I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The point of conflict between Souji and Aoto lies here.

Qingdeng wanted to marry them all as his principal wives.

However, in the eyes of the women who had been influenced by feudal ideas since childhood, once Qingdeng married another girl as his principal wife, when he married them again, they would automatically be reduced to "concubines" whose status in the household was no different from that of "high-ranking servants".

Legend has it that the nosy crowd who loved to watch the drama frightened the lark, causing her to develop a mental illness and become afraid to go out or see anyone except Shimano.

It is even said that after learning that her identity as a prostitute had caused Shimano a lot of trouble, Bailing felt deeply guilty and filed for divorce from him.

External forces and internal conflicts—Shimano withstood it all with astonishing mental fortitude.

He simply laughed off the ridicule from outsiders.

He did everything he could to support his wife, who was vulnerable.

Over time, as the news of "the official in charge of the proclamation taking a prostitute as his wife" faded from public attention, people's focus shifted to new hot topics, and no one had the time to pay attention to this couple with special status anymore.

This couple, whose lives were full of hardships, finally settled into an ordinary, normal, yet happy life.

Whether in public or in private, Shimano always treated Lark with great respect and never acted like a "macho man" or "the savior who redeemed you from your servitude."

As for Bai Ling, when she married Shimano, she gave up her nickname "Bai Ling" and changed her name to "Shimano Rei," devoting herself wholeheartedly to managing the household and striving to play the role of a good wife.

Gradually, the nearby residents stopped looking at the couple with prejudice.

Gradually, the Shimano couple became a well-known loving couple, and their story became a popular topic of conversation.

Qingdeng probably never imagined that he would actually become a matchmaker, indirectly bringing together a loving couple.

……

……

Back to the present—

Edo, Sawamachi

As I turned the corner of an izakaya, it was as if a piece of the black wall had fallen down, and a tall, dark figure silently appeared at the crossroads.

[Open alleyway: A narrow path between two rows of houses without any roof overhang.]

It was Qingdeng who rushed here after saying goodbye to Gusheng Xiu.

"Finally arrived..." Aoto thought. "As long as I cross this open road, I'll reach the second-chome of Sawamura-cho."

Aoto was not familiar with the area, so he did not know exactly where Yamato-ya was located in Sawa-cho.

After arriving at 2-chome in Sawamachi, it will take some time to search for the location of the Yamato-ya.

Fortunately, Sawa Town is not very large.

Throughout Edo, there were nearly two thousand towns and villages. Although the number was large, the vast majority of them were only two or three streets in size, or even just one street.

Thinking about it this way, finding the exact location of the Yamato-ya shouldn't take too long.

With this thought in mind, Qing Deng lightly pressed down the straw hat on his head and stepped forward.

His figure blended into the darkness of the open road.

He stepped lightly on the ditch with silent footsteps.

Ditch board: A wooden plank laid over a drainage ditch.

At this moment, several white streaks that seemed to appear out of thin air could be vaguely seen on the green platform directly in front of them.

"It's snowing..."

As Qingdeng continued walking forward, he raised the brim of his hat and looked up at the "white sprite" that was gently drifting down.

"This snow couldn't have come at the worst possible time..."

As he murmured this, Qing Deng frowned slightly, his expression darkening.

Once the snow has accumulated on the ground, it becomes difficult to remain still while walking.

The crunching sound of footsteps on the snow was especially pleasing to the ear in the dead of night.

Furthermore, being in a snow-covered, pristine landscape makes it difficult to conceal one's presence.

—We need to speed things up a bit…

Qingdeng wore a straw hat.

The wide conical hat with a low brim has become an excellent snow hat for the time being.

However, two or three mischievous snowflakes, blown by the knife-like cold night wind, still managed to fall diagonally into the back of Qingdeng's neck.

As if telling a story of the brevity of life, the snowflakes disappeared immediately upon touching Qingdeng's skin.

The cool touch made Qingdeng's already quite alert consciousness even more active.

In fact, Qing Deng's eyes haven't closed since last night.

The reason for this is all thanks to the new talent he received last night from my grandson, Chutaro: "Divine Brain +9".

As Qing Deng had predicted, "Divine Brain +9" not only extended his ability to concentrate for a long time, but also made him less prone to drowsiness, and the rest time his brain needed... In layman's terms, it further reduced his sleep time.

Since copying "Sleepy God," Qingdeng's daily free time has increased significantly for the first time in a long time.

Going to work, practicing martial arts, reading, building relationships with women like Souji, chatting and drinking with his good buddies like Kondo... there are just too many things Aoto can and should do every day.

Therefore, he would never complain about having too much time.

