——What...happened?
This was the last sentence that came to Kitahara's mind before he was knocked unconscious by a blow.
Just as he shouted in his heart, "Let Miss Isshiki look at me!", he saw An Yun approaching him with exquisite steps.
While getting close, raise the wooden sword in your hand high.
When Kitahara entered his attack range, the wooden sword was raised to the most suitable height, and then it chopped down at him heavily.
An Yun's series of actions were really too fast.
Kitahara's eyes followed his movements.
But the body can't keep up.
It was not until An Yun's knife was about to chop down that he just reacted and tried to raise the knife to defend himself.
An Yun's knife had already hit his body hard, and he hadn't yet gotten ready to defend himself.
The severe pain from the part that was hit made Kitahara scream uncontrollably.
The severe pain quickly spread throughout Kitahara's body and impacted his brain.
Then, his eyelids became heavier and heavier, and darkness gradually filled his field of vision - and he passed out.
…
…
silence.
The whole place was filled with silence.
Almost everyone at the scene looked at Kitahara who was killed instantly, and Anyun who killed Kitahara instantly, with wonderful expressions.
Ogata also looked surprised.
He just heard Isshikika's introduction and knew that Kitahara should be the invincible one among all the participants in the "Great Test".
"Ms. Isshiki." Ogata asked Isshiki next to him softly, "Didn't you say that Kitahara is very powerful?"
While asking Isshikika, Ogata rolled his eyes and looked up and down attentively at Anyun several times.
Ogata saw all of Ayun's actions just now.
If Ogata were to describe An Gui who killed Kitahara in an instant... it would be that this person is definitely not an ordinary person.
Whether it was the timing and distance of getting close or the timing and angle of launching the attack, it was all perfect.
Being able to so accurately grasp the timing and angle of attack when fighting against people, as well as the timing and distance of close combat... This can only mean one thing -
This person has a lot of experience in human combat.
"I, I don't know what's going on..." Isshikika's beautiful eyes were now wide open, "Who is this Anyin... I've never heard of this person... When did Yuanming Pavilion produce such a powerful person..."
The referee in charge of the trial match between Kitahara and Anyi is a man of high professional quality.
Although he was stunned by the scene in front of him, he came back to his senses quickly.
After coming to his senses, he stuttered and shouted:
"Gen-Gen, Gen-Ming-kan! An, Anyi Uenosuke Katsu!"
After the referee announced him the winner, Anyin put the wooden sword back on his right shoulder and walked off the field triumphantly and swaggeringly.
As for Kitahara who had already fainted, two apprentices from Quanbingkan rushed into the field and carried him back to the field, one on the left and one on the right.
The "big test" adopts the "one battle decides the winner" system.
In other words, Kitahara, who had already lost once, no longer had the chance to play again.
Everyone thought that it was a foregone conclusion for Kitahara to win the "three consecutive championships", but he lost in the first game - such a result was truly surprising.
Unable to hide her surprise, Isshiki turned to her grandfather and asked:
"Grandpa, do you know who this Anyun is? When did Yuanming Pavilion have such a powerful figure?"
"This Anyin... I have some impression of her..." Naoshige's eyes had been following Anyin's figure from the beginning. After hearing Isshikika's question, he murmured in a low voice, "I remember that she was a new apprentice who entered Yuanmingguan half a year ago."
"His skills are quite outstanding... but they shouldn't be this outstanding..."
Isshiki Sword Hall, Zenbei Sword Hall... People from all the sword halls were shocked by Anyi's strength.
Everyone in Yuanmingguan, where An Yun belongs, was also quite shocked...
Those fellow apprentices of Anyin who came with her to participate in or watch the "big test" all stared at Anyin who had returned with their eyes wide open and mouths wide open.
"Aki-kun." Shibata, who was a fellow apprentice of Aki at Yuanmingguan, swallowed hard, "When did you become so powerful?"
Anyun glanced at Shibata sideways, then gave a strange smile without saying anything.
Among all the people in Yuanmingguan, only their owner: Yagi Matahachiro was very calm.
Just now, when An Yun killed Kitahara in one move, Yagi had a smile on his face the whole time, as if everything was just as he expected.
After An Yun came back, Yagi smiled and nodded at An Yun:
"An Yun, you seem to be in good condition today."
"Oh, Master." An Yun grinned and laughed heartily, "I don't know why I'm in an exceptionally good state today!"
After saying that, Anyun no longer spoke to his master Yagi or anyone else. He sat back in his seat cross-legged, crossed his arms across his chest, and closed his eyes to rest.
The "big test" had just begun when a scene occurred that surprised everyone in the audience.
Although everyone was shocked, the "big test" had to go on, so they could only suppress their surprise and prepare to continue the test.
Since the appearance of the "dark horse" An Yun, the rest of the competitions became much more dull.
Ogata originally guessed that the competition between these people who probably had hardly touched a real sword would be extremely boring.
And now it seems that it is true.
He had clearly entered the best attacking area but did not launch an attack.
He was defending when he shouldn't be defending.
