Qingdeng shrugged, smiled slightly, and told the truth straightforwardly.

"Information is extremely lacking. In short, let's try to contact the person who captured Otsuki Tsuneji - the Yakuza named Kitahara Konosuke. After contacting him, we can take a closer look."

"Take a step and take it one step at a time..." Sanako muttered softly, with a look of thought in his eyes.

Almost in an instant, the "thinking" in Sanako's eyes changed into the "firmness" of having made up his mind.

"Tachibana-kun, I will go with you to rescue Mr. Otsuki."

"You want to go with me?"

Qingden was shocked.

Sanazi nodded and said:

"I'm also a member of the Chiba family. Even Yakuza from the 'Qingshui Clan' doesn't dare to be too presumptuous in front of me. With my company, I should be able to help you more or less."

Although the "Qingshui Clan" would probably not attack Qingden, who currently has a prominent official status, superior strength and lofty reputation.

But no matter what, the "Qingshui Clan" is also an extremely evil organization that does all kinds of evil.

When dealing with Yakuza organizations...it's better to be cautious.

Qingteng didn't want Sanako to go into danger with him, so he was ready to refute Sanako "don't follow" without thinking.

But as soon as Qingden opened his mouth, his entire lips and tongue froze.

All the prepared words and sentences were stuck in my throat.

The reason for this was all because he saw the strong and determined will in Sanako's beautiful eyes.

Ayoto is very familiar with Sanako's temperament.

Once this female warrior, who acts vigorously and resolutely, shows this kind of look...or makes up her mind, even if she sends out ten cows, she won't be able to pull her back.

Qingden, who knew that he could not persuade Sanako to change his mind now even if he tried to break his words, twitched the corner of his mouth with complicated emotions.

After a long or short period of time passed, Qingdeng let out a helpless sigh.

"Okay...if you want to follow me, just come. Remember, after entering the territory of the 'Qingshui Clan', don't leave me too far, and be vigilant."

"snort."

Sanako chuckled softly and smiled sweetly.

This charming smile conveys this message to Qingnobo: Who do you think I am? I am the 'Oni Komachi': Chiba Sanako!

…

…

Qingden left the tea house with his two daughters.

As I passed the front counter of the tea house, I happened to bump into the tea house's shopkeeper: a fat man with nearly half gray hair.

The shopkeeper looked at Sanako, and then at Otsuki Minoru, whose eyes would take at least two days to swell. The fat face was instantly pulled up by the corners of the mouth, and the cheeks were filled with smiles.

pleats.

Then, he turned his attention to Qingdeng - looking at Qingdeng who looked as usual and his body was intact, he opened his mouth wide, and while showing a dumbfounded expression, he cast a look full of doubt and surprise at Qingdeng.

.

Qingdeng looked at the shopkeeper with a strange look on his face.

I don't know if it was Qingdeng's illusion... He always felt that the shopkeeper looked at him, as if asking him: Why are you okay?

Sanako, who knew why the shopkeeper looked at them with such an expression, silently lowered his head and pulled down the wind-shielding scarf on his forehead, using the scarf to block the pale pink cherry blossoms rising up to his cheeks at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It's a pity that Qingden was walking in front of Sanako at the moment and didn't have the opportunity to witness this beautiful scenery that is rarely seen in ordinary times.

…

…

That night--

Edo, somewhere——

The snow today stopped around 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

Thanks to the blowing snow that had fallen for most of the day, a thick layer of snow accumulated on the streets of Edo.

At this moment, just as the people were falling asleep one after another.

The thick clouds that blocked the moonlight made the dark night appear even darker.

Except for the vast sea of ​​lights of Yoshiwara, the "city that never sleeps" on Japan Embankment in the distance, and the faintly trembling lights of scattered lights in a few individual houses, every place up and down Edo looked shadowy.

Because tonight is a moonless night, the light is so bad that I can't see my fingers.

Qingteng had no choice but to hold a lantern to light the way for Sanako and Otsuki Minoru who were following closely behind him.

In the entire street, only Qingdeng and others who were slowly walking forward still had light.

The orange candlelight bleakly illuminated the feet of the three people. Wherever the light did not hit, there was a thick darkness like a monster.

Qingdeng and his party were currently heading to the casino, which was commonly known as "Ren House" by people on the road.

This casino is an industry run by a high-ranking official of the "Shimizu Clan" named Kitahara Konosuke.

It is reported that Konosuke Kitahara stays at Renya almost every night.

Ayoto and the others are now looking for Kitahara Konosuke in the house.

Pasha, pasha, pasha...

If they didn't take a step forward, the thick snow would deeply bury the ankles of Qingdeng and others.

This feeling of having one foot deep and one foot shallow, making walking extremely laborious... is really uncomfortable.

"ha……"

Suddenly, Qingdeng heard the sound of breathing coming from the right rear.

"Miss Sanako, are you okay?"

Qingdeng's words "Are you okay?" naturally refer to "Are you cold?"

"Um."

Sanako rubbed his palms and answered honestly:

"Except for my hands being a little cold, everything else is fine."

In order to be on guard against emergencies such as "conflicts with the Yakuza of the 'Shimizu Clan'", Sanako specially changed into a "female warrior outfit" - that is, she put on a kendo uniform that was not easy to get in the way and put on her supple threesome.

Thousands of blue hair is tied into a neat and light high ponytail at the back of the head.

As we all know, Sanako has two "forms".

"Yamato Nadeshiko form" wearing a kimono and bun.

The "female warrior form" wearing kendo uniform and ponytail.

The former is gentle and elegant, while the latter is heroic.

Women's hairstyles of this era, whether it was the Shimada bun often worn by unmarried girls, the round bun often worn by married women, or any other hairstyle, Qingto was not very fond of it.

Therefore, although Sanako looks beautiful no matter what hairstyle she wears, in terms of personal preference, Aoto still prefers Sanako with her hair in a high ponytail.

Because of this preference, Qingto couldn't help but look at Sanako a few more times with a smile before slowly looking away.

call!

A night wind carrying dry and cold air blew towards Qingdeng and others.

The light and shadow swayed, and the clothes fluttered.

"Well……"

Otsuki Minoru crossed her arms and took two quick steps to stand closer to Aonto holding a lantern - not only because her body was cold and she wanted to be close to warm objects, but also because the changes in the surrounding street scene had brought a great impact on her.

She felt uncomfortable, and being close to Qingdeng made her feel somewhat at ease.

The casino named Anya was located in a very famous slum in Edo.

As Qingdeng and his party got closer and closer to Ren's house, the surrounding houses and roads gradually began to undergo a progressive change.

The houses on both sides of the road are becoming more and more dilapidated. Some have no doors, no walls, and no roofs.

What is also becoming more and more dilapidated is the ground beneath our feet.

The bumpy and extremely uneven road forced Qingdeng and his party to concentrate and put more attention on their feet to prevent them from stepping into potholes covered by snow and tripping over bumps on the ground.

land.

The air is filled with an unpleasant smell that is a mixture of human body odor and the putrid odor of decaying items.

From time to time, you can see some homeless people on the street.

It would be fatal to sleep outside in this cold weather - but they had no choice.

Sleeping under a roof - this is a matter of course for many people, but in the eyes of these poor people, it is a luxury they only dare to dream about.
To be continued...