I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

"I was a swordsman in ancient Japan ()"

After all, Yoshiwara is not a city outline in the true sense. Although there are indeed residential areas for ordinary people and small-scale markets, they do not occupy a large area.

Occupying most of the land in Yoshiwara is still the densely packed houses of traveling girls.

"The avenue in the center of Yoshihara is called 'Nakanomachi'. It is the most spacious street in Yoshihara. Almost all important events will be held in Nakanomachi."

After taking Ogata for a brief stroll around Yoshiwara's residential areas and markets, Guasheng led Ogata back to the avenue that neatly cut Yoshiwara Plain into two halves—Nakano-machi.

I plan to take Ogata to take a brief tour of the large area of ​​women's houses centered on Nakamachi.

"The closer the girl's house to Nakamachi is, the higher the level is, and on the other hand - the farther away from Nakamachi, the lower the level of the girl's house."

"The 'Rashomon Riverside' where sick and elderly wandering girls gathered, which I told you about last night, is located in the westernmost part of Yoshiwara."

"The 'Rashomon Riverbank' is also the key supervision area of ​​our Shirobei Clubhouse."

"That place is the messiest place in our Yoshihara."

"Because the wandering girls living on the 'Rashomon Riverbank' are basically sick or elderly."

"That's why some beasts always take a fancy to the fact that the wandering girls in that place are basically weak, and run to the 'Rashomon River Bank' to rob money and sex."

Guasheng is very eloquent and good at preaching. Ogata thinks that she might be a teacher.

After leaving Guasheng's house, Guasheng's mouth never stopped, and he kept introducing various details about Yoshihara to Ogata.

But Gua Sheng can always use the shortest and most interesting words to summarize these supposedly complicated knowledge.

Thanks to Guasheng's continuous popularization of all kinds of knowledge about Yoshiwara, Ogata did not feel bored when touring around Yoshiwara.

Before they knew it, the two returned to the avenue in the center of Yoshihara - Naka no Machi.

The current time is about 9 o'clock in the morning.

Since it was already past the early morning when the sun had just risen, the number of people walking around the streets of Yoshiwara gradually increased.

The way of life of the wandering girls is the opposite of that of ordinary people.

Ordinary people work during the day and sleep and rest at night.

The girls sleep and rest during the day, and start working at night.

At this time, many traveling girls are still sleeping and resting in bed.

Of course, there are also some very energetic wandering girls who slipped out of their respective wandering girls' houses and wandered around.

After returning to Nakazhicho, Oo conveniently found that compared with when he arrived in Yoshiwara just now, there were many more wandering girls who slipped out to play in Nakazhicho.

However, because there are not many entertainment activities in this era, and they cannot leave Yoshihara freely, the only way for these wandering girls who slip out to play is to get together and chat.

Some of these wandering girls who slipped out to play still neatly combed their hair and put on makeup.

Some are very casual, not only without makeup, but also without combing their hair, with long hair dragging.

Just as Ogata and Guasheng showed up in Nakazhicho, Ogata saw three wandering girls chatting not far away and suddenly waved to them.

After seeing the three wandering girls waving to them, Guasheng immediately walked towards the three wandering girls holding the wooden knife at his waist.

Although he didn't know why the three wandering girls suddenly waved at them, Ogata hurriedly followed.

Among the three wandering girls, two wore well-formed Shimada buns, and only one had her hair loose, leaving her long, straight black hair hanging behind her.

After Guasheng saw the three of them waving and walking quickly, the only girl without a bun smiled and said to Guasheng:

"Yoshihara Satoshi! Did you start patrolling so early?"

"Well... it can be regarded as a patrol." Gua Sheng smiled,

"I'm taking this newcomer who just entered our club today to get acquainted with Yoshihara. By the way, I'm just patrolling Yoshihara."

After finishing speaking, Guasheng turned sideways and introduced to Ogata standing behind him:

"This is the newcomer who joined our clubhouse today—Goro Mashima."

"Your peace." Ogata bowed to the three wandering girls in front of him, "I'm Mashima Goro."

"Hey~~" The long-haired girl looked Ogata up and down several times with curious eyes, "He looks like a very reliable samurai! Please leave the security of Yoshiwara to you!"

"I will hang my life in the next meeting."

"The number of foreigners flocking to Edo has increased a lot recently." Another petite wanderer standing next to this hairless wanderer suddenly sighed softly at this moment, "It makes us Yoshihara now It’s also much more chaotic than before, it’s really unbearable6”

"Don't worry!" Guasheng raised his hand and patted his small chest vigorously, "Anyone who dares to cause trouble in Yoshiwara, our Shirobei Club will bring them to justice!"

