"Okita Soujiro?" Qingto asked in confusion.
"That's right...it seems that I haven't told you, Tachibana-kun."
"Okita Soujiro is my former name...or rather my former pseudonym."
"My original name is actually 'Okita Tsukasa'."
"In order to successfully sneak into the trial hall as a male, I gave myself a very masculine name, 'Okita Soujiro'."
"When I was young, I thought this name was very powerful, but when I grew up, I thought it was a bit ordinary and not distinctive."
"So after my coming-of-age ceremony, I changed myself to another name."
"I added the word 'general' to my original name."
"This is the origin of my current name...'Okita Souji'."
"Ju-kun, you should also know what happens next."
"I showed extraordinary swordsmanship skills and was favored and valued by my master."
"Not long after, he was accepted by the master as his inner disciple, and moved into the imperial examination hall to eat and live with the master, his wife, brother Kondo and uncle Yuan."
"My ability to disguise is still very strong."
The Souji changed into a tone that was a bit proud and proud.
"Even when I moved into the Imperial Guard Hall as a disciple and lived under the same roof with Master, Brother Kondo and the others, I never let my true gender be revealed."
"It wasn't until I was 12 years old... that my body started to develop Guishui. One day, my mistress accidentally caught me while I was secretly changing my menstrual pad in my room, and my true gender was revealed."
"Haha... I still remember the expressions of Master and Brother Kondo after they found out that I was a girl."
"Especially Master."
"That was the first time I discovered that the master's narrow eyes could be so wide."
"It's a pity that I didn't have the leisure time to observe the changes in Master's and their facial expressions at that time."
"At that time... I was just scared and trembling."
A smile, as if recalling some interesting memory, appeared on Souji's face again.
The smile that Souji showed at this moment was comfortable and sunny... This smile of hers greatly diluted the heavy meaning hidden in her words just now.
Even if the director didn't go into details, Qingteng could roughly imagine the scene at that time.
No matter how you say it, it is an established fact that cannot be changed that the General Secretary deceived the masters and disguised himself as a man to sneak into the training hall that did not accept female apprentices.
The protégé who had high hopes for her and had been with him for many years turned out to be a girl. She had been deceiving everyone... After something like this happened, Zhou Zhu and the others couldn't be more angry or furious.
The director-general at that time must have been very uneasy.
I am worried that Shusuke and others will become angry and angry...
Worried about being kicked out of the training hall...
What Souji said next perfectly matched Qingto’s conjecture:
"Master has always strictly abided by the rule of not teaching swordsmanship to women. For decades, he has never accepted a female disciple."
"Because I concealed my true gender, the master was forced to break the precepts... To be honest, at that time, I was mentally prepared for the furious master to pull out his bamboo sword and chase me."
"Of course, at that time, I was more worried about being kicked out of the training hall by the master than being chased and chopped down by the master."
"I can no longer practice Natural Rishin-ryu... This is more uncomfortable than beating me all over my head."
"But fortunately, although the master is old-fashioned, he is not cold-blooded."
"When my daughter's body was accidentally broken, I had already lived in the Trial Guard Hall as a disciple for three years."
"We have been together for such a long time as master and apprentice and half of our family... Not to mention the master, even the master's wife, who has a relatively indifferent temperament, has deep feelings for me."
"My feelings for me finally defeated all the rules."
"When he first learned that I was a woman disguised as a man, the master was really angry for a while, but he soon lost his temper and forgave me."
"Master finally decided to make an exception and chose 'just act as if you haven't seen anything and everything will be as before'."
"In this way, with the exception of the master's permission, I was able to continue to stay in the trial guard hall to learn swordsmanship as a disciple... until now."
Souji finished talking about her past.
Qingdeng, who had been listening quietly, asked after pondering for a while:
"Since your daughter's identity was discovered by the master and the others four years ago... then why do you continue to dress up as a man? In order not to humiliate the master, the master asked you to continue to dress up as a woman and don't let anyone know about it. Did the Wei Guan accept a female disciple by mistake?"
"That's not true."
The Souji shook his head.
"It was me who insisted on continuing to dress up as a man."
"Master and Brother Kondo have all advised me: They already know that I am not a man anyway, so I should stop pretending and show my true face to others."
"But I rejected their suggestion."
"Why?" Qingdeng asked.
"Because it is more convenient for a man to learn swordsmanship than for a woman."
