I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

"I was a swordsman in ancient Japan ()"

In the second year of Kanzheng (1790), September 3.

Although it is already September, according to common sense, it should be autumn now, but the sun that hangs high in the sky every day and emits scorching sunlight to whip the earth makes it impossible to see the appearance of autumn at all.

There is no air conditioning in this day and age.

Sitting in the carriage, it really gave Ogata the illusion that he was in a sauna.

Let it rain or get cooler—this is what Ogata and others have been thinking in their hearts every day during this time.

But today, the weather finally met the wishes of Ogata and the others, and became a little cooler.

Today's weather is exceptionally good, clear sky, sunny and sunny.

The loose white clouds, like cotton, cover the mild sunlight more softly, often accompanied by a gust of breeze, and the treetops, which are not red at all, obediently shake their waists

The branches full of green leaves are filled with silky sunlight, and a small bird is stepping on the treetop, shaking its tail constantly, and its shadow is clearly reflected on the country road beside it.

At this moment, the little bird seemed to hear something strange, and turned back to look at the two carriages that were driving slowly on the country road beside it.

The person driving these two carriages was a handsome young man and a strong man with a strong body.

These two people are Asai and Makimura.

There were only three people who knew how to drive a carriage, Lin, Mucun, and Asai.

While taking Lin and the others for a ride, Ogata also learned how to drive a carriage.

Ogata already had some equestrian foundation, so he quickly mastered the skills of driving a carriage.

Originally, Lin, Makimura, and Asai took turns driving these two carriages. After Ogata learned to drive a carriage, they became Ogata, Lin, Makimura, and Asai.

Now it happened to be Asai and Mucun's turn to drive, and Ogata sat in the carriage of the carriage that Mucun was in charge of driving, chatting casually with A-Machi beside him.

"Ayi, look quickly, there is a little bird over there."

"Well, I saw it. It's a big one. I don't know how it tastes."

"How far are we from Miss Kinoshita's base?" A-cho asked casually.

"It's not far away." Mu Cun, who was sitting in the driver's seat and driving the carriage, said without looking back, "It will probably arrive this afternoon."

"Is it finally coming..." A-Machi let out a long sigh.

At the beginning, both Ogata and A-machi felt a little fresh when they took the carriage to Owari.

But gradually, this novelty was also wiped out by a series of tormenting things such as bumpy roads and hot carriages.

On the way to Owari, Ogata has been quietly recovering from his injuries.

Even Ogata couldn't help but feel a sense of relief after learning that he was finally arriving at the Gourd House.

Because the weather was fine today, Ogata and the others opened the door of the carriage to let the cool wind blow.

While comfortably feeling the cool wind blowing into the carriage, Ogata casually asked Mucun who was driving:

"Makimura, how is your injury?"

"Hahahaha." Mucun laughed heartily, "It's almost recovered! Brother Ogata, how about you?"

"I'm completely cured." Ogata raised his hand and tapped his chest lightly.

"I thought my recovery ability was amazing enough." Mucun said, "I didn't expect you, Ogata brother, your recovery ability is even more amazing than mine."

Before leaving Kyoto, Ogata heard Asai say that Mucun's greatest strength should be his amazing resilience.

Now it seems that Asai is not talking nonsense, and Mucun's recovery ability is indeed quite amazing.

The injuries on Mucun's body were no worse than those of Ogata, and now they have almost recovered.

Mucun said that they would be able to arrive at their Gourd House base by this afternoon.

When it was about afternoon, Ogata really saw the long-lost small village surrounded by mountains.

Sticking his head out of the car window, looking at the small village in front of him, Ah Ding said:

"Is that the village you mentioned, Ayi..."

On the way to the gourd house, Ogata briefly introduced some basic information of the gourd house to A-machi.

For example: Lin and the others use an abandoned mountain temple as the base of their gourd house.

At the foot of the mountain, there is a very ordinary village from the outside. The villagers have the function of the "outpost" of the calabash house because they have received the favor of the calabash house. Some support where possible.

After seeing two carriages approaching, several villagers who happened to be at the entrance of the village immediately showed their vigilance.

After noticing that the two people driving the car were Asai and Mucun, the alert expressions on the faces of these villagers immediately dissipated and changed to respectful ones.

After driving the two carriages to the entrance of the village, Ogata and his party got out of the carriage and handed over the two carriages to the villagers to take care of them.

In addition to the two carriages, Heitaro and Xuanren were handed over to the villagers.

