I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1040 The Duel between Two Sword Masters [4300]

The unexpected question made Qing Deng raise his eyebrows:
"What do you want to talk to me about? What is it? Can't we talk about it here?"

Ogata shook his head.

"No. This matter is very important and can only be discussed in private."

Although Qing Deng was confused, he didn't say much.

After hearing what Ogata said, he became curious instead - what on earth was going on that made the "Eternal Sword Saint" talk to him privately?
He silently recalled his schedule.

"Tomorrow... not tomorrow."

He shook his head and continued:
"I have several very important meetings tomorrow, and I can't leave."

At this stage, in order to cope with the possible "East-West War", Qingdeng has made "strengthening the national strength of Qinjin" and "improving the combat effectiveness of the Shinsengumi" as basic national policies.

In other words, Qinjin Domain will switch to a wartime system!

Getting a country to prepare for war...it's not an easy thing to accomplish with just a few words.

There are countless high-level meetings that require Qingdeng’s participation, and countless important decisions that require Qingdeng’s final decision!
He is so busy with so many things right now that he even had to squeeze out time from his busy schedule to visit the general manager today.

Of course, although he is busy, he is not without any personal time.

The head of a mature and advanced organization must have enough rest time.

It's a simple truth: if the top leader is exhausted both physically and mentally, he or she will easily make misjudgments in key decisions, leading to irreversible and serious consequences.

Therefore, it is necessary for the top leader to always maintain a good physical and mental state, or at least not have time to rest.

Whenever there is a situation where "the top leader has no time to rest", it is a manifestation of an immature organizational structure - either there is no scientific system, or there are too few people who can take the lead, and everything depends on the top leader.

Because of this, there is a Prussian proverb that "a smart but lazy person can be a marshal, and a smart and diligent person can be a staff officer."

Since the establishment of the Shinsengumi, Qing Deng has consciously been a qualified "hands-off boss", pushing most of the affairs to other people.

Fortunately, he has many capable people under his command and no shortage of excellent talents to help with the work.

Under his arrangement, all "tactical affairs" were assigned to Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, Yamanami Keisuke and others to handle.

He is only responsible for solving those "strategic problems" that are of great importance.

As a result, Qingdeng is always in a working state where he is extremely busy when he is busy, but really free when he is free.

After thinking for a moment, he said slowly:
"If it's the day after tomorrow, then it's possible."

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately received Ogata's reply:

"Okay, then the day after tomorrow. Come to my shop at 8: a.m. the day after tomorrow. Remember to bring your knife."

Remember to bring your knife - Ogata's reminder made Qing Deng's eyes fixed.

Even Mr. Kiryu who was standing by was stunned.

After leaving this reminder, Ogata did not stay long and turned his back.

Qing Deng didn't even have the time to ask further questions before he left the room at a brisk pace.

……

……

The existence of Ogata and the "immortal power" must not be made public.

Therefore, Qing Deng only told the outside world that he had invited a hermit master to give Zongsi a secret medicine.

In a way, he wasn't lying.

He did invite a hermit master, and the thing he gave Souji to take was indeed a secret medicine.

Although Qing Deng's words were full of deception, no one asked any more questions.

On the one hand, due to Qing Deng's prestige, everyone firmly believed that he would not harm Zongsi.

On the other hand, Souji's condition has reached the point where he can only take a gamble.

Anyway, blood cough is an incurable disease, and it will end in death anyway. If there is any hermit, just invite him! If there is any secret medicine, just give it to her! Maybe a miracle will happen!
After drinking Ogata's blood, Souji has been tormented by his erratic body temperature.

Sometimes I have a high fever, sometimes it goes down, then I have a high fever again, then it goes down again... and so on.

In addition to fever, there are also symptoms such as night sweats, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. It is very difficult.

Fortunately, every time the fever subsided, Souji's condition would improve a little and he would be able to sit up and eat some simple food.

In order to provide the best recuperation environment for Zongsi, Qingdeng specially formed a "care team" composed of nimble maids, and ordered them to take care of Zongsi 24 hours a day.

There was nothing to talk about for the next two days.

In this peaceful moment, the time agreed upon by Qing Deng and Ogata arrived quietly.

……

……

2 days later——

Kyoto——

Qing Deng arrived at the Shinsengumi station in Mibu last night under the pretext of "inspecting Kyoto".

This morning, he set out early and arrived at Ogata's Japanese confectionery shop as promised.

Because it was a "secret visit", Qing Deng did not ride his iconic big black bull, wore a hat to cover his face, and also put a handle and scabbard on his very recognizable sword.

