"Is there something wrong?" Ogata asked back.
"Well, seeing that Chief Chepke was looking for you in a hurry, it seemed like it was no small matter. So I came to find you specially and asked you to return to the village immediately."
Knowing that Chepke was still looking for them in a hurry, Ogata's doubts and interest were aroused at once.
"I see." Ogata nodded. "We'll go back right away. Ayaka, come over and give us a hand. We just hunted a deer. You're the best at bleeding it."
…
…
As an "old hunter", Ayaka is already familiar with how to bleed animals such as deer and bears.
After quickly draining the blood of the fawn that Ogata had just hunted and tying it to Luobo's horse, Ogata and his two companions hurried back to China Village.
Because they didn't want to encounter troublesome animals like bears and wolves, Ogata and his companions only practiced horse riding and shooting in the area around China Village.
So in just a short while, they returned to Qina Village.
After so many days, the remnants of the war caused by the Cossack invasion have finally been cleared up.
The damaged houses and roads have been cleaned up.
The treatment of the injured has been successfully completed with the help of doctors under Sculucci.
It is now the end of the 18th century. The steam engine and the first industrial revolution have already begun, and medical technology in Europe has also made great progress.
Medical science in Europe and America has moved beyond the ignorant era when patients were bled out or beaten with sticks in an effort to scare the disease away.
The reason why Europeans in the past loved to let blood from people was all because of a famous doctor named Hippocrates in ancient Greece.
This doctor named Hippocrates proposed the famous "theory of humors", which holds that the human body contains four kinds of humors: blood, mucus, black bile, and yellow bile.
The reason why people get sick is because of these four body fluids.
Too much or too little of any of these four body fluids can cause the human body to contract different types of diseases.
For example: too much black bile can easily lead to cancer.
According to the "humor theory", many diseases occur because there is too much blood in the human body.
That is why European doctors in the past loved to bleed people. Bleeding people would reduce the amount of blood in the body and thus cure the disease.
It is now the end of the 18th century, and the Middle Ages have ended for two centuries. Although there are still some doctors who believe that the theory of humors is true, many doctors have realized that this "theory of humors" is a complete fallacy.
The Western medical community, which has emerged from the barbaric period, has developed to a level far superior to that of the East in the field of surgery.
As early as the 13th century AD, some European towns had developed medical universities due to medical needs. By the 15th century, surgery became an independent medical specialty and surgical operations began to flourish.
Today, European surgical operations have moved beyond the barbaric era when rusty scissors were used to perform surgery.
The four doctors under Sculucci are all good at surgery. With the help of these four doctors, many villagers were treated.
However, while many villagers were saved, more villagers died because there was no cure.
Skulucci had reminded Chepke and the others before - although medical technology has made great progress, it is still very powerless against gunshot wounds caused by muskets.
In the past, when a musket was fired at a person, it would only make a small hole.
But nowadays, when a musket hits a human body, it can directly create a small hole.
The vast majority of those who survived the disease suffered physical disabilities of varying degrees.
Although they had prepared themselves mentally, the villagers of Qina Village were all filled with grief after witnessing so many people die because there was no cure, and most of those who survived became disabled.
After returning to China Village, many villagers immediately greeted Ogata warmly.
The villagers regarded Ogata and his friends as their benefactors, so they gave Ogata and A-Machi the highest courtesy that the village could give.
During this period, Ogata and his companions had big meals every day, and every villager they met when they went out would greet them warmly.
The villagers of China Village would respond to any request made by Ogata and his friends.
The life that Ogata, Atachi and others led in China Village can be summed up in one word: "living like an emperor."
It’s a pity that neither Ogata nor Atachi was very comfortable living this “emperor-like life”.
Ogata was not used to Ainu houses.
A-Machi was not used to the Ainu food.
The Ainu people live a life of fishing and hunting, and their daily meals are mainly composed of various meats.
Since childhood, the only meat-related food that Ah-Ming has eaten is various seafood, and until now he is still not used to meat such as deer and rabbit.
After returning to the village, Ogata and his two companions randomly found a villager and asked where Chepke was.
After learning that Chepke was now at his home, Ogata and his companions immediately went straight to the village chief's house.
We arrived at the doorstep of the village chief Chepke without any obstruction.
After loudly announcing to the house, Chepke immediately responded with "Come in".
