I thought that the plot at the end of Volume 1 would take more than 10,000 words. Unexpectedly, I miscalculated the amount of the plot again. It only took 8,000 words to wrap up smoothly, so I left the 10,000-word chapter for Volume 2. Chapter 1!
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"……ha?"
Kiryu's meaningless words made Qingto say "ha" again in astonishment.
Kiryu had already guessed that Qingto would show such a reaction, so he had prepared himself accordingly and continued with a normal expression:
"Streaming light is a skill that I have honed with all my heart and soul."
"Whether it's emotional or rational, I don't want to see my streamer lost like this."
"As early as 50 years ago, I started looking for someone who could inherit my legacy."
"This 'journey in search of disciples'... can be summed up in one word: simply despairing."
"I have spent a long time and countless efforts, but I have never found a suitable person who can inherit my legacy."
"Until...now."
Qingdeng's eyes narrowed for a moment.
Kiryu's voice had just fallen a little when he heard Qingto ask in a solemn tone:
"...Boss Kiryu, why do you think I am a suitable disciple for you?"
Qingto stared directly at Kiryu's face with censorious eyes.
"Since you have spent a full 50 years looking for someone who is expected to inherit your legacy... then you must have seen countless geniuses with excellent talents and temperaments, right?"
"You spent 50 years without finding the person you like...why did you choose me 50 years later?"
Kiryu laughed "hahaha" a few times.
"Mr. Ju, it's true as you said. I have seen a lot of geniuses in the past 50 years."
"There are people outside the world, and there is a sky outside the sky. This is the eternal truth in this world."
"Some guys... are almost like gods descending to earth."
"The realm that ordinary people can barely reach after spending several years or more than ten years, these people, who are like gods descending to earth, can easily reach it with the flick of their fingers."
"Since I started looking for someone who is expected to inherit my mantle, I can't count the number of young people I have seen with two hands who are far more talented and kind than you, Tachibana-kun."
"But...Tachibana-kun, without exception, these people are not as interesting as you."
"When I choose a disciple, I not only look at his talent and character, but also whether he is interesting enough."
"Interesting...?" Qingdeng chewed the word softly, which made him puzzled.
"Well...it's hard for me to explain to you my definition of 'interesting' in specific words."
"Let me just put it this way: When I choose a disciple, I attach great importance to whether he likes me."
"Generally speaking, normal people can't do such a crazy thing as 'calling a formation of more than 60 warriors alone'."
Kiryu's gaze towards Qingden suddenly became elusive.
"Tachibana-kun, your behavior... reminds me of an old friend who recently likes to run alone on the street and bask in the sun leisurely."
"My here tells me—"
Kiryu stretched out his finger and pointed at his chest.
"You can definitely become...the apprentice I am most proud of!"
"I don't like those red tapes. If you are willing to inherit my mantle, then you don't need to pay me any apprenticeship ceremony, and you don't need to call me 'Master'. Just call me 'Boss Kiryu' as usual. I People quite like it when others call me ‘boss’.”
"There is no need to pay me to repair it. I have served the Lord for more than seventy years, and the savings I have accumulated are quite considerable. I am not short of money."
"I only have one request - keep it a secret from everyone that you learned the sword-drawing technique from me."
"When someone asks you, 'Where did you learn the sword-drawing technique from?', all you have to do is answer, 'You learned it yourself.'"
"Anyway, with your talent, even if you give such an answer, no one will be suspicious."
"I don't want too many people to know that Kazuma Kiryu of Senshiya has a lot of background."
"Ji Jun, what do you think...?"
Kiryu smiled and rested his elbows on the counter in front of him, crossing his fingers and waiting for Qingto's reply.
"..." Qingden lowered his eyelids and frowned slightly.
Kiryu was still talking about some very serious and informative information, but without any foreshadowing, he suddenly changed the subject and started talking to him about recruiting disciples...
The huge span of topic content made Qingdeng feel a little confused in his thoughts.
"The matter of apprenticeship... let's leave it to the details later."
Qingdeng has a quiet road.
"I still have some questions I want to ask you."
"After all my remaining questions are answered one by one, let's talk about becoming a master and a disciple."
