Chapter 64: The Tea Merchant
"Is that so? I understand." Mord reached out and patted little Mikoto's head, smiling as he spoke. "Your answer is very helpful to me."
"I... I could go to Kyoto with you, uncle. I'm more familiar with the area than you are." After hesitating for a long time, little Mikoto finally gathered her courage to speak.
Mord gently pressed down on her small head.
"You still have your grandmother to take care of. I appreciate your kindness."
With these words, he stood up and turned to leave.
"Will Mikoto be able to see uncle again?"
Hearing the voice from behind him, Mord paused at the doorway, waved his hand, and laughed.
"Of course. I've already paid the rent."
...
"Where exactly would Hanzo hide someone?" After leaving Asakusa, Mord traveled alone to Kyoto.
According to current information, Hanzo and his people shouldn't have escaped from Kyoto yet.
Just as Mord was pondering this, sudden shouts came from the mountain path ahead.
This Eastern island nation was truly in chaos.
Despite the government's decree prohibiting swords in the city and imposing nationwide martial law, bandits remained rampant along the roads.
As for those underworld organizations, they were essentially working for the Shogunate. As long as they maintained superficial discretion and didn't openly carry swords on the streets, the authorities would turn a blind eye.
Many Ronin Samurai, unwilling to join gangs for the sake of so-called dignity, found themselves unable to survive in the city and ultimately turned to banditry.
This was one of the reasons why bandits flourished.
Mord looked up and saw that the robbing bandit group consisted of about a dozen people, surrounding what appeared to be a merchant caravan.
By now, all the caravan guards lay dead in pools of blood, leaving only a young merchant clutching a wooden box tightly, watching the approaching bandits with terrified eyes.
Having just arrived in the capital, Mord happened to need a place to stay.
Since he had encountered this situation, he might as well save the merchant along the way.
Without any attempt at concealment, Mord walked directly toward them.
Faced with this suddenly appearing ronin, the bandits were momentarily uncertain, but when they saw he carried no weapon, they immediately let their guard down.
"Can't you see we're busy here? Get lost!" one of the bandits spat arrogantly.
The young merchant, however, reacted completely differently from the bandits. Seeing this as his last chance, he bowed deeply in Mord's direction and cried out: "Honorable samurai over there! If you can help me deal with these bandits, I'm willing to offer everything I have!"
Without any negotiation, he immediately put all his assets on the betting table.
Because he had no other choice.
As for wealth—no matter how much, without life to spend it, it was just worthless paper.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"This kid must be scared out of his mind, begging a ronin who doesn't even have a katana!"
The bandits laughed uproariously.
Amid their laughter, Mord continued walking toward them. The moment his right hand swept down, heads went flying.
With his aura enhancement, his body itself became the sharpest blade in this world.
Dealing with these ordinary samurai and ronin was like slaughtering chickens and dogs—in the blink of an eye, all dozen bandits lay dead.
Mord walked step by step, as casually as strolling in a garden, until he stood before the young merchant, without even a drop of blood staining his clothes.
The young merchant looked up—at this moment, the man before him seemed like a god in his eyes!
...
The young merchant was named Shimura Shinpachi.
He was in the tea business.
He owned a tea house in the capital and had encountered these bandits on his way back from purchasing tea. Had he not been lucky enough to meet Mord, he would have been dead beyond doubt.
Shinpachi glanced at the headless corpses on the ground, his eyelids twitching involuntarily. Even now, he still felt lingering fear.
With some trepidation, he carefully approached Mord and bowed deeply: "Thank you, honorable samurai, for saving me! This humble token of gratitude is insignificant, but I hope you will accept it."
With that, Shinpachi took out a bulging money pouch from his pocket, raised it overhead, and respectfully presented it to Mord.
Mord reached out and opened it for a glance—the pouch was actually filled with gold.
Due to the national isolation policy, the currency circulating within the country of Japan was not Jenny, but gold and silver.
This pouch of gold, if taken out, could likely be exchanged for millions of Jenny.
Mord weighed it in his hand, then casually tossed it back.
Shinpachi instinctively caught it, looked up at Mord with a mix of astonishment and anxious worry on his face.
"You said you would give everything if I saved you, didn't you?" Mord smiled and continued, "Since everything you have is now mine, there's no difference whether this pouch of gold is with you or with me."
"Yes!" Shinpachi bowed again, his voice filled with reverence.
Whereas before he might have been mostly afraid of Mord, this "yes" now came from genuine respect.
Mord looked at the young merchant before him and suddenly asked, "Back then, what made you think I could save you?"
"I was just an unarmed, down-and-out ronin, while the other side were dozens of armed bandits."
Shinpachi glanced at Mord, carefully choosing his words before replying after a moment, "It was your aura."
"As you said, you were facing dozens of armed robbers, yet you, unarmed, were terrifyingly calm, as if those bandits were nothing but grass you could take or leave at will."
"I've seen that kind of aura before—I couldn't possibly mistake it."
Shinpachi rubbed his head and gave a bitter smile, adding, "Besides, I had no other choice at the time. Rather than waiting to be killed, I thought I might as well take a desperate gamble."
Mord nodded, glanced up at the sky, and said, "Let's go."
"Where to, sir?"
"Kyoto."
Upon hearing Mord's words, Shinpachi was overjoyed. With bandits running rampant, he had suffered greatly along the way and nearly lost his life. Now, having someone as highly skilled as Mord to travel with was exactly what he wished for.
On the other hand, Mord saw this as a perfect opportunity to thoroughly understand the current situation in Kyoto.
On the way to Kyoto, from this young merchant named Shimura Shinpachi, Mord indeed obtained some useful information. For instance, the complete annihilation of the former ninja school, Kumorigakure, and the fact that the Shogun's birthday was approaching, which would be a grand event for the entire capital.
It was worth noting that this was the first birthday since the Shogun came to power, so it was far more than just a birthday—it symbolized many things.
A birthday banquet, perhaps this would be an opportunity.
Mord thought to himself.
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