I formed the strongest swordsman group

Because of his fairer skin, my grandson looks quite young, he looks less than 20 years old.

About 160cm tall. Tall and tall.

Every piece of clothing on his body... including the sandals on his feet are clean. He seems to be a person who pays great attention to appearance.

The facial features can be considered delicate, and the reason there is always a slight smile on his face makes his cheeks feel softer.

His piercing eyes stand out against the night sky.

It's a bit strange to say... Maybe it's because his eyes are so bright and energetic. When my grandson looked directly at him, Qingdeng had the feeling that everything about his body...from the skin and flesh, to the bones, internal organs and soul inside had been seen through by him.

A head that is not shaved like a Tsukidai head, with black and shiny hair... My grandson's hairstyle makes Qingdeng feel very kind.

Qingdeng has not been able to accept Yuedai haircuts that are almost indistinguishable from the "Mediterranean" in appearance except for multiple buns.

After roughly scanning my grandson's face, Qingdeng's brows slowly frowned:

——Huofu Thief Kai's troops...why did they appear here...?

In Edo, the handling of cases has a very clear sequence.

If you find any case on the street, first look for the town's own fan whose functions are similar to the modern "police station + fire department".

If it's a fight between drunks, or the wife of a family gets into an administrative case that's easy to handle with a strong man who comes to kill termites, he can solve it by himself.

If it is a complicated criminal case such as burglary or someone being killed, it will be handed over to the "three times" of the enforcement office for resolution.

If the difficulty of the case and the viciousness of the relevant suspects exceed the scope that can be handled by the "three times", the case will be handed over to Huofu Thief Kai.

In other words, ordinary people seldom have direct contact with the officials of Huo Fu Thief Kai.

If a passer-by reported the incident because they heard strange fighting movements here, then the first people to rush here must be the guards from the nearby own ranks, not the armed forces reformed by Huofu Thieves.

My grandson was able to show up here so quickly with his troops... The only reason Qingdeng could think of was that he was hunting down these masked men full-time!

Because I just received information from an informant or some kind of channel, I learned that the masked man appeared near here, so I hurriedly mobilized my troops and rushed to this place...

Apart from this reason, Qingdeng really can't think of any other reason that can be used to explain why my grandson and his troops suddenly appeared here.

——Where are those masked people, who can become the target of Huofu Thief Kai...

Although Qingdeng's heart was full of waves, his appearance was calm.

"I'm Dingchohui Tongxin, Ju Qingdeng, under the command of Edo Kitaban."

Qingdeng reported to the house calmly and neatly.

"I just passed by here by chance, and was attacked by a group of masked weirdos in a daze, so what I know and can say is not much."

"It's okay~~"

My grandson smiled and waved his hand.

"As long as you cooperate with me and tell me everything you know~~First of all—Noh, can you tell me briefly: Why are you here?"

Qingdeng nodded, and after simply conceiving his words, he explained the whole process of how he came here and how he fought with those masked men, one by one in a concise and concise manner.

My grandson listened quietly with his hands on his hips.

When Qingdeng finished speaking, he let out a "huh" and made a long sound that lasted more than 10 seconds.

"So that's the case... I understand the specific process and reason."

After finishing speaking, my grandson waved to Qingdeng.

"Thank you for your cooperation~ You can go home now~~"

"Can I go?" Qing Deng was startled.

Although the government offices he belongs to are different, Qingdeng is also a member of the "police system" of this era, and he is still clear about the investigation process of this era.

Logically speaking, it is very common for an important person like Qingdeng who has had close contact with the suspect and might be able to help the follow-up investigation to be temporarily brought to the government office for detailed questioning.

My grandson neither took him away nor questioned him too much at the scene of the crime, and only asked him one question from the beginning to the end... It really made Qingdeng a little confused.

"Hahaha~~Yes, you can go already~~"

My grandson squinted his left eye while smiling meaningfully. He stretched out his finger and gently touched his left eyelid.

"Didn't you already tell me everything you know? If that's the case, there's no need to keep you here, right?"

"..." Qing Deng was momentarily at a loss for words.

