I formed the strongest swordsman group

That night--

Edo, a certain restaurant——

"I'm excited! Let me dance a dance from my hometown for everyone!"

Harada pushed away the dining table in front of him, and quickly stood in the center of the room, humming an unknown tune to accompany himself, and dancing a dance with unknown meaning.

Harada's dance can't be said to be impossible to look at directly, it can only be said to be unsightly.

Not a single note is in tune with the singing voice, the stiff limbs seem to be completely out of the control of the brain, and the movements are completely out of tune with the singing voice...

In a word--a dance of mental pollution level.

But this kind of dance, which is useless except to make people laugh, is just right for a "celebration banquet", which is more lively and better.

You don't need amazing singing voice and dance steps, you just need to dare to dance and sing, and don't let the banquet stand cold - this is the celebration banquet.

Harada's funny dance steps caused everyone in the room to burst into laughter, and the air was full of joy.

Some people... For example, Yongcang who has a good relationship with Harada and was infected by the joyful atmosphere of the banquet; Fujido, who was embarrassed to refuse Harada's kind invitation...they spontaneously formed a "temporary dance troupe" to work with Harada. dance together.

For the Weiwei Hall, although the process of today's competition was a bit tortuous, fortunately, they finally succeeded in defeating the Xuanwu Hall.

Now that he won the game, it was logical that a jubilant celebration banquet should be held.

After nightfall, Zhou Zhu reserved a large private room in a certain restaurant as the venue for the celebration banquet.

Many people related to the test guard hall were invited to the banquet.

For example, Todo Hirasuke.

For example, Kiryu and Kinoshita Mai.

For example, Okita Hikaru and his wife.

As soon as the banquet started, the atmosphere was heightened by laughter and drinks to its climax.

It has been a long time since there was such a banquet with enough titles that one could temporarily put aside the trifles of reality and devote all one's attention to the pleasure in front of one's eyes.

It is rare that everyone can relax without any worries, eating, drinking, singing and playing to their heart's content.

If it wasn't for the presence of Abi, who would never allow her husband (Zhou Zhu) to be unclear about the women outside, Hijikata would have wanted to invite some geisha who could touch them to add to the fun.

Of course, one of the most important reasons why everyone is so crazy is that all the expenses for the banquet tonight are contracted by Zhou Zhu.

There are no meals and drinks for free. Of course, everyone ate and drank happily.

Regarding Zhou Zhu's bold actions, Abi, who is in charge of the financial power of the test hall and who is devoting himself to making the monthly profit of the test hall better, although his face turned dark, he did not criticize What.

Zhou Zhu, the owner of the Test Guard Hall, was responsible for all the expenses of the banquet celebrating the victory of the Test Guard Hall over the Xuanwu Hall—this was just a reasonable and reasonable thing.

At the celebration banquet, he yelled to the disciples and banquet guests in the hall, "Tonight's celebration banquet, each of us will pay for it"... I was as stingy as a pen, and I couldn't do such a shameful thing.

Money is certainly important, but for Ah Bi, "family glory" and "samurai face" are the most important things to pay attention to.

Anyway, the victory of today's game made Ah Bi feel very proud, so Ah Bi made an exception for the time being, and accompanied Zhou Zhu to make a big deal that he hadn't seen for a long time, and threw coins crazily tonight.

Qingdeng and Zongsi, the undoubted contributors to today's victory, sat side by side very close to the banquet chair.

The reason for arranging the seats of Qingdeng and the general manager in this way is to make it convenient for everyone to toast these two great heroes.

"Enough, Okita-kun, don't drink after drinking this cup."

While talking angrily, Qing Deng snatched the wine glass that was just emptied from the chief executive's hand.

The general manager belongs to the kind of person who "will not take the initiative to touch alcohol on weekdays, but once he drinks, he will drink until he loses consciousness before giving up."

And the general manager's alcohol capacity is very average, and he will start to get drunk after a few drinks.

At this moment, the chief executive had drunk an indefinite amount of wine, and his entire pretty face had turned into a lovely pale pink.

Shaking his head and talking, he muttered, his whole body seemed to be melting into a semi-liquid ball.

Let the general manager drink it again, and she will really be broken, so Qingdeng made a decisive decision and immediately took the general manager's wine glass.

