"Disappeared?" Ogata said. "What do you mean? What do you mean by all disappeared?"
"It means exactly what it says." Ayaka sighed softly, "He disappeared, and we still don't know whether he is alive or dead."
"It was about two years ago, or three years ago. I don't remember the exact time, but it was a few years ago."
"You and the people make a living by farming, and we Ainu make a living by fishing and hunting, so the men go into the mountains and woods to hunt every now and then."
"But one day a few years ago, the young men from Qina Village who went into the mountains and forests to hunt never returned."
"The number of missing persons is obviously too high. It is impossible that they were not able to return to the village because of hunting failures and were killed by wild animals such as bears or wolves."
"Even if they failed while hunting, it's impossible for so many people to fail at the same time."
“So I suspected that there was some kind of disaster. Like an avalanche.”
"Avalanches are the most terrible disaster in winter. Once a large-scale avalanche occurs, unless you are strong enough to hold on to a strong enough tree, you are basically dead."
"Qina Village sent a large number of people to search for it"
"But after searching everywhere, we didn't find any signs of avalanches in any area."
“None of the missing people have been found.”
"Neither living people nor dead bodies were seen."
"Not only did we fail to find the person, but some of the people who went to look for him also suddenly disappeared while they were looking for him."
“They couldn’t find the people, so Qina Village started to suspect that someone had kidnapped their people.”
"So they went to your territory, which is the area in the south called 'Matsumae Domain', and asked the leader of your people whether it was you who did it."
"The leader of the Matsumae clan denied it flatly. To prove his innocence, the Matsumae clan sent a large number of people to assist the people of Qina Village in searching for the missing people in their village."
"But even with the help of others, I still didn't gain anything."
"Not long after that, no one disappeared in Qina Village anymore."
"That's how the matter came to an end."
"The elders in our Kuma village said that this was because the gods were angry. The gods punished Qina village."
“But I don’t agree with this view.”
Ayaka shrugged.
"The people of Qina Village did nothing wrong. They didn't destroy the forest, nor did they kill bears, deer and other animals. Why would the gods punish Qina Village?"
"…It sounds like he's disappeared." A-Ming on the side continued.
"Disappeared?" Ayaka tilted his head.
"It's a very popular legend among us and the people here," A-Ming replied. "Kamikakushi means 'hidden by gods and monsters.'"
"According to legend, the phenomenon of 'disappearance of spirits' mostly occurs in rural areas ."
"Some gods and ghosts often kidnap people from the countryside for fun or for some other reasons."
"Most of the people abducted are children."
"Those abducted children either never come back, or are sent back by the gods after a period of time."
Japan's "Kamikakushi" legend - Ogata had read an article related to it in his previous life.
That article reveals the secret of Japan's "Kamikakushi" legend.
According to the article, "disappearance" sounds mysterious, but in reality it is just an ordinary child playing outside and accidentally got lost.
Why does the phenomenon of "disappearance" mostly occur in rural areas?
Because many rural areas in ancient Japan were built next to mountains, children would often run into the nearby mountains or forests when they went out to play, and then accidentally get lost and unable to return.
Why do most of the people who encounter "disappearance" happen to children?
Because children are much more likely to get lost than adults.
Some lost children are lucky and come back on their own, while some lost children are unlucky and never come back, dying in a remote corner of a mountain somewhere.
Most people in ancient times were superstitious about such things as gods and ghosts. When they encountered such an incident as the sudden disappearance of a child, they liked to associate it with things like gods and ghosts.
"It's quite similar to your and other people's legends of 'God's disappearance'." Ayaka shrugged, "But there are still some differences."
"The people who disappeared in Qina Village were all those who went out hunting, and some people who went to look for missing people."
"Since this disappearance incident, more than half of the young and strong people in Qina Village have been missing."
"Without a sufficient number of young and strong men, the women of Qina Village will have to fight on their own."
“Those women in Qina are really strong.”
There was a hint of admiration in Ayaka's tone.
"Many of them lost their fathers, husbands, and sons in that 'disappearance incident'."
