The sudden sound made Okada Izo's brows tremble slightly.

He opened his eyes with difficulty, turned his head, and listened.

After seeing the face of the visitor clearly, he opened his mouth and showed an excited and expectant smile.

"Oishi...Jun...I haven't seen you for a long time...Teacher Wushi...have you brought any message...come here...?"

Okada Izo knew Oishi Yataro.

The other party had sent messages to Wu Shi Hanping Tai several times.

Either to express condolences to Okada Izo, or to encourage him to continue to persevere.

Although they are all content that is not nutritious, every time Oishi Yataro brings a message to Takeichi Hanheita, Okada Izo will feel that new strength surges out of his body, and he can persevere again.

Seeing Oishi Yataro coming here, Okada Izo subconsciously thought that Takeichi Hanheita had said something again.

Faced with Okada Izo's inquiry, Oishi Yataro shuddered suddenly, his eyes wandered around in mid-air a few times, and then he stammered:

"Wu Wu, Teacher Wu Shi didn't ask me to take the message. I just came here to visit you on a whim..."

When Okada Izo heard this, he immediately looked disappointed.

"That's it...but...thank you...except for you...no one else...in this world...will come to visit me..."

Oishi Yataro blinked his eyes, and a trace of sadness flashed across his eyes.

He forced out a forced and ugly smile and repeated the question just now:

"Yi, Yi Zang, do you want to eat steamed buns?"

As he spoke, he took out a snow-white steamed bun from his arms.

"This is the steamed bun I secretly brought, please eat it quickly."

Before he finished speaking, he stretched out his arms, grabbed the steamed bun's right hand, passed through the gap between the railings, reached into the prison, and stretched out towards Okada Izo, as if he wanted to stuff the steamed bun into his mouth right away.

Okada Izo stared at the snow-white steamed bun so close at hand, his expression stagnant.

"……Steamed bun……?"

"Yes, yes! Steamed buns! Filled with red bean paste! Very delicious!"

"..."

Okada Izo stopped talking.

He neither said anything nor reached out to pick it up, he just stared at the steamed bun.

Sadness, pain, confusion...all kinds of emotions appeared on his face.

In the end, all the emotions turned into self-deprecating smiles on both cheeks.

"Oishi-kun...you can't do this..."

"Your hands...are shaking like this...it's hard not to make people...suspicious..."

"There's something wrong with this steamed bun... right...?"

Oishi Yataro trembled even more.

"How, how, how could it be possible! This, this, this, these are the fresh steamed buns I just bought, how could there be a problem!"

Okada Izo laughed—laughing as hard as crying.

"Dashi-kun...you don't have to say it...I understand everything..."

"I know this steamed bun... is a poisonous steamed bun..."

"And it's... the poisonous steamed buns sent by Teacher Wu Shi..."

"This day... has indeed come..."

After saying that, Okada Izo raised his head, leaned against the corner behind him, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Oishi-kun... put down the steamed buns... I will eat them..."

"After you put down the steamed buns...just leave quickly..."

"If others...discover that you secretly brought...food to me...you will be implicated..."

Oishi Yataro has long wanted to leave.

The thought of "I'm killing someone" almost caused him to collapse.

It was all by willpower that he managed to regain his footing.

Hearing what the other party said, he seemed to have been burned. He hurriedly threw down the poisonous buns in his hand, and then ran away from the scene as fast as he could without even saying a word.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away... and silence returned to Okada Izo's body.

"..."

Okada Izo silently picked up the steamed bun, held it in his hands, and stared at it dully.

——Eat it!

He said to himself word by word.

——As long as you eat it, you will be free! You don’t have to suffer anymore!

——As long as you eat it, you can keep the teacher’s secret forever!

——This is the last thing I can do for my teacher!

After a short period of "ideological mobilization", he made up his mind and vowed to die to thank his teacher.

At this time, he suddenly recalled his life.

From his miserable youth, he followed Takeshi Hanheitai, and then helped Takeshi Hanheitai eradicate his political opponents, killing countless people, and became the powerful "person-killer Yizou" in Kyoto.

As he recalled it, he had a satisfied look on his face, and various emotions surged in his heart.

What a short life...

But, thanks to my teacher, my life has become very meaningful!

I am a lowly "ashigaru", so poor that even the tenant farmers look down on me.

When I first met my teacher, he was already a well-known sage.

Although he was a person of such noble status, he never looked down upon me. He not only accepted me as his disciple, but also sponsored me to study abroad in Edo.

It is thanks to the great help of my teacher that I can achieve this skill.

After joining the Tosa Kinou Party, my teacher never allowed me to attend meetings.

Whenever there was a meeting, he always excluded me and ordered me to wait outside.

This is of course because the teacher wants me to focus on kendo and not let me waste my precious energy on other things.

No matter what, it couldn't be because he felt that I was an uneducated and uncultured old man who was not worthy of participating in the meeting.

After arriving in Kyoto, I finally had the opportunity to show off my skills.

The shogunate's thugs are everywhere inside and outside Kyoto.

There are also many people who respect the people with lofty ideals, but are against the teacher.

For the sake of the development of the Tosa Kinwang Party and the early realization of the great cause of respecting the king and repelling the barbarians, my teacher ordered me to assassinate these thieves.

This is of course because the teacher trusts me and values ​​me.

No matter what, it couldn't be because he felt that I was simple-minded, loyal and had good swordsmanship, and was actually a very useful tool, so he just threw all the dirty work to me.

After being arrested and imprisoned, it was clear that the teacher could save me from torture as long as he frankly admitted the crimes he had committed, but he never opened his mouth and allowed me to struggle in hell.

This is of course because the teacher has a huge mission, so he cannot give in to thieves.

No matter what, it can't be because he doesn't care about my life and thinks his own life is more important than mine.

Although I had a premonition, the teacher actually gave me poisonous steamed buns to eat.

This is of course because the teacher loves me so much! He couldn’t bear to see me continue to suffer, so he helped me to escape!

No matter what, it can't be because the teacher thinks I know too much, so he wants me to shut up forever and prevent future troubles.

Teacher, thank you!

…

…

…

…

"...wuwu..."

Suddenly, huge tears rolled down from Okada Izo's eyes.

First a whimper or two, and then it turned into a howl.

"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
To be continued...