Su Shuang's world is collapsing [Comprehensive]

Chapter 252

He paused for a long time before speaking.

As soon as he made a sound, both Saito and Shimada breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately organized the team members lined up on both sides with dull faces to retreat quickly, and the field was cleared within a few minutes, leaving only the earthworks in the hall. and Liu Quan.

Watching the backs of Saito and Shimada leaving the hall, Liu Quan smiled wryly.

"... They seem to be really worried that the deputy chief will throw me out as soon as we meet?"

Earth Fang: "...How is it possible..."

His voice was different from before, it was low and tired, and it sounded light and ethereal, completely different from the roar full of vigor and courage of the ghost deputy chief in the past.I don't know whether this change was caused by a serious injury that had to be recuperated, or because what happened in Edo made it difficult for him to face her.

When facing this person again, maybe it was because of the resentful thoughts in his subconscious mind that "this guy showed his scumbag side to himself, so the scumbag should accept the treatment he should be treated as a scumbag", Liu Quan felt that he Suddenly, it seemed that the incomparable patience and tolerance that had to be upheld for the strategy had been lost.

She was keenly aware of the awkward atmosphere between them and the unnaturalness when they faced each other, but she couldn't do anything about it for the time being.

Some things... are not so easy to cross and forget.For example, the embarrassing parting at the beginning, and the news she was going to tell him next...

Although he had made a promise to Shimada, Liu Quan thought about it and couldn't think of a better way to inform Hijikata that Kondo had died.

She simply reached into her pocket, took out the letter that Kondo had given her, and handed it to Hijikata.

The earthworker didn't immediately reach out to pick it up.

He sat there, staring at the hand she stretched out towards him, his eyes seemed to be wide open for a moment, the expression on his face changed from suspicion, surprise to disbelief, and a layer of pain slowly appeared between his brows color.

yes.She failed to bring back the director, but brought a letter... Under such circumstances, there is no need to say anything at all, because the news was cut off because of hiding in a safe and remote place to recuperate, and she was ignorant of the outside news The earthwork should be able to guess something.

After staring at her hand for a while, he slowly stretched out his hand and took the letter.When he unfolded the letter paper, his hands were trembling slightly.

Then, as soon as his eyes came into contact with Kondo's familiar handwriting on the paper, his eyes shook violently behind the letter paper.

Although the letter paper covered most of Hijikata's face, Liu Quan could only see his eyes, but this was enough.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have imagined that a person's eyes could reveal such complicated emotions - in those eyes with a layer of tears floating faintly, there was loss, sadness, confusion, and... It seems to understand all the determinations, as well as the loneliness and contradictions that are finally left on the way forward.

Losing the elder brother, general and friend who have always supported each other, what should he do next to overcome this deep pain, and what should he do to better complete the tasks entrusted to him by the other party? How to live and how to die can be regarded as living up to Kondo's painstaking efforts, and is it meaningful enough——

"...Is that so..." After a long silence, Tufang spoke slowly.

He slowly put down the letter paper, folded it in half again with great care, and put it in his pocket, looking down at the ground between the two of them.

"...Then, what are you doing here again? Long before the attack on Utsunomiya, we have heard the so-called rumors of 'the acting leader of the Shinsengumi Ichibangumi surrendering to the new government army'... ..." Tufang said slowly.

There didn't seem to be any surprise or accusation in his tone, and his voice was as slow as an old man's twilight; it seemed that just narrating the facts they knew so calmly had already exhausted all his energy.

"Although I know it is impossible for you to do that... However, such news came out, it must be because you have encountered a critical situation where you cannot speak for yourself. Your uncle or someone else over there thinks it is enough to speak for you. I can stop you, thinking that saying it would be useful..." He continued, as if this reasoning had been repeated countless times in his heart, and it was impossible to make any mistakes.

Liu Quan was silent, really didn't know how to answer him.

Any language seems pale and powerless under this reunion full of grief and helplessness.Even though both made unimaginable sacrifices, that important person still failed to return, leaving only the two of them standing in the ruins of a place where the world was destroyed, not knowing where they would go in the future.

Then, without warning, the earthworker raised his voice a little.

"But... Even if I know you will never do that, the other people here won't know! Now in their eyes, you are already a guy who betrayed the Shinsengumi, even if you come back here , must have another plan..."

He finally raised his eyes and looked directly at her with burning eyes.There was unreserved pain, anxiety and hesitation in his eyes.

"Even if you can't save Kondo-kun...you, why don't you leave like this? Is there anything here that is worthy of your desperation? An incompetent leader who can't do anything except forcibly force his subordinates? A shogunate army that has been defeated again and again, and even the general himself has given up resistance?"

He stared at her with painful eyes, with deep remorse and sadness in his tone.

Then, his eyes fell on her bandaged arm, which was sticking out of the sleeve.His eyes flickered, and seemed to become darker for a moment.

"...Why do you have to work so hard...if even you..." He muttered in a low voice, as if countless sadness, grief, bewilderment and confusion had all turned into words that couldn't convey his feelings well. Unreasonable words swirled around his lips, but he didn't seem to know how to say them.

That expression and tone hit Liu Quan almost instantly.

Oni's deputy chief of the Shinsengumi—in the eyes of others, he is extremely powerful and has a firm belief. The deputy chief has always supported Director Kondo and the Shinsengumi to move forward. No matter the team members, enemies or those big figures in the shogunate feel for him. The existence of fear, but now in front of her, reveals a rare sense of fragility and hesitation like a child; this is probably a moment that is impossible for others to see.

Liu Quan couldn't help but took a few steps forward and stood in front of him.For a brief moment, she almost reached out to touch his head, but she resisted that terrible urge, just looked at him sincerely, and lowered her voice.

