I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Nagakura also had a very good mindset.

Qingdeng consistently avoided direct confrontation with him, employing "guerrilla tactics" to deal with him. Anyone else would likely feel anxious, eager to quickly take down this "cowardly" opponent, Qingdeng.

But Yongcang's face showed no sign of impatience.

With a stern face, he steadily and methodically engaged in combat with Qing Deng.

Kiryu, who had been standing expressionless at the edge of the courtyard watching the battle, saw Aoto, who, despite being completely at a disadvantage, showed no sign of dejection or defeat and relentlessly employed the most advantageous tactics to fight Nagakura. A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

"...Alright, let's stop here for now!"

Upon hearing Kiryu's shout, Aoto and Nagakura both stopped wielding their bamboo swords.

The sparring match between Qingdeng and Yongcang lasted for less than 3 minutes from beginning to end.

Although the fight lasted less than three minutes, Qing Deng was already covered in a light sweat and his breathing had become slightly disordered because it was a fierce battle against a formidable opponent like Yongcang, where he dared not even breathe heavily.

Just by looking at the state of the two after the battle, you can see the difference in strength between Qing Deng and Yongcang—Yongcang barely broke a sweat, and his breathing remained steady and undisturbed.

Qingdeng didn't have time to regulate his breathing or wipe the sweat from his body.

Because after he and Yongcang both put down their bamboo swords, a cold system voice suddenly popped into Qingdeng's mind:

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully replicated talent: "Steelbow"]

[Talent Introduction: Exceptionally resilient bones]

As soon as the system voice finished speaking, waves of warmth suddenly surged from all parts of Qingdeng's body, enveloping his entire body. After a moment, these warm currents slowly receded.

—Does the bone become stronger?

Qingdeng subconsciously looked down at his left hand, then clenched his left fist a few times—even though he knew he couldn't see the changes in his bones with the naked eye, he still couldn't help but stare at the joints that were slightly white from the clenched fist.

—Ha…this person has some incredible talent…

Qingdeng grinned.

The bones become exceptionally tough... In battle, this is a talent that allows one to excel in both offense and defense.

Because of the toughness of the bones, the power of a punch or other body part will be greatly enhanced when used to strike someone.

Because your bones are strong, they are less likely to be seriously injured when someone is around you.

Out of the corner of his eye, Qing Deng caught sight of Kiryu walking slowly towards him and Nagakura.

Upon seeing Kiryu approaching them, Aoto quickly suppressed the faint joy he felt at acquiring a new, superior talent.

"It seems that you are indeed very skilled in swordsmanship, Nagakura-kun." Kiryu smiled faintly at Nagakura. "At your age, it is very rare to have such a level of swordsmanship."

The tall and imposing Nagakura displayed a reaction completely out of character for his stature—upon hearing Kiryu's ordinary compliment, Nagakura gave a shy,憨厚 smile, his eyes narrowing into slits and his mouth stretching almost to his ears.

"Hehe... Thank you for the compliment." Nagakura said a few words of modesty to Kiryu with great joy, then turned to look at Aoto who was still standing next to him.

“Brother, you’re quite skilled.” Nagakura slung his bamboo sword over his shoulder and grinned broadly at Aoto. “Just now, I almost got hit by your sword several times.”

"What's your name?"

"Oh, and also—which school of swordsmanship did you learn from? The swordsmanship you use is somewhat similar to my Shinto Munenryu; both are schools that emphasize attack."

"Natural flow of mind-body harmony, orange azure ascends." Azure ascends, announcing his name.

"Tachibana Aoto?" Nagakura's eyes widened, then his gaze swept quickly across Aoto, scrutinizing him. "Are you Tachibana Aoto, the madman who led twenty or thirty men and defeated more than three hundred 'anti-foreign' faction members?"

Aoto was not surprised that Nagakura recognized his name.

During this time, his name and deeds had already spread throughout the streets and alleys of Edo.

If Nagakura hadn't heard of him, Aoto would have found it strange.

However… a small part of what Nagakura just said made Aoto frown.

"You just said I defeated a lot of 'anti-foreign' thugs?"

“More than three hundred.” Nagakura blinked, looking puzzled. “Hmm? Did I say something wrong?”

...When have I ever defeated so many enemies...?

……

Qing Deng briefly asked Yongcang where he had heard the rumor that the number had inexplicably become exaggerated.

Nagakura said he heard about it a few days ago while drinking at an izakaya (Japanese pub) from some customers at the next table.

Because those guests all said so, claiming with certainty that Qingdeng had defeated as many as three hundred enemy troops, Yongcang believed it to be true.

After hearing Nagakura's explanation, Aoto's lips twitched uncontrollably...

He couldn't help but recall the incident after he solved Granny Ping's murder case, when public opinion inexplicably became more and more exaggerated, even spreading rumors that he was "the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang"...

Qingdeng speculated: It was probably because people were passing on his story by word of mouth that someone misremembered it or deliberately embellished it, making his story more exaggerated...

—This time, I hope they won't spread rumors that I'm the reincarnation of Guan Yu or Lü Bu, right...?

