Volume 5: Kyoto Summer Campaign Chapter 281: The Six Great Sword Halls: Qianxue Hall
Ogata and Atachi were walking slowly along the street, shoulder to shoulder, looking for the next pharmacy, when they suddenly noticed a lot of people gathered on the street not far ahead.
The two of them, curious, walked slowly towards the crowd in front.
After reaching the outermost edge of the crowd, Ogata and A-machi could see clearly that these people were gathered outside the gate of a magnificent mansion.
The gate of this magnificent mansion was closed, and two men dressed as warriors were guarding the door outside.
There is a plaque hanging next to the gate with three big Chinese characters written on it.
"Senxuekan...?"
Ogata read out the three Chinese characters written on the plaque word by word.
"It looks like a sword gym." A-Ming on the side echoed.
A young man standing in front of Ogata and A-Machi, who was also dressed as a samurai, heard what Ogata and A-Machi said, turned around and looked at them with surprise.
"You two, don't you know the Sengakukan in Kyoto?"
"We are outsiders," said Ating, "and we don't know much about Kyoto."
Seeing that Ogata and Amachi were not native to Kyoto, the young man's puzzled expression gradually disappeared.
"So you are a foreigner... No wonder you don't know about Sengakukan. You two, do you need me to introduce you to the famous Sengakukan in Kyoto?"
A-Machi turned her head and asked Ogata with her eyes: "Are you interested in listening?"
After thinking for a while, Ogata nodded.
"There are countless sword halls in the huge capital," the young man said, "but there are a total of six sword halls with the greatest influence."
"We in Kyoto call these six sword halls the 'Six Great Sword Halls'."
"The six great sword schools are: the 'Kyogakukan' that teaches Mito Ittoryu , the 'Nerimakan' that teaches Katori Shinto-ryu, the 'Xuangakukan' that teaches Nakajo-ryu, the 'Baihukan' that teaches Ono Ittoryu, the 'Seigakukan' that teaches Mugai-ryu, and the 'Sengakukan' that teaches Kanemaki-ryu."
The young man spat out a large number of unfamiliar names in one breath.
Although he was listening carefully, Ogata still couldn't remember any of the museums the young man mentioned...
Although he did not remember the names of the six major sword halls, Ogata understood one thing - these six major sword halls were very famous and powerful in Kyoto.
"So what are these people doing gathered in front of this Qianxue Hall?"
"Today is the day when Qianxueguan opens!"
The young man replied.
"The current head of Sengakukan, Mizuno Nobuyuki, will demonstrate the Sengakukan's Zhongjuan Style to the outside world today."
“Everyone is here to watch.”
Having said this, the young man looked up at the sky.
"It should be opening time in a little while."
As soon as the young man finished speaking, the two young warriors who were guarding the gate of the Sengaku Gakuen and who were supposed to be disciples of the Sengaku Gakuen shouted in unison:
"It's time! Everyone line up! Don't crowd!"
As soon as these two people said this, everyone gathered in front of the museum - including the young man who had been explaining to Ogata and Atachi - immediately showed excitement.
"...Ayi." A-Ming asked, "Are you interested in seeing what Zhong Juanliu looks like?"
"Zhong Juanliu?... I've never seen Zhong Juanliu before... Ah, maybe I've seen him somewhere before but I killed him."
Ogata, who was quite interested in the Zhong Juan Liu and the six famous sword halls in Kyoto mentioned by the young man just now, nodded to Atachi and followed the crowd to slowly walk into the Sengakukan...
…
…
When Ogata and A-Machi followed the crowd into Sengakukan—
Somewhere in an inconspicuous corner in Qianxueguan.
"Did you understand the steps?"
A samurai with a neatly shaved top and a slightly obese figure said this to a samurai in front of him who had long hair, was dirty and looked like a ronin.
After the fat samurai finished speaking, the ronin nodded hurriedly:
"I understand, I understand!" The ronin's face was filled with a flattering smile, "Isn't it just pretending to lose? Who can't do that?"
"Then tell me the process again." The fat warrior ordered.
"After Lord Mizuno Nobuyuki defeated the first person, I deliberately pretended to be disdainful and sneered."
"After I sneer, Lord Mizuno Nobuyuki will call on me to play."
"When I get on the field, I will pretend to be defeated by Lord Mizuno Nobuyuki and be defeated by Lord Mizuno Nobuyuki in one go."
Seeing that this ronin, who was randomly picked up yesterday, had indeed memorized the process clearly, the fat warrior showed a satisfied smile.
