I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"My lords," the old servant stammered, "what should we do now?"

“…Let’s go out and arrest him now.” Qing Deng frowned slightly. “If that masked man keeps fighting and injures or kills Kin’emon, that would be troublesome.”

"Arrest the masked one too." Nishino frowned deeply and said in a deep voice, "To beat someone up in broad daylight on the streets of Edo... what kind of behavior is this!"

Someone suddenly beats someone up in the street—these "three-times" of the same mind cannot ignore such a thing.

Qing Deng blinked, then nodded, agreeing with Nishino's earlier statement, "Arrest the masked man as well."

Aoto and Mask, who decided to strike immediately, led their respective subordinates and servants from Takucho out of the back door of the inn, and then split into two groups as originally planned.

Qingdengling walked along the west side of the street.

Nishino walked along the east side of the street.

The two groups of people surrounded them from the east and west, leaving Kin'emon and the masked man with nowhere to escape.

The sight of Qing Deng and his group appearing in large numbers from both the east and west sides of the street caused the masked man, who was still beating Kin'emon, to stop abruptly.

He tilted his head back, turned his head, and scanned Qing Deng and Xi Ye, who were flanking them from the east and west.

Although his expression couldn't be seen, Qing Deng guessed that he must be completely dumbfounded to see that "San Hui" Tong Xin had responded to the call at lightning speed, and that there were two of them at once.

The masked man made a quick decision—he released Kin'emon, who was still being held by the collar, and prepared to leave.

Kin'emon's face was bruised and swollen, with his skin torn and bleeding, by the masked man—but he still had the ability to escape.

When Tongxin, who had been with him for three years, suddenly arrived, his expression changed drastically. He hurriedly and awkwardly got up from the ground, preparing to flee.

Kin'emon and the masked man fled in opposite directions; the former headed towards Nishino, while the latter ran towards Aoto.

Seeing that the masked man intended to break through from his direction, Qingdeng immediately and fearlessly took the initiative to meet him.

Just as he was about to pass by the masked man, Qing Deng raised his hand and grabbed the masked man's collar.

I intended to use grappling techniques to take him down, but who knew this masked man was actually quite skilled.

After Qing Deng grabbed the masked man's collar, he used special skills to break free from Qing Deng's control.

"Oh?" Qing Deng raised an eyebrow, his gaze towards the masked man showing a hint of interest.

Qingdeng relentlessly continued to approach, trying to subdue the masked man, while the masked man used various techniques to try to get rid of Qingdeng.

Qing Deng could tell at a glance that the masked man's techniques were the kind of unorthodox methods he had figured out on his own.

Although it's an unorthodox approach, the skill level is quite high.

Because people in this era generally don't value martial arts skills, this is the first time Qing Deng has seen someone with decent martial arts skills since he transmigrated.

So when the servants of Saito and Takucho were about to rush forward to help him, Aoto stopped them in time, telling them not to come forward to help him.

Having encountered a shrewd opponent in a long time, Qing Deng, who had been quite fond of all kinds of unarmed combat techniques in his previous life, couldn't help but feel a little itchy.

Qing Deng and the masked man exchanged blows.

Perhaps realizing that Qing Deng was no ordinary person, the masked man's movements became serious and sharp.

After a few brief exchanges, Qingdeng quickly concluded that this masked man must be a seasoned veteran with considerable combat experience.

Although the masked man's unorthodox techniques were quite skillful... they were still unorthodox techniques after all, and could never compare to Qing Deng's, who had received systematic training and mastered orthodox fighting techniques.

Qing Deng and the masked man were not that different in strength and speed.

Given that the two are roughly equal in physical ability, one uses orthodox fighting techniques while the other uses unorthodox methods... it's obvious who has the advantage.

Then Qing Deng made a feint, and the masked man, tricked by the move, revealed a huge flaw.

Then Qingdeng spotted the mask, grabbed the masked man's arm, and used a grappling technique to subdue him to the ground.

"Ahhh...!" The masked man let out a low scream.

He tried to get up, but his arms were bound and he had no strength left.

The outcome is decided.

And just when the outcome was already clear—

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully copied talent: "Heart of the Demon"]

[Talent Introduction: Possesses an exceptionally high level of comprehension in both academic and martial arts fields]

*******

*******

Please vote for me! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 110 Watch closely, Qing Deng is now a true self-propelled artillery machine! [8600]

what?

