I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Qingdeng's figure, like a tightly wound spring released in a breath, rushed towards the fat man at high speed!

As Qingdeng rushed towards him, the fat man belatedly reached for the sword hanging at his left waist, opening his mouth wide as if to shout a warning.

With the talent of "taking the lead", Qingdeng's legs have explosive power and speed.

The moment the fat man opened his mouth, Qing Deng was already right in front of him.

Qing Deng swiftly raised his left hand to cover the man's mouth, while his right hand followed suit, forcefully chopping down on the fat man's side of the neck.

Because this fat man had an extra layer of fat that could be used to protect him from injury, Qing Deng used extra effort.

Although the accident came suddenly, thankfully it ended without serious injury.

Qingdeng's "physical silencing method" successfully made the fat man, like the others who had been knocked unconscious by Qingdeng tonight, roll his eyes upwards and then pass out.

Kinoshita Mai dealt with the guards under her command even faster than Aoto.

"It's finally all resolved..." Kinoshita Mai, who had just stepped out from Qing Deng's side, breathed a sigh of relief and quickly walked towards Qing Deng, who was releasing the unconscious fat man.

"Hmm." Qing Deng nodded slightly, and like Kinoshita Mai, he let out a long breath, then stood up and looked at the two "small mountains" beside him.

Noticing the change in Aoto's gaze, Kinoshita Mai also turned her gaze to the two "small mountains" along with Aoto.

"What is this?" Kinoshita Mai blinked in confusion.

This spacious room contained nothing but the two "small mountains" placed in the center.

So it's obvious that the four samurai who were just subdued by Aoto and Kinoshita Mai were guarding these two "hills".

Being guarded by four samurai... Both Aoto and Kinoshita Mai were extremely curious about what these two "small mountains" were.

“…Just lift it up and you’ll see,” Qingdeng said calmly, then strode forward and reached out to lift the burlap covering the “small hill” closest to him.

When the burlap was lifted, what was revealed beneath it was a "mountain" of stacked wooden crates.

With a slight furrow in his brow, Qingdeng lifted the burlap covering another "small mountain"—beneath the burlap, there were also a large number of wooden crates...

……

……

at the same time--

Outside the tea house——

A middle-aged man with a large birthmark on his face, expressionless, led two followers and sped through the deserted streets in the dark. After turning several corners, he strode into the abandoned teahouse that Aoto and Kinoshita Mai were currently infiltrating.

As soon as I opened the door of the teahouse and entered the first floor, two samurai guarding the entrance immediately came to greet me.

"Get ready," the man with the birthmark said coldly to the approaching samurai without a trace of pleasantries. "Prepare to take the goods to the delivery point... Hmm?"

Before he could finish speaking, the man with the birthmark abruptly stopped.

Immediately afterwards, he looked up at the ceiling with a solemn expression.

"Boss?" The samurai standing directly in front of him looked puzzled. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong with the man with the birthmark, the man with the birthmark raised his hand and made a "shush" gesture.

"I need some peace and quiet..." the man with the birthmark said in a deep voice, "The noise from the second floor... something's not right..."

……

……

These wooden crates, piled up into two small mountains, numbered roughly over a hundred. All the crates were tightly bound with hemp rope, making them difficult to open.

Looking at the tightly bound wooden crates, Qing Deng, his brow furrowed, silently raised the suspicion level of this teahouse to the highest level.

Without any hesitation, Qing Deng drew his wakizashi from his waist, cut the rope used to "lock" a box, and then opened the box in one swift motion.

Inside the box were... a large number of porcelain bottles.

Qingdeng casually picked up a porcelain bottle from the box, and after taking a closer look at what it was, his pupils contracted slightly.

Kinoshita Mai, standing to the side, also looked astonished the moment she saw what the porcelain bottle actually was.

This porcelain bottle... contains kerosene, which is readily available in the market.

Qing Deng quickly put the bottle of kerosene back in its original place, then picked up the wakizashi again and opened all the boxes next to him.

This one too, that one too... all the boxes are filled to the brim with kerosene!

—These boxes…are they all filled with kerosene?

Qingdeng stared blankly at the hundreds of wooden boxes in the hall...

Standing beside Qing Deng, Kinoshita Mai's expressions changed even more dramatically than Qing Deng's. Her red lips, hidden under her face mask, were slightly parted, and her wide-open beautiful eyes held an uncontrollable look of surprise.

Just recently, on the night the Banshusho (foreign affairs bureau) was attacked, more than a dozen towns in Edo had suffered a calamity due to the wanton arson by the anti-foreign guerrillas.

And now, with Edo having just been subjected to widespread arson by the Exiles, this abandoned teahouse is storing such a large amount of kerosene...

