Ezo Land, later known as Hokkaido, is located at the northernmost tip of the Japanese archipelago.

In this era, Ezochi is synonymous with words such as "backward" and "birds don't poop".

In addition to the virgin forest, there is the virgin forest.

Although in the Edo period, the Edo shogunate had begun to consciously strengthen the control and management of the Ezo land, but due to financial resources and a lack of attention to this foreign land, the development of the Ezo land was still at a state of "nothing at all".

"Developed" is almost in a state.

So it is not difficult to understand why Rin, Atachi and others were so shocked when they heard that Xuanren's master and senior brother had gone to Ezo.

In the eyes of people of this era, Ezoji is a remote and incredible place.

To give a more vivid example, it is similar to someone telling you in modern Earth, "My master and senior brother have gone to the Antarctic continent."

"... Sir Xuanren." Ogata said as he took off his kimono, "Do you recognize an injury like this?"

Ogata pointed at the large patch of dark purple skin on the left side of his neck.

Seeing the large area of ​​dark purple skin on the left side of Ogata's neck, Xuanren exclaimed:

"Sir, may I ask, are you...poisoned?"

"...Your Excellency Xuanren," Ogata continued, "Allow me to take the liberty of asking - do you know that there are monsters in this world that cannot be killed no matter how hard you kill them?"

“A monster that cannot be killed?”

Ogata... no, it should be Ogata and Lin and others around him who are carefully observing the expression on Xuanren's face.

After realizing that the expression on Xuanren's face was very natural, Ogata couldn't help but narrowed his eyes slightly.

——He... doesn't he know about the immortal...

This time it’s Lin’s question:

"Your Excellency Xuanren, before your master and senior brother left for Ezo, did they do anything strange? For example, they behaved very strangely during a certain period of time."

"Strange behavior..." Xuanren muttered, "It's...really..."

Seeing Xuanren say this, everyone present cheered up.

After clearing his throat, Xuanren said slowly:

"About two and a half years ago, the master once said a very strange thing: 'I discovered something incredible.'"

"I asked the master what he found, but he refused to say anything."

"I asked my senior brother about the same thing, but he refused to say anything."

"Since the master said these words, the behavior of the master and senior brother has become strange."

"The two of them almost no longer go to the hospital for consultation. They go out early and come back late every day. I don't know what they do..."

"During that time, the master looked very happy every day, while the senior brother looked... depressed and worried every day."

"No matter when I asked them what they were doing when they left early in the morning and came back late at night, they kept it secret."

"Because my senior brother and senior brother no longer went to the clinic for consultations during that period, I was basically responsible for the work of sitting in the clinic for consultations during that period."

"I also tried to follow them, but they were both very vigilant. Every time I followed them, I was discovered by them halfway."

"After a period of time, the master and senior brother suddenly told me that they were going on a long trip."

"I said I need to go to Jiyi for something."

When he heard the place name "Ki", ​​Ogata's pupils shrank slightly.

The expressions of other people around him also changed.

"The two of them haven't been in Kii for too long."

"After a trip to Kii, they came back in a hurry."

"They came back in a hurry. They seemed to be rushing back all the way without stopping."

"After master and senior brother hurried back to Kyoto from Kii, they only packed their luggage, told me that they were going to Ezo, and then left again."

"Since then, I have never seen my master and senior brother again..."

"Didn't your master and senior brother tell you the specific place in Ezo Land they were going to?" Ogata asked.

"Master didn't say...but...senior brother, he quietly told me before he left."

"Senior brother told me that he and his master are going to the post office in Ezochi and may not be home for a long time. He asked me to take good care of the house."

"Send that part?" Ogata rolled his tongue and repeated this word that was obviously not Japanese.

"... Judging from the name, this should be a tribe of the Ezo people." Asai, who had been silent since just now, suddenly said at this time.

Ezo people - the indigenous people living in Ezo land.

Its main ethnic group is the Ainu, known to many people on modern earth in later generations.

