I formed the strongest swordsman group

For the celebration banquet tonight, Zhou Zhu really spent a lot of money. Not only did he cover everyone's food and drink, but he also invited artists to perform.

When Qing came back from the latrine, the entertainers invited by Zhou Zhu happened to come. They performed a funny performance very similar to belly dancing in the center of the room, making everyone in the room laugh.

Qingdeng returned to his seat, and found that Saito, who was seated next to him, had a serious expression on his face.

"Saito, what's the matter? Are you feeling unwell?"

Saito also participated in the celebration banquet.

Saitomoto refused to sit with Qingdeng and the others on the grounds that "I'm not a member of the test hall, so I'd better wait outside the room".

But Aotori ignored Saito, he said to Saito:

"During the time you and I lived in the testing hall together, didn't you also help with some trivial matters like 'cleaning the floor of the testing hall dojo'? In this way, you can be regarded as half of the testing hall It’s over. That’s it, feel free to attend the celebration banquet with us.”

On the premise of obtaining Zhou Zhu's permission, Qingdeng semi-forced Saito to sit beside him, allowing Saito to enjoy the lively celebration atmosphere with him.

"...I'm not feeling sick." Saito said softly, "I just feel a little embarrassed."

"I'm not a member of the test hall, but I'm sitting here with you to participate in the banquet..."

Hearing this, Qingdeng couldn't help laughing.

"Saito, I've already said it, you can be regarded as half a member of our test guard hall, and this is what the master has personally admitted."

"Stop thinking about what's there and what's not, just relax and enjoy the celebration banquet."

"It's a rare and lively banquet. If you keep your face sullen, it will be too wasteful."

"Look at the performance, it's quite interesting."

After all, Qingdeng, who had given up drinking and changed to tea, was drinking tea while looking at the artists in front of him who were performing "belly dance" with relish.

Saito raised his head and looked at the performance in front of him.

Then he turned his eyes slowly, looking at the people around him who were laughing.

Saito, who is usually expressionless and straight-faced, now has a faint smile on his lips.

After a while, he looked back.

Like Qingdeng next to him, he concentrated on watching the "belly dance" performance while drinking tea.

However, he didn't seem to appreciate this kind of art at all, and his brows kept frowning at a speed visible to the naked eye.

...

...

At this very moment—

Edo, Barrel Town, Little Chiba Sword House, bathroom——

Crash!

Sanako, naked and naked, knelt beside the tub in an extremely standard posture, picked up a basin of cold water, and poured it on her body.

After pouring 4 basins of cold water on his body in one breath, from the top of his head to his tiny toes, Sanako closed his eyes and folded his hands on his thighs.

Head held high, waist straight.

Little Chiba Sword Gym is currently a well-known school in the Japanese kendo world, neither lacking in fame nor money, so Chiba Singkichi opened a private bathroom at home very generously.

Sanako loves to be clean, no matter it is summer or winter, she must take a bath every day.

And every time she takes a bath, she has a habit—before washing her body and officially entering the bath, she must first kneel and sit beside the bathtub, pouring cold water on her body, and let the coolness of the cold water stimulate her brain and nerves .

After pouring cold water all over the body, close your eyes, and think carefully about your gains and losses today, think about the mistakes you made today, and think about how you can prevent yourself from repeating these mistakes in the future.

At this moment, after Sanako closed his eyes, the scenes of today's game quickly passed through Sanako's mind one by one.

——If... I can hold Tachibana-kun and the chief executive for a little longer today, the result of the competition might be very different...

——Stay a little longer, Shannan-kun and the others will come to support me.

——With the support of Shannan-kun and the others, there is a chance to restore the decline and defeat Tachibana-kun and the chief executive...

Sanako kept replaying today's battle, counting his shortcomings and mistakes.

The hands folded on the legs slowly clenched and tightened.

——In the final analysis, my strength is still not enough...