"In order to support their broken homes, they did all the work of men and women."
"Some of them are as good as men in archery and hunting skills ."
"One year ago, an incident occurred that made the female warriors of Qina Village completely famous."
"I've told you before, the gold diggers are capable of all kinds of evil. In addition to panning for gold, they often attack and plunder our Ainu villages."
"Just a year ago, about 20 gold diggers heard from somewhere that there were few young and strong men in Qina Village now."
"So he had evil intentions and ran to Qina Village, intending to rob Qina Village of its property and women."
"As a result - those gold diggers underestimated the power of the female warriors in Qina Village."
"Before they could even rush into the village, they were defeated by the arrows shot by the female warriors."
"It is said that only a few of the more than 20 gold diggers managed to escape."
Ating murmured softly: "The female warriors of Qina Village are so powerful... They can use the bow to such a level..."
A-Ming knew very well how difficult a bow was to use.
Archery may seem easy, but it actually requires great physical strength and power.
After all, the goal is to shoot the arrow with enough force to injure or kill the enemy. Without a certain amount of strength and stamina, you won't be able to shoot many arrows.
“Yes.” Ayaka nodded, “The female warriors of Qina Village are so powerful.”
"In short - when you arrive at Qina Village tomorrow, you must be careful about your words and actions."
"Don't mention the 'disappearance incident'. It is a sad thing for the whole village. Some people in the village can understand Japanese."
"And don't look down on the women of Qina Village."
"Their toughness and bravery are no less than that of men."
…
…
After telling Ogata and Atachi about the "disappearance incident" in China Village and warning them to be careful with their words and actions when they go to China Village, Ayaka left in front of them.
The place where Ogata and Atachi slept was originally used to store miscellaneous items in Ayaka's home.
Ayaka and his men cleaned up the area, leaving enough space for Ogata, Atachi and the others to rest.
A-Ming seemed to be still immersed in the story that Ayaka had just told.
"People suddenly disappear... It's so scary..." Atachi, who was lying next to Ogata, said softly.
The quilt that the two of them covered themselves with was made of bear skin.
It was a little bit difficult to get used to it at first, but now that he has gotten used to it, Ogata feels more and more that this bear skin quilt is really a magic weapon for winter. It feels like as long as he covers himself with it, he can easily cope with any cold weather.
"Do you think there really is a god behind this?" Atachi asked Ogata softly.
Ating is not like Ogata, a time traveler, who was taught materialism since childhood.
A-Machi was a devout believer in Shintoism, so he always held the attitude that "maybe they really exist" towards gods, demons and monsters.
"Who knows?" Ogata answered casually, "Compared to gods and demons, I think it might be done by humans."
"But why did you kidnap so many young and strong people?" Ating asked.
"Hmm...human trafficking?" Ogata proposed a hypothesis.
"But doesn't human trafficking mostly involve young girls or children?"
"Maybe they were sold to do hard labor, or taken to a dangerous mine to dig or something."
"That's indeed a possibility... Never mind, let's not talk about this anymore." A-Ming tightened the bearskin blanket covering her and Ogata, then squeezed into Ogata's arms. "Aiyaka said that as long as nothing unexpected happens, we will set out early tomorrow morning and arrive at Qina Village in the evening."
"You must remember not to say anything that would hurt the villagers of Qina Village."
"Don't worry. I know what's going on."
…
…
The next day——
As soon as the sky brightened, Ogata, Atachi and Aiyaka were ready to set out.
The three people, ready to go, sat on the sled of Ayaka's family. After Ayaka shouted "Tohe (Ezo language: go forward)" to the four sled dogs responsible for pulling the sled, the four sled dogs pulled the sled forward at a speed so fast that a person's hair could be blown by the wind.
Among the Ezo people, only the wealthy families could afford to keep sled dogs.
The cost of feeding the sled dogs alone is an expensive expense.
And Ayaka's family happened to be a wealthy family.
I don’t know how these four sled dogs were raised, but each one is stronger than the other.
It is so strong that it can be used as a mount for petite women like Kinoshita Rin and Uekushi Hide.
