As we enter July, although the weather is still hot and dry, summer in the traditional sense is coming to an end.
The noisy chirping of cicadas became sparse.
Only male cicadas emit annoying cicada calls, which are their mating songs. And among the sounds that used to come and go in the early and midsummer, now there are only a few that have been calling all summer but still haven't found a partner, and they are still making feeble and intermittent efforts.
But it was ultimately in vain.
After more than ten years of being buried in the earth and forbearing, the light of just one summer may not necessarily lead to a happy ending for all individuals.
Opportunities are never given fairly, and they will not show mercy just because they see how hard you work. The so-called reward for hard work is the biggest lie in the world - luck is sometimes far more important than this.
The strongest, most powerful and outstanding male cicadas may be eaten by natural enemies just after they shed their shells and before they even have time to sing a cry. The less powerful male cicadas may happen to appear in areas with many females and leave behind a large number of offspring.
This kind of disorder, which can even be described as "chaos" and "injustice", has always existed in nature. Human beings hate this kind of disorder and chaos, so they have established pastures, farmlands, and even social systems to pursue efficient and optimal breeding. Trying to gather all resources on the so-called 'elite individuals' - but who decides the 'elite'?
Do those with nobler bloodlines have a higher right to survive?
Can those with nobler bloodlines arbitrarily seize other people's right to live?
The remaining members of the Qingtian family had different thoughts under the impact of the news they received.
Ayong and the other three warriors were deeply spiritual because they were unable to solve what had happened, but they were full of indignation, so they turned their hostility towards Rigar and his party - believing that their arrival had triggered this incident.
Facing these hostile looks, the Luoan girl was a little angry, but the sage held her down.
Provoking conflicts and causing unnecessary disputes is harmful and unhelpful. Ayong and others are pure warriors. Even though they are also warriors, they are different from current and future leaders like Narumi and Yajiro - they only think according to the thoughts of warriors. And right now, they need an enemy, someone to hate for the person who caused all this.
They have to set up a target to release their sense of powerlessness filled with grief, anger and resentment.
There is no need to argue with them. If the situation changes, the hostility will naturally disappear.
Everyone, including Yajiro, obviously connected the reason with the surrender letter that Henry had made clear to them before, and believed that it was because of handling such a dangerous thing that the Aoda family would be destroyed.
The only one who might have a different opinion was Narumi. Apart from his slightly trembling hands and pale face, the samurai leader behaved quite calmly. When he met Henry's eyes, the sage also saw that there was no other meaning in those eyes - Narumi sighed, then turned around and walked towards the luggage stored in the house.
This small inn has been rented out by them. Even the boss and the maid have left for the time being, and the daily living in the house is taken care of by the ashigaru.
A pattern like this is not uncommon for traveling nobles, because nobles always have to worry about being poisoned, so it is safer to rent out the entire inn and let their entourage control their diet - but let's get back to where we started.
If Yajiro as the heir reaches adulthood, he will have the seal of acting mayor in Seizhihui, just like the seal of acting magistrate of Pingshan Prefecture that Totaro in Hot Spring Village previously owned.
This is proof of his power as an assistant to the head of a town. It's quite important, but it's not the most important.
The most important item of a noble family is the family tree.
This document, written on special paper and recording the origins of the members and their bloodline, is their identity certificate in Crescent Continent. It is true that the hair color that is completely different from that of the common people can be seen with the naked eye, but the difference between warriors and ordinary people can be seen with the naked eye. There is also inequality among warriors.
A samurai who temporarily loses his service to the monarch will become a ronin, but this is only temporary. As long as the family tree can still prove that he is of noble birth, there is still the possibility of making a comeback in the future.
But if the family tree is lost, there is no possibility of returning to mainstream society.
This kind of thing is usually kept in the safest place in a family. Not to mention taking it out, even borrowing it needs to go through layers of testing and monitoring - because there are still some secrets hidden in the family tree.
So when Narumi took out the Aotian family's genealogy from the luggage that had been carefully guarded, many people immediately understood that it was actually not directly related to Henry and the others' visit to Aozhi.
"Sir, it's actually been a long time ago." Narumi hesitated, and handed the family tree to Yajiro along with a letter.
A Yong and others were stunned. They looked back and forth, not knowing what to say.
This journey together was consensual from the very beginning, but they never made it clear because of Kazuto's reservations. When the head of the Qingda family met Henry and his party and knew that they were also embarking on a journey with some kind of mission, they decided to let Yajiro go together.
The many considerations behind it and the results of all this are actually already determined.
Although many people present did not want to see such a result, including Narumi who knew about it, they actually looked forward to returning to Qingzhi and returning the family tree after the incident was over.
But everything still turned to the worst plan.
In the open and secret struggle between Xinjing and the vassal territory, a lonely ronin like Ryunosuke can choose to take neither side; and a fanatic like the late Saburo even claims to become a third-party force - but there are families? The karma warriors had no such choice.
Especially the Qingtian family, which is based on Qingzhi.
They can't run away.
