Chapter 378 Encountered the villainous thief Ju Xiaomon [5600 words]
Edo, Yoshiwara, somewhere.
"Stop! Don't run!"
"Quick! Stop the thief!"
The two shouts attracted the attention of Natori and others who were patrolling somewhere in Yoshiwara, looking for Kiku no Monk.
There are a total of 25 people in their 6th division, including the leader Yunobu Natori.
Natori divided the 24 subordinates under his command into 4 teams, one of which guarded the gate of Yoshihara to prevent Kiku Kosuke from escaping from Yoshiwara.
The other three teams spread out and searched for Ju Xiaoseng from different directions.
One of these four teams was personally commanded by Natori.
Therefore, the team commanded by Natori himself was the team with the largest number of people, with a total of 7 people including Natori.
After these two shouts were heard, Natori and others followed the call and left one after another.
The people who issued these two shouts were two club officers wearing the special haori of the Shirobei Club.
They waved their long sticks and chased a middle-aged man.
According to the shouts of the two officers just now, this middle-aged man must have been stealing something, and unfortunately he was caught doing it.
This middle-aged man is very short in stature. Converted to modern earth length units, his height should be barely over 1.4 meters.
Although the thief is short in stature, his short body actually plays a big role in this moment when he needs to escape.
Because of his short stature, he can pass directly under the armpits of many people.
Not only that, his steps were not slow at all, and he seemed to be very good at running in such crowded streets, so that the two officers chasing the thief were unable to catch up with him for a while.
Not only is it impossible to catch up, the distance between them is also getting wider and wider.
Looking at the two officers of the Shirobei Club who were chasing the thief, Natori sneered:
"You run really slowly. In our Huo Fu Thief Reform, if anyone runs at such a speed, he will be severely criticized."
"But this kind of speed should be considered a barely acceptable speed in a place like Shirobei Club."
As soon as Natori finished speaking, another subordinate standing behind Natori immediately echoed:
"In fact, I have always envied the people who work in the Shirobei Club. Not only is the work easy every day, the thieves they face are just petty thieves. Moreover, they can serve the public among a bunch of beauties. It really makes me wonder when I think about it.
It’s so comfortable.”
As soon as this man finished speaking, his colleagues around him laughed in agreement.
Colleagues around him also spoke out to participate in this topic.
"From what you said, it's true. Working in Yoshiwara is really pleasant. Not only are you surrounded by beautiful prostitutes, but the work is also relaxing. You don't have to deal with thugs who kill without blinking an eye."
"I've actually always been curious. When the officers of the Shirobei Club went to Yoshiwara's Wandering Girl's House, would those who went to the Wandering Girl's House consider the price to be cheaper for the sake of the Shirobei Club?
?”
"I'm so excited after hearing this. I'll just apply to be transferred to work at the Shirobei Club in the future."
Until the thief and the two officials chasing the thief disappeared from the sight of Natori and others, the two officials failed to catch the thief.
Upon seeing this, Natori and his colleagues burst out laughing again.
"Similar to the rumors, the standards of the officials at the Shirobei Club are generally not very good." Natori curled his lips.
"After all, the Shirobei Club is just an organization in charge of Yoshiwara." One of Natori's subordinates said, "It is too difficult to expect their officers to be as elite as our Hufu Thieves Kai."
"Who said just now that he would send his subordinates to cooperate with us in hunting down Ju Xiaoseng? With his subordinates at this level, there is no way they can cooperate with us. It would be good if they don't cause us any trouble."
After everyone ridiculed Shirobei Club, Natori waved his hand:
"Okay, stop chatting, don't forget about business."
"Hurry up and find Ju Xiaoseng, and then arrest Ju Xiaoseng and bring him to justice. This way we can go home early to sleep and rest."
"I hope the information is correct and that Kiku-chan is really in Yoshiwara."
Speaking of this, Natori showed a wry smile.
"If the intelligence is wrong, then our trip tonight will be in vain..."
…
…
Edo, Yoshiwara, somewhere.
After leaving the Shirobei Club, Gua Sheng led four colleagues and resumed patrolling Yoshiwara.
Although it had been some time since he left the Shirobei Club, Gua Sheng was still getting angrier as he recalled the attitude of the gang of thieves who had changed the officialdom.
"It's really annoying." Gua Sheng kicked away a pebble on the ground in front of him, "What do you mean by an 'outsider'..."
