Miss Heber is fighting her way out of the Lostbelt!

Eastern Scroll: 106 Fireworks Display

In an even more distant era, it was said that swordsmen exchanged hearts with swords, and amidst wounds, blood, and sweat, two different souls intertwined to the rhythm of their heartbeats.

Heber didn't take it seriously before, but when the two wooden swords crossed each other, she really felt Okita Souji's sincerity in his love for the sword.

Therefore, she understood why Okita Souji felt despair in history - if she had not lived longer, she would have been able to climb to a higher mountain top and open the door to becoming a swordsman in the turbulent era of the late shogunate.

Besides that, there was probably also the regret of not being able to die in battle with his Shinsengumi comrades.

She had clearly decided to dirty her hands and embark on this path of slaughter, but in the end, she could not hold back, nor could she prove anything. Okita Souji's life was like the setting sun, which meant saying goodbye to all the hustle and bustle. She did not like loneliness, she felt sad.

This delicate and cautious emotion was conveyed to Heber at the moment when the wooden swords crossed.

Okita Souji was probably still afraid. After all, she was different from Saga. She was the kind of person who knew fear and still tried hard to hold the sword.

Hebe admired and liked both types of people.

Who wouldn’t love a hard-working child?

So in the secluded courtyard, the sound of wooden swords clashing could be heard most of the time.

The members of the Shinsengumi were a little curious. They found it hard to understand why the relationship between Okita Souji and Heber suddenly heated up.

As another pinnacle of Shinsengumi swordsmanship, Saito Ichi guessed some of the reasons, but he didn't say it.

This guy is so mean and evil.

But time waits for no one, and it slowly arrives in August.

The weather is getting hotter, people are getting restless, the days are getting longer and the nights are getting shorter.

Summer has arrived in Kyoto, and amid the noisy chirping of cicadas, Souji Okita knocked on Heber's door.

Heber exchanged a glance with her, then turned to grab his wooden sword, but the young swordsman grabbed his sleeve.

"No sword practice today." Okita Souji's mouth curled up slightly. "There's a fireworks display tonight in Kyoto Castle Town, and we have to go and maintain order."

Heber nodded: "Okay, come see me tomorrow."

She turned and was about to go back into the room.

The heroic swordsman "Ghost One's Eyes" has been locking onto Li Xi's whereabouts from high in the sky. During this period of time, the latter has been wandering around the outside of Kyoto.

Heber guessed that Li Xi was probably waiting for the opportunity.

As the issuer of the amulets, Heber was able to roughly sense the location of Mount Mikasa, which, like Cape Asuka, was considered a "borderland." The Special Patrol Office had put a lot of effort into opening the gates to Cape Asuka, including the "correct ritual at the correct time."

Hebe had countless opportunities to try and fail, but Tanuki didn't - she had to wait until Mount Yuga was closest to the world.

According to Heber's speculation, this time point is probably five days later.

Seeing that Heber really wanted to go back to the room, Okita Souji hurried over and tugged at her clothes: "No, no, I want to invite you to go to the fireworks show with me!"

The fox demon raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, see you tonight then."

......

The golden-purple twilight gradually merged with the sunset glow in the sky, and noisy sounds came from afar.

Hebe walked out of the door holding a round fan with a white background. Golden tassels shaped like wheat ears hung from her coral hairpin. Her fox ears and tail were intact under the cover of the illusion.

Outside the door, Okita Souji, wearing a blue patterned yukata, was struggling with the wakizashi around his waist.

Wearing this outfit, Okita Souji looks very slim, and the yukata itself is not suitable for carrying a sword, so the young swordsman looks a little clumsy for a moment.

Fortunately, she finally got the cheap wakizashi, so she waved to Hebe happily, and the ribbon tied up her hair swayed like a lively big butterfly.

"I thought Miss Okita would wear a haori and carry the Kikuchimonji sword." Heber waved his fan.

"It's a replica, a replica," the cherry-colored girl replied. "And lately, it seems the Kenkai-gumi are doing the security work in Kyoto, while we Shinsengumi are just collecting salaries from the shogunate."

"Do you feel unworthy of this?"

"Not really." Okita Souji grinned, his smile very innocent. "It's really great to get a salary without doing anything."

Heber smiled.

In the past, the Shinsengumi was just a group of young people with nothing but passion, who were aggressive towards the outside world and ruled with high pressure at home.

In the end, when the Shinsengumi was on its way to its end, not many people spoke up for it.

And the current situation is exactly what all parties want to see.