The Ainu people do not have wooden doors or paper sliding doors. They usually use curtains woven from unknown plants as door curtains.
Ogata and Atachi opened the door curtain and walked into the house. As an outsider, Aiyaka stayed outside the house silently.
After entering the house, Ogata and Atachi met Chepke, whom they hadn't seen for several days.
Ogata looked at Chepke in front of him.
Chepke looked more haggard than before.
It was inevitable that he would look haggard. He was not young anymore and his body must have been exhausted after enduring the long journey for so many days.
After all, there are only a few elderly people like Genichi who are still strong and healthy.
Sitting next to Chepke was a middle-aged man who looked very familiar to Ogata - the middle-aged man who often served as Chepke's Japanese translator.
"Mashima Goro, A-Machi. You came at the right time." Chepke said, "Ai-zan, he happens to be here right now (Ainu)"
Ayizan - the name of the middle-aged man who often serves as Chepke's Japanese translator.
After sitting cross-legged with A-Machi next to Chepke, Ogata asked the village chief directly:
"Chief Chepke, I heard you were looking for me. What can I do for you?"
The Ainu people, who are still in the tribal civilization, do not have the culture of "talking politely for half an hour before talking about serious business."
The Ainu society has always been permeated with the cultural atmosphere of "speaking directly when there is something wrong."
So Ogata now followed the local customs and went straight to the point without any polite words.
Seeing Ogata getting straight to the point, Chepke also got straight to the point:
"Mashima Goro, I asked you to come here this time because I have something to tell you... I don't know if it's a good thing or not."
"I wonder if this is a good thing?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
"We will never wrong anyone who has done us a favor."
"Since we received your help, we have been thinking about how to repay you for saving the village."
Chepke said slowly.
"But unfortunately, the current situation of our village is not very good. Even if we want to give you a gift, there is nothing in the village that is valuable to you and others."
"I heard that you are looking for a couple now."
"We will do our best to assist you in finding the couple you are looking for - this is probably the only thing we can do for you at the moment."
"Heyezhe currently has a total population of more than a thousand people, and it gathers Ainu people from all over the world. Maybe someone has seen the couple you are looking for."
"So when I went to Heyezhe this time, I specifically asked Chanup, who is in charge of the entire Heyezhe: Can you and your wife be allowed to enter Heyezhe and look for the person you are looking for in Heyezhe?"
"Although the process was a little bumpy, fortunately the result is gratifying - Chanup agrees to let you enter Heyezhe as a 'guest' and allow you to find the two people you are looking for in Heyezhe."
When Chepke finished speaking, a hint of surprise flashed in Ogata's eyes.
However, Chepke suddenly changed the subject:
"But... Chanup asked me to remind you."
"Heyezhe is a large settlement of many Ainu people who have nowhere else to go."
"Last year, a group of Ainu compatriots who were implicated in the Kunasilimenasi War and had nowhere to go moved into Heyezhe and became part of the Heyezhe residents."
After hearing the words "Battle of Kunasilimenasi" from Chepke's mouth, Ogata's eyes narrowed slightly.
Ogata was no stranger to this battle. He had heard of it before arriving in Ezo.
This battle took place two years earlier in 1790, when the Ainu people in the Kunasilimenasi region revolted.
The Matsumae clan and the shogunate formed an alliance and used force to quell this large-scale riot.
It is not difficult to imagine what attitude the Ainu people, who were implicated in this war, would have towards the Japanese.
"So... many residents in Heye Zhe really dislike the people."
"Although they won't have the guts to do anything outrageous to people who enter Heyezhe as guests, it's inevitable that they will receive some strange looks."
"So Chanup asked me to tell you - if you decide to come to their Heyezhe, be prepared to face strange looks from some residents... (Ainu language)"
After saying everything he needed to say, Chepke looked at Ogata silently, waiting for his response.
Ogata did not respond immediately.
Instead, he pursed his lips, glanced at Ating beside him, and said to Chepke:
"Chief Chepke, I'm sorry. Could my wife and I please go and discuss this for a while? We'll be right back."
Chepke cast a surprised look at Ogata.
Fishing and hunting life - this way of life destined the Ainu society to be a male-dominated society.
Even though there are now far more women than men in Qina Village, the hierarchical concept of "male superiority and female inferiority" will not change at all.