"Boss Kiryu, you told me so many things that I feel I can't let outsiders know casually...Is it really okay?"
Qingden said in a tone that was half serious and half joking.
"Aren't you afraid that I will tell you things like 'The boss of Senshiya Kiryu is not an ordinary person', 'Kizuma Kiryu's true identity is Kuro Mamiya', 'The organization he is backed by is a businessman named Calabash House' and so on. Do you want to spread the word?"
"You wouldn't do that."
Kiryu responded in a decisive tone without thinking at first, and then changed to a teasing tone.
"I'm not stupid enough to choose someone as my disciple who can't even keep his mouth shut."
"Then why did you tell me so many of your secrets and the secrets of Calabash House behind you?" Qingdeng asked persistently, "You don't want to drag me into Calabash House, do you?"
"You have misunderstood." Kiryu shrugged, "Our Calabash House is not easy to join."
"Whether I want to recruit you to join the gang or not, I need to decide for myself, my lord. I can't make the decision."
"There is no very special reason why I tell you so much."
"I think you are qualified to know so much, and I believe you will not betray us. After getting the Lord's permission, I decided to tell you all these things - it's that simple."
"...Okay, I understand." Qingden let out a long breath, "Then do you know why Kamitachi, one of the cadres of the Fa Punishment Party, suddenly appeared that night and lied to me and Awu? A fierce blade?"
"Ah...this is the only question you can ask me."
The smile on Kiryu's face turned into a wry smile.
"I don't understand why Kamaita suddenly appeared that night and attacked you."
"Although I really don't want to admit it... But the intelligence control of the Fa Zhu Party is really excellent, and our Huluwu can only fall behind."
"The Sword Comes"
"If you look at it carefully, it has been quite some time since I was ordered to come to Edo."
"I have spent so much time in Edo and spent countless financial resources and energy, but I still haven't been able to detect any movements of the Execution Party in Edo."
"The night I met Kamitachi was the first time I saw someone from the Hōsaku Party since I opened Senshiya in Edo."
"The cadres of the Fa Zhu Party are extremely loyal to the Fa Zhu Party."
"He is so loyal that he can die for the law and punish the party at any time, which is incredible."
Kiryu opened his mouth, raised his right hand and pointed at the back molars in his mouth.
"The cadres of the Fa Zun Party all installed a hollowed-out denture in the back molar, and filled the hollowed-out denture with a special poison that would kill immediately and incurable if ingested. "
"When it comes to suicide by taking poison, I use my tongue to open the dentures on the back molars and swallow the poison."
"We in Huluwu had two opportunities to capture party cadres alive, but we failed to capture them alive because of the rapid suicide of these cadres."
"Originally, when I faced Kamitechi, I had already learned the lesson that the cadres of the Fahui Party would commit suicide without hesitation. After removing Kamitachi's ability to resist, I immediately put my hand into his mouth and wanted to kill him. Remove the poisoned dentures."
"It's a pity...it's still half a step too late."
"If it is said that Kama Itachi wants to protect that Kamino Tatsugoro, it doesn't seem like it."
"Before he showed up, Kamino Tatsugoro, who suffered a fatal blow from you, was already hopeless."
"If you don't show up sooner, you won't show up later, but you only show up when Kamino Tatsugoro is certain to die... It really doesn't seem like he wants to protect Kamino Tatsugoro."
"The people of the Law Enforcement Party are inherently weird in their behavior. No matter how strange and unbelievable things they do, it is not surprising."
"'I just passed by by chance, because I don't like official duties, so I wanted to kill you Jun Ju on a whim', 'Because the young master is beautiful, so I want to take the young master home'...the above, These are all things that people from the Fa Zun Party might do."
"In short, I am still investigating why Kamaita suddenly appeared that night and attacked you."
"If I find out anything later, I will let you know as soon as possible."
Qingdeng nodded solemnly: "I'm sorry to bother you..."
"Is there anything else you want to ask?" Kiryu asked.
"...No more." Qingdeng shook his head.
Kiryu turned his attention to Kinoshita Mai.
