This middle-aged man and woman must have seen that there were still many empty seats around Qingdeng, so they wanted to come over and ask if they could sit down.

The middle-aged man pointed to the seat on Qingteng's right with a very polite gesture... The seat reserved by the Qingteng gang chief was on his left hand side, and there was no one sitting on his right, so Qingteng greeted the polite couple.

The couple smiled slightly:

"The seats here are empty. Please take a seat."

After saying that, Qingdeng moved his body to the left.

"Grateful."

The middle-aged couple bowed slightly, bowed slightly to Qingden, lifted up the hem of their lower body clothes, and sat down with their knees bent.

The middle-aged man is sitting next to Qingden... The light green feather fabric and the burgundy feather fabric complement each other close at hand, forming a strong but natural color contrast.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the hall, blowing the feathers of Qingden and the middle-aged man.

"Gentian leaves" and "Platycodon flowers" are flying in the wind...

——Huh? This person’s right hand...?

Only then did Qingdeng realize that the middle-aged man sitting next to him had a strange skin color on his right hand...

The entire right hand exposed outside the haori was as burnt black as firewood.

At first glance, it looks like it has been scorched by fire.

But if you look closely...it doesn't seem to have anything to do with fire.

Such colors, such textures... reminded Qingden of trees struck by lightning.

Could it be that this man's right hand was struck by lightning?

As soon as this idea popped into Qingdeng's mind, Qingdeng laughed at himself and shook his head to reject it.

Got struck by lightning? Then the grass on this person's grave might be taller than mine!

Qingdeng didn't know the middle-aged man, so although he was very curious about why the middle-aged man's right arm was this color, Qingdeng tolerated his curiosity out of politeness.

After noticing that the middle-aged man's right hand had a different skin color than ordinary people, Qingdeng's gaze had been unconsciously glancing in the direction of the middle-aged man...that is, his own right hand.

It may sound childish, but Qingden really thinks that the middle-aged man's charred right arm looks like it has been struck by lightning... it's a bit cool...

When Qingdeng secretly looked at the middle-aged man's right hand, he unconsciously looked at the middle-aged man carefully from head to toe.

This person can be regarded as a "handsome uncle" for the time being.

Although he is not very handsome in appearance, his figure and temperament are very good.

He has a slender figure without any fat, a calm temperament, and an elegant manner.

This uncle should be a very educated man of letters! Qingdeng thought to himself.

The middle-aged man didn't seem to notice Qingdeng's "peeping" at him. As soon as he sat down, he started chatting with his wife beside him.

"The Trial Guard Hall...seems like nothing has changed."

"Yes, yes." The beautiful woman nodded in agreement. "Although the appearance has not changed, I heard that the Imperial Guard Hall has been developing very well recently. Both its reputation and the number of apprentices are not the same as before."

"Haha..." A trace of reminiscence appeared in the middle-aged man's eyes, and the corners of his slightly raised mouth revealed a...smile full of vicissitudes of life, "This small sect that didn't even have a formal name back then finally finally

It’s also quite stylish.”

Qingdeng, who overheard this conversation between the middle-aged man and his wife, thought to himself:

——It seems... these two people are relatives and friends of Kondo and the others.

Qingdeng only regarded the sudden appearance of the couple as an ordinary incident.

Qingdeng had no intention of eavesdropping on other people's chats. After calming down for a moment, he refocused his attention on the window in front of him, preparing to continue counting the patterns of clouds in the sky outside the window.

However, just as Qingdeng raised his eyes forward, his thoughts were swallowed up by a sudden intervention:

"Mr. Orange!"

Nagacang took three steps in one step and arrived in front of Qingdeng.

"What's the matter?" Qingdeng asked.

"Mr. Tachibana! I can't find my clothes. Have you seen the new black feather fabric I bought a few days ago?"

Nagakura raised his hand and pointed at his upper body, which was not covered with feathers.

"Haori?" Qingden recalled for a moment and shook his head, "I didn't see it. Did you forget your clothes at Chihiro House when you went to take a shower?"

"Impossible. I haven't worn that feathery fabric since I bought it. There's no way it was left in Chihiro House."