Discussing things with a woman - this kind of thing is both rare and somewhat incomprehensible to Chepke.
Ogata understood the meaning of Chepke's eyes and smiled:
“My wife and I are a unit.”
"She has every right to be involved in any discussion of our future actions."
"My wife and I will go outside the house to discuss it and will be back soon."
"I see..." Chepke nodded.
Ogata and Ating quickly left Chepke's house. After arriving at a place where there were no other outsiders, Ating said directly to Ogata:
"Ogata, what do you think?"
"It coincides with our plan." Ogata said, "We originally planned to ask the villagers of Qina Village for help and take us to a village that they are familiar with to continue looking for clues."
“I didn’t expect that Chief Chepke was already helping us with this.”
"The Red Moon Fortress has a large population, and its members come from all corners of the world, so the chances of collecting useful intelligence are greater."
"For us, Red Moon Fortress is indeed an excellent place."
"But..." At this time, Ating frowned slightly, "Didn't Village Chief Chepke just say that some people in the Red Moon Fortress are very hostile to the Japanese..."
“I’m more worried about those people…”
"Before we came to Ezo, weren't we prepared for the troublesome Ainu?" Ogata said in a somewhat joking tone, "If we were afraid of encountering those Ainu who rejected Japanese people, then we wouldn't be able to go anywhere in Ezo."
Before coming to Ezo, Ogata and Atachi had done some simple homework and knew that the relationship between the Wa people and Ezo had always been awkward. As long as they went to Ezo, they would not always encounter Ainu people who were friendly to the Wa people.
"...That's true." A-Ming said with a smile.
…
…
Ogata perfectly fulfilled the promise he had just made to Chepke: he would be back soon.
He and Ating were out for only a few minutes before they returned to Chepke's sight.
"Chief Chepke, when does your village plan to move to Heyezhe?"
After coming back, Oofang asked Chepke directly.
After a pause, Chepke replied:
"The sooner we move to Heyezhe, the better. After all, no one knows when those white people who escaped earlier will come back with reinforcements."
"The injured villagers have now been treated, and our village now has enough sleds to pull those injured villagers who cannot move."
“So I plan to move the whole village to Heyezhe in a few days.”
As soon as Chepke finished speaking, Xu Fang immediately said:
"In that case, please allow us to follow you to Heyezhe later."
…
…
Outside Qina Village, Sculuch's camp -
"Mashima-san." Sculucci, who was sitting on his hammock, holding a half-empty bottle of wine, cast a puzzled look at Ogata standing in front of him, "What's wrong? Why did you come to see me all of a sudden?"
During this period, because both sides had needs, Ogata had frequent contact with Skulucci.
Ogata needed Skulucci to help them choose horses and teach them how to use the M1775 flintlock pistol and Kentucky long rifle.
Skulucci also needs Ogata to tell him more about Genichi.
Skulucci had spent too much time and energy searching for clues about Genichi, and only now had he finally found someone who had a strong connection with Genichi.
In order to relieve his long-pent-up lovesickness, Skulucci would occasionally talk to Ogata about things related to Genichi.
The questions they asked were nothing more than "What is Mr. Kinoshita doing recently?", "Has Mr. Kinoshita's painting skills improved?"... In short, they were questions about every aspect of Genichir's life.
When asked about this, Ogata was almost at a loss for words.
After all, Ogata didn't spend too much time with Genichi.
Because Ogata and Skulucci have been in frequent contact during this period, Ogata is now familiar with most of Skulucci's subordinates.
Now Ogata can enter and leave Skulucci's camp freely without encountering any obstruction.
When Skulucci asked him what he was doing here so suddenly, Ogata was looking at Skulucci who was sitting in the hammock.
Skulucci's face was now flushed, even redder than his hair.
"I do have something to talk to you about, but it's nothing serious." Ogata looked at Sculucci's face carefully several times, "You seem to have drunk a lot of alcohol."
Even though he was a few steps away from Skulucci, Ogata could smell the stench of alcohol coming from him.
"It's Maslenitsa now." Sculucci raised the bottle and took another big gulp. "If you don't drink more now, you won't be able to drink anything during Lent. You can only drink tasteless water."
Some time ago, when Skulucci was chatting with Ogata, Skulucci emphasized to Ogata what their "Maslenitsa" is.