——If I can be stronger, strong enough to deal with Tachibana-kun and Souji at the same time, I won't lose today's match.

——I have to... be stronger...

——As long as I am strong enough, whether it is today... or the past... the ending will be different...

Sanako's eyes, which had been tightly closed, slowly opened at this moment.

In her bright and beautiful pupils like the stars in midsummer, there was a hint of depression and sorrow at this moment.

Its appearance... as if recalling some bad memories.

The high head was lowered, and the chin almost touched her collarbone.

The candlelight on the lampstand standing in the corner of the bathroom flickered slightly at this moment.

The flickering dim candlelight hit Zuo Nazi from top to bottom.

Stretched the lonely figure of Sanako very long.

...

...

Little Chiba Sword Gym, Chiba Singkichi's room——

Chiba Sadakichi, Chiba Shigetaro and his son sat facing each other.

Chiba Sakakichi, dressed in pajamas, asked Chiba Shigetaro with a faint smile on his face:

"Shigetaro, what do you think of today's game?"

"...Father. I think about it carefully - a large part of the reason for the defeat in today's game is the mentality."

"If our fighting spirit and mentality hadn't been shaken by the inability to attack the defense line for a long time, then the outcome of today's game should be quite different."

"Hmm." Chiba Sakakichi nodded lightly, "Shigetaro, since you can think of this, it means that you have a very clear understanding of today's game."

The corners of Chiba Dingkichi's mouth turned up slightly, revealing a faint smile.

"The reason why I agreed to the god master of Yushima Tenmangu and let the Little Chiba Sword Gym hold the "Red and White Battle" in the "Plum Blossom Festival" is actually just to take care of my old friends and satisfy them It's just a desire to 'want the public to have fun in the plum blossom festival and boost people's hearts'."

"After all, the god master of Yushima Tenmangu and I have been friends for many years. He has helped me a lot in the past, and I am ashamed to reject his request."

"I also never expected that today's game would bring so many surprises."

"For me, today's defeat is really a great defeat. It made me and you all deeply understand: how terrible it is to underestimate the enemy."

Chiba Singkichi's tone gradually became serious.

"Today, too many people in our Little Chiba Sword Gym came to the match with the mentality of 'this match must be ours' to underestimate the enemy."

"Because I underestimated the enemy, after discovering that the enemy is far stronger than you imagined, I panicked all of a sudden. Ten percent of my strength can only be displayed at sixty or seventy percent in an instant."

"It's like this in all martial arts - courage is far more important than strength."

"As long as you are full of courage and are not afraid of death and danger, even if you face a strong person whose strength is far above yours, you still have a chance to defeat him."

"That's why the Satsuma show that 'never teaches people how to defend and dodge, but only teaches people how to attack without risking their lives' is so frightening."

"Today's defeat reminded me: From now on, I have to work harder to correct the mentality of some people in the stadium."

Having said that, Chiba Dingkichi suddenly paused.

"Speaking of which—Shigetaro, is Sanako in a better mood now?"

"Sanako is going to take a bath now." Chiba Shigetaro replied, "Her mood... seems to have not improved. Before she went to take a bath, I saw her face still calm."

"That's it..." Chiba Dingkichi smiled helplessly, "Sanako is so strong, she lost a game today under the watchful eyes of so many people... She must be very unwilling now."

"Shigetaro, remember to pay more attention to your sister in the future, and enlighten her when necessary."

"...Father." Chiba Shigetaro seemed to have remembered something at this moment, his expression changed slightly, "Speaking of Sanako...Father, I want to tell you something."

"Huh? What's the matter?"

"Father." Chiba Shigetaro raised his head, and asked Chiba Singkichi with a somewhat eager look, "What do you think... Tachibana-kun?"

Chiba Singkichi's expression froze.

Immediately afterwards, he narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at his son meaningfully.

"...Shigetaro, don't you... put Tachibana-kun on your 'list of potential brother-in-law'?"

"Father, don't you think Tachibana-kun is a good match for Sanako?"

