The next day, at noon—
At the foot of the mountain where Kantou Village is located——
"We're finally down the mountain..." Ating, who was holding grapes, sighed as he looked at the flat plain in front of him.
This morning, when Ogata and his friends were preparing to go down the mountain, the villagers of Kantou Village pointed out a shortcut down the mountain that only people in their village knew about.
This shortcut down the mountain was not only much easier to walk, but also took less time to reach the foot of the mountain. It took Ogata and his companions only one morning to leave the mountain where Kanto Village was located and set foot on the plain again.
Ogata raised his hand and stroked the mane of the carrot beside him, then turned his head and asked Lin Ziping beside him:
"Mr. Lin, do you really intend to stay in Ezo and not consider returning to Japan with us?"
"Yes." Lin Ziping answered without hesitation, "Well, I plan to continue to head north to further study and map the topography of Ezo."
Last night, after finishing the conversation with Xuanzhi and returning to Xuanzhi's clinic where they were staying, Xu Fang told Lin Ziping about their next plan to return to Japan.
Although Lin Ziping has a strange temper, he knows what to ask and what not to ask.
He did not ask what Ogata and Gennao had talked about, nor did he ask why Ogata suddenly wanted to return to Japan. He just nodded slightly to indicate "I understand."
As early as last night, Ogata had asked Hayashi Shiping if he wanted to go back to Japan with them, but Hayashi Shiping flatly refused, saying that he "wanted to continue to do research in Ezo."
"I see..." Seeing that his invitation was rejected, Osamu looked regretful, "It seems that we really have to go our separate ways."
"I'm going to continue north, and you two are going to go south." Lin Ziping smiled, "We are truly going our separate ways."
"Mr. Lin, you will be traveling alone from now on, so please be careful." Ating on the side reminded sincerely.
"Hahaha." Lin Ziping laughed. "Don't worry. When I was Ogata-kun's age, I had already traveled around to study on my own. I have a lot of experience in 'traveling alone'."
——But the problem is, weren’t you arrested and imprisoned by the Red Moon Fortress as a spy a while ago?
Ogata complained secretly in his heart, but in order to save Lin Ziping's face, he did not say this out loud.
"By the way, do you remember the way back?" Lin Ziping asked at this time.
Ogata nodded. "When I left the Red Moon Fortress and came to this Kanto Village, I kept memorizing and drawing maps, so returning to Japan will not be a problem."
When following Lin Ziping to leave the Red Moon Fortress and head north to find Kantou Village, Ogata had been mapping and memorizing the route. In addition, Ogata has always been a person with a strong sense of direction and memory, and still remembers which roads he took when he came here, so it is not difficult for Ogata to return to Japan by the same route.
"That's good." Lin Ziping nodded and asked a new question, "After you return to Matsumae, will there be a way to take a ship back to Japan?"
"Well... not really." Atachi scratched his hair and continued, "After returning to Matsumae, we can only take things one step at a time and see if there is a way to get on a ship back to Japan."
"In that case... before I leave, I'll do you one last favor."
"Do you know the smuggling boats that help people sneak across the border between Japan and Ezo?"
Ogata and Atachi both shook their heads in confusion - this was the first time they had heard of this.
"It is very troublesome to return to Japan or go to Ezo by legitimate means."
"And you know - there are always some people who cannot travel between the Japanese mainland and Ezo by ship in a proper way."
"So the 'stowaway boat' came into being."
"Once you arrive at Matsumae Castle in Matsumae Domain, go find a general store called 'Sadaeya'."
"That grocery store is an ordinary grocery store, but in fact, the main 'product' they sell is to help people smuggle."
"When you get to Dingjiang House, tell the guy at the counter 'a piece of reeds to cross the sea'."
"This is their code. As long as you tell them the code, they will help you arrange your smuggling."
"By the way, the boat I took to Ezo this time was the smuggling boat of Dingjiangya."
"Sadae-ya... 'A piece of reed to cross the sea'..." Ogata chewed on the name of the store and the words over and over again, memorizing them in his heart, "Thank you, Mr. Hayashi. This is very useful to us."
Ogata sincerely thanked Lin Ziping.
"You're welcome. It's just a small favor."
