I thought there were mountains of flowers and gold on the other side of the sea, but I didn't know there were also all kinds of unbearable things on the other side of the sea.
…
…
As soon as Chanup finished speaking, Xu Fang, who was surprised, immediately asked in a hurry:
"Kill him? Aren't you sure he's a spy?"
"It is true that there is no direct evidence to prove that he is a spy." Chanup said slowly, "But similarly - there is no direct evidence to prove that he is not a spy, but an ordinary person."
"Some people think it's better to kill someone by mistake than to let him go, so they suggest not to investigate further and just kill the old man."
“And there are quite a few people like this.”
Having said this, Chanup took another deep puff of his cigarette.
"And I personally do not agree with taking that old man's life so hastily."
"If you can prove that the old man is innocent and not a spy, then I will welcome it."
"But it better be faster."
"There are so many people who suggest just killing the old man. There are so many of them that I can't ignore them."
"If it takes too long..."
Chanup did not continue talking after this. He just gave a helpless smile and shrugged his shoulders.
…
…
More than an hour later——
It's dinner time now.
Ogata and Omachi sat around a pot.
Their dinner for the day was cooking in the pot.
Ogata and his friends had an open-air dinner tonight, setting up a pot directly under the sky and cooking dinner.
Ogata and his companions naturally stayed with the villagers of China Village.
Although after reaching an agreement with Chepke on the relocation and settlement of the village, in order to welcome the arrival of the villagers from China Village, Chanup organized people to build houses for the villagers of China Village to live in.
However, because the villagers of Qina Village arrived at the Red Moon Fortress much earlier than Chanup and his companions had imagined, they have only successfully built a small number of houses.
These houses that have been built are given priority for the elderly, women and children in the village to live in. The young and strong people in the village who are still healthy will continue to live with the ground as their bed and the sky as their blanket.
Chepke once expressed his intention to give one of the built houses to Ogata and Atachi, who had been kind to them, but Ogata refused.
My wife and I have long been accustomed to sleeping in a place without even a ceiling, so let's leave this built house to other people in need - these were the exact words Ogata said when he rejected Chepke's kindness.
Because many people in China Village still have to camp for a while, so at dinner time, Ogata and Atachi were surrounded by villagers from China Village, all setting up pots under the sky and cooking their own dinner.
“…Now it’s hard to deal with it.”
While Ogata and Atachi were silently waiting for the dinner in the pot to be cooked, Atachi suddenly spoke out of the blue.
"Many people want to kill Lin Ziping... If we don't prove his innocence quickly, he will lose his head."
"Ah, speaking of which - what kind of punishments did the Ainu people use? Did they include beheading?"
"Don't pay attention to these weird places..." After complaining about Atachi, Ogata took a deep breath and said, "Let's take it step by step. Let's have dinner first and we can think about the rest later. Is dinner ready?"
The two are now cooking wild vegetable soup.
These wild vegetables were picked by the two of them on their way to the Red Moon Fortress with the villagers of Qina Village.
They have been eating meat for every meal during this period, and Ogata and Atachi are getting a little sick of it.
In order to change the taste, the two decided to have a wild vegetable soup with a very Japanese flavor tonight.
Ating opened the lid of the pot, checked the condition of the food in the pot, and then put the lid back on.
"It's not cooked yet. You have to wait a little longer."
After putting the lid back on, Ating let out a long sigh.
"… This is so awkward." Ating smiled awkwardly, "Do we two have to eat under such a crowd?"
"...That should be the case." Ogata also gave an awkward smile, then turned his head and looked to the side not far away from them.
On the sides of Ogata, Atachi and the others, there were a large number of residents of the Red Moon Fortress who were watching them.
Because Ogata and his friends were eating outdoors, these residents were able to "view" Ogata and Atachi very conveniently.
These onlookers not only made Ogata and his companions feel uncomfortable, but also made the villagers of Qina Village who were eating dinner outdoors next to them feel embarrassed.
Although some onlookers realized that their actions were causing trouble to others and left on their own accord.
But there are still many people who remain where they are, looking at Ogata and Atachi with curiosity, who in their eyes are no different from precious animals.
Neither approach nor leave.
The villages that Ogata and his friends had dealt with before, whether it was Kuma Village or China Village, were all "pro-Wa people villages" that had close ties with the Wa people and exchanged what they had with Wa merchants. They were all used to the appearance of the Wa people and their strange clothes.
But the residents of Red Moon Fortress are different.
Many residents of Red Moon Fortress have never seen what humans look like since they were born.
A-Machi was fine. Apart from the fact that she wore strange clothes, had no tattoos on her face, had facial features different from those of the Ainu people, and had a fuller figure than the average person, there wasn't much else that was different about her.
