I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

Edo, Yoshiwara, the banks of the Rashomon River.

"Wu Liu, have you ever practiced martial arts such as swordsmanship or ten surgery?"

Ogata was still patrolling around the banks of the Rashomon River.

And Wuliu still followed Ogata's side, while accompanying Ogata to patrol around the Rashomon River Bank, chatting with Ogata.

"Huh?" Wuliu raised his eyebrows, "Why do you ask that?"

"Your palms are full of calluses."

While talking, Ogata opened his left palm, which was also full of calluses, towards Wuliu.

"People who develop calluses on these places on their palms have either practiced swordsmanship or martial arts like ten operations."

"Hahaha." After a few laughs, Wuliu slowly opened his hands, "As expected of a warrior, he is very sensitive to human palms and the like."

"Yes, I did practice swordsmanship."

"When I was young, I didn't have any masters, I just practiced blindly."

"After growing up, for some reason, can I finally learn formal swordsmanship from some people who are quite accomplished in swordsmanship, so I don't need to practice blindly by myself anymore."

Ogata glanced at the palms of Wuliu's hands, and said slowly:

"Look at the calluses on your palm... You must have practiced very hard when you practiced swords before."

"Hahahaha." Wuliu laughed again, "Mashima-kun, isn't the callus on your hand also big and hard? You must also be a person who swings a sword very frequently, right?"

Hearing Wuliu's words, Ogata smiled wryly and bowed his head, looking at the palms of his hands.

There are big and hard calluses on the palms, especially on the mouth of the tiger - this is something that everyone who practices swordsmanship, ten surgery and other martial arts must encounter.

The calluses on Ogata's palms were so thick that it looked like a new, healthy layer of skin had grown.

And this hard callus has also brought some troubles to Ogata recently-when hugging or doing something with Ah Ding, this hard callus will always hurt Ah Ding and arouse Ah Ding's disgust.

Every time Ah-cho dislikes the callus on Ogata's hand,

Ogata will feel a little wronged.

Because Machi also has calluses on his hands.

Although he is not good at melee combat, A-Ming still knows a little bit of swordsmanship. The level of swordsmanship is more than enough to deal with ordinary people and inexperienced martial arts.

Because he also practiced swordsmanship, Ah Ding also has calluses on his hands.

Once when Ah-Ming was touching Ogata's back, because she was emotionally agitated at that time, the hard callus of her palm almost drew a bloodstain on Ogata's back...

"It seems that I have been chatting with you for a long time..." Wuliu raised his head, glanced at the moon above his head, and confirmed the position of the moon.

Because it is not sunny tonight, there are many clouds in the sky, and we can barely see a light in the clouds - this light is the moon.

"Then—let's talk about this first." Wuliu straightened his women's clothing.

"Are you leaving?"

"Well, I'm going to set aside some time to visit friends."

After tidying up the women's dress on her body, Wuliu smiled at Ofang.

"Mashima-kun, I'm very happy to meet you and chat with you tonight. Let's talk slowly when we have time and opportunity in the future."

"Yeah." Ogata also showed a faint smile, "Let's have a good chat later when we have a chance."

Wuliu Chong Xufang waved his hand, turned around and walked towards the darkness not far away. After a while, Wuliu's figure was engulfed by the darkness that the candlelight could not reach.

After Wuliu left, Ogata stretched his waist, then looked up at the moon in the sky, estimated the current time, and thought to himself:

——How are Makimura and Asai doing now...are they still at Four Seasons House?

"Hey! Hey!"

--Ok?

A strange cry sounded from Xufang's side, and Xufang immediately followed the sound.

The person who said "Hello" one bite at a time is a member of the clubhouse who wears a clubhouse haori like Ogata.

The servant was holding the trousers on both sides of the hakama, and ran towards Ogata quickly.

The reason why he called Ogata "Hello" was probably because he didn't know Ogata's name, after all, Ogata was just new here.

After Ogata came to the Shirobei clubhouse, he didn't have any close contact with other people in the clubhouse.

In the entire clubhouse, the only one who can be regarded as having a good relationship with Ogata is Guasheng.

"What's the matter?" Before and after the servant came to Ogata, Ogata asked the servant first.

