The warship sailed on the sea for two days and two nights.
On this day, before dawn, Fujiwara No Chiko was meditating in her room. Suddenly, she heard a servant report that the warship had entered the Ming Dynasty's waters and would be able to disembark in a few hours. Matsumoto Takeyoshi invited Fujiwara No Chiko to the main cabin for a discussion.
"I understand." Fujiwara No Chiko sent the servant away. The warship sailed on the sea for three days and three nights. Finally, they were able to disembark. She carried her scabbard and slowly walked out of the sleeping cabin.
Just as she stepped out of the cabin, she saw Hattori Chihiro walking out of the sleeping cabin not far from her.
"Good morning, Miss Chiko." Hattori Chihiro greeted Fujiwara No Chiko.
"Good morning, Mr. Hattori." Fujiwara No Chiko returned the greeting. The two of them walked side by side to Matsumoto Takeyoshi's main cabin.
"If I'm not wrong, the reason why we were summoned is to assign us missions." Hattori Chihiro whispered.
"Oh? Is that so? "Fujiwara No Chiko said.
"Haha, Matsumoto Takeyoshi is naturally suspicious. He didn't assign us missions in advance because he was afraid that things would change. That's why he assigned us missions when we arrived at the Ming Dynasty's territory." Hattori Chihiro smiled. "I bet that the four of us will be divided into two groups to carry out missions so that we can keep an eye on each other."
"Is that so?" Fujiwara No Chiko said. "It seems that Mr. Hattori knows everything about Matsumoto Takeyoshi like the back of your hand."
"Haha." Hattori Chihiro laughed. "I'm old. I've seen all kinds of people." Hattori Chihiro suddenly lowered his voice. "If I'm not wrong, Miss Chiko's purpose is to kill Matsumoto Takeyoshi and avenge your father, right?"
Fujiwara No Chiko was so startled by these words that she stopped abruptly. She slapped the scabbard, and the scabbard opened with a 'swish' sound. She reached out and grabbed the Chihō in her hand. The person in front of her could see through her intentions at a glance. It seemed that this person did not have good intentions and seemed to know a lot about her.
Although her master, Ito Fumio, had clearly stated in the letter to Matsumoto Takeyoshi that the purpose of her visit was to seek revenge, Matsumoto Takeyoshi would not touch her yet. After all, she still had value to him. However, if Hattori Chihiro were to make things clear, Matsumoto Takeyoshi and he would be at odds with each other. The original balance would be broken.
Fujiwara No Chiko held the Chihō tightly as she looked at Hattori Chihiro. Her mind raced as she thought of a way to deal with this situation. She also prepared herself for the worst.
"Young people can't keep their cool," Hattori Chihiro looked around cautiously and said in a low voice, "If I wanted to deal with you, I would have told Matsumoto Takeyoshi long ago. Why wait until now?"
"What do you want?" Fujiwara No Chiko held the hilt of her katana, ready to attack at any time.
"I've already told you that I've met your father, Kaga Fujiwara. Back then, I was addicted to the katana like my life depended on it. I once asked for a custom-made katana from your father. However, your father said that my evil aura was too strong. If I were to get a good katana, I would definitely cause great suffering. He told me that when my evil aura was gone, he would make a good katana for me. Ten years ago, I thought that my evil aura was gone, so I prepared to visit him again. Unfortunately …" Hattori Chihiro shook his head. "You know what happened after that."
After hearing this, Fujiwara No Chiko loosened her grip on the hilt of her katana.
"Trust me," Hattori Chihiro whispered. "I will only help you. I won't hurt you."
Fujiwara No Chiko didn't say anything, but put the Katana back into its scabbard.
"Let's go. If we're late, Matsumoto Takeyoshi will be suspicious." Hattori Chihiro turned around and continued to walk towards Matsumoto Takeyoshi's main cabin.
Fujiwara No Chiko stood still and watched Hattori Chihiro walk into Matsumoto Takeyoshi's berth cabin. Only then did she carry her scabbard and slowly walk to Matsumoto Takeyoshi's main cabin.
After pushing the door open, Fujiwara No Chiko found that she was the last to arrive. Miyamoto Akiichi and Sasaki were already waiting there. The two stood on the left side of Matsumoto Takeyoshi, while Hattori Chihiro stood on the right side. Fujiwara No Chiko saluted Matsumoto Takeyoshi and stood with Miyamoto Akiichi and Sasaki without hesitation.
Hattori Chihiro smiled and didn't speak.
After standing still, Fujiwara No Chiko was surprised to find that although the main cabin was very spacious, it wasn't luxurious. Instead, the furnishings were very simple. In addition to a tea table, there was only a tatami for sleeping and three futons. It seemed that the two masters, one in blue and one in white, were guarding Matsumoto Takeyoshi day and night.
