I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

It was a middle-aged man's voice, full of glibness and slickness. The moment he heard it, the teahouse owner's face turned pale, and he muttered:

"It's over, it's over... He's here..."

……

……

Let's move the time forward a little bit—

"Okino-kun, how are you? Are you alright?"

"It's alright... My shoulder hurts a lot... but it's not broken, it's nothing serious..."

"Ouch... my back...! Okino-kun, Yuuki-kun, help me up!"

Several Confucian scholars who were not unconscious on the spot and still had some mobility gathered together in twos and threes, like a group of stray dogs licking each other's wounds.

At this moment, their faces no longer bore the confident and spirited demeanor they had displayed in the teahouse; nor did they retain the arrogant air of demanding that Qingdeng "go outside" and intending to teach him a lesson.

Each one of them had a look of utter grief, their faces drooping and somber that it seemed as if black water might drip from them at any moment.

In fact, if there were a crack nearby, these pedantic scholars would really like to crawl into it right now and never see each other again.

That's so embarrassing.

This is incredibly embarrassing!

In both literary and martial arts contests, Qing Deng unilaterally suppressed and utterly defeated him... Such a result was truly humiliating and a complete loss of face.

At this point, a Confucian scholar made the following suggestion:

"Let's get out of here quickly..."

His suggestion was met with nods of agreement from many people as soon as it was made.

The atmosphere surrounding them and the mocking glances from onlookers around them made them feel like they were being torn apart and pierced by a thousand arrows.

Even if it's just for a second, they want to leave this place of sorrow as soon as possible.

But at that moment, a bald scholar, whose hair was mostly gone, gritted his teeth and said:

"No! We can't just leave like this! Are you willing to run away with your tails between your legs?"

The scholar who had just suggested "let's slip away quickly" lowered his head and said slowly in a hoarse voice:

"Hirota-kun, how can we possibly be willing to flee in such a panic after being humiliated like this? But what else can we do if we don't leave this place?"

The scholar's words contained a clear unspoken meaning—in both literary and martial arts, none of us are a match for that man in the straw hat, so what can we do to him?

“I admit, we… are indeed no match for that beast in the straw hat.” The bald man gritted his teeth again. “But have you forgotten? There is one person who hasn’t even arrived at our gathering today!”

Upon hearing the bald man's words, the eyes of everyone around him lit up.

Immediately afterwards, they were heard speaking in unison, one after another:

"Oh right, we forgot... We can ask Lord Itakura for help!"

"Yes! Let's go ask Lord Itakura to come and avenge us!"

"With Lord Itakura's intervention, let's see how arrogant this beast who dared to insult us can be!"

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

Just then, from the crowd not far from them, a glib, middle-aged man's voice rang out: "Hmm? Why are so many people gathered here? Has something interesting happened?"

……

……

Qing Deng looked up in the direction of the sound—a mountain of flesh came into view.

A mountain of flesh on a physiological level.

An extremely obese middle-aged man, protected by four stern-faced and wiry warriors, slowly pushed his way through the crowd, inch by inch, and entered the open space surrounded by onlookers—the very space where Qing Deng and his companions were currently standing.

The large, fat man appeared to be around forty or fifty years old, dressed in magnificent and exquisite clothes.

Even a complete novice like Qing Deng, who knows nothing about the fashion industry, could tell at a glance that this person's outfit was definitely not something an ordinary family could afford.

This luxurious dress was bulging out of shape, as if three basketballs had been stuffed into it.

From the chin to the collarbone, there were at least seven layers of flesh stacked up in this area—this was the first time Qing Deng had ever seen someone with so many layers of chin.

Judging from the shape of his facial features, this fat man should not be ugly, but his extremely high "body fat percentage" has stretched his entire face, making his facial features appear elongated and his face look particularly bloated and ferocious.

To be able to maintain such a physique in a feudal era of scarcity... it has to be said, that's quite a skill.

His extremely plump figure; he was closely protected by four bodyguard-like warriors; he walked with a swagger, displaying an arrogant attitude as if he were the boss of the world...

Even without introductions from others, Qing Deng could instantly recognize that this person must be the top-tier son of an official and unscrupulous capitalist that the teahouse owner and Miss Teshiro had mentioned: Itakura Hirahiko.

There were simply too many people blocking his way. Seeing this, Itakura Hirahiko ordered in an extremely rude tone:

"Hey! Make way! Make way! Let me through!"

Seeing Itakura Hirahiko's imposing manner, everyone knew that he was definitely not someone to be trifled with, so they dared not disobey and quickly parted to the left and right, making way for the huge Itakura Hirahiko and his bodyguards to pass.

Itakura Hirahiko walked unceremoniously across the path cleared for him by the crowd, stopping five steps in front of Aoto and the others.

"Huh? Hirose-kun?" Itakura Hirahiko looked at the group of scholars, who were all sprawled out and looking quite disheveled, with a shocked expression. "What happened to you all? What happened?"

