Looking at Ogata who slowly lowered his center of gravity, the bald ronin was stunned at first.
Then the corners of his mouth pulled up exaggeratedly, as if he had heard a funny joke.
"Then should I thank you for giving us a chance to live and then leave obediently?"
After mocking Ogata, the bald ronin rushed towards Ogata with a sword in hand.
The other eight Ronin followed closely behind him.
Facing the nine ronin rushing towards him, Ogata's expression did not change at all.
He just silently watched the nine people getting closer and closer to the circle he drew.
When the bald man at the front stepped into the circle drawn by Ogata...
choke!
The sound of the blade being unsheathed rang out.
Silver light popped out from the sheath, drawing an arc that swept towards the bald ronin's neck.
Blood spurted out from the bald ronin's neck like a fountain, splashing around, making the "plum blossom" appear on the snow ahead of time.
[Ding! Use the Mugu Two Swords Style: Raikiri to kill the enemy]
[Gain 80 personal experience points, and 70 swordsmanship "Sakakibara Ittoryu" experience points]
[Current personal level: Lv34 (1420/5200)]
[My Two-Sword Style Level: 11th Stage (1540/12000)]
"Didn't I tell you?" Ogata said softly, "This circle is my attack range, and you just barged in without any precautions... I don't know whether to say you are careless or stupid."
As a sword-drawing technique, Raikiri is not very useful when fighting against masters, but it is quite useful against those guys who can't even grasp the distance between the enemy and ourselves.
It was not until the carotid artery in his neck was severed by Ogata that the bald ronin realized it belatedly and showed an expression of surprise and fear.
He opened his lips as if he wanted to say something.
But his neck was cut and he couldn't utter a word.
When the bald ronin rolled his eyes and fell limply to the ground, Ogata ran towards another ronin who was behind him.
Just by looking at the ronin's movements, he could tell that his swordsmanship was as bad as that of someone who had never learned swordsmanship.
Ogata did not swing his sword either.
He just stretched out his left hand and grabbed his hands, which were holding the knife handle tightly and holding it high, like a pair of pliers.
Converted into modern Earth units, this ronin's height is only about 1.5 meters, not even as tall as Atachi.
For a short man like this, Ogata could just raise his hand slightly and grab his hands that were holding the knife.
After controlling the short ronin's hands, Ogata took a step forward, clamped his head with his right arm, and then stretched out his left foot to trip over his feet.
He destroyed the dwarf's center of gravity, causing him to fall heavily to the ground, and at the same time, he exerted force with his right hand to break the dwarf's neck.
This is a very useful killing move in Shiranui-ryu Jutsu.
[Ding! Use Shiranui Style Ninjutsu and Shiranui Style Jujutsu to kill the enemy.]
[Gain 60 personal experience points, and 60 experience points for the Ninjutsu "Shiranui Style Ninjutsu"]
[Current personal level: Lv34 (1480/5200)]
[Shiranui Style Ninjutsu Level: 6th Stage (3620/4500)]
Ogata killed their leader and one of their companions in a flash, and the remaining seven ronin finally showed expressions on their faces as if they had seen a wild tiger or a wild bear.
In this world, robbers are basically a group of guys who can only fight when the wind is in their favor.
When encountering the weak, he is like a wolf or a tiger.
If you encounter a strong enemy, run away immediately.
After seeing Ogata kill the bald man and the dwarf in seconds, the remaining seven people were not stupid either. They all knew that they were facing a tough opponent today.
So they immediately did what was most consistent with their status: they turned around and ran away without any hesitation.
The remaining seven people fled in seven different directions.
But now I realize that I have messed with the wrong person, and it is obviously too late.
Ogata had just warned them to leave.
Since they didn't listen to the advice, Ogata naturally had no reason to show mercy.
After using judo to defeat the bald ronin, he immediately drew his sword and killed the seven fleeing people.
No matter how strong Ogata is, he only has two hands and feet. It is always a bit difficult for him to chase seven people who are fleeing in different directions alone. After all, there is no such thing as the shadow clone technique in this world.
