
"What is this...?" Makimura rubbed his ears on both sides while slowly crawling out from behind the boulder.
The square object has disappeared.
The big tree that the square object was leaning on had been blown off by its roots. The surrounding ground was scorched black, and flames could be seen everywhere.
"I call it an explosive bomb." Shunliu introduced to Makimura with a proud look on his face, "That Nanman taught me how to make this explosive bomb. In fact, the principle is very simple. Just mix gunpowder and other materials according to a certain proportion.
Make it.”
"Then why did Nanman teach you this?" Makimura couldn't help but ask.
"Of course he didn't teach me for free, there were conditions - the condition for teaching me was: I let him go."
"I was still wondering how the Nanman escaped from prison..." Makimura looked helpless, "So it was you who let him go..."
"It doesn't matter. He didn't commit any serious crime anyway. He just came to our country illegally. Let him go."
"Then - what's the use of learning this bomb-making technique?" Makimura said angrily.
"Actually, it's really useless." Shunliu said with a smile, "There are many skills that are not overwhelming, but there is no harm in learning another skill. Let's go, Makimura, let's go back to Kyoto."
"You dragged me all the way to this wilderness just to take a look at these explosive bombs... I always feel like I'm at a disadvantage..."
"Sorry, sorry. To make up for it, come to my house for dinner today. I'll ask Adian to cook you something you like."
"Oh? Then I won't be polite. But doesn't it matter? Will my frequent visits to your house affect your married life?"
"What are you talking about?" Shunliu raised his hand and hooked Makimura's shoulder, "We are brothers, there is no need to be so polite to me!"
"...If you think about it carefully, time flies so fast." Makimura sighed softly and said with emotion, "It was already half a year ago that you and Adian got married."
"Yes... time flies so fast... before I know it, I have become a man with a family... Ah Ba, you should hurry up! It's almost time for you to start a family."
"Hahaha! I'm not in a hurry about this kind of thing... hmm? Junroku... did I see it wrong...? Over there in Kyoto... is there black smoke?"
Junroku looked in the direction pointed by Makimura's finger - he saw black smoke rising from Lone in Kyoto.
Although they were far apart, the two of them could still vaguely see the flash of fire...
The two of them froze on the spot.
Within a moment, layers of cold sweat began to break out on both of their bodies.
No one needs to explain to them, they already know what happened...
After hurriedly running back to Kyoto, the two of them saw the citizens in chaos.
Back at the prison, the chaotic situation inside the prison was no better than the streets outside.
"Akiyama!" After seeing Yuli, who had a close relationship with him, walking in front of him, Makimura hurriedly stopped him, "What happened?"
"I don't know the specifics!" Qiu Shan looked anxious, "I only know that there was a fire somewhere! The fire was very strong!"
"Has the town fire department moved?" Shunliu asked urgently.
"The entire army has been dispatched a long time ago! But... the weather today is very dry! The wind is very strong! The fire may not be suppressed!"
"... Let the fire department and others find a way to suppress the fire!" Makimura said immediately, "Let's do what we can! Everyone listen! Come with me to assist the citizens of Kyoto to evacuate!"
Although Makimura and Junroku only sat in the position of Yuli for a short period of five years, due to their superb work skills and generous personalities, they have long been the mainstays in the training center.
After Makimura spoke out, everyone around him immediately seemed to have taken reassurance and slowly regained their composure.
At this moment, a voice sounded, causing the expressions of both Makimura and Shunroku to change:
"Everyone, listen! Come with me to Nijo Castle!"
"Lord Abe..." Makimura looked at the owner of the voice in astonishment.
Abe separated from the crowd and slowly walked to the center among the people around him and said loudly again:
"I say it again - come with me to Nijo Castle!"
"Lord Abe, I don't know what your rank is." Shunliu said solemnly, "Why are you going to Nijo Castle at this time?"
"Lord Toda just gave the order." Abe said in a calm tone, "Prioritize the protection of Nijo Castle."