Just now, when Shirobei was negotiating with the officials of Huofu Thief Kai in the club, Gua Sheng was not at the scene.
It was only after she heard the story from Keiemon and others that she found out what these gang of thieves-turned-officers had said.
Even though he was not there at the time, Gua Sheng still felt angry after just listening to his colleagues' retellings.
Looking at Gua Sheng who was still sulking in front of him, the four colleagues who followed Gua Sheng and patrolled around Yoshihara with Gua Sheng all showed wry smiles.
"Miss Guasheng." One of the four people chuckled, "Although the gang of officials who were reformed by the thieves just now obviously despised our Shirobei Club, they were not wrong..."
"The Hufu Thieves Kai are recognized as the strongest armed security force of the shogunate."
"They basically have all the equipment that the army has."
"They fight and kill those vicious criminals all day long. In terms of combat effectiveness and fighting will, many armies may not be as good as them."
"Maybe the combat effectiveness of a few troops stationed in the north, such as the Northern Army Corps responsible for monitoring Lucia and Ezo, and the Red Guards directly under the general, is stronger than them."
"In terms of experience in catching those vicious criminals, they are indeed far better than us who usually can only catch thieves and rotten people who fail to pay back their credit..."
Guasheng opened his mouth, wanting to say something to refute what his colleague had just said.
But after thinking for a moment, Gua Sheng couldn't think of a word to refute.
Because what her colleague just said was not wrong...
Although I am very reluctant to admit it, in terms of experience in catching vicious criminals, the official officers of their Shirobei Club are indeed far inferior to the official officers of Huofu Thieves...
When it comes to "catching vicious criminals", Huo Fu Thief Kai is indeed an expert in this field...
Unable to refute his colleagues' words, Gua Sheng felt even more depressed.
After snorting coldly, he kicked the pebbles that appeared at his feet away with all his strength again.
"Forget it. Let's not talk about how to pay off the thieves." Gua Sheng made a heavy "hum" sound with his nose again, "They do their thing, and we do ours."
"We continue to focus on patrolling."
"That vicious criminal named Ju Xiaoseng may be somewhere in our Yoshiwara area right now."
"So you all cheer up."
"It is said that the Ju-chan is short in stature, has a bald head, and carries a wakizashi with him."
“Look out for people who fit these characteristics.”
"This little monk Ju can also use small tools and techniques."
"So when you meet someone who looks like Ju Xiaoseng, remember to pay more attention."
"Xiao Ju Zu Shu?" The officer walking at the back looked puzzled, "What is this?"
"A martial art that combines bare hands and wakizashi that spread during the Warring States Period." Gua Sheng introduced, "Because it is a killing technique that was born on the battlefield, it is very powerful. After encountering a master with small skills, you must
Pay more attention."
"I see..." The colleague who just asked what Xiaoju Jujutsu was nodded, and after a moment of silence, he let out a few chuckles, "It would be great if we could catch this little monk.
"
"If we can capture this young monk, our Shirobei club will definitely receive many rewards from the shogunate in the future."
Institutions like the Shirobei Club that are linked to public security have something similar to an indicator.
Once you catch a criminal who has committed a heinous crime, you can get a lot of rewards.
The criminal's degree of ferocity and fame are linked to the reward.
Kiku no Monk is one of the more famous villains in Edo in recent times. He not only kills people frequently and steals goods, but also specializes in robbing women who are weak in resisting.
If they, as official servants of the Shirobei Club, could arrest Kiku Komono and bring him to justice, they would indeed receive considerable rewards, and at the same time, other organizations and other bureaucrats in the shogunate would take a high look at their Shirobei Club.
Hearing what his colleague said, Guasheng smiled slightly:
"Then you have to meet Ju Xiaoseng."
"Don't forget, our Yoshihara is quite big."
"Besides, whether that Kiku-chan is here or not is a problem for us in Yoshiwara."
"Stop thinking about capturing Ju Xiaoseng alive. We just need to concentrate on patrolling... huh?"
Guasheng, who was just passing by an alley at a leisurely pace, suddenly stopped.
Then he frowned his beautiful eyebrows slightly and turned to look at the alley beside him.
Guasheng and the others are currently located somewhere west of Yoshihara.
Because this place is quite far away from Nakano-machi, it is considered a deserted area in Yoshihara, with not many pedestrians on the road.
Because Gua Sheng paused, the four colleagues who were following Gua Sheng had to stop as well.
"Miss Gua Sheng?" the colleague closest to Gua Sheng asked, "What's wrong?"