So there was no need for Ogata to say anything, and Atachi took action consciously and chased the seven people who escaped.
Flowers of blood splattered and turned into "plum blossoms" on the snow.
Every time a new blood flower appears, a system sound prompting Ogata to gain experience points will sound in Ogata's mind.
The strength of these ronin was very weak, and even Atachi, who was not good at close combat, could easily defeat all of them.
It didn't take much time to kill them, but it took some effort to catch up with them one by one.
It took Ogata and his companion nearly seven minutes to catch up with the fleeing people one by one, and then turned all the ronin who had just clamored for Ogata to leave their money and Atachi into lifeless corpses.
Among these 9 people, 6 were eliminated by Ogata, and the other 3 were killed by Atachi.
"The Ou region is really as famous as it is said to be..." Ogata took out two pieces of paper from his pocket and wiped off the blood and grease on the blade of the Great Shakuten. "It's really as chaotic as it is said to be..."
After this sigh, Ogata opened his current personal system interface, checked his current personal system interface, and confirmed the various experience bars.
[Current personal level: Lv34 (1820/5200)
Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 12th dan (1465/9000)
Wuwo's ​​dual swordsmanship level: 11th level (1630/12000)
Shiranui Style Ninjutsu Level: 6th Stage (3760/4500)]
Because he didn't count carefully, Ogata couldn't remember how many robbers he and Atachi encountered after they stepped into the snow-covered Mutsu area.
Ogata only remembered that many waves of people came and helped him gain a lot of experience.
These robbers who came to trouble them were basically ronin who had nothing except the knives at their waists.
These robbers who came to cause trouble for them naturally turned into experience points, allowing Ogata to gain 1340 personal level experience points, 560 Sakakibara Ittoryu experience points, 330 Muga Two-Sword Ryu experience points, and 550 Shiranui-ryu ninjutsu experience points.
After sheathing the Daishikten, Ogata quickly walked towards the long wooden stick that he had just casually thrown aside.
Just as Ogata was about to pick up the long wooden stick, Atachi had just finished looting the nine robbers.
"I've found the money for tonight's meal." Atachi folded his hands, jumped back to Ogata, then spread out his hands to show Ogata the money he had just looted from the nine robbers: a handful of copper coins.
According to Ogata's visual estimation, there were probably about a hundred copper coins in this handful.
Over the past few days, after killing off waves of robbers who wanted to steal their money and some who even wanted to kill them, Ogata not only gained a lot of experience points, but also earned some extra income for Ogata and Atachi - although not much.
The only valuable things the robbers had were undoubtedly their weapons.
But Ogata and Atachi, who were now busy rushing to Ezo, obviously did not have the time or energy to carry these swords and sell them.
Moreover, the two of them were in this unfamiliar land and had no channels to sell knives.
Not every pawn shop has the courage to accept large quantities of weapons of unknown origin.
What's more, carrying so many knives would easily attract the attention of the government and then get into trouble - it would be difficult for a couple to carry so many knives into the city and intend to sell them without the officials suspecting that they were thieves reselling stolen goods.
"Let's go, A-Machi." Ogata straightened his hat. "We have been delayed by these robbers for nearly two incense sticks. We need to speed up a bit."
"Yeah, okay."
A-Machi quickly put the copper coins he had just looted from the robbers into his own purse, and then followed Ogata along the snow-covered road beneath their feet.
Ogata and Atachi each held a long wooden stick in their hands. When they were on the road, they used the long wooden stick as a crutches to make their feet feel more relaxed.
After walking all the way to a place where the bodies of the robbers could no longer be seen, A-Machi turned to Ogata beside him and asked:
"Ayi, when you faced the robbers just now, why did you draw a circle to warn them?"
"When you faced the robbers before, didn't you just draw your knife?"
As Atachi spoke, he clenched the long wooden stick in his hand and imitated Ogata's action of drawing circles on the ground.
In the past, when Xu Fang dealt with these robbers who were out to kill people for money, he never wasted time talking to them. He would just draw his sword and rush forward to kill them all.
