The visitor turned his head and stared at the earthwork with empty eyes. See. The eyes of wool and Chinese are really strange, as if they are at a loss without focus, and they seem to be peeking into the secrets of people's hearts.

Hijikata's cold sweat suddenly fell, and he shouted, "Didn't you hear?"

But there was a loud bang, and the man pulled out his katana out of nowhere to block the blow.

The earth's complexion changed greatly: "It turned out to be a traitor!"

At this time, the red sun is setting, and everything is painted with blood. The strange samurai suddenly twisted his joints and creaked, and he drew his sword and stood with his back to the setting sun.

I saw that the knife emitted a brilliant brilliance, like a pool of unstable blue blood. Everyone exclaimed, "Demon Sword Blood Sakura!"

Speaking of this knife, it is very famous in Fuso country. It was made by the thirteenth generation head of the famous craftsman Yueshan family, and the temperature of the furnace before the knife was not enough, and the knife maker threw himself into the fire and exchanged his blood for its arrival.

Since then, this knife has been on the battlefield with many masters, and it is impossible to kill people. Legend has it that whenever it rains on a cloudy day, it will let out a mournful cry to summon the spirits of the dead.

Although "Blood Sakura" is domineering, no one dares to be its master. Because this is a real demon knife. Whoever takes it will start their bad luck and will not die well.

Its last owner was called Izang. The nickname is "The Butcher".

Those who opposed the shogunate were also divided into many factions. Choshu aspirants, represented by Kojiro, are naturally the most famous radicals.

However, the methods of Takeshi Mizuyama and others from the Tosa Domain were much more intense than them, and they could even be called extreme. Those people planned assassinations, attacks and other incidents at every turn, adding a terrifying shadow to the already turbulent situation.

One of the most chilling is the "butcher" Yizang.

Okada Izo had never learned kendo and fought with a beastly instinct. Others have only two words to say about him: crazy. He once killed more than 70 masters alone in one night and escaped. People say that if Izo had been involved in the Ikedaya Incident, it would have been the other way around. It should be the Mibu group that fell.

But I don't know if it's because of the curse of the demon knife, this "butcher" also didn't have a good death. In the end, the Mibu group captured him alive at the cost of nearly twenty members and beheaded him in Kyoto.

Someone took pity on his loneliness and buried the demon knife "Blood Sakura" with him, and it was several years at that time.

But why did this knife come to light again today, and who is this strange samurai? Thinking of this, the deputy chief of the earth square stared at the knife mark on the man's neck, and suddenly said in a trembling voice: "Butcher Izang, have you returned from the netherworld?"

Back then, the killing of Izo was the hand of the deputy chief of the earth. He recognized the scar of the wound, which could only be left by his own saber "Izumi".

Ezo was silent.

The deputy chief of the earthwork nodded and said, "Okay." Since I can kill you the first time, I can kill you a second time. He said to Sojiro, "Boy, you go and deal with the one-armed swordsman; ”

Sojiro said yes and walked towards Li Yan.

But he shook in his hiding form, blocked Sojiro, and pointed at him with "Blood Sakura".

Sojiro was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Hey, this kind of friendship really touches me a little! Deputy Chief, we seem to be being looked down upon!"

Hijikata said: "Then let's kill together!" said that he raised his sword and attacked the left side of Tibet. Sojiro understood and rushed to his right side. Under the attack of the two masters, ordinary people have long been in different places. But I saw a strange red light flashing, sparks flying everywhere, and Izo was motionless to bounce away the attack of the two.

The surprise of Hijikata and Sojiro was not trivial, and they really felt the power and killing intent coming from the knife. Hijikata shouted: "Mibu group, all the members attack!" The team members rushed up, and the "blood tassels" in their hands bloomed red flowers, and it was effortless to defeat the crowd.

Suddenly, Yizang turned around, meaning that he wanted Li Yan to leave quickly. Although Li Yan felt that this person's behavior was strange, he was indeed a friend rather than an enemy, so he hugged his fists and said, "Thank you!" and then shook his body and left Qingquan Temple.

As he ran on the mountain path, it was completely dark, and the moon was rising high. He suddenly looked back, and the red light in the Qingquan Temple appeared, and then there were a few terrible wolf howls.

How could there be wolves in the temple?

With some confusion, Li Yan left here. The first splice ended in failure.

As a result of this defeat, both Choshu and Satsuma were more cautious and felt that they should stay out of the limelight for the time being.

Kojiro set the hiding place in the Nagamei izakaya in Gion. The proprietress here is his friend, with many eyes and ears, and a wide range of contacts, which is especially suitable for gathering intelligence.

At this time, the hall was full, the voices were boiling, and the aroma of food went straight to people's noses. Li Zhan and Kojiro spread out a small table in the corner, chatting in a low voice while staring at the guests around them.

"So he's really the 'butcher' Izō?" asked Kojiro in surprise.

