I formed the strongest swordsman group

Edo, somewhere——

"Hoo...! Hoo...! Hoo...! Hoo...! Uh...! Hoo...! Hoo...!"

Nishino staggered and nearly fell to the ground, but fortunately he reached out to support the wall next to him in time to stabilize his body.

"Damn...! Cough! Cough!"

It was completely unclear whether it was blood or saliva, and the cloudy liquid splashed out of Nishino's mouth.

Nishino, who knows nothing about modern medicine, certainly doesn't know what "adrenaline" is.

When a large amount of "adrenaline" is secreted, people will temporarily forget the pain.

Nishino didn't know why.

He only knew that when he cooperated with my grandson to break through the siege just now, the wound on his body miraculously stopped hurting.

But now... as time slowly passed, the adrenaline in Nishino's body returned to normal levels, and the burning pain dominated all his nerves again... No! Even more than before!

Probably the wound was accidentally torn... I think so, running wildly, jumping from a broken window, and doing such vigorous exercise without interruption, how can there be any reason not to damage the wound?

Every step Nishino takes now feels tormented.

The continuous pain made his nerves almost numb.

Cold hands and feet, numb fingertips.

His pale face was covered with cold sweat, as if he had just washed his face.

He stretched out his palm and wiped his face. He didn't know whether it was the palm or the face that was paralyzed, the touch of the skin was blurred.

At this time, my grandson's voice came from Nishino's ear:

"Nishino-kun...are you alright?"

"It's okay...you can still move..."

As he spoke, Nishino silently lowered his head, and took a look at his flank with the broken arrow still stuck in it.

When the arrow enters the body, it must not be pulled out indiscriminately - this is the common sense of common sense.

Let alone drawing arrows indiscriminately, it is very easy to cause further damage and rupture of the wound.

When the arrow hits the human body, it is a hole.

If you draw arrows randomly before you are fully prepared, then this big hole is an excellent "bleeding hole".

Letting the arrow stay in the body can also play a role in "blocking the wound and preventing blood from flowing out".

However, not doing something with the arrows on his body is not very good either.

He bow is the largest bow in the world, so correspondingly, the arrows of He bow are also very long.

There are several wooden poles that are nearly one meter long hanging from the body, and the body will dangle with the slightest movement... Just imagine it, you can feel very hindered.

Therefore, after escaping from Yataro's mansion in the Phoenix House, Nishino and my grandson broke off all the arrows on their respective bodies, leaving only the clusters of arrows in the body and a small arrow outside the body, in order to facilitate the movement and prevent the injury from aggravating. Arrow shaft.

Although blocked by chain mail and clothes, Nishino couldn't see the current situation of the wound clearly, but he could still clearly feel that his injury is very serious... If he doesn't receive treatment quickly, he will really return to the shrine up

After sizing up his own injuries, Nishino glanced sideways at my grandson beside him.

"Instead of caring about me...you might as well worry about yourself..."

Although Nishino's physical condition is poor, compared with my grandson, he actually belongs to the "reasonably healthy" category.

My grandson's injury was already heavier than Nishino's.

Nishino suffered only one fatal wound, an arrow wound in his abdomen.

Just like this, he was already in pain.

On the other hand, my grandson has two fatal injuries.

Two arrows in the abdomen... Nishino couldn't imagine how painful it would be.

My grandson's physical fitness is not as good as Nishino's. In this way, the mere word "terrible" seems too mild and inappropriate to describe my grandson's current physical state.

Let's not mention the facial expression and mental state.

Just the way he walked made Nishino sweat.

At this time, my grandson didn't seem to be walking, but more like fluttering.

His footsteps are weak, his lower body is shaking, and he walks silently... like a ghost that may float up into the sky at any time.

"Hahaha... I'm okay too..."

My grandson twitched the corners of his mouth and showed a faint smile.

"It was quite uncomfortable just now... but now... it's a little better..."

Nishino couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard this.

"Hey you……"

When I was seriously injured, I suddenly felt much better... This is not a good thing...

Nishino wanted to say something, but when he was about to leave his mouth, he hesitated for some reason.

After hesitating for a while, he swallowed the words in his mouth and changed his words:

"...my grandson."

"Um?"

"You guys... are really amazing."

"how you said that?"

"Obviously they all look like they are going to be buried soon, but they can still laugh like a normal person."

"Hahaha...Didn't I say that? As a member of the Great Salt Party, I was already mentally prepared to be injured or even sacrificed..."

At this time, Yataro Honoya, who was walking in front of Nishino and my grandson, secretly turned his head and looked at

Yataro Phoenix House was as fat as a pig, and Nishino didn't have the strength to keep dragging him away.

Therefore, he put the knife on the neck of Yataro Honoya and asked him to walk in front of him and my grandson.

If you dare to call for help or dare to run away, I will let your head fall to the ground——When Nishino said this, Yatarou Houhouya was trembling with fright, and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Nishino noticed the sight Yataro Phoenix Ya was looking at him at this time, he immediately straightened his face and said coldly:

"Hey, don't move around... If you dare to move around again, I will send you to hell right away."