"First of all, Tachibana-kun's age is very suitable. He is 18 years old this year, and Sanako is 22 years old this year. Tachibana-kun is only 4 years younger than Sanako, and the age difference is not much."

"Secondly, Mr. Ju's appearance and height are very good. Mr. Ju is very tall, a full head taller than Sanazi, and he looks pretty good. His facial features are very correct. The only shortcoming is that Mr. Ju has no Leave a crisp crescent, but it doesn't hurt."

"Then, Tachibana-kun, he returned to Fenggong in Dingcho, the northern district of Edo, and had a quite decent job. If Sanako married, there is no need to worry that Sanako will live in embarrassment."

"Finally—and most importantly, Mr. Ju is really a rare and outstanding talent."

"Father, you should be able to see through the rumors about Mr. Ju that you have heard recently and what you saw in the arena today, right? Mr. Ju is indeed a courageous, resourceful, wise and courageous person."

"There is not only the heroism of not avoiding the axe, but also the resourcefulness of strategizing."

"Yong told me before: Mr. Ju is a person whose talent in swordsmanship is not inferior to that of the chief executive."

"I didn't believe it at the time, but after witnessing Jun Ju's swordplay on the field today, I was convinced: Yong really didn't lie, Jun Jun's swordsmanship talent is indeed quite amazing."

"Father, can you believe it? Jun Ju almost didn't understand swordsmanship more than a month ago. In just over a month, Mr. Ju's swordsmanship has been cultivated to such a level. It's amazing What a genius!"

Chiba Shigetaro became more and more excited as he spoke.

"A genius like Mr. Ju will have a bright future in the future!"

"When I met Mr. Ju for the first time, I already asked Mr. Ju. Now he has neither married nor engaged."

"Father, this kind of thousand people... No, not even one outstanding talent can come out of ten thousand people. You must focus on it!"

"Shigetaro, calm down." Looking at his son who was getting more and more excited, Chiba Singkichi couldn't help but smiled bitterly, "Look at how nervous you are... are you so anxious to get your sister married quickly?"

"Of course!" Chiba Shigetaro said without thinking, "Father, Sanako is 22 years old this year."

"Go around Edo and find out—how many daughters of the samurai family who are neither married nor engaged until they are 22 years old?"

"In a few more years, when Zuo Nazi is older, it will be difficult to find a good family for her."

"Now is the time to be nervous about Sanako's future!"

Chiba Dingkichi smiled helplessly: "I have no objection to you helping Sanako find a suitable outstanding man."

"But don't randomly look for someone for Sanako."

"How long have you known Tachibana-kun? Have you carefully investigated his character? You haven't even done a detailed investigation of his character, and you want your sister to be renamed 'Tachibana Sanako'?"

"Father, you heard me wrong. I didn't say that Sanako and Tachibana-kun should be combined now." Chiba Shigetaro corrected, "What I just said was 'Tachibana-kun deserves special attention'."

"Of course I know that I can't let that kind of person who is rich and jaded but corrupted inside be my brother-in-law."

"I've made up my mind: From tomorrow, I will focus on investigating Mr. Ju's character."

"As far as I know so far, Mr. Ju's character shouldn't be too bad."

Chiba Shigetaro smiled slightly.

"Today, in front of everyone, he asked Brother Duomen to take back his rude remarks to the testing hall."

"The character of this kind of person who dares to maintain the dignity of his own sword hall is worth looking forward to."

"...I admit that Mr. Ju is indeed a very capable person." Chiba Dingkichi said slowly, "If his character is also very good, then I would be happy to have such an excellent hero as Chiba Dingkichi son-in-law."

"but--"

Chiba Jokichi changed the subject.

"No matter how good Tachibana is and how suitable he is to be my son-in-law, Sanako must like Tachibana... At least he must not resist spending the rest of his life with Tachibana."

"If Sanako doesn't like Ju-kun, no matter how good Ju-kun is, I will not agree to let Sanako marry Ju-kun."

"It's the same with other men. If Sanako has no intention of starting a family with them, then he can do so."

"I'd rather let Zuo Zi continue to be a 'lonely family' than let Zuo Zi marry someone she doesn't like."

"Father, I understand everything you said..." Chiba Shigetaro sighed with distress, "Of course I won't force Sana to marry so and so regardless of her feelings."

"Oh..." Chiba Shigetaro raised his hand and scratched his hair, "I only hope that Tachibana-kun's character is as good as his ability, and at the same time, he can have a chance to catch Sanako's heart..."

"You are so optimistic about that Tachibana-kun, so you want your sister to be renamed 'Tachibana Sanako'?" Qianye Singkichi raised his eyebrows.

"Tachibana-kun is the best of the young people I'm looking at right now." Chiba Shigetaro said with a smile, "And I get along pretty well with him, so naturally I value him the most."

"Shigetaro, you just said that starting tomorrow, you will focus on investigating Tachibana-kun's character...how do you want to investigate?"

"Hmph." Chiba Shigetaro let out an intriguing laugh, "I have my own way."

...

...

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi-cho, on a certain avenue returning to the examination hall——

"Drink more... drink more...!"

"Look, look at the master, he's drunk after just a little bit of wine... Hahaha..."

"You don't have the right to laugh at the master, he's drunk." Qingdeng complained angrily to Okita, who was lying behind his back, blushing so much that he felt as if he was about to ooze blood.

The current time is about 10 o'clock in the evening.

The lively celebration banquet was over, the banquet was disbanded, and everyone went back to their homes.

Shusuke, Kondo, and Okita all drank a lot of wine.

Kondo and his son were so drunk that they couldn't even walk steadily, and Okita was the most drunk, and couldn't even stand up.

Saito and Abi didn't drink, and Qingdeng was not drunk and still kept sober. In desperation, Qingdeng and the others could only try to "move" the three of them back to the testing hall.

Abi supported Zhou Zhu, Saito supported Kondo, and Qingdeng carried Okita, who was drunk into a limp shape, on his back.

Fortunately, the wine quality of these three people is not bad, Zhou Zhu and Okita occasionally talk nonsense, and Kondo keeps quiet the whole time, so it is not too difficult to "move" them back to the testing hall.

"Really..." Ah Bi, who was putting Zhou Zhu's arm around his neck, snorted angrily, "It's shameful to be so drunk!"

As soon as Ah Bi finished speaking, Qingdeng turned his head, smiled and defended Zhou Zhu and the others:

"Master, they are too happy to drink a few more glasses."

Tonight, Zhou Zhu, Kondo, Okita... To be precise, almost all the old people who had been in the test hall for a long time were quite happy, and they were quite noisy at the celebration banquet.

For their joy, Qingdeng is quite understandable.

Qingdeng had just joined the Weiwei Hall for less than 2 months, so he had never personally experienced the defeats that the Weiwei Hall had faced against the Xuanwu Hall and Xiaoqianye Sword Hall before.

Compared with Qingdeng, Kondo and Okita, the old people in the test hall, must have more mixed feelings and emotions about today's big victory.

In this way, it is not difficult to understand why they were so noisy, so joyous, and drank so much wine at the celebration banquet tonight.

Hearing what Qingdeng said, Ah Bi lowered his head and glanced at Kondo, who was drunk now but still had a joyful smile on his face.

"……snort."

After humming softly with his nose, Ah Bi stopped talking and concentrated on supporting Zhou Zhu.

call……!

At this time, a gust of cool night wind blew.

"Hmm..." Maybe it was because he felt cold, Okita, who was lying on Qingdeng's back with his eyes closed, slightly tightened his arms around Qingdeng's neck.

After a small belch, Okita hung his chin on Qingdeng's right shoulder.

"Mr. Tangerine..."

"Um?"

"Today... thank you very much..."

