The tip of Daishikite’s sword was pressed against the throat of the “mighty warrior ”.
If Ogata wanted to, he could easily pierce the throat of the "mighty warrior" by pushing the sword forward.
The "mighty warrior" who was being pressed against the tip of the Great Shitian's knife could clearly feel how sharp the knife was against his throat. Cold sweat began to pour out from his forehead.
"Put the knife back, then sit back and wait patiently for the noodles."
Hearing Ogata's words, the "strong samurai" subconsciously wanted to scold Ogata.
But after opening his mouth, not a single word came out.
The cold, sharp touch coming from his throat constantly reminded him...
Click.
The "mighty warrior" with cold sweat on his face silently retracted the blade that had already popped out of the scabbard, and then cautiously took a half step back, away from the tip of Da Shitian's sword.
After confirming that Ogata had no intention of pursuing him, the "mighty warrior" retreated to his own table with a look of frustration, and sat down again.
After the "mighty warrior" retreated, Ogata slowly put down the scabbard in his right hand and the Daishakuten in his left hand, and then put the sword back into the sheath.
Even though he had already retreated from Ogata's attack range, the "mighty warrior" still looked frightened and cold sweat continued to flow down his face.
Before he had sat down for long, the "mighty warrior" gritted his teeth, stood up again with a "whoosh", and without even waiting for the noodles, he rushed out of the soba shop.
No one present was surprised by the departure of the "mighty warrior".
After all, no matter who it is, after encountering this situation , there is no way to eat noodles calmly.
Seeing that the "mighty warrior" had left and there would be no more conflicts, everyone in the store breathed a sigh of relief.
While they were breathing a sigh of relief, some people - mainly those warriors who also carried swords began to boldly ridicule the "strong warrior" who had not defended the honor of a warrior to the end and actually fled in such a hurry.
Some people even shamelessly asked why the "strong samurai" didn't draw his sword. At that distance, he still had a good chance to use the sword-drawing technique to chop off Ogata's head before the tip of Ogata's sword pierced his throat. Those who said such things were basically civilians who did not carry swords.
Although these people had intentionally lowered their voices, because Ogata and his fellow swordsmen had much better hearing than ordinary people, they could still hear clearly the ridicule and mockery of those people against the "strong samurai".
"Heh." Asai sneered, "Those who ask why that idiot didn't draw his sword are really stupid. Anyone who has learned a little bit of swordsmanship can see that that idiot didn't have the chance to draw his sword, right?"
Asai's comment was not wrong.
Anyone who knows a little about swordsmanship can see that Ogata's method of drawing the sword by pulling up the scabbard was extremely beautiful, clean and neat, without any unnecessary movements.
Just now, when Ogata used this extremely beautiful sword-drawing technique before the "strong samurai" could perform the sword-drawing technique and put the tip of the sword against the "strong samurai"'s throat, people who understand swordsmanship can see that the winner is already decided.
"That guy just now also knew how to judge the situation."
Genichi interrupted at this time.
"After realizing that he was no match for Ogata-kun, he obediently put away his sword and left."
"He has a swordsmanship level that can clearly see the gap between himself and Ogata-kun, and he has the courage to run away with his tail between his legs. That guy just now can be considered a talented person."
"Can that kind of person be considered a talented person?" Mucun raised his eyebrows.
"Of course." Genichi smiled, "In my eyes, anyone who doesn't stick to the so-called 'samurai glory' is a talented person."
"Only those who can advance and retreat, and are not bound by so-called 'glory', have the opportunity to become heroes."
"Look at the great swordsmen who left their mark in history books, such as Kamiizumi Nobunaga, Yagyu Ishifunesai, and Miyamoto Musashi. Which one of them is a pedantic person?"
While Genichi was explaining to Makimura in a didactic tone why he thought the guy just now was a talented person, Shimada, who was sitting next to Ogata, was looking at Ogata with admiration.
"Lord Ogata, what is the name of the way you drew the sword just now?" Shimada said as he raised his hands and imitated Ogata's method of drawing the sword just now.
"It doesn't have a name." Ogata shrugged. "It's just a technique I discovered by accident that allows me to draw my sword with only a small movement."
