"We had no interest in knowing what a pair of Japanese people were arguing about, so after taking a look at them from a distance, we left."
"And the Japanese couple didn't seem to notice us from beginning to end."
"Then do you remember where you saw these two people?" Ogata asked.
"Hmm... I don't really remember." Vashili shook his head. "It was a long time ago after all."
"We had no fixed place to live, and moved every few days, so I couldn't remember where I saw the two Japanese men."
Ogata was a little disappointed to see that Vashili had forgotten where he had met the two men.
But the information Vasili just provided is still of some value.
If the Japanese couple were really Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen, then Xuanzhen's mental state might be really bad...
Even Vasili, an outsider watching from a distance, could see that the younger man did not look like a normal person...
"Have you seen this Japanese couple again, or other Japanese people who look similar to you?" Ogata asked.
"No." Vashili shook his head. "We haven't seen that Japanese couple since then. We haven't seen anyone else who looks similar."
"I see... I see." Ogata bowed slightly to Vasili, "Thank you for the information."
"It's okay." Vashili waved his hand. "No need to be so polite. Hiss..."
Before he could finish his words, Vashili suddenly gasped and covered his chest.
Ogata: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing... I just accidentally pulled the place where you hit me just now ." Vashili smiled, "By the way, you are really amazing... This is the first time I have seen such a fast punch. I was completely powerless to fight back."
"Are you willing to follow us to our country later?"
"In our country, with your fists, you can definitely make a lot of money if you participate in those boxing matches!"
"We Cossacks usually like to hold various boxing matches and then gamble on them!"
"With your ability, you will definitely make a lot of money!"
"No." Ogata declined politely, "I don't know any boxing skills. I only have brute force. Boxing matches are not suitable for me."
"You are so modest." Vashili smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Just based on your strength and speed, even if you don't know any boxing skills, I think you can sweep away all the boxers in our area."
Vashili was not stupid either. He could tell that Ogata was just politely declining him.
He had just said the invitation to Ogata in a joking manner and was not serious, so even if Ogata rejected his invitation, he did not feel frustrated.
Originally, what I wanted to ask Vashili were only clues related to the whereabouts of Xuanzheng, Xuanzhen and others.
I have now asked all the questions I wanted to ask.
But Ogata did not take Atachi away immediately.
Because - just now, Ogata had a second question he wanted to ask Vashiri.
"Vashili," Ogata said.
"Um?"
Ogata looked at the Kentucky long rifle placed on the gun rack not far away.
"Can you sell us one of these guns?"
"Ah, yes. In addition to the gun, we also hope that you can sell us some of the bullets used in the gun."
"Oh?" Vashili opened his already large eyes even wider. "You want a Kentucky long rifle?"
Vashili cast a surprised look at Ogata.
And Atachi, who was standing next to Ogata, was also looking at Ogata with surprise.
"Yes." Ogata nodded, "You just said that this gun is currently equipped on a small scale among your Cossacks."
"So can you sell us one? The price is negotiable."
"Do you need bear skin and bear gall? We have two bear skins and two bear galls here."
"You actually want our guns... Are you interested in guns?"
"Yeah, that's about right. We might need you to teach us how to use this Kentucky Long Rifle."
"Um... sorry." After thinking for a while, Vashili raised his hand and ruffled his already messy brown short hair. "Guns and telescopes are different."
"For us who are in a distant foreign country, guns and horses are our lives."
"I can give you a telescope. But not a gun."
"I can't just sell important guns to outsiders."
Ogata didn't give up: "Can't you really sell us one?"
"Hmm..." Vasili groaned, "Why don't you wait for our boss to come back?"
"Selling guns is a very important matter. I can't make the decision. The boss has to make the decision."
"Wait until the boss comes back and then ask him."
"Your boss?" Ogata asked, "When will your boss come back?"
"He took some people to draw a picture a few days ago. I think... he should be back soon."
"I'll let you know when he comes back."
"...Okay then." Ogata nodded, "We'll be staying here for a few days anyway."
"Then when your boss comes back, could you please come and inform us in time?"
"Of course! But...as compensation, can you promise me one thing?"
