I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 821 [Detective] Qing Deng's reappearance! [4600]

As he spoke, he took a few steps forward and pulled back the spear from the ground. He flipped it lightly with his fingers, and the heavy spear became as light as chopsticks under his fingertips.

The long gun barrel spun half a circle in the air and then rested steadily on his shoulder.

Ebina Ye Zong - with a lingering fear on his face - moved in front of Tojo Shintaro.

"Dongcheng...thanks...!"

Tojo Shintaro said calmly:

"You're welcome. It was really dangerous just now. If that man's archery skills were a little better, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to stop his arrow."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qing Deng seemed to be amused, and a smile appeared on the corners of his slightly raised mouth.

Qing Deng still doesn't know the specific details of Tojo Shintaro.

However, there is one thing that Qing Deng is absolutely sure of - even if that man's archery skills improve a little bit, Tojo Shintaro will still be able to intercept his arrow!
Qing Deng had already experienced Tojo Shintaro's skills with a gun when he returned to Edo to repel the British fleet in Edo Bay.

Although Qing Deng won the brief confrontation between the two, he could clearly feel that his opponent did not try his best!
If the opponent attacks with all his strength, he will have to put in a lot more effort to win.

Although Tojo Shintaro looks like a greasy, unkempt fat man, his skills are truly amazing and should not be underestimated!
Excellent spear skills and strong physique - the talent that Qing Deng copied from him was actually "Elephant Core +9"!
Since traveling through time, Qing Deng has fought with all kinds of people.

But there are very few people like Tojo Shintaro who possess a full-level talent with a "+9" suffix!

Thanks to him, Qing Deng gained another full-level talent and his core strength increased greatly.

When it comes to martial arts, no matter whether it involves swords or spears, there is no one who does not value core strength - this is especially true for spearmanship.

The spear is very heavy. If a person's lower body is not strong and his waist is not stable, he may not even be able to hold the spear steadily, let alone master the spear technique.

Tojo Shintaro, who is gifted with the "Core of the Elephant +9"... Even if he doesn't know any martial arts skills, his innate "supernatural power" alone is enough to make him a fearsome master!
After calming down a little, Qing Deng couldn't help but sigh inwardly - he finally understood why the Great Salt Party's intelligence capabilities were so outstanding.

The main means of collecting intelligence are nothing more than "bribing others" and "sending spies."

The current shogunate has long been corrupt, and the civil and military officials in the court are well fed and have no ambition to make progress. It can truly be said that "the shogunate is full of people who occupy positions but do nothing."

In such an environment, officials who have some ability and are able to do hard work and get practical results are extremely rare.

There are only a handful of people Qing Deng has come into contact with who can be called capable officials.

One of them is my grandson Chutaro, the "Dragon of Fire".

One of them is Shintaro Tojo, who has rich experience in handling cases.

I didn't expect... that these two people are actually members of the Big Salt Party!

These two are not just capable ministers, they are also high-ranking officials with prominent positions in the shogunate!
One is the captain of the Fire Thieves Kai First Squad, who has become the backbone of the Fire Thieves Kai at a young age.

The other was the former Edo Kitabansho Shijo Kaiyoriki, who was recently promoted to the position of Kyoto governor.

The former is a "frontline officer of the special forces", and the latter is the "chief of the police station"... How many shogunate secrets have they handled?
God knows how much intelligence they have provided to the Great Salt Party over the years!

This is just the "mole" around Qing Deng.

How many "moles" did the Great Salt Party plant in the shogunate? How many people inside the shogunate were secret members of the Great Salt Party... Qing Deng didn't even dare to think about it!

Thinking of this, Qing Deng couldn't help but have a complicated expression on his face.

At this time, Tojo Shintaro suddenly said:

"Mr. Ju, if conditions allowed, I would have kept this secret secret for the rest of my life."

"However... the situation tonight is extremely dangerous and we need help urgently."

"Compared to the lives and property of thousands of people in Kyoto, whether my 'true identity' is exposed or not is not worth mentioning."

After hearing this, Qing Deng shrugged and chuckled a few times:

"Well... now that things have come to this, I am not surprised anymore."

"Although your 'true identity' did surprise me."

"But after learning that the gentle and lovely 'most beautiful woman in Kyoto' is actually the intelligence chief of the Great Salt Party, your little secret is no longer enough to shake my mind."

Having said this, he paused, then raised his eyes again and looked around at Miss Sumire and Tojo Shintaro.

"But you really trust me."

"In just one night, not only did I see Miss Sumire's true appearance, but I also took the initiative to expose Tojo Shintaro's true identity."

"A 'mole' like him who holds an important position in the shogunate... ah, no, a 'secret agent', should be rare, right?"

