Pushing open the gate of the ancient temple, the cold air immediately poured in like a tide.

The wind and snow have stopped.

No more snow falling from the sky.

As far as the eye can see, everything is clothed in white.

The sun shines like dust on the white snow.

Looking at the sun in the sky, which was not dazzling, Ogata smiled and sighed:

"It's a nice day."

Then, put on the hat, close the gate of the ancient temple, hold the knife on his left waist, look in the direction of the sun, and walk straight forward.

Since leaving Hirose Domain, the life that Ogata has lived during this time can be described as an idiom: aimlessness.

I don't know where I'm going, and I don't know what I'm going to do.

Anyway, there was nothing special he wanted to go, so Ogata simply identified one direction - the east. Go straight all the way east.

Ogata didn't care where he was, he just walked east, wherever he went.

So Ogata, who went all the way east, unknowingly entered the region and entered a small feudal domain in the region, the Tatsuno Domain.

The region is a huge area with two major cities at its core: Kyoto and Osaka.

Ogata knew that he was in the Tatsuno Domain, but where exactly it was located in the Tatsuno Domain, Ogata didn't know and didn't want to know.

Call......

A cold wind howled.

Feeling the oncoming cold wind, Ogata tightened the haori on his body and muttered:

"Although the sun came out today, it was still a little cold...... I really want to take a hot shower......"

Although it was freezing now, Ogata didn't feel too cold to stand it.

This is also due to his life force of up to 17 points.

The attribute of life force does not help Ogata fight better, but it helps Ogata live better.

Not only can Ogata recover from injuries and fatigue faster, but he will not be able to get sick easily. And it can also make Ogata's physique better.

It was only after the weather became colder that Ogata discovered that the increase in his vitality would make his constitution better.

In the past, Ogata was a person who was very afraid of the cold.

On such a snowy day, I don't dare to go out without wrapping myself in a "zongzi".

And now, even if he is only wearing a thin kimono and haori, Ogata doesn't feel too uncomfortable.

It's boring to be in a hurry.

In such a place where the scenery is not too beautiful, rushing is even more boring in the boring.

In order to pass the boring rush time, Ogata silently adjusted his breathing to "Gen no Breath" and began the practice of "Gen no Breath".

Ever since he became a ronin, when Ogata is bored, he will start practicing "Gen no Breath".

Because the experiment of "whether you can improve the level of martial arts by practicing alone without skill points" is still continuing.

Although Ogata never gave up practicing the "Breath of the Source", the "Breath of the Source", which could not be upgraded for a long time and was still only "primary", still caused Ogata's patience to gradually dissipate.

Originally, Ogata actively practiced "Gen no Breath" every day.

Now, due to the loss of patience, the practice of "Source Breath" is not as active as before, and only when it is extremely boring or on a whim, it will be picked up and practiced.

For this experiment, Ogata has also fully embraced the mentality of "taking it slow and not rushing", and does not expect to produce results quickly......

……

……

While Ogata is going all the way east, as always-

Tatsuno Domain, Tatsuno Castle.

At this time, a group of people were standing outside the domain hall of the Tatsuno Domain, Tatsuno Castle.

There are a total of 3 elders in the Tatsuno Domain.

The leader of this group is one of the three elders of the Tatsuno Domain, Sano Soken.

As one of the elders of the family, Sano led the officials of the Tatsuno Domain to stand in the snow outside Tatsuno Castle - it wasn't because Sano was insane.

The reason why they stood in the snow outside Tatsuno Castle early in the morning was because a big man from Edo was coming to their Tatsuno Domain today.

This big man from Edo is none other than the chief of the fire payment thief reform, Hasegawa Heizo.

Hasegawa Heizou will lead a group of officials who have been reformed by the thieves to the Tatsuno Domain.

Sano, one of the elders of the family, was responsible for leading some officials in the domain to greet Hasegawa Heizou and others.

"Whew...... It's so cold......" An official standing beside Sanno rubbed his cold stiff hands and complained softly, "Why is it so cold even though it's not snowing......?"

This official's name is Yuichi Kohata, and he is Sano's right-hand man, and the two are not only good comrades-in-arms at work, but also have a good personal relationship.

As soon as Kohata's complaint ended, Sano, who was standing beside him, chuckled a few times and said in a half-joking tone:

"Xiaohata, you can't even stand this level of weather, that can only mean that your body is weak, as a man, don't be too obsessed with a woman's belly."

"I don't want to be left behind by the gray-haired Sano-sama, I'm weak." Kohata replied in the same half-joking tone.

The two can be regarded as New Year's friends, Sano is 55 years old this year, and Kohata has just passed his 34th birthday.

Kohata crossed his hands under his armpits, using the warmth of his armpits to warm his stiff hands.

While warming his hands, Kohata looked at the horizon in front of him.

Looking at the empty horizon, Kohata suddenly asked Sano:

"Sano-sama...... The commander of the fire pay thief...... Do you really want to come to our Tatsuno Domain? ”

"That's right." Sano said without thinking.

"Hasegawa Heizo...... That's the 'Onihei', right? ”

"Who else but him holds this title?"

"'Onihei'......" Kohata muttered, "what a weird title......"

"This was helped by those thieves, and in the eyes of the thieves, he was as terrible as 'ghost', so the thieves in the world began to call him 'Ghost Ping', and this title slowly spread."

"Why did 'Onidara' come all the way from Edo to Kansai......

"Who knows." Sano shrugged his shoulders, "I guess - 'Onipei' led the official messenger of the Fire Fu Thief to come to our Tatsuno Domain, it must be to hunt down someone. ”

"Besides, I can't think of a second reason why the chief of the Fire Thieves came to us from all walks of life."

"Have there been any vicious thieves who have been entering our Tatsuno Domain lately......" Kohata muttered.

"......" Sano looked around, then lowered his voice and whispered, "I also heard about it two days ago—it seems that the 'Executioner Sword' has been flowing into our Tatsuno Domain a few days ago. ”

After hearing Sano's words, Kohata's eyes immediately widened.