"It's really reliable." The girl with loose hair said with a smile, "As expected of our Yoshihara Harmony."

"Please don't call me Yoshihara-ri Tongxin." Gua Sheng's tone showed strong helplessness, "The word 'Yoshihara-ri Tongxin' has so many syllables, don't you find it troublesome to pronounce it?"

"I don't think so." The wandering girl with shaved hair said as she put her hand into her collar, and then took out a small paper bag from the collar, "Here, this is for you."

"Huh? This is?" Gua Sheng showed doubts on his face, while reaching out to take the small paper package from the wandering girl with hair.

"This is the yokan that one of my guests gave me last night."

"According to him, this yokan comes from a very popular restaurant in Edo."

"Although I heard the customer say what the name of the store is, but I forgot. I tasted this yokan, and it was quite delicious."

"He sent too much yokan, and my friends and I couldn't eat it together, so I'll give you the rest!"

"Ah! Thank you!" Gua Sheng was not polite, and directly said thank you loudly, then looked at the small paper bag in his hand with expectant eyes, and his throat moved due to swallowing saliva.

After bidding farewell to the three wandering girls, Guasheng couldn't wait to open the paper package containing food that the wandering girls had just distributed to them.

There are 6 yokan lying quietly in the paper bag.

Although there is a word for "sheep", Japanese yokan does not have mutton, it is a dessert.

The original yokan did contain mutton, and it was a kind of soup made by adding mutton in the Tang Dynasty.

After this delicacy was introduced to Japan, it was changed by magic.

There are many sects of Buddhism in Japan, and some sects hold strict precepts, not eating alcohol, meat or marrying wives and concubines.

Some sects are no different from ordinary people, they can eat wine and meat and have three wives and four concubines.

Because those monks who hold strict precepts do not eat meat, these monks changed the delicacy of "yokan".

Made in the shape of lamb liver with red beans, arrowroot and flour. The pronunciation of "liver" and "soup" in Japanese is similar, so "sheep liver" is said to be "yokan".

Then gradually became a famous refreshment when it became popular in the tea ceremony.

In the Edo period, yokan, which originally only had a single flavor of red bean, evolved into different flavors such as sweet potato and chestnut.

Ogata glanced at the yokan inside the paper bag—it was chestnut-flavored.

Because there are 6 yokans in total, which can be divided in half between two people, so Guasheng handed 3 of them to Ogata.

Ogata went straight to Yoshiwara as soon as he got up today, without even having breakfast.

At the moment when he was a little hungry, Ogata was not polite, and accepted the three yokans from Guasheng generously, and then ate them together with Guasheng.

The two had just bid farewell to the three wandering girls, and before they had walked a few steps, they saw several wandering girls waving to them on the street not far away.

"Xiaoguasheng! Good morning!"

"Good morning! Don't call me Xiao Guasheng! Why don't one or two of you call me by my name properly..."

"Isn't it too serious to call you Guasheng directly? Xiao Guasheng, who is the one behind you?"

These wandering girls were the same as the three wandering girls just now, they just came to say hello to Guasheng, and asked who this stranger, Ogata, was by the way.

"Come on, Xiao Guasheng, these are steamed buns given to me by one of my guests. I know you like steamed buns the most, so I specially left some for you."

"Ah! Thank you!"

After saying goodbye to Guasheng, these wandering girls also gave them some food just like the three wandering girls just now.

What Ogata and the others received this time were a few steamed buns.

...

...

"Guasheng! Good morning!"

...

"Xiao Tongxin, come here, this is for you, thank you for helping me recover that guy who stole my money while I was not paying attention!"

...

"I can't eat these anymore, so I'll give them to you."

...

Following Guasheng's tour in the "Younv's House Area" is a real "stop and go"...

Every time they walked a certain distance, the two of Ogata...to be precise, Guasheng would be stopped by the girl who slipped outside the girl's house to play.

These wandering girls have different names for Guasheng.

Some politely called Gua Sheng's last name.

Some called Guasheng the nickname "Yoshiwara Li Tongxin".

Some call them "Xiaoguasheng" or "Xiaogua" very affectionately.

Although the titles are different, these wandering girls are very enthusiastic about Guasheng.

They greeted Guasheng simply, or gave Guasheng some food while doing the greeting.

Thanks to Guasheng, Ogata tasted yokan, steamed buns, Daifuku, glutinous rice dumplings... and other delicacies in less than an hour.

