Chapter 606 The demon knife that slaughtered thousands of souls [6600]
"The best swordsman in Edo and the demon sword Chana?" Makimura's eyes burst out with interest, "What is this? It seems very interesting. Miss Aqian, can you tell us more about it?"
Aqian shrugged: "I don't know much. I just happened to hear the words 'Edo's No. 1 Swordsman' and 'Demon Sword Zana' when I was serving them drinks."
"And I'm also busy now..."
Aqian let out a long sigh.
"If the lady boss sees me chatting with customers here instead of doing business, I will be scolded."
"That's it, forget it." Makimura smiled, "Then Miss Aqian, you can go on and do your own business. Ah, two plates of fennel beans, don't forget to bring them."
"Okay."
As soon as Aqian left with the dish in his arms, Asai turned his attention to Shimada, a native of Edo: "What are the No. 1 swordsman of Edo and the demon sword Chana?"
"Uh... well..." Shimada looked embarrassed, "I don't know very well. Edo has a population of one million, and there are some unknown rumors born every day, and I have always been interested in these rural rumors.
Not interested, so I never paid attention to it..."
"Then go ask the people at that table." Makimura grinned, "I happen to be very interested in the best swordsman in Edo and this demon sword."
"Please wait for me for a moment. Ah, I will ask you to keep my Odachi for the time being."
After saying that, Makimura, who was not carrying any weapons, picked up two bottles of unopened sake, and then strode towards the table of guests who had been making noisy noises since just now.
"Everyone! Can you add me?"
As Makimura spoke, he squeezed in among the guests at the table with a very familiar look on them, looking at them with doubtful eyes.
For Makimura, who has been crawling and wallowing in a mixed environment since childhood, "naturally blending into other people's circles" is simply a trivial matter to him.
Sure enough - the people at Makimura's table, who initially looked puzzled and looked at Makimura warily, began to chat with Makimura over wine after a while.
Makimura asked about their identities. They were all ordinary construction workers who could be seen everywhere in Edo. They would go to various izakayas to have a few drinks together almost every night, and talk about what they called "big events in the world" together.
Their behavior of spending a lot of money to drink every night is in line with the personality of the Edo people.
Edo people are famously not fond of saving money. If they have money today, they will spend it today. After spending it all, they will make more money tomorrow and then spend it again, and the cycle repeats. Hence, this saying was born: "'
Edozi 'doesn't have overnight money in his pocket'
Why Edo people generally like to "get drunk now" is quite complicated. A very important part of the reason is that the food and entertainment industries in Edo are too developed.
There are snack bars, restaurants, and izakayas everywhere. There are countless storytellers and jugglers. There are also gold-selling caves like Yoshiwara that most Edo men dream about.
The overdeveloped food and entertainment industries made Edo people dizzy and unable to restrain their desire to enjoy themselves, so they gradually developed the character of spending whatever money they had every day.
After quickly getting to know the guests at this table, Makimura didn't waste much time and went straight to the topic:
"Brother, I just heard what you seemed to be talking about about 'Edo's No. 1 Swordsman' and a demon sword. What is this? I'm from out of town. I came to Edo for the first time, and this is the first time I heard something about 'Edo'."
Where is the No. 1 Swordsman?"
"Oh! This!" A young man with a broad nose sitting next to Makimura let out a big belch, and then continued, "Are you interested in this?"
Makimura nodded vigorously.
"Hey, since you are interested, let me tell you. Brother, do you know Yamada Asemon Fumiaki?"
"Yamada Asemon Fumaki?" Makimura raised his eyebrows, "Yeah, I've heard of it."
Some time ago, when I accompanied Shimada to the Shimada family's residence, I happened to meet Shimada's father inviting someone from the Yamada Asaemon family to try out the sword. It happened that Makimura heard about "Yamada Asaemon" at that time.
The name "Emon Fumaki".
"He is the seventh generation head of the Yamada Asaemon family." Makimura added.
Broad-nosed nodded vigorously: "Yes, that's him, he is the number one swordsman in Edo."
