I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Just as Aoto brought Saito, Nishino also brought some of his subordinates, Okabiki, to accompany him on duty.

In the lobby of the North Zone Office, Nishino, holding a lantern, said calmly to Aoto:

"Ju, why don't you go take a nap first?"

"I'll be on duty for the first half of the night. It'll be your turn for the second half."

The reason why the duty station designed the total number of people on night shift to be two is to make it convenient for the people on night shift to take turns to rest.

Who would keep watch for the first half of the night and who would keep watch for the second half—this was completely irrelevant, so Qingdeng readily nodded.

As Qing Deng hugged his blanket, preparing to part ways with Nishino and find a comfortable place to take a nap with Saito, he suddenly heard Nishino let out a big yawn.

"Haaaaaaah...!"

Because the yawn was so loud, Qing Deng couldn't help but turn his head to look at Nishino behind him.

Only then did he notice that Nishino looked very tired.

There were noticeable dark circles under his eyes.

Despite Nishino's attempts to rouse himself by blinking forcefully, his eyes still radiated a constant sense of exhaustion.

After observing Nishino's exhausted appearance, Aoto couldn't help but ask:

"Are you alright? You look very tired."

"It's nothing," Nishino replied quickly without hesitation. "I've just been keeping track of Nekosō and helping to fight the 'Anti-Foreigners' thugs lately, so I haven't had enough sleep. It's nothing serious."

It is important to quell the unrest caused by the "Expel the Barbarians" faction... but it is also important to catch Nekozo, who has angered many important figures by targeting evil people and has also brought great shame to the Magistrate's Office.

Therefore, at Usui's instruction, Nishino continued to focus on the "Neko-sō" case, which he was currently in charge of.

However... Nishino is their Hokuban Police Station's "number one detective," how could they possibly just "let go" of this valuable asset who is both literate and skilled in martial arts...

Given the current severe shortage of manpower, Nishino is occasionally pulled in to help deal with the "anti-foreign faction"... For example, yesterday, he was pulled in to partner with Aoto to capture Kin'emon.

While dealing with the major case of "Neko-sō" (Cat Monk), he also had to take care of the campaign against the "Expelling the Barbarians" faction... Aoto couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for Nishino.

"...How about I keep watch for the first half of the night? You go and rest for a while."

“No need!” Nishino frowned slightly. “Didn’t I already say? I’m fine.”

Having said that, Nishino left Aoto no room for rebuttal and simply picked up his lantern and left.

Since Nishino insists on this, then Aoto won't say anything more.

He approached Saito, found a good spot where he wouldn't be blown away by the night wind, wrapped a blanket around himself, and slept on the ground.

With the blessing of the "God of Sleep," Qingdeng fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

……

……

After sleeping for about half an hour, Qingdeng was awakened by the urge to urinate.

He opened his eyes and looked to his left and right—Saito, who was sleeping soundly next to him, was fast asleep.

Aoto, who was about to go to the toilet, carefully lifted the blanket wrapped around her so as not to disturb Saito.

His gentle movements were actually completely useless.

Saito, who possessed extremely high bodyguard skills, opened his eyes just as Aoto raised his hand to lift the blanket and stand up.

"How did you wake up?" Saito asked.

"I need to use the restroom."

"Do you need me to come along?"

"No need. The outhouse is very close by, you can continue sleeping."

Now that Saito had been woken up, Aoto was too lazy to tiptoe around anymore.

He grabbed his two swords, hung them on his waist, and walked toward the latrine not far away, yawning.

He was abruptly awakened by the urge to urinate—Qingdeng, still a little sleepy, felt his mind was somewhat hazy.

I felt less like I was walking on a wooden walkway and more like I was walking on soft, fluffy clouds.

Qingdeng, who was only thinking about quickly taking care of his physiological needs and then going back to sleep, quickened his pace a little.

Following his memory, he turned a corner, and the toilet came into view.

But suddenly—

squeak...

Qingdeng suddenly heard a very faint footstep behind him.

Qingdeng's eyes opened slightly. The next instant, he swiftly turned his head to look behind him.

The surrounding light was dim... but Qingdeng had "cat's eyes" that allowed him to see clearly even in the dark.

Just as his gaze turned behind him, he caught a glimpse of a figure dressed entirely in black from head to toe flashing past the corner of the corridor behind him.

Dressed in all black, and fleeing hastily after Qingdeng spotted him... Qingdeng's sleepiness vanished instantly.

