I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

A faint smile appeared on Qing Deng's face.

The words he uttered contained an indescribable wealth of emotion and a weighty power.

Before anyone could react, he withdrew his gaze, solemnly put on his straw hat, and then, with firm and powerful steps, walked forward under the increasingly bright sunlight.

No sooner had he left than a crowd surged onto the main street outside the shop, staring intently and with unwavering composure as they watched him go.

Even after Qingdeng's figure disappeared at the end of the street, they lingered there, reluctant to leave.

The girl (the umbrella maker) blinked a few times, muttering to herself:

"I actually got to talk to Lord Niou... It feels like a dream..."

The young man (a lower-ranking samurai) clicked his tongue in amazement:

"If this is a dream, it must be an indescribable beautiful dream."

……

……

Qinjin Fan, Ojin, Ojin Castle, main castle——

Yamanami Keisuke was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

A considerable amount of time has passed since Qing Deng "disappeared".

They searched every corner of Dajin City, but could not find Qingdeng.

Therefore, it is sufficient to conclude that Qingdeng has left the city!

This gave Yamanami Keisuke a real headache.

The area outside the city is so vast, where exactly should we look for him?

If it was Hijikata Toshizo who went missing, that would be easier to handle.

Tu Fang Sui San's figure can always be found in the red-light districts and red-light districts.

But Qingdeng had no interest in this area, nor did he have any places he frequented, so even if he wanted to find him, he didn't know where to begin.

That being said, we still have to take action.

With a major battle imminent, they've lost their supreme leader... What kind of mess is this!

Just as Yamanami Keisuke was preparing to organize a reliable group of people to launch a "large-scale search outside the city," Todo Heisuke arrived like a whirlwind, bringing good news—

"Mr. Yamanami! We've found Mr. Tachibana!"

Yamanami Keisuke's eyes widened with excitement.

"What?! We found Mr. Tachibana?! Where did we find him?!"

"We didn't find him; Mr. Tachibana returned on his own! He just swaggered out of the south gate of Otsu City and has already entered the city!"

Where did he go?

"It's said that he just took a stroll around Otsu Town!"

Upon hearing this, Yamanami Keisuke immediately felt a great weight lifted from his heart.

—It's good that everyone is alright...

After pondering for a moment, he hurriedly went with Todo Heisuke to greet Aoto.

As soon as he left the main castle, he bumped into Qingdeng, who was striding towards him.

Yamanami Keisuke looked Aoto up and down, his expression turning strange:

"Tachibana-kun, are you... traveling incognito?"

"This is no time for an incognito visit," Yamanami Keisuke said with a hint of reproach in his eyes.

Qingdeng chuckled a few times:

"I just went out for a walk to clear my head, and by the way, I had some very meaningful talks with some important people."

Yamanami Keisuke was taken aback:

"A meeting? An important person? Who?"

Qingdeng quickly rattled off a string of names:

“Yūtarō Makoshi, Saisuke Miyagawa, Shinjirō, Akin, Nobuyoshi… and many others, I won’t sign them all.”

The more Yamanami Keisuke listened, the more confused he became.

Among the names Qingdeng mentioned, several were clearly those of ordinary people, and there were even some women's names.

Although puzzled, he didn't ask any further questions—he thought Qing Deng was joking.

After letting out a long sigh, he showed a bitter expression.

"Orange-kun, I'm begging you, please don't just 'disappear' without a word again. It's scary."

"I'm sorry to have worried you. I will be more careful from now on."

Qingdeng apologized verbally, but showed no remorse whatsoever.

Just then, a beautiful figure entered his field of vision—Zanako darted out like a flash and moved to Aoto's side in the blink of an eye.

Looking at Qingdeng, who had given everyone a false alarm, she pulled down the corners of her mouth, her beautiful eyes filled with dark clouds, her dissatisfaction clearly visible.

Sanako's strong personality is well-known; she is not the kind of timid wife who is completely submissive to her husband.

Yamanami Keisuke and the others all thought that what followed was a "storm".

Unexpectedly, she didn't complain to Qingdeng. Instead, she quickly composed herself and reported the important matter first:

"Tachibana-kun, you've come back just in time. The leader of the Great Salt Party requests an audience."

Qingdeng raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and then nodded:

"Understood. Take him to the military council chamber. I need to discuss some things with Keisuke now, I'll be there shortly."

Sanako responded with a word of agreement and turned to leave.

Sanako was not angry about Aoto's unexplained "disappearance." To onlookers, it was a beautiful scene of harmonious marriage.

In reality, Aoto knew the truth very well—Sanako was only concerned that criticizing Aoto in public would undermine the dignity of "Niou".

Therefore, based on his understanding of her, he knew she would definitely wait until they were alone before giving him a proper "lesson".

Thinking of this, Qingdeng couldn't help but look helpless.

After watching Sanako leave, Yamanami Keisuke turned to Aoto and asked first:

"Mr. Orange, may I ask what matter you wish to discuss with me?"

Qing Deng composed himself, adopting a solemn expression, and met Yamanami Keisuke's gaze directly.

"Jingzhu, I'll get straight to the point—I have a very important task to entrust to you."

Upon hearing this, Yamanami Keisuke instinctively straightened his back and began to look serious.

Qing Deng leaned closer to Yamanami Keisuke's ear and whispered a few words.

Yamanami Keisuke's expression changed instantly—first, he looked puzzled, then realized something, and his facial expression was immediately dominated by strong disbelief.

"Tachibana-kun, are you...are you serious? Are you really going to do this? This...this is really..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qingdeng calmly issued a firm command:

"No need for further explanation, just do as I say."

Yamanami Keisuke gritted his teeth... Since his lord had put it this way, he, as a subject, had no way to refute him.

"understand!"

He nodded vigorously, then turned around and strode away.

At the same time, without turning his head, he shouted to Toudou Heisuke beside him:

"Heisuke, come with me!"

Toudo Heisuke was stunned:

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"Don't ask! Just come with me! This is a big job, and I need your help!"

Although Todo Heisuke didn't understand why, he still obediently followed.

The two of them headed straight for the outskirts of Dajin City, one after the other, their destination unknown.

……

……

Qinjin Fan, Dajin, Dajin City, military meeting——

Aoto and Ōshio Heihachirō, the leader of the Ōshio Party, sat facing each other.

"Mr. Ooshio, it's been a long time."

Ōshio Heihachirō nodded slightly:

"I am very sorry to bother you, Mr. Zuo, during your busy schedule."

After Aoto formed an alliance with the Ooshio Party, the Ooshio Party's top leaders, led by Ooshio Heihachiro and Shiyo, remained in Otsu to specialize in intelligence work.

In recent days, they have made significant contributions, gathering a lot of useful intelligence for Qingdeng.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Qingdeng got straight to the point:

"Mr. Daishio, what brings you here so suddenly?"

Heihachiro Ooshio slightly puffed out his chest, took a deep breath, and raised his voice accordingly:

"Master Zuo, I have already sent an order to Hai Laomingjun, who is training troops outside, to lead the Returning Heaven Team to assist in the battle immediately."

Ebina – presumably Ebina Ye Zong.

I registered him in Qing. I briefly worked with him when I was investigating Huanfudian back then, and we met a few times afterward, but it had been quite a while since I last saw him.

"'Return to Heaven Team'? What's that?"

"This is the armed force of our Great Shio Party, which brings together skilled warriors led by Ebina-kun and Akutsu-kun."