Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Four

Clear and loud. It was the voice of Akihiko Chuzenji. "At that time... a top-secret plan to find the elixir of immortality was proposed by a person in charge of the secret service agency under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to the legend of a certain village, they found this mysterious village——Hu Human village, the Saiki clan. And then...they were sure it was here..." it. Immortal creature. Lord Junfeng...? Chuzenji looked at the Saiki clan. "But...they can't confirm it. It's a matter of course, Mr. Kobei." Chuzenji said to the dazed old man.

"what……" Sudden questioning, Saeki Kobe opened his toothless mouth. He couldn't answer it. This dying man was another person until just now—another person who sealed all those pasts away.Speaking of it, it's like a dead person who has just been resurrected. "What they are pursuing... is something that your family has guarded for thousands of years beyond the age. No matter who the other party is, if an outsider suddenly visits and asks you to reveal the secret, you will not easily obey. Even if someone declares It's for the sake of the country, for His Majesty, and it's out of the question. Right...?"

"Ahhhhh..." the old man opened and closed his mouth. "... Folklorists, for example, will uncover village secrets for the sake of learning. They reveal secrets as if concealment were a crime. Indeed, if left unattended, secrets will weather, die, and perish, No longer exists... Modern times are such an era. Modernization has disintegrated the community in folk society, so some things cannot be helped. Perhaps, things that will disappear can only be allowed to disappear. But scholars say that they cannot just disappear like this , to be protected. However, the secret is no longer a secret at the stage of disclosure. In this case, the paradox of revealing for protection is untenable. Once revealed, it is over, and the secret can no longer be kept secret. Save it. It is an inevitable reality that the observer affects the observed object..."

So—— said the man in black. "The so-called disintegration of the community refers to the introduction of a third party's point of view into the community. As a result, things such as superstition and rituals are all rejected, becoming mere forms, and losing their essence. Even if they become scholars' specimens There is nothing I can do about it. That kind of thing is a corpse. There is no point in keeping it other than as a specimen. But in a group that is smaller than the community——Family, it still remains. Even if scholars can uncover the secrets of the village, they cannot Even the secrets of the family are revealed. And even if the family issue is used to divide and discuss, it is difficult to get a universal answer, and sometimes it will directly become a discrimination issue. Therefore, the family can be said to be the last feudalism in modern times. But... …This is not the case for Huren Village. This village has not been directly affected by the wave of modernization, and it is a rare example that these things have been preserved. Of course, because the so-called Huren... refers to the people of the same household..."

The exorcist glared at the family gathered in the middle of the hall. "...The so-called householder is an old saying that means family." family. I see. The answer was obvious from the start. "The secrets of Huren Village... are not something outsiders can see. The general method of gentleness can't make them reveal the secrets. Right? Zaga—Mr. Oguni?" Okuni stood in the corner of the hall. "Yes, you are right. This village—no, these people are very defensive. I first tried to win over young people like Haizhisuke, Jinhachi, and Yukichi. Because these people are young, shallow-thinking, and feel that they are bound by ancient rules. Doubt it. But even if you win over these young people, it’s useless. Because even if you win over three young people, there are still fifty or so old people to deal with.”

"O-O country, you..." Hinosuke made a startled sound. "I see. So you guys came up with a plan. You think that unless the village is emptied, there is no way to investigate..." "Empty the village?" Saeki Kinosuke called out. "Yes. If this is a normal situation...the villagers will be taken away forcibly and quarantined, or they will be killed. But the planner of the plan, Yamabe, hates murder and violence. On the other hand, the army man who is assisting Shanbian is Researching how to manipulate memory and personality. So... a plan was launched. It was a plan to relocate all the villagers."