This can be seen from the geographical location of Qingzhi - its waterways extending in all directions are used for commerce to sell bamboo wares to the far south, but what if it is used to transport troops?
There is a concept in the military called "key points", which refer to strategic points that can be used to transport one's troops in all directions or to prevent the enemy's march as long as they are controlled. Unfortunately, Qingzhi is a strategically important place in the domain that perfectly fits this concept of key points.
There is an ancient fable in Xinyuezhou called Huaibi's crime.
The Qingtian family is the common people in this story.
Yajiro opened the wax seal and quietly read the last words left by his father.
The owner of the house sees clearly.
They are so humble and small.
Although land ownership was considered wealthy, this was only an advantage in peacetime.
They followed traditional samurai education and traded with the south. They were emotionally inclined to Xinjing, but geographically they were located in the vassal territory.
The discord between the vassal territory and Xinjing has existed since ancient times, and minor frictions have never stopped. But before sending them away, he clearly sensed a different atmosphere - something big was about to happen this time.
The Qingtian family, who are emotionally and positionally inclined to Xinjing, must have been excluded from the circle of the feudal lord. However, due to the important geographical location of Qingzhi Town, they will be the first to bear the brunt if something is going to happen.
But they are too far away from Xinjing.
Even if he shows his loyalty and informs the threat, Xinjing will most likely only give some verbal comfort - the king of the vassal area is a degraded royal family after all, and Xinjing cannot fight with the vassal king just for the sake of a low-class Chinese who is loyal to him. They broke their skin and sent troops to help.
They will only get some words of comfort and encouragement that are not painful or itchy.
Therefore, he had already foreseen the destruction of the Qingtian family and the change of ownership of Qingzhi.
Under the surface of pretending to be stupid, he often had trouble sleeping because of the crises he had noticed early due to his careful thinking.
It was at this time that Henry and his party appeared.
They hold some information that is extremely important for the coming storm - the keen head of the family saw the strange composition of Henry and his party at this time, and immediately realized this.
So in the name of a coming-of-age ceremony trip, he sent out this Qingtian family team, all of whom were young adults or loyal old servants, while avoiding the eyes as much as possible and not being noticed.
"Demon Town Museum"
This is the seed of the Qingtian family. Although those who remain are more famous people in the local area, they are basically the older generation of samurai who have aged.
It seemed that the Qingtian family provided convenience and help to Rigar and his party with their financial, material and status along the way, but in fact their demand for Henry and his party was not low.
In the letter, the head of the family carefully warned Yajiro not to act like a child. There are many things that can be learned from Rigal and his party, especially Henry.
The end point of this journey is Xinjing.
But the Qingtian family didn't have any information that would attract Xinjing's attention.
But Henry and the others do.
However, a low-income Chinese in a border vassal, an insignificant little character, can only climb up with all his strength like a person grasping at straws if he is tightly bound to something important enough.
Only then can we make a comeback in the future.
The words, which were thoughtful and thoughtful, and obviously carefully considered, came out word by word through the pen and paper.
Although the ups and downs along the way have seriously reduced their team, these people were all personally selected by the family head as seeds.
He failed to foresee the many hardships along the way, but nevertheless he made a full effort.
The previous generation has been wiped out, but together with Yajiro's sister who came all the way, the new generation of the Qingtian family is still alive.
Ayong and others, who had originally dumped their hostility on Rigar and his party, were a little at a loss. After reading his father's long autograph letter, Yajiro fell into a long silence again.
For too long, he was immersed in the small world of a warrior.
Deep down in his heart, he even despised his seemingly cowardly father - he felt that he was never a model warrior, not decisive enough, not brave enough and strong enough.
But the journey along the way made him start to think about more things.
Those who only draw swords will eventually die by the sword one day.
The reason why he could unscrupulously immerse himself in the small world of being a samurai in the past days, dreaming about a battle full of honor like in "The Legend of Warriors" and finally dying as a perfect samurai.
Just because.
Those things that are not so perfect, those bad intrigues, all those things that are 'impure'.
They were all blocked by my father.
How much pressure did that seemingly weak and incompetent figure bear that even the grown-up man now felt unable to handle?
It is precisely because of his protection that I can devote myself to the world of martial arts without restraint and wholeheartedly.
But my father is no longer here——
"Brother."
The younger sister came over and grabbed his hand, and the young master noticed that he had clenched his fists from the beginning.
He lowered his head and looked into those still innocent and pitiful eyes.
My father is no longer here.
My mother is gone too.
But he's still there.
"The Qingtian family has not perished." He raised his face, and his expression was so determined at this moment that even our Luoan girl was moved.
"We're still here," he said.
Just such simple words are enough to clear away the haze in everyone's minds.
"Yes." Narumi lowered his head: "Your Excellency, the head of the family."
Lao Qiao rubbed his eyes and turned his head, while Ayong and the others stood up straight.
"We are repairing in Minamata for the time being. The next journey may be more difficult."
"For this I need everyone to be at their best and I need all the strength I can borrow."
He finally turned to look at the sage.
"Can you personally teach me swordsmanship and many other things?"
The new head of the Qingtian family said so.
"teacher."
