"……" After Matsudaira Sadanobu asked this question, Ogata's body was slightly stunned.
Then... the strange expression that had been on Ogata's face just now gradually turned into a smile with a bit of helplessness.
At this time, Matsudaira Sadanobu was seen with his hands behind his back, continuing to talk to himself.
"At first, when I heard someone tell me in Ezo that the person I admired so much, Majima Goro, was the same Ogata Yoshisei, I didn't dare...or I didn't want to believe it."
"It was not until I heard Majima Goro's voice from Ogata Issei during the attack on the Red Moon Fortress that I finally faced reality."
"In fact, at that time, I still didn't want to believe that Majima Goro was Ogata Yoshisei."
"But no matter how much I try to deceive myself, after seeing these two swords of yours that are exactly the same as the swords worn by Majima Goro... I can no longer deceive myself and say that Majima Goro and Ogata Issei are two different people..."
Matsudaira Sadanobu glanced at the Daishakuten and Daijizai placed at the head of Ogata's bed.
"We really have a special bond."
"Every time I think we will never meet again... you appear before my eyes again in a way I never expected."
"..." Ogata, who had been hanging his head in front of his chest, finally raised his eyes slowly and calmly met Matsudaira Sadanobu's eyes without any emotion, "...Long time no see, Matsudaira-sama."
Just now, after learning from Qingyan that it was Matsudaira Sadanobu who saved him despite the danger, Ogata had already guessed that the true identity of Majima Goro... was probably already known to Matsudaira Sadanobu.
He smiled and said to Matsudaira Sadanobu in a tone as if he was greeting an old friend:
"Anyway...please allow me to thank you first. Thank you for saving me."
"No need to thank me." Matsudaira Sadanobu said without hesitation, "The reason I saved you... was simply because I wanted to get some meaningful information from you, who seemed to know a lot of things that I didn't know."
"Instead of just saying 'thank you' to me dryly... why don't you say something more meaningful to me?"
"Mashima... no, Ogata Issei, come and make a deal with me."
"I ask you questions, and you answer them."
"Just answer all the questions I ask, and I will...let you out of here."
"Ha." Ogata chuckled, "If I want to leave here, I don't need your permission at all, right?"
After saying this, Ogata turned his head and glanced at the sword placed at the head of his bed without any concealment.
"Ogata Issei." A cold smile appeared on the corners of Matsudaira Sadanobu's mouth. "However, I would say... he is also a samurai who practiced swordsmanship diligently when he was young."
"Do you think I can't see it? Just from your current movements, I can tell that it's difficult for you to even draw your sword now, right?"
Ogata's eyes narrowed slightly.
——Haha… have you been seen through…
Ogata laughed bitterly in his heart.
What Matsudaira Sadanobu said was absolutely correct.
His current physical condition is indeed extremely bad.
Every muscle in my body ached so much that it was difficult to exert force.
He guessed that this should be the side effect of entering the "selfless state" and the "Yaksha state" at the same time.
With every muscle in my body aching... let alone swinging the sword, it's even a question whether I can pull the heavy sword out of the sheath.
"Now, there are more than 30 of my guards outside the tent. As long as I give the order, they will rush in and chop you into meat sauce." The cold smile on Matsudaira Sadanobu's face disappeared, and his face returned to his cold expression. "Make this deal with me. Apart from this, you have no other choice."
Ogata stared straight at Matsudaira Sadanobu.
He looked thoughtful, and after a long while, he shrugged with a helpless smile:
"It seems that if I don't answer your question, you won't let me go no matter what..."
"...Okay. Ask ahead."
"Consider this as... compensation for deceiving you for so long as I was Majima Goro."
Hearing Ogata's words, Matsudaira Sadanobu frowned slightly, but this little "wrinkle" was quickly smoothed out.
"But I have a mountain of questions to ask you."
"If my guess is correct, the bandits who attacked Osaka a few days ago and the bandits lurking in Koyasan are the same group of people."
"Tell me now—what do you know of those thieves?"
"And why did you go after the thieves who escaped on a Western ship?"
"And... what was the head of a woman in the brocade box that you were holding tightly in your arms when you passed out?"
After throwing a series of questions at Ogata like a machine gun, Matsudaira Sadanobu once again tilted his eyes and glanced at the exquisite brocade box placed on Ogata's bedside table together with Daishikuten and Daiji.
