"Clatter, clatter, clatter..."
The carriage drove straight, its wheels rattling on the flagstone road.
The shadow cast by the Kyoto city walls covered the carriage, and ahead, various groups of people were queuing to enter the city.
After a full thirteen days of travel, Kyoto was finally reached.
Having traversed various gravel paths, muddy roads, dirt roads, and mountain paths, Zhou Ming had completely given up any hope for the road conditions of this era.
It wasn't until the gates of Kyoto that flagstone roads could be seen. The carriage traveled on them, making the journey smoother and significantly less bumpy.
"Zhou-kun, have you ever been to Kyoto before?"
Inside the carriage, Oda Heizo asked with a smile, sipping sake.
"I have not," Zhou Ming replied truthfully.
"No matter. Once we enter Kyoto, I'll have Matsui take you around. Kyoto is a bustling place, the center of the world, and my small Koriyama Castle cannot compare."
Oda Heizo shook his head, and when speaking of Kyoto, even he, a Daimyo from distant Koriyama Castle, would puff out his chest with pride.
"Very well," Zhou Ming nodded indifferently. Even when Oda Heizo proudly uttered the words "center of the world," Zhou Ming struggled to suppress his laughter and did not express his disdain.
One cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, nor can a frog in a well comprehend the vastness of the sky. If he mocked the other's limited knowledge, was he not himself an object of ridicule?
"Let's go, into the city!" Oda Heizo ordered, lowering the curtain.
"By now, at least over half of the Daimyo have arrived. Hmph, I'll make sure to give them a big surprise then!"
"But after entering the city, I'll have to meet the Lord. Alas, I don't know why, but every time I see him, I feel a sense of dread and panic."
"Once all the Daimyo have gathered, there should be a grand banquet. But before that, hmph hmph hmph, the so-called First Samurai Tournament officially begins the moment we step through these city gates!"
Oda Heizo's words carried some hidden meaning, but Zhou Ming had no interest in listening further.
It was nothing more than open and covert struggles—assassinations, sneak attacks, framing, bribery. What was there to listen to?
"My lord, should I order our men to clear a path?" Matsui Kyoshin asked from outside the carriage.
"Am I such a high-profile person?" Oda Heizo glared. "Just queue up and enter; this is Kyoto, after all."
"Yes, my lord." Matsui Kyoshin, having put his foot in his mouth, dared not ask further and quickly relayed the order, telling his men not to cause trouble.
The convoy moved forward with the crowd, and soon, the samurai at the front of the line entered the city.
A convoy of over thirty people naturally couldn't all enter at once. Since Oda Heizo wouldn't allow them to reveal their status and force a path, they could only enter in batches.
Samurai were positioned at the front and back of the convoy, with the carriage in the middle, to prevent it from being isolated in case of an emergency.
Just as the carriage was about to enter the city, dust billowed from behind, and shouts echoed through the city gate.
"Get out of the way! Everyone, get out of the way!"
Zhou Ming lifted the carriage curtain and saw several riders behind, galloping on horseback, waving their whips to drive away the commoners in their path.
Behind the riders was a carriage, which appeared quite luxurious from its exterior, far more opulent than Oda Heizo's carriage, which was dusty and travel-worn after thirteen days on the road.
Behind that carriage were several flatbed carts, each with a man-high cage fixed to it, containing captured wild boars, foxes, deer, and other game.
And people.
All women.
There were young girls who looked seventeen or eighteen, women who were still alluring, and even very young girls with innocent faces, all huddled in the cages, looking terrified.
The entire convoy consisted of six riders, fourteen foot soldiers, escorting thirteen women. It was unclear how many people were inside the carriage. The impressive procession soon arrived at the city gate.
The city guards, seeing the convoy from afar, immediately stopped everyone who was about to enter the city and tried to clear the crowd, making way at the city gate.
Oda Heizo's samurai were accustomed to arrogance in Koriyama Castle, where they always walked with impunity. For the first time, they were being waved away like livestock. Could they tolerate this? They immediately clashed with the city guards.
The agitated city guards drew their swords in threat, and the samurai of the convoy, even more agitated, drew their swords in return. A standoff quickly ensued, and the situation became extremely tense.
At this moment, the people at the back of the crowd had been driven away by the riders' whips and ran directly into the samurai at the rear of the convoy.
"Bastards! Where are you from, daring to cause trouble in Kyoto!"
"You dare to block Lord Hori-koshi So's carriage? Are you tired of living? Get out of the way!"
"Hurry and make way, or we'll throw all of you into jail, you damned fools!"
The riders, seemingly blind to the standoff at the city gate, furiously cursed at the samurai of the convoy.
"You bastard!"
"Do you even know whose carriage you're obstructing, you scum!"
"Baka, get off your horses and prepare to die!"
The samurai also cursed back without weakness. Both sides hurled insults, competing to see whose voice was louder, wildly brandishing their weapons, but no one actually started fighting. (Oh, I accidentally rhymed.)
Their limited vocabulary and poor cursing ability made Zhou Ming drowsy.
If this were Zhou Ming's previous life, any random online troll could make these people lose control of their bowels, and any random feminist from Weibo could beat them into a state of incapacitation!
"Clatter, clatter..."
The carriage behind slowly drove up, and a deep, middle-aged man's voice came from inside the carriage.
"What's going on?"
A rider immediately stopped his meager stream of insults, turned his horse to the carriage, and whispered, "My lord, there are unruly commoners blocking the city gate ahead."
"Are there many people?" the person inside the carriage asked.
"Hmm..." The rider glanced at the convoy, hesitated, and replied, "There are about a dozen people, and also some people inside the city gate who seem to be with them."
"Oh? So many people? Go, tell them my name, and ask them where they're from." The person inside the carriage didn't dare to give an order lightly.
The rider acknowledged the command, galloped to the front of the other riders, and shouted, "Listen, people in the carriage ahead! You are currently blocking the carriage of Lord Hori-koshi So! Quickly state your identities and make way!"
Inside the carriage, Oda Heizo's expression was somewhat grim as he snorted coldly.
"What is his status?" Zhou Ming asked curiously.
"Hori-koshi So? Hmph! He is currently a great favorite in front of the Lord, the Lord's most trusted confidant!"
Oda Heizo said with undisguised sarcasm.
"You can't do anything about him?" Zhou Ming asked again.
"Why would I be afraid of him!" Oda Heizo exclaimed. "It's just that I am a dignified Daimyo, and it's not appropriate to contend with a national official."
"Heh heh," Zhou Ming chuckled without any change in tone, saying, "I understand. Then I'll go invite him over to chat with you."
"Invite..." Oda Heizo was stunned, then immediately reacted, shouting, "Zhou-kun, restrain..."
However, before he could finish his sentence, Zhou Ming had already lifted the curtain and darted out.
Afterward, Oda Heizo heard a series of commotions.
"Stop, what do you want to do... Ah!"
"Stop him! Block him, quickly block... Ah!"
"Ah! Ah!"
Screams rose and fell, but the duration was extremely short. Just as Oda Heizo thought of lifting the curtain to look, he heard all sounds outside abruptly cease, as if everything that had just happened was merely his hallucination.