The Souji smiled.
"Although people today are much less dismissive of women compared to the Warring States Period and earlier eras three hundred years ago, most people are still not very accepting of women practicing swordsmanship."
"If I reveal my 'real body', I will definitely attract some criticism and strange looks, which will have an impact on my daily practice."
"That being the case, I would rather continue to present myself as a man."
"Furthermore, Master, because of the deep friendship between me and them, he let go of the matter of me 'disguising myself as a man and deceiving the master'."
"Master, deep down, he still feels that swordsmanship should not be taught to women."
"If I show my 'true face' to others and walk in and out of the training hall in women's clothing... Even if the master doesn't say it, I think the master will still feel uncomfortable."
Qingdeng nodded slightly: "I see... So it is for these two reasons that you have been pretending to be a man until now."
"Um...no, the reason is not just that."
"Huh?" Qingden was stunned.
"What I just mentioned are only secondary reasons."
"The most important reason why I insist on always dressing up as a man..."
Having said this, the corner of Souji's mouth curved into a helpless and embarrassed look.
"I'm afraid that after I stop dressing up as a man... there will be a lot of strange men coming to disturb my life."
When Souji finished speaking, Qingto didn't immediately understand what she meant by "there will be many strange men to disturb you." It wasn't until a moment later that he realized what she meant - a hint of weirdness. A smile appeared on Qingdeng's cheeks at this moment.
"Although saying this is a bit boastful... but my face seems to be quite popular."
As if he was a little shy, Souji stretched out his right index finger and poked his fleshy pink right cheek, which would sink in if half a finger was poked.
"Over the years, I can hardly count how many Taoists I have been harassed by..."
"When I was still a boy, I was harassed by so many men...I can't even imagine what my daily life would be like after my 'true body' was revealed."
"I would feel very embarrassed if I was like Miss Sanako, being pestered by suitors who appeared from nowhere from time to time."
After finishing speaking, the director paused, and then laughed a few times in a self-deprecating tone, "Ah ha ha ha."
"Oh, I feel so shameless...I actually compared myself to Sanako...I'm not as beautiful as Sanako..."
"That doesn't need to be said."
Qingden quickly took over the conversation as if on conditioned reflex:
"Miss Sanako has Miss Sanako's beauty, Miss Okita, you also have your own cuteness."
Souji was stunned for a moment, then he chuckled a few times, showing a malicious smile as if he was planning some evil idea.
"Tachibana-kun, now that you know that I am not a boy but a girl... who do you think is more attractive, me or Miss Sanako?"
"Miss Sanako." Qingden gave his answer without thinking.
Perhaps it was because he didn’t expect Aomori to answer so quickly, or maybe because Aomori’s answer was beyond his expectation... or maybe it was both. In short, after hearing Aomori blurt out Sanako’s name , the Souji opened his beautiful eyes, and then immediately curled his lips vigorously, a look of anger flashed between his eyebrows.
"I thought you would say it was me just to flatter me, or to fool me by saying, 'Both of them are very attractive'..."
"Ms. Okita, I'm not saying that your charm is not as good as Sanako-san." Aoto let out a sigh and smiled bitterly, "I just... I'm not completely used to treating you as a girl... …”
"As of half an hour ago, I have always regarded you as my best friend and the most sincere brother in the Trial Guard Hall."
"To be honest...I still subconsciously treat you as a boy."
"It should take me some time to fully adapt to the status quo from 'good brother' to 'cute girl'."
After listening to Qingdeng's explanation, the look of anger in the commander-in-chief's eyebrows instantly dissipated a lot.
"As for each other..." Souji chuckled, "It should take me some time to fully adapt to the change in the relationship between you and me."
"Ms. Okita." Qingto changed the topic at the right time, "Currently, how many people in the training hall know that you are a girl?"
"Counting you, there are currently only 6 of you, Master, Master, Brother Kondo, Mr. Hijikata, and Uncle Minamoto."
"There are far fewer people who know about it than I expected."
"This is all thanks to Master, Brother Kondo and others. After knowing my wish to continue to show myself as a man, they have been trying their best to cooperate with me over the years and help me hide my true gender."
At this point, Souji exclaimed slightly as he remembered something important.
"Ah...I almost forgot to say it..."
Souji put his raised right index finger in front of his lips.
