I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Let the disciples hone their skills and exchange techniques in the form of 'red and white battles'... This method is indeed more interesting and can better cultivate the disciples' comprehensive abilities..."

Which of the two tests the disciples' overall abilities better: a one-on-one duel where victory is assured as long as one's personal martial prowess is sufficient, or a "red and white battle" where defeat is highly likely even for those with exceptional individual strength? It is quite obvious.

Furthermore, the dull "one-on-one duels" and the fun and simple "red and white battles"... it is clear that the latter is more likely to motivate the disciples.

As for Qing Deng, he naturally welcomes this kind of "team battle" competition.

Compared to individual battles, team battles are clearly more convenient for Qing Deng to spar with various masters from Xuanwu Hall and Xiaoqianye Sword Hall, and then copy their talents!

Qing Deng couldn't help but silently give a thumbs up to Zhou Zhu and Ding Ji for reforming the way swordsmanship was exchanged.

As soon as Qing Deng's soft praise faded, Okita continued:

“In the past two years, we have fought countless ‘red and white battles’ with Xuanwu Hall and Xiaoqianye Sword Hall. We are already very familiar with how to organize a lively ‘red and white battle’.”

"Master and Mr. Sadakichi had already accepted the invitation from the shrine master of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine and were willing to hold a 'Red and White Battle' at Yushima Tenmangu Shrine on the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival'."

"As a result—some priests at Yushima Tenmangu Shrine kept obstructing us..."

“Those people said: ‘The Plum Blossom Festival is a festival to commemorate Sugawara no Michizane, the ‘God of Learning.’ How can we invite a bunch of samurai to fight and kill in such an elegant festival? It’s improper, and there has never been such a precedent before.”

"They kept pressuring the shrine to cancel the plan to invite us to 'fight and kill' at Yushima Tenmangu Shrine on the day of 'Plum Blossom Festival'."

"Although the shrine master is the head of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine, he does not have absolute power within the shrine and cannot rule as the sole authority. Therefore, he is also suffering greatly from the pressure exerted by his subordinates."

"However, the god did not back down. He insisted on holding some activities that the people would like to see on the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival'."

"And so—the matter remained deadlocked, and no decision was reached."

Having finally listened to Okita's "background recap," Aoto pursed his lips and silently digested the massive amount of information he had just received.

"So that's what happened..."

"Then... let's listen to Chiba..."

At that moment, Jutaro suddenly burst into hearty laughter, interrupting Aoto's words:

"Hey Tachibana-kun, there are two 'Chiba's' here, who are you calling?"

"Just call me 'Jutaro' and my sister 'Sanako' like Yu-kun and the others do. That will be convenient for both of us."

Qing Deng was taken aback: "Calling you by your names directly...? Wouldn't that be too offensive?"

In Japan, it is considered very impolite and offensive to call someone by their first name. When speaking to strangers or casual friends, you should only use their surname. Only people with very close relationships use their first name.

"Hahahaha." Chiba Jutaro laughed heartily a few more times. "It's alright, it's alright, my sister and I don't care about such a small matter."

"My friends usually refer to my sister and me by our names so that it's easier to distinguish between us."

Sanako, who had been silent until now, quietly chimed in:

“Tachibana-kun, there’s no need to worry. Just call me and my brother ‘Sanako’ and ‘Jutaro’.”

Now that the brother and sister had said so, Qingdeng had no more worries.

"So..." Qing Deng picked up where he left off, "According to what Mr. Jutaro just said, this plan to hold the 'Red and White Battle', which has been delayed for a long time due to opposition from some clergy, has finally been allowed to proceed?"

"Hahaha, yes." Chiba Jutaro said with emotion, "During this time, the head priest of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine has almost worn his lips out trying to persuade those who oppose him."

"However, his hard work has paid off. He successfully persuaded most of the stubborn elements before the 'Plum Blossom Festival' was held, and they all agreed to let us hold a lively 'Red and White Battle' during this year's 'Plum Blossom Festival'."

