Chapter 90

"Damn... weren't you just being so arrogant? Weren't you going to kill me? Is being able to perform the no-sword technique of the Shin Yin school really that impressive? I don’t care how much prestige you have on the Japanese archipelago, but here in Naha, you don’t have the right to act so wildly..."

Ei Hachiro, with a short firearm in each hand, had long prepared the ammunition, which was his means of self-preservation. Ei Hachiro was essentially a ruffian, lacking the honor of a samurai. In his eyes, as long as he could achieve his goal, it was fine.

"Come on, come and hit me. I want to see who is faster. This world is no longer the world of warriors. Whoever has the Western guns is the boss..." Ei Hachiro, with his left hand, arrogantly slapped his face with the firearm, as if inviting the other to hit him.

Just then, a lazy voice came from outside the gambling house, "I didn’t expect that you, a bunch of lowlifes, would privately hide firearms? Damn, they are even old muzzle-loading smoothbore guns? Is this the Spanish or Portuguese style?"

As he spoke, a handsome man in fine clothing walked in. Everyone recognized him; wasn’t this the Xiao Letian who had used underhanded tactics at the dock? Why did he suddenly appear?

"Judging from the patterns on the firearms, they have a Portuguese flavor. You Japanese have been trading with the Portuguese since the Warring States period, and it seems you have been deeply influenced by Portuguese culture... But let me tell you, the Portuguese style of firearms is no longer in vogue. Let my men show these bumpkins our treasures..."

"Understood..." A loud cheer came from behind Xiao Letian, and a group of soldiers armed with Western guns rushed in, led by Luo Huo. The sound of the hammers being cocked on the strange Western guns was already enough to intimidate the ronin, even before a shot was fired.

Ei Hachiro and his men had only about ten firearms, and they were all nearly a hundred years old. These muzzle-loading smoothbore guns, products of the Napoleonic era, required the use of a ramrod to clean the barrel after each shot, then to pour in the gunpowder, ram it down, and finally load the bullet, which was also rammed down.

A complete firing process required the use of the ramrod three times, and this old-style weapon was no longer in line with the times. On the other hand, Xiao Letian’s men, though no one knew the names of their firearms, the strange appearance alone was already intimidating.

"You don’t understand, do you? Let me teach you something today. This is an American-made famous gun called the Spencer repeating rifle. It uses rear-loading ammunition, with completely custom-made bullets. The stock can hold up to seven bullets, and they are pushed forward by a spring. One bullet is fired, and then another is loaded..."

Xiao Letian didn’t care whether these people understood him. He kept boasting, pulling at his sleeve, "You’re like cows, aren’t you? Don’t you Chinese have a saying that you shouldn’t play the lute to a cow?"

Xiao Letian’s face turned red with anger, and he glared fiercely at Ei Hachiro, "Damn, even if you don’t understand, I’m still better than you..."

The difference between rear-loading and muzzle-loading guns was a matter of an entire era. Xiao Letian knew that if he gave the order, not a single ronin in the gambling house would survive in less than a minute. At such a short distance, the concentrated fire of the Spencer repeating rifles would turn them into sieves.

As he hesitated about whether to eliminate the root of the problem, a disheveled woman rushed in from outside, kneeling before Xiao Letian and pleading in broken Chinese, "Sir, please save my brother and me... Ei Hachiro took the silver coins you gave me, which I was going to use to redeem my brother..."

After a long explanation, Xiao Letian finally understood Chiyaharu’s plight and was furious, "Damn, you even dare to rob my reward money, you really want to die..." He pulled out a Colt revolver from his pocket and fired three shots at the ceiling.

"You, you pig-dog, give the money back to Chiyaharu and hand over the promissory note. You’ve really gone too far..." The three gunshots made the ronin tremble, but no one dared to fire back. Not only did they not understand the technological gap, but the number of firearms they had was also at a disadvantage.

The sound of gunfire was the command. Luo Huo shouted, "Raise the muzzles two fingers... three shots in succession..." As he spoke, thirty riflemen raised their muzzles and fired at the ronin’s heads.

In the Japanese settlement, a dull thunderclap echoed. The concentrated fire of thirty Spencer rifles made it impossible to hear individual shots; the sound was like a dull thunder.

This was 1865 in Naha Port, and the Meiji Restoration had not yet begun. The Japanese were even more ignorant than the people of the Qing Dynasty. The sound of the thunder made everyone, including Ei Hachiro, fall to the ground, trembling and babbling incoherently.

"Fire... fire..." Luo Huo was also excited. Previously, his riflemen had used the most primitive matchlock guns produced by the Qing Dynasty. Today, they were using the most advanced rear-loading rifles of the time, and all the riflemen were overjoyed.

The Spencer rifle had a standard capacity of seven bullets, and at that time, there were no magazines. The bullets were stored in a tubular space in the stock, pushed forward by a spring. The shooter only needed to load the bullets in advance, cock the hammer, aim, and pull the trigger, repeating the process.

This simple shooting mode, combined with the powerful fixed ammunition, made the riflemen so excited that they forgot the order for three shots. In less than half a minute, all seven bullets were fired.

