"At first, we thought it was because the investigation of the murder case was too difficult, and that's why Takahiro was forced to look so depressed."

"Then... one day after that, we suddenly learned that Takayuki appeared in the casino run by the 'Qingshui Clan'..."

"At first, I didn't know what other people thought about this matter. Anyway, I couldn't believe it at all."

"Takazhi has always been a very law-abiding person and has never had any bad habits."

"It's really hard for me to equate the words 'gambling' with Takashi."

"Both I, Zhu Gu, Niushan, and some of Longzhi's other friends have all rushed to dissuade Longzhi, hoping that Longzhi will not go astray. If your family encounters any difficulties, you can ask us for help."

"As a result... Longzhi politely declined our kindness."

"When asked why he wanted to gamble, he only replied: There is no reason, he just suddenly discovered the fun of gambling."

"To be honest, when I heard Longzhi's answer... my heart really dropped."

"After so many years of serving in the monastery, I have seen too many people who fell into the abyss due to temporary obsession."

"At that time, I already regarded Longzhi as an irredeemable person who had fallen into self-destruction."

"But no matter what, Longzhi is my good friend and old subordinate. I can't just sit back and ignore him."

"I joined forces with Inoya and Ushiyama to work together to think of ways to bring Takayuki back on the right path."

"However... before we could figure out the reason, we suddenly received the news that Long Zhi was seriously ill."

"I don't need to elaborate on what happens next."

"Longzhi's fever persisted, he couldn't even speak clearly, he vomited and had diarrhea, and frequently had feces that looked like rice juice."

"The doctor said this is 'tiger-wolf diarrhea'... there is no cure..."

Tiger and wolf dysentery—that is, cholera.

From 1817 to 1826, there was a worldwide cholera epidemic. In 1822, it first landed in Japan via the Korean Peninsula or Java and Tsushima Island.

The Japanese call this disease "tiger-wolf dysentery".

The reason for this name is, firstly, because the symptoms of cholera outbreak are as ferocious as those of tigers and wolves, and secondly, it is rumored that the disease is related to foxes, wolves, and raccoons, and the pronunciation of the three together is "korori".

Homophoned with "tiger and wolf diarrhea".

To be fair, although cholera is extremely contagious, it is not incurable.

Even in the Edo period when medical standards were still very backward, there were ways to treat cholera.

The human body can excrete Vibrio cholerae on its own, so it is only necessary to strictly isolate the patient and quickly replenish the patient with water and electrolytes until the day when the patient excretes Vibrio cholerae on its own.

However, because people in this era lack a correct understanding of cholera, cholera is now recognized in Japan as an incurable disease that cannot be cured by medicine or stone. People talk about tiger and wolf diarrhea.

Cholera is a disease that, if not treated quickly and reliably, can cause severe dehydration and kill in just a few hours...

In other words, after contracting cholera, it does not take half a day from onset to death...

In the fifth year of Ansei (1858), there was a cholera epidemic in Edo. As many as 30,000 to 40,000 people died of cholera in the Edo area alone. Throughout Edo, every household was covered with linen and every household wore mourning.

In the next two years, namely the sixth year of Anzheng (1859) and the seventh year of Anzheng/the first year of Wanyan (1860), cholera recurred again.

Tachibana died of illness in the 6th year of Ansei (1859)...it was completely normal to get cholera in this year.

Not only did Takayuki Tachibana's symptoms match those of cholera, but his time of death also matched the characteristics of cholera - less than a day passed between the onset of illness and his death...

On the last day of his life, Tachibana Takayuki was so weak that he could hardly speak or even move his fingers.

In this way, Tachibana Takayuki didn't even leave a last word until he took his last breath...

"At that time, getting tiger wolf's diarrhea was not a strange thing. Every day you could hear that someone in a certain family had tiger's wolf's diarrhea."

"But I never thought... I would actually see my relatives and friends trapped by this terminal illness."

Arima's words gradually became filled with sadness.

"Longzhi died of illness - I thought that was the end of everything."

"However, one day, just half a month after Longzhi passed away, a letter was stuffed under the door of my house."

Qingdeng's thick eyebrows were raised at the corners of his raised eyes.

"……letter?"

Arima nodded slightly, then stood up and walked to the bookshelf behind him.

He rummaged through the sea of ​​books for a moment, and finally found a yellowed envelope.

Arima handed the envelope to Aoto and motioned for Aoto to take it and read it.

Aoto said softly, "I'm sorry," and then took the envelope from Arima's hand more respectfully than as ordered.

The envelope only contained a piece of clean, new letter paper.

After taking out the letter and unfolding it, Qingdeng's eyes suddenly widened.

"This is……!"

I saw only one simple sentence written on the huge piece of paper——

(Takayuki Takayuki did not die of illness, he was killed by a secret society called the "Fazhu Party")

Execute the party!

Long lost vocabulary...

After the battle with Kamaitachi, Aomori has never interacted with this organization...

Just as Qingtou was stunned, Arima's narration sounded again.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the contents of this letter."

"'The law punishes the party'...this is such an old term..."

When Qingdeng heard this, he couldn't help but frown heavily, and he quickly raised his eyes from the letter in his hand.

"Mr. Arima, before you received this letter, had you ever heard of the name 'Fazun Party'?"

Arima shook his head.

"I don't know much. I have only heard that 60 years ago, a political association called the 'Fazhu Group' emerged in the Keihan area. The members of the organization included scholars, farmers, businessmen, men, women, and children."

"They used the banner of 'following the laws of heaven and earth and punishing traitors and traitors' and called on all the righteous men from all over the world to come together to overthrow the Tokugawa family. They were soon suppressed by the Edo shogunate, and their deeds were never heard of again."

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Chapter completed!