Chanup held the pipe and took long puffs of cigarette, puffing away the smoke to his heart's content.
Although he was the person in charge of the entire Red Moon Fortress, he never did anything special for himself. He did not build himself any magnificent house, nor did he get himself a lot of waiters.
Chanup's houses are ordinary. In terms of style, many people's houses in Red Moon Fortress are more elegant than Chanup's.
In a word - Chanup's house does not look like the house where the top administrator of the Red Moon Fortress, where thousands of people live, lives.
Chanup just sat cross-legged in his spacious and elegant room, waiting quietly...
Waiting for someone to arrive.
Finally - the person he was waiting for came.
"Chanup. I brought the old man here."
"Come in." Chanup spat out a big eye circle.
The door curtain opened and the two of them entered.
The leader of the two men was the burly man who came to report to Chanup just now.
And behind this sturdy man was an elderly Lao He.
After the two people entered, Chanupu immediately turned his gaze, looking past the tall man and towards the old man. While Chanupu looked at the old man, the old man
People are also looking at Chanup.
The emotions contained in their eyes were surprisingly similar - they both seemed to be looking at strangers.
"Kimship, thank you for your hard work." Chanup said to the burly man, "Kimship, do you have anything to do next?"
"There's nothing important to do." Kim Shipp scratched the lush beard on his chin.
"Okay. Then do me a favor." Chanup turned his attention to the door of his house. "I hope you can help me guard the door now and don't let anyone in - including my daughter and my son."
"Everyone?" Kim Shipp asked in surprise.
"That's right. Everyone."
"I understand." Kim Shipp nodded solemnly, turned around and walked out the door.
As he turned to leave, Kimship subconsciously looked at the old Kazuto with doubtful eyes.
Kim Heep thought with his buttocks and figured out that the reason Chanup asked him to guard the door must be to better meet and talk with this old man.
He couldn't help but thought to himself: Who is this old guy...
…
…
"What are you discussing? It's such a lively discussion." Aisuma, who was walking home, held up her bow and looked doubtfully towards her three friends who were standing on the roadside discussing something.
.
"Aisuma, don't you know yet?" one of Aisuma's three friends asked.
"What do you know? I have been practicing bow just now." Aisuma shook the bow in her hand.
"Just now, a very old man came to our Heyezhe. It is said that he drove a dog sled to our front door in Heyezhe and shouted: Tell your father that the 'Tang Shen' is here."
"Soup God?" Aisuma raised her eyebrows.
"Aisuma, is this man your father's friend?"
Aisuma quickly ran through this name in her mind - she didn't remember that her father had a good friend named "Tang Shen".
Aisuma shook her head: "I don't know this person... maybe he is an old friend of my father's from long ago. Where is that Tang Shen now? Is he still outside the gate?"
"No longer. The soup god has been let in and taken directly to your father's place. When the soup god was taken to your father's place, we went to have a look. It was indeed a very old man.
Kazuto's hair and beard have turned white."
"Being taken to my father's place?" Aisuma frowned slightly, "That may be really an old friend of my father's... I'll go home and have a look now."
After that, Aisuma said goodbye to her three friends, and then walked quickly in the direction of her home.
As soon as Aisuma arrived at the door of her house, she saw Kim Heep who was just walking out of the house.
When Kimship saw Aisuma, he immediately raised his hands and stopped her: "Aisuma, you can't go in now."
Aisuma was stunned: "Why?"
"That's what Chanup told me," Kimship said. "He seemed to want to be alone with the old man who suddenly visited me. He told me to stay here and not let anyone in, including you and me."
younger brother."
Aisuma pouted: "Even I'm not allowed in...Who is that old Kazuto... Kimship, do you know that Kazuto named Yugami?"
"Aisuma, if you don't even know that Kazuto named Tang Shen, then I, a person who moved in after He Ye Zhe was established, even less know." Kim Heep smiled bitterly,
"But that Kazuto speaks Ainu quite fluently and standardly."
"Just listening to Kazuto speak Ainu, I can't imagine that this is Kazuto."
"So I guess that Kazuto might have lived with us Ainu people for a long time. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine how he could develop such fluent Ainu language."
…
…
Kimship obediently followed Chanup's instructions and left Chanup's house. After standing guard at the door of Chanup's house, Chanup raised his chin in front of him.
"Feel free to sit down."
The old man held the thick and long crutch in his hand, walked quickly to Chanup, and then sat down cross-legged like Chanup.
Chanup opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he seemed to have remembered something, his expression paused, and then he smiled bitterly:
"I almost forgot that your current name is Tang Shen... I almost wanted to call you by your old name."
"Tang Shen, you have aged a lot. When I saw you just now, I almost didn't recognize you... When was the last time we met?"