Although the system can help Ogata improve his physical fitness and swordsmanship level at a speed that ordinary people can hardly imagine.
But the system cannot help Ogata get anything.
That is the experience of fighting the enemy.
The sword-drawing technique that Ogata just used was something he figured out on his own when he escaped from the Hirose Domain and was being hunted by bounty hunters who were eyeing his head.
Hold the knife with its sheath in one hand, hold the knife upright and point the blade at the enemy, while quickly pulling the sheath upwards with the other hand.
This sword-drawing technique requires a very small movement, and is very suitable for use in places where there is insufficient space to the left and right but plenty of space above and below - such as in a narrow alley.
While Shimada was actively asking about the key points of the sword-drawing technique just now, the female student who had been troubled by the "strong samurai" just now walked quickly towards the table of Ogata and others with a large dinner plate.
On the plates were the noodles and drinks ordered by the six of them.
Kneeling respectfully beside the table of Ogata and the others, she placed the bowls of soba noodles on the table and whispered to Ogata in a grateful tone:
"Master Samurai, thank you so much for what you did just now."
"You're welcome." Ogata responded without hesitation, "It's just a small matter."
“I used to work in an izakaya.”
"So I really hate people who make trouble when eating or drinking."
"I just did something I often do before."
"Huh?" Yuan glanced at the number of wine bottles on the plate, "I remember we didn't order that much wine."
"These extra bottles of wine are a thank-you gift from the store manager. Please accept them."
"Wow~~" Yuan Yi grinned, "Thank you. Then you're welcome."
"Master Genichi." Mamiya said with a wry smile, "Don't drink too much."
"Don't worry." Genichi waved his hand, "This kind of sake won't get me drunk."
After serving the last bowl of noodles to the table, the girl sighed softly and then complained quietly:
"This is actually the second time today that a ronin has caused trouble..."
"At noon today, a ronin also caused trouble by saying the soup was too hot."
"Alas... I feel like there are a lot more ronin gathering in Edo recently..."
Hearing the girl's words, Ogata raised an eyebrow.
Because he suddenly remembered what he had overheard from a couple when he found this soba noodle shop just now.
"There are so many ronin in Edo recently. Is it because there is some festival or event being held here?" Ogata asked.
"I don't know the details..." the middle-aged woman said softly, "I rarely pay attention to these things...but I did hear that we in Edo seem to be holding some kind of 'Imperial Trial'."
"'Gozen Shihei'?" Ogata repeated the unfamiliar name. "Shihei... is it some kind of athletic event? A sword fight? Or a contest of learning?"
After hearing the word "trial", the first word that came to Ogata's mind was the "Shinto Enbu" he had participated in when he was in the Hirose Domain, commonly known as the "Shinto Competition".
This word seemed to be an unfamiliar word to the people around her, such as Mamiya, and they all looked at the girl with doubt, just like Ogata.
"I don't know the details..." After saying this in an apologetic tone, the middle school girl bowed slightly, "I'm sorry, I still have a lot of things to serve. I'll excuse you now."
"Yeah." Ogata nodded, "I'm sorry to have kept you for so long. Go and do your thing first."
After the girl left quickly with the food tray, everyone focused their attention on Shimada, who was born and raised in Edo.
"Shimada," Makimura said, "please explain. What is the 'Gozen Trial'?"
"I don't know either..." Shimada shook his head in confusion, "This is the first time I've heard of this..."
"It seems like there are some new activities in Edo recently." Mamiya said softly.
"…I'm a little interested in this 'Gozen Trial'." Genichi grinned, "The name sounds interesting."
"Then let's go and get some information." Mucun grabbed a bottle of sake on the table.
"Where are you planning to go to gather intelligence?" Asai asked.
"I noticed just now - the guests at the second table from the west spoke with a Kyoto accent."
Ogata and others turned their heads and looked at the second table on the west side.
There were four young men dressed in civilian clothes sitting at the small table, chatting animatedly about something.
As soon as everyone turned their eyes to the guests at that table, Makimura strode towards them with the bottle of sake and a wine glass.
After quickly walking to the side of the table of guests, Mucun naturally squeezed into the gap between two of the four guests at the table.
