In the second year of Wanyan (1861), January 18, morning——

It started to snow when the sky was still just dark.

Thick clouds blocked the sky and the earth, and only a little weak sunlight barely penetrated the gaps between the clouds.

Translucent snowflakes passed through people's sight and fell on the cold bodies of the Kanazawa brothers and sisters...

"Get back! Everyone, get back! Get back! Don't come close!"

"Yes! Someone was really killed!"

"Sigh... I thought Edo would become more stable after the anti-barbarian group was destroyed..."

"Ah! I recognize the deceased! That man seems to be the captain of the second division of the Fire Thief: Kanazawa Chusuke!"

"Kanazawa Chusuke? That 'fire dog'?"

"Even such a powerful man was killed? Who is the murderer..."

…

The bodies of the Kanazawa brothers and sisters were surrounded by onlookers who came to join in the fun because they heard someone had been killed.

The officers of their own department used their bodies as a wall and tried their best to prevent other people from approaching the crime scene.

At this time, noisy footsteps were heard in the distance.

A group of warriors wearing black uniforms appeared in the southeast. They were in a hurry and their faces were ashen.

"Ah! It's fire paying for the thieves!"

someone said.

"It's my grandson Chutaro, the captain of the 1st Division of the Fire Thieves, and Mizushima Rensaburo, the captain of the 4th Division!"

Another person added.

The fire thieves and officers led by my grandson and Mizushima squeezed through the crowd, and after handing over to their own officers who were maintaining order at the scene, they slowly walked to the bodies of Tadatsuki and Qin.

"Kanazawa-kun...Miss Kanazawa..." Mizushima squatted on the ground, staring at the lifeless faces of the Kanazawa brothers and sisters.

Mizushima was known for being serious and unsmiling, but at this time his expression was distorted.

His eyebrows were upright, his eyebrows were furrowed into the character "Chuan", his cheeks were slightly bulging due to clenching his teeth, his face was bloodless, his hands were clenched into fists, and his joints were white.

In comparison, my grandson on the side was much calmer.

No matter when he was on the road just now, or when he arrived at the scene of the eucalyptus and came to the bodies of the Kanazawa brothers and sisters, my grandson was calm and looked as usual.

He didn't squat down, he just stood with his arms folded, looking around roughly.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard again outside the crowd of onlookers.

"Ah, it's Nishino from Kitabansuo! Nishino from Kitabansuo is here!"

My grandson, Mizushima and others followed the call.

They saw a young man with a stern expression dressed in uniform, leading several young people who looked like Okabiki, striding towards them.

"Nishino...Nishino Hosejiro..."

Mizushima muttered as he stood up and walked towards Nishino.

"First meeting."

Nishino was the first to call home.

"In Shimokita Bansho Town, I returned to Doshin, Nishino Hosejiro. I was entrusted by him to take full responsibility for the "Kanazawa brother and sister were killed" case."

There is currently no evidence to prove that "Aoto's disappearance", "Akaban's entire family was killed" and "the murder of the Kanazawa brothers and sisters" are related.

If we focus solely on the love affair itself, then the murder of the Kanazawa brothers and sisters is nothing more than a murder that can be seen everywhere.

Since it was just an ordinary murder case, it naturally didn't require the deployment of the "special police force": fire to pay thieves.

Therefore, this case was naturally handed over to the department responsible for handling general criminal cases: the "three rounds" of the execution office.

It is January now, which is the month in which Edo is under the jurisdiction of Hokuban.

"Nishino-kun, I have admired your name for a long time."

Mizushima said seriously.

"It gives me a lot of peace of mind to have the famous 'Beifan Institute's number one cracking expert' supervising this case."

When Aoto was still young, Nishino was the face and ace of Kokubansuo.

His record is brilliant, and he has cracked many big guns and important guns.

"You are ridiculous." Nishino said calmly, "There are far more cases that I am unable to handle than those that I have successfully solved."

The specialist responsible for handling this incident has already arrived at the scene of the incident, so if they and other irrelevant people continue to stay here, they will only cause trouble for their work.

So, my mother waited for Nishino to urge me, and my grandson and Mizushima consciously led their subordinates to leave.

My grandson is standing some distance away from Nishino.

But when leaving, he took a few steps further and walked towards Nishino.

Just when he was about to pass by Nishino...he suddenly stopped.

"Nishino-kun..."

He lowered his voice and said quickly at a volume that only he and Nishino could hear clearly:

"The fatal injury to the Kanazawa brothers and sisters was a knife wound on the chest. Judging from the shape, size, location, height, and depth of the wound... it was a sword-drawing technique."

"The murderer is about six feet (180cm) tall, has a slender build, and should not be too old. He is an Iaido master who can perform sword-drawing techniques so fast that even Kanazawa-kun can't react."

"Although the fatal wound was on the chest, both Mr. Kanazawa and Ms. Kanazawa had traces of last-ditch wounds on the aorta in their necks."

"The main artery in the neck was severed, but not much blood came out. This means that before the last blow was made, the blood in Kanazawa-kun and Miss Kanazawa's bodies was almost exhausted."

“Between ‘being hit in the chest’ and ‘being hit by a last hit’, there is a not-too-short period of time.”

"During this period of time, the murderer is most likely chatting with Mr. Kanazawa and Ms. Kanazawa."

"This means that the murderer has a strong desire for expression. Not only does he not feel any resistance to the matter of 'killing', but he also has the leisure to chat with the victim... He is an incredible pervert or lunatic."

"Please be careful."

"?!" Nishino raised his eyebrows in surprise, then quickly turned to look at my grandson.

At this time, my grandson had walked away without looking back, leaving only a mysterious silhouette behind.

…

…

Um……?

Qingden blinked hard several times, then glanced around with startled eyes.

This is...where...?

Everywhere you look, there is fog...

The milky white mist obscured the vision and nothing could be seen clearly.

Qingdeng tried to speak out and move his steps, but found that he couldn't say a word, couldn't move his body at all, and couldn't even lift a finger.

What exactly is this place?

Qingdeng asked again in his heart.

In an instant, as if in response to Qingdeng's question, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

The fog subsided quickly.

Gradually, you can see the scenery hidden in this heavy fog - an extremely familiar scenery.

It was so familiar that Qingdeng recognized where it was with just one glance.

This is the dojo of the Trial Guard Hall.

The spacious and clean dojo, the sword barrels and bamboo swords neatly placed beside the dojo... everything is the same as the trial defense hall in Qingteng's memory.

Phew! Phew! Phew!

Suddenly, Qingdeng heard the sound of a bamboo sword being waved in front of him.

He looked forward intently.

Suddenly, Qingdeng's eyes widened in shock.

Such a statement...maybe strange...but Qingden saw himself.

It’s not about seeing yourself reflected in the mirror.

Instead, he really saw another version of himself, standing in the middle of the dojo in front of him, meticulously practicing Suzhen in the air in front of him.

As if sensing Qingdeng's gaze, "Qingdeng" stopped the bamboo sword in his hand.

"Ju Qingden, you are so enviable."
To be continued...