"It's been so many days, but this broken head hasn't decayed at all. It's really shocking."
"I am very grateful that you did not throw away this brocade box as garbage, but collected it here." Ogata said in a somewhat joking tone, "But isn't it a bit rude to check the contents of the brocade box without permission?"
Matsudaira Sadanobu ignored Ogata's joke and continued to look at him with his hands behind his back, examining his eyes.
Matsudaira Sadanobu opened the brocade box without permission - Ogata was not surprised by this.
After all, if he were in their place, he would probably not be able to resist taking a look at what was inside the brocade box.
"...I'd be happy to tell you what I know." Ogata pondered for a moment and said faintly, "But even if I tell you everything I know, you might not believe it."
Ogata selectively... told Matsudaira Sadanobu everything about the Toyotomi clan in a concise and clear manner.
The existence of the Toyotomi clan, their warships, their ambitions...
Matsudaira Sadanobu has been in the position of Elder Councilor for many years. What kind of storms and waves has he not seen?
He had long since developed a strong heart that allowed him to remain calm no matter what unexpected events he encountered - but at this moment, facing the words spoken by Ogata, this strong heart of Matsudaira Sadanobu could not bear the burden.
Ever since Ogata started talking about the Toyotomi clan, Matsudaira Sadanobu's expression began to "collapse".
His eyes were wide open, his mouth was slightly open, and the skin and muscles on his face seemed to droop, no longer the calm and composed look he had just had.
For various reasons, it was impossible for Ogata to tell Matsudaira Sadanobu everything.
He concealed the existence of the "immortal power".
The existence of the eight hundred nuns was also concealed.
The reason why the existence of the "immortal power" was concealed was not because he was on guard against Matsudaira Sadanobu.
But to guard people's hearts...
After going through so many things, Ogata finally understood that this "immortal power" was a Pandora's box.
If it were to be possessed by someone with evil intentions, it would be a disaster.
The complexity of human hearts made Ogata really unsure - if Matsudaira Sadanobu knew the existence of the "power of immortality", would it lead to the emergence of the second Toyotomi Nobuhide...
Ogata, who was determined to conceal the "immortal power" and the "Yaobikuni", only said that the head in the brocade box was the head of his friend he had taken back from the Toyotomi clan. Because it was preserved with special medicine, it did not decay for several days.
After Ogata finished telling Matsudaira Sadanobu everything he wanted to tell him, Matsudaira Sadanobu... remained silent for a long time.
It took him a long time to regain his composure.
After a long time, I finally heard him speak again:
"...Then what about your body and the thunderbolt you triggered at that time?"
"With so many injuries, he was able to heal them all in less than two days... This doesn't seem like a body that an ordinary person can possess."
After saying this, Matsudaira Sadanobu regained his serious expression and cast a sharp, meaningful look at Ogata.
Facing the gaze from Matsudaira Sadanobu, Ogata couldn't help but smile bitterly.
He knew that the issues regarding his body's recovery ability and the thunder that he had "triggered" to defeat Toyotomi were issues that he could not circumvent, so he had already thought of the wording just now.
Osamu explained the half-true and half-false so-called "truth" to Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Regarding his body's recovery ability, Ogata simply said that his body was born that way and his recovery ability is far better than that of ordinary people.
As for how he "triggered" the thunder... Ogata only said that he... had no idea at all.
All he knew was that when the battle was in full swing, he suddenly heard a series of strange noises. He followed the sound to the top of the main mast and raised his knife high, and then a bolt of lightning fell on his sword.
Regarding the explanation of "provoking" the thunder...it is actually basically correct.
Ogata did indeed suddenly hear strange sounds, and then following the guidance of these strange sounds, he successfully used the power of thunder to defeat Toyotomi Nobuhide.
Ever since Ogata began to explain the origin of his body's powerful recovery ability and how he "triggered" the thunder from the sky, Matsudaira Sadanobu's brows slightly frowned, and the emotions in his eyes gradually became strange.
"…what you just said…whether it's about the Toyotomi clan or your explanation of why your body has such a strong recovery ability…I personally feel that there seems to be a lot of concealment and fabrication."
Matsudaira Sadanobu raised a sharp question to Ogata.
