Swallow Return

The little girl spoke blankly, murmuring, "My brother broke his leg and hasn't been able to work for a long time. He even shares his food with me every day... I'm all grown up now, and I want to help my brother. I want him to have enough to eat, but I can't do anything else..."

Hearing this, Liu Yun felt a little uncomfortable and frowned, saying, "Tell me about your family situation in detail."

The little girl nodded unconsciously and whispered, "Our family used to run a timber business in Asakusa-cho, a shop called 'Yatsuya.' Later, we heard that we offended the head of the timber yard, and the shop was confiscated. My parents got sick and died because of this, and my brother brought me to live in our old house here. He worked as an apprentice at a rice shop to earn money for food. But two months ago, he went to salvage goods on a rainy night and broke his leg. After that, he couldn't work and was fired by the rice shop. In the past two months, the money and food we saved are almost gone. These past few days, my brother has only eaten one 'bu' of mixed grains a day, but he's given me two 'bu'. He's been starving..."

The "headman of the timber market" mentioned here refers to a wealthy merchant who obtains a monopoly on timber sales from a lord or temple. Other small merchants who want to make a living in this business have to pay money regularly to buy a temporary trading license.

One "he" of mixed grains is about 130 grams, which is far below the minimum calorie requirement for adults. Two "he" are 220 grams, which is barely enough.

Liu Yun sighed softly and asked again, "What's your name?"

The little girl said, "My name is Azumi. People used to call me Yatsuzami. But the Yatsuzami business no longer exists, so just call me Azumi."

After thinking for a moment, Liu Yun decided to visit the girl's home.

If it's just a small act of kindness that can help someone in need, then it's a good thing.

Unfortunately, at that moment, Hayami Seibei and Eguchi Sukezaemon appeared on the street.

They stood outside the door and called out, "Is Lord Sasaki Ryūun resting here? We are his retainers, and we have something to discuss with him!"

Seeing this, Liu Yun suppressed his original thought and instead took out a two-ounce silver coin from his pocket, handed it to the little girl, and instructed, "Take this and have a good meal first. Come see me here again tomorrow at noon. Remember to be careful and don't lose it. Hmm, you have to go to the most reputable shop in town."

The little girl then came to her senses, her face filled with disbelief. With trembling hands, she took the silver coin, tears streaming down her face. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed twice before turning and leaving.

Liu Yun shook his head and walked to the door.

……

Hayami Seibei and Eguchi Sukezaemon came to report that they had received a warm audience with the castle lord's younger brother, Kinoshita Koichiro, and that they had reached an agreement and obtained a rough list containing the names and positions of some single lower-ranking samurai from Yokoyama Castle.

So Liu Yun began his investigation and research.

It wasn't really a survey or research; it was just asking around in the city to get a general idea of ​​the public's opinion of the people on the list.

This was an easy task for Liu Yun, who possessed the power of bewitching.

He doesn't need to deliberately activate his powers to stop ordinary people from lying in front of him.

Only those who are exceptionally determined, exceptionally cunning, or possess other magical weapons to resist can deceive his eyes.

After some questioning, I had a basic understanding of the situation.

Then they met up with Igawa Asagi the next day.

Igawa Asagi is very concerned about this matter. She and her team members, as women, have a natural advantage in communicating with those women and have already made initial progress.

After discussing it with her, Liu Yun felt that there were at least 100 or 200 couples who could be the first batch of "blind date partners," and the success rate was expected to be relatively high.

Isn't this a great starting point?

So Liu Yun pulled Jinghe Asagi along, planning to find a secluded place and spend the morning discussing it properly.

Then--

While walking through the castle town, they discovered an unexpected situation.

Two soldiers, one on the left and one on the right, were grabbing a little girl and were about to walk her into the city gate.

It appears they are escorting prisoners.

The girl looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old, but she was tightly bound by strong shackles. Her clothes were tattered, she was emaciated, her skin was torn and bleeding, and she had already fallen into a coma.

Igawa Asagi frowned and muttered to herself, "How could such a young girl be a criminal who has committed evil deeds? Even if she has committed something, it shouldn't warrant such severe torture!"

Her words were filled with righteous indignation.

However, perhaps considering her status, Igawa Asahi did not rush to stand up for justice.

After all, they used to be enemies of the Oda clan, and had caused them a lot of trouble.

Although only Sasaki Ryuun and Takenaka Shigeharu knew her identity, both of them were relatively friendly. The former was self-evident, and the latter wasn't the type to kill. That's why Igawa Asahi dared to accept Ryuun's invitation to help.

But they are still enemies from before. It's one thing to do things in secret, but it's inconvenient to argue openly.

In her haste, she unconsciously glanced at Liu Yun beside her, a hint of expectation in her eyes.

Liu Yun's expression was very solemn at this moment.

It was more somber than Ikawa Asagi had imagined.

He stepped forward as expected, stopped the two soldiers, and asked, "I think I know this little girl. May I ask her what crime she committed?"

It turns out that this so-called "prisoner" is the little girl named "Azi" who was the recipient of the silver coins Liuyun gave her yesterday.

The two soldiers were stopped at the city gate and immediately showed their displeasure. However, seeing Liu Yun's brocade robes, they dared not be negligent and cautiously asked, "Who are you?"

Liu Yun cut to the chase and said, "My name is Sasaki Liu Yun."

Upon hearing the name, both soldiers were startled, their faces showing some suspicion. However, their attitude immediately became humble, and they subconsciously bowed and replied, "This female thief is a petty thief we caught yesterday. Because the amount involved exceeded one string of cash, and she refused to confess, we were ordered by our superior to bring her into the city and lock her up."

