I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

But Qingdeng is not such an ordinary person.

In his past life, he was a top student who graduated from police academy with the highest score in the entire class!

The "consciousness" cultivated during his years at the police academy is reawakened at this moment!

A sharp glint flashed in Qing Deng's eyes.

Although he didn't have time to draw his sword, he still had the most primitive weapon.

Qingdeng let go of the lantern in his hand, raised his arms, grabbed the man's right hand holding the knife with his left hand, and gripped the man's left shoulder with his right hand, using his signature move from his previous life - grappling!

In his previous life, Qing Deng graduated from the police academy as the top student in his class, so his grades in all courses were naturally outstanding.

In particular, Qing Deng's performance in police physical education classes, which taught baton techniques and other courses, was outstanding.

Moreover, Qing Deng's greatest extracurricular hobby in his previous life was fitness and sports. When he was studying at the police academy, Qing Deng was a well-known "muscle monster" in the school. When he bent his arm, his biceps were bigger than a baby's head.

Besides fitness and sports, Qing Deng also has a strong interest in unarmed combat. He has dabbled in many types of unarmed combat, but his best techniques are grappling and free fighting.

Qing Deng intended to use grappling techniques to disarm the fat man and then knock him to the ground, but to his surprise—he couldn't budge the fat man at all.

—This body's strength... is too weak!

The fighting skills from the previous life can be perfectly reproduced, but the physical strength cannot.

Although his new body is reasonably tall at 1.75 meters, it lacks muscle mass and is too thin, weighing only around 120 kilograms. He is no match for the fat man in terms of strength!

Unable to subdue the fat man or disarm him, they found themselves locked in a stalemate of mutual struggle.

At that moment, the fat man's two other companions arrived.

Qingdeng was currently using both hands to wrestle with the fat man; he didn't have a third or fourth hand to deal with the other two enemies.

So Qingdeng made a quick decision, pushed forward with all his might, shoving the fat man in front of him aside, and then took several steps back in one breath.

Although Qingdeng had retreated as quickly as he could, his left thigh was still grazed by a knife that someone had slashed at him, the fabric on his leg was cut open, and a thin wound appeared on his skin.

With no time to worry about his wounds, Qing Deng quickly drew his sword after creating some distance between himself and the three uninvited guests.

If someone is unarmed, draw your police equipment; if someone is armed, draw your gun. In short, no matter when or where, use any weapon you have, and use a weapon that is stronger than the criminal's. Never foolishly engage in hand-to-hand combat with a criminal. When facing a criminal, there is no need to talk about martial ethics. This is what a senior student once earnestly told Qing Deng when he was studying at the police academy in his previous life.

After listening to his senior's heartfelt words, Qing Deng then asked him, "Senior, what if the criminals have guns?"

"We once sent out an armored vehicle and had a shootout with an armed thug," the senior student replied in a serious tone.

If only we had guns and armored vehicles right now…!

Qingdeng gripped the knife tightly in his hand while regretfully recalling the earnest teachings of his senior.

Qing Deng's grappling technique, which had subdued the fat man in one fell swoop, and the gleaming knife in his hand, had intimidated the three uninvited guests.

The three of them, carrying knives, played a game of "four-person dance" with Qingdeng, and no one dared to step forward for a long time.

If they don't come up, Qingdeng certainly won't rush forward as if he's courting death.

If I had the same physique as in my previous life, then I might still have a chance to clash with these three people in front of me.

Through his brief exchange with the fat man, Qingdeng had already realized that with his current frail body, going head-to-head with these three was like trying to wield a big knife in his pocket—it would be a complete disaster.

Only now did Qing Deng finally have the leisure and inclination to examine the appearances of these three people—but he found nothing.

All three were wearing conical hats with deep brims, which concealed only the lower half of their faces.

Who are these people? Why did they suddenly draw their swords and rush at me? Are they enemies of the original owner of this body?

—What should we do now? One against three, even if we win, we'll likely suffer significant injuries…

Qingdeng racked his brains for a way to get out of his current predicament. A few drops of cold sweat seeped from Qingdeng's forehead and then trickled down his nose and cheeks.

Just as Qingdeng was pondering how to break free from his predicament, a series of voices, which were like heavenly music to him at that moment, rang out:

"Hey! What's going on? Why is it so noisy?"

"Aaaaaah—! There are samurai fighting! They've all drawn their swords!"

"Are the samurai fighting?"

"Samurai are fighting! Go and see!"

……

The fighting between Qingdeng and the three uninvited guests woke up the surrounding residents.

