As Ogata was coughing, the old man who called himself the God of Soup continued.
"I met them both about a year ago."
"Those two people left a deep impression on me, so I still remember them both."
After coughing hard a few times and barely calming his breathing, Ogata asked the old man named Yushin urgently.
"You have seen these two people? Do you know their whereabouts?"
While asking, he also carefully looked at Tang Shen's appearance.
Tang Shen looks to be at least 60 years old, and his dark face shows that it has been exposed to the sun for a long time.
The gray beard on his chin was in stark contrast to his bright eyes.
He wore a furry hat like a dog-skin hat on his head, a scarf around his neck, gloves on his hands, and deerskin boots on his feet. Only the skin on his face was exposed.
Although Tang Shen's figure cannot be seen clearly because the clothes he wore were too thick, his tight facial skin showed that he should be thin.
In his arms he held a thick wooden crutch, which was half the thickness of a bowl and could be used as a carrying pole.
"I don't know. I only met them once. I haven't seen them since I met them more than a year ago."
"Then can you tell us where you saw them?" This time it was Ating who asked the question.
"Of course you can. But..." Tang Shen slightly widened his small eyes and looked at Ogata and A-Machi. "What are you two doing with those two people? Are you his relatives?"
"I have a very difficult disease to cure." Ogata said, "I heard from other doctors that those two are very skilled doctors who may be able to cure my disease, so I came all the way to find them."
"I see... Never mind. Those two people are not related to me anyway. If you want to know how I met them, then I'll tell you."
"Most of these pets of mine were hunted by me personally."
Tang Shen nodded towards the pile of wooden cages in front of him that contained various small animals.
"So every once in a while, I go deep into the wild to hunt animals."
"More than a year ago, I was out hunting and encountered a huge snowstorm."
"I hid in a cave to avoid the blizzard."
“As soon as I hid in the cave, I saw those two people.”
"The two men were also trying to escape the snowstorm. It was already dark at that time and they didn't have enough energy or time to find another shelter, so they asked me if I could share this cave with them."
"The cave is so big that even if 10 people go in, it won't feel crowded."
"I've lived for so long and have seen a lot of storms, so even if they want to cause trouble, I have plenty of ways to deal with them, so I allowed them to come in."
“What happened next is still fresh in my memory.”
"The younger of the two remained silent when he first entered the cave. I greeted him but he ignored me."
"When I was lighting the fire and cooking, he sat next to me and watched me cook with a blank expression."
"I didn't take it too seriously. I just thought of him as someone with a rather withdrawn personality."
"And then - when my meal was almost ready, the guy suddenly laughed. "
"Show a very happy smile and make that 'hehehe' laugh."
"I didn't say anything to the older guy he was with at the time. He just laughed for no apparent reason."
"Can you imagine that scene? A person who had a stern face and said nothing suddenly smiled happily and laughed 'hehehe'."
"When I saw that guy suddenly laugh for no apparent reason, I got goosebumps."
Ogata imagined the scene.
A person who had been expressionless just now suddenly laughed out loud for no apparent reason in the next second, and it was a "hehehe" laugh - this scene was indeed quite terrifying.
"After the guy laughed out loud, the older man who was with him grabbed the guy's shoulder with one hand and shook him while saying 'wake up, don't do this'."
"The older guy didn't show any surprise when he saw the young man who was traveling with him suddenly burst into a weird laugh."
"I felt at the time that there might be something wrong with that young man."
Tang Shen stretched out his finger and poked his head.
"I remember I cooked a pot of fish soup that night."
"I will share my pot of fish soup with those two people."
"While drinking the fish soup I cooked, the young man finally spoke."
"He had three words with the old fellow who was with him."
"Chatting?" Ogata interrupted. "What did they talk about?"
"We didn't talk about anything special." Tang Shen shrugged, "We just chatted for three simple sentences."
"The young man said to the old man: 'I wonder if Junior Brother Xuanren is having a good dinner now.'"
"Then the old fellow said: 'Who knows, he never had the habit of eating dinner before'."
"Then the young man said: 'I had a hard time helping him correct his bad habit of skipping dinner. I really hope he can keep it up and not let this bad habit recur'."
"They just said these three sentences, and then they stopped talking."
