"Don't worry about that, Mr. Hijikata. She changed her name with kindness, and there was some unseemly pleasure and tenderness in her tone.

"You can appoint me as your secretary. This way I can help you with some of the day-to-day errands and errands, and I don't have to leave you to take care of a whole bunch of other things in the army......" she said.

Hijikata stared at the smile on her face, then sighed slowly.

"Really...... Those people...... When has it been since they still harbored such naïve fantasies...... As if I thought you could save the day with one more......" he muttered, his face sank.

"I'm angry that they want to win the war with a woman...... What a strange idea......"

Liu Quan was slightly surprised.

Is it...... Did those people have such strange thoughts...... Is it because you are desperate that you will rush to the doctor in such a hurry, right?

But she would never be able to say such a thing.

“...... That's because they have a deep belief that Shinsengumi is the most reliable. She smiled warmly, took another step forward, and gently placed her hands on his arms that were wrapped around her chest.

"Even the women from the Shinsengumi are more trustworthy than the average man—they must have thought so. She said softly, looking up at his face.

"I'm very proud to be a member of the Shinsengumi and to be trusted in this way. She said, "They didn't really want to pin their hopes on me, but they wanted to pin their hopes on the Shinsengumi and on the Makoji flag...... Because in everyone's minds, the Shinsengumi is now the embodiment of Shido - I think this is not only the people of the shogunate, but even the people on the other side of the sea, and the people of other lands in this country...... I must have thought the same thing. ”

"Deputy Chief...... It's great to be a member of the Shinsengumi and to follow you until now. ”

Hijikata looked deeply at Yanagiquan with a sincere face.

For a while, he didn't speak or move. It was as if she had never stood in front of him, her gentle hands touching his arms and body.

But the next moment, his body moved - he suddenly leaned over and hugged her into his arms.

“...... When you first came here, I didn't think you were very good at reading words......" he said with a sigh, "it's so stubborn that you won't give up on what you believe......

"I'm still wondering when this kid will learn to be obedient...... What the hell am I going to do to get out of here......"

Liu Quan was taken aback.

...... It turns out that even at that time, she expressed her unchanging determination, does he still want her to leave this final place......?!

"Really......" She suddenly buried her face in the clothes on his chest, her voice trembling slightly.

"Does Mr. Hijikata still want me to give up? That is impossible. What I want is a deeper bond...... It's the kind of bond that stayed by Mr. Hijikata's side until the last moment. Please ...... Please be enlightened!"

After a moment of silence, Hijikata's smiling voice came from above her head.

"Hmm. Okay. ”

“...... I'm sorry, wouldn't think like that anymore. Because now I really feel that as long as I have you, my heart can be incredibly gentle and calm...... It's true. ”

Not expecting to hear such words, Liu Quan uttered a few syllables in astonishment.

"Earthwork...... Sir?!"

"Your eyes have been watching me all the time. I've been watching me since Kyoto. Now that I think about it, I realize that even those unsightly places in me have been clearly seen by you...... It's ironic. Thanks to you, I have to remember. ”

Hijikata said slowly.

Liu Quan asked in confusion, "...... What to remember?"

Hijikata's tone seemed to be in serious thought.

"What I'm carrying, those heavy things...... All those guys entrusted to me. If I just run forward desperately regardless of a qiē, it would be more convenient for me to be alone. However, having you by your side will hold me back before I act rashly. I didn't hesitate to gamble my life, but I couldn't gamble it in the wrong place, and I couldn't just give it away, because I had more important things to accomplish – and now I was able to think about it. ”

His words were gentle, and there was a hint of joy.

This is to say...... From her, he had a brighter idea, right......?

"If that's the case...... It shows that my saving zài is meaningful. It doesn't make me happier than that. ”

Liu Quan said with a smile, and for some reason there was a hazy mist in his eyes.

“...... It's been making you suffer. Hijikata said softly.

Yanagizumi replied in a relaxed tone, "Compared to the hard work of Mr. Hijikata's burden, I am much more relaxed. ”

Hijikata sighed slightly. "However, it is still too heavy a burden for a woman. ”

Liu Quan let out a happy laugh.

"It's not a burden at all. Because I'm a more powerful supposer than an Edo woman. ”

In her impression, Hijikata seems to have always had a certain tangled affection for women from Edo, and always talks about how difficult Edo women are.

“...... Because I'm a new team member. It's nothing at all. Now, Mr. Hijikata can be more spoiled to me in the future, right?"

