Gunpei entered the shop and saw more than one person inside. The person at the counter was nor a man nor a woman, it was a little girl.
Gunpei walked through the shop and played the role of a customer. The carvings were nicely done, proper and elegant.
The other customers looked disgustingly at Gunpei, when they saw his attire, they could only think that he was a maggot of the lower classes.
Someone like him could not afford something like those wood carvings. One of the customers gave a look at the little girl.
She jumped from her wooden chair and walked towards Gunpei.
"Excuse me, sir. I will ask you to leave please."
Gunpei looked around himself to find the person who talked to him, this person had a little but bossy voice.
"Down here, sir."
Gunpei looked down and saw this little thing with her arms crossed and her serious expression.
"Hello miss, I am looking for a job. May I know if you look for people to hire? I can do anything, from cleaning the tools to running errands."
The little girl rubbed her chin and thought about Gunpei's demand.
"Hmmm, we may just have a spot for you. Follow me, please."
The little girl led Gunpei behind the shop, there was a little yard full of dead herbs.
"If you take out all the dead herbs, we'll pay you very handsomely. What do you think?"
At this instant, he didn't know where the wood carver was. The best thing to do was to play along and take out all the dead herbs until the wood carver showed himself.
"I will take care of it, miss. Can I ask you a question?"
The little girl nodded, she gave her permission to Genpui.
"Can I know where the wood carver is?"
"He is working in the workshop. Do you perhaps wish to meet him?"
This little girl was smart for her age, she directly understood why Gunpei asked.
"Yes, I would like to meet him and ask him to take me under his tutelage."
The little girl had an impressed expression on her face. She didn't expect him to have such noble reasons to come here.
"Very well, when you finish the job, I'll personally bring you to the wood carver. This will be your reward, anyways, you got work to do."
The little girl left Gunpei alone in the yard, he immediately started to take the dead herbs with his hands.
One hour, two hours, three hours, finally, he had finally finished his job.
Gunpei entered the shop from the backdoor and walked to the little girl.
"Miss, I have finished my job. Is the wood carver available?"
"Absolutely, I will lead you to him."
The little girl brought Gunpei in a dark place in the back of the shop. There, she removed a vase and a little rope was poking out of a hole.
The little girl pulled on the rope, the wooden floor revealed to be a secret passage.
Stairs led to the underground, Gunpei made his way downstairs. He followed the only path there was and saw light.
There was a room filed with tools of all sorts, there was a man sitting on a wooden stool. He was carving into some wood.
He soon stopped and placed his tools on the ground. He felt eyes watching him, he looked to his right only to see Gunpei.
"If you are here, it's because my daughter has led you here. What is it that you need or want?"
Gunpei slowly placed his hand under his clothes, in search of the knife.
"I am here because someone sent me. I must kill you, otherwise I won't get what I need."
The wood carver stood up from his stool and looked at Gunpei from head to toe.
"You got some balls on you, boy. To dare come in here and threaten me, in front of my face."
Gunpei took the knife out and placed himself in an attacking stance.
"Listen boy, how about you kill the man who has sent you and I will personally give you what you need."
Gunpei had no time playing games like this. He had accepted a certain task, now, he had to complete it.
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to do that. I won't touch your daughter, I promise."
Gunpei charged at the wood carver and kicked him in the crotch, the wood Carver grabbed his crotch in pain.
Gunpei stabbed his throat and pushed the wood carver to the ground.
He looked around the room to see if he could take some tools or carved pieces of wood with him.
The tools were too big. He found little carved wooden pieces, he could sell them for a good price.
Gunpei took the stairs back, the little girl was waiting for him to come back.
"So, will he take you under his tutelage?" the little girl asked excitedly
"No, he also told me to tell you that he will be busy for the days to come and to not disturb him."
Gunpei left the shop and returned to the Green Cicada. The middle aged man waited to hear the good news.
"I have killed the wood carver, now, give me the hammer and the nails. Oh, don't forget the wood."
The middle aged man walked upstairs, his shop had two floors. He came back with a metal box, inside the box was a hammer and many nails.
"Take this, I give you two days, two days to give me my tools back. If you don't, you'll get into big trouble."
"Where are my pieces of wood?" Gunpei wasn't impressed by the middle aged man's threat.
"I'll get you some." the middle aged man returned upstairs and came back with a big piece of wood.
The big piece of wood had a hole in it, Gunpei had taken a rope from the other wood carver's workshop and put it in his pockets.
With this rope, he entered it in the hole and made a knot around his right ankle. The metal box was already heavy and he had to carry it with his two hands.
The big piece of wood had to be dragged with his foot. Like this, Gunpei walked back home.
His body was weak, it was not the same body he had in his past life. Now, his muscles were not so developed, he had to work on it.
When Gunpei reached the outsides the house, he was exhausted. He dropped the metal box and fell to the ground in a sitting position.
"I have to make my body stronger, if not, I won't be able to work properly and sustain my sister and I."
The door opened violently and Saorou was thrown to the ground, A group of men came out of the house.
"Hahaha, little slut. There is no resttime, you must go to work and now! If you don't work, how will you be able to repay us our money."
They had the same clothes, a brown kimono and they had thick sticks as weapons.
"Hey! What are you bastards doing here?! Who the fuck do you think you are?!"
The eight men looked at Gunpei with funny looks and they burst out laughing.
"Boy, you are playing a dangerous game right now. Mind your own business, or else..."
"Or else what?! Let me tell you some, whoever it is, I won't let them hurt my sister. And you, son of a bitch are touching her, I won't let it pass!"
Gunpei took the knife and prepared to fight, they only had sticks, they couldn't touch him with that.
One of the man swang the stick, Gunpei saw it coming. The swing was so slow, at least, it was in the experienced eyes of Gunpei.
He jumped back but to his great surprise, he was struck on the chin.
'How didn't I manage to dodge this?"
Gunpei received another hit on the skull this time, the strike cut him, he was bleeding from it.
The man still wanted to beat Gunpei up with the stick, surely to the death. Saorou quickly pleaded for mercy.
"Please, do not kill him! He's only a little boy, I....I will work, yes! I will work more than any other woman. I will not leave the streets of the city once, so please... SLAP!"
Saorou was silenced with a big slap on here face. She was lying face down on the filthy ground, blood was coming out of her mouth.
"Boy, you should be thankful to your filthy sister. Today, we'll let you live, on her behalf."
Gunpei was on the ground and looked at the men dragging Saorou by the hair. This bastards didn't have any respect.
'They must be the Minami gang, just you wait bastards. Saorou I will come for you, do not worry.'
The hit on the skull made him fall unconscious. He was there on the ground, vulnerable to anything.
"Aahhh... Bastards...I'll get you." Gunpei was slowly coming back from his unconscious state.
He rubbed his head and stretched his body, when he looked up in the sky he saw the nightsky.
"It's....already night?"
Gunpei stood up, his whole body was stiff. Laying there on the ground for hours was nothing good.
The piece of wood was stil there, he had bind it to his ankle.
"Where's the box? I can't aford to lose the tools!"
Gunpei suddenly stood up, he was a little bit dizzy, he moved like a drunkard. He looked left and right, but the box was nowhere to be seen.
The box had been stolen.