…

That night——

Edo, Senshiya second floor, Kinoshita Mai's room——

╰(*°▽°*)╯“Meow meow~~meow meow~~meow meow~~meow meow meow~~~~!!”

Mai Kinoshita was lying on her back on the tatami in her bedroom, holding her domestic cat Duoduo up and playing with it, while she kept meowing "meow" as if she was trying to communicate with Duoduo.

Duoduo, who was being held high by Kinoshita Mai, half-closed his eyes, lowered his head, and looked at his owner who kept "meowing, meowing, meowing" with a "fuck you, retarded" look.

After a while, Kinoshita Mai, who was tired of playing with Duoduo, hugged Duoduo in her arms, then sat up and walked slowly to the window of the room.

"Why hasn't Mr. Kiryu come back yet..."

Through the window, his eyes scanned back and forth on the street outside the store entrance.

There was no one on the street. There was no figure of Kiryu whom he was familiar with. Kinoshita Mai could only quietly withdraw her gaze and flatten her red lips.

Speaking of Kiryu... Kinoshita Mai couldn't help but feel a little resentful...

Kinoshita Mai originally wanted to take the two days off today and tomorrow, and then go to Asakusa to watch Aoto's game.

Qingdeng's sword fighting competition...she really wanted to watch it!

But who would have thought - Kiryu would not allow him to take leave...

"Young Master, I happen to have some important things to deal with in the past two days, and I will be away from Qianshiwu for a long time. So I have to ask you to help take care of the shop and the family these two days, and I can't give you leave." - This is Kiryu.

The exact words he said when he rejected Kinoshita Mai's request for leave.

Although she felt dissatisfied and wanted to act like a child and shout to Kiryu: "I don't want it, I don't want it," she didn't dare to disobey Kiryu's request, so she could only silently nod in agreement.

Kinoshita Mai is most afraid that Kiryu will snitch on her grandma.

If Kiryu sends a letter to her grandma: Young Master, she disobeys my discipline... then Kinoshita Mai can't even imagine how her grandma will discipline her later.

Grandma, as well as her old subordinates, all like to call Kiryu "Kuro". As for why, Kinoshita Mai doesn't know very well. She speculates that this is probably the nickname that Grandma and the others have for Kiryu.

When she was ordered by her grandma to leave Osaka and work as a job agency agent under Kiryu in Edo, and began to receive training from the grassroots level, her grandma specially warned her sternly: she must take Kuro as her teacher and obey Kuro obediently.

If so, don't let me receive a "you're disobedient" report from Kuro.

Grandma didn't say a single word of intimidation or threat.

But every time she recalls what her grandma said to her at that time, Kinoshita Mai can't help but shrink her neck - the fear of her grandma has been engraved into the depths of her soul...

Near noon today, Kiryu went out alone and has not come back yet.

Where did Kiryu go, when will he come back, and what exactly did he go to do? Kiryu didn't tell her, so Kinoshita Mai didn't know either...

It's been so long, it's getting dark, and Kiryu still hasn't come home... Kinoshita Mai couldn't help but feel a little worried in her heart.

Maybe Mr. Kiryu is really busy with something very important... After suppressing his worries about Kiryu who had not returned for a while, Kinoshita Mai raised her hand and gently stroked the hair in her arms.

Unconsciously - Kinoshita Mai's mind drifted away little by little, to Asakusa, which she had no chance to go to today, to the swordsmanship competition she had no chance to see today.

"I don't know how Ju-kun is doing in today's game..."

…

…

At this moment——

In the western suburbs of Edo, there is a very remote and small bathhouse——

In the bath room of this small bathhouse, the air is thick and the thick fog is drifting away.

In this wide bathing pool that can accommodate more than fifty people soaking in it at the same time, there are only two old people sitting shoulder to shoulder soaking in it at this moment.

One of the old men is none other than Kiryu, whom Kinoshita Mai is currently talking about.

As for the other old man who was sitting side by side with Kiryu... If there were a third party present now, he would definitely be amazed when he saw this old man's figure.

This old man, like Kiryu, looks to be in his 90s.

He has very long hair that is all gray. In order to make it easier to take a bath, his long hair is now tied on top of his head with a bath towel.

With a height of nearly 1.9 meters, he is definitely considered a "giant" in this era.

His figure is very strong and strong, with pieces as big as granite, and hard muscles bulging high. Although he is so old, the muscles on his body have not shrunk or slackened at all.

His eyes were bright, and there was no trace of the turbidity in his pupils that is common among the elderly.

The old man's piercing eyes made him look fresh and energetic, without any signs of age.

