I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

To express his gratitude to Qing and Zhai for saving his granddaughter, Anthony generously gave each of them 80 taels of gold as a thank-you gift!

Eighty taels of gold... This was a considerable sum for Qing Deng, an official who worked in the Fengxing Office and received a high salary.

The 80 taels of silver he received from Anthony were now lying quietly in Qingdeng's arms.

This huge sum of money is undoubtedly a godsend for Qingdeng, who is currently short of funds, making him much more financially secure.

The two "mountains" now weighing on Qingdeng's shoulders—the personal safety of the "radical anti-barbarian faction" and the property safety of Yakuza—have suddenly lessened the pressure on Qingdeng.

"It seems like my luck is starting to turn," Qing Deng couldn't help but think.

Thinking of this, Qingdeng's smile deepened.

……

……

Elodie used to ride in the same car as her grandfather... Anthony.

Now, her best friend Kinoshita Mai has arrived. In order to ride in the same carriage with Kinoshita Mai, Elodie naturally "kicked" Anthony out of the carriage and made Anthony find another carriage to sit in.

So, Anthony, who had been "kicked out" by his granddaughter, had no choice but to share a car with another old man, Kiryu.

Rolling...rolling...rolling...

The sound of the wheels turning continuously entered the carriage where Kiryu and Anthony were riding, where the atmosphere had been deathly silent since earlier.

Kiryu sat with his legs crossed, a faint smile on his face, his hands folded on his lap, looking down at his nose and inward.

Meanwhile, Anthony, sitting opposite him, kept his eyes narrowed and glared angrily at Kiryu.

"...Kiryu, don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

"Explain what?" Kiryu asked Anthony with a smile.

“Yesterday, how could Wu have possibly taken Elodie out of the hotel right under your nose?” Anthony’s voice suddenly rose several octaves. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

"I can't think of any other reason why they could slip away right under your nose, except that you deliberately let them go!"

Looking at Anthony, who was filled with anger, Kiryu's smile deepened.

He raised his hand to adjust the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"Ha... As expected, there's no way I could fool someone like you who knows me inside and out..."

"Yes, you're right. Yesterday, I did indeed turn a blind eye to the young master and the others who sneaked out of the inn."

"Why?" Anthony placed his hands on his thighs, leaned forward slightly towards Kiryu, and demanded quickly, "Why did you deliberately let Elodie and the others leave the inn?!"

“There’s no particular reason,” Kiryu said calmly. “It’s just… I wanted to give the young master a chance to have a good time with her only friend after so long.”

"You should also know how close the young master is to your granddaughter, right?"

“Three months ago, after learning that you were moving your whole family to Edo, the young master was often so excited that he couldn’t sleep, and he kept looking forward to seeing Elodie as soon as possible.”

"Two best friends who are still children reunited after a long separation, but they can only stay in a hotel and can't go anywhere to play - I think that's a bit cruel."

"So yesterday I deliberately let them leave the hotel and go out to play for a while."

After hearing Kiryu's explanation, Anthony looked furious.

"Let them out to play for a while? Kiryu, do you know that because you deliberately let Mai and Elodie sneak out of the inn, they almost had an accident yesterday!"

"An accident?" Kiryu's smile slowly turned into a meaningful one. "Anthony, you're overthinking it."

"I'm not stupid either."

"I wouldn't be so foolish as to let the still-inexperienced young master take Elodie to play in this unfamiliar place alone."

"Do not worry."

“After turning a blind eye to the young master and the others sneaking out yesterday, I have been secretly following behind them and protecting them in secret.”

After saying that, Kiryu raised his hand and untied a long, narrow cloth bag that was placed beside him.

The large cloth bag contained only two items: a brown cloak and a katana.

If Qingdeng were here now, he would definitely find this brown cloak quite familiar.

Because this brown cloak was the very cloak worn by the "cloaked man" he had accidentally bumped into at the Ejima Shrine...

“I noticed a long time ago that a group of people had been secretly following the young master and Elodie.”

"I originally planned to show myself as soon as these ronin started their attack and repel them."

"But who knew—such an unexpected thing happened with Tachibana-kun."

"That's good. Tachibana-kun's sudden appearance has done me a favor by helping me defeat those ronin who were causing trouble for the young master and the others, saving me a lot of trouble."

After listening quietly to Kiryu's explanation, Anthony's expression softened slightly.

"...Hmph." After letting out a heavy snort, Anthony crossed his arms and leaned back against the chair. "That's more like it!"

