My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 341 - 135: The Martial Arts Legend—State of No Self! [Bonus Update 11,000 Words! Thanks to the Alliance Leader!]

"Miss Kinoshita, you work at the Thousand Affairs House during the day and transform into the Great Thief Cat Monk at night... aren’t you lacking in sleep?"

"I have enough sleep." Mukiwa laughed, "I’m the kind of person who doesn’t need a lot of sleep. I sleep for about 2 hours every day, and that’s enough for me."

"I usually start sleeping at 8 p.m. (Musuzi) and wake up somewhere between 10 p.m. (Mugo) and 12 p.m. (Mukuzi)."

"After completing my nightly ’Night Patrol’ and returning to the Thousand Affairs House, I’ll take a nap depending on the situation."

——Can you really recover with just 2 hours of sleep a day... Miss Kinoshita must have a talent similar to that of the ’Sleep God’...

After silently lamenting this in his heart, Aoto couldn’t help but feel a bit... depressed.

Judging by everything Mukiwa has shown so far... she must have a lot of great talents, with speed being primary.

Yet, all he managed to copy from Mukiwa was the... rather subtle talent of "Milk".

This inevitably made Aoto feel depressed.

After mentioning this small issue to Mukiwa, Aoto, naturally, asked Mukiwa another question.

"Miss Kinoshita, how did you become so familiar with that leased land? That area isn’t very close to where you live at the Thousand Affairs House."

"Because Elodie lives in that leased area."

Mukiwa laughed.

"After their family moved to Edo, I frequently visited Elodie’s home to play with her."

"So, over time, I’ve become intimately familiar with that leased land."

"Miss Elodie? No wonder..." Aoto nodded lightly.

Since Elodie’s family lives in that leased area... it makes perfect sense that Mukiwa, being a close friend of Elodie’s, would be so familiar with the place.

At this moment, Aoto suddenly pursed his lips as he remembered something. When he was still sitting on the tree with Mukiwa, waiting for the suspect of the "Street Killing Incident" to appear, there was a rather serious question he wanted to ask Mukiwa.

But the sudden appearance of the "Red-faced Brothers" and others meant that Aoto never got the chance to ask that question.

And now—the perfect opportunity to ask the question presented itself again to Aoto.

After hesitating for a moment, Aoto cleared his throat:

"Miss Kinoshita, can I ask you a... possibly rather serious question?"

"A serious question?" Mukiwa turned her head and winked at Aoto—she signaled Aoto with her eyes: Go ahead and ask.

"Miss Kinoshita, after you’ve been active as the Cat Monk and stealing money from those villains... where have you taken all that money you’ve stolen?"

"You’re not directly distributing the money to the poor like that Mouse Monk from forty years ago, are you?"

"Ah, well..."

Mukiwa pursed her red lips, then offered Aoto a smile that curved her eyes into crescents.

"Just saying it like this might be a bit dry."

"Mr. Tachibana, do you have time now? How about I show you directly where all the money stolen from those villains goes."

Aoto was momentarily stunned, then nodded vigorously.

"Then... follow me."

Mukiwa turned her body and went down a path to the right.

She led Aoto through winding streets and alleys, and finally—arrived at the Thousand Affairs House.

As Aoto stared with confusion at the familiar employment agency in front of him, Mukiwa motioned for Aoto to follow her.

"Follow me, be careful now, don’t wake Mr. Kiryu." Mukiwa whispered.

"Boss Kiryu... Miss Kinoshita, does Boss Kiryu not know you’re the Cat Monk?"

"He certainly doesn’t know." Mukiwa put her hands on her hips, "From what I understand about Mr. Kiryu, if he knew I was the Cat Monk... he’d definitely be shocked at first and then strongly oppose the thieving profession I currently maintain."

"So I’ve always been secretly hiding it from him, being careful not to let him discover I am the Cat Monk."

"Alright then, follow me quickly."

Mukiwa led Aoto, tiptoeing to the side of the Thousand Affairs House, climbed over a wooden wall, and jumped into the backyard of the Thousand Affairs House.

Next, Mukiwa slowly walked to a tree growing in a corner of the backyard, squatted down on the ground, pointed to an inconspicuous tree hollow at the root, and smilingly said:

"I’ve put all the money I stole... right in this tree hollow."

"You put the money here?" Aoto’s eyes widened with astonishment as he quickly walked to Mukiwa’s side, craned his neck to peer into the tree hollow.

The hollow was deep, and in the layers of darkness, Aoto could only vaguely see a piece of dark cloth.

At that moment, Mukiwa stretched out a hand, reached into the hollow and lifted the dark cloth—underneath was a pile of money, like a mountain... gold, silver, and copper coins were all there.

"Ever since I was little, my grandmother taught me: rather than directly giving people money, it’s better to teach them how to earn it."

As Mukiwa looked at the pile of money hidden in the tree hollow, her eyebrows filled with a hint of reminiscence and she removed the mask from her face.

"When I first started stealing money from infamously wicked people under the guise of the Cat Monk, I did consider whether I should follow in the footsteps of the Mouse Monk and distribute the money directly to the poor."

"But after much thought, I realized that doing so is merely putting out a fire temporarily."