I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

"I was a swordsman in ancient Japan ()"

"Do you have anything to drink here?" Shuntaro scanned the room, "I'm a little thirsty."

"There's some water there." Mrs. Fengling pouted at another table not far away, "If you want to drink, you can drink it."

"Don't you have any other drinks here besides water?"

"Of course not." Mrs. Fengling said confidently, "I'm an oiran, if I want to drink or eat, I just need to clap my hands and someone will bring it up. Why do I need to put food and drink in the room? "

"If you want tea, I'll ask Aji and Aye to bring it up."

"Forget it." Shuntaro waved his hand, "Now it's late at night, so I won't bother you to make tea for me."

"Then drink some water, let's make it easy." Taifu Fuchi walked to the table, picked up the water placed on the table, and handed it to Shuntaro.

"Why are you suddenly interested in coming to play with me today?" Taifu Fuling asked while handing water to Shuntaro.

"There's no particular reason, it just suddenly occurred to me that I haven't seen you for a while, so I came to see you."

Just when Shuntaro poured the water handed by Taifu Fuchi into his mouth, Taifu Fuchi seemed to remember something, and said softly:

"When I was walking to Yang's House tonight, I saw the guy from Shiranui again, the guy who comes to Yoshiwara every night to have fun."

"Gekutaro?" Shuntaro asked.

"Yes, that's the man."

"That guy is really annoying."

"What's wrong with Kyutaro?" Shuntaro narrowed his eyes slightly, "Did he bump into you when you were performing 'Oiran Road'?"

"When he knew that I was friends with you, how could he have the guts to offend me." Mrs. Fengling sneered a few times, "That Jitaro's wine quality and personality are very bad. If anything goes wrong, he will hit you in time." scold."

"Many Yoshihara girls have been made to cry and hurt by him."

"It also included several girls I met with Umeya."

"If you have a chance in the future, give him a good warning for me."

"Let him put away his rough character in the future."

"...I see." Shuntaro nodded lightly, "I will tell him to be more careful in the future."

"As for Ji Taro, Chang, you don't have to worry too much."

"In order to prevent Ji Taro from messing around in Yoshihara, I used some tricks to monitor him."

"I know everything he does in Yoshihara."

"As long as he dares to do any excessive behavior in Yoshihara, even if you don't need to report to me, I will teach him a good lesson."

"You don't know the fire is really free." Mrs. Fengling's tone was a little more mocking, "You can even enter and leave places like Yoshihara freely."

"Actually, our four heavenly kings have the power and financial resources to freely enter and exit. Other ninjas cannot freely enter and exit in Ninja Village."

"No matter how you say it, the Four Heavenly Kings are also in Shiranui, and their status is second only to the existence of the Balrog. They can freely enter and exit in Yoshiwara-we still have this little power."

"Have any interesting things happened in Shiranui recently?" Mrs. Fengling yawned big.

"Since when have you become so interested in things in Shiranui?"

"I'm not interested in the matter of your Broken Ninja Village. It's just a rare visit to see you, so I just find some topics that you can answer and have a little chat with you."

"We don't know the interesting things that happened in Fire recently..." Shuntaro pondered for a while, "There really are."

"Just two days ago, the Balrog was finally given the title of 'Banner' by General Zheng Yi."

"It's no longer a white body without any identity, but a direct minister of the shogunate with the title of 'Banner'. Balrog has been happy these two days."

"He always had a big smile on his face.

"

"The Balrog's smiling face is like a piece of wrinkled orange peel that has been stored for a long time. Ah Chang, can you imagine what it looks like?"

"Ah, I understand, I understand." Taifu Fengling nodded, "The kind of person with a lot of wrinkles on his face, when he smiles, his face is full of wrinkles, just like a piece of wrinkled orange peel."

Speaking of this, Taifu Fengling paused, and then asked with a few black lines on his face:

"What's so interesting about this?"

"That's not the interesting point." Shuntaro curled up his mouth, revealing a meaningful smile, "In order to become a direct minister of the shogunate and give himself a worthy status, Balrog himself led all the people in Shiranui to come here. After arriving in Edo, he has been entertaining high-ranking officials from all walks of life to please these high-ranking officials."

"I accompanied the Balrog to have a few drinks with some high-ranking officials."

"The Balrog, who usually looks pompous in front of us, can only obediently put on a flattering smile in front of those high-ranking officials, like a well-behaved puppy."

