I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1058: The Connection between “All Things Have Spirits” and “Transparency” [4200]

Clothes made of bark fibers, complex and distinctive patterns on clothes... typical Ainu style.

The other person was a young girl, who looked to be around 15 years old, with a petite figure and a pretty face. In her hand, she held a longbow that was very disproportionate to her body shape.

When Qing Deng looked in the direction of the voice, she opened her bright big eyes and looked at him with admiration, their eyes met.

"Dr. Kuma, he's an Ainu."

"Yeah, I saw it. So, how long are you going to keep playing this 'Dr. Bear' joke?"

"What did she just say?"

"She just said, 'What a great knife skill! She could chop off a bear's head with one blow.'"

While Qing Deng and Ogata were talking, the girl climbed over the hillside with her agility, and the rugged terrain seemed like flat ground under her feet.

She withdrew her gaze from Qing Deng, ran to Ogata in one swift step, and asked quickly with expectation on her face:
"You are Akonlu, right?" (Ainu)

Qing Deng didn't understand Ainu and could only look at Ogata with a confused look on his face.

Ogata was stunned, staring at the little girl's face.

After a while, he showed an expression of sudden enlightenment, with a flash of surprise in his eyes:
"Are you Menashi?"

The girl nodded vigorously, revealing a bright and excited smile.

"Yes! It's me! Menashi!"

After saying that, Menashi stepped forward and threw herself into Ogata's arms.

Ogata opened his arms generously, accepted her enthusiasm openly, and hugged her gently.

Qing Deng's gaze jumped back and forth between Ogata and the girl.

"Mr. Ogata, is she an acquaintance of yours?"

"Well, she's from Murokonkala, the daughter of a good friend of mine. Her name is 'Menashi', which means 'little tree'. When I last saw her, she was just beginning to remember things. I didn't expect she's grown so big now."

He let go of the girl and turned sideways so that Qing Deng and the girl were face to face.

"Menashi, this is my friend, his name is Tachibana Aoto."

Qing Deng straightened up slightly and smiled as gently as possible:
"Gui'an, my name is Tachibana Aoto. You can call me 'Aki'."

Considering that the name "Ju Qingdeng" is quite difficult to pronounce, Qingdeng very considerately provided another name for him.

Compared to the "桔青登" which has many syllables, the "安艺" (A Ki) which has only two syllables is undoubtedly more pronounceable.

Monaxi seemed a little reserved. After looking Qing Deng up and down, she said something softly.

"She said her name was Menashi and she was from Murokonkala."

After Ogata finished translating, she continued to talk a lot.

"She said that your knife skills are superb. Bear bones are very hard and cannot be cut by just chopping. You are as good as Akonglu."

"Who is 'Akonlu'?"

"It's me. This is my Ainu name, which means 'brave man'. When I was living in seclusion in Murokonkara, I killed a wild bear that attacked the village with a knife alone. Since then, everyone has called me 'Akonlu'."

"Oh, that's what Baturu means."

"You can say that."

This girl was an acquaintance of Ogata's, and Qing Deng was secretly relieved.

In fact, when he saw Menashi holding a longbow, although he remained calm, he had already quietly prepared to meet the enemy.

Given a choice, he didn't want to be violent towards such a young girl.

While Ogata and Menashi were talking enthusiastically after their long-awaited reunion, Qing Deng moved to the side of the bear corpse, carefully looked at the huge corpse, and couldn't help but smack his lips:

"This bear is really big."

Its blood hasn't dried out yet, which shows how huge its body is.

Ogata suddenly interrupted:

"The colder the place, the bigger the animals are."

At this time, Menashi on the side also interrupted.

Ogata translated each one diligently:

"She said the bear ate seven people and was a very evil Unkamuyi."

"In order to eliminate it, their tribe sent out all hunters to search for its traces everywhere."

"Just now, she found the bear's footprints, followed them all the way, and then found us."

"She wanted to offer support, but she had just pulled the poisoned arrow from her quiver when you killed the Unkammui."

From just now, Qing Deng has been hearing an unfamiliar word.

As soon as Ogata finished speaking, he couldn't wait to ask:
"What is 'Unkamuyi'?"

Ogata anticipated that Qing Deng would ask this question, so he explained in advance:

"'Kamui' means 'god' in the Ainu language."