But today was an exception. He did not choose to draw his knife directly, but drew a circle on the ground first to warn the robbers to leave quickly.
"What else could it be?" Ogata smiled bitterly, "It's because of that."
After saying this, Ogata raised the long wooden stick in his hand and pointed it toward the western sky.
There are large dark clouds in the western sky.
These large patches of dark clouds formed a "black tide", which contrasted sharply with the rest of the white sky that had not yet been eroded by the "black tide".
Although this "black tide" is currently squeezed in the corner of the western sky, it shows signs of expanding in all directions and occupying the entire sky above Ogata and Atachi's heads.
"If it were normal, I certainly wouldn't waste time talking to those robbers." Although Ogata and Atachi were chatting, their pace did not slow down at all, "But now the blizzard is coming."
"If we don't get to the post house before the snowstorm arrives, we'll be in trouble."
"That's why I gave the robbers a chance to leave quickly and not waste our time."
"It's a pity that my warning didn't work." A hint of helplessness flashed across Ogata's face. "Thanks to them, the two of us were delayed for almost two incense sticks of time."
After saying this, Ogata looked up at the "Kuroshio" in the western sky again.
He didn't know if it was Ogata's illusion, but he always felt that the expansion speed of the "Kurotide" seemed to be getting faster.
"'Snowstorm'?" Atachi muttered, "It is said that the snowstorms in the Ou region are particularly scary..."
"It's the north after all. Come on, Atachi, just focus on your journey. The next post station shouldn't be far away."
…
…
Just as Ogata had observed, the expansion speed of the "Kuroshio" was indeed getting faster and faster.
Half an hour ago, the "Kuroshio" was clearly shrinking in the western sky.
But half an hour later, the "Kuroshio" directly occupied the entire sky above Ogata and Atachi's heads.
It was only around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but it was already as dark as night.
The dark clouds were hanging very low, as if they would fall on Ogata and Atachi's heads at any time.
This scene made Ogata recall a famous ancient poem he had memorized in his previous life: "Dark clouds press down on the city, and it seems to be destroying it."
Not long after a “black tide” of massive dark clouds covered the entire sky, snow began to fall.
At first there were only a few snowflakes here and there.
But gradually, the number of falling snowflakes increased rapidly and the falling speed increased rapidly.
Finally, more and more snowflakes fell, and they rolled into a mess, as if a dense silver net covered it. The dense snowflakes turned into a howling blizzard.
Ogata's vision was obscured by the dense snowflakes.
Looking up, everything around seemed to disappear in a chaotic white fog. Through the fog, heavy snow was flying, and the sky and the earth merged into one color.
The cold wind blew the falling snowflakes all over the sky, and at the same time, the black scarf around Ogata's neck also fluttered in the wind.
Ogata and A-machi were located just downwind from the cold winds.
Gusts of cold wind carrying snowflakes hit Ogata's skin, making him feel as if he was being cut by a thin knife.
Ogata raised his right hand, which was holding the cane, and put it in front of his face to block the cold wind from damaging his face.
With his left hand, he held A-Ming's right hand tightly, and led A-Ming through the snow that had become thicker due to the arrival of the snowstorm, and continued to walk straight forward.
While leading Atachi forward, Ogata deliberately walked right in front of Atachi, so that he could help Atachi block most of the oncoming wind and snow.
Atachi, who was walking behind Ogata, let Ogata hold her hand. She held her own crutch tightly in her free left hand and used her free arm to cover her face to protect it like Ogata did.
A-machi felt more relaxed than Ogata because Ogata, who was walking in front, blocked most of the wind and snow for her.
The sudden snowstorm was even bigger than Ogata had imagined.
If an ordinary person faced a blizzard of this intensity, he would probably be unable to move.
Just as Ogata kept rolling his eyes, looking for a place to avoid the wind and snow, Atachi behind him suddenly shouted at him:
"Ayi! Look! There's a fire ahead!"
——Firelight?
Ogata quickly narrowed his eyes and tried to look forward.
After Ogata focused all his attention and looked forward, he finally saw a small, vague orange light among the layers of snow.