"If everyone knew that I was a girl, I would definitely not be able to live as peacefully as I do now."
"I just want to practice my sword quietly and don't want to be disturbed by noisy things."
"So, Mr. Tachibana, can you please keep my 'true identity' a secret for me like Master, Brother Kondo and others?"
Qingdeng nodded vigorously without thinking and responded firmly with decisive actions.
Helping others hide secrets that they don't want others to know - in Qingdeng's eyes, this is just a matter of course and worthless.
As they chatted along the way, unknowingly, the door of the trial guard hall appeared within the two people's field of vision.
Seeing that after all the accidents tonight, he finally arrived at the trial defense hall successfully, Qingden couldn't help but feel a sense of peace of mind.
After listening to Souji's past, Qingto was filled with emotion and couldn't help but softly said:
"...Miss Okita, you really like swordsmanship."
"In order to learn swordsmanship, I didn't hesitate to get into trouble with my sister, whom I regarded as my biological mother, and even changed my name and hid my gender..."
"This kind of character, this love for swordsmanship, is really admirable."
Qingden turned around and showed Okita a smile without any pretense, full of sincere admiration.
Faced with Qingden's compliment, Souji giggled a few times as if he was embarrassed.
"Jijun, you are so complimentary."
"Whether I have an unpleasant quarrel with my eldest sister or change my name and hide my gender, to me, these are not things worthy of 'sacrifice'."
"I know very well that my sister doesn't want me to learn the sword for my own good. Her reasons for stopping me from learning the sword are indeed very reasonable."
"The relationship between me and my sister will not be broken because of such a trivial matter."
"As for changing the name to hide sex...it's not a big deal."
"A name is just a title, it doesn't matter what you call it."
"Whether I am 'Okita Tsukasa' or 'Okita Souji', I am still me, and I will not become a different person just because I change my name."
"The same goes for gender."
"The time I have been pretending to be a boy is almost as long as the time I have been showing myself as a woman. I have long been accustomed to this kind of life of women disguising themselves as men, and I don't find it inconvenient."
"I dare not say these things, they have no negative impact on me at all... But compared with the joy that practicing swordsmanship brings me, and the surprise of meeting many precious friends through swordsmanship, this small negative impact is completely It’s not worth mentioning~~!”
After saying this, Souji showed a bright smile to Aoto.
Maybe he was infected by Souji's smile... Or maybe he was touched by Souji's broad-minded outlook on life... The smile on Souji's face spread to Qingto's face.
The man and woman looked at each other and smiled heartily.
…
…
Pushing open the door of the Imperial Examination Hall, he carried the chief commander on his back and walked up to Zhou Zhu and A Bi, who were still in the living room discussing what to name their future grandson. Qingdeng saw the old couple full of smiles. A face with a stunned expression.
After Qingtou succinctly explained the various experiences he experienced in Qianxunya today, the astonishment on the faces of the old couple turned into shock.
I didn't expect that the biggest secret of our trial defense hall would be discovered by you. After Zhou Zhu said this, he went to the well in the yard to fetch water at A Bi's request.
Abi knew a very useful prescription for treating dizziness.
Although Souji's symptoms didn't seem particularly serious, out of caution, she decided to use her medicine post to boil a pot of special medicine for Souji.
Zhou assisted in fetching water, Abi boiled medicine... Qingdeng carried the general secretary back to her room.
After tonight, Qingto finally understood why Souji strictly prohibited anyone from entering her room without her permission - a girl's boudoir, how could people just barge in?
There is a huge contrast between Souji's room and her carefree and bold personality.
Spotless, bright and clean...these idioms that can be used to describe tidiness can all be applied to the boudoir of the General Secretary.
The tatami, walls, and desks were all scrubbed clean, and the bedding folded into a tofu shape lay quietly in the corner of the room.
Although the director-general had just chatted a lot with Qingden and looked very energetic, I still wonder how someone who had just soaked in the bathhouse and lost his mind could be really energetic. Radiate.
Souji's mental state was extremely exhausted. Qingden tucked her into her quilt and let her rest for a while. Then she nodded, closed her eyes and fell asleep in the blink of an eye.
When it comes to mental fatigue... Aomori is worse than Souji.
But he couldn't rest yet.
Because just when he came out of Souji's room... Kondo, Inoue and Chiba Jutaro came back.
Kondo and the others successfully staged a "medical miracle" tonight!
