I formed the strongest swordsman group

Chapter 401 Now is...Qingdeng's time to pretend [6300]

——Has the activity started 60 years ago...

Qingdeng's heart sank.

He suddenly discovered that the background of this mysterious association named "Fa Zhu" seemed to be much deeper than he expected.

"...Mr. Arima, do you know who sent you the letter?"

Qingdeng glanced at the letter in his hand again.

The words and sentences used in the letter are basically Chinese characters.

The folk education of the Edo shogunate has always been very good, and temple houses are opened everywhere.

[Terakoya: All private educational institutions in the Edo period are collectively referred to as "Terakoya", and all scholars, farmers, businessmen and commerce can enroll. According to rough statistics, there were more than 20,000 temple houses in the Edo period. 】

Affected by this, although the people of Limin under the Tokugawa rule cannot be said to be well-educated, they can also be said to have a certain level of education, and the literacy rate is impressive.

However, the characters recognized by ordinary people are mainly pseudonyms and some simple and commonly used Chinese characters.

Only those who have received further higher education can read and write Chinese characters proficiently.

As for barrier-free reading of "Historical Records", "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" and other Han family classics...ordinary people dare not even think about it.

Not only are the writings in the letter written in Chinese characters, but also the handwriting is clear and powerful... It is certain that the person who wrote this letter must have received a fairly good education.

As soon as Qingdeng finished speaking, Arima shook his head slightly.

"I don't know who sent me the letter and I've tried to investigate and found nothing."

"At first, I thought someone was playing a prank on me."

"Longzhi died right in front of me."

"High fever, uncontrolled diarrhea, rice slop-like feces... His symptoms are exactly the same as tiger wolf dysentery."

"Even the doctors hired with huge sums of money came to a conclusion that the disease Longzhi suffered was indeed tiger wolf dysentery."

"What's more, taking a step back, how could Longzhi provoke the collapse of the association?"

"Let's not talk about whether the law-killing party mentioned in the letter is the same organization as the law-killing group that I know was active 60 years ago. Takayuki is just a 'three-time' errand in the execution office. Concentric, to put it simply and bluntly... How could such a small character like him have anything to do with that terrifying and dangerous association?"

"I'm really full of doubts..."

"In fact, I have seriously considered whether to burn this suspicious letter as firewood."

"But in the end, I still couldn't ignore the letter, and I couldn't treat the words in the letter as silly jokes..."

"In my whole life, I have always strictly demanded myself by 'walking straight, sitting straight, and standing straight'."

"If I ignore friends who may have been wronged, how can I talk about 'walking upright, sitting up straight'?"

"Even if there is only a chance, I will investigate Longzhi's death and find out."

"If I'm the only one fighting alone, I'm still too weak after all."

"So I recruited Inoya and Ushiyama to help - that was when you first joined 'Three Returns'."

"Because I don't know who is the enemy and who is the friend, so after I brought the absolutely reliable Inoya and Uzan into the team, I didn't seek other help."

"Until tonight, this letter in your hand has been the biggest secret between me, Pig Valley, and Niushan."

"Zhu Gu and Niu Shan once suggested whether they should bring you into the group."

"But after thinking it over and over again, I finally decided that it's better not to let you know the existence of this letter for the time being."

"At that time, you were still young and inexperienced, and you couldn't stand alone."

"It may not be a good thing to let you know such a heavy thing too early."

"I originally planned to wait for one or two years, when you mature a little more and gain more precipitation, before I confess the truth to you."

"Oh, I didn't expect...you came to the door by yourself first..."

Speaking of which, Arima sighed heavily.

A melancholy shadow appeared between his straight brows.

"Mr. Ju, I feel... very sorry for you..."

"Me, Zhugu, and Niushan, although the three of us arrogantly threatened to thoroughly investigate Longzhi's death and return your Tachibana family justice, the result... After more than a year of investigation, there is no result..."

