I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

"I was a swordsman in ancient Japan ()"

With Gua Shengxiu leading the way, Ogata's journey to Sakuramon House became smoother in an instant.

It is impossible for the witnesses of every girl's house not to know Gua Shengxiu who is "the same heart in Yoshihara".

So no one who saw the world dared to disturb Ogata who was following Guasheng.

Just like no peddler on modern Earth would foolishly ask a guy walking right behind a policeman if he wants to buy our stuff.

Without the annoying interruptions from the Mishifans, Ogata felt like jumping out of the sticky quagmire.

When Guasheng was leading the way for Ogata and Atachi, he spoke to the two behind him from time to time:

"Speaking of which--I haven't asked you two names yet. I'm Hideo Guasheng from the Shirobei Club."

"I am Izumo Ronin, Mashima Goro."

"I'm...Ashin." At the moment when Shiranui moved his base to near Edo, A-Machi didn't want to reveal his real name in Edo, so he casually used a pseudonym.

After a brief self-introduction, Gua Sheng began to casually chat with the two:

"People who come to Yoshiwara are basically there for fun."

"It costs money to have fun."

"And a very large sum of money."

"'Daily spending a thousand dollars' is not an exaggerated rhetoric in Yoshihara. I have seen too many people who can spend hundreds or thousands of taels in Yoshihara overnight."

"Because many people who come here to Yoshihara basically carry a lot of money with them, so many thieves and robbers are attracted."

"Yoshihara is one of the places with the largest number of thieves and robbers in the entire Edo."

"As a result, our Shirobei Club had to send a large number of people to patrol the streets of Yoshiwara all the time."

Speaking of this, Guasheng turned his head and cast a serious look at Ogata.

"When you go to Yoshiwara for fun in the future, remember to take care of your wallet. Try not to go to crowded places."

"Thank you for your suggestion." Ogata laughed dumbly, "But I probably won't come to Yoshihara again in the future."

"In addition to keeping an eye on your own wallet, you must also remember to stay away from those strangers who come here for no reason."

When Guasheng said this, he turned his gaze to A-cho.

"Although Yoshiwara is very bright no matter it is day or night, but this place is one of the darkest places in Edo."

When he said these words, an imperceptible gloomy color flashed in Gua Sheng's eyes.

"There are countless 'underground activities' of invisible people in Yoshiwara."

"One of the main tasks of our Shirobei Club is to fight against these 'underground activities'."

"The most harmful 'underground activities' are human traffickers."

"They deceived those young girls with sweet words, and trafficked those girls to various playgirl houses."

"Once it's sold into a girl's house, it will be very difficult."

"Because we can very well find out that you were trafficked into the girl's house. You were still acting there. You obviously entered the girl's house voluntarily, but lied that you were trafficked in order to leave Yoshiwara."

"In short, after entering Yoshiwara, women should be more careful than men."

"Whether it is in Yoshihara or outside Yoshihara, you must be extra careful about those traffickers."

"Many traffickers are operating outside Yoshihara, abducting girls outside Yoshihara, and then selling girls into Yoshihara."

Similar words, both Ogata and A-Machi heard from the uncle at the "female cut hand pick-up point".

Both the uncle and this Guasheng emphasized the danger of human traffickers. It can be seen that human traffickers are really rampant in Yoshiwara.

Even though he has no friendship, Guasheng still spends so much time telling Ogata and Atachi all kinds of precautions in Yoshiwara, which makes the two of them feel a little fond of this enthusiastic girl.

"Thank you for your reminder!" A-Ming smiled, "But I don't think any trafficker would take a fancy to an ugly girl like me, right?"

After all,

While showing a weird smile, A-Machi pointed at the terrible makeup on her face that she couldn't bear to look at.

"Don't be careless, Miss Axing."

Gua Sheng said sternly.

"As far as I know, recently, Yoshihara's customers are particularly fond of people with plump breasts."

Speaking of this, Guasheng shifted his gaze to A-Ming's bulging chest, which was puffed out by the kimono.