Kinoshita Mai, who noticed Kiryu's gaze, thought for a moment, and then shook her head slightly.
"Then..." Kiryu smiled happily, "Let's switch the conversation back to the topic we just left aside."
Kiryu placed his hands on the counter instead on his legs, sitting upright and solemnly.
"Ji Jun, I don't force you to become my teacher."
"If you are willing to inherit my mantle, I will warmly welcome you."
"If you don't want to, I won't force you."
"So...what do you think?"
The issue of "apprenticeship" that had just been put aside for a long time was once again placed before Qingdeng's eyes.
Kiryu's expression was quite calm... his calm eyes conveyed the message that he was "ready to receive any answer from Aomori".
Kinoshita Wu turned her pretty face to look at Qingden, her red lips pursed in a nervous arc.
She was also looking forward to Qingdeng's reply.
"..." Qingden lowered his eyes and looked at the Saber Orange Water placed on the ground to his right.
——The sword-drawing technique...
Qing Deng softly recited the name of this famous martial skill in his heart.
Because he was concentrating on thinking, Qingdeng felt as if the gravity around him had disappeared. Sitting on the ground, he felt a floating feeling.
The reason Aonto asked Kiryu just now, "Is the move that instantly kills Kamaitachi the legendary 'streaming light'?" was just out of curiosity.
The moment when Kiryu instantly killed Kamaitachi with a single blow was the first time Aomori saw the sword-drawing technique since he traveled to this era.
Kiryu killed Kamamaitachi instantly with a sword stroke as fast as the wind and as powerful as thunder. When he came back to his senses, all that was left in front of him was the light of the sword that had not dissipated and an afterimage that still remained on the sword... This scene, It left a very deep impression on Qingdeng.
Even though more than 20 days have passed, I still feel that this shocking scene is still before my eyes.
It turns out that in this world...there really is such a cool and powerful move...
…
What Qingzhen did and thought during the next period of time is not clear.
I feel like I'm thinking about a lot of things, but I can't remember what I'm thinking about.
I don’t even know how much time has passed.
I only remember that when I came back to my senses, I whispered to Kiryu——
"...I'll ask Boss Kiryu for your advice in the future."
Qingden’s response was rather brief.
But that's enough.
"..." Kiryu laughed silently.
A happy smile appeared on his cheeks, the wrinkles on his face relaxed, and he looked much younger.
Kinoshita Mai's expression at this moment is very charming.
She blinked her eyes thoughtfully for a few times, and then she seemed to have thought of something beautiful, and smiled with a slightly silly atmosphere.
——I’m going to learn the sword-drawing technique from Boss Kiryu...
Thinking of this, Qingdeng breathed a sigh of relief due to mixed feelings and asked casually:
"Boss Kiryu, when can I start practicing the sword-drawing technique?"
"There's no rush in this."
Kiryu waved his hand with a slightly heroic gesture.
"Aren't you still recovering from your injuries?"
"After your body has completely recovered, I will officially lead you to practice the sword-drawing technique."
"Before that... let me teach you something else."
"Something else?" Qingdeng raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"Tangerine-kun, you do as I say, and you do whatever I say."
"Straighten your waist, open your shoulders back, and inhale slowly through your nose."
As Kiryu spoke, he demonstrated it himself, straightening his body, spreading his shoulders, and inhaling slowly through his nose.
Qingdeng didn't know why, but he still obeyed.
"You should feel your belly bulge by now as the lower parts of your lungs fill with air."
"Don't stop, keep breathing in. Fill the upper part of your lungs with air as well."
"Keep sucking in until the ribs are raised, the chest is expanded, and you can no longer suck in even a breath of air."
"After taking in all the air, hold your breath for 5 breaths."
"After 5 breaths, exhale slowly and expel all the air in your lungs little by little."
"Wait for the ribs, sternum, and abdomen to return to their original positions, then pause for a breath or two, then start from the beginning, and then slowly inhale and exhale again."
"Ji Jun, starting from today, you must spend at least 2-quarters of an hour every day to practice the breathing method I mentioned above repeatedly."
"After a period of practice, you can gradually increase the breath-holding time, from 5 breaths to 10 breaths, and even more."
"Ah?" A look of confusion appeared on Qingden's face that he couldn't hide no matter how hard he tried, "Boss Kiryu, why are you doing such an exercise?"
"This set of movements can effectively exercise your lung strength."
"Lung power?"
"Go for a run and swim more often on weekdays. Both running and swimming can exercise your lungs very well."
Lung power...should mean lung capacity.
"Is the strength of the sword-drawing technique still related to the strength of the lungs?"
"It's irrelevant. The strength of your lungs has nothing to do with the strength of your sword-drawing technique. The reason why I let you exercise your lungs every day is to prepare for teaching you something... powerful in the future."
"Something powerful?" The confusion on Qingden's face became more and more intense.
"You don't need to know what it is yet. Just do what I say first. You must exercise your lungs every day and don't slack off."
"When your lungs are strong enough, I will tell you what this 'powerful thing' is."
Kiryu chuckled "hehehe" a few times.
The smile is intriguing.
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Edo, somewhere——
"Eiichi, still haven't found Kamaitachi?"
"Yes... I have sent all the people I can to find Lord Kamaitachi, but..."
"...Tsk."
Standing by the window, looking out at the scenery, Rakshasa smacked his lips vigorously, interrupting Eiichi Shimizu who was standing respectfully behind him.
"You can't see people in life, but you can't see corpses in death..." Rakshasa half-closed his eyes and tapped the window frame rhythmically with his right index finger.
"...Rakshasa-sama, how about... let's go investigate that Tachibana Aoden?" Shimizu Eiichi gave his suggestion in a tentative tone, "You send Kamitachi to secretly protect Kamino Tatsugoro. As a result, Kamano Tatsugoro was killed by Tachibana Aoden, maybe..."
"No."
Before Shimizu Eiichi finished speaking, he was interrupted again by Rakshasa.
"Don't act rashly."
Rakshasa's tone was neither sad nor happy, making it difficult to understand his current mood and thoughts.
"Kamaitachi's disappearance... maybe Calabash House is doing something secretly."
"Kamaitachi was originally demoted to me by Orochi-sama because he was not careful enough and made a mistake. He was almost caught by the people from Calabash House."
"We cannot rule out the possibility that Calabash House successfully tracked Kamitachi's movements and sent people to hunt Kamitatsu."
"As long as it is related to Calabash House, we can't be too cautious. We have already suffered a lot of losses at the hands of Calabash House."
"Don't act hastily."
"For now, let's continue to send people to secretly investigate Kamaitachi's whereabouts."
"If there are any results, report to me immediately."
"Yes." Shimizu Eiichi nodded vigorously as if he wanted to tear his head off.
"What is the current situation of the anti-barbarian group?" Rakshasa asked the next question.
"Destruction is imminent." Shimizu Eiichi's answer was quite quick and simple. "Without the leadership of Kamino Tatsugoro, the remnants of the anti-barbarian group are now completely in disarray."
"Judging from the current intensity of the killings by the execution office and Huofu Thieves, the destruction of the Yi group is only a matter of time."
"It could be as fast as one month, or as slow as three months. There will no longer be any anti-barbarian groups in this world."
"...What a pity." Rakshasa's right index finger tapped the window frame rhythmically again, "The anti-barbarian group was destroyed like this...I still thought of making more use of them."
"Takayuki Takayuki's son is really becoming more and more capable."
The corners of Rakshasa's mouth slowly turned up.
It outlines an arc that is difficult to predict.
"I don't know where he will be moved to after he has accomplished this great feat."
"It would be really great if he could be moved to the right to become a fire-fighting thief..."
"Haha...hahahaha..."
Rakshasa lowered his voice and let out a sinister laugh of "hahahaha".
The laughter came so suddenly.
So weird...
Bang - Rakshasa closed the window in front of him.
The sunlight leaking into the room through the window in front of Rakshasa is the only source of light in this room.
After Rakshasa closed the window, Rakshasa's surroundings and every corner of the room were suddenly enveloped in rich darkness...
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Edo, somewhere——
thump!
Hearing this sound, Aji knew that it must have been their domestic cat, Doshabao, who knocked over the Nioh statue placed at the entrance.