This simple layout showed two points. First, it was transparent and could be seen at a glance. There was no place to hide. In this way, no one could hide here to assassinate Matsumoto Takeyoshi. Second, she heard from her master, Ito Takeyoshi, that one could tell whether a person had a complex mind by looking at the layout of the room. The variety of furnishings in the room often meant that the owner's mind was simple and empty, and needed complex furnishings to fill it. On the contrary, if the layout of the room was very simple, it meant that the owner's mind was very detailed and complex, and needed a simple environment so that the mind wouldn't be affected by those complex things. It seemed that Matsumoto Takeyoshi belonged to the latter.
"What? Miss Chiko and Mr. Hattori have a grudge? " Matsumoto Takeyoshi, who was sitting on the futon, asked with a smile. "How did Mr. Hattori offend Miss Chiko, to the point that Miss Chiko was so angry that she used Chihō." Matsumoto Takeyoshi picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Sure enough, she was being watched! Fujiwara No Chiko was shocked. She maintained her calm expression and looked at Hattori Chio, who was standing opposite her.
"Hehe," Hattori Chio laughed. "I only mentioned that I wanted to see Miss Chiko's Chihō, but I didn't expect Miss Chiko to misunderstand that I wanted to take Chihō for myself. Hehe, Miss Chiko misunderstood."
"Misunderstood? Hmph … " Fujiwara No Chiko sneered. "Mr. Hattori, didn't you say that if I didn't hand over the Chihō to you, you would tell Mr. Matsumoto? Now, in front of Mr. Matsumoto, you can say it. "
"Tell?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi laughed. "What happened?"
"Misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding," Hattori Chio quickly said.
"Didn't you say that I wanted to kill Mr. Matsumoto?" Fujiwara No Chiko asked coldly.
"This was just a joke. Miss Chiko, you don't have to take it seriously. "Hattori Chio was a little embarrassed.
"Bam!" Matsumoto Takeyoshi slammed the teacup on the table. "Nonsense!" He said with a serious face. "We're facing a great enemy, and you're still in the mood to joke. Hurry up and apologize to Miss Chiko!"
"Yes, yes, yes." Hattori Chio immediately bowed to Fujiwara No Chiko. "Miss Chiko, I'm sorry!"
Fujiwara No Chiko turned her head to the side and did not say a word.
"Alright," Matsumoto Takeyoshi said. "It's time to get down to business," Matsumoto Takeyoshi said solemnly. "We'll reach the Great Ming Dynasty in a few hours. When we arrive, the four of you will split into two groups and carry out different missions. " Matsumoto Takeyoshi waved his hand, and a waiter came over with a tray. On the tray were red, white, blue, and green envelopes. The waiter handed the four envelopes to the four of them.
"What's written in the letter is your mission. You can open it when you return to your cabin." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said. "Mr. Miyamoto and Mr. Sasaki are one group, Mr. Hattori and Miss Chiko are another group. Remember, you have to work together sincerely, and no more nonsense."
The four of them listened and nodded.
"In order to make it easier for you, I'll assign eight ninjas to each group, and give each of you a thousand taels of gold as expenses." Matsumoto Takeyoshi continued. "In a dozen days, it will be the Chinese New Year. On the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, regardless of whether the mission is completed or not, you have to gather on the ship. Understood?"
"Yes!" The four of them answered in unison.
"Go back and rest, and prepare to disembark." Matsumoto Takeyoshi waved his hand, and the four of them left.
On the way back to the cabin, the four of them were all preoccupied with their own thoughts and did not speak. It was obvious that the four of them had different missions, and the reason they were divided into two groups was to keep an eye on each other.
Fujiwara No Chiko thought to herself, 'That was a close call. Luckily, Mr. Hattori cooperated well with me. Otherwise, I really don't know how to end this.' Everything went as Mr. Hattori expected, and they were divided into two groups to carry out their missions. But she did not expect Matsumoto Takeyoshi to use such a despicable method to assign missions. This way, the four of them would be suspicious of each other and keep an eye on each other. No one would be able to act alone.
After Fujiwara No Chiko returned to the cabin, she opened the red envelope she was given. A few lines of words came into view. It read:
After disembarking, you and Mr. Hattori will rush to the Cuiming Hall headquarters to meet Cui Ziwen. He will lend you two a hand.
Secretly follow and monitor Ye Kong's son, Ye Fan, and find a way to obtain something from him. (Long wooden box). After obtaining it, do not open it.
Keep an eye on Mr. Hattori.
Seven days later, work together with the people from the Cuiming Hall to obtain the Ye Family's Weapon Forging Manual, regardless of the cost.
After Fujiwara No Chiko read the letter, she was immediately flustered. The Ye Family mentioned in the letter was none other than the family of her master, Ito Fumio's good friend, Ye Kong.
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