I don't know if it was Ogata's illusion, but he always felt that the corners of Guasheng's mouth seemed to twitch when he shifted his gaze to A-Ming's chest, and his eyes seemed to become a little weird.

"People with large breasts have become one of the main targets of human traffickers in recent times."

Guasheng continued.

"Even if the face is average, but as long as the breasts are plump, they will still be abducted by the traffickers into the house of the prostitute."

"What's more—Miss Axing, please don't say that you are an ugly girl, it's too presumptuous to belittle yourself."

"Although your makeup...is so thick that people can't see what you look like, but I can feel that your foundation is very good."

"I have been working here in Yoshihara for a long time, and I see so many beautiful girls every day, so I still have some eyes to distinguish between beautiful and ugly."

"So I can feel it - your foundation must be very good."

"Your skin is fair enough, and your figure is also very good."

"After dressing up and dressing up, she must be the kind of beauty who is expected to become the head of a house of traveling girls."

Ah Ding seems to be very pleased with Gua Sheng's disguised compliment.

A-Machi, who looked happy, poked Ogata beside him with his elbow.

"Did you hear that? Miss Guasheng said that my aptitude is enough to be the top card in Younvwu."

"And it's the kind of top card that is qualified to compete for the position of oiran." Gua Sheng added with a smile.

Hearing what Guasheng said, Ah Ding was even happier.

But A-Machi still played with his hair and said in a helpless tone:

"It's a pity that I haven't studied much, and I can't even read Chinese characters. It's impossible to be an oiran."

"If you want to be an oiran, it's not enough just to know how to do it." Gua Sheng said indifferently, "Only the kind of woman who is beautiful, knows how to do things, knows how to play piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and is good at talking... In short, if you are a near-perfect woman, To have the title of Oiran."

"Now in the entire Yoshihara, there is only one oiran left, Mrs. Fengling from Meiwu."

"Huh?" Ah-ding raised his eyebrows in doubt, "I heard what you said just now, can there be more than one oiran in Yoshiwara?"

"Of course there can be more than one oiran." Guasheng said in a helpless tone, "It's just because it's so difficult to be an oiran, and most of the time there is only one oiran, so it gives people the impression that there is only one oiran in Yoshiwara. illusion."

"There can be many oirans."

"Several years ago, Yoshihara used to have three oirans at the same time."

"It's just that I hadn't started working in the Shirobei clubhouse at that time, so I didn't see the scene where the three oirans competed for beauty."

Speaking of this, Gua Sheng paused as if he remembered something.

After a long pause, she scratched her hair, and then said to A-cho in a slightly apologetic tone:

"Although I just said that your aptitude is enough to be the top card in a certain house in Yoshihara."

"But unless you are really desperate in the future, don't come to Yoshiwara to be a wandering girl."

"It's easy for Yoshihara to come in, but hard to get out."

"Even the oiran who stands on the top of the wandering girl can hardly die in Yoshiwara."

"Of the three oirans I just mentioned, only one died well."

"The only oiran who died well was successfully redeemed by a rich man who liked her before she got sick, and then married this rich man."

"Being redeemed by someone and being able to combine with someone like an ordinary woman is already the best ending that wandering girls can't even imagine."

"One of the other two people died of Hana Liu's illness in the second year after becoming an oiran."

"The other one didn't know why, she couldn't control her figure well, her figure was out of shape, and she was abandoned by her former employer to the bank of the Rashomon River because of no customers ordering her again."

"That..." Ogata asked, "What is 'Rashomon Riverside'?"

"...Did you see that?"

Gua Sheng stopped in his tracks, pouted his mouth towards the west.

Ogata and A-Ming looked in the direction of Guasheng's mouth,

I saw a dark area to the west of Yoshihara.

Obviously that area is also within the tall wooden wall and is part of Yoshihara, but that area is incompatible with other areas.

The rest of the area was brightly lit, as if it were daytime.

Only that area was dark, with only a few scattered lights.

"That place is the 'Rashomon Bank'."

Gua Sheng said in a calm tone.

