Edo, the inn where Ogata and others stayed——
"...It's done." Qianye tied the sackcloth wrapped around Uncle Qing's abdomen into a beautiful knot and said softly, "Although a lot of blood was lost, the internal organs were not damaged much."
"It's a blessing in disguise."
"He's fine now."
After saying that, Qianye took out bundles of paper bags as big as an adult's palm from his medicine box.
"This is my special medicine. It not only relieves pain, but also has a miraculous effect on healing flesh wounds."
"Change the dressing every hour and a half and apply my special medicine to the wound. This will help his wound heal faster and relieve the pain."
"I'll prepare a few more decoctions later. Drink the decoction twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening."
"Change the dressing on the wound on time, and drink the decoction I will prepare for you on time. Then rest for a while, and you will be healed."
As soon as Chiba finished speaking, Ogata and A-Machi, who were kneeling beside him, bowed to Chiba at the same time in tacit understanding and thanked him:
Ogata: “Thank you very much.”
After learning that Uncle Qing was fine, Guasheng also felt relieved.
"I just did what a doctor should do." Qianye smiled slightly.
Just now, after learning that it was difficult to find a doctor who could treat sword injuries at this time, Ogata suddenly remembered - didn't he just meet a fierce man who was an expert in both medicine and swordsmanship yesterday?
Before the martial arts test started this morning, Kondo briefly introduced Chiba to Ogata, saying that Chiba was best at treating bone injuries and skin injuries.
After remembering Chiba, Obaya followed his memory of sending Kondo back to his residence and rushed to Kitafuya.
After learning that there was a wounded person who urgently needed treatment, Chiba didn't say any unnecessary nonsense and directly asked Kondo to help him and carry the medicine box.
Chiba has two large medicine boxes that are half a person's height, and these two large medicine boxes are filled with various herbs.
After asking Kondo to help him carry a large medicine box, Chiba and Kondo followed Ogata to the hotel where Ogata and his friends were staying.
After briefly checking Uncle Qing's injuries, Qianye began to treat him.
It only took half an hour to complete Uncle Qing's treatment.
In the large room where Ogata and others lived, there were only seven people: Ogata, Atachi, Ueo, Mamiya, Asai, Chiba, and Kondo.
Makimura and Shimada were still out there looking for doctors who could treat sword injuries and were willing to come. I wanted to tell them that they didn't need to look for doctors anymore, but I didn't know where to find them. I could only wait for them to come back.
As for Lin and Yuanyi...
When Ogata rushed to Kitafuya to find Chiba, Lin and A-machi learned what had happened from Uncle Qing, Uesugi, and Genichi.
Now I know why Uncle Qing was hunted by the ninjas in Shiranui.
I found out who Guasheng is, what his relationship with Uncle Qing is, and what they both did.
I found out what Ogata had just done.
I also learned that Ogata and Genichi would sneak out late at night every day...
After learning that Genichi didn't stay in the hotel obediently every day, Lin's face turned dark...
After her face darkened, Lin called Yuan Yi to the room where she lived...
After all, Ogata is an outsider, so it is not convenient for Lin to blame Ogata for indulging Genichi and becoming Genichi's accomplice.
But for Yuan Yi, there is no such concern.
Before Ogata brought Chiba and Kondo over, Lin brought Genichi to her room.
Then he scolded Yuan Yi harshly, and has been scolding him until now, and neither of them has come out of the room.
To Mamiya, Asai and the others, "Rin scolding Genichi for various things" was just a common occurrence, so they were no longer surprised.
Yuan Yi himself was like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water. He swaggered into the room with Lin, and then put on a sad and repentant expression, while turning a single ear and out the other end of Lin's scolding.
Mamiya had just been watching Chiba's treatment of Uncle Qing carefully throughout the whole process.
After the treatment, Mamiya said softly with admiration:
"…Amazing. Really superb medical skills."
Unlike Ogata and others who have completely different medical skills, Mamiya knows a little bit about medicine, so he can best feel how superb Chiba's medical skills are.
"I don't deserve it." Qianye said modestly, "My father used to be a swordsmanship instructor in Soma Domain. Every day there would be a few people who broke bones or got cut during real sword practice."
"So I just treat this kind of injuries a lot, so I have more experience."
