"You want to meet my father earlier?" Asuma blinked a few times in confusion. "What's wrong? Is there something important you want to tell my father?"
"…I guess so. But as to what it is, please allow me to keep it a secret for now. I think it's better not to tell everyone what I'm going to say to your father."
"As for how Ating got injured... Sorry, please allow me to keep it a secret for now. I will tell you when the time is right."
Hearing what Ogata said, Asuma looked puzzled.
But she did not ask Ogata why he didn't tell him anything.
Asuma is a thoughtful person.
Seeing the serious expression on Ogata's face, a voice sounded in Asuma's mind: It's better not to ask too much now...
Asuma chose to listen to the voice in her head. She didn't ask why Ogata didn't tell her anything, nor did she ask any other questions.
At this moment, Kunoya on the side suddenly let out a sigh of relief, and then took off the cloth on her face that served as a mask.
"Okay, the wound has been sutured again."
"Little girl, you are amazing. You didn't even make a sound the whole time."
"I see you're only about 20 years old, right? You're the strongest girl your age I've ever met."
The wound of Atachi, which was originally sutured by Ogata with a rough technique, has now been beautifully sutured by Kunoya with silk thread.
Just now, when Kunoya was re-stitching her wound, Ating didn't even make a sound from beginning to end.
If she hadn't bit the cloth in her mouth so tightly that the masseter muscles on both sides of her cheeks bulged and she was sweating all over from the pain, it would have been easy for people to mistakenly think that Ating didn't feel any pain.
After Kunoya announced that the stitching was complete, Atachi immediately let go of the cloth that had been bitten into two neat rows of teeth marks, panting softly and mumbling:
"I'm not even 20 years old... I'm only 19..."
"What's the difference between 19 and 20 years old?" After responding to Ating in a half-joking tone, Kunoya put down the tools for suturing the wound in her hand, stood up and walked towards the huge Chinese medicine cabinet next to her.
At this time, Ogata also took out a clean cloth and carefully wiped the sweat off Atachi's body.
"Just a reminder - I'm going to start boiling some medicine for applying to the wound, so the smell might be a bit strong."
As soon as she finished speaking, Kunoya lit the pot used for decocting medicine and began to boil the herbs.
Then, a smell that was neither smelly nor fragrant began to spread everywhere.
After a while, Kunoya knelt back down beside Ating with a portion of boiled medicine in her hand.
Kunoya applied the ointment to Ating's wound, then took out the linen and wrapped it with practiced movements. "How is it? Do you feel it's too tight or too loose?"
"No... just right..."
"That's good." Kunoya walked back to the huge Chinese medicine cabinet again, "I'm going to start boiling the medicine for drinking now. This will take a long time. It will take about two hours to cook."
"Little girl, take a nap now. I see you are tired, so take a nap while I am cooking the medicine. I will wake you up to drink it when it is ready."
Ating was injured and was already weak.
After enduring severe pain and having the wound sutured again, fatigue continued to surge from the depths of my mind and from all parts of my body.
Ating is exhausted both physically and mentally. Now her upper and lower eyelids have started to fight...
"Eh... ? Is it okay? Will it cause trouble if I sleep at your house...?" asked Atachi.
"No, no." Kunoya shrugged, "This is not my home. This is just my clinic. My home is next door."
"The total population of Heyezhe is only about a thousand people, so they don't come to see me for medical treatment every day."
"Just go to sleep. I'll wake you up and take the medicine when it's ready."
As soon as Kunoya finished speaking, Ogata, who had just wiped the sweat off Atachi's face, was tidying up Atachi's hair, and whispered to Atachi, whose eyes were almost closed:
"A-Ming, you should go to sleep now."
Atachi was already extremely sleepy, and after hearing what Ogata said, she finally seemed to be unable to hold on any longer and slowly closed her eyes. After a while, her breathing became even and steady.
"Here. Give it to your wife to cover her."
Kunoya, who was decocting medicine, brought out a quilt that seemed to be made of bear skin from somewhere.
Seeing that the quilt was clean, Ogata gently covered Atachi with the quilt.
After covering Ating with the blanket, Ogata took a deep breath. Then, he turned his head and said to Asuma:
"Aisuma, your father shouldn't have gone to bed yet, right?"
Asuma shook her head.
"Then please take me to see your father now. I want to finish what I want to say to your father right now."
"Then come with me. But... I still have to remind you once again, my father may be busy at the moment, so you may not be able to see him now."
"It's okay. Yashili, could you please look after Ating while I'm gone? I'll be back soon."
Aisuma took the initiative to help Ogata translate.
Ashley nodded vigorously.
Ogata carried his knife and walked out of Kunoa's clinic one after the other, with Asuma.
As soon as I walked out of the clinic, I saw Ayizan and Aotongpuyi who had been waiting outside the clinic.
After briefly telling the two about Ating's treatment and what he plans to do now, Ai Zan, who felt a little relieved when he learned that Ating's treatment was going well, said that he now planned to go back to where the villagers of their Qina Village lived to report their safety to him and Yashili's people.
