Chapter 505 The Executioner Yidaozhai and the Insight of the North Gate【8800 words】
After Ogata and his party passed through the gate of the inner city wall and officially entered the Red Moon Fortress, they separated from Aisuma and others.
Aisuma and others went to recover.
Ogata and the others were first led to an open space not far from the gate of the inner city wall.
Ogata and the others were not left to dry for too long.
Soon, a group of young people came.
This group of people approached Chepke and talked enthusiastically to him.
After the conversation, Chepke excitedly brought Aizan to Ogata and Atachi.
"Mashima Goro, Omachi!" Chepke said, "Chanupu came to me and wanted to discuss with me in detail the detailed process and details of our stay in Qina Village. (Ainu language)"
Ayzan translated word for word.
"In addition to me, Chanup also found you two. I hope you two can follow me there. He really wants to see you. (Ainu language)"
"Chanup?" Ogata raised his eyebrows and nodded after thinking for a while, "Well, I understand."
…
…
Ogata, A-machi, Chepke, and several senior officials of Qina Village, led by several young people wearing the iconic bright red costumes of the Red Moon Fortress, headed towards the depths of the Red Moon Fortress at a leisurely pace.
Walk everywhere.
Along the way, Ogata kept looking around.
The scenery he saw along the way was no different from the scenery Ogata had seen when he visited Kuma Village and other villages before.
The Ainu, who were still in a tribal civilization, naturally did not have the ability to build any majestic palaces or any straight and spacious stone avenues.
Built on both sides of the road are Ainu-style huts made of stone, wood, straw and other materials.
Underfoot is a dirt road that has been constantly trampled by people and has gradually become solid over time. Probably to make it easier for people to walk, the snow on the road has been cleared away, revealing the original gray-brown appearance of the road.
When the weather is nice, the dust is flying.
When it rains, it turns into a mess of mud, like a swamp.
Sitting in such an advanced fortress, but still living a primitive Ainu tribal life - this gave Ogata an indescribable feeling of weirdness.
This feeling is like having a mansion with thousands of square meters, but setting up an extremely cheap camping tent in the lobby of the mansion, and then eating, clothing and sleeping in this tent...
Naturally, there were many people watching along the way.
Perhaps it was because many people had already received the news about the guests coming to the fortress, so there were quite a few villagers surrounding Ogata and the others, and watching Ogata and the others.
These people who came to join in the fun mainly came to see Ogata and Amachi.
They looked at Ogata and Omachi as if they were looking at rare animals in a zoo, and pointed at Ogata and the others in a low voice.
While Ogata was observing the living environment of the residents of Red Moon Fortress, he was also carefully observing the gazes of the onlookers.
The onlookers cast a variety of looks on them.
Have curiosity.
Have doubts.
There is indifference.
Of course, there is nothing less - hostility.
Ogata noticed that most of the people who looked at him curiously were very young people.
And those who cast hostile glances at him were from all ages.
The reminder that Chepke told Ogata before appeared in Ogata's mind at this moment: Red Moon Fortress just took in a group of people who were homeless due to the defeat in the war with Kazuto.
…
…
Chanup's home is located in the center of the fortress, and because the Red Moon Fortress is not an extremely big super fortress, Ogata and the others arrived at their destination quickly.
As the most powerful person in the Red Moon Fortress, Chanupu, the house he lives in has not changed much from the houses in which the others live.
The only difference is probably that Chanup's home is bigger.
After arriving at their destination, the young man who led Ogata and the others shouted something into the house.
Then, a deep response sounded in the room.
When the response fell, those who were leading the way for Ogata and the others stepped aside and motioned for Ogata and the others to come in.
Ogata untied the Daishiten from his waist, carried it with his right hand, and followed the others through the door.
After entering Chanup's house, Ogata saw a middle-aged man in his prime sitting cross-legged on the ground.
This middle-aged man had a dark blue turban on his head, long hair, and a thick beard on his face that only exposed his mouth and two eyes.
Because of age, the middle-aged man's hair and beard are a little whiter.
But his graying hair and beard were incompatible with his energetic appearance.
At this time, Chepke, who was walking in front of Ogata, whispered to Ogata and Atachi behind him:
"This is Chanup."