After saying that, Qianye turned his head and looked at the melon student who was leaning against the corner not far away.
"Miss, you seem to be injured as well. Let me treat you as well."
"No need. These injuries on my body are just minor. I will heal them after a good sleep." Guasheng smiled and waved his hand.
Although Guasheng was smiling, her pale face made her smile not look that pretty.
"You don't look like someone who has been slightly injured." Qianye said slowly, "If I'm guessing correctly, are your left shoulder and stomach a little painful now?"
Hearing Qianye's words, Guasheng's expression froze and he looked embarrassed.
At this time, Ogata spoke:
"Guayushi, if you feel uncomfortable somewhere, it would be better to ask Qianye-kun to help you."
"Yes..." After Ogata spoke, Uesugi nodded.
…
…
In order to heal Uesugi's injuries, Chiba naturally continued to stay in the large room where Ogata and others lived.
Kondo stayed beside Chiba idly.
Mamiya watched with great interest how Chiba treated Uesugi.
Just as Kondo stayed by Chiba's side with nothing to do, Asai also stayed by Mamiya's side with nothing to do, and watched Chiba's superb medical skills demonstration with Mamiya.
In order to give Uncle Qing a place to recuperate, A-Ting decided to vacate her single room for Uncle Qing to live in.
Ogata and A-Ming worked together to move Uncle Qing to the room where A-Ming lived.
"Uncle Qing, how are you? Are you feeling better?"
As soon as he laid Uncle Qing flat on the bedding, Ating immediately knelt beside the bed and asked Uncle Qing this.
"Hmm... the medicine that the young man applied to my wound just now is very effective. The wound feels much better now. It's not as hot and tingling anymore."
"I'm glad you feel better." Ogata responded while kneeling beside Atachi.
Because this room was a single room, after Ogata and Atachi knelt side by side, the room immediately seemed a little crowded.
After receiving Qianye's treatment and the pain was relieved, Uncle Qing became a little more energetic.
Uncle Qing turned his head and glanced at Ating who was sitting next to him.
"A-Ming... I never thought... I would be able to see you alive... Am I really not dreaming...?"
The first half of Uncle Qing's sentence is an affirmative sentence, and the second half is a question sentence.
There are extremely complex emotions hidden in the tone.
There is happiness, surprise and relief.
After hearing Uncle Qing's words, A-Cheng's eyes were covered with a thin layer of mist.
"Well...long time no see, Uncle Qing. You're not dreaming, it's me."
Ah Ting stretched out her little hands and placed them on the back of Uncle Qing's left hand.
In this kind of atmosphere, keeping silent is the best solution. Any noise will destroy this slightly warm atmosphere. So Ogata sat silently in the most serious posture, without saying a word, quietly watching Ating and Uncle Qing, whom he had finally reunited with.
When Ogata learned that the Shiranui ninja who was working with Uesugi was actually Uncle Kei from Atachi, he was so shocked that he wondered if he was dreaming.
After returning to the inn and confirming from Atachi that the ninja from Shiranui who was working with Uesugi was Uncle Kei, Ogata couldn't help but sigh that fate is really a wonderful thing.
He was still thinking about how to avoid accidentally hurting Uncle Qing when launching an attack on Shiranui, but Uncle Qing defected early in the morning.
Ogata rarely sits upright.
But at this moment, he went against his usual behavior and knelt beside Ating in the most standard posture.
Judging from the relationship between Uncle Qing and Ating, Uncle Qing can be considered half of Ating's parent.
Ogata didn't want to leave a bad impression on Atachi's parents.
Ating's gentle grip on Uncle Qing's hand was worth more than a thousand words.
Uncle Qing smiled, turned his left hand, and gently held Ating's hand that was originally covering the back of his hand.
Then he turned his head and looked at Ogata.
"Your name is Majima, right? The doctor who treated me just now kept calling you 'Mashima-kun'."
"Mashima-kun, thank you, thank you for saving Xiaoxiu, and thank you for saving me."
"It's just some trivial matters." Ogata smiled calmly.
But what Uncle Qing said next made the smile on Ogata's face freeze instantly.
"Let me ask you something - what is your relationship with A-Ming?"
