I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

A handsome young man with a gentle smile, his left hand resting on the knife at his waist and his right hand tucked into his shirt, walked gracefully toward Qing Deng with light steps.

Qingdeng immediately recognized who this young man was.

“My grandson…”

This person was none other than the rare genius detective, Chutaro Abiko, who had met Sanako once on the night she accompanied her to the fireworks festival. He was the captain of the Fire Thieves Division 1 and the leader of the 9th Division of the First-Hand Gun Group.

In order to facilitate future work, Qingdeng has recently gathered a lot of information and done a great deal of homework, memorizing the names of every member of the current command structure.

The Fire Thieves' current command structure consists of two commanders-in-chief and the captains of eight squads, as listed below—

Commanders-in-Chief: Atsuyuki Kurosawa, Tadashi Okubo.

First Division Captain: Chutaro Abiko

Second Division Captain: Kanazawa Tadatsugu

Third Division Captain: Tachibana Aoto

Fourth Division Captain: Mizushima Ninzaburo

Fifth Division Captain: Kimura Kazuma

Sixth Division Captain: Motozo Hisaka

7th Division Captain: Tsuchida Masayasu

Eighth Division Captain: Nobuyoshi Kazama

Among them, the Third Division, which was commanded by Aoto, the Sixth Division, which was commanded by Hisaka Genzo, and the Eighth Division, which was commanded by Kazama Nobuyoshi, were all units that were concurrently commanded by the First-Hand Archers.

The other five units were all concurrently served by the first-strike arquebus squad.

Three archer squads, five musketeer squads... Although the muskets used by the first arquebusier squad were still outdated matchlock muskets, such firepower was more than enough to crush more than 90% of the villains into dust.

Only those samurai from respectable families and of a certain social standing were qualified to serve as captains in the Fire Thieves' Reorganization.

Therefore... just by looking at the elegant names on this list, one can tell how privileged the families of Qingdeng's future colleagues are.

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The author, Juncheng, is the last person in his family to die... There are 5 people living in his family, 4 of whom have tested positive, and only he is still okay for now.

But if this continues, it's only a matter of time before I get Yang... (leopard crying.jpg) Everyone, be prepared that there might not be any new chapters to read tomorrow.

However, I will try my best to update before I fall ill!

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Crying leopard.jpg)

Chapter 273 Has Ju Qing Deng defiled many women? [4600]

"Good morning, my grandson!" *4

As soon as my grandson appeared, the four sentries stood still and bowed to him.

My grandson waved to the sentries without any airs:

"Hello everyone~ Hello everyone~~ Thank you for your hard work guarding the goal~~"

Although he only met my grandson, Chutaro, once, Aoto had a very good impression of this well-regarded and friendly "genius detective".

"My grandson, may you be well."

Qingdeng took the initiative to exchange pleasantries with the other party.

"Your Highness, what a coincidence! I never expected to run into you outside the government office gate!"

My grandson also responded to Qingdeng very enthusiastically.

"Oh my, time really flies~~ It's been more than two months since our unexpected encounter, but it feels like we just met yesterday."

As my grandson spoke, he raised his eyes and scanned Qingdeng from head to toe several times.

"Niou, this squad leader's uniform suits you very well~~"

"Thank you for the compliment," Qing Deng said with a smile.

At this moment, the sentries had verified Qing Deng's identity and confirmed that the person in front of them was their newly appointed captain of the Third Division, a former Fire Thief.

"Tachibana-sama!"*4

As the sentries returned the inro and other items to Qingdeng, they greeted him respectfully in unison with a tacit understanding, as if they had rehearsed beforehand.

"Niou, shall we go in together?"

My grandson gestured towards the government office gate behind the sentries.

"In a little while, Lord Kurosawa and Lord Okubo will hold a simple 'welcome reception' for you in the council chamber."

"Since you're new here, you must be quite unfamiliar with the layout of this mansion. I can show you around."

The "Lord Kurosawa" and "Lord Okubo" mentioned by my grandson are naturally referring to the two current commanders-in-chief of the Fire Thieves: Atsuyuki Kurosawa and Tadashi Okubo.

Qingdeng was unfamiliar with the place and the people there, so he was more than happy to have someone willing to guide him.

So Qingdeng nodded slightly without thinking too much:

"Thank you, then I'll have to trouble you."

"Haha, you're too kind~ Come on, follow me~~"

My grandson led Qingdeng, and the two of them stepped over the threshold one after the other, heading deeper into the government office.

Compared to the "Three Times" of the Fire Thieves Bureau, another major difference between the two is that the latter does not have strict dress requirements, and the members of the Bureau, the Co-op, and the Okabi can wear whatever they want.

From the commander-in-chief down to the ordinary soldiers, everyone was required to wear the uniforms issued by the government when performing official duties.