"Maslenitsa" is a festival unique to the Orthodox Church.
Almost everyone in Skulucci's army was Orthodox - Skulucci himself was also an Orthodox Christian.
Skuluch was originally a Catholic, but after joining the Cossacks and becoming a Cossack, Skuluch converted to Orthodoxy.
Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are both branches of Christianity.
At the beginning, there was only one religion, Christianity, which was regarded as the state religion of the Roman Empire.
But after the Roman Empire split into Eastern and Western Rome, Christianity also split.
Both the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire claimed to be "Roman Orthodoxy" and also claimed that the Christianity on their side was orthodox.
So over time, Christianity split into two sects - Christianity in the west evolved into "Catholicism" and Christianity in the east evolved into "Eastern Orthodoxy".
Although Catholicism and Orthodoxy are the two major branches of Christianity, and believers on both sides believe in Jesus Christ, there are many differences between them in various aspects.
For example, Maslenitsa is a festival unique to the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Every year in late winter and early spring, the Orthodox Church holds a 40-day "Lent".
During Lent people are forbidden to eat meat and have fun.
Therefore, one week before the start of the fast, people indulged in joy and every household rushed to eat meat to make up for the ascetic life during the fast. This is how the "Maslenitsa Festival" got its name and came into being.
Because the time point is exactly in the end of winter and the beginning of spring, holding "Maslenitsa" also has the meaning of "celebrating the passing of winter and the arrival of spring".
Ogata turned his head and glanced at the tent entrance behind him where shouting and strange body collision sounds were coming from, and smiled bitterly:
"Is it really okay for you not to take care of your subordinates? It seems that your subordinates are getting more and more crazy... When I entered the camp just now, I saw at least 10 people fighting there..."
"Don't worry about them." Sculucci waved his hand. "This is just our festival feature."
After promising to send doctors to help treat the villagers who were shot, Skulucci immediately sent his men to find Vashili who was staying near Kuma Village and asked them all to come and join him.
Skulucci had four doctors under his command, two of whom followed him and two followed Vasili to stay near Kuma village.
If all of Vasili and his team came, not only would the two doctors who followed Vasili come to treat the villagers of Qina Village, but all members would also be able to gather together and enjoy the meat and wine provided by Qina Village, and have a happy Carnival together.
After receiving the news from Skulucci, Vashili immediately organized all his subordinates who remained near Kuma Village and rushed to meet up with Skulucci.
Vasili and his companions, all riding at full speed on horseback, successfully reunited with Skulucci in just half a day and a day.
After the reunion, the two doctors who followed Vashili immediately began treating the villagers of Qina Village.
With the joint efforts of the four doctors under Sculucci, the diagnosis and treatment speed was immediately more than doubled.
And the villagers of Qina Village also fulfilled their promise to Skulucci.
The remaining villagers in Qina Village who were still able to move frequently went in and out of the nearby mountains and fields to hunt fresh prey, and borrowed wine from other villages with which they had good relations, in order to raise enough meat and wine.
Relying on the meat and wine provided by the villagers of China, Skulucci and his friends have been holding parties every day to celebrate Carnival these days.
These days, Sculucci and his friends are having a lot of fun.
Every day they drank a lot, ate a lot of meat, fought to their heart's content, and loudly praised their leader Skulucci.
Praising Skulucci - thanks to him they had so much meat to eat.
In fact, they did not praise the wrong person. The meat they were eating and the wine they were drinking were all negotiated for them by Sculucci.
During this period, the villagers of Qina Village went hunting every day and then sent the hunted prey to Skulucci and his camp.
And Skulucci and his men were really big eaters. An adult deer could only feed 10 of them for one day.
They would then have to endure a hard life of 40 days without meat or entertainment, so everyone was trying hard to stuff their stomachs with wine and meat - Skulucci did the same.
By the way - after Vashili brought his men to China Village and reunited with Skuluch, Vashili naturally met Ogata.
Unexpectedly, when he reunited with the boss, he also met Ogata after a few days of separation. Vasili was doubly happy. After reuniting with Ogata, the first thing he said was "Please fight with me again!"
In the few days since I was separated from Ogata, the wounds left by the last fight with Ogata have almost healed.
