I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

—Oh, it was just a reminder to pay attention to the terrain...

Qing Deng breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and said:

"Thank you for your suggestion, we will take it into consideration."

At this moment, the old man seemed to be worried about something, his face showed hesitation, and he even hunched his shoulders.

After a moment, he asked cautiously:

"Sir, I'll take you this far, is that alright?"

The old man probably thought that traveling back and forth between Edo and Kikyoyama would take too much time and effort, so he wanted to give up.

For Qingdeng, as long as he knew the exact location of Kikyo Mountain, it didn't matter whether the old man was willing to continue leading the way.

So, Qingdeng nodded slightly.

"Yes, sir, thank you for your hard work."

After saying that, Qingdeng took out 20 copper coins from his pocket and handed them to the old man.

Feeling the heavy weight in his palm, the old man immediately beamed with joy, his mouth wide open to reveal a mouthful of rotten and yellow teeth.

After saying a lot of auspicious and pleasant things like "Warrior sir, I wish you a safe and smooth journey," he pocketed the money Qingdeng had given him and hurried away excitedly.

"Did you all hear that?"

Aoto turned his head to the side and spoke to Sanako and Souji behind him.

"If you walk another mile, you will reach Kikyo Mountain."

"We still have a long way to go..."

Souji pursed her beautiful red lips, then squatted down and hugged her legs.

Her figure was already petite and delicate, and after striking this pose, she looked even more clever and cute.

Seeing this, Qing Deng gave a wry smile.

"Hang in there a little longer. If it's really tough, I can carry you on my back."

Before Souji could say anything after Qing Deng said this, Sanako was the first to react.

Her curvaceous and beautiful body trembled slightly.

Immediately afterwards, she raised her gaze, looked at Qing Deng, and then at the Chief, her beautiful eyes flashing with long, intriguing glances.

The emotions in his eyes were hard to fathom... it seemed like both impatience and displeasure...

"no thanks."

The commander chuckled, stood up, and put his hands on his hips.

"Don't underestimate me! I'm a samurai, after all. This distance is no challenge for me!"

Qing Deng stared intently at the commander's face.

Only after confirming that the commander-in-chief was in good spirits, with a rosy complexion and no sign of fatigue did Qing Deng's facial features gradually relax.

But just to be on the safe side, he still spoke in a serious tone:

"Don't push yourself. If you really feel tired, just tell me. You're not that heavy, so carrying you won't be a problem."

After speaking, Qing Deng turned to Sanako beside him and said the same thing:

“Ms. Sanako, you too. If you feel tired…”

Before Qing Deng could finish speaking, Sanako interrupted him, saying:

"No need to worry. Although I dare not claim to be in excellent health, this short distance is not difficult for me."

Seeing that both Sanako and Souji had said so, Aoto wisely shut his mouth and said no more.

"Let's go," Qingdeng said, and then headed straight toward the ridgeline ahead.

The commander-in-chief followed closely behind.

Sanako lagged behind Souji by half a step, walking at the very back of the three. Along the way, she unconsciously raised her gaze several times, casting intriguing glances at Aoto and Souji in front of her…

……

……

Qing Deng and the others were all martial artists, so they naturally had no shortage of stamina and strength.

About 20 minutes later, they crossed the dense reed field and successfully reached the foot of Mount Kikyo, where they began their ascent.

Kikyo Mountain's first impression of Qingdeng was that it was full of pristine natural scenery.

The air was very fresh, and there was no trace of human civilization in it.

The murmuring of the river could be heard from afar, interspersed with occasional roars.

On the distant cliff face, snow-white water cascades down from the mountain hollow into the pool, then converges into streams that continue to flow downstream, creating numerous puddles and muddy areas along their course.

Qingdeng knew nothing about botany, so he couldn't name the exact flowers, plants, and trees on Kikyo Mountain.

Despite it being winter, all the trees within Qingdeng's sight remained lush and verdant, their branches bathed in soft, sweet sunlight.

Every now and then you can hear the chirping of birds, which perch on the treetops, constantly shaking their tails, their shadows clearly reflected on the ground.

