The people climbing up and down on the ceiling looked like they had just come out of a coal mine.

His face, hands, and clothes were all smeared black with dust.

In addition to dust, there were also a lot of spider web residues stuck everywhere on his body.

My body is dirty and I feel extremely uncomfortable. If I go to my room to sleep like this, I will only make the room and the bed dirty.

"Why don't we take a bath again?" Nagakura suggested first.

"I agree!" Harada immediately voted in favor of Nagakura's proposal.

"Is Chihiro House still open now?" Hijikata asked back.

"It's still open." Inoue nodded, "Chihiro House is still open, and it's not time for Chihiro House to close yet."

Kondo and his team, who were all dirty and dirty, couldn't wait to get their bodies clean as soon as possible.

With almost no discussion, everyone reached a consensus - everyone should go to Qianxun House to take a bath again...

…

…

Chihiro House——

The bathing together between myself and Souji tonight came with a mission.

Therefore, Qingdeng did not have the leisure time to wash himself seriously.

After scrubbing his body roughly, he strode through the pomegranate opening connecting the bathtub and the shower room and entered the bathtub.

The air in the bathhouse was filled with thick mist.

Stepping here is like being in a fairyland.

Qingden glanced around and quickly found the figure of Souji - he was sitting in a remote corner of the bath with his back to Pomegranate Mouth and his knees in his arms.

Souji soaked deeply, with the area below his neck submerged under the water, and his chin was close to the water.

Under the cover of the pool water and mist, Souji's body under the water was as hazy as the moon in the water, making it difficult to distinguish his detailed appearance.

After hearing the sound of Qingden passing through the pomegranate mouth, Souji hurriedly turned around and changed his body's orientation from facing away from the pomegranate mouth to precisely facing away from Qingteng.

Qingteng, who was eager to question the Chief, was too lazy... no, it couldn't be said to be "lazy". It should be said that he didn't want to spend more energy to pay attention to the strange behavior of the Chief.

Quietly deducing that Souji was the kind of person who didn't like to be "honest" with others, Qingto strode into the bath and sat cross-legged not far from Souji with his back to back.

"Okita-kun. I think you should also know why I have been pestering you today... How was your conversation with your sister?"

Although Souji occasionally shows his stupid side when doing arithmetic problems and in certain situations, he is generally a person with normal intelligence.

Qingdeng thought to himself: The General Secretary must have guessed the purpose of forcing him to come to the bathhouse to bathe with him in such a tough manner.

Since everyone is understanding, there is no need to go through any twists and turns. Qingdeng went straight to the point and pointed out his purpose of coming.

"Ah, ah ha ha ha ha..."

The general's tone was generally calm, and it could be heard that he was mentally prepared for Qingtohui's question.

After a few dry laughs, the director-general said softly:

"Tachibana-kun, you are so perseverant... In order to ask me this question, you even chased me into the bathhouse..."

"Because I'm worried about you."

Qingdeng said without hesitation.

"I originally didn't want to interfere too much in your housework...but your current state really worries me. You were so dazed today that you hit the wall."

"Did the negotiation between you and your sister... go poorly?"

"..." The director-general fell silent.

Qingteng was not in a hurry and waited patiently for the DG's answer.

Time passes bit by bit...

After a long while, Qingden finally heard the Souji's soft whisper from behind him.

"...Well...it's not going well."

"The day after you found out that my sister was forcing me to give up my swordsmanship, I found my sister and had a serious talk with her."

"I really tried my best to convince my sister."

"In order to impress my sister, I almost took off my clothes and gave her a standard 'full fruit soil seat'."

In Japanese culture, stripping off one's clothes means "I am the same as I am on the outside, and I have absolutely no second thoughts."

"But no matter what I say or do, my sister just can't get enough..."

"Her determination to 'want me to give up my swordsmanship' is as firm as my determination to 'not want to give up my swordsmanship'."

"No one is willing to give in... She and I are very unhappy now..."

The Souji's tone was full of frustration and loss.

"...Okita-kun, actually...you don't need to pay too much attention to your sister's opinion, right?"

Qingdeng couldn't help but said.

"You are you, she is she."

"Since you don't want to give up swordsmanship and want to continue to study swordsmanship in the trial guard hall, then just ignore her and stick to your own opinion."

"No matter how much your sister opposes you learning the sword...could she still be able to tie your hands and feet so that you can no longer hold a sword?"

Wow...

As soon as Qingteng finished speaking, he heard the sound of water being stirred in the pool behind him - this was the sound of Souji hugging his legs tighter.

"That's right..."

Souji buried his head lower, so that the tip of his nose almost touched the water.

"But if possible... I want this incident to end with a result that everyone can be satisfied with..."

"My father died of illness when I was less than 1 year old."

"A few years later, my mother also passed away to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."

"With no father or mother, I was basically raised by my eldest sister."

"To me, she is both my eldest sister and the mother who raised me..."

"I can indeed ignore my sister's opinions and continue to stay in the trial guard hall to study swordsmanship."

Speaking of this, the director-general laughed a few times with a bitter tone.

"But if you do this, sister will definitely be sad..."

"I... don't want to make my sister unhappy..."

Souji's parents died young, and he was brought up by his two older sisters...mainly by Okita Hikaru. Regarding this matter, Aonto had briefly heard about it from Kondo and Hijikata.

Although he knew the specific relationship between Souji and his sister, Aomori underestimated Souji's feelings for his sister.

"I see...I'm sorry, I made a stupid suggestion."

"fine."

The Souji shook his head slightly with a faint smile.

"Next...I plan to continue trying to convince my sister."

"Water droplets can penetrate stone."

"As long as I continue to show my sincerity and determination to 'never put down the sword in my hand' to my sister, maybe I can impress her."

There was an optimistic smile in Souji's voice.

Qingden, who was infected by the smile in the marshal's voice, smiled slightly.

Knowing the outcome of the negotiation between the General Secretary and his sister, a question in his mind was answered... But soon, a new question emerged in Qingdeng's mind.

Scenes of the Souji trying various ways to avoid him today passed quickly before Qingto's eyes.

"Okita-kun, why have you been avoiding me today?"

Qingdeng quickly handed over his new question.

"Even if the negotiation between you and your sister is not going well and the result is hard to tell me, you don't need to avoid me today, right?"

"Well...this, this..."

I wonder if it was Qingdeng’s illusion.

He always felt that there seemed to be a vague sense of tension in Souji Shicai's voice.

Because Qingteng and Souji were sitting with their backs to each other, Qingteng could not notice at this moment that Souji behind him was lowering his already drooped head, as if he wished he could see the whole picture.

It was like his face was buried in the water.

He secretly turned his head and glanced back. The moment his eyes touched Qingdeng's figure, his eyes immediately retracted as if he was electrocuted, and he focused his vision back on the water in front of his chest.
To be continued...