But Ogata is not ordinary.
Not only were his facial features and clothing different, he had no beard on his face and his hairstyle was very strange.
Ogata's hairstyle of not shaving his head and only wearing his hair in a bun could be considered "unpopular" in that era.
In Japanese society, you will be considered non-mainstream.
In Ainu society, they would be regarded as weird "Shamatte".
Many parts of Ogata and Atachi from head to toe aroused the curiosity of these people.
A-machi didn't like being watched like a rare animal, and Ogata didn't like it either.
Just as Ogata was thinking about how to drive away those people who were still standing not far away and watching them, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind him:
"Mr. Majima, Ms. Atachi, I finally found you."
It was Asuma's voice.
"Huh? Aisuma?" Oomu looked at Aisuma with surprise as she was walking towards him and Ating from behind.
Asuma is not alone.
Her younger brother, Otunpuyi, clung closely to Aizuma's back.
Otunpuyi, with his head lowered, followed closely behind Asuma, looking up from time to time and casting excited and expectant glances towards Ogata.
Ogata was quite impressed by this Aotonpui.
Because when they first met, Otonpui looked at him with excitement - Ogata had always been puzzled by this.
Ogata and his friends had just left Chanup, Aisuma and their home more than an hour ago.
Ogata cast a puzzled look at the Asuma siblings who met again so soon: "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to take my brother to practice archery tonight because the weather is nice." Aisuma smiled bitterly and raised his hand to rub Aotongpuyi's head. "But he kept making a fuss and said he wanted to see you, so I had no choice but to bring him to see you."
"You want to see me?" Ogata turned his puzzled gaze to Aotongpui.
Aotongpuyi's eyes were filled with excitement and excitement - Ogata was very familiar with this look.
He was often seen with his apprentice, Kondo Uchisuke.
“Oh… I expected that many people who have never seen Kazuto would come and join in the fun, but I didn’t expect there would be so many people…” Aisuma murmured to the people who were gathered not far away to “watch” Ogata and Atachi.
Then, Asuma strode towards the crowd of onlookers.
After she said something to the onlookers in Ainu, which Ogata could not understand, the onlookers showed expressions of regret and disappointment.
Those who showed such expressions scattered in all directions. After a while, all the onlookers who were originally watching Ogata and the other person dispersed and disappeared from Ogata's sight.
"Okay." With a confident smile on his face, Asuma strode back to Ogata and the others, "I'll help you drive these rude people away."
"What did you say to those people?" Ating asked with surprise and a bit of joy.
Without those people watching, Ating instantly felt much more at ease.
"I didn't say anything." Asuma said, "I just told them not to do such rude things again and to leave quickly."
"After all, I am Chanup's daughter, and a hunter of some repute. My words still carry weight."
After that, Aisuma sat cross-legged next to Ating and waved to her brother.
"Otungpui, don't stand here like an idiot. Didn't you just tell me that you had a lot of things to ask Mr. Majima?"
"Yes, yes!" Perhaps because of nervousness, not only was Aotongpuyi's expression stiff, but even his movements were stiff.
He moved his hands and feet as stiff as a robot, walked to Ogata's side, and then sat down cross-legged respectfully.
He turned his head to face Ogata, and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.
However, he opened and closed his mouth for a long time without uttering a single word.
Looking at Aotonpuyi, who was unable to speak for a long time, whether due to nervousness or excitement, Aizuma sighed heavily, then smiled bitterly at Ogata:
"My brother is very interested in things related to people."
"I am particularly interested in the samurai among the Japanese."
"I just brought him to see you guys, and he kept saying he wanted to see your knife up close."
"Before, when I learned that you came to Heyezhe, I was also very excited and shouted, 'I really want to meet you' and so on."
Ogata raised his eyebrows, then looked at Otungpui beside him with surprise.
Having been in Ezo for so long, he has seen many different kinds of Ainu people.
But this is the first person to show a strong interest in Japanese culture.
Ogata finally understood why Otunpui looked at him with such excitement when they first met.
It turned out that she was full of interest and curiosity about him as a samurai.
To use modern terms, Otunpuyi would be considered a "Japanophile" of this era.
"Why are you interested in Kazuto's affairs?" Ogata asked, "Have you ever been to our country?"
Otunpuyi shook his head.
Before Otunpuyi could answer, his sister Asuma answered for him:
"When Otunpuyi was 12 years old, I took him to the wild to learn how to set traps to hunt foxes."
"That's when we ran into a group of Japanese merchants."
"Everyone in that business team was very kind, so my sister and I started chatting with them."
"The leader of that group of merchants was a warrior. He told Aotongpuyi a lot about you and the people, and the warriors."