After saying that, Uncle Qing glanced at the distance between Ogata and Atachi - the two were almost touching each other.
Uncle Qing's eyes became meaningful.
"I've noticed it since I was still being treated by that doctor."
"Mashima-kun, you always sit next to Atachi naturally."
"And Ating never showed any resistance to this."
"You two... shouldn't be just ordinary friends, right?"
After saying that, Uncle Qing cast a sharp look at Ogata, as if he wanted to see through Ogata.
After hearing what Uncle Qing said, not only Ogata's expression froze, but Ating's expression also froze.
Although he knew that Uncle Qing would ask this question sooner or later, Ogata still felt a little nervous after hearing Uncle Qing ask about his relationship with Ating with his own ears - a very strange feeling of nervousness.
After exchanging a tacit look with Atachi, Ogata reached out and touched the skin below his right earlobe.
"Uncle Qing, my name is not actually Majima. Majima is just an alias I use to deceive people."
Hiss——
Ogata took off the human skin mask on his face.
"My real name is Ogata Yose."
After Ogata took off the human skin mask on his face, Uncle Qing's eyes widened into the size of copper bells.
Ever since Ogata conquered Nijo Castle, the name "Ogata Yoshisei" has become known to everyone in Shiranui.
Under Enma's semi-coercion, every ninja in Shiranui also saw Ogata's wanted poster.
As the "original ninja" in Shiranui, Uncle Qing had naturally seen and remembered Ogata's portrait on the wanted poster.
It is also because of this that Uncle Qing was so surprised when he saw Ogata’s true appearance revealed after he took off the human skin mask.
He was so shocked that he couldn't speak. His mouth was slightly open, but he couldn't utter a word.
At this time, Atachi on the side also spoke up:
"Uncle Qing, I've changed my name now."
With her cheeks slightly flushed, Ating smiled shyly.
"My full name now is 'Ogata-cho'."
In Japan, once a woman gets married, her surname will be changed to her husband's family name.
Those who do not have a surname will take the husband's surname.
There was no need for any extra explanation. Just the fact that the name had been changed to "Ogata Town" was enough to make Uncle Qing instantly understand what the relationship between the two was now.
Uncle Qing stared at Ogata with his eyes that were still as big as copper bells, and then looked at Ating.
Then he closed his mouth, which had been half open due to shock, and showed a wry smile.
"If Seitaro knew that his son-in-law was the most wanted criminal in the shogunate, I wonder how he would react..."
Seitaro——The name of Atachi's father.
Although A-machi seldom told Ogata about her past and her parents, Ogata still knew the names of A-machi's parents.
"A-Ming, it seems a lot of things have happened in the past few months since we last met..."
"Uncle Qing, you too..." Ating turned his gaze to look at Uncle Qing's wound that was wrapped in sackcloth, with a hint of sadness on his face, "I didn't expect that you would become a traitor like me... and a traitor who committed an unforgivable crime."
"Hahaha." Uncle Qing laughed a few times. "I have been prepared for this. When I learned that Enma and the others had discovered that I helped the Kusuke escape from the Shiranui, I was ready to die."
"I feel like I've earned a lot of money to be able to save my life and reunite with you, A-Ming."
"Why did you suddenly want to help the 'Gu' escape from Shiranui?" asked Atachi.
"…This is a long story." Uncle Qing was silent for a while, then said softly, "I'll tell you slowly later."
"Now let's talk about some more urgent matters."
Uncle Qing put on a serious expression.
"O-machi, you probably don't know that Shiranui has now surrendered to the shogunate and moved his base to Edo."
"I don't know why you came to Edo, but no matter what it is, you'd better leave Edo as soon as possible."
"Edo is very dangerous for you right now."
"Run away quickly. You can run to anywhere, but leave Kanto as soon as possible."
"otherwise……"
Before Uncle Qing finished speaking, Ah Ting smiled slightly:
"We have known for a long time that Shiranui's base has moved to Edo. Or rather, we came to Edo because we knew that Shiranui's base has moved to Edo."
"Huh?" Uncle Qing's eyes widened in astonishment, "What do you mean?"
This time it was Ogata who answered.
After Ogata told Uncle Qing the real purpose of their visit to Edo, Uncle Qing's expression changed again - his eyes were wide open, his mouth was wide open, and his jaw looked like it would drop at any time.
