The previous chapter contains the author’s 2021 year-end summary, as well as some information about the next book. Those who haven’t read it yet can go and read it first~
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"When I was 14 years old, my grandmother and mother passed away due to end of life and illness."
Lin spoke in a calm tone about what should have been a very heavy matter for her.
"After my grandmother and mother passed away, in order to realize my own dream, my uncle and I left our hometown together."
"Dream?" A-Machi tilted his head and asked.
"I have no interest in any nonsense about reviving Toyotomi." Lin replied, "I never thought there was any possibility of reviving Toyotomi."
"My only dream since I was a child is to make a lot of money, to become a big businessman who never has to worry about spending money, and to live a life where I can eat whatever I want."
"So, not long after I left my hometown with my uncle, I founded Huluwu, a rice merchant whose main business was selling rice at first."
"Although I have no interest in reviving Toyotomi, I admire my ancestor Toyotomi Hideyoshi."
"My ancestor grew up in humble beginnings, a commoner who was not even a warrior. Through hard work and seizing opportunities, he rose to the throne of the world."
"I also came from a bad background. Thanks to my bastard brother who took away all the family's savings, I was almost so hungry that I had to pick up garbage to eat."
"So I am determined to learn from my ancestors."
"At that time, our ancestor Toyotomi Hideyoshi used the gourd as his horse seal (an indicator tied around the general to exaggerate the power of his army and indicate the location of his army's general). The gourd horse seal was completed with his ancestors.
The hegemony of unifying the world."
"So I decided to learn from my ancestors, so I named my chamber of commerce 'Calabash House' and made the gourd the symbol of my 'Calabash House'."
"After Calabash House was founded, after several hard struggles, we finally succeeded in making Calabash House operate stably and steadily brought me wealth."
"After I have some money, I want to equip myself with a good knife."
"After my uncle returned home, he accepted me as his disciple and taught me the Wu-Se Er-sword style."
"I have never had a good sword that can be named, and I have always been worried about this."
"After all, I am also a swordsman. Without a good sword, I feel like a part of my body is missing."
"So I used my connections to look around for a good knife that I could see."
"Then I found this Yama that was kept by Honjoji Temple."
Lin raised her hand again and touched Yama placed on the right side of her body.
"After my detailed investigation, I found out that this sword has a lot of connections with me. This Yama was once one of the hidden swords of my ancestor Toyotomi Hideyoshi."
"According to rumors, this knife is made of a special metal, so the blade is jet black."
"In terms of sharpness, it is not the top one."
"But in terms of toughness, no knife can compete with it."
"Out of my admiration for my ancestor Toyotomi Hideyoshi, I have a strong interest in this katana that was collected by my ancestors and am willing to keep it as my own."
"So I took Kuro who was under my command at that time and rushed to Honjoji Temple in Nara."
"By the way, Kuro's job at that time was to make a plan."
The corners of Lin's mouth were slightly raised, revealing a faint smile.
"Jiulang's abacus was very good, so he was in charge of my Calabash House's finances at that time."
"I once learned the abacus and accounting methods in Edo." Mamiya added abruptly.
“Before arriving at Honjoji Temple in Nara, I expected that this knife-buying trip would not go smoothly.”
"After all, this Yama is the treasure of Hongxiang Temple. It is impossible to buy this sword with just a few words."
"It turned out to be true."
"The host of Benxiang Temple: Yunhe, his attitude is extremely tough."
"I have already raised my bid to almost all my savings at that time: 1,000 taels of gold, but he remains unmoved and unwilling to sell Yama."
"I didn't want to give up this sword just like that, so I stayed in Nara temporarily. While enjoying the scenery of the ancient capital of Nara, which I had never visited before, I was thinking about ways to persuade Yunhe to sell the sword."
"That is, when I was temporarily staying in Nara...a monk from Honjoji Temple, Miku, secretly found me."
"He told me something...a truth that made me break out in a cold sweat."
At this point, Lin's face slowly darkened.
Mamiya's expression on the side no longer looks good.
"Mi Que told me: Yunhe, the abbot of their Benxiang Temple, although he looks kind and kind-hearted, is actually a villain who steals men and steals women from prostitutes."
"He has been taking advantage of his status as the host of a large temple to deceive girls who are devout to Buddhism, secretly detaining them in the temple, and humiliating them."