It is precisely because the Ayaka family's sled dogs are strong enough that they can pull the sled very quickly.
Thanks to the Ayaka family's sleds and sled dogs, Ogata and his companions were able to travel quickly between so many villages in recent days.
Ogata quite likes this kind of dog sledding as it reminds him of the feeling of riding a motorcycle in his previous life.
Ogata really liked the feeling of the strong wind blowing on his face - even though it was a little painful.
"The weather is not very good today." Ayaka, who was driving, looked up at the sky above his head.
It's a cloudy day today.
The sky and the earth are blocked by layers of thick clouds, which emit bursts of cold air.
"I hope there won't be a snowstorm." Ogata and Ayaka looked up at the sky above their heads.
The horror of a snowstorm - Ogata and A-machi had already experienced it in the Ou region.
"It won't be a blizzard." As an experienced hunter, Ayaka has his own experience and profound knowledge of weather forecasting. "But the clouds will not disperse until tonight."
Ayaka needed to concentrate on driving the sled, so after taking a look at the current weather and chatting briefly with Ogata, he withdrew his attention and concentrated on driving.
"Mashima, A-Machi, hold on tight. We've reached a flat, level area. I'm going to have the dogs speed up a bit."
After saying that, Ayaka, holding a joystick-like device in each hand, shouted to the four sled dogs pulling the sled in front:
"Toha! Toha! Toha! Toha! (Ezo language: forward)"
After hearing Ayaka's shouts of "Toha" one after another, the four sled dogs immediately increased the speed of the sled to another level as if by conditioned reflex.
…
…
Ayaka had previously told Ogata and Atachi that if they set out at dawn and didn't encounter any accidents along the way, they would be able to reach Qina Village safely around dusk.
So far, it seems to be taking less time than Ayaka expected.
Just after 4 p.m., Ogata and his friends saw wisps of white smoke from cooking.
"Mashima! Atachi! We're here!"
After loudly reminding Ogata and Atachi behind him, Ayaka commanded the sled dogs to slow down a little.
"After entering Qina Village, you must be careful about what you say and do."
"Don't mention anything that would remind the villagers of Qina Village of the 'disappearance incident'."
"Got it!" Because of the obstruction of the wind, Ogata had to shout at the top of his lungs.
Ayaka drove the slowed sled slowly towards the place where thin white smoke was rising.
Soon, Ogata and his companions saw the shadows of Ainu village buildings appearing in front of them.
After moving forward for a distance, Ogata and others finally discovered something unusual - a lot of people gathered at the entrance of Qina Village.
In addition to people, we also saw a lot of horses.
Looking at the horses, Ogata couldn't help but frown slightly.
These horses are so recognizable.
Because they are too tall and too strong. Such horses cannot be produced in Japan.
Ogata had just seen such tall and strong horses in Vashili and his men's camp.
—It’s a Cossack horse…
Ogata muttered to himself.
Ayaka also noticed something strange at the entrance of Qina Village. After frowning, he drove the sled dogs to speed up a little bit, even though the speed had already slowed down.
After approaching the entrance of Qina Village, Ogata and his friends finally saw what was going on.
It turned out that there were two groups of people confronting each other.
A group of Cossacks with white skin and deep eyes.
And a group of Ainu people - they are probably the villagers of Qina Village.
The two gangs faced each other, seemingly arguing about something.
When Ogata and his two companions appeared not far away, they naturally attracted the attention of the two gangs.
The 2 gang members turned their heads and looked at Ogata and his companions who were slowly approaching them on a dog sled.
It was not until then that Ogata and his companions saw that standing at the front of the group of Cossacks was a young man with bright red hair.
After seeing the bright red hair and the face of the red-haired young man, Ayaka exclaimed:
"Skulucci?"
"Huh? Ayaka?" The red-haired young man's face also showed surprise, just like Ayaka.
…
…
A few days ago——
"As long as you join us, no indigenous settlement will be our opponent."
"How about it? Want to come together?"
Vladimir has a stinky mouth.
Because his lips were close to Skulucci's ear, Skulucci could smell very clearly the odor that sounded like a dead mouse that had been left for half a month.
