I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Aoto, "awakened" by Sanako's questioning voice, hurriedly replied:

"Ah, I, I'm fine. I just thought the goods offered by this vendor were quite luxurious."

After saying that, Qingdeng cleared his throat forcefully.

"Boss, how much do you charge here?"

"Oh, well..."

The bald boss, Chao Qingdeng, gave a sly smile—a smile that conveyed the message, "I understand, I understand, I understand everything, and I'll keep it a secret for you..."

"One arrow, two coins! Whatever you hit on the shelf, that item is yours! Sir, would you like to give it a try?"

While skillfully explaining the game rules to Qing Deng and Sanako, the bald boss laid out a headless arrow in front of Qing Deng.

No wonder he makes a living as a businessman; his acting skills are truly impressive.

His tone and actions were quite natural... as if he really didn't know Qing Deng...

"Well..." Qingdeng took out his money pouch, "I'll start with 10 arrows. Do you want to throw a few arrows too?"

Qing Deng's second half of his sentence was naturally addressed to Sanako, who was standing next to him.

"I don't need to," Sanako shook her head gently. "I'm happy just watching you play."

Sanako refused to join the game... but Aoto was neither discouraged nor anxious.

Qing Deng thought to himself: After watching him play once, Miss Sanako might be so excited that she would temporarily put aside her reserve and be willing to play the game.

After thinking this to himself, Qingdeng slowly picked up an arrow and casually aimed it at one of the prizes on the shelf...

……

……

At this very moment—

Not far from Qingdeng and his companion, at an open-air tea stall, on a long bench—

"Hmm? Ichinose-kun, I think I saw 'Niou'."

A middle-aged samurai wearing a black cat mask spoke softly to a middle-aged samurai wearing a demon mask sitting beside him.

The middle-aged samurai, known as "Ichinose," was bowing his head and gently stroking his... unusually grotesque left arm with the same caress as if it were some high-end work of art.

His left arm was covered in gruesome burn scars, not a single patch of unscathed flesh. The entire arm resembled dry firewood, a charred black color that seemed to shed ash.

Because his arm looked so frightening, people around him unconsciously kept their distance, creating a small "vacuum zone" around him.

"'Nioh'?" Ichinose slowly raised his head. "Where? Where is 'Nioh'?"

"There he is. In front of that 'arrow throwing game' stall. He seems to be playing a game with a woman there."

“Oh?” Ichinose raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Judging from her figure… that woman playing games with ‘Nioh’ seems to be a beauty.”

The middle-aged samurai wearing the black cat mask then let out a self-deprecating "hehehe" laugh:

"The 'Nioh' who has slain countless people... his personal life is quite colorful. In public, he is a highly respected celebrity, but in private, he can be seen having fun with beautiful women."

"Heh, what's wrong?" Ichinose chuckled teasingly. "Ebina-kun, are you envious of 'Nioh's' life?"

"It would be a lie to say I'm not envious."

The middle-aged samurai, wearing a black cat mask and addressed as "Ebina" by Ichinose, spoke calmly.

"Their lives are glamorous and dazzling."

"And we, the 'survivors of the Battle of Osaka,' can only live like rats in a stinking ditch, hiding in dark corners where no one cares."

"only--"

Ebina's tone suddenly shifted.

"I may envy you, but that's all. I will never betray my beliefs."

“From the moment I became a disciple of Mr. Daishio and decided to dedicate myself to fulfilling his long-cherished wish and bringing a permanent end to this bloody war that has lasted for over a thousand years, I was prepared to never live a peaceful life again.”

“'Envy of other people’s lives'...this little thought can’t shake my will and determination.”

After speaking, Ebina turned to look at Ichinose.

At the same time, Ichinose also turned his face towards Ebina in perfect unison.

The two looked into each other's eyes and smiled, revealing open and honest smiles.

At that moment, a young woman wearing a lady's mask gracefully walked towards Ichinose and Ebina from a dark alley in the distance.

"Mr. Ichinose, Mr. Ebina."

The young woman said softly.

