I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 878: The Great Demon [Ox Ghost] and [Wet Girl]! [4600]

This courtyard is not ordinary. It is the secret base of the 9th Squad and also an important contact point.

Whenever Qing Deng had a mission to assign to the Ninth Squad, he would come to this courtyard and clap his hands twice.

Then, the soldiers of the 9th Squad who have been waiting here will come forward and wait for instructions.

This system was modeled after the shogunate's Oniwaban.

Oniwaban - as the name suggests, you can tell from the name that it is related to "courtyard".

When the general wants to issue a mission to the Oniwaban, he will come to a specific courtyard.

When they saw the general coming, the imperial servants dressed as gardeners in the courtyard would kneel down under the veranda with brooms in their hands, waiting for orders.

Qing Deng stood there, watching Toranosuke's back.

After his figure disappeared from his sight, Qing Deng lay on his back and let out a long sigh with a complicated expression.

If possible, he didn't want to conflict with Elodie's father, let alone do such an excessive thing to him.

However... Qing Deng has many identities.

He is not only Elodie's swordsmanship master, but also the lord of Qinjin Domain, the general of the Shinsengumi, and the guardian of the capital!
If it was true as Elodie said, that Mahel came to Japan for other reasons, then Qing Deng would have to be on guard.

Although this is just a guess without any basis, it is necessary to be more careful.

Therefore, in order to verify the correctness of this conjecture, Qing Deng decided to send the elite ninjas of the 9th Squad to closely monitor Maer.

I hope we are overthinking...

After pondering this, Qing Deng turned around and returned home.

……

……

After leaving the Tachibana residence, Maher did not go to the hotel or anywhere else, but walked out of the town with big strides.

In order to conceal his face and body, he wore a windproof cloak, a low-brimmed hat, and a thick veil on his face, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. At first glance, he looked like just an ordinary traveler.

He didn't know that as soon as he left Ojin, a thin figure followed closely behind him.

It was Toranosuke, a soldier from the 9th Squad sent by Aoto to follow and monitor Mael.

His full name is "Nitta Toranosuke".

Because of his agility and quick mind, he shined after joining the 9th Squad and became one of the elite ninjas most trusted by Qing Deng.

The reason why he was able to accurately find Mael in such a huge city was all thanks to the "Thousand Miles Fragrance" that Qing Deng had sprinkled on him in advance.

The so-called "Qianlixiang" is a special kind of incense powder.

Humans cannot smell it, but professionally trained "ninja dogs" can.

The "Ninja Dog" can capture its scent in the air and then track it.

Even if the target is ten miles away, it will not escape the nose of the "Ninja Dog", hence the name "Ten Miles Fragrance".

The one who passed this method to the Shinsengumi was naturally the omnipotent Gourd House.

It is reported that this tracking method is a unique skill of a ninja village in the Warring States Period.

As for how this unique skill fell into the hands of Huluwu, Qing Deng had no idea.

Although this unique skill is great, training a "ninja dog" is too difficult.

To date, there are only four "ninja dogs" that have successfully "graduated".

When Maher suddenly left, Qingdeng was deeply surprised and subconsciously alert.

So, when he was saying goodbye, he took advantage of the other person's inattention and secretly sprinkled a handful of "Shilixiang" he carried with him on her.

In terms of scheming and means, Qing Deng, who has been working in the shogunate officialdom for many years, is not inferior to anyone.

In this way, relying on the "Ten Miles of Fragrance" spread by Qing Deng in advance and the precise tracking of the "Ninja Dog", Nitta Toranosuke successfully caught up with Mael in the suburbs.

After discovering the target, Nitta Toranosuke first let his precious "ninja dog" go back first, and then secretly lurked in the shadows. Relying on his most agile body skills, he carefully controlled the distance between them and stuck closely behind the opponent.

Maher didn't notice that there was someone behind him at all, and just continued walking forward.

In a short while, he arrived at the suburbs south of Otsu.

There is no village in front and no shop behind. Because it is far away from the city, there is not even a pedestrian on the road.

There were dense trees on both sides of the road, and the ground was covered with thick fallen leaves - this provided great convenience to Toranosuke Nitta.

He was seen sometimes jumping onto the tree trunk, sometimes hiding behind a tree, constantly changing his moves so that his body would always blend into the shadows of the trees.

Just as he was following Maher with silent steps and conscientiously——

"?!"

Suddenly, he felt a chill on the back of his neck!
As if it was a conditioned reflex, he immediately turned back, put his hands on the wakizashi at his waist, and looked around vigilantly.

Flowers, grass, trees, mud... Everywhere you look, all you see is a very ordinary forest scene, nothing special.

Even though I used my best eyesight, I didn't see anything unusual, let alone anyone else.

——Is it my illusion?