"Because... I still have unfinished missions. Even if I lose my reputation, even if I will be punished according to the law in the game immediately after I come back, I must come back."

"The new government wants to use this to split the Shinsengumi, but I cannot apologize at this time and place."

Throwing out the key words of punishment that the deputy chief is used to giving to others as an introduction, it really made him raise his head in astonishment for a moment.

That expression immediately conveyed to her the fact that no matter what kind of rumors spread from the ghost beast Nissan and the new government army, it would not be able to shake this person's trust in her—even if she had heard the news a long time ago, but He didn't even think about making her undergo seppuku as a betrayer, because he believed that it was impossible for her to do such a thing.

...It's really broken, Deputy Chief?You don't know that I am actually a betrayer, you don't know that the "Qingyuan Xueye" you know has never really existed in this world...

"Because I swore in front of Director Kondo that no matter what happens, even if my body may be destroyed at any time, I will witness the existence of the Shinsengumi until the end."

"I swear to Director Kondo... I swear I will follow the Deputy Chief to the end."

"In front of this oath, even if your reputation is ruined, it's not worth mentioning." She said firmly.

"It's not that I can't apologize, but at this moment, I would rather die on the battlefield. Even if I kill one more enemy, it means that all my efforts from then until now have not been in vain."

Hijikata's pupils widened slightly in surprise.

"...Is that so." After a long silence, he said, his tone was the same as usual.It seemed that he didn't know what had brought him back to his usual composure and composure.

"Kondo-kun...do you have anything else to tell me?" He actually took the initiative to ask about Kondo's last moment.The brief mood swings and moments of fragility and daze just now seemed like a hallucination.Shinsengumi's Deputy Oni seems to be strong and indestructible again, just like before.

Now the person who feels a little embarrassed to say it has become Liu Quan.She paused for a second before answering.

"Director Kondo has always been very calm and calm. He told me to tell the deputy chief..."

She took a deep breath.

"Shinsengumi and the future, please."

This time, the earth side was silent for a long time.

From the dark light emanating from the depths of his pupils, she sensed the despair he had nowhere to hide.

...Even if he paid such a heavy price, was willing to make an even greater sacrifice, and ran around desperately, even if he tried his best, he still couldn't bring back the person he had been faithfully following since the poor dojo in the countryside of Tama ……? !

Next, Hijikata did not express any views on Kondo's martyrdom.This is the end of this short private conversation between them.

Saito and Shimada arranged everything in an orderly manner, and had already prepared the room for the earthwork.After a short meeting in the hall, Tufang got into his room, and seemed to put on an attitude of rejecting all visitors.

Of course Liu Quan could understand his mood at the moment.Although anxiety filled her chest, she still tried her best to maintain her composure, and before her position as acting team leader of the first team was officially restored, she still assisted the very busy Saito to complete some necessary work .

Several days passed like this, and one night, she unexpectedly met Shannan Heisuke in the corridor.

The two of them had apparently just gotten up, and were about to visit him in his room.

Since she came to White River City and returned to the Shinsengumi team, because her original position and the reputation damaged by the rumors from the ghost beast Nissan have not yet fully recovered, she has acted very low-key, so she had the opportunity to meet with the two of them before. Almost never.It was just a coincidence tonight.

After she greeted those two, Hirasuke responded with a smile as usual with a vigorous voice, but Shannan had a puzzling smile on his face.

"Ah. Have you met Hijikata-kun, Kiyohara-kun?"

He simply asked knowingly with a little malice.For a moment Liu Quan didn't know how to respond, and forced an ugly smile on his face.

"...Yes. So I won't delay you to meet him..."

She nodded hastily at the two of them, and just about to turn around and run away, Shannan's usual gentle and calm voice sounded behind her.

"After hearing the news that makes people feel uneasy... how will Hichikata-kun react?"

Liu Quan felt a sudden pain in his heart.

"Mr. Shannan will probably find out soon. Because didn't you go to see him?" She managed to maintain her superficial calm and replied in a stiff tone.

"Hey, yes."

Shannan maintained a gentle tone with a slight smile.

"But his mood when facing you... probably we will never understand."

"Shan...Mr. Shannan!"

The person who broke this embarrassing and painful scene was Hirasuke.

He shouted Shannan loudly, preventing Shannan from saying more embarrassing words.

Probably because he was not used to such a delicate atmosphere and occasion, he looked around after shouting, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Well...it's time to see Hijikata-san. Tonight...do we have other work to do?"

There was a gleam in Shannan's eyes.

"Hey, that's right." He simply gave up and continued to embarrass Liu Quan for no reason, and agreed with a smile.Then, he nodded to Liu Quan and walked in another direction.

Hirasuke breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at Liu Quan, and left after Shannan.

The author has something to say:

February 5:

The long-lost [-]-character chapter appeared. . .Because the next plot is almost all high-energy~~【Hey!

Does the deputy chief have OOC? . .this is a problem.It stands to reason that he should be a tough person, but I think that sometimes when meeting someone who is more determined than myself, he will involuntarily weaken a little bit. . . ?

In short, it seems that everyone doesn't care too much about whether the deputy chief has collapsed or not~~ The point is that Xiaoyi should be delicious!tell me yes!No!yes! 【Huh

How about some fungi for this chapter?It is the ED of the second season of Hakuouki's TV version of "Blue Blood Record", "Akane Kongに望ふ".

The lyrics are very emotional, everyone can take a look at the translation~~

Since JJ doesn't let you post the link now, if you try to listen online, you can only trouble everyone to search by yourself, sorry for the inconvenience~~