Although he was puzzled about the identity of the "old monk with a goatee", Hasegawa knew that now was not the time to ask such questions, so he could only suppress his curiosity.
After pretending not to know Hasegawa, Ogata shifted his gaze to... the Naoshu family standing behind Hasegawa.
Looking at Naoshige and Rusui, as well as the middle-aged woman whose facial features were extremely similar to Isshikika, Ogata's face finally showed the first genuine smile of joy since the attack on Koyasan.
"Lord Ittosai..." Naoshige murmured so that only he could hear it.
Ever since Ogata showed up, Naoshige lowered his head and gaze as if he had seen the blinding sunlight, and was hesitant to meet Ogata's gaze.
He raised his eyes cautiously, glanced at Ogata briefly, and then quickly lowered his eyes.
He didn’t dare look at Ogata…
I dare not look at this person...whose whereabouts he betrayed to the Toyotomi clan...
Ogata now has a lot of words and things he wants to say to Isshikika's family.
But the heat waves that kept surging behind him were like a death warrant, causing all the gossip to rush into Ogata's throat and get stuck immediately.
"Master Genichi." Ogata, who wanted to focus on the main task and deal with other matters later, simply nodded to Naoshige and the others, and then said to Genichi in a serious tone, "Who is this?"
Ogata nodded at Xuanzheng who was lying on Makimura's back.
Since reuniting with Genichi and the others, Ogata has noticed and been curious about the identity of this old man.
As soon as he finished asking the question, Ating, who was standing beside him, lowered his voice and replied:
"This person... is the Xuan Zheng we have been looking for for a long time."
Ogata's expression changed immediately.
"You are... that Xuan Zheng?"
He couldn't help but look the old man, whom he and Ating had spent countless efforts to find, from head to toe.
Xuan Zheng looked disheveled... more like an ordinary beggar than a respectable doctor.
Ogata was looking at Genzheng, and Genzheng was also looking at Ogata.
"Your Excellency... Oh, I remember now." Xuanzheng showed an expression of sudden enlightenment, "You are... the Ogata Ittosai, right?"
"I've seen your portrait on a wanted poster before. The portrait on your wanted poster was really well drawn. It immediately reminded me who you are."
Having said this, Xuanzheng looked at Yuanyi.
"Mr. Toyotomi Genichi, are you still in cahoots with Ogata Ittosai? This is really beyond my expectation..."
After he finished speaking, Xuan Zheng's eyes flashed with a thoughtful light.
Genichi ignored Gensho's words and focused on explaining to Ogata:
"The cave behind us is connected to an underground prison dug by the Toyotomi clan. We found Hasegawa-kun, Isshiki-hana-san's family, and this Gensho inside. It's a pity... we couldn't find Xiaolin. Xiaolin was probably imprisoned somewhere else..."
Yuan briefly introduced the situation on their side to Ogata.
From how they discovered that the Toyotomi clan was trying to move the prisoners of the underground prison beneath their feet, all the way to how they reunited with Ogata.
After roughly understanding the situation of Genichi and his team, Ogata said:
"Just now, when I was attacking Xianyuan Temple as planned, I saw a sudden mountain fire..."
Ogata briefly summarized what he had just experienced, and then he turned his head to look at the increasingly fierce fire behind him: "The Toyotomi clan... is now clearly planning to abandon Mount Koya..."
Wildfires are extremely terrifying even in the 21st century. If you are not careful, they can get out of control.
Even in the 21st century, with such advanced technology, dealing with wildfires is extremely difficult, let alone ancient times.
In ancient times, if you wanted to extinguish a forest fire of a certain scale, there were only two ways:
1: Wait for a heavy rain and use the rain water to put out the fire.
2: When there is nothing left to burn in the wildfire, the flames will naturally die out.
The fact that the Toyotomi clan dared to set Mount Koya on fire, releasing a "monster" like a "mountain fire" that was completely uncontrollable, only proved one thing - they had completely abandoned Mount Koya as their stronghold!