After saying this, Lin Ziping paused, then put on a look of regret, and said softly with emotion:
"Although I didn't spend much time with you, the time I spent traveling with the famous executioner Ittosai, whom I have always respected, was a very rare and precious experience in my life."
"I have done everything I can to help you."
"From now on, I can only wish you good luck in martial arts."
"Yes." Ogata nodded vigorously, "I also hope that you can complete your research on Ezo soon."
"Oh, by the way." Lin Ziping suddenly said, "Ogata-kun. Before we leave, can you do me a small favor?"
"A small favor? Please go ahead."
"I don't remember if I told you about this." Lin Ziping raised his hand and touched his bald scalp due to his fringe-like hair. "I'm planning to write a new book."
"The content of this new book is mainly about how important it is for Japan, a maritime country, to strengthen its coastal defense."
"I have already written most of the content of this book. I will publish it after I successfully complete the topographic survey of Ezo and return to Japan."
“But I don’t know what title to give it.”
"I've never been good at naming things."
"Regarding the title of the book, can you give me some suggestions, Ogata-kun?"
"Any suggestions for the title of the book?" Ogata pondered for a moment, then smiled bitterly, "I'm not very good at naming..."
"If possible, I would like to come up with a title that can succinctly summarize the content of the book." Lin Ziping said.
"If your book is about the importance of strengthening coastal defense... then you can't give it a fancy name. After all, it's a serious book..." Ogata pondered again, "Then... how about "Sea Country Heroes"? "
"'Hai Guo Bing Tan'?" Lin Ziping raised his eyebrows.
"It fits your requirements perfectly," Ogata said jokingly. "It succinctly summarizes the contents of your book, and the name is not fancy."
"...It's indeed a pretty good name." Lin Ziping pondered for a while and grinned, "Ogata-kun, thank you for your suggestion!"
"I will give priority to choosing your name as the title of my book in the future!"
At this point, Lin Ziping changed his tone to a joking one.
"If I decide to use your book title, I will consider adding a sentence of thanks to you in the book - 'Thank you Ogata Noriyoshi for your contribution to the creation of this book.'"
"I suggest you don't do that." Ogata also changed his tone to joking, "If you add this sentence to the book, not only will your book be ruined, but you will also be ruined."
…
…
Ogata and Atachi rode on Radish and Grape and headed south.
Lin Ziping stood there and watched the two of them leave.
When the two figures were about to disappear from his field of vision, Lin Ziping looked thoughtful: "The Talk of the Sea Country Soldiers?"
Lin Ziping slowly took out the paper and pen he carried with him.
In order to make it convenient to write at any time, the bristles of Lin Ziping's pen are soaked with ink. When he needs to use it, he can just dip it in water and start writing.
Lin Ziping rubbed the tip of the brush on his tongue, moistened the ink on the tip with saliva, spread out the paper, and wrote the four big characters "Haiguo Bingtan" on it.
Looking at the four big words he had just written, Lin Ziping nodded gently, with a look of satisfaction on his face.
Afterwards, Hayashi Shiping put away his paper and pen, put on his bag, and headed north, in the exact opposite direction of Ogata and Atachi.
One goes north and the other goes south.
They all embarked on their own journeys.
…
…
"Are we finally going back to Japan..." Omachi, who was walking side by side with Ogata, said with emotion, "The long journey of 'finding Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen' has finally come to an end..."
At this point, A-Machi suddenly seemed to remember something, turned his head, and asked Ogata:
"Oh, Ayi. When you asked me for paper and pen last night, didn't you say you wanted to leave something for Xuanzhi? What did you leave for him?"
"It's something... that might be useful to him in the future." Ogata sighed softly. "Before I left, I secretly asked the village chief of Kantou Village to help me hand that thing over to Xuanzhi. I wonder if he has seen the thing I left for him now..."
…
…
Kanto Village, Xuanzhi's home——
"Hirachiyo, this is for you."
"Village chief, what is this?" Xuan Zhi looked at the neatly folded paper handed to him by the village chief with confusion.
"It was a letter that the man named Majima Goro asked me to give to you before he left," the village chief said. "It seems to be a letter. But don't worry, I haven't read the contents."
"Thank you... " Xuanzhi slowly took the letter.
"Hirachiyo..." After handing the letter to Xuanzhi, the village chief looked at him with a complicated look, "Will you...change back to Hirachiyo now?"
