I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As this notorious thief gained fame, the Southern and Northern Bureaus of Edo quickly opened a case and launched an investigation.

Although the government's investigation was swift, the results... were utterly appalling...

Through careful investigation and intelligence provided by the intelligence network, the "Sanhui" gang in Edo has successfully located the master thief at the scene of his thefts on several occasions.

But without exception, he always managed to escape.

This master thief's agility was astonishing!

Whether it was a wall only a foot wide or a roof with an extremely steep slope, this master thief could walk on it as if it were flat ground.

Every capture operation ended in the same way—after finally locating the notorious thief, he would dart up to a nearby rooftop or some other spot and vanish into the night in the blink of an eye…

Because this master thief could move quickly across various complex terrains such as rooftops and walls like a cat, the authorities gave him the nickname "Cat Monk."

It must be said that this nickname was indeed brilliantly chosen.

This master thief's movements were indeed as nimble as a cat's.

Cat Monk appears and disappears without a trace, so even now, the government still knows very little about him.

Because Cat Monk always wore all black clothes, and his hair and nose and below were all covered with black cloth, with only his eyes showing, it was impossible to tell his gender and age. Therefore, the government did not even know whether he was male or female or how old he was.

Currently, the government only has three relatively useful pieces of information regarding Cat Monk:

1. He only appears at night.

2. He only targeted villains and criminal gangs in Edo.

3. He is rather petite, and his height is estimated to be no more than 1.5 meters.

A height of 1.5 meters was extremely common in Edo-period Japan. Due to factors such as diet and genetics, there were plenty of men who were 1.5 meters tall, not to mention women.

At 1.75 meters tall, Qing Deng is considered a "giant" that is quite rare in this era.

"Neko-sō is a female ninja... Where did you hear that?" Qingdeng put down the wooden sword in his hand.

Uehara responded with a hint of excitement:

"I heard it from my friends last night when I was drinking with them."

“My friends say that recently, many people in the city have been speculating about the identity of Cat Monk.”

"Cat Monk is very petite and is most likely female."

"Then she can walk on rooftops and walls as if they were flat ground. Floating on rooftops and scaling walls—this has always been a specialty of ninjas."

"So many people are saying that Cat Monk is a female ninja who is proficient in ninjutsu."

"And I've also heard that—that cat monk's...are quite voluptuous."

Uehara, whose face uncontrollably revealed a lewd smile, raised his hands and gestured a few times on his chest.

“I’ve always been very interested in this cat monk, so I thought I’d come and ask you, as a ‘three-time’ monk, to verify if this is really true.”

—Were you always interested in Neko-sō, or did you only become interested in him after hearing that he was a voluptuous female ninja...?

After silently criticizing Uehara in his mind, Aoto chuckled to himself:

"That's complete nonsense. Just listen to these kinds of rumors and don't take them too seriously."

"I don't know if female ninjas still exist in this era when foreign powers have already forced open China's doors."

"But I can tell you with absolute certainty: the idea that 'Neko-sō is a female ninja' is just baseless speculation by ordinary people."

"Neko-san is petite, so she's female. Because she can scale walls, she's a ninja? How can you conclude that Neko-san is a female ninja based solely on these two points..."

Qing Deng said helplessly.

"Petite figure - plenty of men are petite too."

At this point, Qing Deng couldn't help but glance at a certain 1.55-meter-tall handsome boy who was intently teaching someone in the distance.

"As for scaling walls and rooftops... our government has arrested quite a few agile people who can run fast on rooftops before, but they weren't ninjas."

"And the idea that it's very voluptuous... that's complete nonsense without any basis."

"Our government hasn't even determined the gender of Cat Monk yet, so how could ordinary people know that Cat Monk's penis is so big? This is probably just a rumor made up by some bored guys to attract attention."

In short—just listen to these rumors and don't take them too seriously.

Having said that, Qingdeng raised the wooden sword in his hand and continued to concentrate on practicing his swordsmanship.

"But...but..." Uehara stammered, as if he wanted to say something more.

But just then—

"Uehara, what are you doing?" Okita's voice pierced Uehara's eardrums, instantly freezing the expression on Uehara's face.

Okita walked slowly toward Uehara with his arms crossed and a displeased expression on his face.

"Have you forgotten the rules of our Sword Training Hall? When others are practicing swordsmanship, don't go around chatting with them and disturb them."

"Yes, I'm sorry..." Uehara lowered his head and shrank back like a child who had done something wrong.

After being reminded by Okita, Uehara no longer dared to talk to Aoto and focused on massaging and relaxing the muscles in his arms.

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Chapter 19 "Those bastards will definitely be taught a lesson!"