"Mr. Orange is right. You can't drink any more, Chief."

Okita Hikari on the side echoed.

Under the deliberate arrangement of Zhou Zhu and the others, the seats of Okita Hikaru and his wife, who are relatives of the chief executive, were set next to the chief executive.

Sitting on the left of the chief executive was Qingdeng. On the right are my sister and brother-in-law.

In normal times, the general manager would probably protest loudly at this time, expressing himself "I can still drink! I want to drink!"

But the chief executive, whose consciousness is already in a trance, can barely utter a complete sentence.

After the wine glass was taken away by Qingdeng, she just stared blankly at the empty palm, looked at Qingdeng and Okita Hikaru who asked her not to drink any more in a strong tone, and then——

"Mmm...~~"

Puckering his lips, he moaned displeasedly in a soft voice, then silently picked up the chopsticks and continued eating.

"Mr. Orange!"

Suddenly, Harada moved closer to Qingdeng.

"Come and dance with us!"

"Uh... I don't have to."

Qingdeng laughed a few times in embarrassment, and politely declined.

Harada's dance was too early for Qingdeng and this era.

To dance this kind of dance...Qingdeng really appreciates it.

Seeing that Qingdeng didn't want to come and dance with them, Harada didn't force it either—he instead threw himself in front of Saito.

"Saito! It's a rare banquet, why are you so quiet! Come and play together! Let's dance together!"

"I don't have to..."

I also know that even Qingdeng is unwilling to accompany Harada and Yongcang in this kind of "beyond the times" dance, let alone Saito who has a withdrawn personality.

When Harada enthusiastically invited Saito to dance with them, Qingdeng suddenly noticed that Harada's footsteps seemed a little vain.

Qingdeng took advantage of the situation and raised his eyes to look at Harada's face.

Harada is a very good drinker and has already drained several bottles of sake.

Although he is still in good spirits, his face is already flushed.

But even so, the weak "paleness" hidden under the "blush" can still be vaguely seen.

Seeing this, Qingdeng couldn't help thinking to himself:

——Hikata's "collection" is really amazing...

A while ago, that is, the night when Qingdeng discovered the "true body" of the chief director, in order to cover Qingdeng's dizzy chief director to leave, the earthwork used the excuse of "I want to give you some of the 'collections' that I don't want" , took Yongcang, Saito and Harada away from the bathing place.

Acting and making a full set... Hijikata really has been collecting some very special things, and he really gave some of his "collections" to Yongcang and the others.

Hijikata's collection... is the personal information of Edo girls.

Younv: A prostitute.

In the Edo period, people called the prostitutes who specialized in that kind of business "Younv", and the brothels were called "Yunvya".

Because of Japan's special cultural customs, and in this society with extremely solidified classes, there is a real need for a channel for energetic young men to vent their excess energy. Yuu and Yuuya have always been recognized by the Edo shogunate. legitimate occupations and legal shops.

In order to facilitate control, the Edo shogunate only opened a legal red light district in one place in Edo. That is, Yoshihara, which was established on the Japanese embankment behind Sensoji Temple.

The millennium ancient temple and the largest red light district in the country are neighbors... I don't know what the Japanese think.

Thinking about it from another angle... this seems to be a special kind of "one-stop service"-after venting in Yoshihara, you can walk a few steps and turn a corner, and you can go to Sensoji Temple to confess that you have not controlled your lower body. crimes.

The Edo shogunate has a rigid rule: You can only open women's houses in Yoshihara. It is illegal to open a girl's house in places other than Yoshihara.

It's taken for granted——Hikata, who is so romantic, has so many current girlfriends and ex-girlfriends that he can form several football teams to play group matches there, how could he not be a regular visitor to Yoshiwara?

Out of personal interest and for the convenience of his own fun, Hijikata collected information on all the girls he had come into contact with, and integrated it into "Hijikata Version Yoshihara Hosami".

In order to facilitate tourists to go to Yoshiwara to have fun, there has been a semi-annual, enduring publication widely circulated on the market: "Yoshihara Hosomi"

To put it simply, "Yoshihara Hosami" is a guidebook specially made for tourists going to Yoshihara.

In the beginning, the titles of the books were varied.

