“Ahem.”
Chepke coughed softly a few times.
After hearing Chepke's coughs, everyone present stopped talking and turned to look at Chepke.
"Many of you must be wondering: Why do I propose to join He Yezhe?"
After everyone present quieted down, Chepke said slowly.
"I will now tell you the reasons one by one."
"First of all - I just said that those white people who escaped might bring people back to take revenge in the future."
"With our current situation, we have no way to fight against those white people."
After hearing what Chepke said, some people showed quite unhappy expressions.
But they just looked displeased and did not refute Chepke out loud.
Everything they experienced last night has made them fully realize how powerful these white people are.
"If we want to avoid another attack from the white people, our best option is to join a powerful settlement."
“Although villages like Kuma Village are not weak villages, Heyezhe is stronger in comparison.”
"Heyezhe owns the camp left by the white people." Chepke continued, "and they have a large number of people and are very powerful. If you choose to join them, it will undoubtedly be the safest."
"Secondly - I have some personal connections with Chanup of Heyezhe, and Heyezhe has been taking in those impoverished settlements since its establishment."
"More than a year ago, we took in a group of people who were defeated in the war with the Kazuto."
"If I go to Heyezhe in person to discuss surrender with Chanupu, there is a high chance of success."
"I believe that Chanup, who is in charge of the entire Heyezhe, will definitely agree to let our Qina Village move into Heyezhe."
Chepke briefly explained the reasons why he proposed to "return to Heyezhe".
The atmosphere at the scene fell into silence.
Everyone, look at me and I look at you.
Finally - an old man sitting next to Chepke said softly.
"After surrendering to He Yezhe... our village will definitely be subject to many restrictions, and we won't be as free as we are now..."
The old man's words made the atmosphere a little more "heavy" besides being "silent".
"...There's nothing we can do about it." Chepke crossed his arms, lowered his head and said softly, "It's better to lose my freedom than to be attacked by the white people again..."
"...The white man may not come again." Someone laughed awkwardly.
"It's true that the white man may not come back," Chepke said, "but I don't want to bet on the possibility."
After saying this, Chepke glanced at the faces of everyone in front of him.
"How is it? Is there anyone who agrees with my plan to join 'He Ye Zhe'?"
"...I agree." Manakel, who was basically in the same boat with Chepke, spoke first, "Just as Chepke said, joining Heyezhe now is the best and safest choice for us."
After Manakel spoke, voices of agreement came in twos and threes.
Suddenly, someone shouted as if he suddenly thought of something.
"That's right!" the man said excitedly, "Why don't we try to get that Majima Goro to stay in our village?"
"Let him marry a girl from our village, or use some other method."
"That Majima Goro is so skilled, if he could stay in our village..."
Before the man had finished speaking, Chepke smiled bitterly and said:
“I’ve had this thought before.”
"I looked for Majima Goro this morning and asked him if he was willing to stay in our village."
"It's a pity - he has absolutely no intention of staying in our village."
As soon as Chepke finished speaking, the head of the man who had just suggested that Ogata stay in the village immediately drooped like a dry flower.
"Is there anyone who agrees to 'submit to Heyezhe'?" Chepke glanced at the faces of everyone present again.
In the end, most people nodded.
"Well then." Chepke said softly, "This kind of thing can't be delayed."
"If those white people who escaped really intend to bring people back for revenge, God knows when they will come again."
"I will leave for Heyezhena today to discuss with Chanup."
…
…
[Ding! Use the Wuwo Two Swords Style · Flow to defeat the enemy]
[Gain 90 personal experience points, and 90 swordsmanship "Two Swords of Mutual Self" experience points]
[Current personal level: Lv38 (0/6000)]
[My Two-Sword Style Level: 11th Stage (11180/12000)]
[Ding! Experience value is full, personal level is upgraded by 1, and 1 skill point is obtained]
[Currently remaining skill points: 3 points]
After Daishiten's scabbard touched Skulucci's belly, the system's prompt sounded in Ogata's mind.
——Oh, I just upgraded.
After defeating Skulucci, Ogata's personal level gained 90 experience points. He just went from level 37 to level 38 and gained 1 experience point.
