Last night, Ogata grew a lot - in terms of experience.
After annihilating the remnants of the bandits led by Baoji, Ogata's personal level and his two-sword style directly gained nearly 700 experience points.
Unfortunately, after Ogata and Genichir wiped out the remaining bandits and returned to the Yoshiwara gate, they never encountered any other "rats".
As a result, Ogata was unable to gain more .
But Ogata did not feel any regrets.
He was able to gain nearly 700 experience points last night - Ogata was already very satisfied with this. After all, when he entered the "big pit" set by Genichi last night, he was mentally prepared to return empty-handed.
In addition to the nearly 700 experience points, Ogata also gained technical guidance from Genichi last night.
While trying to draw Ogata into his trap, Genichirō promised Ogata that he would give him some swordsmanship tips as compensation.
And Genichi fulfilled his promise last night.
After annihilating Baoji and his group and returning to the gate of Yoshiwara, in order to fulfill his promise to Ogata and to kill time, Genichi taught Ogata some experience in swordsmanship.
And what Genichi taught Ogata was the move he used to kill Baoji instantly - the doddle.
When Ogata saw Genichi perform this "dodge", he was attracted by this move that combined dodge and counterattack.
After dealing with Baoji and others and preparing to continue their surveillance before returning to the gate of Yoshiwara, Genichi further introduced his special skill to Ogata.
According to Yuan Yi, this "Flash" is a masterpiece he created a year and a half ago by combining the strengths of various schools.
After learning that this "dodge" move was a new move that Genichi had practiced a year and a half ago, Obe could not help but immediately ask Genichi:
"Then if I use 'Dodge' in public, it shouldn't be discovered that I'm related to Kinoshita Genichi, right?"
In response to Ogata's question, Genichi answered very straightforwardly: He had been very well behaved in the past two years and had hardly gone out, so he had not made any new enemies.
There are only two kinds of people who have seen Genichi's "dodge" trick: the people in Calabash House and the dead.
Therefore, even if he uses "Dodge", people won't be able to tell that this is Genichi Kinoshita's move.
After learning that "Flash" is a move that will prevent people from discovering that you are related to Genichi Kinoshita even if you use it, Ogata became more interested in this move.
In Edo, where there were countless enemies of Genichir lurking, and where the "Imperial Trial" martial arts test was about to begin, Ogata lacked a strategy that he could use boldly without worrying about getting into trouble.
Seeing that Genichirō generously said, "If you are willing to learn, I am willing to teach you," Ogata did not hesitate and readily expressed his desire to learn this "dodge" move.
Strictly speaking, "dodge" is just a technique that combines dodging and counterattack and does not belong to any school of thought.
Ogata's system can only extract a certain school after reading all the martial arts of that school, and then use skill points to unlock and own that school.
Since the "dodge" technique does not belong to any school of thought, it is naturally impossible to learn it directly through the system.
Therefore, Ogata could only learn how to "dodge" like an ordinary person.
Just as Genichi said after he used "Flash" to kill Baoji in one blow - this move seems quite simple at first glance, but there are quite a lot of tricks in it.
The footsteps, the way the waist turns, the way the arms swing... there is a lot of skill involved in all of these.
However, according to Genichi, if the "stepping step" of "Muga Nito-ryu" is used as a foundation, this "flash" move will be much faster to master.
In fact, this is indeed the case.
Ogata's current level of "stepping forward" has reached "advanced".
With the "advanced" "stepping step" as a foundation, Ogata was indeed much faster in learning the "dodge".
In addition, Ogata is not that heavy. With a light body, it will be easier to learn to "dodge".
By the time he returned to the hotel to rest, Ogata was already able to perform the "dodge" move quite well. With more hard practice, he should be able to try to use this move in actual combat.
It was almost 2 a.m. last night before Ogata and Genichir sneaked back to the hotel to rest.
Ogata was also a little sleep-deprived because of this.
Because his biological clock had already been set, Ogata couldn't sleep any longer. His eyes opened shortly after dawn.
The only ones who were used to getting up at dawn were Ogata, Genichirō, and Mamiya.
As soon as Ogata got up, he saw Genichirō, who had woken up and started drinking, and Mamiya, who had woken up and was folding his own bedding.
After greeting Genichi and Mamiya, Ogata looked at Genichi, who was drinking a little wine, with a look of surprise in his eyes:
"Master Genichi, you... just got up too?"
"Yeah." Yuan Yi took a sip of the wine in the glass and laughed, "I got up about an incense stick of time earlier than you."