"Most of the senior staff of Honxiang Temple were involved in Yunhe's evil deeds, and Mique, who reported this to me, was once a member of Yunhe's group."
"According to what Mi Que said: After he was invited by Yunhe and joined their evil deeds, he initially enjoyed the feeling of being able to humiliate girls wantonly."
"But gradually, after seeing the tragic conditions of the girls, Mi Que, who was not as desolate as Yun He and others, gradually felt pain, and finally could no longer bear the condemnation of conscience, and decided to expose this darkness."
"However, Yunhe has a very good relationship with the officials of the Nara Town Council. If he reported it to the official, his report would most likely be thrown into the dust due to the collusion between the Nara Town Council and Yunhe."
"So Mi Que continued to endure the condemnation of his conscience and silently waited for the opportunity to expose this darkness."
"We just waited until Mamiya and I arrived."
"Mi Que said that he was about to go crazy because of the condemnation of his conscience. If he didn't find a way to report Yunhe and the gang of villains quickly, he might really go crazy."
"So he was so frustrated that he decided to place his hope in Kuro and I, who he thought had very upright eyes."
"Mija, who is unable to leave freely and does not have the ability to leave Nara, asked Kuro and I to go find the temple minister in charge of Buddhist temples and shrines and report the matter to the temple minister."
"At that time, I was dubious about Mi Que's words. After all, 'Yunhe is a villain full of men stealing women and prostitutes' and so on. It was completely Mi Que's words."
"We cannot rule out the possibility that Mi Que is reporting Yunhe maliciously."
"So I planned to wait until after dark, and sneak into Honjoji Temple with Kuro to spy on the information to see if what Mique said is true or false."
"We will make the next plan after confirming the authenticity of Mi Que's words."
"But who would have known...the night had just fallen when the unexpected happened."
"After reporting Yunhe's evil deeds to me, Mique hurried back to Honxiang Temple in order to prevent Yunhe from discovering his betrayal."
"As soon as it got dark, Mamiya and I saw Mique, who was covered in blood and tried his best to escape to me with his last breath."
"It turns out that Yunhe had long suspected Mi Que of betrayal, so every time Mi Que went out, he would secretly send tracking experts to follow Mi Que."
"Just today...Yunhe finally caught the evidence of Mique's betrayal."
"So after Mi Que returned to the temple, Yunhe planned to kill Mi Que, but Mi Que escaped by chance."
"But...even though he escaped...the blood on his body was almost dry at that time, but when he escaped to me, he didn't have a few breaths left..."
Lin slowly lowered her head and looked at her open left palm.
"The blood-soaked Mique grabbed my hand with all her strength and told me to hurry up to Hongxiang Temple and save those poor girls."
"After Yunque learned that Mique had really betrayed him, he hurriedly mobilized all his accomplices to kill the poor girls they had hidden in the temple, destroy their bodies, and destroy the evidence."
"After using up the last bit of strength in his body to let me save those poor girls, Mi Que breathed his last."
"Kuroro and I rushed to Honxiang Temple as quickly as possible with our swords in hand."
"However... it's still a step too late."
"After Kuro and I rushed to Honjoji Temple and sneaked into the depths of Honjoji Temple, we quickly found a...secret room with a strong smell of blood."
"At that time, there were two monks cleaning the secret room. After interrogating the monks with Mamiya Haosheng, we finally found out that the evil deeds Mique said about Yunhe... were all true."
"Those girls have all been killed, and their bodies have been cleaned up. There is no more evidence to prove that Yunhe and the others have done those dirty things."
"Without this evidence, the government will have nothing to do with Yunhe, but this kind of thing doesn't matter anymore."
"Because I was determined not to let Yunhe see the sun tomorrow again."
"This is...the truth behind my attack on Hongxiang Temple."
"The burning of Hongxiang Temple was purely an accident. When Kuro and I were fighting with that Yunhe, we accidentally knocked over the candlestick."
"The overturned candlestick ignited screens, paper windows and other flammable materials. It happened to be a dry, windless night, and the fire got out of control in an instant and engulfed the entire Honjoji Temple."
"My lord, you and Mamiya are fighting with that Yunhe?" Shimada's eyes widened at this moment, "Is that Yunhe so powerful? Can he actually fight with my lord and Mamiya?"
