I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Thinking about Souji's close relationship with Kondo, Hijikata, and Inoue... a conjecture and a plan gradually took shape in Aoto's mind.

Give it a try!

Qingdeng made up his mind and took a deep breath.

"Ah, right!"

Aoto's sudden shout drew the attention of Kondo and his group.

"Kondo-kun, did you see Okita-kun on your way to the bathhouse?"

"Sōji?" Kondo was taken aback.

"Before you arrived, Okita and I were bathing together in the men's bath," Aoto said casually, his talent for "deception" activating once again. "Because he was a little tipsy, he went home before me. He had just left when you arrived."

When Qing Deng mentioned the term "men's bath," he emphasized it slightly.

“So Okita was here too.” Harada grinned. “We didn’t see him on our way to Chihiro’s place.”

“Oh, I see…” Qingdeng said casually, “Didn’t you run into him on the road?… He must have slipped away somewhere to buy something to eat again.”

“That’s probably it.” Nagakura smiled. “Okita has always been a glutton. From what I’ve observed, he basically only goes on long trips for two things: to buy konpeito and to eat his favorite sweets.”

Nagakura, Saito, and Harada remained calm in the face of Aoto's words.

Kondo, Hijikata, and Inoue, however, all looked on in astonishment and exchanged bewildered glances...

Finally, the three of them focused their incredulous gazes on Qingdeng.

*******

*******

A true physical close-up. Ms. Okita is so cute! As expected, energetic and cheerful girls like her are just adorable!

Please, for the sake of how adorable Ms. Okita is in today's chapter, be sure to vote for this book with a monthly ticket! (Laughing leopard.jpg) It would be such a shame if readers who love Ms. Okita didn't vote for this book these past two days!

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

P.S.: This book is a semi-fictional sword and spear novel, not a historical novel. To facilitate plot creation and reader comprehension, the author has made significant alterations to many historical backgrounds and details. So please do not treat this book as a history book! Please do not take the plot of this book as official history! If you tell someone that Okita Souji is a beautiful girl, someone who knows the history of the late Edo period will just roll their eyes at you.

Chapter 211 What should be done about Okita, who should be taken naked? [4600]

Test Hall, Rooms

“Madam, what do you think of the name Kondo Shinsuke? I think it’s a very good name. Shinsuke means ‘growing strong’.”

"Shinsuke... it doesn't sound very good, and it's not imposing enough."

Although it's still half a month before Kondo's official wedding, and nothing is even close to happening yet, it doesn't stop Shusuke and Abi from imagining the future when the Shieikan will have a daughter-in-law, and thinking about what kind of name to give their future grandchild.

Due to differences in personality and perspective, Zhou Zhu and A Bi were unable to reach a consensus on the naming of their future grandson.

Zhou Zhu, who didn't have any grand wishes for his grandson and only hoped that he could grow up safely, preferred to give him a name with a good meaning.

But Ah Bi, who "hopes her grandson will become a dragon," hopes that her future grandson's name will be quite majestic and have a very warrior-like feel.

The elderly couple, who had nothing to do and were now idle, had been discussing this topic in the living room for days, but had not yet reached a conclusion, in order to pass the time.

The two were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even have time to sip the tea beside them until it had gone cold.

His wife rejected the "Kondo Shinsuke" idea that he had racked his brains over the past two days... But Shusuke wasn't discouraged.

Just as he cleared his throat, preparing to bring up another name he had painstakingly come up with recently, a name he quite liked—

dong dong dong dong!

There was an unexpected knock on the door.

Zhou Zhu and A Bi both stopped talking, turned their heads, and cast questioning glances toward the door.

"Who is it...?" Abi frowned. "So late at night... Could it be Waaa Tenki and Susu-bozu again?"

Wawa Tenno and Susubozu: Performers who begged from house to house, a common sight in Edo.

Waaa Tenshin usually wears a tattered, filthy black striped vest over a white, narrow-sleeved kimono and skirt-pants, with two fake swords at his waist and a bizarre mask resembling Sarutahiko on his face. He goes from house to house begging for a single coin, shouting, "Waaa Tenshin loves to make noise!"

The Susu shopkeeper carried a green bamboo stick with copper coins strung on the end. As they walked through the streets and alleys, they vigorously swung the bamboo stick and chanted strange scriptures.

"Madam, please wait here for a moment while I go and take a look."

Zhou Zhu stood up, walked through the hall and corridor, and quickly walked to the door.

Good evening, may I ask who this is?

No sooner had Zhou Zhu finished speaking than a loud voice rang out from outside the gate:

"Master Kondo! It's me! Chiba Jutaro!"

"Jutaro?" Shusuke raised an eyebrow sharply, then quickly opened the door.