While talking, Arima changed into a self-deprecating tone.

"Fortunately, we are still 'three-time' samurai with more than ten years of work experience... I am really ashamed and ashamed..."

Qingdeng responded in a precise tone:

"Mr. Arima, please don't say that. I am already very grateful for your willingness to fight for my father."

After finishing speaking, Qing Deng lowered his head, his eyes followed the fingers and gently stroked the letter paper in his hand.

It's funny, Aotomoto hoped that the secret meeting with Arima tonight would dispel some of the fog in his mind.

As a result, after talking with Arima, not only did the fog in my mind not decrease, but it became more and more heavy...

He never imagined that Tachibana Takayuki would be able to have a relationship with the Fazhu party, which is so inconspicuous that Boss Kiryu would frown every time he talked about this power...

"ha……"

Qingdeng couldn't help raising his head, facing the ceiling, and let out a deep breath.

The past half a month has really been as long as half a year...

Behind the truth lies the truth...

Behind the shady is the shady...

——Through the matter now, it would not be surprising if something even more explosive was found later.

Thinking of this, a smile that seemed to be both sneering and self-deprecating appeared on Qing Deng's lips.

"...Mr. Arima, do you know the beginning of everything... Where does the teacher who came to carry out the reported homicide live now?"

Combining all the things that Arima just said, all the things and the source of everything are the teacher!

It was after Tachibana Takayuki investigated the homicide reported by this person that he began to enter and leave the casino, and only then did he start to have those weird behaviors.

This man must know something!

Arima raised his gaze, and stared straight at Qingdeng.

"I know where that person lives... But, Mr. Ju, with all due respect, if you want to ask him for a question, then you may end up disappointed."

"Why?"

"What you can think of, we naturally thought of it long ago."

"I, Inogu and Ushiyama have visited that man more than once, hoping to get some useful information from him."

"For this reason, we can be said to be soft and tough, and we have done everything we can."

"But the man was unimpressed. To put it bluntly... he was like a 'living dead'."

"Although the person is still alive, can breathe and eat, his whole body is no different from a dead person."

"No matter what we said or asked, he seemed to have lost his head, neither talking nor paying attention to us."

"After going back and forth, we all gave up lassoing information on him."

It turns out that there is such a secret...Qingdeng thought to himself.

"Even so, I still want to visit him."

Qingdeng said in a firm tone.

"...Well, since you've covered this point, I won't say anything more. That person lives in 5-chome, Haramachi."

Arima quickly reported a string of detailed addresses.

Qing Deng silently memorized the address, and then asked:

"By the way, I always forgot to ask, what's the teacher's name?"

"His name is quite elegant, and it is the name of a Confucian at a glance."

Arima twitched the corners of his mouth, and then said word by word:

"His name is Kikuchi Chisui."

...

...

the next day—

In the second year of Wanyan (1861), January 22——

Edo, somewhere——

Gray clouds hung low.

Today's weather is not ideal.

As if unable to bear its own weight, the dark gray clouds were extremely low, and the sky was hazy, with only a little sunlight seeping into the depths of the sky.

For this reason, even though it is still morning, the streets and alleys of Edo are enveloped in a sense of twilight.

Qing Dengha let out a breath of air, and then tightened the black scarf around his neck.

"Woo... so cold..."

Senior: Yae's groan came from the right hand side.

"I've said it all. The weather is very bad today. It's wet, cold, and windy. You won't listen to me asking you to wear more clothes. Look, isn't this going to make you suffer?"

Another senior came from the left: Sha Zhong's poisonous tongue.

Qingdeng, Sazhong, and Yae, a group of three people galloped quickly on the dusty red dirt road.

Last night, when leaving Arima's mansion, Qingdeng did not forget to remind Arima: "Don't tell anyone that I have been here before."

Although Konosuke Kitahara and others have been executed, there are still more powerful enemies hidden behind the scenes.

