Chapter 563: 563

Chapter 563 Gabriel’s Secret

Okita Soki met the love of his life during his trip to Kiyomizu-dera, a more than pleasant surprise for him . As for the competition, Zhang Heng was in no hurry since an agreement had been made with the other party .

Although Okita Soki was suffering from a cough, he shouldn’t have trouble getting through the day . Okita Soki, the samurai with the highest combat power, for now, was like a perfect main dish . Once Zhang Heng tasted it, he would probably not go for other appetizers .

Consequently . Zhang Heng did not mind the competition between the two getting pushed back . Besides, there was something for him to do now—the two katana he’d borrowed from the Suzaku Dojo and another dojo before seemed quite decent . Unfortunately, they were just like that wakizashi—their quality still falling far short of the legendary katana . Especially the Suzaku Dojo’s katana that was supposedly crafted by Miike Tenta Mitsuyo . Later, Zhang Heng asked a particular collector to appraise it, unsure if this katana was Miike Tenta Mitsuyo’s work .

This was also the most troublesome part of this quest . According to the information Scarlet gave him, the system wouldn’t notify him when he got his hands on those katana . When Scarlet and her friend entered this quest, they had a clear goal-completing the mission within the time frame . However, when the quest called Bakumatsu Kyoto was assigned to Zhang Heng, the scenario was completely different . It could mean that he would need to make some tough choices by the end of this quest .

For now, it wasn’t a problem to be too concerned about . All Zhang Heng needed to do right now was to challenge Kyoto’s masters and collect famous katana .

Another week passed since the trip to Kiyomizu-dera Temple . The samurai from Choshu Domain did not come to look for him . Initially, Zhang Heng thought that it was a little weird . Judging from their character, it did not make sense that they did not make a move for so long . Not unless there was something more critical that required their immediate attention . And now Zhang Heng finally got to know the reason behind it . He was told that Shinsaku Takasugi, who had been recuperating at Sakurayama, had passed away due to an illness .

It was indeed a significant event .

Shinsaku Takasugi was the leader of the Choshu Domain . A hot-blooded leader in his youth, he assassinated Westerners, burned the British embassy, and forced Emperor Komei to pardon the barbarians . After that, he singlehandedly recruited and formed the kiheitai . During the Kinmon Incident, the Sonnõ jõi was defeated . On behalf of the Choshu Domain, he was coerced into signing the Shimonoseki Treaty with Britain, the United States, France, and the Netherlands, forcing him to abandon the barbarians . When the Shinsaku Takasugi succumbed to the shogunate, he lived in exile for a period of time . Still, it did not take long for him to join forces with Ito Hirobumi to recapture the Choshu Domain’s reins . Subsequently, he mulled a series of drastic westernized reforms, allowing the Choshu Domain to embark on the road of prosperity and strength . Then, not too long after that, he managed to defeat the shogunate fleet at Oshima and Ogura . It was a glorious moment for him . Unfortunately, the life of such a tremendous hero would ultimately be extinguished by a puny cough . He died on his sickbed on the eve of the new era’s arrival . Understandably, Choshu Domain was now in great distress and grief, and it was no surprise that they weren’t bothered to deal with the Koyama Dojo affair for the time being .

Shinsaku Takasugi’s death didn’t cause Zhang Heng to feel anything . After all, he picked no sides from the beginning, considered himself merely an observer . He was more concerned, though, about another issue-Juzumaru was coming to Kyoto .

The Juzumaru, one among five world-famous katana, was nearly as revered as the Mikazuki Munechika . It was Honkoji’s precious treasure, and its current owner, Kirino Toshiaki, was also known as the Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu .

This man was Satsuma domain’s leader, Saigo Takamori-one that was willing to abandon the honor of a samurai to become a killer specializing in assassinating shogunate minions . As of now, countless shogunate officials had died in his hands, and after Shinsaku Takasugi’s passing, Saigo Takamori happened to want to come to Kyoto . It made the imaginations of many run wild .

Was the Satsuma Domain planning to take advantage of his ally’s death, Shinsaku Takasugi, to make a big move?

Something huge might befall Kyoto . The Shinsengumi and Kyoto Mimawarigumi patrolled the streets with their katana every day . Nonetheless, they failed to locate Kirino Toshiaki . This caused great distress to the residents that lived in that area . The emperor and the kuge watched the whole thing unfold before them in the imperial city, while the shogunate sect was in danger .

Zhang Heng paid attention to the situation’s development as well . It was rare that he got the exact whereabouts of the five great katana in this world . Of course, he wanted to take this opportunity to get his hand on Juzumaru . This meant he needed to locate Kirino Toshiaki before the Shinsengumi—this would prove more than challenging as Tobaku had many supporters in Kyoto . Despite all that, they still failed to figure out where Kirino Toshiaki was hiding now . And Gabriel, on the other side, was still putting up a great act, successfully driving away from his pursuers, which had been following him for days . Since Kirino Toshiaki was in town now, no one had the time to keep following him around .

So Gabriel found Zhang Heng that afternoon and asked secretly, “Are you available tomorrow night?”

“Huh?” Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows .

“I’m attending a significant banquet tomorrow night, and I need you to be there to help me with translation . Don’t worry, if it is done well, I will pay you ten koban, all at once,” Gabriel added .

The translation work asked of him was easy and comfortable so far, and it did not match the generous pay Gabriel showered on him . Zhang Heng knew that good things such as this had the nick of not lasting forever . Now, Gabriel was about to ask Zhang Heng to do what he was supposed to do after taking all those koban from him . He believed as long as he said yes to Gabriel, he would know what was hiding inside his sleeve tomorrow night .

It seemed like it was not easy money, after all .

No matter what Gabriel intended to do, it was obviously not something that could be revealed . Zhang Heng was not naive enough to think that Gabriel believed he’d keep the secret from him . Hence, it was not hard to predict what Gabriel would do to him after the whole thing was over .

Zhang Heng needed to make a quick decision if he should risk it or not . If it were purely for the reward of the ten koban, then he would turn around and leave-he had made a lot of money during this period anyway, and Akane Koyama had mentioned she wanted to exempt his rent . However, Zhang Heng rejected her offer . No matter what, he could continue being a translator for Gabriel, except he might not receive as much money as he did .

But what interested Zhang Heng was the people Gabriel worked with .

Now, he knew that it was the shogunate who’d been following Gabriel all this while . It could only mean that Gabriel was most likely siding with Tobaku . And it happened that Zhang Heng was looking for Juzumaru, and Kirino Toshiaki might fall in the hand of Tobaku supporters .

Zhang Heng found it hard to say no to Gabriel . This was the only useful clue he had at the moment . Since he was confident in his swordsmanship, Zhang Heng said yes to Gabriel after a short while considering . The latter seemed relieved .

“Excellent, let’s meet at our old spot tomorrow night . ”

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters .