I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Under Meng Le's wonderful storytelling performance, the audience felt as if they were there, as if they were on the night the Fanshu Diao was attacked, in the midst of that fierce battlefield.

"Speaking of which, this Ju Qingdeng was originally just an unknown figure in the Northern Barbarian Bureau."

"He was always confused and muddle-headed, hence the nickname 'Dumbhead'."

"One day, he realized the weight of the responsibility he bore as a member of the magistrate's office. Just like Wang Yangming's enlightenment in Longchang, he suddenly realized the truth and made up his mind to no longer live a muddled life."

"From then on, he seemed to have been reborn and began to perform extraordinary feats!"

"Rescuing the Tibetan Scripture Exchange Center is merely the least remarkable of all the great achievements he has made so far."

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic."

"At that time, the four samurai who followed Tachibana Aoto straight into the enemy formation were named Saito Hajime, Nagakura Shinpachi, Harada Sanosuke, and Todo Heisuke."

"These four men, like Ju Qingdeng, are all renowned heroes who can take on a hundred men single-handedly!"

"Faced with an enemy force that outnumbered them many times over, these heroes were completely fearless!"

"With Ju Qing Deng Zhuo's sword in hand, streaks of bluish-white light flashed!"

“The longsword can be used for vertical slashes, straight thrusts, upward sweeps, diagonal parries, and horizontal parries.”

"No one can get close! No one can stop Tachibana Seiden's sword!"

"Its momentum was unstoppable and its sharpness was irresistible!"

"Ju Qingdeng's swordsmanship can be best described by this famous saying from the 'Dragon Strategy' section of the 'Six Secret Teachings', a famous military strategy book from the Tang Dynasty: 'Approach it with alarm, use it like madness; those who face it will be defeated, those who get close to it will perish; who can withstand it?'"

"Unstoppable and unstoppable, Ju Qingdeng slaughtered his way through, leaving his robes soaked in blood, causing the beasts of the Expeditionary Force to abandon their armor and weapons, and leaving them trembling with fear!"

"His heroic figure, sword in hand and head held high, is just like 'Nioh'!"

Snapped!

The sound of the gavel striking the court rang out again.

The next moment, a tidal wave of cheers surged into the storytelling hall.

"it is good!"

"Meng Le, you're amazing! That was brilliant!"

"Meng Le! Keep going! Keep going!"

"What happened to Tachibana Aoto after that? Tell me quickly!"

Cheers erupted from the audience, and the enthusiastic listeners generously threw coins onto the stage. Some, whether genuinely wealthy or just trying to appear rich, tossed silver coins directly onto the stage.

"Money, money, money, money! Thank you all for coming! Thank you all for coming! Here we have dried radish, chirashi sushi, roasted sunflower seeds, and the delicious Sasa-maki mobushi sushi, Yohei sushi, and Matsu sushi!"

"Look, these delicacies are all so delicious, they make my mouth water! The most expensive one only costs 10 coins! You can have a feast for just 10 coins!"

"Besides the food, we also have tea, sweet drinks, and freshly chilled ice water! It's so hot today, so please remember to drink plenty of water to avoid getting heatstroke."

Selling snacks and drinks during breaks in storytelling is a common side job for storytellers, and this side job can be quite lucrative.

For many storytellers, the bulk of their income comes from selling snacks and drinks, while tips from listeners are only a small part of their earnings.

As the sound of the coins hitting the ground gradually subsided, Meng Le cleared her throat a few times.

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic..."

Meng Le cleared her throat a few times, preparing to continue telling the story of "Nioh" Tachibana Aoto.

Below the stage, the audience, whose emotions had been completely stirred, stared expectantly at Meng Le, holding their breath.

But in a rather inconspicuous corner, two listeners displayed expressions that were completely different from those of everyone else around them.

One of the two men was tall, while the other was short.

The shorter one pursed his lips tightly, trying his best to suppress a laugh.

The taller one wore a bitter smile with a complicated expression, occasionally letting out a long sigh.

“Tachibana-kun… ah, no, Niou-kun.” Okita tiptoed and brought his mouth close to Aoto’s ear, “This storyteller is quite good.”

Qingdeng nodded silently.

"It's pretty good."

"But as far as I know, I wasn't that brave at the time."

"'Approaching them with alarm, using them with madness, those who face them are destroyed, those who approach them perish'... If I truly possessed the courage of Xiang Yu, I would have wiped out the entire anti-barbarian group from top to bottom on the very night the barbarian garrison was attacked."

After speaking, Qing Deng's complex emotions deepened.

He opened his mouth and let out another long sigh.

Today is August 3rd, nearly two months after Qingdeng was discharged from Renyitang Hospital.

For the past two months, Qingdeng has basically spent his time recovering from his injury.

When he was discharged from the hospital, his attending physician, Bei Fangren, made it very clear to him that being discharged did not mean he was cured. Qingdeng still needed to rest at home for a long time and had to go back to Renyitang for a check-up every 7 days.

One should not conceal one's illness from medical treatment, nor should one disregard medical advice, especially the advice of a renowned doctor like Bei Fangren, who is highly skilled and ethical—Qingdeng understands this simple principle.

So for the past two months, Qing Deng has been obediently staying in the Shiwei Hall to recover from his injury and recuperate.

In this era of lack of entertainment, and with his body unable to engage in strenuous exercise, Qingdeng felt so idle every day that he felt as if each day had been extended from 24 hours to 72 hours.

