Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1532 1504. Dao San, what did you call her? !

This greatly soothed the sensitive nerves of the defenders of Lushan City.

After all, we were living in a turbulent time, and a group of cavalrymen heading straight to the city gate would make anyone nervous, wondering if the country they were in had suddenly encountered a drastic change.

As a result, before any news could be received, someone had already laid siege to the city.

Although Saito Dosan should have been informed by Ando Morinari, the details are still unclear.

But Hanbei didn't want to cause any trouble at this time.

Led by Hanbei, the group entered the city and headed straight for the castle tower.

In a guest room on the lower floor of the castle tower, Hanbei took off his armor and asked everyone to wash up and rest, preparing to meet the castle lord immediately.

Lan En placed the Sword of the Lady of the Lake on the weapon rack in the guest room as a token of his appreciation.

This is a divine weapon, and according to the legend of the Lady of the Lake, the sword bestowed by her will not be lost from the hands of a knight with the five virtues.

The rest of the people were also tidied up under Hanbei's care.

Fujiyoshiro was visibly worried and anxious at this moment, and even a little bit excited.

"Master Dao San, Master Dao San!" He paced on the tatami in the room, muttering non-stop. "This is a great opportunity to make me look good and be remembered by the Master! Cheer up. Cheer up! Oh!!!"

For some reason, he suddenly got excited.

[Divine Monkey] also suddenly appeared at his feet, and cooperated very well, raising his hands to the sky and shouting like him.

Ah Xiu was as calm as ever.

She was debating whether to put the dagger on her waist here as well.

Although according to the rules, they should not carry weapons, but this dagger has always been with her.

"Don't want to put it too far away?" Lan En immediately saw the thoughts of this half-demon who he had been in closer contact with in the past few days, and he stretched out his hand.

"If you can't put this knife away, why not put it here with me?"

As he spoke, Lan En pointed to the alchemical leather bag on his lower back.

Ah Xiu's eyes suddenly lit up and he handed over the dagger.

'Does she trust me a little too much?'

Lan En suddenly thought about it, but his hand took the dagger in the snakeskin sheath smoothly and put it into his alchemical leather bag.

Hanbei, who had already changed into his own pink haori, knelt on the side, looking at everyone with a gentle smile.

Even someone like Fujiyoshiro, who had only known Hanbei for a few days, felt as if Hanbei had known him for a long time.

"Alright, everyone." Hanbei saw that everyone was ready, then stood up and said, "Please follow me. I will meet Master Daosan."

Going up all the way, we found that the castle tower of Sagiyama Castle is not only larger than that of Iwamura Castle, but also more spacious inside.

Along the way, people of lower status in the corridor would quickly move to the wall or corner when they saw Hanbei, then half-kneel on one knee and bow their heads.

Although Hanbei is still young, his status in Mino Province cannot be low because of his marriage relationship and the original reputation of the Takenaka family.

Therefore, many people did this along the way.

When they reached the upper floors of the castle tower, they saw many samurai who were not too young. They just nodded slightly to Hanbei.

These people should be Saito Dosan's personal troops and hatamoto samurai.

As they had been following him since before he became famous, such people could certainly treat Hanbei with equal respect. On the contrary, the young samurai should bow to them.

Lan En walked behind Hanbei, but his ears flapped slightly. He vaguely heard something interesting among the numerous hatamoto warriors on these floors.

"The one who came to report the news turned out to be Chu Ye Ya Zhong. What a coincidence."

"Yeah, you miss it, don't you?"

"Hey, since you have followed Master Dao San for so many years, why are you still talking about whether you miss him or not?"

"I'm curious about what Dao San's expression was when he saw that little girl, haha!"

The voice must have come from the hatamoto samurai distributed on the several floors of the castle tower, but there were not many of them. Probably only those guards who had really fought for Saito Dosan on the battlefield dared to call him that.

It was because of the collective discussion that Lan En was able to identify this information.

Chu Ye Shi Zhong?

Hanbei did say that Iwamura Castle had sent someone to say hello in advance. Since we set out at the same time as him, and we didn't have to go to Jusanzakura Village, it was only natural that we should arrive first.

But does this bring Wuming over?

And the old samurai hatamoto of Saito Dosan. It sounds like even he himself, are related to Chuye Yashu?
After hearing these words, I also walked to the top floor of the castle tower.

The young man kneeling by the door opened the sliding doors to both sides and made a "please" gesture to everyone.

The interior is very dim, because the primary purpose of the castle tower is still military, so lighting and comfort are secondary.

The biggest difference between this place and the castle tower of Iwamura Castle, apart from its specifications, is that it is decorated like a Buddhist temple.

There are two ferocious statues of Nio on the left and right, and behind them is what appears to be a statue of Guanyin.

But in such a Buddhist temple arrangement, a small bonfire was set up in the middle of the hall. Plump and greasy pieces of meat were skewered on several wooden sticks and roasted by the bonfire, sizzling with oil.

"Gudu~"

Toukichiro swallowed hard.

It wasn't that he was hungry after seeing the skewers, but he was swallowing nervously.

He was indeed a rare businessman who could know and discover spiritual stones. But he only had these abilities. He had neither a noble family background nor the wealth accumulated by big businessmen.

Saito Dosan ordered him to do something because he was easy to use.

He said he was working for Saito Dosan, but in the past, whether he could meet the former daimyo of Mino depended on his own wishes.

How could I possibly look up to Fujiyoshiro?
In this era, although Japan is a small place, it is divided into large and small countries, and many countries are as big as county towns. However, there are few people and little land, and the division and barriers between classes are no less.

