I assembled the strongest swordsman group

"Ah, Yu-kun, to be honest—" Upon hearing Kondo's words, Chiba Jutaro also smiled wryly and raised his hand to his chest, "After learning that this matter was confirmed, I was also very nervous..."

"To be precise, I still feel very nervous..."

"On the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival'... there will probably be hundreds of tourists watching our 'battle'... that scene, tsk tsk, just imagining it makes me nervous..."

Seeing Chiba Jutaro clutching his chest, Kondo smiled knowingly:

"Are you nervous too, Jutaro-kun...? Then you'd better make the most of the remaining two weeks to adjust yourself, so you don't embarrass yourself on the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival' because you're too nervous."

"Hahaha, Yong-kun, we're alike!"

……

……

Jutaro and Sanako only came to Shieikan tonight to inform Kondo and the others of this good news.

Now, the brother and sister have achieved their goal.

It was getting late, and since they had already achieved their goal, the brother and sister felt embarrassed to linger in the Shie-e-kan any longer.

With Kondo and the others seeing them off, Jutaro and Sanako quickly walked to the entrance of the house.

"Tachibana-kun." After putting on his straw sandals, Jutaro put his hands on his hips and said to Aoto with a regretful look, "If time and conditions allowed, I really wanted to talk to you more! I really wanted to ask you in detail: how exactly did you manage to defeat so many 'anti-foreign' thugs with such a small force!"

Aoto smiled politely: "I'm also very interested in having a good chat with you, Mr. Jutaro. Let's have a good talk when we have the time and opportunity in the future."

Qing Deng's statement was not entirely a polite remark.

Aoto had always had a good impression of Chiba Jutaro, a cheerful, outgoing, and unpretentious person.

If conditions allowed, he would indeed be quite interested in having a longer chat with this bold and magnanimous man in front of him.

"Haha!" Upon hearing Qing Deng's words, Chiba Jutaro raised an eyebrow, raised his hand, and patted Qing Deng's right shoulder with a light touch. "Alright! It's a promise then. When we have the time and opportunity someday, let's find a place and have a good chat!"

After saying that, Chiba Jutaro suddenly turned his gaze to his sister.

Sanako was now standing to his side, her hands clasped in front of her, respectfully saying to Shusuke, Kondo, and Okita, "Thank you for your hospitality tonight."

My younger sister is a little distance away from me.

Kondo and the others were not with them either.

Chiba Jutaro noticed that he and Aoto were in a state of near-being alone. He narrowed his eyes and quickly took half a step forward to get closer to Aoto.

"...Tachibana-kun." Chiba Jutaro asked Aoto quickly in a low voice that only he and Aoto could hear, "Are you married or engaged?"

Qing Deng was taken aback: "Mr. Jutaro, why are you suddenly asking me this?"

"Haha, it's nothing." Chiba Jutaro chuckled. "It was just a moment of curiosity."

Although Aoto was still somewhat confused after hearing Chiba Jutaro's explanation, he quickly answered the question Jutaro had just posed:

“I’m not married yet, and I’m not engaged.” After saying that, Qingdeng paused, then added jokingly, “I’m still quite free.”

In ancient Japan, "free love" was quite rare.

Whether they were samurai or commoners, marriages between men and women were generally arranged by matchmakers.

When a family's child reaches marriageable age, they will ask a reliable matchmaker to help them find a suitable family of equal social standing. If the family is suitable and the other party is also interested in the marriage, they will get engaged and prepare to hold the wedding on an auspicious day in the future.

Therefore, it was quite common for young people to be engaged.

It is usually the man's responsibility to hire a matchmaker. Before Qing Deng's father, Tachibana Takayuki, died, he had also hired many matchmakers to help Qing Deng find a suitable and high-quality marriage.

The matchmakers entrusted by Tachibana Takayuki were indeed very helpful, introducing him to a large number of respectable women who were both well-matched with the Tachibana family in terms of social status and had good looks and talents.

However, Takayuki Tachibana was not satisfied with any of the girls recommended by the matchmakers. He never found a daughter-in-law who met his expectations before his death.

After Takayuki Tachibana's death, the matter of "finding a wife for Aoto" was simply dropped.

Upon learning that Aoto was unmarried and had no engagement, Chiba Jutaro wore a surprised expression:

"Ju-kun, you're not married or engaged yet? I thought you were already a lucky son-in-law at your age..."

Unbeknownst to Aoto, the astonishment Chiba Jutaro displayed concealed a subtle hint of elation...

"Brother."

