I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

A chaotic brawl immediately ensued.

Such a commotion naturally alerted the other soldiers staying at the same brigade station.

"What's that noise? What happened?"

"It looks like there's a fight going on!"

"A fight? Let's go check it out!"

The news spread like wildfire, and before long, both ends of the corridor were filled with people who had come to watch the spectacle.

"Get out of the way!"

About two minutes later, Kondo Isami—who happened to be staying at the inn—arrived in a menacing manner with his subordinates from the Metropolitan Police Department.

The Censorate was an agency specifically responsible for maintaining military discipline and supervising soldiers.

In other words, the inspectors of the Metropolitan Police Department were the military police of the Shinsengumi.

With his muscular, gorilla-like physique, Kondo Isami pushed through the crowd blocking his way and reached the "front line".

After glancing at the chaotic scene of the fight, he turned to his men and shouted:

"What are you all standing there for? Why aren't you subduing them?"

Having said that, he drew his long sword, Nagasone Kotetsu, and strode into the messy corridor.

Group fights, outnumbered battles... these are the fighting styles that Kondo Isami, who possesses the talent of "lone wolf courage," excels at!

His title of "Fourth Head of the Tennen Rishin-ryu School" was not obtained through kinship.

He rose to power by virtue of his undeniable hard skills, which earned him the recognition of Kondo Shusuke and the other students at Shieikan.

He is widely recognized as the strongest in the Shieikan, second only to Aoto and Souji!

In a flash, he arrived at the very center of the chaotic battle.

One flash, then another, then a third... People saw his Kotetsu flash three times.

The first time, he knocked a farmer's wakizashi (a type of weapon) away.

The second time, he struck a samurai in the stomach with the bottom of the hilt of his sword.

The third time, Kotetsu's blade struck the blade of a certain katana squarely, severing the blade in one blow.

From the moment Kondo Isami joined the battle to the end of the fight, less than 10 seconds had passed.

In such a short time, Kondo Isao managed to take down all the people involved in the fight.

As Kondo Isami sheathed Kotetsu, he turned and shouted to the apprentices:

"Tie them all up!"

……

……

Qingdeng's room—

Aoto, who enjoys a private suite due to his high status, is reading "The Tale of Genji" by candlelight.

The Tale of Genji is a novel written by Murasaki Shikibu, a female writer from the Heian period of Japan.

Set against the backdrop of Japan's Heian period, which was at its peak, the novel depicts the life experiences and love stories of the protagonist, Genji, and reflects the cultural life and social background of the Heian period.

The concept of "mono no aware," which is highly regarded by the Japanese, originated from this book.

Qing Deng was reading this famous book not because he was bored and wanted to kill time, but because he wanted to learn more about Kyoto through it.

For Aoto, Kyoto was a completely unfamiliar city.

To his shame, when it comes to Kyoto, all he can think of are all sorts of stereotypes.

The Beijing dialect is full of honorifics.

A captivating and alluring geisha.

There are countless historical buildings.

The arrogant and self-important character of the people who believe that "everything outside Kyoto is the countryside"—especially this point—makes Aoto's lips twitch whenever he thinks of the word "Kyoto".

The arrogant behavior of the palace maids reinforced Qing Deng's stereotype that "all people in Kyoto are a bunch of arrogant guys," and it almost became ingrained in his mind.

This era lacks convenient media channels such as television and the internet.

To understand regions beyond our immediate surroundings, we can only rely on word-of-mouth and records in books.

The Shinsengumi's advance is progressing smoothly so far.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, they will arrive in Kyoto as scheduled in mid-February.

He will be based in Kyoto for a long period of time.

Therefore, reading more books about Kyoto and learning more about this ancient capital is definitely the right thing to do.

Although The Tale of Genji is a long novel written more than 800 years ago, its story involves a great deal of local customs and culture in the capital region.

Just as Qingdeng was engrossed in reading, hurried footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the corridor.

He knew something was about to happen, so he immediately put down "The Tale of Genji".

"Tachibana-kun! Tachibana-kun!"

The commander's voice came in.

"Something's wrong! There's a fight among the team members!"

She succinctly recounted the entire incident.

After listening, Qing Deng smiled faintly.

"Troublemakers have appeared so quickly..."

After saying that, he closed the book and stood up abruptly.

"Commander, please gather the entire army for me."

"The entire...the entire army?"

"Yes, the entire army! Summon all the soldiers here!"

……

……

Hakone-juku, an open space somewhere—

The officers, led by Kondo Isami, the captains, led by Souji, the team members, and the staff of the monyaba all gathered together.

They stood in a fan shape, some of them looking blankly at each other, exchanging bewildered glances.

"Hello? What happened? Why were we summoned all of a sudden?"

"I don't know the specifics, but it seems like it was a private fight."

"Private fights? Hey, isn't this terrible... I remember the 'Shinsengumi Laws' explicitly prohibit private fights..."

"Shh! Quiet, Lord Niou is here!"

Qing Deng, holding the sword at his waist, slowly stepped into the crowd's view.

The seven men involved in the fight—three farmers and four warriors—were bound tightly with hemp ropes and made to kneel in a row.

They all drew knives during the fight, but thanks to Kondo Isami's timely intervention, no one died; only a very few people sustained minor injuries.

Qingdeng stood in front of them, expressionless.

Yamanami Keisuke quickly walked up to him from behind, leaned forward, and brought his mouth close to his ear:

"Tachibana-kun, their identities have all been verified."

"Of those three soldiers who came from farming backgrounds, one was from the 8th Division and the other two were from the 10th Division."

"As for the four samurai-turned-team members, one was from the Sixth Division, two were from the Fifth Division, and one was from the Fourth Division."

After finishing his report, Yamanami Keisuke consciously returned to his original position.

Qing Deng narrowed his eyes, slicing his sharp gaze at the troublemakers in front of him.

Most of them had drooping shoulders and heads, their backs looking as if they had disappeared, their entire spines appearing limp and weak.

However, three men—all of whom carried swords at their waists—held their heads high like swans, displaying a stubborn demeanor that suggested they did nothing wrong.

Qingdeng ignored them and shouted loudly:

"You should all have memorized the 'Shinsengumi Laws', right?"

"First, all actions must be carried out under command."

Second, one must not leave the organization without authorization.

Third, one must not engage in private fights without cause.

"Fourth, those who extort others, rob others of their property, harm the innocent, or rape women shall be executed on the spot."

Fifth, those who betray their country and collude with the enemy shall be executed on the spot.

“You have violated the third law—that you shall not engage in fights without cause—according to the law, you shall be beheaded and your heads displayed to the public!”

Upon hearing this, the rioters, the vast majority of the onlookers, and even a few officers, represented by the commander-in-chief, all changed their expressions.

"Lord Niou! Please let me explain!"

A farmer looked up and hurriedly said:

"These guys were in the wrong first! They ignored your previous rule that 'there are no distinctions between men, women, samurai, and commoners within the Shinsengumi,' and spoke rudely to us, insulting us without restraint. That's what caused the riot. We are innocent!"

The three people who had been holding their heads high could no longer remain calm.

One of them shouted:

"Wait a minute! These bastards attacked first! Look, they punched me when I wasn't looking, and the marks are still on my face! The subsequent sword fight was just a retaliation! If anyone should be punished, it should be them! We are the victims!"

With these two leading the way, the rest of the troublemakers followed suit, pleading and doing everything they could to shift the blame onto the other party.

The fear and panic spread in all directions.

The crowd gradually began to stir in a discreet manner.