"Thing? What is it? Don't mention something too difficult."
"It's not a difficult thing..."
Vashili swallowed hard, and then stared at the naturally hanging thing below Ogata without moving his eyes...
Both hands.
Although he tried his best to conceal it, Vashili still couldn't hide the fiery light in his eyes.
Ogata, noticing the heat in Vasili's eyes, frowned involuntarily.
This light of Vashili... Ogata is somewhat familiar with it.
When I was lurking in Yoshiwara and working at the Shirobei Club in Yoshiwara, the tourists who came to seek pleasure looked at the prostitutes with similar eyes...
"After I rest for a few days, can you come and compete with me again?" Vashili raised his right fist.
Vashili still remembers the competition with Ogata just now.
Every time Ogata's fist landed on him, in addition to feeling the pain, he also felt as if his body was blending into the colorful mist, which was very refreshing.
All five parts of his body seemed to be shouting the same cry: Yes! That's it! This is how a fistfight should be done! No mercy! Hit me as hard as you can!
Vashili also couldn't understand why he felt so comfortable when the strong man's fist hit him.
He had asked other people - no one else would be like him. No matter if they were beaten by the weak or the strong, they would only feel pain and not pleasure.
Although he seemed to be different, Vasili didn't care.
Today, Vasili experienced the ultimate sense of comfort with Ogata for the first time in a long time.
It's like after living an ascetic life for more than half a year, you suddenly find a beautiful girl with whom you can create beautiful memories for just 1 ruble.
The last time he had a similar feeling was when he was with the boss - but his boss didn't like to fight with others. If he wasn't in the mood, even if Vashili talked his mouth off, his boss would never fight with him.
Vashili himself had forgotten the last time he and his boss fought.
He really wanted to experience again the refreshing feeling he had just experienced from Ogata.
"You really like to fight with others..." Ogata murmured, "Of course you can. But is your body okay? When I was fighting with you just now, each of my punches was not light. If you only rest for a few days, can your body recover?"
"No problem! I've been fighting since I was a kid. I grew up fighting with people! I've developed a thick skin a long time ago."
"The injuries you left me today will heal almost completely after a few days of rest."
Ogata couldn't help but feel a little surprised when he saw that Vasili had only asked for one more fight.
The fiery look in Vasili's eyes just now made Ogata think that he was going to propose some strange conditions...
"In that case, I'll trouble you." Ogata said, "When your boss arrives, please go to Kuma Village to inform us."
"But we will go to other villages later based on the clues of the two people we are looking for, so we may not be in the village for a few days."
"Okay." Vashili nodded. "I'll inform you when the boss comes back."
"If you happen to not be in the village, I will first tell our boss that you want to buy a gun."
"Well, thank you for your trouble." Ogata bowed to Vasili again, "Then we will take our leave first."
Vashili stood up and said, "I will take you out of our camp."
"No need." Ogata said quickly, "We remember the way to leave."
Although Ogata said that it was not necessary to see them off, Vashili still insisted on seeing them off.
Seeing that Vasili insisted on playing the role of a good host, Naxu didn't say anything more and let Vasili walk in front and lead the way.
Vashili is really tough. He just said that he is thick-skinned, and he was not exaggerating.
When he was fighting with Ogata just now, he took so many heavy punches from Ogata, but he was still able to walk and talk well, and even had the energy to escort Ogata and the others out of their camp.
As soon as he walked out of the tent where Vasili lived, Xu saw Vasili's subordinates who were busy working.
Ogata guessed that those who were still able to walk were probably busy taking care of their companions who were injured in the "traditional activities" just now...
He heard groans and cries of pain coming from not far away...
"Why can this traditional activity of yours that can cause so many injuries be passed down for thousands of years..." Ah-Ming listened to the groans and cries of pain one after another, with a puzzled look on his face, "Although we have many similar activities in Japan, they are all limited to a certain extent, and no one beats people as hard as you do..."
“Hahahaha!” Vashili laughed a few times. “This is probably due to our national character!”
"Although many people get injured every time during this traditional activity of ours."
“But there are still some benefits to such activities.”
“The biggest benefit is that it can kill everyone’s energy.”
