This question has been hidden deep in Qingdeng's heart for a long time.

Tachibana Takayuki, Onodera...why would they do something that is useless to them?

In this society where classes are extremely rigid, unless there is help from noble people, even if you succeed in conquering the sky, your official career will still be troubled.

Even Aoshinobu, who was extremely talented and accomplished many new achievements, was able to rise rapidly in the officialdom because he was favored by Tokugawa Iemo and Tenshoin.

Even if Tachibana Takayuki succeeds in exposing the despicable deeds of the Shimizu clan and the Pazhu Party, he will probably only be able to get a little salary increase and be promoted from the same position to his own strength, but no more.

As for Onodera... whether the secret drug is exposed or not is related to his future.

He is a cadre of the Qingshui clan.

If the Qingshui clan is injured or falls, it will only do harm to him, but no good.

No matter which angle you think about it, Tachibana Takayuki and Onodera's insistence on investigating the mysterious medicine is a very puzzling thing...

In fact, Aoto's question was not only asking Onodera, but also asking himself.

Because... the person who is currently investigating the secret medicine is also a reckless person who is throwing himself into stupid things that have "only disadvantages and no benefits"?

To be honest, Qingdeng is not sure why he is so obsessed with the magic medicine.

To avenge the Kanazawa brothers and sisters?

It seems so, but not entirely.

After listening to Qingnobo's question, Onodera did not answer immediately.

He lowered his eyelids and a smile gradually appeared on his cheeks.

"Well... didn't you just... find a wakizashi in that thatched hut... The words engraved on the stem of the wakizashi... are answers..."

Qingden was stunned for a moment, then whispered softly:

"Destroy evil spirits..."

Onodera nodded slightly:

"Yes...'Evil Ghost Killing'..."

"I'm not a good person...and I don't dare to claim 'discovery of conscience'..."

"But...selling such dangerous drugs to the world...this really breaks my bottom line..."

"The Rakshasa and others who did such an act are simply the incarnation of evil spirits..."

"Tachibana Takayuki and I...neither want money...nor fame...just want to kill these evil spirits...that's all..."

Speaking of this, Onodera suddenly paused as if recalling something.

"Ah...I almost forgot to say..."

"Tachibana-kun...if you have a chance...you can go back to the thatched house...and dig out the relics left by Tachibana Takayuki..."

"Takayuki Takayuki... he buried a large wooden box... in the southeast corner of the thatched house... There were a total of... 9 knives hidden in the box...!"

"These 9 fighting swords... and the wakizashi you just found... are all Tachibana Takayuki... prepared to use... as a last resort... to fight the Qingshui clan and the Hoshi Party... to the death.

…”

"It's a pity...in the end...I couldn't use them either..."

"Takayuki Takayuki considered that... if he took these swords to fight... after he died in the battle... the people of the Qingshui clan and the Pazhu Party... might use the name and production time of the sword maker recorded on the blade stem...

... Follow the diagram to find trouble with the knife maker..."

"So...in order to avoid involving the knife maker...when Tachibana Takayuki commissioned the knife maker to make these knives...he prohibited the knife maker from recording the name of the maker...and the time of production..."

"Instead, engrave his ambition: to destroy evil spirits..."

"Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!"

Onodera coughed violently again.

This time, he vomited a large amount of dark, turbid blood, as well as some internal organ fragments.

"Oops... my eyes... seem to be getting harder and harder to see clearly..."

Onodera's eyes seemed to be out of focus, staring blankly into the void ahead.

"Hahahaha...I finally...reached my limit..."

His neck seemed to have lost all bones, and his head was leaning against the rock wall behind him in boredom.

"As expected... I'm still so unwilling..."

"I really want to...witness with my own eyes...the demise of the magic medicine..."

He raised his trembling right hand, grasped and groped repeatedly in mid-air, as if he was looking for something.

Looking at this scene, Qingto knew clearly in his heart: Onodera's time has come...

"Mr. Onodera..."

He instinctively wanted to say something to send this respectable brave man on his last journey.

At this time, he suddenly remembered a certain book he had read in his previous life.

Qingdeng has always loved reading.

Although he has no religious beliefs, he once read an immortal quote in a certain book.

In an instant, under the surprised gazes of Zonazi and Souji, Qingto stretched out his right palm and tightly grasped Onodera's dirty hand in mid-air.

"You have fought the good fight; you have finished the way you should go; you have kept the way you should keep. From now on, there is a crown of righteousness reserved for you."

Qingdeng said softly.

The words come from "New Testament 2 Timothy".

St. Paul wrote a brief and sonorous comment on his magnificent life.

"Ji Jun, he...has..."

Zuo Nazi was about to speak but stopped.

Qingdeng heard this and looked up.

Onodera in front of him was no longer breathing.

"...Did he hear what I just said?"

The director nodded slightly.

"He heard it... Look, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully..."

Qingto raised his eyes and stared straight at Onodera's face.

She closed her eyes lightly and smiled on her face, showing calmness, calmness, and tranquility...the three emotions were skillfully mixed together.

"……That's good."

Qingto put down Onodera's hand, then untied the scarf around his neck and gently covered Onodera's body.

"Ah! Hey! There are strange sounds in this cave!"

"What?!"

"Where? Where?"

…

Suddenly, there was a noise outside the cave, and the sound of footsteps getting closer and closer.

Souji and Zuo Nazi stood up with their swords raised as if they were faced with a formidable enemy.

"Found it! Here! Onodera is here! Wow!"

The two women took the lead and started close combat with the enemy group that rushed into the cave.

The battle had already begun, but strangely, Qingdeng did not stand up to meet the enemy.

He still sat there, looking directly at Onodera's body without blinking, his eyes neither sad nor happy, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

On one side is the messy light and shadow of swords.

On the other side are the eyes that are hard to fathom.

In the small cave, two completely different worlds appeared.

"Go to hell!

"

Seeing that Qingdeng was motionless, a certain black woman took advantage of the chaos and touched behind him.

He looked excited, thinking he had caught Qingdeng's flaw, thinking that Qingdeng's head was within easy reach.

However, just as he raised the knife, Qingdeng's figure disappeared in front of him in an instant.

"——?!"

"You are really like summer mosquitoes...you keep buzzing...and you can't get rid of them no matter how hard you try...I'm a little annoyed by you."
To be continued...