After checking several more times and confirming that there were no other living people around him, Toranosuke Nitta narrowed his sights and prepared to continue monitoring Mael.

However... just as he turned his body back, he suddenly felt his throat tighten - a hemp rope flew out from behind him and tightly strangled his neck!

The assailant was extremely strong and Nitta Toranosuke was completely unable to resist.

He watched himself being lifted up inch by inch, his feet kicking in vain.

The throat was under severe pressure, as if it would be crushed at any time, and it was impossible to breathe.

Even if I wanted to scream, I could only make "huh" and "huh" groans that had no specific meaning.

Suddenly, he heard a gentle female voice behind him:
"It's clear~ It's clear~"

"Where is this path? This is the path of the gods~"

It's singing.

Toranosuke Nitta immediately recognized that this was the classic folk song "Passing Song".

During the Edo period, it was a popular custom for children to go to a shrine and make a vow for their healthy growth until they were seven years old.

However, in 1639, due to the expansion of Kawagoe Castle, Miyoshino Shrine was included in the plan and became heavily guarded.

Common people were not allowed to visit the shrine at will, and thus gradually became alienated from common people's lives, which led to the creation of this game song to fulfill a child's wish and ask for release.

It is called a folk song, but its lyrics reveal a strong sense of weirdness.

The woman behind me sang softly:

"Please accept the money and keep me safe~"

"A smooth trip ~ difficult to return ~"

"This is the path to Hades~"

"This is the path of ghosts and gods~"

"If you don't have an offering, you can't go through."

"It's good to be alive~ It's terrible to survive after death~"

“Although it feels scary~”

"It's clear~ It's clear~"

The melodious singing voice and the groaning of severe pain… On one side is the singer singing leisurely and softly, and on the other side is a poor person on the verge of death. The strong contrast creates a weird scene.

Soon, Toranosuke Nitta felt his consciousness gradually blurring, and the singing and everything around him were rapidly moving away from him.

In a moment... his feet stopped moving, his body stopped struggling, and he was hanging on the hemp rope.

At the same time, a foul smell spread.

This is the classic sign of death from asphyxiation: loss of muscle control and incontinence.

I'm afraid that Toranosuke Nitta never expected that there would suddenly be two people behind him where there was no one just now: a man and a woman.

The former was a burly man with long hair. It was he who used a hemp rope to strangle Nitta Toranosuke's neck and strangled him to death.

As for the latter, he was the singer who sang to help Nitta Toranosuke when he was struggling.

The woman was very beautiful, with fair skin and delicate features.

She was about 20 years old, with shiny black hair tied into a neat high ponytail.

It is worth mentioning that her clothes are very distinctive.

It was not difficult to see that she was wearing a dark black kimono, but her dress was cut beyond recognition.

First, the two sleeves were cut off, exposing the arms below the shoulders.

Her belt was not the common wide type that covered the entire belly, but a very delicate Western-style leather belt that outlined her slender waist that was so thin that it could be held in one hand.

Perhaps to improve mobility, her hem was cut very short, all the way to the middle of the thigh, making her look particularly cool.

The two little feet were not wearing shoes or socks, but were covered with thick black tabi.

Tabi and socks are two different things.

Socks are just socks, while tabi are more like a combination of shoes and socks.

Some high-quality tabi can be worn directly as shoes, and your feet will not feel uncomfortable or irritated even when walking in the wild.

"Is he dead?"

the woman asked. “Yeah.”

The man responded sparingly, then slowly put down Nitta Toranosuke's body and laid it flat on the ground.

Then, he put his hands together and whispered devoutly:
"Reveal the truth, reveal the truth, Polo reveals the truth, Pāloṇṭhāna reveals the truth, Bodhisattva reveals the truth!"

……

……

The only sound on the long and narrow country dirt road was Maher's footsteps.

Suddenly, two people emerged from the bushes on the roadside in front of him and blocked his way.

After seeing the face of the person coming clearly, Mael frowned immediately.

"Bull ghost? Nunu? What are you doing?"

As he asked, he looked down at the cow ghost...that is, the hemp rope in the man's hand.

The beautiful woman called "Nu Nu" smiled slightly:
"Mr. Orleans, although we don't know what you talked about in the Orange Mansion just now, judging from the results, you are not welcome."

"Just now, there was a guy following you."

"This person is very skilled and his tracking skills are very sophisticated."

"If I'm not mistaken, he should be a ninja from the Shinsengumi 9th Division."

"But you can rest assured now."

"We've already cleaned your ass."

As soon as Nu Nu finished speaking, Niu Gui raised the hemp rope in his hand.

Upon hearing this, Mael's face suddenly darkened.

"...Niu Gui, Nu Nu, thank you for your hard work."

The wet girl smiled.

"You're welcome. This is our job."

"They actually sent someone to follow me..."