"Master Genichi... you are in such good health that you don't look like an old man at all..."
Ogata was forced to wake up due to his biological clock, but his eyes still showed signs of fatigue from lack of sleep.
On the other hand, Genichi was as spirited as ever.
Holding the sake I bought a few days ago, I huddled in a corner, drinking it in small sips, feeling so comfortable.
As soon as he woke up, he saw Genichi drinking - Ogata was used to this scene.
Yuan Yi likes wine and can drink a lot. In the absence of any entertainment activities, Yuan's most common way to pass the time is to drink. He often drinks all day long. Even if he drinks all day long, he will not get drunk. He is truly a person who can drink a lot without getting drunk.
Genichi's over-energized look reminded Ogata of Fuma - his behavior was not like that of an old man at all.
While thinking back to Fuma, Ogata couldn't help but feel a little indignant - why did everyone go to bed and get up at about the same time, why was someone who could be his grandfather at this age more energetic than him...
"My body is still strong." Genichi shrugged and smiled, "But I guess it will only last for a few more years."
“People always get older.”
"The body will eventually weaken as we age."
"In a few years, I may not be able to drink so early in the morning like I do now."
As soon as Genichi finished his joking comment, Mamiya suddenly interrupted and said:
"Master Genichi, if you can stop drinking, maybe you can slow down the aging of your body."
"That won't work." Genichi said with a smile without hesitation, "It's impossible to quit drinking. Drinking is one of my biggest hobbies."
"I have never been afraid of aging or dying."
"If I had to quit drinking just to live a few more years, I'd rather not live those years."
After saying that, as if in response to what he had just said, Genichi poured a large glass of wine into the glass in his hand and drank it all in one gulp.
Mamiya had already expected Yuan Yi to say this, so he smiled and said nothing more.
Makimura, Asai and Shimada were still asleep.
Ogata and Genichi had been talking in a very low voice, so they did not wake up Makimura and the others, who were still sleeping soundly.
Mamiya had gotten up just a little earlier than Ogata, and had been concentrating on arranging his bedding.
After folding his own bedding neatly, Mamiya suddenly said to Ogata with a serious face:
"Ogata-kun, Master Genichi, the two of you come out with me for a moment. I have important questions for you two."
"Hmm?" Ogata raised his eyebrows and his expression changed slightly.
His thoughts unconsciously drifted to the "rat hunting" he and Genichi had last night...
Genichi also raised his eyebrows and his expression changed slightly.
"Can't we talk about it here?" Ogata asked.
"If I say this here, I'm afraid I'll wake up Mucun and the others."
"……I see."
Ogata nodded, picked up his sword, and stood up.
After Ogata stood up, Genichi also let out a sigh with a helpless look on his face, then replaced the wine glass in his hand with his sword, and followed Mamiya out of the room one after the other, together with Ogata.
It was just dawn and there was no one else in the corridor except Ogata and the other two.
Mamiya, who was in charge of leading the way, did not walk far after leaving the room. After reaching an empty corridor some distance away from their room, he asked Ogata and Genichi in front of him with a strange expression:
"I won't say any more unnecessary nonsense."
"Master Genichi, Mr. Ogata, can you two explain to me what you did last night?"
After Mamiya finished speaking, a smile with a strong sense of helplessness appeared on the faces of Ogata and Genichi.
——As expected, I was discovered by Mamiya…
Just now, when he saw Mamiya asking him to come out with Genichi, Ogata vaguely guessed that Mamiya must have discovered that he and Genichi had sneaked out last night.
"Mamiya," Ogata asked, "How did you find out?"
"I was woken up by Master Genichi at about the same time as you last night."
Mamiya told the story slowly and leisurely.
"After I opened my eyes a crack, I saw Master Genichi standing by the window with his sword in hand, looking like he was trying to slip away."
"I was about to stand up and ask Master Genichi what he was going to do, but you stood up before me and followed Master Genichi out of the room."
"I thought you could convince Master Genichi to suppress those strange thoughts in your mind. So just continue to pretend to sleep."
"But I didn't expect that when I was pretending to sleep, I heard you and Genichi jumping out of the window together."
The more Mamiya spoke, the lower Ogata buried his head, and the guilty look on his face became more obvious.
"Um..." Genichi scratched his hair with an embarrassed look on his face, "Mamiya, you shouldn't have told Xiaolin and others that Ogata-kun and I were out, right?"
" They don't know yet." Mamiya replied, "But whether they will know in the future... depends on what you and Ogata-kun did last night."
