I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

The inn where Edo, Ogata and others lived——

"Master Yuan, I bought everything that was written on your list."

While talking, Shimada placed a large cloth bag behind his back in front of Genichi who was huddled in a corner of the room drinking wine, and then untied the large cloth bag to reveal the scene inside—a pile of Messy stuff.

Rattles, masks, spinning tops, flower cards... are all toys.

"Oh! Thank you for your hard work. Shimada, you came back much faster than I expected."

Genichi hurriedly put the wine bottle aside, thanked Shimada, and looked at the pile of toys in front of him.

"Fortunately, there is a shop that sells these toys not far away." Shimada smiled wryly.

The movement of Genichi and Shimada alarmed Mamiya next to him.

"Master Yuan, what is this?" Gamiya frowned slightly.

"It's nothing, it's just that I've been nestling in my room recently, and I'm bored, so I asked Shimada to help me buy some toys that can relieve boredom."

After all, Genichi put one of the toys that Shimada just bought for him - a dark red tengu mask on his face.

"How? Shimada, does this mask fit me?"

"Well, it's very suitable." Shimada nodded, "The size of this mask just fits Gen-sama's face."

What Shimada said just now was not a compliment.

The size of this tengu mask really matches Genichi's face.

"Well, that's fine."

Minamoto nodded with satisfaction, then took off the mask on his face, and then continued to play with each of the toys that Shimada bought for him just now.

...

...

Seeing that Hasegawa sent someone, Xu Bian asked Gua Sheng, who happened to be beside him, to stand guard for him. He went to talk to his friend about something, and he would be back soon.

For this small request from Ogata, Guasheng had no reason to refuse, and nodded happily in agreement.

Ogata followed behind "Surprised Island", making seven turns and eight turns in Yoshiwara,

Finally, I entered a remote and uninhabited alley in Yoshihara.

As soon as he turned into this alley, Xu Jian saw a person standing at the end of the alley.

A man with a generous hat on his head.

The man lowered his head slightly, and the thick bamboo hat could just cover his entire face. So Ogata couldn't see his face clearly.

Just when Ogata was wondering who this person was, when he heard footsteps coming into the alley, the "man with a bamboo hat" raised his head slightly, showing to Ogata his face that was hidden by the bamboo hat just now .

"Mr. Hasegawa?" Ogata exclaimed in a low voice.

The face hidden under the bamboo hat was exactly Hasegawa's old face with many traces of time engraved on it.

Seeing Ogata coming, Hasegawa smiled slightly, and then waved to "Surprised Island" who brought Ogata here.

The comprehensible "Surprised Island" immediately saluted Hasegawa, and then quickly exited the alley, leaving room for Ogata and Hasegawa to be alone.

After "Surprised Island" left, Hasegawa looked around the circle and confirmed that there were only solid earth walls on the left and right, and that there were no other people in front and behind, Chong Ogata smiled slightly:

"Congratulations, I didn't expect you to be able to get the first place in the essay test."

"Honestly speaking, when I found out that you were actually the number one candidate in the literary examination, I was so shocked that my jaw almost dropped."

"Thank you." Ogata smiled wryly.

It has been a while since the essay test was released, so Ogata was not surprised that Hasegawa already knew who the top winner of the essay test was.

"To be honest... After I learned that I won the first place in the essay test, I was so shocked that my jaw almost dropped... I never thought that someone like me who hadn't touched the Four Books and Five Classics for a long time could The first name in the German test."

As soon as Ogata's words fell, Hasegawa smiled:

"You actually say you're a 'half', you don't need to be so modest."

Seeing that his truthfulness was once again regarded as being modest, Xu Fanglu sighed helplessly.

"Okay, let's not talk about the essay test for now."

Ogata put on a serious face.

"Let's talk about something serious."

"Mr. Hasegawa, you actually came to Yoshiwara to meet me on purpose. Could it be that you have heard something extraordinary in Shiranui?"

As soon as Ogata's words fell, Hasegawa shook his head:

"Sorry to disappoint you. I haven't heard anything about Shiranui."

"The reason why I came to Yoshihara in person is that I happened to be handling some business in the vicinity just now. After I just learned that the first name of the Wenshi is you, I decided to come to announce the good news to you in person."

"But if you say you haven't heard anything about Shiranui, that's not true."

Speaking of this, Hasegawa put on a more serious tone.

"That Jitaro also passed the essay test."

"...It's expected." Ogata shrugged, "Since Shiranui will send him to participate in the 'Gozen Trial', it means that Kyutaro must have the ability to pass the literary test."

"I saw the name 'Kiichiro' on the list just now, this name should be the pseudonym of Ji Taro, right?"

Although Ogata's sentence is in the form of an interrogative sentence, the tone is that of an affirmative sentence.

During this time, Makimura and Asai have been lurking in the Four Seasons House where Ji Taro often goes to eavesdrop on the conversations between Ji Taro and others.

Makimura and the others overheard—whether it was the "accompanying girls" or Ji Taro's follower named Keitaro, they all called Ji Taro "Jiichiro".

