I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"The night that Fanshu was attacked... was truly a lucky night."

“I happened to be passing by the area around the Foreign Documents Collection Office at that time, and I happened to witness the entire process of the Expeditionary Group storming the Foreign Documents Collection Office.”

"I am aware of my own abilities. No matter how hard I fight, I cannot subdue dozens of sword-wielding warriors by myself."

"So I can only try to bring the officials from the magistrate's office over."

"As for how to bring the officials from the magistrate's office over, I was very worried at the time."

"After all, given my status as a lowly cat monk, it's impossible for me to swagger into the magistrate's office and tell the people there, 'Go and support the local magistrate's office.'"

"So my idea at the time was to find an official from the magistrate's office, inform him of the intelligence that the 'Banshutiao Office was under attack,' and ask him to bring reinforcements from the magistrate's office."

"And so... that's how I happened to bump into you."

"In short, it was all a coincidence."

"I happened to witness the attack on the barbarian smuggling office by the anti-barbarian group."

"And then I happened to find you."

“I see…” Qingdeng nodded gently, then smiled and said casually, “In that case… it seems that the two of us have a very peculiar fate.”

"Edo is so big, yet you just happened to find me."

Kinoshita Mai's explanation finally answered Aoto's many questions, such as "Why did Nekosō send him the information?"

It was a very peculiar coincidence—after hearing what Qing Deng had just said, Kinoshita Mai pursed her red lips slightly.

Her eyes rippled slightly.

"Hmm..." Kinoshita Mai murmured, "Yes... I think so too..."

During their conversation, the two had arrived at the northern outskirts of Edo.

We arrived at... the only Eta settlement in Edo.

Upon entering the Eta settlement, Aoto had the illusion that he had traveled through time again.

I looked up and around—

Small, dilapidated houses.

A strange, foul odor.

This place... is like a completely different world compared to other cities and towns in Edo.

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

I feel like a lot of people keep misreading the main character's name as "Ju Qingcheng"... It's "Qingdeng," don't get it wrong...

Chapter 133 Encounter with the Man-Slaying Group [5600]

Qingdeng sniffed, trying to discern the composition of the air.

The damp, musty smell, the stench of excrement and urine, the putrid stench of rotting food... all sorts of nauseating odors mingled together, causing Qingdeng to involuntarily slow his breathing.

Looking down, the cratered ground reminded one of the surface of the moon.

There's a big pit over there, and a huge rock protruding from there. It had just rained heavily this afternoon, so those puddles were filled with disgustingly colored puddles.

Every now and then you can see dead rats, dead insects, and other strange objects floating on the puddles.

There are hardly any intact houses to be seen here. As far as the eye can see, there are only dilapidated houses that look like they could be kicked down with a single foot.

It was eerily quiet. The sounds of rats and insects were among the few noises that could be heard. Anyone who didn't know better might think this was some uninhabited, deserted place.

In short, this area is absolutely perfect as a filming location for suspense and supernatural movies.

This was Aoto's first time visiting Edo's only Eta settlement.

The desolation and filth of this place were shocking, far exceeding any of Qingdeng's previous imagination.

“Come with me,” Kinoshita Mai said softly. “I know a pretty good spot for an ambush. Let’s go there and stake it out.”

Aoto responded softly with an "Mm," and then followed Kinoshita Mai toward the center of this Eta settlement.

After venturing deeper into this Eta-inhabited area, Qing Deng finally encountered living people.

Not every Eta has a house to live in.

There are many people who have no place to live, not even a mat, and can only use the sky as a blanket and the ground as a bed.

Along the way, Qingdeng saw many filthy people with their legs tightly closed and their arms tightly clasped together, huddled in the corners of dirty streets or in the dark alleys between houses.

In order to avoid being discovered by these people and to avoid disturbing their sleep, Qing Deng and Kinoshita Mai deliberately walked lightly and took secluded paths that were not easy for others to spot.

The "suitable place to stake out" that Kinoshita Mai mentioned was a large tree located next to a certain crossroads.

This tree is nearly 5 meters tall, making it one of the highest points in this Eta settlement area—at least on the way to this tree, Qingdeng had not seen any buildings taller than it.

Not only is it at a high altitude, but it also has excellent views due to its location at a crossroads in the center of the settlement, and thick foliage provides shelter.

Furthermore, according to Kinoshita Mai, three of the seven bodies she discovered that were brutally murdered by Tsuji were found around this intersection, making this area a hotspot for such crimes.

Considering all these reasons, this large tree is indeed an excellent spot for ambush.

The trunk of the big tree had many uneven footholds, so it wasn't difficult to climb. Qing Deng and Mu Shita quickly climbed onto the thickest branch of the tree.

"Tachibana-kun, you should keep a close eye on the east and north sides." Kinoshita Mai pointed to the east and north sides. "I'll keep an eye on the west and south sides."

There was no need to object to Kinoshita Mai's reasonable "personnel arrangement." Aoto nodded, indicating "I understand" to Kinoshita Mai with a gesture, and then turned his body to face the north and east sides of the crossroads.