I secretly said in my heart:

——How do you know that I told you everything I know? Don't you worry that I have concealed or lied?

Should it be said that he is worthy of being a famous detective with the name of "genius"?

The way he acts is really weird... It's hard for people to keep up with his rhythm.

But here’s the thing — my grandson was right.

In Qingdeng's statement just now, he really told everything he knew - including the mutual names of this group of people.

Except for the person wearing the "macaque mask", whose name was unknown throughout the whole process, the surnames of the other three people were Ichinose, Ebina, and Akutsu.

According to the tone of their conversation, that Ichinose and Ebina...that is, the oldest two people are at the level of "leader".

That Ajiujin and the guy wearing the "macaque mask" are the only ones who follow the lead of these two middle-aged people.

"King Ni, if there is nothing urgent to do right now, go home as soon as possible~~"

My grandson walked slowly to the unmasked dead body, and looked at the dead body's face in the thin moonlight.

"I'm going to concentrate on investigating the case now, and I can't entertain you for the time being~~"

To be able to go home immediately, Qingdeng naturally wished for it.

However... I can't explain why, but Qingdeng feels inexplicably concerned about those masked men who act strangely and tell riddles that they can't understand.

The sudden appearance of my grandson and his Huofu Thieves Kaiyi Team, which obviously came here just for those masked men, made Qingdeng even more eager to know who those masked men were.

After hesitating for a moment, Qingdeng asked:

"...My grandson, do you know... who are those masked men?"

"Um?"

My grandson checked the body of the corpse and stopped to see if there were any other injuries.

"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing, it's just... Seeing that those masked people act and speak a little weirdly, so I was just curious for a while."

"Well... those masked people are me and my first team, who have been chasing hard for the past three months... members of a very tricky association~~"

"The members of this association are extremely cautious, and they will definitely cover their faces whenever they show up."

"The props used to cover the face are different every time. Sometimes they use masks, sometimes they use face scarves, and sometimes they use scarves... So until now, even their arrest warrants have not been issued."

Qingdeng really made the right judgment... My grandson is indeed hunting down those masked men full-time.

"Association?" Qing Deng pondered for a while, then asked quickly, "Is it the kind of association that makes a living by killing people and stealing goods?"

"Well...it's hard for me to answer this question for you~~ This question has already involved confidential cases, so it's inconvenient for unrelated people to disclose~~"

"That's right... Sorry, it's me, Meng Lang."

Although my grandson doesn't want to go any further, knowing that the group of people belonged to a mysterious society is quite rewarding.

At the moment when my grandson has clearly said "you can go" and "we must concentrate on investigating the case", it is not appropriate to stay here, emotionally or rationally.

Just when Qingdeng turned around silently, intending to accept it as soon as it was good, and just leave like this——

"...King Ni."

My grandson suddenly stopped Qingdeng.

Qingdeng turned around, looked at my grandson with a slightly frowning expression, and cast a "what's the matter?" look.

"I don't know if you know about this..."

My grandson looked up at Qingdeng with an unpredictable smiling face.

"Because of your achievements in aiding the Western settlements and severely injuring the barbarian group before February, you were moved to our Huofu Thief Gai here. On November 1, you officially took over as the captain of the third division and the seven of the first bow group. The position of team leader."

"I know." Qing Deng nodded lightly, "One of my elders mentioned this to me a few days ago."

"Oh~~ You know, that's good~~"

"You called me suddenly, why?"

"It's nothing. I just want to inform you: from November 1st, we are colleagues."

Speaking of this, the corners of my grandson's mouth turned up a little higher. Big smile.

"Although the time is still a bit early, I'd like to say something in advance... After that, please be sure to give me a lot of advice~~"

"...I am." Qingdeng said indifferently, "Please give me your advice."

...

...

My grandson watched Qingdeng all the way, until Qingdeng's figure had shrunk to the size of a mung bean, and then turned his gaze back to the corpse in front of him.

"My grandson."

An old man aged 5 or 60, with dark skin and wrinkled face, walked slowly and crouched beside my grandson.

"Have you found any useful information from the corpse?"

"have."

My grandson nodded slightly, raised his hand calmly and pointed at the waist of the corpse.

"Mr. Utsumi, we are very lucky - this person has a seal cage of the temple's official government hanging on his waist. As long as he is a member of the government, it will be easy~~"

After all, my grandson closed his eyes, raised his right index finger and middle finger tightly together, and put the fingers of the second finger close to the center of his eyebrows.

"Let me find out who this person is..."

My grandson was petrified, neither speaking nor moving.

To avoid disturbing my grandson's inner sea, I slowed down and breathed lightly while keeping my body still.

After a while, the tone at the end of my grandson's sentence will always be played again by a weirdly elongated voice:

"Oh... I found it, I found it~~ This person is the small inspector under the command of the temple priest: Shirahara Ginji."

My grandson opened his eyes and lowered his fingers between his eyebrows.

"Mr. Utsumi, go back to the government office now and seriously investigate the actions of this Shirahara Ginji in recent years."

Neihai: "Yes!"

"If he is the kind of scum of the common people who has been doing bad things... then it is basically certain that the perpetrators are the 'Ghosts of Yangming'."

After speaking, my grandson let out a long breath, raised his hand and scratched his hair with a bitter face.

"This group of guys who have given up the name of 'human' has really become more and more active recently... But please don't have another 'Osaka Battle'..."

...

...

The next morning, early in the morning—

Edo, the settlement, the home of the Angoulêmes—

Although due to the sudden appearance of an unidentified group of masked people, Qingdeng was forced to end last night with an imperfect ending, but the matter has passed, so how to live the following days.

Regarding this group of masked people, although Qingdeng was very concerned about their true identities...but he didn't care so much that he had to find out their true colors.

Qingdeng only silently remembered the existence of these masked people from a mysterious association, and did not plan to seriously investigate them.

If one day in the future they are destined to suddenly know their true identities, that would be the best. If there is no such fate... then it doesn't matter. Anyway, no matter what the situation is, Qingdeng has nothing to lose.

Today is the day to teach Elodie.

When the hour hand of the clock was still two thumbs away from the number "9", Qing Deng arrived at Elodie's home on time.

"Master! Good morning!"

A petite figure with a bamboo sword in hand, bouncing towards Qing Deng who had just entered the entrance.

"Elodie, good morning...huh?"

Qingdeng responded to Elodie's greeting with a smile. As a result, before the last two syllables in the phrase "good morning" could be said, the friendly voice of greeting turned into a confused voice of astonishment.

Elodie's steps and voice were not very different from the one familiar to Qingdeng in the past, full of the unique vigor of a child.

However... Her face was haggard visible to the naked eye.

Like being covered with a red band, the eye sockets are stained with a layer of red and swollen marks that are characteristic of crying out loud.

This red and swollen mark is still very "fresh"... At first glance, it is obvious that it must have cried a lot last night.

"Elodie, what's the matter with you?"

As Qingdeng asked anxiously, he squatted down quickly, making his height and eyesight shorter than Elority's.

"Did something happen?"

"Huh?" Elodie blinked in surprise, and then said helplessly, "No, nothing happened...Master, why do you ask such a question?"

"...Elodie." Qingdeng changed into a deep voice, "Your eye sockets are so red and swollen, and you still say you're okay?"

"Goo..."

Elodie raised her hands and touched her eyelids and eyelids.

"This... this... ahahaha..."

Elodie let out a dry laugh, while forcing out a smile that felt stiff just looking at it.

"Really, nothing happened...Okay, okay, master, let's start today's lesson!"

He obviously had a strange expression on his face, but his tone was the same energetic voice as before... This strong contrast made Qingdeng's eyelids begin to droop uncontrollably.

At this time, a figure appeared in the corner of Qingdeng's right eye - it was Elodie's personal maid: Leroy.

"...good morning, Miss Leroy."

Qingdeng stood up, greeted Leroy briefly, and then got straight to the point:

"Miss Leroy, I would like to ask, has anything happened in your mansion recently?"

"..." Leroy looked calm as if he expected Qingdeng to ask her that question.

