I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Suddenly, beams of white light shot into the chaos—Qing Deng slowly opened his eyes.

The not-so-gentle sunlight filled his eyes, causing him to lower his eyelids and use his long eyelashes to filter the light.

After his eyes adjusted to the light, he turned his head blankly and looked around.

The first thing he confirmed was that he was lying flat on the ground, his face facing the sky and two familiar faces—Hijikata Toshizo and Harada Sanosuke were on either side of him.

This scene is strikingly similar to the meme from my past life: "You're awake! The surgery was a success! You're a girl now.jpg".

"Mr. Ju, you're finally awake."

With a relieved expression on his face, Harada Sanosuke continued, "..."

"Mr. Ju, how are you feeling now? Is anything in pain? Are you hungry? I happened to have a piece of grilled squid in my pocket before we went out. If you're hungry, you can have it."

As Harada Sanosuke spoke, he pulled a palm-sized paper package from his pocket as if by magic.

Faced with Harada Sanosuke's machine-gun-like barrage of questions, Aoto did not respond immediately.

He felt his head was throbbing violently, as if it were filled with lead, and he couldn't figure out what was happening to him.

As consciousness returned, like bubbles blown by a fish, memories of what happened before I fell into a coma surfaced in my mind.

"The state of no-self"... in an instant... defeating the Prajna... the sudden appearance of the Kyoto Tengu...

Once the last bit of confusion in his mind was dispelled, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, his pupils contracted slightly, and struggled to sit up.

Seeing this, Harada Sanosuke hurriedly said:

"Mr. Ju, you'd better lie down! Your injuries are quite severe, and if you accidentally aggravate the wound, it could cause serious trouble!"

Aoto understood Harada Sanosuke's good intentions, but he couldn't care less about that right now.

After getting up, he immediately craned his neck, looking around for the figure of Mr. Kiryu.

Fortunately, as soon as he turned his gaze, he immediately spotted the old man sleeping beside him.

Just like Aoto earlier, Kiryu was also lying flat on the ground, facing the sky, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.

Seeing that Kiryu was unharmed, Aoto finally breathed a sigh of relief, a huge weight lifted from his shoulders.

He then turned his gaze away from the old man and looked at his current surroundings.

Looking around, all I saw was unfamiliar scenery.

A faint smell of blood lingered in the air, and the sounds of fierce fighting echoed from afar.

"Where is this place?"

No sooner had Qing Deng finished asking than Hijikata Toshizo immediately replied:

"We are now on the southern slope of Arashiyama. We were pursuing the Choshu army when we suddenly found you two sleeping soundly here."

—The southern foothills of Arashiyama…? How did Kiryu and I end up here…?

Just as Qingdeng was pondering this, he belatedly realized that his body felt very heavy.

Upon touching the wound, I realized that my body was wrapped in thick burlap, and each of the wounds from head to toe had been treated simply.

Qingdeng had no medical training, but as a "professional injured person," he had seen pigs run even if he hadn't eaten pork, so he had some understanding of trauma treatment, mainly sharp instrument injuries.

Based solely on the tingling and numb sensation emanating from the wound, he knew that the person treating his injury had merely applied some ointment to the wound and then tightly wrapped it with burlap to prevent further blood loss.

Although the technique was rather crude and far from being a treatment, it temporarily saved Qingdeng's life.

Otherwise, even if Qingdeng has the talent of "locking blood +7" to enhance his health, he would not be able to withstand such a huge drain if these wounds were allowed to bleed continuously.

"Toshizo, Sanosuke, did you bandage these wounds for me?"

Hijikata Toshizo shook his head:

"No, when we found you, you were already in this treated state."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng was taken aback.

If that's the case, it means that some unknown person treated his injuries before Hijikata Toshizo and the others arrived.

who is it?

The answer to this question is not hard to guess at all.

A tall figure wearing a red tengu mask quickly appeared in his mind.

Just as he was about to collapse from exhaustion, he saw a mysterious figure wearing a red tengu mask walking slowly and steadily towards him and Mr. Kiryu.

Looking at this person, a name was about to come out of Qing Deng's mouth: Kyoto Tengu!

To be honest, Qing Deng once thought he had encountered a ghost.

Qing Deng knew almost nothing about this legendary Kyoto Tengu.

His understanding of it came entirely from snippets of information he had heard from Mr. Gomak.