The wooden wall on the opposite side was now riddled with holes, and over two hundred bullets had turned it into a sieve. A gentle breeze blew, and half the wall collapsed.

"Wow! You damn, this is really powerful..." The dazed Luo Huo was still marveling when Xiao Letian slapped him on the back of the head, "You, this month, next month, and the month after, no salary for you! You’re a wastrel, do you know how much these bullets cost? Just this one volley, over a hundred taels of silver are gone... I could kick you to death..."

But Xiao Letian’s violent kick only earned him a silly smile from the shameless group. These people regarded Xiao Letian as their teacher and didn’t care about the loss of salary; as long as they were fed, it was fine.

As Xiao Letian was almost leveling the gambling house, Kashiwagari Rikugen, far away, heard the dull sound. The teacup in his hand rolled on the tatami, and his face changed as he rushed out of the courtyard.

"Fog Hidden Big Demon, Fog Hidden Little Demon... go and find out what’s happening!" In Kashiwagari Rikugen’s frightened voice, a figure flew out of the courtyard, the injured Fog Hidden Big Demon from the morning.

Kashiwagari’s elder, leaning against a pine tree, looked down at the half-mountain slope, hearing the noisy crowd and even seeing a faint wisp of smoke. At that time, smokeless powder had not yet been invented, and the firing of two hundred bullets would inevitably produce a cloud of smoke.

Xiao Letian’s gunfire not only alarmed the Japanese but also the Ryukyu royal family in Shuri Castle. King Shang Tai, standing on the city wall, asked in confusion, "What’s happening? What’s going on..."

The entire Naha city fell into a mysterious panic, and even foreign merchants stood on tiptoe to look in the direction of the gunfire.

Xiao Letian scolded the group of ruffians, unable to bear the smoke in the room, and rushed out. The riflemen then dragged the ronin, who were now like mud, onto the street. Ei Hachiro, who had been so arrogant, was now completely cowed by the rain of gunfire.

"Great Lord of the Upper Country, don’t kill me... Ah! Don’t kill me... These are Bita’s silver coins, I don’t want them, I don’t want them..." Ei Hachiro was now a broken dog, completely collapsed on the ground.

"Where’s the promissory note? Where’s my brother’s promissory note..." Chiyaharu tore at Ei Hachiro in a frenzy.

"Sorry, there was no promissory note. From the beginning to the end, there was no promissory note. I never thought you would resist, and I never thought you could really pay back the money..." Xiao Letian was amused, never expecting the conflict to be over this.

Just then, the guards from Naha Port ran over again. Seeing that the conflict was between these two groups again, the leading officer was sweating profusely. Both sides were powerful figures they couldn’t afford to offend, so they could only suffer in silence.

Seeing that the Naha Port constable had intervened, Xiao Letian didn’t want to get involved anymore. He didn’t come to Naha to fight the Japanese, so he had to avoid killing. Although killing Ei Hachiro would be like crushing an ant, it would complicate his plans.

Just as Xiao Letian was about to leave, a young Japanese man, who had been watching from the side, suddenly stepped forward and bowed respectfully, "Chinese... my name is No Heita. May I make a rude request?"

Xiao Letian was surprised that this young Japanese swordmaster would initiate a conversation and nodded subconsciously, "Thank you, arigato... I want to challenge one of your guards to a duel... is that okay?"

No Heita turned and bowed respectfully to Xiang Shaolong, "I... No Heita of the Shin Yin school, hope to have a fair match with you..."

Xiang Shaolong formally returned the bow, "Wudang School of China, Xiang Shaolong, accepts your challenge..." At that moment, the two martial arts masters emitted a strong fighting spirit, like a gust of wind blowing in all directions.

Xiao Letian was stunned, "What’s going on? You’re already challenging each other? I haven’t even agreed yet... No, I don’t agree..."

Xiao Letian, though not a martial artist, was good at reading people. From Xiang Shaolong’s serious expression, he could tell that this young Japanese man was very skilled and a tough opponent.

Damn, I finally tricked a martial arts expert into being my bodyguard, and if he gets hurt here, I’ll be in trouble. Absolutely not, no way.

Unfortunately, Xiang Shaolong shook his head, "Mr. Xiao, this concerns the dignity of a martial artist, and I cannot refuse... No Heita, I have heard of the reputation of the Shin Yin school. I will give you a fair fight. After the third watch tonight, you can decide the location of the duel..."

No Heita bowed again, "Thank you very much. After the third watch, on the southern beach of the dock, where the sand is the finest, we will meet there..."

"This, this, this..." Xiao Letian was so anxious that he was scratching his head, but none of his plans seemed to work. When No Heita, carrying his katana and wakizashi, slowly disappeared down the street, Xiao Letian grabbed Long Ye’s sleeve and asked nervously.

"Are you confident? Do you need me to ambush a group of riflemen? Don’t let anything happen to you, Long Ye. I still need you to protect me for the rest of my life... I, I, I hired you with money, you need to have professional ethics..."

Xiang Shaolong smiled, "Don’t worry, Mr. Xiao, I know my limits. But tonight, you shouldn’t watch the fight. Let us have a quiet duel..."

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