"As long as your energy is consumed, it's not easy to think about all kinds of messy things."
"Under the boss's request, we can't do anything bad. Fighting has become one of the important ways for us to kill time."
"If we can't even fight, I feel like there will be a lot of people who can't stand this boring life."
"Can't do bad things?" Ogata raised his eyebrows. "Your boss actually has such a request?"
"Our boss...I don't know whether to call him noble or pedantic." Vashili shrugged, "He doesn't allow us to do anything bad."
"So during the four years since we left our homeland and headed for the Far East, we were like a group of noble knights."
Vashili changed his tone to a half-joking one.
"No matter where I go, I will never do anything evil."
"Not only do not do anything evil, but also do a little good from time to time."
"Ah, the so-called knight, you can understand it as a very noble person."
"Once there were two people who didn't listen to their boss's instructions and sneaked into a certain village to harm a village girl."
"Then the boss hanged the two men in front of everyone and the villagers of that village."
"Luckily the boss is a very charming person who is very good at commanding others."
"Otherwise, if someone else had come and stopped his subordinates from doing all kinds of bad things, the team would have collapsed due to low morale."
At this point, Vasili sighed softly.
"I don't know how the boss is doing now."
"He must be enjoying the adventure..."
"Come to think of it - I still don't know your boss's name." Ogata said, "What's your boss's name?"
"His name is Skuluch. Skuluch Dovnar. He's a Scotsman and a Cossack."
…
…
At this moment——
Somewhere in Ezo—
Today is a cloudy day.
A few rays of sunlight struggled to pass through the thick clouds and sprinkled on the white snowfield like light dust.
It's white everywhere.
The ground was white, and the leaves, grass, and stones were all covered with a thick layer of snow.
But in this world that is all white, there is a very conspicuous and abrupt red.
This red color is actually red hair.
A young man with short red hair was sitting on a big rock.
From time to time a breeze blew, ruffling his red hair.
His red hair stood out against the white snow.
At this time, he was holding a map in his left hand... to be more precise, a half-drawn map. He held a pencil in his right hand and painted on the unfinished map in his hand while gazing at the scenery ahead.
He was on a high ground with an unobstructed view of the lowlands ahead.
He had a smile on his face and seemed to be in a good mood.
"Boss! Boss! Boss Skulucci!"
At this moment, one excited shout after another sounded behind the red-haired man.
The red-haired boy looked back and saw a young man with freckles on his face running towards him carrying six rabbits.
"Boss Skulucci! Look! I caught so many rabbits!"
"Hey! Afjie!" the red-haired man shouted, "Where did you get all those rabbits?"
"Boss Skulucci, have you forgotten what I told you before? Rabbits are very stupid animals!" said the freckled young man. "As long as you throw a stick over the rabbit's head, it will mistakenly think it is being attacked by a bird and dive into the snow and become unable to move!"
"I'm lucky today! I caught 6 fat rabbits in a row using this method!"
"Afjie! You're a fucking genius at hunting!"
"Just based on your hunting skills, you deserve a fucking knighthood!"
"If I were the King of England, I would definitely make you an earl! The fiefdom would be in Glamorgan! I would make you the Earl of Glamorgan!"
"Let's go! Let's go back to camp! Set up the pot! Light the fire! Get ready for the rabbit feast!"
After saying that, the red-haired man put away the unfinished map and pen in his hands, put his arm around the freckled young man's shoulder affectionately, and strode towards their camp not far away.
"Boss Skulucci." The freckled young man carrying six fat rabbits asked the red-haired young man beside him, "Have you finished drawing the map? When are we going back to Master Vashili?"
"Almost done, almost done!" said the red-haired man, "The map will be ready the day after tomorrow at the latest!"
If Vashili was present, he would definitely call the red-haired young man "Boss" in a friendly manner after seeing him.
Because this red-haired young man is the leader of their group - Skulucci Dovnar.
On this mapping trip, Skulucci brought a total of 12 subordinates.
After returning to the camp not far away, Skulucci saw 11 other subordinates busying around the camp.
"Guys! Turn your eyes!" Skulucci shouted, "Look at the six fat rabbits in Afjie's hand! Today we are having a feast of rabbit meat!"