"The old ones, those who are sick... In short, there will be no wandering girls who will be called by their names, and most of them will be abandoned to the 'Rashomon River Bank'."

"You can see a lot of the headlines of a former traveling girl's house in the 'Rashomon Riverbank'."

"Wandering girls who are abandoned to the 'Rashomon Riverbank' will not be taken care of by any wandering girl's house."

"They can only attract customers on their own."

"In order to make a living, they basically refuse all guests. And they will use very rough methods to solicit customers."

"People who walk on the 'Rashomon River' will be held by their hands or clothes and forced to enter the room. The spirit of pulling people into the room is like the legendary 'Rashomon', so people used to call it That area is the 'Rashomon Bank'."

"Of course - there is another very important reason for calling it the 'Rashomon Riverbank', because the desolate scenery in that area and the changes in the fate of the wandering girls living in this area are enough to make people think To Rashomon."

After quietly listening to Guasheng's narration, Ogata and Atachi couldn't help feeling depressed.

Guasheng also realized that what he said just now seemed to spoil the atmosphere of the conversation, so he turned around and bowed to Ogata and apologized: "Sorry, what I said just now seems to be too heavy..."

"It's okay." A-Machi smiled. "You don't need to apologize to us. Instead, I want you to thank you for telling us so many things related to Yoshihara. Thanks to you, we know a lot of things that we didn't know before."

"I think it is very necessary for you Shirobei Club to publicize the hardships of prostitutes, so that every girl who plans to enter Yoshiwara as a prostitute should think carefully about it."

"Of course we have the difficulty of publicizing the difficulty of being a wandering girl." Guasheng said with a wry smile, "Whenever a girl plans to come to Yoshiwara to become a wandering girl, we will persuade them to think carefully and tell them that becoming a wandering girl will be very difficult. the consequences of facing it.”

"It's a pity that many girls choose to enter Yoshihara without hesitation even after they have learned about the hardships of Younv."

"As for the reason... well..."

Gua Sheng didn't continue talking, only let out a long sigh.

Although Guasheng didn't go on, both Ogata and Atachi also knew why so many girls entered Yoshiwara without hesitation even after learning about the hardships of Younv.

There is no other reason - for money.

Even in the Taiping years, there must still be a large number of people who are desperately poor.

Those girls who resolutely decide to become a wandering girl even though they know that there will be no good end after becoming a wandering girl, must have been trapped in a situation where there is no other way out except to be a wandering girl.

After Guasheng let out another long sigh, he said:

"Forget it, let's not talk about this. Let's continue walking, turn around the street ahead, and you will see the Sakura Gate House."

...

...

The atmosphere among the three of them became very heavy because they talked about not easy topics just now.

For the rest of the way, the three of them didn't speak any more.

Sakuramon House is indeed one of the few "big sights" in Yoshihara. In terms of the style of the house, Yuan is better than other girls' houses around.

After explaining their intentions to Jian Shifan, who was guarding in front of the Sakura Gate House, the Jian Shifan immediately showed a clear expression.

"Oh! Shiya's steamed buns! Your speed is faster than expected! I haven't seen you before, where is Tojiro?"

"Tojiro's waist was injured." Ogata said, "So we'll deliver the steamed buns for him."

"Is that so... Then you will tell Fujijiro on behalf of our owner of Sakuramon House, 'Take care of your body'!"

"Well, I will."

After accepting the steamed buns, this Misaiban gave Ogata a piece of paper proving that they had received the steamed buns.

It is said to be written evidence, but it is actually a small piece of white paper with the words "Sakuramon House has received 30 steamed buns" and other words on it.

Before he came to deliver the steamed buns, Fujijiro told Ogata that Sakuramon House had already paid in advance, so Ogata only needed to deliver the steamed buns, and then bring this document and Furoshiki who was responsible for wrapping the steamed buns with him Just come back.

After putting away the written documents and Furoshiki in his pocket, Amachi asked Ogata:

"Mashima, what are we going to do next?"

Because of the presence of Gua Sheng, Ah-Machi did not call Ogata by her usual name, but Ogata's alias.

