I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Chiba Jutaro fell silent.

He lowered his head, staring intently at the tatami mat in front of his toes, his face filled with contemplation.

Chiba Sadakichi watched quietly, waiting patiently.

About 10 seconds later, he raised his head again—with a frank and eager smile on his face.

“Father, we are a ‘family of swordsmen.’ To run away without even drawing your sword… that would tarnish the reputation of our ‘Chiba’!”

Upon hearing this, Chiba Sadakichi raised the corners of his mouth, and although it was a pursed smile, it was an exceptionally happy one.

Suddenly, a cheerful voice rang out behind Chiba Jutaro:

"Brother Chong, well said! That's the kind of answer 'Chiba' should give!"

Chiba Jutaro paused, then turned around to look behind him—two dashing young men with swords at their waists stood not far behind him, one on each side.

"Brother Dao? Brother Duomen? What brings you here?"

The person who spoke just now was Chiba Tamon Shiro.

Chiba Michizaburo smiled:

"There are more than just the two of us who came."

Having said that, he and Chiba Tamon Shiro stepped aside to make way—a young man stepped out from between them, his steps firm and powerful.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Chiba Jutaro instinctively grinned, revealing an excited smile.

After coming to a stop, the person bowed slightly, offering a slight greeting, with a smile on their face.

"Chiba Eijiro, the 'Master of Techniques,' has come to lend his assistance!"

*******

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Another day of updates for Leopard! Since there are 7,000 Leopards today, please be sure to vote for this book with your monthly tickets! (Crying Leopard head.jpg)

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

PS: It's a pity this book isn't fantasy. If Chiba Eijiro had unleashed a storm of sword energy after saying "I've come to help," it would have been so cool!

Chapter 917 The Old Bones' Last Dance! The Gourd House Joins the Battle! [6200]

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Test Guard Hall——

"Ah Chang! Have you packed all the clothes?"

Abi looked up and shouted to the second floor.

A-Chang – that is, Kondo Isami's legal wife.

"Okay! All packed!"

A distant reply came from upstairs.

At that moment, an old man—Kyubei, the old servant of the Tachibana family—hurriedly ran toward Obi.

"Madam! The carriage is ready! It's waiting outside!"

Upon hearing this, Abi breathed a sigh of relief.

Currently, all the samurai and commoners of Edo are busy fleeing.

As a result, the labor of cattle, horses, and other livestock is under unprecedented strain.

For a time, the situation became so dire that "Edo beef was expensive" and "Edo horse was expensive".

Fierce disputes frequently erupted over the ownership of a cow or a horse.

Fortunately, the shogunate had made preparations in advance, dispatching a large number of officials to maintain order in the town and suppress the disturbance to a minimum.

If the examination hall were still the same "taro dojo" as before, at this critical juncture, no matter how hard they tried, they would not be able to obtain usable animal power.

With the rise of Seido's reputation, Shieikan has become one of the most famous sword-making schools in Edo, with its wealth and connections growing rapidly.

Even so, they had to ask around extensively before they finally managed to borrow a carriage.

"We've finally arrived... Quick! Load all the luggage onto the carriage! Let's leave Edo as soon as possible, lest something goes wrong!"

Kyubei nodded vigorously:

"Yes!"

After saying that, he took the heavy luggage from Abi's hands and turned to run towards the entrance.

Although Kyubei is an elderly man, he is still strong and healthy, no less so than a young man.

The group from Shieikan fell into the category of "having somewhere to go" and did not need to follow the shogunate's arrangements to seek refuge in Oshu.

They planned to go to Hino to seek refuge with Souji's eldest sister, Okita Hikaru.

"Kyubei, after you put down your luggage, go to the kitchen and bring all our sugar!"

Kyubei replied without turning his head:

"understand!"

During the Edo period, glistening white sugar was a precious commodity and could not be discarded casually.

After giving instructions to Kyubei, Abi turned around and prepared to return to her bedroom to continue packing her luggage.

As she passed by the Buddhist temple, she suddenly noticed that her husband, Kondo Shusuke, was sitting upright in front of the Buddha statue, head bowed, seemingly doing something.

When Abi saw this, he immediately felt furious—everyone is busy, how can you slack off here?

With this thought in mind, she rushed into the Buddhist hall without hesitation, shouting:

"Old man, what are you doing here instead of helping out..."

His words abruptly stopped.

She froze, as if she had witnessed something astonishing, staring blankly at Kondo Shusuke's hands—or rather, at the knife in his hand!

Kondo Shusuke placed a katana flat on his lap, one hand touching the scabbard and the other holding the hilt.

The movements were so gentle, like caressing a lover.

Ah Bi was extremely familiar with this knife.

It was none other than Kondo Shusuke's beloved sword: Nioh Kiyomichi!

Erwang Qingshi – one of the eighty craftsmen.

Swords and blades capable of cutting through two to four tenths of a human body's thickness are considered artifacts.

Back in the day, Kondo Shusuke wore this sword and defeated countless heroes—and at the same time, he won Abi's heart.

The heroic figure who easily defeated powerful enemies by wielding the Erwang Qingshi sword... even today, still lingers deep in Abi's heart.

After getting older and gradually retiring from his frontline role, Kondo Shusuke began to live a lazy and leisurely life.

He spends his days basking in the sun and taking walks, just like any other elderly person.

He no longer wielded swords or knives; in fact, he rarely carried one anymore.

This treasured sword, which had been with him for most of his life, was now left to gather dust on the sword rack.

Only when maintaining the blade or reminiscing about the past would one occasionally brush away the dust from its surface.

Abi glanced at the two kings, Kiyoshi, then at Kondo Shusuke, and instantly understood what was going on.

"Old man, you..."

Before Abi could finish speaking, Kondo Shusuke turned his head slightly, looked at his wife, and wore a calm smile.

"Abi, you should go ahead first."

Upon hearing this, Abi's expression immediately changed.

Anyone with a brain can understand what Kondo Shusuke meant.

"Old man, don't tell me you're planning to stay!"

What are you thinking about?!

"Look at your age!"

"With your aging body that's always aching and suffering from back pain, you'd only be a burden on the battlefield!"

"Stop saying such nonsense!"

"Hurry! The carriage is here!"

As she spoke, she reached out to grab Kondo Shusuke's shoulder—but found that no matter how hard she tried, even with all her might, she couldn't budge Kondo Shusuke an inch.

Kondo Shusuke was already used to Abi's sharp tongue.

In many ways, she has a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

For example, right now: although what she said just now was very impolite, the concern and worry contained in her words were already overflowing, and her tone revealed a strong sense of unease.

Her hands, which were gripping his shoulders tightly, were now trembling slightly...

“…Abi, calm down first.”

As Kondo Shusuke spoke, he stretched out his right hand and pressed down on Abi's left wrist.

Feeling the warmth emanating from the other person's palm, the excitement on Abi's cheeks slowly faded.

She took several breaths, gradually regaining her composure, and her palms stopped trembling.

Seeing that his wife was no longer agitated, Kondo Shusuke slowly said:

“Those children… must be working hard right now to ‘rescue Edo’.”

As he spoke, he turned his head to look west.

The "children" he was referring to were naturally Qing Deng and others.

"The younger generation is fighting a bloody battle."

"In that case, it would be too inappropriate for me, as an elder, to run away with my tail between my legs."

Abi frowned and said in a deep voice: