"Master Enma." Shuntaro yawned, "Did you call us here just to tell us these things?"
"Since the mission to capture the rebel ninja is given to Shintaro, why not just call Shintaro over? Why bother calling me and Gokutaro as well?"
"If it's just to remind us to watch out for that traitor in Edo, then there's no need to call both of us here, right? Can't someone else just pass on this little thing?"
Shuntaro was taking a nap just now.
Taking a leisurely nap has always been one of Shuntaro's biggest hobbies.
Because he likes to take naps, Shuntaro hates being suddenly woken up during his nap.
Enma just suddenly issued an emergency call, and Shuntaro was forced to be woken up, which made Shuntaro a little unhappy.
It would be fine if Flame Demon had specifically called them here to discuss something very important.
But from the current situation, it seems that Yan Mo really just wants to tell some trivial things that can be recounted by others.
This made it clear that when Shuntaro said those words just now, there was an emotion called "unhappiness" in his tone.
As soon as Shuntaro finished speaking, Enma said in a deep voice:
"I specially called you and Gokutaro here, of course, not just to tell you this."
Enma turned his gaze back to Gokutaro.
"Gokutaro, in seven days, the 'Gozen Trial' will begin."
"How are you preparing?"
"It's foolproof." Gokutaro responded without hesitation.
Seeing Gokutaro's resolute expression and firm tone, Enma nodded slightly.
"Don't let your guard down. I've told you many times how important this 'Imperial Trial' is to us right now."
"If we can get the first place in the 'Imperial Trial' martial arts test, it will definitely greatly improve the general's impression of us."
"Maybe it can even improve the impression of us on the senior officials."
After giving some instructions to Gokutaro, Enma turned his attention to Shuntaro.
After seeing the eye-catching women's kimono on Shuntaro, Enma's brows immediately frowned.
"Shuntaro, I called you here just to ask you something."
"What's up with that dress you're wearing?"
"This one?" Shuntaro pulled at the collar of his shirt. "I was strolling around Edo a few days ago and found this dress very beautiful, so I bought it and tried it on. It turned out to be quite comfortable, so I continued to wear it."
Hearing what Shuntaro said, several black lines immediately appeared on Enma's face.
"You are one of the 'Four Heavenly Kings' in my Shiranui." Enma said in a deep voice, "How can you dress so ridiculously?"
"Master Enma, what does it matter?" Shuntaro shrugged and showed a fearless smile, "The morale of the ninjas in Shiranui will not drop because I wear this outfit."
"... Humph." After a moment of silence, the Flame Demon snorted heavily, "Forget it, I don't want to bother with you anymore."
"That's all I have to say. You can all go back now."
…
…
After Enma gave the order to disband, Shuntaro, who had been looking forward to returning home early, was the first to stand up.
After Shuntaro got up and left, Gokutaro and Shintaro followed closely behind.
Because the house where Shuntaro lived was not in the same direction as that where Gokutaro and Shintaro lived, after leaving Enma's house, Shuntaro parted ways with Gokutaro and Shintaro without even saying hello, and strode back to his own house.
Gokutaro and Shintaro seemed to have long been accustomed to Shuntaro's indifference towards them, and ignored Shuntaro who didn't even say hello to them.
The house where Shuntaro lives is not in the same direction as the other two, but the houses where Shintaro and Gokutaro live are in the same direction.
So the two of them naturally walked together side by side.
The relationship between Gokutaro and Shintaro is not particularly good.
The reason is that their personalities are not very compatible.
Shintaro is a man of few words, but he does things meticulously.
Because he doesn't talk much and just works hard, people can't guess what he is thinking about.
Naturally, Shintaro, who is meticulous in his work, cannot get along with Gokutaro, who likes wine and women.
Although the relationship between the two was not very good, in order to kill time walking, Gokutaro took the initiative to talk to Shintaro:
"This 'Imperial Trial' is so troublesome... I really don't want to participate in such a troublesome thing..."
Shintaro also responded positively to Gokutaro's talk.
"Except for you, there is no one else who is suitable to participate in the 'Imperial Trial'."
"You are the only one among the 'Four Heavenly Kings' who has received a complete Chinese studies education."
"Those who have learned the Four Books and Five Classics better than you are not as good as you in fighting."
"There are people who can fight better than you, but none of them have studied the Four Books and Five Classics as well as you."
"It's because there's no one to replace me that I find it troublesome." Gokutaro curled his lips, "Compared to this kind of troublesome stuff, assassination and other missions are more suitable for me."
"Gitaro, please don't waste this rare and good mission."
Shintaro said in a calm tone.
"Enumerable Lord attaches great importance to this 'Test before the Emperor' - I believe you all know what this means, without me having to explain it further, right?"
"As long as you can complete the task that Master Yan Mo has given you excellently, you will be able to greatly please Master Yan Mo."
"As long as you can make Lord Enma happy and let him see your outstanding abilities, you might be able to gain some favor from him."
"The possibility of passing on the position of the 18th Flame Demon to you in the future may greatly increase."
"With that guy Shuntaro here, there's no way I'd be able to succeed as the 18th Enma." Although Gokutaro said this, there was still a strange light flashing in his eyes.
"Gokutaro, haven't you noticed that the relationship between Enma-sama and Shuntaro is getting worse and worse?"
Shintaro said this in a tone that was still calm and seemed to have no emotion or color mixed in it.
"Since the incident three years ago, Shuntaro has become more and more free and undisciplined, and doesn't take my rules seriously."
"You must have discovered it a long time ago, right? Lord Enma has already expressed his dissatisfaction with Shuntaro many times, both openly and covertly."
"At a time when Lord Enma has long been extremely dissatisfied with Shuntaro, it is not impossible for someone who may not be as powerful but is liked by Lord Enma to take over the position of the 18th Enma."
After saying that, Shintaro turned and turned into the small path next to him.
"Anyway - Gokutaro, you should work hard on your own. Don't let Enma-sama down ."
"Let's part ways here. I'm going to organize some people to capture that traitorous ninja."
"Yeah." Gokutaro waved at Shintaro in response.
Although Shintaro had already walked far away, the words that Shintaro had just said to him were still constantly echoing in Gokutaro's ears.
Gokutaro slowed down his pace unconsciously, and the strange light flashing in his eyes was even brighter than before...
…
…
In Edo, outside Yoshiwara, see the returning willow.
"Why do I have to dress up as a woman again..."
Asai's expression at this moment was like this: w(°Д°)w.
He looked like he wanted to go crazy and roar loudly, but he was holding himself back.
At this time, Ogata, Makimura and Asai were standing next to the Mikan Willow outside Yoshiwara.
At the end of the avenue leading to the Yoshiwara Gate, there is a willow tree named "Jianfan Willow".
Many guests, after having fun in Yoshiwara and leaving Yoshiwara, walk to this willow tree, and often look back at Yoshiwara because they have tasted the sweetness of the willow tree - this is the origin of the name "Jianfan Liu".
The attire of Ogata and the other two was no different from last night.
Ogata was wearing the special dark blue haori that belonged to the Shirobei Club.
Mucun was wearing ordinary clothes.
And Asai...also dressed up as an extremely beautiful girl like yesterday...
Although it was just getting dark now, Yoshiwara was not really bustling yet.
But many people who had finished their work for the day were eager to rush to Yoshiwara with the money they earned today, or the money they had saved for many days.
When passing by the beautiful girl Asai, most of the men and women couldn't help but look back and look at this beautiful girl.
The looks from these people made Asai even more embarrassed.
Looking at Asai who looked frantic, Ogata wanted to say something to comfort her, but he couldn't think of what to say...
The reason why Asai was dressed like a woman was all thanks to Bailin.
"Asai, for the next period of time, you should continue to disguise yourself as a woman and lurk in the Four Seasons House with Makimura, and try to get some useful information from Gokutaro."
"Of course, we won't ask you two to go there every day. If you go there every day, it might attract the attention of Gokutaro."
"Anyway, you two should go to Four Seasons House again tonight."
"As for when you can take a break and not go again, I will decide."
