I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Because he frequently stayed overnight at Shieikan, Hijikata could be considered a semi-guest of Shieikan.

As Aoto turned around, Harada shouted at him:

"It's still so hot today! Let's go take a shower and cool off!"

Aoto did not immediately respond to Harada's invitation to take a bath.

Because in that instant, his mind flew to another place.

—A public bathhouse…a bath…?!

In that instant, Qingdeng felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck his mind.

"Take a bath...yes..."

Qingdeng murmured in a voice only he could hear.

"How could I not have thought of that..."

After muttering to himself, Qingdeng tilted his head back forcefully, squinted his eyes, and gazed towards the northeast.

To the northeast, very close to the Shiwei Hall, wisps of thin steam rose one after another.

This is the bathhouse near the Shieikan, where the Shieikan group usually went to bathe: Chihiro-ya, where the steam from boiling bathwater is produced.

"...You guys go wash up first."

As Qing Deng gazed intently at the wisps of steam rising from Qian Xun's house and merging with the moonlight, he spoke slowly, as if savoring each word.

"I want to take a shower later..."

……

……

About two hours later—

It's currently around 10 PM.

At this time... Chihiro-ya is almost closing.

Logically speaking, at a time like this, no one should be going to Chihiro's house to take a bath.

But coincidentally, there was a strange person at Shieikan who liked to take a bath right before Chihiro-ya closed.

Souji carried his bathtub and tiptoed out of his room.

At this moment, Souji was dressed as if he was about to take a bath.

The purple ribbon used to tie her hair was nowhere to be seen; her long hair was casually draped behind her, and she wore a purple and white yukata that allowed for easy movement.

After slipping on his personal pair of purple-buttoned flat-bottomed wooden clogs at the earthen floor of the Shieikan, Souji opened the gate of the Shieikan and headed straight toward the Chihiro-ya, where faint steam was still rising.

In an era before electric fans and air conditioners, these "most brilliant inventions of mankind," summer nights were always unbearable.

The temperature was high and the humidity was extremely high, making the entire Edo area feel like it had sunk to the bottom of a swamp. The damp and sticky air caused people to sweat profusely even if they stood still.

Fortunately, the moonlight is beautiful tonight.

The beautiful moonlight eased the unpleasant feeling of the sweltering heat.

As they drove along the road that led to Chihiro's house, Souji suddenly smelled a faint floral fragrance from above.

Looking up, I saw a branch extending from a roadside yard, covered in vibrant hydrangea blossoms.

"Oh my..." Souji blinked in surprise, then smiled happily, "It's already blooming..."

Hydrangea...the flower that best represents summer in Japan.

At this time of year, hydrangeas are in full bloom.

As Souji looked up at the hydrangeas overhead, he could just glimpse the full moon, which was rising high in the sky, through the gaps in the branches.

The vibrant hydrangeas, the star-studded night sky, and the pale blue moon nestled among the branches. Suddenly, a night breeze stirs, and the flowers and leaves, the shimmering light and the moon's reflection sway together under the starry sky... This is the beautiful scene that Souji sees at this moment.

What a magnificent view!

Moved by the beautiful scenery, Okita couldn't help but stop and squint his eyes, admiring the colorful picture that was unfolding before him, a sight rarely seen on ordinary days.

However, before he could even appreciate the beautiful scenery for long, a sudden shout from behind him made his blissful expression freeze like a stone.

"Huh? Isn't this Okita-kun? What a coincidence!"

Qing Deng, carrying a bathtub, strode towards Souji from behind.

The commander turned around at the sound and stared blankly at the suddenly appearing Qing Deng.

Under the full moon, in front of the hydrangea, the two stood facing each other.

"Tachibana, Tachibana-kun...!" Souji stammered like a broken wind-up toy, "Y-you, you, how did you get here?"

"I was so engrossed in practicing swordsmanship at the dojo today," Qing Deng laughed. "I only realized now that I hadn't taken a shower yet."

"Fortunately, Chihiro-ya is still open for business."

"Okita-kun, are you going to take a bath too? That's perfect, let's go together!"

"Huh? I... Oh no!"

