Volume 3 Buddha's Enemy Chapter 118: The Devil's Hirazo
January 18, 1790 -
Edo--
Today is a very rare bright sunny day in the middle of winter.
Warm rays of sunlight shone obliquely from the clear blue sky, bringing warmth to Edo Castle, the center of Japan.
Edo - the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate and the undisputed center of all Japan.
It is not only Japan's most populous city and political center, but also Japan's commercial center.
At all times, a large number of merchants traveling from north to south entered or left Edo, bringing various goods from all over the country and even from foreign countries to Edo.
These merchants from all over the world undoubtedly injected great vitality into Edo.
The development of Edo's commerce is not only reflected in the large number of merchants from all over the country coming here to do business, but also in the large number of shops opened in Edo City.
Countless merchants settled down and started businesses in Edo, selling their own specialty products.
The rays of sunlight slanting down from the sky cast the shadows of a row of shops on the left side of a certain avenue onto the spacious rammed earth road and onto the heads and shoulders of the pedestrians walking on this avenue.
As for the row of shops on the right, they are bathed in dazzling sunlight.
These densely packed shops have generally low eaves and are of varying sizes.
There are all kinds of signs hanging on these shops.
"Kansai Grocery", "Key-ya", "Nanban Goods", "Suhara-ya", "Ogura Teahouse"... There are all kinds of signs, dazzling to the eyes.
Edo was not only a city with developed commerce, but also had plenty of entertainment activities.
Ryogoku Hirokoji - one of the most famous entertainment streets in Edo.
There are not only a large number of folk art venues here, but also a large number of artists performing their specialties on both sides of the streets.
There are performances by "strong men" who lift huge straw bags filled with rice or large rocks.
There are animal juggling shows with monkeys, dogs and other animals.
There are storytellers.
Even though it is winter now, even though the terrible "Tenmei Great Famine" has only been over for less than three years, and even though the country's situation has yet to be revived, there are still a large number of townspeople and samurai who are having fun there every day.
The various crises and difficulties that the country is currently facing seem to have nothing to do with Edo Castle, and these things seem to have no effect on Edo Castle at all.
Edo Castle is still as radiant as ever, smiling sweetly, and full of luxury and extravagance... Every corner is filled with unparalleled comfort and luxury...
…
…
If you were to ask who is the most popular storyteller in Ryogoku Hirokoji, many people would probably say the same name - Tachikawa-tei Danraku.
The story that Tan Le is best at telling is the well-known "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
But today he did not talk about his specialty, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Instead, it tells the story of "Demon's Heizo", which has been very popular among Edo townspeople and samurai in recent years.
"It was the end of autumn and the beginning of winter two years ago. The wind was biting cold and dusk was approaching."
Just by the tone of his voice, one can tell how high his level of Tan Le is.
This rhythmic tone is very pleasant to listen to.
The audience in the audience were all looking at Tan Le on the stage, listening attentively to Tan Le's story of "Onihira's pursuit of Shinto Tokujiro".
"Lord Hasegawa Heizo led the fire thieves and their officers along the country roads, chasing the notorious real sword Tokujiro."
"Who is the real Tokujiro?"
"As the name suggests, he is a swordsman who is good at Shinto style and has extremely superb swordsmanship!"
"It's a pity that this person has evil intentions and does not use his superb swordsmanship in the right way."
"In today's world, which thief's swordsmanship can surpass that of fellow thief Tokujiro?"
"Then perhaps only the 'Executioner Ittosai' who committed the crime of 'master-killing' last autumn can defeat the real sword Tokujiro."
"Not only is Shinto Tokujiro a great swordsman, he's also quite cunning!"
"His favorite trick was to disguise himself as an official, swagger through the checkpoints, and then kill and burn people along the way, all the way south from the northeast to Guandong."
"Upon learning that this murderous devil had come to Kanto, our current leader of the Fire Thief Kai, Lord Hasegawa Heizo, immediately set about organizing a campaign against the Shinto Tokujiro!"
"Who is Hasegawa Heizo?"
"Master Hasegawa Heizo, your real name is Hasegawa Nobui."
"It has only been a few years since I took over the position of Chief of the Fire Thieves, and I have arrested one vicious thief after another!"
"It's like 'Ooka Echizen' reborn! People call him 'Im-Ooka'!"
"Feared by thieves all over the world, they call him 'Oni Ping'!"
"According to rumors, Lord Hasegawa Heizo has mobilized nearly half of his fire thieves to pursue the real sword Tokujiro!"
"After spending nearly a month and a half, Lord Hasegawa Heizo finally succeeded in tracking down the real Tokujiro and forced him into a desperate situation!"
"Mato Tokujiro was chased all the way to a wooden bridge in the countryside."
"And the fire thief Kai's officers had already blocked the front and back ends of this wooden bridge, making it impossible for the real sword Tokujiro to escape!"
"Seeing that he had no way to escape, Shinto Tokujiro drew his sword and planned to fight a last desperate battle! Even if he died, he would take a few fire thieves and officers with him!"
"And Lord Hasegawa Heizo saw through his intention."
"So—he didn't send any of his men into battle."
"He drew his sword alone and stepped onto the wooden bridge!"
With a "bang" sound, Tan Le raised his hand and slapped the table.
He had now reached the climax of the story.
All the audience in the audience pricked up their ears attentively.
"Master Hasegawa Heizo, you are going to fight against Shinto Tokujiro all alone!"
"The swordsmanship used by Lord Hasegawa Heizo is a swordsmanship passed down from generation to generation in the Hasegawa family. It is a powerful swordsmanship that is both offensive and defensive!"
"Master Hasegawa Heizo and Shinto Tokujiro are standing on the wooden bridge facing each other with swords in hand!"
"I saw Shinto Tokujiro let out a loud shout and took the lead in swinging his sword to kill Lord Hasegawa Heizo!"
"If it was a swordsman with average swordsmanship, facing this slash from Shintoku Jiro, I'm afraid he wouldn't even have time to react before his head fell off!"
"But Lord Hasegawa Heizo didn't dodge or hide!"
"I saw two flashes of sword light!"
"The first sword flash cut off the right hand of Shinto Tokujiro holding the sword!"
"The second sword light cut the tendon of Shinto Tokujiro's left foot!"
"With just two strikes, Lord Hasegawa Heizo defeated the man who had killed countless people, Tokujiro, and arrested this murderous devil!"
"The evil sword Tokujiro finally lost to the real 'demon'!"
"If you want to blame someone, you can only blame him for going to Kanto instead of other places!"