So when I didn't see "Kyutaro" on the list just now, but only "Kyukichiro", Ogata guessed that this "Kyukichiro" should be Kyoichiro.

"Yeah." Hasegawa nodded, "Koichiro is indeed the pseudonym of Kyutaro."

"It wasn't until a few days ago that we found out that Ji Taro participated in the 'Imperial Trial' under a pseudonym."

"I hoped that this Jitaro would fail the essay test. As long as he failed the essay test, it would save a lot of work. But now it seems that this kind of thing can't be counted on."

"That's it again." Ogata said, "Mr. Hasegawa, you sent other people to participate in the 'Imperial Trial', right? How many people did you send in total? Did they all pass the literary test?"

In order to successfully prevent Ji Taro from winning the first place in the military test, Hasegawa used the "human sea tactic".

According to what Hasegawa said before, in addition to Ogata, he also planned to let other people he can call to participate in the "Imperial Trial", but Ogata still does not know the exact number of people.

Hearing Ogata's question, Hasegawa smiled wryly, and then raised 4 fingers.

"I wanted to deceive...ah, no, I persuaded some of my friends who are not bad in skills to also participate in the 'Imperial Trial'."

"But they either don't have the time, or they don't have the interest. No matter what I say, they don't want to participate in the 'Imperial Trial'."

"So in the end, apart from you, I only succeeded in convincing the four masters of my Huofu Thief Kai to participate in the 'Imperial Trial'."

"Fortunately, these 4 of my subordinates listened to me very well. I told them that I hoped that they would use the 'Imperial Trial' as a springboard to improve their knowledge and after swordsmanship, they all agreed to participate in the 'Imperial Trial'. "

"And all four of them have successfully passed the written test."

"So, they don't know what your real purpose is for letting them participate in the 'Imperial Trial'?" Ogata asked.

"The truth about the fact that I let so many people participate in the 'Imperial Trial', the less people know the better." Hasegawa said with a wry smile, "Since you can fool them casually, you can make them willingly participate in the 'Imperial Trial', Then you don’t need to go to the trouble of telling them the real reason.”

...

...

at the same time--

Edo, Yoshiwara, in a certain house for traveling girls.

Makimura and Asai originally went to Yoshihara tonight, intending to lurk into the Four Seasons House as usual and eavesdrop on Kyutaro's conversation.

It's a pity——Makimura and Asai were in vain.

Although Ji Taro likes the izakaya of the Four Seasons House, he doesn't go to the Four Seasons House to drink every day.

Basically keep the frequency of going 4 or 5 times in 7 days.

Tonight, Mucun and Asai were very disappointed.

After entering Yoshiwara tonight, Ji Taro didn't go to the Four Seasons House to drink, but went straight to a certain girl's house to start the night's joy directly.

After realizing that they were in vain, Mucun and Asai could only temporarily return to the hotel where they lived.

As for Ji Taro - after he entered a room that he had never been to before and ordered a gamer who he had never ordered before, he put his arms around the girl, and one of them sipped the drink of the girl. The drinks being poured are the preparations for the joy in the future.

"My lord, I'm back."

Just when Ji Taro was drinking happily, Keitaro's voice suddenly sounded outside the room.

"Oh, it's Keitaro." Ji Taro, who blushed from drinking, shouted, "Come in!"

As soon as Ji Taro's voice fell, the door was opened with a "hu". Hui Taro walked into the room quickly, and then knelt respectfully in front of Ji Taro.

After the essay test was finally released just now, Ji Taro asked his follower, Keitaro, to help him see if he passed the essay test.

Now that Huitaro is back, it means that Huitaro has read the list of those who passed the literary examination.

"How?" Jitaro asked Keitaro who had returned, "Did I pass the literary test?"

As soon as Ji Taro's question fell, Keitaro said with a smile on his face:

"My lord, congratulations, you have passed the literary test."

Regarding the good news reported by Hui Taro, Ji Taro did not show any overly excited emotions, he only smiled slightly, raised the wine glass in his hand, and took a sip of the wine in the glass.

With his calm appearance, he seemed to have expected that he would pass the essay test.

Ji Taro's reaction was flat, but the wandering girl sitting next to Ji Taro - her reaction was mostly.

"Wow! My lord! Congratulations!"

"I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable! I also heard from a friend about this "Imperial Trial" essay test just now! I heard that quite a few people failed this essay test!"

The wandering girl kept praising Kyutaro.

Hearing the praise of the traveling girl beside him, the smile on Kyutaro's face spread slightly.

"I took it for granted that I passed the essay test."

"I read these classics of Sinology every day."

"A mere literary test can't help me."

"My lord, do you read classics of Sinology every day?" You Nu asked.

"Yeah." Ji Taro nodded after taking a sip of his wine, "Don't look at me like this, I really like reading."

After all, Ji Taro drank the wine in the glass, and then slammed the wine glass back on the table in front of him.

"Now that the literary test has been passed, only the military test is left."

Ji Taro let out a smirk.

"Fighting people is what I'm really good at."

...

...

Although Hasegawa's personal arrival did not bring any very useful information to Ogata, it was not without gain.

