I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"I've found another target who needs Fox Monk's help."

Upon hearing Kinoshita Mai's concise statement... or more precisely, upon hearing the word "fox monk" mentioned by Kinoshita Mai, Aoto's expression slightly tightened.

He lowered his head and gazed at Kinoshita Mai, who was still much shorter than him even when she stood on tiptoe, with a serious and earnest look.

"...Ms. Kinoshita." Qing Deng lowered his voice, just like Kinoshita Mai had done earlier, using a volume only the two of them could hear, "What target have you found this time?"

"Hmm..." Kinoshita Mai glanced warily at the few passersby still walking by. "It's not convenient to talk about this here."

"Do you have time tonight, Mr. Orange? If you do, I'd like to talk to you in detail tonight."

After pondering for less than two breaths, Qing Deng nodded solemnly: "I understand. I have time after 8 PM (2 AM). Can we meet after 8 PM?"

2 a.m. is Qingdeng's daily wake-up time.

“Of course,” Kinoshita Mai answered almost without hesitation. “Then tonight at 8 p.m., I’ll be waiting for you in the alley behind the ramen shop next to the Shieikan... the place we went to before.”

Qingdeng nodded in agreement.

Then, he gave a helpless smile.

“Ms. Kinoshita, you’re quite clever. You even knew to use the excuse that ‘Mr. Kiryu needs to talk to me’ to get Saito and the others out of the way.”

It was only then that Qingdeng suddenly realized that the girl in front of him, who loved to wear red clothes and red-buttoned wooden clogs, was far more quirky and mischievous than she appeared.

When Kinoshita Mai solemnly told him that "Kiryu-sensei needs to see him," her expression and behavior were completely normal. Aoto didn't notice anything unusual about Kinoshita Mai, so Aoto genuinely thought that something urgent had happened to Kiryu-sensei that required him to see him alone immediately.

But upon closer reflection, it makes sense—how could a precocious young girl become such a formidable thief at such a young age, causing headaches for the Edo Magistrate's Office and the villains of Edo to this day?

"I'm sorry..." Kinoshita Mai, her face once again showing remorse, twisted her clasped hands together in front of her and apologized to Aoto again, "Besides bringing up Mr. Kiryu, I really can't think of any other way to get us alone..."

"It's alright, it's alright." Qingdeng waved his hand. "I didn't mean to blame you."

"In fact, I would like to praise you for knowing how to use such a clever method to get rid of Saito and the others and bring me to a place with fewer people."

"Well then, see you tonight."

After saying that, Qingdeng sighed to himself.

He never expected that after solving the "human killing incident," the phantom thief Nekosō would send him a new request so quickly!

……

……

Since the claim that "Mr. Kiryu needs to see him" was entirely fabricated by Mai Kinoshita, Aoto naturally doesn't need to go to the Senjiya anymore.

After walking together for a while, the two parted ways at a fork in the road and went their separate ways home.

After walking through those familiar streets and alleys that he had walked countless times over the past few months, Qing Deng soon returned to Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagicho.

After climbing the high slope where the Shiwei Hall was located, it wasn't long before the silhouette of the Shiwei Hall came into Qingdeng's view.

Having spent so much time living and laughing with Okita, Kondo, and the others at the Shieikan, Aoto had long since developed a feeling of "home" for the Shieikan.

Upon seeing the enormous shadow of the Shiwei Hall in the distance, a strange sense of security welled up in Qing Deng's heart, making him feel that his physical fatigue had lessened.

But at that moment, Qingdeng suddenly vaguely saw that some people were gathered outside the gate of the Examination Hall.

It's well past the closing time of the Shiwei Hall.

At this hour, why are so many people gathered outside the gate of the Examination Hall...? Qing Deng frowned slightly and quickened his pace.

As they drew closer to the Imperial Guard Hall, two voices reached Qing Deng's ears—

"Excuse me, is Tachibana Aoto there?"

"Huh? Who are you? What do you want with Tachibana-kun?"

The next voice was Okita's.

The previous voice... sounded very familiar to Qing Deng.

After a brief mental recollection, Qingdeng remembered whose voice it was.

Qing Deng's face darkened instantly, and he quickened his pace toward the Shiwei Hall.

Before long, the scene outside the gate of the Examination Hall was clearly and completely displayed before Qingdeng's eyes.

Okita stood alone behind the gate of the Shieikan, one hand on the door and the other on his hip. His brows were furrowed and his wary gaze swept back and forth over the eight young men standing in front of the gate.

These eight young men were all dressed in simple clothes and did not appear to be carrying any weapons.

At first glance, these eight young people might seem like ordinary young people you could see anywhere on the street.

But upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the eight youths have grotesque tattoos covering their necks, forearms, ankles, and other areas not covered by their clothing.

In the Edo period... no, I should say in Japan, throughout history, apart from a very few eccentric individuals, there is only one type of person who would tattoo dragons and phoenixes on their bodies—the Yakuza!

The leader of this group of Yakuza who suddenly visited the Test Guard Hall was a very young man.

The young man had a fairly handsome face, but a huge scar running from his left ear to his right ear ruined the good looks he should have had.

Aoto was very familiar with this scarred man—he was a member of the "Shimizu Clan," who was specifically tasked with collecting gambling debts from his father, Tachibana Takayuki!

Thinking back to the first night Qing Deng transmigrated to this era, he encountered this scarred-face man leading a group of people to collect a debt from him.

"Tachibana-kun?" Upon seeing Aoto's return, Okita paused for a moment, then cast an even more wary glance at the group of Yakuza members in front of him who had just declared they were looking for Aoto.