Including the 2 points saved before, Ogata currently has 3 skill points.
——Skill points are really becoming increasingly difficult to obtain...
After complaining in a helpless tone in his heart, Ogata put his scabbard back.
"That's amazing." Skulucci held his rapier upside down and clapped his hands. "I admit defeat with all my heart. I didn't hold back at all just now, but you seemed to be able to handle it with ease."
While Ogata and Sculucci were greeting each other, Atachi was happily dividing up the property.
Because fewer people bet on Ogata to win and more people bet on Skulucci to win, everyone who bet on Ogata to win got a lot of money.
A-Cheng had no interest in the coins of Lucia. She was only interested in two things - an exotic knife and a strange toy only the size of a palm.
That toy is a wooden doll.
After A-Ting picked up the wooden doll out of curiosity, a kind-hearted guy demonstrated to A-Ting how to play with the toy.
It turns out that this wooden doll is hollow.
After opening the head of this wooden doll, there is a doll of the same style but one inch smaller.
Then the head of the one-inch smaller doll was enlarged, and inside it was another one-inch smaller doll.
This wooden doll, which is only the size of a palm, actually contains 7 dolls of the same style, which are getting smaller and smaller.
After watching this kind-hearted guy demonstrate how to play with the toy, A-Ming became even more interested in it.
So - Atachi only took the knife and the strange toy, then ran excitedly to Ogata and showed him the two things she had just won.
"Look!" said Ating, "I just won it."
"When it comes to gambling, it's okay to just play with it occasionally, but don't get too addicted, and don't gamble too much money." Ogata said to Atachi in a tone that contained some reproach.
Ogata doesn't like gambling and has always had some resistance to it.
Something like this, where the outcome is predetermined, can’t be called a gamble—A-Ming whispered in his heart.
Considering that if he said this aloud, it might make Skulucci unhappy, A-Ming chose to keep it to himself.
"Huh? What is this?" Ogata noticed the strange toy in Atachi's hand.
"This is how you play with this toy." After saying that, A-machi demonstrated to Ogata how to play with this toy.
After seeing that this wooden doll contained a smaller wooden doll, Ogata thought to himself:
——Isn’t this just a Russian nesting doll?
In Ogata's previous life, even those who knew nothing about Russia knew about this famous toy.
Skullucci, who was still standing in front of Ogata, spoke up to introduce Ating:
"This is a very famous toy in Russia, called 'Matryoshka'. It is a very famous toy in our country. It is so famous that it is even exported to other countries in large quantities."
Skulucci picked up the scabbard that had just been thrown aside, and then said to Ogata:
"Mashima-san, thank you for your teachings just now. It's been a long time since I've met someone with such great swordsmanship as you."
"With your skills, you will definitely be a hot commodity in every country when you arrive in Europe!"
"The more I think about it, the more unimaginable it is that I could encounter a master like you in this desolate area with nothing but snow."
"It's like finding an egg in a pile of chicken shit - an egg with two yolks at that."
Ogata couldn't help laughing when he heard Skulucci's somewhat weird analogy.
"If I wasn't looking for someone, I wouldn't want to come to this remote place."
What Ogata said was true.
It is not as comfortable to live in such a remote and underdeveloped area as in big cities like Edo and Kyoto.
If it weren't for the search for Gensho and Genshin, Ogata felt that he would never set foot in Ezo in his entire life.
"Speaking of looking for people..." A smile appeared on Skulucci's face, "I am also looking for people like you..."
"I was about to tell you the name of the man I'm looking for last night, but I was forced to interrupt because the nearby village was raided."
"I haven't told you the name of the person I'm looking for yet."
"Mashima-san, are you guys free next time?"
"I want to ask you if you have heard of the name of the man I'm looking for."
"We don't have anything urgent to do next," Ogata said, "but I think you shouldn't pin too much hope on us. My wife and I are not well-informed. Even if the person you are looking for is a celebrity, my wife and I may not have heard of his name."
"It doesn't matter." Sculucci waved his hand. "Clues are magical. They often appear in some strange places and among some unexpected people."
…
…
After Skulucci led Ogata and Atachi back to his tent, he quickly walked to the large sack placed in a corner of the tent and opened it.
