I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

So she sniffed hard, crawled half a step on her knees to an open space where there was no tea table to hide her figure, then bent her waist even lower, pressed her upper body against her legs, pressed her smooth forehead against the tatami, and placed her hands in front of her head, touching the ground only with her index, middle, and ring fingers.

This is the highest form of etiquette in Japanese culture: dogeza.

"Sorry……"

Ootsuki Minoru's voice was a little louder than before.

It was shaking even more violently than before.

"I...I shouldn't have treated you like that before...I apologize...I'm sorry..."

Words soaked with tears and snot become a sticky, muddy mess.

Ootsuki Minoru quietly raised her red eyes and carefully observed Aoto's expression.

Qingdeng... remained the same as always—expressionless, neither saying "Okay, I forgive you from now on" nor "Your apology wasn't sincere enough."

—This… can be considered retribution… I brought this upon myself…

Thinking of this, a bitter, self-deprecating smile appeared on Ootsuki Minoru's lips, and the resentment that had just risen in his heart gradually dissipated.

Otsuki Minoru was well aware of her past attitude towards Aoto.

Ootsuki Minoru slowly shrank even smaller, and a sob, which she was desperately trying to suppress, drifted out from her slightly trembling shoulders.

To be honest, Ootsuki felt like her heart was being torn apart by a knife-like sense of shame, and she really wanted to just run out the door and get away from Aoto as quickly as possible.

But she was unwilling to let the aid she had finally managed to get from Qingdeng go to waste.

Therefore... before long, Ootsuki gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind, and stood up with a "whoosh". Without wiping his face, which was covered in snot and tears, he took three steps at a time and left the private room.

Just as Aoto and Sanako thought that Otsuki Minoru was about to leave, they suddenly spotted Otsuki Minoru's figure outside the window.

Ootsuki Minoru stood in the middle of the street outside, looking up at the teahouse, his eyes meeting those of Aoto, who was standing by the window.

This was the busiest time of day for people on the street.

The coming and going of people formed the backdrop behind Ootsuki Minoru.

Some pedestrians noticed Ootsuki Minoru's strange behavior and cast questioning glances at him.

Immediately afterwards, they saw the beautiful woman suddenly kneel on the ground in a dogeza position.

Despite the noise and commotion on the street, Ootsuki Minoru's voice clearly covered most of the street and even reached Aoto's eardrums:

"I'm sorry...! I apologize to you...! Please... forgive me...! I'm sorry!"

******

******

Today marks my long-awaited 10,000-word milestone! Asking for some monthly votes isn't too much to ask, right? (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets!

The subplot involving "Haru Tachibana Aoto" and Otsuki Minoru has now come to an end.

Neither a gold digger nor a simp can get a house.

All the everyday scenes in this book serve as a prelude to the major plot developments to come. For example, the fireworks festival where he goes on dates with the women sets the stage for important plot points and characters such as "Yangming's Demon," "strange painkillers," and the first appearance of his grandson. The story of Souji, which just ended not long ago, also planted the subplot of "Souji and Okita Hikaru's three-year promise."

Therefore, the storylines involving Aoto and Ootsuki Minoru are clearly not just about showing off and getting slapped in the face. I won't spoil what kind of plot will follow from here.

Leopard has always been diligently pushing the plot forward, never writing filler content, it's just that the updates are a bit slow (Leopard crying.jpg).

If you don't believe me, go back and take a look. See if there's any plot point that would be irrelevant even if deleted—there isn't. There are no irrelevant plot points in this book; every plot point has its reason for existing. (Pride of the Leopard.jpg)

Chapter 316 Facing the Bandits! Now It's Time to Unleash the Killing Power! [6200]

"What's going on? What's going on? What happened?"

"I don't know, that girl suddenly ran into the street and knelt down."

"Let's go see what's going on!"

……

No matter when or where, there will never be a shortage of onlookers who enjoy watching the spectacle.

Before long, Ootsuki Minoru, who was still kneeling on the ground in the dogeza position, was surrounded by layers of onlookers who had come to watch the excitement.

The gaze of everyone focused on each other, transforming into a giant hammer that pressed down on Ootsuki Minoru with the force of Mount Tai.

This is not a powerful blow that can kill someone in one fell swoop.

Instead, its power is neither fierce nor weak; it slowly crushes, not killing instantly but causing great pain and torment.

Ootsuki silently endured all of this.

Not only did he apologize to Qingdeng, but he also knelt down and apologized to Qingdeng in public, in full view of everyone, in the middle of a busy street... How could someone as proud and arrogant as him dare to lower himself to do such a thing...

An unreal feeling enveloped Ootsuki Minoru's entire body, as if her own body had become weightless and she was floating in the clouds.

For a fleeting moment, Ootsuki genuinely wondered if she was having an unrealistic nightmare.