As soon as Skulucci finished speaking, cheers rang out one after another.
Afterwards, everyone quickly prepared for dinner.
A pot stand for a pot.
Splitting wood for splitting wood.
Those who are making fire are making fire.
Those who kill rabbits, kill rabbits.
As for Skulucci, he was lying calmly in a hammock not far away, holding a book in his hands and reading it with relish.
As the eldest brother, he has the privilege of doing nothing but lying down and waiting for dinner.
The book that Sculucci is reading now is an English translation.
So only people who understand English can understand what is written on the cover of the book - "Don Quixote".
When Skulucci was reading a book happily, he suddenly raised his eyebrows.
Then he slammed the book in his hand shut.
“Guys!”
Skulucci jumped out of the hammock.
"I hear a large number of horses approaching us from the west!"
"Stop what you're doing! Take out your guns!"
"Remember not to reach for the wrong thing! You're reaching for the gun under your crotch!"
After that, Skulucci grabbed a very long rifle from the side - a Kentucky long rifle.
As soon as Skulucci said this, the faces of his subordinates around him changed drastically, and then they hurriedly stopped all the work in their hands and picked up their rifles.
The rifles used by Skulucci's men were also the most advanced rifles at the time - the Kentucky long rifles.
They are all old people who have followed Skulucci for quite a long time.
After spending so much time with Skulucci, they already knew that Skulucci's senses were very keen.
So sensitive as if he had super powers.
He said something was approaching, so it must be approaching.
They stopped what they were doing, took out their weapons, found cover, and pointed their guns at the west side that Skulucci had just mentioned - their movements were smooth and seamless, like a group of well-trained soldiers.
Not long after, they also heard the sound of horse hooves.
Once again, Skulucci was right.
There were indeed a large number of horses approaching them from the west.
Judging from the sound, there must be at least 50 horses.
Some of the younger ones swallowed involuntarily.
As for Skulucci, he was calm and composed, using a big tree as cover, looking very relaxed, and even humming a tune.
Finally - this large number of horses revealed their figures.
The large number of horses approaching them were all carrying people.
The clothes these people wore were very similar to those of Skulucci and his men.
As for the person walking in front, Skulucci looked very familiar to him.
"Wow~~" Skulucci whistled, "Isn't this Vladimir? It's been a long time since we last met."
This cavalry, like the Skuluch, was also a Cossack expedition sent by the Tsar of Russia to explore the Far East.
The leader was someone Skuluch knew - Vladimir.
"Isn't this Skuluch? I saw smoke coming from the chimney just now, so I sent someone over to take a look. I didn't expect to meet you here." Vladimir waved his hand to signal his subordinates behind him to stop.
Although he ran into someone he knew, Skulucci did not emerge from behind the tree that served as cover, nor did he ask his subordinates to stop their combat readiness.
"Vladimir, why are you here? I remember you were on an expedition to the east before."
"That's a long story. Skulluch, since it's so rare for you to meet a fellow Cossack, I have something good to tell you. Would you like to come and listen?"
"Good news? I love to hear good news the most. Come and tell me about it."
Vladimir dismounted and said, "Come with me, let's go to a place where no one will bother us."
After Skulucci winked at his subordinates beside him, he put the Kentucky long rifle in his hand behind his back and followed Vladimir to a place not far away, away from their respective subordinates.
As soon as he arrived at this undisturbed place, Vladimir hurriedly said to Skuluch:
"Skulucci, do you want to come and have some fun?"
"Have fun? I love having fun the most! To have fun, I often hold snowman-building competitions with my friends!"
"Every time I succeeded in building a giant snowman, I felt as happy as if I had found a pub where I could drink for free."
"Oh, Skuluch." Vladimir frowned slightly. "It's been so long since we last met, and you're still as talkative as ever."
"When I say 'having fun', it means a lot more fun than building a snowman."
"You're not building a snowman? Are you building a castle? Vladimir, let me tell you, I'm the best at building Gothic castles. If His Majesty the Tsar holds a 'Gothic Castle Building Competition', I will definitely take first place."