"That Yamada Asemon Fumaki is the current number one swordsman in Edo?" Makimura looked shocked.
Broad-nosed nodded, but after nodding, he smiled bitterly and said: "Actually, there have always been different opinions on who the title of 'Edo's No. 1 Swordsman' belongs to."
"But at this stage, the most people think that Wen Xian is the current best swordsman in Edo - at least we all agree that Wen Xian is the well-deserved number one swordsman in Edo."
"Because there are the most rumors about Wenxian showing his powerful swordsmanship."
"Brother, do you know how the Yamada Asaemon family practices swordsmanship?"
"I don't know." Makimura shook his head honestly.
"The Yamada Asaemon family has been responsible for serving as executioners and sword testers for the shogunate for generations, so in order to practice swordsmanship, the Yamada Asaemon family has a very unique swordsmanship training method."
Having said this, Kuan Noi patted the back of his neck.
"Brother, you may not know - when cutting someone's head, the best place to insert the knife is between the third and fourth bones on the back of the neck from top to bottom. From this position, the knife can cut the head
Cut most beautifully."
As early as when he was still a Yuli in Kyoto, Makimura had heard such trivial knowledge from a colleague who was a jailer.
But in order not to spoil the interest of the wide nose, so that the wide nose could continue talking, Makimura deliberately pretended to be stupid and nodded as if he didn't understand at all: "So beheading is so particular..."
"That's right. So in order to practice the accuracy of swinging the sword, the Yamada Asaemon family created this training method: put two tatami mats together, and then swing the sword to split the gap between the two tatami mats."
"The gap between two tatami mats?" Makimura frowned, "The gap between two tatami mats that are joined together... is that gap only as wide as a few hairs?"
"Yes." Kuanbi nodded, "So this training method is simply incredible."
"It is said that it is a great achievement to be able to accurately insert the knife into the gap between the tatami mats every time without damaging the two tatami mats that are joined together."
"The Yamada Asaemon family has been undergoing this kind of training for generations, so everyone in the Yamada Asaemon family is a fierce and accurate swordsman. I want to chop the third bone on the back of your neck and
The gap between the 4th bone should definitely be cut into the gap between the 2nd and 3rd bones.”
"The current head of Asaemon Yamada, that is Fumaki, is a swordsman who has perfected the accuracy of his sword."
"I heard that Wenxian could cut off the wings of flying flies without damaging the fly's body."
"Chopping off a fly's wings without damaging the fly's body... this is too exaggerated." Makimura couldn't help but laugh.
"This rumor may be an exaggerated fabrication, but a real incident happened recently related to Wen Xian's powerful swordsmanship. That's what we were talking about just now."
Kuan Noi picked up the wine glass, took a few gulps of wine, and then continued vividly:
"Chopping off the heads of criminals sentenced to beheading at the execution ground has always been one of the main tasks of the Yamada Asaemon family."
"Just a few days ago, Wen Xian was invited to the execution ground as usual to chop off the head of a murderer."
"But after pulling back the hair on the back of the murderer's neck, everyone at the execution ground was surprised to find that the man had the five characters 'East Photo Daquanxian' tattooed on the back of his neck."
"This scared everyone in the execution ground to death. Tosho Daigover is now the sacred name of Ieyasu Lord." [Ieyasu Lord: Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogunate of the Edo shogunate. As for the sacred name, you can understand it as similar to a temple name.
Something like a posthumous title]
"After careful interrogation, I found out that before committing the crime, this guy knew that he would definitely be arrested and executed, so he had these five words tattooed on the back of his neck to disgust the government officials."
"Slashing the back of the neck with Ieyasu's divine name tattooed on it is a very disrespectful act."
"If you want to change the punishment, you have to report it to various levels, which is very troublesome."
"Just when everyone in the execution ground was at a loss what to do, Wen Xian, who had looked indifferent from the beginning to the end, showed his sword."
"Bunxian is a well-known sword-drawing master in Edo. It is said that his sword-drawing skills were so fast that his enemies were beheaded before he realized that his opponent Wenxian had already drawn his sword."
