My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 443: Chapter 159: Chiba Eijiro Comes for Aoto

At this moment, Zhouzhu suddenly seemed to recall something, and his expression paused for a moment.

Immediately, he gently asked Aoto:

"Mr. Tachibana, have you seen that ’Qi Stream’ again recently when practicing swordsmanship or sparring with others?"

"No." Aoto responded without hesitation, shaking his head with a bitter smile, "I haven’t seen that ’Qi Stream’ again during this time."

"I see..." Zhouzhu pursed his lips, then laughed quietly while patting Aoto’s shoulder, "It’s okay, take it slow."

"Someday you will figure out what those ’Qi Streams’ you saw truly are."

Ever since Aoto faced Niitsuma Kan in the finals of the Aizu Marquis Swordsmanship Competition and unconsciously released ’Momentum’ at the same instant he saw the ’Qi Stream’ from Niitsuma Kan, his curiosity and confusion about ’Qi Stream’ have increased significantly.

He couldn’t figure it out even after pondering deeply.

Therefore, in order to clarify what the ’Qi Stream’ truly was, Aoto decided, after careful consideration, to consult his respected master... Zhouzhu.

Aoto originally thought: Zhouzhu, whose age was several times his own and had struggled for decades along the path of martial arts, might give him some answers or inspiration.

However... the final result left Aoto disappointed—after hearing Aoto’s description, Zhouzhu also looked bewildered.

Zhouzhu didn’t know what the ’Qi Streams’ Aoto saw were either...

Even Zhouzhu, who had seen much, couldn’t provide a specific answer... This made Aoto even more mystified by the ’Qi Stream’.

Zhouzhu’s sudden question was just a small interlude.

After asking Aoto "if he has seen the ’Qi Stream’ recently", Zhouzhu did not speak again, continuing to eat tangerines quietly with Aoto and Chokata.

The atmosphere in the hall room returned to tranquility and peace.

However, this tranquility and peace did not last long before being disrupted again.

Thump thump thump—urgent footsteps came from the corridor outside the hall room.

As Aoto and the others turned their gaze, they saw the sliding door of the hall room being opened abruptly by the peculiar-looking Kondo.

"Father, I’ve finally found you!"

"Yong, what’s wrong?" Zhouzhu frowned slightly, "Why in such a hurry?"

"Father." Kondo’s expression became even more peculiar as he pointed towards the entrance of Shiwei Hall, "Eisuke has arrived!"

"What?" Zhouzhu, who was just about to put a freshly split tangerine into his mouth, froze, his hand stopped mid-air holding the tangerine.

—Eisuke?

Upon hearing this name, Aoto couldn’t help but slightly constrict his pupils, and like Zhouzhu, his whole body froze directly...

...

...

Shiwei Hall, hall room—

"Please have some tea."

"Thank you." Chiba Eijiro slightly bent his body, sending a polite smile to Abi who served him tea.

At this moment, the hall room in Shiwei Hall was quite a gathering of stars.

Zhouzhu, Kondo, Chokata, Aoto, Saito, Nagakura, Harada... except for Kyūbē, who was outside helping clean the yard, all current residents of Shiwei Hall were here.

The group sat neatly on the west side of the hall room, facing Chiba Eijiro who sat alone on the east side.

"So he’s the ’Skill of Chiba’..." Sitting slightly behind Aoto, Nagakura murmured softly in a volume only he could hear, tightening his crossed arms, eyes gleaming as they fixed on Chiba Eijiro.

Beside him, Harada, usually with a silly look, now wore a rare serious expression, observing Chiba Eijiro with interest.

Nagakura and Harada were both seeing the renowned ’Skill of Chiba’, a star in the Japanese Swordsmanship World, for the first time, naturally feeling uneasy.

Aoto and Saito had met Chiba Eijiro in the previous Swordsmanship Competition, so compared to Nagakura and Harada, they were much calmer.

Chiba Eijiro took a sip of the tea from Abi and raised his eyebrow.

"Good tea... Mrs., it seems your tea-making skills have improved."

"You flatter me." Abi held the tea tray in front, smiling politely.

"Hahaha, I don’t think I’m flattering." Chiba Eijiro took a few more sips of tea, then set down the teacup, raising his gaze to Nagakura and others.

"Mr. Zhouzhu, coming to your hall after some time, your hall has many new faces... Who are these people?"

Chiba Eijiro had seen Saito at the recent Aizu Marquis Swordsmanship Competition, so he knew him, but he had never met Nagakura and Harada.

"Ah, I almost forgot to introduce them."

Zhouzhu turned his upper body and pointed to Nagakura and others.

"Eisuke, let me do the introductions."

"This is Nagakura Shinpachi, and this is Harada Sazō. Both of them are now my hall’s war guests, and they are also undercover informants under Mr. Tachibana."

"Nice to meet you! I’m Nagakura Shinpachi!" As Zhouzhu finished speaking, Nagakura quickly pressed his clenched fists on the tatami, bending his upper body to pay respectful homage to Chiba Eijiro.

"Nice to meet you, I am Harada Sazō." Harada followed Nagakura, bowing his head in salute to Chiba Eijiro.

"Hmm, hello." After nodding to Nagakura and Harada, Chiba Eijiro displayed a relaxed smile devoid of airs, "You don’t need to be so formally courteous, lift your heads up; your overly polite demeanor makes me a bit uneasy."