Immediately afterward, taking advantage of the moment when Scarface and the others were focused on Aoto, Okita quietly slipped back into the Test Guard Hall...

Scarface and the others, who were focused on Qing Deng, did not notice Okita's departure. Qing Deng, due to the angle of his view, also did not notice that Okita was no longer standing behind the gate of the Shieikan.

"Oh, Mr. Tachibana." The scarred man smiled warmly at Qing Deng, "Mr. Tachibana, it's been a long time! Did you just return from the Northern Expeditionary Bureau?"

Qing Dengli didn't even bother to acknowledge the scarred man's greeting.

“...That’s quite rare,” Qing Deng said in a deep voice. “You used to come to collect debts after dark.”

“And now, while it’s still dawn, you’ve come knocking on our door.”

After speaking, Qingdeng subconsciously glanced at the sky, which still had a few rays of twilight remaining.

Scarface led a large group of people to gamble outside the gate of the Shieikan... Apart from the fact that they came to collect the huge gambling debt owed by his father, Tachibana Takayuki, Qing Deng really couldn't think of any other reason why these wicked scumbags would suddenly appear here!

“Mr. Ju, you’ve misunderstood.” Scarface raised his hands at Qingdeng. “We’re not here to collect a debt from you.”

They're not here to collect debts... A hint of surprise flashed in Qing Deng's eyes.

Just as Qing Deng was about to press Scarface for answers, a series of thumping footsteps suddenly echoed from inside the Examination Hall.

Qing Deng, Scarface, and the others looked around in the direction of the sound, and then they saw one tall figure after another appear behind the gate of the Examination Hall.

After seeing the tall figures clearly, Qing Deng couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

Okita, who had just sneaked back into the Shieikan, was actually there to call for reinforcements.

The Shieikan was unusually crowded today. Not only was Shusuke not out on business, but Hijikata was also there.

Okita brought everyone with him.

Shusuke, Kondo, Hijikata, Saito, Nagakura, and Harada, who had just returned ahead of Aoto.

When Okita returned with this large group of people, Scarface and his men's expressions changed slightly.

The reason is simple—aside from Shusuke and Okita, the height of the rest of the Shieikan members far exceeded the average height of adult males of that era.

Kondo and Nagakura are similar in height, both around 178cm.

Hijikata is exactly 10 centimeters shorter than Kondo, at 168cm.

As for Saito, he was the tallest of them all, exactly 180cm.

Although Harada's height of 160cm is far shorter than the four people mentioned above, it is still much taller than most adult men of that era.

In comparison, Okita, who is only 155cm tall, looked particularly inconspicuous standing among Kondo and his group...

And Okita was standing right between Saito and Nagakura, the two tallest people, which made him look even shorter!

Okita also noticed that his position was somewhat subtle.

He glanced at Saito and Nagakura standing on his left and right, then silently stood on tiptoe, took a deep breath, and raised his shoulders, trying to make himself appear taller and more imposing, sandwiched between Nagakura and Saito...

In contrast, Scarface and others were of average height for this era—around 1.5 meters tall...

Compared to Kondo and his large group of "giants," Scarface and his men were like "little people."

Looking at Kondo and the others, each one taller than the last, apart from Scarface who was somewhat calmer, everyone else standing behind Scarface turned pale due to the intense psychological pressure they felt.

As Aoto's master and the head of the Shieikan, Shusuke took two steps forward expressionlessly and stood at the forefront of Kondo and the others. He then questioned Scarface and the others in a tone devoid of emotion:

"May I ask what brings you gentlemen to my Shiwei Hall so suddenly?"

Nagakura, a straightforward and honest man who never keeps his thoughts to himself, followed closely behind Shusuke and coldly asked, "Are you the 'Shimizu Clan'?"

As soon as Yongcang finished speaking, the gazes of the surrounding crowd toward Scarface and his men immediately became even more hostile.

Even Harada, who usually wears a carefree, goofy smile, looked serious at this moment.

Because of her father's gambling, the Tachibana family owed the Shimizu clan a huge debt—this was no secret in the Shieikan.

"Ah, no need to be nervous." Scarface composed himself, shrugged, and smiled at everyone. "We're not here to cause trouble."

"I've come to tell Mr. Ju about a good deed."

As he spoke, Scarface turned his gaze back to Qingdeng.

“Mr. Ju, your father’s gambling debts are now wiped clean and you will not have to pay them back.”

Before Qingdeng could even show a surprised expression, Scarface reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to Qingdeng.

"This is your father's IOU."

"This IOU is now yours."

Aoden's pupils contracted slightly as he snatched the neatly folded paper from the scarred man, unfolded it, and scanned it quickly—it was indeed his father Tachibana Takayuki's gambling debt IOU.

There is nothing wrong with the numbers written on it, or with the signatures and fingerprints pressed on it.

Looking at the IOU in his hand, Qingdeng's face did not show any joy; instead, his expression became even more solemn.

"...What are you doing?" Qing Deng lifted his gaze from the IOU in his hand and glared at the scarred man. "Why are you forgiving our family's debts for no reason?"

The imperfections in the legal system and the lack of law enforcement made the Yakuza of this era far more brutal than modern gangsters.

These scumbags, who would do anything for money and power, suddenly told him that "the debt no longer needs to be repaid"... This is completely abnormal!

Qingdeng would rather believe the sun rose in the west than believe that the Yakuza, who have always been inhuman, would suddenly have a change of heart!