But Sculucci still maintained a very gentlemanly smile.
Then--
"Vladimir, you are quite right. It is indeed very satisfying to rob others of their property, wives and daughters."
"It's even more satisfying to humiliate the wives and daughters of those women in front of their husbands and fathers."
Hearing this, Vladimir's face lit up with joy.
But the joy on his face only lasted for a short while.
Because of what Skulucci said next, the expression on his face froze.
"But you should find someone else. I don't really want to join in on your 'fun'."
"Why?" Vladimir frowned, "Can you tell me a reason?"
"Hmm..." Skulucci looked at the sky above his head and pondered, "Reason... Maybe it's because I want to spend Carnival quietly."
"...Skulucci, you are still so weird." Vladimir slowly put away the frozen expression on his face.
"I thought that exploring this barren Far East for so long would change your mindset a little and that you would no longer cling to those inexplicable moral principles like before."
"Well, just forget it if you don't want to participate."
After he finished speaking, Vladimir seemed too lazy to say any more words to Skuluch. He shook off the cloak on his body and turned around to leave.
Skuluch also stopped talking to Vladimir, and returned to the camp where Skuluch and his men were camped, one after the other, with Vladimir.
Without saying another word, Vladimir sat back on his horse and led his men away.
After Vladimir left, the freckled young man who had helped everyone catch six fat rabbits, Afjie, ran to Skulluch's side and asked him carefully:
"Boss Skulucci, what did you talk about with that guy just now?"
"I just chatted about some boring things with that pig-dog hybrid, an idiot in God's eyes, a fool who loved to eat shit since childhood and had such a stinky mouth."
Skulucci covered his chest and pretended to vomit.
"Oh my god, that guy who grew up fucking a goat has a really fucking stinky mouth. Why does his mouth stink so much? My ass, which hasn't been washed for a year, smells better than his stinky mouth."
"It's a pity that Vashili and the others are not here."
"If the rest of my men were here, we could try to kill that idiot and his men. We could use their supplies to have a good Carnival."
"Boss, you are kidding again." Afjie laughed, "Why would we attack those people just now if we have nothing to do?"
Sculucci did not answer Afjie's question. He just gave him a meaningful smile, then lay back in his hammock and picked up the book "Don Quixote".
"Alright! They've left! Put your guns away! Do what you need to do!"
Seeing that Skulucci had said this, his subordinates put away their weapons, returned to their positions, and did their own things.
Splitting wood for splitting wood.
Those who are making fire are making fire.
A pot stand for a pot.
Handle the rabbit's handling of the rabbit.
"Boss Skulucci." Afjie, who was sitting next to Skulucci and skinning a rabbit, said to Skulucci, "Maslenitsa is coming soon. This seems to be the fourth Maslenitsa we have spent in a foreign country. When do you think we can return home?"
"Who knows." Sculucci, who was holding the copy of Don Quixote, shrugged. "Maybe in a while, we will receive a recall order. After all, something big happened in France."
"In order to deal with various possible changes, the Tsar may recall us from our expedition in the Far East to strengthen the country's military strength."
"France?" Afjie raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you mean the revolution that's breaking out in France?"
In the middle of last year, 1790, they who were far away in the Far East received important news from faraway Europe - in the summer of 1789, the people of France captured the Bastille, and a vigorous revolution broke out in France.
"It's already 1791," Afjie continued. "Perhaps the revolution in France has been put down?"
"It's hard to say." Skulucci smiled, "It's possible that the revolution is still going on, and the scale of the revolution is even larger."
"On the contrary, I hope that the revolution in France will be as big as possible." Lying in the hammock, Sculucci covered his face with Don Quixote and then crossed his hands behind his head. "It would be best if the revolution succeeded and a powerful new French government was born."
"Strong enough to make the Tsar feel threatened, and then call us Cossacks from the Far East back to Europe."
"Compared to this barren Far East, it is indeed more comfortable to stay in Europe."
"The King of France is also a fool." Afjie sneered, "His own country's financial situation is not very good, but he still spent so much money to support the American War of Independence."
