The next day——

Shiwei Hall, Sword Dojo——

Standing in the center of the dojo with a lower sword stance, holding a bamboo sword and keeping his eyes closed, Aoto was training his muscle memory with the "Lower Sword Stance" he was not yet proficient at. Suddenly, he felt a warmth on his back.

He opened his eyes and looked back——it turned out to be the light of dawn passing through the dojo’s window, shining on Aoto’s back.

The weather’s exceptionally good today.

Looking outside through the open window, birds began chirping and flying about, and the sky outside had turned into a beautiful cerulean blue. The sun peered above the eastern horizon, and a bright red morning glow blossomed, forming a beautiful painting with the blue sky.

"The day has come..."

Aoto was now completely accustomed to waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning and training until daylight.

Let’s wrap up the morning practice for today——with these thoughts in mind, Aoto placed the bamboo sword back into the sword barrel not far away, and prepared to head to the courtyard to wipe off the sweat and freshen up a bit.

In the courtyard of Shiwei Hall, there’s a deep well that connects to underground water, which Mr. Kondo and the others rely on for everyday use.

The habit of brushing teeth had already become widespread in Edo Era Japan. People of this era used toothpicks and toothpowder to brush their teeth.

The so-called toothpick could be understood as the toothbrush of this era, made from willow twigs with one end split open, the fibers resembling the fine teeth of a wooden comb, making teeth cleaning convenient.

As for toothpowder, it could be understood as the toothpaste of this era, made by mixing fine sand with mint, salt, and other substances. The cleaning effect and freshening effect were fairly good.

Aoto drew a bucket of water from the well to wash his face and brush his teeth, standing by the well, enjoying the beautiful sunrise while freshening up.

Suddenly, Aoto heard staggered footsteps behind him like those of a drunk.

Behind Aoto was Mr. Chokata, still not fully awake from his slumber, eyes half-closed, head and shoulders slumped, his messy hair draped behind him, clutching his water cup and toothpick, walking with unsteady steps towards the well.

"Mr. Tachibana...zaoshang hao... (Good morning)"

"Mr. Chokata, good morning... Hey! Look out!"

Bam.

Still groggy and unable to walk straight, Mr. Chokata bumped into a tree in the courtyard, sounding like a watermelon being smacked.

Mr. Chokata’s forehead immediately turned red.

However, such a strong collision... didn’t wake Mr. Chokata up.

He raised his hand and rubbed the bumped spot, yawned broadly, and continued walking towards the well as if nothing happened.

Drawing water from the well, Mr. Chokata stood next to Aoto, brushing teeth alongside him.

Among Mr. Kondo’s family, the earliest risers were Mr. Kondo and Mr. Chokata. They got up with the first light of dawn.

Next was Abi; she usually awoke around 7 in the morning.

Zhouzhu was the last one to get up. From Aoto’s observation, if there’s nothing urgent, Zhouzhu would take his time and crawl out of bed after 10 in the morning.

"Hey... is your head okay?" Looking at Mr. Chokata’s still-red forehead, Aoto couldn’t help but ask.

"Huh? No trouble..." Mr. Chokata, half-awake, replied unclearly, "My noggin’s hard as iron..."

Then, as if to prove his head’s really hard, Mr. Chokata continued brushing his teeth with his right hand, while raising his left hand to tap his forehead, producing a "knock knock knock" sound.

"Well... as long as you’re okay."

"Mr. Tachibana, Mr. Toshisuke, good morning."

"Ah, Mr. Kondo, good morning."

"Zaoshang hao... (Good morning)"

With a hint of sleepiness still remaining on his face, Mr. Kondo drew another fresh bucket of water from the well and joined Aoto and Mr. Chokata in the "morning cleaning army".

"Mr. Kondo, how did it go? Did you and the master have it smooth with the mother last night?" Aoto asked casually.

"Well..." Mr. Kondo smiled helplessly, "Not very smoothly; mother still insists on her thoughts."

"Hmm... aunt opposes our match with Little Chiba Sword Dojo during the ’Plum Blossom Festival’, so let her oppose as she wishes." Having finished brushing his teeth, Mr. Chokata was now squatting by the bucket, washing his face.

Perhaps spurred by the cold water, Mr. Chokata was significantly more awake now, no longer unclear in speech.

"We wouldn’t cancel the match with Little Chiba Sword Dojo just because of her opposition."

"Though that’s true..." Mr. Kondo chuckled, "But after all, she is my mother and our teacher’s wife. We must give her due respect."

Mr. Kondo brushed his teeth quickly.

In a moment’s time, he took his toothpick out of his mouth, and started rinsing and washing his face.

After splashing some water onto his face, Mr. Kondo raised his head and glanced at Mr. Chokata beside him:

"Mr. Toshisuke, do you have time this morning? I have an errand for you."

"Hmm? Errand?" Mr. Chokata put down the towel he was using to wipe his face.

"You’ll go to Thousand Affairs House, find Boss Kiryu and Miss Kinoshita." Mr. Kondo smiled, "Invite Boss Kiryu and Miss Kinoshita to Yudashima Tenman Temple to watch our match on the day of Plum Blossom Festival."