"A peerless ninja with unparalleled ninjutsu, for the sake of fame and fortune, he has to humble himself to these people who may not even be able to hold a sword steadily."

"Don't you think this is funny?"

"What's so interesting about this?" Taifu Fengling said angrily.

"I think this is very interesting." Shuntaro shrugged with a smile, "The swords in the hands of us warriors are indeed no match for those who hold this 'sword' called 'Power'."

"I've always been very curious." Mrs. Fuling may have been tired from sitting. He walked to the edge of the wall not far away, leaned his back against the wall, and continued to chat with Shuntaro, "You don't know the fire, it's better to talk to the shogunate. Cooperation, to put it bluntly, is submitting to the shogunate."

"You guys are so nice, why do you want to submit to the shogunate and be the dogs of the shogunate?"

"Do you hope to get assistance from the shogunate to strengthen your own strength?"

"I don't know." Shuntaro shrugged, "I never cared about such things."

"You are also the next generation of Balrog..." Taifu Fengling's tone was full of helplessness, "You are so perfunctory in dealing with these important matters, how will you inherit Shiranui in the future?"

Shuntaro twitched the corners of his mouth when he heard Taifu Fuchi's words.

"Achang, you are wrong." Shuntaro grinned, "The next generation of Balrog may not be me."

"Huh? Why?" Taifu Fengling wondered, "Didn't you tell me before that you were going to be the next generation's Balrog?"

"That's what you heard wrong." Shuntaro said, "My original words at the time were 'I may succeed as the next generation of Balrog'."

"You left out the word 'could'."

"To succeed the Balrog, in addition to being outstanding in strength, you also need to have a lot of abilities."

"As far as I know, that Jitaro is now actively fighting for the position of the next generation of Balrog."

Hearing the name "Gekutaro", Taifu Furin showed a disgusted expression on his face.

"If this kind of bad character is allowed to become a Balrog, then I think you may not be far from perishing in Shiranui." Taifu Fengling said in a firm tone, "This kind of person with such a bad personality will not be far away in your Shiranui." Is there anyone here to support it?"

"Don't tell me—there are quite a few people who support Kyutaro." Shuntaro sneered, "Although these people who support Kyutaro are basically people with the same simple and rude personality as Kyutaro."

"Since that Kyutaro is now actively fighting for the position of Balrog, don't you plan to compete with that Kyutaro?"

"I don't want it." Shuntaro responded without thinking, "'18th Generation Balrog'? I'm not interested in such a title."

"I have no interest in the matter of 'successor as the next Balrog'."

"...Your personality has never changed." A smile that makes people unable to understand the specific emotions appeared on Taifu Fengling's face, "Since I was young, I have always only embraced things like 'fighting'. There is unparalleled positivity.”

"Don't you women like this kind of man who doesn't change his mind?" Shuntaro's tone was half-joking.

"Sorry, but I prefer handsome men to persistent men who don't change their minds."

After finishing speaking, Mrs. Fengling yawned forcefully.

"Okay, let's stop here, I'm tired and want to sleep."

"Huh? I haven't been here for long, have I? Are you driving me away so soon?"

"I should have told you many times, right? It's very tiring to do 'Oiran Road'." Mrs. Fengling rubbed her eyes, which can only be half-opened now, "If you want to chat with me, just pick one Come back on a day when no guests order me."

"The oiran is no more relaxed than ordinary girls." Shuntaro said softly.

"Of course." Taifu Fengling smiled wryly, "Try to put on those damn double shoes, and try to walk around Yoshihara a few times with the footwork of 'outside eight character steps'?"

"Anyone with no physical strength can't be an oiran."

"Since it's so hard, do you want me to redeem you?" Shuntaro chuckled a few times.

"You? Redemption?" Taifu Fengling seemed to have heard some big joke, showing a very exaggerated expression, "Do you have the money to redeem the oiran?"

"No." Shuntaro replied bluntly, "but I can start saving money from now on."

"When you have saved enough money to redeem me, I will almost be 28 years old and I can retire." After complaining to Shuntaro angrily, Taifu Fuling waved his hand at Shuntaro, "Redemption for me or something, Just let it go."

"The current life is tiring, but I don't hate this kind of life, and I don't want someone to redeem me."

"It's good that you don't feel bored with your current life." Shuntaro stood up slowly, "Then I'll go back first."