Although Vahili's love of fighting with others was a bit strange, Ogata did not hate Vahili, who had helped them before, so Ogata fulfilled his wish - he beat Vahili up again.
Vashili should still be lying in bed recovering from his injuries.
It is said that Vasili, who is recuperating in bed, has been showing a strange and happy smile from time to time these days.
Sculucci raised the bottle again and took a big sip of wine into his mouth.
"I'm going to participate in the 'arm wrestling competition' soon. So let's get back to business and tell me what you meant by 'not a big deal' just now."
"Are you asking me how to teach someone to ride a horse? Sorry, I can't help you with that. I learned riding a horse in one go. I have no experience of being taught by anyone, nor do I have experience of teaching others."
Sculucci said something in a nonchalant tone that would make Atachi show a "w(°Д°)w" expression - fortunately Atachi is not here now.
Skulucci had also heard a little about Ating's talent for horse riding, which was so stupid that it was beyond words.
So he subconsciously thought that Ogata came to ask for advice on "how to make an equestrian idiot learn to ride a horse."
"I'm not here to ask you how to ride a horse." Ogata smiled helplessly, "I'm here to say goodbye to you."
"Farewell?" Skulucci raised his eyebrows.
Ogata briefly told Skulucci what happened today.
Ogata had just left Chepke.
After leaving Chepke, Obe immediately came to Skuluch alone and told Skuluch that he and Ating would leave with the villagers in a few days.
"...I see." Skuluch took another big gulp of wine. "The negotiation with Chepke was successful. He plans to move the entire village to Heyezhe in a few days."
"Then you and Miss A-Ming decided to go to He-Ye-Zhe together."
"Yeah." Ogata nodded, "Hongyue...ah, no. Heyezhe has a large population, and it gathers people from all over the world. There might be the clues I have been looking for for a long time."
"So I don't want to give up He Yezhe."
"He Yezhe..." Skullucci shrugged, "I am also somewhat interested in that place, but it is not my responsibility, so there is no hope for me to go there in the short term."
Ogata had previously asked Skulucci whether he knew about the Red Moon Fortress, which was Heyezhe.
Sculucci said he didn't quite understand.
Apart from knowing that there was such a piece of land, where it was located, and that the Ainu people there miraculously possessed muskets, we knew nothing else.
As to why the Ainu people in the Red Moon Fortress had muskets, Skulucci had no idea.
"I'm very curious." Skulucci continued, "What is your relationship with the two people you are looking for? Why would you go to such great lengths to track them down in this snowy country where there is nothing but snow?"
"Please allow me to keep this question confidential." Ogata said softly.
Sculucci shrugged.
"Since you don't want to talk about it, forget it."
Skulucci took another swig of his drink.
"What a coincidence! We will be leaving here in a few days. I have to go back to the boss."
"Boss?" Xu Fang looked puzzled.
"We Cossacks who came to explore the Far East are organized and have clear superiors and subordinates." Skulucci laughed, "Although this organization is very scattered."
“It would be too much trouble to explain to you in detail what our organizational structure is.”
"I'll try to explain it to you in simple terms."
"You can think of me as the 'small leader' of the expedition team."
Skulucci patted his chest.
"Then I have a 'Captain' on my head."
"A 'big captain' is in charge of several small captains."
"I plan to go back to my 'captain' in a few days."
"When we go back, we will report our recent work to him and also supply him with ammunition and medicines."
Having said that, Skulucci gave a bitter smile with a hint of helplessness.
"I have used up a lot of ammunition and medicine to help the villagers of Qina Village this time."
"Ammunition is easy to explain. But medicine is more difficult to explain."
"I've been thinking about what I should say when Alexander asks me 'Why did your team run out of medicine?'"
"Boss Alexander?" Ogata asked, "Is this the name of the 'captain' above you?"
"Yeah." Skulucci nodded, "My boss's name is Daniel Mikhail Alexander."
——Alexander...what a domineering name...
In previous lives, even those who had not systematically studied European history had heard of the name "Alexander".
"If I can't explain exactly how I used all these drugs, Boss Alexander will definitely skin me alive."
After saying that, Skulucci subconsciously raised the bottle in his hand and poured it into his mouth.
However, after putting the bottle mouth to his lips, Skulucci realized that the bottle was empty, so he threw the empty bottle aside.
“…I’ve actually always been curious.”