Because the two are guarding in completely opposite directions, Aoto and Kinoshita Mai are currently sitting back to back.

Aoto still had many questions he wanted to ask Kinoshita Mai one by one.

So after a short while, they heard Qing Deng lower his voice and say in a volume so soft it was barely audible, just enough for Kinoshita Mai to hear:

Why did you suddenly appear at the Magistrate's Office on the night I first met you dressed as 'Neko-sō'?

"Ah, this..."

Kinoshita Mai, who was facing away from Aoto, slowly raised her hand and pulled her face mask up a little higher, covering her face even more completely.

"Well... there's no complicated reason."

"I just happened to run into you on the street this morning and heard that you were going to work the night shift that night."

"So I was just curious and wanted to see what kind of work you 'third-time' samurai do when you're on night shift."

"I'd barely infiltrated the magistrate's office when you discovered my presence..."

—So you just wanted to see how we work the night shift...

After thinking this to himself, Qingdeng said jokingly:

"When we're on the night shift, the thing we do most often is 'idly wait for dawn'."

After making a small joke, Qingdeng steered the conversation back to the main topic.

"Ms. Kinoshita, you just said that you've been patrolling the towns and cities of Edo every night, searching for traces of the 'radical anti-foreign faction.' Have you discovered any noteworthy information related to the 'radical anti-foreign faction' recently?"

"No." Kinoshita Mai's red lips parted slightly, she sighed softly, and then replied in the same very soft tone, "I don't know if it's because I've been unlucky lately, or if those 'radical anti-foreigners' led by the Exile Group don't like to operate at night, but I haven't been able to find out any useful information."

“Actually, my night patrols every night are not just focused on tracking down the ‘radical anti-foreign faction’.”

"While investigating the 'radical anti-foreign faction,' I also kept an eye out for the presence of ordinary criminals in the towns and cities of Edo."

Having said that, Kinoshita Mai slightly raised her head, a faint look of pride rising on her cheeks.

“A few days ago, I successfully caught two wanted criminals on the street who were about to commit a crime.”

"It was really close. Luckily, I happened to be passing through that area at that time, otherwise another girl would have fallen victim to these scumbags."

"Fortunately, those two wanted criminals were very weak, and we easily knocked them to the ground."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng raised an eyebrow—the Cat Monk had recently apprehended two wanted criminals who had been unable to be brought to justice for a long time, and dumped them at the entrance of the magistrate's office... This matter remains a hot topic even now.

At this moment, Kinoshita Mai reached into her bosom and pulled out a small stack of papers that had been read countless times and were slightly yellowed with the pages starting to chip.

"To make it easier to identify the criminals, I specifically found all the wanted posters I could, memorized every face on them, and always carried these wanted posters with me."

Aoto leaned over to look, and saw that the stack of papers that Kinoshita Mai had just pulled from his arms were wanted posters that could be easily obtained in crowded places like izakayas and teahouses.

—You actually memorized all the faces on those wanted posters...?

Qing Deng clicked his tongue in amazement.

"...Now I finally understand why Nekozo helped arrest the criminal three months ago in Fujisawa-suke."

Three months ago, Qing Deng was ordered to go to Fujisawa-juku to arrest a group of thieves who had committed multiple thefts in the post station.

Upon arriving at Fujisawa-juku, he discovered that the thieves he was supposed to deal with had already been caught by Neko-sō.

For Aoto, who didn't know at the time that Kinoshita Mai was Nekosō, this was his first encounter with the great thief Nekosō.

“Ah, you mean the Fujisawa-juku incident?” Kinoshita Mai smiled. “After arriving at Fujisawa-juku with Mr. Kiryu to welcome Elodie and the others, I heard that a group of thieves who travel around stealing things had appeared in Fujisawa-juku.”

“At that time, Elodie and the others had not yet arrived at Fujisawa-juku, so I happened to have a lot of free time.”

"Since I'm just killing time anyway, I'll try to see if I can help catch this gang of thieves."

"I was lucky; on my first night staking out outside the camp, I encountered that gang of thieves."

Qingdeng, who was back-to-back with the cat monk, listened attentively the whole time.

Finally, after Cat Monk finished speaking, Qing Deng smiled gently:

“Ms. Kinoshita, a phantom thief like you, who steals money from evil people while also helping to arrest criminals and stop crimes... is rare indeed, both in ancient and modern times.”

Suddenly, Qingdeng paused.

"...Ms. Kinoshita, may I ask you another question...which might be presumptuous?"

"Hmm? Go ahead and ask." Ever since she put on a face mask, Kinoshita Mai has become much more articulate in her speech.

Qing Deng turned his head and stared at Kinoshita Mai with a somewhat meaningful look.

"Miss Kinoshita, where did you learn your skills in scaling walls and leaping across rooftops, as well as your superb martial arts?"

"There's been a running rumor in the city that 'Neko-sama is a female ninja'..."