"Yeah." Mrs. Fengling nodded, "If you want to chat with me next time, remember to choose a time when there are no customers ordering me."

"understood."

After leaving these words lightly, Shuntaro opened the window a little, and peeped out through the slit to watch the movement outside.

After confirming that no one would notice him when he went out at this moment, Shuntaro pulled out the gap in the window to a size big enough for him to go in and out, and then passed the gap like a gust of wind.

The sound of the wind, the burning of the candle, and the breathing of the Taifu of the wind chime—these are the only three sounds left in the room.

Light, shadow, and the beautiful woman still sitting not far from the window—these are the only three scenes left in the room.

...

...

The next morning, early in the morning—

Edo, Yoshihara.

"Stop! Stop!"

Keeimon held up the wooden stick in his hand, and at the same time chased after the scruffy ronin who was about 30 years old in front of him.

Today, just after starting work and starting to patrol around Yoshiwara, Keimon bumped into a ronin who ate and drank in a tea house without giving him money.

So it naturally evolved into the current situation-Keimon led 4 subordinates and began to chase after this ronin who dared to eat the king's meal and was now fleeing to Yoshiwara Gate.

Although this ronin looked like he hadn't eaten well for a long time and was malnourished, when he ran, he was not slow at all.

All of a sudden, Keimon and his subordinates were unable to catch up with him immediately.

In order to stop this ronin as soon as possible, Keimon led his subordinates to chase him, shouting loudly, hoping to attract colleagues who were patrolling or standing guard nearby to come to support him.

And Qingweimen's yelling really worked.

When the gate of Yoshiwara appeared in front of him, Keimon saw three of his colleagues in front of them holding long wooden sticks and approaching them, blocking the ronin's way to the gate of Yoshiwara, and with Keimon The door and the others formed a double-teaming trend against the ronin.

Seeing the reinforcements coming and successfully double-teaming the ronin, a look of joy involuntarily appeared on Keeimon's face.

As for the ronin——when he saw the official messenger from the Shirobei Club appearing in front of him, his face sank.

After a flash of thought flashed across his face, he suddenly stopped his feet.

Then he drew the knife from his waist.

Seeing the ronin draw his sword, Keeimon's face changed. While raising his hand to signal his colleagues to stop, he shouted at the ronin:

"Put down the knife! Obediently let him go!"

Years of work at the Shirobei clubhouse allowed Keeimon to develop a loud and loud voice.

But Qingemon's loud voice did not shake the ronin in the slightest.

The ronin, who was already dripping with sweat, tightened the knife in his hand, and said in a deep voice:

"I don't want to hurt anyone! Let me go!"

"Do you think it's possible for us to let you go?" The goalkeeper Qingwei slipped his feet, slowly raised the long wooden stick in his hand, and pointed the tip of the stick at the ronin in front of him, "I'll say it again. Put down the knife for me!"

Seeing that the negotiation failed, more sweat dripped from Ronin's forehead.

At the same time, he tightened his grip on the knife in his hand.

Looking at the ronin who was holding the sword even tighter, the expressions on the faces of Keimon and the colleagues around him involuntarily became heavier.

Including Keiemon, there were 8 of them in total.

The weapons they use - long wooden sticks, their attack distance is also far above that of knives.

But they still didn't dare to be careless, they just silently clenched the long wooden sticks in their hands, looking for the right time to attack while maintaining the situation of surrounding the ronin.

And this ronin is also looking for the right time to break through.

In this way, the two groups started a confrontation that was enough to make the surrounding air heavy.

It was early morning, and even though Yoshiwara had the least amount of people, there were still crowds of spectators gathered around Keemon and the others.

And these spectators were also smart. Seeing the ronin pull out a real sword, they knew that a bloody battle might break out later, so they all stood far away.

All these spectators stood far away, which saved Keemon's trouble, and allowed Keemon to fight freely later without worrying about accidentally injuring innocent people.

The movement of Keimon and the others also disturbed the wandering women's houses on both sides of the street.

The wandering women living in the surrounding wandering women's houses opened the windows one after another, and looked at Keimon and the others below with fear or curiosity.

Just when the atmosphere of this confrontation became more and more serious, and a battle might break out in the next second——

"Keiemon!"

A familiar shout suddenly sounded not far from Qingweimen.