Okita's eyes opened a small gap at this moment.

The corners of the mouth were slightly raised, and in the pupils of the eyes that were blurred due to drunkenness, there were bits and pieces of joy.

"Without you... I'm afraid we will lose again in today's competition..."

Qingdeng smiled: "There's no need to thank me like this. After all, I'm also a member of the test hall. Trying to earn glory for the test hall is what I should do."

"Hee hee..." After making a silly laugh, Okita closed his eyes again, and tightened his grip on Qingdeng's neck, "If... the future fencing competitions... can It would be nice to be as hearty as today..."

——Is it hearty...

The smile on Qingdeng's face showed some strange emotions at this moment.

——Today's match... As expected, it still can't be compared with that battle with Suehiro Moritoyo...

Today's match against Little Chiba Sword Gym, Qingdeng also played several extremely fierce matches...

However... all the battles today did not bring Qingdeng and Suehiro Moritoyo the kind of blood spurting, nervous tension, and any carelessness or mistake that would lead to death... the pleasure of fighting.

After Okita grumbled, he didn't speak anymore—he fell asleep on Qingdeng's back.

The group walked silently without saying a word.

Finally—the shadow of the testing hall came into Qingdeng's eyes.

But at this moment, Qingdeng suddenly discovered that there was a figure quite familiar to him standing at the door of the testing hall.

"Master Arima?"

Arima, who was carrying the entourage of holding a box and a gun, turned his gaze when he heard the sound.

"Oh." Arima smiled, "Tachibana-kun, you are back."

...

...

Test hall, living room——

"Tea, please."

Arima bowed politely to Bi who brought him hot tea.

After bowing his head to Arima, Ah Bi left the hall holding the tea tray.

With Abi's voluntary withdrawal, only Ma and Qingdeng remained in the living room.

"Mr. Ju, are you guys going out drinking together tonight? Did something good happen to you?"

"Well..." Qingdeng smiled helplessly, "This is a long story... In short-let's talk about the business first, and after we finish the business, I will slowly say that we all met some things today. What a good thing."

"Master Arima, you must have something important to tell me about your visit late at night, right?"

Arima nodded slightly.

"Because it is very late now, so I will try to make a long story short."

"Mr. Ju, I came here suddenly tonight to remind you that there was a little accident in the 'Big Boss Assessment' a few days later."

"Small accident?" Qing Deng was taken aback.

Today is February 25th, and there are only 3 days left before the "Taibo Assessment" to be held on March 1st to examine the achievements of all officials in the "three times" of the Edo South and North Magistrates.

"What's the accident?" Qingdeng asked, "Is this assessment not going to be held?"

"On the contrary." Arima sighed silently, "This 'big boss assessment'... has become grand."

"This assessment is planned to be in charge of several cronies of Elder Jing Yi."

"However... I have now received definite news."

"Boss Jing Yi... wants to personally participate in and preside over this assessment meeting."

"...What?" After a moment of silence, Qingdeng poked his head forward with a look of astonishment.

"Boss Ii is going to personally attend and preside over this assessment meeting." Arima repeated what he said just now.

"...Which Jingyi elder?"

"Is there a second Elder Jing Yi in this world besides Mr. Jing Yi Naosuke?"

"Master Arima, are you sure you didn't make a mistake...?" The astonishment on Qingdeng's face couldn't be stopped, "Why would Mr. Jing Yi personally participate in and host an event of this level?"

What is the identity of the elder, Naosuke Ii?

He is the current "National Prime Minister".

The dignified "National Prime Minister" personally participated in and presided over the assessment meeting of these capital police?

No matter how you hear this, it feels extremely absurd.

"I'm not mistaken." Arima said, "I'm pretty sure what I just said is the exact facts."

"Although I don't know why Mr. Jing Yi, who is so busy on weekdays, took the time to attend this event that a person of his level should not be able to personally participate in..."

"But I personally think..."