There are "Yoshihara Sudokan", "Yoshihara Sparrow", "Yoshihara Maimonodiao" and so on. Later, the titles of the books were gradually unified into "Yoshihara Hosami".

The book records in detail information such as the map of Yoshihara, the list of teahouses in the tea house, the flower names, class, and fees of the wandering girls.

The "Hijikata Edition Yoshihara Hosami" produced by Hijikata himself not only contains basic information such as the girl's nickname, class, and cost, but also personal personality, skills, appearance or figure that are worth mentioning Advantages... wait for this kind of advanced information that will only make the lustful person feel bloody.

In addition, "Higakata Version Yoshihara Hosami" not only includes information about Yoshihara Yume, but also includes information about Okaba Yume.

The so-called Oka place is an underground girl's house without the permission of the Edo shogunate.

Although Yoshihara claims to have 3,000 wandering girls, Edo has a population of millions. There are too many monks and too little porridge.

The serious imbalance between supply and demand, the huge cost of opening a store in Yoshiwara, the fact that there are not many girls under his command to open a large store, and the fact that he does not want to pay taxes to the Edo shogunate... These various reasons lead to the fact that even though the Edo shogunate has always had Illegal girls' houses are strictly banned, and there are still many people who take risks and open gang places secretly.

Oka places in Edo are mainly distributed in crowded places such as Shinagawa, Senju, Itabashi, and Naito Shinjuku.

A mere Yoshiwara could not satisfy the appetite of the incredibly energetic Hijikata.

While Hijikata often goes to Yoshiwara to hang out, he also frequently goes to various Okada places to adjust the taste.

The "collection" that Hijikata gave to Nagakura and the others were a few "Hijikata Edition Yoshiwara Hosami" that had been thrown in the closet because the information contained in them was outdated.

As far as Qingdeng knows——after seeing Hijikata's "collection" turned out to be such a thing, Harada's eyes lit up immediately, and he held it carefully in his arms without hesitation as if he was handling some fragile treasure .

Yongcang felt that his body was upright, and while saying "how embarrassing this is", he also put it into his arms with "half push and half push".

Only Saito declined Hijikata's kindness, entered Hijikata's house empty-handed, and finally left Hijikata's house empty-handed.

During this period of time, Yongcang and Harada frequently went out early and returned late, occasionally followed Hijikata, and sometimes did not return to the test hall until dawn.

What are they doing? it goes without saying……

This friendship of having an appointment with XX together has made the recent relationship between Hijikata, Yongcang and Harada particularly good.

Due to his personal character and the influence of his childhood education, Qingdeng has always avoided places like Yoshihara.

Qingdeng felt: He might never have anything to do with people in the red-light district in his life!

In any case, Harada's behavior of playing until his face turned pale and his footsteps were weak was really inappropriate.

Just when Qingdeng was thinking about whether to find an opportunity to remind Harada to try to be more restrained, he suddenly noticed a dark shadow wriggling in the lower right corner of his field of vision.

He turned his head and looked - this squirming black shadow turned out to be the chief executive's little hand.

After snatching the chief executive's wine glass, Qingdeng put it on his right knee.

At this moment, the director quietly put her little hand to Qingdeng's right knee - she wanted to sneak back her wine glass while Qingdeng and Chong Tianguang were not paying attention.

"Hello, Okita-kun."

Qingdeng, who discovered the general director's plan in time, quickly took the general director's wine glass further away.

"It's all said, you can't drink anymore."

Qing Deng tried his best to put on a straight face, deliberately using a stern tone, trying to let the chief executive quit.

However, in the face of Qingdeng's serious admonition, the director general smiled indifferently, and then...

"Hmm~ just let me have another drink...~~"

With this kind of soft and waxy voice that Qingdeng had never heard before, she said to Qingdeng... No, it should be more accurate to say "acting like a baby to Qingdeng".

After acting coquettishly like this, the chief executive blinked her big watery eyes a few times, and looked at Qingdeng pitifully like an abandoned puppy.

The corner of Qingdeng's mouth twitched uncontrollably as he met the chief director's eyes straightly.

——It seems that Ms. Okita is quite drunk...

It was hard for him to imagine that the general manager in a normal state would speak to him with such a tone and such a look in his eyes.

