I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The second person to swing a sword at Kinoshita Mai was this skinny, bony man.

He adopted a low stance and swung the blade toward Kinoshita Mai from the lower right to the upper left.

However—he didn't create a safe distance between himself and the ugly man beside him; his blade missed Kinoshita Mai and instead struck the ugly man's leg first.

The ugly man, who had been inexplicably stabbed in the leg, screamed and fell to the ground.

"I'm so sorry...!" Having accidentally injured his companion, the skinny man immediately apologized to him.

Kinoshita Mai seized the perfect opportunity presented by the ugly man falling to the ground after being accidentally injured, the skinny man apologizing to the ugly man, and the bald man being blocked from view by the skinny man and the ugly man. She took a step forward, flashed in front of the skinny man, clenched her hands, and threw three punches at the skinny man's chest.

Kinoshita Mai's movements are frighteningly orderly.

She wasn't just randomly throwing punches; she was using all the strength of her body to deliver each punch with a steady, methodical motion, each punch accompanied by the sound of skin tearing and bones breaking.

Anyone who sees Kinoshita Mai's fight would probably find it incredible—this 15-year-old girl, who is only 1.5 meters tall and whose body is slender except for her chest and buttocks, has such fierce punches and kicks.

After delivering the final, third punch to the skinny man's chest, the skinny man staggered back several steps, then, unable to deflect the still-powerful force lingering in his chest, he collapsed to the ground, sprawling on his back.

The moment he fell to the ground, the skinny man opened his mouth and coughed up a few drops of blood—he didn't pass out immediately, but he entered a semi-conscious state.

After knocking down the skinny man with three punches, Kinoshita Mai's offensive continued. Using her left foot as a pivot, she delivered a whip kick to the stomach of the ugly man who was still lying on the ground. The moment her toe struck the ugly man's abdomen, he flew backward, grazing the floor, and his back slammed heavily against the corridor wall behind him.

The ugly man vomited up everything he had eaten that night with a loud "whoosh," and the air was instantly filled with a foul, sour smell.

After vomiting until nothing more came up, the ugly man mumbled a few groans, then his head lolled to the side and he lost consciousness.

The only enemy left in front of me... is this bald guy with no hair!

This bald man is also an extremely brave person.

Even though he was all alone, there was not a trace of fear on his face.

He swung the wakizashi in his right hand, slicing out sharp, cold light, while his left hand formed a palm as he tried to grab Kinoshita Mai—the martial art he used was also the Koguzujutsu.

Kinoshita Mai's petite body was supple and steady, revealing no weakness whatsoever. Her supple, boneless body swayed lightly as she moved nimbly through the darkness of the corridor.

Every time the bald man's knife or hand was about to strike or grab Kinoshita Mai, she would nimbly twist her body slightly to dodge his attack.

This back-and-forth battle did not last long.

The bald man has plenty of strength, but not enough speed.

After dodging another slash from the bald man, Kinoshita Mai seized the opportunity when the bald man sheathed his sword and regrouped. She took a step forward and, as she got closer to the bald man, used the force of her step to build up her strength.

Power originates from the ground—this is an unchanging principle of all martial arts in the world.

The force from stomping on the floor traveled down Kinoshita Mai's calves to her waist, and then from her waist to her right palm, which was now joined with five fingers.

The power, transferred in less than a second, burst forth from Kinoshita Mai's right palm—her right palm slammed heavily into the bald man's abdomen, causing him to scream and stagger back several steps.

However, unlike the skinny guy who fell to the ground directly, he gritted his teeth and relied on brute force and willpower to withstand Kinoshita Mai's fierce attack.

He didn't collapse immediately—that willpower is commendable, but it was ultimately futile.

As soon as the bald man regained his footing, Kinoshita Mai immediately closed in. She lightly lifted herself up with her delicate feet and used the momentum of her leap to deliver a hand chop to the right side of the bald man's neck.

Thud... A dull sound of flesh colliding...

He took the blow to the side of his neck from Kinoshita Mai's bald head, his body stiffened for a moment, then his eyes rolled back and he fell straight backward.