Ogata and Genichi, who understood Mamiya's subtext, sighed helplessly at the same time in tacit understanding, and told Mamiya everything they had done and the results they had achieved last night.
…
…
After listening carefully to Ogata and Genichi's explanation of what they had done last night, Mamiya said solemnly:
"In other words - did you two go hunting down your enemies last night?"
Having said that, Mamiya twitched his lips and then sighed heavily.
"Master Genichi... why are you still like this... doing things so recklessly... If a normal person knows that there are many enemies nearby, he will not take the initiative to provoke them, but will just avoid them..."
Mamiya did not show too much surprise at Genichi's behavior of actively provoking his own enemy, but just let out a sigh.
Mamiya's overly calm appearance made Ogata wonder if Genichi had done something even more outrageous in the past, which is why Mamiya was trained to have such a strong adaptability to Genichi's various actions without panicking...
In response to Mamiya's words, which were unclear whether they were praise or criticism, Genichi just smiled faintly.
After laughing, he said:
"Anyway, Mamiya, this is the specific situation."
"Ogata-kun and I are not going out for fun. From another perspective, Ogata-kun and I are reducing the potential allies in Shiranui."
"So - Mamiya, just pretend you don't know that Ogata-kun and I sneaked out."
"...I understand." After a few rounds of hesitation and determination on Mamiya's face, determination finally defeated hesitation. "I will keep it a secret... I hope you two will not cause any trouble when hunting down the enemies of Master Genichi in the future..."
Seeing that Mamiya agreed to keep it a secret so quickly, Ogata couldn't help but show surprise in his eyes.
"Mamiya, I didn't expect you to agree to keep it a secret so readily..." Ogata couldn't help but murmur.
"Because past experience tells me that it is impossible to persuade Master Genichi." Mamiya said, casting a somewhat resentful look at him, "Even if I tell the lord and the others, Master Genichi will definitely continue to go out stubbornly."
Hearing Mamiya's complaint-like words, Genichi let out a few awkward dry laughs.
Then he did not comment on what Mamiya had just said.
Mamiya sighed silently and continued:
"Anyway - I know it's impossible to persuade Master Yuan, so I won't stop you and I'll keep it a secret for you."
"But don't make trouble or cause any trouble..."
Having said this, Mamiya let out another long sigh.
"To be honest, I was quite uneasy when I saw you, a troublemaker like you, Genichi-sama, and Ogata-kun, who once conquered Nijo Castle, teaming up together..."
This time it was Ogata's turn to let out an awkward dry laugh.
…
…
Night falls.
After the sun sank below the horizon and the sky began to turn from white to black, Obana appeared in Yoshiwara on time.
Ogata, who is "working" in Yoshiwara, now has the important responsibility of "acting as an informant between them and Hasegawa", so he arrives at Yoshiwara on time every night to start "working".
As soon as they arrived at the gate of Yoshiwara, several officials of the club who were standing guard in Yoshiwara greeted Ogata in a respectful tone.
When they arrived at the entrance of the club, several officials standing guard at the entrance bowed and greeted Ogata.
In response to these people's respectful greetings, Ogata could only smile helplessly and respond one by one.
Ogata's feat of "single-handedly repelling the fire-breathing thieves and turned police officers" a while ago made him famous. Many police officers from the club took the initiative to get to know Ogata and changed their previous attitude towards him.
Before the incident of "the fire thief who changed his name into a police officer and stole the credit", many police officers in the guild spoke to Ogata in the tone of "seniors talking to juniors".
After Ogata performed a great feat of repelling the fire-breathing thieves and the police officers, many police officers instantly changed the tone and manner in which they spoke to Ogata.
Change to speaking like peers or even younger people, and use a lot of honorifics.
He didn't know if it was Ogata's illusion, but he felt that the officials who greeted him just now seemed to be more respectful than before...
When Ogata entered the club and was about to report, he was suddenly stopped by a tall club official.
"Mashima-kun," the official who blocked Ogata's way said respectfully, "I finally found you. Please go to Tsuchima immediately. Mr. Kei'emon seems to want to announce something to you."
"Under the soil? Okay, I get it."
Following his memory, Ogata walked quickly to the ground with the door open.
Passing through the open door, Ogata was shocked to find that there were dozens of people crowded on the tatami between the ground.
Among these dozen people, there was an acquaintance of Ogata's - Ueo.
Seeing Ogata coming, many people in the room, including Ueo, greeted him warmly.