As soon as Tang Shen finished speaking, Ogata and Atachi's eyes lit up.
They heard a familiar name: Xuanren.
Xuanren - Xuanzheng's younger disciple and Xuanzhen's junior brother.
Last summer, Ogata and his friends finally found Xuanren in Kyoto after a lot of effort. Xuanren was left in Kyoto by Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen, and he had no idea what his master and senior brothers were doing before.
It was through Xuanren that Ogata learned that Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen had come to Ezo.
While Ogata and Atachi were secretly excited, Yushin continued:
"After they finished their meal, they both went to sleep."
"They left at daybreak."
"I haven't seen them since that night."
God Tang succinctly recounted the entire story of his encounter with the master and disciple.
"Did those two people talk about anything else? Or did they say anything to you?" Ogata asked .
"No." Tang Shen shook his head, "Those two people were very silent."
"The only things they talked about during the whole meal were the three sentences I just mentioned."
“And then we never spoke again.”
"That young man never spoke to me the whole time."
"As for the old guy, he only said hello to me when he entered the cave and said goodbye to me when he left the next morning. He never said anything else to me."
"Then do you remember which direction they left in?" Ogata asked.
"Yes. They went north."
"The North?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
"Yes. I only know that they went north. As for where exactly they went, I don't know."
"I remember seeing the two of them in the area near Kumaishi in the Matsumae domain."
"If we go further north from there... we will leave the Matsumae Domain and enter the territory of Ezo."
"Ezo's territory..." Ogata frowned, "In other words... the two of them are very likely to go to Ezo's territory..."
"Maybe." Tang Shen shrugged, "Anyway, I haven't seen them since that brief encounter."
"...Thank you very much." After pondering for a moment, Ogata stood up, bowed solemnly to Yugami and expressed his gratitude.
And Atachi also quickly stood up with Ogata and bowed to Yugami.
Ogata: "It's just a small token of thanks, not a token of respect."
Ogata has two money bags.
A purse is used to store larger sums of money.
The other purse is for smaller amounts of money.
Ogata took out three silver coins from his purse which was used to store change and handed them to Yushin.
"Oh!" Tang Shen raised his eyebrows, "Want to give me a thank-you gift? Thank you very much, then I will accept it without hesitation."
After saying that, Tang Shen accepted the three silver coins handed over by Ogata without any hesitation.
"Haha, I have enough money for drinks for the next few days."
After accepting the change from Ogata, Tang Shen looked up and asked Ogata:
"Are you planning to go to Ezo's territory to look for those two people?"
"If you plan to go to Ezo's territory to look for those two people later, then in consideration of the thank you gift just now, I will tell you a piece of information that may be useful to you."
"Go to Rong Street in the east and find a fur shop called 'Dahewu'."
Tang Shen raised his hand and pointed to the east.
"The owner of the fur shop has a part-time business renting out dog sleds."
"You can rent dog sleds from them."
"Although I can't take you to Ezo's territory, I can still take you to the northern border of Matsumae."
"If you want, you can rent a dog sled."
"Dog sledding? Thank you. Your information is indeed very useful to us." Ogata bowed to Yushin again.
Tang Shen smiled and waved his hand: "No need to be so polite."
…
…
Ogata and Atachi said goodbye to Yushin and left from Yushin's pet stall.
After leaving Tang Shen's pet stall far behind, Ogata could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Although the various small animals in the cages at Tang Shen’s pet stall are very cute.
But they really stink...
Especially the red fox.
Tang Shen seemed to know that the red fox had a strong smell, so he placed the wooden cage containing the red fox in a farther place.
But even so, Ogata could still smell the "body odor" emanating from the red fox, which was far stronger than that of the other animals in the cages.
After leaving Tang Shen's pet stall, Ating immediately muttered:
"I'm so lucky... I found the clue so quickly..."
"Yeah..." Ogata couldn't help but sigh, "My luck is so good that it's unbelievable..."
Ogata felt more and more that his luck was miraculous.
He always felt that his luck was constantly jumping back and forth between the two extremes of "extremely bad" and "extremely good".
Sometimes my luck is extremely bad - on the first day I entered Kyoto last summer, I was inexplicably involved in a series of troubles.