As soon as Chepke's introduction ended, the middle-aged man...or Chanup put on a warm smile and said loudly:
"Chepke! You are finally here. Your movements are much faster than I thought! Stop standing and come sit down! (Ainu language)"
After saying something to Chepke in Ainu, he turned his head and spoke to Ogata and Amachi in Japanese:
"These two must be Majima Goro and Omachi. Come on, come and sit."
Although Chanup's Japanese is fluent, his pronunciation is not standard, and Ogata can't understand some words, but overall he can understand what Chanup is saying.
"You speak Japanese very well." Ogata sat cross-legged next to Chanupu and placed the Great Buddha on the floor on the right.
Ogata is no longer surprised by Ainu people who can speak Japanese.
Ever since he entered the Ezo region and started contacting the Ezo people, Ogata found that he could always meet people who happened to speak Japanese and people who could translate him into Japanese.
So until now, Ogata has never worried about communication issues.
"Hahahaha." Chanup laughed heartily, "I used to...had a friend named Kazuto, and I learned Japanese from that friend."
After saying that, with a flash of memories in his eyes, Chanup picked up the pipe and the cloth bag containing the tobacco leaves next to him.
As soon as he put the cigarette in his mouth, he immediately took it off his mouth as if he remembered something.
"You don't mind the smell of smoke, do you?" Chanup asked Ogata and Atachi.
Ogata shook his head.
Atachi also shook his head.
After asking Ogata and Atachi, Chanupu turned to Ainu and asked the senior officials of Qina Village who came here with Chepke if they cared about the smell of smoke.
Chepke was an old acquaintance of Chanup, so Chanup knew that Chepke didn't mind the smell of smoke, so he didn't ask him.
After confirming that no one around him cared about the smell of smoke, Chanup put the cigarette in his mouth again, put the tobacco leaves, lit the cigarette, and started smoking heavily.
The two ethnic groups, the Kazuto and the Ainu, have been in love with each other for thousands of years. During these thousands of years of intense friction, the cultures of the two ethnic groups have also been constantly communicating and learning from each other.
Many items from the Ainu were passed down to Kazuto society - such as dog sleds.
Many of Kazuto's items were also passed down to Ainu society - such as pipes and tobacco leaves.
Ogata has been looking at Chanup carefully since just now.
It can be said that he has heard of Chanup's name for a long time.
Ogata had heard of Chanup's name a long time ago.
According to the various rumors Ogata heard about Chanup, Ogata had a vague impression of Chanup before he saw Chanup in person - to use one word to describe Chanup,
That is a heroic figure.
At the beginning, it was he who led several tribesmen to go south in search of a new home, and finally succeeded in finding this fortress abandoned by the Lucians.
After becoming the most powerful person in this fortress as expected, he worked hard to govern and gradually made the Red Moon Fortress grow.
According to Chepke and others, the current total population of Red Moon Fortress is over a thousand people. Looking across the entire Ezo Territory, there should be no second Ainu village with a population greater than that of Red Moon Fortress.
Now, after seeing this hero with his own eyes, Ogata found that Chanupu looked kind and gentle, not at all like the supreme ruler of a settlement with a population of thousands, but more like an ordinary uncle next door.
After taking two strong puffs on the cigarette and blowing out two smoke rings, Chanup turned his head and smiled at Ogata:
"Mr. Majima, welcome to Heye Zhe."
"I have heard about your deeds in detail from Chepke before."
"Although I have known for a long time that you are a very young person, I still feel very emotional after seeing your young face with my own eyes."
"To have such great skills at such a young age is really amazing and rare."
"Thank you for saving our compatriots."
Chanupu put down the pipe in his mouth and bowed his head to Ogata.
"Thank you for lending a helping hand to our fellow citizens."
Ogata quickly bowed in return.
"I can't take it seriously. I just did what I could."
"My wife and I should be the ones to say thank you."
"Thank you for letting my wife and I enter your land. It's been a great help to us."
"Hahahaha." Chanupu laughed loudly a few times, "This little thing is nothing."
Having said this, Chanup picked up his pipe again, brought it to his mouth and smoked twice more.
"I heard from Chepke before that you are looking for people everywhere."
"I will do my best to assist you."