"Ahh, I'm so thirsty. Damn it, where is my wine? Oops! Found it."
After yelling, Sculucci took out a large black bottle and a cup from the sack.
Sculucci poured the black and red liquid in the big black bottle into the cup and drank it happily.
"What is this?" Ating cast a puzzled look at the big black bottle in Skulucci's hand.
"This is wine." Sculucci put down the glass in his hand and wiped his mouth. "It's wine made from grapes. This bottle of wine is good stuff, produced in Burgundy, France."
A Ting didn't know where France was, nor did she know what the wine produced in Burgundy, France represented, but she was very interested in "wine".
"Wine made from grapes?" Ating's eyes lit up.
In the Edo period, when materials were scarce and commodity circulation was inconvenient, grapes were a veritable luxury item. Only the rich and powerful had the financial resources and channels to purchase grapes for consumption.
In his entire life, Ating had only eaten grapes once, on a very accidental occasion.
The sour and sweet taste immediately conquered Ating's taste buds.
It’s a pity that since then, Ating never had the chance to eat grapes again.
The wine made from sweet and sour grapes must be delicious - this is what Ating fantasized about.
"Would you like to have a taste?" Sculucci shook the bottle in his hand again. "If you want to have a taste, you have to get a glass yourself. I don't have any extra glasses here."
"Yes! I have a cup!"
Ating took off a bamboo tube hanging around his waist.
This bamboo tube is the water bottle that Ating carries with him, and there are still two or three mouthfuls of water left in it.
After drinking all the water in the bamboo tube in one breath, Ating handed the bamboo tube to Skulucci.
Skulucci filled Atachi's bamboo tube in one breath, then cast a questioning look at Ogata.
"Mashima-san, would you like a drink?"
"No." Ogata shook his head, "I won't drink it."
After saying that, Ogata turned his head slightly and secretly observed Atachi's reaction with a little anticipation.
Ogata is no stranger to wine.
In a previous life, Ogata had tasted wine.
He has a profound impression of wine.
When he was young, he thought that wine made from grapes must taste sour and sweet like grapes and be very delicious.
It was not until he drank the wine that Ogata realized he had been deceived by this extremely deceptive name.
At that time, Ogata even went online and searched for "Why doesn't wine taste like grapes?"
Ogata just noticed the shining look in Atachi's eyes.
So he was certain that Ating, who had never seen or drunk wine, was definitely deceived by the name of wine just like he was before.
But Ogata did not remind Atachi out loud.
Instead, with the intention of watching a good show and teasing Ating, he quietly watched Ating take the bamboo tube filled with wine with an expectant look on his face.
As soon as Ating put the bamboo tube to his mouth, his brows slightly frowned.
Because she found that the smell of this wine did not smell like the sweetness of grapes.
Her movements became hesitant.
But in the end, she still brought the bamboo tube to her mouth and poured the wine in the tube into her mouth.
The moment the wine entered his throat, Ating's eyes widened instantly, then he raised his hand and covered his mouth tightly, as if he was blocking his mouth to prevent the wine from spraying out.
Looking at this scene, Ogata almost laughed out loud, but fortunately he pinched his thighs with his hands and bit his lips inside his mouth in time, successfully blocking the laughter in his throat.
After forcing the wine in his mouth down his throat, Ating looked at the bamboo tube in his hand with an expression of disbelief.
"Why doesn't this wine taste like grapes?"
Ogata really wanted to praise Atachi: You are worthy of being my wife.
My first reaction after drinking the wine for the first time was exactly the same as his.
"I don't know why." Sculucci shrugged. "Although I love drinking, I have never understood what wine is made of."
"If you don't like it, just pour it out. I have plenty of wine anyway."
"That won't do..." Ating muttered, "That would be too rude."
After saying that, Ating suppressed the bitter taste of the wine and poured the wine in the bamboo tube into his mouth again.
While Atachi and Wine were fighting hard, Ogata finally calmed down his smile and turned his attention to Sculucci.
"Skuluchi, tell us, what is the name of the person you are looking for."
"I'll try to help you imagine whether you've heard this name before in my life."
