Volume 5: Kyoto Summer Campaign Chapter 287: Mucun was arrested! (Part 1)
Fuma walked in front, continuing to lead Ogata and Atachi towards the living room of the house.
On the way to the living room, Ogata saw how big a lie Fuma had just told.
Fengmo just told them that his house was a little dirty.
Recalling what Fuma had just said to them, Ogata couldn't help but shout in his heart:
——This is not just a little dirty!
The floor was covered with a thick layer of dust, and Ogata was wearing black socks, so it was not obvious how dirty the floor was.
And Atachi was barefoot, so just by looking at the soles of Atachi's feet one could tell how dirty Fuma's house was.
Ating had only taken a few steps in Fuma's house, but his originally clean soles had turned completely black.
Ating does not have flat feet, so the arch of her foot will not touch the ground, so the arch of her foot remains clean.
The still clean and white arch of the foot forms a very sharp contrast with the rest of the foot that looks completely like it has been stained with ink.
Not only was the floor extremely dirty, but there was also all kinds of garbage piled up everywhere in the corridor.
In some areas, the corridors are filled with so much garbage that there is no place to step.
Because of the accumulation of various garbage, there is a strange smell in the air.
It's a pity that you can live in such an environment - Ogata really wanted to say this to Fuma, but in the end he resisted the urge.
Finally arriving at the living room of the house, it was also extremely dirty and messy, with all kinds of garbage piled everywhere.
"Sit down."
Fengmo took out two relatively clean cushions from a corner of the living room and placed them on one side of the low table in the living room.
"I'll go make a pot of tea."
Fengmo hunched over and walked slowly to the storage cabinet placed on the side of the living room.
When he stood on tiptoe to reach the bucket on the top shelf of the locker, Feng Mo suddenly let out a scream.
Fuma's sudden scream scared Ogata and Atachi. They rushed forward and asked anxiously what happened to Fuma.
"It's okay..." Feng Mo's facial features were twisted in pain, "I just sprained my waist by accident..."
Feng Mo let out a few bitter laughs.
"When people get older, their bodies become less useful..."
"I sprained my waist when I went out shopping a few days ago. Fortunately, I got help from a kind young man, otherwise I don't know how to get home..."
With the help of Ogata and A-Machi, Fuma finally took down the tea leaves on the top shelf of the locker and made two pots of tea for Ogata and A-Machi.
The sakura cakes that Ogata and Atachi bought as a gift for their meeting were now placed in a corner of the low table.
Fuma was very fond of the gift from Ogata and the other man, and accepted it happily.
"I'm sorry..." Fuma, who was sitting opposite Ogata and Atachi, said to them in an apologetic tone, "I don't have anything good to treat you. I only have some old tea from last year. But the cup is clean, so you can drink without worry."
"It's okay." Ogata took the lead and took a sip of the teacup while asking, "Master Fuma, does your waist still hurt?"
"Yeah, it's much better now." Feng Mo rubbed his lower back, "It was just a slight twist just now. It's much better after resting for a while."
"Master Fuma..." A-Ming's eyes showed a bit of sadness uncontrollably, "You... have aged a lot... The last time I saw you, you were still in good health..."
Not only Atachi, but even Ogata's face showed a bit of sadness.
A hero’s old age—this idiom automatically popped up in Ogata’s mind.
The 17th Fuma Kotaro, who was once a powerful figure who could turn the world of Shiranui upside down by himself, has now aged to such an extent that he can even hurt his waist when taking tea leaves from the locker - when Osamu thought of this, he couldn't help but feel sad.
"Hahaha." Fuma chuckled a few times, "Komachi, don't show that expression. People will get old. Although it's hard to live alone now, I'm quite happy with this ordinary life."
After hearing what Fengma said, the sadness on Ating's face faded a little.
After picking up the teacup and taking a few sips of the bitter tea, Atachi said to Fuma:
"Master Fengmo, Ayi and I have something we want to ask you."
