I formed the strongest swordsman group

Pulling back the skirt, revealing the belly, begging for Huaijian... Anyone who saw Xi Ye's actions would know what he was trying to do.

"Nishino-kun..."

Ebina hesitated to speak.

He subconsciously turned his head to look at Ichinose.

Ichinose closed her eyes and shook her head.

"..."

Ebina didn't speak, didn't sigh, didn't show sadness, and didn't intend to blame Ichinose.

Because, he already knew that Nishino was going to die...

There is not a single piece of good flesh in his body, and the blood in his body is almost drained... Anyone with a little common sense, after seeing Nishino's terrifying appearance, would know that there is no possibility of him surviving...

At this time, Nishino twitched the corners of his mouth and let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

"Anyway, I'm going to die... Let me... die decently... Does no one have a sword...? Forget it..."

Nishino pulled out Wakizawa from his waist with one hand.

Since his right palm was still tightly bound to the hilt of his saber, he had only one left hand left to use.

"Who... would like to be my... wrong person...?"

[Note·Jiecuo: Refers to the decapitation of seppuku suicide victims in Japanese seppuku rituals, so as to make seppuku victims die faster and avoid pain and suffering]

Ebina and the others looked at each other, but no one came forward.

Making mistakes is not something everyone can do.

According to the rules, the wrong person cannot chop off the entire head of the seppuku. Otherwise, it would be disrespectful to the seppuku.

A qualified intermediary needs to cut off the neck but not completely, so that the head and neck are still a little bit involved.

This method of decapitation is called "holding the head" - when the head and the neck are connected with only a little skin, the severed head will fall into the arms of the seppuku, under the pull of gravity, hence the name.

The knife must be cut from the gap between the third bone and the fourth bone of the cervical spine in order to achieve the best decapitation effect.

After stabbing the knife into the abdomen, the seppuku will move around in pain, and even if it is bad, the whole body will tremble, which makes it more difficult to behead the wrong person.

It requires not only a strong psychological quality, but also a precise knife technique that can accurately cut off the opponent's head and neck until only a trace of skin remains even if the target moves around... You must not be a top swordsman.

The level of the intervening person was so poor that he couldn't cut off the seppuku's head even with several knives. As a result, the seppuku suffered an extremely painful physical torture before he died-this kind of tragedy is not uncommon.

Just when Ebina was hesitating, a calm male voice intervened between them.

"……Let me do it."

Qingdeng supported Echizen and Chang Lu at his waist, and stepped forward.

If you want to say who has the best sword skills among the people present... then Qingdeng is undoubtedly.

Seeing that Qingdeng volunteered, Ebina had no reason to stop him.

He turned his head to the side, gestured to Ichinose and Akutsu with his eyes, and the three of them retreated one after another to make room.

Qingdeng walked slowly to the left rear of Nishino.

"King Ni, go on."

Saying that, Ebina threw a bamboo tube to Qingdeng.

"There is water in the bamboo tube."

After hearing this, Qingdeng nodded knowingly, then pulled out the Echizen dweller, Chang Lu Shou Jianshige, unscrewed the bamboo tube, and poured the clear water from the tube onto the sword.

The wrong person washes the blade with clean water—this is one of the necessary rituals for seppuku.

"Is it wrong that the famous... King Ren... came to me...? Hahaha... I am so lucky..."

Nishino raised his head and looked at Qingdeng with a smile that was not a smile.

"Speaking of... ever since you moved to... Huofu Thief Kai... I have never... talked to you..."

Qingdeng nodded slightly.

"Indeed."

"Huh... obviously more than a year ago... you were just a... very incompetent... stupid... but now... the sky is rising... the title of 'King of Kings' is well-known...Although it is said...maybe It's a bit late...but now you... really make me... admire..."

This is probably the so-called "a man who is about to die, his words are also good".

Nishino's eyes were calm and indifferent, without a hint of jealousy or sarcasm.

"I understand a little bit...Lu Zijing found out that Lu Ziming was not the one who returned to Wuxia Amen...that kind of mood..."

Qing Deng pursed his lips and said:

"Each to each other. In my opinion, you have changed a lot."

"Changes...? What changes have I had...?"

Nishino's expression was stained with doubt.

The brief silence was Qingdeng conceiving his words.

"To be honest, I don't know how to describe it. If I have to say it... You used to be like a cold puppet, but now you have a little more 'human' breath."

Speaking of this, Qingdeng paused for a while, and then continued speaking after a while:

"It seems that you have also experienced a lot of things."

Of course, Qingdeng didn't know what happened to Nishino recently, but he clearly felt from his eyes: the man in front of him was no longer the rigid, aloof and thought-provoking man he knew before. Stay away from the "puppet".

"'people'……?"

Nishino blinked, his eyes overflowing with a faint brilliance.

For a while, he was panicked, dumbfounded, and at a loss... three kinds of emotions were beautifully mixed on his face.

"It's no longer a 'samurai'... but a 'human'..."

After muttering like chewing every word, Nishino took a deep breath, straightened his waist, sat upright, looked straight ahead, and took off his shirt from his right arm.