At that time, the Japanese probably didn't know the meaning of "mole", so Qing Deng temporarily changed it to "hidden stake".

"It seems that you are not afraid that I will bring you all to justice after tonight."

"No matter what, I am also the shogunate's governor of the capital."

"According to the Sonjo faction, I am the shogunate's number one lackey."

"Although the Sonjo Faction is the current number one enemy of the shogunate, the heads of important cadres of the Oshio Faction are equally valuable."

"If I bring the head of the Great Salt Party's intelligence chief to ask for a reward, and remove this high-ranking 'hidden agent' at the same time, my fiefdom may be able to expand by tens of thousands of shi."

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, Miss Jin turned her head slightly, stuck out her tongue at him and made a face.

"Stop bluffing like that. You wouldn't do that."

Qing Deng raised his eyebrows, a look of interest on his face.

"Oh? I'm really curious, why do you have so much confidence in me?"

Ms. Jin smiled.

"Who do you think I am?"

"I am a remarkable woman who became the intelligence chief of the Great Salt Party at such a young age!"

"I have more weapons and abilities than just a pretty face and a glib tongue."

Although she was talking, her hands were moving at no slow pace.

She continued to look for Yoshida Minoru while continuing the conversation slowly.

"I chose to be a geisha purely for the purpose of gathering intelligence. I personally don't like this kind of business that relies on selling smiles for a living."

"However, I must admit that my years of experience as a geisha have helped me improve my skills."

"Let's not talk about eloquence or anything like that for now."

"As the most popular geisha in Kyoto, I probably meet more people in a month than most people will meet in their entire lives."

"From the most dignified and heroic people of our time to the most shameless and cowardly people, there is no one I have not seen."

"Over time, the rich experience accumulated from meeting countless people, coupled with my innate intuition, has given me an extraordinary 'eyesight'."

"My eyes cannot distinguish between good and evil."

“But it can show which people are trustworthy.”

"It is with this 'vision' that I have come this far."

"Otherwise, how can I, who is only in my early twenties, become the intelligence chief of the Great Salt Party?"

"Therefore, I am very sure that you will never betray our trust in you."

At this point, Ms. Jin seemed to remember something, paused, and then changed her tone to a half-joking one:
"An Yi, from a certain perspective, we really are open-hearted to you."

"At this point, you should no longer doubt our determination to protect Kyoto, right?"

“Although I am not a native of Kyoto, I have lived in Kyoto for quite some time.”

“Even if I’m not from Kyoto, I’m better than a Kyoto native.”

“Although Kyoto people always look arrogant and condescending, I really like this prosperous ancient capital.”

“I like Kyoto’s Japanese confectionery and its beautiful ancient buildings.”

“Gion has many lovely children.”

"No matter how glamorous a geisha may be, she is still a member of the lowest class who cannot be seen on stage."

"Those children may have had bad backgrounds and have been doing menial jobs that are not appreciated since they were young, but they are still trying to survive."

"Even if it's just for these good children, I will never let those lunatics of the Sonnang faction destroy this ancient capital and the homes of countless people!"

At the end of her words, Miss Jin's tone was truly powerful.

Perhaps because of their admiration for her determination and will, the warehouse and its surroundings fell into a brief silence - however, this silence did not last long. After about 5 seconds, a "dignified" atmosphere dominated the scene.

Miss Sumire, who had been searching for Yoshida Toshima's body, frowned after checking the last body and murmured:

"It's strange... Yoshida Toshima's body was not found...!"

Hearing this, Qing Deng was stunned for a moment, then asked quickly:
"Didn't find it? Are you sure?"

Ms. Sumire nodded seriously.

"Yes, I'm sure! Yoshida Minoru is definitely not here!"

Qing Deng and Miss Jin looked at each other - they both noticed the seriousness on each other's faces.

They all participated in the battle just now, so they were very sure: under the tight blockade of Miss Sumire and other female ninjas, no one would slip through the net! Absolutely no one would escape from this warehouse!

Yoshida Minoru was the one who led the team to burn Kyoto.

At this critical moment, he is not here... This is not good news...!
Perhaps this is what is meant by "good things don't come in pairs, and bad things don't come alone" - just at this moment, Ah Tao's anxious voice came from not far away:
"Ms. Jin! Come quickly! Something's happening!"

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng immediately ran over with Miss Jin.

I saw Tao and several other female ninjas surrounding a large wooden box.

"Xiao Tao, what's wrong?"

Miss Sumire asked as she peered into the box.

Qing Deng moved faster. He stretched his neck to see clearly what was inside the box - there was nothing in it.

However, with his excellent eyesight, Qing Deng found tiny black particles in the corner of the bottom of the box - gunpowder!

Ah Tao explained:
"There are still a few empty boxes here!"