"The Ainu people believe that everything has a soul, whether it is living or dead, all of them are inhabited by gods, all of them are Kamui."

"When Kamui harms humans, it will degenerate into 'Uun Kamui', which means 'evil god'. It is an evil existence that must be destroyed."

After he finished speaking, Ogata paused, a look of reminiscence emerging on his face.

After a while, he changed his tone to talking to himself and said softly:
"It makes me nostalgic... When I first landed on this land, I also suddenly encountered a 'Uenkamuyi' that had eaten people. Oh, what a wonderful fate."

……

……

To Qing Deng and Ogata, the sudden appearance of the evil bear was just an insignificant episode.

Considering it from another perspective, this bear is quite sensible - it appeared in front of Qing Deng and Ogata at the right time when they were both starving!

Since this bear is so sensible, it would be unreasonable for him not to give himself a good meal!
Qingdeng had heard the saying "Bears are full of treasures" a long time ago.

He had never eaten bear meat before, so he was looking forward to the upcoming bear meat feast.

Ogata took it upon himself to take on the responsibility of preparing the bear meat feast.

"I haven't cooked bear meat for a long time. Let me show you how to cook it!"

He said this with a "humph" laugh.

The precious ingredients that he hadn't touched for a long time seemed to make Ogata eager to try them.

Since Ogata took on the job of cooking, Qing Deng naturally enjoyed the results.

Ogata quickly built a bonfire, then pulled out the big knife from his waist and cut delicious parts from the carcass of the evil bear.

The first ingredient he took out was a bear heart that was bigger than Qing Deng's fist.

"Look, Ju-kun, this is the bear's heart. You killed the bear, so you have the privilege of enjoying the bear's heart."

He stuck the bear heart next to the campfire and roasted it until it was seven-tenths cooked before handing it to Qing Deng.

Gnawing on a medium-rare bear heart... For Qing Deng, who was used to eating exquisite dishes, this food was a little bit unique...

While the bear heart was roasting, Ogata was busy making another dish. He took out the bear's small intestine, washed it with water, stuffed the soft blood clots accumulated in the bear's abdomen into the intestine, tied it tightly, and cooked it in boiling water - blood sausage was born!

Holding a roasted heart in the left hand and blood sausage in the right hand... Although it is wild, I have to say that they taste very good.

Bear heart is very chewy and has a unique taste that becomes more delicious the more you eat it, while blood sausage is a long-standing classic delicacy.

After eating the two appetizers of bear heart and blood sausage, the main course carefully cooked by Ogata - those slices of greasy bear meat - exudes an enticing aroma, which makes people's appetite grow.

As Qing Deng was devouring the meal, he was slow to notice that Monashi had been sitting quietly by the side, not joining in on the bear meat feast.

"Mr. Ogata, please ask Menashi to come and eat with you. There is plenty of bear meat. It would be a waste if we don't eat it."

Ogata smiled bitterly and shook his head:

"She can't eat this bear's flesh."

"Huh? Why?"

"It is the custom of the Ainu people not to eat the meat of Unkamuyi or anything else from its body. So she could neither eat the meat of this bear nor take anything else from its body back to the village."

"Is that so... That's a shame. I was thinking of taking the bear's fur and gallbladder as a gift to Murokonkala later."

"You have taken action to solve this difficult Unkamuyi. This is already a great gift to the Ainu people. The villagers of Murokonkala will thank you sincerely."

"That's it, then I'll be relieved."

"Ju Jun, I almost forgot to tell you that bear blood can greatly increase a person's energy, so you may feel hot all over later. Don't panic, this is normal."

"Ha, that's such a waste, all that energy is wasted, but there's nowhere to release it."

……

……

Ogata was right, bear blood does have a strong effect in boosting energy.

After enjoying the bear meat feast, Qing Deng did not feel the drowsiness that is typical after filling the stomach. Instead, he felt energetic and full of strength.

Since the Ainu people could not use Unkamuyi's flesh and blood, Qingdeng could only keep the bear's fur and gall bladder for himself.

According to Ogata, the most valuable parts of a bear are its fur and gall bladder, especially the latter, which is a very precious medicinal material.

He is not greedy for money, he just doesn't care about this little bit of money.

Bear hair and bear gall are indeed precious, but with Qing Deng's current status, these things are just simple things that can be easily obtained with just a few words.