"Hey! Red bean paste buns!"
Asi hurried to the entrance.
Sure enough - Bean Paste Bun, the black and white kitten they raised was lying on the fallen Nioh statue, looking at Asi with an innocent face.
"Go! Go!"
Asi waved his hand and drove away the bean paste bun that looked innocent and didn't know that he had made a mistake. Then he respectfully picked up the Nioh statue that was placed at the entrance to ward off evil spirits with both hands, and prepared to put it back in its original position and arrange it. Straighten up.
But at this moment——
"Finally finished!"
Her husband Soujiro's ecstatic roar came from the back room.
Asi was frightened by the roar and couldn't care about anything else. He just hugged the statue of Niou and rushed to the living room in the back room.
"Sojiro! What's wrong? What's wrong?"
As soon as he arrived at the living room, Asi saw his husband standing on the bookcase with an excited face, arms stretched out, looking up to the sky and laughing.
"I finally finished writing my new work!"
"Soujiro, have you finished writing your new work?" Asa was surprised at first, and then said with joy: "Congratulations! Soujiro, what is the theme of your new work? This is the first time I have read you. It took such a long time to write continuously. The longest work before was only written in a little over a month."
More than two months ago, in order to help her husband relieve his mood because he was stuck in a bottleneck period and was unable to write new works, Asa took Soujiro to Asakusa to watch the swordsmanship competition held by Aizuhou.
Then, a weird scene suddenly happened.
When the first day of competition came to an end, Soujiro suddenly slapped his thigh and shouted, "Aji! I have inspiration for writing!", "Aji, let's go! Let's go home! I'm going to write something tonight All night", and then rushed home in a hurry, not even watching the game.
Since then, Soujiro has been immersed in writing all day long.
Curious about what new inspiration Soujiro had gained, Aji asked her husband more than once: "What is the theme of your new work?"
But Soujiro would always reply mysteriously, "It's a secret! I'll tell you after I finish writing it!"
Due to the poor financial situation at home and the physical and psychological torture of being curious about what new work her husband had written, Asa finally waited for the day when Soujiro would finish writing his new work.
"Asi, I can write new works all thanks to you!"
Soujiro hugged Asagi and buried his handsome face into Asahi's northern hemisphere.
"With me?" Asi tilted his head in surprise.
“It was after watching Lord Aizu’s swordsmanship competition that I got new inspiration for writing!”
Soujiro was beaming with joy and dancing.
"After seeing Tachibana Aoden using his superior strength to continuously defeat powerful enemies, I suddenly thought - it would be a pity not to write Tachibana Aoden's story into a storybook!"
"Huh?" Asi's eyes and lips opened wide.
Huaben - the script for storytellers to sing.
"Asi, don't you think Ju Qingden's story is very suitable for a storybook?"
"At first, Tachibana Aoden was just an unknown member of the "Three Chapters" of the Northern Bansho who had the nickname "Daito Noboru".
"After realizing the heavy responsibility I had as a member of the 'Three Chapters' Tongxin, I suddenly woke up and made up my mind not to live in confusion."
"After that, he was completely transformed, as if he was a new person and performed extraordinary feats!"
"On a snowy night, the brave fighting team against the barbarians will be in the lead, and the rescue team will be behind."
"Every battle is fought with less and more is more intense."
"Relying on one outstanding performance after another, step by step, he has changed from 'Daotouden' to the now famous 'Little Tengu of Hokubansho'!"
"The common people love to read stories like this."
"There are plots of turning from weak to strong, step by step from an unknown little person to a big shot today, and there are also many scenes of fighting with swords."
"This kind of ups and downs story that the common people love to read, if it is adapted into a script, it will definitely become a hit!"
Asi blinked a few times: "So you have been adapting Ju Qingden's story into a novel for the past two months?"
"That's right! I have a hunch that this new work of mine will definitely be a hit!"
"When creating this new work, I absorbed all my experiences and lessons from previous works of the same type."
"That kind of story with a lot of fighting scenes has always been a favorite of the people in the city."
"Even if the context seems to have no logic, as long as the characters fight enough and are exciting enough, people will applaud it."