"Nijo Castle is the symbol of the shogunate in Kyoto, and it is the official residence of the great tree in Kyoto. This cannot be lost."
"Lord Toda has given us a death order: demolish an isolation zone around Nijo Castle as quickly as possible to prevent the fire from spreading to Nijo Castle."
"Wait!" Makimura said urgently, "If we go to protect Nijo Castle, what will happen to the people of Kyoto?"
"Now we don't have the extra manpower to take care of things other than Nijo Castle!"
"Instead of saving people, you are going to save a building instead?" Shunliu gritted his teeth, "Stop joking!"
"What? Are you two going to disobey me?" After saying that, Abe seemed too lazy to pay attention to Makimura and Shunroku anymore, and turned his attention to the others, "What are you doing in a daze? Why don't you all take action quickly!"
The officers present looked at Abe, then at Makimura and Junroku, and finally - quickly walked out of the execution office and rushed towards Nijo Castle...
However - just as all the officials were rushing towards Nijo Castle, two people were running in the completely opposite direction to the others.
These two people are none other than Makimura and Junroku.
"Hey! Where do you two bastards want to go?" Abe rushed forward and grabbed Makimura's shoulders, "Do you want to disobey me... ugh!"
Before Abe finished speaking, the rest of his words turned into a startled whisper.
After he grabbed Makimura's shoulder, Makimura turned his head and glared at Abe fiercely.
Abe had never seen such a terrifying look before. Frightened by Makimura's look, Abe let out a startled groan, and then he collapsed to the ground in fear.
After Abe let him go, Makimura withdrew his gaze, followed Shunliu, and ran with Shunliu toward a road not far away that had become a mess.
The two of them ran to evacuate the civilians.
Abe was so frightened by Makimura's eyes that he collapsed on the ground, and there were several low chuckles from around him.
Hearing these sneers, Abe's face instantly turned red with grief and anger.
After hurriedly getting up from the ground, Abe stared in the direction where Makimura's back disappeared, gritting his teeth...
…
…
"Thank you for your help."
Shimada said sternly to the middle-aged man who was sitting next to Makimura's bedside and applying medicine to the wound on Makimura's forehead.
"You're welcome." The middle-aged man smiled, "Makimura-kun is an old friend of mine. It's only right that I lend a helping hand to him and his companions."
"Um..." Shimada said hesitantly, "I haven't asked for advice yet. Who is your step?"
"My name is Konraku." The middle-aged man said without hesitation, "I am an ukiyo-e artist and a tattoo artist. You should know that Makimura has a red dragon tattooed on his back, right? That red dragon was tattooed by me.
"
"It turns out that the red dragon tattoo on Konraku-senpai's back was tattooed by you!" Shimada exclaimed, "Your skills are so superb! The dragon pattern on Konraku-senpai's back is the most powerful I have ever seen.
Tattoo! Makimura-senpai seems to have a real dragon on his back!"
"Thank you for the compliment." Konraku smiled and nodded, "Oh, Makimura-kun seems to be waking up."
…
…
Like hot springs gushing underground, Makimura felt his limbs gradually regain strength.
Slowly opening his eyes, the first thing that caught his eye was a face that was quite familiar, but that he hadn't seen in a while.
Looking at this face, Makimura subconsciously whispered:
"Master Ji Lezhai..."
"Hey, hey, Makimura-kun, are you sleepy?"
The man sitting next to Makimura's bed smiled bitterly.
"Why do you use such an unfamiliar title? You should go back to the name 'Konraku-sama', it sounds much more pleasant. I usually only let unfamiliar guests call me 'Kirakuzai'."
"I'm sorry... I just recalled some past events, and unconsciously I went back to the old name I used to call you..."
Makimura turned his head and looked around him - he was lying on a bed, and Konraku was sitting beside the bed, applying medicine to the wound on his forehead...
Hasegawa was lying beside him, seemingly asleep.
Shimada was standing not far away and when he saw Makimura waking up, he hurried towards Makimura with excitement on his face.