"That's enough, stop interrupting. Do you want to come with us to plunder the local indigenous villages?"
"Plundering villages?" Skuluch raised his eyebrows. "Vladimir, have you forgotten the Tsar's request?"
"He asked us to avoid any trouble on this expedition and focus only on exploration and mapping."
As soon as Skuluch finished speaking, Vladimir interrupted rudely:
"His Majesty the Tsar just wants us to 'keep the trouble to a minimum'. He doesn't ask us to act like noble knights."
"We are Cossacks. Killing our enemies and humiliating their wives and daughters is the life that suits us best. The life of a noble knight - it doesn't suit us."
"My brothers and I have been holding back since we came to the Far East, and we can't hold it back any longer."
"Skulucci, let me be honest with you. My brothers and I haven't had a good vent in a long time."
"So I've decided - I'm going to take advantage of the fact that Carnival is coming soon and lead my men to go looting! Let's have a good holiday!"
"I have successfully recruited Alexei to join the group."
"Alexei and I both want to have a good time after a long time."
"My people plus Alexei's people make a total of 82 people."
"If you join us, we will have hundreds of people."
"It's no problem to plunder a village."
“Although I can’t appreciate the looks of the indigenous women here, it doesn’t matter. They have everything a woman should have anyway.”
As soon as Vladimir finished speaking, Skuluch said with an exaggerated expression and tone:
"Wow! Vladimir! You actually brought Alexei into the group and gathered so many people!"
"You're a fucking genius! You're a knight par excellence! A natural born leader! Brother of the sun and moon! Grandson of God! A man among men!"
"If I were the King of England, I would definitely make you a Duke!"
"The fiefdom will be set up in North Munster! I will make you the Duke of North Munster!"
"Enough! Skuluch! Stop talking nonsense!" Vladimir frowned, "Why do you always talk so much nonsense?"
How could he not hear that - what Skulucci said just now was full of sarcasm from beginning to end.
"Vladimir." Skuluch put away his exaggerated expression and showed a calm look. "Don't you know that I, Skuluch, never do such a thing?"
"Of course I know." Vladimir said, "But we are a little short of manpower right now, so I can only ask you to join us."
"Skulucci, I don't know why you force yourself and your men to live like noble knights."
"Don't you think this kind of life is tiring?"
Vladimir raised his hand and put it around Skuluch’s shoulders.
"Plundering is a very joyful thing."
"Nothing brings more joy than taking away another's property, wife, and daughter."
"It's a rare occasion to come across the annual Maslenitsa Festival, so just follow us."
"As long as you join us, no indigenous settlement will be our opponent."
"How about it? Want to come together?"
Like a demon whispering in someone's ear, Vladimir put his lips, which exuded a strong bad breath, close to Skuluch's ear.
…
…
Vashili accompanied Ogata and his companions all the way until they left the camp.
After Ogata and Atachi left Vasili's camp side by side and moved a little further away from Vasili's camp, Atachi immediately turned to Ogata as if he couldn't wait and asked:
"Why do you suddenly want to buy their cannons?"
"Of course it's for you." Ogata said bluntly, "Don't you think that cannon is very powerful and suitable for you?"
Ogata could still vividly remember the heroic sight of Atachi using a long iron cannon to snipe an archer from a long distance when they first met Atachi on Choujima.
The long iron cannon that Ating had used on Butterfly Island was a modified iron cannon she had used before. Unfortunately, it was damaged during the battle with the "evil monk".
According to Atachi, she has a total of two of these long iron cannons that she modified.
One had already been destroyed on Butterfly Island.
The other one was placed in Shiranui's home - unfortunately, with Atachi's defection, all the belongings in her home were cleared out, including the only remaining modified long iron cannon.
Because the long iron cannon was inconvenient to carry, when Uncle Qing helped Atachi leave Shiranui, he could only bring Suying and Kasumi out, but was unable to bring the long iron cannon with him - it must be said that this was really a pity.
After leaving Chou Island, Ating has been unable to obtain a suitable long iron cannon.
Even if I wanted to make another one myself, I didn't have enough tools and materials.