The enemy does not know his whereabouts - this is an extremely rare advantage for Qingdeng. He didn't want to give up this advantage unless it was absolutely necessary.

Facing Qingdeng's request, Arima nodded and agreed without hesitation.

For Arima, Qingdeng is absolutely trustworthy.

Now that he has nodded, he will absolutely keep the events of the night secret.

After leaving Arima's mansion and returning to Tsukimiya Shrine smoothly, Aoto went to bed for the first time in a long time.

In essence, with the blessing of "God Brain + 9", Qingdeng stayed up for another night last night without any problem.

However, considering that the shady hidden under the dark tide is becoming more and more indescribable, it is not surprising that no matter what kind of emergencies we encounter in the future, it is like being in a fog.

Therefore, recharging your energy and striving to achieve the best state of mind and body at all times is the best solution at present.

From the moment he learned of the name "Kikuchi Sensui" from Arima, Qingdeng's heart was "led" away by this person.

Affected by his talent "Sleep God", Qingdeng woke up before 3:00 in the morning.

With nothing to do... No, it should be said that Qingdeng, who had no intention of doing other things, sat on the quilt and passed the time by meditating.

After a long wait, finally the first light of dawn lit up in the eastern sky.

As soon as the sky turned pale, Qing Deng set off immediately.

He wanted to go to visit that Juchi Qianshui alone, but Tianzhangyuan forced the second sister to come here on the grounds of "You want to go alone? No, it's not safe enough".

Looking at the two very familiar little legal loli standing side by side in front of him, Qingdeng couldn't help but wryly smiled and joked:

"We are really destined... No matter what we do, we can always meet together."

Forget it, it would be nice to have two more little followers who can help.

Ever since, the trio of one, one, and two, embarked on a journey to visit Juchi Qianshui.

According to the address reported by Arima last night, Kikuchi Chisui lives in Haramachi.

Haramachi... this is not a good place.

This place is located on the outskirts of Edo, which is a famous slum, and the residents are basically poor people with no place to stand.

As Qingdeng and his party got closer to Haramachi, the surrounding streetscapes gradually changed noticeably.

The road under his feet became more and more dilapidated and muddy.

The buildings on the side of the street became more and more crude and unpopular.

Pedestrians who came across by chance, either looked numb and hurried; or curled up on the corner of the street like paralyzed mud, their whole bodies did not move, and they did not know whether they were dead or alive.

After a while, after comparing the maps, Qingdeng and his party finally arrived at the boundary of Haramachi.

How should I put it... In the architectural layout of Haramachi, what stands out is a "standard" - a standard slum.

The air smelled of dust and poverty.

Looking up, "black" and "grey" constitute the main colors of Haramachi.

There are burned houses everywhere, and some wood and brick walls are still blue and black, as if the fire has just been extinguished; there are groups of collapsed ruins everywhere, like fallen wheat fields.

There are only a handful of well-formed buildings.

The kind of house whose walls are still standing and the ceiling is still intact can be regarded as a luxurious villa in Haramachi.

"Is this... the Great Anzheng Earthquake...?"

Yae murmured.

"Well...it should be..."

Qingdeng nodded slightly.

In the second year of Ansei (1855), a magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurred in Edo, killing and injuring over 10,000 people.

The earthquake not only collapsed countless houses, but also triggered a large-scale fire, which nearly caused Edo to be engulfed in flames.

Although it was more than five years ago that the earthquake caused heavy casualties, due to the limited finances and extremely low administrative efficiency of the shogunate, many backward places in Edo are still in the "waiting for disaster relief" to this day. The distressed state of "to be rebuilt"-obviously, Haramachi belongs to this category.

At first glance, it seems that there are no residents, but after a closer look, you can find many flesh-colored people moving around—they are hiding in dark alleys, gaps between houses, etc., repeating their suspicions and vigilance. Look at Qingdeng and his party who came to visit unexpectedly.