Kiryu picked up a handful of warm pool water with both hands and slapped it hard on his face. He then leaned against the wall of the pool behind him and spoke softly to the old man sitting next to him in a neither sad nor happy tone.

explain:

"...Makimura, I suddenly realized something."

"Huh? What?"

"Why do you like talking to people in the bathhouse so much?"

"Haha." The old man whom Kiryu called Makimura chuckled a few times, "Because you can kill two birds with one stone by doing this."

"It would be nice to take a shower while talking about things."

After finishing speaking, Makimura stretched hard, and then followed Kiryu's example, leaning back and leaning against the wall of the pool behind him.

"Ah... it's so comfortable..." Makimura half-closed his eyes with a contented look on his face, "On the way from Osaka to Edo, I hardly had much rest... I can finally sleep comfortably tonight...

"

"Speaking of which, Kuro, I haven't thanked you yet."

"Thank you. You came all the way to Tokaido to meet me at noon today."

"If I didn't come to pick you up, you wouldn't even know where our Calabash House's hidden stronghold in Edo is?" Kiryu pointed at the hot bath under him.

"Speaking of which... this bathhouse is really nice." Makimura raised his head and looked around, "It's small and exquisite, which is my type."

"Okay. No more small talk." Kiryu interrupted Makimura's praise of this bathhouse, "It's almost time to talk about business. Makimura, why do you come all the way from Osaka?"

Seeing that Kiryu got straight to the point, Makimura stopped being vague.

He picked up a handful of hot water and slapped it hard on his face, then raised his head, staring at the ceiling above his head with half-squinted eyes, and said quietly:

"Kuro, I'm here to give you information."

"While I'm here to give you information, I'm also making some preparations for my next 'trip to Ou'."

"Information?" Kiryu frowned slightly.

"Yes." Makimura nodded heavily, and then heaved a sigh of relief, "Asai, he has collected the latest information related to the Punishment Party."

The Law Punishes the Party——Hearing this name, Kiryu's expression suddenly became more solemn.

"After Asai's investigation, it has been determined that the leader of the Fanzhu Party and all cadre-level figures will give themselves a code name."

"The code names they use are all those vicious monsters in myths and stories."

At this point, Makimura raised his hand and gestured to his back.

"While using the ferocious demon as their nickname, they will also tattoo the demon ghost they use as their code name on their backs."

"The leader of the Punishment Party, Yamata-no-Orochi, has a tattoo of the most terrifying monster in Japan: 'Yama-no-Orochi' on his back."

"Asai is still tracking down who are the cadre-level figures who have the qualifications to tattoo Yougui tattoos on their backs with the nickname of Yougui, and what are their names."

"In addition to our old acquaintances such as Rakshasa, Kamamitachi, and Shutendouji, we have recently confirmed the names of two cadres of the Hōzu Party: Otake Maru and Tamamo Mae."

"Otake Maru... Tamamo Mae..." Kiryu narrowed his eyes slightly, "Have you found out what they look like, what gender they are, and what age they are?"

"No..." Makimura smiled bitterly and shook his head, "These cadres of the Punishment Party are more mysterious than the last. I really don't know how the Punishment Party does such a good job of keeping secrets."

"Asai and his subordinates spent a lot of effort and conducted a long-term investigation before they finally determined that there were two cadres in the Hōzhi Party named Otakemaru and Tamamozen."

"As for what these two people look like... we still don't know anything yet."

"...That means he is the same as Yamata no Orochi, the leader of the Punishment Party." Kiryu said softly, as if talking to himself, "I only hear his name, but I don't see his person..."

Makimura nodded: "But - although we don't know what Otakemaru and Tamamozen look like, we have detected a piece of definite information about these two people."

"Otakemaru, Tamamozen, and Shuten Doji—these three are the three major cadres second only to Yamata-no-Orochi, and they have considerable power within the Hōzoku Party."

*******

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During the Chinese Valentine's Day yesterday, who was sitting at home on this auspicious day with their head covered and typing without going out to have fun? Oh, it was me...

The author didn't go anywhere during the Chinese Valentine's Day yesterday, so he just stayed at home and typed... With such a conscience, it is really unjustifiable not to give a monthly ticket! (Leopard Head Cries.jpg)

I originally wanted to write another 1W today, but my condition yesterday was a little bad and I could only write 8,600 words.

Although there is not 1W, there are still a lot of words and a lot of explosive plot points, so please give me a monthly vote! Please give me a recommendation vote! (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)

The author has opened a book club on Penguin! Anyone who is interested can come in and chat about Big Bear together.

Group number: 1162513690. You can join the book club by answering a question to which you will definitely know the answer if you read the book carefully.
Chapter completed!