And Otunpuyi said that he and Aizuma would take Ogata to meet their father.
As soon as the three of them left the clinic, Aotongpuyi seemed to be unable to hold back and turned to Ogata who was walking behind him and asked:
"Mr. Majima, now can you tell us how Ms. Atachi was injured..."
Before Otunpuyi could finish his words, his sleeve was suddenly pulled by Aisuma.
When he turned to look at his sister, he saw his sister winking at him, telling him with her eyes: Don't ask too many questions yet.
Although he didn't understand why his sister stopped him from asking this question, Otunpuyi always obeyed his sister, so although he was puzzled, he still chose to listen to his sister.
After Aisuma stopped her brother from asking how Ating got injured, the three of them stayed silent all the way.
In the silent atmosphere, Asuma and his family's home slowly appeared within Ogata's field of vision.
"Mister Majima, please come in with me."
After saying that, Asuma quickened his pace slightly and strode towards the front door of his house.
But suddenly - Asuma seemed to remember something, his expression froze, and then he turned his head and said to Ogata:
"Ah, Mr. Majima, I forgot to tell you. We have a new guest in our house now."
"Guest?" Ogata asked back.
"On the day when the surviving villagers of Takta Village fled to us, an elderly Japanese man suddenly came to our Heyezhe."
"That old man and the refugee from Takta arrived here at the same time."
“As soon as he arrived, the surviving villagers of Natakta Village followed.”
"That man and my father seemed to be old acquaintances. After arriving here, he stayed in our house and has lived there ever since."
"Old Japanese?" Ogata frowned slightly, "What's that person's name?"
"I don't know his full name, I just know his last name seems to be Tang Shen."
"Tang Shen?" The light in Ogata's pupils shook slightly due to his emotional fluctuations.
"Yeah. That person is quite kind." Asuma nodded, "That person should be in our house now."
"These past few days, I have been asking my father when he had such a Japanese friend, but my father has always refused to tell me. I don't know why my father is so secretive about the identity of that old Japanese friend..."
After complaining softly
Following closely behind, Ogata, after entering Asuma's home, saw Chanup, whom he hadn't seen for a while, sitting cross-legged on the ground smoking a cigarette.
And...an old man who hadn't been seen for a while - this old man was sitting cross-legged next to Chanup.
When the old man saw Ogata, his eyes widened as if he had seen some strange creature with nine heads.
Aisuma: "Father, you are not busy now, that's good. (Ainu)"
"Aisuma, what's wrong? (Ainu)" Chanup put down the pipe in his hand.
Aizuma loudly and simply informed Ogata why he had brought her here.
After learning that it was Ogata who took the initiative to ask to see him, Chanup raised his eyebrows.
"...I understand." Chanup nodded gently, "Then - Aisuma, Otungpui, you two go out first, leave some space for me and Mr. Majima. (Ainu language)"
Chanup turned to look at Tang Shen beside him and continued in Japanese:.
"Tang Shen, you should go out first too."
"No need." As soon as Chanup finished speaking, Xu Fang immediately said, "Let Mr. Tang Shen stay here."
"Oh?" Chanup's eyes showed surprise. He looked at Tang Shen, then looked at Ogata, "...Then Tang Shen, you can stay."
Aisuma and Otunpuyi obeyed Chanup's orders and quickly left the room.
After the brother and sister left, Xu Fang carried his Great Shitian, walked quickly to Chanup and Tang Shen, and then knelt on the ground.
When he was standing at the door just now, he couldn't see clearly because of the angle and light. Now that he has moved closer, Ogata realized that Chanup seemed very tired.
His eyes were half-opened, revealing a hint of fatigue.
But after Ogata sat down beside him, Chanup immediately suppressed the fatigue in his eyes and smiled:
"Mashima-san, you are in such a hurry to find me. Is there something specific you want to tell me?"
"I do have something urgent to tell you, but before that--"
Ogata turned his head and looked at the old Japanese man sitting next to Chanup.
"Mr. Tang Shen, I never thought we would meet again..."
“Yeah…” The old man sitting next to Chanup…or Tang Shen, smiled awkwardly, “Mr. Mashima, why…are you here?”
"So you two know each other?" Chanup took a few puffs from his pipe. "This is really beyond my expectation..."
"Yes." Ogata nodded, "Due to various coincidences, I have met Mr. Tang Shen several times."
"I never expected that... Mr. Tang Shen, the old acquaintance you mentioned before who you wanted to remind to 'be careful of the Japanese army' is Mr. Chanup..."
Having said this, Ogata let out a long sigh.
"Since you are here, Mr. Tang Shen, that means... you have already told Chanupu about the shogunate's mobilization of the army, right?"
Tang Shen didn't say anything. He just pursed his lips and nodded slightly.
"...Then I have saved some energy." Ogata said softly, "No need to bother explaining to Mr. Chanup the danger you are facing in Heye Zhe."
"Mr. Majima, you came to see me now specially, are you here to tell me that the shogunate has sent a large army to attack our Heyezhe?" Chanup asked.