It was the first time in his life that he successfully hunted a bear this big. He wanted to bring the trophies home to show them to his wife and children, especially to Souji.

For some reason, Souji had an unusual yearning for the life of a hunter, perhaps because the life of a hunter gave her a feeling of freedom and excitement.

If Souji saw him hunting such a big bear, she would definitely be very happy, and it might help her survive the torment of the "immortal power".

When he brings these trophies back to the inland, maybe he will add another beautiful story, "In ancient times, Kato Kiyomasa hunted tigers, and today, Tachibana Aoto kills bears" and so on.

After a brief rest, the three of them set out on their journey to Murokonkala.

Murokonkara...the village where Ogata once lived in seclusion.

Qing Deng was full of curiosity about this village, as he had never seen an Ainu tribe before.

In recent days, in order to pass the time, Ogata has been telling him a lot about the cultural customs of the Ainu people.

Influenced by what he saw and heard, he developed some interest in the Ainu culture.

The Ainu belief system that Ogata had just described was refreshing to him.

All things in the world are inhabited by spirits... I don't know if it's a coincidence or if there is a real connection, but Qing Deng always feels that the Ainu people's belief that "all things have spirits" has something in common with the "transparent realm".

When he entered the "transparent realm", he indeed saw the wonderful scene of "all things have spirits".

Qing Deng thought for no reason: Knowing more about the culture and beliefs of the Ainu people might help him master the "transparent realm"!
Of course, in addition to curiosity, he also felt a vague anticipation.

When he thought that he didn't have to camp in the wild tonight, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.

Although sleeping in the simple hunting lodge was not unbearable, every time the cold leaves touched his back, he missed the warm bedding more than ever.

Joy is joy, but we still have to do the work that needs to be done.

Finally seeing the Ainu people in person, he could finally start his most important task - collecting intelligence on the enemy!

There was an Ainu girl following him right now, and since he had nothing to do anyway, he might as well take this opportunity to ask for information.

Then, suddenly, Qing Deng said to Ogata in a solemn tone:

"Mr. Ogata, can you ask Monashi if she knows the details of the bandit army that occupied Goryokaku?"

Ogata nodded and turned to find Monashi.

After the two sides talked for a few sentences, Menashi's face darkened, as if she was recalling something bad.

After a moment, she let out a long sigh.

"She said that the person who led the attack on Goryokaku was most likely Silika."

After finishing speaking, Ogata added very considerately:

"Silica means 'rock', symbolizing firmness and unshakable strength."

This girl knows the enemy's intelligence!

Qing Deng's heart trembled.

He silently remembered the name "Xilika" and hurriedly asked:
"Mr. Ogata, can you help me ask who that Xilika is?"

……

With Monahi's detailed narration and Ogata's full assistance, Qing Deng had a general understanding of Xilika's origins.

Simply put, Xilika is a very young tribal leader who just turned 30 this year. The tribe he leads is called "Xilipomoxili" (the place where the sun shines).

To describe him in a pleasant way, he is a hero with great ambitions.

He had long ago made the ambition to "take back the land that belonged to the Ainu people from the Japanese."

Although it is old news, there is no doubt that thousands of years ago, all the land north of Kanto belonged to the Ainu people's sphere of influence.

It was only because the Japanese absorbed the essence of Chinese civilization and became unprecedentedly powerful that they defeated the Ainu and drove them across the Tsugaru Strait into this bitter and cold land.

A nation without written language is very fragile, and the lack of written language means the lack of inheritance.

The Ainu people do not have their own writing system, so naturally they cannot record their national history.

It is extremely difficult for a nation that relies entirely on oral transmission of history to form centripetal force.

It is no exaggeration to say that a large number of Ainu people are completely unaware of the historical grievances between their own nation and the Japanese.

They all just wanted to live a traditional fishing and hunting life, did not want to fight, and had never thought about competing with others for territory.

Therefore, leaders like Silika who were determined to expand territory were outliers among the Ainu people.

Several years ago, Xilika had been lobbying various tribes to unite and form an unprecedented army to march south to conquer the He people.

He was not a pedantic fool. He knew that he could not defeat the enemy with just a simple hunting bow, and he also knew that this was the age of guns and cannons.

Therefore, he kept trying to contact Westerners in order to find channels to purchase guns and artillery.

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