"But - it's a coincidence."
Chanup put down his cigarette and puffed out two big eye circles.
"Just the day before yesterday, we just caught a weird Kazuto in the wild."
"We are temporarily keeping him in custody because we suspect he is a spy."
"Kazuto?" Ogata frowned slightly.
"Yes." Chanupu nodded, "He is a pretty old man. Do you want to go and see that Kazuto now? That Kazuto might be the person you have been looking for."
"If you can let us go and have a look, then of course we would like it." Ogata said immediately.
Kazuto caught in the wild - no matter what I think about it, it is full of necessity to go and see it.
Chanupu smiled and nodded, then shouted something in Ainu that Ogata couldn't understand outside the room.
The young men who were responsible for bringing Ogata, Chepke and others to Chanup's residence are still staying outside Chanup's house.
After Chanup's shouting ended, an ordinary-looking young man quickly entered the house.
"Mr. Majima, Miss Atachi, you should follow him to the prison where Kazuto is being held." Chanup said, "I will also have a good talk with Chepke and the others during your temporary absence.
Talk about moving into their village."
Ogata nodded.
…
…
Ogata and Atachi were led through one big and small road after another and turned into one intersection after another.
Naturally, there were still many people watching and discussing in low voices along the way.
On the way to the place where the "spies" were imprisoned, Ogata also learned more about the living environment of the Red Moon Fortress.
Ogata just saw a river.
This river is about 2 meters wide, flows relatively slowly, and has no ice in such a cold weather.
Not only was it wide, it seemed to be very long. When Ogata passed by the river, he could not see the head of the river whether he looked upstream or downstream.
The residents of Red Moon Fortress seemed to get their daily water from this river. Ogata saw many women carrying bottles and cans to this river to fetch water.
Ogata guessed that this river should be a tributary of the "several" shaped river outside the fortress.
The Red Moon Fortress was built on this tributary to facilitate the residents of the fortress to obtain and use water.
Red Moon Fortress is not a huge fortress, so it only took a few minutes for Ogata and the others to reach their destination - a shabby-looking hut.
Although the residents of the Red Moon Fortress occupy this advanced fortress, the life they live is still a tribal life, so naturally there are no facilities like prisons. So they only imprison people in an uninhabited hut.
.
There were two young men with bows and arrows guarding the outside of the hut.
The "guiding young man" who was responsible for leading Ogata and the others stepped forward and said something to the two guards, who nodded.
"Mr. Majima, Miss Atachi." The "guiding boy" opened the curtain of the window of this private house, "Please see if this person is the person you are looking for."
The doors and windows of the Ainu people are all made of a special kind of grass.
After the "guiding boy" opened the curtains of the window, Ogata and Amachi immediately stepped forward and leaned their heads towards the window where the curtains were opened.
A smell of dampness and mustiness came towards Ogata.
After unconsciously holding his breath, Ogata narrowed his eyes slightly and looked into the dim cabin.
This hut is a typical Ainu-style hut, converted into modern area units, it is about 10 square meters.
There was no furniture inside. Even without stepping into the house, Ogata could feel that the house was extremely humid and the air was filled with an unpleasant, pungent musty smell.
In the empty room, there was a person sitting cross-legged on the ground.
He is an old man.
He is probably in his early 50s, with mixed black and white hair and beard.
Tsukiyo's head is shaved, but because he hasn't taken care of it for a long time, some hair has grown on the top of his head.
Tsukiyo hair is such a troublesome thing, the top of the head must be shaved cleanly every once in a while, otherwise hair will grow on the top of the head, which will make the already ugly hairstyle even uglier.
In addition to the hair growing on the top of his head, the sideburns that did not need to be shaved and the bun on the top of his head were now messy. From a distance, Ogata could see a lot of dandruff on his hair.
He had a thick beard on his lips and chin that was unusual for this era.
During the Edo period, beards were not very popular among the samurai class or the common people.
Therefore, the probability of encountering a warrior or civilian with a thick beard on the street is not very high. The most common ones are various "white-faced and beardless" warriors or civilians.
An old man with a thick beard, which is rare in this era, is as messy as his hair.
Although the light in the room was dim, Ogata could clearly see that the old man's skin was darker, which meant that he had been associated with the sun for a long time.