"Since then, Otunpuyi has been interested in things related to people."
"Not only did he learn Japanese from an old man in Heyezhe who could speak standard Japanese, but he also kept saying things like 'I want to go to the country of Japanese'."
"We at Heyezhe rarely have anyone come to visit us."
"That's why the child is so excited about your arrival."
After hearing what Asuma said just now, both Ogata and Atachi's expressions became strange.
Ogata turned his head and cast a meaningful look at Aotonpuyi beside him...
Otunpuyi seemed to be a little calmer now.
After swallowing hard, Aotonpuyi said to Ogata with an expectant look on his face:
"M-Mashima-san, I have always been interested in your samurai swords."
"I have never seen the blade of a samurai sword. Could you please let me see your sword?"
If the "conservative" samurai believed that "the samurai sword is the soul of the samurai", he would definitely reject Otumpui's request without hesitation.
But Otunpuyi was lucky - Ogata, who was proficient in the "double-gun style", was not such a conservative person.
Aotongpui is the son of Chanup, and Chanup, who allowed him and Ating to enter the Red Moon Fortress, provided a great help to Ogata and his companions.
Ogata couldn't think of any reason to refuse such a small request.
"Be careful." Ogata said softly, "Don't get cut."
After saying that, Ogata raised his left hand, pressed it on the guardrail of Daishikuten's sword, used his left thumb to open the carp's mouth, and then slowly pulled Daishikuten out of the sheath.
The light from the low flame of the large pot in front of Ogata that was still cooking wild vegetables shone on Daishiten's sword, reflecting a dazzling light.
Ogata handed the Daishakuten to Otungpui.
Aotonpuyi took over Ogata's Daishakuten with gentle movements, as if he was taking over something fragile that would break at the slightest touch.
“It’s so heavy…!”
"Hold it steady, and be careful not to cut yourself." Ogata reminded again.
Ottompui held Ogata's Daishakuten in both hands, and held it upright with the tip of the blade pointing toward the sky.
Ao Tong Pu Yi looked up and down at the blade of Da Shi Tian and murmured, "The pattern on this blade is so beautiful..."
"It was even more beautiful before." Ogata said with a half-joking tone, "It's a pity that it has been fighting with me for so long that it has a lot of 'scars' on its body. It's not as beautiful as before."
After saying this, Ogata cast a complicated look at the blade of Daishikite.
After obtaining Dashiten and Dajizai on Zizai Butterfly Island, these two swords have accompanied Ogata in his battles until now. Although they are rare and tough swords, with a master like Ogata who can constantly attract disasters, the blades have inevitably suffered some damage.
After the "Battle of Nijo Castle" in Kyoto, there were 3 gaps on the blade of Daishakten's sword, and the number of gaps on Daijizai's sword reached 4.
After leaving Kyoto, Ogata fought one fierce battle after another.
Nowadays, there are as many as 7 gaps on the Great Shitian Sword, and an astonishing 9 gaps on the Great Freedom Sword.
"Are these gaps repairable?" asked Otungpui.
"I don't know. I don't know much about sword forging and sword repairing." Ogata said, "But one thing is certain - if you want to repair a sword, you must find a swordsmith with good enough skills."
"If the knife maker's skills are not good enough, not only will he fail to repair the knife, but he may also cause greater damage to the knife."
Aotongpuyi nodded, not quite understanding.
After looking at the blade of Daishikten in his hand several times, Otonpuyi returned Daishikten to Ogata.
When Ogata sheathed the Great Shakuten, Aotonpui immediately asked the second question:
"In addition to swordsmanship, you samurai also need to learn various ."
"That's not the case." Ogata smiled bitterly, "Samurai are also divided into different levels."
"There are warriors who are born without having to worry about food and clothing."
"There were also samurai who were so poor that they had to sell even their swords."
"Only those warriors from noble families would learn horsemanship, archery and other skills in addition to swordsmanship."
"The warriors who lived in poverty had to work hard every day to make ends meet. They didn't even have the time or money to learn swordsmanship, let alone horsemanship and archery."
After answering Aotongpuyi's question briefly, Aotongpuyi asked again:
"Do you and other people really not eat meat?"
"Yeah." Ogata nodded, "Although we don't eat meat, we do eat fish, shellfish and other seafood."
…
…
Chanup is now sitting cross-legged in his home, wrapping new cherry bark around the bow.
The Ainu people like to wrap the bark of cherry trees on the bow to prevent them from slipping when holding the bow.
Chanup only lit an oil lamp at his knees.
The oil they used to light lamps was fish oil, which was usually poured onto shells. The brightness of the light was far inferior to the light emitted by a lit candle.
But this dim light was more than enough to replace the new cherry bark on the bow.