Residents of Kyoto Castle have already set up stalls near the festival grounds, and beneath the trestle signs, fresh ingredients are being chopped and sliced on cutting boards. It's still just the preparation stage, but after a day of brewing, the atmosphere is already full.

From afar came the rhythmic beat of wooden clappers and the sound of folk songs. The wind off the river finally brought a damp coolness. The long string holding the lanterns was stretched, and the shrine's priests stood at the end, waving their arms in signal. The dim lights lit up one after another, drenching the festival in a soft hue.

Summer has arrived.

The floats began to parade, and in the center of the crowd, men carrying the floats marched in front, beating drums. On the streets on both sides of the riverbank, the rich aroma of food and soup began to waft freely, and at this moment, an even more magnificent fire rose from the pre-stacked wood.

Someone released lanterns in the river, and then the river, mountains, sky and earth were scattered and it was difficult to distinguish them. Everything turned into a ball of warm light.

The crowd was surging, but the fox demon moved through it like a fish in water. When Okita Souji turned around, Heber had disappeared.

Just when the young swordsman was anxious, the fox demon appeared from the crowd again and stood quietly on her left.

Okita Souji turned around in surprise, but the pendant on the hilt happened to hook Heber's cuff.

She hurriedly took a half step back.

Hebe covered the corners of her mouth with a round fan, she seemed to be smiling.

The hem of the light green yukata swept across the white toes, and in the halo of the goldfish lantern, Okita Souji seemed to see a pair of translucent fox ears.

"Please be careful, Ms. Okita." The fox's ending tone was like a sticky rice dumpling dipped in sugar. "It's okay to break the candy apple, but if you damage your clothes in a crowd, it will take a lot of effort to cover it up..."

She seemed to be teasing, but also seemed to be giving a warning.

The voice, which was only audible to the two of them, was concealed by the white round fan and quietly flowed into Okita Souji's ears.

"The anti-shogunate faction in Tosa Domain wants to set fire."

The river of light from the night market stalls flowed around them, and the sizzling sound of teppanyaki squid mixed with the scent of incense and fireworks.

Okita Souji's toes tensed in her clogs. It was clearly a noisy festival on a summer night, but she felt an inexplicable chill rising from under her feet.

"Set fire? Here and now?" The young swordsman was filled with shock and anger. "Tosa...how dare they?"

Heber gently pressed his fingertips on the young swordsman's wrist, awakening the frightened Okita Souji.

The young swordsman subconsciously grasped Heber's fingertips, but what came into her eyes was the delicate and smiling face of the fox demon.

"So, Miss Tamamo, you just..."

"Yes, I just went to inform the Shinsengumi who were waiting outside early." Heber nodded.

The areas under the jurisdiction of the Mikai-gumi are mainly the central Imperial Palace in Kyoto and the official streets around Nijo Castle; the Shinsen-gumi's activities are carried out in leisure and entertainment areas such as Gion and Sanjo.

The fox demon extended his hand to Okita Souji: "How about it, Ms. Okita, would you like to come with me to catch the troublemakers in the crowd?"

Fireworks filled the sky and the fox's eyes sparkled.

ps: There is another one in the works, it will be finished soon

Dongguo Volume: 107 I Promised

Time goes back to several months ago.

For the Shinsengumi, this was a rare and pleasant paid break; for Okita Souji, this was an extremely valuable opportunity to communicate with each other through swordsmanship.

For the anti-Qing faction, this period was extremely difficult.

The Satsuma-Choshu Alliance was on the verge of crumbling, and the feudal lords had the idea of surrendering to the shogunate several times.

Anyway, the real masters of the shogunate were the shogun and the retired emperor, and Tokugawa Bugyo was only the steward of the shogunate. The latter did not have the power of execution. At most, he could use the power of transfer of fiefdoms to continuously demote daimyo to more remote places.

If Takasugi Shinsaku had not argued for his point at the meeting, the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance might have really died suddenly.

Just as there is always one among the Four Heavenly Kings who is there to make up the numbers, among the four powerful clans, the Hizen clan was the weakest, while Tosa clan won the right to speak among the anti-shogunate faction with its radical assassination philosophy.

When Okada Izo told Takechi Hanpeita the information about Heber, the latter did not appear angry. He still acted kindly to Okada Izo and just asked him to go back and recuperate.

But as a radical among radicals, Takechi Hanpeita had already felt dissatisfied in private.

In this situation, Takechi Hanpeita chose to summon the last man to be executed, Tanaka Shinbei.

Tanaka Shinbei was born in Satsuma Domain, but had close ties with the Loyalist Party in Tosa.

Takechi secretly met with Shinbei, and in the secret room, they began to discuss the plan to overthrow the shogunate.

