My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 440: Chapter 158: Visit of the Strongest in Edo, Chiba Eijiro

Also emerging from beneath the cloak was the sword carried on the mysterious figure’s back.

A sword with a hilt and scabbard interwoven in purple and black.

...

...

There is an unknown group hoarding large quantities of fire oil within Edo City... Such a shocking matter naturally received the highest level of attention from the Magistrate’s Office.

With the help of Aoto and Mukiwa, Inagawa and his team captured the men with the birthmark face, after which the Magistrate’s Office immediately threw them into the prison compound, instructing the action officer responsible for the interrogation to spare no mercy—torture them ruthlessly! Extract intelligence from their mouths as quickly as possible.

And so—Stone Embrace Punishment, Shrimp Punishment, Hanging Punishment... all these cruel tortures that make the sufferer wish for death rather than life, were all applied to the ones with the birthmark face.

These punishments and interrogation methods are indeed a perfect combination of human malice and imagination against their own kind.

In less than half a day, those tormenting the ones with the birthmark face revealed everything they knew under the agony.

As it turned out, they were not members of the Anti-foreigner Group, nor were they from any "Radical Anti-foreigner Faction" organization.

They were a group of smugglers.

They had accepted a commission from a person calling himself "Saburo" to "help purchase a large amount of fire oil," acquiring substantial quantities of fire oil from Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and other places in Kansai, and then transported it to Edo by sea.

The abandoned tea house that Mukiwa discovered was precisely the "temporary warehouse" used by the birthmark face and his associates to store their goods.

As smugglers, the birthmark face and his associates always adhered to the principle of "only looking at the money," "not asking any unnecessary questions of the client."

Therefore, the birthmark face had no idea who this Saburo was, nor what his intention was in purchasing such a large amount of fire oil—he only knew that Saburo offered far too much, compelling him to accept the task of "helping to purchase the fire oil" without hesitation.

The agreed delivery method with Saburo was to exchange money and goods at the foot of a small mountain in the east suburb of Edo on April 25.

Upon hearing such crucial intelligence, the Magistrate’s Office immediately assembled a team, hurrying to the location where the birthmark face and Saburo had agreed to meet.

However... by April 27, no suspicious individuals had been caught despite continuous surveillance...

It seemed the forces behind Saburo had timely received information, learning of the capture of the birthmark face and associates by the Magistrate’s Office, and promptly retreated, leaving the Magistrate’s men empty-handed.

Since they could not capture Saburo at their meeting site... they had no choice but to change their pursuit strategy!

The Magistrate’s Office and the Arson and Theft Magistrate swiftly coordinated and implemented the following measures:

1. Investigate all fire oil merchants in Edo, checking if anyone has purchased large quantities of fire oil recently.

2. Conduct a city-wide search for any other locations where fire oil might be hoarded, encouraging citizens to report any suspicious places.

Someone buying large quantities of fire oil... this was already the kind of unsettling news that made even high-ranking officials at the Magistrate’s Office and the Arson and Theft Magistrate lose sleep...

Aoto and the other "Three Times" samurais were busy once again.

Although the Magistrate’s Office and the Arson and Theft Magistrate took this "fire oil purchasing incident" very seriously, investing significant effort and resources, the investigation’s progress was still considerably slow...

The management at the grassroots level by the Magistrate’s Office has always been quite poor.

The South and North Governor’s Offices even had to rely on the assistance of the "Town Autonomous Organization" to barely manage Edo effectively... Regardless of anything else, the fact that they had to count on other organizations’ help to govern Edo highlighted the challenges of expecting the South and North Patrols to possess efficient administrative capabilities...

More than ten days passed, and as of now, the flow of fire oil in Edo remained unclear, nor was it known who had purchased large quantities of fire oil...

Although the birthmark face and his associates did not provide the Magistrate’s Office with much useful intelligence, they did accomplish one thing—they made the names of Cat Monk and Fox Monk even more renowned.

Lately, the citizens of Edo have fervently discussed this pair of phantom thieves who once again, within a short time, punished the evil and made significant contributions to Edo’s peace.

Many praised the righteous acts of Cat Monk and Fox Monk, pointing out that if not for their help in discovering and defeating the birthmark face and his associates, the inefficiency of the Magistrate’s Office might have never exposed the fire oil hoarding.

Of course, some grumbled: Although Cat Monk and Fox Monk bear the title of "phantom thief," their recent actions of combating the Man-Slayer Group and discovering the fire oil hoarding have absolutely nothing to do with their "phantom thief" titles!

This "fire oil storage incident" marked the second time the name Fox Monk resonated through the streets and was also the second time Cat Monk and Fox Monk appeared in the public eye collaboratively.

The public naturally paid more attention to Fox Monk, this "newcomer."

Many people started to speculate with great enthusiasm: What exactly is the relationship between Fox Monk and Cat Monk?

All kind of theories swirled around.

Some said that Fox Monk and Cat Monk were master and servant...

Some said they were just like-minded comrades...

Some said Fox Monk and Cat Monk were a married couple...

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