"Ahem."
When Chanup was concentrating on maintaining his bow, he suddenly heard a "cough cough cough" sound coming from outside the house.
This is the etiquette of the Ainu people - when visiting someone's home, they have to stand outside the door and cough.
After hearing the cough, the young man in the family came out to check who was coming, and then went back to the room to report to the head of the family.
After the head of the household agrees to let the guest in, he will lead the whole family to start a simple cleaning of the house and then welcome the guest in.
Overall, it is a very complicated set of etiquette.
Therefore, sometimes when dealing with regular customers, this set of etiquette is often omitted or simplified.
At present, Chanup was the only one at home, so he had to put down the bow in his hand and go to the door to see who the visitor was.
Standing outside the door was a tall and thin middle-aged man.
His skin is somewhat dark, and his cheeks and chin have the Ainu's characteristic thick beard. He is thin and his cheeks are even slightly sunken.
Although he looked malnourished, the middle-aged man's eyes were extremely sharp, like an eagle.
The middle-aged man looked at Chanup who appeared from the house with sharp eyes.
"Chaanup," the thin middle-aged man said, "Why did you come out by yourself? Where are Aizuma and Otunpuyi?"
"The hunting festival is about to begin, and Asuma is taking Otunpui to practice archery." Chanup said, "So I am the only one left at home. You are such a rare guest. It has been a long time since you have come to visit alone like this, Retannoe. Come in."
The middle-aged man whom Chanup called Retannoe walked into Chanup's house one after another.
"Retannoe." Chanup casually sat cross-legged on the ground, then took out his pipe, "You came to see me alone, it shouldn't be to joke or chat with me, right? Tell me, what do you want from me?"
"Chanoup." Leitannoe sat cross-legged in front of Chanoup, with a serious face, "You... actually allowed those two people to follow the villagers of Qina Village into our Heyezhe?"
"Hmm?" Chanup tilted his head. "Is there any problem with this?"
"Is this okay?!" Reitannoe's voice suddenly rose several degrees, "Why should we allow those two people to enter Heyezhe openly?"
"Will this be of any benefit to us He Yezhe?"
Retannoy was very emotional.
There were foreigners who had nothing to do with their Heyezhe entering their homeland - Retannoe had a strong resistance to this kind of thing.
Compared to Retannoe's excitement, Chanup was very calm.
Picking up the pipe and taking a deep puff of the cigarette, Chanup said slowly:
"Those two Japanese people lent a helping hand to our compatriots and saved a large number of our compatriots."
"All they want is to find any trace or clue of the two people they are looking for."
"Allowing them to enter our Heyezhe, so that they can find the traces or clues of the two people they have been looking for in our Heyezhe, in order to thank them for saving our compatriots - what's wrong with this?"
"... Humph!" Reitannoe frowned, "Compatriots? Those two people only rescued that Qina Village! What does it have to do with us He Yezhe?"
"Although the villagers of Qina Village have now moved into our Heyezhe, until today, the villagers of Qina Village were just outsiders to us."
"Why should we sacrifice our own interests to help the Qina Village, which has nothing to do with us, to thank those two Japanese people?"
Chanup did not answer Reitanoe's question immediately. He just smoked and looked at Reitanoe in front of him silently.
Then--
“Hahahahahahahahahaha—!”
Suddenly he put down the pipe in his hand and burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" Retannoy frowned.
"I couldn't help laughing because I thought it was funny."
Chanup raised his hand and wiped the tears from his eyes.
"Retannoy, what you just said reminded me of something - one of the important reasons why we Ainu have always been so weak in the face of the Japanese is probably because there are still too many people who have the same ideas as you..."
After wiping away the tears from the corners of his eyes, Chanup said quietly with a look of reminiscence in his eyes:
"That belongs to another village. Their village has nothing to do with us."
"He is from that village, and I am from this village. What happens in their village has nothing to do with our village?"
"That village was attacked by Japanese? Hahaha, they deserved it. It's good that the village is gone. No one will compete with us for the hunting grounds in the future."
Chanup put the pipe back to his lips.
"We always see each other as enemies."
"I believe that other villages are other villages, and my village is my village. Only people from the same village as me and other villages that have good relations with my village are my compatriots."
"But we speak the same language. We have similar customs and cultures. We all fear the gods."
“We are all Ainu, but we are divided.”
"Retannoe, we, the Ainu, have been slow to unite and call all those who speak the same language and share the same culture as us 'fellow countrymen' - this is probably one of the important reasons why we, the Ainu, have been unable to defeat the Japanese in these thousand years."
"What do you think, Retannoy?"
Chanup smiled gently and looked directly at Retannoe in front of him.