He wished he could become a superman who never needed to sleep.

Therefore, Qing Deng was very satisfied with his new talent.

However, the habit of "going to bed at 10 o'clock every night" had long been ingrained in his subconscious.

It will take him quite some time to fully adapt to this sudden change in his physical rhythm.

call!

A particularly strong gust of cold wind suddenly blew against Qingdeng from the front.

The exit of the open road beneath his feet was now right in front of him.

Due to the "narrowing effect," the wind has become much stronger.

Upon seeing this, Qingdeng quickly cleared his mind of all distractions and focused all his attention back on the important matter at hand.

He was lucky.

In a short while, he found a wooden-style inn with a sign that read "Yamato-ya" in a corner of Sawamachi 2-chome.

Inns during the Edo period were divided into the following four levels:

First, the main camp: a residence only for daimyo, nobles, and high-ranking officials of the shogunate. Now, as the captain of the 3rd Division of the Fire Thieves, Aoto can stay in this level of inn when he is on official business, by presenting his identification.

Second, the Wakemoto-jin: a residential facility that provides services to daimyo of relatively lower-ranking domains and their retinues.

Third, the inn: the most common type of inn catering specifically to ordinary samurai and commoners. They generally provide meals and are divided into "Imemori-ryō" (rice-serving innkeepers) and "Hirō-ryō" (plain innkeepers) which do not offer this service. [Imemori-onna: As the name suggests, they are women who serve rice to guests in the inn, but in reality, they provide sexual services to male travelers. However, not all Imemori-onna are prostitutes.]

4. Wooden Inn: The cheapest accommodation, which does not include meals or bedding. The price is generally only one-fifth of that of a traditional lodging.

From the outside, Yamato-ya is a fairly common wooden rental house.

A dilapidated ceiling, old walls, two-story height, and a space that is neither too big nor too small.

It's a little past 10 p.m. now.

In a time when entertainment options are scarce, most of Edo at this hour is already enveloped in the embrace of night, except for a very few special places like Yoshiwara.

Inside and outside the Yamato House, it was pitch black and quiet, without a single ray of light.

—Okay… let’s sneak in and take a look…

Just as Qing Deng was having this thought, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a lone figure walking straight toward him out of the corner of his right eye.

This person walks very fast.

In no time, he moved from the street corner a hundred meters away to a spot not far from Qingdeng.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any passersby on the streets of Edo at this time...

Sensing something amiss, Qingdeng instinctively crouched down and hid in the darkness.

At almost the same instant that he used his "cat's eye" night vision to examine the newcomer's face—

—Hmm? He is...?!

Qingdeng's eyes widened in surprise.

This "uninvited guest"... Qingdeng recognized him.

It was Kitahara Kōnosuke, the "Shimizu Clan" executive who imprisoned Ōtsuki Tsunetsuki because his lover had been poached by him!

Last year, near New Year's Day, in order to repay the debt of gratitude to Miyabe Shunzo (Otsuki Minoru's biological father), he agreed to Otsuki Minoru's desperate pleas and, together with Sanako, went to Kitahara Konosuke's casino to rescue Otsuki Tsuneji from his clutches.

Just as Aoto was still in surprise, he saw Kitahara Konosuke stop in his tracks—he stopped outside the Yamato-ya shop and then stepped across the threshold of the Yamato-ya without the slightest hesitation.

Immediately afterwards, a white-tinged-with-red candlelight suddenly shone through one of the windows in the Yamato room...

"..."

Upon seeing this, Qing Deng revealed a thoughtful expression, devoid of sorrow or joy.

"what……"

His tightly closed lips parted slightly, and hot, stale air escaped from between his teeth.

"The whole incident is getting more and more confusing..."

After muttering this to himself, Qing Deng removed the straw hat from his head, which was an obstacle to his infiltration, and then walked toward the Yamato-ya without the slightest hesitation.

He quietly circled the Yamato-ya and quickly found the best entrance.

With a light leap, he grabbed a rafter under the eaves, then flipped upwards like origami, landing on the roof of the first floor of the Yamato-ya. His figure then vanished into the pitch-black night…

……

……

The Yamato-ya, which only has two floors, is not very big. Moreover, since it is just a wooden lodging-level inn, the interior is quite simple... even rough. So Aoto quickly sneaked up to the room above the one that suddenly lit up with candlelight by following the dirty ceiling full of dust and cobwebs.

Before he even got close, Qingdeng could hear a very noisy argument coming from inside the room.

Since he couldn't find any gaps or openings to peer down, Qing Deng had to rely on sound to locate people and gather information entirely through his ears.