Before the commander could say anything, Qing Deng grabbed his right wrist.

"Let's go!"

Although Qing Deng was smiling... his tone was full of a toughness that had nothing to do with a smile.

He didn't give Souji any room to argue, dragging him towards Chihiro's house.

The two of them were now only a few steps away from Chihiro's house.

Turn the corner a short distance away and you'll see two huge curtains with "Men's Bath" and "Women's Bath" written on them respectively.

"Orange, orange, orange, orange! Wait, wait, wait a minute!"

The commander's face was filled with a variety of emotions.

Surprise, unease, fear... these emotions blended perfectly on Souji's cheeks.

"I...I...I suddenly need to...I need to pee...!"

Qing Deng ignored the shouts of the commander.

He took the commander's words as just another excuse to avoid him.

Ignoring Souji's struggles, he focused solely on gripping Souji's wrist tightly, preventing him from escaping.

Qingdeng has a lot of strength in his hands, after all, he has the talent of having "fingers that are far more flexible and powerful than ordinary people": skillful hands.

The small-bodied Souji is very light, so it doesn't take much force to pull him away.

"Wait! Wait!"

As the bathhouse drew ever closer, Souji struggled more and more fiercely.

He braced himself against the ground with the heels of his wooden clogs and leaned back forcefully, trying to stop Qingdeng from dragging him.

Souji's desperate struggle did have some effect.

However, the effect it achieved was practically futile...

Qing Deng was determined to get to the bottom of everything with the commander tonight.

No matter what the commander-in-chief did, Qingdeng remained unmoved.

Qing Deng silently gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the commander's wrist with an air of "never letting go".

Like a plowed field, two more drag marks appeared on the ground, left by the Souji's wooden clogs.

The two drag marks stretched crookedly all the way to Chihiro-ya—Aoto finally managed to drag Souji into the "men's bath" by sheer force and perseverance.

"Oh my, isn't this Mr. Tachibana? You're taking a bath so late today?"

When Granny Yu, who was sitting behind the counter next to the entrance of the men's bath, saw Aoto, she immediately greeted him familiarly.

Qing Deng had lived in Shieikan for more than seven months and had long since become familiar with the owner of Chihiro-ya.

Yubaba, the owner of Chihiro's House, is in charge of managing the men's bath, while a young female worker she employs is in charge of managing the women's bath.

"Good evening, Granny Tang. Some things happened tonight, and I finally had time to take a bath. Here, this is the money for our bath."

Qing Deng neatly laid out four copper coins on the counter, then continued to drag Souji deeper into the men's bath.

At this point, Souji had stopped shouting and struggling.

He just stared wide-eyed, his face pale, as if he had lost his soul, at the "shower room" that was getting closer and closer to him...

After Aoto and Souji disappeared into the bathhouse, Yubaba stretched her neck, poked her head out from behind the curtain, and cast a questioning look into the bathhouse.

"Oh my...it's a new face..."

……

……

At this very moment—

Shieikan, between diners—

"...Then, I heard that the people in the shogunate have recently been vigorously promoting something called 'Kōbu-tai' (a union between the court and the military)."

At this moment, in the spacious dining area, Qing Deng's old servant, Jiubingwei, idly tidied up Qing Deng's clothes.

Saito, who likes to pass the time by "daydreaming," lay motionless on the tatami mat like a sloth, staring straight at the ceiling above him, as if he were thinking about something... but at the same time, he seemed to be thinking about nothing at all.

Next to Saito, Harada, Hijikata, and Nagakura were gathered together, chatting casually.

"'Koubu Gatai'?" Nagakura asked Harada in return, "What's that?"

Harada, that lively character, is the kind of person who can't sit still. Whenever he has free time, he likes to go outside and wander around.

From a certain perspective... Harada's habit of liking to wander around outside is a good habit.

Because he loves to wander around outside, Harada is always able to gather the latest social news as soon as possible.

Therefore, Harada can be considered their "first reporter" at Shieikan.

The group from Shieikan often learned about new changes and events in the outside world from Harada.

"Specifically... I don't really understand either, after all, I don't like to use my brain and can't remember things that are too complicated."