I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Rakshasa stretched out his finger and pointed to the ground below.

"From our main base of the Law Extermination Party, we were demoted in one fell swoop to the 'peripheral region' far from our main base, where we are still struggling to establish a foothold: Edo."

Shimizu Eiichi was taken aback: "He was demoted here...did he do something wrong?"

The Rakshasa suddenly fell silent.

He pursed his lips, remained silent for a few moments, and then gave a rather brief reply:

"...A month and a half ago, he was almost caught by the people from the Gourd House because he was not careful enough."

“Gourd House…!” Shimizu Eiichi’s eyes widened, then he muttered, “No wonder he was demoted…”

Rakshasa nodded slightly, then raised her hand and vigorously rubbed the back of her neck a few times: "Anyway, now it's good that we can get rid of that mad dog, Kamaitachi."

"Rongyi, I'm a little sleepy and I want to take a nap."

"Let's complete the task of collecting oil for Kamino-kun as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Shimizu Eiichi bowed down and said to the tatami mat beneath him, "I'll send someone to take care of this matter right away!"

"Okay. It's up to you now. Don't let me down."

Having said that, Rakshasa, supporting the Chōyō Masamune at her waist, strode out of the tea room with a bow from Shimizu Eiichi.

Just as he stood by the door of the tea room, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Ah, that's right."

Rakshasa turned around and faced Shimizu Eiichi again.

"I almost forgot to ask."

"Ryouichi, have you finished handling the matter of 'forgiving the debts of Tachibana Seiden's family' that I entrusted to you before?"

"It's all done!" Shimizu Eiichi replied quickly and forcefully. "After you gave this instruction, I immediately sent my men to complete the matter properly! Not only were Tachibana Takayuki's IOU returned, but the Tachibana family's previous repayments were also fully refunded."

"Hmm, very good." Luocha nodded gently. "Then remember to find more opportunities to get closer to Ju Qingdeng in the future."

“People like Tachibana Seiden are not without anything, but they have talent and a promising future. You have to take a long-term approach to win them over completely.”

"Then it will probably take quite a while to win over that Tachibana Aoto to our side..." Shimizu Eiichi smiled wryly.

“That doesn’t matter.” Luosha smiled slightly. “For a talent like Ju Qingdeng, it’s worth it even if it takes one, two, or even several years to win him over.”

After leaving those words, Rasetsu flicked her kimono sleeves, opened the tea room door, and strode away.

……

……

After the Dragon Boat Festival, peaceful and stable days passed by one by one.

If there was anything noteworthy that happened to Qing Deng after the Dragon Boat Festival... it was probably seeing off Chiba Eijiro, who was returning to the Mito Domain.

On May 9th, Chiba Eijiro set off to return to the Mito Domain.

Given the friendship between Shieikan, Genbukan, and Kochiba Kenkan, Shieikan naturally couldn't remain indifferent to Chiba Eijiro's departure.

On the day Chiba Eijiro set off to return to the Mito Domain, Shusuke, Kondo, and others came to see him off—Aoto was also among those seeing him off.

Aoto had a good impression of the humble and polite Chiba Eijiro.

On the Dragon Boat Festival, this senior swordsman not only gave him some guidance during their sparring match, but also selflessly shared his martial arts experience with everyone... Based on his feelings for Chiba Eijiro and Chiba Eijiro's actions, Qing Deng couldn't think of any reason not to come and see Chiba Eijiro off.

The farewell ceremony for Chiba Eijiro was quite simple throughout.

With a smile, Chiba Eijiro bid farewell to everyone who came to see him off, and then embarked on his journey back to the Mito Domain alone.

Perhaps because he had already said everything he wanted to say to Aoto on the Dragon Boat Festival, Chiba Eijiro didn't say much when he said goodbye to Aoto. He simply said to Aoto calmly, "See you later."

After this parting, it's uncertain when Chiba Eijiro will return to Edo again.

As he watched Chiba Eijiro's departing figure, Aoto felt a surge of emotion for no apparent reason.

One of the biggest gains that Aoto made from his match with Chiba Eijiro on Dragon Boat Festival was that it broadened his horizons considerably.

Chiba Eijiro's strength showed Aoto what a true master swordsman was and how much he still lacked.

I wonder how much my strength will have improved by the time Chiba Eijiro comes to Edo again... Thinking of this, Aoto couldn't help but smile freely, overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

Apart from seeing off Chiba Eijiro, nothing else of note happened during this period.

Time flows quietly...

Before we knew it, it was already mid-May.

……

……

The first year of Wanyan (1860), December 15th——

Edo, a settlement for foreigners —

"This is a temple of the barbarians... I've never seen one like it before." Nagakura looked up at the church in front of him, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"It's quite beautifully built." Harada, standing side by side with Nagakura, was also looking at the church. "Why isn't there any incense coming out? Don't the barbarians burn incense when they worship their gods?"

"Whoa!" Toudou, who was standing behind Harada, let out a strange cry.

"Toudou, what are you doing?" Harada looked at Toudou with a puzzled expression.