Outside the gate stood a burly man with a smile on his lips—it was Chiba Jutaro.

"Jutaro." Shusuke greeted Chiba Jutaro while craning his neck to look around. "Are you alone? What's wrong? Why are you suddenly visiting my Shieikan in the middle of the night?"

"I came alone!" Chiba Jutaro laughed heartily. "I apologize for my unannounced visit. I've come here suddenly because I need to speak with Tachibana-kun! Is Tachibana-kun in?"

"Tachibana-kun? He's not at the Shieikan right now."

"Not here?" Chiba Jutaro was taken aback. "Where did he go?"

He went to the public bathhouse to take a bath.

Zhou Zhu pointed to the wisps of thin steam not far away.

"Tachibana-kun probably won't be back anytime soon. Jutaro, if you need to see Tachibana-kun urgently, would you like to come in and wait for a while?"

Shusuke offered this advice to Chiba Jutaro... but at that moment, Chiba Jutaro wasn't listening at all.

Chiba Jutaro was staring straight in the direction of Chihiro's house, which Shusuke had just pointed out.

A thoughtful expression appeared on his face at a visible speed...

……

……

Chihiro House——

While Kondo and Inoue were still looking on in astonishment, Hijikata was the first to recover from his surprise.

He frowned slightly, gave Qing Deng a deep look, then turned to Yongcang and the others and said loudly:

"Oh dear! That's right, how could I forget!"

Hijikata shouted as he suddenly stood up from the pool.

"Nagakura-kun, Saito-kun, Harada-kun, get up! Stop soaking! All three of you, come with me!"

"Huh?" Harada opened his eyes wide in confusion.

"Hijikata-kun," Nagakura asked, "What's wrong?"

Saito, who never showed his emotions, remained silent as usual, but he still gave Hijikata a puzzled look.

"Ever since just now, I've felt like I've forgotten something," Hijikata said quickly. "Now I remember! You three, come with me to my house right now, I have something I'd like you to accept!"

The "home" that Hijikata mentioned naturally referred to the small, dilapidated house he rented near the Shieikan (Test Palace).

"Things? You want us to accept them?" Nagakura's confusion deepened. "What things are they?"

"Yes, yes!" Harada exclaimed curiously, "What is it?"

“Some of my collection,” Hijikata said without hesitation.

"Collectibles? What collectibles are you so eager to give us?" Nagakura continued, picking up where Harada had left off. "It's already late at night, can't we wait until tomorrow or sometime later..."

Before Yongcang could finish speaking, Tu Fang shook his head vigorously.

"No, no, no."

"I plan to move to a different place and no longer live in that dilapidated house that has no advantages other than being close to the Shieikan Museum."

"Yesterday, I made an appointment with a garbage collector so that I could take advantage of the upcoming move to throw away some furniture that I will no longer use, as well as some collectibles that I no longer want to keep."

"After I booked the garbage collection, I was taking stock of the things I wanted to throw away when I suddenly realized that the furniture wasn't valuable and I could just throw it away, but it felt like such a waste to just throw away my collectibles."

"So I decided to give away my collection instead."

The garbage collector will probably arrive tomorrow.

"So if I can't give away my collection before tomorrow, it will only end up being sold to junk collectors."

“I’ve given similar items to Ah Sheng, Uncle Yuan, and Ju before, but they didn’t like them. So now the only people I can give them to are the three of you.”

"If you come to my house now, it's not too late."

"If you're going to stay here until the bathhouse closes before heading to my house, it will be a bit late."

Hijikata's rapid-fire and eloquent speech successfully captured the interest of Nagakura and others, including Saito.

"Hijikata, what exactly are your collectibles?" Harada asked excitedly.

Hijikata revealed a cryptic smile, and spoke in a low, enigmatic tone, deliberately trying to pique the curiosity of Nagakura and the others:

"It's a secret for now. You'll find out what it is when you get to my house."

“Okay! Let’s go to your house right away!” Harada jumped up like a spring.

Nagakura hesitated for a moment, then slowly stood up, following closely behind Harada.

At the same moment Nagakura stood up, Saito silently straightened up—although Saito had the same expressionless look as always, as if he had a world-weary complex, if you looked closely, you could see a faint curiosity in his eyes because of Hijikata's words.

Seeing Nagakura and the others stand up, Hijikata's eyes flashed with a hint of relief.

"Ah Sheng, Uncle Yuan, Ju, we'll be going now."

Hijikata turned his face and said to Kondo, Inoue, and Aoto:

"You can continue taking a bath."

"Be careful with the time, don't soak it for too long."

"Grandma Tang is a very kind-hearted old lady."

“We are regulars at this bathhouse, and she might feel awkward about kicking us out out of consideration for each other.”