"Wen Xian first used his sword-drawing skills to peel off the skin of the prisoner's neck that had the words 'East Zhao Daquanxian' tattooed on it."
"The prisoner didn't even have time to scream. Wen Xian swung his knife again and chopped off his head."
"It wasn't until Wen Xian shook off the blood on the blade and put it back into its sheath that the human skin with the words 'Dongzhao Daquanxian' tattooed on it fell to the ground."
It must be said that this broad-nosed man has a talent for storytelling. He told this short story so vividly that even Makimura was fascinated by it.
"Use the sword-drawing technique to peel off the skin from the back of a person's neck..." Makimura's eyes showed unconcealable astonishment.
Although he didn't have much research on the sword-drawing technique, he also knew how difficult it was to use the sword-drawing technique to peel off the skin on the back of the neck of a person who was kneeling on the ground in a standing position.
"By the way, what I just said is not fabricated at all." Kuanbi added, "I know a person who works at the execution ground. Wen Xian is executing this guy who has the Tosho Daigon seal tattooed on the back of his neck.
Before, my friend happened to be present, and these were real events that happened just a few days ago."
"What's going on with the demon sword Zena?" Makimura asked.
"Oh, this is the sword that has been passed down from generation to generation in the Yamada Asaemon family when we were talking about Bunxen."
"The demon sword Zena is a family treasure passed down from generation to generation of the Yamada Asaemon family."
Having said this, Kuanbi took a few more sips of wine to moisten his throat.
"The full name of Chana is 'Vairochana'."
"Vairocana is the sword of the previous generation of the Yamada Asaemon family: the sixth generation head of the Yamada Asaemon family, Yoshihiro Yamada Asaemon."
"According to legend, this sword is made of special steel and a special sword-making technique. It is indestructible."
"Ji Heng always uses this sword when executing people."
"I heard that until Jiheng passed away, he used Vairocana to send at least a thousand people into the underworld."
"After Yoshitsune passed away, he left a family motto: always pass on Vairocana to the best disciples of Yamada Asaemon's family."
"Vairochana has now been passed to the hands of the current seventh generation head: Wen Xian."
"However, Wen Xian was not like his father Ji Heng, who used Vairochana to execute everyone. He only took out this precious sword when executing warriors. When executing civilians, he used ordinary swords."
"It is said that this sword, which has only been passed down for two generations, has killed thousands of people."
"Because this sword was bathed in too much blood, gradually everyone called this sword an evil sword, a demon sword."
"Some people even say that only those who are also serious in killing can control Vairocana. Otherwise, ordinary people will not be able to use this sword at all, and will only be corroded by the evil spirit of this sword."
Makimura has always been indifferent to gods and ghosts, so he automatically ignored the ridiculous statement behind his wide nose that he was "eroded by the evil spirit of the sword".
"I see..." Makimura nodded, "But there's one thing I don't understand - why is this sword named 'Vairochana'? Isn't Vairocana the name of Mahavairocana in Buddhist Tantric Buddhism?" It feels very strange to name a knife specially used for executing people 'Great Sun Tathagata'."
"I don't know about that." Broad-nosed shrugged, "You have to ask the sixth generation of the sword, Mr. Yamada Asaemon. But now even if you want to ask, you can't. Mr. Yamada Asaemon The head of the Sixth Generation is dead long ago."
"Speaking of Yamada Asaemon-" At this time, the tall man sitting opposite Broad Nose suddenly said, "The quality of the rendan pills produced by Yamada Asaemon seems to be much higher recently."
"I have a very wealthy friend. His wife has lung disease and must take Rendan pills regularly to stay alive."
"He told me yesterday: The quality of the human gallbladder pills recently produced by the Yamada Asemon family is very good, and his wife's complexion has become much better recently."
"Ouch." Kuai Nozhi sneered, "The Yamada Asaemon family's gallbladder pills are not that easy to use."
"I don't deny the role of their Rendan Pills in treating lung diseases."
"However, Rendan Pills are only effective for a small number of people, and most people have no use at all after taking them. There are even people who did not cure their lung diseases after taking Rendan Pills, but got new diseases instead."