Kondo and Chiba Jutaro hurriedly carried Inoue to a nearby clinic. After slamming the door of the clinic, they saw an old doctor who was nearly 40 years old blinking his sleepy eyes hard while slowly pushing the door open. 's door.
This old doctor is considered to have profound medical ethics.
After learning that someone was unconscious after soaking in the bathhouse, he immediately straightened up and asked Kondo and Chiba Jutaro to quickly carry Inoue into the clinic.
The old doctor raised his hand with a serious expression as if he was about to go to war, and held Inoue's pulse... Then in just a moment, his expression changed from "serious" to "confused."
No matter how the old doctor took his pulse, he felt that Inoue was in extremely good health.
The pulse was rhythmic and extremely strong... not at all like the pulse of someone whose head had been soaked in a bathtub.
If this continues, the truth that Inoue was pretending to be faint may be exposed... At this juncture, Inoue Genzaburo... this old scalper from the trial gym once again showed his hidden acting talent!
He who had been "coma" suddenly opened his eyes and looked around with a "confused" look on his face: "Is this...?"
Facing Inoue who suddenly "woke up", Kondo hurried forward very conspicuously, matching Inoue's "happy" expression:
"Uncle Yuan! Are you awake? How do you feel? Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"
"I feel much better...except for being a little sleepy, everything is fine."
"Oh! As expected of Uncle Yuan! His body is so strong! He regained his energy so quickly!"
Kondo and Inoue sang together there... Only the old doctor who suddenly witnessed "the comatose patient suddenly woke up" and Chiba Jutaro, who really thought Inoue had lost his mind, were confused.
It was a good thing that the patient woke up on his own. The old doctor seemed to have no intention of exploring more carefully what this "medical miracle" was.
After all, there is no precedent for "the patient's body is very strong and the body is getting better just after being sent to the clinic."
After taking Inoue's pulse again and confirming that there was nothing wrong with Inoue's body, the old doctor said: "There is nothing serious about your health. Just go back and rest for a while. If you feel anything strange again, come back to the clinic."
Kondo and the others also put on a whole show - after returning to the trial hall, they sent Inoue, who had just "awakened", back to his room to let him have a good rest.
After listening to Kondo and Chiba Jutaro's whole story about their "sending to the hospital", Aoto couldn't help but laugh or cry.
I secretly felt in my heart: Uncle Yuan’s sacrifice tonight is really big...
Kondo and others will return much earlier than Qingto expected... Qingto thinks this is good.
In this way, Qingto could finally listen to what happened to Chiba Jutaro, and he did not hesitate to come over to meet him tonight.
…
…
Trial Guard Hall, hall——
"Mr. Jutaro, I'm really bothering you tonight."
Aoto, who was sitting upright, bent down and bowed to Chiba Jutaro opposite.
When Aonto said "I'm bothering you," he was naturally referring to the incident where Chiba Jutaro and Kondo worked together to send Inoue to the clinic.
"Hahaha, it doesn't have to be like this."
Chiba Jutaro waved his hand generously.
"Mr. Inoue is an elder I respect very much. The respected elder needs help, and I, as a junior, have the duty to do so."
In order to provide a good environment for Aoto and Chiba Jutaro to talk, Shusuke and Kondo are currently doing their own things in other places.
In the small living room, the only sounds of Qingto and Chiba Jutaro's breathing and talking were heard one after another.
Qingto, who had experienced too many things tonight, really didn't have the extra energy to chat with anyone for a long time, so after a few simple greetings with Chiba Jutaro, he went straight to the topic:
"Jutaro, I have a sudden visit tonight. I wonder if you have any advice?"
Seeing Aoto go straight to the point, Chiba Jutaro didn't hesitate much.
He quickly sat up straighter and straightened his already straight body, and then cleared his throat forcefully:
"Tachibana-kun, it's like this - this year's fireworks display...that is, the three nights from August 23rd to August 25th, do you have any plans?"
"Fireworks display?" Qingden raised his eyebrows vigorously.
Although I don’t know why Chiba Jutaro suddenly asked this, he immediately responded obediently:
"I have something to do on August 23, but I have free time in the other two days."
He and Kinoshita Mai made an appointment to watch the fireworks together on August 23.
"Aha!"
Chiba Jutaro slapped his thigh abruptly. The force was so strong that Qingdeng couldn't help but worry about whether his thigh was safe.
