This village is very large, and it happens to be located in a critical place, so the Changzhou Army is likely to set up an ambush here.

For the sake of safety, Hijikata Toshizo and Shannan Keisuke decided to conduct a thorough inspection of the village after a brief discussion.

Generally speaking, these detailed tasks are basically left to the meticulous Shannan Keisuke.

Therefore, after entering the village, Shannan Keisuke skillfully ordered his subordinates to spread out and conduct a thorough investigation of the village.

This is a time-consuming job.

About half an hour later, a soldier rushed to Shannan Keisuke on Pegasus and reported loudly:

"Chief! This village is safe! There is no ambush!"

Shannan Keisuke nodded:

"Yeah, I got it. Leave 100 people to guard this village! The rest continue marching!"

"yes!"

As soon as this order was issued, shouts of people and horses neighed throughout the village.

The soldiers who were on the march again were like streams flowing out of the village.

Shannan Keisuke got on the saddle and walked leisurely through the village surrounded by guards.

At this moment, his eyes seemed to be attracted by something, and he looked left and right uncontrollably.

Although this village is large, it is really rundown.

There is no good house, just shabby houses made of wood and thatch.

There is no good road, only a muddy road with potholes and potholes that can turn into a quagmire when it rains.

It is not difficult to imagine that the villagers in this village must be accompanied by poverty and live a hard life of half full and half hungry every day.

"..."

Looking at the dilapidated houses and the muddy roads beneath his feet, Shannan Keisuke pursed his lips and his facial expression became complicated and unspeakable.

…

…

It's night——

Shannan Keisuke and the others were very lucky tonight and managed to find a suitable place to camp before dark.

After a simple dinner, Shannan Keisuke quietly returned to his tent.

As soon as he opened the curtain with his front legs, his back legs seemed to take off his disguise, and he let out a deep breath, with a strong look of tiredness appearing on his cheeks.

"It's really embarrassing..."

While muttering, he moved to the table as if floating, and sat cross-legged casually, staring blankly at the candles on the table, the orange firelight filling his eyes, thoughtfully.

Just when he was dazed and thoughtful——

"Mr. Shannan! Mr. Shannan! Look! Look!"

Harada Sanosuke's voice suddenly came from outside the camp.

Before Shannan Keisuke could respond, Harada Sanosuke opened the curtain and barged in.

He didn't come empty-handed, he also had a gift in his hand - a big, fat frog in his palm.

"Mr. Shannan, look! What a big frog!"

"This is the first time I've seen such a fat frog!"

"Let's bake it and eat it together! It will be delicious!"

Shannan Keisuke blinked his eyes hard and looked at Sanosuke Harada in astonishment, then looked at the big frog in his hand - "Quack! Quack!" - the big frog called out twice at the right time.

"Harada-kun, are you... okay?"

After hesitating like this for a while, he asked cautiously.

"Suddenly he broke into my tent, holding a big frog in his hand, and said he wanted to roast it and eat it..."

"To be honest, I'm a little bit at a loss... I don't know if you are serious or if you are just kidding me."

"After all, why did you suddenly give me a frog to eat?"

The sudden intrusion, the unexpected frog... This series of inexplicable actions caused Shannan Keisuke's brain to temporarily shut down.

Harada Sanosuke chuckled a few times "hehe".

"Mr. Shannan, are you worried about something?"

As soon as these words came out, Shannan Keisuke's facial expression changed slightly and his pupils tightened.

Harada Sanosuke went on to say, minding his own business:

"When we were having dinner just now, I saw that you were very inactive. You just took a few mouthfuls of rice and said, 'I'm full.'"

"This is not okay!"

"In life, there are only two things that are most important."

"One is for eating, the other is for sleeping."

"If you don't eat well and don't sleep well, your body is definitely not healthy."

“If you’re not healthy, you can’t do anything!”

"No matter it is a family matter or a state matter, you need a healthy body to do it!"

"So, I went outside the camp and caught this big frog to give you extra food!"

"Even though the frog looks disgusting, its meat is delicious! Look at how thick the meat on its legs is!"

Harada Sanosuke said, pulling the frog's legs.

This poor frog seemed to have foreseen its own fate and repeatedly made pitiful calls of "croak, croak, croak, croak".

Shannan Keisuke was stunned again.

It was only then that he belatedly noticed that the hem of the other party's clothes was stained with dirt, and even his sleeves were dirty.

It must have been accidentally soiled when he went to catch frogs in the wild.

"...Harada-kun, you can't do this."

Shannan Keisuke's facial lines slowly relaxed, revealing a smile that looked both happy and helpless.

"You should use your tenderness on the girl you like."

"Isn't it too wasteful to use it on me?"

Harada Sanosuke heard this and shrugged disapprovingly:

"Mr. Shannan, what you said is wrong."

"The girl you like is really important."

"But to me, Mr. Shannan, you are more important!"

"We are good brothers who share weal and woe, aren't we?"

Having said this, Harada Sanosuke paused briefly.

When he spoke again, his tone became serious and serious.

"Mr. Shannan, for the sake of us being good brothers, why don't you just be honest with me?"

"What on earth is going on that can make you unable to even eat and unable to stay in your thoughts?"

"Although I am a foolish man with a weak brain, if there is anything I can do to help, please feel free to ask."

"I will definitely stab your lungs!"

Having said that, Harada Sanosuke crossed his legs and sat down safely.

Judging from his posture, Shannan Keisuke would never leave unless he told him why.

Shannan Jingshu couldn't help but smile bitterly when he saw this.

"...Harada-kun, it's a 'knife in both sides', not a 'knife in both lungs'."

He first pointed out the other party's mistakes, then turned his head and looked at the candles on the table.

Under the illumination of the fire, a look of hesitation appeared on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Harada-kun, for making you worry."

"Actually, it's not a big deal."

"I'm just...a little confused."

Harada Sanosuke tilted his head:

"'confused'?"

Shannan Keisuke nodded:
To be continued...