Ogata himself can't remember how many prostitutes he and Guasheng have had

After stuffing a piece of dorayaki that a certain wandering girl gave them just now into the mouth and swallowing it, Ogata said to Guasheng next to him in a tone of helplessness and admiration:

"Miss Guasheng, you are so popular among the girls...every girl knows you and greets you warmly."

"Not only greeted you warmly, but also sent you a bunch of food."

The scene where the girls gave food to Guasheng just now... Although it may be strange to say so, Ogata really has a sense of "feeding pets"...

And whenever there is food from Younv, Guasheng will accept it with excitement on his face, plus Guasheng's height is particularly short, most of the Younv's are taller than Guasheng, so It looks more like "feeding pets"...

"Maybe it has something to do with me being a girl too."

Gua Sheng said in a half-joking tone.

"I am the only woman among all the people in the Shirobei Clubhouse who are responsible for maintaining law and order in Yoshihara, so compared to other men, the girls must prefer me who is also a woman."

After finishing speaking, Guasheng handed over the last big blessing left in the paper bag in his hand to Ogata.

"Come on, Mashima-kun, I can't eat anymore, so I'll give you this big fortune."

Ogata didn't make much excuses, took the big blessing from Guasheng and started to chew on it.

Looking at the Daifuku in his hand that had already been bitten half by him, Ogata asked Guasheng next to him in a voice that was somewhat vague because of the Daifuku stuffed in his mouth:

"Why do you girls have so much to eat?"

"The food is basically given by the guests." Guasheng replied, "There are very few guests who can generously give gold, silver and jewelry to the girls."

"The vast majority of those who come to visit Yoshihara are ordinary people."

"Ordinary people can give it away, and it won't look shabby, and there are only those delicacies."

"Your girls are usually not allowed to go in and out of Yoshihara freely, so if someone brings some food outside of Yoshihara that you don't usually eat, the girls are still very happy."

"Sometimes the guests send too much food, and the girls will distribute it to their friends, or to the official errands of our Shirobei Clubhouse."

Speaking of this, Gua Sheng licked his lips.

"It seems that I ate too much just now... I'm a little thirsty..."

Hearing what Guasheng said, Ogata also felt a little thirsty in his throat.

Ogata looked around: "Is there any tea house nearby..."

"Ah!" Guasheng suddenly seemed to remember something, and suddenly called out softly, "Mashima-kun, I will take you to a place, follow me."

"Where are you going?" Ogata asked suspiciously.

"Stay in the house."

Guasheng said a name that was quite unfamiliar to Ogata

"Different customers visit Yoshiwara every day."

"Some of these guests visiting Yoshihara are ordinary rural people."

"Some are warriors or businessmen with good family backgrounds."

"If you want to entertain these guests, it's not enough to have good looks, you must also have good conversation, knowledge, and self-cultivation."

"That's why our Shirobei Club opened a lingering house."

"You can think of staying in the house as a school dedicated to teaching wandering girls to read and write."

"Our Shirobei Club hires teachers to come and stay in the house for teaching."

"Because it's free, many wandering girls who can't read and write or want to have a deeper education sign up to stay in the house to study."

"Even our wind chime master went to study in Liuwu."

"The oiran also went there to study?" Ogata raised his eyebrows in surprise, "A person who can become an oiran should be better educated than many samurai from wealthy families, right?"

"Taifu Fengling is a very studious person. He goes to stay in the house to read and write every day. He never slacks off."

After finishing speaking, Gua Sheng raised his head and glanced at the position of the sun.

"Now the lectures should have started in the remaining room."

After quietly listening to Guasheng introduce the details of the school in Liuwu, Ogata sincerely praised:

"Teaching girls to read and write for free... It's a good place to stay, so that after they leave Yoshiwara, they can also have a skill."

After listening to Guasheng's introduction to Liuya, Ogata couldn't help being a little curious about this school that is open to wandering girls.

"I also think it's a great stay."

Gua Sheng said with a smile.

"Improving the education of the wandering girls will allow them to have the opportunity to entertain those guests who can spend a lot of money, and can raise enough money to redeem themselves faster."

"It was the idea of ​​the current head of our Shirobei Club, the Sixth Generation Shirobei, to build this lingering house that is open to wandering girls for free."

"Although the cost of construction and operation of the reserved house is borne by Shirobei Club itself, almost everyone in the club agrees with Mr. Shirobei's idea of ​​teaching the girls to read and write for free. Can't stop talking."

"But does this have anything to do with our going to the Liuwu now?" Ogata nodded and asked.