"Hey, you guys are from Kyoto, right?"
After sitting down, Makimura greeted the four people at the table in extremely standard Kyoto dialect.
Anyone would be startled when a very large stranger suddenly squeezed in next to their table.
The four people at the table were so frightened that they shook all over at first, and then looked at Mucun up and down with curious eyes.
Seeing that Makimura was not carrying any weapons, and was only holding a bottle of wine and a wine glass in his hands, with a smiling face and speaking in the Kyoto accent which was extremely familiar to them, the four men slowly let down their guard.
"Yes." One of the four people replied in the same standard Kyoto dialect, "Are you from Kyoto too?"
"Of course! I speak Kyoto dialect so well, where else could I be from if not Kyoto?" Makimura said this in a half-joking tone as he opened the bottle of sake in his hand and poured sake into the glasses of the four people.
Jingyanye - an elegant name for the Kyoto dialect. People in Kyoto like to call their dialect "Jingyanye".
After Mucun poured out the wine from the bottle, the rich aroma of the wine immediately penetrated into the nostrils of the four people.
Seeing Mucun utter the extremely intimate word "京言叶" so skillfully and pouring them such good wine, the slight wariness that remained on the faces of the four people finally disappeared.
After pouring wine for the four people and filling the wine glass he brought for himself, Mucun took a sip of the wine in the glass and asked the four people:
"Friends, I just arrived in Edo today. I heard that there is a 'Gozen Trial' going to be held in Edo. Do you know what this is?"
"Oh! 'The Imperial Trial'." One of the four young men took a sip of the wine in the glass and said, "It's too detailed, we don't know."
"We came to Edo with the master to sell rice, so we just arrived a few days ago and don't know much about many things in Edo." Another young man continued, "We only have a little understanding of this 'Gozen Trial'."
"It's alright." Mucun laughed heartily. "Just tell me as much as you know."
"I only heard that this 'Gozen Kijuu' is an activity related to samurai."
"Oh?" A strange light flashed in Mucun's eyes, "What else?"
"Also... I heard that it was the idea of ​​the elder councilor Matsudaira Sadanobu to hold this 'Imperial Trial'. As for the rest... I'm sorry, as for the rest, we don't know much. That's all we know."
"Is that so... It's okay! This is enough for me! Come, let's have a few drinks together!"
After drinking a few glasses with the four people and chatting casually about some random things, Makimura returned to Ogata and others with the almost empty bottle of wine.
After coming back, Mucun told everyone the information he had just obtained one by one.
After Makimura finished telling him the information he had just obtained, Shimada said in a respectful tone:
"Senior Makimura, you are amazing. You can actually squeeze in among a group of strangers so naturally."
"It's just a skill I acquired through hard work in Kyoto." Makimura smiled.
"But you didn't get much information." A few black lines appeared on Asai's face.
"Is there any way?"
Makimura shrugged.
"They are just a bunch of civilians who have just arrived in Edo for a few days. How could they have a deep understanding of Edo?"
"I'll go ask the warriors at that table. They might know more."
After saying that, Makimura turned his gaze to another table of guests not far from them. The guests at that table all had a katana on their knees and a wakizashi on their waists.
"...Forget it." Ogata said at this time, "We can slowly do things like getting information later. The most urgent thing now is to finish the noodles quickly and buy some food to take back. Don't forget - there are two people waiting for us to bring food back."
Ogata's words immediately had an enlightening effect on Makimura and others.
They suddenly remembered that now was not the time to slowly gather information.
There were two other people waiting for them at the hotel with hungry stomachs.
Everyone slurped down their noodles as quickly as they could, then ran out of the soba shop, looking for a store that sold the kind of food that is easy to carry.
Ogata remembered that Atachi preferred sweets based on red beans, so he bought some yokan and red bean-filled daifuku.
After everyone rushed back to the hotel with the food they bought for Lin and Ating, they told Lin and Ating the information they had just heard about the "Imperial Trial".
…
…
"'Gozen Trial'?" Lin frowned as she sat on the futon and ate the dorayaki that Mamiya bought for her. "Katsurokuro, don't you know what this is?"
