Volume 5: Kyoto Summer Campaign Chapter 279: Dragon Tattoo
When he heard someone calling him from behind, Ating was startled and shook his body at first, then he quickly turned his head and cast a shocked look in the direction of the voice.
After seeing Ogata standing behind her, the shock in A-machi's eyes immediately turned into excitement and excitement.
"Ayi!"
"Long time no see." There was no need to hide three steps away anymore, so Ogata strode forward and stood next to Atachi.
It was spring when they parted, and now it is summer when they meet again - it has been a while since they last saw each other.
"A-Ting, why are you here?"
Ogata asked this while looking up and down at Atachi beside him.
Atachi is not wearing the ninja outfit from Shiranui now.
Instead, they were like the thousands of girls walking in the streets of Kyoto today, wearing yukata and wooden clogs.
Atachi was wearing a cherry blossom colored yukata. The hem of the yukata only reached her calves, revealing half of her calves and a pair of white and tender feet .
The clogs on Atachi's feet were flat-bottomed clogs that made it easier to move around, and she was holding a small round fan in her right hand.
This small round fan looks very new, it must have been bought by Ating just now.
"I'm here to carry out a mission." Ating smiled.
"Because I don't need to rush to complete this task, I'll just go out and play around on the street first."
"Mission? What mission?"
"This mission is a bit special and cannot be known to any outsiders."
"Although this mission is highly confidential, it is actually a very easy task." A-Ming waved his hand, "Even I can handle it easily."
Seeing that Atachi was unwilling to tell the details of the mission she was currently carrying out, Ogata did not feel comfortable asking any more questions.
"So...what did your leader think of your last mission?"
The "mission" that Ogata was referring to was naturally the mission of "going to Butterfly Island to investigate the cannibal ghosts."
"I completed this mission very well. The leader was very satisfied and gave me a very high evaluation."
Ating smiled sweetly, looking very happy.
After learning that Atachi's last mission was highly praised by their leader, Ogata couldn't help but feel relieved.
"Then in this case, you don't need to be degraded to dirt, right?"
"Of course." Ating's eyes smiled into a pair of crescent moons. "For a long time to come, I don't have to worry about being demoted to a scum by the leader. I can breathe a sigh of relief."
After saying this, Ating turned his entire attention back to the storyteller sitting on the small platform in front of him.
"Ayi, we'll take it slow later. Now just concentrate on listening to the book. It seems like there's a new story coming up!"
Seeing that Atachi was going to concentrate on listening to the storyteller, Ogata also shifted his attention to the storyteller in front of him.
"Everyone!"
The storyteller spoke loudly to Ogata and others in front of him in an extremely loud voice.
"Do you know the 'Gokurakusai' in Kyoto?"
As soon as the storyteller said this, two groups of people immediately formed among the audience below the stage - one group looked puzzled, and the other group looked clear.
"Gokuraishi is a legendary figure in our Kyoto!"
"He is not a warrior with superb swordsmanship, nor is he a chivalrous man of unparalleled benevolence and righteousness. Instead, he is a tattoo artist!"
"Everyone may be wondering - how can a mere tattoo artist from Jilezhai deserve the title of 'legendary figure'?"
The storyteller paused for a moment to whet everyone's appetite before continuing:
"Jilezhai's tattooing skills are extremely advanced! No matter what he tattoos on a person, he can make it come alive - but what really makes him famous is not his tattooing skills, but his ability to read people, and his style of tattooing different animals on different people."
"Jilezhai is very good at judging people. He can tell what kind of person the person in front of him is with just one glance."
"Although Ji Le Zhai's tattooing skills are amazing, he can only tattoo animals on people."
"At the same time, Jilezhai doesn't just give random tattoos to people. It doesn't mean they will give you whatever you want them to do."
"The person in front of you will be tattooed with an animal that matches his or her personality, depending on what kind of person he or she is. This is the principle that Jilezhai follows when tattooing people."
"Twenty years ago, a man who was unknown at the time and was just an insignificant figure in the family had long admired Jirakuai and came to Kyoto to ask Jirakuai to tattoo him."
The "Renxia" mentioned by storytellers actually refers to the Yakuza.
Yakuza is a derogatory term for gangsters.
If a storyteller shouts "Yakuza" in public, it will easily arouse the dissatisfaction of the local Yakuza.
Therefore, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, storytellers generally do not call them "Yakuza" but only call them "Renxia", a compliment they receive as a gift - this is also an unwritten rule of this industry.
"As for this young knight who came to Ji Le Zhai because of his reputation, after only one look at him, Ji Le Zhai asked him to take off his shirt, lie face down on the bed, and expose his back. Then, Ji Le Zhai began to tattoo an animal that matched his personality on his back."
The storyteller was very talented and told the story vividly, as if he was actually there at the tattooing scene.
Ogata and Atachi were also attracted by the storyteller's story and listened attentively.
"Ji Le Zhai tattooed a raccoon on the young knight's back."
When the storyteller said this, many of the audience laughed softly.
Hearing the low laughter of the audience, the storyteller chuckled:
"Everyone, please don't look down on the raccoon."
"Raccoons are very strong animals."
"After receiving the raccoon tattoo from Ji Le Zhai, this young knight lay dormant for 17 years. He finally succeeded in rising to a higher position in the family three years ago. He went from being an unknown little soldier to the patriarch of the entire family, and expanded the family's power several times in a very short period of time!"
"This hero is none other than Kitahara Shigeji, who is still a powerful figure on Shikoku Island!"
As soon as the storyteller finished his words, the audience around him who had heard of the name Kitahara Shigeji burst into exclamations.
"After talking about the distant past, let's talk about the recent past. One year ago, another young man came to Jilezhai and asked Jilezhai to give him a tattoo."
"After just one look, Jilezhai asked the young man to take off his shirt and lie flat on the bed, and then began to tattoo him."
"This time, Ji Le Zhai tattooed a Qilin on the back of this young Ren Xia!"
"And what this young hero did afterwards was perfectly matched with the Qilin behind him!"
"This young hero was only 17 years old at the time, and he was just a young man who had just taken over a broken family from his father!"
"But it took him less than a year to expand his family and sweep across other families in Osaka! This young hero is truly a 'unicorn'!"
"This young renxia is Toyama Issei, who is still known as the 'First Renxia of Osaka'!"
Exclamations one after another rang out again from the audience.
At this moment, A-machi suddenly pulled Ogata's clothes.
"...Ayi, let's go."
"Hmm? You don't want to listen?"
"Although the storyteller's story is interesting, it would be a waste of time to just stay here and listen to the story. I still have many places I want to visit and play, and I don't want to spend too much time listening to the story."
"I see..." Ogata nodded, "Let's go then."
A-machi and Ogata emerged from the crowd of listeners one after the other.
The two stopped only when they could no longer hear the storyteller's voice.
"Ayi." Ating turned around and looked at Ogata behind him, "Did you come to Kyoto to look for the master and apprentice pair of Kazuyo and Kazunao?"
"Of course." Ogata shrugged. "Besides that, what other reason could I have to come to Kyoto?"
"You are such a boring person."
While stroking her hair, A-Machi continued in a joking tone:
"The Gion Festival is being held right now. Are you planning to keep looking for this master and disciple couple instead of enjoying the Gion Festival?"
"A-Ming, are you the worm in my stomach?" Ogata said seriously, "You are absolutely right."
"Ah... I really can't do anything about you." A-Ming tightened the collar of her yukata, "Let's go."
"Go? Where are we going?"
"Of course, I'm going to look for the master and disciple and enjoy the Gion Festival at the same time."
Atachi looked like she was speaking the truth as if it was a matter of course.
After tugging at his sleeves, he continued, "Of course we're going to go find the master and disciple together."
"Hmm? Will you accompany me to find the master and disciple? Then what about your mission?"
"Didn't I just say that? My mission is not urgent."
"I have time until tomorrow morning."
"My original plan was to play in Kyoto until tomorrow morning."
Having said this, Atachi tidied up her already neatly arranged clothes even more.
"Anyway, accompanying you to look for the master and disciple doesn't conflict with enjoying the Gion Festival. We can just have fun along the way. Let's go."
"Okay then..." Ogata nodded and looked up and down at Atachi with a somewhat doubtful look.
Ogata didn't know if it was his illusion.
He always felt that Atachi seemed to have been fiddling with the cherry blossom-colored yukata she was wearing since a while ago.
At this moment - Ogata suddenly noticed that Atachi curled his lips and a hint of impatience flashed across his face.
As if he was annoyed by something that was taking a long time to come.
Noticing the impatience on Atachi's face, Ogata immediately came to his senses!
I now understand why Atachi has been fiddling with her yukata and looked annoyed.
"A-Machi." Ogata said hurriedly.
"what?"
"This cherry blossom-colored yukata you are wearing is so beautiful. It suits you very well."
"Thank you!" The impatience and slight anger on Ating's face disappeared instantly.
Instead, there was a bright smile and the strong joy that came with that smile.
Perhaps because she was very happy to receive the compliment, Atachi's cheeks flushed slightly. She put her hands holding the round fan behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and tucked her fair left foot, which was wearing wooden clogs, behind her right foot.
After thanking Ogata for his compliment, Atachi said to Ogata in the tone of an elder educating a younger person:
"Although the Tang Dynasty slang 'women dress up to please themselves' is quite true, but after girls put on their favorite beautiful clothes, they still hope to get compliments from others."
After hearing what Atachi said, Ogata once again carefully looked at the cherry blossom-colored yukata that Atachi was wearing.
The cherry blossom-colored yukata that Atachi is wearing is quite new, and you can tell that it was bought recently.
This well-fitting yukata not only perfectly highlights Atachi's plump chest and slender waist, but the cherry blossom color also makes Atachi's skin look even whiter.
"It's really beautiful." Ogata praised again. Unlike the hasty praise just now, Ogata's tone and expression this time were much calmer and more serious. "A-Machi, you are very good at choosing clothes. You picked a yukata that suits you very well."
"This yukata is really expensive..." A-Ming smiled bitterly, "I spent all my savings of the past six months to buy this yukata."
"Then you really spent a lot of money..."
"I feel bad, but I don't regret it that much." Ating played with the hair hanging from her temples. "I've longed for the Gion Festival in Kyoto since I was a child."
"If I don't wear a yukata like the other girls in Kyoto, I'll feel like I'm missing out."
"Ah, I understand that feeling." Ogata nodded. "Well, then - to take care of Ms. A-machi who spent a lot of money on a yukata. I'll treat you to something. Is there anything you want to eat?"
"Oh~" Ating raised the round fan in her hand to cover her mouth and chin, smiling slyly, "Can I understand that you want to treat me to a meal? I'll be frank with you - I have a big appetite, and it's not that easy to feed me."
Ogata responded in a joking tone, "My wallet is not so thin that I don't even have money to treat a girl to a meal."
"Then you should be prepared. I haven't eaten anything until now."
…
…
After Ogata and Atachi left, the storyteller was still telling the story of "Girakusai".
After talking for nearly half an hour, the story of Jilezhai is almost coming to an end.
After picking up the water cup beside him and taking a sip of water, the storyteller began to put the final touches on the story.
"Jilezhai has tattooed countless animals on countless people in his life."
"Do you know what the most powerful tattoo is?"
Almost all the listeners had puzzled expressions on their faces.
After whetting the audience's appetite, Ji Le Zhai spoke word by word:
"The most powerful tattoo in Jilezai's hand is - the dragon!"
"No one knows what kind of person gets a dragon tattoo."
"But it is said that in the decades since Ji Le Zhai started tattooing people, only two people have successfully obtained dragon tattoos from Ji Le Zhai."
"No one knows who these two people with dragon tattoos are."
“But I think that the person who can get the dragon tattoo from Ji Le Zhai who is good at physiognomy and bear the dragon tattoo must not be a simple person!”