"...it smells like blood." Gua Sheng said in a deep voice.
"The smell of blood?"
After hearing Gua Sheng's words, the four people sniffed vigorously.
However, they smelled nothing.
"Miss Guasheng, there is no smell of blood."
"Have you forgotten? I am very sensitive to the smell of blood." Guasheng said in a deep voice, while slowly pulling out the wooden knife from his waist, "Follow me."
After saying that, Guasheng held the wooden knife in his hand without hesitation, walked slowly through the alley beside him, and headed towards the depths of the alley.
These four colleagues of Guasheng looked at each other.
Although they couldn't smell the bloody smell in Guasheng's mouth just now, they still squeezed the long wooden sticks in their hands and quickly followed Guasheng's pace.
This is a fairly long alley.
There is a lot of garbage and sewage on the ground.
Gua Sheng ignored all the garbage and sewage on the ground. He only clenched the wooden knife in his hand, staring at the darkness ahead, and went deeper into the alley bit by bit.
It's not a sunny day tonight.
The moonlight passed through the clouds, which were neither thin nor thick, and hit the ground feebly.
Although the moonlight was not bright, Gua Sheng could still barely see the things in front of him clearly through the faint moonlight.
This alley is not only relatively deep, but also very winding.
After turning two turns in succession, like spring water gushing out from the cracks in the rocks, Gua Sheng gradually and bit by bit saw a strange bulge in front of him.
As Guasheng and others approached, the strange bulge on the ground in front gradually revealed its specific appearance under the outline of the moonlight.
is a person.
There is a man squatting on the ground in front of him.
However, before Guasheng could clearly see the appearance of the man squatting on the ground, the man suddenly ran away.
Seeing this man suddenly running away, Guasheng ran over quickly.
While chasing this man, Guasheng suddenly noticed that there was another person lying where the man was squatting just now.
It's a woman.
Judging from the clothes and decorations, this woman must be a wandering girl from a wandering girl's house.
The head of this wandering girl seemed to be injured, and a lot of blood dripped from the top of her head, dyeing her face with beautiful features bright red.
Although the chest is still rising and falling, the amplitude is quite small.
The clothes on her body were a bit unsatisfactory, and there was a nice-looking cloth bag lying next to her. A few coins were scattered out of the nice-looking cloth bag.
Robbery of wealth...?
Guasheng secretly said this in his heart with a heavy tone.
Gua Sheng, who had caught countless thieves, could tell what was going on at a glance.
The man who escaped just now attacked the poor wandering girl, then dragged her to this hidden place, and then rummaged through her body for money.
"Sanlang! Seungpachi! You two take care of this woman!"
"Tonosuke! Heisaku! You two come with me!"
After quickly giving instructions to his four colleagues, Guasheng clenched the wooden knife in his hand, lowered his body weight, increased his speed to the highest level, and chased the thief who had just escaped.
However, the thief was running extremely fast. Even though Guasheng was running at the highest speed he could achieve, he was unable to shorten the distance between himself and the thief.
After a while, the thief and Guasheng ran out of the alley one behind the other.
After leaving the alley, the surrounding light suddenly became brighter.
Thanks to the brightened environment, Gua Sheng finally saw the thief's face clearly.
A short, middle-aged man with a bald head.
He was wearing a tattered kimono and no shoes or socks on his dirty feet.
The kimono he was wearing was so dirty that even its original color could not be seen.
There was a wakizashi on his belt, and the wakizashi's handle and scabbard were covered in the same disgusting dirt as the man's clothes and body.
Looking at this person's appearance, a name emerged in Guasheng's mind.
It’s Ju Xiaoseng!
No matter from which angle you look at it, the thief's appearance is completely consistent with Ju Xiaoseng's appearance and features.
After Ju Xiaoseng rushed onto the road outside the alley, Guasheng noticed two colleagues standing guard at the intersection not far ahead.
At this time, these two colleagues also noticed the middle-aged man and Gua Sheng who were running towards them one after another.
There is no one in the Shirobei Club who doesn't know Guasheng.
After seeing Gua Sheng chasing a middle-aged man, the two club officials subconsciously thought that this middle-aged man must be another thief who had committed some crime, so they picked up the long wooden sticks in their hands and pointed at the man who was facing the court.
The thieves rushing towards them should go.
"Be careful!" Gua Sheng shouted at his two colleagues, "This person is Ju Xiaoseng!"