Combined with what Genichir just said, "It was discovered that the Toyotomi clan was transferring prisoners in the prison," Ogata is now 100% certain that the Toyotomi clan is planning to abandon Koyasan and lead their troops to move away from Koyasan.
"I've been tricked..." Yuan Yi said in a low voice.
Ogata and the others...now it's like they threw a punch with all their strength, but ended up hitting soft cotton.
Faced with the attacking Ogata and others, the Toyotomi clan simply chose to avoid fighting and set off a forest fire to delay the actions of Ogata and others, making Ogata and others passive.
"Most of the Toyotomi clan members on Mount Koya have probably evacuated by now..." Ogata pursed his lips, then slowly raised his eyes and looked at Xuanzheng, "Master Genichi, after you rescued Xuanzheng, did you get anything valuable out of him?"
As soon as Ogata asked this question, before Genichi could answer, he heard Gensho laugh in a gloomy tone.
"Just now, I heard Master Toyotomi Genichirō keep calling you 'Xiao Lin'. Could your captured companion be Nobuhide's sister, Toyotomi Lin?"
"...You really know a lot. Not only do you know me, but you also know Xiaolin." Yuan Yi said calmly, "So what if our companion who was captured is Xiaolin?"
As soon as Yuan Yi finished speaking, the corners of Xuan Zheng's mouth immediately pulled up in an exaggerated arc.
"Hey, kid." Xuan Zheng turned his head and said to Hasegawa in a very impolite tone, "Let me confirm - you heard from the people who escorted you before: 'Hurry and take them all to the coast' and 'You will be taken to the east', right?"
Being called "boy" by Xuanzheng - such an impolite name certainly made Hasegawa extremely unhappy.
"Yeah." Hasegawa suppressed his displeasure and said, "I'm sure I didn't hear these two sentences wrongly."
"I see, I see..." The smile on Xuanzheng's face became more and more... weird, "So... do you know Misaki Village in Kii?"
“Misakimura?” The one who murmured in confusion was neither from the “Ogata camp” nor from the “Huluya camp” - but from the “old monk with a goatee” who was still lying on Ogata’s back.
"But... that small mountain village in the southwest of Kii?"
"Oh..." Xuan Zheng cast an admiring look at the "old monk with a goatee", "Old monk, do you know that place?"
"I went to that place to preach a Dharma a long time ago."
"Yes, it's the small mountain village in the southwest of Kii." Xuan Zheng showed a gloomy smile that made people feel uncomfortable. "I suggest that you go to this small mountain village immediately."
"In order to facilitate the operations of the two ships, Hikari Maru and Hulu Maru, Nobuhide spent a lot of money to build a simple secret dock in Japan."
“And this secret dock is built in an inconspicuous strait adjacent to this small mountain village.”
"I'm sure that Xiaolin, whom you are looking for, is now on her way to the second ship and will be sent to Edo."
"You guys need to hurry up."
"Both the Hikari Maru and the Hulu Maru are the most advanced warships purchased from England, with both firepower and maneuverability."
"At present, there is no ship in Japan that can catch up with those two ships on the sea."
"If you fail to reach the dock before the fleet sets sail..."
Xuan Zheng smiled sinisterly.
"Then you can only watch helplessly as your Xiaolin is sent to Edo and thrown into the Kanda Jomizu as a human pillar."
"By then, it won't just be your Xiaolin who will die miserably."
"All the people of Edo are doomed."
Ogata, Atachi, Genichi, Hasegawa, the old monk with a goatee... everyone's expressions suddenly changed when Xuanzheng said this.
"What does Jinzhu mean?" Ogata took the lead and moved closer to Xuanzheng, asking urgently, "All the people in Edo are going to be destroyed, what does this mean?!"
…
…
Koyasan, at the foot of a very remote mountain.
“Knock, knock, knock, knock…”
Toyotomi Nobuhide gently stroked the mane of a white horse in front of him, repeating "thump thump thump" in a very rhythmic frequency.
"Good...Kon, that's it. Calm down."
Akon - the name of Toyotomi Nobuhide's favorite horse.
With the comfort of Toyotomi Nobuhide, Hakuba, who had become restless due to the raging wildfire, slowly calmed down and his breathing gradually became steady.