Being stared at by the chief executive...Qingdeng only felt uncomfortable.

Considering all the hard work and contributions made by the general manager in today's competition...Qingdeng let out a soft sigh.

He raised his head and glanced at Hikaru Okita and Rintaro Okita who were not far away—they were concentrating on watching Harada's dance, not paying attention to him and the chief executive.

After confirming that the Okitas were not looking at them, Qingdeng carefully pushed the wine glass to the head of the chief.

"...just one more drink."

"Hey hey hey~"

The chief executive happily held her wine glass with both hands, quickly filled the glass with his back to Okita Hikaru, and drank it down in one gulp.

Looking at the general manager's smile full of happiness because he had a good drink, the lines on Qingdeng's face gradually softened.

"...Okita-kun, that's really great. You have finally reached the state where you can freely retract your 'power'."

If you use the words of a novelist to describe this morning's match with Xuanwu Hall...then there must be no more suitable words than "turning around, twists and turns".

If we talk about what is the biggest breaking point in today's competition...it is undoubtedly that the chief executive suddenly released his "power" and had a fierce "power" collision with Chiba Michizaburo!

After the competition, under the auspices of Zhou Zhu, the chief executive conducted several experiments—although she was still a little inexperienced, the chief executive had indeed reached the state of being able to freely retract her "potential"!

Qingdeng is still at the stage where "shi" only appears occasionally, and it is completely impossible to control it.

So in comparison, the general manager is already a realm higher than Qingdeng.

Of course——you can't simply use the "momentum" that can be freely retracted as an assessment of personal strength.

If Qingdeng and Zongsi were allowed to fight one-on-one right now, then Qingdeng would still be able to win the battle with a high degree of confidence.

"Hey...~~"

Hearing Qingdeng's appreciation, the director raised his hand to stroke the light ponytail on the back of her head.

"Mr. Ju... this is also... thanks to you..."

The general manager gave Qingdeng long glances.

The emotions contained in the eye waves are elusive.

"Thanks to me?" Qing Deng was taken aback, "Why?"

Qingdeng doesn't remember anything he did to the chief executive that could help her break through.

"Um...uh...so sleepy..."

The chief groaned and groaned drunkenly.

It can be seen that she did not hear Qingdeng's question at all.

Seeing that the chief executive has temporarily lost the ability to communicate normally with others, Qing Deng secretly said in his heart:

—Forget it... Let's find another chance to ask her carefully later.

...

...

——It's so strange...is it my illusion...?

Kinoshita Mai, who was sitting diagonally across from Qingdeng, had been staring at Qingdeng and the chief executive with a scrutinizing gaze since just now.

For Kinoshita Wu, the seat she most wanted to sit on was naturally next to Qingdeng.

But she couldn't control the seat arrangement, and she had "social phobia" and didn't have the guts to ask for a change of seat, so she could only make do with it and sit diagonally across from Qingdeng.

Such a position also has an advantage - Kinoshita Wu can have a panoramic view of any movement on Qingdeng's side.

After the celebration banquet began, Kinoshita Mai focused most of her attention on Qing Deng.

Therefore... Kinoshita Mai clearly had a panoramic view of all the interactions between Qingdeng and Zongsi Shicai.

Kinoshita Mai knew that the relationship between Qingdeng and the chief executive was very good.

But I don't know if it is her illusion.

She always felt that the interaction between the two...was it a bit too intimate...

Because there was a long distance between them and the banquet scene was very noisy, Mai Kinoshita couldn't hear what Qingdeng and the chief executive were talking about.

She only saw the director general show Qingdeng a brilliant smile, and give Qingdeng an unpredictable look.

And Qingdeng, who met the chief director's eyes, also slowly showed a soft smile.

Although it can barely be explained by "the relationship between the two of them is very good", Kinoshita Mai is inexplicably feeling restless and restless...

At this time, a kind of conjecture that was particularly terrifying to Mai Kinoshita emerged in her mind...

——Should...can't it...?

In an instant, Kinoshita Mai's face turned pale.

Although she is not deeply involved in the world, and because she is easily ashamed by nature, she doesn't have a special understanding of the relationship between men and women, but Kinoshita Mai also knows what "all ways" are...

