"Cough, cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!"

Without any warning, Kikuchi Sensui suddenly coughed violently, with such force that it seemed as if he was going to vomit out his lungs.

"Mr. Kikuchi, are you okay?"

Qingdeng asked quickly.

"No, it's okay..."

Even though Kikuchi Sensui said so, he still coughed ten more times before he slowly stopped coughing.

"It's just...an alcohol addiction..."

After laughing a few times, Kikuchi Qiansui continued to take deep breaths to smooth out his breath.

While taking a deep breath, he put his hands on his legs and pinched the dirty culottes with his fingers.

Although his little move was very subtle, it still did not escape Qingdeng's eyes.

Qingtou could tell at a glance that Kikuchi Sensui squeezed her hakama tightly to hide her trembling hands and feet.

At this moment, Kikuchi Sensui's limbs were shaking uncontrollably as if he had received an electric shock. If he hadn't squeezed his hakama tightly and endured it, his limbs would have been shaking even more violently.

When Qingdeng saw this, his heart sank.

Kikuchi Sensui's alcohol addiction is much more serious than he imagined...

Qingden has seen many people who are addicted to alcohol.

However, this was the first time he had seen someone as addicted to alcohol as Kikuchi Sensui...

Kikuchi Sensui's appearance at this time is a very typical withdrawal symptom of alcohol addicts - delirium tremens, which is an acute reaction that occurs after alcohol dependants stop drinking alcohol, and can even be fatal. It is generally seen in heavy drinkers who suddenly

After stopping drinking, obvious autonomic nervous system disorders such as tachycardia, fever, and enlarged pores appeared.

In severe cases, dangerous symptoms such as limb tremors, confusion, disordered behavior, and auditory and visual hallucinations may occur.

Under the pressure of alcohol addiction, Kikuchi Sensui no longer bothered to cover his trembling hands and feet, and he quickly reached out to touch his legs.

It was only then that Qingden discovered that there was a medium-sized hole dug in the floor next to Kikuchi Sensui's legs.

Presumably, he hid the drinks in this hole.

Kikuchi Qiansui impatiently put his hand into the hole, but found nothing.

When he took his hand back in embarrassment, he cast a hopeful look at Qingden:

"Tachibana-kun...I'm sorry...can...can you buy me a few bottles of wine...? Soju, sake, rice wine...any kind of wine...if you don't take a few sips quickly...I don't have any."

Strength speaks for itself..."

What Kikuchi Sensui said was not a lie.

For people like him who are severely addicted to alcohol, if they stop drinking, not only will their physical functions be severely affected, but their lives may also be in danger.

It's sad to say... Everyone knows that excessive drinking is harmful to the body, especially alcohol addicts like Kikuchi Senmi. If they don't strictly control their alcohol intake, they will just commit suicide slowly, but their lives are highly bound to alcohol.

It is certain that their dependence on alcohol can no longer be overcome by willpower alone...

For them, alcohol is the best life partner and a good medicine for their illnesses - even though this good medicine is actually a slow-acting poison...

"……I see."

Ayoto grabbed the bamboo hat by his legs and stood up slowly with Echizenzumi Tsunarukumaru.

"Mr. Kikuchi, if you bear with me a little longer, I will buy you a drink now."

Qingden put on his bamboo hat and turned around to leave.

"Mr. Tachibana, wait a moment."

Sazhong took a step across, blocking Qingden's path.

"Just leave this kind of errands to me and Yae."

Qingden shook his head gently.

"No, you two sisters stay here, I'll come back as soon as I can."

Before he finished speaking, Qing Deng took three steps at a time and stepped out of the earth.

As soon as Qingden stepped out of the house, the fresh air on his back surrounded him with an overwhelming sense of presence.

The stench inside the house and the freshness outside form a perfect contrast.

It has to be said that human beings are really adaptable.

It was obvious that up until just now, Qingden had been "tortured" by the stench in Kikuchi Sensui's house to the point of almost vomiting.

But now, his body has become accustomed to the stench without even realizing it.

Suddenly returning from the "demon world" to the "normal world", Qingdeng felt an inexplicable feeling of being in another world.

Qingdeng lowered his head and strode forward along the road he came from.

Suddenly, a familiar old male voice stopped him.

"Oh! Master Samurai! It's you! Have you found Kikuchi Sensui's home?"

Qingdeng turned around to look - it turned out to be the old man who showed them the way before.

"Well, thanks to you, we finally found Kikuchi Sensui's home. Sir, you came just in time. Do you know where I can buy wine?"

"Buying wine? If you go straight along this road, you can see a grocery store, and you can buy wine there. However, the wine sold in that grocery store is some very unpleasant and bad wine.

You can’t buy good wine here in Haramachi.”

"Shall we go straight along this road...Okay, I understand. Thank you, sir."

"Ho ho ho, no need to thank you, it's just a little effort."

Before he finished speaking, the old man seemed to have remembered something. He raised his hand, gently twirled the gray beard on his chin, and looked at Qingdeng with curious eyes.

"Master Samurai, look at your appearance... you don't seem to be Kikuchi's creditor. Although I don't know what the relationship between you and Kikuchi is, I would like to advise you: don't get involved with that guy."

Qingden raised his eyebrows.

"You have nothing to do with Kikuchi Qiansui? Why do you say that?"

The old man sighed.

"Alas...where should I start?...Kikuchi...after his wife committed suicide, his mind became abnormal. He drinks alcohol all the time, and often talks nonsense that makes people confused.

"

"suicide?"

Qingdeng couldn't help but be startled.

Before Kikuchi Sensui's alcohol addiction broke out, he happened to talk about his wife's past.

(Although I was not rich after my marriage to Aqi, I felt sincerely happy. However... this happiness only lasted until 3 years ago... when that damn broken medicine appeared...!)

Kikuchi Sensui's past is far from as simple as I expected... Qingto thought to himself.

"...Old man, why did Kikuchi Sensui's wife commit suicide? Can you tell me in detail?"

"Well... it's possible, but it happened so long ago that I can't remember many of the details clearly."

"It doesn't matter, you can tell me as much as you remember."

"That's it...okay then."

The old man twirled his beard, thought for a moment, and then said slowly:

"This matter... we have to start talking about it three years ago."

3 years ago...it was this time again... Qingdeng's eyes narrowed and he listened more carefully.

"Aqi...ah, Kikuchi Qianshui's wife has a sister named Aden."

"Three years ago, Aden sneaked away to Edo because she couldn't bear her husband's domestic violence and stayed at her sister's house."

"Although they are biological sisters from the same mother, Aqi and Aden have a very bad relationship."

"I have had the honor to meet Aqi and Aden several times. Their personalities are quite different. The older sister is quiet, while the younger sister is lively."

"In short, Aqi took Aden in for the sake of sisterhood."

"Then... Kikuchi and his family never stopped."

"Aqi and Aden quarreled every now and then."

"One moment, Aqi complained that Aden was uncultivated, and the other moment, Aden complained that Aqi was too lenient."

"They even almost got into a fight several times. Fortunately, every time they were about to fight, Kikuchi was there and stopped them in time. Otherwise, God knows what kind of tricks they could have done."

"This kind of environment of 'a small quarrel every day and a big quarrel every three days' is a kind of torture for everyone."

"So not long after, Aqi unceremoniously ordered Arden to leave her home and find a new place to live."

"Aden was not familiar with the place in Edo. Apart from her sister Aqi and her brother-in-law Kikuchi, she had no other acquaintances in Edo, and she had no money. If she couldn't stay in Kikuchi and Aqi's home,

Then she will have no choice but to sleep on the street."
To be continued...