At this moment, Ootsuki Minoru suddenly realized why he had suddenly dared to do such a shameful thing, which he would never have even thought about under normal circumstances.

It wasn't just because she was in a hurry to get rid of her husband.

It was also because deep down she harbored a strong fear of Qingdeng.

The current Qingdeng is no longer someone she can provoke or offend.

Even disregarding the connections and resources that Qing Deng currently possesses, his current position—Captain of the Third Division of the Fire Thieves—is enough to make Ootsuki Minoru tremble with fear.

Although her husband's family were wealthy merchants in Nara, they were far from being as powerful as the wealthy merchants in Osaka, to the point that even the government had to give them some face.

To put it bluntly, if Aoto wanted to exact cruel revenge on Ootsuki Minoru, who had treated him so badly, he would have plenty of ways to do so.

He could attract countless people to do his bidding simply by speaking.

After all, who wouldn't want to befriend a rising star in the military? Who wouldn't want to do a favor for the invincible King Niou?

The more Ootsuki Minoru thought about it, the more horrified she became; the more she thought about it, the more she felt as if a huge weight was hanging over her heart, pulling her straight down; the more she thought about it, the more she felt as if an invisible hand was reaching out from below, grabbing her body and dragging her into a bottomless abyss.

All those memories of bullying Qingdeng that she used to be so proud of and that she used to brag about to her friends, now all became a boulder pressing down on her heart, making her feel suffocated and unable to breathe.

Ootsuki felt no resentment or hatred towards Aoto, who demanded that she apologize for her past actions.

She only felt a vague sense of relief.

She sincerely hoped that Tachibana-kun could forgive her, that all the troubles between her and Qingdeng could be put to rest after she apologized, and that Qingdeng would never seek revenge on her again.

Ootsuki Minoru's sudden kneeling apology in the street not only startled passersby but also surprised Aoto and Sanako in the teahouse.

"Tachibana-kun..."

Qingdeng heard a soft, gentle call from beside him.

Turning her head, she saw beautiful eyes staring straight at her.

After hearing from Aoto the whole story of why he was "entangled" with Ootsuki Minoru in the teahouse's private room, Sanako remained silent.

She wasn't quite aware of the complicated relationship between Aoto and Otsuki Minoru, so when Aoto discussed "the three conditions for helping her" with Otsuki Minoru, she couldn't get a word in edgewise and didn't want to.

"It's best to leave these household chores to Tachibana-kun to handle on his own," Sanako thoughtfully thought to herself.

However, seeing Otsuki kneel down and apologize in broad daylight in front of so many people, I still felt a little sorry for him.

She didn't say anything, but simply used her expressive, bright eyes to ask: What do you think? Should we bring Miss Dayue back?

Qing Deng gave a helpless, bitter smile.

In fact, he had no intention of letting Ootsuki go to such lengths.

In his original plan, it would be enough if Ootsuki Minoru could perform a deep bow in front of him in the private room and clearly say "I'm sorry".

Just now, when Ootsuki Minoru loudly apologized to Aoto in a dogeza posture, Aoto remained unmoved... entirely because an unexpected event suddenly occurred that is difficult to describe in human language.

Qing Deng was so shocked by the unexpected event that he was speechless.

"..." Qing Deng silently turned his head back, staring solemnly at the empty air behind him.

Just now... at the moment when Ootsuki, kneeling on the tatami, said "I'm sorry" in a voice wet with tears, Aoto suddenly heard a soft sigh behind him.

The emotions conveyed in that sigh were quite complex.

The three-pointer felt like a taut string in my heart finally snapping, bringing a sense of relief.

The three-pointer felt like a satisfying and exhilarating revenge.

Three points are like a source of sorrow and regret for someone.

The last emotion... was a calm smile, as if something had finally been let go.

The sigh appeared suddenly and disappeared just as quickly.

When Qing Deng turned around in surprise, he saw nothing but the faded walls of the tea room and the empty air.

Whose sigh is this? Qing Deng has a definite answer in his heart—although the name of the person whose answer is revealed is incredible.

Qingdeng smiled as he gazed at the empty space before him.

It was a charming smile, like someone exchanging a knowing glance with another person.

……

……

Ootsuki returned with swollen, red eyes.

Without wasting words, Qingdeng spoke confidently to Da Yue:

"I accept your apology. I will do everything in my power to save your husband."

"Really?

Perhaps because the process of obtaining Aoto's help was so arduous, when Ootsuki Minoru heard Aoto say those words, her first reaction was not joy, but doubt and disbelief.

Qingdeng nodded, his movements slow but firm.

“I keep my word. You have shown me your sincerity, and now it is my turn to fulfill my promise.”

At this point, to strengthen his persuasiveness, Qingdeng added:

"We swear by striking the metal."