At least I know that Ji Taro passed the literary test, and that Ji Taro participated in the "Gozen Trial" under the pseudonym "Jiichiro".

After bidding farewell to Hasegawa, Ogata returned to the guard post he was in charge of tonight.

Not long after returning to the guard post, it was time for Ogata to leave work.

After Sashuang "off work", Xu returned to the hotel where he lived.

As soon as he returned to the hotel, he was warmly received by the crowd headed by A-Machi.

They have all learned through different channels that Ogata has won the first place in the essay test.

After Ogata came back, they all looked at Ogata as if they were looking at a rare animal.

Ogata has seen this kind of gaze many times tonight, so he is quite used to it.

Because I don't know how I got the first place in the essay test, so when A Machi and others threw him questions such as "Are you proficient in Sinology?", Ogata could only say something like " It's just that I'm luckier" to fool the past.

Of course—while accepting everyone's inquiries and congratulations, Ogata did not forget to share the new information he just heard from Hasegawa with everyone.

Because everyone was congratulating and celebrating Ogata, the noise tonight reached almost 23 o'clock in the evening, and everyone went back to their rooms and got ready to go to bed.

Only Yuan Yi huddled in the corner of the room as usual, drinking in silence after everyone else fell asleep...

...

...

Ogata was sleeping soundly.

But all of a sudden, a slight abnormal sound was heard beside him.

The ability to "maintain a high level of sharpness even when asleep" that was developed when wandering around was brought into play at this time.

Although the volume of the strange noise was very low, Ogata was awakened by it and quickly opened his eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes, Xu Yi looked in the direction of the strange noise.

While moving his gaze to the source of the sound, Ogata's hand subconsciously touched the two swords, Da Shi Tian and Da Zi Zai, who had been placed beside him and were inseparable from him.

The line of sight made contact with the object that made the faint noise—and then Ogata saw Genichi.

Genichi, who was only wearing a white yukata, was barefoot, with his Wakizawa Yanrong stuck in his waist, and his right hand was holding his Dato Yangshen, barefoot, slightly arched, standing by the window of the room forward.

What caught people's attention was that Genichi was wearing a mask at this time.

A dark red tengu mask.

Genichi's appearance reminded Ogata of the kind of thief who disguised himself, curled up, and sneaked into other people's homes to steal.

The subtle noises that Ogata heard just now were probably the sound of Genichi picking up his saber and the sound of footsteps walking towards the window.

At the same time Ogata woke up and looked at him, Genichi also turned his head to look at Ogata.

After the eyes of the two met in mid-air, Genichi took off the tengu mask on his face, and a slight embarrassment appeared on his face.

Just as Ogata was about to say something, Genichi raised his finger to his lips to signal Ogata not to speak, and then raised his thumb to gesture towards the door.

After understanding the meaning of Genichi's gesture, Ogata closed his slightly parted lips, then crawled out of the bed, followed Yuanyi, and walked out of their room one by one.

Just after walking out of the room and stepping onto the corridor outside the room, Ogata closed the door while checking whether there were other outsiders around the corridor.

After closing the door and confirming that there are no outsiders around the corridor, Xu Yi immediately frowned slightly, and asked Yuan Yi with a puzzled face:

"Master Yuan, what are you doing? What are you doing with the knife?"

Hearing Ogata's questioning, the embarrassment on Genichi's face became more intense, and he raised his hand to scratch his hair.

"I didn't expect to wake you up..."

"After all, the distance between us is very close." Ogata said, "I'm very sensitive to the sound of footsteps. We are in the same room, and the distance between each other is less than 2 steps away. I don't want me to hear your footsteps. , but it is difficult."

Ogata is very sensitive to the sound of footsteps close to him-this can be regarded as an almost instinctive ability cultivated in the previous wandering life.

"Okay, Master Yuan, tell me what you are doing."

Although both of them are outside now, Ogata and Genichi lowered their voices in order not to disturb other people in the room.

During this period of time, Yuan Yi lived an extremely regular life-drinking like a waste wood every day.

Almost every day he drank until Ogata and the others fell asleep before he went to bed.

Ogata also admired Genichi's drinking capacity, he drank from morning to night, but never got drunk.

"...It was discovered, so there is nothing I can do." Yuan Yi shrugged, "I plan to go out and exercise my body."

"Move your body? Do you want to go for a walk?"

"That's not true. I'd rather like a walk, but I wouldn't walk like a fool in the middle of the night."

"The more I think about it these days, the more I feel something is wrong."

Genichi raised his head slightly, as if recalling.

"Because many of my enemies are looking for me outside, I have been hiding in the hotel and not going out-this kind of thing doesn't seem to be in my character."

"...huh?" Ogata tilted his head.

A bad premonition emerged in Ogata's heart...

"People came all the way to Edo to find me just because Genichi Kinoshita might be in Edo. If I didn't respond, I would feel a little disrespectful."

Speaking of this, Yuan Yi showed a bright smile.

"So I've decided."

"I will take the initiative to attack and kill all the enemies who came to take my life."