"There is...important...ha...news...ha..." The servant tried to adjust his breathing while running wildly all the way, while telling Ogata the "important news" he just said.

...

...

"Little Monk Ju?" Xu Fang raised his eyebrows.

"That's right." The servant wiped the sweat that fell from his forehead, and then said to Ogata, "A villain named Ju Xiaoseng entered our Yoshihara tonight."

"The official post of Huo Fu Thief Kai has now searched everywhere in Yoshihara."

"Ju Xiaoseng is short, with a bald head, and carries a wakizashi with him."

"Master Shirobei told us to pay attention to people who agree with these characteristics."

"Ju Xiaoseng is good at small skills, so Lord Shirobei specially told us that if we find someone suspected to be Ju Xiaoseng, don't rush forward, and first inform the surrounding Huofu thieves to change officials."

The so-called "important news" that the servant said just now was "the villain Ju Xiaoseng suspected of entering Yoshihara".

Because the bank of the Rashomon River is located in the westernmost part of Yoshiwara, Ogata and others who happened to be standing guard and patrolling the bank of the Rashomon River tonight were among the last to receive the news.

After hearing the term "Huofu Bandit Kai" from this servant, Ogata raised his eyebrows.

"I see." Ogata nodded, "I will pay attention."

"Then——because I will continue to send messages to other people, I will take my leave first." After bowing to Ogata, the servant lifted up the trousers on both sides again, and then quickly walked away from Ogata's field of vision .

"Huofu Thief Change..." After the servant left, Ogata muttered softly.

Ogata is quite familiar with this term.

He has encountered this armed security force of the shogunate twice before and after.

The first time was at the beginning of this year, in the Tatsuno clan.

The second time was this summer, in Kyoto.

Thinking of the fact that he might encounter Huofu Thief Gai for the third time in Edo this fall, Ogata couldn't help showing a helpless smile, thinking to himself:

——Is it possible that I have a predestined relationship with Huofu Thief Kai?

Huofu Thief Kai appeared in front of Ogata so often, it already gave Ogata a feeling that Huofu Thief Kai was everywhere.

However, Ogata was not too surprised by the fact that Huofu Thief Kaihui appeared in Yoshiwara.

After all, the headquarters of Huofu Thief Kai is in Edo, so they would have popped up somewhere in Edo.

Ogata could only continue wandering around the Rashomon River because there was no order from the superior to stop patrolling the Rashomon River.

Many wandering girls have already found customers and brought them into their homes, so there are far fewer wandering girls standing on both sides of the street.

Ogata had already walked around the banks of the Rashomon River countless times while chatting with Wuliu just now.

As the number of patrol circles continued to increase, fewer and fewer wandering girls would come to harass Ogata.

The wandering girls around all saw that Ogata really would not seek pleasure here, so they all regarded Ogata as a rock that could not be eaten by oil and salt, and did not want to waste time on Ogata.

"what……"

Ogata, who was not in a hurry to continue patrolling, continued to stand where he was, breathing warmly into his cold hands.

"Speaking of which...it's already October..." Ogata tightened his kimono tightly.

In the past few days, one can feel a very obvious coolness at night.

The coolness penetrating into the skin announces the arrival of autumn to the public.

——In a few days, it's time to buy some winter clothes...

Ogata raised his hand and patted the money bag in his arms.

When he left Owari and set off for Edo, Ogata divided his money into two halves, one half was handed over to Machi, and the other half was kept by himself.

——Afterwards, I will ask Guasheng, which stores in Edo sell good quality winter clothes...

"Quick! Stop him!"

"Don't let him get away!"

"Hurry up! Hurry up!"

Ogata hadn't finished the conversation in his heart just now, but the chaotic voices from not far away interrupted Ogata's thoughts.

This group of voices was very chaotic, mixed with the voices of an unknown number of others.

But in this group of voices, Ogata heard a voice that he was quite familiar with.

"Miss Guasheng...?" Ogata muttered like this, while supporting the saber on his waist, and then quickly ran towards the source of the chaotic voice.

This tumultuous noise, which was mixed with the sounds of melons, came from the east side of the Rashomon River bank.