She looked at Qingdeng... Then she looked at Elodie... Finally, she lowered her eyes, looked at the ground in front of her toes, bit her lower lip with her upper teeth.

He seemed hesitant to speak, not knowing how to speak.

"master……"

Elodie's immature voice suddenly intervened in the "confrontation" between Qing Deng and Leroy at this time.

Qingdeng followed the sound and saw Elodie's forced smile.

"Nothing really happened... let's start today's class..."

Maybe it was to make her words more convincing... Elodie specially raised the corners of her mouth a little higher, trying to make her smile look brighter.

The result was just the opposite, and her smile seemed even stiffer.

Seeing this, Qingdeng fell silent.

After a moment of contemplation, he slowly said:

"...I see. Let's go, let's start today's class."

"Well! Let's go!"

Alotti and Qingdeng walked towards their class venue one after the other: a spacious corridor somewhere on the first floor.

Before leaving, Qingdeng specifically turned his head to look at Leroy—until Qingdeng could no longer see her, the woman kept staring at the ground in front of her feet, standing there all the time...

"Master! Recently, I gained some new insight on that move of 'Sword of Ignorance'! I will demonstrate it to you later!"

On the way to the class venue, Elodie has been consciously looking for some cheerful topics to chat with Qingdeng... It's just that Qingdeng's reaction was very flat, and he only gave some simple answers.

After arriving at the spacious corridor that was used by Qingdeng and Ai Luodi as a class venue, Ai Luodi temporarily put the bamboo sword in her hand on the floor, preparing to warm up.

But before that, Qingdeng stopped her.

"Elodie."

"Um?"

Qingdeng bent down again, and crouched in front of Alodi.

"Elodie, it's just you and me here. You can talk freely without any scruples. So... stop making such lame excuses and tell me in detail. What happened? What happened to make you Is it something embarrassing?"

After finishing speaking, Qingdeng raised his eyes to observe Elodie's expression—the girl still had that forced smile on her face...but I don't know if she was touched by Qingdeng's words just now. The forced smile on his face dissipated a lot at this moment, and the brilliance in his eyes gradually dimmed.

Seeing this, Qingdeng spoke again:

"...No matter how you say it, I am also your master."

"Although I'm just a swordsman who only teaches you swordsmanship, I may not be able to provide you with much help in many things...but I still want to do my best to help disciples who are in trouble."

"The disciple is in trouble. As a master, if I just sit back and ignore it, I can't justify it."

"Elodie, don't make me an immoral teacher."

After finishing speaking, Qingdeng showed a simple but friendly smile to Alodie.

"master……"

The ugly smile that was forced on him finally disintegrated.

Elodie, with tightly pursed lips, drooping corners of her mouth, and a shadowy expression, buried her little head low and looked at the hands folded in front of her in a disturbed manner.

To keep your eyes on...to stare straight at a point.

Qingdeng put on a posture of listening attentively, "No matter what you say, I will listen carefully", quietly waiting for Alodi's reply.

"Actually... tonight's fireworks display... Grandpa won't take me there..."

"Huh?" Qing Deng, whose expression was instantly dominated by astonishment, moved his body before his brain, and he asked quickly without thinking, "Didn't Mr. Angouleme promise to take you there?" Did you play? Why do you regret it now?"

"Grandpa...he heard about the grand occasion of this year's fireworks display from his friend yesterday."

"The number of tourists going to the fireworks festival... is much, much more than grandpa expected..."

"Grandpa thought at the beginning... After so many changes in Edo in recent years, the number of people who have the mood and energy to participate in this kind of entertainment and celebration will be much less... But he didn't expect this year's fireworks display , will continue to be filled with thousands of heads..."

"Grandpa, he is worried that accidents are prone to occur when visiting such a crowded place..."

"So I decided not to take me there..."

Elodie's statement was quite calm from the beginning to the end...but in her calm tone, there was obvious sadness...

"..." Qingdeng was speechless, feeling as if his body was tied to a big rock, and he fell straight to the ground.

It can be said that Qingdeng knows better than anyone else how much this girl in front of her is looking forward to this year's fireworks display, and how much she wants to have fun in this most lively celebration in Edo.