Guasheng’s reminder is quite timely.
Just now, after Shirobei learned that Kiku no Monk might be hiding in Yoshiwara, he immediately sent out personnel to patrol various parts of Yoshiwara, and the officers standing guard were on guard against Kiku Kosou.
These two officials had just learned that such a vicious criminal might be hiding in their Yoshihara.
After learning that this thief was the Ju Xiaoseng who alerted the Huofu thieves and rushed to Yoshihara, the two officers cheered up and tightened the long wooden sticks in their hands.
Although these two people have already tensed their nerves.
But...the gap in strength between them and Ju Xiaoseng is really too big.
After Ju Xiaoseng entered their attack range, the two men quickly waved the wooden sticks in their hands and swept towards Ju Xiaoseng.
Facing the two long wooden sticks in front of him that were being swept toward him, Ju Xiaoseng simply ducked his body and dodged the blows.
After dodging the attacks of the two officers, Ju Xiaoseng quickly pulled out the wakizashi from his waist, and then swung two swords in succession.
Kiku-chan was dirty all over his body, but the blade of his wakizashi was as clean as new.
The two sword lights wielded by Ju Xiaoseng swept across the bodies of the two officials in front of him one by one.
The light of the sword passed by, and the two officers screamed in agony and fell softly to the ground.
Perhaps because he was in a hurry to run away and did not have time to take good aim, Ju Xiaoseng's two sword strikes did not hit the vital points, so the lives of these two officials were not in danger for the time being.
Of course, it's just not life-threatening for the time being.
If the bleeding is not stopped in time and the blood is allowed to flow like this, death may still occur.
After seeing that Ju Xiaosheng had injured two of her companions, Guasheng's face darkened, and the hand holding the wooden knife tightened, and the joints began to turn slightly white.
After cutting down the two club officials who were blocking the way, Ju Xiaoseng turned around and turned into a rather deserted path.
And the place where this trail connects... is the bank of the Rashomon River.
…
…
at the same time
Edo, Yoshiwara, Shikiya.
"Eitaro, have you heard about the feat that Zentaro did yesterday?"
"I haven't heard of it, what's wrong with Zentaro?"
"Quintaro's body is very soft. He has been trying to lick his elbow recently. He finally succeeded last night."
Although Asai is responsible for talking, pretending to be like "of the couple, the woman is more talkative and the man is more taciturn", Asai occasionally listens to what Gokutaro is talking to his followers.
Kitaro's voice is very loud, and he does not deliberately control his volume, so even if his eavesdropping skills are not as good as Makimura's, Asai can clearly hear what Kitaro is saying.
Listening to the conversation between Ji Tairou and his follower just now, Asai frowned involuntarily, then lowered his voice and whispered to Makimura at a volume that only he and Makimura could hear clearly:
"Why do they always talk about such boring things...?"
"This is normal. Just continue to listen patiently. Maybe they will say something interesting later."
After saying that, Makimura drank the wine in the wine glass in one gulp.
Because he had already drank a lot of wine, Makimura's cheeks began to turn slightly red.
"Did you drink a little too much?"
"Don't worry, I won't get drunk no matter how much I drink with this level of alcohol."
After saying that, Makimura handed the empty wine glass to Asai again.
After pouring wine for Makimura for such a long time tonight, Asai's wine-pouring skills improved rapidly.
At first, there would always be a few drops spilled, but now he can accurately pour the wine into Makimura's glass with a very steady technique.
"Wow, I just realized now that your forearm muscles are so strong!"
At this moment, the girl sitting next to Ji Tairou suddenly exclaimed.
"Of course!" Ji Tairou said in a proud tone, "I have been learning swordsmanship since I was a child! These muscles were developed after years of hard training!"
"That's right, I'm going to participate in the 'Imperial Trial Match' in the future. Are you interested in coming over and taking a look?"
"Then I will let you see how superb my swordsmanship is!"
"The swordsmanship I use is completely different from the 'dojo swords' used by those warriors!"
As soon as Ji Taro finished speaking, the expressions of Makimura and Asai changed one after another.
The two of them had the same idea at this moment. Finally, their work tonight was not in vain.
*******
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Trivia from this book that can currently be published:
Ogata's hair is actually very long, after all, it is tied in a bun.
After letting her hair down, Ogata's hair can be draped over her shoulders.
ps: The author has recently been studying women's bust and cup sizes, and thinking about what measurements should be suitable for Atachi.