Qing Deng placed his mount, strode towards the shop and lifted the door curtain.

The moment you push open the door, the unique sweet smell of Japanese confectionery hits you in the face.

Perhaps because it was too early, there was no customer in the store.

Qing Deng glanced around and soon found Ogata Issei who was sitting behind the counter.

He seemed to be checking the books.

When he heard a guest coming, he raised his head slightly and looked up.

Qing Deng took off his bamboo hat and greeted with a smile:
"Good morning, Mr. Ogata."

"Jujun, you're here."

Ogata smiled in return.

After the two exchanged simple greetings, Ogata closed the account book in his hand, slowly stood up, and shouted loudly:
"A-Ming, I have to go out now. I probably won't be back until the evening. Let's close the shop today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a crisp sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the kitchen.

In a short while, Ating opened the curtain of the kitchen and appeared in front of Qing Deng and Ogata.

A-Ming looked at Qing Deng and smiled brightly:
"Jujun, long time no see!"

"Ma'am, I apologize for not greeting you for a long time."

She was not surprised at Qing Deng's sudden visit... It was not difficult to see that she already knew about Ogata's appointment with Qing Deng.

For some reason, at this moment, looking at the beautiful married woman in front of him, Qing Deng couldn't help but recall what Boss Kiryu said a few days ago: Ogata Ittosai's wife drinks his body fluids every day.

Qingdeng's wives - including Tianzhangyuan - are all top beauties among millions.

For this reason, he has an extremely high threshold for the creature called "beauty".

But even so, he couldn't help but be amazed by Ating's beauty.

She looks to be around 36 years old, but still has such a pretty face. Qing Deng couldn't believe how beautiful she was when she was young.

Honestly speaking, it was hard for Qing Deng to imagine that this charming wife was actually an old lady who was nearly 100 years old...

When he thought of this, Qing Deng sighed inwardly:

——No wonder Ogata Ittosai tried so hard to hide his identity as an “immortal”.

Fear of death is human instinct.

Longevity is the supreme ideal of countless powerful people.

As long as you drink Ogata Ittosai's body fluid every day, you can prolong your life - if this matter were to spread, God knows what a terrible sensation it would cause.

It is not difficult to imagine that countless important figures would be looking for Ogata like crazy. Even if Ogata had extraordinary abilities and was not afraid of threats, he would still feel exhausted physically and mentally if he was harassed for a long time.

Once they stay in the same place for a long time, local residents will definitely notice that the couple is aging at an unusual rate.

It is not difficult to guess that in order to conceal their identities as "immortals", the couple must have moved frequently, starting a new life in a completely unfamiliar place every once in a while, and perhaps even changing their names regularly.

When Qing Deng was secretly lamenting the pros and cons of the "power of immortality", the couple opposite him were talking:
"You'll be back in the evening? Will you be gone that long?"

"Maybe I can come back earlier or later, but I will definitely be able to return home today."

As Ogata spoke, he reached out and tucked a strand of A-machi's hair behind her ear.

"Jujun, please sit down for a while. I'll go change my clothes."

Qingdeng raised his eyebrows:

"Want to go out?"

"Well, yes. I'll take you somewhere. Don't worry, it won't be too far."

He said and turned to the second floor.

Under A-Ting's warm hospitality, Qing Deng sat on the bench nearby.

Ogata didn't keep Qing Deng waiting for long.

After a while, he changed his clothes - still the old light green haori he wore the day before yesterday - and returned to Qing Deng's sight.

It is worth mentioning that he had a long cloth bag in his hand.

Although the cloth was wrapped tightly, as a swordsman, Qing Deng could tell at a glance: this was the shape of a sword!

Qing Deng's pupils shrank slightly, but he didn't say much.

"Jujun, let's go."

"Wait a minute!"

When the two were about to leave, Ating stopped them.

They turned around at the same time, and soon saw Ating grinning, holding a neatly packed lunch box in each of her delicate hands.

"Here, your lunch! I guessed that you wouldn't be back so early, so I prepared two lunch boxes in advance!"

Ogata smiled helplessly, muttering, "No wonder you were busy in the kitchen so early this morning," while raising his hand to take the lunch box.

Qing Deng hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take it.

The lunch box has already been prepared. If you are too polite, it would seem too unkind.

Qing Deng thanked him and accepted the lunch box generously.

It is worth mentioning that when handing the lunch box to Qing Deng, Ating's facial expression became more subtle, and a strange color flashed in his eyes.

