My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 328: Chapter 132: Encounter with the Man-Slayer Group

So in the city, a rumor circulates: compared to the Mouse Monk, the Cat Monk falls far short. Although both only steal from villains, the latter gives all the stolen money to the poor, while the former keeps it for personal enjoyment.

What do you do with such a large amount of money—just as Aoto was about to ask, suddenly...

”...Mr. Tachibana.”

Mukiwa, who had been playing the ”respondent,” suddenly shifted her role to the ”inquirer” at this moment.

She blinked forcefully at Aoto, a strange emotion in her eyes that outsiders would find hard to notice.

”The question you just asked me reminded me of something I’ve always wanted to ask you...”

”Mr. Tachibana, when I secretly snuck into the Magistrate’s Office that night to see how you all patrolled at night, you clearly could run fast when you discovered me. Why did you end up running so slowly?”

”Ah?” Aoto’s eyes widened, and then his expression gradually turned odd.

—Why run so slowly? Because at that time, I hadn’t yet replicated the talent of ”Take the Lead”!

Aoto yelled out the answer to this question in his heart.

However, naturally, he could never reveal this true answer to Mukiwa...

So, after stalling for a moment, Aoto lightly nodded: ”Hmm... yes, I did intentionally run a bit slower.”

”Because... I told you before, I don’t dislike the Cat Monk who only targets villains.”

”I didn’t want to catch him, so I deliberately slowed my pace.”

Aoto confidently told a lie he had hastily made up...

To avoid giving himself away, Aoto deliberately turned his head aside while spinning this yarn, so Mukiwa wouldn’t see his somewhat unnatural expression.

”Deliberately slowed down, huh... haha, then I guessed right.”

Aoto heard the cheerful voice of Mukiwa coming from behind him.

”Thank you... for intentionally slowing down to let me escape more easily.”

”No need to thank me, I just did what I wanted to do.” Hearing these words from Mukiwa, Aoto secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He was secretly glad that the lie he just told had worked well and had successfully deceived Mukiwa.

Aoto was unaware—a lie proved more than effective?

Behind him, Mukiwa, who softly muttered ”thank you” to Aoto, pulled her scarf tighter over her face.

The wide scarf successfully concealed Mukiwa’s face, which was brimming with a joyful smile and beaming cheeks.

She smiled so brightly that her eyes curved into two crescent moons, as if hearing the greatest blissful news.

Hoo hoo...

An unexpected night breeze brought a chill.

It was at this moment that Aoto, still secretly pleased with having fooled Mukiwa, suddenly noticed a strange shadow writhing at the north crossroads.

”Miss Kinoshita.” Aoto’s expression turned serious as he called out to Mukiwa and pointed towards the north crossroads, ”Look over there.”

Mukiwa quickly shelved her smile, looked in the direction Aoto pointed, and promptly her expression became serious as his.

Because tonight was a bright clear night with a high moon, under its radiance, Aoto and Mukiwa quickly saw what the ”writhing” shadows at the north crossroads were.

There were eight Samurais, all armed with swords.

The shadows of these eight Samurais kept ”writhing” under the eaves of the north crossroads’ houses.

Only a moment later, they gradually revealed themselves as they cautiously stepped away from the shadows into the moonlight.

Leading them were twins.

One twin had a regular set of a long and short sword at the waist, while the other not only carried two swords at his waist but also had a Great Tachi slung on his back.

The two’s appearances were very similar—eyes, nose, mouth... nearly identical, with only one significant difference: the one with the Great Tachi had a red birthmark on his left forehead, and the other had a long birthmark at the corner of his right eye.

Seeing these twins with prominent features, Aoto’s pupils slightly shrank.

These twins... gave him an extremely strong sense of familiarity.

Beside him, Mukiwa also felt the same as Aoto.

Mukiwa, like Aoto, felt these twins were extremely familiar. She blinked with bewilderment, then took out a stack of wanted posters she always carried and rapidly flipped through them.

”...?! Found it.” Mukiwa let out a low gasp, then handed two wanted posters to Aoto’s face, ”These twins are the ’Red-faced Brothers’ who fled from Kansai to Kantou.”

Mukiwa’s words immediately made Aoto realize why these twins felt familiar.

These twins... were the notorious criminals currently on the wanted list: the Red-faced Brothers!

The one with the Great Tachi and the red birthmark on the left forehead is the elder brother of the twins—Yoshikawa Ichitaro.

While the one with the regular dual swords and a red birthmark at the right eye corner is the younger brother—Yoshikawa Kojirō.

Half a year ago, these brothers committed a series of gruesome murders in Osaka, Kansai.

They led their followers, frequenting the streets at night, wantonly slashing every passerby with reckless abandon.

During their murders, they neither plundered any money nor had any specific targets—they killed solely for the sake of killing!

They claimed the lives of 18 defenseless civilians.

To capture these heinous murderers, the Osaka Magistrate’s Office mobilized significant resources and manpower, but unfortunately, they eventually escaped.

According to reliable intelligence, these brothers have fled to Kantou with their followers.

Upon confirming the high accuracy of this intelligence, their wanted posters were plastered all over Edo’s streets and alleys.

Due to the red birthmarks on their faces, they were given an easily memorable nickname: Red-faced Brothers by the authorities.

The government granted an exceptionally high ”reward” for their severe crimes and reprehensible deeds—10 ryo bounty per brother! Dead or alive! If encountered on the streets, they can be slain without restraint! Be it capturing them, or merely delivering their heads, a 10 ryo reward is guaranteed!

Aoto looked at the portraits and descriptions on the wanted poster, his expression turning exceedingly grave.

In the Hieda Residence Area, suddenly appeared eight Samurais bearing swords, and the two leaders among these eight were these notorious and randomly-killing Red-faced Brothers...

The implications were self-evident.

At this moment, led by the Red-faced Brothers, this group completely stepped out of the shadows at the north crossroads.

They cautiously scanned the surroundings and then slowly headed towards the east crossroads.

Aoto and Mukiwa exchanged glances and nodded lightly.

The two quietly jumped down from the tree and silently trailed behind these maniacal murderers.

*******

*******

Implore for monthly votes! Request for recommendation votes! (Weeping leopard head.jpg)