After arriving in this village, Xuanren has been looking at everything around him with great interest, looking at the place where he will work later.

After learning that Xuanren was a doctor brought by Lin and that he would work in this place, the villagers were very happy. They just lacked excellent village doctors here.

Xuanren was treated kindly by the villagers.

As for the prisoner of Heitaro, he was directly imprisoned in the dungeon in the village.

...

...

After finishing a series of trivial matters such as "placement of the carriage" and "placement of Xuanren", Lin returned to the entrance of the village and found Ogata, Atachi, Mucun and others who had been waiting at the entrance of the village.

"Okay, let's go... um? What are you talking about?"

After returning to the entrance of the village, Lin found Mucun and the others gathered together, chatting about something seriously.

"We are discussing how to distribute these luggage." Asai said.

Lin glanced at the luggage piled up at the feet of Mucun and the others, and then showed understanding.

The luggage they have is more than one.

The pile of luggage in their gourd house, big or small, totaled as many as 16 bags.

This pile of luggage is piled up at the feet, the amount is really scary, just looking at it feels full of visual impact.

Lin has already finished handling those trivial matters and came back, Mucun and the others are still wrangling over the issue of "luggage distribution".

"I remember that we didn't have so much luggage before we set off. What the hell is this bag at my feet? Who bought it?" Mucun pouted at a big cloth bag at his feet.

"That... that's a special product from Kyoto that I bought." Shimada raised his hand weakly, "It's my first time to go to Kyoto, so I couldn't resist buying some special products from Kyoto..."

"What about this one?" Mucun pointed to another big cloth bag.

"That's what I bought." Chang Lin said this time, "It contains the Jing Guozi I bought. I bought it specially for Kuro and Bogong who didn't make it to Kyoto."

"What about this one?" Mu Cun pointed at another big cloth bag, "Who bought it then?"

"I bought it." Asai raised his hand.

"What's your thing?" Mucun asked, "Is it also a specialty of Kyoto?"

"Barely counted. Gen-sama entrusted me to buy it." After finishing speaking, Asai winked at Mucun.

Mucun and Asai seem to have a heart-to-heart connection. After seeing Asai winking at him, they immediately showed a look of understanding, and hurriedly skipped this topic.

Ogata and A-Ming have been standing aside, listening to the gossip of the Huluya group.

Hearing the end, Ogata couldn't help showing helplessness, and complained:

"You guys are going to the capital, but you are actually going on a tour under the guise of 'finding clues to the immortal'..."

"We seem to have bought too many things." Lin didn't make any rebuttal to Ogata's words just now, but just crossed her arms and said with serious emotion.

"Hey, Shimada. Among us, you buy the most messy things, so you take responsibility for me and carry the pile of things you bought on your back." Asai said.

"Huh? How can I carry so many things? Senior Mucun, please help me!"

"Don't look at me... I'm recovering from an injury now, but I don't have the ability to carry so much luggage. How about we move these luggage in two parts?"

"Don't be kidding." Asai said without thinking, "You should also know that the base of our gourd house is on the mountain, right? Wouldn't it be exhausting to move it twice?"

"How about asking the villagers to help us carry our luggage?" Atachi, who had been listening along with Ogata, put forward his own idea at this time.

It's a pity that as soon as Ah Ding finished speaking, Lin shook her head slightly.

"It's almost time to make dinner. Every household is very busy now. It will take a lot of time to move this pile of things up the mountain. I don't want to affect their dinner because of this trivial matter."

...

...

The gossip of the people in Huluwu seems to be endless.

Ogata, who couldn't bear to listen anymore, clapped his palms vigorously, attracting everyone's attention.

"Just keep it simple and rough." Ogata said, "Use 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who carries how much luggage."

As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Lin and the others cast suspicious glances at Ogata.

"What is 'rock, paper, scissors'?" Asai asked.

At this time in Japan, there is no "rock, paper, scissors" boxing game.

Ogata briefly introduced the gameplay of this fairly simple game to Lin and others.

After figuring out how to play, Lin and the others all showed interest.

"So that's it... Rock, paper, scissors..." Lin nodded lightly, "It feels like a very fun game."

"Ichidousai." Asai asked, "Is this a game from your hometown Izumo?"

"No." Ogata said, "I created it myself."

Ogata decided to tell an insignificant little lie.

"This game is very suitable for playing while drinking." Mucun looked thoughtful, "Whoever loses will have a drink."