However - just as Hakuba had regained his composure, a figure suddenly jumped out from behind Toyotomi Nobuhide.
The sudden appearance of this figure frightened the white horse, which had just calmed down, and made it restless again.
"Yoshihisa." Toyotomi Nobuhide cast a reproachful look at the figure that suddenly jumped out from behind him, "You made me have to comfort Akan from the beginning again."
"I'm very sorry."
Toyotomi Nobuhide did not dwell on this minor mistake.
After briefly complaining to Yoshihisa, he asked :
"How is my sister?"
"Ms. Toyotomi has been transferred successfully." Yoshihisa replied concisely, "It won't be long before Ms. Toyotomi is escorted by a motorcade and leaves the territory of Koyasan."
"Well done." Toyotomi Nobuhide's lips curled up in appreciation.
"but……"
"But what?"
"Gao Qing...lost contact..."
Toyotomi Nobuhide paused as he tried to soothe the white horse.
"... Gao Qing must have met with an accident." Toyotomi Nobuhide said calmly, "Maybe he was attacked by Ogata Ittosai... or my great-uncle..."
"It's impossible that Ogata Ittosai alone came to attack Koyasan."
"Haku-kun must have been hiding somewhere in Koyasan. He is either preparing to attack Ogata Ittosai from both sides, or...he is waiting for me to send a large group of troops to attack Ogata Ittosai, and then he can find our base in Koyasan."
"Well, if Gao Qing has an accident, then let it be an accident."
"Anyway, Hasegawa and the others imprisoned in that prison...are not people who can absolutely not be abandoned."
"As long as I can ensure that nothing unexpected happens to my sister."
"...But..." Jijiu said in a deep voice, "Isn't Xuanzheng still imprisoned in that prison? Shouldn't we try to take him away as well?"
Toyotomi Nobuhide's hand, which was stroking the horse's mane, paused again.
"...Let him fend for himself." Toyotomi Nobuhide said in a calm tone with a blank expression on his face, "Look at the state he's in now... He will definitely not serve me anymore."
"In that case, let him do whatever he wants now. Whether he is burned to death by the wildfire, escapes by luck, or is captured by Ogata Ittosai and his men, let him leave it to fate."
"I'm too lazy to care about him anymore."
"Lord Toyotomi." Yoshihisa frowned and said, "Xuanzheng knows a lot of our secrets..."
"He knows all the details of the Edo Battle."
"I'm just worried... if Ogata Ittosai and the others find Xuanzheng, Xuanzheng will tell them too many secrets that we have been keeping..."
"Humph." Toyotomi Nobuhide snorted and laughed, "Let him say whatever he wants."
"With the Edo War about to begin, I am not afraid of people knowing our 'secret'."
When mentioning the word "secret", Toyotomi Nobuhide deliberately emphasized the tone.
"I understand... Lord Toyotomi, there is one more thing I need to report to you."
"explain."
"We found Master Xianyuan. He just fled to the foothills not far from here and successfully joined up with Chuan Jiulang's team."
"Oh!" Toyotomi Nobuhide raised his eyebrows and his eyes lit up, "Master, he has escaped... I haven't received any news from him for a long time, I thought he had an accident."
"Yes. But he looks a little embarrassed now, and his right foot seems to be slightly sprained because he ran too fast."
"It's good that people are still alive."
At this time, Toyotomi Nobuhide had successfully calmed the emotions of the white horse in front of him.
He jumped onto the horse with great agility.
"Let's go, Jiku."
Toyotomi Nobuhide looked up at the sky above him, where dark clouds were growing thicker and thicker.
"Look at the sky. It's going to rain heavily soon."
"I plan to speed up and get to the dock before it rains."
"I don't want to get soaked in the middle of my journey."
Jiku: “Yes!”
…
…
Somewhere at the foot of Mount Koya——
"Asai-senpai, don't you want to get some sleep?"
"Do you think I can sleep in this situation?"
"I'm not sleepy either..."
The two carriages that Mamiya had brought last night were now quietly parked at the foot of this inconspicuous mountain.