Qing Deng involuntarily widened his eyes and cast a look of astonishment at the masked man he was controlling.

He possesses an extremely high level of comprehension, whether in academics or martial arts—Qing Deng clearly heard the system notification that had just echoed in his mind.

Anyone with a normal sense should be able to see how abnormal this talent is.

This masked man... actually possesses a god-like talent that only one in ten thousand people might have...

Qing Deng couldn't help but glance at the masked man a few more times.

After being subdued by Qingdeng, the masked man seemed unwilling to give up and desperately twisted his body, trying to break free from Qingdeng's control.

The battle between Qing Deng and the masked man has ended, and the servants of Zhuo Town no longer need to follow Qing Deng's instructions to gather around and watch.

They rushed forward and together held the masked man down.

“别动！别动！”

"Quick! Get a rope! Tie him up!"

……

The guards hurriedly pulled out the ropes used for arresting criminals and tied the masked man up.

At that moment, one of the servants reached out and removed the fox mask from the masked man's face.

The instant the fox mask detached from the man's face, a low gasp erupted from the surrounding crowd and the officers who were apprehending him.

Beneath the mask was an extremely handsome face.

This masked man was actually a remarkably handsome man.

Fair skin exudes youthful vitality.

Her eyebrows were slender and long.

His nose bridge was straight and high.

The lines of the mouth are beautiful.

Good-looking features—but this is not the most prominent physical characteristic of this masked man.

The most striking feature of this person's appearance is the calm and heroic air that emanates from his brows.

This quality greatly enhances his external charm.

The masked man's outstanding appearance... made Qing Deng feel that, in terms of looks alone, this man was no less handsome than the top male stars and models in his previous life's entertainment industry.

"Huh?" Just then, an exclamation came from the crowd, "Mr. Hijikata?"

The owner of the voice was a girl who looked to be no older than 20.

The girl was quite pretty, with a pair of beautiful, expressive eyes. She was dressed in simple clothes, and had a white towel wrapped around her forehead to stop sweating. She looked like an ordinary girl from an ordinary family.

"Ah Jing?" The masked man raised an eyebrow at the girl. "What are you doing here?"

The girl pushed through the crowd, trying to get to the masked man's side, but was stopped in time by the servants of Takucho.

"Mr. Hijikata, what happened? How did you get arrested by the government?" The girl looked like she was about to cry.

"It's nothing." The masked man seemed to realize that he couldn't escape, so he gave up struggling and said to the girl calmly, "This is not a place for you. You should go back now."

"Hijikata...?" As the masked man was urging the girl to leave, Aoto stared at the masked man in astonishment while softly repeating the girl's earlier address to him.

Hijikata... like Aoto's "Tachibana," is not a very common surname.

In Qingdeng's memory, there happened to be someone surnamed Hijikata...

"...Hey. Are you Hijikata Toshizo from the Shieikan in Koishikawa, Kohinata, Yanagimachi?"

"Huh?" The masked man paused, turned his gaze, frowned, and looked Qing Deng up and down. "You...know me?"

……

……

About two hours later—

Aoto led the anxious-looking Kondo and Okita to the prison house located in Kodenma-cho.

The prison was the jail of Edo, where all prisoners from Edo and the surrounding area were held.

Upon arriving at the prison residence, after greeting a prison guard, the guard led Aoto and his group deeper into the residence.

During the Edo period, there was a strict social hierarchy, and people of different ranks were imprisoned in different prisons.

Prisoners with "Omikami" (the ability to see clearly) are imprisoned in the highest-level prison: "Ayatsuzashiki".

The term "御目見" refers to someone who has the right to directly meet with the shogun. The deceased Ii Naosuke was one such person.

As the highest-level prison, Agezashiki was luxuriously furnished, with single cells, tatami mats on the floor, and the air was neither damp nor smelly. The food was also good.

Samurai below the rank of "Gomemi" were imprisoned in "Hageya".

Townspeople living in the city were locked up in "jail".

The farmers were imprisoned in the "People's Prison".

The living conditions in both the prison and the common people's prison were extremely poor. Usually, a dozen or even twenty or thirty people were crammed into one cell. The air was damp and smelly, and the food was terrible.

Aoto had previously heard bits and pieces of anecdotes about Hijikata Toshizo, a man whose name he had long admired, from Kondo and Okita.

Although Hijikata Toshizo had a surname, he was not a samurai.