Since the Warring States Period 300 years ago, the Dao has been very popular among samurai families.

Both Qingdeng and Okita-kun are samurai...

The two have lived under the same roof for a long time...

Both of them are very handsome, and the chief executive is a handsome young man with a hint of femininity in his appearance...

...

—Impossible...impossible...!

Like a cat that just crawled out of the water, Kinoshita Mai vigorously shook her head from side to side, trying to "throw" these horrible thoughts out of her brain.

"Young master, what's the matter with you?"

Kiryu, who was sitting next to Kinoshita Mai, wondered.

Kinoshita Mai couldn't care less about Kiryu.

She took several deep breaths to calm her emotions.

But I can't regain my composure at all...

Kinoshita Mai only felt a heavy weight hanging from her heart, her body seemed to be being pulled down all the time...

She cast Qingdeng uncontrollably complex eyes with deep meaning...

...

...

Edo, on a certain street returning to the Examination Hall——

Yongcang: "Ugh...!"

Tu Fang: "Hey! Don't spit! If you spit on me, I'll try you!"

Harada: "Look at this Yongcang... hiccup...! I only drank a little wine... hiccup...! I'm so drunk... It's really bad!"

Inoue: "You don't seem to be able to drink much more than Nagakura-kun..."

Harada: "Who said that! I'm good at drinking! Even if you give me wine from Lucia, I won't get drunk!"

"Be quiet...!" Zhou Zhu said helplessly, "You don't even need to check what time it is. There's a lot of noise... don't disturb the people."

The current time is about 9 o'clock in the evening.

The lively celebration banquet has just ended.

The banquet was over, and everyone went back to their homes.

Because the noise was too crazy, the group headed by Yongcang was very drunk.

Yongcang immediately fell unconscious.

Harada was talking nonsense.

Kondo and Hijikata wobbled as they walked.

Although the general manager was not drunk because Qingdeng snatched the wine glass in time, he was still in a semi-trance state and needed someone to help him walk steadily.

The hotel where Okita Hikaru and his wife lived is located near the test guard hall. Therefore, the Okita Hikaru and his wife who returned to the hotel and Qingdeng and others who returned to the test hall walked together, and the task of supporting the general manager naturally fell on Okita Hikaru.

Only Qingdeng who adhered to the principle of "never get drunk while drinking", as well as Saito and Inoue remained sober.

Just like Tufang who was in charge of supporting Yongcang, Qingdeng also had a task to do right now - he was in charge of keeping an eye on Harada, who insisted that he was not drunk even though he was obviously quite drunk, and frequently spoke nonsense and behaved strangely.

Just now, Harada thought he was walking a straight road, but in fact he was taking a completely inclined road, and almost fell into the drainage ditch on the side of the street. If you don't keep a close eye on him, God knows what strange behavior he will do again.

"Ugh... that's right..."

At this time, Harada suddenly turned his face and said to the guys around him.

"I almost...forgot to say..."

"What do you want to say?" Qing Deng smacked his lips.

Ever since he left the restaurant, Harada's mouth hasn't stopped.

"This year's...fireworks festival...is about to begin...uh...shall we...shall we watch the fireworks together?"

"Fireworks show?" Qing Deng was stunned.

Kondo and other people turned their attention to Harada because they were attracted by Harada's words.

"The annual event...it would be a pity if we didn't join in the fun..."

Maybe it's because Harada talked a lot more sharply when he talked about something he was interested in.

"If you want to participate in this kind of grand event...it will be more interesting if there are more people going there, and it will be more lively... What do you think?"

Harada rolled his eyeballs, and his eyes flicked across the faces of Qingdeng, Zongsi and others one by one.

"Do you want to go to this year's fireworks festival to watch the fireworks together?"

"A fireworks display...?" Kondo muttered, then grinned, "I have no objection."

"A group of old men went to watch the fireworks... well, I don't mind." Hijikata said lightly, "But I have arrangements for the 23rd and 24th, and I will only have time on the 25th."

As soon as the Tufang finished speaking, Qing Deng immediately took over the conversation.

"Me too. I have arrangements for the 23rd and 24th, and I won't have time until the 25th."