Although life was boring, Qingdeng didn't particularly dislike the peace and quiet.

The Edo Shogunate has yet to issue any clear reward to Aoto for saving the settlement and countless lives—which was exactly what Aoto expected.

The social class system was so rigid during the Edo period that breaking through class barriers was extremely difficult.

Therefore, the bestowal of honors upon those who have rendered meritorious service is always done with great care.

According to the principle that "the greater the merit, the more carefully the reward should be evaluated," coupled with the current political culture of the Edo Shogunate that "loves to bicker and pass the buck" and its suffocating administrative efficiency... Seito will probably not know what reward he will receive until the end of this month at the earliest.

Anyway, the reward won't disappear, so we can just wait patiently.

If we're talking about whether anything major happened in the area around Qingdeng during these two months... well, there really was.

This momentous event is unfolding right before Qingdeng's eyes, right on the storytelling stage.

Around the time Aoto was discharged from the hospital, a storybook suddenly appeared in the literary market of Edo.

The author of this story is named Yuzaki Sojiro, a handsome and somewhat famous novelist in the Edo period.

He made a living by writing "Saluben" (a type of novel) depicting life in brothels, "Duben" (a type of novel) depicting historical stories and myths, and "Huaben" (a type of novel) for storytellers.

A new storybook has been published... Logically speaking, this should have nothing to do with Qingdeng at all.

After all, Qingdeng wasn't particularly interested in storytelling.

But the problem is—this new storybook depicts the story of Tachibana Aoto…

This story begins with his time as a "foolish boy" and continues until he leads Saito and others to rescue the Banshu Agency.

People from all countries and eras are particularly fond of stories about underdogs achieving success against all odds, stories filled with sex and violence.

The rise of Qingdeng is precisely such a story.

This story, adapted from Qingdeng's true story, is not erotic, but it features a rags-to-riches tale and plenty of violence!

The storytelling world of Edo period has not seen any high-quality storybooks for a long time.

Although the Genpei War, the Nanboku-cho War, the Warring States period heroes, and anecdotes and stories from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms have endured the test of time, there will always be an audience willing to listen to them no matter how they are told.

But both storytellers and listeners yearn for new, high-quality storybooks to revitalize the currently somewhat stagnant storytelling community.

In the current climate, the sudden emergence of a novel with a theme and story that is very popular with the public, excellent writing, and a protagonist who is currently a prominent figure... one can imagine what kind of scene it will create.

As soon as this story was published, it was snapped up by storytellers with sharp eyes who could tell that it would definitely be a hit.

For a time, the story of "Nioh" began to be told in storytelling venues along various entertainment streets, including Ryogoku Hirokoji Street.

Niou—a new nickname given to Aoto by Sojiro in a storybook.

In Japanese Buddhist culture, Niou, who protects the world, is regarded as a very famous and great Buddhist spirit.

Therefore, the Japanese often refer to those fierce and powerful people as "Nioh" (仁王).

Giving people all sorts of ridiculous nicknames is a traditional ability ingrained in the Japanese people, unchanged throughout history.

Dragons and tigers, ghosts and gods. During the Warring States period alone, there were countless dragons, tigers, and ghosts…

Ordinary people also prefer stories about celebrities with exaggerated or cheesy titles.

It must be said that Sojiro, the author of this story, really understood the temperament of ordinary people.

The reason why this story about Qing Deng could be so widely circulated is largely due to the nickname that Sojiro gave Qing Deng, which was easy to remember, a bit cringeworthy, and very much to the liking of ordinary people.

Incidentally, it wasn't until one day when a senior member of the Shieikan (a martial arts training center) jokingly called him "Rin-oh!" that Qing Deng realized there was a new storybook in the storytelling world with him as the protagonist and his story as the prototype.

Listening to storytelling, which costs very little, is one of the most common forms of entertainment for ordinary people in this era.

Therefore, the storytelling stage can be considered one of the media channels with the highest traffic in every town.

Thus, through these media channels, Qing Deng's reputation soared once again due to the immense popularity of this story, and the name "Ren-o" spread like wildfire.

In just two months, the name "Nioh" has become far more well-known than the original nicknames such as "Little Tengu of the Northern Frontier" and "New Hero of the Sword".

This new title has become like a trademark of Qingdeng.

When Qingdeng walks down the street, some ordinary people who recognize him often call him "King Ren" with a smile.

Qing Deng didn't particularly dislike his new title, nor did he object to others calling him "Niou".

Although it might sound a bit naive or immature to say this, Qing Deng genuinely thinks the title "Nioh" is pretty cool.

As long as it's not slandered or maliciously vilified, Qingdeng doesn't mind others adapting his story into various literary and artistic works.

Even before Sojiro's story was published, Seito was already quite famous in Edo.

Qingdeng, who was already used to being recognized on the street, did not feel that his current life was much different from his previous life because this novel brought him new popularity.

His only complaint about Sojiro's story was that he portrayed him as a little too strong.

In the storybooks, he is like Xiang Yu and Lü Bu reincarnated.

Take the "Battle of the Foreign Documents Investigation Office" as an example: it was clearly a very difficult and arduous battle, and Saito and others also contributed a lot, but this story overstated Aoto's achievements.

Just listening to the various descriptions of how brave Qingdeng was in the storybooks, the audience couldn't help but sigh, "If 'King Ren' is so awesome, why didn't he just kill all the members of the anti-barbarian group who attacked the barbarian brothel?"

However, most listeners don't care about these things.