"Your eyesight is really good..."
Although he has been with Atachi for quite a long time, Atachi's superb eyesight still surprises Ogata from time to time.
After trying to increase the speed a bit, Ogata led Atachi straight towards the vague orange-yellow fire in front.
After getting closer to the fire, Ogata finally saw its true appearance - an inn.
There were a large number of post houses built on each of the five streets starting from Edo, all of which were funded by the shogunate.
This is also one of the important reasons why Edo was so prosperous - there were post stations along each of the "Five Streets" to facilitate travelers and merchants to stay overnight, and to facilitate people from all over the world to travel to Edo.
There are 27 post houses along the Oshu road that Ogata and A-machi are walking on. The post house in front of them should be one of the 27 post houses.
There is a large plaque hanging at the gate of this inn, with three big Chinese characters painted on it: Xintianjuku.
Ogata opened the door of the inn as quickly as possible, then rushed into the inn with Atachi in his hand, and then closed the door.
After closing the door and keeping the wind and snow out of the house, Ogata finally breathed a sigh of relief.
There is a counter opposite the door of the inn.
Sitting behind the counter was an old man who was about 50 years old and half of his hair was white.
After Ogata and the other man broke into the inn, the old man immediately cast a look of surprise at Ogata and Atachi.
"Gentlemen... would you like to stay here tonight?" asked the old man.
The old man had a rather thick accent.
Since entering the Mutsu region a few days ago, Ogata has always encountered people speaking with this accent. This should be the accent of the Mutsu region.
"Yes." Ogata took off the bamboo hat on his head, shook off the snow that had accumulated on it, and nodded, "Excuse me, is there a vacant room? I want a room that can accommodate two people."
"Of course there are rooms." The old man smiled bitterly, "You two should be the only ones staying here tonight. There are plenty of rooms."
"Are we the only two guests?" Ating looked surprised.
"Yes." The old man smiled bitterly and walked out from behind the counter, "But this is a common thing. Come with me, I will take you to your room."
The old man led Ogata and Atachi to the second floor and brought them to a paper sliding door deep inside the second floor.
After the old man closed the paper door, Ogata took a quick look around the room he and Atachi were staying in tonight.
Overall, this room is pretty good.
It's spacious enough, clean enough, and has no odor.
Two clean beds were neatly stacked in a corner of the room.
"This is our double room," the old man introduced. "It's 400 wen a night."
400 wen a night - a very reasonable price.
This kind of clean double room is basically priced at this price.
"This inn provides meals and bathrooms." The old man continued, "Excuse me, do you two need meals and bathrooms?"
"One night in this room, one dinner, and one bath - how much does it cost?" Ogata asked.
"What would you two like to eat?" the old man asked. "We offer different meals here, and different meals have different prices."
Ogata: "What food do you sell here?"
The old man pondered for a moment and said:
"Judging from your accents, you two are from Kansai, right?"
"My wife is indeed from Kansai." Ogata smiled, "But I am actually from Izumo. I just spent so much time with my wife that my accent has unconsciously changed to that of Kansai."
"Oh, that's really rude." The old man looked embarrassed and bowed to Ogata to apologize.
Ogata waved his hand: "It's okay. No need to apologize."
After briefly apologizing to Ogata, the old man cleared his throat and continued:
"Since you two are both outsiders, I recommend you try our Mutsu's specialties."
"We sell three specialties of Mutsu here: Wanko soba, samoyaki, and edamame-filled mochi."
"Since it's a rare opportunity to come to Mutsu, why not take this opportunity to taste our Mutsu's specialties? What do you think?"
Ogata was somewhat tempted by the old man's suggestion.
Since entering the Mutsu region along the Oshu Kaido, Ogata has never tasted the local food of Mutsu.
Ogata turned his head and gave Atachi a questioning look, and Atachi immediately nodded with a glimmer of excitement and anticipation in his eyes.
"Then let's try some local delicacies of Mutsu." Ogata said to the old man, "How much does it cost to stay in this room for one night, have dinner for two people and take a bath?"