"I don't remember for a long time." Lao Kazuto - or Yugami said slowly in fluent and standard Ainu language, "Same for you... When I saw you just now, I almost didn't recognize you.
Now, you have become an old man."
"I shouldn't have changed as much as you, right?" Chanup shrugged, "You look like an ordinary old man now. Have you lived in peace for too long?"
Speaking of this, Chanup suddenly looked sideways and glanced at the thick and long crutch that Tang Shen placed on the right side of his body.
"...but this thing...you still carry it with you..."
"Okay, Chanup. Let's leave the small talk until later." Tang Shen crossed his arms and looked directly at Chanup in front of him, his expression slowly becoming serious, "I suddenly came to see you after a long absence, is it?
I have something very important to tell you."
"Just when I entered Heye Zhe, I discovered that you are still living a leisurely life. It seems that you don't know that something big has happened."
"Something big?" Chanup frowned, "What happened?"
Tang Shen let out a long sigh.
"Chanup, your Heyezhe... is going to be finished..."
…
…
The place where Ogata and the others are currently hiding——
Ogata raised his hand and touched Omachi's forehead - the temperature was almost the same as when he left last night.
At this time, Ogata had changed into clean clothes and washed away all the blood and stains on his body.
After taking back the hand that took A-Machi's temperature, Ogata turned to look at Ashley next to him and said softly:
"Has Machi woke up since last night?"
Ashley looked at Ogata blankly - she didn't understand the Japanese sentence Ogata just said.
Ogata was completely helpless in dealing with this language barrier... he could only hope that Aizan, who was out hunting, would come back soon.
Ogata grabbed the clean cloth next to him and gently wiped away the fine beads of sweat that had just emerged from Omachi's face.
"Mr. Majima, do you want to take a rest now?" Ashley, who was sitting next to Ogata, said while making sleeping movements, trying hard to use "sign language" to communicate with Ogata.
, "I see that you seem very tired... I think it's better for you to take a rest now... I will call you after lunch is ready. (Ainu language)"
After watching Ashley's actions many times, Ogata finally understood what Ashley meant.
No one would be able to act like a normal person after trying a round in a military camp where 3,000 generals were stationed.
Although Ogata was not seriously injured, the mental and physical exertion was considerable - especially the mental exertion.
There's nothing to say about his physical strength. He rushed left and right in the camp, basically relying on his feet to move around, and he even entered the "selfless realm" once in the process.
As for his mind - ever since he broke into the camp, Ogata's nerves have been in a tense state, guarding his surroundings and guarding against any possible attacks.
After successfully leaving the camp and relaxing his tense nerves, Ogata instantly felt fatigue pouring out of his brain and every muscle in his body.
The double exhaustion of mind and body indeed makes Ogata's current state look quite bad, reaching the level where "outsiders can tell at a glance that this person is very tired now."
Ogata, who understood Ashley's "sign language", was just thinking about whether to follow Ashley's suggestion. When he went to take a short rest, he suddenly heard a low gasp coming from his side.
The volume of this gasp was neither too loud nor too quiet - just enough for both Ogata and Ashley to hear clearly.
Hearing this gasp, Ogata and Ashley quickly turned to look at Amachi beside them, as if by conditioned reflex - Amachi, who had kept his eyes closed since Ogata left last night, now opened his eyes.
He opened a gap, turned his head, and looked at Ogata and Ashley.
Before Ogata and Ashley could say anything, Atachi took the lead and said to them in a weak tone:
"Is there water...?"
Ashley has been following Ogata, Atachi and the others for such a long time, and now Ashley can recognize some simple Japanese words.
She didn't understand what Atachi meant by what he just said.
But she heard the word "water".
O-Machi has been sweating profusely since last night, and he hasn't even drank a drop of water. It's strange that his body is not short of water. After realizing that O-Machi probably wanted some water, Akiri nodded vigorously and spoke in Ainu language.
After saying "There is water, there is water" several times, he quickly got out of the hunting cabin.
After a while, Ashley reappeared in front of Ogata and Atachi holding a large glass of warm water.
Ogata helped A-Machi sit up with one hand, and took the warm water from Ashley with the other hand. He first tried it himself, and after confirming that the water temperature was OK, he handed the cup of warm water to A-Machi, whose already cracked
lips.
Amachi, who was extremely thirsty, drank like a buffalo. In just two breaths, he drank up the large glass of warm water.
"Do you still want to drink?" Ogata asked.
A-Machi shook his head: "I'm already full..."
Seeing what Atachi said, Omoto handed the cup back to Ashley.
Just when Ogata wanted Amachi to lie down again, Amachi told Ogata one step ahead:
"Wait a minute... I kept lying down yesterday, and my back hurts from lying down. Let me sit for a while now. It will be good for my body."
"Don't you feel uncomfortable sitting down?" Ogata asked.
