Chapter 31: You help me, I help you.

"Matsui, come over here." Inside the sedan chair, Oda Hirakura lifted the curtain and beckoned to the samurai he had just ordered.

The samurai quickly approached and was immediately grabbed by Oda Hirakura by the collar.

"Where are your trusted followers? How come you didn't send anyone to follow that samurai who was coming here? Do you still want to serve as a magistrate?"

Oda Hirakura yelled loudly at the samurai Matsui, spraying him with saliva and a strong odor, making Matsui feel nauseous, but he didn't dare to show any sign of disgust.

Oda Hirakura hated it when people mentioned his bad breath.

Under his rule, one could perhaps be forgiven for making a mistake, but showing any hint of dislike for his bad breath would result in certain death, without exception.

"My lord, I have sent my subordinates to the Takeuchi dojo to check the situation and instructed them to come here immediately after they finish their investigation. They should still be on the way here," Matsui explained hesitantly, stumbling over his words and secretly wondering how this powerful and ferocious samurai had appeared out of nowhere.

Within half an hour, the powerful samurai had destroyed the famous Kamikaze Ryu dojo in the county of Fukushima. Matsui had never heard of a samurai with such strength before.

In addition to his subordinates, the "Constable" made Matsui feel even more frustrated just to mention them.

A constable, equivalent to Zhou Ming's past as a police officer, is at the grassroots level of law enforcement and belongs to the Fengxing Bureau, which is the police station of this era.

Above Constable is Sergeant, who manages the operations of various departments of the Fengxing Bureau, and above Sergeant is Magistrate, the head of the entire bureau.

The role of Matsui, as Magistrat, is equivalent to that of the police chief and directly under Oda Hirakura. He is in charge of maintaining law and order throughout Junshan City.

Before following Oda Hirakura, Matsui was a skilled wandering samurai. Although he was not wealthy, his life was sufficiently free.

If anyone dared to criticize him, he would draw his sword and fight to the death. Whether he killed or was killed, it was a thrilling and enjoyable battle.

However, he fell in love with a woman and had a child, so he could no longer continue to be a wandering samurai as before.

Fortunately, with his good martial arts skills, he was noticed by Oda Hirakura and became his bodyguard. Through hard work, he eventually climbed to his current position.

But sometimes, he would wake up from a dream at midnight and look at himself in the bronze mirror, feeling somewhat unfamiliar.

When did he become like this in the mirror?

Bow and scrape, obsequious and fawning, is this still him? Is he still the unruly wandering warrior he used to be?

"Perhaps the greatest growth of a person is learning to bow their head for what they cherish..."

Matsui smiled bitterly in his heart and decided to continue enduring Oda Hirakura's scolding as before.

However, at this moment, Oda Hirakura suddenly stumbled.

Matsui saw Oda Hirakura gaping with surprise and looking behind him with a shocked expression.

Fortunately, at this time, Oda Hirakura released his grip on Matsui's collar, allowing him to turn around and look behind him.

He saw a man.

A tall and imposing man who, despite his young appearance, had a carefree and confident bearing, with extraordinary grace.

"Are you looking for me?" The man approached and asked.

Matsui's heart jumped, and he immediately compared the man in front of him with the characteristics of the warrior they were looking for, confirming his identity.

This was the powerful samurai they were looking for!

At this point, because of the samurai's approach, the guards around Oda Hirakura were about to stop him.

Matsui's heart tightened, and he quickly shouted, "Don't!"

Then, he only felt a flash before his eyes, and the mysterious samurai appeared within three steps of him like a ghostly shadow, crossing over many warriors in front of him!

"Ah!"

Matsui was startled and took a step back. Suddenly realizing that Oda Hirakura was behind him, he stopped himself, but his body had lost its balance and he involuntarily fell backwards.

At that moment, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his shoulder, supporting him and preventing the tragedy of crushing onto Oda Hirakura.

Then the hand moved him aside, and its owner, the mysterious samurai, became face-to-face with Oda Hirakura instead of facing Matsui.

"Are you Oda Hirakura? I am Zhou Ming," the mysterious samurai said.

"Yes, yes," replied Oda Hirakura calmly, but he seemed to exude an indescribable aura that made Oda Hirakura, a high-ranking damiyo, unable to speak.

Finally, Oda Hirakura regained his composure and asked excitedly, "Samurai, powerful Samurai! Why have you come?"

