I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Established courtesans are obligated to take newcomers under their wing and raise them. The newcomers are responsible for caring for their seniors, and their food, clothing, and other expenses are charged to the seniors.

The girls who were sold to Yoshiwara by their families were in an even worse situation. In addition to paying off their living expenses, they also had to pay a large sum of money to redeem their indenture.

In the end, they nominally regained their freedom, but they still had to work themselves to the bone to repay debts that would take an unknown amount of time to pay off... perhaps even a lifetime.

The extremely harsh living conditions caused the minds of countless prostitutes to become twisted.

In an act of revenge against society, a large number of psychologically disturbed prostitutes deliberately set fires.

The rate of man-made fires in Yoshiwara is alarmingly high.

Leaving aside distant examples, just considering the man-made fires that have occurred in Yoshiwara in recent years, there are:

In the second year of the Kōka era (1845), three women, including the 16-year-old Takamiko, set fire to the Kawazuya.

In the second year of the Kaei era (1849), three arson fires occurred in succession. The arsonists of the first two fires were Kiyokawa (25 years old) and Daiharu (15 years old), respectively. As for the last fire... the number of arsonists was unprecedented - sixteen courtesans from the Umemoto-ya set the fire together.

In the fifth year of the Jiayong era (1852), Yuju (35 years old) set fire.

In 1856, the third year of Ansei, Mei-chi (27 years old) set fire.

This only includes the more serious cases; the number of deliberate arson incidents with smaller affected areas is countless.

Fortunately, the fires were quickly extinguished, so they did not cause too much damage.

However... no one can guarantee that they or Yoshiwara will escape the next fire.

Yoshiwara's enclosed environment meant that if a fire got out of control, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Arson incidents occurred every few days... The people of Yoshiwara, feeling helpless about this, placed their hopes on the protection of the gods.

Therefore, Akihayama Tsuneaki, located in the deepest part of Nakanocho, is considered one of the most popular places in all of Yoshiwara.

Whether they were courtesans or ordinary people living in Yoshiwara, they would often come here to worship in their spare time, praying to the "fire god" Akiha Gongen to protect them from being taken away by "fire and smoke".

Even though it was already night, there were still quite a few people gathered around Tokiaki Akihayama.

Qingdeng looked around.

The flow of people passing by on his left and right sides, while not exactly shoulder to shoulder, was certainly bustling.

Since it is currently the working hours of the courtesans, the people still walking on the streets of Yoshiwara at this time are either tourists, residents of Yoshiwara, or entertainers and errand workers who work for various courtesan houses.

"Damn it...there are too many people..."

As Guasheng Xiu strained to stand on tiptoe, she stretched her neck to its limit—trying to look down at Baiju's figure from a high vantage point.

However... no matter how much she tiptoed and craned her neck, she could only change her height from "short and stout" to "slightly better short and stout".

Everywhere you look, there are still other people's backs and chests...

At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly said:

"Grandma Guasheng, sit on my shoulders!"

Having said that, Qingdeng squatted down, his back to Guashengxiu.

Qingdeng didn't know what Baiju looked like. If they needed to find someone, they'd have to rely on Guasheng. Therefore, "lending" their height to this "miniature old woman" was the best solution at the moment.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you!"

Guasheng Xiu readily agreed to Qingdeng's suggestion.

With a single step and a push off the ground, she nimbly sat on Qingdeng's shoulder.

Although his body is old and frail, he is still agile and vigorous.

Guasheng Xiu's body was even lighter than Qing Deng had expected.

After she sat down, Qingdeng barely felt her weight.

Anyone who has seen a woman's kimono knows that the hem of a woman's kimono is very tight, so tight that it is difficult to walk quickly.

Therefore, Uryuu couldn't spread her legs and straddle Aoto's entire neck. She could only sit sideways on Aoto's single shoulder with her legs together.

Yoshiwara Ritsu, a female swordswoman skilled in wielding a wooden sword... these titles easily give people the impression that "Urisu Hide must be a rough and tough woman."

That's not the case.

Guasheng Xiu's demeanor was surprisingly refined.

Her posture at that moment was so elegant that she didn't seem to be "sitting" at all, but rather as if she was gently "floating" on Qingdeng's shoulder.

It's obvious at a glance that Gu Shengxiu must have received a very good education in the past.

Given her demeanor and the fact that she had a proper surname, Qing Deng couldn't help but speculate that the old lady sitting on his shoulders must have been a girl from a modest family, if not a lady from a prominent family.

"Hanada-kun! Could you please come to the base of that cherry blossom tree?"

Guashengxiu's voice came from above.

After saying this, Uryuu pointed to a bare cherry blossom tree not far away.