As luck would have it, just as Kinoshita Mai finished off the bald man, Aoto simultaneously took down all the enemies under his command.

Aoto took out a piece of paper he always carried with him from his pocket, and while wiping the blood and grease off the blade of the wakizashi, he slowly walked toward Kinoshita Mai, who had just finished fighting.

"Are they injured?" Qing Deng looked at the people who had been knocked down by Kinoshita Mai and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

Tonight was the second time he had fought alongside Kinoshita Mai. Tonight's battle gave Aoto a new understanding of Kinoshita Mai's combat strength.

Aoto felt that if it were just a simple contest of fists and feet, he might not be a match for Kinoshita Mai...

Based on his expertise in unarmed combat, Qing Deng vaguely sensed that Kinoshita Mai seemed to be using a very peculiar way of generating power, somewhat similar to the famous "inch punch" technique from his previous life.

The way Kinoshita Mai uses her power generation technique allows her to unleash tremendous strength despite her petite frame.

Qing Deng couldn't help but become even more curious about the martial arts used by Kinoshita Mai.

Unfortunately, Kinoshita Mai had already made it clear to Aoto that she was not comfortable talking about the martial arts she used, so Aoto could only suppress his curiosity for the time being.

"No." Kinoshita Mai wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, then turned to Aoto and smiled, "And you? Are you injured?"

Qing Deng sheathed his wakizashi and spread his hands—gesturing to Kinoshita Mai that he was unharmed.

"It's good that you're alright..." Kinoshita Mai breathed a sigh of relief, then lowered her gaze, frowning as she looked at the group of unidentified people she and Aoto had taken down, lying sprawled on the corridor floor, some already lifeless, others unconscious. "Who exactly are these people..."

Qing Deng lowered his gaze, glanced at the people on the ground, and said in a deep voice:

"...Storing such a large amount of kerosene in this remote, abandoned teahouse, and then attacking us without warning after discovering us as uninvited guests...I suspect they are planning to use this kerosene for some...unspeakable things."

"And these people... might be members of the Extermination Group."

"After all, the Extermination Group had recently committed the heinous act of burning down Edo."

Kerosene is not a valuable asset like jewelry or gold and silver, nor can it be sold at a high price or subject to monopolistic dumping.

The existence of such a large quantity of kerosene in Edo... it's hard not to suspect something unpleasant...

Upon hearing Qing Deng's words, Kinoshita Mai's expression changed slightly.

"in short."

Qing Deng continued in a deep voice.

"This matter is beyond what the two of us can handle."

"We must notify the magistrate's office as soon as possible, and have their officers come to arrest all these people and bring them to the government for interrogation."

Kinoshita Mai, increasingly aware that what they were experiencing tonight was no small matter, nodded vigorously without any hesitation.

……

……

Before notifying the magistrate's office, Aoto and Kinoshita Mai briefly searched the teahouse to see if there were any stray items or other suspicious objects.

Although this teahouse has three floors, it is not particularly large.

The two of them searched the entire teahouse thoroughly, and only after finding nothing else did they begin to prepare to notify the magistrate's office.

As for how to notify the magistrate's office to come and arrest people, Aoto and Kinoshita Mai quickly completed the task assignment—Aoto stayed at the teahouse to keep an eye on the person with the birthmark and others, while Kinoshita Mai, who was the fastest, rushed to the magistrate's office and brought the officers there.

The nearest magistrate's office to this teahouse is the Hokuban-sho.

The people on night duty at the North Battalion headquarters tonight are none other than the two seniors who have a close relationship with Qing Deng: Inoya and Ushiyama.

Kinoshita Mai brought Inoya and the others over in a very direct way—she stormed into the Hokuban-sho (Northern Frontier Office) and shouted: "A teahouse located in such-and-such place in the eastern suburbs of Edo is storing a large amount of kerosene! The guards of these teahouses have been defeated by us, so go and arrest them!"

After shouting those words, Kinoshita Mai hurriedly left the Hokuban-sho.

Storing large quantities of kerosene—in the Edo period, when people were terrified of fire, this phrase had a destructive and deterrent effect almost equal to "where a bomb has been found."