The wind blew past, raising patches of dust, and people couldn't help but raise their hands to cover their mouths and noses.

"...Let's go."

Qing Deng pressed the bamboo hat on top of his head, and led the two sisters forward.

...

Qingdeng realized that he had underestimated the complexity of Haramachi's terrain.

I don't know if the map in my hand is out of date, or for some reason, it is not accurate enough at all.

Follow the map, or you can't find the road shown in the map at all, or you will run into a dead end that doesn't work at all.

After walking for a long time, not only did he not find Kikuchi Qianshui, but he became more and more confused as he walked.

In desperation, Qingdeng could only ask for directions to an old man who was sitting cross-legged on the side of the street, smoking cheap tobacco.

"grandfather."

Qingdeng squatted down, and said in a polite tone.

"Huh? What's the matter?"

The old man was calm enough, and he didn't have the slightest stage fright when facing the strange warrior who suddenly approached him. He raised his eyelids, glanced around Qingdeng and his party, and then continued to smoke on his own.

"Do you know where Chisui Kikuchi lives?"

"Kikuchi Chisui? Oh oh, that drunkard."

--drunkard?

Qingdeng raised his eyebrows. The word the old man said made him feel concerned.

"Juchi Qianshui...his home is not far from here. Go straight along this road, turn left at the first intersection, go straight again, and then turn right twice in a row, you will see We've arrived at Juchi Qiushui's house."

Speaking of this, the old man put down the bong in his hand, exhaled a long, big smoke ring with a "ha", and then laughed.

"Are you also Juchi Qianshui's creditors? Then you may be one step too late."

"Just now, some rogues rushed to Juchi Qianshui's house aggressively. Most of them came to ask Juchi Qianshui for debt."

"If you are quicker and rush to Juchi Qianshui's house right now, maybe you can grab something that can be sold."

Drunkards, creditors, and a group of rogues approached Kikuchi Chisui for debts... The old man's short words are full of information

If time permits, Qingdeng really wants to chat with the old man a few more times, and ask for more information about Juchi Qianshui.

Unfortunately, however. If what the old man said just now is true, then Kikuchi Chisui seems to be encountering quite difficult troubles now.

Qingdeng didn't want to run all the way to Haramachi, only to find Kikuchi Chisui who was beaten to death, or Kikuchi Chisui's body.

"Grandpa, thank you for your help."

Qingdeng put a few copper coins by the old man's lap as a thank you gift.

"Oh! Thank you very much!"

Looking at the copper coins left behind by Qingdeng, the old man immediately beamed with joy.

He bent down and happily picked up the copper coins.

"Master Samurai! Thank you for your gift, I wish you...huh?"

The old man wanted to say a few pleasant words.

But when he raised his head, he found that there was nothing in front of him... Whether it was Qingdeng or the second sisters, they no longer knew where they were going.

...

Qingdeng and the second sister walked quickly along the road pointed by the old man.

Then, under the blessing of the "Wind Senser", Qingdeng gradually heard the noisy noise.

"Hey! Qian Shui! Since you used to be a private school teacher, then you should understand that 'repaying debts' is a matter of course, right?"

Qian Shui... Hearing this long-sought-for name, Qingdeng's mind immediately froze.

After passing through a whole path with nothing but mud and dust, more than a dozen fierce faces came into view of Qingdeng's group.

18 youths who looked like ronin stood in front of a shabby thatched hut.

This thatched hut is simply the human embodiment of the word "broken". It is small and dilapidated, with air leaks everywhere. Whenever the wind blows, the walls and roof full of cracks and holes will hum, and it feels like you only need to lightly touch the door frame One kick and the whole house would come crashing down.

Looking intently, I saw a middle-aged man with a haggard face standing with his back against the door.

Apparently, this middle-aged man was about forty years old, with ragged clothes, unkempt face, puffy eyes, sagging skin, unshaven beard, hair that hadn't been trimmed for a long time was messy like a bird's nest, and his complexion was unnaturally pale.

