I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

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Chapter 159 The Strongest Man in Edo - Chiba Eijiro's Visit [7200]

Kinoshita Mai, who had pulled her face towel all the way down to her lower eyelids, buried her head so low that her chin was almost touching her collarbone. Her eyes were fixed on her small toes, and her ten delicate toes, wrapped in black tabi socks, kept gripping the ground beneath her feet.

Although Kinoshita Mai pulled the veil up and tightened it on her face, she only managed to do so in vain, as the bright red blush had already covered the corners of her eyes and forehead.

Although Kinoshita Mai's face mask covered everything below her eyes, he was already quite familiar with her face, so when he saw Kinoshita Mai wearing a mask, he could automatically picture her face in his mind.

Even the corners of her eyes and forehead were flushed... Qingdeng could already imagine how red the area under her eyelids must be now.

At this moment, Qingdeng felt a little touched.

Based on Kinoshita Mai's actions and explanations just now, it's not hard to see that she was eager to see Aoto's injuries with her own eyes, which is why she made the unusual move of "demanding Aoto take off his clothes quickly so I can see them."

After confirming that Qingdeng's injuries were not serious and putting her mind at ease, she belatedly began to realize just how daring she had just done.

In this situation where a man and a woman are alone without any outsiders, asking a man to take off his shirt... this is a very bold thing to do even in the 21st century, let alone in a feudal society like this in the 19th century.

Kinoshita Mai's concern for his injuries genuinely touched Aoto.

Originally, Aoto wasn't too embarrassed. After all, "taking off his shirt and showing his wound to others" was completely harmless to Aoto, and it was Kinoshita Mai who made the bold request to "take off his clothes to see the wound," not him.

However... after seeing Kinoshita Mai with her head bowed and her cheeks flushed, Aoto couldn't help but feel embarrassed due to the surrounding atmosphere.

While feeling embarrassed, Qingdeng also noticed that the itchy feeling in her chest had become even stronger...

Qingdeng felt as if an invisible hand was scratching his chest... a tingling, itchy sensation in his chest.

Perhaps it was due to this tingling sensation, but Qingdeng felt his heart beating a little faster.

What a strange feeling... I've never experienced this itchy feeling in my chest before, either in my past life or in this life.

As Qingdeng put his clothes back on, he pondered what to say to escape the awkward atmosphere.

As he was pondering, Qing Deng's gaze unconsciously fell on Kinoshita Mai.

Something that Qingdeng found incredible suddenly happened.

When his gaze fell on Kinoshita Mai, Aoto suddenly realized that the tingling sensation in his chest had intensified considerably...

A sudden, intense tingling sensation in his chest made Qing Deng subconsciously raise his hand and scratch his chest.

Originally, Qingdeng wanted to say something to break the awkward atmosphere between them, but affected by the sudden and intense tingling sensation in his chest, he didn't know how to start the conversation or what to say.

Fortunately, just then, a sudden, unusual sound solved Qing Deng's problem of "how to start the conversation"—

Meow~~Meow~~Meow~~

A black cat appeared beside Qing Deng and the others without them noticing.

The black cat didn't seem to be afraid of people. It sat obediently on the ground and meowed at Aoto and Kinoshita Mai several times.

"Ah, it's a cat~" Looking at her favorite animal, Kinoshita Mai's gaze softened considerably.

"This cat is really fat..." Qingdeng murmured.

“Someone nearby must be feeding it,” Kinoshita Mai whispered in agreement.

This black cat was a great help.

With this "third party" present, Aoto and Kinoshita Mai had a brief discussion about the black cat's size, and the awkward atmosphere around them immediately dissipated.

Taking advantage of this favorable momentum, Qing Deng quickly said to Kinoshita Mai, "Ms. Kinoshita, it's time for us to go back."

Qingdeng looked up at the sky and continued:

"After being bothered by that mysterious man in the brown robe... before I knew it, it was already this late. I have to hurry back."

Judging from the current sky, it's almost 5 a.m.

It's almost May now, the days are getting longer, and dawn is breaking earlier. If Qing Deng and Kinoshita Mai don't hurry back, it will be dawn soon.

"Hmm..." Kinoshita Mai nodded gently.

"Let's go." Qingdeng coughed a few times, straightened his clothes and mask, and took the lead in walking out of the alley.

Whether it's the mysterious person, the eternal talent "Hachiman of Boundless Wanderer," or that tingling sensation in Aoto's heart that hasn't completely dissipated yet, let's put them all aside for now and think about them later.

Let's hurry back to the testing center.

Aoto and Kinoshita Mai walked out of the alley one after the other.

At that moment, Kinoshita Mai suddenly seemed to remember something and stopped in her tracks.