“My father also just learned of this good news.”

"Upon learning of this good news, my father immediately instructed my brother and me to visit your residence as soon as possible to share this good news with you."

"Hehehe".

Zhou Zhu smiled apologetically.

"I'm so sorry to trouble you two siblings to come all this way so late at night to tell us this good news..."

"Actually, you two siblings didn't need to be in such a hurry to tell us this good news."

"Anyway, we at the Test Guard Hall will find out about this good news sooner or later."

“It’s nothing, Mr. Shusuke.” Chiba Jutaro let out his signature hearty laugh once again. “It’s just a trivial matter.”

"Finally, it's confirmed that we're allowed to hold the 'Red and White Battle' at the 'Plum Blossom Festival'..." At this moment, Kondo suddenly let out a long breath, then raised his hand with a wry smile and pressed it to his chest. "Ah... I'm starting to get nervous... I wonder how many tourists will come to watch on the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival'..."

"Ah, Yu-kun, to be honest—" Upon hearing Kondo's words, Chiba Jutaro also smiled wryly and raised his hand to his chest, "After learning that this matter was confirmed, I was also very nervous..."

"To be precise, I still feel very nervous..."

"On the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival'... there will probably be hundreds of tourists watching our 'battle'... that scene, tsk tsk, just imagining it makes me nervous..."

Seeing Chiba Jutaro clutching his chest, Kondo smiled knowingly:

"Are you nervous too, Jutaro-kun...? Then you'd better make the most of the remaining two weeks to adjust yourself, so you don't embarrass yourself on the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival' because you're too nervous."

"Hahaha, Yong-kun, we're alike!"

……

……

Jutaro and Sanako only came to Shieikan tonight to inform Kondo and the others of this good news.

Now, the brother and sister have achieved their goal.

It was getting late, and since they had already achieved their goal, the brother and sister felt embarrassed to linger in the Shie-e-kan any longer.

With Kondo and the others seeing them off, Jutaro and Sanako quickly walked to the entrance of the house.

"Tachibana-kun." After putting on his straw sandals, Jutaro put his hands on his hips and said to Aoto with a regretful look, "If time and conditions allowed, I really wanted to talk to you more! I really wanted to ask you in detail: how exactly did you manage to defeat so many 'anti-foreign' thugs with such a small force!"

Aoto smiled politely: "I'm also very interested in having a good chat with you, Mr. Jutaro. Let's have a good talk when we have the time and opportunity in the future."

Qing Deng's statement was not entirely a polite remark.

Aoto had always had a good impression of Chiba Jutaro, a cheerful, outgoing, and unpretentious person.

If conditions allowed, he would indeed be quite interested in having a longer chat with this bold and magnanimous man in front of him.

"Haha!" Upon hearing Qing Deng's words, Chiba Jutaro raised an eyebrow, raised his hand, and patted Qing Deng's right shoulder with a light touch. "Alright! It's a promise then. When we have the time and opportunity someday, let's find a place and have a good chat!"

After saying that, Chiba Jutaro suddenly turned his gaze to his sister.

Sanako was now standing to his side, her hands clasped in front of her, respectfully saying to Shusuke, Kondo, and Okita, "Thank you for your hospitality tonight."

My younger sister is a little distance away from me.

Kondo and the others were not with them either.

Chiba Jutaro noticed that he and Aoto were in a state of near-being alone. He narrowed his eyes and quickly took half a step forward to get closer to Aoto.

"...Tachibana-kun." Chiba Jutaro asked Aoto quickly in a low voice that only he and Aoto could hear, "Are you married or engaged?"

Qing Deng was taken aback: "Mr. Jutaro, why are you suddenly asking me this?"

"Haha, it's nothing." Chiba Jutaro chuckled. "It was just a moment of curiosity."

Although Aoto was still somewhat confused after hearing Chiba Jutaro's explanation, he quickly answered the question Jutaro had just posed:

“I’m not married yet, and I’m not engaged.” After saying that, Qingdeng paused, then added jokingly, “I’m still quite free.”