Ogata, who happened to be located in the central area of ​​the Rashomon River, quickly arrived at the source of the sound.

"What's going on...?" As soon as he arrived at the scene, a look of astonishment appeared on Ogata's face.

The situation at the scene can be described with the word "chaos".

The officials of more than 10 clubhouses, including Guasheng, chased a short middle-aged man while shouting.

Ogata also noticed that some of the more than 10 officials in the clubhouse seemed to be wounded.

The short middle-aged man that Gua Sheng and the others were chasing was very fast. Gua Sheng and the others could only avoid being thrown away, and they couldn't close the distance with the short middle-aged man.

Although the wandering girls and pedestrians on the street didn't know what was going on, after seeing such a big battle, they still subconsciously pressed their bodies against the side of the street to avoid being implicated.

Ogata didn't quite know what happened.

But he knew—the short middle-aged man must have committed something, otherwise he would not have been chased by so many people including Gua Sheng.

"Working at the Shirobei clubhouse is busier than expected..." After muttering in a helpless tone, Ogata took a deep breath.

Then he raised his left hand to stabilize Da Shitian and Da Zizai on his left waist, lowered the center of gravity of his body, poured strength into his legs, and then blew towards the short middle-aged man like a gust of wind.

Ogata now has 14 strength and 12 agility.

Compared with the time when he first came to the Edo period, when all values ​​were only 5 points, Ogata's physical strength has increased by an unknown amount.

In terms of explosive power and speed, the current Ogata can say this to most people: I am not targeting anyone, I mean everyone present is rubbish.

Ogata first overtook Guasheng and the others who were following closely behind the short middle-aged man.

Gua Sheng and the others felt as if a gust of wind was blowing by their side.

After seeing clearly that the "wind" was Ogata, they all widened their eyes in astonishment.

The short, middle-aged man heard running sounds gradually getting louder and approaching him from behind him.

Turning his head and looking back, he saw Ogata who was gradually closing the distance between them.

After seeing Ogata who was running towards him at an unbelievable speed, the short middle-aged man showed exactly the same expression as Guasheng and the others just now.

After gritting his teeth, the short middle-aged man increased his speed again—although it didn't increase much.

The distance between him and Ogata was getting closer little by little.

When the distance between the two narrowed down to only about 3 steps left, Ogata relied on his advantage of arm length, raised his hand and grabbed the kimono on the back of the short middle-aged man.

As soon as the palm of his hand grasped his kimono, a disgusting feeling immediately filled Ogata's entire palm.

The kimono of this short middle-aged man has not been washed for some time, and it is covered with all kinds of dirt and grease.

Ogata almost let go of this disgusting touch.

But Ogata still suppressed his nausea and tightened his grip on the guy's kimono.

When Ogata was about to pull this guy over, the "hissing" sound of the clothes being torn suddenly sounded.

This middle-aged man staged a "Golden Cicada Escapes its Shell".

Because his kimono is torn and old, it can be torn as long as it is hard.

After being grabbed by Ogata's clothes, the middle-aged man used his left hand to pull out the Wakizashi around his left waist, then tried his best to tear his kimono, and left the torn kimono to Ogata.

With only a loincloth left on his body and a wakizasa on his left hand, he continued to escape.

The loincloth on his lower body was the same as his kimono, so dirty that the original color could not be seen.

——Playing this game...

After the middle-aged man performed "Golden Cicada Escape Shell", Ogata hurriedly threw away the disgusting clothes in his hand.

What this middle-aged man did was nothing more than a dying struggle in Ogata's eyes.

If he can catch him once, he can catch him a second time.

The "golden cicada escapes its shell" of the middle-aged man just delayed his arrest a little bit.

Just when Ogata was about to cheer up and close the distance with the middle-aged man again, a small black shadow suddenly cut across Ogata's field of vision horizontally.

It was a pebble the size of a baby's fist.

The stone that flew across Ogata's field of vision quickly hit the flank of the middle-aged man who was running ahead of Ogata.

The middle-aged man let out a shrill scream, and then fell to the ground.

--what happened?

Ogata quickly turned his head, looking in the direction where the stone flew just now.