"That's just right!"
"I'm going to hold a small 'swordsmanship performance' on the night of August 24th at Ryogoku Bridge... which is also the site of the fireworks display! Tachibana-kun, are you interested in participating?"
"Swordsmanship and martial arts?" Qingdeng was stunned.
Chiba Jutaro nodded like garlic:
"Yes Yes!"
"The world has been quite unstable recently."
"Foreign barbarians are invading, thugs with radical anti-foreign ideas are causing chaos everywhere, and bandits are swarming from all over the country..."
"All kinds of annoying things happened one after another. In my impression, since the Kurofune closed the gates seven years ago, there has been no happy event in Edo."
"Although I am not talented, I still want to do my best to calm the turmoil in this world."
"But I'm just a swordsman. I don't have the ability to navigate the world or change a country. All I can do is to promote swordsmanship to as many people as possible, so that as many people as possible can understand and learn swordsmanship, strengthen their bodies, and master the skills to protect themselves. !”
"The fireworks display is an annual event in Edo. In terms of popularity and excitement, almost no other event can compare with it."
"Therefore, I plan to hold a high-level swordsmanship demonstration at the venue of this year's 'Fireworks Festival' to show the public the exquisiteness of swordsmanship and attract people to come and practice martial arts!"
"The content of the martial arts performance is very simple - demonstrating sword skills and using real swords to cut the bamboo mats standing on the ground into as many pieces as possible. Common people love to watch this kind of performance, and they can only understand this kind of performance. Performance."
"I have entrusted a friend to prepare the venue. Currently we are just lacking people to be performers."
"Because the purpose is to attract people to practice martial arts, it is not suitable to invite people whose sword skills need to be improved to be performers."
"It's enough to hire 2 or 3 swordsmen who are strong enough!"
"Now the only people who have made it clear that they will come to participate in my martial arts performance... are my sister Sanako and my cousin: Chiba Tamon Shiro."
"Although after adding me, the three of us brothers and sisters can barely hold up a martial arts performance, but after thinking about it, I decided to invite one more master to 'help out'."
"So I just want to ask you, Tachibana-kun, to help me!"
"Of all the friends I can invite, you are the only one who is the most suitable helper, Mr. Orange."
"Based on your current level of swordsmanship, Jun Ju, it's just a matter of demonstrating swordsmanship and cutting a bamboo mat."
"If a swordsman who is not Beichen Itto-ryu can demonstrate swordsmanship together, it will also increase the enjoyment of the performance."
"And the most important thing is - you are now a celebrity in Edo, and the name 'Nioh' has already spread throughout the streets of Edo."
"If you can come and help us in this martial arts performance, we will definitely attract a lot of people to come and watch!"
"The time I have scheduled for the martial arts performance is at 4pm (8pm) on August 24th. Mr. Orange, what do you think? Are you interested in participating?"
Chiba Jutaro blinked his eyes hard several times and looked at Qingto hopefully.
*******
*******
The long drama of "General Director Line" is finally coming to an end! Next is the time for martial arts to wrap up this line in stages! Finally, I can chop, chop, chop. Compared to this kind of literary drama that enriches the flesh and blood of the characters, the author really prefers to write martial arts dramas of chop, chop, chop.
Although today's chapter is a transitional chapter and not very exciting, the author is still shamelessly asking for monthly votes! (Leopard head crying.jpg)
Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation!
PS: Ms. Okita is optimistic, open-minded and strong. Although she talks about it calmly, I also know that in that era when a woman disguised herself as a man, it was impossible for her not to suffer any great hardships. I hope everyone can have the perspective of a little angel like Ms. Okita.
*******
The author sets a flag! The author will try to update as much as possible tomorrow! Try to break into the plot of "Shiwei Hall vs. Xuanwu Hall" in tomorrow's chapter!
This match will be quite exciting. Aonto and Souji are finally going to challenge the great swordsman of the Two-Sword Style, Chiba Michizaburo, who has been prepared for his strength for a long time.
Smart readers may have already guessed the direction of this game from the foreshadowing and foreshadowing in the previous article.
The great swordsman who has the relationship of "how can one be born with glory" with Eijiro Chiba is one of the best in Edo... Naturally, it cannot be compared with the likes of Kamano, Kamamitachi and others.
Please stay tuned for the next martial arts drama!
(End of chapter)