Everyone in the Calabash House, except Ogata and Atachi, is now gathered in Lin's room.
In order to deliver the food he bought for Atachi to her, Ogata is now in Atachi's room and is not staying in Lin's room with everyone else.
Because the room where Lin lived was very small, except for Yuan Yi who was casually sitting cross-legged next to Lin's bed, everyone else was standing.
Hearing Lin's question, Shimada shook his head in confusion:
"I have never heard of this 'Imperial Trial'. It should be a new activity established this year."
"My lord," Mamiya said as soon as Shimada finished speaking, "I think it is necessary for us to learn more about this 'Imperial Trial'. We may be able to gather unexpected and useful information."
"...Yes." Lin nodded, "I should really learn more about this 'Imperial Trial'."
"But—not now."
"Whether it's looking for information about Shiranui or the 'Gozen Trial', let's wait until tomorrow."
"Today we took a boat and walked to Edo. Everyone should be tired."
"Everyone should have a good rest tonight."
"The rest will wait until tomorrow."
"Yahachi, please tell Ogata Ittosai and Ms. A-Machi to have a good rest tonight."
"Yes." Makura nodded vigorously.
"That's all I have to say." Lin looked around at the people around her, "Everyone go back and rest."
…
…
After Lin gave the order to disband, Makimura followed Lin's instructions and told Ogata and Atachi that "have a good rest tonight and we will deal with the rest tomorrow."
Lin's arrangement was exactly what Ogata wanted.
He just wanted to have a good rest after dinner tonight.
I was drifting on the sea until 15:00 this afternoon.
After drifting on the sea, he walked to Edo with Atachi on his back.
With his physical strength already rising to 13 points, these two moves did not make Ogata feel too tired.
But after such a tiring journey, Ogata still felt "mentally tired" and his attention was involuntarily scattered.
After finishing the sweets that Ogata bought for him, A-Machi yawned loudly.
After yawning loudly, Ating blinked hard, looking as if he could hardly open his eyes.
"Are you sleepy?" Ogata asked.
"Well... a little... after all, we just finished dinner."
"Are you still feeling dizzy?"
"Just now, when you went out to eat, I took a nap and now I feel much better. I should be completely fine after another sleep tomorrow morning."
"That's good. Since you're sleepy now, you can go back to sleep." Ogata said as he picked up the Daishakuten placed on the tatami beside him and stood up. "Maybe there will be a lot of things to do tomorrow, so I plan to go to bed early tonight."
"Hmm..." Ating, with his eyes half open, lay back in bed, "Then I'll go back to sleep... Good night..."
"Well, good night."
Ogata and Atachi did not sleep in the same room.
Because Lin and Atachi's seasickness symptoms had not completely subsided when they entered Edo Castle this evening, everyone was eager to find a hotel and did not have the extra time to slowly choose which hotel had enough rooms. They just wanted to quickly find a hotel that could accommodate the eight of them.
When they found the hotel, there was only one large room and two single rooms left.
The big room was large enough to accommodate the six men including Ogata.
The crowd, who didn't have any high requirements for accommodation and just wanted to find a hotel to stay in, didn't hesitate too much and directly chose this hotel.
Naturally, the two single rooms were occupied by the two women, Lin and A-machi, while the men including Ogata stayed in the large room that could accommodate the six of them.
When Ogata returned to the large room where they lived with a knife in hand, he saw six futons already laid out on the tatami.
The six beds were arranged to form two opposing Chinese characters “川” (Chuan).
Shimada had already lain down in the futon, and Mamiya, Makimura, and Asai had also changed their clothes and looked like they were getting ready to go to bed.
As for Yuan Yi, he sat in the corner of the room, drinking silently from the bottle and glass.
"Are you all ready for bed?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
"What else?" Makimura cast a teasing look at Ogata. "Today I've been on a boat and on foot, and I'm not in the mood to do anything else. I just want to get some sleep. Brother Ogata, do you want to take advantage of the nice night tonight and go to Yoshiwara to have some fun?"
"I'm not going to Yoshiwara." Ogata said unhappily, untying the big kimono around his waist, and then began to take off the haori on the upper body and the hakama on the lower body. "I'm also going to sleep obediently. Today I took a boat and carried Atachi through mountains and rivers. I'm a little tired."