Ogata wanted to praise Mucun as a "genius", but he realized one of the correct ways to play "rock, paper, scissors" so quickly...

"Okay." Lin said seriously, "Then let's come to rock-paper-scissors to decide who will carry our luggage."

Ogata and A-Machi did not participate in the punching, because they both had their own luggage to carry.

That is, the pile of gunpowder, ironware, etc. that A-machi entrusted Fuma to get her in Kyoto.

This pile of things is not only large in number, but also heavy, leaving Ogata and A-Ming with no spare energy to help Lin and the others carry their luggage.

Lin their luggage, a total of 16 packages of large or small packages.

After a brief discussion, they decided on how to play: play 16 rounds, and the loser in each round will carry a bag of luggage.

Lin, Makimura, Asai, and Shimada formed a circle, raised their hands high, and then said loudly like what Ogata taught them just now——

"rock-paper-scissors!"

...

...

About half an hour later——

"'Rock, paper, scissors' . . . not fun at all!"

After throwing all the luggage on her body to her feet, Lin supported the base of their gourd house—that is, the gatepost of the temple gate of the abandoned ancient temple, roaring profusely in sweat...

Just now, Ogata saw a miracle.

Ogata originally thought that if "rock, paper, scissors" is used to determine who carries how much luggage, in the end there should be a situation where everyone carries the same amount of luggage, but it is possible who will have more, or who will carry more luggage. Just less.

Then a miracle happened...

In the 16 rounds of punching, Lin lost 8 of them...

According to the rules they drew up, Lin had to carry 8 of their 16 bags...

After the punching was over, the scene was very embarrassing for a while.

Mucun and the others didn't expect that Lin would be so weak in punching, so after the punching ended, they all said that the punching just now didn't count.

But Lin said: To be a man is to keep your word.

So I carried 8 bags of luggage on my back and started climbing...

With his own strength, Cheng Cheng carried half of their luggage from Calabash House.

"Master." Mucun said to Lin sincerely with a serious face, "You have worked hard."

When climbing the mountain just now, Mucun and the others also stepped forward and offered to help Lin share some luggage, but all of them were rejected by Lin who insisted on "keeping her word".

"Okay." Lin said as she pushed open the gate of the temple in front of her, "A mere 8 bags of luggage won't exhaust me to death...huh?"

As soon as Lin pushed open the gate of the temple, a look of astonishment appeared on Lin's face.

Not only Lin, but Mucun, Asai and the others, as well as Ogata, who had been a guest at the Gourd House, were also full of astonishment at this time.

When he had just escaped from Butterfly Island and came to visit the Gourd House, Ogata remembered clearly—Lin and the others used an abandoned temple as their stronghold.

Therefore, the base of Huluwu is full of old and dilapidated buildings.

But at this moment, the scene before Ogata's eyes is completely different from the "old and dilapidated houses everywhere" in Ogata's impression.

Looking in through the wide-open temple gate, all the houses in the temple look like they have been repaired.

Not only has it been renovated, but every house has traces of repainting.

"...My lord, is this our home?" Mucun poked Lin beside her with his elbow.

"..." Lin was also speechless at this time.

"Huh?" Ah-ding, who had never been to the Calabash House before, looked astonished, "Isn't this your home?"

When the gate of the temple was pushed open just now, and seeing the beautiful houses, A-Machi even let out a small exclamation.

"It seems a bit different from the home I remember..." Lin whispered.

"Hey, look." Shimada suddenly raised his hand and pointed forward, "Is there...is there smoke?"

The location Shimada pointed to was continuously emitting thick smoke.

"It seems to be a kitchen there. Are Masters Mamiya and Genichi cooking?" Mucun asked.

"It should be." Asai replied without thinking.

"Huh? But... It seems too early to eat now..." Shimada raised his head and looked at the sky that was still only slightly dark, "In my impression, Mamiya-senpai and Genichi are used to eating in the sky. We don't have dinner until it's completely dark..."

"That..." Ogata's voice suddenly broke in at this moment, "The smoke over there...is it getting thicker and darker...?"

Everyone: "..."

Hearing this reminder from Ogata, everyone fell silent, quietly watching the smoke that seemed to be getting thicker and blacker not far away.

After a moment of silence, panic broke out among the crowd.

"Quick! Get me some water!" Lin was terrified.

"Hey! Shimada! Is there anything in the pile of Kyoto specialties you bought that can hold water?!" Asai opened Shimada's cloth bags filled with the Kyoto specialties he bought without any explanation.

