In yesterday's chapter, the title and part of the content were revised due to force majeure... the title was changed to the current "The Strongest in Edo: A Visit from Eijiro Chiba", and a set of conversations between Aoto and Okita in the chapter were deleted. …(Leopard’s head cries.jpg)
But fortunately it does not affect reading.
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"Finally everything is set up!" Okita, who was standing side by side with Aoto, had his hands on his hips and looked with satisfaction at the mini armor, mini tachi, Sakata Kintoki and other dolls that had been successfully arranged with the combined efforts of him and Aoto. shelf.
Qingden smiled bitterly and rubbed his wrist: "This shelf is really heavy."
This shelf is made of solid wood, and its actual weight is much heavier than it looks.
In order to move it into the living room, Qingto and Okita put in a lot of effort and suffered a lot.
"Let's take a short rest." Okita lowered his eyes and glanced at his wrists, which were also sore and aching. "I'll go to the kitchen to get tea. Do you want some tea, Tachibana-kun?"
Qingdeng nodded: "Well, I happen to be a little thirsty too."
"Then you wait here, I'll be right back."
After saying that, Okita turned around and quickly left the hall.
As soon as Okita left, the sound of "dong dong dong" footsteps suddenly came from outside the living room.
Just when Qingden was wondering if Okita had returned, he heard a "crash" and the paper sliding door of the living room was slowly opened.
Opener: Shusuke, who is holding a basin of oranges.
"Oh?" As soon as he reached the sliding door of the living room, Zhouzhu was the first to see the shelves with dolls and other items already on them. "Tachibana-kun, you have set up the shelves. Wow, oh, oh, oh, well done! Thank you for your hard work!" "
Zhou Zhu raised the basin of oranges in his hand.
"Come on, eat some oranges and take a rest."
Without waiting for Qingdeng to respond, Zhouzhu placed the basin of oranges in his hand on the large table in the living room.
"Where's the Souji? Why don't you see the Souji? Isn't he responsible for putting on airs together with you?"
"Okita-kun, he went to the kitchen to get tea." Qingto replied, "He should be back soon."
Talk about Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrives.
As soon as Qingto finished speaking, Okita, holding a pot of tea, appeared outside the sliding paper door of the living room that Zhou Zhu had just opened.
"Huh? Master, why are you here?" Okita blinked in surprise at Zhousuke in the living room, "Didn't your aunt ask you to go to the kitchen to help make rice dumplings?"
"I was just asked to help clean the lotus leaves. This work can be completed quickly."
"Since I have nothing to do, I can only come here to eat oranges and kill time."
After saying that, Zhouzhu smiled and stretched out his hand to point at the basin of oranges he had just brought over.
"Soji, you're back just in time. Do you want to eat some oranges together? The oranges I just bought yesterday are very fresh."
Okita's eyes lit up: "Oranges? If you want to eat, eat!"
Okita cheerfully put the teapot and teacup he had just brought from the kitchen on the table, and then sat in a row with Ayoto and Shusuke to eat oranges.
This pot of oranges is indeed very fresh. The orange peel is very bright orange, and the leaves hanging on the branches are still verdant green. Qingden’s index finger moves when he sees it.
The greedy Qingden was aroused and he took an orange from the basin, skillfully broke off a piece of the fruit and put it into his mouth.
This pot of oranges is not only fresh, but also tastes pretty good.
The moment he put a piece of pulp into his mouth, the sweet taste immediately filled his entire mouth.
In Qingdeng's impression... this was the first time he had eaten such fresh and delicious fruit after traveling to this era.
In this era, fruit cultivation and breeding techniques were still very backward, so whether you could buy delicious fruits depended on luck.
——So sweet...Okita-kun must love eating such sweet fruit.
With this secret thought in his heart, Qingto subconsciously squinted his eyes and cast an observing gaze at Okita who was sitting next to him.
It was just as Qingto expected - after Okita, who loves sweets, ate a small piece of pulp, his eyes widened in surprise at first, and then slowly narrowed, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a happy arc, revealing a "My whole body is about to melt".
"Hoo ho ho." Shusuke, who had a clear view of Ayoto and Okita's expressions and reactions, let out his signature "ho ho ho" laugh, "How is it? Is it delicious?"
Okita swallowed the pulp in his mouth vigorously, and then nodded quickly.
"If you think it tastes good, eat more." Zhousuke pushed the basin of oranges in the direction of Qingto and Okita, "There are still a lot of oranges, open them up and eat them."
After finishing speaking, Zhouzhu grabbed three oranges from the basin in one breath. Shusuke's way of eating is quite bold. He doesn't break the fruit into pieces like Seito and Okita, but likes to peel off all the orange peels and stuff the whole orange directly into his mouth.
