My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 45: Chapter 31: North Squad’s ”Three Times” Trump Card: Nishino Hosojirō

”Hey! Hui Dalang! Who exactly killed Granny Ping?”

”Hui Dalang! Has the dōshin in charge of this case not arrived yet?”

”Hui Dalang...”

...

Hui Dalang felt as if his head was going to explode from all the repeated shouts of ”Hui Dalang.”

At this moment, the crowd outside Granny Ping’s house was growing larger, nearly reaching two hundred people.

This was putting more and more pressure on Hui Dalang, who was struggling to maintain order.

After all, with such a number of people, if something unexpected were to happen, like a stampede causing deaths or injuries, he, the patriarch responsible for managing Mukiura Town, would find it hard to escape blame.

He had already started trying to disperse the crowd.

But there were simply too few people. Including the book officer responsible for paperwork, each garrison staff only had about a dozen people at most.

Hui Dalang had already dispatched most of his subordinates to stop the crowd from getting too close to Granny Ping’s house and couldn’t spare more people to disperse the crowd.

Moreover, the people gathered outside Granny Ping’s house were mostly very agitated.

In the crowd gathered outside Granny Ping’s house, the number of people who had been helped by Granny Ping and her husband and had rushed over after hearing the news of her death far exceeded those who were simply there out of curiosity.

Some were crying and yelling; others were shouting in anger. They couldn’t be persuaded to leave at all.

Hui Dalang couldn’t afford to speak harshly to them or give them a sour face.

After all, many of these people were familiar faces from Mukiura Town or the surrounding areas.

The samurai of ”Three Times” could treat these people harshly, but Hui Dalang couldn’t. As the patriarch of Mukiura Town, he often interacted with these people. If relationships soured, his life in Mukiura Town would become difficult, and he would be given the cold shoulder wherever he went.

—Sigh... why hasn’t that Blockhead Don come out yet...

Hui Dalang, frowning deeply, kept shooting displeased glances at the door of Granny Ping’s house, from which Aoto had yet to emerge.

He had a major gripe with this ”Blockhead Don” now.

What’s the use of going into the crime scene? He should have come out to help maintain order... With him, a dōshin of the Fixed Town Patrol present, at least some sense of authority could be maintained...

As Hui Dalang continued to mentally vent his dissatisfaction with Aoto, he suddenly saw a book officer panting heavily as he hurried up to him—

”Mr. Hui Dalang! The dōshin sent by the North Guard Station to handle this case has arrived!”

”Oh?” Hui Dalang’s eyes lit up as he quickly asked, ”Who has come?”

”It’s Nishino Hosojirō from the Tojo Group of the Fixed Town Patrol!”

Nishino Hosojirō—hearing this name, the light in Hui Dalang’s eyes brightened even more.

Hui Dalang was just about to ask the book officer before him where Nishino was now—

”Hey! Another dōshin from the Magistrate’s Office has arrived!”

”Make way! Everyone, let the dōshin through!”

”Ah! It’s Lord Nishino from the North Guard Station! Lord Nishino from the North Guard Station has arrived!”

...

One shout after another rang out incessantly from one end of the crowd outside the house.

Drawn by the shouts, Hui Dalang, after a moment of surprise, quickly rose on his tiptoes and looked in the direction of the sound.

He then saw a massive ”gap” forming on the outermost side of the crowd, continually expanding inward.

This segment of the ”gap” kept widening and finally turned into a wide avenue leading straight to Granny Ping’s house.

Five figures unceremoniously stepped onto this avenue.

Among these five, four were dressed as undercover informants, each with a jitte tucked at their waist, strutting confidently, faces full of arrogance.

The last of the five... had a samurai’s standard paired swords at the left waist, a jitte with red tassels inserted at the right, a seal cage from the Magistrate’s Office at the waist tie, lips tightly pressed, with a stern expression.

The four informants closely surrounded this dōshin walking among them, striding toward Hui Dalang and his group along the path created by the citizens.

Seeing this, Hui Dalang instinctively—prompted by some reflex, skillfully plastered a sycophantic smile on his face as he hurriedly moved forward to greet the dōshin leading the four informants to the site.

Hui Dalang’s demeanor now was completely different from when he greeted Aoto just moments ago.

Out of disdain for ”Blockhead Don,” Hui Dalang had kept a hint of contempt hidden in his eyes when welcoming Aoto earlier.

But at this moment, facing the stern-looking dōshin, Hui Dalang’s face showed only pure respect and sycophancy.

”Ah! So it is you, Lord Nishino!” Hui Dalang, bending so low it seemed he wanted to press his chest against his knees, smiled until his eyes were mere slits, ”I am Hui Dalang, the patriarch of Mukiura Town...”

”Let’s skip the introductions.”

The moment Hui Dalang managed to announce his name, the dōshin interrupted him in a voice devoid of any emotion.

”Lord Governor has sent me to take charge of this case.”

”Give me a detailed report on the case. The more thorough, the better.”

The dōshin was sparing with words, as if unwilling to exchange any extra words with Hui Dalang.

Seeing the man’s indifference, Hui Dalang paused for a moment.

But soon, he seemed nonchalant... or perhaps afraid to care, as he resumed putting on an ingratiating smile.

”Yes, sir, yes!”

”It’s my fault for being disrespectful!”

”Here’s what happened. About half an hour ago, some households nearby discovered the body of Granny Ping, the owner of this house, inside...”

While narrating the main facts of the case to the dōshin, Hui Dalang led the dōshin and his informants behind the ”invisible wall” made up of garrison staff’s staffs to separate the crowd from the crime scene...

Hui Dalang was quite eloquent.

In just a few sentences, he conveyed everything he knew to the dōshin.

The identity of the victim Granny Ping, how her body was discovered, the time her body was discovered...

After Hui Dalang finished his report, the dōshin lightly nodded:

”... Besides the people who discovered the victim’s body, has anyone else been inside the house?”

”I peeked in but didn’t touch anything! Then...” Hui Dalang’s expression gradually turned peculiar, ”Lord Tachibana, who’s in charge of patrolling this area, went inside earlier...”

”Tachibana?” The dōshin was taken aback at first, then immediately frowned, ”You mean Tachibana Aoto?”

Hui Dalang hastily responded ”yes.”

”... Tsk.” The dōshin clicked his tongue, a disdainful, mocking curve forming at the corner of his mouth, ”What’s that idiot trying to do... Don’t mess things up for me...”

After speaking, the dōshin brushed past Hui Dalang, leading his four informants straight to Granny Ping’s house door.

”Without my order, no one is allowed inside.” the dōshin told Hui Dalang.

”Yes, sir!” Hui Dalang bowed respectfully as the dōshin departed.

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Today brings you three Chapters!

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