"Jujun, you must eat it."

She said this in a serious tone.

Qing Deng narrowed his eyes when he heard this - although it was just his personal intuition, he vaguely felt that Ating seemed to have something else in his words.

At this time, Ogata interrupted half-jokingly:
"Jujun, you are lucky. My wife's cooking skills are so good that she can open a restaurant."

Qing Deng gathered his thoughts and laughed in silence:
"Then I'll wait and see."

While chatting and laughing, the two turned around, stepped over the threshold one after the other, and left the shop.

"Mr. Ogata, where are we going?"

"Tianwang Mountain."

"Tianwang Mountain? What are you going to do in Tianwang Mountain?"

"You'll find out in a moment. This is a rare opportunity, so let me keep you in suspense for a while. By the way, your horse should be able to seat two people, right?"

……

……

Tianwang Mountain - For Qingdeng, this mountain is very familiar.

The Battle of Tennozan three hundred years ago changed Japanese history and established the foundation for the Toyotomi Empire.

During the Kyoto Summer Campaign last summer, Aoto led the Shinsengumi to annihilate the enemy forces on Mount Tennozan and completely seized the initiative on the battlefield.

What on earth was going on that required them to go all the way to Tennozan to discuss it? With this question in mind, Qing Deng and Ogata rode on the same horse and trotted out of the town.

Tianwang Mountain is not far from Kyoto. It only took one hour for the towering mountain to come into view.

After entering the mountains, the road became difficult to walk on. There were a few stones here and a protruding branch there. The fragile horse hooves simply could not walk on such a rugged road.

As a last resort, the two men had to abandon their horses and walk.

Anyway, this is the wilderness and there are almost no passers-by here, so Qing Deng casually tied the horse in a dense forest on the side of the road.

"Mr. Ogata, please don't tell me we are going to climb to the top of the mountain."

"That's not necessary. Our destination is halfway up the mountain, not too far from here."

Ogata led the way, walking on the winding mountain path with ease.

Judging from his familiar attitude, he is very familiar with Tianwang Mountain - at least this area - and must have been here many times.

Qing Deng followed silently.

Along the way, the two of them rarely talked, they just kept on going.

After walking on the complicated mountain road for nearly half an hour, Qing Deng felt that the ground under his feet became more and more stable, and the surrounding scenery also changed dramatically.

Up to now, all he could see were flowers, plants and trees that he couldn't name.

And now, he was surrounded by a dense bamboo forest.

There are soft bamboo leaves under my feet.

The tall, straight green bamboos divided Qingdeng's vision into small pieces.

This lush bamboo forest weaves a cool green shade, blocking out the sunlight. The light pouring down from the gaps appears in dots and is projected onto Qing Deng. Whenever a breeze blows, he sways slightly like a pendulum.

Cool, peaceful, and far away from the world...it is truly a quiet and beautiful place.

Qing Deng continued to follow Ogata while admiring the beautiful scenery around him with great interest.

At this moment, Ogata in front suddenly stopped.

——Have we reached our destination?

Qing Deng paused, thinking to himself.

Although he couldn't see Ogata's expression, he could sense that the other person was staring at something.

He is taller than Ogata (Ogata is 1 meters tall, Aoto is 7 meters tall). Relying on this height advantage, his gaze extends forward over Ogata's shoulder.

Directly in front of his sight, and also directly in front of Ogata's sight, was a simple tombstone.

I saw this tombstone standing alone in the depths of the bamboo forest, surrounded by fallen leaves and the body of the tombstone was covered with mottled marks. I guess it is quite old.

There is no Zuta Po behind the tombstone.

[Note: Zutapo is a Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word, which was directly borrowed by Japan. It originally meant a sacred temple or a sacred pagoda. In Japan, it evolved into a straight long wooden tablet, which is used as a tablet similar to the blessing of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The name of the Buddhist scripture or the name of the ceremony, the name of the person to be liberated, the donor and other information are written on it.]

The name of the deceased was not written on the front of the tombstone, only a brief epitaph in plain language was engraved:

[I couldn't cut through the world, but I killed a lot of evil people]

It was clearly just a very simple sentence, but Qing Deng seemed to see a free and calm figure!

At this moment, he subconsciously made a judgment: If this epitaph was written by the deceased, then the other party must be a very handsome person!
"Mr. Ogata, what is this?"

Ogata replied calmly:

"This bamboo forest is where I duelled with the 'Hidden Sword Master' Kinoshita Genichi. And this is Mr. Genichi's tombstone."

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