"There is always a kind of delicious tea in the Liuwu."

"I usually patrol in Yoshihara, and when I'm thirsty, I'll go to the ryokan to drink some of their tea."

"I'll take you to taste the tea in the remaining house now."

"By the way, I will take you to remember where the left house is."

"Okay." After listening to Guasheng's introduction to Liuya, Ogata, who was already somewhat curious about Liuya, nodded without any hesitation.

"Then let's go." Guasheng supported the wooden knife on his waist, and then led Ogata to turn towards the next intersection.

Turning around this intersection, Ogata and Guasheng suddenly found 3 wandering girls gathered on the side of the road not far away, looking furtive,

Gua Sheng, who was a bit puzzled, stepped forward:

"What are you doing?"

After seeing Guasheng approaching, the three wandering girls did not show any panic, but greeted Guasheng enthusiastically.

"Nothing." Said a tall girl among the three, "It's just that a guest gave me a very interesting thing last night, and I'm just showing it to my two friends."

"Oh? Something interesting?" Gua Sheng showed curiosity, "What is it?"

"This...Miss Guasheng, you'd better not know what it is." The tall girl smiled wryly, "I don't think you will like this kind of thing, Miss Guasheng. So I don't want to show it to you. I'm sorry."

"That's it, it's okay." Although he was rejected by the tall girl, Gua Sheng, who was not a gossip person, did not show any signs of frustration or dissatisfaction.

After waving his hands heartily, he said, "Then I'll go first, the three of you can talk slowly."

...

...

After Ogata and Guasheng left, the three wandering girls hurriedly gathered side by side again.

"Look." The tall wandering girl took out a thick paper bag from her bosom, and unwrapped it, revealing what was inside—a strange-smell-like thumb pills.

"This is the 'Rendan Pill'." The tall wandering girl said every word.

The other two wandering girls looked at the black pill and swallowed one after another.

"Is this the 'Rendan Pill'..." one of the wandering girls murmured.

"Is this really the real product from the Yamada Asemon family?" asked another wandering girl.

"It should be..." said the tall girl, "Anyway, the customer who gave me this pill said that it is genuine. As for whether it is genuine, I don't know."

"The guest who gave you this pill is really strange...Why did you give you a pill specially used to treat lung diseases?"

"He's a drug dealer." The tall girl said, "He can't give away gold, silver and jewelry, so he always gives me medicine."

"I told him a few days ago that I have been coughing all the time recently, so he gave me this 'Human Gallbladder Pill' when he came to see me last night, but he sent the medicine late...my cough is gone .”

"It's the first time I've seen it...the 'human gall pill' made from human gall...does it taste very bitter...by the way, why didn't you show Gua Sheng your 'human gall pill' just now Maru' huh?"

"I've heard it said before—Miss Guasheng doesn't like this kind of medicine made from human internal organs, so it's better not to show her this 'human gall pill', it will make Miss Guasheng unhappy Not good."

After all, the tall wandering girl rewrapped the gallbladder pill and put it back in her bosom.

"Since your cough is healed, what are you going to do with this 'rendan pill'? Do you want to sell it? If this pill is really from the Yamada Asemon family, it should still be sold A lot of money." The girl standing on the left hand side of the tall girl asked.

"I don't like that little money." The tall wandering girl smiled wryly, "Anyway, take it first, maybe one day in the future I will need this medicine."

"The Yamada Asemon family..." The wandering girl standing on the right hand of the tall wandering girl trembled as if remembering something terrible, "Unexpectedly, in my lifetime, I would still have the opportunity to see To the medicine made by the Yamada Asemon family."

"Me too." The tall girl nodded in agreement. "I've always heard that the mansion of the Yamada Asemon family is full of dead bodies... It's scary to think about it..."

"I have also heard that the mansion of the Yamada Asemon family is full of corpses, and new corpses will be sent to their mansion every once in a while... I have always been curious about how their family members sleep with the corpses every day. Together, don’t you feel like you can’t eat or sleep?”

"They may have gotten used to it by now." The tall girl replied, "Anyway, I can't imagine what their normal life is like...Forget it, let's not talk about this scary topic, let's talk about something more relaxed , Interesting thing."

*****

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Let me tell my readers - I can't post pictures in the short comments over there, I can't even post them if I want to...

So you can't see any of the pictures I posted at the end of the previous chapters, you can only look at the starting point.

As for the easter egg chapter, you probably won't be able to see it either.

No way, the reading experience is already so bad, so I strongly recommend readers to turn to the starting point main site to read. Anyway, there is a starting point.