Moreover, Ogata also found that this man's body was unexpectedly strong.
Even wearing thick clothes, Ogata could feel that this person's body was very strong, not the kind of body that could not help but frail.
At this time, he was sitting cross-legged on the ground, as if in a daze.
After the curtains were opened, he noticed the movement immediately, and then turned to look towards the window.
After discovering Ogata and Amachi who were looking into the house along the window, the old man was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly stood up, and then quickly rushed to the edge of the window, face to face with Ogata and the others.
"Kazuto?" The old man looked at Ogata and Omachi's faces full of Kazuto style with surprise, "Were you also caught as spies? Ah, it doesn't seem so."
After taking a look at Ogata's and his others' untied hands and the absence of escorts around them, the old man asked himself this question.
"Who are you?" The old man asked a new question like a barrage of questions, "Why can you, both Kazuto, look at me so arrogantly outside the cell, but I can only look at you inside the cell? Hello.
!It’s so unfair!”
The second half of the old man's words were addressed to the two guards responsible for guarding him.
The old man said this in Japanese, so the two guards did not understand what the old man was saying.
But after the old man finished speaking, the two guards showed a wry smile, then turned to say something to Ogata and A-Machi beside them.
After the two guards finished speaking, the "guiding boy" immediately translated for Ogata and the others:
"They said - this man is obviously quite old, but he is very...lively."
The "guiding boy" hesitated for a while, then uttered the word "lively" with a troubled expression.
"So they were both annoyed to death by the old man's quarrel, and they finally stopped for a while just now."
——I feel like he is a person with a strong personality...
After silently complaining in his mind, Ogata turned his head and looked at the old man again.
"This is the first time we meet, Majima Goro." Ogata said, "For some reasons, I and Uchiko are now guests of this Red Moon Fortress."
"This is Uchiko-Mashima Town."
"Gui'an." At this time, Ating also saluted the old man and said hello, "Just call me Ating."
"Guest?" A look of astonishment appeared in the old man's eyes.
After looking at Ogata and Omachi several times with astonished eyes, he cleared his throat and said seriously:
"This is the first time we meet, my name is Lin Ziping." The old man introduced himself, "I am a scholar. Although I prefer others to call me 'Mr. Lin', if you find it troublesome, just call me 'Lin'
it is also fine."
"Scholar?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
Lin Ziping...that is, this old man nodded heavily.
"Have you ever heard of my name? I remember that I seemed to be respectfully called 'The Prophet of the North Gate' by some people."
Ogata and Atachi shook their heads at the same time in perfect agreement.
Ogata never paid attention to the academic world of this era.
Not to mention Atachi.
As a poor student who couldn't even recognize a few Chinese characters, Atachi had no interest in academia.
"Forget it if you haven't heard of it, it's just some boring name anyway."
Lin Ziping didn't seem to feel sad at all about the fact that Ogata and Atachi didn't hear his name.
"In order to study academically, I came to Ezochi for a new inspection."
"Just a few days ago, I went nearby to study the surrounding terrain and landforms."
"Then he was caught by the people from the Red Moon Fortress."
"They suspected me of being a spy, so they forcibly took me here, and they have been locking me up like this ever since."
At this time, the "guiding boy" on the side added:
"When we found him, he was squatting on a hilltop, recording the surrounding terrain."
"After searching his back, we found that he had a large number of hand-drawn maps and records of topography and landforms in various places."
"We strongly suspected that he was a spy sent to collect our intelligence, so we decided to bring him back and let him go after confirming that he was indeed not a spy."
"He has a large number of hand-drawn maps and records of topography and landforms in various places..." Ogata turned his head and looked at Lin Ziping speechlessly, "It is totally reasonable for you to be regarded as a spy..."
"This boss should feel lucky." The eyes of the "guiding boy" burst out with cold light, "He did not have gold mining tools or gold sand on him at the time."
"If gold mining tools and gold dust were found on his body, we would not be so gentle to him."
"I will not do something as boring and time-consuming as gold mining." Lin Ziping immediately said angrily, "There are more more important things waiting for me to do!"
After saying that, Lin Ziping turned his attention to Ogata and A-Machi again.