"You can't say that." The tall man said angrily, "If no one had the guts, my friend's wife would have died long ago."
…
…
The broad-nosed man and the tall man had a heated argument over "whether the gallbladder pill is useful or not."
While they were arguing there, Makimura, who had obtained the information he wanted, had quietly returned to Asai and Shimada.
After returning, Makimura told the two of them what he had just heard in a concise and concise manner.
"He became a demon sword due to too much blood..." Asai said with disdain, "It's nonsense."
Shimada nodded in agreement.
"Am I right?" Makimura grinned, "In the izakaya, you can often hear some interesting things that you have never heard of before."
Makimura cast a smug look at Asai, who had said a moment ago that he "didn't understand the fun of drinking in an izakaya."
Asai pretended not to notice Makimura's gaze and drank in small sips.
Makimura and the others all regarded what they just heard about "Edo's No. 1 Swordsman" and "Yao Sword Zana" as common topics of conversation after dinner.
After the three of them chatted on this topic for a while, they naturally turned to the next topic that had nothing to do with swordsmanship and demon swords.
…
…
At this moment——
"Ah! Mamiya! Look! What's that behind you?"
"Ms. Gendai... This method of tricking me into looking back and then secretly replacing the chess pieces is really clumsy." Mamiya sighed softly and said helplessly.
In the mansion where Calabash House and others are hiding, Mamiya plays a game of chess with the idle Gen.
After Ogata and Omachi left Edo and returned to Ezo, Genichi lived a regular life as always...or rather drank very regularly.
I sit in a corner drinking wine every day, and when the mood strikes, I paint for a while.
Unlike Makimura, who likes to drink at izakayas, Genichi likes to stay at home and drink, and does not like to drink in too noisy environments.
Occasionally, Genichi would play chess, karuta and other small games with Mamiya and others like he does now.
At this moment, Genichi, who was playing shogi with Mamiya, was defeated by Mamiya not long after the game started.
Although Genichi struggled hard, his pieces were captured one after another.
finally--
"General."
Following Mamiya's words, there was a loud "pop" sound.
Yuan Yi scratched his hair, glanced around the chessboard a few times, and found that he was unable to recover. He let out a sigh of relief: "You lost again... Mamiya, your chess skills are really strong."
"After all, I once learned to play shogi in Edo." Mamiya said calmly, "But rather than saying that my chess skills are superb, it is more that your level is too poor, Mr. Gendai."
"You are so merciless." Genichi grinned. Although Mamiya said this, there was no trace of annoyance on his face.
"Do you want to continue?" Mamiya asked.
"No." Yuan Yi stretched hard, "It's too boring to play with you. I can't win no matter how I play. I'm going back to my room to drink."
After saying that, Yuan Yi stood up and strode towards his room.
Seeing that Genichi didn't want to play anymore, Mamiya didn't say much and silently packed up the chessboard and chess pieces.
At this moment, Lin's voice suddenly sounded from behind Mamiya:
"Kuro."
"Lord, what's wrong?" Mamiya turned to look at Kinoshita Rin behind her, who was walking quickly towards them.
"It's nothing. I just saw you alone here and didn't know what you were doing, so I came here to take a look."
Mamiya told Lin about the game he had just played with Yuan.
"I'm just bored right now." After summarizing what just happened, Mamiya asked with a smile. "My lord, do you want to come and play chess with me?"
"No." Lin twitched her lips, "I'm terrible at chess. I only like to watch other people play chess, but I don't like playing chess with others."
"That's it..." Mamiya sighed softly, then scratched his hair with a wry smile, "Then what should I do now to pass the time... Lord, is there anything I need to do now?
"
"I really hope that Makimura and others can take the initiative to ask me for things to do like you." After making a joke, Lin shook her head, "I don't have anything on hand for you to do right now."
Speaking of this, Lin paused.
Then he looked at Mamiya with a meaningful look.
"...Kuro, since you are bored now, why don't you try to go for a walk outside?"
Mamiya's brows raised slightly.