This place is the home of Juchi Qianshui whom the old man pointed the way to; the wanderers called this middle-aged man "Qianshui"... Various signs indicate that this middle-aged man is exactly the Juchi Qianshui that Qingdeng was looking for!

Due to his profession, Qingdeng has seen countless people.

Therefore, he recognized at a glance: Kikuchi Chisui was the face of excessive drinking.

The 18 ronin were not so much standing in front of the thatched hut as they were surrounded by Kikuchi Chisui who was leaning against the door.

The person who yelled loudly just now, "It's only natural to pay debts and pay back money", is a one-eyed dragon with a blindfold on his left eye.

"..."

Facing Cyclops' question, Juchi Qianshui seemed not to hear, staring blankly at the void in front of him without saying a word.

Calling himself a boring one-eyed dragon, he curled his lips in displeasure.

"Ignore me? Hmph, forget it, I'm too lazy to argue with you."

"Let's get back to the topic——Qian Shui, let me do the math for you now."

"Half a year ago, you borrowed 3 taels of principal from our boss. After half a year, with interest on the principal, you now need to pay us back 5 taels of money—tell me, how do you plan to repay this money?"

"My ugly words are up front, so don't tell us 'I have no money' or 'give me a few more days'."

"It stands to reason that you should have paid back the money as early as 2 months ago."

"Thanks to our boss, he is kind-hearted and merciful. He knows that your life is suffering, so he specially allows you to pay back the money at a later date."

"However, two months is already the limit, and no matter what, it cannot be delayed any longer."

"Tell me quickly, how do you plan to pay back the money? Give the money directly? Or give things?"

Compared with Cyclops' arrogant attitude, Kikuchi Qianshui's reaction was very calm... No, it can't be said to be "calm", it should be said that he didn't react at all.

His eyes remained blank.

His expression was still blank.

Without even looking at Cyclops, he said slowly in a lifeless hoarse voice as if two pieces of sandpaper were rubbing against each other:

"I'm penniless... If you want money, just go to my home and search. If you see something valuable, just take it away."

As soon as Kikuchi Chisui's words fell——

"Damn it! You think I'm a fool?"

Cyclops cursed loudly, kicked up impatiently at the door frame next to Juchi Qianshui.

The thatched cottage behind Kikuchi Qianshui shook violently in an instant, as if it would collapse at any moment.

"Do you think I don't know what's going on in your house? You have nothing in your house except wine glasses and empty wine bottles!"

"Don't talk that useless nonsense! Either pay the money now, or..."

Cyclops put on a disgusting grin.

"I can only ask you to accompany us for a walk."

"A certain friend of our boss is currently recruiting hard-working and hard-working miners."

"Although your body is old and weak, mining is definitely a death, but who told you to owe us money? Since you owe us money, you have to pay it back, and if you don't have money to pay it back, you have to use your labor to pay it back."

At this moment, Juchi Qianshui finally raised his eyes to see Cyclops for the first time.

He opened his eyelids, glanced at Cyclops, and then lowered his gaze again.

"...whatever is fine, as you please."

"Okay! It's refreshing enough!"

That disgusting grin reappeared on Cyclops' face again.

"Hey, what are you all doing blankly? Why don't you drag this kid away quickly?"

The ronin around rushed forward, grabbing hands and feet, lifting Kikuchi Chisui like a pig.

Juchi Qianshui didn't resist the whole process, allowing Cyclops and others to take him away.

Just when Cyclops was about to announce his withdrawal from the team with a beaming smile——

"Wait! Put the person down!"

Qingdeng supported the Echizen residence Chang Lu guarding his waist, and walked towards the wanderers without haste.

*****

*****

6300 words today! A rare big chapter pinch! (Leopard is straight and strong.jpg)

Why is my cough still not cured? Damn it! (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)