Since there was almost no entertainment activity to do, since nightfall, Ouri lay on his bed and passed the time by closing his eyes and recuperating.
"Ogata-kun, are you there?"
At this moment - Lin's voice suddenly came from outside the room.
Ogata quickly sat up from the bed and cast a suspicious look outside the door.
"Miss Lin?"
"Ogata-kun, is it convenient for me to come in now?"
At this moment, he was the only one in Ogata's room.
"Ah, please come in." Ogata said.
After obtaining Ogata's permission to enter, Lin slowly opened the door and entered the room.
"How is your body recovering after so many days of rest?" After entering the room, Lin, who was also wrapped in many rags, smiled and greeted Ogata.
"It's not bad." Ogata smiled, "The only drawback now is that I have been lying on the bed for too long, and my body feels like it's getting moldy."
Ogata and Lin, who was kneeling beside his bed, were exchanging pleasantries.
It wasn't until a long while later that Lin cleared her throat.
"Ogata-kun, I came to see you this time mainly to tell you two important things."
Ogata raised his eyebrows: "Please tell me."
"The first thing: I plan to entrust the heads of eight hundred bhikkhunis to you for safekeeping."
"Leave it to me for safekeeping?" A bit of surprise appeared on Ogata's cheek.
Lin nodded gently, then said seriously:
"I have been thinking deeply about what to do with the heads of eight hundred bhikshunis for a long time these days."
"I think the most suitable person to take care of the heads of eight hundred bhikkhunis is indeed you, Ogata-kun."
"First of all - the heads of the eight hundred nuns were snatched back from Toyotomi Nobuhide after you defeated him."
"So, legally speaking, the heads of the eight hundred bhiksunis belong to you."
"Secondly... I think you, Ogata-kun, must also have a deep understanding of how terrifying the heads of eight hundred nuns are."
Lin sighed softly.
"If some unscrupulous people get this thing again... I don't know what will happen."
"Therefore, it is most appropriate for the heads of the eight hundred bhikkhunis to be handed over to people who are trustworthy and who are strong enough to protect them from being taken away by others."
"After considering this, the only person suitable to be entrusted with this thing... is you, Ogata-kun."
After saying that, Lin raised her sharp gaze towards Ogata.
"Ogata-kun, what do you think? Are you willing to...keep the heads of eight hundred bhikkhunis?"
Lin always speaks concisely, clearly and to the point.
After briefly explaining to Ogata the reason why he wanted him to keep the heads of eight hundred bhikkhunis, he directly asked "if you are willing".
Listening to Lin's question, Ogata, who looked slightly stunned, smiled bitterly and raised his hand to scratch his hair.
"The heads of eight hundred bhikkhunis... This thing is indeed something that must be kept properly..."
Ogata pursed his lips.
After a long silence, he raised his firm gaze and looked at Lin.
"...I understand. Just leave the heads of the eight hundred bhikshunis to me."
Listening to Ogata's firm reply, a happy smile appeared on Lin's cheek: "As long as you are willing to keep this thing, I can feel at ease."
"So, what about the second thing?" Ogata asked, "What is the second thing you want to tell me?"
"The second thing... is an invitation to you."
"invite?"
"These days, I have been asking Makimura to interrogate Zuemon and the gang, as well as Xuan Zheng."
Lin said calmly.
"After enduring water torture for nearly half a month, the Zuoemon people we captured finally revealed all the information they knew about the Toyotomi clan."
"Based on the information provided by Genmasa, who is bent on overthrowing the Toyotomi clan, it can be determined that the Toyotomi clan's general stronghold is located on the Osumi Islands in Ryukyu."
"Although Toyotomi Nobhide is dead, his remnants of power still exist."
"It is not surprising that the forces formed by that lunatic Toyotomi Nobuhide did some shocking things later."
"In addition, there is another thing that worries me."
"That was the 'Human Pillar' that Toyotomi threw into the river for experiments on Butterfly Island."
"There must be many people with impure minds in the Edo shogunate."
"If they discover that the 'human pillar' is the culprit that caused the tragedy on Butterfly Island, then no one can say what the Edo shogunate will do with the 'human pillar' salvaged from Butterfly Island."