"N-nothing." Toudou patted his chest, looking shaken. "I was just a little frightened... When a foreign woman brushed past me just now, I noticed that not only was her hair yellow, but even the body hair on her body was yellow..."

"Really?" Nagakura exclaimed in shock. "Are the body hair colors of the barbarians as colorful as their hair?"

Nagakura, Harada, and Todo were gathered together, enthusiastically absorbing the cultural impact. At that moment, Aoto led Saito toward them.

"Alright, stop chatting," Qingdeng said irritably. "Hurry up and catch up, it's time to go."

At this very moment, Aoto and his group of friends are in the foreign concessions of Edo... that is, the foreigners' residence area.

In Japan, people usually refer to concessions as "residences".

Almost all the foreigners in Edo lived in this not-so-large settlement.

With the collaborative efforts of these foreign residents in Japan, this settlement has been successfully transformed into a neighborhood with a distinctly Western flair.

Looking around, there are European-style pointed-roof houses everywhere, and many Western-style streetlights have been erected along the streets. In the center of the settlement, there is a magnificent Catholic church that is more than ten meters high.

When you enter this settlement from the rest of Edo... it feels like stepping back in time.

As it is a settlement for foreigners, this place naturally has no shortage of all kinds of foreigners.

Foreigners, rarely seen in other parts of Edo, are a common sight on the streets of this settlement.

Occasionally, one can see a gentleman in a tuxedo hurrying by.

Occasionally, you can see a noblewoman wearing an exquisite tutu, strolling around with a small umbrella that seems to serve no purpose other than to show off.

According to Qingdeng's observation, the foreigners living here are quite diverse.

When walking on the street, Qingdeng heard several languages, including English, French, and German.

There were many foreigners on the street, including quite a few Japanese.

Many Japanese people were also hurrying around the settlement. Most of them were translators, servants, or bodyguards hired by these foreigners, or Japanese businessmen doing business with these foreigners.

Why are Qingdeng and his friends here at this time?

The reasons are not complicated.

After Aoto and Kinoshita Mai worked together to take down the smugglers, they reported to the magistrate's office that "someone was hoarding a large amount of kerosene in Edo." During this time, the magistrate's office and the thieves' office had been strictly investigating the buying and selling of kerosene and encouraging the public to report suspicious locations where suspicious items were suspected of being hoarded.

This morning, the Beifan Police Station received a report that a group of suspicious people were seen going in and out of a small house in the foreigners' residence area.

Generally speaking, officials like those in charge of official duties would have to go through a long and tedious process when entering their place of residence to carry out their duties.

However, special cases should be handled in a special way.

Long ago, the shogunate had already consulted with the administrators of the settlements—in order to crack down on the increasingly fierce anti-foreign movement and bring all those radical and fanatical anti-foreign elements to justice as soon as possible, the conditions for the officials of the magistrate's office to enter and leave the settlements were greatly relaxed.

Now that we have received reports from the public, we cannot simply ignore them.

Therefore, the Hokubansho Town Magistrate Usui dispatched someone who happened to have no important mission... namely, Aoto, to go to the residence to check the suspicious place that had been reported.

Thus, the scene unfolded where Qingdeng urged Yongcang and others, who were suffering from cultural shock, to stop chatting and catch up.

"Mr. Tachibana," Harada said, quickening his pace slightly as he carried his scabbarded spear alongside Aoto, "have we not reached our destination yet?"

Qing Deng looked up at the surrounding street scene, then took out the street map that Bo Jing had just given him from his pocket: "Not yet, we still have to walk a while longer."

The house that was reported was located in the northeast corner of the settlement. You had to turn several more street corners to reach Qing Deng and his group's destination.

“Haa…” Harada yawned widely. “This settlement is much bigger than I expected…”

Nagakura, Harada, Todo, Saito, and the others were all visiting the settlement for the first time.

Upon closer inspection, this was Aoto's second visit to this place. The first time he came to the settlement was after he and Kinoshita Mai fought side by side and dealt with the gang of thugs who used people as test subjects for their knives. In order to shake off the suddenly appearing government officials, they wandered into this exotic neighborhood.

Qingdeng and his group formed a long, single-file line and slowly made their way toward their destination.

At this moment, another graceful noblewoman, holding a small umbrella that served no purpose other than to show off, walked past Qingdeng and the others.

This noblewoman was exceptionally beautiful and had a remarkable figure.

Apart from Saito, who had never shown any interest in matters of men and women, everyone, including Aoto, couldn't help but glance at the noblewoman.

Harada's actions were the most exaggerated; even after the noblewoman had walked far away, he was still craning his neck to look.

Once the noblewoman had completely disappeared from their sight, Harada suddenly let out a strange "hehehe" laugh.

He turned his head, lowered his voice, and whispered to Qingdeng:

"Mr. Ju, after we finish our business, let's look around and see if there are any foreign women working as prostitutes here."

"The barbarian women all look quite robust and healthy. They look amazing. Let's go and try their food."

*******

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