48 Hours a Day

“What’s the matter?” Mr. Okita was busy coughing and beheading his enemies, but he could still make time to reply to Zhang Heng. Even in this bloody and messy battle, he still maintained his elegant posture. His Tachi was like the moon in the starry sky, exuding a faint cold light. Swiftly and sprightly, he beheaded every single enemy that stood in his path.

“It’s such a pity your Shinsengumi failed to kill Kido Takayoshi at Ikedaya,” said Zhang Heng. “This is your rare opportunity to make up for it. Want to watch it slip away from your hands?”

“What do you mean?” Okita Soki raised his eyebrows.

“Shinsaku Takasugi. He is among them,” replied Zhang Heng. “What?!” Okita Soki was stunned. “That man... didn’t he just die not long ago?”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case... I just saw him earlier. He was well alive and most busy preparing for a grand plan.” “Ah, these people are so annoying. No wonder Mr. Kondo said that the world is in chaos thanks to them,” grumbled Okita Soki, shaking his head and complaining about the Tobaku supporters.

The truth was he actually did not know how much evil Shinsaku Takasugi had done. Whatever it might be, his sensei asked him to kill all of them if he saw them. Okita Soki was certainly not stupid, but he was sometimes very lazy.

“If you go against him now, you might be able to catch up with him,” Zhang Heng reminded.

“Huh?” Okita Soki did some fast thinking this time, “You want to get your hands on the Juzumaru, and it is with Kirino Toshiaki right now. Kirino Toshiaki is protecting Shinsaku Takasugi, right?” “Yes, catching up to Takasugi will allow us to get what we both need.” Zhang Heng finally threw out the terms of cooperation. Okita Soki’s eyes widened, “... don’t you think you that you are out of your mind? Most head to a safe place as soon as possible when they get ambushed or assassinated. As for you, not only will you not escape but you’ll go after the enemies...”

“If I was alone, I would have escaped by now. But now that we are paired up, there is still a certain chance of success, but you have to make up your mind quickly. Otherwise, Shinsaku Takasugi will run away,” Zhang Heng explained sincerely.

“Since you don’t care about the danger, then I, as the captain of the first strike team, have no reason to retreat as well!” Okita Soki was a young man, and he was unwilling to fall behind. Besides, he witnessed Zhang Heng’s swordsmanship, and he too got very excited about it after admiring him. So the two changed directions. Instead of running towards the main entrance, they ran to the side door. Their actions immediately caught everyone’s attention in the tea house, and many were caught off-guard, especially the Choshu and Satsuma samurai who chose to stay behind.

The elder samurai’s previous polite smile was gone from his face. Now, they were replaced by eyes that were filled with rage.

“Hey, asshole! Damn it! How dare you undermine our authority?!”

While he yelled, he raised his katana and rushed towards Zhang Heng and Okita Soki, while the other samurai followed behind him, grunting and throwing curses at the same time.

“Great timing!” Okita Soki was thrilled when he saw the enemies charging at them.

It had been a long time since the Ikedaya Incident that he’d felt this excited. Although he had been battling for a long time, the sudden secretion of adrenaline completely nullified his pain and fatigue. The katana in his hand never felt so light before.

He was at his peak right now!

Seeing that the enemies took the initiative to attack, Okita Soki would bring out his best to defeat them. So, he instantly employed the skill he was proudest of-a three-stage charging strike, the Seigan no Kamae. The tip of the katana was pointing at the bottom right direction. From there, Okita Soki would smack it down abruptly to stop the opponent’s strike. After that, he would lift the sword with all his might and slash his opponent with lightning speed. At that time, the opponent would be left defenseless for a split second, as if killing them without them putting up a fight.

The older samurai was considered an experienced warrior. He had encountered all kinds of opponents, and although he knew these two men before him were mighty, he was somewhat confident that he could defeat them. As long as he managed to block their attacks a few times, his allies behind him would charge and kill them. By that time, the massive mound of pressure he was experiencing would be reduced by a lot. Even if it were not easy to win the fight, at least he wouldn’t be banished to the losing side.

Dreams were always perfect, but the reality was crueler than he thought. He did not even get to see how the young man in front of him move. After a second, the world around him began spinning wildly. The last question that crossed his mind was why the trees in the courtyard were slanted. After killing an opponent, Okita Soki did not feel much excitement because nearby, Zhang Heng had also killed an enemy with a clean strike. This round could only be considered a tie at best. He did not even know the name of the man he just killed. To him, he was just an unimportant character.

“Come and kill me!!! Do it now,” Okita Soki eagerly darted around, seeking out his next prey. “Don’t forget our main goal.” Zhang Heng saw that Okita Soki was enjoying slaughtering the enemies. He could not help but remind him about their task on hand.

“You’re right. Only by eliminating Shinsaku Takasugi can the world returns to its peaceful state.” Okita Soki agreed with Zhang Heng’s point of view. Both of them continued to battle for a little longer and defeated the samurai who stayed behind. Tobaku supporters in the tea house gradually reduced in numbers to the point that they could no longer stop the two of them.

Zhang Heng killed the last enemy that was closest to him and rushed to the side door. He then raised his head and looked out the tea house, quickly lowering down his head again.

There was a gunshot!

Before the Satsuma Domain samurai managed to draw their katana at the alley to ambush Zhang Heng, their throats were slit when he charged at them. And Okita Soki was following right behind. After dealing with the two annoying flies, Okita Soki’s face flushed red from the vigorous exercise, and he could not help but start hacking away.

“Are you okay?” Zhang Heng remembered that the young man beside him had a cough like Shinsaku Takasugi, but Okita Soki seemed to be in a relatively better situation.

“It’s not a problem. I have this sickness since I was a child. I need to take it easy.” The Okita Soki was not bothered by it. He then added, “It’s okay if I don’t rest. It’s important to go after them.”

Zhang Heng was worried about him.

“You can rest for a while. I want to confirm their current location as well.” After he said that, he climbed up to a machine nearby and actively searched for the positions of Shinsaku Takasugi and Kirino Toshiaki. Soon, he saw the samurai who escaped from the tea house were divided into two groups, one of the group was heading to the west and the other to the east.

Shinsaku Takasugi should be hiding in one of the groups.