After Shusairo fell into a bottleneck period and his condition declined, Asi once accompanied him to a nearby temple to pray for good fortune and remove bad luck.
Upon the strong recomndation of a monk at this temple, they purchased a supposedly consecrated wooden Statue of Niō.
"As long as you place this Statue of Niō at your ho’s entrance, no evil demon or spirit can enter your house! This way, your family’s fortune will gradually improve!"—these were the exact words the monk used when recomnding the Statue of Niō to Shusairo and the others.
Since the Statue of Niō wasn’t very expensive, Shusairo and his wife bought it with the mindset of "better to believe it exists than not" and placed the statue at their entryway as instructed by the monk.
After righting the Statue of Niō that had been knocked over by their overly lively cat, Asi returned to the living room.
Looking at her husband, who was still troubled and scratching his head, Asi pondered for a mont, then clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Shusairo, why don’t we go for a walk outside tomorrow?"
"A walk?" Shusairo put down his hands, which had been rubbing his head.
Asi nodded: "Let’s take a walk outside, enjoy the scenery, breathe so fresh air, and maybe you’ll find new inspiration!"
"A walk..." Shusairo rubbed his brow forcefully, "...alright, it’s true I haven’t gone out for a walk in a long ti... but where should we go for a walk? Where in Edo haven’t we visited? What sights haven’t we seen?"
"Hm... Ah, I rember now." Asi clapped her hands again, "Tomorrow, there seems to be a Swordsmanship Competition in Asakusa! Why don’t we go watch it?"
"Swordsmanship Competition?" Shusairo scratched the side of his head, "Oh, there is sothing like that... but I’m not really interested in swordsmanship."
"Just co and take a look." Asi approached Shusairo with a wide grin, hugged him from behind, "Let’s see how those swordsn compete, and maybe you’ll get so inspiration."
"..." Shusairo raised his hands, gently patting Asi’s arms wrapped around his chest. After a long silence, he sighed and smiled wryly, "...Alright, let’s go take a look tomorrow."
...
...
The next day—
The first year of Kanbun (1860), April 16—
Edo, Asakusa—
Asakusa is a bustling district centered around Asakusa Temple, one of the liveliest and most flourishing entertainnt areas in Edo, having evolved into its unique "Asakusa entertainnt culture," with theaters and circus troupes lined side by side, incredibly prosperous.
The much-anticipated Aizu Marquis Swordsmanship Competition is finally set to officially start in Asakusa today... making the usually bustling Asakusa even more lively.
Earlier this morning, Zhouzhu personally led the disciples, with Aoto at the forefront, who would participate in or watch the competition, along with Kondo, Chokata, and Hijikata, the three core mbers almost indistinguishable from Shiwei Hall, to head to Asakusa.
"Wow..." As soon as they entered Asakusa, Chokata’s eyes widened as he stared in amazent at the crowd in front of him, "So many people..."
"Even livelier than I imagined..." said Aoto, who was walking beside Chokata, unable to suppress his shock and amazent.
People, people, people... as far as the eye could see, there was a sea of people everywhere, a sight that made Aoto inevitably recall the spring migration from his previous life.
The dense crowds either jostled on the streets, gathered around so vendors selecting goods, or clustered in front of street perforrs watching performances.
As a long-missed grand Swordsmanship Competition, it attracted attention not just from swordsn; from the daimyos currently residing in Edo due to the "Visit and Handover," to ordinary townsn, everyone regarded this competition as a rare, grand event.
Anyone with a bit of sense could imagine that this Swordsmanship Competition would surely draw a large number of spectators!
For the rchants, this was a golden opportunity to make a huge profit.
To not miss out on this rare business opportunity, large numbers of rchants and street perforrs had already rushed to Asakusa at dawn to secure good spots and set up their stalls, intending to make a big profit during this two-day competition.
"Father, step back." Kondo took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility of forging ahead and paving the way for everyone.
After letting Zhouzhu, who was initially at the front, step back a bit, he moved to the very front of the group and shouted to Aoto and the others behind him, "Follow closely! Don’t get lost!"
With that said, Kondo strode forward with confidence, carving his way into the dense crowd ahead, where hardly any space seed available.
Tall and sturdy, Kondo cut through the crowd like a sharp awl; every crowd in his path seed non-existent, as he forced a path just wide enough for Aoto and the others to barely pass through.
Every ti Kondo opened up a little more space as he moved forward, Aoto and the others quickly filled it.
The group advanced inch by inch toward the competition venue: East Asakusa.
Along the way, Aoto occasionally felt so people casting unusual glances his way and could hear whispered conversations and discussions—
"Look, it’s Tachibana Aoto."
"Tachibana Aoto? Oh! Is he the ’Little Tengu of the North Guard Station’?"
"’Little Tengu of the North Guard Station’? What’s that?"
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