"Very good, remember this process! When the task is completed, you will definitely get the bonus! Okay, follow me into the museum!"
…
…
Ogata and Atachi sat down at the edge of the dojo along with the spectators who had come to see Mizuno Nobuyune's heroic performance.
——The dojo…
The air was filled with the not-so-pleasant smell that was unique to the dojo.
If it were an ordinary person, he would definitely not like the smell in the dojo.
But Ogata didn't hate it.
Because after smelling this scent, a faint feeling of nostalgia will arise in Ogata's heart.
While looking around the layout of the Sengakukan Dojo, Ogata muttered:
“I really miss it…”
Although Ogata's whisper was soft, Atachi still heard it clearly.
"Ayi, are you missing the dojo where you used to practice sword?"
"Well... I haven't been to any dojo for nearly a year." Ogata nodded gently, "Time flies... About a year ago, Sakakibara Sword Hall was still there, and everyone... was still there..."
Having said this, Ogata felt as if his throat was slowly being blocked by something.
And A-Machi also noticed that Ogata's mood was rapidly declining, so he shut up and didn't talk about this topic anymore.
Just at this moment——there was a big commotion in the dojo ahead.
Ogata and Atachi raised their eyes and looked forward.
I saw a young man in his prime, probably between 30 and 35 years old, surrounded by a group of young people in uniform white uniforms, walking in through a small door and slowly walking to the center of the dojo.
As soon as the young man arrived at the center of the dojo, he introduced himself to Ogata and other spectators.
It turns out that this young man is the current head of Sengakukan: Mizuno Nobuyuki.
Mizuno's self-introduction was very long.
To make a simple summary of his self-introduction, it was that he praised himself for being the Menkyo Kaiden of the Zhongjuan Ryu and how great he was.
And how many years of history his Qianxueguan has and how powerful it is.
Also, how many disciples he has under his command, how many talented people his disciples have become, and how powerful they are.
In the final analysis, it was just praising how great he was...
This lengthy self-introduction almost made Ogata fall asleep.
Just when Ogata had yawned for the third time, Mizuno finally ended his overly informative self-introduction and began a practical demonstration, showing the Bell Roll Style to the audience.
Seeing that the only part he wanted to see was finally coming, Ogata perked up and subconsciously wanted to cross his hands and put them into his sleeves.
But because the weather was hot, Ogata had been tying up his sleeves with cuffs, so his hands were empty and he could only cross his chest with his hands in disappointment.
Mizuno and one of his disciples stood facing each other, each holding a wooden sword.
The mid-section postures of both of them are very good and look very standard from the outside.
After a long standoff, Mizuno was the first to take action.
Mizuno emitted a powerful Qi He and took a step forward to quickly close the distance between himself and his disciple.
The next moment after the disciple entered his attack range, Mizuno immediately swung his sword and chopped at the disciple's left shoulder.
The blade of the wooden sword hit the disciple's left shoulder accurately.
The disciple fell to the ground while screaming in pain.
Mizuno's moves just now were very fast.
After knocking the disciple down, exclamations immediately rang out from the audience.
Listening to the audience's exclamations, a faint smile appeared on Mizuno's face.
"...Huh?" When the rest of the audience exclaimed, Ogata, whose face was hidden under the Tengu mask, raised his eyebrows.
“Puff…”
At this moment, a sneer that was out of tune with the surrounding atmosphere suddenly sounded.
The sneer was very soft, the kind that one couldn't hold back despite trying hard to hold it back.
The person who sneered was a samurai dressed as a ronin.
Although the sneer was very small and lasted only a short time, almost everyone in the dojo could hear it clearly...
The disciples of Qianxueguan were kneeling on the left and right sides of the dojo.
After this sneer was heard, a fat disciple from Qianxue Academy immediately smiled with satisfaction.
After the sneer, Mizuno, who still had a nonchalant smile on his face, asked the laughing ronin:
"May I ask what's so funny ?"
"Sorry..." the ronin replied, "I just laughed because I was so disappointed. I didn't expect that the famous Sengakukan master Mizuno Nobuyuki would be at this level."
There was actually someone so unyielding as to say that Mizuno Nobuyuki was nothing special - the audience's interest was piqued.
Even Ogata cast a curious look at the strong-willed ronin.
"Oh?" The smile on Mizuno's face still maintained that nonchalant color, "Since you can see that my strength is mediocre, then your own strength must be very good, right?"