Aside from Ueoka, Ogata didn't recognize anyone else in the room.
Seeing that there was an empty seat next to Guasheng, Xu Fang naturally sat next to the only person he knew.
After sitting down next to Guasheng, Xufang exchanged some simple greetings with Guasheng.
After the greetings, Ueyu said to Ogata with a smile:
"Mashima-kun, after entering Yoshiwara, have you noticed that many people in the club have become more respectful to you?"
Hearing what Ueki said, Ogata was stunned for a moment, then nodded:
"Yes. I can clearly feel that many people's attitudes are somewhat different from before."
"Want to know why?"
Ogata nodded again.
"It all started when you won first place in the Imperial Examination."
…
…
Ueoka briefly explained the whole story .
After listening to Uesugi's explanation, Ogata's face was filled with black lines.
It turned out that not long after the results of the written test were announced last night, almost everyone in the Shirobei Club knew that Majima Goro from their club had won the first place in the written test.
First, he "single-handedly defeated the gun-wielding thieves and turned them into official runners", and then he "won the first place in the 'Imperial Examination' literary examination" - Ogata achieved two great feats in succession, which naturally made his reputation in Yoshiwara rise.
Then followed various speculations about Ogata's identity.
It is impossible for an ordinary ronin to be so proficient in both civil and military affairs - this is the consensus of everyone.
So various discussions about Ogata's identity came out.
Some people think that Ogata must have been a descendant of a powerful samurai family, but was forced to become a ronin due to some unexpected events.
Some people think that Ogata is a "fake ronin" who came here to experience the lives of the lower class people.
Some people think that Ogata may just be here to sharpen his...
Anyway, there are all kinds of rumors.
People are most energetic and spirited when discussing these false rumors and gossips.
Regardless of the rumor, they all have one thing in common - they all think that Ogata is a descendant of a very powerful samurai family and has received a good education since childhood, otherwise it would be impossible for him to be so proficient in both civil and military affairs.
After listening to Uesugi's explanation quietly, Ogata's face was filled with black lines.
"What a mess this is... No wonder so many people have become more respectful to me..."
Ogata now finally understood why so many people's attitudes had changed - it turned out that they all thought that Ogata was a descendant of some high-ranking samurai family and came to Yoshiwara for some reason, so they were more respectful to Ogata.
"...Actually...I'm curious too." Ueki, who had been smiling all along, now looked serious. "Mashima-kun, are you a descendant of a samurai family?"
After seeing that Uesugi also doubted that he was some kind of high-ranking samurai, Ogata couldn't help but let out a wry smile.
Just when Ogata was about to explain to Uesugi, a familiar figure entered the room.
"Everyone be quiet!"
The person who entered the room and shouted loudly was Keiemon.
Seeing that Keiemon had come and seemed to be about to tell them something important, Obe could only shut his mouth and look at Keiemon in front of him.
"I won't waste any more time, let me get straight to the point."
After clearing his throat, Keimon continued aloud:
"There is an urgent mission."
"The reason why I have gathered everyone present here is to complete this task."
"The mission is also very simple: everyone present is required to support the 'Yangmei House'."
"Support 'Yangmei House'?" Guasheng was the first to raise doubts, "What happened to 'Yangmei House'?"
"Just now, the manager of 'Yangmei House' asked us for help." Keimon said with a bitter face, "Tonight, many fierce warriors came to 'Yangmei House' to drink."
"It seems that many of those warriors failed the literary examination and came here to relieve their boredom. They all have sullen faces."
"It is said that quite a few hatamoto samurai have come. It is really scary."
"Because there were too many samurai, and they all looked bad, the manager of the Yangmei House was worried that they would get drunk and cause trouble, so he asked for help from our Shirobei Club, hoping that we would send some officers to serve as their temporary guards."
"...So that's how it is." Ueyo smiled bitterly, "No wonder those who gathered here are all those who have good skills in our Shirobei Club..."
"I am going to the Bayberry House too." The bitterness on Keiemon's face turned into helplessness, "Anyway - now follow me to the Bayberry House."
"Oh, yes, yes, I almost forgot to tell you."
Keiemon patted his head.
"As I said just now, there seems to be a group of hatamoto warriors in the Yangmei House now."
"So remember to be careful later. Unless they cause trouble, stay away from those powerful hatamoto."
…
…
While Ogata was still listening to Keiemon's explanation of tonight's emergency mission -
As the night deepened, more and more people came and went at the Yoshiwara Gate.