After quietly listening to Xuanren's story, which was not too long, Ogata closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sorted out the information he had just heard from Xuanren.

The latest information obtained from Xuanren is completely consistent with the old information known to Ogata.

Zonghai from Butterfly Island also said that almost 2 years ago, a pair of doctor masters and apprentices with Kyoto accents moved to Butterfly Island, and then they suddenly left after living in Butterfly Island for a short time.

From Xuanren, I got one piece of good news, one piece of bad news, and one piece of news that could be considered good news or bad news.

The good news is that this trip to Kyoto was finally worthwhile, and it was confirmed that Xuanren's master and senior brother, that is, Xuanzheng and Xuanzhi really had a problem.

The bad news is - as a junior brother, Xuanren has no understanding of "immortality". Xuanzheng and Xuanzhi went to Ezo.

Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen obviously wanted Xuanren not to get involved in their affairs, so Xuanren didn't know anything about "immortality" and didn't even know what his master and senior brother were doing.

The news that can be considered both good news and bad news is that Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen ran to Ezo.

Knowing where these two people went after that, from this perspective, it is good news, and we can continue to track these two people.

But the place these two people went to was Ezochi... From this perspective, this is bad news.

Judging from the traffic conditions of this era, it is extremely difficult to get to Ezo.

At this moment, Feng Mo, who had finally prepared the tea, returned to the living room carrying a tea tray filled with tea cups.

After taking the teacup handed to him by Fuma and taking a sip of the tea, A-machi, who was sitting next to Ogata, suddenly tugged on Ogata's sleeve:

"Ayi...are you planning to go to Ezo Land next?"

"……No."

After a moment of silence, Ogata put down the tea cup and shook his head gently.

"There is no need to rush to Ezo Land or anything like that."

"Let's do another important thing first."

"Another... important thing...?" Ating asked confused, "What important thing?"

"Do you still need to ask?" Ogata smiled, with a cold light shining in his eyes, "Of course I will kill Shiranui!"

Hearing Ogata's words, Atachi looked shocked. Lin, who was sitting opposite Ogata, raised her eyebrows and looked at Ogata with a bit more interest.

"If you don't try to solve Shiranui, it will be like a pile of shit hanging over your head. It will fall down at any time and disgust you."

Ogata raised his finger and pointed at the top of his head, giving a strange and strange metaphor.

"I don't want to run to Ezo and when I'm fighting a bear, a few Shiranui ninjas will come out and attack me."

"Instead of waiting for them to come to your door, it's better to strike first and eliminate the threat in Shiranui in one fell swoop!"

As soon as Ogata finished speaking, there was sudden applause from the opposite side of Ogata.

Ogata turned his head and looked forward.

I saw Lin applauding gently.

"'Instead of waiting for them to come to you, it's better to strike first.'" Lin repeated what Ogata said just now, "That's right! This is a very good statement."

"Ogata Ittosai, let me confirm - why did you attack Nijo Castle that night four days ago? Was it to kill the Shiranui ninjas in Nijo Castle?"

"That's right." Ogata replied.

"Why is that so? Is there any deep hatred between you and Shiranui?"

Hearing Lin's question, Ogata turned his head and cast a questioning look at Amachi beside him. He asked Amachi with his eyes: Can you tell me?

Amachi, who understood the meaning of Ogata's eyes, nodded slightly.

After obtaining Atachi's permission, Ogata slowly said:

"To put it simply, my companion defected to Shiranui for various reasons."

Ogata explained things about Atachi in a concise and concise manner.

After listening to Ogata's words quietly, Lin said in a half-joking tone:

"Shiranui Ri just started cooperating with the shogunate, but you messed up Shiranui Ri's task of guarding Nijo Castle. I'm afraid Shiranui Ri will have a fight with you in the future."

"That's why I said that I want to destroy Shiranui before he starts targeting me and Atachi." Ogata responded in the same half-joking tone.

After looking at Ogata with meaningful eyes for a few times, he straightened up slightly.
To be continued...