"Therefore, to be cautious, I think we must first try to recover the 'human pillars' on Butterfly Island."
"That guy Xuanzheng is bent on seeing the Toyotomi clan that failed him, so he is willing to assist us unconditionally."
"And the people of Zuemon also succumbed to our punishment and were willing to provide us with the help they could on the condition of 'not to torture them again'."
"So, I decided-"
After Lin said this, she paused, took a deep breath, and said every word, sonorously and forcefully:
"After everyone's injuries are almost healed, try to recover the 'human pillar' on Butterfly Island!"
"After successfully recovering the 'Human Pillar', go to Ryukyu and completely destroy the remaining forces of the Toyotomi clan!"
And the ‘human pillars’ that were thrown into the butterfly island river were recycled.”
"This afternoon, I have already asked Miss Ajiu, Shibata and Hatsumi...ah, no, I should call you Miss Ajiu now."
"I asked them yesterday if they would like to go with us."
"The parents of the two sisters, who were taken hostage by Yoshihisa in order to control Ajiu, are still imprisoned somewhere in the Ryukyu stronghold, so they are willing to follow us to Ryukyu to pursue Toyotomi's remaining forces."
"Now...it's just you and Miss Atachi."
Lin raised her sharp gaze towards Ogata again.
"Ogata-kun, what do you...think?"
"Are you willing to continue to cooperate with us to recover the 'Human Pillar' on Butterfly Island, and go to Ryukyu to destroy the remaining forces of the Toyotomi clan?"
Facing Lin's sharp gaze, Ogata did not respond immediately.
Instead... he smiled first, and then said with a half-joking tone:
"Miss Lin, you are indeed a very selfless person."
"I am willing to sacrifice myself for something that is not beneficial to myself but is of great benefit to all people."
"...I am a businessman." Lin tilted her head slightly and stopped looking at Ogata. "Having a stable and peaceful environment is extremely important for a businessman like me."
"I just want to have a stable business environment for myself - that's all."
After saying that, Lin coughed lightly a few times, and then looked directly into her eyes again.
"Okay, let's get back to the topic."
"Ogata-kun, are you and Miss Atachi willing to have a big fight with us again?"
After asking, a slight smile appeared at the corner of Lin's mouth.
"..." Ogata pondered.
After a long time, I saw his lips slowly parting——
…
…
5 months later——
…
…
Kii, the small island used by the shogunate to place the survivors of Butterfly Island——
"Master Zong Hai! Master Zong Hai!"
"Tataro, what's wrong?" Zonghai showed a gentle smile towards the boy who was running towards him quickly.
"Master Sokai! I heard that the shogunate asked us to settle on this island from now on. Is this true?"
"This..." Zong Hai's expression changed slightly.
Zong Hai thought for a moment and finally settled on the idea that "he will know sooner or later, and he can't hide it for long", and said softly to the boy in front of him:
"Yes, it is true. The shogunate asked those of us who came from Butterfly Island to settle on this island from now on."
"There is nothing wrong with this. After all, we are lucky enough to be alive if we are still alive."
Zong Hai tried to comfort the boy.
But no matter how much he was comforted, the boy's expression gradually fell.
"I still want to go back to my hometown..."
Looking at the boy with tears in his eyes, Zong Hai pursed his lips.
"Tataro, don't cry." Zonghai showed a gentle smile to the boy again, "Let's do this. I will tell you the story of 'Ittōsai Yong Dao Yao Monk'. After listening to the story, don't cry anymore."
Already."
As soon as Zong Hai finished speaking, the boy's face immediately turned from gloomy to sunny:
"Story? Really?"
"Really." Zong Hai nodded with a smile, "Okay, if you want to hear a story, just stop crying."
…
…
Kyoto, the home of Fuma——
"Master Feng! Here we come again!"
"Huh?" Feng Mo, whose back became more stooped, slowly walked out of the hall and looked towards the door.
Looking at the three girls standing at the door, all around 8 years old, Feng Mo smiled bitterly:
"Why are you here again..."
"Isn't that what you said before, Master Feng? You can come back anytime if you want. Okay, Master Feng, hurry up and continue telling us stories! As a reward, the three of us will help you clean up your home!"