Lin nodded: "This is what I want to focus on next."
"That Yunhe's skill is not outstanding. In terms of skill alone, he is naturally inferior to either me or Mamiya."
"But he is a very difficult man to die."
Ogata's brows jumped sharply.
Then he held his breath and concentrated, preparing to listen carefully to Lin's next words.
"His self-healing ability is extremely strong. After cutting him with a knife, you can clearly see that the injuries on his body are healing at a speed visible to the naked eye."
"I was stabbed more than a dozen times, but I can still fight with Mamiya and me like a normal person."
"What's even more frightening is that his physical fitness is far beyond ordinary people."
"Everyone here is not ignorant of martial arts. You should all know what it means if a person's strength, agility, and reaction speed are much higher than yours."
"No matter how good your skills are, it will be difficult to launch an effective attack against someone whose physical fitness is far superior to yours."
"Of course, that Yunhe was able to last so long under the attack of Mamiya and I, not only because his body is different from ordinary people, there is also a very important reason, because I wanted to capture him alive."
"I want to know how his body got like this."
"So when Kuro and I used our swords, we both had a bit of affection."
"Although his self-healing ability is amazing, he is not a true immortal who cannot be killed no matter how much he is cut."
"After giving him a certain amount of trauma, the recovery speed of his wounds became significantly weaker."
"After a total of hundreds of cuts were made on his body, the healing of his wounds finally stopped."
"But I didn't expect that Yun He was also a ruthless character."
"Seeing that there was no hope of survival, he immediately swallowed a poison, which completely failed my plan to capture him alive."
"But before he committed suicide, he said something that concerned me very much."
"He said: 'If I had a real immortal body, how could I be afraid of you'!"
"After shouting these words, he took poison and committed suicide."
"After he committed suicide, officers from the Nara Town Office also rushed to the outskirts of Honjoji Temple, which was about to be burned down."
"I don't want to conflict with the officials, so I can only retreat temporarily with Jiulang."
"Before leaving Honxiang Temple, I took Yama away."
"Letting Yama stay in such a dirty place like Hongxiang Temple is an insult to such a precious sword."
"Furthermore, taking away Yama can be regarded as a revenge mentality. Although not all the monks of Honxiang Temple participated in Yunhe's evil deeds, I still have no good impression of Honxiang Temple."
"But I didn't get it for nothing."
"When I took away Yama, I put all the money I had with me at the same place, a total of 300 taels. However, it was of no use. I was still regarded as a villain who burned temples and stole treasures.
thief."
"But it doesn't matter. When I decided that Yunhe would never see the sun again, I was already mentally prepared to be regarded as an enemy of Buddhism. I don't care if my reputation will become worse.
It’s one o’clock.”
"After leaving Nara successfully, Yunhe's words before his death have always been haunting me."
"Based on Yun He's cry before his death and my intuition, I have to suspect that there is a mysterious organization or mysterious person who has the ability to turn a person's body into a monster-like body."
"And Yunhe's immortal body may not be the most complete one, because what he shouted before he died was 'if only I had a real immortal body'."
"The idea that there is a mysterious organization or mysterious person who has the power to turn people into monsters makes me uneasy."
"After all, if this ability falls into the hands of some madman or careerist, the consequences will be disastrous."
"Judging from Yunhe's character, it is extremely likely that this ability that can make people immortal will fall into the hands of people with evil intentions."
"This is not what I want to see."
"It affects the realization of my dream."
"Even people who don't know anything about business should know that only in a stable and peaceful environment can business be done."
"If the world is messed up by ambitious people, how can I make money?"
"And I don't want to see those ambitious people who only have their own selfish desires in their minds causing the world to suffer."
"So I decided to investigate the 'immortal' and find out who has this ability that can turn people into monsters."
"Finding out the truth about the 'Immortal' will inevitably lead to a fight, so I successively recruited the extremely skilled Yahachi, Shichirobei, and Katsurokuro under my command. I also expanded the scale of my business and earned more funds."
"Then, at the beginning of last year, I finally collected useful information and heard rumors of 'undead people' appearing on Butterfly Island, so I sent Kuro and Mihachi to the island to check the situation."