Faced with Matsudaira Sadanobu's questioning, Ogata simply shrugged his shoulders without blushing or feeling any nervousness.
"Everything I just said is true." Ogata said nonchalantly, "Believe it or not."
Matsudaira Sadanobu: “…”
Although he questioned Ogata, Matsudaira Sadanobu seemed to have no intention of delving into the issue further.
He just remained silent and continued to look at Ogata...
Not long after letting the atmosphere between the two of them fall into a deathly silence, Matsudaira Sadanobunaga closed his eyes and took several deep breaths:
"...If what you just said is true...it's really funny."
Matsudaira Sadanobu slowly opened his eyes.
"The shogunate's most wanted criminal... actually saved the shogunate from danger."
"But now that I think back on how we met... it was actually quite funny."
Matsudaira Sadanobu's expression was always solemn.
But at this moment, the solemn expression on his face showed a hint of... loneliness.
"When I first met you in Edo, I thought I had finally found a young man worth cultivating."
"In the end, I found out that the young man I admired so much was actually an enemy of the shogunate..."
After saying that, Matsudaira Sadanobu closed his eyes again, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled the air in his lungs through his nose.
At this time, Ogata asked Matsudaira Sadanobu in a half-joking tone:
"Any questions?"
"If it's gone, can you let me leave here according to the terms of the deal we made?"
Matsudaira Sadanobu slowly opened his eyes that had just been closed.
"…Whether what you just said is true or not, it is an ironclad fact that you destroyed the two Western ships that destroyed Osaka and posed a serious threat to the Edo Shogunate."
"From this point of view alone, you have helped us a lot."
Having said this, Matsudaira Sadanobu paused.
Then, he changed his tone to one that sounded like he was talking to himself:
"You once saved my life... in Ezo."
"And now, you have helped our shogunate a lot."
"Honestly, emotionally, I really want to just let you go."
"But, as expected... I can't do it."
At this moment, Matsudaira Sadanobu's eyes flashed with a fierce light.
"Even if you saved my life, even if you helped our shogunate a lot, it can't change the fact that you are Ogata Noriyoshi, a villain who has caused the shogunate to lose face many times...!"
"After seeing your terrifying ability to recover from wounds and using the power of heavenly thunder to kill enemies, I am even more convinced that you... really cannot be kept alive...!"
"Besides, I can feel that you have been hiding a lot of things from me."
"Even if I don't kill you... I have to detain you and interrogate you slowly."
As Matsudaira Sadanobu uttered these whispering words one by one, the air between him and Ogata...slowly grew colder.
"Hey, hey, hey..." Ogata seemed to have expected Matsudaira Sadanobu to do this. He remained calm and sneered, "Didn't you say that as long as I answer all your questions, you'll let me go?"
"The prerequisite for me to fulfill my promise is that you really answer all my questions truthfully, right?"
Matsudaira Sadanobu also sneered.
"Didn't I just say that? I can feel that you are hiding a lot of things from me."
"You broke the agreement first, so don't blame me for not keeping my promise."
The atmosphere between the two of them... suddenly became heavy and suffocating.
The only remaining sound in the small tent was the breathing of the two people.
The only remaining light in the small tent was the flame of the candlestick and the two people's eyes that were looking at each other, both flashing with complex lights.
After a long time, Ogata's soft voice broke the suffocating silence:
"…Then what do you want to do?"
He asked.
"Are you going to kill me now?"
"Or do you want to capture me and bring me back to Edo and interrogate me slowly?"
The questioning ended.
Deathly silence returned to the tent.
Matsudaira Sadanobu clenched and unclenched his hands behind his back, and then clenched and unclenched them again.
An extremely complex light flashed wildly in his eyes at this moment.
The man in front of him is the shogunate's most wanted criminal.
He was now extremely weak and had no power to fight against his guards. His life and death, his future, now depended entirely on his own words.
For myself...
And for the shogunate...
The best solution for me now... is to take him back to Edo, interrogate him slowly, and torture him into extracting all the information he has concealed.
yes……
No need to hesitate...
completely……
No need to hesitate...
…
Matsudaira Sadanobu closed his eyes and took a deep breath again.
"Tachibana!"
Matsudaira Sadanobu turned around, stuck his head out of the tent, and shouted:
"Light up all the guards——"
…
…
…
…
Wow…wow…wow…
The waves beat rhythmically against the shore, making a very regular sound.