"Mr. Majima! Miss Atachi! Since you are guests of Red Moon Fortress, can you help me talk to the senior officials of Red Moon Fortress? I am not a spy of the shogunate!"
"Look at my age."
Lin Ziping pointed to his black and white hair.
"Is it possible for the shogunate to send such an old man as a spy?"
"That's hard to say." The "guiding boy" said calmly.
After giving Lin Ziping a ruthless reply, the "guiding boy" turned his head towards Ogata and asked:
"I almost forgot about the real thing... What, is this old man the person you are looking for?"
Ogata shook his head: "No, he is not the person I am looking for."
"Huh?" At this time, Lin Ziping suddenly raised his eyebrows.
He looked at Ogata, then at Omachi.
"Are you two looking for someone?"
"Yes." Ogata nodded, "My wife and I are looking for two doctors now."
"Doctor...?" For some reason, Lin Ziping's brows suddenly wrinkled.
At this time, Ogata suddenly thought - before Lin Ziping was captured, a large number of hand-drawn maps of the Ezo Territory were found on his body, which meant that Lin Ziping had traveled to many places in the Ezo Territory.
He might have a clue.
"Mr. Lin." Ogata said to this old man full of personality using honorifics, "I ask you, have you ever met these two people."
Ogata informed Lin Ziping of the age and appearance of Xuan Zheng and Xuan Zhen.
After Ogata finished speaking, Lin Ziping lowered his head and remained silent, as if he was remembering something.
When Ogata was confused and was about to ask Lin Ziping what was wrong, Lin Ziping suddenly raised his head slowly and said to Ogata and the others:
"What a coincidence. Not long ago, I just met a strange-looking doctor in an Ainu village."
"That doctor is the village doctor of that village, but he is a Japanese doctor."
Ogata's eyes widened slightly in surprise: "Can you tell us in detail?"
"I remember this must have been more than a month ago."
"I passed by a certain Ainu settlement."
"The villagers in that settlement don't hate Kazuo, so they treated me quite warmly."
"It was in that settlement that I found the doctor."
"Because there are very few people who live in Ainu settlements for a long time, I have a deep impression on that person."
"He is the only Japanese in that village. He has pale hair, a vicissitudes of face, and a hoarse voice. He looks to be in his 50s."
Ogata's brows were already frowning at this time.
His hair is pale and he looks like he is in his 50s - these two characteristics are incompatible with either Xuanzheng or Xuanzhen.
Lin Ziping's narration continued at this time.
"That guy said his name was 'Zhongshan' and for some reason he ended up living in this settlement and became a village doctor."
"He didn't tell me the specific reason why he ended up there."
"The villagers in that settlement seemed to respect that man."
"That Zhongshan seemed quite normal at first."
"While passing by this settlement, he even invited me to sit at his home for a while."
"I was also very interested in this Kazuto who lived alone in the Ainu settlement, so I accepted his invitation and went to his home to sit for a while."
"Then, after arriving at Zhongshan's home, I found a compartment in Zhongshan's home."
"You should also know that most Ainu homes do not have partitions. Each home has only one living room. The whole family, including the whole family, needs food, clothing, and housing in this living room."
"I was curious, so I asked Zhongshan if that cubicle was the bedroom where he slept?"
"But who would have thought that as soon as I asked this question, Zhongshan, who was originally normal, suddenly became..."
Lin Ziping fell silent.
It's like thinking about words.
After a moment, he slowly said:
"Getting... hysterical."
"He growled and told me not to go near that cubicle."
"Just now he kindly invited me to his home, but after I asked that question, he drove me out of the house like crazy and told me to leave the village quickly."
"As I said just now, the villagers in that village respect Zhongshan very much."
"So after Zhongshan drove me away, other villagers also changed their friendly attitude and waved various weapons to drive me away."
"I was so scared that I ran away in a hurry."
Ogata and A-Machi have been listening to Lin Ziping's story quietly.
After Lin Ziping finished speaking, the expressions of both Ogata and Atachi became solemn.
"Why does it sound so much like a ghost story?" Ating said, "Aren't you making it up?"
Although A-Ting likes to listen to stories, he has always been insensitive to horror stories and ghost stories.
