I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Where should we stay..." Qing Deng put his hands on his hips. "You're right... We should start thinking about where we should sleep tonight..."

Qingdeng and his group are now completely penniless.

The house is gone.

All the valuables inside the house were gone.

At this moment, apart from the clothes on his body, the sword at his waist, the jitte and the inro, Qing Deng had nothing else.

Qingdeng reached into his pocket and pulled out four copper coins...

"...Kyubei, are there any inns in Edo that can accommodate three people for four copper coins?"

"How could there possibly be such an inn!" Kyubei couldn't help but exclaim loudly.

“Um…” Saito, who was usually taciturn, suddenly interjected.

After Aoto and Kyubei turned their gazes to him, Saito said in a serious tone:

“I…know a place where the area under a bridge is particularly suitable for living.”

"It's warm and there aren't many bugs."

"Under the bridge?" Kyubei opened his mouth.

Then, he looked up at the night sky, lost in thought... He was imagining what it would be like to sleep under the bridge...

"No, no!" Kyubei shuddered violently. "In the dead of winter, people will die if they sleep under a bridge!"

After finishing speaking, Kyubei paused, then quickly asked Aoto:

"Young Master, how about we stay temporarily at Lord Arima's house?"

"...Lord Arima and his family all have large families." Qing Deng silently put the four copper coins back into his pocket. "Their house probably doesn't have enough space for the three of us to live in."

The three men, Ma, Zhu, and Niu, who are all around 30 years old, have all started families.

If Qingdeng remembers correctly... Arima has 5 children, Inoya has 6 children, only Ushiyama has fewer offspring—only 4 children.

With parents, wife, children, servants... so many family members, their home was already very crowded, and there was probably no way they could accommodate Qingdeng and his two brothers.

Upon hearing Qing Deng's words, Jiu Bingwei's expression fell again: "Then what should we do now...?"

"..." Qing Deng crossed his arms in front of his chest.

He is now...seriously considering the feasibility of Saito's "sleeping under the bridge" plan...

Just then—Okita, who had been sitting silently with Kondo watching Aoto and the others since earlier, pursed his lips, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

After a while, he secretly brought his lips close to Kondo's ear.

After he whispered something to Kondo, Kondo's eyes widened slightly, and he looked at Okita with a surprised expression.

A hint of hesitation crept onto Kondo's brow.

This fleeting hesitation came and went quickly.

In just a moment, the hesitation on Kondo's face was replaced by determination.

Kondo nodded to Okita.

Seeing Kondo nod, Okita smiled happily.

"Tachibana-kun!"

Hearing Okita suddenly call his name, Aoto quickly turned his head in response.

"If you don't mind...would you like to come and stay with us? Our Shieikan is quite large."

******

******

It's the last day of May! If you still have monthly passes, please be sure to vote for this book! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets!

"My sword-training hall is quite large. You're welcome to come and practice your swordsmanship. If you get tired, just go to sleep. No rent is required."

Chapter 86 Qingdeng's Real Name:

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Test Guard Hall——

"Zhou Zhu, I just finished looking through our 'Apprentice Book'."

Inside the room, Kondo Shusuke sat cross-legged on the floor, holding a cup of hot tea that was constantly steaming, blowing on it to cool it down.

His wife, Kondo Bin, knelt beside Kondo Shusuke with the most perfect posture, and reported to Shusuke on the recent business situation of their Shieikan in a tone that was neither sad nor happy.

“Since the beginning of the new year, a whole month has passed, and our testing center has only added two new apprentices.”

"After a month, we only added two new staff members... This is the worst month for our test center in the past five years."

"Not only are there fewer newcomers, but there are also fewer veterans."

"As of the end of this month, there are three more apprentices who haven't come to our training hall to practice swordsmanship or pay our tuition for a full six months..."

"Ah." Zhou Zhu, who had been listening quietly to A Bi's report, took a sip of tea and exclaimed in surprise, "Madam, did you change to a new tea?"

Abi paused for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Oh? You could taste it? Your tongue is quite sharp."

"This is new tea that my family sent me. Is it good?"

Zhou Zhu nodded vigorously: "It tastes good. It's very refreshing."

"I'm glad you like it."

After saying that, Abi cleared his throat and resumed his serious, expressionless demeanor.

"Alright, let's get back to business."

"Now, the contents of our Shiwei Hall's 'Apprentice Book' are so tragic that I can hardly bear to look at them anymore."

"There are only 28 apprentices who regularly come to our training hall and pay their tuition on time..."

"Ah!" Zhou Zhu exclaimed again.

He handed the teacup in his hand to Abi.

"Madam, look, the tea stalks are standing upright."

Shusuke grinned, revealing a happy smile.

"It's been so long since I've seen tea stems stand up while drinking tea!"

"Looks like something good is about to happen!"

In Japan, there is a superstitious belief that "if the tea stem in a teacup stands up, it means something good is about to happen."

Abi glanced at the tea stems in the teacup, then looked at Zhou Zhu.

"call!"

Abi blew hard into the tea stalks in the cup.

The tea stems swirled around in the tea a few times before sinking to the bottom of the cup.

"Ah! My tea stems!" Zhouzhu cried out in despair.

"'Good things will happen if the tea stalks stand up'—that's just pointless superstition," Abi said coldly. "How can a dignified samurai believe in such pointless superstition?"

After giving Zhou Zhu a brief reprimand, Abi changed the subject back to "the management issues of Shieikan".

"The business of the testing center is becoming increasingly bleak, while the prices of daily necessities such as rice, oil, and salt are getting more and more expensive in the market."

"Our family is a big family."

"You, me, Yong, the commander, and Yuan—five mouths to feed."

"If this continues, we won't even have a chance to eat..."

"Ah!" Shusuke suddenly exclaimed again, "Speaking of which... why haven't Yuu and Souji returned yet...?"

Bang!Bang!Bang!

Abi raised her hand and slapped the tatami mat beside her a few times.

"Don't keep changing the subject!!!"

Zhou Zhu, who had been yelled at by A Bi, trembled a few times and shrank his neck.

"I'm talking to you about something very serious! Don't keep interrupting me!"

Ah Bi's long, narrow phoenix eyes, with the corners turned upwards, made her look quite frightening at this moment.

Zhou Zhu's body trembled a few more times.

He raised his squinty eyes and cautiously looked at the lady beside him.

"Madam... I'm so tired of hearing about this kind of topic..."

“I am aware that the current operation of our testing center is very poor.”

"However, improving the current operation of the sword club is not something that can be accomplished overnight."

"Yu and I have been trying our best to improve the current financial situation of Shieikan, but..."

"Very hardworking?" Before Zhou Zhu could finish speaking, A Bi's eyebrows shot up even more sharply. "What's the use of just working hard?"

Abi slapped the tatami mat next to her a few more times.

"If hard work were all that mattered, wouldn't all those farmers who toil from dawn till dusk be millionaires by now?"

"Isn't the most important thing 'results'?"

"You keep trying, but you don't see any results—what's the difference between that and not trying at all?"

“Madam, what you’re saying is too much…” Zhou Zhu said weakly, his shoulders hunched and his neck drooping.

"Too much?!" Abi slashed at Zhou Zhu with a sharp, knife-like gaze.

"It's nothing..." Zhou Zhu silently withdrew his gaze from A Bi.

Just then—