Chapter 145 Infiltration
Yoshiwara was bustling at night. Yoshikazu Tsugikuni glanced around, feeling somewhat weary from the crowds. The long street was filled with an atmosphere of decadence.
Actually, they've already toned it down quite a bit. Yoriichi passed through this place during his travels. Back then, the war had just ended, and the courtesans abandoned their original homes and moved here, eventually growing stronger and stronger.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni still remembers that time; the streets were filled with disheveled people, laughing and joking. Civilians in the midst of war had no regard for propriety or shame, acting like wild beasts.
Now, this place has developed so magnificently, and rules have been established, dividing people into classes. Yoriichi lowered his eyes; these things were unimportant to him. Looking at the crowded streets, he turned and walked in another direction.
—On the other side—
"Ah, what a careless little girl."
Looking at the four strangely made-up women, the madam looked embarrassed. The man beside her said apologetically, "I'm sorry, we're having some trouble here, and we just took in a few maids a few days ago..."
The madam looked up at Yu Sui Tianyuan again, blushed, and relented.
"However, taking in another one is not out of the question."
"Then I'll have to trouble you to take in another one. I'm sorry, madam."
"Then let's go with the one in the red shirt. He looks pretty honest."
Uzui Tengen smiled, his handsome appearance making the madam lose her head, and she casually said something that made the man next to her hesitate.
"I will work hard!"
And so, Tanjiro was successfully brought into the Tokitoya, while Tengen Uzui led the remaining three towards their next destination. He looked at the three with disdain and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
"You lot are really useless, all you can do is sell yourselves off like this."
"..."
Tokito Yuichiro stared at him speechlessly; he never accepted this kind of preemptive accusation. Zenitsu's face was extremely grim; he took a deep breath.
"I have nothing to say to you."
"You're throwing a tantrum because I asked you to wear women's clothes? I told you before, whatever you ask, you have to do as I say."
Uzui Tengen didn't tolerate Zenitsu's troublesome behavior. Ichiro ignored the two of them and followed Inosuke's gaze toward the street, where a large crowd was bustling about.
"Ah, it's the courtesan parade. She's the highest-ranking courtesan, going to greet her guests. It's really magnificent. I wonder how much it costs."
The bustling crowd was packed together, and Zenitsu saw it too. As if he had just realized something, he turned his head to look at Uzui Tengen.
"Honey, that woman can't be your wife, can she? It's too much to say that such a beautiful woman is your wife. Not only are there three of them, but all three are beauties."
"No, she's not. Her name is written on the ranking list; you can tell at a glance!"
Uzui Tengen punched Zenitsu away from grabbing his sleeve, and Tokito Ichiro caught the swaying Zenitsu, admiring the other's thought process.
As Inosuke watched, a woman with narrow eyes noticed him. She looked closely and then spoke to Uzui Tengen.
"Excuse me, boss, we'll take this child in. I'm the madam of Ogimoto-ya, I'm sure I can make a good judgment."
"Thank you, Ogimoto-ya."
Uzui Tengen hadn't expected the surprise to come so suddenly, and gladly accepted it. The other party nodded in satisfaction, his gaze lingering on Ichiro for a long time.
"Ah, this child looks quite good too."
She hesitated for a moment, then chose Inosuke. She felt that Ichiro didn't seem to have a good temper, and they had indeed taken in too many maids recently.
Watching Inosuke being led away, Tengen Uzui and Zenitsu exchanged a glance, the latter's disdainful look piercing Zenitsu's heart. Compared to Ichiro, who was favored, Zenitsu was now completely ignored.
Ugh, I'm left single!
The three arrived at Kyogoku-ya and met the slightly overweight madam. She looked at Ichiro and Zenitsu and reached out to wipe the powder off Ichiro's face.
“We’ll take this child; his face shape looks good.”
She said with a smile, "Uzui Tengen glanced at Zenitsu, gave him a push, patted him on the head, and smiled at the madam."
"Madam, could you please take this child in as well? He can do anything, even cleaning toilets. You can even give him away for free. Please~"
"ha?"
Zenitsu looked at Uzui Tengen in shock; the man hadn't left him and was still giving the madam a charming smile.
"Oh, well, that's not impossible. I'll just be Touko's sidekick for now."
The slightly plump madam's cheeks were flushed. They did indeed sometimes lack staff, so having one more person wasn't a big deal for her.
Huh? Why, why?
Zenitsu followed Ichiro into the Kyogoku-ya in a daze, gritting his teeth in anger and clenching his fists tightly.
"So cute!"
The courtesan wiping Ichiro's face exclaimed in surprise, instantly attracting the attention of the other courtesans. Ichiro was forced to change his clothes, and when he was finally free, he saw Zenitsu frantically playing the shamisen.
"That child plays so well, he has such great presence."
"It is said that he has excellent hearing and can play either the shamisen or the koto after hearing it only once."
"You're not exactly good-looking, so how did you get in?"
"It seems like he came with Touko, and the guy they brought was incredibly handsome; even the madam was stunned."
"Wow, really?"
Several prostitutes were discussing when one of them, who was smoking, glanced at the girl and said, "That girl will keep climbing. I can feel the kind of determination she has when a man abandons you and she wants to get back at him."
"Is...is that so?"
As Tokito Ichiro listened, he didn't know what expression to make. Looking at the determined Zenitsu, he recalled Zenitsu's resentful and gritted-teeth murmur when they were waiting for the madam to give him instructions.
"Just you wait, that guy will definitely become the number one courtesan in Yoshiwara!"
Are you out of your mind? We're here to complete a mission.
Tokito Ichiro followed the courtesans around, subtly inquiring about the Kyogoku-ya business. He helped a woman put on jewelry while asking questions without making it obvious.
"You've had a tough time, Touko. You're new here and don't know this yet, but it's easy for prostitutes to go missing here. They're all as pretty as you."
I heard there might be a murderer involved. You should be careful not to be alone. The poster's wife died a couple of days ago.
The one who answered Ichiro was a top-ranked courtesan at Kyogoku-ya, but compared to the beauties who often disappeared, she could only be considered pretty and pleasing to the eye, but she was famous for her beautiful koto.
"Higanbana is sick, so the host arranged for her to stay in a short-stay room. There's nothing we can do about it."
Tokito Yuichiro finished putting the last hair ornament on the other person's head, and seeing the other person's happy expression, he smiled and said goodbye.
He frowned, intending to ask about the location of the final room, when a loud noise came.
“Peng—”
When Tokito Ichiro rushed over, he saw Zenitsu lying unconscious on the ground and a gorgeous woman standing not far away.
It's a ghost!
Yuichiro Tokito looked at the other person and could feel that aura. He gritted his teeth and lowered his eyes. He couldn't expose himself so quickly, so he could only pretend to be a little scared.
"Hmm? Your face."
The woman noticed Yuichiro, took two steps forward, grabbed his chin, and forced him to look up. Beads of blood seeped from the skin she was pinching, and she stared intently at Yuichiro, asking in confusion.
"He looks so familiar."
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