Asai and Shimada were leaning against the walls of the two carriages respectively.
Last night, the two men knew that their combat effectiveness had been greatly reduced after being injured and they could no longer play any role on the battlefield, so they volunteered to take on the task of driving.
Ogata and his team's original plan was to have a few people who could drive take turns driving so that everyone could take turns to rest.
However, in order to allow Ogata and others to have more time to rest, Asai and Shimada rejected the proposal of "taking turns". They each drove a car, and with no one to take turns, they relied on their mental strength and willpower to stay awake all night and sent Ogata and others to the foot of Koyasan.
After successfully sending everyone to Koyasan, Asai and Shimada wanted to take turns taking a nap, waiting for Ogata and the others to return while replenishing the energy they had lost from a sleepless night.
But who would have thought - just as they closed their eyes, they smelled a stronger and stronger burning odor...
I opened my eyes and saw that Mt. Koya, which was once full of clear water and green trees, was now surrounded by a sea of ​​fire...
Stimulated by the scene before them and the smell in their noses, Asai and Shimada were completely unable to sleep.
Shimada, who still lacks self-control due to his lack of experience, has been asking Asai anxious questions since the beginning: What should we do now?
Koyasan was burned by a fire that seemed to burn the sky as well - this was completely beyond their expectations.
In response to Shimada's anxious questions, Asai's answers were always concise and powerful: Just wait here for Master Genichirō and the others to come back.
Asai, who had seen far more storms than Shimada, had a very clear understanding of their current situation: at present, there was nothing else they could do except continue to stay here with their cars and wait for Ogata and his group to return.
Despite Asai's comfort, Shimada still couldn't be as calm as Asai.
In order to calm himself down as much as possible, Shimada put his hands on his eyes and looked around frequently.
He simply hoped to see those familiar figures return safely.
"Asai-senpai..."
"What is it?"
"What if... we fail to find the lord in Koyasan... then what should we do?"
Asai didn't even hesitate, and said directly:
"When that time comes, we will slowly try to find a solution. As long as we work hard to find a solution, there will always be more solutions than problems."
"What if... the lord can't be found... then what should we do?" Shimada's mouth corners drooped and he shrank his neck, his face revealing worry and fear that could not be concealed.
"...Shimada, you really need to change your pessimistic personality." Asai gave Shimada a reproachful look, "Can't you think of something more positive?"
"Sorry... huh?"
At this moment, Shimada's eyes narrowed suddenly, and then he put his hands on his eye sockets.
He was looking intently toward the woods to their northwest.
Then, the worry and fear on his face turned into ecstasy.
"Asai-senpai! Genichi and Ogata-senpai are back!"
Upon hearing what Shimada said, Asai, who was leaning against the car wall with his eyes closed, immediately jumped up.
"Where?"
"There!"
Asai looked in the direction Shimada pointed. As soon as he looked over there, Asai, whose eyesight was much better than Shimada's, was immediately stunned: "Why is Hasegawa Heizo here...? And what's with this number of people...?"
Before Ogata and his companions entered the mountains, there were less than 10 people in total.
But now when they return, they have become a large team.
Ogata was carrying an old monk on his back...
Mucun was carrying an old man who looked like a beggar and was covered in dirt...
Behind them is a large group of people led by Hasegawa...
While Asai was still looking at the group that had inexplicably grown in size with astonishment, Genichi, who was running in the front, shouted to Asai and Shimada from a distance:
"Asai! Shimada! Get ready to go!"
Genichi's shout brought Asai back to his senses from his shock.
He didn't ask Genichi "Where are we going now?" or anything else.
Genichi told them to get ready to leave immediately - that was all he needed to know.
Asai jumped into the "driving seat" without saying a word and gripped the reins tightly.
Shimada followed Asai and jumped onto the driver's seat of the carriage he was in charge of, but he did not have Asai's composure and could not help but loudly ask Genichi:
"Master Genichi! Where are we going?"
Yuanyi opened his mouth, as if preparing to answer Shimada's question.
But before Genichi could open his mouth, Osamu beside him answered for him:
"Go destroy the British warships!"