"Cold water~! Cool water~! Cold and sweet cold water~!"

"Grilled eel! Freshly grilled grilled eel! Come and smell it! How fragrant the eel is!"

"As long as your sandbag throws anything, that thing becomes yours!"

"Oh~ Sir, your arms are so strong!"

…

Before reaching the boundary where Ryogoku Bridge can be seen, the dense flow of people and noisy voices surrounded Qingdeng with an overwhelming sense of presence.

Aoto had anticipated in advance that as the most popular public event in Edo throughout the year, the fireworks display would attract as many tourists as the sand in the Ganges.

However... even though he had made thorough psychological preparations, Qingdeng couldn't help but be shocked after he came to the Ryogoku Bridge in person and saw the real flow of people at the conference.

You can even see the Ryogoku Bridge, but there are only so many people... Qingto can no longer imagine how terrible the flow of people will be after entering the core area of ​​the conference.

Tonight, God is good.

At this moment, just when the moon has just risen, the white sky is hanging high on the other side of the dark blue night.

The bright moonlight slanting down casts the shadows of the row of houses on the left on the spacious rammed earth road trampled into a solid surface by thousands of pedestrians' feet, and on the heads and shoulders of the tourists.

The storefronts of a row of shops on the right, as well as Qing Deng who was walking on the right side of the street, were bathed in bright colors.

Qingdeng carefully avoided the crowd and pushed forward inch by inch. At the same time, he took out an exquisite Western pocket watch from his arms, pushed the dial open with a click, and checked the current time.

This Western watch is a good watch that Qingtou bought for him some time ago from Rintaro Katsu.

Since getting this pocket watch, Qingdeng's life has become much more convenient. He no longer has to rely on the sky to guess what time it is.

——19:15...

After confirming the time, Qingdeng closed the pocket watch and stuffed it back into his arms.

In order not to be late, Qingdeng went out early tonight.

There are still 15 minutes left before the agreed meeting time with Mai Kinoshita... quite enough time, even if it means climbing, there is enough time to climb to the meeting place.

Qingdeng, who was in a relaxed mood, walked forward at a leisurely pace.

After a while, he arrived at the meeting place agreed with Kinoshita Mai - under a quite conspicuous cherry blossom tree, whose branches were all dry because it was not in bloom yet.

Qingdeng's eyes swept along the tree trunks and found no familiar figures.

Thinking that Mai Kinoshita might not have arrived yet, he stood silently under the tree, arms folded in front of his chest, quietly waiting for the beauty to arrive.

"Hey...look at that person."

"What happened to that man?"

"That person is the 'Nioh'...!"

"Is he the 'Nioh' Tachibana Aoden?"

"Well, I can't possibly admit my mistake."

"My body is much thinner than I thought... I thought that a samurai who could bear the name of 'Nioh' must be tall and thick."

"Why doesn't he shave his head? His current hair style is so ugly and lifeless."

…

While waiting for Kinoshita Mai to arrive, Qingto could hear such small discussions coming from around him from time to time.

These people thought that their voices were very small, but they did not realize that Qingden, who had the "perceiver of wind", heard everything they said.

Qingdeng has long been accustomed to this situation of being recognized when walking on the street and becoming the talk of passers-by.

Just don't disturb him - this is Qingdeng's only request to the passers-by who recognize him outdoors.

Although many people around him had noticed Qingdeng, no one came forward to talk to Qingdeng. They all just stood aside and looked at Qingdeng from a distance, making comments and gossiping about Qingdeng in small voices.

That's good.

Qingdeng thought that this would be good.

As long as you don't annoy him or disturb him, you can talk about anything and everything.

However, at this moment...

"Huh? Isn't this Mr. Tachibana?"

Suddenly, a young male voice with a hint of surprise came from behind Qingdeng.

Listening to this male voice, Qingdeng's expression suddenly changed slightly.

"..." Qingdeng had a sullen face and slowly turned around without saying a word.

