I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Two walking styles that Qingdeng absolutely must not mistake...

Along with the sound of footsteps, a shimmering aura drifted towards Qingdeng.

As if by reflex, Qingdeng looked up in shock at the stone steps above her head—before her were two high ponytails, one long and one short, swaying back and forth...

*******

*******

After nearly two weeks of rest, aside from a lingering cough, Leopard has largely recovered! He's not as sleepy anymore, and he's not as lethargic as before! COVID-19 is nothing to him (Leopard's arrogance.jpg)

Due to COVID-19 and other reasons, Leopard has really been underperforming this month.

To repay everyone, starting tomorrow, Leopard will go back to being the conscientious leopard he used to be!

Chapter 410! You can post anything! Posts of Aoto and Sanako Souji! [4300]

Aoto reflexively raised his head, but the moment he saw Sanako and Souji's faces, he reflexively lowered his head again.

—What are Ms. Okita and Ms. Sanako doing here?!

A tremendous upheaval swept through Qing Deng's heart and mind.

—Did they just happen to be passing by?

—If that's the case, then it's too much of a coincidence...!

Although Qingdeng's brain was in a semi-shutdown state due to extreme shock, his body's reactions and movements remained sharp.

He quickly raised his right hand, pressed down on the straw hat on his head, and lowered the brim of the hat.

The eyes, hidden deep within the brim of the hat, gleamed with a complex light.

Under normal circumstances, if Aoto were to bump into Sanako and Souji outdoors, he would definitely have greeted them warmly.

But right now... Qingdeng doesn't want to reunite with them so soon.

Using his straw hat as cover, Qing Deng secretly raised his eyes and peered at Sanako and Souji's faces through the gaps in the bamboo strips.

Looking at those two familiar faces, a peaceful smile spread across Qingdeng's cheeks.

Although only a little over half a month has passed since the fire at the prison house in Kodenma Town, Aoto inexplicably feels as if he has been separated from Souji and the others for a long time.

Qing Deng also longed to meet with Sanako, Souji, Kinoshita Mai, Elodie, and all his relatives and friends.

The reason he had been pretending to be missing was mainly to hide his whereabouts and thus mislead the gang of bandits who were hunting him down, namely Kitahara Konosuke and others.

At present, Kitahara Konosuke and others have been captured.

However... just as one wave subsided, another arose.

Just as Aoto caught the real culprit who was willing to burn down the Kodenma Town prison and wipe out the entire Akabane family to kill him, he encountered an even bigger and more important case...

It is now almost certain that the reason why Kitahara Konosuke and others have such deep hatred for Aoto is because his father, Tachibana Takayuki, did something terrible.

His father, Tachibana Takayuki, has an intricate and complicated connection with the "cursed drug" that led to the massacre of the Kanazawa siblings...

Pulling out the radish brings out the mud along with it.

It's fine if you don't investigate, but once you do, it's terrifying.

Behind this seemingly harmless but actually dangerous drug lies a multitude of powerful forces…

The Shimizu clan, whose influence extends throughout the Kanto region and who dominate the underground society of Edo...

The elusive and mysterious "Law Extermination Party," deeply feared by a legendary figure like Kiryu...

Neither the powerful and influential Shimizu clan nor the mysterious and unpredictable Fazhu Party are easy to mess with.

As long as Qing Deng continues his thorough investigation into the strange medicine, he will inevitably have an indirect or even direct conflict with the Qing Shui clan and the Fa Zhu Party someday in the future.

Therefore, Qing Deng was even more reluctant to lift his "disappearance" status so quickly—he was afraid that in the process of fighting against the Qingshui Clan and the Fazhu Party, he would implicate his relatives and friends.

He planned to return to the Shieikan, which had long since become like his home, and to reunite with everyone after everything had settled down.

Upon realizing this, Qingdeng's expression turned solemn, and he silently lowered the straw hat on his head even further.

—I absolutely cannot let Ms. Sanako and Ms. Okita recognize me!

