I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Qing Deng is currently one of the prime suspects in the "Akaba family massacre case".

Although the government did not post an official arrest warrant, Qing Deng was in fact a "wanted criminal".

Although the "Akabane massacre case" had already been handed over to the thief Kai, he still fulfilled all his obligations to provide assistance in this case, which had a great and far-reaching impact.

Therefore, upon receiving the report that "Tachibana Aoto is in Yoshiwara," the magistrate's office dared not delay and immediately mobilized troops.

Yoshiwara, with its thousands of permanent residents and daily foot traffic, is considered one of the top red-light districts in Japan, both inside and outside Edo.

Searching for someone in the vast Yoshiwara, where there are many people... While this may not be called finding a needle in a haystack, it is certainly fraught with difficulties.

Even with the mobilization of their own officers to assist, the police force of the magistrate's office was still pitifully small—with such a meager force, it would probably take until dawn to find someone in Yoshiwara.

Therefore, the officers of the magistrate's office could only adopt a method that, although clumsy, was effective: they divided their men into two teams, one of which searched all over Yoshiwara, while the other team blocked the gate and checked each person who had left Yoshiwara.

That spacious wooden door, large enough for five adults to walk side by side, is Yoshihara's only entrance and exit.

Once this gate is blocked, unless one has the ability to scale walls and swim across deep ditches, there is absolutely no way to escape Yoshiwara!

The officials' search undoubtedly caused considerable trouble for tourists in Yoshiwara.

Curses and lamentations rose and fell in this seemingly endless "dragon".

Ultimately, the tourists dared not defy the authorities. Therefore, despite their complaints, they could only swallow their anger and silently accept the officials' inspection.

Ironically, whether they were tourists or government officials, no one could have imagined that the person they were so desperately searching for was standing not far from them, fearlessly observing them.

……

Aoto stood casually on the street of Nakanocho, raised his hand to lightly push up the straw hat on his head, and looked ahead along the brim of the hat to observe the movement of the gate, his brows furrowing slightly involuntarily.

This is a difficult situation...

Aoto really wanted to know who was the person who reported that "'Nioh' Tachibana Aoto is hiding in Yoshiwara".

Thanks to this person, he is now trapped.

If this person really discovered Qingdeng, then Qingdeng would very much like to know how he was exposed.

If this person couldn't find Qingdeng and it was just a false alarm due to some misunderstanding... then Qingdeng really didn't know what kind of expression he should make right now.

Well, now is not the time to worry about such issues.

Qingdeng shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the jumbled thoughts.

Although Aoto had anticipated that leaving Yoshiwara would be extremely difficult given the large number of police officers dispatched by the Magistrate's Office to surround it, the level of security at the gate still exceeded his expectations.

People with face coverings will have their face coverings pulled off.

The hat worn by the person will be removed.

Trying to get away with it by covering one's face is simply not feasible.

As for makeup and disguise... those won't work either.

Firstly, Qingdeng didn't have any makeup tools on hand.

Secondly, he knows absolutely nothing about makeup.

After much deliberation, Qingdeng realized that he only had two paths to choose from.

First, they forcibly broke through the blockade line set up by the officials!

Secondly, climb over the wall and cross the deep ditch!

After only a moment's thought, Qingdeng firmly chose the latter.

The reason for not choosing the former is due to many considerations.

At first glance, the blockade line organized by the magistrates and the officers of Shirobei's office at the gate of Yoshiwara seemed impenetrable, but in Aoto's eyes... even plastic wrap was hard compared to it.

With Qingdeng's abilities, defeating the officials on the blockade line was naturally not a difficult task.

However, doing so raises a problem that cannot be ignored—

In his race against time to get to the Yamato-ya, it was impossible for him to defeat every officer on the blockade line.

At most, he could "fight" his way out of the way and make him fly away.

In this way, the remaining officials who had not been defeated by him would inevitably hunt him down like madmen.

With the support of talents such as "Leading the Way", "Bear's Waist +1", and "Elephant's Core +1", it was not difficult for Qingdeng to shake off the officials' pursuit.

However, the footsteps and shouts of the officials were very likely to alert the gang of bandits who were suspected of hiding in the Yamato-ya.