"I'm not making it up." Lin Ziping looked angry. "Everything I just said is true!"
"Then will you go to that village again?" At this time, Ogata asked.
"How could I go to that village again?" Lin Ziping said, "That Zhongshan looks crazy, how could I go there again!"
Ogata lowered his head at this time, thinking deeply.
According to what Lin Ziping just said about Zhongshan's appearance, it seems that Zhongshan is neither Xuanzheng nor Xuanzhen.
But this Zhongshan is a doctor, and this characteristic is consistent with Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen.
Moreover...that Zhongshan looks nervous...this feature is consistent with Xuan Zhen...
After Ogata thought for a moment, he made up his mind.
"...Mr. Lin." Ogata raised his head and said seriously to Lin Ziping, "Can you tell us where the village is?"
"Huh?" Lin Ziping raised his eyebrows, "What? Do you want to visit that Zhongshan?"
"Yes." Ogata nodded, "My intuition tells me that Zhongshan is worth visiting."
"So I want to meet him."
"So can you tell me where that village is?"
Lin Ziping looked at Ogata, then at Atachi.
Then, he lowered his head, a look of thinking appeared on his face, but he didn't know what he was thinking about.
After a while, he raised his head faintly.
"...How about we make a deal?" Lin Ziping stared at Ogata, "You help me get out of this hellish place. Then I will take you to the village where the doctor is."
Ogata's brows immediately frowned: "Help you get out of here?"
Lin Ziping nodded heavily:
"I still have a lot of important research to do."
Lin Ziping's expression was so serious at this time that Ogata subconsciously looked at him with the same serious face.
"I can't keep wasting my time here. Please, Mr. Majima, help me."
After saying that, Lin Ziping lowered his head to Ogata.
After Ogata stared at Lin Ziping for a while, he said in a deep voice:
"First of all - although A-Machi and I are guests of the Red Moon Fortress, our relationship with the senior management of the Red Moon Fortress is not so good that if we just say to them, 'Please let me go', they will obediently let me go."
degree."
"Secondly - how can we be sure that what you just said is true?"
"Finally - even if what you just said is true, how can we be sure that you will really take us to that village?"
"I can swear to you!" Lin Ziping seemed a little anxious now, "I swear what I just said is true..."
Before Lin Ziping finished speaking, he was interrupted by Ogata:
"If the oath was useful, then there wouldn't be so many tragedies in this world." Ogata said calmly.
Lin Ziping pursed his lips and lowered his head in silence.
"...Right now, I can't give you any real guarantee." After a moment of silence, Lin Ziping said softly, "All I can do is hope that you believe me."
"Believe me that I will not lie to you and will fulfill my promise in the future."
Lin Ziping slowly raised his head and looked at Ogata with serious eyes without any unnecessary emotions.
*******
PS: Smoking is harmful to health. If you can, please stop smoking.
If you must smoke, remember to ask the people around you if they mind the smell before smoking, like Chanup in this chapter, or go directly to the smoking area to smoke.
I personally hate people who smoke in public. Smoking in public does not make you handsome. On the contrary - you go to the smoking area to smoke or ask people around you if they care about the smell of smoke before smoking.
Only then can you look handsome.
Maybe there will be a girl who cares about the details of life who will be impressed by your careful behavior of asking people around you if they care about the smell of cigarettes before smoking.
*******
Today I will share with you a very interesting piece of trivia I learned in "What to do if you encounter a bear?"
There is a widely circulated saying on the Internet: After encountering a tiger/lion/bear, I don’t need to run faster than these beasts, I just need to run faster than other people.
This statement actually does not apply to bears.
Because according to the introduction of this book - bears sometimes directly attack the person who runs the fastest.
The author of the book also cited a case that he had personally experienced: a group of people once encountered a bear in the wild. When they were running for their lives, the bear actually let go of all the slower runners and chased them directly.
The one who runs the fastest.
In the end, only the fastest runner among the group was killed by the bear.
And that book also introduces it - there is some truth in pretending to be dead when facing a bear. Sometimes some bears will not attack a target that is stationary.
But whether you are escaping or pretending to be dead, there are certain risks. The safest way is to stand still and look at the bear. It is best to chat with the bear, because chatting with the bear can soothe the bear.