It was now approaching evening.
The sky was clear because it had just rained.
The sun sets in the west, dyeing the sky with the colors of sunset. Under the reflection of the sunset glow, the ground is still bright.
Lin and Mucun stood side by side at a corner of the coast, looking out at the sea in the distance.
"How is it? Did Ms. A-Ming eat anything today?"
"I ate a little..." Mucun sighed to Xianglin, "During the day, I hardly ate anything."
"It was only just now that I finally ate some of the porridge that Ah Zhu brought me, but I didn't eat much, just half a bowl of porridge."
"…At least there's something to eat." Lin sighed.
In the past few days, there has been one or two showers almost every day, and Lin and the others' moods these days are just like the weather - continuous rain...
Nearly ten days had passed since the decisive battle with Toyotomi at sea.
It’s been nearly 10 days… and I still haven’t found Ogata.
On the night of the final battle, Lin, who was knocked unconscious by Toyotomi, finally woke up.
After waking up and learning what had happened, Lin gave the death order without hesitation: find Ogata at all costs!
In order to improve the efficiency of the search, Lin once again used her usual ability to make money: she went to a distant fishing village to borrow a few more boats, and hired all the villagers who could be hired to help them find Ogata.
Regardless of day or night, the crowd drove the boats almost non-stop to the sea area where the warship was destroyed, searching for the man.
Everyone thought that Ogata was probably holding a piece of wood, struggling on the sea while waiting for their rescue.
Or rather...try to think from this optimistic perspective...
However... as time passes by bit by bit and days go by, no matter how optimistic one is, it will inevitably reach its limit.
It's been nearly 10 days, and still nothing...
Lost contact at sea for nearly 10 days... Everyone vaguely realized something...
However, no one said it clearly.
Everyone remained silent, as if they had agreed in advance. No one mentioned anything about Ogata's life or death, either in front of others or in private.
It was as if they still assumed that Ogata was still alive and continued to search at sea.
Just keep silent...
No one had the courage to mention that "Ogata might have been lost" - especially when Atachi was present.
These days, besides Ogata, the person that Lin and the others are most worried about is Atachi.
Ever since Ogata disappeared, Atachi's mental state has made Lin and others very worried.
If she cried and made a fuss, Lin and the others would be more accepting.
However, A-Ting has been very quiet these days...
Quietly, without showing any expression or saying anything...
He just silently participated in the search for Ogata.
At the beginning, Ating could still eat and sleep normally.
However, as the search for Ogata yielded no results, Atachi's mental state deteriorated at a visible rate.
Since about 5 days ago, Ating hasn't eaten much every day.
Did she sleep well? Looking at A-Ting's increasingly pale skin, increasingly withered hair, and increasingly dark circles under her eyes, Lin guessed that she probably didn't...
Lin didn't know how to make Ah-Ming's condition better...
Regarding the situation that Ating is facing, I am afraid any words of comfort will be powerless.
"…Makyamura. Please keep an eye on Miss Atachi these days." Lin gently ordered Makyamura, who had the best relationship with the Ogata couple, "If Miss Atachi doesn't eat, find a way to make her eat."
"If Miss Atachi... is about to do anything stupid, you must stop her immediately."
"I know..." Mucun let out a long sigh and nodded vigorously with a serious expression.
"My lord! My lord!"
At this time, Shimada's voice came.
Following the sound, I saw Shimada running towards the beach where Lin and Makimura were standing with an anxious look on his face.
"What's wrong?" Lin frowned slightly.
“You… come here quickly…” Shimada said slowly with a strange expression, “Senior Mamiya… actually found Yukimura…”
…
…
Under the guidance of Shimada, Lin and Makimura strode quickly to another beach not far away.
As soon as she arrived here, Lin saw Mamiya, who had just returned from his turn to search for Ogata by boat this afternoon and was now standing next to the small boat docked on the beach.
Asai, Genichirō and others have gathered around Mamiya.
Everyone was surrounding a middle-aged man who was kneeling on the ground and was very familiar to Lin...
After her gaze fell on this person, a cold light slowly appeared in Lin's eyes:
"…I couldn't find the person I wanted to find. But I found the person I didn't want to find. Yukimura, I never thought that we would meet again."