All that is known is that Kyoto Tengu was a skilled and righteous man who was passionate about fighting injustice and was once very famous in the Kyoto area.

Because this person's activities occurred a long time ago, only older people over forty years old still remember this name.

When he first heard about this, Qingdeng regarded it as just an ordinary rumor circulating in the streets.

Even if such a person did exist in history, he was most likely no longer in Kyoto or no longer alive.

The figure he thought had long since disappeared into the annals of history suddenly appeared before him in a grand manner... How could Qing Deng not be astonished?

Judging from his agile figure as he easily leaped down from the tree trunk and his steady, powerful gait, he must be quite young, or at least not a frail old man.

However, this contradicts the rumor that Qing Deng knew that "the Kyoto Tengu was active very early and must be very old".

Could it be that the name "Kyoto Tengu" is also passed down through generations like Kabuki?

The second or third generation Kyoto Tengu standing in front of him now?

Ultimately, why would a Kyoto tengu be here?

When exactly did he arrive here?

Why couldn't I sense his presence at all?

What does he want to do?

A host of questions filled Qingdeng's mind.

Despite his efforts to recall, all he could remember was that shortly after the tengu appeared in Kyoto, he collapsed from exhaustion.

When he woke up, he was greeted by Hijikata Toshizo and Harada Sanosuke crowding in front of him with a "You're awake.jpg" scene.

Based on the information currently available, it is not difficult to deduce that it was Kyoto Tengu who treated his injuries and brought him and Kiryu-sensei here.

—Kyoto Tengu… Just who is this person? Why is he helping me?

Filled with countless questions, Aoto turned to Hijikata Toshizo and Harada Sanosuke and asked:

Have you seen someone wearing a red tengu mask?

"A red tengu mask?"

Harada Sanosuke muttered something as he turned to look at Hijikata Toshizo—the two shook their heads blankly.

Qing Deng sighed, as if he had anticipated this:

"Oh well, never mind, forget I asked."

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, a burst of gunfire from afar pulled Qingdeng back to reality.

Thanks to the gunshot, Qing Deng came to his senses: he was still on the battlefield!

His duel with Prajna was over, but the war between the Tao Chang Army and the Changzhou Army was not yet completely over.

Although Aoto was very concerned about the true identity and intentions of the Kyoto Tengu, he decided to leave it for later to think about.

—Let's focus on ending the current conflict first!

After pondering this for a moment, Qing Deng looked at Hijikata Toshizo, his expression turning serious:

"Sui San, how is the war going?"

Hijikata Toshizo answered without hesitation:

"Generally speaking, things went smoothly. We have achieved an overwhelming victory. The Choshu army suffered a complete defeat, losing everything, including their loincloths. However..."

When he said the word "only," Hijikata Toshizo paused, a hint of regret appearing on his face:

"The commander-in-chief of the Choshu Army has clearly changed, and his command style has suddenly become exceptionally cautious."

“We have recaptured Tenryu-ji Temple… although the temple has been burned to the ground.”

"Currently, the last remaining forces of the Choshu Army have retreated to Arashiyama, where they are taking advantage of the terrain to launch a series of resistance."

"Although all the soldiers and officers pursued bravely, 'attacking the mountain' was no easy task, and our troop strength and combat experience were still insufficient."

"The soldiers were either exhausted from climbing the mountains or lost in the dense forest, and the pursuit was not progressing well."

"Judging from the current situation, I'm afraid we won't be able to completely annihilate the Choshu army."

After listening quietly, Qing Deng smiled and patted Hijikata Toshizo on the shoulder.

"Relax, you're three years old."

"The Choshu army suffered a crushing defeat with heavy casualties, and all the leaders of the pro-imperial faction, including General Kusaka Genzui, were executed—for us, the results are already quite substantial."

"If one is too greedy, it may backfire."

He said this while supporting himself with his hands and shakily stood up.

Upon seeing this, Hijikata Toshizo frowned.

"Ju, don't tell me you're going to the front lines again."

"Although I don't know where you've been, you're in such a sorry state, you'd better just stay at the main camp."

Qing Deng smiled wryly:

"I know, and I don't plan to force myself anymore."

He knows his current physical condition best.

Although he had just taken the opportunity of being unconscious to get a good night's sleep, he had only recovered to the point of being "conscious and able to stand up with difficulty."