So far, only Aki has caught Ogata's attention.
After watching four boring trials in a row, it was finally An Yun's turn.
When Anyin came on the field again, she repeated the scene from before—killing her opponent instantly with one strike...
…
…
At this moment——
Osaka, Osaka Magistrate's Office, the Magistrate's office -
Osaka Magistrate, Okino Kyosuke, is currently busy with government affairs.
Just as the Kyoto Magistrate was suppressed by the Kyoto Shoshi, the Osaka Magistrate was suppressed by the Osaka Castle.
As Okino's direct superior, Osaka Castle Lord Horida, it is Okino's duty to faithfully complete any order issued by Horida.
Too many abnormal things have happened recently, which has made Okino feel uneasy these days.
First, more than a month ago, a merchant ship smuggling armor was seized in Osaka Port.
The severity of this incident was beyond what Okino could handle.
When Okino learned about this, he immediately reported it to Horida.
And then... nothing happened.
After Horita learned about this, he personally took charge of the investigation. Okino knew nothing about the current investigation results of the merchant ship that smuggled armor and did not dare to ask too much.
After more than a month of peace, yesterday, Horita issued an order to Okino that made him worried:
Take inventory of the food, weapons and other stocks in the Osaka warehouse, and submit the exact number of food, weapons, horses and other storage items stored in the treasury within 2 days.
Horita suddenly asked to count the inventory of the Osaka Treasury... Based on his work experience, Okino deduced that there were only two possibilities:
First, an important official from the central government will come to Osaka to inspect their governance.
Second, what has happened now or in the future that will require the large-scale use of the Osaka Treasury's inventory...
Thinking of the "armor smuggling" incident that happened more than a month ago, Okino vaguely realized something...
The more he thought about it, the more frightened Okino felt.
This was no longer something that a small town magistrate like him could interfere with, or even think about or consider.
Not daring to delve into the matter further, Okino devoted all his energy to completing the task assigned by Horida.
As the nation's logistics center and the "world's number one commercial city", the number of items stored in Osaka's warehouse is naturally astronomical.
It is not an easy task to sort out the accurate number of items stored in the treasury within 2 days.
Okino is now conscientiously checking and examining the statistical reports submitted by his clerks.
"My eyes are getting worse and worse..."
After putting down another report, Okino sighed and rubbed his eyes vigorously with his hands.
45 years old - this is Okino's current age.
Since he turned 40, Okino has clearly felt that his health is getting worse, especially his eyes.
Not only can you not see distant objects clearly, but you can also get sore very easily.
Just as Okino tilted his head back and closed his eyes to rest them, a report from one of his subordinates suddenly rang out from outside the office:
"Lord Okino, a Hikyaku brought a letter addressed to you."
"A letter?" Chongye suddenly opened his eyes and said in a joyful tone, "Hurry up and bring the letter to me!"
"yes!"
Hikyaku: A courier during the Edo period.
Japan in the Edo period already had a very powerful express delivery service. As long as you could afford the money, Hikyaku could help you deliver letters or goods from the easternmost to the westernmost end of Japan.
After Okino asked for the letter to be brought over quickly, a letter with a complete seal was handed to Okino's desk soon after.
With excitement flashing in his eyes, Okino quickly tore open the envelope and took out a thin piece of letter paper.
The top of this neatly folded letter has a touch of bright red.
Seeing the bright red color at the top of the letter paper, Chongye's heart immediately blossomed.
"Miss Qingju sent me a letter again~~~~Hehehe~~~~"
A laugh with a hint of vulgarity came out of Okino's mouth.
Harugiku——One of the most popular prostitutes at the Mushroom House in Shinmachi.
For prostitutes, customers are their lives.
In order to prevent the loss of regular customers and convert them into repeat customers, writing letters to customers and inviting them to come again is one of their important daily tasks.
Because the prostitutes basically have no personal freedom, they would entrust flying shoes to help deliver the letters.
Among the letters these prostitutes send to their customers, the most special one is the one that Okino is holding in his hand now - the letter with Tian Hong on it.
Fold the letter paper, then bite the top of the letter paper with your lip balm, and use the lip balm on your lips to press a red mark on the top of the letter paper. This red mark is called "Tianhong".
This kind of red-covered letter would usually only be sent by a prostitute to the most special guests.
Therefore, when a prostitute sends you a letter with a red background, it is like the prostitute is saying to you: You are a special person to me.
Because of the meaning of this "Heavenly Red Letter", many "Red Street Cowboys" are eager to receive the "Heavenly Red Letter" from their favorite prostitutes.
Of course - in order to attract customers, many prostitutes send a letter with a sky-red seal to each of their regular customers, telling each person in the letter "You are the one I love the most". This is also a common and tacit thing that everyone knows.
Okino was not in a hurry to open the letter in his hand. Instead, he smiled obscenely, opened his mouth wide, took the red mark on the letter into his mouth, and then sucked it hard.
"Hmm~ It's the smell of chrysanthemum~ It smells so good! It smells so good!"
