I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Before Qingdeng crossed the threshold of the Thousand Flowers House, she was arguing with the counter staff about something.

The old woman was probably around 80 years old.

Her hair was covered in frost, and she wore a simple yet clean blue kimono.

Her prematurely white hair seemed out of place with her energetic appearance.

Her petite body was rather thin, and the bones in her hands and feet looked as if they were connected by screws and nuts.

Although her face is marked by the passage of time, her skin is still very fair.

Although the layers of wrinkles covered her original facial features, Qingdeng, based on his rich experience of having been in close contact with many beautiful young women, was certain that this old woman must have been a very cute and beautiful woman when she was young.

"Mother-in-law, is something the matter?"

Qingdeng asked.

"Young man, are you looking for Bai Ju?"

--Um?

Qingdeng raised an eyebrow, lifted his gaze, and carefully examined the old woman from head to toe several times.

She must have overheard my conversation with the counter staff, Qingdeng thought.

Although he didn't know why the old woman had asked that question, Qingdeng answered truthfully:

"Yes, what's wrong?"

The old woman nodded thoughtfully.

Then, she made a startling statement:

"In that case... young man, would you like to cooperate with me? Let's find Bai Ju together."

"cooperate?"

Qingdeng blinked in surprise.

The rapid and sudden development of events left him feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

After calming himself down, he asked in return:

"Grandma, I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Oh, sorry, I was so busy talking that I forgot to introduce myself."

The old woman cleared her throat and straightened her already sturdy back as much as a bamboo shoot.

"My name is Guasheng Xiu, and for now I'm considered a senior member of the Shirobei Club."

The old woman... that is, Guasheng Xiu, had barely finished speaking when Qing Deng's expression was instantly dominated by intense astonishment.

He subconsciously glanced at the other person a few more times.

—She is… Uryuu Hide, the “Yoshiwara Satoshi”?

Qing Deng never imagined that he would encounter this legendary heroine in such a place and in such a way...

Seeing the famous "Yoshiwara Satoshi" naturally surprised Aoto.

But what surprised him even more was the suggestion that this important figure had just made.

Qingdeng suppressed his astonishment and asked with a serious expression:

“Mother-in-law… ah, no, Miss Guasheng, what did you mean by what you just said?”

"It means exactly what it says."

Guasheng Xiu said calmly.

“I know Bai Ju’s temperament very well. She’s not the kind of girl who would elope with someone else. So I think there must be another reason for her disappearance.”

"I am very worried about her safety."

"But if we're looking for someone, I'm really not up to the task with my old bones."

"Young man, you and I share the same goal: to find the white chrysanthemum."

"Then, instead of fighting each other, we should unite."

"So... young man, what do you think?"

Guasheng Xiu's tone was quite calm.

After explaining in this way, she stopped talking and waited quietly for Qingdeng's reply.

Qingdeng was speechless as he met the other person's gaze.

After a short while, he slowly opened his mouth and asked:

"...Ms. Uryu, I have a question: You probably don't recognize me, do you?"

Aren't you worried that I might be a bad person?

At this point, Qingdeng deliberately raised his hand to press down the straw hat on his head.

Aren't you going to ask me why I'm looking for white chrysanthemums?

“You don’t know who I am, my name, or even what I look like.”

"Seeking cooperation from someone as secretive as me without knowing anything about me... To put it nicely, that's 'bold,' but to put it bluntly, it's 'reckless.'"

Qing Deng's comments were undeniably sharp.

Qing Deng didn't know what others thought, nor did he want to know. In any case, he found Uryuu Hide's approach of "seeking cooperation from complete strangers" quite perplexing.

Despite receiving such sharp criticism from Qing Deng, Uryuu Hideki did not show any negative emotions.

Instead of feeling displeased, he actually laughed.

A faint smile appeared on her weathered old face.

“Young man, though I am old and frail, my mind is still sharp. How could I not know what you are talking about?”

"I'm not stupid enough to ask someone I can't trust for help."

The reason I extended an invitation to you for cooperation is actually very simple—it's because I trust you.

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng frowned.

"How can you talk about 'trust' someone when you don't even know their name, appearance, age, or other basic information?"

"Because of the smell."

Guasheng Xiu smiled slightly, then extended his right index finger and tapped his nose.

“Young man, don’t underestimate an old man like me—especially an old man like me who has lived in Yoshiwara, a place where people from all walks of life, for almost my entire life.”

"I can tell most of the people who are trustworthy and who are villains I need to be wary of just by smelling them."

"I don't know what you look like, your name, or your age, but you have a scent that makes me feel very safe."

"And that is enough."

At this point, Guasheng Xiu suddenly stopped talking.

She seemed to recall something, paused for a moment, and then continued speaking:

"Besides, it's strange, but the scent on you reminds me of a... a senior figure I greatly respect."

After saying this, a faint look of reminiscence appeared on Gu Shengxiu's old face.

Qingdeng remained silent.

If someone else were to tell Qingdeng that "I can identify people by their scent," he would definitely think they were talking nonsense.

But the person who made these remarks was "Yoshihara Satoshi," a person with a legendary background... which made Aoto feel inexplicably trustworthy.

"...Ms. Uryu, I have another question. As far as I know, you are a senior member of the Yoshiwara Ritual and Shirobei Association, and enjoy a very high reputation in Yoshiwara. Whether it's finding someone or anything else, you should be able to find plenty of people willing to help you, right? Why would you need to recruit a stranger like me?"

Upon hearing Qing Deng's words, Gu Shengxiu immediately burst into laughter, as if he had heard a hilarious joke.

Although she was smiling, and seemed to be having a great time, Qingdeng could vaguely sense a faint sense of helplessness and sorrow hidden in her laughter.

After she had laughed her fill, she said softly:

“Young man, let me tell you a cruel truth: those who have dedicated their lives to Yoshiwara’s ‘Yoshiwara Satoshi’ are not welcomed in Yoshiwara.”

"To be precise, he is only popular with prostitutes."

"The rest of the people... whether it was the owner of the brothel or the officials of the Shirobei Club, they all regarded me as an old codger who 'likes to cause trouble' and 'hinders their work'."

"Not everyone is like me, treating prostitutes as living, breathing human beings."

"Although the people at Shirobei's club respect me because of my seniority and dare not be presumptuous in front of me, that's all."

"My seniority can only earn them respect for me, not for the prostitutes."

"I can indeed use my status to pressure the officials at Shirobei's club and make them help me find Shirokiku."

"But doing so only earns you subtle eye rolls and perfunctory searches that you don't really care about."

"My past life experience tells me that 1000 absent-minded people are far less valuable than 1 focused person."

"Rather than asking these scoundrels who only care about making money and don't care about the joys and sorrows of prostitutes, I'd rather reach out to a stranger like you who smells nice."

After hearing what Uryuu Hide said, Aoto couldn't help but recall the scene he had witnessed when he stepped into Senka-ya—the counter staff spoke to Uryuu Hide in a very impatient tone.

Qingdeng wisely refrained from pursuing the matter further.

"...Alright, I understand. In that case, I am willing to do my part."

After considering for a moment, Qingdeng finally gave an affirmative answer.

"Young man, I knew you would agree."

Guasheng Xiu seemed very happy.

“Miss Uryu, I can cooperate with you, but I have one condition—to be honest, I came here specifically to find Shirokiku to ask her some very important questions.”

"After you find Baiju, please give me space and time to be alone with her."

Guasheng Xiu didn't think much about it, nor did he press Qingdeng for an answer, "What do you want to ask Baiju?" He simply nodded.

"Okay, no problem."

With just a few simple words, the deal was done.