"The storybook of Ogata Issei I wrote last year didn't get a very good response because there were too few fighting scenes."
"That's why I specially wrote a lot of fighting scenes about Tachibana Aoden this time! Nearly two-thirds of the entire novel is about how Tachibana Aoden kills people with his sword."
"Hahaha! Si, be happy! When my new work sells well, I will buy you a new yukata! Summer is here just now, so it's a good time to change into a new yukata!"
After saying that, Soujiro lifted his face from Asa's northern hemisphere, lifted up the petite Asa, and then spun him around in his arms.
"It feels pretty good to adapt Tachibana Aoden's story into a storybook..." Asashi smiled brightly, "Sojiro, you have been writing at home recently and have not heard anything going on outside the window. In order not to disturb your creation , so I haven’t told you yet—Ju Qingden has made great achievements again recently.”
"What?" Shujiro hugged Asagi's spinning body and paused, "Has Tachibana Aoden made great achievements again?"
Asa nodded, and then carefully informed Soujiro of the series of new achievements that Aoden had made in rescuing Zonazi, more than sixty members of the single-handed anti-barbarian group, and the single-handedly killing the leader of the anti-barbarian group, Kamino Tatsugoro.
After hearing this, Shujiro became even more ecstatic.
"Okay! Great!"
"The more famous Tachibana Aoden becomes, the more likely my new work will be a hit!"
Soujiro raised his head and laughed to the sky again. The huge laughter seemed to want to lift the ceiling above his head.
But at this time, Sojiro's laughter suddenly stopped.
In an emergency, he pursed his lips tightly and frowned slightly, as if he was recalling something bad.
"Soujiro, what's wrong?" Asa asked, "Why do you suddenly have such a solemn expression?"
"Ah, it's nothing." Soujiro gently lowered the raised Asa to the ground, "I just suddenly remembered something unpleasant."
"I have finished writing all the storylines in the storybook, but there is only one place where I still don't know how to write..."
“A great way to help people remember someone is to give that person a catchy, recognizable nickname.”
"For example, Takeda Shingen's nickname is 'Kai no Tiger', and Uesugi Kenshin's nickname is 'Echigo no Dragon'... These powerful and elegant nicknames have greatly enhanced the popularity of Takeda Shingen and others."
"I think the titles Tachibana Aoden currently holds are either not bold enough or not smooth enough."
"Like 'The Little Tengu of Kitabanso', it has the courage, but it is too difficult to pronounce, which is not conducive to people's memory."
"So I wanted to give Tachibana Aoden a unique, majestic, and catchy new nickname in my storybook."
"But I never had any good ideas..."
Soujiro let out a long sigh, leaned back, and sat back down in front of the bookcase.
"Asi, do you have any good suggestions?"
"A nickname..." Asi muttered in a voice that only he could hear clearly, "I don't really understand this kind of thing..."
Asi was about to tell her husband bluntly, "I don't even know a few Chinese characters, so how can I know how to give people nicknames?"
However, at this moment, Aji suddenly noticed the Nioh statue in his arms...
"...How about 'Nioh'?"
"Um?"
"How about 'Nioh'?"
Aji showed a shy smile, and while repeating what he had just said in a clearer voice, he placed the Nioh statue in his arms on Soujiro's desk.
"'Nioh' is the Vajra Arhat who protects the world... I feel that such a name goes well with Tachibana Aoden's story and temperament."
Soujiro looked at the statue of Nioh that Asa placed on the desk with an expressionless expression.
Then he suddenly stood up and grabbed Asi's shoulders with a serious look on his face, which shocked Asi.
"Asi!"
"What, what's wrong?"
"Your proposal... is really great!"
After that, Soujiro let go of Asahi's shoulders, and he lay down in front of the bookcase again. He grabbed the brush on the pen holder and a piece of white paper placed in the corner of the bookcase, and wrote two large Chinese characters on the paper. .
Nioh.
…
…
Volume 1 "Qingdeng Fishing Book" - the end!
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The preface of Volume 2, "Power to the Sky":
Soar into the sky and reach a place higher than the moon!