But sometimes it's so good - let's take Kyoto as an example. Although I was inexplicably involved in a series of troubles on the first day I entered Kyoto, I also reunited with Atachi on that day.
This time, Ogata's luck once again jumped to the extreme of "excellent".
Originally, Ogata and Atachi were prepared to fight a "protracted war" and spend an unknown amount of effort to find relevant clues.
But who would have thought that on the first day, the clue was found from the first person questioned.
And it's a very useful clue.
According to the information Tang Shen just provided, it can be basically confirmed that the two people are Xuan Zheng and Xuan Zhen. After all, the person who would say "Xuan Ren Junior Brother" should be no one else except Xuan Zhen.
But there was one thing in the information that Tang Shen had just mentioned that made Ogata very concerned.
That is - Xuanzhen's condition is quite strange.
He had a blank expression on his face one second, and suddenly laughed strangely the next. Xuan Zheng shook his shoulders and said, "Don't be like this" - no matter how you think about it, it seems very abnormal.
Not only Ogata cares about this place, but Atachi is also concerned about Genshin's condition.
"Ayi." Ating hesitated, "That Xuanzhen... is there something wrong with his sanity?"
As Ating spoke, he pointed his finger at his head.
In Ating's opinion, the only person who would have a blank expression on his face one second and suddenly laugh out loud the next is probably someone with a problem in his brain.
"...I don't know." Ogata shook his head, "Except for seeing Xuanzhen in person, no one knows what happened to that person."
"That's true... What should we do now?" A-Ming asked, "Should we go north to look for new clues?"
"...We can only do this." Ogata sighed lightly, then smiled bitterly, "Since we have found the clues of the two people heading north, we can only follow them to the north to look for new clues."
"How do we find it?" Ating asked.
"Since the two of them are very likely to enter the Ezo territory...then we can only ask the Ezo settlements in the north."
"Ask each village one by one."
"There is no other way."
"Should we go to each village and ask..." Ating also smiled bitterly, "I really hope that the Ezo people in the Ezo villages we meet can be more friendly..."
…
…
Now that we have found some useful clues, there is no need to stay in Matsumae Castle any longer.
After a brief discussion with Atachi, Ogata reached a unanimous decision - speed is of the essence, and they should set off directly north today.
Since they had decided to set off today, the two planned to go to the fur house that Tang Shen had just recommended, which had a part-time "dog sledding" service.
The two of them went back to the hotel first and picked up all their luggage.
They had never expected that this hotel, which they thought they would stay in for a long time, would be vacated so soon.
The two of them took their luggage and went to the eastern part of Matsumae Castle. After finding a street called "Sakae Street", they went from shop to shop.
Soon, they found the fur shop that Tang Shen had just mentioned - Daheya.
Daigoya is a very grand store with three floors.
After entering the first floor of the Daigoya, Oobian saw various fur products on the shelves.
Ogata didn't come here to buy furs, so he didn't even look at the furs and went straight to the counter on the first floor.
There was a middle-aged man sitting behind the counter on the first floor.
Ogata directly stated his purpose and said he wanted to rent a dog sled.
The middle-aged man was not vague and said that the farthest he could send them was to a place close to the northern border of Matsumae Domain, and then he directly quoted a price.
Even if he could only send them to a place near the northern border of Matsumae Domain, Ogata was satisfied. Although the price was high, it was not unacceptable, so Ogata paid the money without hesitation.
After paying, the middle-aged man called a shop assistant, said something to him, and then led Ogata and Atachi to the backyard of their large house.
Before he got close to the backyard, Xu Fang heard the barking of a dog.
After entering the backyard, the strong smell of dog hit Ogata in the face.
There are dozens of dogs of various colors in the backyard.
These dogs are large dogs, big enough for children to ride on.
Every dog ​​has lush hair, enough to make people want to rush up and rub it.
"Oh, they're so cute." A-Ming's eyes lit up. "Can I touch them?"
"Please do as you please." The middle-aged man said with a tone of pride, "The dogs here have all been specially trained. They are not afraid of people and will not bite people. Just don't provoke them."
"Wait here for a moment. The guys who are responsible for pulling you will be here soon."
The middle-aged man stayed where he was, waiting with Ogata and the others for the arrival of the guy he had just mentioned who would be responsible for bringing Ogata and Atachi.
