Volume 2 The Executioner Chapter 87: Alone (Part 1)
"Ogata Issei..." Matsudaira Gennai said softly, "Why? Nanahara, do you know this person?"
"No." Qiyuan shook his head, "I don't know this person, I just heard of his name."
"It is said that he is the one with the best swordsmanship among all the disciples of Sakakibara Sword Hall."
"A few days ago, I also got the Menkyo Kaiden of Sakakibara Ittoryu."
"Menkyō Kaiden... It seems that Ogata Issei's swordsmanship is quite advanced..."
As soon as Matsudaira Gennai finished speaking, Nanahara sneered.
"My Lord, you misunderstood."
"Whether one's swordsmanship is superb or one's strength is strong does not depend on whether one has the permission or not."
"As long as you get the master's approval, you can get the title of Mianxu Jiechuan."
"Such rules breed too many petty intrigues."
"I have seen many people who try to please their master or bribe their master to get a certificate from him that allows them to pass on knowledge without permission, and then use it to cheat others."
"This Ogata Issei may have obtained the title of Menkyo Kaiden by currying favor with his master."
Matsudaira Gennai had never been interested in swordsmanship.
After hearing Nanahara's long introduction, he just said "Oh" softly, then turned back and continued to appreciate the hellish scene in front of him.
After watching for nearly an incense stick of time, Matsudaira Gennai seemed satisfied, let out a long sigh, and then stood up.
"I feel so good. Let's go back to the city ."
"My Lord," Qiyuan asked, "what should we do with these bodies?"
"Just leave it here. Didn't you say that there's a Sakakibara swordsman named Ogata who's not here? He'll come to the swordsman's gym someday, so let him clean this place up slowly."
"What about these people?" Qiyuan pointed at a corpse at his feet.
This corpse is the body of one of Matsudaira Gennai's guards.
Matsudaira Gennai glanced at the corpse from the side.
"Just leave it here too. Let Ogata help clean it up too. If he wants to, he can do it. If he doesn't, it doesn't matter."
"Yes!" After a respectful response, Qiyuan shouted to the surviving guards, "Hurry up and pave a road for the lord to walk on!"
Following Qiyuan's order, the surviving guards hurriedly lay down on the ground covered with corpses and blood.
With his own flesh and blood, he paved a "road" leading directly to the gate of the sword hall, and paved a "road" that would not dirty Matsudaira Gennai's cloth socks...
Matsudaira Gennai stepped on the bodies of his guards and swaggered out of the bloody dojo.
…
…
Hirose Domain, Kuranaga's residence, the gate——
"Ogata-kun." Kuranaga said to Ogata, who was already ready to leave, "Let me see you off."
"That's not necessary, elder." Ogata smiled politely at Kuranaga, "I can do it by myself."
"No." Kuranaga shook his head. "I half-forced you to come to my house tonight. I have an obligation to give you a ride. Ogata-kun, you don't have to say anything more."
Seeing that he could not convince Kuranaga, Ogata had no choice but to agree to Kuranaga and let Kuranaga and Tobina send him off.
Ogata walked side by side with Kuranaga, while Tobisaru walked in front of them, holding a lantern for their lighting.
The soft light emitted from the lantern dispelled the darkness in front of the three people.
Looking at the darkness ahead that was being dispelled by the light, Ogata suddenly said to Kuranaga beside him:
"My Lord, I didn't expect that you would actually let me go back and think carefully for a few days..."
Just now, in that room, Kuranaga asked Ogata a direct question: Are you willing to help him assassinate Matsudaira Gennai?
In response to Kuranaga's question, Ogata's answer was: Can you let me go back and think about it for a few days?
Ogata originally thought that Kuranaga would reject his request.
Unexpectedly, Cang Yong agreed very readily.
After hearing Ogata's words, a faint smile appeared on Kuranaga's face.
"Ogata-kun, let me be honest with you - when I heard you say that you were going to go back and think about it for a few days, I was actually relieved."
"Why?" Ogata asked puzzledly.
"Assassinating the lord - this kind of thing must be done by someone who is prepared."
"I hate wimps like these who promise to take on a difficult task in a fit of rage, only to chicken out when the time comes."
“So I hope that those who decide to lend a helping hand are those who have carefully considered the pros and cons and have made all preparations and awareness.”
"Rather than being a reckless person who accepted my invitation on impulse."
"My Lord." Ogata smiled, "Aren't you afraid that I will leak your shocking plan after I return?"
There was now a hint of profound meaning in Cangyong's smile.
"Ogata-kun, if I was worried that you would reveal my plan, I would not have invited you to my house tonight."
Having said this, Cang Yong paused.
After a moment of silence, he said softly:
"Ogata-kun... Now is a rare opportunity, so I'm going to confess something to you."
"More than a month ago, the reason why I decided to hold the God Sacrifice Contest ahead of schedule and agreed to let you and Yuanshan use real swords was actually to test your strength as soon as possible ."
"See if your strength is worthy of my winning over."
Ogata was stunned.
"...I see." Ogata smiled bitterly, "My Lord, after hearing what you said, many problems have been solved... Let me guess - in the past month or so, no one from Ishikawa Sword Hall has come to seek revenge on me. Is it because you sent someone to protect me in secret?"
Cangyong did not answer.
Just nodded silently.
"And the reason you sent Doctor Xuan An to give me free treatment was to prevent any mishaps with a valuable combat force like me. Right?"
Kuranaga continued to nod.
"...Ogata, I'm sorry..." Kuranaga sighed softly, "Please forgive my willfulness..."
"You don't have to apologize to me, elder." Ogata shrugged helplessly, "I don't mean to blame you."
"Anyway, whether you interfere or not, Yuanshan and I will have a fight to the death in which only one of us can survive. It's just a matter of sooner or later."
"From a certain perspective, I should thank the elder of the family."
"Thanks to your decision to move up the God Sacrifice Competition, the feud between Yuanshan and I has come to an end ahead of time."
"Master, I promise you - I will make a decision as soon as possible and give you my answer."
"And I promise you that I won't tell anyone about your plan."
"Yes." Kuranaga's smile became gentle, "Ogata-kun, I believe you. But - I hope you can guarantee me one more thing."
"I hope you can assure me that if you agree to live and die with me, you must be prepared."
At this point, Kuranaga changed his tone to a half-joking one.
"Don't wait until you are about to take action, then suddenly regret and run away."