In ancient Japan, "free love" was quite rare.

Whether they were samurai or commoners, marriages between men and women were generally arranged by matchmakers.

When a family's child reaches marriageable age, they will ask a reliable matchmaker to help them find a suitable family of equal social standing. If the family is suitable and the other party is also interested in the marriage, they will get engaged and prepare to hold the wedding on an auspicious day in the future.

Therefore, it was quite common for young people to be engaged.

It is usually the man's responsibility to hire a matchmaker. Before Qing Deng's father, Tachibana Takayuki, died, he had also hired many matchmakers to help Qing Deng find a suitable and high-quality marriage.

The matchmakers entrusted by Tachibana Takayuki were indeed very helpful, introducing him to a large number of respectable women who were both well-matched with the Tachibana family in terms of social status and had good looks and talents.

However, Takayuki Tachibana was not satisfied with any of the girls recommended by the matchmakers. He never found a daughter-in-law who met his expectations before his death.

After Takayuki Tachibana's death, the matter of "finding a wife for Aoto" was simply dropped.

Upon learning that Aoto was unmarried and had no engagement, Chiba Jutaro wore a surprised expression:

"Ju-kun, you're not married or engaged yet? I thought you were already a lucky son-in-law at your age..."

Unbeknownst to Aoto, the astonishment Chiba Jutaro displayed concealed a subtle hint of elation...

"Brother."

At this moment, Sanako, who had finished saying goodbye to Shusuke and the others, walked towards Chiba Jutaro with rather elegant steps.

Upon seeing his younger sister arrive, Chiba Jutaro quickly shut his mouth and stopped talking to Aoto.

"Brother, let's go home."

"Oh, oh." Chiba Jutaro nodded vigorously a few times. "Okay, let's go. Well then—Shusuke-san, Yu-kun, Souji-kun, Tachibana-kun, Sanako and I will take our leave now. See you later!"

Chiba Jutaro, bidding farewell to everyone in a loud voice, turned his gaze, his eyes sweeping across the faces of Aoto and the others.

His gaze lingered on Qingdeng's face for a few extra moments.

"Mm." Zhou Zhu, as the head of the family, smiled and waved to the brother and sister. "Take care on your journey!"

After saying goodbye, Chiba Jutaro and Sanako strode away from the Shieikan, one after the other.

Sanako turned her head and glanced at the Shieikan building behind her, which was getting smaller and smaller in her field of vision.

Only after turning a corner and entering a street where the Shieikan (Test Guard Hall) was no longer visible did Sanako turn her gaze away. Then, with a blank expression and in a flat tone devoid of joy or sorrow, she asked Chiba Jutaro, who was half a step ahead of her:

"Brother, I just saw you chatting animatedly with Tachibana-kun in a low voice... What were you talking about?"

“Huh? We didn’t talk about anything.” Chiba Jutaro replied without hesitation, his expression unchanged. “I just asked him how his stay at the Shieikan was.”

"...Is that all we talked about?" Sanako stared intently at Chiba Jutaro, as if she wanted to see right through him.

"What?" Feeling uncomfortable under Sanako's gaze, Chiba Jutaro crossed his arms and pouted. "Why are you staring at me like that... Don't you believe what I'm saying?"

“…Of course I believe you, brother.” Sanako slowly withdrew her gaze from Chiba Jutaro. “Since you’ve said so, brother…then I’ll assume that you didn’t talk about anything inappropriate with Tachibana-kun.”

……

……

The backs of the brother and sister gradually disappeared into the night at the street corner, watched by Qing Deng and the others standing outside the door.

After Jutaro and Sanako had completely disappeared from everyone's sight and everyone had returned inside, Abi's voice suddenly came from the other end of the corridor, directly opposite the door:

"Have Chiba Jutaro and Chiba Sanako already left?" Abi asked as she walked quickly toward the group that was still lingering in the entrance hall.