I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Qingdeng responded in a concise tone:

“Mr. Arima, please don’t say that. I am already very grateful that you have the heart to stand up for my father.”

After speaking, Qingdeng lowered his head, his gaze following his fingers as he gently stroked the letter in his hand.

Ironically, Aoto had hoped that his secret meeting with Arima tonight would dispel some of the confusion in his mind.

As a result, after talking with Arima, the fog in my mind not only didn't lessen, but actually became thicker and more abundant...

He never imagined that Takayuki Tachibana would be connected with the elusive and mysterious Faju Party, a faction that Kiryu would always frown at the mere mention of...

"what……"

Qingdeng couldn't help but tilt his head back, face the ceiling, and let out a long sigh.

The past two weeks have felt like half a year...

There's more truth behind the truth...

There's more to the story than meets the eye...

Now that things have come to this, it wouldn't be surprising if even more shocking things were discovered later.

Thinking of this, a smile that seemed to be both a sneer and a self-mockery appeared on Qing Deng's lips.

"...Mr. Arima, do you know where the beginning of everything is...the schoolteacher who came to enforce the reported murder case lives now?"

In summary, according to what Arima Shisai said, the source of everything, everything, is that schoolteacher!

It was only after investigating the murder case reported by this person that Takayuki Tachibana began frequenting casinos and gradually began exhibiting those strange behaviors.

This person must know something!

Arima raised his gaze and stared straight at Aoto.

“I know where that person lives… but, Tachibana-kun, if you’re going to go and question him, you’re probably going to be disappointed.”

"why?"

"What you can think of, we have already thought of long ago."

"I, Inugani, and Ushiyama have visited that man more than once, hoping to obtain some useful information from him."

"To this end, we have used every means at our disposal, including persistent persuasion."

"But the man remained unmoved. To put it bluntly... he was like a 'living dead'."

"Although he is still alive, able to breathe and eat, his spirit and energy are no different from those of a dead person."

"No matter what we said or asked, he seemed to have lost his mind, neither responding nor paying attention to us."

"After a while, we gave up trying to extract information from him."

So that's the hidden story... Qingdeng thought to himself.

Even so, I still want to visit him.

Qing Deng said in a firm tone.

"...Alright, since you've brought it up so much, I won't say anything more. That person lives in Haramachi, 5-chome."

Arima quickly provided a detailed address.

Qingdeng silently memorized the address, then asked:

"Oh right, I forgot to ask, what's the schoolteacher's name?"

"His name is quite elegant; you can tell at a glance that it belongs to a Confucian scholar."

Arima twitched the corner of his mouth, then said, word by word:

"His name is Kikuchi Chisui."

……

……

The next day—

In the second year of Wanyan (1861), January 22nd——

Edo, somewhere—

Gray clouds hung low.

The weather today is not ideal.

As if unable to bear its own weight, the dark gray clouds hung extremely low, the sky was hazy, and only a few rays of sunlight seeped into the depths of the sky.

Therefore, although it was still morning, a sense of twilight and desolation had already enveloped the streets and alleys of Edo.

Qingdeng exhaled a cold breath, then tightened the black scarf around his neck.

"Ugh...it's so cold..."

A groan came from my right: Yae's.

"I told you, the weather is terrible today, damp and cold, and windy. I told you to wear more clothes, but you wouldn't listen. Look, now you're suffering!"

From the left came another senior's sarcastic remarks: Saeshige.

Aoto, Sajiro, and Yajiro walked briskly along the dusty red dirt road.

Last night, as he was leaving Arima's residence, Aoto reminded Arima, "Don't tell anyone I was here."

Although Kitahara Kōnosuke and others have been killed, there are even more powerful enemies lurking behind the scenes.

The enemy was unaware of his whereabouts—a rare advantage for Qing Deng. He didn't want to give up this advantage unless absolutely necessary.

Arima readily agreed to Aoto's request.