The above is what Lin said to Asai today.
Ogata happened to be present when Lin was talking to Asai.
Ogata felt that he would never forget Asai's expression at that time...
"Okay, let's go in quickly." After saying this in a helpless tone, Ogata took the lead, holding the sword at his waist, and strode towards the Yoshiwara gate not far ahead.
After passing through the gate of Yoshiwara, Obaka temporarily parted ways with Makimura and Asai.
Makimura and Asai will "ambush" in the area around Shikiya, waiting for Gokutaro's arrival - after all, it is impossible to just sit in Shikiya and wait for Gokutaro to arrive.
After passing through the Yoshiwara gate, Ogata turned right and entered the Shirobei Club.
Ogata's working hours are when it gets dark.
Ogata had indeed arrived a little early today, and the sky was just beginning to get dark.
Ogata arrived a little early today, so he planned to find an empty room in the club to sit down and rest for a while.
The two club staff who were standing guard outside the club gate seemed to know Ogata. After seeing Ogata, they greeted him loudly in a warm tone.
After raising his hand in response to the two people, Ogata strode into the clubhouse.
When Ueo was taking Ogata to familiarize himself with the layout of Yoshiwara, he had taken Ogata to the rooms in the club that were specially provided for the club's officials to rest.
Ogata relied on his memory to move around the not-so-big club house.
From time to time, he would see people passing by him on the road.
Among those who passed by Ogata, those who did not know him ignored him or just nodded politely.
Those who knew Ogata, without exception, greeted him with an enthusiastic and somewhat scary attitude.
Because of the excessive enthusiasm, Ogata felt a little uncomfortable...
Finally, they arrived at the rooms that were specially used for the club servants to rest. Because the doors of each room were closed, it was unknown which room was occupied or not, so Ogata walked to the door of a room at random and asked softly:
"Excuse me, is there anyone inside?"
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, a voice that sounded very familiar to Ogata came from behind the door of this room:
"Mashima-kun?"
Hearing this voice, Ogata couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
This voice was extremely familiar to Ogata.
I hear it almost every day these days.
Just as Ogata was about to say something, the door in front of him was opened with a "whoosh".
The person who opened the door, and also the owner of the voice just now, was Guasheng.
Ogata looked down at Uesugi, whose height barely reached his chest.
There was a thin layer of sweat on Guasheng's forehead.
After glancing at the sweat on Ueyu's forehead, Ogata asked:
"Ms. Ueura, have you just returned from patrolling Yoshiwara?"
"Yeah." Guess nodded, "I just patrolled around Yoshiwara a few times and am taking a break here now."
After saying that, Uesugi looked Ogata up and down.
"Mashima-kun, what are you doing here? Is there something you want to talk to me about?"
"No, it's not. I just think it's still early, so I plan to find a rest room in the club to rest for a while."
“I see…” Uesugi put on a helpless smile, “Mashima-kun, if you want to find a room to rest, you don’t need to ask if there is anyone inside. Just open the door and come in.”
"We don't need too much etiquette here."
After explaining the little knowledge about their place to Ogata, Guase turned sideways.
"Anyway, come in first."
"I'm the only one in this room now, it's quieter."
Compared to a room that is too noisy and has strangers present, Ogata would definitely prefer to rest in a quiet room where the people inside are people he knows.
Ogata entered the room following the space left by Ueoka when he turned sideways.
Just as Uesugi said, she was the only one in the room until Ogata came in.
There was a cushion in the middle of the room with a peach-shaped depression on it - this must have been the shape made when Guasheng sat on the cushion just now.
After noticing that Ogata was looking at the cushion, Uesugi immediately walked quickly to the cushion with a slightly red face, and then waved his hand to flatten the dent in the cushion.
Ogata pretended not to pay much attention to the cushion and sat cross-legged casually in a corner of the room.
"Is it my illusion..." Ogata just sat down on the tatami and said helplessly, "I always feel that everyone in the club seems to be much more enthusiastic towards me..."
After saying that, Obuchi told Uesugi about how he had just entered Yoshiwara and how he had been warmly treated by many of the club's servants.
