Qingden chatted with Inoya for a while before saying goodbye.
After leaving the practice center, Qingdeng began to scan his eyes, looking for his bodyguard.
Ayoto quickly found Saito - under three pigeons...
Saito was still standing under the stone brick wall directly opposite the main gate of the monastery.
He stood upright, with his hands folded on the sword hanging on his right waist, motionless, like a statue. The only part of his body that was moving was his eyes, which were blinking at a very rhythmic frequency.
On top of his head and on his two shoulders, there was a big fat pigeon squatting on each side.
These three pigeons seemed to regard Saito as a statue. They kept adjusting their fat bodies with half-squinted eyes so that they could sit more comfortably on Saito's head and shoulders.
Saito did not drive away the three big pigeons sitting on him, but continued to stand motionless.
The warrior who was as motionless as a stone, and the three big fat pigeons squatting on the warrior's head and shoulders... Such a strange sight naturally attracted the attention of many passers-by.
Passers-by passing in front of and beside Saito frequently looked back, looking at the unsmiling young man with eyes mixed with doubts and curiosity...
When Aoto found Saito, Saito immediately saw Aoto coming out of the shrine.
Like a dog shaking off water droplets, he shook his body several times.
"Goooooooooooo!"
The three pigeons on Saito's body were finally shocked to realize that the place where they were squatting just now was not a statue, and they hurriedly flew away.
After watching the three fat pigeons fly into the sky with a slightly open mouth, Aoto turned his attention back to Saito, who was walking quickly towards him.
"...after I entered the monastery, you have been standing under that wall and haven't moved at all?"
Saito nodded.
"If you stand still like this, won't your feet or waist get sore?"
Saito shook his head: "I like to sit still, stand still and be in a daze."
Are you a sloth? !
Qingden took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to complain.
"...Okay, since it's your personal preference, I won't say anything more."
After saying that, Qingdeng pursed his lips in the direction of home.
"Let's go, Shulan... Saito, come home with me."
"What are you doing at home?"
"There was a gang of thieves in Fujisawa-juku on the Tokaido Road. Mr. Fengyu personally named me to take charge of the case. I would like to trouble you to accompany me to Fujisawa-juku."
…
…
After returning home to Hatchobori as quickly as possible, Aoto immediately ordered Kyubei to help prepare luggage for the business trip.
You don’t need to prepare a lot of luggage. After all, Fujisawa-juku is very close to Edo, and the round trip only takes 6 days, so you only need to prepare a few changes of clothes, a few spare pairs of straw sandals, and a few Dry food will do.
"Young Master, Mr. Saito, here you go." Kyubey handed two pointed hats for snow protection and two black cloaks with hems to the calves specially used to block the wind.
Aintome just asked Kyubei to prepare a set of hats and cloaks for Saito.
They happened to have an extra set of cold-proof equipment at home, and they could lend it to Saito.
Saito looked at the hat and cloak that Kubei handed him with a look that made it difficult to guess what he was thinking.
"...Thank you." He said to Qingden.
"You're welcome." Qingto smiled slightly at Saito, "If you catch a cold or catch a cold, it will be very difficult for me."
Qingden neatly put on his cloak and hat, then put the cloth bag full of luggage on his back.
"Kyuubei, I'll ask you to take care of your house while I'm away. If you're lucky, I'll be back in about 6 or 7 days."
"Yes!" Kyuubei, who was kneeling on the ground, bent his waist and saluted Qingteng solemnly, "Young Master, Mr. Saito, I wish you good luck in martial arts."
The "Five Streets" all start from a place called "Nihonbashi" in Edo.
Nihonbashi, as its name suggests, is a huge wooden bridge.
As the starting point of the "Five Streets" connecting important places across the country, Nihonbashi has naturally become the most visited and lively place in Edo.
With Nihonbashi, a huge wooden bridge, as the center, there are a large number of shops and vendors in the surrounding areas, where people from all walks of life gather.
This specialty shop specializes in business for travelers visiting Edo.
Teahouses, izakayas, and inns provide a place to stay for travelers and businessmen who come from afar along the "Five Streets".
I knew there were a lot of people here, so I came here specifically to sell vendors selling all kinds of goods.
Travelers, traveling businessmen, wandering monks, anxious-looking official servants, wandering girls standing on the street soliciting customers, beggars lying on the street... all kinds of things in the world seem to be condensed in Japan. On the bridge.