"The World's Number One Samurai Competition," Zhou Ming said with a faint smile. "I heard that you need a daimyo's help to register for this competition."

Oda Hirakura had already anticipated what Zhou Ming would say—power, money, and fame—and was prepared to offer alluring conditions to recruit him. However, he had never expected Zhou Ming to be so direct in his request.

For a moment, Oda Hirakura didn't know how to respond. He smiled awkwardly and asked, "Just that? Are there no other requests?"

"You help me register, and I'll help you win first place. It's that simple," Zhou Ming said as he quietly stepped back a few steps, distancing himself from Oda Hirakura.

The reason was simple – Oda Hirakura had bad breath!

"It's not just a matter of not brushing his teeth. This is worse than shit!" Zhou Ming thought to himself as he retreated silently, avoiding Oda Hirakura's foul breath.

He was naturally shy and not good with words. When faced with such uncivilized behavior, he did not dare to speak up and could only retreat silently and endure.

But unfortunately, he wanted to avoid it, but the flowing water was merciless, and the falling shit was deliberate!

"Great! Great! With Zhou Kun's powerful martial arts, you will surely showcase your skills and become famous!" Oda Hirakura blurted out all the words he knew, opening his arms and wanting to hug Zhou Ming.

He could also see that with Zhou Ming's impressive skills and elusive movements, no warrior present could stop him.

Since that was the case, why be afraid? He might as well let go a little and release his enthusiasm.

"Stop!" Seeing that Oda Hirakura was about to pounce on him, Zhou Ming quickly raised his hand to stop him. "This distance is good. Just say what you want to say. No need to be so enthusiastic. We're not that close."

Oda Hirakura's arms were outstretched in mid-air, his smile stiffened on his face, then gradually disappeared, turning grim.

Beside him, Matsui's face became fearful, his hand shaking uncontrollably as if he were being electrocuted.

"Are you... saying that I have bad breath?" he asked.

"Hey, hey, don't just say things like that. I never maliciously slander others, even if that person has a big flaw..."

"You... said I have really bad breath?"

"See! You all heard it, he's slandering me! He's slandering me!"

"You dare say I have bad breath!"

Swish!

The Adamantite alloy knife was placed horizontally on Oda Hirakura's shoulder, and a few strands of hair that were blown by the wind hit the blade and immediately broke off, drifting away with the wind.

"I said your hair is big, and I want to fix it for you," Zhou Ming said calmly.

"Heh, heh." Oda Hirakura's mouth twitched a few times, and he chuckled dryly a few times, suddenly returning to normal.

"I, I think my hair is fine, no need to fix it."

With the knife at his neck, Oda Hirakura had to think twice before losing his temper. Although they had just met, Oda Hirakura knew that the person in front of him was not afraid to use force.

Matsui was beside him, watching with a pounding heart, his face changing rapidly. He was torn between fulfilling his duties as a bodyguard and fearing that a single scream from him would cause Oda Hirakura to be cut. If he didn't do anything, he would be derelict in his duty. He felt like he was in the wrong just by breathing in this situation.

"Don't you want to reconsider? My knife is very quick," Zhou Ming said.

"No, no, no, how can I trouble you with such a small matter?" Matsui finally saw an opportunity and quickly intervened.

"Lord Oda's hair is taken care of by a dedicated person. How could I possibly use your precious sword for that? This this would be..."

Matsui wanted to use a word to describe it, but his cultural level was low and he struggled for a long time without saying the word.

"A waste." Zhou Ming kindly filled in for him.

"Yes, yes, yes! Lord Zhou, you're so cultured!" Matsui forced a smile and said, "High culture, strong power, even the knife is so beautiful, Lord Zhou, I declare, from now on, you're my only idol!"

"..." Zhou Ming said, "What's your name?"

"I'm Matsui Kyoushin!" Matsui bowed deeply and said, "I hope you will teach me a lot in the future!"

"I think you're more like a comedian." Zhou Ming quipped, retracting his knife.

The whole scene felt a bit abnormal due to the appearance of Matsui Kyoushin.

"Still, as I said before, you help me sign up, and I'll help you win first place. Let's work together happily." Zhou Ming extended his hand.

Oda Hirakura's face changed repeatedly, but in the end, he shook Zhou Ming's hand and smiled, "Zhou Kun, you won't let me down, and I won't let you down."

"..." Zhou Ming silently withdrew his hand.