Compared to dogs, Ogata actually prefers cats. He is a pure "cat lover".
However, Atachi's preference seems to be the opposite of Ogata's. Compared to cats, Atachi seems to prefer dogs.
Because of different preferences, Ogata does not have such a strong desire to rub the dog.
After only a moment, a young male voice finally sounded behind Ogata and Omachi:
"Sorry to have kept you waiting!"
Ogata turned his head and looked back.
After seeing the face of the owner of the young male voice, Ogata was stunned.
The owner of the voice was a very young man, who looked to be in his early 20s.
The reason why Ogata was stunned was because this man's facial features were somewhat peculiar.
Not a pure and human face.
His facial features are deeper than those of ordinary people, but not too deep.
To use a vivid metaphor...this person's facial features are somewhere between those of a Japanese and an Ezo.
"My two guests, my name is Ichiro Nakahara." The young man bowed to Ogata and Atachi and spoke in the standard "Matsumae-style Japanese" with a local accent, "I will be responsible for driving the sled for you two."
…
…
Because dog sleds cannot be driven in the city, Ogata and his friends had to drag the sleds and dogs to the outskirts of the city first.
In just over half an hour, they arrived at the outskirts of the city with their sleds and dogs.
Then——
"Can dogs pull so fast?" Ating looked at the four big dogs pulling the sled in front of him with surprise.
Just now, Ogata and Atachi boarded a huge sled that could accommodate four people.
The sled is long and narrow, so the passengers cannot sit side by side. They can only sit in a line vertically like on a motorcycle.
Ichiro Nakahara, who was responsible for driving the sled, sat in the front driver's seat, then Ogata sat behind Nakahara, and Atachi sat at the back.
The four big dogs that we saw in the backyard just now were responsible for pulling this huge sled.
The young man named Zhongyuan was sitting in the driving seat. He just shouted at the four big dogs pulling the sled in front of him, and the four big dogs pulled the sled forward as if it was a conditioned reflex.
The speed was far beyond Ogata and Atachi's imagination.
It was the first time for both of them to see dog sledding.
Before this, the two of them had only heard that dog sledding was a special means of transportation in Ezo.
Dog sledding was originally a means of transportation for the Ezo people in Ezo.
Many Yezoshi who can afford dogs use them for transportation.
While the Matsumae domain was engaged in a long-term confrontation with the Ezo people, it also unknowingly enjoyed cultural exchanges.
The use of dog sledding as a means of transportation was learned by the Japanese people of Matsumae Domain.
For some reason, animals in Ezo generally grow very large, and dogs are no exception.
The dogs in Ezo are big and strong, and a few dogs can pull a sled with people on it.
It was the first time for Ogata to see a dog sled and the first time to ride a dog sled.
Both of them had expressions of surprise as they had not expected that a dog could pull the sled so fast.
“Hahaha.” Zhongyuan laughed, “This speed is nothing. In addition to dogs, cats can also pull sleds, and their speed is not slow either.”
"Cats can pull sleds?" A-Ming exclaimed.
"Yeah." Zhongyuan nodded, "But I've only heard of it, and never actually seen it."
"I heard that cats in Russia are big and strong, so many people there use cats to pull sleds."
The Matsumae domain was originally a small domain with a total of only 10,000 koku.
Nakahara said: By around 4 pm, we will reach the northern border of Matsumae Domain.
Nakahara never asked Ogata why they were going to the northern border of Matsumae Domain. He just focused on driving the sled.
In each of his hands he held a joystick-like device.
Ogata asked Nakahara what the two joysticks were for. Nakahara said that the two joysticks were used to adjust the direction, and they were used to control the sled to change direction.
There was nothing but snow all around, and Ogata was already tired of seeing such scenery in Oshu.
After the sled reached a relatively flat area, in order to pass the time, Ogata asked Nakahara in front of him a question that he had been curious about since he met Nakahara.
"Mr. Nakahara, are you a naturalized Ezo?"
After saying that, Ogata glanced at Zhongyuan's profile, which was full of Ezo characteristics.
"Hahaha." Zhongyuan laughed a few times, "No, I'm not a naturalized Ezo."
"It's just that my ancestors were naturalized Ezo people."