After teaching Aoto Sujin how to draw and sheathe his sword, Okita did not teach Aoto anything new that day.

As for why, Okita also explained to Aoto that at this stage of laying the foundation, learning too many things at once would be counterproductive and do more harm than good. He told Aoto to focus on practicing his sword strikes, drawing his sword, and sheathing his sword today.

You can't get fat in one bite—Qing Deng naturally understood this principle, so he didn't complain about Okita's arrangement and obediently practiced the alternation of drawing and sheathing his sword.

Despite doing the same tedious, mechanical exercises over and over again, Qingdeng didn't feel bored or impatient.

On the contrary, he found himself increasingly enthusiastic as he practiced.

The reason for this is that, with the blessing of "Sword Prodigy," the feeling of being able to improve rapidly is simply too addictive.

Why were games so addictive in my past life? Because the positive feedback from games came just too quickly.

By defeating monsters, you can gain experience points and see your experience bar increase. After leveling up, you can use the points gained to strengthen yourself.

Such quick and direct positive feedback leaves memorizing vocabulary and texts far behind.

You diligently memorize vocabulary words, but in the end you still don't remember them—such a terrible positive feedback loop is bound to be addictive.

The strong positive feedback from being recognized as a "sword prodigy" made Qing Deng so obsessed that he stayed in the Shiwei Hall to practice swordsmanship diligently.

Qingdeng stayed in the Shiwei Hall from morning until dusk.

……

……

The setting sun, about to sink below the horizon, weakly cast its dim yellow light through the windows into the dojo of the Shieikan.

After a day as a coach, Okita glanced at the sunset outside the window and clapped his hands vigorously:

"Alright! That's all for today's practice!"

Okita's shout caused everyone in the arena to put down their bamboo swords, and it also brought Aoto, who was wholeheartedly practicing drawing and sheathing his sword, back to reality.

—Hmm? Is it already this late?

Qingdeng looked at the sunset outside the window with a surprised expression.

Because he was so focused on practicing his sword, Qingdeng didn't even realize how late it was.

Kondo had previously told Aoto that the Shieikan Museum opens at 8:00 AM and closes close around 6:00 PM.

Qingdeng observed the sky outside the window—in about half an hour, the sun would completely sink below the horizon.

"That's enough practice for today!" Okita said, hands on his hips. "Everyone, let's quickly tidy up the dojo and go home! Things aren't very peaceful lately, so don't go home too late."

As Okita finished speaking, everyone in the dojo responded with a "Yes!" and put down their bamboo swords. They then brought out rags, buckets, and other cleaning tools and began cleaning the dojo.

This is one of the rules of the dojo in this era—unless a few students have not practiced swordsmanship in the dojo all day, the students who remain in the dojo when the dojo closes are obligated to stay and clean the dojo together, mainly by wiping the floor.

Besides Qing Deng, there are currently a total of 9 apprentices still remaining in Shieikan.

Since Qingdeng is a newcomer today, all the apprentices in the entire Examination Hall are currently Qingdeng's senior brothers.

Qingdeng followed his fellow disciples, picked up a rag, and lay down on the ground to wipe the temple floor, which had been "moistened" by the sweat of many people all day.

Okita also joined in cleaning the dojo.

Not only did he participate, but he was also the most efficient one. He wiped one-fifth of the dojo floor by himself, and he did it extremely well.

After successfully cleaning up, Okita stood with his hands on his hips in front of the Shieikan building, like a homeroom teacher standing at the gate of an elementary school, watching each of his students leave.

Goodbye, Okita-kun.

"Okay, goodbye. Remember to practice your vocal cords more in private when you get back. You still need to strengthen your vocal cords."

"Goodbye, Okita-kun. I'm going back to my hometown starting tomorrow, and it will probably be a few days before I can come back to the kendo hall to practice again."

"Okay, good. Your basic vibration also needs improvement. You should practice it more often."

……

At this moment, Okita reverted to his usual cheerful and smiling self, and the fierce and menacing expression he had displayed while teaching swordsmanship was nowhere to be seen.

Qingdeng was the last person to leave the museum.

"Goodbye, Tachibana-kun." Okita smiled and took the initiative to say goodbye to Aoto. "You must be very tired after training all day. Remember to get some rest when you get back."

"If conditions permit, it is best to set aside some time each day to practice the basic vibration."

"Suzhen is the most basic skill among the basic skills, so you must practice it a lot, often, and hard."

"Okay." Qing Deng nodded vigorously. "Goodbye, Okita-kun. You should go home and rest early too."

“I don’t need to go home.” Okita smiled and pointed to the ground with his right index finger. “I live right here.”

"Okita-kun, you used to live at the Shieikan?" Aoto was taken aback.