In response to this declaration, Hijikata was silent for a moment before responding: "...... yes. ”

"Yes!" Liu Quan replied vigorously. But I don't know why this sentence - maybe because he was hugged tightly and the pronunciation seemed a little dull - but it produced a coquettish feeling.

Thinking so frustratedly, Ryuzumi didn't notice that Hijikata's hand was gently stroking her hair.

"I've changed my mind, Yukiba. There was a mischievous smile in his voice.

"How about we go to the kitchen together and sneak all the snacks here to eat?"

"Huh...... Huh?!" Ryuzumi let out a cry of surprise, and when he looked up, he saw a genuine smile on Hijikata's face that had not appeared for a long time.

"Let's go. He let go of her, took one of her hands, and opened the door.

Outside, the dark hallway was empty, and the long hallway seemed to stretch out into endlessly. The faint candle flame that was lit at regular intervals in the lampholder on the wall flickered in the middle of the night.

Liu Quan clenched the big hand that held her.

"Yes!"

Just like this, towards the endless distance in the darkness, the two of them will take a step together.

Whether you'll wake up tomorrow morning to face a confused chef who has lost your night, or a menacing new government army, as long as these two people meet it side by side, they will definitely have the strength to fight endlessly.

......

In April of the second year of the Meiji era, accurate information was that the new government forces, which had seized control of the sea, planned to land at Ezo. After many meetings and various quarrels, the army of the Republic of Ezo decided to set up a defensive position at the mouth of the two gukou and the mouth of Mugunai.

Keisuke Otori led part of his army to the Kigu Inner Pass, while Hijikata was in charge of the defense of Nigugugu.

Speaking of which, if the new government forces want to take Goryokaku directly after landing in Ezo, the quickest route is to start from the landing site B, directly climb the mountain in front of them, and then take the Nigugukou and Ono River to reach the bottom of Goryokaku Castle. Therefore, compared to the Kiko Inner Mouth, which was defended by Keisuke Otori, the pressure on the two gukous that Hijikata was responsible for guarding had to shoulder.

To add insult to injury, he was now not only at a disadvantage of outdated and backward equipment, but also had only more than 300 soldiers and horses in his hands, and on the opposite side were enemy soldiers who were said to be several times his size.

In the face of this disadvantage, it did not make Hijikata light yì succumb or feel discouraged. Immediately after arriving at Ergukou, he ordered to build fortress-like firing bunkers with earth and sandbags everywhere, and then devised the tactic of "two-stage strike", in which all the troops were divided into two squads, one team to shoot, the other team to step back and reload ammunition, and then the two teams alternated and so on. This can not only overcome the weakness of the shogun's outdated equipment and too much time to use, but also can seamlessly connect the attack, so that the enemy has no chance to breathe, which is indeed a simple and easy tactic.

As soon as this qiē preparation was made, the officers and soldiers had already arrived.

Early in the morning of April 13, the atmosphere on the battlefield was tense. Because the ships that the officers and troops were carrying had already landed at night, as Hijikata had predicted, they divided into several routes, intending to cross Mt. Hakodate and begin the attack on the Ezo Republican ** team.

At the speed of their march, they might be able to reach Ergukou in the afternoon. As Hijikata patrolled the position, urging everyone, Yanagizumi, as his nominal junior and actual assistant, also carried a foot and gun, and temporarily left the main camp on Mt. Odaiba, where Hijikata was located, and went to a defensive site set up one mile from the Nigukou to make a final round.

The morale of the soldiers there was also high, perhaps because the people who had been in charge of the army had sat down with them the night before, drinking and laughing, which was a good encouragement.

From there, the willow spring moves nimbly through the mountains and forests. When she grabbed the tree from a steep slope and climbed up in three steps and two steps, stood at the top of the slope and opened her palm, looking at the wound in her palm that had been cut by branches and vines, she couldn't help but sigh and complain, "It hurts, it's abominable!" and then rudely stuck out her tongue and licked the wound indiscriminately.

...... Saliva can be disinfected, that's a ...... Common sense of modern people, right?

The next second, however, she jumped to her feet with a very familiar voice coming from behind her.

“...... It's still so desperate, why the hell, Xue Ye-kun. ”

There was a slight sigh in that magnetic and beautiful voice, but Liu Quan's body became stiff in an instant, and his eyes suddenly widened!

...... How, how can it be ......?!

“...... Yijun?!" She called out the name in disbelief, and then turned away sharply!