Every spring, Yoshiwara hires tree planters to plant cherry trees side by side along both sides of the streets in Nakanocho.

In spring, Nakanocho transforms into a veritable "flower town" surrounded by countless cherry blossom trees.

For the people of Edo, the "Oiran Dochu" (geisha district surrounded by a shower of cherry blossoms) was one of the sights they had to witness in their lifetime.

【The Oiran Dochu: The route taken by an Oiran (court lady) leading a large entourage from her brothel to greet a guest is called "Oiran Dochu" or "Oiran Tour".】

In two months, it will be cherry blossom season.

People have now begun planting cherry blossom trees.

The streets of Nakanocho are now lined with bare cherry trees.

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng quickly put aside the jumbled thoughts in his mind and, following Gu Shengxiu's instructions, squeezed through the crowd to the cherry blossom tree she pointed to.

The location that Gu Shengxiu chose is excellent.

It offers a perfect view of Akihayama Tsuneaki and the surrounding area.

Guasheng Xiu supported Qingdeng's back with one hand, while placing his other hand with his five fingers together on his brow bone.

He moved his gaze around, scanning every spot within his field of vision several times...

"No... I still haven't seen the white chrysanthemum..."

Guasheng Xiu let out a deflated sigh.

So, another missed opportunity... Qingdeng pursed his lips.

"Grandma Uryuu, besides the places we just visited, are there any other places that Shirakiku might go to?"

Qingdeng asked in a low voice.

Guasheng Xiu pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

“No… Baiju isn’t the kind of girl who particularly likes to wander around outside. The places she likes to go, and the places she might go, are just these few.”

As Gu Shengxiu finished speaking, Qing Deng's expression turned serious.

Since they have indeed searched every possible location where Shirokiku might be, just as Uryuu Hide said, even Uryuu Hide, who insists that "it's not so easy for a courtesan to escape Yoshiwara," has to face the following reality: Shirokiku may no longer be in Yoshiwara; she may be somewhere outside of Yoshiwara.

If that's the case, then we're in trouble.

How vast is the world beyond Yoshiwara?

If Shirokiku is truly no longer in Yoshiwara... then even if Aoto and Uryuu spend a month, a whole year, or even a lifetime, they might not be able to find Shirokiku.

Ultimately, we still had too little information at our disposal.

They didn't even know whether Bai Ju had escaped on her own for some reason or had been kidnapped...

Whoosh—!

Suddenly, just as Qingdeng and Guashengxiu were at their wits' end, another gust of cold wind swept in.

Guasheng Xiu did not wear her hair in a bun.

Her hairstyle was exactly the same as Souji's—neat bangs in front and a sleek short ponytail at the back of her head.

While holding down her ponytail, which was being blown about by the cold wind, Guasheng Xiu looked up at Akihayama Tsuneaki in the distance.

"Speaking of which... half a year ago, during that time in Feng Hua's heart, it was also a windy night like this..."

"Because the wind and flowers were in her heart on a windy night, those who followed suit, such as the red plum blossom, also chose windy nights to express their feelings to their lovers..."

"Sigh... what a bunch of silly girls..."

"Life is everything..."

"You can start over if you lose money or love, but if you lose your life, you really lose everything..."

Qingdeng looked up at Guashengxiu with a wry smile, his eyes filled with emotion at the sight of the scene.

Just at this time.

Just as Qing Deng raised his eyebrows and looked up at Gu Shengxiu, who was still sitting on his shoulder.

His gaze suddenly froze.

Out of the corner of his left eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a scene... a sight that caught his attention.

Qing Deng slowly turned his head and gaze, looking directly at the scene that concerned him greatly—a young man sitting calmly on a bench in the teahouse.

This is a teahouse located to the right of Qingdeng, next to Akihayama Jōdōmei.

The air was filled with the aroma of tea, a large "tea" character was written on the door curtain, and a long bench was placed outside the shop for customers to sit on... It was a very standard and common teahouse in Edo.

The young man, whose gaze was fixed on by Qing Deng, had a shamisen in his left arm, a well-proportioned orange cat in his right arm, and a small bamboo basket on his back, the contents of which could not be seen from the outside.

The orange cat in the young man's arms was curled up tightly, its limbs and tail stiff, its eyes staring blankly into space.

"..." Qing Deng lowered his eyelids, as if deep in thought.

Just then, a girl dressed as a geisha, carrying a shamisen, passed by Aoto.

Just as the geisha was about to pass by Aoto, Aoto called out to her.

"Miss, please wait."

As Qingdeng put Guashengxiu down from his shoulder, he continued.

"Excuse me, may I borrow your shamisen for a moment? I'll return it to you right away. Don't worry, I won't break it."

"Huh? This..."