It's night——

Edo, Kenmachi, 1-chome, Sendai 5, Oto-cho house——

"Well...it's so cold..."

Miyagawa Toshizo was already asleep.

Astonishingly, he suddenly felt a wave of icy coldness wrapping around his whole body like vines.

The cold feeling, like needles pricking the skin, directly brought Miyagawa Shunzou's consciousness back to reality from dreamland.

He slowly raised his eyelids, turned his head sideways, and looked toward the window.

Outside the window, I saw a deep ink color, with countless crystal snowflakes intertwined, dotting the night.

The cold north wind picked up the falling snow flakes and flew all over the sky, rolling them into a mess.

"No wonder it's so cold, it turns out it's snowing..."

Miyagawa Toshizo gave a wry smile, lifted the quilt on his body, and stood up.

After leaving the warm bed, he suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

He shivered several times, and while enduring the severe cold, he ran to the window sill in three steps and two steps at a time, closing the wide open window as quickly as possible.

"I actually forgot to close the window... Haha... It seems I'm really old..."

After finishing speaking, Miyagawa, with a look of helplessness on his eyebrows, let out a long sigh.

After laughing at himself like this, he threw the closed window behind him and prepared to return to bed and sleep.

However... just at the moment when he turned around, he suddenly realized something and froze in place.

Because he was sleepy and his mind was confused, he didn't realize it until now - that's wrong... the window in my room... wasn't always closed?

At almost the same time that Miyagawa Shunzou suddenly woke up, a calm male voice without sadness or joy sounded from behind him:

"Mr. Miyagawa."

Miyagawa was frightened by this sudden call.

"who?!"

He turned around in horror.

Although he tried his best to control it, he still couldn't hide his panic.

Such actions and reactions are like a cat whose tail has been stepped on.

"Mr. Miyagawa, don't be nervous, it's me."

Under Miyagawa's watchful gaze, the darkness in the corner near the window sill "squirmed" - and in the blink of an eye, a tall figure slowly walked out of it.

Looking at this mysterious and uninvited guest in front of him, Miyagawa blinked, his eyes full of vigilance.

However, in just a blink of an eye, the vigilance in Miyagawa's eyes "crumbled".

Although the surrounding environment was very dark, due to the close distance, Miyagawa could barely see the appearance of the person in front of him.

The moment he saw the face of the visitor clearly, the panic on Miyagawa's face turned into disbelief.

"Tachibana...kun...?"

Due to his excessive shock, Miyagawa's voice was unconsciously lengthened into a strange intonation.

He raised his hands, rubbed his eyes vigorously, and repeatedly confirmed his vision.

"Tachibana-kun, is it really... you?"

The uncontrollable emotion made Miyagawa's tone filled with uncontrollable joy.

Although they haven't seen each other for nearly 2 years, the other person's height, appearance... everything is consistent with Miyagawa's impression and memory!

"Mr. Miyagawa, you did not admit your mistake. It is really me. Long time no see."

The uninvited guest... Aomori smiled at Miyagawa Toshizo.

"Mr. Miyagawa, please keep your voice down. If it attracts the attention of others outside the room, it will be difficult for me."

After saying that, Qingden stretched out his hand and made a "please sit down" gesture towards Miyagawa.

Although he didn't know why the "missing" Qingteng suddenly appeared in his bedroom, Miyagawa still obeyed Qingteng's words and did it truthfully.

He grabbed the cotton clothes neatly stacked next to the quilt, put it on himself hastily, and then sat down cross-legged without caring about the coldness of the tatami.

Qingto sat directly opposite Miyagawa.

Miyagawa looked at Qing Teng carefully from head to toe with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Jijun, you..."

Miyagawa paused for a moment, as if thinking about the appropriate wording.

Suddenly, he sighed, and then slowly said with emotion:

"You have changed so much..."

Qingdeng smiled and said:

"Mr. Miyagawa, you are joking. But we haven't seen him for two years, what will change?"

Miyagawa shook his head.

"No, you have really changed a lot."

"Although I can't tell exactly what has changed about you, I can just feel that you are no longer the Wu Xia Amon you used to be."

Speaking of this, Miyagawa seemed to have recalled something and smiled to himself.

"I feel ashamed to say it... It was only about three months ago in Nara that I heard that a 'nioh' with superb swordsmanship and invincibility was born in Edo."

"When I learned that Nioh's real name was Tachibana Aoden, I couldn't believe my ears."

"Although I have known for a long time that you, a late-maturing personality, will be successful sooner or later, but I didn't expect you to be so promising..."

"At this moment, after seeing your majestic appearance with my own eyes, I am convinced that you are indeed a 'dragon that changes when encountering a storm'..."

"Hahaha, but this is nothing surprising."

"The birth of a hero depends not only on personal ability, but also on destiny and circumstances."

"When the time comes, the clouds will rise and the dragons will fly."

"Liu Bang in the Han Dynasty and Taige in the Warring States Period were all like this."

"Without the help of the times, both Liu Bang and Duke Taige could only spend their lives in obscurity in a corner where no one cares about them."

Lord Taikaku, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who unified all of Japan as a commoner 300 years ago and ended the warring states, but unfortunately was eventually picked by Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Miyagawa Shunzou had a profound knowledge of Sinology, so he spoke with a eloquent tongue and picked up all kinds of allusions from past and present.

Faced with Miyagawa's unstinting praise, Qingto's face showed neither elation nor fear.

He just smiled faintly:

"I have never changed. If I have to say, I have become stronger."

Looking at Qingden, who was neither humble nor arrogant, a trance flashed through the depths of Miyagawa's eyes.

After a while, he regained his composure and murmured:

"If Longzhi could see you like you now, he would definitely be very happy..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Miyagawa immediately reacted: It was really rude to mention his late father for no reason in front of the other party.

"Sorry, Mr. Tachibana, I was rude."

Qingdeng shook his head and said "don't worry".

"Mr. Miyagawa, what a coincidence. I have taken the liberty of visiting you tonight just because I want to talk to you about my father."

"Talk about Takayuki?"

Miyagawa cast a surprised look at Qingnobu.

"Mr. Miyagawa, I will keep the story short."

"For some reason that I cannot say, I am currently investigating my father's past."

"Due to the lack of information, I came here to inquire about you, who has a close relationship with my father."

"I know that my request would be too rude and forceful...but I still hope that you can answer every question I ask truthfully."

Investigating Tachibana Takayuki's past? The more Miyagawa listened, the more confused he became.

However, even though he was confused and confused, Miyagawa did not raise any doubts or objections to Qingto's request.

He raised his gaze and looked at Qingden who was looking straight at him.

"...I understand. Just ask! Any questions that I can answer, I will answer with all my heart!"

“I can’t thank you enough.”

Qingden bent down, bowed to Miyagawa to thank him, and then without further delay, asked directly:
To be continued...