"Thief!"

Qing Deng mustered his strength and roared, then gripped the knife at his waist and chased after the fleeing man in black.

*******

*******

Everyone, come and guess who this man in black is!

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! [Leopard crying.jpg]

Chapter 112 Qingdeng vs. Cat Monk! Copy Talent: [Milk]

Passing through the corner of the corridor where the man in black had just darted past, the figure of the man in black, who was rushing out along the corridor, clearly appeared in Qing Deng's eyes.

The slender man in black was dressed in an all-black outfit.

The slightly loose black clothes and black trousers made it difficult to discern his figure, and both hands were covered with black cloth gloves that completely covered his fingers.

They wore black headscarves and face masks that covered all their hair and the area below their eyes.

Throughout Edo, probably nine out of ten thieves were dressed in black from head to toe. Therefore, upon seeing this man in black, Seito instinctively assumed that he was a thief who dared to come and carry out his thefts.

"what happened?"

"It's Tachibana-sama's voice!"

"Let's go! Let's go take a look!"

……

From afar, the voices of Nishino and his men could be heard.

Qing Deng's shout of "There's a thief!" successfully alerted Nishino and the others.

He could hear the footsteps of Nishino and the others rushing towards him.

The black-clad man's feet, covered in black tabi socks, swung at a speed that made Qing Deng click his tongue in amazement.

Despite Qing Deng's best efforts to catch up, the distance between him and the man in black continued to widen.

Although Qing Deng was still in a hurry to relieve himself, which slowed him down a bit, he felt that even at his peak, he probably couldn't keep up with the man in black.

However—Qingdeng noticed that the man in black seemed unfamiliar with the layout of the magistrate's office.

After passing through the long corridor, the man in black turned right.

And to the right... is a dead end.

Seeing that the man in black had chosen a dead end, Qingdeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This guy has nowhere to go—Qingdeng thought to himself.

Qingdeng, who was in hot pursuit, also turned right and entered this dead end.

The man in black, unaware that he had entered a dead end, continued speeding along.

Finally, he saw the solid wall standing in front of him.

He immediately leaned back, pushed off the ground with both feet, and quickly stopped.

The man in black stared at the wall blocking his path for a moment—the moment later, he suddenly turned 180 degrees and lunged at Qing Deng, who was right behind him!

The man in black was incredibly fast. He lowered his center of gravity so low that his entire upper body seemed to be touching the floor as he lunged at Qing Deng, resembling a feline predator pouncing on its prey.

Seeing the man in black rushing towards him, Qing Deng thought that this guy was probably trying to force his way through his defenses and escape from this dead end.

Qing Deng's gaze sharpened, and he drew the Ghost-Stabilizing Sword from his waist.

Even if they are of one mind "three times", they cannot just draw their swords and kill someone. If they kill someone who does not deserve to die, not to mention the huge trouble that will inevitably cause, Qingdeng would not be able to get past the test of his conscience.

So after drawing the Ding Guishen sword, Qing Deng turned the blade, preparing to use the non-lethal back of the blade to subdue the all-black-clad figure.

Holding their breath, they stared intently at the man in black's movements.

Once the man in black entered his attack range, Qing Deng slashed out with his knife without the slightest hesitation, aiming for the man's shoulder.

The man in black was like a fallen leaf that drifted in the wind.

He effortlessly sidestepped to the right, dodging Qing Deng's slash.

He seemed to have no intention of engaging Qingdeng in a prolonged fight. After dodging Qingdeng's attack, the man in black continued to run straight ahead, trying to pass by Qingdeng.

Just as the man in black was about to pass by Qingdeng's left side, Qingdeng timely reached out his left hand and grabbed the man's left shoulder.

"We've successfully captured this guy—Qing Deng originally intended to subdue the man in black in one fell swoop."

However... just as Qing Deng's left hand grabbed the man in black's left shoulder, the man in black suddenly lowered, raised, and twisted his left shoulder!

A powerful force suddenly surged towards Qingdeng's left palm like a raging tide.

Under the impact of this tremendous force, even with his current talent for "skillful hands", Qing Deng still felt as if his left hand had slipped away from the man in black's left shoulder as if he had grabbed a slippery eel!

A layperson might not understand what the man in black just did.

However, Qing Deng, who was quite skilled in unarmed combat, saw it very clearly: the man in black had just used a very high-level force-dissipating technique to shake off his left hand!