I formed the strongest swordsman group

Edo, somewhere——

Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap...

Amidst the sound of wood rubbing against each other, there were chaotic footsteps in the distance.

Footsteps from far to near.

Nishino's eyelashes fluttered a few times.

Then, he slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing that catches his eyes is the unfamiliar ceiling that he is not used to seeing, and the mesh wooden fence that blocks him in the cramped space...

"What time is it now..."

While muttering, Nishino raised his head subconsciously and looked up at the sky.

"Ah... I almost forgot... I'm being imprisoned..."

Looking at the thick ceiling above his head and the hard stone walls around him without even a single window, a self-deprecating sneer appeared on the corner of Nishino's mouth.

Although Nishino does not hate Western artifacts as deeply as the people with lofty ideals, he still holds an attitude of respect and insensitivity.

Therefore, he did not buy a Western watch, and still relied on the traditional way of observing the weather and listening to the chimes of the clocks that sounded in various parts of Edo at regular intervals.

However, to be honest, even if Nishino owns a Western clock, it is useless.

Before being imprisoned, everything he was carrying, including the money bag, seal cage, and saber Zhenzhu, were all confiscated.

The current Nishino is a "breeze in two sleeves" on the physical level. Apart from clothes, there is nothing else on the body.

The sky cannot be seen, and the surrounding temperature has not changed significantly, so Nishino cannot judge the change of time based on the temperature of the room temperature.

Fortunately, the ventilation is acceptable, even if there are no windows, it will not feel stuffy.

Although Nishino didn't know where he was locked up, judging from the constant temperature environment, he speculated that he was being locked up in a place similar to a basement.

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

The sudden sound of footsteps was getting closer and louder.

——It's so noisy...

Nishino doesn't care who the owner of this string of footsteps is and what they are here for.

He closed his eyes in boredom, and continued to close his eyes and meditate.

The footsteps continued, approached, grew louder.

After a while, Nishino heard footsteps moving to the door of his cell, and then froze.

Even with his eyes closed, Nishino could feel that the light in front of him dimmed, and someone's shadow covered him.

"Nishino-kun! Nishino-kun!"

A male voice I've never heard before...

Nishino was unmoved.

He ignored the call of this strange male voice, and continued to close his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

But at this moment, a new male voice sounded outside the prison door:

"Nishino-kun~~"

As soon as the male voice finished speaking, Nishino's eyebrows twitched.

The ending of the voice was stretched out... This is a way of speaking that Nishino will never forget for the rest of his life!

Nishino opened his eyes suddenly and looked forward.

I saw two young men of similar age standing outside the prison door.

One of them, Nishino had never seen before.

As for the other person... Nishino is too familiar.

The reason why he was imprisoned in such a dark place is all thanks to this person!

"My grandson...!"

Nishino clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Words burst out from between his clenched teeth one after another.

"Great~ You really didn't fall asleep~~"

The corners of my grandson's mouth extended to both sides, and he smiled.

"Nishino-kun, you look good~~ Seeing you are so energetic, I feel relieved~~"

"Thanks to you, I now live like a domestic animal. I sleep when I eat, and I eat when I sleep. Is my complexion bad?"

Although Nishino's tone was calm, there was a sharp sarcasm hidden in his words.

"Don't be so angry~"

My grandson spread out his hands in a gesture of helplessness.

Nishino snorted forcefully.

If eyes could kill... My grandson's body has been pierced thousands of times by Nishino's eyes.

Suddenly, a gentle male voice intervened between Nishino and my grandson.

"Okay, okay, be safe and don't be impatient, be safe and don't be impatient."

The young man standing next to my grandson clapped his palms hard twice.

Before my grandson spoke, the strange male voice Nishino heard came from the young man.

Nishino turned his eyes sideways and looked at the other party carefully.

This person is about 25 or 6 years old, with good facial features, sharp eyes, and a slender figure. Although he has a fair and clean face, which is very popular with Taoists, his gestures are capable and capable. masculinity.

Nishino deliberately asked in a rude tone:

"who are you?"

Facing Nishino's rude attitude, the young man was neither anxious nor annoyed.

I saw him smiling elegantly, with a gentle and courteous demeanor.

"I have no name or surname, you can call me 'Raksha'."

Rakshasa - upon hearing this name, Nishino's pupils shrank instantly.

"Raksha... Are you the murderer who killed Kanazawa Chusuke and Kanazawa Koto!"

A carp in Xiye straightened up, stood up, rushed forward in an instant, and threw himself on the wooden fence, holding the railing tightly with both hands, and pressing his face against the gap between the fences.

He stared straight at the face of Rakshasa who was close at hand, as if he wanted to firmly engrave the opponent's facial features in the depths of his mind.

"It's right down."

Luo Sha smiled slightly, without hesitation, and openly admitted his "relationship" with the Kanazawa brothers and sisters.

The polite demeanor, the gentle tone of voice... It is hard to believe that such a gentle gentleman is actually a cold-blooded killer and powerful swordsman who killed innocent people and instantly killed the "dog of fire".