"Idiot! It's faster to go into the temple to find the bucket!" Mucun yelled as he rushed into the temple.

"A-cho! Let's go! Let's follow Mucun to find the bucket!"

"it is good!"

"Huh?" Shimada, who reacted a little too late and didn't realize what happened, tilted his head, "Aren't Mamiya-senpai and Gen-sama cooking there?"

Lin: "If you do it again, you'll be nothing! It's on fire!!"

...

...

"So..." Jiangong cast a look full of strong doubts at the people holding various water-filled containers in front of him, "What the hell are you doing?"

Just now, everyone took various containers filled with water and rushed towards the place where the smoke was coming out.

After being "taught" by Lin, Shimada finally realized how bad things had happened, and hurriedly joined the army looking for a container that could hold water.

Among the piles of Kyoto specialties that Shimada bought, there are really a few that are very suitable for holding water.

Shimada, Asai, and Rin casually took the three largest containers, filled them with water from the creek outside the temple, and went straight to the smoking place.

When heading straight for the smoking place, the three of them just met Ogata, Atachi, and Makimura who had found the bucket and filled it with water.

A group of people rushed straight to the smoking place.

After getting closer, everyone discovered that the place where the smoke was coming from was the back of the kitchen.

Going around the kitchen and coming to the back of the kitchen, they saw Mamiya and Genichi sitting on the side with a leisurely look.

In front of Mamiya and Genichi, there was a big fire.

This big fire was burning something, and it gave off a strange smell.

Ogata and the others looked at Mamiya and Genichi...

Mamiya and Genichi also looked at Ogata and the others...

"I want to ask you instead!" Lin, with a relieved expression on her face, shouted angrily, "What are you doing? I almost thought it was on fire!"

"We're burning garbage." It was Genichi who answered.

Ogata and the others looked at the big fire in front of Mamiya and Genichi.

This fire is burning all kinds of mess.

Wood, paper, a large unidentified mass with no name...everything.

"So it's burning garbage." Ogata also let out a sigh of relief, "No wonder the smoke is black and thick..."

Ogata was also taken aback when he saw the thick smoke just now.

Now is the time when the sky is dry and things are dry, and the surroundings are full of wooden buildings and mountains.

Once the fire spreads, it's no joke.

Seeing that it was just a false alarm, everyone angrily poured the water in the container in their hands onto the ground beside them.

"My lord, everyone, welcome back." Mamiya smiled gently at everyone, "You also brought back two old acquaintances... Ogata-kun, Miss A-machi, long time no see."

Ogata knew that Genichi didn't recognize A-cho, so he took the initiative to introduce him to Yuanichi.

As soon as Ogata finished introducing A-cho to Genichi, Rin crossed her arms and asked Mamiya:

"Gamiya, explain to me—what's going on with our house? Have you invited craftsmen to renovate it?"

"How could I do such a waste of money." Mamiya waved his hand, "I renovated our house by myself."

"Are you the one who renovated it?" Ogata's eyes widened.

"Well, because the time waiting for you to come back from Kyoto is too boring, anyway, I have nothing to do, so I renovated our house by myself, and painted the faded areas with new colors."

"Can you still do carpentry?" A-Ming was shocked.

"I used to study carpentry in the Yamato area."

"We don't have any houses in need of major repairs here, and even an amateur carpenter like me can easily do the repairs."

"I just finished the renovation of the house a few days ago. I had nothing to do after the renovation, so I did a big cleaning by the way."

"Because you haven't been around for a while, many places are full of dust and leaves, dead insects, and scrap wood that I didn't use when renovating the house and all kinds of garbage."

Jian Gong pouted at the big fire next to him.

"These are the rubbish I cleared out today."

Speaking of this, Mamiya paused as if remembering something.

"Speaking of--it seems to be almost dinner time now."

Mamiya continued.

"My lord, and Mr. Ogata, you must be tired after rushing all the way back."

"You guys go to rest now."

"Today's dinner, leave it to me to cook alone."

After finishing speaking, Mamiya did not wait for everyone to respond, so he saluted lightly and walked straight towards the kitchen.

Looking at the back of Mamiya leaving, A-Machi suddenly whispered to Ogata next to him at a volume that only she and Ogata could hear clearly:

"Gamiya is so strong..."

"Yeah." Ogata nodded solemnly, "My feeling is the same as yours..."