Although Takechi was dissatisfied with Okada Izo's behavior, he still valued the information brought by the latter.

Tenchu is completely unable to threaten the demon fox, and the anti-shogunate faction in Tosa has limited power. Instead of fighting the demon fox to the death, it is better to use it to assassinate the bureaucrats of the shogunate.

"For some reason, the Shinsengumi's lackeys have suddenly ceased their activities recently, and have been replaced by the noble samurai of the Mikae-gumi." Takechi was a little confused, but his expression was relatively relaxed. "But this is a good thing for us. The Mikae-gumi's fighting power cannot match that of the Shinsengumi."

"Dealing with the Kenkai Clan won't be difficult." Shinbei waved his hand. "I'm more curious about that fox demon—is she really as magical as Brother Okada said?"

"Although Yi Zang is not well educated, he is always honest and never lies!"

"Ah, no, no. You misunderstood. I'm not saying that Brother Okada is lying." Shinbei reached out and touched his chin. "What I mean is, since we are sure that the demon fox is standing on the opposite side of us, we must destroy it at all costs..."

"Even though the Shinsengumi is no longer active, they're still responsible for Gion and Sanjo. Summer is approaching, so Kyoto should be holding its usual fireworks display, right?"

"It's been nearly forty years since a fire broke out in Kyoto due to a fireworks display. If a fire breaks out, the Shinsengumi will have to maintain order... with so many people flowing in, how easy will that be?"

"The demon fox will probably be among them, right? Yeah, the surging crowd will definitely cause a stampede, and with the gunpowder exploding at any moment... hehe, both the demon fox and the Shinsengumi will explode into fireworks, right?"

The human killer seemed to be talking to himself, or discussing what to eat tonight with Takechi Hanpeita, and his tone was flat.

But Takechi felt horrified.

He thought he was cruel enough, but Tanaka Shinbei was even more ruthless and indifferent than him.

"What do you think, Mr. Takechi?"

Tanaka Shinbei's speech speed became faster and faster, like a hungry wolf drooling.

"Shall we offer the greatest fireworks display to the nobles of Kyoto, to announce the end of the shogunate's rule?"

Wu Shi was silent. He felt as if a flame was burning in his heart for no reason. A strange smell, like a mixture of ozone and tar, began to fill the air.

This smell made Wu Shi gradually feel dizzy, and his heart beat faster.

"Okay, then let's do it." Takechi and Shinbei smiled at each other. "Let's make this city even more chaotic—and then let the most beautiful flowers bloom in this chaos."

This was done in secret.

Okada Izo knew nothing about it.

Although he felt that the teacher seemed to be hiding something, as a knife in the teacher's hand he should never have other thoughts, let alone spy on secrets.

It was not until night fell and crowds poured into the fireworks festival venue that Okada Izo realized that the fireworks he had been carrying today were actually stuffed with an excess of gunpowder with a special ratio.

It won't rise into the sky and form gorgeous fireworks.

Instead, it will cause an explosion on the ground, engulfing everything in sight.

"What the hell did you say?" Okada Izo angrily grabbed Shinbei's collar. "You fucking... did you know that all the people who came to the festival today are civilians! How dare you——"

Shinbei still had that irritating smile on his face. He was incredibly strong and easily pried Okada Izo's hands apart.

"Brother Okada, don't be angry. Look, these people—"

Shinbei pointed at the people singing joyfully at the festival grounds, his voice surprisingly cold. "They're the people of the shogunate. In other words, they're the enemies of us who are trying to overthrow the shogunate... Hehe, if we fail, they'll definitely trample on us, eat our flesh, drink our blood, and chew our bones."

"Hey, if that's the case, why not just take action first? Eat their flesh, drink their blood, chew their bones... It's better than having someone eat me."

"You lunatic!" Only then did Okada Izo realize that it was not Shinbei who let the secret slip, but he deliberately wanted to tell him!

"Am I crazy?" Shinbei spread his hands and smiled regretfully. "Perhaps. This world is about to plunge into an unprecedented hell. Only a madman can profit from the flames of war that rages across the world, like enjoying broth simmering over a fire... Hmm, I'm already hungry."

Shinbei opened his mouth, and a line of crystal saliva flowed from the corner of his lips.

Okada Izou gasped.

He took a few steps back in disbelief and stumbled away.

Tanaka Shinbei stood by the river, looking at Okada Izo's receding back with gloomy eyes, like a hungry wolf.

"Run! Everyone, run!"

Okada Izo shouted desperately, but the festival drums started to sound and fireworks were set off in the distance.