I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

“…Young man, relax.” Arima patted Todo on the shoulder and sighed softly, “No need to be so tense.”

"Whether we'll run into the Extermination Group tonight and end up fighting with them is still uncertain."

Toudou nodded somewhat stiffly and forced a slightly awkward smile: "Thank you... I'm much better now..."

This afternoon, Qing Deng had already led his new subordinates to meet with Arima, Inoya, and the others.

When they saw that Qing Deng finally had his own team, Arima and Inoya were surprised, but also genuinely happy for their junior. They were impressed that Qing Deng was able to stand on his own and was becoming more and more like the leader of the team.

Arima patted Todo on the shoulder a few more times, then told Aoto, "Get ready, Magistrate and the others will be here soon," before leaving to check on the situation at Inoya and Ushiyama, which were not far away.

As Aoto watched Arima leave, he smiled wryly and whispered to Nagakura and the others:

"I don't know whether to say you guys are incredibly lucky or incredibly unlucky... On your very first day as Gang Yin, you've encountered a large-scale operation that you might not even see once in a whole year..."

At this point, Qingdeng paused, then cleared his throat and adopted a more solemn tone.

"But so be it. Since you've chosen to join my ranks and become my leader, sooner or later you'll have to deal with some vicious thugs or criminal groups."

Anyway—you all better be alert tonight.

"If Gang Yin can achieve great things, he will also be able to receive a considerable reward. Whether you can receive a reward and how much you can receive depends entirely on your abilities."

Harada whistled, then stretched his arms, legs, and back with exaggerated movements: "Haha, Mr. Tachibana, hearing you say that gives me even more motivation!"

A little while later, more time passed.

Finally—the door to the room not far away was suddenly pulled open.

Usui and Atsukawa, the town magistrate of Nanbansho, appeared through the opened door, surrounded by their respective servants.

Upon seeing that the two officials had arrived, everyone in the room immediately stopped chatting and discussing and quickly lined up in a row.

The Southern Barbarians' Office stood on the west side of the room, while the Northern Barbarians' Office stood on the east side of the room.

Usui and Atsushi stood at the front of the crowd, exchanged a few words of pleasantries with serious expressions, and then delivered a brief "mobilization speech".

What he said was nothing more than the same old platitudes: "I'm counting on you all tonight," "May you all have good luck in battle," and so on...

After the "mobilization speech" ended, Usui and Atsukawa, following established custom, began to see everyone off.

They instructed their servants to serve them food such as bonito flakes and several jugs of sake, and then personally handed the food to the staff of the Southern and Northern Barbarian Offices.

Harada swallowed hard as he watched Arima and the others enjoying their meal.

"Mr. Tachibana," Harada asked quietly, "those foods we can't eat?"

Qingdeng nodded: "Only Yuli can eat these farewell foods."

"...This farewell is so weird." Harada swallowed again. "At least I should have been given a bowl of wine..."

Qing Deng didn't really understand the strange farewell rules of the magistrate's office. Only those with strength could enjoy the food and drinks. He felt that at least they, the comrades and the leaders, should have a farewell drink.

This must be the strange culture that has been fostered by an overly rigid social hierarchy.

As he quietly waited for Arima and the others to finish the farewell meal provided by the magistrate, Aoto couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

Thinking back to the night more than two months ago when he transmigrated to this era, when he was preparing to attack the "Renyi Clan," Qing Deng was a completely lone commander with no subordinates to command.

Now, he has his own team. Although his team is still small, getting rid of the title of "lone commander" is something to celebrate.

Everyone ate very quickly, and they finished off all the farewell food in no time.

Usui waved his hand and exchanged a glance with Atsushi beside him. The two said in unison, "I wish you a triumphant return!"

"Yes!" Yu Li led the crowd, responding loudly in unison.

After the farewell ceremony, everyone began to leave the Northern Barbarian Lands in batches, according to the plan.

The officers from the Southern Garrison rushed to the broad road between the two countries, while the officers from the Northern Garrison went to their respective defense zones for the night.

Because it was unknown exactly when the Extermination Group would begin its operation tonight, in order to avoid the embarrassment of "missing out," the Magistrate's Office specifically set the operation time for tonight at dusk, when it was just before dark.

As he led his men away from the Northern Barbarian Garrison, Qing Deng glanced at the sky—it was around 19 p.m.

The setting sun had disappeared behind the rooftops, and the sky began to take on the colors of sunset. In the afterglow of the setting sun, the edges of the clouds were inlaid with a deep dark red, making them appear solemn and menacing.

The defense zone that Aoto is in charge of tonight is located in the northwest corner of Edo. This is one of the patrol areas that Aoto is responsible for on weekdays, so he is quite familiar with that area.

As dusk settled, the "three-times" from the South and North Bureaus of Edo strolled through the streets and alleys, attracting frequent glances from passersby.

Passersby speculated anxiously: Had something serious happened again, prompting so many "three-times" officials to be dispatched...

……

……

At this very moment—

In a room at the Edo-do (Japanese Documentation Office)—

Katsura Rintaro straightened up from the desk covered with books, stretched, and yawned widely.

"Haaaaaah... um?"

His yawn was only halfway through when the rest of the yawn turned into a surprised sigh.

“It’s getting dark…” Looking at the gradually descending night outside the window next to him, Katsura Rintarou murmured, “Haha… No wonder it’s been so dark since earlier.”

After making a self-deprecating joke, Katsura Rintaro took out a box of Western matches from his pocket, picked out a match from the box, and then skillfully lit the match with a "snap".

"Umegoro! Umegoro!" Katsura Rintaro called out someone's name repeatedly towards the door as he lit the candlestick beside the table with a match.

No sooner had he finished calling out than he heard a series of hurried footsteps outside the room.