Sawamachi isn't far from Yoshiwara...

If one's reckless actions alert the enemy, then the loss would outweigh the gain.

—I guess I'll have to try using a VPN...

Qingdeng looked up and gazed at the towering city wall, nearly 10 meters high, in the distance.

The last time I saw such high walls was when I entered Edo Castle and met Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin for the first time.

The most fatal flaw of the Yoshiwara Castle Wall is not its height, but its "smoothness".

The wall, which is 10 meters high, is straight and flat, with not a single place to grab onto.

To climb over such a city wall... the difficulty is considerable.

Even Qing Deng, who had already achieved a certain level of mastery in Cloud Flow Ninjutsu and possessed a great deal of powerful talent, was not entirely confident that he could overcome such a high wall.

However, apart from forcibly climbing over the wall, Aoto really couldn't think of a better way to leave Yoshiwara.

—Let's go!

Qing Deng tightened the straw hat on his head and the sword at his waist.

Whether in thinking or acting, he is extremely decisive—this is one of Qing Deng's most prized strengths.

Having made up his mind, there was no reason to back down. With this thought in mind, Qingdeng strode towards the distant city wall.

But at this moment—

"As expected... you still need my help."

Suddenly, a female voice rang out from behind Qingdeng.

An aged female voice.

For Qingdeng, it was a very familiar female voice, one he had only recently parted ways with.

Instantly, Qingdeng's face showed a mixture of surprise and confusion.

He quickly turned around and looked back.

What comes into view is a beautiful smile that, though marked by the passage of time, does not give the impression of ugliness.

"Gua Sheng...Mother-in-law...?"

Before Qing Deng could even voice his question, "How did you end up here?" Gu Shengxiu smiled gently.

"Hanada-kun, I'm here to help you."

"Ah, no, that's not right. I shouldn't call you 'Hanada-kun'."

As Guasheng Xiu spoke, he raised his delicate eyebrows slightly, a hint of cunning flashing in his eyes.

"I should call you 'Orange-kun' instead."

Before Qingdeng could react to Gusheng Xiu's words, the old woman, who had reunited with Qingdeng in less than 10 minutes, seemed to recall some sad event and let out a heavy sigh.

"Sigh, why is it that every man I think is exceptional is a wanted criminal who has to present a false identity..."

*******

*******

The author went on May Day... so today's update is a little shorter, I'm very sorry! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

But I'll still shamelessly ask for some monthly votes!

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 388 Escaping Yoshiwara and Heading to the Battlefield! [6200]

Yoshiwara, Daimon—

Shinzaburo held Aoto's portrait and carefully compared it to the face of the young man standing in front of him.

"Hmm... Pass!"

"Damn it, I can finally leave."

The young man swore and walked away.

Having worked at Shirobei's club for many years, Shinzaburo had long since mastered the skill of letting any insults or trash talk go in one ear and out the other.

He ignored the young man and waved to the long line ahead.

"Next!"

To expedite the inspection process, the magistrates, under orders, set up four checkpoints at the Yoshiwara gate. Due to a severe shortage of manpower, the magistrates only managed three of them, while the last one was assigned to Shirobei's office—the very place where Shinzaburo is currently working.

As he waited for the next inspector to come forward, Shinzaburo let out a heavy sigh.

—Sigh…why do I have to work for the Magistrate's Office…

Upon realizing this, a look of resentment appeared on Shinzaburo's face, as if he were recalling some hateful memory.

People at Shirobei's club generally disliked the officials and constables of the Magistrate's Office.

The reason was simple—the officials in the magistrate's office always looked down on them.

To put it nicely, Shirobei's clubhouse was "the magistrate's office of Yoshiwara".

To put it bluntly... or to use modern terms, Shirobei Club was nothing more than "the security team of a brothel".

In terms of rank and status, Shirobei's office was one level lower than the magistrate's office. Not only was it subject to the other's control in everything, but its supplies, equipment, and welfare benefits were also inferior.

The inequality in status made discrimination particularly severe between the two government agencies.

When dealing with the people from Shirobei's office, the officers and servants of the magistrate's office always acted arrogantly and bossily.

Just like just now—