After listening to Ogata's story, Uesugi, who had just sat cross-legged on the cushion, smiled:
"Mashima-kun, your feat of successfully robbing the fire thief who came to steal your credit yesterday by yourself has already spread around the club."
"Isn't it normal for everyone to be enthusiastic about you, a great contributor and hero?"
"Don't be like that." Ogata couldn't help but let out a bitter smile, "I don't deserve to be called a great contributor or hero."
"If possible, I really hope that everyone can treat me like before, without being so enthusiastic... Hmm? Miss Ueki, why are you looking at me like that?"
Uesugi, who was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, was leaning forward in the direction of Ogata, casting an intriguing look at him.
"...Mashima-kun, I always feel like you're mysterious."
"Mysterious?" Ogata raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"
"The clothes you are wearing are not bad, and the sword on your waist seems to be a high-end product. I feel that you should not be a person who is short of money, but you come to work in our Shirobei Club."
"And he has such amazing skills. He became an enemy of elite fire thieves and defeated 25 of them in one go, and he was barely even hurt."
"I also know a friend who can directly contact that 'Ghost Ping'."
"I've always heard people say that Yun is a divine land where millions of gods live, and it has produced many outstanding people since ancient times."
"I didn't quite believe it at first, but now I believe it a little bit."
"In front of us there was Ogata Ittosai, and in the back there is you. Both are incredible swordsmen."
"It makes me want to go and see for myself if the land of Izumo is really that magical."
As soon as Guasheng finished speaking, Xu Fang immediately shrugged and said with a smile:
"Ms. Uesugi, you are flattering me by putting me on the same level as Ogata Ittosai."
"In terms of swordsmanship and deeds, I can't compare to Ogata Ittosai in any one aspect."
After hearing what Ogata said, Uesugi was silent for a while.
Then he straightened up.
"That's true."
"You should at least refute it..."
After hearing Ogata's helpless remarks, Uesugi chuckled a few times and stood up.
"Mashima-kun, I'm going to go get some tea, do you want some?"
"Yeah, sure. Please."
Guasheng left the room quickly.
The only people left in the room were Ogata and the cushion with the "peach"-shaped indentation reappearing.
Ogata, who did not intend to waste the free time waiting for Ueo to come back, took out a book from his pocket.
There are two big Chinese characters written on the cover of this book: "Book of Rites".
This was just bought by Ogata this afternoon.
Ogata has the memories of the "former Ogata".
Although "Maeokata" was only a low-ranking samurai of the Hirose domain, he also received a complete education in the Terakoya.
Moreover, "Maeokata" studied quite hard at Terakoya.
The Four Books and Five Classics have all been studied rigorously and memorized in their entirety.
Before Ogata traveled through time to the Edo period, he also studied the Four Books and Five Classics diligently under the strict demands of his parents who were extremely obsessed with the so-called national studies.
The memory of "Former Ogata" plus the memory of Ogata himself. Although the two memories combined did not make Ogata a "master of Chinese studies", he was still able to recite the Four Books and Five Classics in their entirety.
But to be on the safe side, Ogata decided to take some time to review some of the more difficult or easy-to-memorize mistakes parts of the Four Books and Five Classics before the "Imperial Examination" began.
After all, he had promised Hasegawa that he would have mutual benefit with Hasegawa and help Hasegawa.
If I fail the imperial examination, I will be so amused...
Just as Ogata was carefully reading the "Book of Rites", the book with the most words among the Four Books and Five Classics, Guase came back with a large tea tray.
After discovering that Ogata was reading the Book of Rites, Uesugi asked curiously:
"Mashima-kun, are you so studious?"
"No." Ogata shook his head. "If I hadn't participated in the 'Imperial Examination', I would definitely not have read these books..."
"Mashima-kun, did you participate in the 'Imperial Trial'?" Uesugi's face was full of surprise.
This was not something worth hiding, so Ogata told Uesugi in detail that he had participated in the "Imperial Examination".
Of course - Ogata certainly wouldn't be so foolish as to reveal the real reason why he participated in the "Imperial Trial".
