Ogata's consciousness was like a light in the darkness.
At first there was only a little light, and then this little light expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Soon, light covered the darkness.
Afterwards, Ogata gradually gained awareness of his limbs and body, and also regained the strength to open his eyes.
After opening his eyes, the first thing that shone into Ogata's eyes was the dim candlelight.
Because the candlelight is not very bright, it is not dazzling.
The ceiling was still the same ceiling—Ogata was still in his room.
But the light outside the window is completely different.
It was still daytime before Ogata fell into a coma, and bright sunlight was shining through the window.
Now, only the bright moonlight shone into the house through the open window.
Ogata looked around and found A-machi kneeling beside his futon.
Ating was kneeling neatly with his back bent, head lowered, eyes closed, and his little head nodding, looking like he might fall down and fall asleep at any moment.
However, when Ogata turned around to look at Atachi, Atachi quickly opened her eyes, perhaps because she sensed that someone was looking at her or was disturbed by the small noise made by Ogata after waking up.
After making eye contact with the awakened Ogata, Atachi leaned forward hastily:
"Ayi, you finally woke up! How is it? Do you feel any discomfort?"
Because he had just woken up from a coma, Ogata now felt his mind was fuzzy and his thoughts were like a tangled ball of wool.
When Omachi asked about his physical condition, Ogata answered subconsciously:
"Yeah... not bad..."
"Wait a moment! I'll go get a doctor! There's a doctor checking on the recovery of the wounds of Mucun and the others right now!"
As Ating said this, he rushed out of the room in a hurry.
After Atachi left, only the moonlight was left in the room to keep Ogata company.
Ogata shook his head and looked straight up at the sky.
Sorting out and organizing the chaotic thoughts that had just been awakened from a coma.
The memories before the coma surfaced bit by bit.
The tangled ball of wool in my mind was straightened out one by one, forming clear parallel lines.
Ogata recalled what happened before he fell into a coma.
I didn't have a fever, but I felt very tired for no apparent reason.
When I fainted from exhaustion, I vaguely heard a system voice in my mind...
And that system sound seemed to be...
After he sorted out his thoughts, remembered everything that happened before he fell into a coma, and remembered the system voice he vaguely heard when he was in a coma, Ogata's eyes widened.
Then he quickly opened his personal system interface.
[Name: Ogata Noriyoshi]
[Current personal level: Lv34 (2480/5200)]
Personal attributes:
Strength: 20
Agility: 18
Reflexes: 15
Stamina: 21
Vitality: 36
【Skill:
[Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 12th level (905/9000)
Wuwo's ​​dual swordsmanship level: 11th level (1300/12000)
Shiranui Style Ninjutsu Level: 6th Stage (3210/4500)]
[Remaining skill points: 6 points]
…
[Sakakihara Itto-ryu (12 steps):
Climbing: Intermediate
Water Fall: Advanced
Bird Thorn: Master Level
Dragon Tail: Advanced
…
【Muga Nisshin (11th level):
Step: Advanced
Blade Return: Master
Flow: Master
Breath of the Source: Grandmaster
Raikiri: Beginner
Cicada Rain: Elementary
Starfall: (with unlock)]
…
【Shiranui Style Ninjutsu (6th stage):
Shiranui Stealth Technique: Intermediate
Shiranui Style Jujutsu: Advanced
Shiranui Style Breath Holding Technique: (Not unlocked)]
…
After the decisive battle with Shiranui, Ogata's personal level increased by 1 level, and Sakakibara's One Sword Ryu and Muga Two Sword Ryu, which had only a little experience points left to upgrade, also increased by 1 level each, for a total of 5 skill points.
With these 5 skill points plus the 1 skill point saved before, Ogata now has a total of 6 skill points.
Looking at his personal attribute chart, Ogata couldn't help but reveal a complicated expression.
As expected, personal attributes have changed dramatically.
Strength, agility, and reflexes all increased by 6 points, from 14 points, 12 points, and 9 points to 20 points, 18 points, and 15 points respectively.
Physical strength increased by 8 points to 21 points.
Vitality increased the most, by 13 points, from 23 points to 36 points.
Just like the last time we escaped from Butterfly Island...
It was the same thing the last time we escaped from Butterfly Island.
When I was unconscious, a system notification sounded in my mind: [Ding! The host begins to absorb "immortality"...]
Upon waking up, personal attributes are greatly improved.
