I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Qingdeng could vaguely see his lips moving.

Judging from his lip movements... it seems he swore at Qingdeng.

With Qingdeng standing on the roof to mark the location, Fatty definitely wouldn't be able to shake off Qingdeng and the others in this complicated alley.

So the fat man had no choice but to turn his body again, rush out of the alley, and enter a wide avenue that could accommodate two carriages side by side.

The fat man's speed gradually slowed down—he must have been tired after running for so long.

Qingdeng was also feeling very tired. His physical strength was far from sufficient. His breathing was erratic. He swallowed hard and tasted a faint metallic taste of blood in his throat.

Despite being tired, Qingdeng still had more energy left than the fat man.

Qingdeng channeled his remaining strength into his legs, leaped onto the row of houses on the east side of the road, and overtook the fat man who was fleeing on the road in one go along the eaves of the houses. Then, like a swallow, he leaped down from the eaves and landed directly in front of the fat man, blocking his way.

Seeing Qingdeng "descend from the sky" and block his way, the fat man quickly slammed on the brakes, glared viciously at Qingdeng, and turned around to run away.

However—as soon as he turned around, he saw Okita, who had successfully rushed out of the complicated alley, chasing after him from behind.

With Qing Deng in front and Okita behind... The fat man hesitated for only a moment before suddenly drawing his katana from his waist and charging towards Okita!

He planned to forcefully break through the encirclement of Qing Deng and Okita.

Okita was much smaller than Aoto, and visually, Okita looked much weaker than Aoto—this was probably why the fat man chose to break through from Okita's direction.

After the fat man charged towards Okita, Aoto immediately gave chase.

Looking at the chosen escape route, Qing Deng couldn't help but chuckle—this fat guy had really chosen a completely wrong escape route...

Seeing the fat man rushing towards him, Okita also braked suddenly.

Despite running for so long, Okita's breathing remained steady, with only a few beads of sweat on his forehead.

Okita glanced expressionlessly at the fat man's footsteps and the knife in his hand, then leisurely spread his legs and stood still.

With his left hand pressing down on the scabbard of the katana at his waist, his right palm resting on the hilt, and his left thumb raised to press against the guard, he pushed forward forcefully.

bass……

A sharp, clear glint of light emanated from the blade that had just emerged from its sheath, illuminating Okita's eyes.

Although he knew Okita wouldn't be foolish enough to kill the fat man, Aoto still loudly reminded him:

"Okita-kun! Don't kill him!"

As soon as Qingdeng finished speaking—

bass--!

Okita drew his sword.

A silvery-white blade flashed towards the fat man, knocking the knife from his hand with a single strike.

Immediately afterwards, Okita pulled the sword back and turned it around, using the back of the blade to deliver a horizontal slash to the fat man's abdomen.

"Cough...! Cough cough cough...! Ugh—! Cough cough...!" The fat man vomited and coughed violently as his soft belly was struck hard by the hard back of the knife. He staggered forward a few steps and fell heavily to the ground.

Wow, so fast...!

Seeing Okita, who had already sheathed his sword and was now striking a Zanshin pose towards the fallen fat man, Aoto couldn't help but let out a low gasp in his heart.

Okita's attack that knocked the fat man's sword away... was extremely fast.

So fast that even Aoto, who now possesses "Eagle Eye," almost couldn't keep up with Okita's sword strike speed...

The fat man has been defeated—the outcome is decided.

As the fat man charged toward Okita, Aoto, who had been closely following behind him, pounced on him as soon as the fat man fell to the ground.

Since he didn't bring a fishing rope, Qingdeng could only make do with the sleeve strap he always carried with him.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

The fat man twisted and turned like a maggot, trying to get rid of Qingdeng who was riding on him.

However, because he had just suffered a heavy blow to the stomach, the fat man was completely powerless and could only watch helplessly as Qing Deng tied his hands.

Saito, who was much slower than Okita, finally managed to break out of the alley and catch up.

"Finally caught him, huh..." Saito panted, glancing down at the fat man who was still struggling, being sat on by Aoto.

“Yeah…” Qingdeng let out a long sigh, glaring coldly at the fat man beneath him, “These beasts’ retaliation came really fast…”

……

……

Town Fire Squad: A fire brigade during the Edo period.

The town fire brigade in Edo had eight main groups, which in turn had 48 subgroups, each responsible for firefighting work in different areas.

Although the town's firefighters have some advanced fire-fighting equipment, such as a small water pump that can shoot out a jet of water with a single press, called "Dragon Spray," these fire-fighting devices are actually quite useless. They can only be used to deal with small fires. Once they encounter a slightly larger fire, these fire-fighting devices are completely useless, and the fire-fighting speed can hardly keep up with the speed at which the fire spreads.