"The things I told you are not stories!" Feng Mo pretended to be angry, "These are all history! They are the real history that happened to me before!"
As soon as Feng Mo finished speaking, the three female dolls burst out laughing.
"Master Feng! You're not bragging like this. Is it possible that what you said a few days ago, 'breaking into a bandit camp single-handedly and killing more than thirty bandits with your own strength', is also history that actually happened to you?"
?”
"That's right." Feng Mo tried his best to hold up his chest, "Don't look at me like this now, but I used to be very powerful."
After saying that, Feng Mo turned around and returned to the living room.
"Okay, if you want to hear me talk about history, come in quickly. I happen to be very free today and have too much time to kill."
"Hahaha, that's just right! With the three of us here often to listen to your stories, Mr. Feng, you won't feel lonely!"
Looking at these three little girls, Feng Mo's face showed a smile of helplessness but also a hint of relief and joy.
…
…
Edo, Yoshiwara——
"Why are you so brave?"
Guasheng played with the wooden knife in his hand and cast a contemptuous look at the middle-aged man in front of him who was tied up and had a frightened face.
"You dare to steal money in Yoshiwara in broad daylight, and what you steal is the money of wandering girls."
"I, I, I don't dare anymore!" The middle-aged man kowtowed to Guasheng in fear and admitted his mistake, "I, I, I, I will never steal anything again! Please let me go! Let me go!"
Of course, Gua Sheng ignored the middle-aged man's begging for mercy.
"First take him to the prison and lock him up," Guasheng said to his companions. "After the officials from the prison arrive, he will be handed over to the prison."
The officers of the Shirobei Club standing next to Gua Sheng all shouted "Yes", and then swarmed up and escorted the ashen-faced middle-aged man to the club.
After the middle-aged man who had committed the crime was taken away, Guachang let out a breath, then raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his face.
"It's so hot... Why is it still so hot even though it's already September..." Gua Sheng raised his head and stared at the blue sky above his head with an indignant expression.
"I really don't want to patrol in this weather..."
Guasheng sighed heavily, then silently put the wooden sword in his hand back to his waist, and then prepared to patrol Yoshihara again.
But at this moment, a very unfamiliar and rich male voice sounded from behind Guasheng:
"Good morning! Are you Miss Guasheng?"
"Huh?" Gua Sheng turned his head in confusion.
The person who stopped her just now was a strong man with a very free and easy personality.
Next to the strong man stood a thin young man.
Gua Sheng didn't recognize either this strong man or the young man standing next to him.
"Excuse me, who are you?"
"My surname is Hosaka!" the strong man said loudly, "Recently I am trying to write a puppet show based on Majima Goro with my companions!"
"I heard that Goro Majima and you were very close friends when he was still working as an errand at the Shirobei Club in Yoshiwara, so we thought of interviewing you! Collect material for writing!"
"Mashima Goro? Puppet show?" Gua Sheng's beautiful eyes widened in surprise, "...if it's convenient, you can tell me: why do you want to write a novel...Ah, no, Majima Goro is...
A proto-puppet show?”
"Oh, of course!"
Kasaka briefly told Guaou about their experience together with Goro Majima in suppressing bandits in the Northeast and why they decided to write a puppet show based on Goro Majima.
After knowing the reason, Guasheng's expression gradually became weird.
"A puppet show based on Majima Goro..."
"Then you...you really asked the right person!"
The strange expression on Guasheng's face gradually turned into a brilliant smile.
"I know a lot about Majima Goro!"
"If you have anything you want to ask, just ask! I will tell you everything!"
…
…
Edo, Yoshiwara, Mimeya——
"The pay for working at the Shirobei Club in Yoshiwara is too low, isn't it? How long will it take for me to raise enough money to train as a warrior..."
Mrs. Feng Chime joked to the complaining young man sitting behind her:
"Wu Liu, if you haven't saved enough money, then you can stay here and work. I think you are quite suitable for the job of guarding Yoshihara."
"Stop joking, do you think I am the kind of person who will stay in a small place like Yoshiwara for the rest of his life?"
…
…
Edo, in an ordinary private house——
Uncle Qing sat cross-legged in the living room, dexterously assembling birdcages one after another with his hands.
