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Chapter 92 Nagakura Shinpachi

The next day—

Shieikan, Dojo—

Standing in the center of the dojo in the lower stance, holding a bamboo sword, with his eyes closed, Qing Deng was practicing his still not very proficient "lower stance" and training his muscle memory when he suddenly felt a warm sensation coming from his back.

He opened his eyes and looked back—it was the first rays of dawn seeping through the windows of the temple and falling on Qingdeng's back.

The weather is exceptionally nice today.

Looking out through the open window, birds were already chirping and fluttering about. The sky outside had turned a beautiful cyan, and the sun was peeking out from the eastern horizon. A bright red sunrise suddenly bloomed, forming a beautiful picture with the cyan sky.

"It's dawn..."

Qingdeng is now completely used to this lifestyle of getting up at 2 or 3 a.m. and then exercising until dawn.

"That's enough for today's morning exercise," Qingdeng thought to himself. He put the bamboo sword back into the sword holder not far away and then prepared to go to the courtyard to wipe off the sweat and wash up.

There is a deep well in the courtyard of Shieikan that leads directly to groundwater, and Kondo and his colleagues rely on this well for their daily water supply.

The habit of brushing teeth was already widespread in Japan during the Edo period, when people used willow branches and tooth powder to brush their teeth.

The so-called willow twig can be understood as a toothbrush of this era. It was made from willow branches. By tearing one end of the willow branch, the torn fibers in the branch were like the tiny serrations on a wooden comb, making it very convenient to clean teeth.

As for tooth powder, it can be understood as toothpaste of this era. The method of making it is to mix mint, salt and other ingredients into fine sand. The cleaning effect and the effect of freshening breath are quite good.

Qingdeng drew a bucket of water from the well to wash his face and brush his teeth. Standing by the well, he washed up while admiring the beautiful sunrise.

Suddenly, a series of unsteady footsteps, like those of someone who was drunk, came from behind Qingdeng.

Behind Qingdeng, Okita, who was still in a daze after waking up, had his eyes squinted into slits, his head and shoulders slumped, and his messy hair was casually draped behind him. He was holding his water cup and willow branch in his hands, and he was walking unsteadily and crookedly towards the well.

"Tachibana-kun... good morning... (Good morning)"

"Good morning, Okita-kun... Hey! Watch where you're going!"

Bang.

Still confused and unable to walk properly, Okita bumped into a tree in the yard, making a sound like he was hitting a watermelon.

Okita's forehead instantly turned red.

However, such a strong impact... failed to wake Okita.

He raised his hand, touched the spot where he had bumped himself, yawned widely, and then continued walking toward the well as if nothing had happened.

After drawing a fresh bucket of water from the well, Okita stood next to Aoto and brushed his teeth with him.

Among Kondo's family, the earliest risers are Kondo and Okita, who get up as soon as it's light.

Next is Abi, who usually wakes up around 7 a.m.

Shusuke was the last to get up. According to Qing Deng's observation, if there was nothing important to draw, Shusuke would sleep until after 10 a.m. most of the time before leisurely crawling out of bed.

"Hey... is your head okay?" I couldn't help but ask, looking at Okita's still very red forehead.

"Huh? No, it's nothing..." Okita, half-asleep, mumbled, "I'm really tough... I'm really tough."

After saying that, as if to prove that his head was really hard, Okita continued to brush his teeth with the willow branch in his right hand, while raising his left hand and tapping his forehead, making a "knock knock knock" sound.

"Well... I'm glad you're alright."

"Good morning, Tachibana-kun, Souji."

"Oh, Kondo-kun, good morning."

"Good morning..."

Kondo, whose face still showed signs of sleepiness, crossed the yard, drew a bucket of fresh water from the well, and joined Aoto and Okita's "washing army".

"Kondo-kun, how was it? Did you and your master successfully open the door to your master's wife last night?" Aoto asked casually.

"Well..." Kondo smiled helplessly, "It's not going too smoothly. My mother is still stubborn."

"Ugh... Auntie is against us having a match with Chiba Sword Academy at the 'Plum Blossom Festival,' so let her object." Okita, who had already brushed his teeth, was now squatting next to the bucket of water to wash his face.

Perhaps because of the cold water, Okita is now much more awake and his speech is no longer slurred.

"Anyway, we won't turn down the match against Chiba Kenkan just because of her opposition."

“That’s true…” Kondo smiled wryly, “but she is, after all, my mother and our teacher’s wife. We must give her the respect she deserves.”

Kondo brushes his teeth very quickly.

In just a moment, he took the willow branch out of his mouth and began to rinse his mouth and wash his face.

After casually splashing a few handfuls of water on his face, Kondo tilted his head back and looked at Okita beside him:

"Shogun, are you free this morning? I have an errand to run for you."

"Hmm? Running errands?" Okita put down the handkerchief he was wiping his face.

"Go to the Senjiya later and find Mr. Kiryu and Ms. Kinoshita," Kondo said with a smile. "Invite Mr. Kiryu and Ms. Kinoshita to Yushima Tenmangu Shrine to watch our match on the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival'."

—Mr. Kiryu? Ms. Kinoshita?

After blinking twice, Qingdeng suddenly remembered:

—Oh right… Kondo and the others know Kiryu and the others, and they seem to have a pretty close relationship…

Aoto almost forgot: Shieikan and Kiryu-sensei had a deep friendship.