After speaking, Nagakura smacked his lips vigorously.

"Tsk...that's really weird...why did it suddenly disappear...I bought this new dress just so that I can wear it better at today's wedding..."

Nagakura raised his hand to scratch his hair and walked away.

Anyway, I have a lot of free time now... Just when Qingteng was thinking about whether to help Nagakura find clothes——

"Tachibana...?"

A muttering full of surprise attracted Qingdeng's attention.

The person who made this muttering...is right in front of me.

Qingden looked in the direction from which the sound came, and saw two pairs of eyes staring straight at him.

"Orange..."

This middle-aged man with a strangely colored right hand looked thoughtful while chewing on Qingdeng's last name.

Then, he half-closed his eyes and stared directly at Qingdeng's face.

"Excuse me - what is your name?" the middle-aged man asked Qingdeng.

"My surname is Ju, and my given name is Qingdeng."

"Oh..." The middle-aged man's eyes flashed with a hint of laughter, and he said with a smile, "You are the nio... I have really admired your name for a long time."

The middle-aged man straightened his waist slightly, turned slightly sideways, and faced Qingdeng. Then he bowed to Qingdeng in a very formal manner, neither humble nor overbearing.

"I'm Goro Komaki. This is my wife: Komaki Town."

"Gui'an." As soon as Goro Komaki finished speaking, the beautiful woman... Azimachi bowed slightly to Aomachi with a smile on her face.

People respect me one foot, and I respect others one foot - this is one of Qingdeng's social principles.

Seeing that Gu Mu and his wife were so polite to him, Qingdeng quickly returned the favor and said modest and polite words to them.

Being recognized by a stranger as the "Benevolent King" who is currently famous... Qingteng has long been used to this kind of thing. How to deal with it and what to say, Qingteng is familiar with it.

After exchanging pleasantries with Gu Mu and his wife, Qingden thought for a moment and asked:

"Mr. Komu, judging from your and Rei's accent...are you from Kyoto?"

As a "Sanchai" Tongxin who often interacts with people of all kinds, Qingdeng is quite familiar with several local dialects that are widely spoken.

Therefore, Qingdeng keenly noticed that both Gu Mu and his wife had a strong "Beijing dialect" in their speech.

As the group in Japan that loves regional blackness and has the most sense of regional superiority, Kyoto people gave the Kyoto dialect an extremely elegant nickname, "Kyoto dialect leaf", in order to show the nobility of Kyoto.

"Jingyanye" is characterized by a slow pronunciation speed and the use of long tones, and the development of honorifics. It is often spoken in jittery words, and the actual meaning is only one word: thank you.

"Oh? You have very good ears." Komaki Goro smiled, "Although my wife and I are not natives of Kyoto, we ran a small Japanese confectionery shop in Kyoto and lived in Kyoto for a long time.

time."

He did not misunderstand the accents of Gu Mu and his wife... Qingdeng was secretly speechless:

"Has my name already spread to Gyeonggi..."

"Hahaha, don't underestimate Kyoto."

Komugoro said calmly.

"Although Kyoto is far less prosperous than Edo and the 'commercial capital' Osaka, it is still one of the largest cities in the country. The speed of circulation of materials and information cannot be underestimated."

"About a month ago, the name 'Nioh' was first spread in Kyoto."

"But the scale of the spread is not too big. I only heard of your name by chance."

"It's strange..."

Having said this, Goro Komaki relaxed the lines on his cheeks, relaxed the corners of his mouth, and gave Qingden a peaceful smile.

"Perhaps it's because this country hasn't had a man of great fame for a long time just relying on the three-foot sword. After I first heard the title of 'Nioh', I inexplicably remembered his deeds and name.

"

"Nioh, you are younger and much more handsome than the rumors say."

"Haha." Qingden smiled, "Mr. Gu Mu, you have given me the award. I don't dare to be considered a man of the hour."

At this time, Qingdeng realized belatedly: His current mood... was so relaxing.

He couldn't explain why, but Qingdeng felt an inexplicable... intimacy towards this uncle Gu Mu.

After chatting with Goro Komaki, my mood became particularly peaceful and gentle without even realizing it.
To be continued...