Due to the peculiar ethics of the Edo period, it was common for married men to go to the red-light district after work. As the magistrate of Osaka, Okino, who had no shortage of money and a very lustful nature, had always been the most outstanding "Shinmachi Bullet" in the Osaka officialdom.
Okino met Harukiku by chance two months ago.
When he first saw Harukiku, Okino was captivated by her face, bear and feet.
Over the past three months, Okino has been visiting Qingju's business once every three days.
And Harukiku is also a girl who knows how to please Okino.
Since hooking up with Okino, he has been writing letters to Okino frequently to keep in touch with him. He writes little naughty words on the letter paper, such as "The chest part of my kimono seems to have become narrower", which makes Okino feel itchy and makes Okino even more obsessed with Harukiku.
During the three months of being in love with Harukiku, the sound that Okino wanted to hear most every day was the sound of the bell on the Hikyaku. (The Hikyakus all had a bell on their bodies. When the Hikyakus were running to deliver the items, the bell would ring non-stop.)
All the letters Harukiku wrote to Okino were "Tianhong Letters" without exception, and he received one Tianhong Letter almost every day. Therefore, when he saw this letter with Tianhong printed on it, Okino immediately knew that it was a letter Harukiku wrote to him.
Six days ago, Harukiku suddenly fell ill, which made Okino depressed for a long time. Because of Harukiku's illness, Okino also didn't receive any letters from Harukiku for a long time.
Today, Okino received a letter from Harukiku after a long time, which made him very excited and all the fatigue in his body was swept away.
He held the lipstick on the letter in his mouth until it melted away, then Okino finally unfolded the letter.
Okino held his breath and read the new letter sent by Harukiku in his hand word by word with great concentration.
After finishing reading, Okino couldn't help but let out an obscene grin.
There is not much content in Qingju's letter, which consists of two parts in total.
The first part was the routine greetings to Okino.
The second part is to extend an invitation to Chongye.
Harukiku said that her illness would soon be cured and she would probably be fully recovered . She asked Okino if he had time to visit her at the Mushroom House in Shinmachi in the evening of 4 days.
Qingju's letter was written very subtly. At first glance, it seemed like a normal letter, but even a fool could tell that what she meant by "take a look at her" was the kind of "take a look" that meant "check whether her body is developing normally."
"Four days later?" Okino wiped the saliva that was about to drip from the corner of his mouth, and tried hard to recall his future schedule - he should be free in the evening four days later.
After confirming that he would be free four nights later, Okino immediately folded and put away the red letter in his hand, then pushed away all the debris on the desk in front of him, and continued to write a reply to Harukiku while making an obscene laugh.
…
…
Quanbingguan, No. 2 Dojo——
Bang!
A familiar scene appeared before everyone's eyes again.
Aki quickly moved closer and then slashed with a fierce blow, knocking his opponent down.
The person who is currently competing against Anyi is also an apprentice of the Zenhyokan.
He was stabbed on his right shoulder. Because of the different location of the knife, he did not faint immediately like Kitahara, but he did not feel well either. After all, Anyin's force was not light.
He held his swollen right shoulder tightly with his left hand, his face was pale and he was sweating. Although the bones in his right shoulder were not injured, it was obvious that he would not be able to use his right arm again unless he rested for a few days.
At a time when protective gear and light and soft bamboo swords were not yet popular, everyone practiced and sparred with wooden swords without any protection, so injuries were common during sparring. Therefore, no one would blame Anyin for injuring her opponent.
The referee has now become accustomed to the phenomenon that An Yun always kills everyone he fights with instantly. After An Yun injured his opponent, he immediately shouted loudly:
"Yuanmeikan! Aki Uenosuke wins!"
The expression of Nanjo Isao, the owner of the Zenbeikan, is now extremely ugly.
Because the man whose shoulder was injured by An Yun is the last contestant in their entire military hall.
Three people from each of the four major sword halls participated in the trial - the three contestants from the Quanbing Hall had all been defeated at this time.
Because of his anger, Nanjo's breathing became heavy.
He looked at An Yun on the field with cold eyes.
Not only did Anyi kill his favorite student Kitahara, who he had high hopes for and thought could win the "three consecutive championships", with one blow, but he also eliminated the last player from their entire martial arts hall, leaving their sword hall with no hope of winning the championship of this year's "Da Shihe".
An Yun's opponent has now been helped back to the sidelines.
However, An Yun was still holding the wooden sword, standing there without any movement.
"An Yun-kun." The referee cast a puzzled look at An Yun, "Please return to your seat for a moment. The next round of trials is about to begin."
An Yun seemed not to have heard what the referee said and continued to stand there motionless.
“Ha~~”
He yawned loudly.
"It's so boring... I'm too lazy to waste any more time..."
As he said this, he stretched hard.
Then, he swung the sword heavily.
He pointed the tip of the sword at Nanjo Isao, the master of the Zenbeikan, who was sitting not far away.
"Let's stop this boring competition! Let's get straight to the point!"
"Mr. Nanjo! Can you show me your Katori Shinto-ryu skills?"