"If you really just let Elodie and the others leave the hotel yesterday without secretly following and protecting them, then I really wonder if Kiryu, you're too old and have lost your mind!"

"Although I am old, I am still in very good health." Kiryu shrugged.

Anthony, who had his arms tightly wrapped around himself, slowly turned his gaze to another item in the large cloth bag along with the brown cloak: the katana.

This is an ancient sword with a large curve, and both the scabbard and the hilt are black and purple, exuding a rustic aura.

After staring intently at the ancient sword for a long while, Anthony murmured:

"Kiryu...haven't you found someone to inherit your mantle yet?"

"No." Kiryu smiled nonchalantly. "It's a pity that my sword-drawing technique might really be lost."

Anthony's eyes widened slightly in astonishment: "Hey... is this really okay?"

"If your unparalleled sword-drawing technique were lost... that would be such a pity."

“…Let nature take its course.” Kiryu lowered his head, looking at the ancient sword with purple and black stripes beside him, and then gently stroked the sword as if he were stroking his own child. “I used to be anxious because I was worried that the skills would be lost.”

"But now, I've come to terms with it."

"If I haven't found a suitable successor by the time I die, it means my skills will never be passed on."

"Leave everything to fate."

"If one is fortunate enough to find a successor before the end of one's life, that would be the best outcome."

"If I'm not so lucky... then I'm willing to accept that outcome."

Anthony frowned: "...With so many people in this country, there's no shortage of people with exceptional talent in swordsmanship, is there? Can't you find someone with enough talent to inherit your sword-drawing technique?"

"Hmm..." Kiryu closed his eyes and gently shook his head. "When I choose a successor, I don't just look at his swordsmanship talent."

"Not just looking at swordsmanship talent? Then what else do you look at?"

“How should I put it…” Kiryu smiled and looked out the window, “Just as you said, the world has never lacked those exceptional talents with extraordinary swordsmanship.”

"Therefore, I hope that my successor will not only possess outstanding swordsmanship talent, but also some... more interesting talents."

“'More interesting talents? What do you mean...?’

"Hahaha." Kiryu laughed loudly, "I don't know how to explain it to you either, but my successor has to be 'interesting' enough!"

"...The thoughts of you great swordsmen are truly hard to understand," Anthony sighed impatiently.

*******

*******

Chapter 3 complete! A total of 1 words in total!

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Chapter 72 On the Eve of the Storm, a Great Battle Is About to Begin! (Part 1)

The weather was fine on the first day the convoy left Fujisawa-juku.

But the weather suddenly turned bad the next day.

Before dawn, thick, dark clouds filled the space between the sky and the earth.

Around 10 a.m., heavy snow began to fall.

A biting, icy wind whipped up the falling snowflakes, sending them swirling through the air.

More and more snowflakes fell, swirling into a chaotic mass, turning the view into a gray blur.

Although the carriage could barely withstand the heavy snow and cold wind, the guards, led by Komuro, were not capable of enduring such a blizzard with their mortal bodies.

Anthony could not possibly treat the guards his friend Osaka Castle had lent him as slaves.

Therefore, Anthony had no choice but to stop the convoy and wait for the snowstorm to stop before continuing.

But when Qingdeng and his group had to stop due to the wind and snow—

Shh...shh...shh...

On a high slope some distance from Qingdeng and his convoy, the sounds of snow being rubbed and trampled echoed.

Two samurai, wearing straw hats and raincoats, lay prone on this high ground.

The two men's clothing and swords had been "dyed" white by the swirling snow.

They kept their eyes fixed on Qing Deng and his convoy in the distance, only moving their bodies and shaking off the snow when they were almost buried alive by the swirling snow.

Upon noticing that Qing Deng and the others' convoy seemed to have stopped, the two immediately opened their eyes wide and stared intently at the convoy's movements.

After confirming that the convoy had indeed stopped, the two men looked at each other in dismay.

After exchanging glances and gestures, one of them stayed on the hill to keep an eye on the convoy, while the other tightened his straw hat and raincoat and got up to leave.

The samurai rose and ran off, his legs outstretched, towards the distant woods...

……

……

Inside the woods, Suehiro knelt on the ground with his eyes closed, his hands clasped together, a string of prayer beads hanging from them. His lips moved as he softly chanted Buddhist scriptures.

His favorite gun, the Windbreaker, was placed beside him.

In front of him, on a large rock about half a person's height, stood a Buddha statue nearly 30cm tall.