Miss Jin immediately said:

"Where are the remaining empty wooden boxes? Let me see!"

A Tao took them to see it.

Although these wooden boxes were empty, Qing Deng and Miss Jin both vaguely found traces of "having once contained gunpowder and kerosene".

Qing Deng and Miss Jin looked at each other again - this time, they both noticed the ugly expressions on each other's faces.

Yoshida Minoru is not here...

The wooden boxes that should have been filled with kerosene and gunpowder are now empty...

Although the two did not speak, after combining the two pieces of information, they came to the same horrifying answer that made their hair stand on end!
Ms. Jin made a prompt decision—

"Amei! Push a few guys who can still talk over here!"

Her tone was full of anger and anxiety...

Ah Mei was shocked, but she didn't dare to delay and immediately dragged over a few prisoners who could still speak.

After meeting these captives, Miss Jin didn't waste any words and asked directly:
"Hurry up! Where is Yoshida Minoru?!"

There were three prisoners who were dragged in for questioning.

One of them hung his head, expressionless.

One person closed his eyes and pretended to be deaf and dumb.

The last person raised his head and looked at Miss Jin with disdain.

"You bitch...! Stop being so bossy here..."

Bang!
Before he could finish his words, Miss Jin kicked him directly in the face with the instep of her foot.

It can be seen that she has stopped exerting her strength.

If I kick him with all my strength, this guy will probably faint.

Of course, getting kicked in the face is not a pleasant feeling.

The man groaned suddenly, and blood mixed with saliva flowed down the corners of his mouth.

Miss Jin, who was anxious, didn't care about that. She leaned over, grabbed the man's collar, and then repeated the question:
"Hurry up! Where is Yoshida Minoru?!"

The man took several deep breaths. After a while, he raised his head again and cast a disdainful look at Miss Jin again - this time, his disdain was tinged with sarcasm.

"I don't know how you found this place...but your luck has run out!"

"Hahaha! Mr. Yoshida is really foresighted!"

"Bitch, I'm going to tell you the truth!"

"Mr. Yoshida saw that the wind was blowing, so in order not to waste this good wind, he led his men to the designated fire location early!"

"You guys just found a few empty boxes, right?"

"We are just guarding this warehouse which still has a little kerosene and gunpowder, and we are ready to set off a second fire at any time depending on the situation!"

"Do you understand?"

"If you understand, then go wherever you want!"

"It won't be long before Kyoto becomes hotter than ever before!"

After saying this, he let out a dark, sarcastic laugh.

Amidst the continuous laughter, the solemn atmosphere on the scene...is beyond words!
Be it Qing Deng, Miss Jin and the others, all of them had serious expressions on their faces at this moment.

In order to stop the atrocities of the Zunyang faction, they had rushed here at full speed, but they did not expect that they were still a step too late!
Miss Jin clenched her teeth and squeezed out words from between her teeth:

"I'll ask you one last time, where did Yoshida Minoru go?"

"..."

The man said no more.

He tilted his head, rolled his eyes, and rolled his eyes at Miss Jin, with disdain still hanging on the corner of his mouth.

His attitude... is self-evident.

As for the other two prisoners, they both looked like they would rather die than tell anything.

"Ms. Jin, please allow me to torture them!"

As Ah Mei spoke with a stern look on her face, she took out a few thin, sharp silver needles from her bosom.

Ms. Sumire waved her hand without hesitation:
"Use all your means to force them to tell you where Yoshida Minoru is!"

"Yes!"

Amei called out, and together with several other female ninjas dragged away the three captives, preparing to torture them.

At this time, the guy who just admitted that Yoshida Minoru was no longer here and mocked everyone loudly, spat a mouthful of blood foam at Miss Sumire.

"You bitch! If I were afraid of pain and death, I wouldn't be here!"

Miss Jin ignored their shouting, turned around silently and faced Qing Deng and others.

"Ms. Jin, this is not good..."

Tojo Shintaro said quietly.

"You should have seen that those bastards are very determined."

"Even if we succeed in interrogating Yoshida Toshima to reveal his whereabouts, I don't know how long it will take."

"Unfortunately... what we lack most right now happens to be time."

Miss Jin raised her hand and rubbed her brows hard.

"Of course I understand what you said!"

Yoshida Minoru has led his team to burn the city.

To put it bluntly...in the next second, a huge, dazzling ball of fire might rise up somewhere in Kyoto!
Although the situation is extremely critical,...information is scarce! Kyoto is so big, who knows where Yoshida Minoru and others have gone!
Just when everyone was at a loss... someone suddenly spoke:

"Wait... I might know where Yoshida Minoru went."

In an instant, Miss Jin and others raised their heads and looked at Qing Deng with surprise and suspicion.

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