Although the uniforms of the soldiers under the Fire Thief's command may vary depending on their rank, the color remains uniformly black.

Therefore, after following my grandson into the interior of the Fire and Thieves' Office, Qingdeng saw many "men in black" moving back and forth in the corridors and courtyards.

Every "man in black" who brushed past Aoto and my grandson stopped to bow and greet the young captain of the First Division standing next to Aoto, and cast puzzled glances at this stranger, Aoto.

Just then, Qingdeng suddenly heard a string of children's laughter.

Qing Deng looked in the direction of the sound and saw two little girls, one wearing a beautiful yellow kimono and the other a pink kimono, who looked to be only 7 or 8 years old, happily playing with embroidered balls in the direction 2 o'clock to him.

Not far from the two little girls, three soldiers stood guard with serious expressions.

Two little girls dressed in exquisite costumes appeared in a military-controlled area, and the two children were even playing with an embroidered ball... This scene looked strange no matter how you looked at it.

My grandson noticed Qingdeng's gaze, glanced at the two little girls, and said:

"Those two children are Lord Kurosawa's daughters: Toki and Kizuna. They're very lively and often run around and make a ruckus around the government office."

"You'll likely be running into them frequently afterward, so take this opportunity to memorize their faces and names beforehand."

Upon hearing my grandson's explanation, Aoto immediately understood.

The government office of the Fire and Thieves Regiment was not fixed. Whoever was the current commander-in-chief would have their house used as the government office. This rule often forced the successive commanders-in-chief of the Fire and Thieves Regiment and their families to live and eat with a group of fierce-looking "men in black".

The Fire Thieves' Office, now the government office, is the home of Kurosawa Atsuyuki, one of the current commanders.

Therefore, it is quite reasonable for him to run into Atsuyuki Kurosawa's family in this place.

"Niou, do you see that house over there that's just been painted? That's where Lord Kurosawa's family lives; we're not allowed to go near it without permission."

"And then... that room over there with smoke coming out is the kitchen~~"

My grandson led Qingdeng around while enthusiastically introducing him to the internal structure and room layout of the government office.

Qingdeng listened attentively throughout.

But halfway through, after hesitating several times, Qingdeng finally couldn't help but interrupt my grandson:

“That… is my grandson, Sun Zijun.”

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"You don't actually need to address me as 'Nioh'."

Qing Deng revealed a smile tinged with helplessness.

“You can call me by a more natural name, you can just call me ‘Ju’.”

"Oh my, I quite like the name 'Niou'~ It's short and powerful~~ Alright, since you prefer the name 'Tachibana', I'll call you 'Tachibana-kun' from now on~~"

"Kid, we're almost at the council chamber~ You're likely to run into a lot of people giving you the cold shoulder later, so be prepared~~"

"Giving me the cold shoulder?" Qing Deng paused for a moment, then adopted a half-joking tone, "What? Are there many people who don't welcome me?"

My grandson turned his face, and as his eyes met Qingdeng's, a meaningful smile appeared on his face:

"You're right. From what I've observed, a considerable number of people are not welcoming of your arrival."

A considerable number of people—upon hearing these words, Qingdeng raised an inquiring gaze towards my grandson.

This gesture and this look mean, "Can you tell me in detail who is hostile to me?"

My grandson, having understood the meaning in Qing Deng's eyes, put his hands on his hips and pondered.

"Hmm~ It seems a bit impolite to talk badly about people behind their backs... Oh well~ Anyway, I really dislike those people, so I'll tell you all about it~~"

"Let's take the Fifth Division Captain, Kimura Kazuma, as an example—of all the division captains, he's the most resistant to your arrival."

"Back then, when he heard that you would be filling the vacant position of the Third Division Captain, he was absolutely furious! He kept shouting things like, 'How can the position of Division Captain be given to someone like this!' and 'To be associated with someone like this is a disgrace to me!'"

After hearing this, Qing Deng asked, puzzled:

"Why does he have such a big problem with me? If my memory serves me right, I've never even seen his face, let alone had any old grudges against him."

“He has always been proud of his Manchu lineage, which has a population of 2000 Shi Jialu.”

"alright, I got it."

Qing Deng's lips twitched slightly.

My grandson's simple sentence explained why Kimura Kazuma was hostile to Aoto.

On September 10th, more than a month ago... on the very day he decided to follow Tenshōin to learn archery, Tenshōin gave Aoto a detailed explanation of all the troublesome things and troublesome people he might encounter after joining the Fire Thief's Company.

Qing Deng was surprised to find that Tenshōin was right—he really did encounter a staunch believer in "bloodline theory" right there in the Fire Thief Regiment...

"Besides Kimura Kazuma, the Sixth Division Captain, Hisaka Genzo, also harbors a great deal of hostility towards you~~"