Retannoy lowered his head slightly and remained silent.
Chanup did not seem to expect Reitannoe to answer immediately, and continued:
"Qina Village... No."
Chanup put away the gentle smile on his face and looked serious.
"All Ainu people are our compatriots."
"I don't think there is anything wrong with giving as much help as we can to those who have saved our compatriots."
"Even if they are foreigners."
Chanup's tone was powerful.
Retannoy continued to keep his head down and said nothing.
After a long time, he slowly raised his head.
After looking at Chanup deeply with a meaningful look, he stood up without saying a word and quickly left Chanup's house.
Chanup did not stand up to see him off, nor did he even go to watch Retanoë leave. He just continued to sit cross-legged there and continued smoking.
But just as Retannoy was about to leave through the door, Chanup suddenly shouted:
"Retannoy!"
Hearing Chanup calling him, Retannoy stopped, facing outside the house with his back to Chanup.
"Don't worry."
Chanup said.
"I won't do anything to harm He Yezhe."
"Heyezhe is our new home that we have built with great difficulty."
A smile appeared on Chanup's face.
"I will not let He Yezhe encounter any danger."
"We won't let anyone hurt our He Yezhe."
"I can assure you of that."
As before, Retannoy did not respond.
As soon as Chanup finished speaking, Retannoe strode away and completely disappeared from Chanup's sight.
…
…
Although Reitanoë had a blank expression on his face, anyone with a discerning eye could tell from his ferocious eyes that he was in a very bad mood.
As he strode back to his home, no one dared to come forward and say hello to him because the look in his eyes was so terrifying.
After returning to his home like the wind, Retannoy saw his wife, Mosiah.
"You're back?" His wife Moshia hurried over. "What happened? Didn't you say you were going to find Chanup? Did you have a fight with Chanup?"
"……snort!"
Retannoy snorted heavily, then sat cross-legged on the ground, then took out his pipe from his arms, stuffed the tobacco into it with skillful movements, and began to smoke heavily.
"...Humph! I guess I had a quarrel with Chanup."
"I want to advise Chanup to chase away the two people who came to our Heyezhe today."
“But Chanup didn’t want to listen to me.”
"It ended in a bad mood."
Moshia raised his hand to his forehead.
"You...don't make things too awkward with Chanup."
"If it weren't for Chanup, I really don't know where we would be now..."
"Respect Chanup a lot."
"... Humph!" Reitannoe took another long drag on his cigarette. "It is because I respect him that tonight can end so peacefully."
After saying this, Reitannoe looked around.
"Hmm? Where's Puccina?"
"He just went out," said Moshia. "He probably went out to hang out with his friends again. Or maybe he went out with Asuma."
"Aisuma?" Retannoy said slowly, "... Hum! Speaking of which, Aisuma and Puccina are the same age, both of them are of marriageable age."
"Puccina seems to like Aizuma very much. I also think Aizuma is a good girl."
"I'll find a time to propose to Chanup later."
"Oh?" Reitannoe's wife raised her beautiful eyebrows, "Are you going to become a relative of Chanup?"
"Cha Nup is in charge of the entire Heyezhe. Becoming a relative of him will only benefit us and not harm us."
"I think if Puchina marries Aisuma, our son's life will be very hard in the future." Moshia smiled bitterly, "Aisuma is too strong... I don't think Puchina and Aisuma are a good match."
"... Humph! Whether Puccina and Esuma are a good match or not - it doesn't matter." Retannoy said seriously, "As long as we can become relatives with Chanup's family, it will be fine."
"The most important purpose of marriage is to become related to a family that is worth winning over."
Retannoy said this in a very firm tone.
"Oh?" Mosiah leaned down, so that his face was only a finger's distance from Retannoy's face. "According to what you said just now - the reason you wanted to marry a poor and helpless me was because you were attracted to my family, which had no parents, no money and no power?"
Moshia's face was all smiles.
Retanoë continued to look at his wife, whose face was so close to him, with his expressionless face.
Then he turned his head away silently, not looking at his wife's smiling face.
"……snort!"
…
…
Little did Retano and his wife know—as they were discussing their son—that his son was now—
"Where is Aizuma? That person just said Aizuma and her brother went in this direction..."
A man as strong as a bear, holding a flower in his right hand, with his left hand on his eye socket, looking around.
Converted into modern earth units, this man's height is about 1.8 meters, and his waist is as thick as a bear's.
In addition to being tall and strong, this man also has a ferocious-looking face.
His facial features seemed to be twisted, and he exuded an invisible aura of being "not to be trifled with".
"Puchina." A young man standing next to the sturdy man said, "Don't look for Aizuma, let's go back and continue chatting."
