I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Before he finished speaking, Qingdeng stepped out of the ground in two quick strides.

No sooner had Qingdeng stepped out of the house than he was enveloped by the overwhelming presence of fresh air.

The stench inside the house contrasted sharply with the freshness outside.

It must be said that the human body's ability to adapt is truly remarkable.

Just now, Qing Deng was so overwhelmed by the stench in Kikuchi Chisui's room that he almost vomited.

Now, his body has unknowingly become accustomed to the stench.

Suddenly returning from the "Demon Realm" to the "Normal World," Qing Deng inexplicably felt as if he had been transported to another world.

Qingdeng lowered his straw hat and strode forward along the road he had come from.

Suddenly, a familiar, aged male voice called out to him.

"Oh! Samurai sir! It's you! Have you found Kikuchi Chisui's house?"

Qingdeng turned his head to look—it turned out to be the old man who had given them directions earlier.

"Yes, thanks to you, we finally found Kikuchi Chisui's house. Sir, you've come at the right time. Do you know where we can buy sake?"

"Buy alcohol? Just walk straight down this road and you'll see a general store where you can buy alcohol. However, the alcohol sold there is all very bad and unpalatable. You can't find good alcohol in Haramachi."

"Go straight along this road... Okay, I understand. Thank you, sir."

"Hehehe, no need to thank me, it was just a small favor."

Before he finished speaking, the old man seemed to remember something. He raised his hand, gently stroked his white beard, and looked at Qingdeng with a curious gaze.

“Sir, judging from your appearance… you don’t seem to be Kikuchi’s creditor. Although I don’t know what your relationship with Kikuchi is, I advise you: stay away from that guy.”

Qingdeng raised an eyebrow.

"Shallowly associate yourself with Kikuchi Chisui? Why do you say that?"

The old man sighed.

"Alas... Where should I begin... Kikuchi... After his wife committed suicide, his mind became unstable. He drank heavily all day long and often talked nonsense that no one could understand."

"suicide?"

Qingdeng was momentarily stunned.

Just before Kikuchi Chisui's drinking urge flared up, he happened to be talking about his wife's past.

(Life after marrying Aqi wasn't wealthy, but I was genuinely happy. However... this happiness only lasted until 3 years ago... until that damned drug appeared...!)

Kikuchi Chisui's past is far more complicated than I imagined... Aoto thought to himself.

"...Grandpa, why did Kikuchi Chisui's wife commit suicide? Could you tell me the details?"

"Hmm... it's possible, but it happened so long ago that I don't remember many of the details."

"It's okay, just tell me as much as you remember."

"I see... alright then."

The old man stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then slowly said:

"This story... goes back to three years ago."

Three years ago... at this time again... Qing Deng's gaze sharpened, and he listened even more attentively.

“Aki… Ah, that is, Kikuchi Chisui’s wife has a younger sister named Aden.”

"Three years ago, Arden ran away to Edo because she could no longer endure her husband's domestic violence and stayed at her sister's house."

"Although they are sisters born of the same mother, Aqi and Aden have a very bad relationship."

"I've had the pleasure of meeting Aqi and Aden a few times. The two sisters have very different personalities. The older sister is quiet, while the younger sister is lively."

"In short, Aqi took Arden in out of sisterly affection."

"And then... the Kikuchi family never had a moment's peace."

“Aqi and Aden argue every other day.”

"One moment Aqi complains that Arden lacks manners, and the next moment Arden complains that Aqi is meddling too much."

"They almost came to blows several times. Luckily, Kikuchi was there every time they were about to fight and stopped them in time. Otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble they would have caused."

“This kind of environment, where there is a small argument every day and a big argument every three days, is torture for anyone.”

"So not long after, Aqi unceremoniously ordered Arden to leave her home and find a new place to live."

“Aden was a complete stranger in Edo. Apart from her sister, Aki, and brother-in-law, Kikuchi, she had no other acquaintances in Edo. She also had no money. If she couldn’t stay at Kikuchi and Aki’s house, she would have no choice but to sleep on the streets.”

"Although Aqi's approach is a bit cruel, it is understandable. After all, she is the lady of the house, and it is her freedom to decide who lives in her house and who doesn't."

"Just when Arden was about to be kicked out, Kikuchi stepped forward."

“He advised Aqi to calm down, saying that ‘driving Arden away is no different from indirectly killing her.’”

"Kikuchi is indeed a teacher; his eloquence is truly exceptional."