"Ah, wait a minute." Kinoshita Mai called out to Aoto, "I almost forgot... Tachibana-kun, this is for you."

"Hmm?" Qing Deng, who was walking in front, turned his gaze with a puzzled look and saw Kinoshita Mai take a delicate cherry blossom out of her bosom.

It was the cherry blossom that Kinoshita Mai had casually picked up before leaving the riverbank with Aoto to chase after the mysterious man, and which had been blown in front of her by the night wind.

"What is this?"

Kinoshita Mai's lips curled into a slight smile beneath her face mask: "Tachibana-kun, there are actually two reasons why I suddenly took you to see the cherry blossoms by the river."

"The first reason is what I told you: I wanted to try seeing cherry blossoms at night."

"And the second reason... is that I want to make you a talisman."

After saying that, Kinoshita Mai closed her eyes, held the delicate cherry blossom in her hands, and whispered something to the cherry blossom in her palm in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

Their solemn posture resembled that of a devout believer praying to a deity.

Qing Deng had many questions he wanted to ask Kinoshita Mai, but seeing her devout expression, he swallowed back the questions that were already on the tip of his tongue so as not to disturb her.

What is she doing?

As Qing Deng asked himself this question, he focused his mind and, relying on the hearing he had gained that night, he could barely make out what Kinoshita Mai was reciting—a prayer mixed with many ancient Japanese words and in a Shinto style.

Aoto didn't know much about Shintoism, so he didn't quite understand what the prayer that Kinoshita Mai was reciting meant.

Therefore, Aoto could only wait patiently for Kinoshita Mai to finish reciting her blessing to the cherry blossom in her palm.

Finally—after a long while, Kinoshita Mai stopped chanting and slowly opened her eyes.

"Tachibana-kun, please accept this." Kinoshita Mai handed the cherry blossom in her palm to Aoto with both hands.

To show respect, Qing Deng accepted the cherry blossom from Kinoshita Mai with both hands. "Miss Kinoshita, what is this?"

Kinoshita Mai smiled gently:

“You three have been going through a lot lately, haven’t you?”

“The ‘radical anti-foreign faction’ continues to stir up trouble.”

"The notorious Extermination Group is still at large."

"So when I passed by that riverbank with cherry blossom trees just now, I thought of using cherry blossoms to make you a talisman to protect you and keep you safe."

At this point, Kinoshita Mai paused for a moment, then adopted a proud tone.

"I know a rather magical spell."

"By reciting this incantation over a cherry blossom, you can imbue it with divine power, turning it into a talisman that brings good luck to the holder."

"It's really effective! I've tried it myself. After carrying a cherry blossom that has been imbued with divine power by my spell, my luck really does improve!"

Qing Deng raised an eyebrow, lowered his eyes, looked at the cherry blossom in his hand, and couldn't help but smile: "So, Ms. Kinoshita, the long passage that sounded like a Shinto incantation you just recited to this cherry blossom was the incantation you mentioned earlier that could imbue the cherry blossom with divine power?"

"Mmm!" Kinoshita Mai gently pecked the little head a few times.

—Can you infuse cherry blossoms with divine power...?

Despite having experienced the highly unscientific phenomenon of time travel, Qing Deng remains a staunch atheist.

"Imbuing cherry blossoms with divine power," "Bringing good luck to people"... Qing Deng was not particularly impressed by Kinoshita Mai's claims.

However, it was, after all, someone's good intention.

Therefore, Qing Deng solemnly gathered the cherry blossom to his chest with both hands and said seriously to Kinoshita Mai:

"Thank you. I will always carry this amulet with me."

After being thanked by Aoto… Kinoshita Mai, whose expression beneath the face mask became slightly unnatural, placed her tightly clasped hands in front of her, extended her left foot behind her right, pressed the instep of her left foot against her right heel, and stammered in response:

"No, you're welcome... It was just a small favor..."

Seeing Kinoshita Mai's embarrassed expression, Aoto unconsciously smiled gently.

The tingling sensation in my chest, which had only recently subsided, returned.

……

……

At this moment—

Edo, on a secluded side street—

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The mysterious man who had caused both Aoto and Kinoshita Mai so much trouble was now panting heavily, leaning against a wooden wall beside him, his shoulders and chest heaving violently.

"Ha...I really am...getting old..."

The mysterious man smiled wryly and raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his face.

"Just a couple of moves... and you're already panting like this..."

After catching his breath for a while, the mysterious man slowly adjusted his breathing rhythm.

The mysterious man, having caught his breath, slowly straightened up, raised his head, and gazed eastward—the direction from which he and Qing Deng had just engaged in their encounter.

"How come Tachibana-kun's perception has suddenly become so amazing...?"