Inoya and Ushiyama, who could not possibly ignore the information provided by Kinoshita Mai, quickly summoned their respective subordinates, Ushiyama, to stay behind at the North Office, while Inoya led his men to the teahouse.

There's not much to say about what happened next—after arriving at the teahouse, Inugaya and his group discovered that the person with the birthmark, who had been subdued by Aoto and Kinoshita Mai and was still unconscious, as well as the hundreds of boxes of kerosene stored on the second floor.

Before Pig Valley and Ushiyama arrived, Aoto, who had stayed in the teahouse to watch over the people with birthmarks, had already left ahead of time and hid with Kinoshita Mai, who had rushed back, in a dark alley not far from the teahouse, where they could see everything happening inside.

Seeing Inoya solemnly and methodically directing his subordinates to escort the group with the birthmark out of the teahouse, Aoto's face showed a look of relief.

The group with the birthmark, and the large amount of kerosene stored in this teahouse, are very likely related to his mortal enemy, the Extermination Group... This alone is enough for Qing Deng to give them the utmost attention.

He and Kinoshita Mai have done all they could tonight.

They could defeat the guy with the birthmark, but it was clear that the two of them alone were not capable of interrogating him or extracting information from him.

Professional matters should be handled by professionals.

Next, they can only rely on the prison staff, who have a highly professional "interrogation team," to extract useful information from the people with birthmarks as quickly as possible.

Having done everything they needed to do, the two of them naturally had no reason to stay there any longer.

After glancing at Inugaya a few more times from afar, Aoto turned back and whispered to Kinoshita Mai beside him:

"let's go."

Kinoshita Mai nodded obediently: "Mm."

The two figures disappeared into the shadows of the dark alley, one after the other.

Bathed in the faint moonlight, they moved swiftly through the streets and alleys, passing by houses, and soon they were out of the suburbs.

But at that moment, a cherry blossom petal suddenly swept past Kinoshita Mai's eyes.

This cherry blossom petal appeared suddenly and disappeared quickly, but it successfully captured Kinoshita Mai's gaze and attention.

Kinoshita Mai stared blankly at the cherry blossom petal that quickly disappeared into the darkness as the night breeze blew by.

Immediately afterwards, a thoughtful and hesitant look flashed across Kinoshita Mai's brows.

After a long back-and-forth struggle between "thinking" and "hesitation," Kinoshita Mai finally took a deep breath: "...Tachibana-kun. Before we go back...can you come with me somewhere? I'll show you a nice place."

"Hmm? A good place?" Qing Deng, who was walking behind Kinoshita Mai, asked in confusion, "What good place?"

Kinoshita Mai turned her head and said to Aoto in a slightly hesitant tone, "Hmm... just come with me, it won't take long."

It's just past 4 a.m. right now... there's still plenty of time.

Since there was no rush, and seeing Kinoshita Mai looking so mysterious, Aoto couldn't help but feel a little curious. After thinking for a moment, he nodded.

Seeing that Qing Deng nodded, Kinoshita Mai quickly turned around and led Qing Deng to change direction, heading straight east.

Kinoshita Mai wasn't lying to Aoto; the place she mentioned wanting Aoto to go with her was indeed not far.

In less than three minutes, Kinoshita Mai stopped and said, "We're here."

Qingdeng raised his eyes and looked around—they were now on the bank of a river.

The river is about 4 meters wide, just an ordinary river that can be seen everywhere in Edo City, but its banks are quite unusual, as they are planted with many cherry trees that are in full bloom.

Although it was a dark night, Qingdeng could still vaguely see how beautiful and vibrant the cherry blossoms on each of the cherry trees were.

Every now and then a night breeze would blow, and the petals on the trees would flutter down, creating a beautiful and colorful scene.

Looking at the cherry blossom tree on the riverbank, Qing Deng's face showed a hint of surprise: "Ms. Kinoshita, is this the place you wanted me to come with you?"

Kinoshita Mai nodded vigorously with a smile: "Yes. This is a little-known cherry blossom viewing spot that I stumbled upon a while ago. Tachibana-kun, is this your first time here?"

Qingdeng nodded slightly: "Yes, this is indeed my first time here."