On the 23rd, I will go on a date with Kinoshita Mai, and on the 24th, I will perform swordsmanship at the fireworks festival with Sanako and Chiba Shigetaro.

The itinerary for the two days before the fireworks display has been fully arranged.

"Hahaha, are all the residents of the testing hall going to participate in the fireworks display together...it seems quite interesting." Inoue smiled gently, "But this matter will wait for a later date...after the general manager, Mr. Yongcang and the others wake up. Let’s talk about it slowly.”

After finishing speaking, Inoue smiled wryly and glanced at the half-conscious and completely unconscious Zouji and Yongcang beside him.

The two of them were so drunk that they couldn't talk about things at all--this kind of meaning was revealed in Inoue's glance.

"Ugh...that's true..." Harada scratched his hair vigorously, "Then let's talk about this in detail later..."

After that, I don't know whether it was tired or something, but Harada, who was chattering along the way, finally stopped.

Following Harada's silence, the noisy team suddenly became much quieter.

Before they knew it, they had entered the territory of Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi.

Climbing up the big slope where the test hall is located, the square black shadow of the test hall quietly came into Qingdeng's eyes.

"Um?"

Suddenly, Inoue murmured in doubt.

"Is there...is there someone at the gate?"

As soon as Inoue said this, everyone quickly raised their eyes and looked towards the gate of the test hall.

I saw a few blurred shadows outside the gate of the test hall.

Relying on the ability to "see clearly in dark environments" endowed by the talent "Night Vision", Qingdeng was the first to see clearly who these dark shadows were.

"Eh?"

Qingdeng moaned in surprise.

"Arima-sama...?"

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

"Oh." Arima showed a relieved expression, "Tachibana-kun, what a coincidence"

...

...

Test hall, living room——

"Mr. Arima, please have some tea."

"thank you."

Arima bowed politely to Bi who brought him hot tea.

After bowing his head to Arima, Abi left the hall holding the tea tray, making room for Qingdeng and Arima to talk.

With Abi's departure, only Qingdeng and Arima remained in the rather spacious living room.

Due to the fact that he has been recuperating at home, Qingdeng has fewer opportunities to meet the three elders, Arima, Inotani, and Ushiyama.

Qingdeng first exchanged warm greetings with Arima, whom he hadn't seen in a while, and then, seeing the opportunity, got straight to the point, asking Arima why he suddenly came to visit late at night, and what he wanted.

"... Mr. Tangerine."

Arima let out a short sigh with mixed feelings.

"The reason for my sudden visit tonight... is that I have important news to inform you as soon as possible."

"I'll finish the important things first, and finish them in one breath."

"The reward for your great achievements in the residence area more than two months ago has finally been approved."

"Mr. Orange, congratulations."

Speaking of this, Arima put on a solemn tone with a sense of sacredness, and at the same time straightened his waist that was always at a 90-degree right angle to the ground.

"The shogunate is grateful for your great contribution, and added 500 shi to your family salary, and improved your family status."

"From now on, you are a banner warrior with 1,000 Shijialu!"

"In addition to family salary and family status, your official position will be promoted several times."

"You were promoted in one go as the 'Captain of the Fire Fu Thief Kai's Third Division and the Leader of the Seventh Division of the Xianshou Gong Division'. You officially took office on November 1."

"Also, Da Shugong seems to want to see you and asks you to go to the city on August 28."

*****

*****

October is coming to an end, book lovers who still have monthly tickets, please be sure to vote for this book! It's wasted if you don't vote.

Ask for a monthly pass! Ask for a recommendation ticket! (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)

PS: About the story of Hijikata and Edo wandering girls, the author has plans to publish a special episode, please refer to the "Writer's Words" below for details.

The author has considered: writing a side story detailing how Hijikata visited Yoshiwara and Oka places, how to collect information about the wandering girls, and how to bring Nagakura and the others to bad.

I have already thought about the title and introduction of the episode——

"Guide to Tasting Edo Girls".

Rumors of the Edo Red Light District, opening!

I don't know if there is a chance to make this show outside the market...

By the way: It seems to be a historical fact that Earthwork brought Yongcang and the others to ruin. According to the author's investigation, Yongcang and the others were influenced by the earthwork, so they got into the bad habit of "if there is nothing to do, go to the girl's house".