Li Yan nodded: "Well, that's what the deputy chief of the earthwork said." He also said something like going to hell - you know that my level of Fuso is not good, or maybe I heard it wrong. ”

Kojiro said, "No, that's not wrong. It is true that Hijikata himself sent the treasure to hell. But back from the dead...... How is this possible?"

Li Yan said: "What's impossible? I killed a person with an immortal body some time ago. ”

Kojiro was taken aback: "How did you do it?"

Li Yan said lightly: "As long as the speed of the knife is faster than the speed of his resurrection, it will be fine." Of course, with another friend of mine...... I don't know what happened to him now. ”

Kojiro wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Aren't you gods fighting......"

At this time, a graceful woman walked over. She gently lowered the dishes and chopsticks, brought a steaming sukiyaki pot, and smiled at Kojiro.

Kojiro's face turned red, and he hurriedly introduced: "Li Jun, this is Miss Matsuko, the proprietress of our store." ”

Without waiting for Li Yan to speak, a few pine nuts said softly: "Li Jun, thank you for taking care of Mu Hujun." He's a fussy guy who bothers you. ”

Li Yan said: "How dare you." Are Miss Matsuko and Mr. Kojiro old acquaintances?"

Kojiro coughed suddenly, and it was so serious that no one else could talk anymore.

After a long time, he said with a flushed face: "Look, the dishes are cold, let's eat them first." "It's a joke, the sukiyaki pot is similar to the Han Chinese hot pot, with coal heating underneath, and it's steaming.

When a few pine nuts heard this, they smiled and said, "Please use it slowly, I'll get busy first." Then he bowed and left.

Seeing that she was far away, Kojiro breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Yan said: "Brother Kojiro......"

Kojiro hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Don't guess, it's not what you think!"

Li Yan said: "I'm going to say two words to you." We Han people have a saying: My fair lady, good gentleman. I see that you and Miss Matsuko are the same age, and they are a good match, why don't you get married?"

Kojiro said gloomily: "We are all living days that are not every day today. Maybe one day it won't be there. A few pine nuts have suffered a lot, how can I push her into the fire pit again?"

This is indeed the case. It is said that people can't help themselves in the rivers and lakes, but people in troubled times are even worse. In particular, those who are determined to calm the troubled times often pay a price unimaginable to ordinary people.

Seeing that he was depressed, Li Yan hurriedly said: "Come on, eat vegetables and eat vegetables!"

Kojiro said: "Yes, Li Jun, how about you taste this sukiyaki?"

Li Yan picked up a piece of beef and put it in his mouth, but he felt that the fat was fragrant and melted in his mouth, and he couldn't help but praise: "Good!"

He scooped up some more soup and tasted it, which seemed to smell like fish and seaweed, and it was delicious. It's just that the soup is sweetened, which makes Li Yan, a northwesterner, feel a little uncomfortable.

Kojiro asked, "Li Jun, how is it better than your Han people's hot pot?"

Li said: "In Daliang, ordinary people are not allowed to kill cattle without permission, so we rarely eat beef, and generally hot pork slices. Naturally, the taste is worse than beef. But no matter how good this sukiyaki pot is, it is your way of eating Fusang, if I choose it, it will be comfortable to eat my own hot pot. ”

Kojiro said with a smile: "If I have a chance in the future, I will go to your place to eat, and Li Jun will be Dong." ”

Li Yan laughed: "Why don't you just be a host, I'm the cook, and I'll make it for you myself!"

Before the words fell, Li Yan suddenly felt dizzy, and suddenly lowered his head, and suddenly found that the dishes he had sandwiched into the bowl had become centipedes, scorpions and other poisonous insects, and he crawled all over the table.

He was startled and fell backwards to the ground. When I stood up, I found that everything around me had changed. Beside him was a huge melting pot, surrounded by countless demons grinding and sucking, staring at him with greedy eyes.

Several people were lying on the ground and disemboweled. He took a closer look and turned out to be Master, Zhi'er, Mr. Yan, and Kojiro.

Blood was spilled all over the floor.

Anger rose in Li Yan's heart, and he pulled out the treasure knife, and the blade shone slightly. He said viciously, "I'll kill you!"

But at this moment, there were several crisp bells in the distance, which were very pleasant.

Li Yan was stunned, as if he sensed that something was wrong. The bell swayed, tugging his soul back. Suddenly, Li Yan opened his eyes, only to find a girl in a white dress and a scarlet skirt holding a sterling silver demon pestle against her chest.

He was about to ask, but he heard the girl shout, "Break!"

A white light flashed, and Li Yan's heart ached, and he felt as if something had been torn off from him.

He couldn't help but scream.

I heard the girl say, "Okay, it's okay now." She opened her palm and said, "Look, it's the devil." ”

Li Yan looked at it, and saw a black insect like a spider in the snow-white palm, and a strange eye on his back, which made people shudder.

He asked, "What is this?"

The girl smiled, untied a crystal bottle from her waist, and put the worm inside. The bug struggled for a moment before turning into a puff of black smoke. The girl said, "Don't underestimate it, this is an extremely powerful monster named 'Nightmare'." ”