The three people sitting side by side just had a sip of oranges and a sip of tea, so relaxed and comfortable. The atmosphere in the living room was quiet and peaceful. People who didn't know better thought they were celebrating the New Year.
When Qingden took the fourth orange from the basin, he suddenly heard Zhou Zhu, who was sipping tea at this time, talking to him:
"Ji Jun, you have a rare day off today. Do you have any plans for today?"
"There are no plans." Qingden responded without thinking, "I plan to spend this morning leisurely and go to the dojo to practice swordsmanship in the afternoon."
"In this rare holiday, I have to continue practicing my sword meticulously... Mr. Ju, you are really diligent." Zhou Assistant looked at Qingdeng with eyes full of praise.
At this time, Zhouzhu suddenly seemed to recall something, and his expression suddenly paused.
Immediately afterwards, he was heard asking Qingdeng softly:
"Tachibana-kun, when you were practicing swordplay and sparring with others recently... did you see that 'air flow' again?"
"No." Qingdeng responded without hesitation. He smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I haven't seen that 'air flow' again during this period of time."
"That's it..." Zhou Assistant pursed his lips, and then while smiling, he raised his hand and patted Qingdeng's shoulder, "It's okay, just take your time."
"One day you will be able to figure out what those 'air currents' you see are."
Ever since Aitobo fought against Hiroshi Arizuma in the finals of Aizu Hou's swordsmanship competition, and learned that he had unconsciously released his "shi" at the same moment he saw the "air flow" from Hiroshi Arizuma's body, he began to think about this "air flow". The degree of curiosity and confusion increased linearly.
I was thinking hard here, but I couldn't think of a reason.
Therefore, in order to find out what this "air flow" was, Qingdeng decided to ask the master he relied on very much...that is, Zhou Zhu after much thought.
Qingden originally thought that Zhou Zhu, who was several times his age and had been struggling in the martial arts for decades, might be able to give him some answers or inspiration.
However... the final result was to disappoint Qingteng - after listening to Qingteng's description, Zhousuke also looked at a loss.
Zhousuke didn’t know what these “air currents” Qingdeng saw were...
Even the well-informed Zhousuke couldn't give him a specific answer... This made Qingdeng even more confused about this "air flow".
Zhou Zhu's sudden casual question was just a small interlude.
After asking Aoto "Have you seen the 'air flow' again recently?" Shusuke stopped speaking and continued to eat oranges silently with Aoto and Okita.
The atmosphere in the living room has returned to quietness and tranquility.
But this silence and tranquility was broken again not long after.
Dong-dong-dong—hurried footsteps came from the corridor outside the living room.
As soon as Qingdeng and the others turned around following the sound, they saw the sliding door of the living room being opened by Kondo with a strange look on his face.
"Father, I finally found you!"
"Yong, what's wrong?" Zhou Zhu frowned, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Father." Kondo, whose expression on his face became even weirder, stretched out his hand and pointed in the direction of the entrance of the Imperial Guard Hall, "Eijiro is here!"
"What?" Zhousuke was about to put a freshly chopped orange into his mouth. He paused and the hand holding the orange stopped in mid-air.
——Eijiro?
Hearing this name, Qingden couldn't help but shrink his pupils slightly, and then, like Zhousuke, his whole body froze...
…
…
Trial Guard Hall, living room——
"Tea, please."
"Thank you." Chiba Eijiro bowed slightly and sent a polite smile to Abi who served him tea.
At this moment, the hall of the Trial Guard Hall was filled with stars.
Shusuke, Kondo, Okita, Aoto, Saito, Nagakura, Harada...except for Kyuubei who is helping to clean the yard outside, all the current residents of the trial building are here now.
Everyone sat neatly on the west side of the hall, facing Eijiro Chiba who was sitting alone on the east side of the hall.
"He is 'Gi no Chiba'..." Nagakura, who was sitting behind Aoto, murmured softly at a volume that only he could hear clearly, and clenched his arms tighter in front of his chest. His two eyes were staring straight at Chiba Eijiro.
Next to him, Harada, who usually looked silly and naive, had a rare serious look on his face at this time, looking at Eijiro Chiba with interest.
It was the first time for Nagakura and Harada to see the famous "Chiba Chiba" with their own eyes. This big star in the Japanese swordsmanship world was sitting in front of them. It was difficult for them to stay calm.
Aoto and Saito had already met Chiba Eijiro in previous sword competitions, so compared to Nagakura and Harada, Aoto and the others were much calmer.
Chiba Eijiro picked up the tea that Abi had just handed him, took a sip carefully, and then raised his eyebrows.
"Good tea... Madam, your tea-making skills seem to have improved a lot."
"You are so complimentary." Abi held the tea tray in front of him and smiled politely.
"Hahaha, I don't think I'm being ridiculous." Chiba Eijiro took a few more sips of tea, then put down the teacup, raised his gaze, and looked at Nagakura and the others.