"I probably don't need to elaborate on what happens next."
It’s not a long story, it’s over.
Ogata pursed his lips and silently digested the story Lin just told.
At this time, Shimada touched his nose, smiled and said with admiration:
"So that's it...it turns out that this is the reason for the arduous investigation of 'immortality'."
"As expected of my lord... I am willing to take the initiative to dip into this kind of muddy water in order to prevent careerists from wreaking havoc on the people of the world. If it were me, I should avoid this kind of muddy water..."
"...Didn't you listen carefully to what I just said?" Lin tilted her head slightly so that Ogata and others could not see her face, "I did not go all out to investigate for such a noble reason.
'Immortal', I mainly do it so that I can make a lot of money so that my dream of becoming a big businessman can be realized smoothly."
Seeing Lin's reaction and what Lin said, Genichi, Mamiya, Makimura, and Asai seemed to have a clear understanding of each other, and they all smiled knowingly.
At this time, Shimada also discovered that Mamiya and others did not show admiration after listening to the story Lin just told like him.
So Shimada looked at Mamiya and the others with surprised eyes: "Could it be that you, seniors, have already known the reason why the Lord is investigating the 'immortal'?"
"I told you just now." Makimura said, "As a newcomer, it is naturally impossible for you to tell you too many secrets."
Lin had turned her head back at this time and looked directly at Ogata.
"I've also finished answering your second question."
"Is there anything you want to ask?"
"...No more." Ogata shook his head.
"Since you have no other questions to ask." Lin sat up a little straighter, "then it's my turn to ask you a serious question."
Lin put on a serious expression.
"Ogata Ittosai, do you want to join forces with our Gourd House to investigate the 'immortal'?"
Ogata didn't hesitate much.
All the mysteries of Calabash House that he wanted to know were now clear.
Now, he can no longer find any reason to reject the ready-made ally in front of him.
Not long after Lin's words fell, Oufang showed a slight smile:
"...Please take care of each other as we did last year when we worked together to deal with Shiranui."
Hearing Ogata's words, a smile appeared on Lin's face.
"I also ask you to take more care of me here."
…
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at this moment
Osaka, Isshiki Kenkan, in a utility room
At this time, Isshikika stuffed most of her body into the closet of this room filled with clutter, leaving only the buttocks exposed that made the man want to step forward and slap her hard.
Isshikika was tinkering with something in the closet, causing her exposed buttocks to sway slightly, making people want to slap her hard on them.
"Xiaohua." Zhizhou walked over slowly at this time, "How is the secret passage here? Is there anything that needs repairing?"
"There's nothing wrong with the secret passage." Isshikika slowly pulled her body out of the closet with her butt facing her.
"Well, that's good." Zhi Zhou nodded.
"Grandpa." Isshikihua cast a displeased look at Naozhou at this time, "Why is it necessary to build such a secret passage and why is it necessary to maintain it? We are not from the Warring States Period, where wars may occur at any time.
Daimyo, you need to build multiple secret passages to facilitate your escape."
"Xiao Hua, how many times do I have to tell you this?" Zhi Zhou said with a straight face, "It doesn't take much money to build and maintain something like a secret tunnel."
"With only a small amount of money, you can give yourself an additional means to deal with any emergencies. Why not build such a good thing?"
Zhizhou was chattering there endlessly.
Faced with Zhizhou's nagging, Yisekhua turned a deaf ear and let out a silent sigh.
Grandpa is really stunned...
Isshikihua secretly thought in her heart.
About 5 years ago, Zhizhou, who had never been interested in any secret path before, whether because he was older, had a different way of thinking, or for some other reason, listened to the advice of one of his friends.
and suggested, spending a lot of money to build many secret passages leading to the outside of their house.
At first, both Isshikika and Isshikika's parents were against the construction of such a useless thing, but Zhizhou stubbornly refused to listen and said plausibly: My friend is right! There is such a thing as a secret passage.
It may come in handy at some point! It must be built!
Isshikika and the others, who couldn't deal with Zhizhou, had no choice but to accompany Zhizhou in their willful ways.
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I originally planned to celebrate New Year's Day with my friends tomorrow, but the plan changed and I changed it to January 2nd to celebrate. So I will update as usual tomorrow and change my day off to January 2nd. Hope you know~