"My ancestors moved into Matsumae Castle during the Genroku period (1688-1703) and became naturalized citizens."
"My grandmother was a Japanese, so I have both Japanese and Ezo blood in my body."
"During the Genroku period?" Ating asked, "Isn't that a hundred years ago?"
"Yes." Nakahara nodded, "So I can't be considered a naturalized Ezo. I was born and raised in Matsumae."
"I can't even speak a word of Ainu now. I can only speak Japanese."
"More like Kazuto than Kazuto."
"only……"
Speaking of this, a hint of bitterness appeared on Zhongyuan's face.
"Even though I was born and raised in Matsumae Castle, many people in the city still treat me as an Ezo..."
"The Japanese treat me like an Ezo. The Ezo in the city treat me like a Japanese..."
"Fortunately, the shop owner does not discriminate against Ezo and is willing to hire me as a shop assistant."
"Otherwise, I don't know how I'm going to live if I'm discriminated against by both the Japanese and the Ainu."
After saying that, Nakahara paused, then quickly turned around and apologized to Ogata and Atachi.
"Ah, sorry, sorry, it seems like I talked about some heavy topics that weren't very interesting."
"Hold on tight! We're entering a flat area, I'm going to speed up the dog!"
After saying that, Zhongyuan shouted to the four big dogs in front of him, and then the four big dogs accelerated again, pulling Ogata and others straight forward.
…
…
at the same time--
A river in Ezo—
Rustle...
The sound, like the sound of sifting rice with a rice sieve, echoed one after another on the river.
Eleven men of different ages stood on the bank of the river, holding something like a rice sieve. They kept shaking the "rice sieve" in their hands with the help of the river water, as if they were sifting something.
Although their actions look like they are sifting rice, and the things in their hands also look like rice sieves, they are not actually sifting rice, and the things in their hands are not rice sieves.
Their "rice sieve" is filled with soil that has just been salvaged from the river.
The tools in their hands are specially used to sift gold sand.
They are panning for gold.
At this time, a very sturdy man among the 11 people shouted loudly to the other 10 people:
"Hey! Take a break! Take a break for now!"
As the sturdy man finished speaking, the other 10 people straightened up obediently, put down the tools they were using to pan for gold, and walked towards the camp they had built not far from the shore.
These 11 people are a gold-digging group.
At a time when gold mining had been banned by the shogunate and hated by the Ezo, it had become a life-threatening endeavor.
Under such heavy pressure, the gold diggers banded together to survive.
After the 11 gold diggers returned to their camp, they sat around a large rock, recovering their strength and chatting casually.
"Nothing again today." A very short man sighed.
"It seems that there is no gold in this river either." The person sitting next to him echoed.
"Let's search this river for another two days." The strong man who had just asked everyone to rest said, "If we still find nothing after two days, we can search for another river."
This sturdy man can be considered their leader. He is not only an expert in swordsmanship, but also has extensive experience in gold mining.
In such a desolate wilderness, their only entertainment is chatting together.
After chatting with the people around him for a few words, the leader suddenly turned his head and said loudly to a warrior who was as thin as a monkey sitting not far away:
"Hey, Grandfather Jiang! Tell us more about your time as a bounty hunter."
The skinny warrior who was suddenly called out was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said:
"Boss, I have basically told all the stories I can tell."
Grandfather Jiang - it looks like a nickname, but it is actually a real surname, just relatively rare.
Grandfather Jiang Ben was a bounty hunter who made a living from bounties.
But his skills were mediocre. Although he was a bounty hunter, he had never actually caught or killed a wanted criminal.
Having had enough of a life of poverty, he decided to try his best - to go to Ezo to pan for gold and get rich.
Determined to fight to the death, he robbed some money from a rice shop.
Then, through various means, they smuggled into Ezo.
Not long after entering Ezo, we saw this group of gold diggers.
At the invitation of this group of gold diggers, Grandfather Jiang joined them, became one of them, and went panning for gold with them.
Grandfather Jiang joined them - this was probably more than 3 months ago.
During these three months, my grandfather Jiang followed them around the Ezo area, panning for gold.
While being wary of the shogunate, we were also wary of the Ezo.
The Ezo people basically hated gold diggers because they believed that they destroyed their peaceful lives and also destroyed the forests and rivers.