"If the King of France had not supported the independence of the Americans, the revolution might have been delayed by a few years."
"Americans should really honor the French emperor as the father of their nation."
In response to Afje's remarks, Sculucci just smiled and then said:
"Okay, let's stop talking about Europe."
"Europe is too far away from us, so let's pay more attention to what's in front of us."
"Afjie, pass on my message now - the map of this area will be completed in two days."
"After we finish mapping this area, we will go back and meet up with Vashili and the others, and then have a great Maslenitsa celebration together."
"Huh, but I guess that guy Vasili must have started celebrating the festival in advance."
"Okay!" Afjie nodded vigorously with a look of joy on his face.
…
…
Time goes back to the present——
After hearing the name "Skulucci" from Ayaka, Ogata's pupils shrank slightly, and then he quickly cast a scrutinizing look at the red-haired young man.
——Is he the leader of Vasili and his gang?
During this period, in order to buy guns from Vashili and his men, Ogata has been waiting anxiously for their boss to return.
Ogata never expected that he would meet Vashili and his group's leader in this China Village.
Ogata remembered that Vasily had told him more than once that their boss was both a Scottish and a Cossack.
After taking a closer look at Skulucci's facial features, Ogata discovered that Skulucci's facial features were indeed deeper than those of Vashili and the others, and his skin was also fairer. In short, he looked more European.
While Ogata and Atachi were looking at Skulucci, Skulucci was also looking at Ogata and Atachi.
Looking at the two people sitting behind Ayaka, Skulucci raised his eyebrows, his eyes full of curiosity and confusion.
However, he did not immediately ask Ayaka who the two people sitting behind him were. Instead, he said to Ayaka:
"Aiyaka, why are you here?"
"These two new friends behind me are looking for two missing people, so I brought them to Qina Village to look for clues. What about you? Why are you here?"
"We were planning to go back and meet up with Vashili and the others." Skulucci shrugged, "We happened to pass by this village."
"Since I have such a connection with this village, I plan to talk to the people of this village about things that are quite important to them."
"It's something important?" Ayaka raised his eyebrows. "What is it?"
"It's a long story. I'll tell you slowly later."
"Aiyaka, do you know anyone in this village? If so, please tell me about them."
"The people of this village have agreed to listen to what we want to tell them."
“But they didn’t allow all of us to go in. They only allowed a maximum of three people to enter the village.”
"I don't want my men to wait for me outside the village in this damn cold. Ayaka, help me talk to them."
As soon as Skulucci finished speaking, an old woman with wrinkles on her face standing right in front of Skulucci asked Ayaka:
"Aiyaka, do you know this red-haired stranger? (Ezo language)"
"Yes, I know him. What happened? (Ezo language)" Ayaka asked back.
"These strangers just suddenly visited our village and said they had something very important to discuss with us."
"We're interested though to hear what the interesting things they have to say are."
"But we can't just let a bunch of strangers into the village, so we're blocking them here. (Ezo language)"
After hearing this, Ayaka finally understood what the disagreement was between Skulucci and the villagers of Qina Village.
Although the villagers of Qina Village agreed to listen to what Ayaka said about the "important matter", they did not want to let all of Skulucci and his friends enter the village, and only allowed a maximum of three people to enter.
But Skulucci wanted him and all his men to enter the village. He didn't want his men to stay outside the village in the freezing weather, waiting for him to come back.
"Skuluchi." Ayaka turned his head and looked at Skuluchi. "The villagers don't want all of your men to enter, which is reasonable. After all, anyone would be scared if so many outsiders entered the village at once."
"Can you step back for a moment?"
After listening to Ayaka's advice, Skulucci scratched his red hair.
"...Well, let's take a step back."
After shrugging his shoulders, Skulucci turned around and shouted to his subordinates behind him:
"Afjie! Lev! You two follow me! The rest of you stay here and wait for us! (Lucia)"
After giving instructions to his subordinates behind him, Skulucci turned his attention back to Ayaka.
“Aiyaka, you guys won’t leave right away, right?”