"You plan to destroy Shiranui?"
"Yeah." Ogata nodded.
"How many troops have you prepared?"
Ogata counted silently: "Including me and Ating, there are 8 people in total, but in fact I have brought my thousands of troops with me."
"Thousands of troops? Where are they?"
Ogata smiled without saying anything, he just raised his hand and patted the Daishakuten placed on the tatami to his right.
Uncle Qing looked at Ogata, who was smiling confidently, for a long time. The astonishment on his face slowly faded, and he revealed a smile with a hint of helplessness.
"To destroy Shiranui..."
"If anyone else told me they wanted to destroy Shiranui, I would have thought they were crazy."
"But if this sentence was said by the executioner Ittosai, I don't think it is impossible..."
"Uncle Qing." Ogata's expression became more serious, "You are the ninja who recently defected from Shiranui."
"Can you share some information about Shiranui with us? "
“This is very important to us.”
"..." Uncle Qing pursed his lips and was silent for a moment, "Are you really planning to destroy Shiranui?"
"I have already made up my mind that I will not leave Edo as long as Shiranui does not die." Ogata said without hesitation.
"...Alas." After a moment's silence, Uncle Qing smiled bitterly, "It seems that you have really made up your mind..."
…
…
In Edo, in a remote, dark forest near Shiranui—
The foliage in this wood is dense.
The branches covered with leaves are intertwined together, forming a thick barrier of branches and leaves that divides the sky and the earth.
The moonlight penetrates the gaps between the branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows and bringing a faint light to the forest.
Keitaro walked slowly in the dim woods with an expressionless face.
His weapon, a pistol, was carried on his back.
Also on his back was a large cloth bag containing unknown contents.
Carrying only these two things, he walked all the way to a big tree before stopping.
There is a figure in front of this big tree.
Because he was standing in a place where the moonlight could not reach, his appearance and figure were blurry.
I could just barely make out the figure leaning against the trunk of the big tree, facing Keitaro.
When Keitaro came to the big tree... or to be more precise, when he came to the figure, he stopped and knelt on one knee.
"Keitaro."
Facing Keitaro who was kneeling on the ground, the figure with his back against the trunk of the big tree spoke in a leisurely tone.
"How's Gokutaro?"
"Dead. But..." Keitaro's face showed some hesitation, "I didn't kill Lord Gokutaro."
"Oh?" The figure's tone, which had been calm from the beginning, changed slightly.
Keitaro summarized everything that happened tonight in the most concise way possible.
From entering Yoshiwara to kill Uekus, to Uekus being rescued by an unknown person, Keitaro goes to chase him. In order to make it easier to kill Uekus and conceal his whereabouts, Keitaro kills the other ninjas who are traveling with him on this mission, and then goes to look for Uekus, and finally finds Uekus dead in a remote corner.
"Kutaro was killed by someone else..." the figure muttered, "It was probably the work of the person who rescued that melon."
"Whatever, as long as Gokutaro is dead, it doesn't matter who did it. Have you collected Gokutaro's body?"
"I have placed the body of Lord Gokutaro at the place you instructed me to before."
"Keitaro, you completed your mission well tonight."
"I don't deserve it." Keitaro said hurriedly.
"By the way, did you bring the thing I asked you to bring?"
"I brought it."
After saying that, Keitaro took off the big cloth bag on his back.
The figure slowly walked towards Keitaro.
After taking the huge cloth bag from Keitaro's hand, he slowly untied it.
Inside the cloth bag was a thousand-piece gourd.
The figure picked up the Qiancheng gourd and looked at it carefully.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"The people in the shogunate certainly didn't expect that..." the figure murmured, "After 200 years, the Qiancheng Gourd once again stood tall on the battlefield..."
Even an illiterate person must have heard the legend of the Thousand Gourds from storytellers or through word of mouth.
Horse Seal - erected next to the general's horse, used to exaggerate the power of the army and mark the location of the general. It is similar to the general flag.
Senjō Gourd - The horse seal used by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who eventually unified all of Japan during the Warring States period 200 years ago.
On the battlefield 200 years ago, wherever Toyotomi Hideyoshi was, there would be thousands of gourds standing tall!