"Hey! Keitaro! I have your letter!" At this time, a neighbor shouted from outside the house.
Hearing this loud shout, Uncle Qing jumped up from the ground as if he had been electrocuted, and ran quickly to the door.
When he came back, Uncle Qing was holding a simple letter with a silly smile on his face.
He opened the envelope and took out the letter paper inside. Looking at the awkwardly written Chinese characters on the letter paper, Uncle Qing smiled hoarsely:
"Has Komachi started learning to write Chinese characters...it's so ugly..."
Although every Chinese character written by Ating was too ugly to look at, Uncle Qing still read it slowly and word by word with relish.
After finally reading the last word, he reluctantly folded the letter paper and put it away.
"It seems that Komachi is having a good time recently..."
Uncle Qing sat back on the ground, humming a cheerful tune while continuing to make the birdcage he would sell tomorrow.
…
…
Edo, the residence of fire bandits——
Hasegawa has been so busy lately that he wants to split his body in half.
After returning to Edo, he immediately fulfilled his duties as a shogunate official and immediately reported to his immediate superior: Matsudaira Sadanobu the whole story of his capture by the Toyotomi clan, as well as the story about the Toyotomi clan.
All information.
Of course - it's selective.
He deleted all content related to Ogata.
Hasegawa originally thought that after listening to his report, Matsudaira Sadanobu would be quite shocked. After all, the news that "the bloodline of the Toyotomi clan has not been cut off, and they are trying to conquer the world again after two hundred years" is sensational no matter how you hear it.
,Unbelievable.
But who would have thought that after finishing the report, Matsudaira Sadanobu's performance was... quite calm.
He looked like he had known about the existence and ambitions of the Toyotomi clan for a long time...
This made Hasegawa quite surprised and depressed...
He had originally thought that after giving this report that would "definitely shock Matsudaira Sadanobu", he would see some interesting expressions on the usually expressionless Matsudaira Sadanobu's face...
After being given a small reward and receiving a message from Matsudaira Sadanobu, "Thank you for your report," Hasegawa returned to his original identity and life - a commander who had been reformed by the thieves, and the manager of the human foot exchange.
He was just the commander of the Hufu Thieves Kai, and was unable to intervene in the pursuit of the Toyotomi clan. Therefore, after reporting to Matsudaira Sadanobu and doing everything he could, Hasegawa gathered his mind and concentrated as before.
Throw yourself into the work of punishing thieves with fire.
In recent days, Hasegawa has not slept for two days in a row in order to track down a group of thieves who came to Kanto from the Northeast.
When Hasegawa was leaning in front of the case, processing various documents——
"Hasegawa-sama! Someone has sent you a letter!"
"Huh?" Hasegawa raised his face from the table with a pair of dark circles under his eyes due to many days of hard work, "...bring it here."
"yes!"
After a while, a letter was presented to Hasegawa's desk.
After tearing open the envelope and taking out the letter paper, Hasegawa's brows involuntarily raised after glancing at the letter paper.
"As expected, he wrote to me..." Hasegawa murmured with a strange look on his face, "Did he write a special letter to thank me for helping him in Mount Koya..."
Hasegawa read the letter roughly, folded it, and put it away.
For some reason, he always felt that his fate with that young man was not over yet...
One day in the future, maybe we can meet him somewhere again.
…
…
Edo, Edo Castle, meeting room——
"Lord Matsudaira, why do you look so sad?"
Ruonen wrote to Kitagawa and walked towards Matsudaira Sadanobu who was leaning against the window and looking out at the scenery with a smile on his face.
[Note·Ruonianji: The status is below Lao Zhong, and he is an official responsible for assisting Lao Zhong]
Matsudaira Sadanobu glanced at Kitagawa who was walking toward him and smiled slightly.
"...Nothing, I'm just lamenting that I haven't been able to find young people worth training recently and I'm worried."
Having said that, Matsudaira Sadanobu looked out the window and let out a long breath.
"Okay... we've almost rested. Let's go back and continue discussing how to strengthen the military and how to investigate the Toyotomi clan's movements."