Do you really think that any businessman can see the name of a country?

'Master Dao San is very dignified and has a gloomy personality, but he is a monk after all. He has been cultivating himself for a few years and should be much better than before.'

Fujiyoshiro's mind was in a mess.

"Don't be rude, don't be rude! But I also have to show my own value and my ability, so that I can be valued! Whether it's being valued by Master Dao San or Master Lan En!"

To be honest, Fujiyoshiro actually doesn't know what role Lan En, the noble man, plays in the eyes of Saito Dosan, nor does he know what he has gotten himself into.

But isn't that the case with small people? In a lifetime, there are only a few opportunities to climb up, and if you can grab one, of course you have to rush up regardless of the consequences!
Be cautious, bold and careful. That's all he can do, and the rest of the success or failure is up to fate.

However, considering the [Divine Monkey] in me, Sanwang Gongen should have mercy on me!
Just as he was muttering to himself, Fujiyoshiro turned his head inadvertently, only to find that Lan En looked completely indifferent.

It seemed as if the name of "Mino Viper" was nothing worthy of his special attention.

He had originally wanted to kindly remind Lan En.

But then he turned around and thought, he is a noble person from the Ming Dynasty!
Even a horse or a cat around you is a noble person blessed by a guardian spirit!
Isn't it normal that people don't care?
Now, Fujiyoshiro looked at Lan En with a bit of admiration and envy.

He admired Lan En's talent and courage, and also envied his imaginary background of Lan En from the Ming Dynasty.

"Speaking of Hanbei," while Fujikichiro was trembling with fear and Hanbei was also a little nervous, Lan En asked calmly, "Are you an acquaintance of Master Saito Michizo?"

"An acquaintance?" Hanbei smiled helplessly, "The Takenaka family is loyal to the Saito family, but when Master Dosan was maneuvering, I was still at home studying and practicing martial arts."

"This time, I am here to represent my father-in-law. This way, I will be taken seriously."

In other words, Hanbei was not very familiar with Saito Dosan. After all, considering his age, he was already an "older generation" lord.

I heard more stories about him than I did about him in person.

"Well."

Just at this moment, the side door of the hall opened, and a figure paced in under the dim light, muttering something.

Judging from the voice, he seems like a very heroic man, which is very different from the general impression of [Mino Viper] as a vicious and cruel person.

As he approached the bonfire where meat was roasting in the middle of the hall, his image began to become clear in the dim light.

This is a man wearing a blue and black kimono. The texture of the clothes is very good.

The Mediterranean bald hairstyle, the beard and the remaining hair on the temples seem to be of similar length when put together.

I don’t know if this hairstyle is because of becoming a monk.

But his face is square and majestic, which is indeed worthy of the voice, but it does not match the reputation that is spread outside.

Most of the noble families in Mino Province back then were probably deceived by this upright and heroic appearance.

"I have already retired and become a monk, but there are still all kinds of messy things coming to me."

He sat down cross-legged casually, propping up one knee with his arm.

He picked up a greasy skewer of meat from the campfire, and nonchalantly plucked off a piece of it and started eating it.

Saito Dosan glanced at the few people calmly.

Of course, Lan En was the most eye-catching among them, while Ah Xiu was still a little resistant to contact with people. She stood at the farthest point and couldn't even see the lights.

After tearing off a large piece of meat from the skewer and swallowing it, Saito Dosan's originally casual expression suddenly became serious.

"What exactly is going on? The messenger you sent over didn't explain it clearly! He only said that Mino is now full of [filth], but it has been cleaned up."

"Also, Hanbei of the Takenaka family, I have heard that you are a very smart young man."

"Why? Have you not considered that it is time for Yoshitatsu to take charge now? That idiot Ando is now sending a messenger to contact me urgently. What will happen if this gets out?"

Hanbei didn't even have to think about the suspicion of blood relatives.

But the current situation is of great importance, which is why he had to come.

Immediately, the young and handsome warrior bowed and said: "This is an unwise move, but I hope that Master Dao San will understand! We did what we did because we had no other choice!"

"The previous messenger was only to prepare you in advance. Now, please allow Lord Lan En to explain the whole situation to you."

"He was the first person to discover the incident and the key person who handled it throughout the entire process."

"Him?" Saito Dosan looked seriously at the tall man who dared to sit down without saying anything, "A pretty boy with an alluring face?"

He said contemptuous words, but the serious look in his eyes could not be faked.

It seems that a person who likes to provoke others' anger and then look for opportunities from it is really like a snake.

Saito Dosan was testing Lan En, but his testing was useless. Instead, it made Lan En update his understanding of him.

Seeing that Hanbei had already introduced himself as the middleman, Lan En didn't waste any more time and simply spoke.

"I have actually ended this matter, but in the process of ending it, some phenomena were not normal."

"In order to convince you, we have also brought relevant witnesses here. Fujikichiro and Hidechiyo."

Saito Dosan just glanced at Fujikichiro.

But when Lan En called out the 'stage name' he gave to Ah Xiu and turned around to call the half-demon to come closer.
Ah Xiu walked hesitantly towards the place where the fire was shining.

The cold white skin that was originally hidden in the darkness began to appear before Saito Dosan's eyes.

Just for a moment!

Although the lower half of A Xiu's face was still wearing a ninja-like mask.

But Saito Dosan suddenly opened his eyes wide with anger!

"You! What did you call her?!"

(End of this chapter)