“With just a few words from him, Aqi changed his mind, and Arden was able to continue living in their home.”

“Sigh… Looking back now, it was a really bad decision… Kikuchi shouldn’t have tried to keep Arden.”

At this point, the old man took the pipe out of his mouth, banged it against a stone next to him a few times to shake off the ash, then stuffed it with fresh tobacco, lit it, and brought it back to his lips, taking a deep drag.

"call……"

Perhaps due to the poor quality of the tobacco, the smoke was unusually heavy.

A thick, translucent white mist emanated from the old man's lips, swirling around him and making his face appear hazy and indistinct.

"Not long after Kikuchi tried to persuade Arden to stay... tragedy struck."

"I remember it very clearly, it was a rainy night."

"Even though it was already evening, the Kikuchi family had neither lit any lamps nor cooked any food."

"The neighbors nearby felt something was wrong, so they knocked on their door."

"However, no matter how much people shouted or knocked on the door, there was no response from inside."

"Just when everyone was at a loss... suddenly, someone smelled a strange odor."

"That's a smell that everyone who cooks regularly will be very familiar with—the smell of fresh blood..."

"And the place from which this bloody smell wafted was Kikuchi's home."

"No one can remain calm after smelling this blood."

"Everyone forgot about etiquette and manners and hurriedly pushed open the door of Kikuchi's house and filed in."

"What happened next... I didn't witness it with my own eyes, but I can imagine how terrible it was."

"After everyone rushed into the house, they found Arden dead with his eyes wide open in the hall."

"According to eyewitnesses, Arden's death was incredibly gruesome..."

The old man pointed to his neck.

"A sword was stuck in his neck, striking his artery, killing him instantly."

"Blood was splattered all over the room—the ceiling, the floor, the closets, blood was everywhere."

"Not long after everyone broke down the door, Kikuchi returned from his class at the private school—he fainted upon seeing Arden's body."

"Arden died tragically, Kikuchi returned home, but only Aki disappeared without a trace."

"Even a roughneck like me who can't read a single word knows that Aqi, who has always been at odds with Arden, is the prime suspect in the murder!"

“We immediately reported to the authorities and then cooperated with the officers to search for Aqi everywhere.”

"In just half a day, we found Aqi in a nearby dilapidated temple... to be precise, we found Aqi who had committed suicide."

“Aqi leaned against a dilapidated Buddha statue and died by stabbing himself in the throat.”

The old man raised his hand and made a gesture as if he were stabbing himself in the throat.

"We found Aqi's suicide note next to her body."

"After comparison by experts, it was confirmed that the suicide note was indeed written by Aqi. Every word in it matches Aqi's handwriting."

"The contents of the suicide note... can be summed up in one sentence: repentance."

“In her suicide note, Aqi confessed that she was the one who killed Arden.”

"Her motive for killing was simply a momentary loss of emotional control."

"Just moments before Arden died, she had another argument with him."

"In a fit of rage, she pulled out her pocket sword for self-defense... and accidentally killed Arden."

"Afterwards, she felt very remorseful, so she decided to come to the Buddhist temple to repent to Buddha and atone for her sins with her death."

"With both witnesses and physical evidence, the case is clear. Therefore, the government has concluded that the murderer committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and the case is now closed."

"Within a single day, he lost his sister-in-law and his beloved wife... From then on, Kikuchi's mind became somewhat unstable."

"He resigned from his job as a teacher, moved his family to the current dilapidated place, and drank heavily every day."

"Ah, what a pity... Thinking back to the days, Kikuchi was so full of vigor, with a respectable job and a loving wife by his side. Now... sigh..."

"Although Kikuchi was half a victim in the whole incident, some people believe that Kikuchi brought it on himself."

A knowing smile appeared on the old man's face. He changed his sitting posture and leisurely took several puffs of his cigarette.

"Shortly after this tragedy, a rumor circulated that Aqi killed Arden not because of a 'momentary loss of control,' but because it was premeditated and he wanted to take revenge on Arden."

"The two sisters not only have very different personalities, but also have quite different appearances."

"Arden is very beautiful. Everyone who has seen Arden and Archie generally thinks that Archie is not as good-looking as Arden."

"Therefore, many people believe that Arden and Kikuchi had an affair!"

"The reason Kikuchi tried to keep Arden from leaving when she was about to be kicked out was because they were having an affair!"

*******

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I slept for more than ten hours again yesterday... When will I finally recover?! (crying leopard head.jpg).