"Wait a minute..." Kiba Shutaro asked. "Since the memory can be manipulated, why bother so much? Just make them forget after the investigation." "There is no way to do this. After investigation, if it is true, it must be taken away. And... no matter then or now, there is no way to tamper with the memory as you like. Not everything can be done as you like. Right? , Mister Okuni?" "Yes." The drug seller replied coldly. "Mr. Shanbian is a very good person, but because of this, the work is extremely difficult. I don't know how easy it is to kill him. Mr. Shanbian explained that all the villagers should leave the village spontaneously. So I came to the village several times. , set up organs."

"What kind of institution!" Bunzo Aoki asked. "It's very simple. Just let the dissatisfaction of the villagers surface. Everyone has dissatisfaction. Even if others seem to be a loving and happy couple, or a harmonious parent-child, it is impossible to have no dissatisfaction at all. Compared with keeping the traditional righteousness , The daily dissatisfaction that has nowhere to go, accumulates to a greater burden on people. As the saying goes, a beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which is true. But on the other hand, a beauty may become a beauty after looking at it for a long time. That person said... ...to determine which side is true."

"That's...too much..." So— Fuyu said intermittently while propping his hands on the tatami. "At that time... the village will become murderous because of..." "Yeah." Okuni said in a dark voice. "I designed it this way, but I didn't lie or induce. It's just that everyone has a lot of dissatisfaction in their hearts. I hate my husband, I hate my wife, my father-in-law is in the way, I hate my mother-in-law... Isn't this very interesting? You obviously hate each other so much, but before I came into contact with you, everyone lived in harmony and harmony. Your family is the same, Miss Buyu..."

Okuni pointed to Buyu and said. "At that time, you looked very happy. Every family here loved you very much. But...in fact, you hated your elder brother who had sexual desires for you despite being related by blood. You also hated your mother who turned a blind eye. Father followed You look meaner and meaner as you get older. Conversely, your grandfather just forces you to follow inexplicable rules, and your uncle just smirks and doesn't know what's going on in his head. These people are all equally annoying. Right? Didn't you? No, you did. You told me so clearly, yourself."