Mahel said as he turned his head and looked into the distance... to be more precise, he was looking at the Orange Mansion in the distance.

"Mr. Orleans, I beg your pardon for saying this: would your daughter be willing to return to you?"

Mahel replied coldly:
"Do you even need to ask this question? You can tell the answer just by looking at my expression, right?"

Nu Nu spread her hands and acted innocent.

"Please forgive me. I am not asking this knowingly, nor am I trying to mock you. I just want to confirm it."

"Huh! After not seeing you for a few years, Alice... has changed a lot."

"If it were her old self, no matter how much courage she had, she would never dare to disobey my orders."

"And now... this is the first time I've heard Alice speak to me in this tone."

"What a troublesome heir...!"

"That's fine!"

"Let her be willful for a while."

"It's a pity, but I really don't have the ability to snatch people from Nioh right now."

"I can only be patient for now."

"The heir is certainly important."

"However, the 'Amanuma Spear' is the most important thing right now."

"Everything else can be put off until later."

After hearing this, Nu Nu immediately cast a joyful look towards the other party.

"Well said, Mr. Orleans!"

"You and I have been preparing for the 'Amanuma Spear' for a long time."

"A long wait, just for the moment of throwing!"

"Once we throw the 'Amano Spear', the shogunate and the Qinjin clan will suffer heavy losses!"

"By then, it won't be too late to try to get your daughter back!"

Mahel smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Let's go back to Changzhou."

After saying that, Maher took the lead and stepped forward.

The Niu Gui and Nu Nu followed closely behind on the left and right.

After walking a few steps, Maer turned his head again and cast a deep gaze in the direction of the Orange Residence...

……

……

Elodie's father came to ask for the person - such a big thing naturally could not be concealed.

At this point, Elodie no longer intends to hide her background.

So, she told all of her past to Awu, Souji and other people close to her.

"Huh?! Elodie, you are from Orleans!" - Awu said.

As expected, Awu knew nothing again... Qingdeng was already used to Awu's ignorance.

From the specific business of Huluwu to the true identity of the boss Kiryu, to Elodie's life experience, Awu is always confused and knows nothing.

However, this time she was different from before.

In fact, Awu, like Qingdeng, had long realized that Elodie's background was unusual.

However, she vaguely felt that Elodie didn't want to talk more about her past, so she never asked further.

After learning about Elodie's tortuous experience, the girls, led by Sanako, all showed strong maternal instincts.

As a result, in recent days, Elodie has become the darling of the Orange Mansion.

Whenever she had free time, she would always receive invitations from Sanako and others.

Or enjoy the scenery together, or drink tea together.

After a few interactions, their relationship became much deeper.

For example, today, Souji invited Elodie to eat Konpeito again.

"Come on, Aiello...ah, no, Alice, try it! This is the konpeito I just bought! It's freshly baked, so it's very crispy!"

Souji said as he unfolded the paper bag in his hand, revealing the colorful candies inside.

Since learning of Elodie's real name, Souji and others have been trying to change their words and start calling her by her real name "Alice".

Elodie first thanked him, then said helplessly:

"Sister Souji, you don't have to force yourself."

"Although 'Elodie Angoulême' is my pseudonym, after using it for so many years, it has become almost the same as my real name."

"I am both Alice and Elodie."

"You can call me whatever you want, I don't mind."

After saying that, Elodie threw a few candies into her mouth and tasted them happily.

The two girls were just chewing on their candies while chatting idly.

Before they knew it, their topic turned to Qing Deng.

"Ms. Souji, I always feel that Master doesn't look very good recently. Did something happen?"

The chief shrugged.

"Hmm... I'm not sure."

"The 'Choshu Campaign' was imminent, and perhaps he was tired from the busy schedule and the unprecedented burden on his shoulders."

"It could also be that he was depressed because he had not been able to find the 'Ten Thousand Refined Steel' that could be used to recast Vairocana."

Elodie blinked:
"'Ten Thousand Steel'?"

Vairocana suffered serious damage in the Kyoto Summer Array, and Qingdeng decided to find "Ten Thousand Refined Steel" to recast its blade - Elodie, as the head of the Finance Department, naturally heard about this.

However, because this was not her business and she had no idea about forging swords, Elodie only knew about this matter and had no idea what "Wanlian Steel" was, let alone why Qingdeng was obsessed with it.

Taking advantage of the free time and opportunity today, she asked the General Manager:

"Ms. Souji, I'm curious, what exactly is 'Wanlian Steel'?"

The chief tilted his head:

"Hmm... I'm not sure."

"I only know that 'Wanlian Steel' is a very rare type of steel."

"Weapons made of 'Ten Thousand Refined Steel' will have a jet-black sheen."

As soon as these words came out, Elodie's eyes widened instantly, and her expression was dominated by intense surprise.

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