As soon as Lin finished speaking, the middle-aged man kneeling on the ground trembled violently.
"Lin, Miss Lin..." The middle-aged man slowly raised his head and cast a complex look at Lin that was a mixture of fear, annoyance and a hint of regret.
This middle-aged man was someone Lin trusted greatly. Before Lin became successful, he had helped him become a "well-known wealthy businessman in Osaka". He had also entrusted him to help investigate the "Osaka missing case". However, in the end, he betrayed Lin and revealed information about Lin and others to Yukimura of the Toyotomi family.
Lin turned to ask Mamiya how he found this person.
It turns out that - since three days ago, Mamiya had been thinking that "Ogata-kun might have drifted far away" and went to a more distant sea to search for Ogata.
Although Mamiya's idea was beautiful, the reality was still cruel - even after expanding the search range, he could not find the familiar figure at all...
Just when Mamiya thought that he would return empty-handed again today and was about to return to the shore, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Yukimura clinging to a piece of driftwood, struggling to survive, in the sea not far away...
When the Hikari Maru exploded, Yukimura, who was also on board, was lucky enough not to be killed on the spot. After the ship completely sank, he was able to hold onto a piece of driftwood.
For nearly 10 days, Yukimura held on to the driftwood, drifting with the waves, and barely surviving by drinking rainwater.
After Lin woke up, she explained to everyone the whole story of how she met Yukimura in Hikari Maru.
Since they had encountered this guy who betrayed their Calabash House, there was naturally no reason to let him go - Mamiya dragged him back to the shore and let Lin deal with this traitor.
Because he hadn't eaten for nearly 10 days, Yukimura had become very thin.
His dull skin was stretched tight against his bones, his cheeks and eye sockets were deeply sunken, and his lips were badly flaky due to lack of water, giving him a bloodless paleness. His face was as dark as his dark circles, so dark that it reminded people of ink.
"Ms. Lin..." Yukimura, who had survived for so many days by drinking rainwater, was very weak and his voice was trembling when he spoke.
But despite this, he still tried his best to kowtow to Lin and apologize to her.
“I’m sorry…! I was possessed by the devil…! I’m sorry…! I’m sorry…! Please spare my life…!”
"...Yukimura." The indifference in Lin's eyes did not weaken in the slightest because of Yukimura's plea for mercy. "I... really don't understand."
"How have I ever let you down?"
"When you were just an unknown young man, I funded you greatly, which enabled you to achieve your current status."
"Even after you gained power, I still respected you, cared for you, and never treated you unfairly."
"If I encounter good business, I will cooperate with you. If you encounter trouble, I will also do my best to help you."
"I really don't understand... What have I done to you that caused you to surrender to Toyotomi and put me and my companions in danger of extinction?"
Lin's tone remained calm.
But beneath this plain tone, every word Lin spoke seemed to carry a heavy weight.
"Wow..." Even though his body was so dehydrated, tears still flowed from Yukimura's eyes. "I'm sorry...! It's me... I've been possessed by the devil!"
Yukimura fell to the ground, crying bitterly.
"Two years ago... Toyotomi Nobuhide found out through some unknown channel that you and I had a very close relationship!"
"So he approached me and asked me to report your whereabouts and information to him regularly... In return, he would give me some of his overseas smuggling channels..."
"I, I was planning to expand overseas markets at that time, so I agreed to his request out of sheer delusion...!"
After saying that, Yukimura cried even louder and kowtowed to the ground even harder.
"I'm sorry! Miss Lin...! I'm sorry for you!"
Lin quietly watched Yukimura kowtow again and again, shedding tears that she couldn't tell whether they were from fear or genuine regret.
"...I see." Lin took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes. "In other words...you betrayed me for money..."
"Heh...what a funny yet realistic reason."
Yukimura continued to kowtow and beg for mercy.
He wasn't tired of knocking, but Lin was tired of listening.
"Enough!" Lin interrupted Yukimura's pleas for mercy with an impatient roar, "You are a cruel, ungrateful, barbaric, inhuman thing! You beast!"
After saying that, Lin kicked Yukimura to the ground.
"You sold me out just for money?!"
"Can a mere little money squeeze enough malice out of you to harm me?"
"My companions and I nearly lost our lives because of your betrayal!"
"Spare your life? If my companions die because of your betrayal, who will spare their lives?!"