"The accommodation fee is 400 wen, and dinner for two is 70 wen. The price of the bathroom here is 10 wen for one person, and 20 wen for two people, so the total is 490 wen."
"Is the bathroom here the kind where you take a bath in a tub that's half the height of a person?" Ogata asked.
"Exactly."
"If we two take a bath in the same tub, can the price be cheaper?" Ogata asked seriously.
The old man raised his eyebrows, and his gaze towards Ogata and Atachi involuntarily became a little strange.
"If you two plan to bathe in the same tub, then each of you will pay for it, which is only 10 wen. The total cost of accommodation, meals and bathing is 480 wen."
"Deal." Ogata took out his purse and prepared to pay.
…
…
Crash!
Ogata and Omachi jumped into a large wooden barrel filled with warm water at the same time.
The hot water in the wooden barrel was immediately squeezed out of the barrel by the two men, wetting the ground under the barrel.
"Ah..." After jumping into the wooden barrel filled with warm water, Ating squinted his eyes comfortably, "I feel alive again..."
The service at this inn was quite comprehensive, and they even provided Ogata and A-machi with two towels soaked in cold water.
Ogata folded the two towels soaked in cold water and placed them on Atachi's head.
Then fold another towel soaked in cold water and place this towel on your head.
There is actually a scientific basis for the reason why Japanese people put towels on their heads when taking a bath or shower in a tub.
This is actually to prevent cerebral hemorrhage.
Generally speaking, the towel placed on the top of the head should be a wet towel soaked in cold water.
Once you enter a bathtub or tub filled with hot water, your body will be subjected to water pressure, and blood will easily concentrate in the head, posing a risk of cerebral hemorrhage.
So to cool your head, place a wet towel soaked in cold water on your head.
Ogata straightened the wet towel on his head and asked Atachi:
"When was the last time the two of us took a hot bath?"
"I remember it was about two days ago." Ating crossed his arms and placed them on the edge of the bathtub, then hooked his chin around his crossed arms.
"I don't know why we won't have a chance to take a hot bath even after arriving in Ezo." Ogata half-jokingly poured hot water on Atachi's back and then helped her wash her back.
"If two people take a bath together, they can save the money for one person's bath" - this is a trick to save money that Ogata and Atachi discovered after leaving Edo.
The bathing service provided by most hotels is to provide you with a bathtub and prepare hot water for you to take a bath in the bathtub.
So if two people take a bath in one bucket, doesn't that mean they save one person's money on renting the bucket and the water?
Ogata discovered this great way to save money by accident.
As for why he was able to discover this great way to save money...it's actually not easy to explain in detail.
Since leaving Edo, Ogata and Atachi have been using this method to save money for one person's bath.
While saving money, you can also do many other things, it's really killing two birds with one stone.
Of course, there are still some stores that insist on charging for a bath for two people.
However, most stores will agree to charge only one person's portion.
When Ogata was bathing Atachi, Atachi joked to Ogata:
"That person just now mistook you for someone from Kansai."
Ogata smiled helplessly: "You have ruined my accent. Isn't it normal to be mistaken for someone from Kansai?"
"Your Kansai accent wasn't very standard before." A-Ming continued, "But now your Kansai accent is becoming more and more standard."
The official language of this era was naturally Kanto dialect.
This is the standard Japanese language used in modern Japan.
Kanto dialect is similar to the "Mandarin" of this era.
However, Ah-Machi could not speak Kanto dialect, which meant she could not speak the "Mandarin" of this era.
A-Machi, who was born in Kansai, can only speak Kansai dialect.
Kansai dialect is the most widely spoken dialect in Japan. It is very different from Kanto dialect.
For example: "什么" in Kanto dialect is pronounced "南尼".
And "什么" in Kansai dialect is pronounced as "南鸭".
Kansai is a large area, so people from different regions speak different Kansai dialects.
Kansai dialect has many branches depending on the region.
These branches are all called "XXX debates".
For example: Osaka debate, Nara debate...
Because she was born in Omi in Kansai, A-machi speaks the "Omi-beon" in the Kansai dialect.
