Although the outcome of the battle had been decided after losing two fingers, Kirino Toshiaki did not intend to admit defeat. Instead, he chose to fight until the last moment to maintain his dignity as a samurai.
As one of the top masters of the Bakumatsu era, once he was determined to die, his combat power would be astonishing.
Kirino Toshiaki got rid of all the distracting thoughts in his mind. Every slash he made was meant to hurt both sides. To a certain extent, he managed to make up for the disadvantage of holding the sword with his left hand, bringing the might of the Shisen-Ryu to the extreme.
However, Zhang Heng always had the upper hand. As time went by, Kirino Toshiaki's wounds increased.
Not only his chest, waist, abdomen, arms, but even his neck was slashed. He pressed on the wound with one hand, trying to stop the bleeding. His other hand was still wielding the sword, but his strength was getting weaker and weaker. In the end, Zhang Heng slashed his chest again. Kirino Toshiaki straightened his back and fell to the ground unwillingly. However, he stabbed the Juzumaru in his hand into the ground and struggled to get up again.
Zhang Heng walked over and stabbed the Riiza in his hand into Kirino Toshiaki's back, freeing the man from the pain.
After that, he took a deep breath and pulled out the Juzumaru that was stabbed into the ground.
The rosary wrapped around the hilt was cold to the touch, and it calmed Zhang Heng's agitated blood flow. After that, Zhang Heng looked at the blade carefully.
He did not know if it was because of the supernatural power that came with the sword. After such a long battle, the Juzumaru was unscathed. There was not even a scratch on the blade. On the other hand, the two swords in Zhang Heng's hands were almost full of scars. There was not a single part of the sword that was unscathed. If the battle did not end soon, it would not take long for the swords to break.
Zhang Heng looked at it for a while and sheathed the Juzumaru.
At this point, he had completed half of the quest. He had found a famous sword that was at the same level as the Mikazuki Munechika. After that, all he needed to do was continue to polish his swordsmanship and see if he could find a better sword.
The battle in Gion had finally come to an end. Zhang Heng wondered how Okita Soki was doing.
In fact, he did not care whether Shinsaku Takasugi died or not. Whether it was the shogunate or the Tobaku, it made no difference to him who won or lost. Besides, the shogunate was on the decline, and it was not something that one person could save. Even if Shinsaku Takasugi died here tonight, there was still Okubo Toshimichi, Saigo Takamori, and the others. There was a high probability that they would not be able to stop the battle between Omasa Tomonaga and Toba Fushimi.
The reason why Zhang Heng threw out this bait that the Shinsengumi couldn't refuse was because he wanted Okita Soki to help him retrieve the katana. Now that the katana was in his hands, it stood to reason that Zhang Heng had nothing to do with it. However, he remembered that he fought side by side with Okita Soki tonight. If the latter didn't help him, he could only choose to run away from the courtyard, and he wouldn't be able to get the Juzumaru.
In the end, Zhang Heng decided to visit the well-behaved child.
The bloody battle that had just taken place in Gion had shocked a lot of people. Those people looked at Zhang Heng with a trace of fear in their eyes. Wherever Zhang Heng went, the crowd could not help but back away, afraid that this demon-like guy would kill them if he was unhappy.
Zhang Heng walked to the place where Okita Soki fought and saw three corpses on the road. They were all samurai of the Tobaku, and they died in different ways. One of them was decapitated, and Zhang Heng also saw the blood on the ground.
After being trained by Sherlock Holmes, tracking had become Zhang Heng's forte. He quickly reconstructed what happened here. Shinsaku Takasugi must have abandoned the sedan in order to buy more time. However, Okita Soki still chased after him.
Zhang Heng was about to move forward, but the next moment, he saw a figure holding a katana appear in the darkness.
"Who are you?" Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows and asked.
The other party did not answer.
So Zhang Heng's palm moved to the hilt of the Juzumaru.
But then, he saw the face of the approaching person with the help of the lanterns on the roadside. It was Okita Soki, who he had just parted ways with not long ago. Now, Okita Soki looked dazed and lost.
"What happened?" Zhang Heng was a little surprised. "Did Shinsaku Takasugi run away?"
"No … I killed him," Okita Soki murmured, "I killed him. I did it in front of her. I killed a man who could no longer resist in front of her."
"Him?" Zhang Heng didn't realize who Okita Soki was talking about.
"Miss Saya of the Yunju Domain. Shinsaku Takasugi fled to her house. When I rushed over, she was about to heal Shinsaku Takasugi. I ignored her pleas and killed Shinsaku Takasugi, who was in a coma. I also knocked out her father who came to dissuade me." Okita Soki raised his head and looked into Zhang Heng's eyes. His eyes were filled with pain, "I … Did I make the wrong choice?"
"…"
Zhang Heng did not know how to answer this question. The conflict between the Tobaku and the shogunate was irreconcilable. Their struggle would determine the direction of Japan's history. As a member of the Shinsengumi, even if he did not care about politics, Okita Soki knew his position very well.
Tonight, the two of them had put in so much effort and paid such a high price. Okita Soki was determined to kill Shinsaku Takasugi no matter what. He could only blame his bad luck. Shinsaku Takasugi ran to his sweetheart's house at the last moment, causing their budding relationship to wither.
But to be honest, even if tonight's incident did not happen, Zhang Heng was not optimistic about their relationship.
No matter how wonderful their encounter was, it could not change the fact that Okita Soki was the captain of the Shinsengumi First Division. Xiao Saya's father was from the Yunju Domain, and he was on the side of the Tobaku. No matter what, he would never marry his daughter to Okita Soki, the shogunate's executioner. Otherwise, how would he face his relatives and friends? How would he face those who died in the hands of the shogunate?
And it was impossible to hide Okita Soki's identity from Xiao Saya forever. So Zhang Heng thought that maybe it was a good idea to end things this way. When both of them only had a vague affection for each other, he would use the most decisive way to end their relationship.
Just like most love in this world, it would only bloom, but it would never bear fruit.
Only the two of them could taste it in silence.
Of course, it was difficult for others to understand Okita Soki's depression and heartbreak now. Zhang Heng could clearly feel the pain and contradiction of this cheerful big boy at the moment, but he did not say much. He just patted Okita Soki on the shoulder and said, "Go home, take a hot bath, find a doctor, and have a good sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, it will be a new day."
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