Many incredibly daring people came out to join the fun.

Someone was approaching. Upon seeing this, the three samurai exchanged glances for a moment, then the fat man sheathed his sword and shouted, "Retreat!"

After saying that, the fat man took the lead, supporting himself with the knife, and quickly left.

As he left, the fat man turned back and shouted to Qingdeng:

"Ju Qingdeng! You traitor who worships barbarians and fawns on the enemy, just wait! One day we will surely kill you!"

*******

*******

New book launch, seeking all kinds of support (crying face).

Please vote for this post! Please add it to your favorites!

Chapter 4 An Era of Bloodshed

After the fat man left, the other two immediately put away their knives and followed him away.

In no time, the three figures disappeared from Qingdeng's sight.

Qingdeng breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the three people leave.

He did not pursue the three people.

He must have been out of his mind to chase after those three people.

If these three people were unarmed, Qing Deng would be somewhat confident that he could take them down with his fighting skills from his previous life. But the problem is that all three of them are carrying knives.

Moreover, if we don't know their background, there's a risk of falling into an ambush if we rashly chase after them.

It's fortunate that this "sudden attack" ended peacefully.

My tense nerves relaxed in an instant.

Only now did Qingdeng realize that the back of his clothes had been slightly damp with cold sweat sometime earlier.

More and more daring onlookers gathered around, looking at Qingdeng, who still held the knife in his hand, with suspicion and vigilance.

"Don't be nervous, everyone."

Qing Deng hurriedly said as he sheathed his sword.

"I am Tachibana Aoto, a fellow townsman of the Kita-cho Magistrate."

Having said that, Qing Deng lifted the lower right hem of his haori, revealing the jitte with a red tassel at the bottom of the handle tucked into his right waist, as well as the inro hanging from his right waist.

[Note: Inro: A small box-shaped lacquerware item that became a common accessory worn by samurai during the Edo period. While primarily decorative, it also served a practical purpose, serving as a pocket for storing small items such as coins and keys.]

Qingdeng always wore a "Special Seal for Staff of the Fengxing Office" issued by the Fengxing Office on his right waist.

The black body of the inro is decorated with a golden saffron leaf and various decorative patterns on the front—only samurai working in the magistrate's office possess such an inro.

During the Edo period in Japan, tokens were not commonly used, and the inro served some of the functions of a token.

When Qingdeng revealed the inro, a weapon only samurai working in the magistrate's office possessed, and the jute, a blunt weapon only "police" would carry, the wariness and doubt in the eyes of the surrounding "spectators" immediately disappeared.

"I was just attacked by thugs, nothing serious," Qing Deng continued. "Everyone, please disperse!"

These "spectators" who dared to leave their homes were basically just there to join in the fun.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to be had, they quickly dispersed.

Having successfully dealt with all the onlookers, Qingdeng breathed a sigh of relief once again.

—Who exactly were those three people just now?

—Are you saying I'm a traitor who worships barbarians and fawns on the barbarians?

As Qing Deng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, he searched through the memories of "Yuan Ju Qing Deng".

In just a moment, he found the identities of the three people from "Yuanju Qingdeng's" memories.

After figuring out the identities of the three people from before, Qingdeng's face immediately darkened...

……

……

Edo, Hatchobori——

Following the memory of "Haruto Aoto", Aoto arrived at a place called "Hachibori".

This area is a samurai community, and almost all the officials in the magistrate's office live in this neighborhood called Hatchobori.

Even though it was his first time walking this route home, Aoto had a strange feeling of familiarity because of his memories of "Haruto Aoto".

After turning onto two small roads, Qingdeng stood in front of the door of an ordinary little house.

Before entering, Qingdeng once again scanned his surroundings with a wary look.

Only after confirming that no one was following him did he reach out to pull the door open.

"I am back."

Boom, boom, boom.

As soon as Qingdeng opened the door and entered the small house, he heard footsteps thumping inside.

Then, an elderly man with white hair and beard appeared from the depths of the house.

The man slid to Qingdeng's side in a sliding tackle-like motion, then knelt down and bowed to Qingdeng.

"Young Master, welcome back! Here, please take your sword... Ah! Young Master! What happened to your leg?!"

"It's nothing," Qing Dengchao said with a wry smile. "It's just that we were attacked by the 'Expel the Barbarians' faction again."

This old man's name was Kyubei, and he was the youngest member of Aoto's household.

The term "小者" can be understood as "侍者" (shìzhě), meaning servant or attendant in a samurai's household.