"No...it feels more comfortable for me to sit now..."
"Oh well……"
Ogata changed his sitting position, from sitting on the side of Amachi to sitting behind him, so that Amachi could use him as the back of the chair and lean against him.
Seeing this, Ashley held the cup that Ogata had just handed back with great discernment, and quickly left the hunting lodge, leaving plenty of space for Ogata and Omachi.
Ogata is actually not afraid of Ashley staying here - anyway, she can't understand the conversation between him and Atachi.
"How do you feel now? Is there anything uncomfortable?"
"Except for the pain from the wound and feeling very tired, everything else is fine..." A-Machi forced out a smile that wasn't pretty, "How long have I been sleeping? What time is it now?"
"You've been sleeping for 7 or 8 hours, and it's already noon."
"Have I slept for so long..."
After saying that, Omachi closed his eyes and rested his head on Ogata's left shoulder.
"Do you have an appetite to eat now?" Ogata asked, "Aizan went hunting and should be back soon. I'll see if I can cook something to nourish your body."
"I feel like my appetite should be okay now... I should be able to eat..." After that, Atachi buried his head into Ogata's shoulder, "Let's not talk about my matters for now...
…Tell me about your story…”
"My business?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
"You... smell very strongly of blood..."
Ogata's expression froze.
"Although your clothes look clean...but when I just leaned on you, I immediately smelled the smell of blood on your body..."
"As expected...are you still running to avenge me...?"
"...Well." At this point, Ogata couldn't think of any way to hide this matter, so he pursed his lips and nodded gently, "While you are sleeping, I will go and do it.
You took revenge. The guy who almost killed you is now sleeping forever."
After Ogata finished speaking, A-Machi slowly opened her eyes, then raised her head and looked at Ogata who was sitting behind her, using his body to act as the back of the chair for her. Deep in his eyes, there was an emotion that was difficult to describe in words.
emerge.
"You're not hurt, are you...?" she asked.
Ogata smiled and shook his head:
"I'm not injured. If you don't believe me, you can touch around and see."
"Why can't you bear it for a while..." There was a hint of reproach in A-Machi's tone.
She closed her eyes, rested the back of her head on Ogata's left shoulder again, and said no more words.
Seeing that Atachi stopped talking, Ogata couldn't help but said in a cautious tone:
"I thought you were going to scold me severely... scold me for not obeying your words..."
"I don't have the energy to scold you now..." Ating sighed softly, "And now that things have happened, there is no point in me scolding you anymore..."
"As long as you are fine..."
"Mr. Majima, Miss Atachi!"
At this time, Ashley's voice suddenly came from outside the house.
Ashley, who had just left not long ago, got back into the hunting cabin.
"Mr. Ayzan is back. (Ainu language)"
As soon as Ashley finished speaking, Ayizan's voice sounded from outside the house:
"Mr. Majima, you are finally back...ah! Miss Atachi, are you awake?"
Aizan carried a bow and arrow and a fat rabbit and followed Ashley into the hunting cabin. When he saw Ogata who finally came back and Amachi who woke up, he showed a look of surprise.
"I'm sorry for making you worry." Ogata said, "It's really hard for you to help take care of Atachi during my absence."
Ayizan quickly said: "It's nothing, please don't worry about it."
"Mr. Majima, you came back at the right time."
Speaking of this, a strange color appeared on Ayzan's face.
"There are... guests visiting."
After Ayzan hesitated for a long time, he finally said the word "guest".
*******
*******
Today's update is as late and infrequent as ever...I am guilty...(Leopard Head Cries.jpg)
The author's parents run a shopping mall, and they asked me to come to the shopping mall to help before I find a formal job, so I basically work during the day every day, and I can't start writing until I get off work at night.
So the author has now become a social beast... I can't guarantee that the number of daily updates will be large and large...
In short - in order to apologize, I won’t do any cold science knowledge today. Let me tell you about the subsequent plot of this book.
Misestimating the amount of plot is a traditional skill of mine... I had always thought that this book would be finished in the late summer or early autumn of this year, but now I realize that this was a complete fantasy...
Each current volume of this book has always been based on the "one volume, one map" model. The fifth volume is in Kyoto, the sixth volume is in Edo, and the seventh volume is in Ezo.
But the final volume, Volume 8, is not like this.
The stage of Volume 8 is extremely broad and spans multiple maps. I will now reveal a little bit about the maps involved in Volume 8 - Ezoji and Osaka.
Moreover, there are many forces involved in the final volume, including Buddhism, Ninja, Shogunate, Calabash House...
Because the map is vast and there are many forces, the amount of plot is also huge. Writing 800,000 words may not be a problem... In addition, the author is no longer a college student with too much time every day, so the amount of updates every day is not as good as before.
Therefore, there should be no chance to finish this book before next year.