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Qing Deng shifted his gaze and scanned his surroundings.

Behind them are two sisters.

Beneath their feet were stone steps, just wide enough for two adults to walk side by side.

There are dense forests on both sides.

Whether you step into the nearby woods or simply turn around and walk back, it would be too unnatural and would only make you stand out...

So, Aoto quickly came up with the best decision for the current situation—keep moving forward! Pretend not to know Sanako and Souji, and just walk right past them!

The low-brimmed conical hat almost completely covered his face.

Because she was wearing a thick cotton coat, her figure wasn't showing.

The sword at his waist was also replaced with a new sword that Souji and the others had never seen before.

If you just pay close attention and remember not to look up or show your face, then Sanako and Souji will never recognize him!

With this in mind, Qing Deng felt much more at ease.

At this moment, Sanako and Souji's footsteps were already close to Aoto's head.

They were only 9 steps away from Qingdeng.

Qingdeng took a deep breath to calm himself down.

He dared not raise his head again, so he could only keep his head down and listen to the sound to locate it.

Even during the decisive battle with the Exile Group, or when he nearly perished in the fire at the Kodenma Town prison, a sense of tension he had never experienced before entwined around Aoto's body like vines.

As if a loudspeaker had been installed, Sanako and Souji's footsteps sounded unusually loud to Aoto's perception.

It was just like striking a gong, one strike after another on Qingdeng's eardrums.

Elegant footsteps, energetic footsteps… Qing Deng could hear these two distinct and unique footsteps with perfect clarity, getting closer and louder as they approached him…

八步……

七步……

Six steps...

I could smell her fresh body fragrance.

Five steps...

four steps...

Three steps...

The exposed skin felt the scorching heat emanating from Sanako and Souji.

Earlier, Sanako and Souji had noticed a samurai wearing a straw hat and two petite, cute girls, and they had run into each other.

They didn't pay much attention and quietly moved to the right, making way for the other side to pass.

Just as the two were about to pass each other, Sanako and Souji glanced at the straw-hatted samurai... namely, Aoto.

They probably never expected to run into Qing Deng in such a place, so they regarded the straw-hatted samurai in front of them as an ordinary passerby.

He glanced at Qingdeng once before looking away.

And so, Qingdeng passed by the two women without incident...

Hearing the two footsteps he had left behind, Qing Deng silently let out a long breath.

The crisis is over.

However, Qing Deng did not feel fortunate because of this—he only felt sorry.

A wave of apology washed over Qingdeng's heart and cheeks.

—Miss Sanako, Miss Okita…I’m sorry…I can’t meet you yet…

Qingdeng, with a somber expression, pulled his straw hat down even lower...

"Junior, what's wrong?"

Suddenly, Yae behind him spoke up and asked.

"Am I just imagining things? I always feel like there's something strange about you."

Although Yae usually appears carefree and easygoing, she is actually quite meticulous despite her seemingly rough exterior.

She keenly noticed the various unnatural aspects of Qing Deng's behavior.

Qing Deng gave a bitter smile.

Just as he was about to explain—

Snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap!

Two rapid footsteps suddenly came from behind Qingdeng!

This time it was truly a conditioned reflex—Qing Deng, who had clashed with various adversaries over the years, activated his fighting instincts the instant he heard those two sets of running sounds!

He turned around with lightning speed and reached for Echizen Sumitomo Riku no Kami Kaneshige at his left waist.

however……

Qing Deng turned around and gripped his knife in an instant, then froze in an instant.

His right hand, which was gripping the hilt of his sword, suddenly stiffened, and he couldn't move a single finger.

No.

It should be said that his entire body was stiff...

Before his eyes, two high ponytails, one long and one short, flew high into the air...

……

To avoid being recognized, Qingdeng kept his head down, his gaze fixed on the steps in front of his toes.

For this reason, what he didn't know was that—in the instant his sleeves brushed against the two women and they passed each other, Sanako and Souji seemed to sense something, and their expressions froze.