"Who is the person you are looking for?" Ating, who now had a bitter face, put down the bamboo tube with half of the wine left in his hand and asked Skulucci, "From what Ayaka said before, it seems that you have been looking for that person."
"That person is the one who influenced my life." A look of reminiscence slowly emerged on Sculucci's face. "If it weren't for him, maybe I wouldn't be where I am today."
"I was born in a place called 'Scotland'."
Sculucci casually placed the wine glass in his hand aside and sat down on the hammock next to him.
“My hometown is a very poor place.”
"My father died early, and my mother raised me alone."
"My mother believed the lies of others and mistakenly believed that Russia in Eastern Europe was a peaceful land where everyone could live and work in peace."
"So my mother tried every possible way and finally raised enough money to successfully take me out of Scotland and come to Russia in Eastern Europe."
"Ah, the so-called Eastern Europe, you can understand it as the eastern part of the European continent. You should all know where the European continent is, right?"
Ogata and Omachi nodded.
Although Ah Ting couldn't tell the difference between countries and regions such as England, Scotland, and France, she still knew what the European continent was and where it was roughly.
“I only realized after I came to Russia that it is not as good as Scotland.”
Skulucci shrugged.
“In terms of law and order and peace, it is far inferior to Scotland.”
"Not long after arriving in Eastern Europe, my mother and I encountered a group of horse thieves."
"In order to save me, my mother hid me and went alone to lure away the bandits."
"I have been living alone since then."
"There is a peculiar class in Russia called 'serfs'."
"Serfs are just what the word means - slaves."
"Serfs received a share of land from their serf owners, in exchange for which they had to cultivate the lord's land for free, perform various labor services, and hand over most of their labor products."
“They were tied to the land and lived a life similar to that of slaves, so everyone called them serfs.”
"The serfs revolted every other day."
"The place where I was at the time was the hardest hit by the uprising. Every other day there were serfs rising up to cause trouble, and there was fighting every day."
"The situation of constant war is really a good thing for me."
"My only way to make money at that time was to steal weapons from battlefields that had not yet been cleaned up, and then resell them."
"Not long after I started doing this kind of petty theft, I met that person..."
The reminiscence on Skulucci's face became more and more intense.
"He adopted me for a period of time, but it was only for three months."
"Three months later, I wanted to go my own way, so I broke away from him and joined the Cossacks and became one of them."
"By the way... I am 32 years old this year. I was 12 when I met that person and left him."
“That was 20 years ago.”
"Twenty years have passed. Even if that person is not dead, he would probably be gray-haired now."
"You've only been with him for three months, but you can't forget him anymore." A-Ming said, "It seems like you have really deep feelings for that person..."
"After all, he is the one who influenced my life." Skulucci said with a smile, "He is a swordsman from the Far East Japan."
"He told me that he would definitely return to China in the future."
"The reason why I came to the Far East this time was actually because I volunteered."
"Just to come here to find him. To see if he is alive or... dead."
"In order to find him more conveniently, I studied Japanese very hard."
"Twenty years ago, when he was leaving, he gave me a small gift. I have kept this small gift carefully. It can be regarded as a token of our relationship."
After saying that, Skulucci reached into his arms and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper.
Sculucci unfolded the paper and handed it to Ogata.
"That person likes painting. So before leaving, he gave me this painting."
Ogata took the painting handed to him by Sculucci, looked at it carefully—and then his expression froze.
At this time, Atachi, who was standing by , also leaned over to look at the painting, and then showed an extremely shocked expression like Ogata.
The reason why they both had such expressions was not because the painting was so beautiful.
But this painting is extremely ugly.
The paper was severely yellowed, perhaps because it had been folded countless times, and small holes had appeared on the edges of the paper.
In the center of the picture are two "aliens".
These two "aliens" that barely had human form stood side by side.
"That guy likes to draw, but his drawing skills are really poor." Sculucci said with a wry smile, "The two 'things' in the painting are actually him and me."
"This is the picture he painted of 'I stand side by side with him.'
“It’s very meaningful that he gave this painting as a parting gift.”
"It's a pity that both me and him in the painting are so ugly that it's hard to recognize that they are two different people."