"Oh? What is it? If it's a question I can answer, I'll tell you everything I know."
A-Machi raised her elbow and poked Ogata beside her, signaling Ogata to ask quickly.
However, Ogata ignored Atachi's elbow that was poking him.
After taking a sip of the tea in the cup calmly, he put the cup down and said softly:
"Ask questions or something, there's no rush."
"Before you ask questions——A-Ming, come and do something more important with me."
After saying that, Ogata slowly stood up under the suspicious gazes of Atachi and Fuma...
…
…
"Do you see it?" Lin pointed to a house not far away, "That's Master Fengmo's home."
Lin was holding a box of sakura cakes in her hands - she had just bought them as a gift for meeting Fengma later.
“My lord.” Shimada looked at the house that Lin had pointed at and said softly, “Is that where Master Fuuma lives in seclusion? It looks ordinary…”
"It's very ordinary. After all, Master Fuuma is not a very wealthy man... Hmm? Why is the door open?"
When the words "Lord Fuma is not a wealthy man" were said, Lin and his group just arrived at the door of Fuma's residence.
When they arrived at the gate, Lin and others found that the gate of Fengma's mansion was wide open.
"Why don't you close the door..."
While muttering this, Lin led Makimura and the other two towards the gate of Fuma's mansion.
After arriving at the door, Lin looked into the room and said loudly:
"Excuse me! Is there anyone who…"
The last word "ma" was involuntarily swallowed back into his stomach because he was shocked by the scene that appeared in front of him.
In the corridor connected to the entrance of the mansion, Ogata Ittosai, who had not been seen for a while, was lying on the ground wiping the floor with a rag.
Next to him, a beautiful woman whom he didn't know was accompanying Ogata to mop the floor in the corridor.
Although Lin didn't completely say "Is anyone here?", it still attracted the attention of Ogata and the young woman.
After Ogata and the woman whom she didn't know both raised their heads and cast puzzled glances at her, the puzzlement in Ogata's eyes instantly turned into astonishment.
"Ms. Kinoshita...?"
Although Kinoshita Lin was now dressed in men's clothes, Ogata still recognized her at a glance, as well as the three people standing behind her: Makimura, Asai, and Shimada.
…
…
Time goes back to half an incense stick ago——
After slowly standing up, Obunaga turned his head and said to Atachi:
"A-Machi, help me clean up Fuma-sama's house."
After saying this, Ogata stood up without waiting for Atachi and Fuma to respond, walked towards the pile of garbage closest to him, picked up a torn sack from the garbage, and then stuffed all the nearby garbage into the sack.
Looking at Ogata who had already started to pick up the garbage, Atachi was stunned for a moment, and then immediately a look of understanding appeared on her face.
"Master Fuma." Ating said to Fuma sternly, "Can I borrow your well?"
Without giving Fuma any time to respond, Atachi quickly stood up and ran towards the well in the yard.
This is not the first time that Atachi has come to Fuma's house, so Atachi has some understanding of the structure of Fuma's house.
She knew that there was a well in the Fuma family's yard , and she also knew where the well was.
After Atachi rushed to the well in a hurry, Fuma finally came back to his senses from his shock and said to Ogata:
"Ogata-kun, that's not necessary. If you want to ask me questions in exchange for helping me clean the house, then that's not necessary."
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I don't need you to pay me anything."
"Master Fuma, you misunderstood." Ogata's hands that were picking up the garbage did not stop. "The reason why Atachi and I chose to help you clean up is not to use this as a reward for asking you questions, nor is it to please you."
"It's just because..." Ogata turned his head and smiled at Fuma, "I just wanted to help you clean the house."
"But..." Feng Mo hesitated, "Isn't this too much trouble for you two..."
Ogata glanced at Fuma, who looked hesitant, and then said softly:
"…I am from the Izumo Hirose Domain. Before I left the domain, I was injured in a duel."