As soon as the young man finished speaking, the other two young men standing beside him nodded in agreement.
"No." The strong man shook his head like a rattle. " It's rare to find such a beautiful flower. I must give this flower to Asuma."
The sturdy man's remarks made the three young men standing next to him look at each other and smile bitterly.
This strong man was Retannoy's son, Puccina.
The three young men standing next to Puchina are Puchina’s friends.
Puchina likes to chat and always has endless things to talk about with his friends.
Tonight, after a quick dinner, he left home very skillfully, looked for friends, and then gathered with his friends to chat about everything under the sun.
However, before they started chatting, Puchina suddenly found a very beautiful flower on the ground.
So, Puchina changed his mind instantly.
He decided to put aside chatting with his friends and give the flower to Asuma first.
So the following scene appeared: Puchina was holding lovely flowers that did not match his appearance, and was searching for Aisuma, and his three friends could only follow Puchina to find Aisuma.
Finally - one of Puchina's friends suddenly shouted:
"Ah! Puchina, look! I found Aisuma! Her brother is here too! Huh? Aisuma and her brother seem to be chatting with the couple who came to our Heyezhe today!"
When Puchina heard this, he was stunned at first, then he put his hands on his eyes and looked from a distance in the direction his friend pointed.
At the end of the sight, there were the Aizuma siblings chatting with Ogata and the others.
"Eh..." Puchina was stunned, "Why is Asuma with those two people... and they seem to be chatting happily..."
Today, two Japanese people visited their Heyezhe - Puchina naturally knew about this.
When Ogata and the others entered Heyezhe, Puchina followed the others to watch Ogata and Ating.
But because he had no interest in Ogata, after taking a look at their appearance, he no longer paid attention to them.
At this moment, the scene in front of Puchina surprised him - Aisuma was chatting happily with the couple, but because the distance was too far, he could not hear clearly what they were talking about.
Puchina observed that it was mainly the man (Ogata) who kept talking about something, while Asuma and her brother listened attentively and smiled from time to time.
Asuma was actually with that couple.
I also had a lot of fun chatting with the couple, especially the male one (Ogata).
At this moment, Puchina couldn't help but recall the times when he had always witnessed Aizuma hunting and playing with other men...
I feel like my heart is being cut by a knife.
Looking at Asuma who was happily chatting with that man (Ogata), Puchina felt very uncomfortable.
"…What on earth was that Aizuma talking about with that guy…?" Puchina murmured in a somewhat anxious tone.
Puchina's three friends looked at each other, not knowing what to say to Puchina.
While the three were still thinking about what to say to Puchina, Puchina suddenly turned around with a serious face and said to his three friends:
"I want to go and hear what they are talking about!"
"Huh?" A friend looked at Puchina in surprise, "Do you want to run over and eavesdrop?"
"I'm not eavesdropping." Puchina continued seriously, "I want to join their conversation openly and listen to what they are talking about!"
"I can't pretend I didn't see Asuma chatting so !"
"If they're talking about something that ordinary friends shouldn't talk about, I'll sabotage it!"
"Sabotage?" a friend asked. "How are you going to sabotage?"
"When they are chatting in a good atmosphere, suddenly tell some unfunny jokes to ruin the atmosphere."
3 friends: "Don't do things that will make Asuma dislike you!"*3
Puchina's three friends shouted in unison.
But Puchina remained unmoved by the cries of his three friends.
"You three stay here and wait for me! I'll try to be back as soon as possible!"
After saying that, Puchina put the flowers that he intended to give to Aisuma into his arms, then turned around and strode towards Ogata and the others with a determined look on his face.
"Hey!" At this time, one of his friends said, "You should be careful. It is said that the man is a ruthless person who can chop down hundreds of white people by himself. You..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw Puchina, who had just walked a few steps away, turn 180 degrees and return to his three friends.
"Let's go back and eat roast rabbit."
3 friends: "Didn't you say we were going to listen to their conversation?!"*3
Puchina's three friends shouted again in unison.
"I forgot." Puchina said seriously, "I forgot that He Ren was a guy who was not easy to mess with... It's better for us not to mess with such people."
Seeing Asuma chatting happily with other men just now, Puchina was so excited that he almost forgot that the man (Ogata) was not someone to be trifled with...
Puchina had just heard about that man's deeds today - that guy chopped down hundreds of white men by himself, and beat hundreds of well-equipped white men into a pulp. Because he saved the entire village of Qina, he was respected by the villagers of Qina.
Puchina was most afraid of people who killed people or animals without mercy.
"Pucina," a friend said, "Are you really not going to listen to what Asuma is talking about with that person?"
Hearing his friend's words, Puchina was stunned.
He pursed his lips, his face full of confusion.