After releasing all the pent-up emotions in her chest in one breath, Lin breathed heavily like a wounded tiger.
Yukimura, who was kicked away, trembled even more violently. He crawled back to where he was kneeling before, and continued to beg for mercy while crying.
“…It’s ridiculous.” Lin straightened her back and took a deep breath. “Even though the facts were clearly presented in front of me, I still couldn’t believe my eyes…”
"You are obviously a companion whom I value so much and trust so much."
"Your betrayal makes me feel like the world has lost its original brilliance."
"I'll be sorry for you."
"Because your betrayal is like the turning of the world upside down for me."
bass!
The sound of swords being drawn was heard.
Lin drew the sword from her waist and slit the throat of the traitor, whose begging she was no longer interested in hearing, with just one strike.
Yukimura's throat was cut open, blood gushed out like a hot spring. After holding his throat and struggling for a few times, he slowly lost his breath and collapsed to the ground...
Lin shook off the blood on the blade of her sword and sheathed it:
"…Yahachi, find a place to bury Yukimura."
"Yes..." Makura nodded slightly.
Lin turned her head and looked around.
"Why can't I see Miss Ating? Where is Miss Ating now?"
"Ms. A-Machi has been out to sea with the others to search for Itosai since early this morning," Asai said, "and has hardly stopped."
"Because he was worried that Miss Atachi would collapse from exhaustion, Azuki forced Miss Atachi to rest."
"Ms. A-Ming should still be sleeping now."
Finally, after a pause, Asai added:
"...My Lord. Please forgive me for being frank." Asai looked around and confirmed that there were no outsiders around. He put his lips close to Lin's ear and whispered, "Ms. A-Machi's current condition... looks bad no matter how you look at it... We must find a way to cheer her up as soon as possible."
"otherwise……"
Asai didn't continue talking and closed his mouth at the right time.
"...Of course I can see that Ms. Atachi is in a bad state right now."
"But the question is: Is there any way to cheer up Miss Ating?"
An atmosphere that was heavy and a little suffocating lingered around Lin and the others.
…
…
Crash...crash...crash...
Ah-Ming, who had just been forced by Azhu to rest, took advantage of Azhu and others' inattention and sneaked to this deserted and secluded beach. He sat on the ground with his legs hugged, staring at the waves in front of him motionlessly.
The reflections that swayed with the ebb and flow of the waves revealed pale skin, dry and cracked lips, messy hair that had not been groomed for a long time, bloodshot eyes, and pupils that had lost their luster.
Cloudy consciousness...confused thoughts...everything in my mind feels fragmented.
In her mind, chaotic and colorful things were like a whirlpool in the raging sea, spinning and rumbling.
Cheer up, Ayi will definitely be sad to see you like this - for no reason, A Ting always felt that the reflection in front of her seemed to be preaching to her like this.
Tired of the reflection's preaching, Atachi stretched out his hands, which had become rough and calloused from practicing ninjutsu since childhood, and reached into the sea, trying to break the waves and break the reflection.
It has been raining recently and the sea water is still very cold. However, after putting her hands into the sea, Ating did not feel the cold at all - because her hands and feet were colder than the sea water. After putting her hands into the sea, she did not feel the slightest bit of coolness.
(A-Ting!)
Suddenly! Ating heard a very familiar shout from behind him!
Ating's eyes suddenly lit up, and she looked behind her impatiently, expectantly, as if she was about to cry.
Behind A-Ming... there was nothing...
Her eyes, which had just lit up with light, quickly turned back to their dull appearance...
——Is it coming again?
This wasn't the first time that Atachi had mistakenly thought she heard Ogata's voice.
She had lost count of how many times she had heard "Ogata" calling her these days.
With an expression that made people feel heartbroken, Atachi looked away and buried her face between her knees, which she was hugging with her hands.
What Ating fears the most now is... having free time.
Because once I have some free time, memories of Ogata will flash through my mind like a kaleidoscope.
This string of memories was like a huge rock pressing on Ating's chest...making her feel like she couldn't breathe.
Along with these memories, the fantasy of "what if Ogata is gone" flashed through Atachi's mind...
Ating has always tried not to think about these unlucky things.
But no matter how hard she tried to contain it, this horrible fantasy kept pouring out.
Ating just felt as if gravity had disappeared.
