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Qingdeng: "..."
Sanako: "..."
Qingden was speechless.
Sanako didn't speak either.
After about half a minute, he finally blurted out:
"……ha?"
Regarding Qingto who looked shaken, Sanako's tone was a bit more playful.
"What's wrong? I remember your hearing isn't that bad."
"Sanako, let me confirm, you are not kidding me, right?"
"Of course, do you think I would joke with you about this kind of thing?"
"...Can you give me a reason?"
Qingden had a serious expression on his face.
"We are not going to play here."
"About the current situation in Kyoto, you must have heard from others that your ears are almost getting calluses, right?"
"After raising our troops to Luo, we may not even have a chance to breathe, and we will immediately plunge into an intense battle."
As soon as Qingden finished speaking, Sanazi nodded immediately.
"I know, of course I know that I am not going to play, but to fight - rather, it is precisely because of this that I decided to join the Zhenfu Army."
Before Qingto could ask further questions, Sanako continued on his own:
"Ji Jun, has Brother Rong ever told you how he broke through the bottleneck back then?"
The person who can be called "Ei-nii" by Sanako is naturally her second cousin, "the strongest in Edo" - Chiba Eijiro.
Although he didn't quite understand Sanako's intention of suddenly mentioning this, Qingden still nodded obediently.
This was a long time ago.
Although the deeds are old, the memory is still fresh.
That year, not long after the swordsmanship competition held by Yoshiho Matsudaira, the lord of the Aizu Domain, Chiba Eijiro, who watched the event and became very interested in Aoto, visited the Imperial Guard Hall alone and met with Aoto and Nagakura.
Everyone inside had a competition.
That time was the first time Qingdeng intuitively felt the oppression of top martial arts masters.
It was also at that time that Eijiro Chiba shared his martial arts training experience - changing his mood.
He was once trapped in a bottleneck and unable to extricate himself. Fortunately, he received the earnest teachings of Chiba Shusaku, who was still alive at the time: to see the "scenery" that he had never seen before, and to experience the things that he had never experienced in his past life.
Novelty, if you change your mood, you may be able to break through the bottleneck without even realizing it.
Although Eijiro Chiba didn't understand the meaning at that time, he was tortured by the bottleneck and was in pain, so he decided to treat the dead horse as a living horse. He adopted Chiba Shusaku's suggestion and temporarily put aside his stubbornness with the sword.
Move your attention elsewhere.
Soon after, in order to experience the feeling of being an official, he gladly accepted the Mito Domain's invitation and became an official of the Mito Domain.
When he first arrived in Mito Domain, he was busy dealing with various official duties every day and had no time to practice swordsmanship.
But this allowed him to escape from the whirlpool he had been trapped in before and overlook his past martial arts life.
One day, half a year after he became an official in the Mito Domain, while working on official documents at his desk, he suddenly felt blessed and understood several problems in swordsmanship that had troubled him for a long time, breaking through the bottleneck in one fell swoop.
Chiba Eijiro combined "Chiba Shusaku's teachings" and "this life experience" and condensed it into a paragraph:
Whether you are studying science or practicing martial arts, it is just like grabbing water in a river. The harder you grab, the harder it is to grab the water. If you slow down and slowly close your palms, you can catch the water in the palm of your hand.
Hold a handful of water. So, hone your skills with a more relaxed and comfortable attitude.
At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly realized something.
"Sanako, are you... trying to imitate Brother Rong?"
Sanako turned her head sideways and gave Qingteng an appreciative glance that said, "Yes, you are right."
"Ji Jun, I haven't given up on martial arts yet."
Sanako turned back to the front and looked at the distant sky.
"Although my father categorically said that my martial arts can only stop here... I still can't let go of my love for martial arts."
"No matter what, I want to continue practicing martial arts! I also want to become stronger!"
"The unchanging life and the clean and tidy ashram have all become my 'obstacles'."
"If I continue like this, even if I swing my bamboo sword or wooden sword ten thousand times or one hundred million times, my martial arts will never improve."
"So, I have made up my mind - like Brother Rong, I want to change the environment and see the 'scenery' I have never seen before!"
"In this way, maybe by chance, I can break through the current bottleneck and become a powerful female warrior like Miss Okita!"
Having said that, Sanako's black and white eyes shone with extraordinary brilliance of intelligence and will, which made people feel dazzling.
"...Have you told your family about your decision?"
Sanako shook his head.
"Their opinions don't matter anyway. I have made up my mind. No matter what my family says, even if I encounter strong opposition from them, I will go to Kyoto with you!"
When Qingdeng heard this, he couldn't help but laugh.
What a Sanako-style answer.
"...I understand. Then please give me some advice!"
"With your ability, becoming a member of the Zhenfu Army is just a sure thing."
"However, even if it's you, you still have to go through the process of joining the army. I can't be partial to you, as this will shake the morale of the army."
This time it was Sanako who cast a surprised look at Aoden.
"Tachibana-kun, I thought you would dissuade me on the grounds that 'Kyoto is dangerous'. Just like me, Miss Okita and Mai Kinoshita more than ten days ago, I hope you can stay away from the turbulent undercurrents of Kyoto."
"Why should I dissuade you?"
Qingden smiled and shrugged.
"Neither you nor Ah Wu or Xiao Si belong to me."
"Who am I to make decisions about your decisions and your future?"
"Since it is dangerous to go to Luo, what I should do is not treat you like babies and trap you in your infancy."
"But hold the sword in your hand tightly and protect you until you no longer need my protection."
"The look in your eyes tells me: your decision is not a fantasy, but an ideal after careful consideration."
"That's it, that's enough."
Speaking of this, Qingden paused for a moment, and then said a famous quote from a certain literary giant in his previous life:
"Regard the suspicion of others as a will-o'-the-wisp, and boldly go your own way at night."
"I will be by your side to protect you."
"If your family objects to your going to Kyoto, just tell me."
Qingden changed his tone to a half-joking tone.
"I will help you. I will use the title of 'Gyeonggi Governor' to pressure them and force them to agree."
Sanako smiled:
"Father and brother are not afraid of you."
She let out a long breath, then showed an extremely refreshing expression.
"Fortunately, I thought of my words to refute you in advance, but I don't need to use them now."
At this time, a gust of north wind suddenly blew.
To be continued...