Lin then continued:
"In a few days, we will go back to Owari."
"Edo is also your hometown."
"I think you can take a walk around our long-lost hometown before we go back to Owari."
"Of course - I won't force you."
After finishing speaking, Lin said no more, turned around and left quickly.
Mamiya was left alone, kneeling on the spot with a thoughtful look on her face.
…
…
The next day, early morning——
Oshu, Toyonan Town——
"Mr. Majima, where are we going now?"
As early as last night, Ogata had taught Azuki that he should call his pseudonym "Mashima Goro" in public places or when there are outsiders.
Ogata, Amachi, and Azuki were walking side by side on the road leaving the hotel where they stayed last night.
The sky had just brightened, and Ogata and the others picked up their luggage, led their horses, and set off on the road.
"Go to Owari." Ogata said to the kunoichi who was walking on his right and was going to move with them from today on, "find a friend of mine who has a wide network of contacts."
"Looking for your friend?" Azhu raised her little head and looked up at Ogata with difficulty, "Why are you looking for your friend?"
"I will tell you this later."
Having said that, Ogata looked back behind him as if involuntarily, at the hotel where they stayed last night, which was about to disappear from their sight.
"What's wrong?" Amachi, who was walking on Ogata's left hand side, asked, "Did something leak at the hotel?"
"...No." Ogata shook his head, "It's nothing, let's go on."
After saying that, Ogata withdrew his gaze, lowered the bamboo hat on his head, and continued to move straight forward.
…
…
The departure time of Isshiki and his grandson was earlier than that of Ogata and his companions.
When Ogata and the others just left the hotel, Isshiki and the others were already about to leave Toyonan Town.
"What a pity..." Naoshu, who was walking side by side with Isshiki, let out a long sigh.
"What a pity? What's a pity?" Isshiki, who had changed back to men's clothing, asked.
"What else is there to regret? Of course it's a pity to miss Ogata Ittousai." Naoshu shook his head with a slightly depressed expression, "I thought hard all night last night, but I couldn't think of a way to retain Ogata Ittousai.
…”
Zhi Zhou let out a sigh of relief.
"Perhaps we and Ogata Ittousai are destined to have no connection... We can only let Ogata Ittousai, who we finally met, part ways with us..."
"originally……"
Naoshu turned his head and cast a strange look at Isshiki beside him.
"I also thought about using a beauty trap to win over Ogata Ittosai."
"Ogata Ittosai is an upright hero, and we happen to have a beauty who is not yet married and is worthy of this hero."
"But it's a pity - Ogata Ittosai already has a wife."
Zhizhou let out a long sigh again.
"My Isshiki family is also a famous family in Osaka. Girls in our family should not belittle themselves or be other people's concubines under any circumstances. Even if the other party is the famous Ogata Ittosai."
"It's true that we and Ogata Ittousai are not related by fate... Hmm? What's wrong? Isshiki, why do you look so weird?"
"Ah?" Isshiki didn't know what kind of "weird expression" Naoshu mentioned, but he immediately raised his hands and rubbed his cheeks subconsciously, "No, it's nothing..."
Naoshu mistook Isshiki for making him unhappy by saying that he had considered betrothing Isshiki to Ogata in order to win over Ogata, which was why Isshiki showed the weird expression just now.
"Isshiki, why are your temper getting worse and worse now?" Naoshu said helplessly, "I only considered betrothal you to Ogata Ittousai, but I didn't actually implement it, and this idea just happened
If it pops up, I will cancel it myself."
"As I said just now - girls from our Isshiki family must not debase ourselves and become other people's concubines under any circumstances..."
Naoshu, who was talking endlessly, didn't notice that Isshiki was not listening to him at all.
While Naoshu was talking endlessly, Isshiki silently turned his head to look at Fengnan Town, which they had left behind.
There were complicated emotions in her eyes as she looked at Fengnan Town.
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PS: The "Yamada Asaemon family's unique sword-training method" and "peeling off the skin of a person with the Tosho Daigongen tattoo" in this chapter are said to be real deeds.