Qingdeng, who didn't like the feeling of being overly praised, couldn't help but shrink back.

With the mindset of "stopping the spread of rumors as much as possible," Qing Deng patiently refuted the rumors for Yongcang, explaining that he hadn't encountered that many enemies that night.

After hearing Qingdeng's refutation, Yongcang grinned: "Actually, it's pretty much the same! What's the big difference between defeating more than two hundred people and defeating more than three hundred people?"

Having said that, Nagakura, in a familiar manner, raised his hand and patted Aoto's shoulder:

"Oh my, I never expected to run into Tachibana Aoto here!"

"After hearing about your deeds, I felt extremely happy! Haha! I've long disliked those crazy 'radical anti-foreigners'!"

Faced with Nagakura's straightforward and unpretentious praise, Aoto smiled politely and modestly.

For no particular reason, Aoto felt that Nagakura Shinpachi would get along well with Kondo Isami and Chiba Jutaro, as they were all straightforward, outspoken, and unpretentious people.

At that moment, Nagakura suddenly remembered—there was still a Kiryu boss standing next to him.

"Ah, sorry, sorry." Nagakura said apologetically to Kiryu while scratching his messy hair. "I think I was too busy talking to Tachibana..."

"It's alright." Kiryu smiled nonchalantly. "Nagakura-kun, with your swordsmanship skills, you can take on quite a few jobs."

"I happen to have a really good job right now."

"The Kimura Sword Hall in Hitocho is currently recruiting sparring partners with sufficiently high swordsmanship skills."

"Nagakura-kun, would you be interested in trying this job?"

"Oh? Sword sparring partner?" Nagakura's eyes lit up. "Hahaha, that sounds pretty good."

"It seems you're interested in this job." Kiryu turned around with his hands behind his back. "Then—please come with me. Let's go back to the front desk for now, and I'll explain the job to you in detail."

……

……

Kiryu led Nagakura back to the front desk.

Meanwhile, Aoto, Okita, and Saito, arranged by Kiryu, followed Kinoshita Mai into a spacious room on the second floor of the Senjiya, a room specifically for entertaining guests, to wait for Kiryu to finish entertaining Nagakura.

While quietly waiting for Kiryu to finish his business matters, Aoto chatted with Kinoshita Mai, who was with them in the reception room, for a while.

Kinoshita Mai gave Aoto a brief introduction to the Senjiya (Thousand Things Shop).

This Thousand Things Shop is both her and Kiryu's workplace and their home.

The Senjiya has two floors. The first floor is where they do business, and the second floor is where Kiryu and Kinoshita Mai live.

After chatting idly with Kinoshita Mai and Okita for about 20 minutes, Kiryu finally opened the door and entered the living room.

"Mr. Kiryu." Seeing Kiryu return, Aoto quickly straightened his posture. "Has that Nagakura Shinpachi left?"

Kiryu nodded and sat down opposite Aoto: "Yeah. I recommended a lot of suitable jobs to him, and he left happily."

"I see... It's good that he found a job he likes." Qingdeng smiled.

Although he only had a brief encounter with Nagakura Shinpachi, based on the man's words and actions, Aoto found him quite interesting.

I feel like someone who is very simple-minded and doesn't have many hidden agendas.

Kiryu, who had just sat down in front of Aoto, first thanked Aoto for his willingness to help test Nagakura's strength. Then he exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Aoto before finally getting to the point: asking Aoto and the others why they had come suddenly.

Aoto and Okita explained their purpose in detail.

"You're going to hold a 'Red and White Battle' with the Chiba Sword Academy at the 'Plum Blossom Festival'?" Kiryu's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

“Yes!” Okita nodded vigorously. “The event is tentatively scheduled for 8:00 AM (2:00 PM) on the day of the ‘Plum Blossom Festival’. The location has not yet been decided, but I guess it will be held in the open space in the northeast corner of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine.”

"Mr. Kiryu, if you have time that day, you must come and watch!"

"'Plum Blossom Festival'..." Kiryu lowered his gaze, looking at the tatami mat in front of him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

After a moment, Kiryu slowly raised his gaze and, with a barely perceptible movement, glanced at Aoto...

“…Okay.” Kiryu smiled. “If I have time that day, I will definitely go and take a look.”

……

……

At this very moment—

With his left hand tucked into his waistband and his right hand slung over his shoulder, Nagakura Shinpachi swaggered along the path toward the distant horizon.

As he reached a corner, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at the Senjiya, which was almost out of his sight.

"That Tachibana Aoto... is much younger than I imagined... he should be a few years younger than me..."

Nagakura muttered to himself in a voice so low that only he could hear it.

"They're so young, yet they've already achieved so much... while I'm still a complete failure..."

A bitter smile slowly crept up Yongcang's cheeks.

He stared intently at the Senjiya with envious eyes.

After a long while, he slowly withdrew his gaze, turned his body, and turned into a small path on the right-hand side from which he could no longer see the Senjiya.

……

……

In the following days, Qingdeng's life returned to normal.