The reason why Ating looked shocked was simply because he was shocked by the ugliness of the painting.
The reason why Osamu was shocked was more complicated.
In addition to being struck by the ugliness of the painting, he also found it very familiar.
He had seen such ugly brushstrokes before.
And I've seen it many times.
A name unconsciously emerged in Ogata's mind.
Ogata subconsciously turned the painting in his hand over to see if there was any other painting on the back of the paper.
There is no picture on the back of the paper.
But there is one sentence.
A sentence written in Japanese that Ogata was very familiar with.
The moment this sentence came into his eyes, Ogata's pupils suddenly shrank.
Ating was also stunned.
Skulucci's voice sounded faintly:
"Mashima-san, I think that person must have some connection with you."
"Because he uses the same swordsmanship as you do."
Skulucci stared at Ogata with a fiery gaze.
"The name of this very important person to me is... Genichi Kinoshita."
The words written on the back of the painting are: From Genichi Kinoshita to Skulucci Dövnar.
He hadn't seen or heard this name for a long time since he left Edo and went to Ezo.
"Last night, I recognized the swordsmanship you used. It was Kinoshita Genichi's swordsmanship - Muga Nito-ryu."
Skulucci said slowly.
"Besides wanting to compete with you, a swordsman who could kill more than 30 Cossacks , I also wanted to confirm whether the swordsmanship you used was really the Muga Two-Sword Style."
"The techniques you used, such as the halberd, flow, and stepping, are exactly the same as those used by Mr. Kinoshita before."
Skulucci's gaze towards Ogata became increasingly fiery.
Although he tried hard to conceal it, there was still a hint of urgency in Skulucci's tone.
"Can you tell me what your relationship is with Mr. Kinoshita? How is Mr. Kinoshita now? Is he still alive?"
Skulucci fired a lot of questions at Ogata in one breath like a string of cannonballs.
Ogata did not answer immediately the series of questions raised by Skulucci.
Because he was still in shock.
In this remote wilderness, a Cossack was met by chance and he actually had a deep connection with Genichi Kinoshita.
Ogata never thought that he would actually encounter such a thing with a terrifyingly low probability.
Genichirō had traveled to Europe for quite some time and did not return to his country until he was 54 years old - Ogata knew about this.
According to Sculucci, he met Genichi Kinoshita 20 years ago and was adopted by him for three months.
20 years ago, Genichi was only 44 years old - the timing just fits, and it is very likely that Genichi was still wandering somewhere in Europe during this period.
He had encountered many enemies of Genichi.
Ogata had experienced Genichi's trouble-making nature deeply in Edo before.
Ogata was deeply impressed by the "grand occasion" of a bunch of people who had grudges against Kinoshita Genichi gathering in Edo just because they heard that "Kinoshita Genichi might be in Edo".
In Ogata's impression, the only people he met who were related to Kinoshita Genichi but had no grudge against him seemed to be Fuma in Kyoto and the people from Hyakuya.
Seeing that Ogata was hesitant to speak, Skulucci had to hesitate and say:
"Mr. Kinoshita... is he no longer alive?"
"You misunderstood." Ogata finally spoke up, "The reason I was silent was just because I was surprised to meet someone who had no grudge against Kinoshita Genichi and was actually indebted to him."
Hearing Ogata's words, Skulucci was stunned.
Then he showed a wry smile:
"That's true... It's normal for you to be surprised... After all, Mr. Kinoshita is a person who likes to make trouble and create enemies for himself."
"I only lived and ate with him for three months, and three enemies came to me."
"I suffered a lot during those three months of living and eating with him."
"But even though I suffered a lot, those three months were also the time when I transformed myself."
"I originally thought about traveling to Japan and going directly to the Japanese mainland to look for him."
"But Japan implemented a national isolation order, and with my appearance, I couldn't even go to Japanese soil."
Skulucci poked his own tall nose.
"If a foreigner like me were to set foot on Japanese soil, I would be immediately arrested by the Japanese government and chopped off."
"So I can only ask around for Mr. Kinoshita's whereabouts like I am doing now."
"I have no other wish but to know whether Mr. Kinoshita is still alive..."