Although I was sitting on the ground, I felt like I was floating in the air.
The world before my eyes seemed to be covered with a thick layer of fog, and all images and sounds became blurred and indistinguishable.
The only clear sound... was the sound of my own sobbing.
Two warm currents slowly enveloped Ating's eyeballs.
Another major reason why she hates being idle now is that once she is idle, tears will roll down uncontrollably.
She never cried in front of Lin and others.
She was afraid that her crying would cause Lin and others to become depressed as well, which would increase the psychological pressure on Lin and others who were helping her find Ogata.
She dared to shed tears of worry and pain only when she was alone.
Ating raised his hands and rubbed his eye sockets vigorously twice, and pressed his eye sockets with the backs of his two hands, trying to block the source of tears.
The tears that were barely held back flowed back.
The salty, tearful taste flowed down Ah-Cheng's nostrils into his throat, leaving his mouth full of bitterness.
She is Ogata Ittosai's wife, a woman who has seen countless storms.
But apart from these seemingly glamorous titles, she is just a young wife who just turned 19.
She would be so worried about her husband's disappearance that she would be heartbroken.
She would cry day and night because she was worried about her husband.
"A-Machi...?"
At this time, A-Machi heard Ogata's voice coming from behind him again.
——Why… am I hallucinating again…
Atachi thought that she was hallucinating again because she missed Ogata, so she ignored the hallucination and continued to wipe her eyes and take deep breaths, trying to stop the tears from flowing.
“A-Machi…!”
Ogata's voice...came from behind him again.
This time, the sound was much closer and clearer.
A-Ming wiped her tears and slowly stopped...
If the voice I heard this time was still an auditory hallucination... then it was a little too real...
Thinking of this, Ating looked confused.
It took some time until I regained my perception of the world.
Ating, who had just stopped crying, felt that she had forgotten to blink and her eyes were dry.
Ating slowly put down his slightly trembling hands that were wiping his eyes.
Cautiously... timidly... he turned his gaze behind himself.
Behind her, stood a tall figure...with a guilty smile on his face, looking at her with red eyes.
…
…
Ogata, who was holding the brocade box containing the heads of eight hundred nuns in his left hand and leaning on a simple walking stick made of a tree branch in his right hand, looked at the haggard Atachi in front of him with heartache.
Ogata naturally knew why Atachi had become like this.
When he thought that this was all because he had been "missing" for too long, Xu Fang felt a tingling sensation in his chest.
"A-Ming..." Ogata called A-Ming's name again, trying to make his expression and tone as normal as possible, "I'm back..."
Ogata's voice swirled, intertwined, and entangled in Atachi's mind.
She felt a light and heat like fire in the corners of her vision - the corners of her eyes and eye sockets were wet with tears again.
Ogata's words "I'm back" just now made Atachi feel that his eardrums were instantly paralyzed, and all the sounds around him were gradually drifting away.
"Wuwu..." Amaji opened her pale, chapped lips towards Ogata, as if she wanted to say something to him, but her words were incoherent and she was simply vibrating her vocal cords.
She stared at Ogata without blinking, as if she was afraid that he would disappear from her sight, and stood up hurriedly. Because she stood up too quickly, she fell to the ground once, but quickly got up again and stumbled towards Ogata.
Atachi's mind... has been blank since just now.
At this moment, her body moved completely on its own.
He stood up like a conditioned reflex and ran towards Ogata like a conditioned reflex.
At this time, Ogata also threw away the crutches and brocade box in his hands and limped towards Atachi.
The two people running in the two directions bumped into each other and hugged each other.
Atachi threw herself into Ogata's arms, wrapped her arms around Ogata 's neck, and then put all her strength on Ogata.
Ogata, whose body had not yet recovered and who was unable to withstand the full weight of Atachi, fell face up on the soft sand along with Atachi.
"I can touch it... I'm not hallucinating..."
The whispers in Ogata's arms made him want to laugh but also feel sad.
Atachi hugged Ogata tightly, rested her face on Ogata's right shoulder, and stayed still.
Ogata lowered his eyes to look at Atachi's face, and saw that she was biting her lower lip, as if she was about to cry.
But at the same time as she was about to cry, there was a smile on the corner of Ating's mouth that contained a lot of emotions.