Whoosh—A young man pushed open the door while kneeling on one knee.

"Mr. Sheng, what are your orders?"

"Go buy me a bowl of soba noodles with tempura." Katsura Rintarou took out a small purse from his pocket and tossed it to the young man. "Also, buy two red bean buns."

"Mr. Sheng, are you planning to work here until late again tonight?"

"Hmm." Katsura Rintarou glanced at the pile of manuscripts on the table in front of him. "The Dutch medical book I'm currently in charge of is almost finished being translated."

"I want to get this last bit of finishing work done tonight."

"...Mr. Sheng, would you like to rest for a bit?"

With a frown, Umegoro continued to advise Katsura Rintaro in a worried tone.

"In the morning, I teach artillery at the military academy; at noon, I lecture to Lord Fukui; and in the afternoon, I return to the Bureau of Foreign Documents to translate books..."

“You’ve worked all day. For your health, I think it’s time for you to take a break.”

"It's alright, it's alright." Before Mei Wulang could finish speaking, Sheng Lintaro waved his hand, "I'm at the peak of my energy right now, this little bit of work won't tire me out."

"Go and buy me buckwheat noodles and steamed buns. If you buy my dinner sooner, I can get some rest sooner."

The Foreign Book Translation Office—established in 1856 by the Edo Shogunate specifically for translating Western books and teaching Western knowledge—brought together a large number of talents proficient in Western learning or languages.

Katsurin Taro currently holds two positions: serving as the head of the Foreign Affairs Bureau and concurrently as the artillery professor at the Military Academy.

He was doing two jobs, and although he was very busy, Katsu Rintaro quite enjoyed the busyness.

Whether it was teaching artillery or translating Western books, these were all jobs that he was very interested in.

Moreover, both of these jobs give Katsura Rintaro a strong sense of honor.

The thought that the work he was doing was of extraordinary significance and that he was contributing his efforts to the future of the country filled Katsurin Taro with energy.

Translating foreign books was also part of Katsura Rintaro's old profession. Six years ago, when he first entered politics and began to make a name for himself, his first official position was "Foreign Affairs Response and Translation of Foreign Books," in charge of translating Western books.

Because the shogunate currently lacks a sufficient pool of translation talent, particularly high-level translators, even though he has now been promoted to the highest leader of the Bureau of Foreign Texts, Katsura Rintaro, a senior figure in the translation field with a high level of expertise in Western studies, still has to frequently take the lead in translating medical books, military books, and other highly difficult texts.

After instructing Umegoro to hurry up and buy his dinner, Katsura Rintaro buried himself back in his desk, continuing to focus on the translation of the medical book he was currently in charge of.

Seeing that Katsu Rintaro was unwilling to listen to his advice and insisted on continuing to work, Ume Goro let out a silent sigh, quietly put away the money bag that Katsu Rintaro had just thrown to him, and closed the door.

Inside the room, only the sound of the brush tip writing on the paper could be heard.

……

……

About two hours later—

Tonight is a cloudy night.

A crescent moon hung high behind a thin layer of clouds, its light hazy like wisps of smoke, drifting silently through the streets and alleys of Edo.

I looked up at the sky—it was almost 11 p.m.

This time of day would be definitely late at night in the 21st century, let alone in this ancient society.

The only remaining shops are izakayas that do business in the evenings, and the only people who roam the streets are drunkards and nightingales.

The so-called "nightingale" was a prostitute.

In a metropolis like Edo with a population of over a million, there was no shortage of women who would sell their bodies for food.

In Edo at night, if you walk into the streets where nightingales gather, you will see a large number of beautifully dressed nightingales standing on the street, flirting with every passing man. The bolder ones will directly reach out and grab a man and quote the price for a night of pleasure with her.

The government has always turned a blind eye to these nightingales.

There are quite a few nightingales on the street that Qing Deng and his group are currently inspecting.

Seeing that Qing Deng and the others were dressed like government officials, they wisely stepped aside and did not come forward to disturb them.

However, a very few individuals, whether out of boldness, a desire for amusement, or simply because they didn't recognize the officials' attire and were fearless in their ignorance, actually approached Qing Deng and his group and provoked them.

For example, right now: a beautiful nightingale, dressed in a bright red yukata, who looked to be around 30 years old, ran up to Qing Deng and his group with a charming smile. She grabbed the yukata's collar with her right hand and pulled it aside, revealing a deep cleavage. With her left hand, she lifted the hem of the yukata, revealing her fleshy thighs—she wasn't wearing a waist roll.

The waist roll can be understood as the underwear of women in this era, a kind of clothing that is like an apron and reaches down to the calves.

Nagakura's face was tense. Although he tried his best to control his gaze, it couldn't help but drift towards the "big scar" on the Nightingale's chest.

Harada didn't have as many fuss as Nagakura. He openly and generously showed a cheerful smile while sizing up the Nightingale, who was very flirtatious in both manner and dress, his gaze lingering on her fleshy thighs for an unusually long time.

As the nightingale approached them, Saito immediately and instinctively raised his right hand to grip the sword at his right hip, staring at the nightingale with a wary gaze.

After confirming that the woman posed no threat, he lowered his hand from the knife and never looked at her again.

As for Toudou... after the nightingale raised her hand and pulled open the yukata to reveal her deep lines, he immediately lowered his head, his face flushed with embarrassment, and didn't even glance at the nightingale.

The woman's action of lifting the hem and collar of her yukata, directly revealing her cleavage and thighs, might be considered arousing and stimulating by people of this era, but for Qing Deng, whose soul came from the 21st century, his only thought was, "It's just so-so."

In the 21st century, any woman's lingerie store will have a model in any advertisement whose appearance and poses are more suggestive and daring than that of the Nightingale.