Just as Ogata was still looking at his personal system interface with a complicated expression, the door was opened with a "whoosh".
Ogata quickly closed his personal system interface and turned to look at the door.
I saw Ating leading an old man with half bald hair and a medicine box in his hand walking quickly into the room.
Behind this old man were three other people: Genichi, Mamiya, and Lin.
Compared with Makimura, Asai and Shimada, Lin's injuries were less serious and she could barely walk.
As soon as he entered the room, Genichi immediately asked Ogata:
"You finally woke up? How are you? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere in your body?"
"Nothing's wrong." Ogata turned his head and looked at the dark night sky outside the window. "By the way - how long have I been unconscious?"
"You fell unconscious at noon today." The palace replied, "It is about 4 o'clock now, which means you have been unconscious for about 5 hours."
——The fourth hour of the evening… So it’s 10pm…
Ogata made a simple time conversion in his mind.
The half-bald doctor brought by Ating and his companions knelt beside Ogata, taking his pulse and checking his physical condition.
When the doctors examined Ogata, Atachi and the others told him everything that had happened while Ogata was unconscious.
Before Ogata fell into coma, Atachi ran out of the room to call a doctor.
When the doctor was brought in, he found that Ogata had fainted.
After the doctor examined Ogata carefully from head to toe, he found nothing unusual.
There was no fever, nor any other special conditions.
Unable to find out the cause of the coma, the doctor could only surrender and said that they could only wait and see if Ogata could wake up in the future.
If Ogata doesn't wake up for a long time, we'll wait and see.
Genichi also specifically added: During the five hours that Ogata was unconscious, Atachi stayed by Ogata's side almost all the time, waiting for Ogata to wake up.
After giving Ogata a simple examination, the half-bald doctor said that there was nothing wrong with Ogata's body and his pulse was normal.
The doctor himself couldn't figure out why Ogata fell into a coma, so he could only make a guess - Ogata probably fainted due to fatigue, so he suggested that Ogata rest more, and then he prescribed some medicine for Ogata to replenish his physical strength.
…
…
After examining Ogata's body, the doctor left.
"That's great..." As soon as the doctor left, A-Machi smiled at Ogata, "It looks like there's nothing seriously wrong with your body."
Ogata did not respond to what Atachi said.
Instead, he touched the back of his left neck which was wrapped in thick linen with a serious face, and said to Ating in a deep voice:
"A-Ming, help me, let's untie the sackcloth around my neck together."
"Huh?" A-Ting looked puzzled. "Why?"
"To... confirm something." After saying that, Ogata raised his hand and began to untie the sackcloth around his neck.
A-Machi didn't understand what was going on, but seeing Ogata's serious face, she temporarily suppressed her doubts and followed him in untying the thick linen cloth wrapped around Ogata's neck layer by layer.
Meanwhile, Genichirō, Mamiya, and Rin looked at Ogata with puzzled expressions as he asked to untie the sackcloth on his body.
After removing the last layer of linen from Ogata's neck, A-machi couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.
It's not just Ating.
Genichi, Mamiya, and Rin all looked shocked after seeing the condition of Ogata's left neck.
Ogata had already prepared himself mentally, so his expression remained unchanged.
But it was only his expression that remained unchanged. The moment he saw the appearance of the left side of his neck with his own eyes, Ogata felt as if his heart skipped a beat.
When fighting with the "evil monk" on Choujima, the blood of the cannibal stuck on the "evil monk's" naginata flowed into the wound on Ogata's left neck, causing the "immortal poison" to enter Ogata's body.
Fortunately, Ogata took the medicine that could suppress the "immortal poison" in time, which saved his life.
However, since then, a purple mark has appeared on the left side of Ogata's neck.
However, this purple mark does not look very obvious, almost like a birthmark.
However - at this moment, the purple mark on Ogata's left neck, which should have been small in size, seemed to spread.
The area was more than twice as large, and seemed to extend to the left side of the chest.
Ogata and Atachi also took off the sackcloth on their chests.
I found that the purple mark had really spread to the left side of my chest, extending to almost the heart.
Ogata looked down at the purple mark that had spread directly to his chest, and said in a deep voice:
"The reason why I suddenly fainted today might be because the 'immortal poison' in my body spread..."
"It has spread?" Ah Ting asked anxiously, "Could it be that the effect of the medicine you took before can no longer suppress this 'immortal poison'?"