This stone just flew out of a dark alley that was not illuminated by light.

However——after Ogata cast his gaze to the alley, he saw nothing except the darkness that was not illuminated by the light.

And it was normal for Ogata not to see anything.

Because after throwing the stone, the person who threw the stone left immediately.

...

...

at the same time--

In the shadows somewhere not far away.

"Although you can catch that guy by yourself, let me do you a little favor so that you can save some effort."

After finishing the murmur with a playful tone, the young man in a women's kimono patted the dust off his hands, and then strode away towards the banks of the Rashomon River.

...

...

The middle-aged man fell to the ground, and Ogata also took advantage of this great opportunity to rush to the middle-aged man in one breath.

Just as Ogata was about to lean over to help the middle-aged man up, he saw a cold light hit his face.

Ogata was all too familiar with this cold light.

This is the unique light reflected from the blade when it is irradiated by light.

Facing the oncoming cold light, Ogata leaned back like a conditioned reflex.

As if precisely calculated, when Ogata leaned back, his body just flashed the cold light, and the distance he used to dodge was neither more nor less.

After dodging the cold light, Ogata quickly retreated 2 steps, widening the distance between himself and the middle-aged man.

The cold light that hit Zhao Xu's front door just now came from the hands of the middle-aged man.

After Ogata retreated, the middle-aged man tightened his grip on the wakizashi in his hand, calling to kill Ogata.

The middle-aged man also realized that Ogata was running faster than him, so if he didn't kill Ogata, he wouldn't be able to run at all.

Therefore, there was a cold light in the eyes of this middle-aged man.

As a result, Wakizashi in his hand had a fierce killing intent, and the blade went straight to Ogata's vital point.

Facing the murderous threat in front of him, Ogata——had no expression on his face.

Ogata has seen countless swords with such strong killing intent.

He pulled out Da Shitian without any haste, and then blocked the middle-aged man's slash.

Ogata had never seen the martial arts used by this middle-aged man.

According to Ogata's visual inspection, this seems to be a martial art that combines wakizashi and unarmed. The middle-aged man tried to trip Ogata several times.

This type of martial arts for middle-aged people was almost completely overcome by Ogata.

Because this type of martial arts must shorten the distance between the enemy and the enemy, only close body can exert its power.

The height of the middle-aged man is only about 1.4 meters, and the length of the blade used is only about 35 centimeters.

Ogata is 1.7 meters tall and uses a sword with a blade length of 75 centimeters.

The disparity in the attack distance makes the middle-aged people want to get close many times.

After parrying the sword swung by the middle-aged man again, Ogata quickly changed his stance to the upper stance.

Sakakibara One Sword Flow·Water Falling!

Da Shitian's blade fell towards the middle-aged man like a waterfall leaping down.

clang!

The middle-aged man raised the wakizashi in his hand, barely blocking Ogata's downward chop.

After Wakizashi's blade collided with Ogata's, the middle-aged man and the Wakizashi in his hand wailed.

Ogata's Dashitian rose in the opposite direction due to the counter-shock force.

But the blade didn't rise much, and Ou used his brute force to stop the counter-shock force.

Then—

call!

The blade slashed at the middle-aged man again from top to bottom.

Ogata used Sakakibara's Mizuro again.

The middle-aged man who didn't have time to get out of the way could only raise his knife to block again.

This time, the middle-aged man's wakizasa failed to protect him again.

After the two knives collided again in mid-air, Ogata's Da Shitian directly cut the middle-aged man's Wakizashi blade in half.

Da Shitian's blade swept towards the middle-aged man's neck unabated.

However, when the blade was about to hit the middle-aged man's neck, Ogata stopped the knife in time, then turned the knife around, and slashed at the middle-aged man's neck with the back of the knife, knocking the middle-aged man unconscious.

Ogata still doesn't know what happened to the middle-aged man and why he was chased by Guasheng and others.

So Ogata did not kill the middle-aged man, but knocked the middle-aged man unconscious first.

【Ding! Defeat the enemy with Sakakibara Ichidou Ryu-Waterfall]

[Gain 90 personal experience points, 80 experience points for swordsmanship "Sakakibara Ichidou\