"What else can I do." Ogata shrugged, "Of course, after sending this document and Furoshiki back to the tea house, he went straight back to the hotel."

Ogata wanted to try to find some useful information in Yoshiwara.

But I didn't expect it, it sounded like some ugly things, and there was no useful information at all.

In addition, it is not too early now, so Ogata also lost interest in staying in Yoshihara.

"Are you leaving?" Gua Sheng said, "Then I'll take you to the door. I'll also go back to the clubhouse to rest. I haven't rested tonight. It's time to go and take a rest."

After thanking Guasheng, the three of them started on the road again.

Under the guidance of Guasheng, the three of them re-turned onto the avenue located in the middle of Yoshihara and connected to the gate.

According to Guasheng's introduction - this avenue located in the middle of Yoshihara, which divides Yoshihara into two, is named "Naka ​​no Machi".

When the three of them were heading towards the gate along Nakazhicho, a series of commotions suddenly sounded from behind the three of them.

"What's going on?" Gua Sheng frowned and looked behind him.

Ogata was also looking back behind him.

I saw that the crowd behind me suddenly became noisy for some reason, and everyone's face was full of excitement.

Guasheng, who was also unaware, bowed lightly to Ogata and Atachi.

"Sorry, excuse me first, I'll go and see what's going on."

After finishing speaking, Gua Sheng supported the wooden knife at his waist and ran towards the commotion crowd behind him.

After a while, Gua Sheng came back.

"What happened?" Ash asked.

"A rare thing happened." Gua Sheng smiled wryly, "A rich guy ordered Taifu Fengchi."

"So 'Oiran Road' is about to start."

"Because I can finally meet the legendary oiran, these people are all excited."

Hearing Guasheng's words, Ogata and Atachi were both taken aback.

After recovering from the stupefaction, A-Machi turned his head and smiled slyly, and said to Ogata beside him in a joking tone:

"Who told me just now that the oiran is hard to see? Don't we see it now?"

To A-Machi's joke, Ogata responded in a helpless, slightly joking tone:

"This can only show that our luck is quite good..."

"Yes." Gua Sheng on the side answered, "Your luck is indeed quite good."

"Not everyone has the financial resources to order an oiran."

"How? Are you interested in visiting the oiran?"

...

...

at the same time--

Yoshihara, somewhere in a remote shadowy area outside the gate.

In this remote shadowy area, there are 2 people standing.

Two young men in ordinary kimonos with only Hawazaki stuck in their waists.

One of the two young men looked at the Yoshihara gate in front of him, stretched vigorously, and then spoke in a lazy tone that only he and the other young man beside him could hear clearly. Said in a low voice:

"Finally arrived in Yoshihara... It's all because Lord Balrog wants to hold a meeting tonight, it wasted a lot of time, and I was able to come to Yoshihara so late today."

"It's fine to hold a meeting, but the meeting held is still a boring meeting that warned us to be careful in Edo."

"Speaking of it, the content is still the same. In Edo, you should be cautious in your words and deeds, and don't conflict with officials... I'm tired of hearing these words."

As soon as the young man's complaint fell, another young man standing beside him immediately said in a respectful tone:

"Master Geutaro, let's go to Yoshihara quickly. Because of Fuma-sama, we will arrive at Yoshihara later than usual today, so let's hurry up."

"That's right." The young man called Ji Taro stretched again, "Let's go."

After saying that, Kokutaro took a step forward.

But after taking a step forward, he paused.

"By the way, Keitaro." Ji Taro turned his head, looked at the young man next to him who reminded him to hurry up, and then whispered in a volume that only he and the young man could hear clearly, "Later After entering Yoshiwara, pay attention to changing the wording."

"I'm not the "Four Heavenly Kings" Ji Taro in Shiranui now."

"It's just a prostitute who came to Yoshihara to find pleasure——Koichiro."

"Yes." The young man next to Jitaro, that is, Keitaro, echoed respectfully, "I will pay attention."

"Let's go." Ji Taro adjusted the kimono on his upper body, "Go to Yoshiwara!"