A north wind blew, the forest rustled, and shadows of varying depths shifted among the trees. The net-like light filtering through the leaves swayed rapidly like a pendulum over Qing Deng and the others.

According to Goro Ugaki, Takayuki Tachibana's "secret base" was located on the summit of Mount Kikyo.

How difficult can mountain climbing be? Just keep walking straight toward the summit—this was Qingdeng's original idea.

The roads on Kikyo Mountain are really terrible.

There was no way to rush straight up the mountain; we could only look for any available path to take.

In addition, the difficulty of the mountain trail far exceeded the expectations of the Qingshan Climbing Team.

The ground beneath your feet is uneven and rough. Not only are you tired, but you could also twist your ankle or even fall to the ground if you're not careful.

However, despite their exhaustion, the beautiful scenery along the way made Qingdeng and the others feel refreshed and even forgot much of their fatigue.

Sometimes the branches drooped low, and the three of them quickly bent down.

Sometimes, a few tendrils hang down from the branches, holding onto the flowers.

Sometimes you'll see brightly colored little birds perched on old trees by the roadside, curiously watching a man and two women below.

Climbing hills, leaping down slopes, pushing through jungle...

After walking for a while, Qingdeng suddenly felt a surge of heat.

At first, Qing Deng didn't care about this.

After walking a little further, and passing through a small grove of bushes, a pool of clear, blue spring water suddenly appeared before him.

Ripples spread across the calm surface of the pool, reflecting the floating clouds.

Qingdeng blinked in astonishment—he was surprised to find that the heat permeating the air was coming from this spring.

"This is……?"

Qingdeng squatted down and reached his hand into the water.

What traveled up the nerves in my fingers was not a biting cold, but a gentle warmth.

At the same time that Qingdeng squatted down to test the water, Souji, who was standing next to him, also noticed that this spring was unusual and extended his right index finger to poke the surface of the pool like a dragonfly skimming the water.

Immediately afterward, a look of shock flashed across her face, and she uttered that word for Qing Deng—

"This is... a hot spring?!"

Even in the dead of winter, the spring water wasn't cold at all... There was only one reason Qingdeng could think of—there was a hot spring source underneath!

Because it is located between two tectonic plates, Japan experiences many earthquakes and volcanoes.

While such a harsh geographical environment has brought a lot of trouble and disaster to this small island nation, it has also brought a rare benefit: abundant high-quality hot springs.

For example, Mount Hakone, not far from Edo, is a famous hot spring resort, known as the "Hot Spring Town" of Japan. The "Seven Hot Springs of Hakone" have long enjoyed a great reputation.

The hot springs in the Tohoku region of Japan, specifically the Ou region, are renowned.

Qingdeng was greatly surprised and couldn't help but put most of his arm into the depths of the spring.

This was the first time in Qing Deng's life that he had encountered a real hot spring—in his previous life, he had only ever seen boiler water that was called "hot spring".

A strange, foul odor permeated the surroundings—this must be the smell of sulfur.

Upon hearing the word "hot spring," Sanako immediately showed curiosity.

She strode forward, gracefully crouched down, and gently touched the spring water with her slender fingers.

"It really is a hot spring... but... the temperature isn't very high."

Qingdeng nodded and echoed:

"Indeed... the temperature isn't very high, and the pool is quite shallow."

According to Qingdeng's rough estimate, the temperature of the spring water is around 40 degrees Celsius.

In this frigid weather where your breath can produce ice crystals, this temperature is only enough to provide a slight sense of warmth.

In addition, the pool is not deep enough.

Qingdeng only stretched half an arm in before touching the bottom of the spring—it was only deep enough to soak one's feet.

"Okita-kun, Sanako-san, let's go."

As Qingdeng spoke, he withdrew his arm from the pool.

Hot springs are simply mineral spring water containing trace elements that are beneficial to human health—that's all Qingdeng thinks about hot springs.

In short, Aoto doesn't have any special feelings for hot springs.

He regarded the "discovery of the hot spring" as a minor accident or episode and didn't take it to heart at all.

However... his indifference to hot springs doesn't mean that others are indifferent to them.

"Tachibana-kun!"

The commander's sudden loud voice startled Qing Deng.

"Whoa! W-what happened?"