Feeling the body temperature coming back from Ogata's body, Atachi kept tightening her arms around Ogata's neck, as if she didn't intend to let Ogata leave her like this again.
The softness in my arms, the gentle touch, the strength from the tightly clasped arms wrapped around my neck.
Just like that, Ogata was frozen by the warmth coming from behind.
As if it was about to melt away, Ogata only felt the aches and pains all over his body rapidly dissolving.
Like Atachi, Ogata had an expression that looked like he wanted to cry but also laugh. He continued to hug Atachi with his left hand and raised his right hand to gently stroke Atachi's hair.
No need for any extra words.
The hug between the two is worth more than a thousand words.
"Oh my god...where is Miss Atachi..." Azhu looked around anxiously for Atachi.
Just now, because of her carelessness, Ating sneaked out, and now no one knows where she has gone.
As Azuki walked along the beach, he put his hands on his eyes and looked around for A-Machi.
At this moment, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a strange shadow lying on the beach not far away.
Looking closely, Azhu's eyes immediately widened as if he had seen a ghost.
The strange shadows were two figures hugging each other and lying on the ground.
One of them was Ating.
And the other person...
Azhu now seemed to have been bombarded, standing there in shock...
After a long while, she finally came back to her senses.
"Ms. Kinoshita! Miss Kinoshita! Lord Ittosai is back!" With a look of ecstasy on his face, Azhu spread his legs and ran to find Lin and others.
…
…
Faintly, Ogata seemed to hear the sound of people from Huluwu running towards him in a hurry.
Listening to the sounds approaching him, the expression on Ogata's face slowly turned into a relieved smile.
Ogata, who was still lying face up on the beach, saw a swallow flying across the sky above his head.
The swallow flew across the sky, climbed over several hills, and then flew over the top of a trail where a convoy was rumbling forward.
"…Lord, old man."
In the carriage in the middle of the convoy, Tachibana glanced at Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was silently gazing at the scenery outside the window, then plucked up her courage and asked cautiously:
"That guy... no matter how you look at it, it must be Ogata Ittosai, right? He looks exactly like the picture on the wanted poster."
"Release Ogata Ittosai... Is that really a good idea?"
…
…
"Light up all the guards - pack up the camp and leave here tomorrow morning!"
After yelling like that outside the tent, Matsudaira Sadanobu took his head back from outside the tent.
"…If you go north from here, you can reach Koyasan, and if you go south, you can return to the sea where you almost died."
"Take your things and leave here before tomorrow morning."
After saying this, Matsudaira Sadanobu no longer spoke to Ogata.
I didn't explain anything to Ogata.
He didn't ask Ogata anything else.
Just turn around.
It was as if... he didn't dare to stay here any longer and left Ogata's side.
Leaving behind a... somewhat lonely back.
Looking at the bedside where Matsudaira Sadanobu was no longer there, Ogata was stunned at first.
Then the dazed look on his face slowly turned into a strange bitter smile.
"Ittosai." At this time, Ogata saw Qingyan go into the tent again, "What did you say to Master Matsudaira just now?"
Qingyan looked outside the tent in confusion.
"Why does Lord Matsudaira look so...sad?"
"…We didn't talk about anything. I just…had a frank conversation with him."
Seeing that Ogata didn't seem to want to talk more about his conversation with Matsudaira Sadanobu, Qingyan didn't ask any more questions.
"Mr. Ogata."
I only heard Qingyan ask Ogata in an unbearably excited tone.
"I was chased away by Master Matsudaira just now, so I didn't have time to ask."
"May I ask you a question?"
"How did you trigger the thunder?"
“Can you believe in Buddha?”
Qingyan asked a long series of questions related to "Sky Thunder" like a string of cannonballs...
…
…
“…Tachibana.”
Matsudaira Sadanobu said coldly without taking his eyes off the window.
"We have never captured any Ogata Ittosai alive."
"Huh?" Tachibana opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"What? Do you need me to repeat it?" Matsudaira Sadanobu directed his cold gaze towards Tachibana.
"No, no, no..." Tachibana hurriedly shook her head in panic, "No, no... You're right, we have never captured any Ogata Ittosai alive."
After looking at Tachibana who had successfully "self-corrected", Matsudaira Sadanobu returned his gaze to the window and looked into the distance.
The convoy rumbled forward.
Moving forward in the direction away from Ogata.