"During the time when I was recovering from my injuries, my fellow apprentices would come to my house from time to time to help clean the house for me, an injured person with limited mobility."
What Ogata was talking about was exactly what happened after the festival competition ended.
While he was recuperating at home, many of his senior and junior brothers came to visit him from time to time and helped him clean the house as he was unable to move around easily.
"I told them at the time: I would feel embarrassed if you guys helped me like this."
"And my fellow apprentices answered me this way: It is natural for friends to help each other."
"Master Fuma, just think of them as your two friends helping you clean the house."
"Friends helping friends clean their houses - this is normal, right?"
After hearing what Ogata said, Fuma was stunned.
After being stunned for a while, a faint smile appeared on Fengmo's face.
"Since you've said that, I'll accept your kindness with a clear conscience."
Ogata and Atachi have clear division of labor.
Ogata was responsible for sorting and clearing away the garbage piled throughout the mansion.
And Atachi was responsible for wiping every corner of the dirty mansion clean with a rag.
Because the workload of picking up garbage was much smaller, Ogata quickly cleaned up the garbage piled everywhere in the mansion.
After cleaning up the garbage in the mansion, Ogata also took a rag and assisted Atachi in wiping the extremely dirty floor of the mansion.
As the two of them worked together to wipe the floor of the corridor leading to the entrance of the mansion, Lin and her group appeared at the entrance of the Fuma mansion...
Ogata was both not surprised and surprised that Lin and her group suddenly appeared in front of him.
What he was "not surprised" about was that Lin and her group would appear in Kyoto.
Ogata had long expected that people from Calabash House would definitely come to Kyoto.
Huluya has been investigating "immortality" for so many years, it is impossible for him to miss the clue of "Wazo and Kazunao". He will definitely come to Kyoto and look for this master and disciple pair like him.
What surprised him was that Lin and his group actually appeared at the door of Fuma's mansion.
…
…
"Hehe." Fuma smiled and handed four cups filled with hot tea to Lin and his group, "Today is a really good day. Not only did Komachi come to see me, but even Xiaolin came to see me."
"Thank you." Lin, who usually had a blank expression on her face, smiled as she respectfully accepted the tea handed to her by Feng Mo. "Master Feng Mo, I feel relieved to see that you are still so energetic."
"My spirit is still strong, but my body is not as good as before." Feng Mo smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I sprained my waist when I went out shopping a few days ago. Fortunately, I got help from a kind young man, otherwise I don't know how to get home..."
After handing the four cups of hot tea to Lin and his group, he took out two clean teacups and poured .
"Ogata-san! Komachi! You two should come over and take a break!"
Ogata and Atachi were actually a little tired, so after hearing what Fuma said, they did not make any excuses or rejections, but sat around the low table in the middle of the living room with Lin and the others, sipping hot tea.
Although the living room of Fengma Mansion is not big, everyone present can barely sit down.
The tea in the cup was freshly boiled hot tea. Although it was hot, it was not completely undrinkable. While sipping the hot tea that Fuma had brewed for them, Ogata, who could no longer suppress his doubts, could not help but ask Fuma:
"Master Feng Mo, do you know anyone from the Calabash House?"
"Of course I know him." Fengma stroked his beard with a smile, "Because Genichi and I have been friends for decades."
"As someone who has a close relationship with Yuan Yi, I naturally know Xiao Lin and the people in Hulu House."
Having said this, Master Fuma cast a slightly doubtful look at Ogata and said:
"Brother Ogata, you actually know about Calabash House. Are you also a friend of Xiaolin and the others?"
Before Ogata could respond, Lin blew the hot tea in her cup and said in a calm tone:
"We do know Ogata Ittosai. But I don't know the beautiful woman next to Ogata Ittosai."
As soon as Lin finished speaking, Mucun, who was sitting next to Lin, poked Lin with his elbow:
"My lord, this beautiful woman is the kunoichi from Shiranui who worked with us on Chou Island, whom Mamiya and I told you about before—A-Machi."