Back then, it was only through Kiryu's "signature" that he was able to get Kondo to give him a "backdoor" when Shusuke was not at the sword-making hall and should not be accepting new students, thus allowing Aoto to successfully become a disciple of Shieikan.

"Should we invite Kiryu and the others to watch our match? I think it'll just be a wasted trip," Okita said doubtfully. "Kiryu always prefers quiet and doesn't like crowds. I'm afraid he'll politely decline our invitation."

“I know,” Kondo nodded. “But even if I know he probably won’t come, I still have to ask him politely.”

"Mr. Kiryu is an old acquaintance of our Shieikan, and also the benefactor who made our Shieikan a success. We can't be too disrespectful or rude to him. We must show him all the proper courtesy."

“Alright then…” Since Kondo had said so, Okita didn’t say anything more. He nodded and said, “Then I’ll head to the Senjiya in a bit. I happen to be free today.”

"When are you ever not free?" Kondo shrugged and teased.

"So verbose."

"...Okita-kun, can I go to the Senjiya with you later?" At this moment, Aoto, who had been silent all along, suddenly interjected.

"Hmm?" Okita looked at Aoto, who was taking out a handkerchief to wipe his face. "Tachibana-kun, do you want to come with me to find Kiryu-sensei?"

“Yes. Since returning to Edo at the end of last month and parting ways with them, I haven’t seen Mr. Kiryu and Ms. Kinoshita again.” Aoto stuffed the handkerchief he had used to wipe his cheeks back into his pocket. “They helped me a lot. The injuries I sustained in that ‘snowy night battle’ were all healed by Mr. Kiryu.”

"I wonder how they are doing now. It's been so long since I've seen them, it's time to pay them a visit."

"Okita-kun, may I travel with you?"

“Of course,” Okita replied without hesitation. “I would be more than happy to have someone to keep me company.”

……

……

After washing up, Aoto and Okita prepared to go out together.

After combing their hair, putting on their clothes, and attaching their twin swords, Aoto and Okita left the Shieikan side by side after about half an hour of preparation—of course, Saito also left the Shieikan with them.

Saito also gets up very early; he got up just as Aoto and the others finished washing up.

Upon learning that Qingdeng was going out, he didn't hesitate—quickly completed the preparations for the trip, and stood at the entrance with his knife, waiting for Qingdeng.

Saito, who was Aoto's bodyguard, would always follow closely behind Aoto whenever Aoto went out, just like Aoto's "ghost".

It has to be said that Saito's taciturn and quiet personality makes him quite suitable to be a bodyguard.

Because Saito speaks very little, his presence is extremely faint.

Because his presence was so faint, Qingdeng almost forgot on several occasions that he had a bodyguard following him.

Aoto and Okita, walking side by side, and Saito behind them—the three of them formed a "品" shape and strode quickly toward the Senjiya.

It's currently around 7 a.m.

After a night of silence, Edo, currently Japan's largest city, is slowly recovering its vitality.

The warm winter sun slanted down from the clear blue eastern sky, casting the shadows of the row of shops beside Qingdeng onto the dirt road beneath their feet, and onto the heads and shoulders of Qingdeng, Chongtian, and the other pedestrians on the street.

Okita seemed to be in a very good mood today, walking with a bouncy gait. Seeing Okita so lively, Aoto's steps couldn't help but lighten as well.

"Okita-kun."

Okita: "Hmm?"

To pass the time during the boring journey, Aoto took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Okita.

After only a few breaths of thought, Qing Deng came up with a great topic—they were going to Senjiya to find Mr. Kiryu right now, so they could use Mr. Kiryu as a topic of conversation.

"How did Shieikan become acquainted with Kiryu-sensei?"

Previously, Aoto had only heard snippets about the relationship between Shieikan and Kiryu from Kondo—Kiryu had provided some assistance to the Kondo family when Shieikan was being built.

Apart from that, Aoto knew nothing else about the story between Shieikan and Kiryu.

“Ah, Mr. Kiryu…” Okita reached behind his head, flicked his ponytail to the front, and played with the delicate ends of the ponytail with his fingers. “I don’t know much about it either… When I first entered Shieikan, Mr. Kiryu already had a very deep friendship with our Shieikan.”

"I see... Since Mr. Kiryu and Shieikan have such a deep friendship, then Okita-kun, you must be quite familiar with Mr. Kiryu and Ms. Kinoshita of Senjiya, right?" Aoto casually asked Okita.

Okita nodded: "Yes, Mr. Kiryu comes to visit our Shieikan from time to time, so Kondo and I are quite familiar with him."

"However, I'm not very familiar with Kinoshita Mai, who works under Kiryu-sensei."

"She rarely came to Shieikan with Mr. Kiryu, so I've hardly ever seen her. I only knew that she existed, but I wasn't familiar with her."

……

Qingdeng and his companions were not slow walkers.

As they chatted and hurried along, they soon came across a sign with the three Chinese characters "千事屋" (Senjiya).

Just as Qingdeng and his group were about to open the shop door and enter—

"Hey, little girl, are you alright? Why are you so nervous? I didn't do anything, I just said a few words to you! Can you speak normally now?"

A very loud voice came from behind the shop door and inside the shop.