This courtyard is not ordinary. It is the secret stronghold of the Ninth Division and an important contact point.
Whenever Qingteng has a task to distribute to the Ninth Division, he will come to this courtyard and clap his hands twice.
Immediately afterwards, the members of the Ninth Division who have been waiting here will come forward to listen to the order.
This system is modeled after the shogunate's imperial court.
Yutingfan - As the name suggests, just by looking at the name, you know that it is related to the "courtyard".
When the general wants to issue a mission to the imperial court, he will come to a specific courtyard.
Seeing the general's arrival, the Imperial Guardsman dressed as a gardener in the courtyard would kneel down under the verandah with a broom in hand, waiting for instructions.
Qingden stood there, watching Tonosuke's back.
After his figure disappeared from his eyes, Qingdeng turned his back to the sky and let out a long breath with a complex expression.
If possible, he did not want to conflict with Elodie's father, let alone do such an excessive thing to him.
However... Qingdeng has many identities.
He is not only Elodie's sword master, but also the lord of the Qinjin clan, the general of the Shinsengumi, and the guardian of Gyeonggi!
If the truth is as Elodie said, and Maher came to Japan for other things, then Qingteng will have to be vigilant.
Although this is just an unfounded conjecture, it is necessary to have a careful eye.
Therefore, in order to verify the correctness of this conjecture, Qingto decided to send the elite ninjas of Division 9 to closely monitor Maher.
——I hope we are worrying too much...
After thinking this secretly, Qingdeng turned around and returned to the house.
…
…
After Maher left the Orange Mansion, he did not go to the hotel or anywhere else, but strode out of the town.
In order to hide his face and figure, he wore a windproof cloak, a low-brimmed hat on his head, and a thick scarf on his face. Only a pair of eyes were exposed. At first glance, he seemed to be just an ordinary traveler.
He didn't know that as soon as he left Ojin with his front legs, a thin figure followed him closely behind him, following him like a shadow.
It was Tonosuke, a member of Division 9 sent by Seito to follow and monitor Maher.
His full name is "Nitta Tonosuke".
Because of his agility and quick thinking, he shone brightly after joining the ninth division and became one of the elite ninjas most trusted by Aintō.
The reason why he was able to accurately find Maher in such a large town was all thanks to the "Thousand Mile Incense" that Qingteng sprinkled on him in advance.
The so-called "Thousand Mile Incense" is a special kind of fragrant powder.
Humans can't smell it, but professionally trained "ninja dogs" can smell it.
"Ninja Dog" can capture its scent in the air and then track it.
Even a target ten miles away cannot escape the nose of the "ninja dog", hence the name "Ten Miles of Fragrance".
The person who taught this method to the Shinsengumi was naturally the almighty Gourd House.
It is reported that this tracking method is a unique skill of a certain ninja village during the Warring States Period.
As for how this unique skill fell into the hands of Huluwu, Qingteng has no idea.
Although this unique skill is great, it is too difficult to cultivate "ninja dogs".
To this day, there are only four "ninja dogs" that have successfully "graduated".
When Maher suddenly left, Qingden was deeply shocked and at the same time subconsciously alert.
So, on the occasion of saying goodbye, he secretly sprinkled a handful of the "Ten Mile Incense" he carried with him while the other party was not paying attention.
In terms of scheming and means, Qingto, who has been working hard in the shogunate officialdom for many years, will not lose to anyone.
In this way, relying on the "ten-mile incense" sprinkled by Aoto in advance and the accurate tracking of the "ninja dog", Nitta Tonosuke successfully caught up with Maher in the suburbs.
After discovering the target, Nitta Tonosuke first asked his precious "ninja dog" to go back first, and then secretly lurked in the shadows, relying on his best agility skills to carefully control the distance between them, and stick firmly to each other.
behind the opponent.
Maher didn't notice that there was an extra person behind him at all, so he just kept walking forward.
After a while, he arrived at the suburbs south of Dajin.
There is no village in front, no store in back, and because it is far away from the city, there are not even any pedestrians on the road.
There are dense trees on both sides of the road, and the ground is covered with thick fallen leaves - this gives Nitta Tonosuke great convenience.
Sometimes he jumped up the tree trunk, sometimes he hid behind the tree, constantly changing his patterns, so that his body always blended with the shadow of the trees.
Just as he was walking silently, following Maher diligently——
"?!"
Suddenly, he felt a chill coming from the back of his neck!
Like a conditioned reflex, he immediately turned back, pressed his hand on his waist, and looked around with a vigilant look.
Flowers, grass, trees, mud... As you look around, you will see a very ordinary forest scene, nothing special.
Even though I tried my best, I couldn't find anything unusual, let alone anyone else.
——Is it my imagination...
After checking a few more times to confirm that there was indeed no other living person around him, Nitta Tonosuke closed his eyes and prepared to continue monitoring Maher.
However... the moment he turned back, he suddenly felt his throat tightening - a hemp rope flew out from behind him and strangled his neck tightly!
The perpetrator's strength was so great that Nitta Tonosuke was unable to resist.
He watched helplessly as he was being lifted up inch by inch, his dangling feet kicking in vain.
My throat was under strong pressure, as if it would be crushed at any time, and I couldn't breathe at all.
Even if he wanted to shout, he could only utter "ho", a moan without any specific meaning.
Suddenly, he heard a gentle female voice coming from behind:
"It's passed~ It's passed~"
"Where is the trail? This is the trail of gods~"
It's singing.
Nitta Tonosuke immediately recognized that this was the classic folk song "Tongxing Ue".
During the Edo period, it was a popular custom for children to go to shrines to make vows until they were seven years old so that their children could grow up healthily.
However, in 1639, due to the expansion project of Kawagoe Castle, Miyoshino Shrine was included in the plan and became heavily guarded.
Commoners were not allowed to visit the shrine at will, and thus gradually separated from the life of common people, so this game song was created to pray for the release of children's wishes.
It is said to be a folk song, but its lyrics reveal a strong sense of grotesqueness.
The woman behind her sang softly:
"Please accept the money and keep me safe~"
“Travel smoothly~hard to come back~”
"This is the path to Hades~"
"This is the path of ghosts and gods~"
"If you don't have an offering, you can't go there~"
"It's okay to be alive~ but it's terrible to survive after death~"
"Although it feels scary~"
"It's passed~ It's passed~"
The radiant singing and the deep and painful moans... On one side is the singer singing leisurely and lightly, on the other side is the poor man on the verge of death. The strong contrast creates a strange scene.
Soon, Nitta Tonosuke felt that his consciousness was gradually blurring, and the singing and everything around him were rapidly moving away from him.
Within a moment... his legs stopped moving, his body stopped struggling, and his whole body hung on the hemp rope.
To be continued...