Around Qingdeng and others, there was a cold air that made people shiver.

Moss, mushrooms, vegetation - nothing else.

A lonely bird flew low over the heads of Qingdeng and others, flapping its wings monotonously.

The General Secretary pointed forward:

"It's right there! If you walk a little further, you can see the thatched house!"

Soon, a simple thatched house appeared directly in front of Qingdeng and others.

Qingto looked around. The terrain of Platycodon Mountain was generally low, so if you didn't look carefully, it would be easy to miss it - this forest was right at the top of Platycodon Mountain!

The hut, the top of the mountain... The appearance and location of this thatched hut are completely consistent with Goro Ugaki's description of Tachibana Takayuki's "secret stronghold".

"Tachibana-kun! Miss Sanako! Look! It's that house!"

Having said that, the director-general quickened his pace.

Qingto and Sanako followed closely.

However, at this moment, Qingdeng suddenly stopped his feet and let out a loud shout:

"Wait a moment!"

Although Souji and Sanako were confused, they still stopped.

"Tachibana-kun, what's wrong?"

Sanako asked.

Qingteng did not answer Sanako's question immediately, but slowly squatted down and stared at the ground in front of his toes.

Souji and Sanako bent down and followed Qingto's line of sight - and in an instant, they both opened their eyes wide in surprise.

Since joining the New Royal Court, Qingto has been undergoing extremely strict ninja training.

Under long-term special training, he unknowingly developed many habits unique to intelligence officers.

For example: when entering a strange area, you will subconsciously observe the surrounding environment.

The reason why Qingdeng suddenly stopped and squatted down was because he found strange marks on the ground.

The rectangular shape with a slight curvature on the edge... Although it is very shallow, it is undoubtedly the mark of straw sandals!

And it’s still a very “fresh” shoe print!

I saw this string of shoe prints that were so "fresh" that they looked like they were left just today, connecting straight to the thatched house in front of me.

Qingdeng and others raised their heads at the same time and looked at each other in tacit understanding.

Although there was no verbal communication, serious expressions appeared on the faces of the three of them.

bass!

Aoto pulled out the Echizen Sumi Hitachi Shou Kaneshige from his waist.

The General Secretary also drew his sword in his hand.

Sanako took off the naginata from behind and untied the black cloth on the blade, revealing the shining blade.

The three of them formed a group with Qingdeng at the head and the two girls behind them in the shape of "pin". While paying attention to the movement around them, they slowly approached the thatched house.

As the distance continued to get closer, Qingdeng gradually saw the specific situation of the thatched house clearly.

The eaves and walls were all mottled and covered with thick dust.

Judging from the situation, this thatched house has been abandoned for a long time.

There are no windows, so you can't see what's going on inside the house.

The three of them walked half a circle around the thatched house and found the door.

Sanako consciously took two quick steps and walked to the left of the door.

The general manager stood on the right side of the door.

The two girls nodded towards Qingden.

Qingden responded with an "I understand" look.

The next breath, Sanako and Souji pushed open the door.

Just when Qingdeng was about to rush into the house, a black shadow passed through the open door and rushed out of the house!

"stop!"

Qingdeng roared and rushed towards the black shadow.

The speed of Heiying’s legs and feet can’t be described as fast.

But compared to Qingdeng, it is still far behind.

The black shadow only took two steps before he was caught up by Qingdeng.

"Don't move!"

Qingdeng pushed the black shadow to the ground and controlled his arms.

"Damn it! Let me go! Let me go!"

The black shadow was yelling and struggling violently, like a fish caught in a fishing net.

"Tsk... calm down!"

Qingdeng snorted coldly, and then punched the black shadow in the stomach with moderate force.

"Pooh!"

The black shadow that was suddenly hit hard made a sound like a deflating balloon, and curled up into a ball.

Qingdeng took this opportunity to grab Heiying's shoulders and lift him up from the ground.

"Who are you? Why..."

Qingdeng's words stopped abruptly.

While interrupting the questioning, Qingden showed a shocked expression, and even his eyes widened uncontrollably.

All these changes... just because Qingdeng saw the other party's face clearly.

"Who are you……?!"

What caught Qingdeng's eyes was a very strange face.

Ordinary eyes, ordinary nose, ordinary ears...

Just looking at the upper part, it's just a common face with no features.

But the second half... is quite scary.

An extremely fat chin hangs below the lips.

The wide and fat chin looked as if it had been stung by hundreds of bees.

According to Qingdeng's personal estimation, he felt that the man's chin was nearly twice as big as the upper half of his face.

Such a huge difference in proportions makes the entire face look like a melon that is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.

Qingzhen remembers this face.

He had seen this face... not long ago, on the portrait.

That is a memory that is still vividly attached to the inside of Qingnobo's brain - when they went to visit Ugaki Goro, they encountered a group of young men from the Shimizu clan who were looking for someone on the road.

At this time, they hold the portrait and ask everyone they meet, "Have you seen this person in the portrait?"

That portrait... what is painted on it is exactly this melon face...

*******

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Regarding the first appearance of this "woguar-faced", book friends who don't remember can review Chapter 224 "Going to the meeting alone! Meeting the "Rabid Dog Family"!"

Today’s chapter has a full 6,000 words! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a chapter with a decent word count!

Since this chapter not only has a lot of words, but also a lot of plot, please be sure to vote for this book!

Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a recommendation vote! (Crying Leopard Head)

In the previous chapter, the author mentioned, "As long as your merit is high enough, you have a chance to soar into the sky, become a land-owning feudal lord, and start a farming life." - Astute book friends, you must have realized this.

What happened?

The story of Nioh is horribly long...
Chapter completed!