While saying this, Nishino pressed the bamboo in his hand to Yataro's neck.

The sharp blade just lightly rubbed against the skin, and immediately cut a shallow bloodstain.

Phoenix House Yataro's fat body trembled three times.

"Ah, ah ha ha ha... I, I, how could I escape?"

While showing a flattering smile, he straightened his head and turned his gaze back to the front.

Looking at the apparently restless "fat pig" in front of him, Nishino thought for a while, then "hissed", tore off a strip of cloth from his jacket, and used the strip of cloth to tightly hold the palm of his right hand and the bamboo in his palm tightly. tied together.

Although I still have strength to spare now, I don't know if I still have the strength to hold the knife after a while.

Therefore, it is necessary to be on guard.

After escaping from the siege of the archers, Nishino and my grandson temporarily ignored Shanghai Laoming and others, so we could only leave in a hurry with Phoenix House Yataro.

Because of the urgency of the situation, the two of them didn't have time to recognize the way, and they just went where there was a hidden and complicated way that was suitable for throwing off the pursuers.

Therefore, Nishino is not very clear about where he is now.

He turned his head and looked back, after confirming that there were no hurried footsteps behind him, he let out a long breath.

At this time, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a tea house not far away.

"Huh? Here is..."

Nishino felt that this tea house seemed familiar.

He raised his eyes and scanned the surrounding street scene, showing surprise.

"Huh? This is... Taika Town?"

Dahua Town - one of the temples and shrines of Edo.

In the Edo period, in order to control the people and divide the power of the officials, the shogunate artificially divided all the cities under its rule into three types of land that were not under the control of each other, namely "Samurai land" where samurai lived and "Samurai land" where civilians lived. town people's land", and temple grounds enshrining shrines and temples.

Among them, town people's land is under the management of the execution office, while temple land is under the management of the temple administration.

The magistrates cannot intervene in the management of the temple grounds, and the temple magistrates cannot interfere in the management of the townspeople.

For this reason, Nishino, who was born in the "three times" of the administrative office, did not often set foot in the temple grounds of Edo.

Fortunately, he happened to be very familiar with this neighborhood.

Because Kingo Sakai, one of the current temple priests, lives near here.

Previously, in order to socialize, Nishino often went to Sakai Kingo's house to drink a few rounds of wine under the leadership of his boss...that is, Beiban's practice: Susukei Chujiro.

The temple and shrine administration, the survey and appointment administration, and the town administration in Edo are collectively called the "three obligations". They often need a convenient place for each other in their daily work, so they often exchange favors and interests with each other.

Susukei and Sakai Kingo have a very good relationship. Whenever they are free, they often get together, chat, drink, listen to Waka, and do some elegant things.

"My grandson, if you persevere, you will be able to..."

Nishino wanted to cheer up my grandson.

But before he finished speaking...

"Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!"

Suddenly, my grandson coughed violently.

The loud voice and urgent frequency startled Nishino.

He subconsciously stretched out his right hand and held onto the earthen wall next to him.

But the moment his palm touched the wall, his right arm bone seemed to be completely shattered, slipped limply, and the whole person continued to fall forward.

"Hello!"

At the critical moment, Nishino supported my grandson.

The moment his palm touched my grandson's body, Nishino felt that his palm was sticky...the palm was covered with fresh blood and sticky plasma that had dried up.

Seeing this, the lines on Nishino's face gradually became stiff.

Half an hour ago, my grandson, who was alive and well and could chat and laugh happily with him, turned into this dying appearance just because of two arrows... This strong contrast made Nishino suddenly suspect that he was dreaming sense of reality.

After coughing more than ten times and vomiting a lot of blood and some internal organs, my grandson slowly raised his head and smiled at Nishino—a calm smile as usual.

"Nishino-kun... sorry... can you help me a little...?"

"……I see."

Nishino stretched out his left hand to support my grandson's torso.

The two continued to move forward, leaving long shadows and deep bloodstains on the ground under the moonlight.

A heavy atmosphere continued to accumulate between the two.

However, Nishino seemed to be unable to bear the atmosphere, and said with a blank expression:

"My grandson, this is the end of the matter, you..."

Nishino's voice was interrupted against his will.

For some reason, his words stuck in his throat, and elusive colors continued to emerge from the depths of his heart.

Nishino took a deep breath, suppressed all kinds of emotions in his chest, spoke again, and continued.

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

My grandson only pulled the corners of his brows down for a moment, as if in embarrassment, and then he smiled softly, as if acknowledging everything Nishino said.

From this moment, Nishino inexplicably felt that the surrounding sounds were so far away, as if only the space centered on him and my grandson was cut off from the world.

In this extremely peaceful world, Nishino's first sentence was a self-deprecating laugh.

"Aha...haha...hahahaha..."

He was obviously laughing, but it sounded like he was asking for help from someone.

"Looking back...it's been...eight years...time flies so fast..."

Nishino remained silent and listened quietly.