Ogata didn't know what Atachi was thinking, but he always felt deeply regretful about this - although Atachi was good at shooting, he had not yet had a handy main weapon again.
And now - the great opportunity to make up for this regret appeared before Ogata.
If this Kentucky long rifle really has an extremely long range and extremely high accuracy as Vasily just said, and someone has used this gun to accurately kill an enemy commander from 300 yards away, then this gun can be regarded as a sniper rifle of this era.
A good match for Atachi, who is good at shooting.
"Since it's so rare to come across such a powerful cannon, there's no reason not to try hard to get it, and -" Ogata smiled, "You want that cannon too, right?"
Just now, Ogata discovered that Atachi was very interested in this Kentucky long rifle.
While listening to Vasily's story about their encounter with the two strange quarreling Japanese, Ating kept glancing at the Kentucky long rifle on the gun rack from time to time.
Moreover, Ogata keenly noticed the way Atachi's eyes lit up when she heard about the superb performance of the Kentucky long rifle from Vasili's introduction to it.
"If I had the chance to own a long iron cannon like this, I would be very happy to have it..." Ating muttered, "But I think even if they are willing to sell it to us, the price we have to pay must be very high..."
"That Vashili just said it. Guns and horses are their lives."
"Even if they are willing to sell it, they will definitely not sell it to us at a low price."
"Then let's wait and see." Ogata shrugged. "When their leader, Skulucci, comes back, let's see what he says."
"If the price they offer is reasonable, then we will buy it."
"If the price they offer is unreasonable, or they are unwilling to sell it to us... we can talk about it later."
As if infected by Ogata's optimism, Atachi smiled faintly.
A-Machi smiled and lowered her head as if she was shy.
"……Thanks."
Ogata didn't say much.
He just smiled and followed Ating as they walked towards the nearby Kuma Village.
…
…
In the following days, Ayaka continued to fulfill his promise.
He had previously agreed with Ogata and the others that in addition to taking Ogata and the others to Kuma Village where he lived, he would also take them to other villages that were friendly with his Kuma Village to look for clues about Xuanzheng and the others.
Ayaka has four sled dogs that can pull the sled.
Ogata and his companions relied on this sled to travel between villages.
However - nothing was found.
No matter which village I went to or who I asked, I didn't receive any useful information.
While going to various villages to look for clues about Genzheng and the others, Ogata was also silently waiting for the return of Vashili and his group's leader named Skulucci - but until now, their leader has not yet returned.
Time passes by little by little.
Finally - before they knew it, Ayaka had taken Ogata and the others to almost all the villages they could go to.
There was only one village left that he hadn't visited yet.
…
…
night--
Kuma Village, Ayaka's Home——
"Mashima." Ayaka said to Ogata, who had been staying at their house recently, "You should go to bed early tonight. I will take you to China Village tomorrow. China Village is quite far from here, so we have to get up early."
"Qina Village..." Ogata smiled helplessly, "Is this the last village you can take us to?"
"Yeah." Ayaka also smiled helplessly, "That's right. If you can't find any clues about the person you are looking for there, then there is nothing I can do."
"After all, I can't take you to a village that we are not familiar with in Kuma Village."
"The Ainu are also quite xenophobic. They don't like people from other villages who are not familiar with their village to enter their village casually."
"It's okay." Ogata smiled at Ayaka, "You've helped us a lot. We are not ungrateful people."
"If we can't find any clues in this last village of Qina, we will try another method."
"Yeah." Ayaka nodded vigorously, "Then you guys should go to bed early. I'm going to sleep too."
Just as Ayaka turned around to leave, he suddenly seemed to remember something, paused, and turned back.
"By the way, Majima. Before we head to Kinara Village, I should tell you something."
"Qina Village is different from all the villages you have seen before, so you have to be mentally prepared."
"Different?" Ogata asked, "What's different?"
"There are many female warriors in Qina Village." Aiyaka said, "It is better to say that most of the warriors in their village are female warriors."
"Female warriors?" Ogata exclaimed in a low voice, "Why are women warriors? Where are their men?"
"Many young and strong people in Qina Village suddenly disappeared two years ago for unknown reasons." Ayaka answered in a low voice.