Amidst the hustle and bustle, two samurai wearing bamboo hats were walking slowly, one in front of the other, on the road leading to Yoshiwara.
Because the brims of the hats worn by these two people are very wide, so as long as they lower their heads slightly, the wide hats can cover their faces.
In this dense crowd, these two warriors wearing bamboo hats appear very inconspicuous.
In the past, in order to save face, samurai would often wear a wide bamboo hat to cover their faces when entering places of entertainment like Yoshiwara.
The purpose was to prevent people I knew from seeing me going to such a place for fun.
Merchants who saw this business opportunity built a shop specializing in selling bamboo hats outside the Yoshiwara gate, called "Wei Li Tea House", which was specifically designed to serve those who wanted to go to Yoshiwara for fun but forgot to bring their bamboo hats.
But as time passed, the warriors who originally wore conical hats to cover their shame gradually let themselves go.
I no longer felt it was shameful to go to Yoshiwara, and I started to walk in and out of Yoshiwara openly and without wearing anything to cover my face.
Because of the samurai's self-indulgence, the "Braidakasa Teahouse" originally built outside the Yoshiwara Gate and specializing in selling bamboo hats disappeared due to loss of customers as of the Kansei period.
When outsiders saw these two samurai wearing bamboo hats and walking slowly towards Yoshiwara, they would think that these two people were the kind of people who were not brave enough to let go completely and were still concerned about their reputation.
But who would have known that these two warriors wearing conical hats did not go to any of the prostitute houses.
As soon as you pass through the Yoshiwara gate, turn right without hesitation and head straight to the Shirobei Club on your right.
The guard at the door of the club just held up the long wooden stick in his hand to stop the two men. The leader of the two showed something to the guards in front of him and said softly:
"We need to talk to Shirobei."
The voice is very young.
The words were brief.
But his tone was full of firmness that brooked no doubt or rebuttal.
What the mysterious young man showed the guards was a fan.
The handle of the fan is painted with a family crest - the three-leaf sunflower pattern.
Looking at the three-leaf sunflower pattern on the fan handle, the guards' pupils shrank slightly.
Anyone with a little bit of common sense knows that the three-leaf sunflower pattern is the family crest of the Tokugawa family, the Shogun.
Anyone who holds this family crest is considered to be a member of the Tokugawa family.
These security guards worked at Shirobei in Yoshiwara after all, and had seen the world more or less, so they could tell that the clothes these two men were wearing were not cheap.
After keenly realizing that these two people might be powerful, the guards quickly put away the long wooden sticks.
Two people were assigned - one of them took the two mysterious guests to the reception room, the other went to inform Shirobei, and the rest continued to stay at their posts.
The two mysterious men who were brought to the reception room drank the tea that had just been served to the guests while silently waiting for Shirobei's arrival.
Shirobei didn't keep the two mysterious men waiting for too long.
After hearing the important news that "two mysterious guests holding three-leaf sunflower patterns are visiting", Shirobei temporarily put aside all the matters at hand and hurried to the reception room where the two mysterious persons were.
After sitting down in front of these two mysterious men, Shirobei frowned slightly and asked:
"Excuse me, who are you, Excellencies?"
The two mysterious men were still wearing the wide-brimmed hats and had their heads lowered, so Shirobei couldn't see their faces clearly.
"It's me, Shirobei. Long time no see."
The mysterious man sitting opposite Shirobei on the left said this while raising his hand and slowly untying the hat on his head.
Before the mysterious man had the time to take off his hat, Shirobei's eyes widened in shock.
He recognized the voice.
Shirobei, who was so frightened that he almost collapsed to the ground, screamed:
"old……"
However, before Shirobei could finish his scream, he was interrupted by the mysterious man who was taking off his bamboo hat.
"Calm down, Shirobei. I am traveling incognito this time."
After being interrupted by this mysterious man and receiving his reminder, Shirobei swallowed hard and slowly sat up straight again.
"Master Lao Zhong, why are you here?"
This time, Shirobei's voice was much quieter.
At the same time, your tone should be more humble and respectful.
As soon as Shirobei finished speaking, the mysterious man who had been taking off his hat and interrupting Shirobei's conversation finally took off the hat on his head.
Then a face that was recognized by all the high-ranking officials of the shogunate appeared.
The face of the elder councilor - Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Looking at Matsudaira Sadanobu in front of him, more cold sweat broke out on Shirobei's forehead uncontrollably.
"Don't be nervous, Shirobei." Matsudaira Sadanobu smiled slightly, "I came to Yoshiwara for something...more relaxing."