Arima raised his eyes and stared straight at Qingdeng.

"Mr. Ju, it is very likely that Mr. Jing Yi came here because of you."

"That's why I came here overnight to tell you about this, just to remind you and let you make some mental preparations in advance."

"If there is anything happening in our enforcement office that deserves Mr. Jing Yi's close attention...it must be Mr. Ju, who defeated a large number of 'radical extermination faction' thugs."

"Did the famous Mr. Jing Yi come here just for me..." Qingdeng twitched the corners of his mouth, and then said in a half-joking tone, "Ha... I really don't know whether I should feel honored or nervous."

"All of the above are just my guesses. Mr. Jingi may have come to this event for other things." Arima said lightly, "In short——Tachibana-kun, you should make relevant psychological preparations in advance. good."

"In addition to being mentally prepared, Mr. Ju, you can also look forward to the 'big boss assessment' in the next few days."

A faint smile appeared on Arima's face at this moment.

"You have made such a great achievement, according to the usual practice, you will generally be rewarded quite generously."

"Elder Jing Yi may personally give you a reward at the assessment meeting in a few days' time."

Qingdeng smiled, and jokingly said: "Master Arima, it has been more than a month since I returned to Edo, this reward is really slow in coming..."

...

...

3 days later——

Ansei seven years (1860), March 1st.

Today, Qingdeng put on the samurai dress embroidered with their Tachibana family crest: 裃.

In the Edo period, almost all samurai had their own family crests.

Going back thousands of years, Qingdeng's ancestors were a branch of Minamoto, one of the famous "Four Great Clans" in the Heian period (794-1192).

Therefore, Qingdeng, who is a descendant of Genji, uses the family crest that has been passed down for thousands of years: gentian leaf, the representative family crest of Genji.

Qingdeng's original dress was burned to ashes in the sea of ​​flames when his home was burned.

The clothes he is wearing today are new clothes that he commissioned a clothing store to redo for him after receiving the gift money from the French Embassy.

Putting on his robes, combing his hair and face, and putting on his sword, Qingdeng was escorted by Kondo, Okita and others to leave the test hall, and strode towards the venue of today's "big boss assessment": Beifansuo.

After entering the Beifan Office, which had been over for a full month, and turned into a "meeting hall" specially used for important meetings in the Beifan Office, Qingdeng saw many familiar or unfamiliar faces.

Because this is a meeting to assess the achievements of all the "three times" officials of the Edo South and North Fansuo, colleagues from the "three times" of the Nanfansuo also came.

Although everyone is a "policeman" in Edo, the colleagues in Qingdeng and Nanfan are not very familiar with each other. After all, they are not members of the same system, and they have little contact with each other.

After Qingdeng appeared in the conference hall, he immediately became the focus of the audience.

Those who don’t know Qingdeng very well, such as those from the Nanfan Research Institute, discussed in a low voice:

"Look, that person is Ju Qingdeng from the Beifan Institute."

"You are so young..."

...

People who know Qingdeng and have a certain understanding of Qingdeng, such as those in the Beifan Institute, have complicated expressions:

"That fool has really transformed..."

"Hey... If only I ran to Yoshiwara every day, my stupid son who only knows how to play with women can also be like a fool... Ah, no, it would be great if he could wake up and change his past like Tachibana-kun."

...

When Qingdeng arrived at the meeting hall, the "Arima Group" who had the closest relationship with Qingdeng: Arima, Inotani, and Ushiyama were already waiting in the hall.

Seeing Qingdeng coming, the horse, pig, and cow immediately raised their hands to greet Qingdeng, telling Qingdeng to come to them quickly.

"Tachibana!" After Qingdeng approached, Inoya immediately patted Qingdeng's back enthusiastically, "You have surprised us frequently recently... I've heard about it. A few days ago, you led the The guarding hall defeated the Little Chiba Sword Hall."

*****

*****

Ask for a monthly pass! Ask for a recommendation ticket! Ask for collection!