…
…
Edo, the Hoifazeya specializing in selling Ezo goods——
Kondo Nazosuke leaned against the corner, sat cross-legged, and carefully studied the saber held in his hand.
"Kondo."
Chiba Koemon, who was sitting next to Kondo and working in this shop with Kondo, while wiping the "Nioh statue" that the boss had bought before and placed in the shop to ward off evil spirits, asked Kondo softly:
"Why are you sitting there in a daze?"
"It's nothing. I'm just thinking about my master." Kondo sighed heavily, "I don't know how my master is doing now..."
"I thought you were thinking about opening a sword hall again." Chiba said calmly.
"Ah, I've been thinking about this too." Kondo grinned, "Sure enough, if I want to develop my natural flow, it's impossible without opening a sword studio."
"Otherwise, if there are no disciples to pass on my swordsmanship, it will be useless no matter how famous I am to promote my natural spirit style."
"I don't want my swordsmanship to be lost after only being passed down to my generation."
"Moreover, after having apprentices, the apprentices can also help develop the natural flow of mind."
Having said this, Kondo glanced at the "Nioh Statue" that Chiba was wiping, and grinned again:
"It would be great if in the future, my disciples could have some disciples with powerful titles like 'Benevolent King' and accomplished countless feats."
"In this way, my natural spirit flow will become famous all over the world in one fell swoop."
"...I think that instead of fantasizing about having a 'nioh' under your sect, you should try to make yourself the 'nioh' who can make your swordsmanship famous all over the world." Chiba silently complained.
.
"Chiba, your speech is as to the point as ever." Kondo laughed loudly, "Chiba, I plan to leave Edo after another two months of working here and start traveling as a warrior again. Do you want to go with me?
?”
"...I'll think about it."
…
…
Oshu, Nishikino Town——
"Hello, are you Nishino Jiro?"
Nishino Jiro blinked a few times in confusion at the old man in front of him: "I am Nishino Jiro, who are you?"
"I am Hansuke from Shinmiya in Kyoto." The old man bowed to Nishino Jiro, "Some time ago I had the honor to watch the kabuki play "Ittōsai" written by you."
"I am very interested in your play "Ittosai" and intend to put it on the stage in Kyoto. Therefore, I came here specially to discuss this matter with you. I wonder if you are free now?"
Nishino Jiro seemed to be petrified and froze on the spot.
Only after half a while did he come back to his senses, and then he nodded with joy:
"Of course I'm free! Please come with me!"
…
…
Sendai Domain, somewhere——
One of the "Seven Spears of Xianzhou" who was lucky enough to survive the war against the Red Moon Fortress almost half a year ago: Qiuyue Riqian, was working hard to hone his marksmanship in the courtyard of his home.
——If you encounter Ogata Ittosai again next time, you must defeat him!
Qiuyue, with fighting spirit burning in her eyes, raised the wooden gun in her hand again.
…
…
Ezochi, Red Moon Fortress——
The leader of Red Moon Fortress: Chanupu and the young people in the fortress are pushing a huge log.
Their goal is to do their best to repair the large hole in the outer city wall that was blasted by artillery in the previous war before this winter comes.
When Chanupu stood aside, wiping sweat and letting his waist rest for a while, he saw his only son: Otunpuyi silently carrying wood.
Looking at Otongpuyi who no longer blindly believed in "the world of peace" as before, but began to do some useful things for the people down to earth, the corner of Chanupu's mouth curled up with a smile of relief.
…
…
Ezochi, somewhere——
"Scruchi! Wake up! Wake up!"
Scrooge took off the scarf covering his face.
"Boss Alexander, what's wrong?"
During this time, Skulucci and his boss Alexander had such a good relationship that they wanted to wear the same pair of pants.
There was no other reason - after Skulucci piled the huge rewards from the Red Moon Fortress in front of Alexander's eyes, Alexander's eyes narrowed with laughter.
Whether it was Scrooge who stole his treasured armor or led his troops without authorization to participate in the war at the Red Moon Fortress, everything is now past.
"Nothing, I just want to tell you: the situation in Europe seems to be getting more and more tense, and the revolutionary movement in France is getting bigger and bigger. In order to strengthen the military and be prepared to deal with changes in Europe, we
There is a possibility that he will be recalled to the country."