Behind him, three young warriors were seen striding toward him in a "pin"-shaped formation.

The man in charge had a ferocious scar on his face that completely destroyed the original beauty of his face.

The two young warriors walking on the left and right sides of Scar's face had nothing worth mentioning in terms of facial features and appearance. Their appearance and figure were all ordinary, and they were the kind of people who would be hard to find if they were lost in a busy city.

Such people...but their footsteps, swings of their arms, and eyes caught Qingdeng's attention.

His steps are solid and powerful, his arms are swinging vigorously, and his eyes are sharp... You can tell at a glance that he is a diligent practitioner of martial arts.

It was summer, and everyone was dressed very coolly...Scarface and others were no exception.

They all wore thin yukata, and in order to keep their bodies cooler, they even lifted the hem of the yukata and tucked it into their belts.

The way Scarface and others dress directly exposes all the vicious tattoos on their necks, arms, chests and calves.

After the passers-by saw the tattoos on Scarface and others, they quickly ran away towards the street with sudden expressions on their faces.

Wherever Scarface and the others went, people dispersed like waves.

The dense flow of people magically created a vacuum zone with Scarface as the center.

Suddenly, this "vacuum zone" moved in front of Qingdeng.

"Mr. Tachibana! Good evening!"

With a gentle smile on his face, the scarred face greeted Qingdeng warmly.

"Long time no see! How are you doing?"

This Scarface... is an acquaintance of Qingdeng.

This person is none other than Yakuza from the "Shimizu Clan" who was previously responsible for collecting debts owed by Qingto and his family!

Qingdeng never knew this person's name before.

It wasn't until a while ago that Qingto accidentally learned that the scar-faced man's surname was Sasaki.

"...Why are you here?"

Qingteng did not respond to Scarface...that is, Sasaki's greetings.

While asking Sasaki this question in an indifferent tone, Qingden thought to himself:

——Why did these guys show up again...

In the past few months, people from the "Qingshui Clan" were like psoriasis that couldn't be shaken off, appearing in front of Qingdeng from time to time.

Ever since the "Qingshui Clan" suddenly canceled the debts of their Tachibana family, the "Qingshui Clan" people have often sent people to contact Qingteng and get close to Qingteng.

For example, two months ago, when Qingteng was hospitalized in Renyitang to recuperate from injuries sustained after the decisive battle with the anti-barbarian group, the "Qingshui Clan" sent someone to visit him.

Faced with the overtures of the "Qingshui Clan", Qingteng has always adopted a perfunctory and ignoring attitude.

He doesn't want to have anything to do with the people of the "Qingshui Clan"!

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the reason why the "Shimizu Clan" is suddenly so enthusiastic about Aotomo is probably to develop a good relationship with Aotomo, who has become a rising star in Edo politics.

Qingden, who was not blind, knew what the "Qingshui Clan" wanted...but he just didn't want to accept their favor.

Affected by the education he received since childhood and the professional inertia in his previous life, Qingdeng has never been very fond of these evil forces.

What's more, in terms of their bad style, lawlessness, and cruel behavior, Yakuza groups like the "Qingshui Clan" are much more terrifying than those modern extreme forces!

*******

*******

It is definitely impossible to spend the fireworks display in Qingdeng calmly.

The new January is here! Please give me your guaranteed monthly votes! From today on, the author will double the number of words! If you have monthly votes on hand, please be sure to vote for this book!

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PS: Ever since the Yakuza forces headed by the "Shimizu Clan" came on the scene, I have always seen comments like this:

[Qingdeng is an official, so when facing these Yakuza, why not attack them with a lower dimension? Just accuse the other party of any crime, and then kill them all. This can not only uphold justice, but also gain credit for himself. 】

What should I say... When I first saw such comments, I was so shocked that I was dumbfounded.

Because this kind of comment is so stupid, I don’t even know how to reply...

I think: People who can make such comments must be little kids who are not deeply involved in the world.
Chapter completed!