Ogata glanced at the bottle of wine that Sculucci had thrown aside, and then continued:
"Why did you go to help the villagers of Qina Village that night?"
"You are a Cossack like the others who attacked the village, aren't you?"
"Why are you willing to fight your own people and face so much trouble to help the villagers of Qina Village?"
In fact, Ogata has been holding this question in his heart for a long time.
But I couldn't find the right time to ask.
Now that he would soon part with Skulucci, Ogata did not intend to delay any longer and directly asked the question that had been bothering him for some time.
At this time, Skulucci happened to be lying on a large cloth bag to get the new wine.
When Ogata finished speaking, Skulucci paused for a moment - but it was only for a moment.
"...There's no special reason." Skulucci smiled faintly, "It's just that after I saw the village being invaded by others, my body suddenly moved on its own."
After saying that, Sculucci subconsciously glanced at the book with the English words "Don Quixote" written on the cover placed on the head of the hammock.
"What about you?" Skulucci asked, "Mr. Majima, why did you help the villagers of that village?"
"By the way, you are really brave. There were dozens of people attacking the village. Facing so many enemies, you still rushed into the village to save people without hesitation."
When Skulucci asked him the same question, Ogata pursed his lips and replied in a half-joking tone:
"…I don't have any special reason. I just saw the village being invaded by others, just like you, and my body suddenly moved on its own."
"Hahaha. It seems that both of us are people who are easily 'forced to do things'." Skulucci laughed heartily. "In a few days, we will be separated. I will give you a farewell gift."
After taking another gulp of wine, Sculucci put down the bottle in his hand, then quickly walked to another large cloth bag, and then took out a large rolled-up piece of paper from it.
Sculucci spread out the A3-sized paper, took out a pen and ink, and began to scribble something on it quickly.
After finishing the painting, Sculucci handed the paper to Ogata.
"This is for you."
"What is this...?" Ogata took the paper and found that it was a map.
A very detailed hand-drawn map.
How precise is it?
Where there is a smooth road, where there is a stream...these are all clearly marked.
This detailed hand-drawn map now has two small circles drawn on it.
"Different expedition teams have different jobs."
Sculucci said.
"The main job of my team is to draw maps."
"This map is one of the large maps I drew myself."
"This is where He Yezhe is."
Skulucci raised his hand and pointed to one of the two circles he had just drawn on the map.
"And here is the residence of my boss Alexander."
Skulucci raised his hand and pointed to the other circle he had just drawn.
"I will stay with Alexander for at least two months."
"After you finish your trip to Heyezhe, if you encounter any troubles that need help, you can follow the map to find me."
“Anything I can do to help, I will do my best.”
"Will you give me this map?" Ogata glanced at the A3-sized map in his hand. "It must be very time-consuming to draw this map, right? Do you really want to give it to me?"
"It's just a map." Skulucci shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I can always draw a better map like this. Just think of it as a gift between friends."
"...Okay then, I'll take the map." After a long silence, Ogata nodded solemnly, "If I have the opportunity and time in the future, I will definitely come to see you again."
"When you come to Alexander's residence, you shout: Slavagrosudarю"
Sculucci said.
"Then shout: Ядруг Скулуччи."
"The first of these two sentences is our squadron's code, which means 'Glory to His Majesty the Tsar.' As long as you shout this sentence, those guarding outside the base will not regard you as an enemy."
"The latter sentence means 'I am a friend of Skulucci'."
"After I shout this out, someone will come to me to verify whether I have a friend like you."
"Do you remember these two sentences?"
"It's a bit hard to remember." Ogata smiled bitterly, "Do you have a pen? I'll write these two sentences on the back of this map."
Skulucci handed his quill to Ogata.
This was the first time Ogata used this thin and short quill pen, so it was a little difficult to use.
Of course, Ogata couldn't write Russian. He just used Japanese to pronounce the two sentences that Skulucci had just said.
In his previous life, when Ogata first started learning English, he often used Chinese to pronounce English for convenience.
For example, the word “hello” is pronounced as “哈喽”.
Unfortunately, not long after Ogata started using this "Chinese Phonetic Notation Method", he was discovered by his teacher and was strictly prohibited from using it.
Ogata is now using this "phonetic notation method" which has not been used for a long time, writing the Japanese phonetic notation of the two sentences that Skulucci just said on the back of the map.