At this moment, Sanako, who had finished saying goodbye to Shusuke and the others, walked towards Chiba Jutaro with rather elegant steps.

Upon seeing his younger sister arrive, Chiba Jutaro quickly shut his mouth and stopped talking to Aoto.

"Brother, let's go home."

"Oh, oh." Chiba Jutaro nodded vigorously a few times. "Okay, let's go. Well then—Shusuke-san, Yu-kun, Souji-kun, Tachibana-kun, Sanako and I will take our leave now. See you later!"

Chiba Jutaro, bidding farewell to everyone in a loud voice, turned his gaze, his eyes sweeping across the faces of Aoto and the others.

His gaze lingered on Qingdeng's face for a few extra moments.

"Mm." Zhou Zhu, as the head of the family, smiled and waved to the brother and sister. "Take care on your journey!"

After saying goodbye, Chiba Jutaro and Sanako strode away from the Shieikan, one after the other.

Sanako turned her head and glanced at the Shieikan building behind her, which was getting smaller and smaller in her field of vision.

Only after turning a corner and entering a street where the Shieikan (Test Guard Hall) was no longer visible did Sanako turn her gaze away. Then, with a blank expression and in a flat tone devoid of joy or sorrow, she asked Chiba Jutaro, who was half a step ahead of her:

"Brother, I just saw you chatting animatedly with Tachibana-kun in a low voice... What were you talking about?"

“Huh? We didn’t talk about anything.” Chiba Jutaro replied without hesitation, his expression unchanged. “I just asked him how his stay at the Shieikan was.”

"...Is that all we talked about?" Sanako stared intently at Chiba Jutaro, as if she wanted to see right through him.

"What?" Feeling uncomfortable under Sanako's gaze, Chiba Jutaro crossed his arms and pouted. "Why are you staring at me like that... Don't you believe what I'm saying?"

“…Of course I believe you, brother.” Sanako slowly withdrew her gaze from Chiba Jutaro. “Since you’ve said so, brother…then I’ll assume that you didn’t talk about anything inappropriate with Tachibana-kun.”

……

……

The backs of the brother and sister gradually disappeared into the night at the street corner, watched by Qing Deng and the others standing outside the door.

After Jutaro and Sanako had completely disappeared from everyone's sight and everyone had returned inside, Abi's voice suddenly came from the other end of the corridor, directly opposite the door:

"Have Chiba Jutaro and Chiba Sanako already left?" Abi asked as she walked quickly toward the group that was still lingering in the entrance hall.

For some reason, when Chiba Jutaro and Sanako visited the Shieikan and discussed important matters with Aoto and others in the main hall, Abi never showed up.

“Yes.” Zhou Zhu nodded. “They just left.”

"What are those brother and sister doing here at our testing center so late at night?" Abi asked, frowning.

"Uh... well..." Looking at Abi, Shusuke seemed to recall something and chuckled awkwardly a few times. "Well... to put it simply, he's here to tell us some good news."

After chuckling, Zhou Zhu gestured for the room to be entered.

“Madam, let’s go to the main room first. This is not the place to talk. I’ll tell you slowly once we’re in the main room.”

……

About 5 minutes later—

"What?! Yushima Tenmangu Shrine actually agreed to let our Shieikan and Kochiba Kenkan hold the 'Red and White Battle' at the 'Plum Blossom Festival'?!"

Ah Bi let out a roar that seemed to shatter the ceiling above their heads.

Shusuke, who was sitting in front of Abi, and Aoto, Kondo, and Okita, who were sitting side by side in a corner of the hall, all involuntarily leaned back as far away from Abi as possible to neutralize the "sonic attack" that Abi was launching.

"What the hell..." Abi raised her hand, her expression grim, and rubbed her forehead. "This actually worked out...?"

"Madam..." Zhou Zhu said with a wry smile, "Are you still very opposed to us holding the 'Red and White Battle' together with the Chiba Sword Hall at the 'Plum Blossom Festival'?"

"Of course!" Abi gritted her teeth. "Zhou Zhu, do you really think you're getting senile?"

"Our Shieikan has basically never won against that little Chiba Kenkan in any of the 'Red and White Battles'! Isn't that right?"

"To engage in a 'Red and White Battle' with them at the 'Plum Blossom Festival'? Wouldn't that be tantamount to letting countless people watch helplessly as our Shieikan gets utterly thrashed by Chiba Kenkan?!"

*******

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Chapter 91 The Man Who Could Make Edo's Most Beautiful Woman Fall in Love with Him

Abi's words startled Qingdeng.