There are two people living in Xuanzhi's body - this has never been a secret in Kantou Village.
When Gennao first came to Kanto Village, his personality split for the first time, and he frequently switched back and forth between the two identities of Gennao and Hei Chiyo.
At the beginning, many villagers disliked the mentally ill Xuanzhi and proposed to drive Xuanzhi out of the village.
However, an unexpected incident became an opportunity for the villagers to change their views on Xuanzhi - a little girl in the village accidentally fell down the hillside while playing and was seriously injured.
There was no doctor in the village, and just when everyone was at a loss, Xuanzhi, who was still mentally unstable at the time, stepped forward and saved the little girl.
From then on, the villagers began to change their views on Xuanzhi and eventually slowly accepted him.
And Genzhi's main personality gradually stabilized and became "Heichiyo".
Now, all the villagers keep Xuanzhi's secret from outsiders and protect him, while treating him as one of their own.
The village chief of Kantou Village is one of the people who has the best relationship with Genzhi, so as early as last night, the village chief had already discovered that this person is no longer the Hei Chiyo he is more familiar with.
"...Village Chief." A big smile slowly spread across Xuanzhi's haggard, dull face. "I don't know when I will turn back into Hirachiyo. After all, I have no way to control this change of 'identity'."
"It's possible that it will change back later."
"It may take a long time to change back."
"But - whether I turn back into Hirachiyo or not, I still have all of Hirachiyo's memories, and all of my feelings for you."
"I will always be that Hirachiyo."
"...Is that so..." The village chief slowly revealed a light smile of relief and joy, "Then we will always call you Hirachiyo, is that ok?"
"Of course." Xuanzhi said without hesitation.
"My son hunted a fat deer today." The village chief said, "You cured my wife's back disease before, and I haven't had time to thank you properly. Come to my house tonight to eat venison hotpot."
"Okay. I'll definitely go."
After finishing all the things he should do and saying all the things he wanted to say, the village chief left Xuanzhi's house with a satisfied look on his face.
After the village chief left, Gennao unfolded the letter that Ogata had entrusted to him.
There were only three sentences written in neat handwriting on the letter.
The first sentence is:
[This is where your junior brother Xuanren lives now]
The second sentence is where Xuanren lives now, which is the address of the village at the foot of the mountain of Huluwu Base Camp.
As for the third sentence:
[May this piece of paper help you if you want to see your loved ones in the future]
Looking at the two simple words written on the paper, Xuan Zhi was frozen in place as if he were under some kind of magic.
“Woo…woo…woo…”
The originally silent house was then slowly filled with sobbing sounds.
…
…
At this moment——
In the valley of a certain mountain in Ezo—
The valley is filled with mist and looks like a fairyland.
If someone knows nothing about hot springs, they might really think this valley is some kind of fairyland.
But in fact, these "fairy mists" are nothing more than the vapor rising from hot springs.
At the deepest part of the valley, there is a large natural hot spring that can accommodate 30 people to soak in.
"Fairy mist" floats out from this natural hot spring.
There is a natural hot spring in the valley, with a lot of mist rising out: this should have been a beautiful scene.
But the people who are now soaking in this hot spring are "desecrating" this beautiful scene.
At this moment, in this natural hot spring, an extremely fat man was soaking in it.
This sturdy man is quite ugly.
With dark skin and a stout figure, this sturdy man's belly is as big as a pregnant woman's. Because he is too fat, his chin has three layers.
He had long curly hair that reached his shoulders. The hair was extremely thick. The chest hair, chin and beard on his cheeks were so thick that you could see the skin underneath the hair.
Be it the eyes or the ears, any one of the facial features looks ordinary when taken separately, but when combined together they produce a strange chemical reaction that makes the whole face look extremely ugly.
In a nutshell - this ugly guy is so ugly that people dare not look at his face for too long, for fear of polluting their eyes.
This ugly guy just leaned carelessly in a corner of the hot spring, closed his eyes, and enjoyed this natural hot spring .
It was because of this ugly man that the originally picturesque scenery was tarnished, just like a large piece of mud falling on beautiful silk.
"Lord Yitong! Lord Yitong!"
Just as the ugly man was silently enjoying the hot spring, a young man who was as ugly as him ran up to him and leaned over to say something to him.