Therefore, the primary firefighting tool used by firefighters in the town is not a water pump or a bucket... but a hammer.

The firefighters in the town demolish all the houses near the fire to create a firebreak and prevent the fire from spreading further.

When Qingdeng escorted the fat man back to his home, he saw a large group of firefighters from the town, dressed in black and white fire uniforms, wielding hammers and smashing houses like they were playing The Sims 4, completely destroying all of Qingdeng's neighbors' homes...

"Quickly! Tear this house down!"

“1、2、3！拉——！再来！1、2、3！拉——！闪开闪开！墙壁要倒了！”

"Hurry up! Get all these pieces away!"

……

Qing Deng saw that his neighbors all had livid faces as they watched the firefighters smash their houses.

The women hung their heads, secretly wiping away their tears.

Several children burst into tears right in front of their smashed home.

When a firefighter damages a house in an attempt to prevent a fire, they will not be compensated.

In other words, if your house is destroyed because it is near a fire, it's purely your bad luck, and you'll have to pay out of your own pocket to rebuild your home.

Qingdeng's house was now completely engulfed in flames.

Flames engulfed the wooden roof, spewing countless sparks into the night sky. The fire grew stronger and stronger, making the sound of wood cracking. The burning wooden frame collapsed and fell, and the remaining pillars toppled in the flames. The numerous sparks stirred up by the collapsing roof scattered in the darkness like fireflies.

Qingdeng raised his head, glanced at his home that no longer existed, and then looked at his innocent neighbors who had also lost their homes due to the fire.

Qingdeng himself didn't realize that his fists, which had been hanging naturally at his sides, were now clenched tightly...

……

……

About half an hour later—

"Ju...you weren't burned, were you?"

Qingdeng was resting on a large rock on the outskirts of the fire.

Kondo, Okita, Saito, and Kyubei sat around Aoto.

Qingdeng raised his head and looked at Zhu Gu, whom he had met again not long after they parted.

"Aside from my face being a little blackened, I'm fine." Qing Deng replied to Zhu Gu in a teasing tone, while pointing to his slightly blackened cheek.

Inugaya pursed his lips, looked at Aoto with a complicated expression for a while, and then sighed.

"Ju, is that fat guy the suspect you arrested?"

Inugani turned his head to look at the fat man kneeling on the ground not far away.

The fat man's body was now bound together like a rice dumpling with thick, long hemp rope. Several of the pig-dwelling gangsters glared fiercely at the fat man, wary of him making any suspicious moves.

At this moment, the fat man straightened his back ramrod straight, held his head high, closed his eyes tightly, and revealed an expression of resignation to his fate.

“Hmm.” Qingdeng nodded. “I asked him some questions earlier, but he was very stubborn and wouldn’t say anything.”

"Heh." Inugaya sneered, "We in the Bureau are not afraid of stubborn people the most. In all my years of service in the Bureau, I have never seen anyone who can withstand our interrogation."

After saying that, Inugami turned his gaze away from the fat man.

"Then I'll take that fatso back to the magistrate's office now."

"I'll come back to see you later."

"Oh, right. Lord Arima and Ushiyama should be on their way here now. They should arrive in a little while."

"Okay, sure." Qingdeng nodded gently. "Mr. Inugani, please take care on your journey."

After watching Inugami lead a large group of men away with the fat man, Qing Deng saw a burly man in a firefighter's uniform, his face and clothes blackened and white by the flames, striding towards him.

"Are you Tachibana Aoto?"

“Yes.” Qing Deng stood up.

“I am Kazama Heigorou, a member of the ‘Thousand Group’ of the Town Fire Elimination.”

Human-foot-head group: that is, the leader of this group.

"The fire at your house... has subsided."

Upon hearing what Shizuto said, Tachibana Aoto turned his head to look at his house... or rather, the place that "used to be his house".

His home is now a large, charred ruin, and members of the town's fire brigade are extinguishing the remaining embers in the ruins.

Fortunately, tonight is a "windless night."

Because there was no wind to fuel the fire, and because the members of the town fire brigade demolished nearby houses in time, the fire fortunately did not spread; only Qing Deng and his family's house was destroyed.

After saying some polite words to Tachibana Aoto, such as "I am very sorry for what happened to you," this person from the Foot Group continued:

"I have already sent my men to clear the fire."

"However, with such a large fire... it's unlikely that any valuables will survive."

"I hope you can be mentally prepared."

Qing Deng gave a calm smile: "I understand. From the very beginning, I never expected my family to have any valuables left in a fire of this magnitude."

"Well, it's good that you're mentally prepared." Ren Zutou nodded slightly to Qing Deng, then turned back to the fire scene to continue directing his men to clear the burned ruins.

“Young Master…” At this moment, Jiubei stood up and asked Qingdeng hesitantly, “Where…are we going to stay tonight?”