Yamada rushed into the dojo with a murderous look on his face. When he saw the middleman, he glared at him. "Hmph! I'll deal with you later."
The middleman's face turned pale. Knowing that he was in the wrong, he did not dare to look Yamada in the eye, desperately hiding behind Akane.
Yamada ignored Zhang Heng, who was standing next to him, and said to Akane, "Great! Last night, you ambushed me while I was drunk, and you insulted the samurai of the Choshu Domain. Let's fight again this time."
Yamada was as shrewd as ever. He took the initiative to frame last night's incident as a drunken ambush, finding an excuse for his defeat. But he wasn't spouting nonsense. If he had not been so drunk last night, he wouldn't have lost to Akane, who only had a wooden sword in her hand.
Perhaps because she grew up in a dojo, Akane was no stranger to such things. There was no fear on her face. She could not be bothered to fight a war of words with Yamada, so she gestured for him to enter the dojo. After that, everyone walked into the dojo together.
The children who were still practicing put down the wooden swords in their hands and craned their necks to look at them. Obviously, they also felt a different atmosphere.
Akane Koyama took two wooden swords from the rack, one for herself and the other for Yamada.
However, the latter did not reach out to catch it, letting the wooden sword fall at his feet.
"No need. I brought a sword," Yamada said as he eagerly pulled out the Tachi from his waist.
As soon as he said that, the children in the dojo were in an uproar. It was common for martial artists to spar. Even if they were from different schools, there was always something that could be verified. It was just like learning, the more one debated, the clearer one would become. In addition to daily training, martial artists also needed to accumulate experience through sparring.
However, most people would use wooden swords to determine the winner and loser. It was a way to gain some benefits without harming the harmony between the two.
If they were to use real weapons, their lives would be in danger, especially when the two were not too far apart in terms of strength. One careless move could lead to disaster.
Akane Koyama did not expect that the duel Yamada was talking about would be a real fight. She shook her head. "I've only achieved minor mastery in my Ashin-ryu. I'm still far from my late father's level. I'm not confident that I can fight with weapons without hurting anyone."
"It doesn't matter. Swords have no eyes. Life and death are up to fate. We can swear that no matter what the result of the competition is, we will not pursue the other party's responsibility. We can also write off what happened before," Yamada said gravely.
However, before he could finish his sentence, Shinji Takeuchi, who was on the other side, burst out laughing. "This concerns the reputation of the Choshu Domain samurai. Since when is it your turn to make the decision? Do you think you can write it off just like that?"
Yamada was speechless. Although Takeuchi's words were harsh, they were the truth. Last night's incident had escalated to the level of insulting the Choshu Domain samurai. It was not something he could just let go of. Yamada did not think that Akane Koyama was a match for him. Even though he was drunk when they fought last night, he had a pretty good grasp of Akane Koyama's strength. According to Yamada's plan, as long as he killed Akane Koyama, everything would be over. But since Takeuchi insisted on picking on his words, there was nothing he could do.
"If you insist on using real swords, then I'll admit defeat," Akane Koyama said bluntly, not bothering with these things.
This time, Yamada was really anxious. He came here today to fight Akane Koyama. Only by killing Akane Koyama could he make up for the mistake he made last night. Otherwise, he would become a sinner of the Choshu Domain. Although it was not as strict as it was during the Sengoku Warring States period, and other than the lunatics of the Shinsengumi, no one would perform a disembowelment on a whim. Still, it would not be easy for him to stay in the Tobaku faction after such a humiliation.
Yamada's eyes turned, and finally landed on the wooden table where Koyama Dojo's ancestral seat was enshrined. He drew his sword and chopped the wooden table to the ground.
Akane Koyama's expression finally changed. Her eyebrows shot up. "You've gone too far, haven't you? Do you really think there's no one left in Koyama Dojo? "
As she spoke, she walked to the only weapon rack with real swords on it and took down the topmost sword.
Yamada was satisfied with the result. Seeing that Akane Koyama had finally accepted the challenge, he felt relieved. "Today, I'm here to experience your Koyama Myoshin-ryu," he sneered.
The next moment, however, a voice rang out. "Wait."
Everyone turned to the source of the voice and saw that it was Zhang Heng, who had been silent all this while. They were a little surprised. Yamada did not even notice that Zhang Heng was there last night, wondering where this guy dressed like a ronin came from.
Only Matsuo and Takahashi's expressions changed slightly when they saw Zhang Heng, as if some unpleasant memories had been evoked. Takeuchi and another samurai, on the other hand, looked at this strange ronin with interest.
Zhang Heng had finally rented a satisfactory house in Kyoto, and he did not want his landlord to be hacked to death the next day. When that happened, he did not know who would own the house. He walked up to Akane Koyama and whispered, "Can't you see that he is deliberately provoking you? Don't fall into his trap. You are no match for him."
Akane Koyama fell silent. She grew up in the dojo, and she had always been a good judge of character. After last night's fight, she knew that Yamada was stronger than her. However, what Yamada did just now had undoubtedly crossed her bottom line. This dojo was not only her father's legacy, but it also carried all her childhood memories.
She witnessed her father turn this obscure dojo into a minor celebrity in Kyoto. People came to visit every day, and that was probably the heyday of Koyama Dojo. However, after her father's unexpected death, the dojo began to decline, and a large number of teachers and students left …
It wasn't that Akane Koyama didn't know that she couldn't support a dojo with her current strength. However, she couldn't bring herself to close it down. Some time ago, she offered free lessons and free lunch, and finally, some children from poor families came to her dojo. However, the dojo's expenses had also increased. So, she rented out a small courtyard to ease the increasingly tight financial situation.
Now that there was finally a sign of improvement, Akane Koyama did not want to return to square one because of Yamada's attack. She could give up all other worldly possessions, but only the dojo left by her father. She wanted to protect it.
However, this was probably Koyama Dojo's weakest moment. The students in front of her were just children, and they had only joined the dojo for a few months. They had no actual combat experience. In the face of the crisis, she was the only one who could stand up, and she had to.
Akane Koyama nodded at Zhang Heng. "Thank you. I know what I'm doing."
Zhang Heng wanted to say something, but Akane Koyama had already raised her head and looked at Yamada. "I'm ready. Please enlighten me."
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