After spending such a long time with Atachi, Ogata's accent has gradually been distorted by Atachi.
Whenever Ogata speaks now, he has a strong Kansai accent.
The old man just now was not the first person to mistake Ogata for a Kansai person.
Since leaving Edo, Ogata has met several people who thought he was from Kansai...
…
…
In addition to taking a bath, Ogata and Atachi also did some other things together, so it took them some time to come out of the bathroom.
After returning to the double room they had booked, they happened to run into the old man who was walking towards their room carrying two tables full of food.
"My two guests, you are back just in time."
The old man smiled at Ogata and Atachi.
"Dinner is just ready."
Although the old man is old, his arm strength is amazing. He holds a table full of food in each hand, and not only can he lift them but he also holds them very steadily.
Ogata and Atachi returned to the room and sat down on the tatami.
After Ogata and Atachi sat side by side on the tatami, the old man placed the two tables full of food in front of Ogata and Atachi respectively.
"Come! Two guests, please enjoy!"
The smile on the old man's face was filled with pride.
"These are the delicacies that we in Mutsu are so proud of! Wanko soba, samoyaki, and edamame mochi!"
Xu Xiang bowed and thanked the old man.
But he didn't pick up his chopsticks to eat immediately.
Instead, he asked the old man:
"Excuse me, I would like to ask, do you know where there are merchants around here who can travel back and forth to Ezo?"
"Merchants who can travel back and forth to Ezo?" The old man raised his eyebrows. "Why are you asking this?"
Ogata told the old man the reason in a concise manner.
"Oh...you want to go to Ezo..." The old man nodded gently, "Indeed, if you don't have any connections or financial resources, the best way to go to Ezo is to take a ride on one of those ships that do business with the Ezo people."
"Then you should continue walking north along Oshu Street tomorrow morning." The old man raised his hand and pointed north, "From here, going north, you will reach Kinno-cho."
"I remember that 'Genjuya' in Kinno-cho was a store that specialized in selling Ezo goods."
"The owner of Minamoto Tachibana is a very big businessman. He has two merchant ships."
"He usually used his two merchant ships to go to Ezo, buy furs and other Ezo goods from the Ezo people, and then bring them back to sell."
"Go ask the people at Genjuya if they're willing to give you a ride."
"If you're fast enough, you might be able to reach Kinno-cho by tomorrow evening."
Having collected very valuable information, Ogata and Atachi showed joy on their faces.
"Thank you." Ogata bowed to the old man again and thanked him, "You have helped us a lot."
The old man smiled and waved his hand: "It's okay, this little favor is not worth mentioning."
After saying this, the old man suddenly put on a more solemn expression.
"My two guests, I don't know why you want to go to Ezo. But if it's not for something particularly urgent, then I advise you not to go to Ezo now."
"In recent years, the Ainu people have been restless."
"The Ezo people just rioted in Kunasilimenasi last year."
"At this moment when the atmosphere between the two tribes is so tense, I advise you to try not to go to Ezo if you can."
As soon as the old man finished speaking, Xu Fang smiled slightly:
"Thank you for your reminder. But we just happen to have something very urgent to do, so we have to go to Ezo right now."
"Since you really have something important to do, I won't say much." The old man sighed softly, "Let me give you another reminder."
"Once you reach Ezo, you must pay attention to the Red Moon Fortress."
"'Red Moon Fortress'?" A-Ting looked confused. "What is this?"
"That's a place you absolutely cannot get close to." The old man smiled bitterly, "I don't remember when, a group of Lucia people came to Ezo. They built a small fortress with wood."
"But not long after the fort was built, the Lucia people suddenly left for some unknown reason, leaving behind only the completed fortress."
"Not long after the Lucia people left, a group of Ezo moved into the fortress left behind by the Lucia people."
"For some reason, this group of Ezo that occupied the fortress has a lot of cannons."
"Their cannons all have a red crescent engraved on them."
The old man pointed with his fingers and drew a crescent shape in the air.
"So gradually, we started calling this fortress the 'Red Moon Fortress'."