Qing Deng quickly turned his head to the side, lowered his voice, and asked Okita beside him, "Have we never won against the Chiba Kenkan in the 'Red and White Battle' before?"

"No, not at all," Okita replied softly without thinking. "What Auntie said is an exaggeration."

"Our Shieikan's overall strength is indeed inferior to that of Genbukan and Kochibakenkan, but it is not so weak that we have never defeated them in the 'Red and White Battle'."

"us……"

At this point, Okita suddenly started to stammer.

"We...we did beat them a few times..."

Seeing Okita's hesitant manner, Qing Deng couldn't help but frown: "How many games have we won against them in total?"

“Gurgle…” Okita raised his right hand and began to play with the thin ponytail at the back of his head. “We…we won one match at Genbukan and two matches at Chiba Kenkan…”

"So... how many matches have we played against them in total?" Qing Deng asked without hesitation.

"Mmmm..."

Okita seemed to dare not look at Aoto any longer, and lowered his head slightly. The indignant look on his face when he criticized Abi for "exaggerating" was no longer there.

He chuckled awkwardly and said to his knees:

“Over the past two years, we’ve played about 20 matches against Genbukan and about 40 against Kochiba Kenkan…”

Qingdeng's lips twitched involuntarily.

They fought over 20 matches against Genbu-kan and only won once, and over 40 matches against Kochiba-kan and only won twice... Does that mean that Shiei-kan only has a 50% chance of winning against these two kendo schools?

With only a 50% chance of winning... Qingdeng felt that this was hardly different from "losing every battle"...

The difference in strength between Shiwei Hall, Xuanwu Hall, and Xiaoqianye Sword Hall was quite large, which was actually within Qingdeng's expectations.

After all, the other party is a "famous family among famous families" with a national reputation, while Shiwei Hall... to put it bluntly, is a second-rate dojo where not many people even know the name of its school.

In terms of the number of apprentices and the quality of students, Genbukan and Kochiba Kenkan far surpass Shieikan. It is quite normal that Shieikan cannot defeat them in sword competitions.

However—although Qing Deng had anticipated that the overall strength of Shieikan was far inferior to that of Genbukan and Kochibakenkan, he had not expected the gap in strength between them to be so large, winning only 1 or 2 out of 20 matches…

“Madam…” Zhou Zhu, who had recovered from Abi’s “sonic attack”, sighed, “I’ve explained it to you so many times… why can’t you understand?”

"The reason I agreed to hold the 'Red and White Battle' with Chiba Kenkan at Yushima Tenmangu Shrine on the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival' is that I wanted to take this opportunity to promote our Tennen Rishin-ryu school and our Shieikan."

"To let more people know that there is such a school of swordsmanship as ours, such a sword club."

"Indeed, the overall strength of our Shiwei Hall is far inferior to that of Xiaoqianye Sword Hall. The comprehensive quality of their disciples is far superior to ours."

"Unless some extraordinary accident or miracle occurs, we will likely lose to Chiba Kenkan again on the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival'."

"but--"

Zhou Zhu drew out his words, speaking earnestly as he continued:

"As long as we demonstrate the strength of our Natural Rishin-ryu style in the match against Chiba Kenkan, even if we ultimately lose to Chiba Kenkan, our Natural Rishin-ryu style will still receive excellent publicity."

"Madam, do you know what our biggest advantage is in recruiting apprentices compared to the big sword schools like Xuanwu School and Xiaoqianye Sword School?"

"Our tuition is much cheaper than these Claymore gyms, and the entry requirements are quite low. As long as you are physically and mentally sound, you can enter our Striking Hall."

"Edo is full of people who want to learn powerful swordsmanship, but unfortunately they are short of money."

“Madam, think about it—if Yu and the others fought bravely in the match against the Chiba Kendo Hall, and although they were ultimately defeated, they still managed to ‘kill’ many people from the Chiba Kendo Hall, allowing the spectators to see the practicality and power of our Natural Rishin-ryu style, what would happen then?”

"It will definitely make many people realize that although this Shieikan didn't beat the Chiba Kenkan, their swordsmanship is quite impressive."

"Look, haven't we successfully promoted our Natural Mind-Body Flow method?"

"In this way, we can naturally attract a group of people who want to learn powerful swordsmanship but don't have the money to study at a big swordsmanship school like the Chiba Sword Academy!"

"Therefore, Madam, the advantages of this matter far outweigh the disadvantages. This is a golden opportunity that will greatly benefit the future development of our Shiwei Hall."

Zhou Zhu's words were sincere and heartfelt.

However... it seems that he couldn't persuade Ah Bi.