"Let's wait until tomorrow to discuss the matter of Shiranui and the 'Gozen Trial'."
After swiftly stripping off her clothes until she was left with only her kimono, Ogata crawled into his bed.
"Are you all ready to go to bed?" Mamiya, who was sitting next to the candlelight, turned his head and asked Makimura and Asai who were still sitting.
Asai did not answer Mamiya's question, but just lay down quietly in his bedding.
"Master Genichi." Makimura cast his gaze towards Genichi who was sitting in the corner, "Are you ready to sleep?"
"Ah, don't worry about me." Yuan Yi waved his hand, "I plan to drink a little more before going to bed, so you can turn off the lights."
The wine that Genichi was currently holding in his hand was the sake he had just bought at the soba shop.
"Master Genichi..." Makimura smiled helplessly, "Please don't drink too much."
"Haha, for an old man like me, drinking a little wine occasionally is actually very beneficial to the body."
"The amount of alcohol you drink every day can no longer be described with the words 'occasionally' and 'a little drink'..." Makimura said as he winked at Mamiya.
Mamiya understood the meaning of Makimura's eyes, waved his hand, extinguished the only light source in the room, and then he and Makimura lay down in their respective beddings.
In the room, the other five people except Genichi were already lying down in their respective beddings.
However - the room did not remain quiet for long.
After the five Ogatas had all laid down in their blankets, Genichi suddenly let out a low laugh and said:
"I say - if we have time later, do you want to go to Yoshiwara together?"
"Yoshiwara is..." Shimada hesitated, "that Yoshiwara?"
"Of course it's the Yoshiwara that is known as 'Edo's City That Never Sleeps' and 'Japan's No. 1 Entertainment City'," said Yuan. "Now that I think about it, I've been to Yoshiwara in Edo many times, but I've never seen the 'Oiran Outing' of Yoshiwara's Oirans. I really want to go and see it."
"Oiran..." Shimada muttered, "I remember that to be an oiran, one must not only be beautiful, but also be good at music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and be very knowledgeable, right?"
"That's right." Mucun nodded, "So being an oiran is very difficult. In terms of knowledge, those oirans may be able to recite the Four Books and Five Classics more fluently than us."
"I don't know if the courtesans are as familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics as I am. But they are definitely more familiar with them than you, Makimura." Asai, who always liked to argue with Makimura, retorted mercilessly.
"That's true..." Makimura nodded seriously, "Among all the people here, I seem to be the least educated one... Ah, brother Ogata, have you ever been to school?"
Makimura raised his head and gave Ogata a look that was "longing for the same kind of person."
However, Ogata turned a blind eye to his gaze that "longed for his own kind."
"Of course I've been educated," Ogata said unhappily. "I'm not bragging. I can basically recite the Four Books and Five Classics by heart. I can also recite a lot of Tang and Song poems."
——I can speak standard Chinese at the same time. But I haven’t spoken Chinese for more than a year, so I may stutter a little when I speak Chinese now.
Ogata added this sentence silently in his mind.
What Ogata said just now was indeed not bragging.
Before traveling to the Edo period, because Ogata's parents highly respected Chinese studies, they had always asked Ogata to study various Chinese studies such as Tang poetry, Song lyrics, the Four Books and the Five Classics in private.
He also specially invited an old and respected teacher of Chinese studies with profound knowledge to be Ogata's private tutor.
This old teacher has a high level of attainment in Chinese studies, especially in the Four Books and Five Classics. He is a great man who has published many well-known papers related to the Four Books and Five Classics.
Under the guidance of this old teacher, Ogata could recite , and the kind of fluenty he could recite was already engraved in his DNA and he could never forget it even if he wanted to.
However, due to the strict requirements of his parents, Ogata studied Chinese classics too hard, which resulted in him feeling severe psychological discomfort after reading the Four Books and Five Classics.
After learning that Ogata was also an educated person who could recite the Four Books and Five Classics, Makimura, who had failed to find someone of his kind, buried his head again after having just raised it.
"Well...it seems that I am indeed the least educated person here..."