"Mr. Zhouzhu, in a while, there will be many unfamiliar faces in your hotel... who are these?"
Chiba Eijiro and Saito met once at the Aizuhou Swordsman Competition that just ended, so he knew Saito, but he had never met Nagakura and Harada.
"Oops, I almost forgot to introduce."
Zhousuke turned his upper body and pointed at Nagakura and others.
"Eijiro, let me introduce you."
"This is Nagakura Shinpachi, and this is Harada Sanosuke. These two are currently patrons of my trial defense hall, and both of them are also Okabiki under Tachibana-kun."
"First meeting! I am Nagakura Shinpachi!" As soon as Shusuke finished speaking, Nagakura put his fisted hands on the tatami, bent his upper body, and saluted Chiba Eijiro respectfully.
"This is the first time we meet, I am Harada Sanosuke." Harada followed Nagakura and bowed his head to Chiba Eijiro.
"Well, hello." After nodding to Nagakura and Harada, Chiba Eijiro showed a calm smile without any pretensions. "You don't have to be so reserved and polite. Please raise your heads quickly. You are too polite." His polite appearance makes me feel a little uncomfortable."
Under Chiba Eijiro's half-joking urging, Nagakura and Harada slowly straightened up their waists that had been bent to bow to Chiba Eijiro.
Shusuke, who had helped Chiba Eijiro get to know Nagakura and Harada, raised his hand with a smile and rubbed his bare chin.
"Eijiro, if you look back and think about it carefully... it's true that you haven't been to our place for a long time."
"Are you the only one here today?"
"Well, yes." Chiba Eijiro smiled slightly, "Because it was an impromptu visit to 'avoid guests,' so I didn't bring any relatives, friends or entourage."
"'Avoid guests'?" Zhouzhu's snow-white eyebrows raised slightly.
There was a hint of bitterness in the smile on Chiba Eijiro's face: "Since I returned to Edo, the guests who wanted to see me and the warriors who wanted to challenge me have almost knocked down the door of the Xuanbu Hall. "
"If it were normal times, that would be fine."
"But today is the annual Dragon Boat Festival, and I don't want to be disturbed by those who visit during the festival."
"So this morning after saying hello to my family, I went out alone, planning to return to the Xuanwu Hall after dark."
"My original intention was to find a place where no one would disturb me and have a good cleansing."
"Then I suddenly remembered: I haven't visited your hotel for a long time."
Chiba Eijiro smiled and spread his hands.
"So—I'm here."
"I'm taking the liberty to visit you, and I would like to invite Haihan."
Chiba Eijiro used a very relaxed posture throughout the whole process.
He didn't tense up his body in a restrained manner, nor did he say any polite polite words. He simply and straightforwardly explained the reason for his sudden visit to the Trial Guard Hall.
"Hohoho, that's it." As soon as Chiba Eijiro finished speaking, Zhousuke smiled and nodded slightly.
——Avoid those who come to the door...
Qingdeng said to himself, while showing an expression of "Ah, I understand it very well."
Eijiro Chiba was born in the Chiba family, "the most famous sect in the martial arts world". He himself was also a well-known warrior with glorious titles such as "Chiba of Technique" and "The Strongest Swordsman in Edo".
As long as he has a good family background and strength, there are naturally countless people who want to curry favor with him or challenge him.
Qingdeng can relate to this feeling of being "disturbed by visitors" - because he has recently encountered people who want to visit him frequently.
After Aoden won the swordsmanship competition at Aizuhou, his already famous reputation in Edo rose again.
Many people came to the Imperial Examination Center and even the Beifan Institute, wanting to see with their own eyes what this young man who had appeared in public view almost every once in a while in recent months looked like.
Some people really just came to see what Qingdeng looked like.
But more people actually want to curry favor with Qingdeng.
Although these people who come to visit Qingdeng are not particularly large, they have already made Qingdeng feel quite troubled. After all, these people have had a certain impact on Qingdeng's daily life.
Just when Aoto was feeling empathetic to Chiba Eijiro's words just now, Shusuke then said to Chiba Eijiro with a smile:
"Eijiro, you came at the right time today. We make rice dumplings every Dragon Boat Festival in our Imperial Guard House, and the rice dumplings made by my wife are excellent. You must try them later."
Chiba Eijiro laughed a few times with "haha": "In that case, I will have a good taste of it later!"
Having said this, Chiba Eijiro suddenly paused.
After a moment of silence, he said quietly:
"In addition to avoiding those annoying guys and taking advantage of the opportunity to visit your hotel in the long future, there is actually another reason why I came here suddenly today..."
"I'm here for Mr. Tachibana."
After saying that, Chiba Eijiro squinted his eyes and looked at Ayoto with a meaningful look.
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