I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The reason they passed the assessment was simply because they seemed more like the right person than the others.

Among them, only two people truly impressed Qingdeng.

One of them is Serizawa Kamo.

The second was a swordsman from the Mito Domain named Niimi Nishiki.

Like Serizawa Kamo, this person is also a master of the Shinto Munen-ryu style.

Qing Deng replicated the "Swordsmanship Proficiency of 5 times that of ordinary people" from him.

Unfortunately... the "minor mastery of swordsmanship" can no longer merge with Qingdeng's "sage of swordsmanship".

Currently, only those with swordsmanship talents of "Sword Master" or higher can further upgrade Qingdeng's "Sword Saint".

Besides his exceptional swordsmanship, Niimi Nishiki also possesses extensive combat experience—his sword must have drunk a lot of blood.

In terms of strength alone, he is the second strongest among today's applicants, second only to Serizawa Kamo.

Aoto later learned that Nishiki Shinmi and Kamo Serizawa had a close relationship and were very good friends.

This made Qing Deng remember the name Xin Jianjin.

Since he's a friend of Serizawa Kamo, that troublemaker, it's necessary to pay more attention to him.

—Alas…there are still too few outstanding talents…With the current quality of the soldiers, it will be difficult to quickly build up the combat capability of the troops in a short period of time…

Just as Qingdeng was worrying about the future of the Zhenfu Army, Luobo suddenly let out a happy cry.

"Moo moo moo~~ Moo moo~~"

Then, he slowly slowed down his hooves.

"Radish, what's wrong... hmm?"

As soon as he asked the question, Qingdeng figured out the reason why the radish was acting strangely.

A graceful figure stood on the side of the street ahead.

A light blue kimono, a pale green obi, blue-buttoned clogs, her breasts piled on the obi, an elegant and graceful demeanor, a face of unparalleled beauty, moonlight shining on her porcelain-like skin, reflecting a dazzling yet soft bluish-white glow.

There was probably only one woman in the entire Edo period who met all of the above conditions.

"Tachibana-kun, you've finally arrived."

With a smile on her face, Sanako stepped forward and moved from the side of the street to the middle of the road.

"Sanako?"

"Moo moo moo~~"

Radish raised its head high and trotted over to Sanako's side, then gently nudged her waist with its head.

"Good boy, good boy."

Sanako's smile softened further as she reached out and gently stroked Radish's head.

Radish seemed to enjoy Sanako's caresses.

It mooed happily while lowering its head to make it easier for Zanako to pet it.

Seeing this, Qingdeng scolded him impatiently:

"Radish, don't bark like that! You'll disturb the neighbors!"

"Moo..."

Radish turned its head to the side and cast a pitiful look at its suddenly fierce owner.

Qingdeng scolded Luobo out of rational consideration, worried that its bellowing would disturb the people—it was definitely not because he was jealous that this big black bull could openly nudge Zuo Nazi's waist with its head!

Sanako's wasp waist... even he hasn't touched it yet!

Having received higher education from a young age and growing up to be an exemplary Yamato Nadeshiko, Sanako's style and thinking are very conservative, even more so than Kinoshita Mai's.

Although Kinoshita Mai always adhered to the bottom line that "those kinds of things should be left until after marriage," as long as Aoto said some nice words and used some strong methods, the easily swayed Kinoshita Mai would still allow Aoto to touch and rub her, and accompany Aoto to do extreme behaviors such as **, ** and **, as long as he said some nice things.

Sanako is different.

To put it simply, she has only one attitude towards matters between men and women—no way!

Not to mention **, ** and **, Sanako wouldn't even allow Aoto to touch her.

Strangely enough, despite the fact that they had "kissed in public in the street" a long time ago, the man has never even touched the woman's waist, chest, or peach.

Sanako is not as easy to talk to as Kinoshita Mai.

She won't be swayed by a few sweet words or a bit of force.

If Aoto dares to act recklessly, the strong-willed Sanako might really disregard their past friendship and sever all ties with Aoto—both emotionally and physically.

However, it's not entirely true that Sanako didn't give Aoto any "benefits" at all.

She allowed Qingdeng to hug and embrace her.

However, Qing Deng is only allowed to be intimate with her when no outsiders are present.

Otherwise, she would strictly require Qingdeng to keep his distance from her.

"Orange, don't be so fierce, you're scaring the carrot."

Sanako glared at Aoto with annoyance, then gently stroked the radish's big head with a more tender touch.

"Moo~"

Radish flicked its tail and squinted its eyes—its joy was palpable.

To be fair, Sanako and Rokuro probably spent even more time together than Aoto.

After all, before Aoto brought him back, it was Sanako who was in charge of taking care of and feeding the radish.

Spending so much time together, they developed a deep bond.

Radish regarded Sanako as his other master.

Sanako also really liked this intelligent and human-like big black bull.

Qingdeng lowered his head and cast a gaze filled with mixed emotions at Luobo.

Although he was filled with envy for the radish, he still showed the responsibility that a mature human should have and adjusted his emotions.

"Zanako, what are you doing here?"

As he spoke, he jumped off the radish's back so that his line of sight was level with Sanako's, rather than looking down at her.

"Of course, it's because I was waiting for you."

Sanako continued to gently stroke the radish's big head as she answered softly.

"This is the place you must pass on your way back to the Examination Hall. I have been waiting for you here for a long time."

Qing Deng raised an eyebrow in surprise and asked again:

"Waiting for me? What's wrong? Is there something important you need to talk to me about?"

Sanako nodded slightly.

"Well, it is."

As she spoke, she looked around.

"Let's talk somewhere else."

Qingdeng paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

"Alright. But it's hard to find a suitable place to talk right now..."

Sanako smiled sweetly, a look of nostalgia in her eyes.

"How about we go to my 'secret hideout'? Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've been there."

“'Secret outpost'? Oh, there it is…”

The same look of longing appeared on Qingdeng's face.

"I haven't been there in a long time either. Sure, let's go to your 'secret hideout' then."

"Then let's go."

Sanako took two quick steps, and after a brief run-up, she flipped herself onto Radish's back with a nimble and graceful movement, then gestured "please" to Aoto.

One of the main characteristics of women's kimonos is that the hem is extremely tight, making it impossible to spread your legs apart or even take big steps; you can only take small, quick steps.

Therefore, Sanako could only sit sideways on the cow's back with her legs together.

Qing Deng chuckled to himself, then silently got into the "driver's seat".

"Black Bull Princess, are you ready?"

Just moments before, Sanako had been all smiles, but the instant Aoto uttered those words, she instantly flew into a rage.

"Don't call me that!"

She opened her eyes wide, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster's, becoming physically "puffy".

Black Bull Princess – In the battle where Qing Deng rushed to the aid of the attacked Westerners' settlement and severely damaged the Extermination Group, Sanako rode a radish to rescue others, hence the title bestowed upon her by others.

Although it is a very old nickname, so old that most people have forgotten it, Qing Deng still remembers it.

Qingdeng laughed a few times, turned the ox's head around, and lightly tapped the ox's belly with his heel.

"Radish, let's go."

"Moo!"

The radish is spread out in four directions.

A man, a woman, and an ox sped off towards the outskirts of Edo.

……

……

About half an hour later—

Edo, suburbs, somewhere—

The rarely traveled path was covered with many withered branches and fallen leaves.