"...I don't know." Ogata shook his head, "We know nothing about the 'Immortal Poison'..."
"After I fell into a coma, the purple mark on my neck grew bigger. So the reason why I fell into a coma today was probably because of the 'immortal poison' in my body..."
Ogata's words just now made the air around them suddenly become solemn.
Genichi, Mamiya, and Rin all remained silent.
They wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say in the current situation.
Ogata also noticed that the current atmosphere seemed a little too heavy, so he smiled and said:
"The fact that I can still talk to you with full energy means that the 'immortality poison' in my body has not yet been able to kill me."
"So we don't need to worry too much about the 'immortal poison' issue right now."
Ogata's humorous tone eased the heavy atmosphere a little.
"...Ogata-kun." Mamiya asked, "Are you not feeling unwell anywhere in your body right now?"
"No." Ogata shook his head. "Except for the slight pain from some wounds on my body, I don't feel any discomfort."
"Anyway..." Ogata stretched out his tone, "I'll just focus on healing my wounds now."
"After I have healed my wounds, I will slowly think about the matter of the 'Immortal Poison'."
"You haven't even recovered yet, there's no point in thinking too much."
"...That's true." Lin nodded gently, "Then - we will leave first and not disturb your rest. You just woke up from a coma, and your body should need more rest."
"Ittosai, you should take a good rest now. After you have rested well, we can slowly consider the next things."
After saying that, Lin winked at Genichi and Mamiya beside her.
Understanding what Lin meant by her eyes, Genichi and Mamiya both nodded, then stood up along with Lin.
Then the three of them said goodbye to Ogata and Atachi and filed out.
Ogata and Atachi were the only ones left in the room again.
After Genichi and the others left, Ogata and Atachi silently wrapped the sackcloth that they had just taken off their necks and chests back.
According to what Genichi just said - when he was unconscious, A-machi stayed by Ogata's bedside all the time.
Atachi must be tired now. When Ogata just woke up, Atachi fell asleep.
So after re-wrapping the newly untied linen, Obunaga said to Atachi:
"A-Ming, it's late now, let's go to bed now?"
"Hmm..." Ating, who had been looking heavy-hearted from the beginning, forced a smile and nodded, "Okay, you really need to rest more now."
Looking at Atachi's heavy expression, Ogata couldn't help but purse his lips.
"…A-Machi, don't worry." Ogata comforted him softly, "I'll be fine."
A-Machi did not respond to Ogata's words.
She just lowered her head and silently turned off the oil lamp in the room, then dragged out her own bedding and spread it next to Ogata's bedding.
After changing into a white yukata, she got into bed.
After Ating crawled into bed, there was no other sound in the room.
The only sound was the breathing of Ogata and Atachi.
But this silence didn't last long.
"...Ayi."
Not long after the lights in the room were turned off, Ating's voice floated out from under her quilt.
"Will the 'immortal poison' in your body continue to spread?"
“…I don’t know.”
"If it continues to spread...will you die?"
Ah-Cheng has not forgotten what Zong Hai and the others said on Die Island about the consequences of letting the "Immortality Poison" enter the body - sudden death.
After taking the medicine given by Zong Hai, Ah Ting thought he no longer had to worry about the "immortal poison" problem, but who knew...
In order to reassure Atachi, Ogata answered without hesitation: "No."
Although he answered "No" quickly and firmly, Ogata himself knew that his words were not convincing.
Although this "Immortal Poison" has provided Ogata with a lot of help so far, it has now caused Ogata's personal attribute values ​​to increase twice.
But - no one can guarantee that this "immortal poison" will remain peaceful in the future.
After all, Ogata and the others knew nothing about the "Immortal Poison".
This time, Ogata's personal attribute values ​​can also be improved.
What about next time?
Will Ogata's personal attribute values ​​be improved for the third time next time, or will he be made to vomit blood and die suddenly?
Judging from the current situation, if the "Immortal Poison" is left alone, there is a greater possibility of accidents in the future... Because the enlarged purple mark on the left side of Ogata's neck is disturbing no matter how you look at it...
After Ogata finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence.
But the silence didn't last long.
Only a moment later, Ating spoke again, breaking the silence.
"...Ayi."
Ogata heard a rustling sound beside him - it was the sound of Atachi getting out of bed.
Ogata, who was facing the ceiling, opened his eyes and saw Atachi with her hands on the edge of Ogata's quilt, facing him.