Seeing this, Qingdeng spread his feet silently, holding his drenched saber in the posture of eight pairs of hands.

【Note·Eight Shuang: The posture of standing the knife vertically in front of the right side of the body】

Holding the saber in one hand, Nishino unhurriedly stood Wakizashi vertically on the left side of his abdomen...but he didn't use the saber for a long time.

"...Juqingdeng."

"Um?"

"I... violated the morals of a samurai..."

"From the moment I drew my sword... from the moment I drew my saber...to... the... Guiwei Temple... I have been... a sinful...'disloyal' body..."

"When I arrive... in that world... will my ancestors... scold me...?"

"Thinking of this... I'm a little... scared..."

Nishino looked as if nothing had happened, and the corner of his mouth even drew a slight arc.

But if you observe carefully, you can find that although the range is very small, the hand holding the knife is indeed trembling slightly...

Qingdeng only lowered the corners of his brows for a moment, as if in embarrassment, and then immediately sighed helplessly.

"What about this world, that world...the trouble is dead. Don't go anywhere, just be a free soul who is no longer bound by anything."

When he said the last sentence, his tone suddenly became refined, and the momentum of his response was as strong as a bolt from the blue.

After hearing this, Nishino was startled, and then forced out a dumbfounded smile little by little:

"A free soul soaring thousands of miles into the sky... Isn't that too lonely...?"

"Well...not quite."

Qing Deng paused for a moment, looking at the distant sky, as if letting his thoughts fly to a place that is not here.

"When I die one day, you can meet me. Although I can't guarantee that we can get along."

Nishino turned his head sideways and looked straight at Qingdeng, the emotion in his eyes was hard to fathom.

After a while, he slowly turned his face and gaze back to the front - Qing Deng couldn't see his engraved expression.

"Orange Green."

He still has a calm attitude, but there is a bit more relief in his tone.

"Thanks."

The moment the voice fell, the sharp blade sank into the abdominal cavity!

Without saying a word, Nishino slowly pulled the blade to his right abdomen.

When he completed the "one word cut" and Qingdeng was about to chop off his head with a knife——

"Wait...!"

Nishino let out a low snort.

At the same time, he pulled Wakizashi out of his stomach, tremblingly lowered the tip of the knife slightly, and then thrust the knife into his stomach again.

Seeing this, everyone at the scene, including Qingdeng, all changed their expressions.

Ajiujin murmured:

"Hey, hey, he probably wants to..."

Ebina at the side showed awe-inspiring face:

"Three characters cut...!"

Generally speaking, there are three main methods of seppuku, namely "one word cut", "ju word cut" and "three word cut".

As the name suggests, "one word cut" is to cut one knife horizontally on the stomach; "ten word cut" is to cut a cross on the stomach;

Among them, the "three word cutting" that requires three horizontal cuts is the most difficult and painful.

Throughout the entire history of Japan, no one has ever succeeded in committing suicide with the "three characters cut".

Nishino's face was as red as if it had been scorched by a fire, there were countless veins twitching on his forehead, and his body was trembling uncontrollably.

But even so, he still gripped the handle tightly and dragged the blade firmly.

Finally, he cut out the second character "一".

Without panting, without stopping—he pulled out the knife for the second time, and plunged the knife into his stomach for the third time...

Nishino's face turned a mud-like color, he clenched his teeth tightly to prevent the blood from gushing out of his mouth, so only balls of blood scum flowed from the corners of his lips.

Anyone who saw him would know that Nishino had no strength... Now he was relying entirely on willpower to operate.

At this moment, everyone present, be it Aodo, Ebina, Sanako and Soji, Ichinose and Akutsu, all focused their eyes on Nishino with different emotions.

On the silent river beach, only the sound of the blade cutting the skin and internal organs is particularly loud.

Finally... the third character "one" took shape.

At this point, the "Three Words Cut" is over - Nishino did not say a word the whole time.

For the third time... and the last time, he pulled out his wakizashi, put it in front of his knees, then straightened his back and held his head high.

No pain, no sorrow.

There is only relief, only relief.

With such an attitude and such an expression, it doesn't look like a dying person waiting to be killed, but more like an innocent but proud child.

"King Ni...do it...!"

Qingdeng held his saber expressionlessly.

In an instant, the silver light fell...

...

...

Qingdeng gently covered Nishino's body with the feathers he had taken off.

At the same time, Ebina stepped forward, squatted down, and tightly grasped Nishino's left hand.

Qingdeng originally thought that he was going to recite Buddhist scriptures, but who knows, he actually said solemnly in a solemn tone:

"Son, you have performed very well, it is really hard for you."

"Sleep, sleep, rest quietly."

"Go, go, cross the Santu River."

"The fire of will you left behind will become our strength."

"I promise you, we will surely win the overall victory of this great struggle!"

Ebina with a solemn expression looked very much like a priest in a confession room.

His every move, every word, is filled with a strong sense of sacredness.

When Ebina put down Nishino's hand and stood up, Qingdeng couldn't help asking:

"Is this the exclusive eulogy of your Great Salt Party?"

"Almost. Whenever a comrade dies, we read this eulogy to him."