Nishino looked at Rakshasa, and then at my grandson. His eyes were full of hatred and coldness, with a stern spirit.

"As expected... my grandson, you and the murderer who killed the Kanazawa brothers and sisters are indeed on the same side!"

My grandson just laughed and said nothing.

Nishino asked:

"Since when did you conspire?!"

"It has been from the beginning."

As my grandson said, he showed a charming expression.

"At first?"

For Nishino who was obviously shaken enough to ask a question, my grandson still had a cynical and frivolous attitude, and he said in a joking tone:

"Didn't you understand? I said 'from the beginning'—from the beginning, I was the undercover agent of the Fazhu Party buried in Huofu Thief Kai."

My grandson paused. It wasn't until Er'er that he continued speaking:

"Nishino-kun, if I can, I don't want to kidnap you either."

"But there's no way... who told you to be the 'No.

The smile on my grandson's face gradually disappeared... replaced by a solemn expression with cold and hard lines on his face.

"If you are allowed to continue the investigation, the consequences may be unimaginable."

"So—sorry."

After finishing speaking, a look of regret appeared on my grandson's cheeks.

Judging from the appearance alone, it is really difficult to tell whether his apology is genuine or false.

However, it's all good—anyway, Nishino didn't care about his apology at all.

His attention at this moment was sucked away by the unfamiliar term my grandson just spit out just now.

"French Party...? What is this?"

"That's a good question!"

Suddenly, Luo Sha from the side interrupted.

"Nishino-kun, I'll make a long story short."

"The Fazhu Party is a secret society to which my grandson and I belong."

"We are determined to bring down the Edo shogunate! Kill the Tokugawa family! Get rid of evil! Clarify Yunai!"

"I have always valued talents! But I will not hesitate to praise and win over anyone who is capable and meritorious!"

"Nishino-kun, I have heard of your name and deeds a long time ago!"

"You are not only skilled, but also good at solving cases. You are exactly the talent we are lacking!"

"I appreciate you! Come join us!"

After saying this, Rakshasa stretched out his hands in front of him, towards Nishino, as if he was asking for a handshake from his compatriots.

Luo Sha's words were like throwing heavy bombs in Nishino's mind one after another.

After a while, he exerted all his strength and roared like boiling hot water suddenly overflowing:

"Down with the Edo shogunate? Kill the Tokugawa family? Are you kidding me!!"

Nishino's roar was so loud that it almost knocked off the dust on the beams of the house.

"My grandson! I thought you were just cooperating with the thugs, but what you did was worse than I expected! You actually treason and collaborate with the enemy!!"

Facing Nishino's roar, my grandson's reaction...was very flat.

He cast eyes at Nishino with a relaxed smile, rolled his tongue, and asked softly:

"Treason? Collaboration with the enemy? Which country did I betray? Which enemy did I communicate with?"

"As a child of the banner, you actually turned your back on the shogunate! You turned to the bandits! Isn't this treason and collaborating with the enemy?! Do you know how to write the word 'honesty'? Where is your heart of 'loyalty'?!"

"Shame...Loyalty..."

My grandson chewed carefully the two words that Nishino just uttered.

After a while, he chuckled a few times through his nostrils, then raised his chin and looked down at Nishino.

"Is it noble and loyal to be a dog of the shogunate wholeheartedly like you?"

In my grandson's eyes, expression, and tone, there is no concealment of bitter sarcasm.

In an instant, the atmosphere at the scene changed.

There is a sense of tension that makes you gasp like a breath of air.

"Okay, okay, calm down, both of you."

Luo Sha stood half a step sideways, standing between Xi Ye and my grandson, acting as a peacemaker.

However, as soon as he spoke, he was refuted sharply by Nishino.

"Shut up! Traitor and traitor!"

Driven by unspeakable anger, Nishino yelled regardless of his image:

"I am a child of the imperial family, and I have been honored by the king! I should serve the country bravely! How can I follow the example of Meixue and sacrifice the city, betraying the master for glory; how can I follow the example of Hong Jiu, who bowed his knees and became a thief. "

[Note · Meixue Xiancheng: Meixue, that is, Anayama Meixue (1541-1582), a general in the Warring States Period, and a retainer of the Takeda clan. In 1582, Anayama Meiyuki who was stationed in Suruga felt that the Takeda clan was gone, and secretly informed Tokugawa Ieyasu who attacked Suruga, and asked to recognize his son Anayama Nobuharu as the successor of the Takeda clan in exchange for Suruga's "bloodless opener". Castle", Tokugawa Ieyasu agreed, and Anayama Meiyuki surrendered. 】

[Note·Hong Jiu of the Ming Dynasty: Hong Jiu, that is, Hong Chengchou (1593-1665), styled Yanyan, named Hengjiu, at that time the scholar-bureaucrats respectfully called him Hong Jiulao. He was defeated by the Qing army in the Battle of Songjin, so he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. Since then, he has been a dog of the Qing court wholeheartedly. Not only Ming people despise him, but even Qing people despise him. During the Qianlong period, he was included in "The Biography of Two Officials\