Although the room was dark now, Ogata could barely see clearly because of the close distance - Atachi was looking at him seriously.
"I think it's better to get rid of the 'immortality poison' in your body as soon as possible."
"Once your injury is healed , we will set off for Ezo immediately. Let's go find those two doctors."
"Find those two doctors and see if they can remove the 'immortal poison' from your body!"
The "two doctors" mentioned by Atachi are naturally the two culprits who are most likely the ones causing the rampant cannibalism on Choujima - the master and apprentice named Xuanzheng and Xuanzhi.
According to the oral accounts of the residents of Die Island headed by Zong Hai, before the cannibal ghosts appeared on Die Island, these two doctors suddenly moved to Die Island, and then left Die Island in a hurry after living there for a short time.
Before the master and disciple left Die Island, it was the disciple who gave Zong Hai the medicine that could suppress the "immortal poison". It was also the disciple who warned Zong Hai not to drink the water from the Linonghe River.
So judging from the words and deeds of this master and disciple pair, even if they are not the culprits who turned Butterfly Island into the current hell on earth, they must have some research on the "Immortal Poison".
As soon as he left Butterfly Island, Ogata planned to find the master and disciple and ask them to help cure the "immortal poison" in his body.
So, with only two clues - that the master and disciple spoke with a Kyoto accent, and the prescription that the master and disciple wrote to the chief of Fenghe Village in Choujima, Osamu went to Kyoto to find the master and disciple.
The master and disciple did not find their true names, but they did learn their real names: the master's name was Xuanzheng and the disciple's name was Xuanzhi.
At the same time, he also learned about and found Xuan Zheng's other apprentice - Xuan Ren.
Unfortunately, Xuanren knew nothing.
Xuanzheng and Xuanzhi seemed to have intentionally excluded Xuanren. Xuanren had no idea what his master and his senior brother had been doing during this period of time.
Xuanren didn't even know why Xuanzheng and Xuanzhi suddenly left Kyoto and moved to Choushima Island in Kii.
However, Xuanren still provided some useful information.
According to Xuanren, his master and senior brother hurriedly returned to Kyoto from Kiina, and then left in a hurry again.
Before leaving Kyoto again, his senior brother Xuanzhi told Xuanren where they were going - they were going to Ezo.
As for the purpose of going to Ezo, neither Xuanzheng nor Xuanzhi said.
Xuanren hadn't seen them since the two of them left for Ezo.
Looking at the serious-looking Atachi beside him, Ogata murmured softly, "Ezo Land?"
Ezo - a general term for a vast area that includes the later Hokkaido.
The Ezo region during the Edo period was a truly wild and smoky place.
The Edo Shogunate never established effective rule over Ezo.
Because it was the territory of the Ezo people, this area was collectively called "Ezo land".
The so-called Ezo are the Ainu people of later generations.
In this era, there is no name "Ainu". People of this era contemptuously call these indigenous people living in the north "Ezo".
The full title of the current supreme ruler of the shogunate is "Seii Taishogun", abbreviated as "Shogun".
Although "Shogun" is now the title of the highest authority in Japan, in fact, before Japan entered the shogunate era, "Shogun" was a high-ranking military officer position established by the emperor to fight against the Ezo people living in the north.
The "Yi" in "Shogun" refers to "Ezo".
At this time, "Ezo" is actually no different from foreign countries.
And it's a very dangerous foreign country.
Although he didn't know much about the large island located in the northernmost part of Japan, Ogata had heard some information related to Ezo.
For example, there are many bears and wolves in Ezo...
For example, the Ezo people living in Ezo are not easy to mess with...
For example, Russia... that is, Tsarist Russia has recently sent expeditions to Ezo frequently, seemingly wanting to get involved in Ezo. The Edo Shogunate had no choice but to station a large army on the northern border to guard against Russia...
"...A-Ming, you're right. I also think it's better to get rid of the 'immortal poison' in your body as soon as possible."
Ogata said softly.
"But——"
Ogata changed the subject.
"It's not that easy to get to Ezo." Ogata changed his tone to a half-joking one. "Going from Kyoto to Edo and from Edo to Ezo are completely different in difficulty."
"So we must not be impatient. Before we are fully prepared and have collected enough information about Ezo, I think we should..."
Ogata paused abruptly before he could finish his words.
Because he suddenly remembered.
Thinking back - he seemed to have an apprentice who was working in a shop that specialized in selling specialties from Ezo...