After bidding farewell to Kyuubei, he and Saito arrived behind the crowded Nihonbashi Bridge. Looking at the scene in front of him that was comparable to the train station during the Spring Festival in his previous life, Aoto turned to Saito behind him and shouted loudly:
"Saito! Follow closely! Don't lose track!"
Saito nodded vigorously.
Qingto led Saito to "cut through the waves" and struggled to open a passage to the Tokaido among the dense crowd.
But, right now.
Just after Qingteng passed by the door of a teahouse, several figures slowly walked out of the teahouse and quietly "melted" into the dense sea of people.
Using the sea of people as cover, they followed Qingdeng and Qingdeng from a distance...
…
…
After leaving Nihonbashi, getting rid of the crowds of people pushing each other, and turning onto the spacious Tokaido, Aoto instantly felt as if the whole world had become wider.
The Edo period was a society with extremely strict class hierarchies, and what classes of people could do were clearly defined.
For example: Qingdeng, an official at the same level as Qingdeng, is not qualified to ride a horse. Even if they encounter some official business that requires traveling far away, they cannot ride a horse.
Therefore, Ainoto, who was now ordered to go on a business trip to Fujisawa Juku, could only rely on his own legs to walk there bit by bit.
Officials with the same level as Youma and Dongcheng are qualified to ride horses.
Therefore, people in this era often used "qi" as a quantifier for force, such as: 1 qi and force, 2 qi and force.
After entering Tokaido, looking around, the only scenery in my eyes is the flat road that has been stepped on thousands of times, the milky white sky full of winter atmosphere, the occasional lonely trees on the roadside, the travelers passing by or passing by. Caravan……
Saito can be said to have made Aonto truly understand what it means to "travel with you, rather than traveling alone."
In order to pass the boring time on the road, and to learn more about this bodyguard who should be with him for a long time in the future, Qingto has been trying hard to find topics to chat with Saito.
But Saito is the embodiment of "topic terminator". When faced with various questions thrown by Aoto, he either responds with "um", "oh", "ok", or directly ends the topic. I can't establish a healthy chatting atmosphere with him...
"Saito, where is your hometown?"
"Akashi-han."
"Akashi Domain... I remember that this domain is located to the west of Kyoto. I don't know much about this domain. Are there any interesting specialties or scenic spots in your hometown, Akashi Domain?"
"I don't know. I haven't found out."
"...Yesterday, Lord Arima said that you were an old acquaintance of his. How did you get to know Lord Arima?"
"I can't remember clearly. When I came to my senses, I already knew him."
"...Do you have anything you like to eat? After going to the dormitory, you can eat and drink for free. It just so happens that you can ask the people in the dormitory to help prepare your favorite meals."
"Nothing I like to eat."
"...Is there anything you hate eating?"
"There's nothing I hate to eat."
"..."
No more! I can't talk at all!
Chatting with Saito is more torturous than both of them being silent.
He couldn't talk to Saito at all, so Qingto simply stopped chatting with him and hurried on in silence.
After walking forward for a while, the surrounding passers-by and vegetation became thinner.
The sky, which was originally clear and crisp, slowly darkened just now, and then began to fall medium-sized snowflakes.
The falling snowflakes are like elves falling from the sky.
In just a moment, the world in front of him was sealed by snow, and everything around him disappeared into a chaotic white mist.
Fortunately, both Ayoto and Saito were wearing snow-proof hats and wind-proof cloaks, so Aoto didn't feel too cold.
If you want to go to Fujisawa-juku, you have to pass through 5 hotels: Shinagawa-juku, Kawasaki-juku, Kanagawa-juku, Hodogaya-juku, and Totsuka-juku.
Qingdeng raised the brim of his bamboo hat slightly and glanced at the sky above his head.
"Saito, we need to speed up our journey a little bit. We have to arrive at the first accommodation: Shinagawa Inn before dark."
Saito nodded.
And just when Saito nodded...
Cha...!
Saito suddenly stopped, his sandals making a dull scraping sound against the snow on the ground.
While pausing, Saito slowly raised his head with his head slightly lowered.
Two sharp arrow-like gazes pierced the road ahead from the lower end.
"Huh? Saito, how..."
Before Qingdeng finished speaking, his words stopped abruptly.
Aoto's eyes gradually calmed down, and he looked forward like Saito.
On the roadside in front of the two of them, there stood a large, decayed tree that required three adults to hug.
After both Ayoto and Saito paused, like magic, figures one after another, tall or short, strong or thin, appeared from behind the decayed tree. They were lined up in front of them, and a human wall was erected, blocking their way.
"Tachibana Aoden! It's finally time to catch you alone again!"
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