"Is Nishino also a member of the Great Salt Party?"

"Although he is not a member of the Great Salt Party, he is our comrade. Nishino-kun has the same ideals as us hidden in his heart."

Speaking of this, Ebina showed a candid smile.

"As long as the ideals are the same, they are our comrades."

"...It is not without reason that you have been able to survive under the crazy siege of the shogunate until now."

"Thanks for the compliment. Alright, now... let's get down to business."

Ebina turned around and looked straight at Qingdeng.

At this time, both Zuo Nazi and the chief executive stood behind Qingdeng.

"Your Excellency Nioh, I'll get straight to the point—why do you have trouble with Phoenix House Yataro?"

"...Mr. Ebina, I can tell you the reason. But on the other hand, please be honest with me after I finish speaking."

As soon as Qingdeng said this, he immediately attracted the surprised eyes of Sonazzi and the chief executive.

The general manager hastily said:

"Mr. Tangerine..."

Before she could speak, Qing Deng interrupted:

"It's okay. Although this is not a reason, I guess the reason why the Great Salt Party is eyeing Yataro Phoenix House is the same as ours."

Speaking of this, the corners of Qingdeng's lips curled slightly.

At the same time, Ebina also laughed.

"That's really a coincidence. Your Excellency Nioh, I agree with your thoughts."

"Then I won't go around in circles--Mr. Ebina, do you know about Hojudou and Genfudian?"

...

...

Qingdeng told out everything he knew selectively.

All the content related to Tianzhangyuan and Xinyutingfan are avoided.

The left and right "bodyguards"...that is, the identities of Sanako and the chief executive were not even mentioned.

The enmity between himself and the Fazhu Party, Qingshui Clan and Huanfudian is emphasized.

After Qingdeng said everything he could and should talk about, Ebina also kept his promise, and began to share with Qingdeng and others the details of their side, as well as the information they had collected so far.

What he said was not much different from Qingdeng's.

"How could such a thing..."

Ebina smiled bitterly.

"Two waves of people who had little contact with each other before launched an attack on the French Party at the same time..."

Qing Deng nodded approvingly—such a dramatic development really caught him by surprise.

At this time, someone made an impatient voice:

"So... what's going on now?"

Akutsu turned his head to the side, and pouted at Yatarou Phoenix Ya, who had been hiding aside since just now, curled up and shivering.

"What should I do with this fat pig... It's impossible to chop him in half, half for each person, right?"

"Hey hey hey hey hey——!"

"Ajitsu, don't scare him."

Ichinose said helplessly.

"If you scare him to death, then you will be in trouble."

"... Your Excellency Nioh, I have a proposal."

When he heard Ebina say the word "proposal", Qing Deng immediately guessed what he wanted to say.

And what he said next was exactly as Qingdeng expected——

"Shall we cooperate?"

...

...

About half an hour later——

Edo, Aya Town, somewhere——

"That's it..."

Qingdeng and Ebina poked their heads out from the bushes, one on the left and the other on the right, staring closely at a medicinal material workshop twenty meters away.

From the outside, this is just an ordinary room with no characteristics.

Throughout Edo, at least 20 workshops similar to his can be found.

Brown wooden walls, mottled tiles, the faint scent of medicine floating in the air... It is hard to imagine that this medicine workshop is the production workshop of Huanfudian.

"I don't know what phantom deposits are... I'm only responsible... for Rakshasa to grow and purchase medicinal herbs... and in the name of Phoenix House... to open a pharmaceutical factory...the factory is located in...the northern suburb of Edo...Ayacho Seven-chome..."——this is the precious information that Qingdeng and others spat out after he was dying to give Yataro Phoenix a few punches and peeled off a few pieces of his nails.

If what Yataro Phoenix Ya said is true, then Rakshasa's move is indeed beautiful and classic.

Zhacha's detached status made it impossible for people in the government to provoke this group of privileged people who are powerful and rich.

Therefore, it is undoubtedly much safer to cooperate with Zacha and use Zacha's house number to set up the production workshop of Huanfudian, and it is not easy to be targeted by the shogunate.

Wearing a layer of "legal company" skin, doing illegal things... This kind of operation has been common throughout the ages.

"Mr. Ebina, let's go."

"Um."

Qingdeng and Ebina rushed out of the bushes indiscriminately, climbed over the wall and sneaked into the workshop.

The two moved forward cautiously while paying attention to the movement around them.

The workshop was very quiet, with no human voice, dog barking, snoring, moaning or crying.

"no one there……"

Ebina murmured.

"Mr. Ebina, don't be careless."

Qing Deng said lightly.

"I know."

Ebina smiled slightly.

"I'm a veteran who has personally experienced the Battle of Osaka. I won't make low-level mistakes, don't worry."

*****

*****

According to historical facts, some people actually cut three characters during seppuku, and they succeeded.

This man is Takeichi Mizuyama, and he is the only person in Japanese history who successfully committed suicide with the "three-word cut". Book friends who are interested in this can get to know this person. One of the historical prototypes of Nishino Hoshijiro is Takeshi Ruishan.

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