All sorts of unpleasant associations began to creep into Qingdeng's mind.

As these unpleasant associations flashed through his mind one by one, Qing Deng's eyes narrowed, and his expression gradually became extremely solemn...

……

……

Whether cutting the hemp rope on the box or opening the box, Qingdeng deliberately made his movements extremely gentle.

But he didn't know that even though he had made his movements so gently, the birthmarked man, who was still waiting in the entrance hall on the first floor, still heard every sound of them.

The man with the birthmark on his face instantly darkened: "What are you all doing? Someone broke into the 'warehouse' on the second floor, and you didn't even notice?!"

After saying that, the man with the birthmark suddenly flicked his sleeve and strode towards the stairs leading to the second floor.

As he rushed straight to the second floor, the man with the birthmark shouted repeatedly at a volume loud enough to fill the entire teahouse:

"Someone has broken into the 'warehouse' on the second floor! Everyone, come to the second floor!"

The once quiet teahouse suddenly became filled with loud shouts and cheers.

……

……

On the second floor, Qing Deng and Kinoshita Mai immediately heard the commotion on the first floor, as well as the dense footsteps converging towards them.

Although it was unclear how their tracks were exposed, both men reacted quite quickly—after a slight change in expression, they immediately retreated from the hall filled with kerosene without the slightest hesitation.

If possible, both Aoto and Kinoshita Mai wanted to avoid direct conflict with the people guarding the teahouse until they fully understood the true identities of those watching over the kerosene.

However, things in this world often don't go as planned.

As Qing Deng and Kinoshita Mai left the hall and arrived at the corridor outside, they saw a large number of figures emerging from the front of the corridor.

At almost the same time, the back of the corridor was also blocked by a large number of people.

The shouts from the man with the birthmark woke all the guards in the teahouse from their daze, and they all rushed to the "warehouse" on the second floor.

There are 8 people at the front of the corridor and 4 people at the back of the corridor—all the guards in the teahouse who haven't been knocked unconscious by Qing Deng and his group are here now.

With his eyes slightly narrowed, Qing Deng, as if by professional habit, quickly scanned the positions and distances of the guards blocking his and Kinoshita Mai's path in front and behind.

Just then, a puzzled mutter came from in front of him:

"Black fox mask, black face mask..."

The owner of that muttering voice... was none other than the one with the birthmark.

The person with the birthmark was one of the eight people blocking the corridor ahead.

Seeing that Qing Deng and Kinoshita Mai were now surrounded by them, the woman with the birthmark frowned, a look of reminiscence flashing in her eyes.

After a moment, his tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

"I remember now... You two are the phantom thieves, Neko-sō and Kō-sō, right?"

After saying that, the man with the birthmark lowered his eyelids, glanced at the hall next to him that stored a large amount of kerosene, and then his tone became extremely cold.

"Hmph, I don't know why you two big names who cause trouble everywhere are here."

"But now that you've entered our 'warehouse'... we can't just let you go!"

With a whoosh, without any hesitation or wasting a word with Qing Deng and the others, the man with the birthmark pulled out the wakizashi from his waist.

The removal of the knife from the face with a birthmark is like a signal.

Upon receiving this "signal" from the man with the birthmark, his subordinates all drew their weapons.

The sounds of swords being drawn echoed throughout the corridor, instantly creating a tense atmosphere!

Kinoshita Mai looked at the enemies who had blocked both ends of the corridor with a solemn expression.

There's nowhere to advance, and nowhere to retreat—we have no choice but to fight!

With a touch of heroic spirit in her eyes, Kinoshita Mai spread her legs, her right hand in front of her in a fist, and her left hand behind her in a palm, getting into a fighting stance.

At that moment, she suddenly heard Qing Deng beside her whisper in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"...Do you have a way to deal with the four people behind you?"

Kinoshita Mai paused for a moment upon hearing this, then glanced at the four samurai who had blocked their retreat.

“If we only deal with the four people behind us… no problem.” Kinoshita Mai nodded firmly.

Hearing Kinoshita Mai's simple yet powerful answer, Aoto's face, hidden behind his mask, revealed a slight smile: "Then—I entrust my back to you."

“I’ll take care of the eight people in front, and you take care of the four people behind.”

“…Hmm.” Kinoshita Mai did not engage in any “bargaining” with Aoto on this issue.

She turned her head slightly and gave Qingdeng a trusting look.

She believed she could handle the four warriors behind her.

They also believed that Qingdeng could take care of the eight people in front of him.

"Then I'll entrust my back to you too."

After saying that, Kinoshita Mai adjusted her position.

Aoto and Kinoshita Mai stood back to back, facing the enemies they were responsible for dealing with.

Two backs, one broad and one petite, pressed tightly together.

The corridor they are currently in is quite narrow.