After the young man's whisper fell, the ugly man's eyes, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened, and a light of surprise shone in his eyes:
"Are they really here?"
The young man nodded vigorously.
"Please invite them all in!"
The ugly man stood up suddenly from the hot spring while shouting loudly.
"Someone come! Hurry up and bring me all the clothes!"
As soon as the ugly man finished speaking, several guards who had been standing guard not far away immediately ran to the hot spring pool holding a set of the ugly man's clean clothes.
With the help of the guards, the ugly man quickly stuffed his fat body into his clothes, and then walked quickly towards the southwest of the natural hot spring.
To the southwest of the natural hot spring, there is a huge cave.
As soon as he stepped into the cave, the ugly man saw a group of people sitting in the middle of the cave.
The leader of this group is a very handsome man.
After seeing Yitong, the handsome man slowly revealed a gentle smile: "Master Yitong, long time no see."
“Hahahaha!” The ugly man known as “Ant Tong” opened his arms, as if he was about to hug someone, and laughed, “Mr. Miyabe! It’s been a long time!”
Miyabe... this handsome man, his appearance is in stark contrast to Yi Tong.
If Yi Tong was so ugly that people could not bear to look at him, then Gong Bu was so handsome that people could not look away.
Delicate facial features, fair skin. The only drawback was probably that he had a hairstyle that was not popular in that era: he did not shave his head, but just tied his long hair into a high ponytail at the back of his head.
If he had the most popular and trendy topknot of this era, he would definitely become a killer for women of all ages walking on the street.
After Yi Tong appeared, Gongbe took the initiative to greet him, and then gracefully performed a standard bow that was impeccable.
And Yitong also changed the gift in a very awkward way.
"Mr. Miyabe!" Yi Tong asked Miyabe impatiently, "Why are you here so suddenly? Where is Mr. Kinoshita? Has Mr. Kinoshita come?"
"Lord Kinoshita has not come." Miyabe smiled slightly, "We are here at the order of Lord Kinoshita to greet Lord Antō and give him gifts."
"Greetings, gifts?" Yi Tong looked puzzled.
"Lord Kinoshita has never forgotten the friendly cooperation with Lord Antung." Gong Bu said slowly with a smile on his face, "Lord Kinoshita has told us more than once in public and privately that Lord Antung is one of the best partners he has ever met."
"Although we left Ezo for various reasons and can no longer cooperate with you, Master Kinoshita still hasn't forgotten you."
"Master Kinoshita knows that at this time of year you would take a boat to Ezo to enjoy the hot springs."
"So I was sent here to give you, my old friend, my long-lost greetings and gifts."
After saying this, Gongbu winked at his subordinates behind him.
After receiving the look from Gongbu, the subordinates who were originally arranged in a tight square immediately moved quickly and in an orderly manner - four people carried up two large boxes.
After the four people brought the big box up, they opened it.
The cave, which was originally a little dark due to the dim light, immediately became brighter - the two large boxes were filled with gold.
Having been a pirate for so long, Yi Tong is extremely sensitive to things like money.
With just one glance, he quickly calculated how much money was in the two large boxes - 3,000 taels of gold.
Yi Tong laughed so hard that his eyes narrowed into slits.
"Hey!" Yitong shouted to his subordinates behind him, "Prepare the most luxurious meal tonight! Entertain the guests!"
…
…
Somewhere in Ezo—
“Ahhh——!”
A wild dog howled loudly and then pounced on a black-robed man in front of it.
The wild dog was extremely thin, and saliva kept dripping from its mouth as it pounced on the man in black robe - it must have been extremely hungry.
Its four claws alternately grabbed the ground quickly, like a gust of wind.
However, when it was only a few steps away from the man in black robe, and when it was about to pounce on him, the black robe on the man in black robe shook violently.
Three shurikens flew out from the black robe - one missed, and the other two hit the wild dog's head and neck respectively.
"Woo woo..." The wild dog whimpered and fell to the ground.
"Hehehe!" A smug voice came from under the black robe, "How is it? Are the shurikens shot by the female kunoichi delicious?!"
Coo coo coo...
As soon as the man in black robe finished speaking these powerful words, a "cooing" sound suddenly rang out.
"Wow... I'm so hungry..."
Plop.
The man in black robe fell to the ground due to hunger.