He just said that he thought the "Imperial Trial" was quite interesting, so he planned to join in the fun.
After learning that Ogata had signed up for the "Imperial Trial", Uekusho let out a sigh of relief, then said softly with emotion:
"That's great... I also want to participate in the 'Imperial Trial'..."
After saying that, Guess raised his hand and stroked his chest, which was not much bigger than a man's.
Women were not allowed to participate in the "Interview before the Emperor" - this rule alone was enough to ensure that Gua Sheng would never have the chance to participate in the "Interview before the Emperor".
"Ms. Uesugi, are you also interested in the 'Imperial Trial'?" Ogata asked.
"Not really..." Ueyoshi smiled bitterly and shook his head, "The reason why I want to participate in the 'Imperial Trial' is because of some... other reasons."
After saying that, Guasheng picked up the teacup he had just brought and drank the tea in it in one breath.
"Forget it, there's no point in talking about this now. If you can't participate in the 'Imperial Trial', then don't participate!"
"Here, Mashima-kun, this is your tea. It's a little hot, drink it slowly."
…
…
at the same time--
Edo, Yoshiwara, Miumeya, Furin-tayu's room——
"I say..." Furin Taifu said to Shuntaro, who was lying on the tatami in her room, with a look of disappointment, "Have you been too idle recently? Why do you come to my place every day?"
Still wearing the women's kimono, Shuntaro lay on the tatami in the room, his left hand supporting his head.
"Have I told you before? I've been quite free lately."
After saying that, Shuntaro yawned loudly.
"You are the only close friend I have in the whole of Edo. I have no other place to go except to find you."
"Don't say such sad things..."
Kneeling down in front of Shuntaro unhappily, Furin Taifu seemed to have remembered something, smiled strangely, and said to Shuntaro:
"Didn't you tell me last night that you met that new guy, Majima Goro-kun, at the Rashomon Riverbank? You can go find him. He's working at the Shirobei Club now, so it should be easy to find him."
Last night, late at night, Shuntaro suddenly broke into her room as usual.
After breaking into her room, Shuntaro excitedly told her that he was bored tonight, so he went for a stroll along the Rashomon River, which he hadn't been to for a long time. Then he unexpectedly met and successfully got to know the young samurai named "Mashima Goro" who had used the Hozoin-ryu spear technique with his beautiful skills.
After hearing what Furin Taifu said, Shuntaro gave a faint smile.
"Are you talking about Majima Goro-kun? He and I are just acquaintances, not even friends. But your suggestion is quite good. If I feel like it in the future, I will go talk to him more."
After saying that, Shuntaro sat up from the tatami and stretched hard.
"well……"
Then he let out a long, soft sigh.
"Shiranui is getting worse and worse."
Shuntaro's inexplicable remark made Fuujiya look a little surprised.
"What happened?"
"This afternoon, the Flame Demon suddenly summoned our 'Four Heavenly Kings'..."
Shuntaro briefly explained to Furin-tayu what happened this afternoon.
After explaining the whole story, Shuntaro said in a half-joking tone:
"There are really more and more rebellious ninjas these days."
"Although there were many traitorous ninjas in the past, there have been an especially large number of them in recent years."
"In recent years, there have been several ninjas who defected from Shiranui almost every year."
"A few months ago, a female ninja named A-machi defected from Shiranui, and now there's a new defector."
"The continuous increase in the number of rebellious ninjas only shows one thing - no one wants to be a ninja in Shiranui anymore."
After listening to Shuntaro's words quietly, Furin Taifu let out a long sigh and smiled:
"Isn't this as it should be?"
"You have so many broken rules in Shiranui."
"Once you make a serious mistake, you may be reduced to a 'dirty' person who is no different from a slave."
"Isn't it normal to drive people away in such a cruel environment?"
"And...let's not talk about the cruelty in you, Shiranui."
"I think even if the rules in your Shiranui are relaxed, there must still be many people who want to defect."
"after all……"
Having said this, Fuu Ling Taifu paused.
Then he said word by word:
"In this era, there is no need for ninjas anymore."
