…

"There haven't been any big changes..." Atachi looked around as she walked towards the direction of the liquor store in her memory.

The surrounding scenery is the same as it was half a year ago.

However, there have been no major changes, which is a good thing from a certain perspective - it means that the city has not encountered any major changes.

At this time, A-Machi was in a busy commercial street. Looking at the bustling crowd in front of him, the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up slightly with a smile.

Sellers selling goods enthusiastically, people wandering around with nothing to do, and the sound of fierce bargaining coming from time to time - it is hard to imagine that this city was almost destroyed by a gang of lunatics more than half a year ago.

Amachi has a different feeling for the city of Kyoto - it was in this city that she reunited with Ogata last summer.

Therefore, Amachi felt an inexplicable sense of relief at the ordinary and peaceful scene in front of him.

Amachi quickly found a liquor store and bought 4 bottles of sake according to Fuuma's instructions.

As she was carrying the four bottles of sake and preparing to return to Fuma's home, A-Machi suddenly heard a shout from not far away that made her stop in her tracks.

"Dear guests! Come and take a look! Beautiful clothes! All prices are reduced now! Look! Such beautiful clothes! It only costs 200 cents!"

"If you buy these clothes now, we can also embroider your family pattern for free! It only takes half a day to embroider your family pattern for you!"

Azimachi looked around and saw an aunt standing in a clothing store, shouting and selling their clothes.

The aunt was holding a haori in her hand. Although A-Machi was not a person who knew much about clothes, he could tell at a glance that the haori in the aunt's hand was indeed of good quality.

Looking at the haori in Auntie's hand, A-Machi's eyes gradually brightened.

…

…

At this moment——

Kyoto, in a certain room inside the town office—

"Hulu...Hulu...Hulu...Hulu..."

In this medium-sized room, a middle-aged man sat behind a desk, resting his head on one hand and dozing there.

Thunderous purring filled every corner of the room.

The middle-aged man's head rocked back and forth rhythmically along with the snoring sound.

At this time, the middle-aged man's head accidentally slipped from the arm he was supporting, and then he woke up instantly.

"Well... I fell asleep...?" The middle-aged man first looked around with sleepy eyes, and then rubbed his eyes vigorously with both hands, "I am really getting older... I am not as energetic as before."

"Okay." The middle-aged man patted his cheeks hard with both hands, "Let's continue working!"

The middle-aged man picked up the pen resting on the pen mountain next to him and was about to continue writing something on the desk -

"Hasegawa-sama! Hasegawa-sama!"

There was a whirring sound outside the room.

"Come in." The middle-aged man frowned...or rather, Hasegawa put down the pen in his hand.

After obtaining Mr. Hasegawa's permission to enter, a young man hurriedly opened the door.

This young man's name is Yamauchi Soujiro, and he is a newcomer who has just recently joined the Huoshu Thieves Kai. Seeing that this man is a good diamond in the rough, Hasegawa brought him to his side and prepared to train him personally.

"How about it." Hasegawa said calmly, "Do you have the latest information about the 'Blood Mist Crowd'?"

The Blood Mist Group - a gang of bandits that suddenly appeared in Kanto almost 2 months ago.

The total number of members of this bandit gang is about 20, and all members are ronin.

What they did was extremely cruel and abominable. They intercepted and killed lone people and then stole money from the corpses.

They are also very cunning. They will never stay in one place for too long. After robbing enough money in one place, they will move to other places.

As soon as this extremely vicious gang of robbers emerged, it immediately attracted the attention of the government.

Because what they did was so bad and their strength should not be underestimated, after concluding that these thieves were beyond the power of local officials, the government immediately handed the case over to the Huofu thieves for handling.

Huo Fu Thief Kai has done countless similar cases. After receiving this transferred case, he quickly traced the whereabouts of the Blood Mist Gang. After learning that this gang was very likely to escape to Kyoto, Hasegawa immediately led them personally.

people to pursue.

These days, Hasegawa has been sitting in the Kyoto Prison, collecting and analyzing information from various channels, and confirming the current hiding place of the Blood Mist Sect.

Hasegawa originally thought that Yamauchi, who looked in a hurry, was here to deliver the latest information about the Blood Mists.

But who would have expected—Yamauchi actually shook his head.

"No, it's not." Yamauchi stammered, "Just now, just now..."

"Straighten your tongue!" Hasegawa said displeasedly, "You are an official who was reformed by thieves! Look at what you are like now! You are hurried and stammering, what do you look like!"

After being scolded by Hasegawa, Yamauchi's face turned red with embarrassment.

After taking a few deep breaths and calming down a little, Yamauchi said in much smoother words:

"This is not information related to the Blood Mists."

"But a big shot just came to the practice center and said he wanted to see you."

"Big shot?" Hasegawa frowned again.

Yamauchi looked around and after confirming that there were no outsiders around, he quickly walked to Hasegawa's side and whispered a few words into Hasegawa's ear.

After the words fell, Hasegawa's expression suddenly changed.

"……I see."

After leaving these words, Hasegawa quickly stood up, left the room, and then hurriedly ran towards somewhere in the execution office.

While galloping all the way, Hasegawa used his hands to tidy up the clothes on his body and the hair on his head, and checked whether there was any eye stains on his face after he had just woken up.

The training center in Kyoto was not that big. After a while, Hasegawa came to the door of a room with an ordinary appearance.

Standing in front of the door, Hasegawa took a few deep breaths, looked as if he was going to the execution ground, and resolutely opened the door.

In the room, sitting to the side was Hasegawa's old friend, Kamiyama Koshinosuke, the official of the town of Kyoto.

The new Kyoto Governor, Shia Ota, has just taken office.

Sitting at the head of the room was a middle-aged man whom Hasegawa was quite familiar with, but if possible, he would never see him again in his lifetime.

Looking at the middle-aged man, Hasegawa immediately entered the room like a conditioned reflex, three steps at a time, closed the door, then knelt down in front of the middle-aged man and saluted respectfully.

"Master Lao Zhong, it's been a long time since we last met!"

The middle-aged man sitting at the head of the room was Matsudaira Sadanobu who had just returned from Ezo.

"Well." Matsudaira Sadanobu nodded gently with a smile on his face, "You and I have indeed not seen each other for a long time. Lift your head, Hasegawa. Let me take a good look at your face."

"Yes!" Hasegawa straightened his upper body.

"...There are a lot more red bloodshot eyes in your eyes." Matsudaira Sadanobu said slowly, "After leaving Ezo, I briefly returned to Edo."

"As soon as I returned to Edo, I heard a lot about your deeds - during the time I left Edo, your work results were quite amazing, and many people in the shogunate praised you."

"I don't dare take it seriously!" Hasegawa said respectfully, "I just did what I should do as a commander who is a fire-fighting thief Kai."

Although Hasegawa looked respectful, he was actually smiling on the face but being dissatisfied in his heart.

——Damn, you can really pretend! I’m working so hard not because you caught my ass!

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Chapter completed!