"That old scoundrel Shirahara has come out of the izakaya."

"Mm." Ichinose nodded gently. "Okay, thank you for your hard work."

After saying that, Ichinose grabbed the sword that was resting beside her and slowly stood up.

“Let’s go, Ebina.”

A calm smile appeared on Ichinose's old face, which was covered by the demon mask and had many wrinkles due to age.

"Let's continue this great 'millennial war'."

"Hehehe." Ebina stood up, supporting himself with the sword at his waist, and laughed nonchalantly, "Let's go!"

Two middle-aged men, whose eyes were brighter and more powerful than those of young people, walked side by side with firm steps, heading straight for the distant horizon.

*******

*******

I wasn't feeling too well yesterday, so today's chapter was a little shorter... Tomorrow, I'll try to write a longer chapter and aim to finish "Fireworks Festival: Sanako Arc" and jump into the final chapter of the Fireworks Festival: "Fireworks Festival: Shura Field Arc" (Leopard Through Wind and Frost.jpg).

Even though today's post is short, I'm still asking for your monthly votes! Please vote for me! Please recommend me! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

Just a reminder, this book is low-brow martial arts; it doesn't contain any supernatural or fantastical elements. Feel free to speculate: what kind of war has been raging for over a thousand years?

P.S.: This is not an original war created by the author.

Chapter 237 The Silent Vow Under the Fireworks and the "Ghost of Yangming" [7300]

This arrow-throwing game is far more difficult than it appears.

If an arrow is too light, even a slight breeze will cause it to veer off course. Without certain skills, it is impossible to keep the arrow flying steadily.

Soon, all 10 arrows Qingdeng had bought were thrown out—to no avail, hitting nothing.

But Qingdeng didn't really care about the outcome of the game.

Firstly, he wasn't interested in any of the prizes displayed on the shelf.

Secondly, the reason he came to play was purely to "seduce" Sanako, who wanted to play but couldn't let go of her pride, to try the game.

While playing games in Qingdeng, Sanako watched intently the entire time, without blinking.

She probably didn't even notice it herself... Whenever Qingdeng raised her arrow to aim and prepare to throw it, she would unconsciously clench her hands, which were folded in front of her, slightly due to nervousness.

Although she claimed she wasn't interested in the game, her subtle actions betrayed her true feelings.

"Miss Sanako."

Qing Deng, who had been keeping an eye on Sanako's every move, smiled and took out a handful of copper coins from his purse, stuffing them into Sanako's small hand without saying a word.

"Why don't you come and play too? It's quite fun."

“Eh, I…”

Sanako instinctively wanted to refuse.

But as soon as she said it, she stopped.

She glanced around furtively while fidgeting.

Aoto noticed that Sanako's gaze seemed to be fixed on a certain prize on the stall shelf.

So, following her gaze, I looked over there—the thing that had the good fortune to receive Sanako's special attention was a cute and adorable white lucky cat.

"That……"

At this moment, Sanako finally spoke up.

She gently bit her lip and slowly said:

"Then I'll... try out 10 arrows first..."

"Alright!" The bald boss laughed heartily as he counted out 10 arrows and handed them to Zanako. "Just throw any arrow you fancy! If you hit it, it's yours!"

Sanako's movements were very sassy and decisive.

She let out a "ha," adjusted her breathing, and then deftly drew an arrow, aiming the arrowhead at the white lucky cat she had been secretly watching.

The arrow was thrown for the first time—and missed.

"what?"

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Sanako immediately picked up her second arrow and aimed it at the lucky cat once more.

The second arrow—missed…

"……Um?"

Perhaps realizing that the game was much more difficult than she had imagined, Sanako straightened her already sturdy back even more.

His expression was solemn.

The movements of raising and throwing arrows also became more precise.

However, Sanako's actions were of no use whatsoever.

Her throwing ability didn't improve much as a result.

The arrows that were thrown either fell down before they even reached the rack, or their trajectory went astray and they flew tens of thousands of miles away.

But Sanako was not discouraged.

Defeat after defeat... yet fight on despite repeated defeats.