After learning that Anthony is willing to take her to participate in this year's fireworks display, Qing Deng still vividly remembers the excited expression on Elodie's face...

These days, Elodie often discusses with Qing Deng about the fireworks display in the intervals between sword practice.

Obviously, this long-awaited event is coming soon, but he was suddenly told that he could not participate...Qingdeng couldn't imagine what kind of mood Alodi would feel after hearing about it for the first time.

Her eyes, swollen from crying, silently told Qingdeng how much pain and torment Alodi felt in her heart after learning the bad news.

"Haha...it's okay...! Master, you don't have to show such an expression, if you can't go, then you can't go...!"

Alodie took a deep breath, then she raised her head and stared straight at Qing Deng, the haze on her face was like the morning mist meeting the sun, gradually dissipating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"I can understand Grandpa's good intentions."

"Grandpa also wants to take me to play."

"But the country is still very unstable... There are still many people who have strong hostility towards us foreigners."

"Grandpa's concerns are correct. For the sake of safety, it's better to avoid going to crowded places as much as possible."

"Anyway, there are fireworks festivals every year. If you can't go this year, you can wait for next year."

"By this time next year, a foreigner like me may be able to walk on the streets of this country without any scruples!"

After finishing speaking, Elodie showed a comfortable and bright sunny smile.

If it weren't for those red and swollen eyes, if it weren't for the uncomfortable and depressed mood flickering in the depths of the pupils, then this would be a perfect smile...

Ai Luodi's smile made Qingdeng feel even more heavy.

This little girl, who is only 12 years old this year and is still in elementary school in modern times, is so sensible that it makes people feel distressed...

Obviously she herself should be extremely sad, but she can rationally express "understanding Grandpa's decision", and in turn comfort Qingdeng so that Qingdeng doesn't have to feel too sad for her.

"Okay, okay, master. Don't talk about this!"

Elodie, whose expression returned to normal, raised her bamboo sword again while smiling cheerfully.

"Let's hurry up and start today's class!"

...

...

That night--

Edo, Senjiya——

"Uh-huh~uh-huh~"

Sitting behind the counter, Mai Kinoshita, humming an unknown song, followed Kiryu's instructions just now, and carefully checked Senshiya's recent account books.

"Little Lord."

Suddenly, Kiryu's voice sounded from behind Mai Kinoshita.

"Huh?" Mai Kinoshita stopped what she was doing, "Mr. Kiryu, what's wrong?"

"Young master, I'm sorry, can you please run an errand for me now and go to the Liangliang Bridge?"

*****

*****

Come on! Come on! The spicy plot is finally coming! A good show is about to begin... so asking for a monthly ticket is not too much, right? (Leopard dead.jpg)

Ask for a monthly pass! Ask for a recommendation ticket! (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)

As for Qingdeng's new official position: "Huofu Thief Changed Team Leader of the Third Division and Leader of the Seventh Division of the Xianshou Gong Division"... There is actually a stalk in it. For more details, please read the "Writer's Words" below.

[Novel tidbits announced]

As for Qingdeng taking over the position of "Captain of the Third Division and Leader of the Seventh Division" which has been vacant...there is actually a tribute to the author.

One of the author's favorite game series: In the Yakuza series, Ryoma Sakamoto, the protagonist of "Yakuza: Restoration" with the background of the end of the Bakumatsu, in order to find out the truth about the death of his adoptive father, he joined the Shinsengumi under the alias "Saitoichi". With Gao Qiang's strength, he got the position of captain of the third team that had been vacant.

Although this game is covered with the skin of the end of the Bakumatsu period, the historical content inside is basically nonsense. I am also convinced that Sakamoto Ryoma and Saitoichi, two characters who can't fight with eight poles, can forcibly connect with each other.

So everyone can regard it as an "ancient style fighting game".

[The remake of this game will be available at the end of February next year. Those who are interested can buy it and play it. Even if you have never been in contact with this series, you can still play this game without barriers]

As for the seventh group, there is no special stalk in it, it is simply because the author prefers the number "7".