Far more gold diggers died at the hands of the Ezo than under the sanctions of the shogunate.
When everyone was resting, in order to kill time and relax, during these three months, Grandfather Jiang was often asked to tell the interesting things that happened to him when he was a bounty hunter.
After telling stories for more than three months, Grandfather Jiang has basically told all the interesting stories worth telling.
As soon as Grandfather Jiang finished complaining, "I'm running out of stories to tell," an older warrior sitting next to Grandfather Jiang laughed and said:
"That's all right! Just tell whatever story comes to mind. You have a good eloquence, and I really like listening to your stories."
As soon as the warrior finished speaking, the others responded.
There was a reason why their leader suddenly asked Grandfather Jiang to tell a story.
Grandfather Jiang is very eloquent and his stories are vivid and interesting.
Although Grandfather Jiang had never caught a wanted criminal before, he had encountered many eye-opening things, and everyone loved to listen to them.
Since Grandfather Jiang joined the gang, listening to Grandfather Jiang's stories became one of the important pastimes for everyone.
Bathed in the expectant gazes of the crowd, Grandfather Jiang scratched his hair with a wry smile, and after thinking for a moment, he said:
"Then let me tell you the story of my encounter with Ogata Ittosai in Kyoto."
"Oh?" The leader raised his eyebrows.
Everyone present cast interested glances at Grandfather Jiang.
"Have you ever encountered Ogata Ittosai?" the leader let out a low exclamation.
"Yeah." Grandfather Jiang nodded, still maintaining a wry smile, "I was also in Kyoto last summer."
"Then it happened that Ogata Ittosai burned down Nijo Castle..."
"When they learned that Ogata Ittosai had attacked Nijo Castle, many ronin rushed into Nijo Castle, intending to take Ogata Ittosai's head and become rich overnight with it."
“That’s what I thought at the time.”
"Although Ogata Ittosai is strong, under the siege of so many people, he might reveal some flaws, and I could just chop off his head."
"With this fluke mentality, I followed others and rushed into the castle tower of Nijo Castle."
"I regretted it as soon as I reached the castle tower of Nijo Castle."
"Ogata Ittosai—he is not even a human being."
“It was besieged by so many people, yet it managed to stand firm.”
"Anyone who dares to come forward will be killed one by one, and any two who dare to come forward will be killed one by one."
"No one can get close to me, no one can defeat me."
"When I was closest to Ogata Ittosai, I was only 5 steps away."
"I just happened to witness how the blood-soaked Ogata Ittosai cut a ronin holding a spear in half with one strike..."
When Grandfather Jiang said this, his body shook violently as if he had recalled something horrible.
"I still remember Ogata Ittosai's figure and devilish eyes when he was beheading people ..."
"I still remember clearly the terrifying look in Ogata Ittosai's eyes... I will remember it for the rest of my life..."
"I'm not afraid of you laughing at me."
“I almost peed myself.”
“Then he just ran away.”
"I took advantage of the fact that Ogata Ittosai hadn't reached me yet and I ran for my life."
"At that time, there were many people like me who realized that taking Ogata Ittosai's head was an extremely stupid thing to do, so they also fled for their lives."
"After I managed to escape from Nijo Castle, I realized how poor my skills were. Compared to that monster, they were nothing."
"So not long after, I left Kyoto and came to Ezo to pan for gold."
Everyone, led by the chief, listened with great interest.
After Grandfather Jiang finished speaking, the leader grinned and said:
"You have actually encountered Ogata Ittosai! Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"
"Because this is not a glorious thing." Grandfather Jiang raised his hand and scratched his hair again.
"There is no such thing as honorable or dishonorable! The most important thing for a person is to stay alive! No matter how capable you are, if you die, there will be no show!" The leader laughed a few times, "Tell us in detail about the details of when you saw Ogata Ittosai in the castle tower! I want to hear more!"
After hearing the leader's simple words of comfort, Grandfather Jiang smiled with a hint of relief and joy.
"Details? I've only seen Ogata Ittosai up close once. He looks very similar to the portrait on the wanted poster. The artist who drew Ogata Ittosai's wanted poster has very high skills."
Grandfather Jiang continued to talk about his previous encounter with Ogata in Kyoto.
The others also listened carefully.