"Recall the country..." Skulucci put the scarf on his hand back on his face, "What a shame... I still want to explore this land for a while..."
…
…
Ezochi, Matsumae Domain, inside a certain hotel——
Lin Ziping, who had just finished his solo trip in Ezo, was lying in front of his desk, picking up a pen and writing something on a thick stack of paper.
On the corner of the desk is a piece of paper that looks like the cover of a book, with four large characters written on it: Hai Guo Bing Tan.
…
…
Kii, somewhere——
Sogen Hani has been very depressed recently.
As a doctor sent by Matsudaira Sadanobu to study the "man-eating ghosts" on Butterfly Island, he has been carrying out research work conscientiously.
He recently got some good news and some bad news.
The good news is: after his research, he found that although the "cannibals" on Butterfly Island cannot be killed, their internal organs are rapidly aging and failing at a rate ten times that of ordinary people.
As a result, according to theory: in just 1 or 2 years, all these "cannibals" on Butterfly Island will die of organ failure.
The weakness of the "cannibals" has been discovered. They are not immortal - this is naturally great news.
Not long after getting this good news, a piece of bad news suddenly arrived...
A few months ago, they salvaged a female body from the upper reaches of the Linong River, where the people of Butterfly Island depended on for survival.
This female corpse is quite strange and decomposes very slowly.
Hanai Munegen, who was vaguely aware that this female corpse had something strange in it, temporarily stored it in the Kii clan's castle, intending to slowly start studying it when he had free hands later.
Unexpectedly - more than a month ago, a group of mysterious people suddenly appeared and attacked the Kii Domain's castle.
This group of thieves didn't steal anything - only the female body.
Who on earth stole such a precious research object?
Until now, no investigation has found out why...
…
…
Kii, Mount Koya——
Perhaps this is the so-called blessing among misfortunes.
More than three months ago, a large-scale mountain fire suddenly broke out, making the monks in the mountain believe that this thousand-year-old mountain fire would be destroyed by this mountain fire.
Fortunately - not long after the mountain fire started, the heavy rain that seemed like the entire ocean was pouring down fell and extinguished the mountain fire.
Although some buildings, cultural relics and books were still destroyed by wildfires, most of the collections in Koyasan were successfully spared due to the timely heavy rain.
Many monks believe that this is the appearance of Buddha to protect the holy place.
The monks of Koyasan have recently felt that the abbot of their Kongobuji Temple, Aoiwa Shonin, is a bit strange.
Almost everyone believes that the wildfire that nearly destroyed the entire Koyasan Mountains was caused by Ogata, but Master Qingyan insisted: There is not enough evidence to prove that Ogata Ittosai set the fire! He rashly claimed that it was Ogata.
Ittousai's deliberate destruction of Mount Koya was so arbitrary!
This isn't the strangest thing.
The strangest thing is that when the shogunate later sent people to Mount Koya to investigate the cause of the fire, they also believed that there was "insufficient evidence" to prove that the occurrence of the mountain fire was inevitably connected with Ogata Ittosai.
As a result, the "Koyasan Fire" was deemed by the shogunate to be "a deliberate act by others and had nothing to do with Ogata Ittosai".
According to some monks who are close to Aoiwa Shonin: Aoiwa Shonin has been making strange remarks from time to time recently, "Ogata Ittousai may not be Hanzi."
While making strange remarks, he often went in and out of the library where he collected books, looking up classics related to "The Appearance of Buddha Spirits" and "Heavenly Thunder"...
…
…
Omi, somewhere——
"Alas...where are my silly disciples..."
The owner of the Ishikawa Sword Hall: Ishikawa Hyōma looked at the seemingly endless mountain road in front of him and let out a long sigh.
…
…
Osaka, Isshiki Kenkan——
Unfortunately, the Isshiki Sword Hall was burned to a pile of rubble that night when the Toyotomi troops attacked Osaka. However, after more than three months of reconstruction, the Isshiki Sword Hall has returned to its original appearance, and the teaching of swordsmanship has begun again.
Compared with the past, there is only one difference - in a room on the second floor of the Yisei Sword Hall, you can often see a beautiful figure sitting by the window, looking at the sky.