“Probably not.” Ayaka said, “My two friends and I behind me might have to spend the night here.”
"That's good." Sculucci smiled. "See you later. I'm quite interested in the two friends behind you."
"I happen to have someone I'm looking for."
…
…
Ayaka is familiar with many people in Qina Village.
After saying something briefly to the people of China Village, they let Ogata and his companions pass.
Ayaka directed the sled dogs to pull the sled slowly into the village.
As for Skulucci, he had just led two of his subordinates, led by some villagers from Qina Village, to the home of the village chief of Qina Village.
Go and tell the village chief about the "important thing" he just mentioned.
Aiyaka from Kuma village came to the village with two people, a boy and a girl - this news quickly spread throughout China village.
Ayaka is one of the top hunters in Kuma Village. In China Village, which is on good terms with Kuma Village, Ayaka's name is naturally known to everyone.
The love of joining in the fun knows no boundaries of country or nationality.
The villagers of Qina Village gathered around to see what the two Japanese people brought by the famous Ayaka looked like.
Soon, a lot of people gathered around Ogata and his friends.
Ogata simply looked at the crowd of onlookers around him - there were really very few men.
There are very few young men.
"There are really many female warriors in this village..."
A-machi, who was sitting behind Ogata, said this to Ogata in front of her in a low voice that only she and Ogata could hear.
"Yeah." Ogata nodded slightly in response.
The ratio of young men and women who gathered around was about 3 to 7.
Ogata noticed that many women carried bows on their backs. Even though they were wearing heavy clothes, he could feel that these women carrying bows had strong bodies and were not weak.
When Ogata and Atachi were looking at the villagers who were gathering around them, the villagers were also looking at Ogata and Atachi.
The men looked at Atachi.
The women, on the other hand, looked at Ogata.
Although people are from different nationalities, their eyes for appreciating beauty are basically the same.
The men surrounding Ogata and the others all thought that Atachi was very beautiful and swallowed their saliva involuntarily.
Compared to these men, the reactions of the women who focused their attention on Ogata were relatively indifferent...
…
…
Four little girls from Qina Village stood at the outermost edge of the crowd, standing on tiptoe and looking at Ogata and Atachi not far away - mainly looking at Ogata.
After looking enough at Ogata's face and figure, the four girls quickly left the crowd and ran to a place where Ogata and the others could no longer be seen.
These four girls are all underage, so they don't have any facial tattoos yet. Their fair and clean faces are full of youthful aura.
Although they were young, all four of them carried bows and arrows on their backs.
These four people are wearing headbands of different colors. The colors of the headbands worn by the four people are red, blue, purple and orange.
After the four of them ran to a place where they could no longer see Ogata and the others, the girl with the red headband couldn't wait to ask the other three:
"Have you all seen that Japanese male?"
The other three nodded to indicate that they had seen it.
"It's quite tall." said the man with the blue headband.
"It doesn't look very strong." The orange headband responded.
"By the way, did you see the expressions of those men just now?" The purple headband pursed his lips, "Really? They stared at that Japanese woman with their eyes almost popping out. Are Japanese women that pretty?"
"I think it's pretty..." Orange Headband whispered, "It's the first time I've seen someone so beautiful."
"What's the use of being pretty?" The purple-headbanded girl's eyes wandered, "Did you see that woman's here?"
Purple Headband patted his chest.
"Even with such thick clothes, it's still so bulging. People with this body type are the most useless."
The man with purple headscarf looked very disappointed.
"It's so swollen here that I can't even draw an arrow. Once I let go of the bowstring, it will bounce right there. It will hurt so much that it will kill you."
"That's right." The red-headband responded, "Luckily she is a Japanese. If she were one of us Ainu, she wouldn't even be able to pull a bow."
…
…
"Huff..."
A-Ming sneezed cutely.
"What's wrong?" Ogata turned his head and asked, "Are you catching a cold?"
"It shouldn't be... maybe it's just because of the cold wind that blew over just now."
After saying that, Ating pulled her upper body clothes tighter, making the clothes on her chest a little more bulging.