At this moment, the little girl seemed to wake up, but perhaps because she was too weak from the torture, she couldn't see Liu Yun clearly. She could only weakly cry out, "That silver coin was given to me by a kind person! I didn't steal anything... I didn't steal anything..."

Liu Yun initially intended to forcibly stop the person, but after hearing these words, he changed his mind.

It seems the little girl's life isn't in immediate danger, so there's no rush for treatment. The most important thing is to get her justice. If they just stop her and take her away arbitrarily, then whether she's innocent or not will become a mess, impossible to clarify later.

So Liu Yun patiently frowned and asked, displeased, "You say she's a thief, but do you have any concrete evidence?"

The two soldiers exchanged a glance, sensing something was amiss. They immediately reached a tacit understanding and simultaneously adopted a rhetoric of dereliction of duty, replying in unison, "It was our magistrate who arrested her yesterday. As for the specifics, this female thief… or whether this young girl is guilty or not, we know absolutely nothing. If you have any questions, you'll have to ask our magistrate…"

"Alright then." Liu Yun nodded and said, "I'll go in with you and find out more from your magistrate."

Upon hearing this, the two soldiers shrank back and lowered their heads, not daring to say another word.

Then Liu Yun said to Jinghe Asagi, who was a little further away, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Igawa Asagi showed no impatience whatsoever; instead, she nodded happily and said, "Understood! If it weren't inconvenient for me to come forward, I would definitely go with you to investigate thoroughly."

The two soldiers lowered their heads and secretly peeked at her. When they saw the appearance and figure of Ikawa Asagi, they were both shocked and drooling, and even a little smug.

Liu Yun noticed this and was inexplicably displeased, giving him a disapproving glance.

The two soldiers trembled with fear at the sight before them, their eyes darting about.

Then Liu Yun urged, "Lead the way! Where in the city are you stationed?"

One of the two soldiers answered cautiously, "Our lord has a residence in the third naru. But sometimes he also goes to the second naru on business."

Liu Yun nodded and said, "Perfect. I've been to Yokoyama Castle many times, and each time I went directly to the Honmaru. I don't know what the Sannomaru and Ninomaru look like."

His tone was very calm, and his face didn't show much expression, but for some reason, he gave off an aura of anger and murderous intent, which made the two soldiers tremble with fear.

Chapter Sixty-One: Rescue and Confrontation

So the two soldiers carefully carried the little girl, who was tightly bound in shackles, ahead of them.

Liu Yun followed behind with a blank expression.

The soldiers' faces were filled with fear and apprehension, but also with a hint of doubt.

however--

After walking a few steps, just after crossing the outer wall, at the narrow pass of the third wing of Yokoyama Castle, I ran into an acquaintance quite by chance.

That was the burly, pot-bellied Hachisuka Masakatsu.

He had sharp eyes and saw them from afar, so he immediately came up to greet them. Then, looking at them again, he seemed puzzled and asked, "What is Lord Liuyun doing? Who are these two soldiers escorting?"

Liu Yun said succinctly, "I gave this little girl a silver coin yesterday, but it seems that it has caused her to be treated as a thief. Therefore, I need to talk to their magistrate to clarify the matter."

Upon hearing this, Hachisuka Masakatsu paused for a moment, seemingly wanting to say something, but then shook his head and stopped, saying with a wry smile, "Alright then... I don't have anything urgent to do, so I'll go with you and take a look..."

Liu Yun nodded gently and said, "Thank you for your trouble!"

Then Hachisuka Masakatsu joined the team.

The two soldiers in front were now completely panicked.

They didn't know what Sasaki Ryuun looked like; they had only heard of his rapidly rising name and knew that he was a talent recently recruited by the lord of the city, so they were quite suspicious.

But as Kinoshita Tokichiro's right-hand man, who in the city didn't know Hachisuka Masakatsu?

Therefore, the two soldiers immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, wailing, "We were just following orders, sir! We didn't know anything about it..."

Hachisuka Masakatsu seemed unsurprised by the situation. He glanced at Ryuun and calmly ordered, "Lead the way to your magistrate first. How to judge and handle the situation later is not a matter for later. There's no need to rush."

His attitude and tone reassured the soldiers somewhat, and they cautiously got up and continued walking forward.

Upon arriving at a certain location in Sannomaru, from a distance, one could hear a series of crackling sounds and shouts from several men outside a spacious samurai residence.

It appears to be gambling while drinking?

The two soldiers were terrified when they saw this.

But Liu Yun didn't say anything for the time being.

Hachisuka Masakatsu didn't say anything.

The two soldiers had no choice but to bite the bullet and knock on the door.

A series of thumping sounds rang out.

No one answered.

The two soldiers knocked on the door even harder.

The clanging sound grew even louder, drowning out the noise in the room.

"Who's so clueless!"

A round-faced samurai with a small mustache cursed irritably as he came out and opened the door. Seeing the two soldiers holding the little girl, he yelled, "Didn't I tell you not to bother me? Just take this female thief to..."

Before he could speak, the samurai saw Sasaki Ryuun and Hachisuka Masakatsu behind him and stopped abruptly, frozen in place. Then, he quickly recovered, adopted a respectful expression, bowed, and said, "Lord Hachisuka, Lord Sasaki, what brings you two to my humble abode? Please come in… uh… we were just playing cards, no drinking or gambling!"

This guy does know Liu Yun.

Hachisuka Masakatsu smiled and stepped inside.

Liu Yun followed them inside.

Two soldiers carefully supported the little girl as they walked in the middle.

As you can see, there are several samurai visiting the house. When they see a "distinguished person" arrive, they all hurriedly bow.

Pretending not to notice their hurried efforts to put away the drinks and money, Hachisuka Masakatsu asked with a kind and gentle expression, "Are you all... on vacation? Is no one on duty today?"

The group of samurai all shook their heads in denial.