Furin Taifu's words not only did not make Shuntaro unhappy, but instead made him laugh.
"...You're right." After Shuntaro laughed a few times, his expression changed to an unpredictable and strange one, "This is no longer the chaotic Warring States period of 200 years ago."
"There is peace all over the country. Apart from the occasional riot by a hoe bearer, there is no war."
"Even the samurai put their weapons into storage and their horses into the mountains, so what role do we ninjas have?"
Shuntaro leaned back and lay on his back on the tatami.
"...I can clearly sense that the people in Shiranui are somewhat unstable."
Shuntaro said softly while lying on the tatami.
"Even though the Fuma Village is long gone and there are no competitors in the world, the missions we can receive that allow us to show our skills are still getting fewer and fewer every year."
"This worry that 'the world no longer needs ninjas' has caused many ninjas in our Shiranui to panic."
"Evil Demon must have noticed this a long time ago."
"I don't know how Flame Demon will save the hearts of these people."
“Some people want to wait and see.”
After saying that, a smirk appeared on Shuntaro's face.
…
…
The day after reaching a cooperation agreement with Hasegawa Heizo, Makimura went to the headquarters of the Fire Thief Kai as required, and received a map of Edo Castle with the approximate location of the Shiranui base marked on it from Hasegawa Heizo.
There are two large circles drawn in the mountains to the north and east of Edo Castle - according to Hasegawa, Shiranui's base is somewhere in the mountains to the north or east of Edo Castle.
As for where exactly it is, I can only check it slowly.
Although they were unable to find out where Shiranui's base was in one go, knowing its approximate location saved Ogata and the others a lot of effort.
After learning the approximate location of the Shiranui base from Hasegawa, Lin immediately passed this information to "Tojo-ya" who was helping them find the location of the Shiranui base.
So that Tojo Daigo, the "highest authority in the world of East Japan Yakuza", doesn't have to waste time and manpower on a carpet search, and can concentrate his manpower on the two places mentioned by Hasegawa.
There are still 7 days from the time Ogata signs up to the start of the "Imperial Examination".
Makimura and Asai did not go to Shikiya every night.
In order to avoid going to Shikiya too frequently and attracting Gokutaro's attention, under Lin's arrangement, Makimura and Asai only went to Shikiya three times in the past seven days.
There was one time during these three times when he failed - that time, Gokutaro did not go to the Shikiya to drink, but went straight to the brothel and started the cycle again.
After wearing women's clothes so many times, Asai seemed to have gotten used to it.
Now, Asai can wear women's clothes and put on makeup by herself with a very calm attitude.
After applying makeup so many times, Asai unknowingly learned how to put on feminine makeup.
Hasegawa promised to give benefits to Ogata and others. In addition to informing them of the approximate location of Shiranui's base, he also helped Ogata and others keep an eye on Shiranui's movements.
And Xu Fang became an informant.
Ogata and his friends did not intend to let Hasegawa know where the hotel they were hiding in was.
After all, the fewer people who know their hiding place, the better.
In addition, Lin and Mamiya are also wanted criminals that Hasegawa has been pursuing.
If Hasegawa found out that Lin and Mamiya were also with Ogata, Makimura and the others, no one could predict what would happen.
Since they couldn't ask Hasegawa to send someone to deliver the information about Shiranui directly to the hotel where they were hiding, Ogata and his friends came up with another idea: Ogata, who happened to be a "spy" in Yoshiwara, would act as an informant.
If Hasegawa had found out about Shiranui's movements, he would have sent someone he could trust to contact Ogata who was "working" in Yoshiwara.
This not only ensures that Hasegawa does not know the hiding place of Ogata and others, but also makes it convenient for Hasegawa to convey the information to Ogata in a timely manner.
So - Ogata had one more reason to come to Yoshiwara to "work" every night.
During these seven days, Ogata lived a relatively regular life.
I would take time during the day to review the Four Books and Five Classics, and go to Yoshiwara to "work" at night.
Time just passes by little by little.
Finally, 7 days passed.
"Test the marriage before the Emperor"—it has begun!