Fear of that man (Ogata) and curiosity about the content of the conversation he was having with Asuma were fighting fiercely in his mind.
In the end - his concern for Asuma outweighed his fear of Ogata.
"...Wait for me here, I'll try to come back as soon as possible."
After saying this, Puchina, taking deep breaths continuously, strode towards Ogata and the others with steps as if he was going to the execution ground.
——That Kazuto is a murderer without blinking an eye. You have to be careful...
——That Kazuto is a murderer without blinking an eye. You have to be careful...
…
Puccina kept repeating this sentence in his mind, reminding himself to be alert and to be careful of Ogata, a dangerous man who would kill without blinking an eye.
Gradually, Puchina got closer and closer to Ogata and the others.
Puccina had good hearing, so he slowly heard the conversation between Ogata and the others.
Puccina also understands Japanese and can communicate with people without any obstacles.
The first thing that reached Puchina's ears was Ogata's voice:
"...Then, I stabbed it in the stomach."
Facing Ogata's heroic words, Puchina's feet froze in place...
——What on earth are they talking about?!
Puccina was already screaming in his heart.
Puccina, who was eager to find out what Ogata and the others were talking about, pricked up his ears and continued to listen to their conversation.
"After I stabbed the knife into its stomach in one go, I don't know if I used too much force or hit a strange place, but blood splattered all over my hands."
"So how to cut is also a science. If you cut in the wrong place, there will always be blood and internal organs splattered everywhere."
When Ogata finished speaking, Aisuma and Otunpuyi nodded, looking as if they were savoring what Ogata had just said.
——Is that guy teaching Ezuma and Otunpuhi the secret of killing people? !
Puccina felt his legs begin to shake.
Asuma asked that man how to kill people efficiently - Puccina felt that this kind of thing was very likely to happen.
Because Aisuma is a person who loves to study.
There are two things that have made Asuma a celebrity in their Red Moon Fortress since he was a child.
The first thing: her identity. She is the princess of their Heyezhe, the daughter of the village chief Chanup.
The second thing: Asuma’s love of learning and seeking advice from others.
Asuma loves hunting very much.
Since childhood, he has shown outstanding hunting talent.
And Aisuma is a very humble and studious person.
In order to improve his hunting skills, Aisuma can often be seen eagerly asking for advice from every hunting expert in Heyezhe.
Ask a hunter who is good at setting traps for advice on how to set traps.
Ask someone who is good at archery for advice on archery.
How to ask someone who knows how to train your eyesight to train your eyesight
…
Asuma constantly asked for advice, eagerly learning all the knowledge that would help her improve her hunting skills.
Aisuma's humility and eagerness to learn also allowed her hunting skills to continue to improve.
In addition to asking for advice on hunting skills, Asuma would often ask others for advice on things that interested her, such as how to make rabbit heads more delicious.
Until now, Aisuma still runs around the Red Moon Fortress, asking different people for advice on various skills.
Puchina was familiar with Asuma's character, so he knew very well that Asuma might really ask that person for advice on how to kill people efficiently.
Looking at Ogata who was smiling and saying such horrible things, Puchina thought to himself:
——This man is worthy of being the one who can kill hundreds of white people in a row. He can even laugh when talking about such a bloody thing...!
Puchina's legs began to shake violently, and he once again thought of going back to eat rabbit meat.
But just as he felt timid, the feelings for Aisuma that were difficult to describe in words emerged again.
——No! We can't just back down like this!
After giving himself a slap, Puchina managed to regain his composure.
However, even though he managed to regain his composure, his fear of Ogata increased.
Puchina suppressed his fear of Ogata and continued to walk towards Ogata and the others...
…
…
"I see..." Aotongpuyi nodded and muttered in a low voice that only he could hear, "So this is how people eat fish..."
Ogata was just giving Otonpuyi and his friends a scientific introduction to people's food culture.
At the end of the lecture, he mentioned an embarrassing incident that happened to him when he was cooking fish. When cleaning the fish's internal organs, he accidentally poked the wrong spot, causing a large amount of fish blood to spray onto Ogata's hand.
call--!
At this moment, a gust of wind suddenly blew by.
"Hmm..." Ogata suddenly lowered his head and raised his hands to cover his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Ating asked hurriedly.
"Nothing." Ogata rubbed his eyes with his right hand, "Just some dirt was blown into my eyes."
"Ah!" At this time, Aisuma suddenly showed a happy smile and waved his hand behind Ogata, "Puchina! Why are you here? (Ainu)"
—Hmm? Is anyone else here?
As Ogata said this in his mind, he put down his hands that had been rubbing his eyes and turned his head to look behind him.