After Ogata wrote down the phonetic notation of these two sentences in crooked handwriting on the back of the map with great difficulty, Skulucci suddenly let out a few strange laughs :
"Oh, by the way, I'll tell you another good place. Spread out the map."
Ogata obediently followed Skulucci's instructions and spread out the map he had just received from Skulucci.
"There is a natural hot spring here."
Skulucci raised his hand and pointed to a certain place on the map.
"Hot spring?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah, that's right, the natural kind with a strong sulfur smell."
"This land is rich in hot springs. I've seen quite a few natural ones along the way."
“But the hot springs here are definitely the best of all the hot springs I’ve ever seen.”
"You should also know how many benefits hot springs have, right?"
"Soaking in this natural hot spring is not only good for health, but also very beneficial for healing injuries."
"And it is said to promote human development."
"If you have time in the future, you can take Miss A-Ming to the hot springs there."
Skulucci cast a meaningful look at Ogata.
"Don't look at me like that." Ogata said helplessly, "No matter what happens between A-Machi and I, we won't do that kind of thing in a hot spring that has been bathed in by so many people."
"And I'm actually not that interested in hot springs."
As Ogata said this, he folded the map and put it in his arms.
Before folding the map, his eyes subconsciously glanced at the location of the hot spring that Skulucci had just pointed out.
…
…
A few days passed in a flash.
In the past few days, Qina Village, which had only a few people left, had made preparations for relocation. They greeted all the familiar villages and counted all the things they wanted to take away.
Although some villagers opposed the relocation, Chepke, as the village chief, had absolute power.
The "high-level officials" headed by Chepke have decided to relocate the village, and no matter how much the villagers who oppose the relocation make a fuss, it is useless.
The horses seized from Vladimir and his men were of great help at this moment.
The villagers placed their luggage and other heavy objects on the backs of these horses.
The dog sleds were used to transport the wounded who were not yet able to move freely.
Now A-Ming was finally able to ride his horse at a leisurely pace.
At that time, when Ogata saw that Atachi was finally able to sit steadily on the horse's back and control the horse to walk slowly forward, he almost cried with joy.
The day we traveled was a sunny day.
The villagers of Qina Village have already collected all the things they need to take away and are ready to go.
Ogata and Atachi, who were going to go with them to the Red Moon Fortress, were now standing in front of Ayaka, Skulucci and the others, saying goodbye to them.
It will take another two days for Skulucci and his men to reunite with his boss, Alexander.
"Aiyaka, thank you for taking care of me during this time," Ogata said. "Take care of yourself. Please give our regards to the villagers in Kuma Village."
"Yes." Ayaka nodded vigorously, "You guys take care of yourselves too. I hope you can find the two people you've been looking for soon."
Ogata turned his attention to Skulucci.
Before Ogata could speak, Skulucci scratched his hair and said:
"According to your Japanese custom... at this time, I should say to you 'I wish you good luck in fighting'. Right?"
"It doesn't matter what you say." Ogata smiled, "Take care, Skulucci."
"I wish you good luck in martial arts, Mr. Majima and Ms. Atachi." Skulucci also said with a smile.
By the way - Vasili is now standing behind Skulucci.
After Sculuch finished speaking, Vashili continued:
"Mashima-san! Please take care of yourself! If you have the time and opportunity in the future, please come and see us again!"
He was now looking at Ogata who was about to leave with tearful eyes, his eyes full of reluctance.
Being looked at in such a way by such a tough guy made Ogata feel as if he had been electrocuted.
——Is Vashili such an emotional person? He just said goodbye to someone he had only known for a few days, but he showed such a look and expression...
While Ogata was sighing in his heart, he also said to Vashili, "Take care of yourself."
After saying goodbye to Skulucci and the others, Ogata turned over and sat on Luobo's horse.
Not far away, a team composed of villagers from Qina Village had begun to move forward slowly.
Ogata and Atachi waved to Skulucci and the others and hurriedly rode their horses to catch up.
Skulucci and the others stood there and watched Ogata and the others leave.
Soon, Skulucci and his group completely disappeared on the horizon behind Ogata and his group.
——Red Moon Fortress…
Ogata, on horseback, looked at the horizon ahead, slowly muttering the name of their next stop in his mind.