Although losing two fingers meant that Kirino Toshiaki would eventually lose the battle, he had no intention to admit defeat just yet. Instead, he chose to fight to the last minute, defending his dignity as a samurai to the end. As a top master of the Bakumatsu era, once he decided that he would fight till the death, he would tremendously boost his combat power.
Kirino Toshiaki shoved away the distracting thoughts flooding his mind. Every strike he made was designed to inflict injuries to both sides. To a certain extent, he made up for the disadvantage of holding the katana in his left hand. Zhang Heng still had the upper hand in this battle, though. As time went by, the wounds on Kirino Toshiaki increased.
His chest, waist, abdomen, arms, and neck had been stabbed. He applied pressure on the wounds with one hand to stop the bleeding while his other hand still wielded the katana. Unfortunately, he only got weaker over time. Zhang Heng slashed his chest again, and Toshiaki straightened his back before falling to the ground unwillingly. Against all odds, the stubborn Kirino Toshiaki stuck his Juzumaru into the ground, attempting to use it as a support to help him to get on the feet again.
Walking over, Zhang Heng stabbed Kirino Toshiaki’s heart, helping him end the suffering once and for all. He then took a deep breath before pulling out the Juzumaru stuck in the ground. The rosary that was entwined on its hilt was frosty as Zhang Heng laid his hand on it. It somewhat soothed his racing heart after the fierce battle. He then scrutinized the Juzumaru.
Some supernatural powers appeared to have protected this sword. Even after battling for such a long time, not a single dent could be found on it. Looking back at the weapons in Zhang Heng’s hands, they were both dinted and chipped. If the battle had dragged on any longer, both his weapons might just shatter onto pieces.
Zhang Heng took a good look at it again before putting Juzumaru back into the scabbard. His quest was half completed at this point, and he had found a legendary katana that was close to the level of Mikazuki Munechika. Now, he only needed to hone his swordsmanship and see if a better katana could be found. The battle of Gion had finally come to an end. It was unclear what happened to Okita Soki. In fact, Shinsaku Takasugi did not care much if he was dead or not-whether the Tobaku or the shogunate, it made no difference to him who won or lost. Not to mention that the current shogunate’s downturn was impossible to be restored by one person. Even if Shinsaku Takasugi died here tonight, Okubo Toshimichi, Saigo Takamori, and others were insufficient to prevent Taisei hökan and the Battle of Toba-Fushimi.
Zhang Heng made an offer Okita Soki could not resist since he needed him to get the Juzumaru. Now that the katana was in hand, there shouldn’t be anything else that required his attention. Suddenly, he remembered that Okita Soki fought beside him tonight. If the latter hadn’t come to his rescue, all he could do was flee, and getting the Juzumaru would have been out of the question.
In the end, Zhang Heng decided to check on him. The bloody battle that went down at Gion sent shockwaves to the public, and bystanders stared at Zhang Heng with fear in their eyes. They were so terrified of him that they took a few steps back each time he approached any of them. It wasn’t like they knew who he was, and he might just kill them if they crossed him.
After that, Zhang Heng walked to the place where Okita Soki fought earlier, and he saw three corpses on the road. All were samurai of the Tobaku sect, and each one died had in a different manner of horror. One of them was even without his head. Then Zhang Heng turned to the bloodstains on the ground.
The whole time training with Holmes saw the art of tracking become a specialty of Zhang Heng, and he hurriedly tried to figure what happened here. Takasugi should have abandoned the litter to buy himself more time, but somehow, Okita Soki still managed to catch up with him. Zhang Heng was about to move forward, but the next moment, he saw a figure holding a katana appearing in the dark.
“Who are you?” Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows and asked.
The opposing party gave no answer, so Zhang Heng slowly moved his hand to draw his Juzumaru.
A few seconds later, the lantern on the side of the road revealed the man’s identity. It turned out to be Okita Soki, who separated not long ago. However, the man looked as if he’d just endured something horrible.
“What happened?” Zhang Heng was a little surprised, “Did Takasugi run away?” “No… I killed him,” murmured Okita Soki. “I killed him in front of her… in front of her… I killed someone who lost the ability to fight back.”
“Him?”
Zhang Heng had no idea who he was talking about.
“Miss Saya… Shinsaku Takasugi fled to her home. When I got there, she was just about to treat Takasugi’s wounds. I ignored her pleads and killed Takasugi, who happened to be already in a coma at that time. I had to knock his father out as well.”
Okita Soki raised his head and looked into Zhang Heng’s eyes. He looked like he was in great pain. “Did I… did I make a wrong choice?”
It was hard for Zhang Heng to answer the question. The conflict between the shogunate and the Tobaku was irreconcilable. Their struggle would determine the course of Japanese history. As a member of the Shinsengumi, Okita Soki, even if he did not care about politics anymore; he knew very clearly that the side that he was on.
Tonight, the two had spent too much energy and paid an enormous price. Okita Soki had to kill Shinsaku Takasugi no matter what, but unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side tonight. Before the love between him, Miss Saya could even blossom, killing Shinsaku Takasugi in front of her only permanently destroyed their relationship.
But to be honest, even if nothing happened tonight, Zhang Heng was actually not too optimistic about their relationship.
No matter how beautiful the encounter was, the fact that Okita Soki was captain of Shinsengumi’s first strike team could never change. And Miss Saya’s father was from the Hiroshima Domain. He wasn’t about to let Soki marry his daughter. After all, Soki was the executioner of the shogunate. How was he going to face his relatives and friends if his daughter married someone from the shogunate?
Besides, Soki couldn’t hide his identity from Miss Saya forever. So, Zhang Heng thought, perhaps this was the best ending for him. Since the two hadn’t officially gotten together, this was the most decisive way to end the ailing relationship
Like most lovers, their relationship was destined to be over before it could bear fruit.
Only the two would know what it felt like.
The distress and heartbreak in Okita Soki’s heart were difficult to understand. Zhang Heng could feel the pain and contradiction he experienced but chose to say nothing. He just patted Soki on the shoulder, and said, “Go home, take a hot bath, find a doctor, get a good night’s sleep, and tomorrow will be a new day.”