My grandson raised his head and looked up, as if he was looking at the sky, and he seemed to be looking at the world farther away.

"Eight years ago... when I was not a 'fire dragon'... I once investigated a case..."

"A little girl who was not as tall as a knife...died tragically on the street..."

"From the left shoulder to the right abdomen... such a delicate body... was cut into two neat halves..."

"This little girl who died tragically...wasn't some lady from a great family...just the daughter of an ordinary townsman..."

"Obviously, someone is testing the knife with civilians..."

"I quickly locked the prisoner..."

"But...after finally catching the prisoner...the Shangguan asked me to release him..."

"Although those guys gave a high-sounding reason, but...Nishino-kun, you should be able to guess what the truth is, right?"

Nishino pursed his lips tightly, and after a moment of silence, he said in a deep voice:

"...The murderer is covered, right?"

My grandson smiled sadly.

"I'm obviously an official servant who was changed by Huofu Thief...but I can't even avenge a little girl..."

"The reason why I joined the Great Salt Party and devoted myself to the cause of a narrow escape from death... Maybe it was to soothe the powerless grief at that time... Cough cough cough! Cough cough! Cough cough!"

My grandson coughed again.

"Okay, stop talking!"

Nishino supported my grandson, lest he slip from his arms.

Although Nishino sternly asked my grandson to shut up, he still suppressed his cough and asked Nishino intermittently a question:

"Nishino-kun...you said...when I arrive...in that world...what kind of expression should I face...that poor little girl? Will she...forgive me for being weak and incompetent... "

Nishino: "..."

A long silence fell between Nishino and my grandson.

The wind from far away sounds inexplicably far away.

After about five seconds, all kinds of emotions hidden deep in the chest finally turned into sound.

"Who knows."

"Hahaha... You're really ruthless when you talk..."

"but--"

Seeing that Nishino hadn't finished speaking, my grandson quickly stopped talking and listened.

"If I were you... I would quite like that little girl to beat me up. It would be best if I was so incompetent."

In an instant, my grandson showed a surprised expression, which soon turned into a complex face that could not be laughed at, and finally put on his usual calm smile.

At this time, my grandson cast a surprised look forward.

"Aiya...you Kadatsu..."

Nishino followed my grandson's line of sight and saw two green pine trees outside the door of a family not far away.

The so-called Kadatsu is a New Year decoration that the Japanese place outside the door during the New Year in the first lunar month. It is generally composed of moso bamboo, pine branches, bamboo poles and wintersweet.

Shintoism in Japan is a typical "animistic belief", believing that all things have animism.

There is a saying in Shintoism that gods live on the branches of trees, so there is a possibility of gods attached to Kadomatsu.

Hanging the door pine in front of the door is to invite the god of the year into the home, so as to herald the good luck of the new year.

Nian Shen is the god who brings good harvest and happiness to every household during the first lunar month.

Although it is almost February now, there are still many families who do not put away the pine trees outside the door because of laziness or other reasons.

"Nishino-kun..."

"what?"

"Do you know..."Manyoshu"...?"

"What kind of stupid question are you asking? As long as it is Kazuto, it is impossible not to know "Manyoshu", right?"

"Manyoshu" - the oldest surviving poetry collection in Japan, contains more than 4,500 ancient poems of various styles in the 450 years from the fourth century AD to the end of the 1860s. Similar to the Chinese "Book of Songs".

"Then do you know... the anti-human song in "Manyoshu"?"

"Why? Are you bleeding so much that your brain is broken? Why do you keep asking me such stupid questions?"

There are a total of one hundred "Fangren Songs" in "Wan Ye Ji", which can be found in volumes 13, 14 and 20.

"Defense against people" is Japan's defeat in the "Battle of Baijiangkou". In order to defend against the attacks of the Tang Dynasty and Silla, Japan recruited strong men from all over the country to station them on the coast of Chikushi (Kyushu Island) and Yiqi , Tsushima and other island defense forces.

"Fangren Song" is the song written by "Fangren" and his family members. Similar to Japanese "frontier poetry".

My grandson chuckled "hahaha" a few times, and the smile on his face became softer.

While looking at the pine tree not far away, he softly sang a very famous "Song of Defense" in "Manyoshu"——

"Those pine..."

"Standing there side by side..."

"Like family..."

"Send me off..."

In Japanese, "pine" has the same pronunciation as "waiting", so the poem also means "waiting for me to go home early".

"At this time, don't sing such unlucky poems."

Nishino said angrily.

"..."

"What's the matter? When I told you not to speak just now, you insisted on speaking. Now when you need to answer, you don't say anything."

"..."

"My grandson? Hello! My grandson?!"

"..."

Nishino stopped and stared blankly at the face of my grandson who was still supported by him.

...

The icy evening wind howled.

The night wind took his breath away.

But he couldn't erase the smile that was forever fixed on his face.

***********

***********

Fifty years in the world are like a dream and an illusion.

As long as there is life, there is death, so why should a strong man regret it?

—— "Dun Sheng"

Good night, Fire Dragon.