"Yes." Ogata nodded. "But... I don't necessarily know as much information as Mr. Yugami."
The reason why Ogata asked Aisuma to meet with Chanup as soon as possible was to quickly inform Chanup of the news that "the shogunate army is coming."
It was for this purpose that he originally decided to return to Red Moon Fortress.
But then an accident happened and Ating was injured. Ogata returned to the Red Moon Fortress with the purpose of "finding a doctor to treat Ating's injury".
Ogata cleared his throat and then informed Chanup of all the information he knew so far.
Chanup listened carefully to every word and sentence of Ogata.
Soon - Obe told everything he knew.
After listening quietly to everything Ogata said, Chanup first looked thoughtful.
After a long while, he let out a long sigh, then forced a smile:
"Mister Majima, did you come back here just to tell me this information?"
"The villagers of Qina Village are now part of your Heye Zhe." Ogata said slowly, "And the villagers of Qina Village and I have a deep friendship, and you have helped me a lot, so I can't just sit back and watch you."
"I see... So from this perspective, my decision to take in Qina Village and allow you to join my Heye Zhe was indeed a wise choice." After saying this in a half-joking tone, Chanup sat up a little straighter and bowed solemnly to Ogata. "Mashima-san, thank you very much for coming back to tell me the news of the 'Shogunate Army's Invasion'."
"You're welcome." Ogata returned the greeting. "Mr. Chanup, I think almost everyone, including Azuma and Otunpui, seems to be unaware that the shogunate's army is coming. Haven't you informed everyone about this yet?"
"Yes." Chanup nodded. "Before we come up with a specific response plan, telling everyone about this bad news will only increase everyone's anxiety and panic. By then, there may be all kinds of accidents."
"Mr. Majima, when you returned to our Heye Zhe, you didn't tell others that the Kazuto army was coming, right?"
"Don't worry. I'm not stupid." Ogata replied, "I didn't tell anyone about this before I met you. It's your job to tell the tribesmen that there is an enemy attack. I won't interfere."
"But I suggest that you tell your people this bad news as soon as possible."
"You can't hide this. Once the shogunate's army is at the gates of the city, you won't be able to hide it anymore."
"I understand what you said." Chanup laughed at himself. "At present, I have only told this bad news to a very small number of people. These days, I have been discussing with these people what to do."
"However... after several days of discussion, we still haven't come to a conclusion."
"Some say we should run for our lives, some advocate a fight to the death, and some say... just surrender..."
Having said this, Chanup shook his shoulders, and the self-deprecating look on his face became even more intense.
"The Kazuto army came too suddenly... We were totally unprepared... We don't even know why the Kazuto troops attacked us..."
"From what I heard, the reason the shogunate sent troops against you was that you incited the naturalized Ainu people in Matsumae Castle to riot," said Ogata.
Chanup chuckled a few times as if he had heard some funny joke.
"Mashima-san, do you believe this?"
"To be honest - I don't believe it." Ogata answered without hesitation.
The Ainu people in the Red Moon Fortress incited the naturalized people in Matsumae Castle - this kind of words could probably only deceive those who had never been to the Red Moon Fortress and had no knowledge of it.
When Ogata learned from Matsudaira Sadanobu that the shogunate sent troops for such a reason, he had strong doubts about Matsudaira Sadanobu's words.
He had been to the Red Moon Fortress and had seen with his own eyes that most of the people in the Red Moon Fortress were not hostile to the Japanese. The Red Moon Fortress had no motive at all to incite the naturalized people of Matsumae Castle.
After hearing Ogata's answer without hesitation, Chanup showed some relief on his face:
"We certainly didn't incite the naturalized people in Matsumae Castle. What good would that do us?"
"The reason I can think of for the shogunate to send troops to us is probably because they don't like us..."
"Our fortress is located in an excellent geographical location."
"Since the shogunate discovered this land a few years ago, they have been sending people to contact us every now and then, trying to persuade us to surrender and give up this new home that we have finally found."
"Of course we will not pay attention to such unreasonable demands, so every time the shogunate sends people to persuade us to surrender, we will reject them."
"We occupied a place with a very good geographical location and repeatedly refused to surrender to others, which angered the shogunate... This is probably the real reason why the shogunate sent troops against us..."
Chanup took a deep breath.
"Whatever... no matter what the real reason for the shogunate to send troops to us is, it doesn't matter anymore..."
Chanup stretched out his fingers and pinched his eyebrows.
Ogata: “You look very tired.”
"Well... because I've been worrying about what to do ..." Chanup smiled bitterly, "I couldn't even sleep well... To be honest, before you came, I was actually taking a nap... When you came, I just woke up."
Having said this, Chanup took a deep breath, recomposed his face, and turned his bitter smile into a smile.
"Mr. Majima, thank you for coming all the way back to remind me."
Chanup said "thank you" again
then--
"Now...take your wife and get out of here."
Chanup spoke word by word.
"There's no need for you and your wife to stay here and take risks with us. Now that the shogunate's army has not arrived, Mr. Majima, you should escape!"