“Of course!” The ronin raised his head high, his nostrils almost pointing to the sky, “With your level, I can knock you down with just one move!”
"...In that case." Mizuno raised his hand and made a "please" gesture towards the knife rack placed at the edge of the dojo, "I wonder if you are interested in fighting with me?"
"Humph! Are you sure you want to fight? If I knock you down with one move later, you will be very embarrassed."
Mizuno let out a low laugh:
"Then I look forward to you knocking me down with one move."
"Humph! Then I will compete with you!"
After saying that, the ronin stood up and strode towards the knife rack, casually taking a wooden sword from the rack.
Seeing this, the audience showed excitement and excitement on their faces.
I am excited to see the interesting scene of "the duel between the sword gym master and the provocateur".
This ronin did not take the most stable middle stance, but rather the most aggressive upper stance.
From the way he holds the sword, it is not difficult to tell that this ronin has practiced swordplay before.
Mizuno, standing opposite the ronin, was in the same standard mid-section stance as before.
The two of them held swords in a standoff for a long time.
Bang!
There was a dull sound of flesh being hit.
Mizuno took a step forward, quickly closing the distance between himself and the ronin, and then made a straight thrust, accurately piercing the chest of the ronin, whose waist was wide open due to his upper stance.
"Ouch..." The ronin, feeling the pain, immediately let out a low cry of pain.
After falling to the ground in a mess, he covered his chest and groaned in pain.
"Since you just said that my strength is not as good as your junior brother's when you practiced swordsmanship before. Then it seems that your strength is also far inferior to your junior brother's."
"Tsk..." The ronin's cheeks instantly turned red with shame and anger.
His lips moved as if he wanted to say something.
But in the end, he just shouted coldly.
Then he got up from the ground and ran out of the museum in a hurry as if he was escaping.
When he was about to leave the dojo, the ronin secretly looked at the fat disciple of Sengakukan who was kneeling on one side of the dojo.
The fat disciple noticed the ronin's gaze, smiled and nodded at him, saying to the ronin with his gestures: "Well done ."
At this moment, a hint of pride appeared on the ronin's face.
Because the ronin and the fat disciple's movements were very small, none of the audience noticed their small movements.
After the ronin with a "face full of grief and anger" left the dojo, laughter and scolding immediately spread among the audience.
Everyone was laughing at the ronin who had overestimated his own abilities and was badly slapped in the face.
Ogata, who hid his face under the mask, was also smiling at this time.
But he was not laughing at the ronin just now.
But it is in Xiaoshuino and Xiaoqian Academy.
"A-Ming."
Ogata turned his head and spoke to Atachi beside him.
"Let's go. This Qianxueguan is just like this. There's nothing to see."
When Mizuno was fighting with his disciple just now, the speed with which he closed the distance between himself and his disciple, as well as the speed with which he swung his sword, were indeed very visually impactful in the eyes of outsiders.
But in Ogata's eyes, it was just - "That's it?"
The speed with which Mizuno swung his sword and stepped forward might be enough to fool an outsider, but it couldn't fool Ogata.
It’s not that Mizuno’s strength is very weak, it’s just that in Ogata’s eyes he doesn’t meet the standard of a “strong man”.
Not only that - the man who was in charge of the fight with Mizuno just now is also a problem.
An outsider might not be able to see it, but Ogata saw it at a glance - this person's feet were not firmly on the ground at all.
His eyes were also unfocused, and he didn't stare closely at the opponent in front of him with the awareness of "never letting the opponent leave his field of vision".
In short - it was clear at first glance that he deliberately did not try his best and lost to Mizuno on purpose.
The ronin who was looking for trouble just now also had problems.
The ronin was in the same situation - his feet were not firmly planted on the ground, his eyes were unfocused, and he was not paying attention at all.
Ogata guessed that the ronin just now should be a "stolen" hired by Mizuno and his friends.
The two "competitions" between Mizuno, whose strength was just that of a normal person, and his disciple who was a "stoogee", and the ronin were just a ridiculous farce in Ogata's eyes.
Ogata, who had suddenly lost interest in Sengakukan, had no interest in staying here to watch Mizuno's performance.
A-Machi was not good at swordsmanship, so he did not see the problems in Mizuno's two previous competitions as Ogata did.
But when Ogata said he was leaving, Atachi nodded obediently and prepared to leave Sengakukan with Ogata.
However - before either of them could get up from the floor, a burst of laughter suddenly broke out from the audience.