"Huh?" Keimon kept his eyes fixed on the ronin, and at the same time, looked over the ronin's shoulder from the corner of his eye, and looked further ahead.

After looking further ahead from the corner of his eye, Keimon saw an acquaintance of his—the old man of Shirobei Clubhouse: Kawajiro.

Kawajiro is a 58-year-old man who is mainly responsible for clerical work in the clubhouse.

At the age of 18, he worked in the Shirobei clubhouse. He has worked in the Shirobei clubhouse for 40 years and is the oldest person in their clubhouse.

Even their current leader, the Sixth Generation Meshiro Bingwei, is respectful and respectful to this Kawajiro who has worked diligently in the club for 40 years.

Beside the extremely familiar Kawajiro, there is a young samurai who is not familiar with him.

This young fifty-five official is ordinary, with a simple appearance.

The clothes on his body were clean, and he didn't look like the kind of ronin who didn't finish his meal.

"Keimon!" Kawajiro led the strange young samurai to Keeimon's side, and asked Keeimon in a deep voice, "What's the matter with this guy?"

"This guy didn't pay after eating and drinking at the tea house." Keimon, who had been fixing his eyes on the ronin, replied to Kawajiro who was beside him without turning his head, "Kawajiro, step back first. , you stand here, when a fight breaks out, you may be implicated."

"Do you need me to call more reinforcements?" Kawajiro asked.

"...Well, please."

After all, the opponent is a ronin who has drawn his real sword.

So you can't be too cautious.

For the sake of caution, Keimon decided to use the tactics of crowds, swarming up and taking down this dangerous thief in one fell swoop.

When Kawajiro was about to nod his head vigorously, saying "I'm going to rescue the soldiers now", the young samurai who had been closely following Kawajiro suddenly said at this moment:

"Kawajiro, you just said that to become an employee of the Shirobei Club who is responsible for maintaining law and order, you must first test your strength, right?"

"Huh?" Kawajiro was taken aback for a moment, and then quickly replied, "That's right, so you wait, wait until Keemon takes down the thief, and then let Keemon test you... Hey ! What are you doing?!"

Before Kawajiro could finish his words, the young samurai walked slowly towards the ronin through the thin encirclement that Keimon and the others built for the ronin who ate the king's meal.

"Hey!" Qingweimen was also stunned by the unexpected scene in front of him, and quickly shouted at the young warrior, "What are you doing?"

The young samurai ignored Keimon and the others, and stopped after walking some distance from the ronin.

"Who are you?! What do you want to do by leaning over all of a sudden?!" Ronin turned the tip of his knife and pointed it at the young warrior who suddenly leaned towards him.

"I didn't want to do anything." The young samurai said to the ronin in a calm tone, "I'm in a hurry to find this man named Keimon, so can you please put down the sword quickly and capture it without a fight? This way everyone can save money. A lot of time."

"Who would just catch him without a fight!" Ronin roared, "Aren't you an official of Shirobei Club?"

"My name is Goro Mashima. Let's just say I'm an Izumo wanderer passing by here."

"Since it's not an official post, step aside for me! Otherwise, I'll kill you too!"

"...Didn't you notice it?" asked the young warrior.

The inexplicable rhetorical question of the young samurai stunned Ronin, Keimon and the others beside him.

"What did you find?" Ronin asked back.

"Didn't you find out——you have been standing in my best attack range since just now."

The voice fell.

The cold light flickered.

A cold light leaked from the scabbard on the left waist of the young warrior, sweeping towards the saber in Ronin's hand like a stream of light.

clang!

He didn't react at all to the young samurai's sword attack.

With the sound of a huge clash of gold and iron, the knife in Ronin's hand was directly sent flying.

After knocking down the sword in Ronin's hand, the young warrior turned the sword around and put the sword on Ronin's neck.

"Those who don't even know that they are within the best attack range of the enemy can't kill me." The tone of the young warrior was still calm.

*****

*****

Let me show you the exclusive haori worn by the officials of the Shirobei Club.

This is a frontal photo, with the words "Clubhouse" painted on both sides of the skirt→

This is a photo from the back, there is a big word "door" behind the haori→

The pictures are all taken from the Japanese drama "Yoshihara-sato"

Because there is very little information on the Shirobei Clubhouse on the Internet, I don’t know whether the special haori of the officials of the Shirobei Clubhouse in history is really like this.

Let's just treat it as their special haori, it really looks like this (laughs)