Chapter 617 - 1: "Niō" Tachibana Aoto and "Asura" Ogata Isseki

Chapter 617: Chapter 1: "Niō" Tachibana Aoto and "Asura" Ogata Isseki

Heavenly Ascent, reaching a place higher than the moon!

——Preface of Volume 2 "Heavenly Ascent"

*******

*******

Man’en 1 (1860), August 3.

Cicada—! Cicada—! Cicada—! Cicada—!

It’s August, the height of summer.

This year’s weather is indeed extremely unusual. It was snowing in March, yet by May it was astonishingly hot, and come August, it was so unbearable one just wanted to strip off their clothes, not to mention the desire to peel off a layer of skin.

Beneath the blazing sun, summer cicadas hide weakly in the shade of trees, emitting a bothersome whine. This repeated cicada call seems distant at times, yet so close, vague yet clear.

The air on Edo’s streets is filled with the smell of heat and sweat.

No matter where you stand in Edo City Town, sweeping your gaze across the scene, everything is tinted with a filter of heat waves, as though the whole world can’t withstand the high temperatures and starts to dissolve into a viscous liquid.

Nevertheless, despite the fierce summer heat, it hasn’t lessened the lively atmosphere of Edo’s famous amusement street, Ryogoku-dori, by even a fraction.

...

"Come and see! Come and see! There’s fart music! Playing music with fart sounds! Certainly a performance you have never seen!"

"Goldfish~ Blue Medaka~ Anyone interested in scooping goldfish?"

"Watermelon! Watermelon! Look! Such red and beautiful watermelons, just chilled with well water! Buy now and eat now! Only 5 mon Coins for a big slice!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, watch me cut this thrown-up rotten apple in mid-air with my eyes shut!"

...

As one of Edo’s most famous night amusement streets, Ryogoku-dori not only has numerous entertainment venues but also street performers showcasing their specialties along the roadside.

Those displaying their robust arms by lifting huge straw bags of rice or big chunks of rock, powerful warriors; those eating food that helps them fart, vulgar singers using their bottoms to sing; destitute samurai demonstrating their exquisite swordsmanship...

Vendors carrying poles, selling watermelons, iced water, ice cubes, and other goods that never worry about not being sold in such scorching temperatures, weave through the crowd.

These vendors selling watermelons and iced water are all making a killing.

In high spirits, they silently thank the sun hanging high above, releasing such intense heat that benefits their business greatly.

Though it’s now the unbearable heat of summer...

Though Radical Anti-foreigner Faction and other extremist individuals and organizations still pose a severe threat to Edo’s public order...

Though the state of the country remains turbulent because of unprecedented societal changes in a thousand years...

Despite all these... every day, many townsmen and samurai flock to the amusement street represented by Ryogoku-dori and the flower street represented by Yoshiwara, seeking moments of peace in these areas.

Today, a rather young and quite handsome storyteller stands on a storytelling stage on Ryogoku-dori.

This person is named Mengle from the Cangcang-tei style.

Being one of Ryogoku-dori’s most popular storytellers, Mengle is showcasing his marvelous performance as always today.

Bang!

With a "bang—", Mengle picks up the wooden clapper and taps it on the table.

He’s reached the climax part of the story, and all listeners are focusing intensely, ears perked attentively.

Mengle is telling a story that has been absurdly popular for the past two months; as long as you tell this story, there will absolutely be a lot of people coming to listen.

"It happened to be a dark and windy night that night."

"The moon hid behind the curtain of clouds, and a sharp cold wind came from a distant sky."

As they say, "insiders watch the craft, while outsiders watch the show."

Those who understand, merely by observing Mengle’s few actions and listening to the nuances in his speech, can tell how high Mengle’s storytelling skill is.

Sometimes passionate, sometimes gentle; this rhythm, rising and falling, is very pleasant to listen to.

The audience below the stage all gaze directly at Mengle above, listening intently as Mengle narrates the story of "Niō Tachibana Aoto heroically saving the Foreign Language Research Institute."

"The Anti-foreigner Group’s thugs are truly heartless bastards."

"The servants inside the Foreign Language Research Institute are nothing but unarmed scholars."

"Yet the beasts of the Anti-foreigner Group could bear such hatred and execute a massacre against these innocents."

"Under this slaughter by beasts, the Foreign Language Research Institute flooded with blood, resembling a corpse-filled, blood-sea Asura Dojo."

"Thankfully suddenly there arrived one figure, dashing and leading the charge! Leading only four subordinates, they charged straight into the enemy camp surrounding the Foreign Language Research Institute!"

"If you ask who this person is? It is none other than the Dōshin of North Station Town Patrol. Standing at six feet, with an awe-inspiring presence and dignified bearing, none other than Minamoto Tachibana Aoto Moriharu!"

Bang!

Again, Mengle forcefully struck the wooden clapper.

Under Mengle’s captivating storytelling, the audience below felt as if they were at the scene, right in that night under attack at the Foreign Language Research Institute, amid that fierce battleground.

"To speak of it, this Tachibana Aoto was originally a mere unknown attendant at the North Guard Station."

"He muddled along every day, hence also had the nickname ’Blockhead Don.’"

"Suddenly one day, he realized the heavy responsibility he shouldered as a Magistrate’s Dōshin. Much like Wang Yangming’s enlightenment in Longchang, he awoke to the truth, resolved not to rove through life idly anymore."