"Itakura-sama!"

"Lord Itakura! You've finally arrived!"

"Lord Itakura! You've come at the perfect time!"

The Confucian scholars who were still able to move were now like livestock that had heard the meal bell, calling out "Master" and swarming towards Itakura Hirahiko.

As he watched the group of scholars rushing toward Itakura Hirahiko, pouring out their grievances to him, Aoto couldn't help but furrow his brow.

It's not because I'm uneasy about the Confucian scholars' practice of "seeking out their parents."

It was not because of the Confucian scholars' rapid change of attitude that even Qing Deng, who had seen a lot of the world, was speechless with astonishment.

It is difficult to use specific words to describe the attitude and appearance of these so-called "disciples of the Holy Sect" at this moment.

Every single one of these Confucian scholars bowed humbly before Itakura Hirahiko... No! Correction, they didn't deserve the word "humility"!

It means being humble.

Their waists all bent into a humble arc before Itakura Hirahiko.

Besides their waists, their eyes also conveyed a sense of humility.

If you look closely, you can see a hint of fawning in their eyes that is reminiscent of a "begging dog".

In that instant, Qing Deng suddenly recalled the evaluation of Itakura Hirahiko and this group of scholars by Miss Teshiro when she introduced them to them:

(Those people... they're desperate to become officials.)

……

(Although I don't know why those Confucian scholars would associate with a shameless scoundrel like Itakura Hirahiko... I guess they probably wanted to curry favor with the wealthy and powerful Itakura Hirahiko in order to profit from him.)

……

Qing Deng understood why Ms. Teshiro made that comment.

Confucian scholars, who spend their days studying the teachings of sages—such as upholding one's integrity in poverty, cultivating one's own virtue in times of poverty, and benefiting all under heaven in times of prosperity—are like well-trained dogs, bowing and wagging their tails to the powerful and wealthy...

Looking at the scene before him, which was full of dark humor, Qing Deng felt both amused and pitiful.

He was almost unable to figure out whether it was a problem with these Confucian scholars themselves, or some other external reason, that forced these students from the Changpingban Academy, whose backgrounds were not bad, to adopt such a shameless attitude of using their positions to maintain social connections.

Almost at the same time that Qing Deng silently finished his reflections, Itakura Heihiko learned from the Confucian scholars what had happened here before he arrived.

"I see... So it was that guy in the straw hat who humiliated you, right..."

Itakura Hirahiko raised his head and gazed straight at Aoto, his eyes, which were already small due to the fat on his face, narrowed even more.

"Alright, I understand. Leave it to me. I can't stand idly by while my friends are humiliated. I'll get justice for you!"

Upon hearing this, the assembled scholars were overjoyed and began showering him with compliments.

"Lord Itakura, I am deeply grateful!"

"Lord Itakura, we are deeply grateful for your heroic act of supporting us... no! We are deeply grateful for your courageous act of standing up for the Confucian school!"

"We will never forget your great kindness!"

Surrounded by the sycophantic praise of the scholars, Itakura Hirahiko wore a smug expression.

A smug smile played on his lips as he took a step forward toward Qing Deng and the others, clearing his throat.

"I am Itakura Hirahiko, the second son of Itakura Katsutora and the owner of the Kinshu-ya shop! May I ask where you gentlemen come from and what your names are?"

In that instant, the atmosphere at the scene changed.

The onlookers, who had been enthusiastically interacting and casting mocking glances at the group of scholars until just now, suddenly fell silent.

The atmosphere was filled with a palpable tension that made people gasp.

A stinging tension that gives you goosebumps.

For ordinary people, the town magistrate of the magistrate's office was probably the highest-ranking official they could come into contact with in their daily lives—even so, not everyone had the opportunity to meet the town magistrate.

If the town magistrate is like this, let alone the wakatoshi-yori, whose status is second only to the senior councilors and whose identity is similar to that of a "vice prime minister"?

In an instant, gasps and exclamations erupted all around.

"Hey, did I hear that right? Did he say he was Ruonianji's son?"

"Hiss... This is the first time I've ever seen someone with such an extraordinary status..."

"It really is Itakura Hirahiko! No wonder he looked so familiar!"

"Hey, let's go, let's get out of here quickly."

"Huh? Leave here? Why?"

"Idiot, haven't you heard of Itakura Hirahiko's infamous reputation? He's a notorious villain! He's extremely cruel to people! Everyone who works for him is tormented and complains endlessly. And I've heard he's a lecherous woman; everyone who works for him and has even a little bit of good looks has been harassed by him to varying degrees. Let's go, let's get away from this villain."

"We've actually messed with Ruonianji's son... That samurai with the straw hat is in big trouble..."

Despite a few discordant notes, overall, the reactions of those around him after he revealed his identity and name were quite satisfactory to Itakura Heihiko.

He really liked this feeling.