Ogata looked deeply at Skulucci, who was looking at him with an almost pleading look.
After a moment's silence, he let out a long sigh.
While returning the painting in his hand to Sculucci, he slowly said:
"...I am a friend of Genichi, and at the same time...I am also half his apprentice."
"Let's just say we are both a teacher and a friend."
"Genichi is still alive and well. He doesn't look like a 60-year-old man at all."
"Still able to swing a knife hard and drink heavily."
"I've been separated from him for a while, so I don't know where he is or what he's doing now."
"but……"
A faint smile appeared on Ogata's face.
"I believe that he must be holding a bottle of wine, curled up in a corner, drinking his 'oolong tea' as usual, and painting a few pictures when he is in a good mood."
"'Oolong tea'?" Sculucci raised his eyebrows, then showed a nostalgic expression, "What a familiar term... It seems that you really have a deep connection with Mr. Kinoshita. People who are not familiar with Mr. Kinoshita must not know what 'Oolong tea' is."
"Mr. Kinoshita is so old, but he still drinks alcohol that can burn you instantly... It seems that he is in good health."
After saying that, Skulucci let out a long sigh.
"Since Mr. Kinoshita is still alive, I feel relieved..."
"Mr. Majima. If you run into Mr. Kinoshita in the future, could you please tell him a message for me?"
"Of course I can." Ogata said, "But I don't know when I can meet him again."
"It may be a long time before we meet him again."
"It doesn't matter." Skulucci shook his head. "As long as you can help me pass the message to him, it doesn't matter when you pass the message to him."
"Please tell him for me: 'Skulucci is alive and well and moving straight on his path.'"
Ogata nodded: "I'll remember that. I'll pass on his message to him when I meet him again in the future."
"Then I'll trouble you."
After he finished speaking, Skulucci let out a long sigh.
"Mashima-san, I owe you a big favor." Sculucci smiled faintly, "I have been looking for news about Kinoshita-san for so long, and finally got some results."
Skulucci bowed solemnly to Ogata.
"Knowing that Mr. Kinoshita is still healthy, the heavy weight that has been hanging in my heart for 20 years has finally fallen to the ground."
"Thank you."
…
…
Ogata and Atachi walked out of Skulucci's camp side by side.
"I never thought that the Skuluch I met by chance was actually adopted by Master Genichi..." Just after walking out of Skuluch's camp, Obe said to Atachi, "What a wonderful fate..."
"I'm a little envious of Skulucci." At this time, Ating smiled bitterly, "He has found the whereabouts of the person he was looking for."
"And the two of us have basically gained nothing now..."
After saying that, Ating sighed deeply and then put on a serious expression.
"Where should we go next to look for clues about Hyun Jung and Hyun Jin?"
"Qina Village is the last village that Ayaka can take us to."
"If we can't find any clues in Qina Village, Ayaka can't help us. We have to go to the new village to look for clues ourselves."
"There's no rush for this kind of thing." Ogata smiled carefreely, "If we can't find any clues here in Qina Village, we can continue to go north and look for clues in new villages."
"Aren't you too optimistic?" Ating said unhappily.
"There's no point in being anxious about this kind of thing," Ogata said. "Yesterday we only had time to ask a small number of people in Qina Village. There are still many people who have not been asked."
"Given the current situation in Qina Village, it is not appropriate for us to ask the villagers any questions now."
"Let's stay in Qina Village for a while."
"After the villagers of Qina Village calm down, we will continue to ask the villagers who we didn't have time to ask yesterday if they have any information about Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen."
"I'll also take this opportunity to teach you how to ride a horse."
"With horses, our future actions will be much more convenient."
"At the same time, you and I should learn from Skuluch how to load the Kentucky long rifle and the short guns used by the Cossacks."
Before heading to Skuluch's camp, while Ating was washing Ogata's hair, Ogata and Ating had already planned how to divide the weapons confiscated from Vladimir's men.
Two war horses, five Kentucky long rifles, and all the short guns - this is what Ogata and his men planned to take.
Although the short guns used by the Cossacks are unlikely to be able to fire continuously like Suying and Kasumigaki.