Because some dirt was blown into his eyes by the wind, and Ogata had been rubbing his eyes vigorously with his hands, his eyes were not only a little red, but there were also some afterimages when he looked at things, forcing him to squint his eyes to see clearly.
Ogata's eyes were not vicious except in combat.
However... at this moment, there are many red bloodshot in the whites of Ogata's eyes, and Ogata is squinting at people, making Ogata's eyes look a little bit fierce...
Then, in Puccina's vision, the following scene appeared:
Puchina, who was approaching Ogata and the others from behind, saw Asuma waving at him because she had discovered him.
Then... the man slowly turned his head...
——Why, why are you looking at me with such fierce eyes? !
Puccina screamed in his heart again, and his feet were fixed in the snow again.
"Huh? Puchina, what's wrong with you? (Ainu)" Aisuma looked at Puchina with a puzzled look.
"No, no, nothing... I just happened to pass by here and saw you and Otunpui here, so I came to see what you were talking about... (Ainu language)" Puchina said in a weak voice.
Although she was puzzled by Puccina's weak appearance, Aisuma didn't care too much.
"My brother and I were listening to Mr. Majima introducing their lifestyle and customs, and also listening to Mr. Majima telling us about his past deeds."
——Some past events... events of murder...
Puccina swallowed hard.
"Um... can I stay and listen? (Ainu)"
Now that he was here, Puchina had made up his mind to listen carefully to what they were talking about.
"Hmm? If Mr. Majima doesn't mind, you can of course stay here and listen. (Ainu)" said Aizuma.
Aisuma informed Ogata in Japanese of Puchina's request to stay and listen.
Ogata didn't care whether there was one more listener or two more listeners, so he nodded and let Puccina sit next to him.
Just as Puchina carefully huddled next to Ogata, he heard Aotongpui excitedly ask Ogata:
"Mashima-san, can you tell me how you normally train and hone your skills? If possible, can you show us?"
Hearing Otungpui's question, Puchina couldn't help but feel his heart sink:
——It seems that the brother and sister were just asking this Kazuto how to kill people efficiently...!
Puchina's face turned even paler, and he shrank his already shrunk body even smaller.
When Ogata heard this new question from Otonpui, he was stunned.
Because he couldn't answer this kind of question at all...
——I rely on the system and negative distance contact with A-Machi to train...
Ogata answered silently in his heart.
Since arriving in the Edo period, Ogata has basically not done any physical exercise, nor has he practiced swordsmanship...
Whether it was the growth of physical functions or the improvement of swordsmanship, it all depended on "System! Give me some points!"...
Since traveling through time, the only thing Ogata has done that can be considered as exercising his muscles is probably the judo sparring with Atachi every night.
By practicing Jiu-Jitsu with A-Ming, one can get great exercise in waist strength, arm strength, physical strength, body flexibility, and tongue flexibility.
But Ogata certainly couldn't tell Ottompui directly that his physical training and swordsmanship depended entirely on the negative distance contact and system with Atsumi.
So Ogata smiled and said:
"My sword training methods and physical training methods... are very intense, so it's not convenient to tell you or show you."
A hint of disappointment appeared on the faces of Aizuma and Otunpuyi.
Puchina, who had preconceived ideas and unconsciously believed that Ogata was a dangerous person, was stunned for a moment, and then his face changed drastically.
—A violent method…?
——A method that is neither convenient to tell us nor to show us...could it be murder...?
Many bloody images flashed through Puchina's mind: Ogata smiled grimly while swinging his knife wildly to kill people, relying on bloody killings to improve his swordsmanship and physical fitness...
Puchina's legs, which had finally stopped shaking, began to shake again.
At this time, Ogata, who was sitting next to Puchina, discovered something about Puchina.
Ogata turned his head and said to Puchina:
"you……"
“Aa ...
Ogata barely managed to utter a syllable when Puchina let out an ear-piercing scream as if he heard a bear roaring in his ear.
Puchina's scream not only scared Ogata and his friends, but also scared the villagers of the nearby China Village.
"Puccina! What's your name! (Ainu)" Aisuma shouted angrily.
"No, nothing..." Puccina lowered his head and said weakly.
Just as Aisuma was about to continue scolding Puchina, her expression suddenly changed and she looked straight behind Ogata.
Noticing the sudden change in Asuma's expression, Ogata turned his head to look behind him - and then, his expression also changed slightly.
Behind him, a dozen Ainu people were striding towards them.
Without exception, these dozen people all stared at Ogata and Atachi with expressionless faces.
There was no friendly air about them from head to toe.
Ogata slowly stood up and placed his left hand on the hilt of Daishikite's sword.
Atachi also stood up like Ogata, and raised her right hand slightly, ready to take out her wakizashi or her pistol at any time.