Aoto has absolute trust in Arima.

Now that he has agreed, he will absolutely keep quiet about what happened that night.

After leaving Arima's residence and successfully returning to Tsukimiya Shrine, Aoto went to bed for the first time in a long while.

In fact, with the blessing of "Divine Brain +9", Qingdeng could have stayed up another night without any problem.

However, considering that the dark secrets hidden beneath the surface are becoming increasingly difficult to describe, and given that we are currently in a state of confusion, it would not be surprising if we encountered any unexpected situations in the future.

Therefore, conserving energy and striving to be in the best physical and mental state at all times is the optimal solution at present.

From the moment he learned of Kikuchi Sensui's name from Arima, Aoto's heart was "captured" by this person.

Influenced by his natural talent for sleeping, Qingdeng woke up before 3 a.m.

With nothing to do... no, it should be said that Qingdeng had no interest in doing anything else, so he sat upright on the bedding and passed the time by meditating.

After a long wait, the first rays of dawn finally appeared in the eastern sky.

As soon as the sky began to lighten, Qingdeng immediately set off.

He originally intended to visit Kikuchi Chisui alone, but Tenshōin forced the two sisters to come along, saying, "You want to go alone? No, it's not safe enough."

Looking at the two very familiar little girls standing side by side in front of him, Qing Deng couldn't help but smile wryly and tease them:

"We really are destined to meet... No matter what we're doing, we always seem to run into each other."

Well, having a couple more assistants to help out is fine too.

And so, the trio of one adult and two children embarked on their journey to visit Kikuchi Chisui.

According to the address Arima reported last night, Kikuchi Chisui lives in Haramachi.

Haramachi... this is no good place.

This place is located on the outskirts of Edo, and is a famous slum where the residents are basically penniless people with nowhere to stand.

As Aoto and his group got closer to Haramachi, the surrounding street scene gradually underwent noticeable changes.

The road beneath our feet became increasingly dilapidated and muddy.

The buildings along the street became increasingly dilapidated and deserted.

The pedestrians I happened to encounter either looked numb and hurried along; or they huddled in the street corner like mud, completely motionless, their fate unknown.

Before long, after comparing the map, Qing Deng and his group finally arrived at the territory of Haramachi.

How should I put it... Haramachi's architectural layout is characterized by a "standard"—a standard slum.

The air was filled with dust and the smell of poverty.

Looking around, "black" and "gray" form the main color scheme of Haramachi.

Everywhere were burned-down houses, some of the wood and brick walls still bluish-black, as if the fire had just been extinguished; everywhere were clusters of collapsed ruins, just like fields of fallen wheat.

There are very few buildings that are in good condition.

A house with walls still standing and a relatively intact ceiling is considered a luxury villa in Haramachi.

"Is this... the Ansei earthquake...?"

Yae murmured.

"Hmm...it should be..."

Qingdeng nodded slightly.

In 1855, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Edo, killing and injuring over 10,000 people.

The earthquake not only collapsed countless houses, but also triggered widespread fires, nearly plunging Edo into flames.

Although the devastating earthquake that killed and injured so many people happened more than five years ago, due to the shogunate's limited finances and extremely low administrative efficiency, many backward areas of Edo are still in a state of "needing disaster relief" and "needing reconstruction" to this day—and Haramachi is obviously one of them.

At first glance, it seems that no residents can be seen, but upon closer inspection, many flesh-colored figures can be found moving around. They are hiding in dark alleys, gaps between houses, and other places, repeatedly scrutinizing the sudden visitors, Qing Deng and his group, with suspicious and wary eyes.

The wind blew, raising clouds of dust that made people instinctively raise their hands to cover their mouths and noses.

"...Let's go."

Qingdeng adjusted his straw hat and led the two sisters forward.

……

Aoto realized he had underestimated the complexity of Haramachi's terrain.

The map I had was outdated or for some other reason; it wasn't accurate at all.