When Alexei was about to use a pistol to kill Ogata, Ogata saw with his own eyes the appearance of the pistol they were using - this style of pistol did not look like it could fire continuously.
But even if it is a single-shot pistol, it is still a good thing that cannot be ignored.
Ogata would never think that the number of pistols he has is too few.
He was eager to quickly transform from a "two-sword swordsman" to a "multi-gun swordsman" and carry a lot of pistols on his body.
From now on, when facing an enemy that you don't need to respect, just pull out your pistol and shoot.
Previously, I only had one pistol, Kasumi, and there weren't enough bullets, so I only used it in critical moments.
If they could seize a sufficient number of pistols and bullets from Vladimir's men, Ogata and Atachi's strength would undoubtedly increase dramatically.
Just now when leaving Skulucci's camp, Skulucci excitedly told Ogata and his friends that in order to repay this great favor, if Ogata and his friends encountered any troubles in the future and needed help, they could just come to him. He would do his best to help with anything he could.
If Skulucci were asked to teach Ogata and his men how to use the Kentucky long rifle and the short guns used by the Cossacks, Skulucci would surely not refuse.
"If we can't find any information here in Qina Village, we will leave and look for clues somewhere else." Ogata continued.
"A-Ming, don't worry, we will always find clues."
Ogata briefly and concisely explained his plans for the coming period.
The arrangement made by Ogata was reasonable and well-organized, and there was nothing wrong with it. After thinking about it, Atachi nodded slightly.
But after nodding, Ating still pursed his lips and reminded Ogata:
"I know this kind of thing can't be rushed."
"But I think it would be better if you had a stronger sense of urgency."
"I always feel like you have too little sense of urgency right now. You're not in a hurry or slow."
"If time is delayed too long, the 'immortal poison' in your body might spread again..."
The camp of Skulucci is not too far from the village of Qina. It only takes 10 minutes to walk there and back.
The two talked as they walked, and soon returned to Qina Village.
After returning to China Village, Ogata found that the village seemed a little noisy.
With a puzzled mood, I walked towards the source of the noise and saw many villagers surrounding the village chief Chepke, chattering about something.
With Ogata's poor Ainu language, he couldn't understand what they were saying at all.
Ogata looked around, looking for someone who could speak Japanese and explain to him what the Chepke village chief was doing.
As luck would have it, Ogata found it immediately.
Not far from Ogata, there was a middle-aged man standing.
Ogata recognized the middle-aged man.
This middle-aged man had just accompanied Chepke to visit Ogata and others this morning, acting as Chepke's interpreter.
Ogata walked over quickly and asked the middle-aged man what had happened.
The middle-aged man first greeted Ogata respectfully, who had done a great favor to their village, and then explained briefly why so many villagers gathered around Chepke.
…
…
"He Yezhe?" Ogata cast a puzzled look at the middle-aged man.
After listening to the middle-aged man's explanation, Ogata finally understood what was going on.
It turned out that Chepke planned to lead the entire village to join Heyezhe for the safety and future of the village.
Chepke just informed the whole village of the news.
Now the villagers surrounding Chepke are all those who are against joining Heyezhe. They are shouting to Chepke their demands of "opposing joining".
"Where is Heyezhe?" Ogata asked the middle-aged man, "Is it the name of a village?"
"Heyezhe... If you say it's a village, it's actually correct." The middle-aged man said in somewhat unstandard Japanese, "A long time ago, the climate in the north suddenly became bad."
"The climate is too bad to be inhabited."
"So a group of Ainu people living in the north moved south to find a new place to live."
"After moving south, they found a large wall made of wood left behind by the white people."
"This wall built of wood just forms a circle."
"So they moved into the circle formed by the wooden wall and settled there."
"After moving into the wooden enclosure, they named their new home 'Heyezhe'."
"I remember that 'He Ye Zhe' is also very famous among you Japanese. Those Japanese merchants who usually come to our village to trade with us always talk about 'He Ye Zhe'."
"But you and others do not call that place 'Heyezhe', but 'Red Moon Fortress'."
When the middle-aged man finished speaking, Ogata's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"...Excuse me, can you tell me more about Red Moon Fortress...ah, no, about He Yezhe?" Ogata said.