"Shut up! Shut up!" Zuobo Buyou yelled, covering his ears. "But, but I..." "That's what you mean." Okuni pointed to Saeki Konosuke. "Mr. Haizhisuke, you are the same. You put aside yourself who is in love with your own sister, and say that you hate your father who sticks to the rules the most, but in fact this is a manifestation of your negative feelings. You are only worried about your favorite Buyu. You will be snatched away by Jinba. No matter how much you like Buyu, you are both brothers and sisters, and this relationship will never come true. But Shiba is different. Miss Buyu is very likely to be attracted by Jinba. So you have to think this way: Jinba I'm just a servant, but I'm the master—you think so from the bottom of your heart, right? However, because you publicly advertised the abolition of the status system, you can only treat everyone equally on the surface, but in fact, you are very unwilling. You are very Distortion, in fact, you discriminate against Shiba at all, and you think Shiba is a lowly servant, right?" "Wow!" Kinosuke whimpered loudly. Okuni pointed to Genzo. "Mr. Xuanzang, you are too. On the surface, you are respectful to your family and do your best to be a servant, but in fact, you can't accept it at all in your heart. You think that you are also the blood of the master's family. Why do you have to live in the outskirts of the village and serve the villagers who were originally servants?" ? All of this is the father's fault. As for your son, you must be extremely unwilling to be ordered around as a servant, right?" "I don't deny it," Xuanzang said. Okuni pointed at the trembling old pedant. "Mr. Acethon, you think that your family regards you as a useless person who only eats idle food and alienates you, and you also think that the villagers despise you. Mr. Kobei, you can't bear the uncritical admiration of the villagers, so you have to lead the village; because your son Gui Zhi Jie is incompetent, your burden can’t be relieved no matter what. It’s the same with Mr. Kinosuke, the look in the eyes of the previous head of the family is just a kind of depression to you, not only that, but your wife, Ms. Hatsune..." "Shut up! Don't say any more!" Saeki Kinosuke yelled, hugging his head and lying down on the tatami mat. "That, that, that kind of thing..." "Isn't it the truth?" Oguni stepped forward quickly. "It's because it's true...you think you killed the whole family. If you were open-minded, you wouldn't..." "Whispering!" This time, it was Henosuke who yelled. "I, I do like Buyu. I like Buyu. I also discriminate from the bottom of my heart. But, but..." "But..." Masuda Ryuichi continued excitedly. "But that's a family issue! No matter what kind of family it is, there is such a dark side to some extent. Even so, an older brother will not really shoot his own sister, or really kill his father! He won't do it. Something like that. No way. Absolutely not..." "Didn't they just do it?" Oguni said. "Even if they don't actually do it, they think they did it, don't they? Isn't that the same? What are you talking about now? You're all beasts. No, it's not just you. Almost everyone is a beast .There is no parent who does not feel annoyed when hearing a kid cry, and no kid who is scolded by his parents does not feel angry. Even if he does not actually do anything, as long as he wants to beat someone in his heart, he is an evil spirit in his heart. He did not do anything, just because It's just spineless." "No, that's not the case!" Masuda shouted with all his voice. Although he could not clearly refute it. "That, that kind of thing..." "Don't work so hard, brother." Okuni said without looking at him. "Of course, the opposite is also possible. But the silk thread that guarantees the opposite is very thin. The bond of family is weaker than silk. I didn't know it in the past, but isn't it the case now? The evidence is ...The people in this village are just a little provocative, and they are all torn apart." The drug seller said in disgust, Chuzenji glared at him as if about to stab him, and spoke. "As this person said... the residents of Huren Village are on the verge of breaking out. This is a fact. Now that the matter has come to an end, the next thing is to prepare each person for a different life. Just uproot one by one, and the village It will disintegrate naturally. It should be like this..." "This...is the same as the Murakami clan in Kumano." said Ichiyanagi Azumi. "That's right. This plan is tantamount to Kumano's advance plan. This approach went smoothly in the Kumano village that followed. But this plan did not succeed in Toto Village. No, it cannot be successful..." "Why?" Aoki asked. "Something went wrong. Right? Mr. Okuni?" Okuni didn't answer. "An accident...?" There was no massacre.But…… "It's an out-and-out incident. It's a murder incident. Something that can never happen...isn't it right, Mr. Okuni?" "Say it as if you witnessed it with your own eyes..." "The evidence is here." Chuzenji looked at the alcove behind him. "What, what!" What the hell happened! ——Iwata Jinhei said. "Until just now, I have been convinced that I killed all of my brother's family here, but that doesn't seem to be true. So what happened? What happened here?" Chuzenji looked around at the family. "This is a very simple subtraction. You only need to look at the Saeki family present. Please look carefully. The people here are not the whole family of the Saeki family. First of all, the wife in charge of the house—Mr. Heinosuke, Miss Buyu His mother, Hatsune Onodo, is not there. Genzo-san's son, Mr. Jinbei-san's grandson, Mr. Jinhachi-san is also absent. On the contrary..." Chuzenji silently pointed to the corner of the room. "... there... there is one more person." The blue boy stood there. "what happened?" Kiba Shutaro asked. "Mr. Jinhachi was killed. Fifteen years ago. Probably... Ms. Hatsune..." "How, how could it be possible..." Kanosuke raised his knees. "It's impossible to have such a stupid thing! Hatsune, Hatsune won't kill people! It's even more impossible to put Jinhachi... even, Jinha..." "Are you sure?" Chuzenji asked. "This……" "Just like what Mr. Okuni said...you don't think it's surprising that you would kill a whole family, right? For the past fifteen years, you've been..." Kanosuke lowered his head. Buyou turned pale. "Chuzenji, you know it really well..." Okuni smiled maliciously. "... Chuzenji is right. Mr. Genzo, your son Jinhachi is a heinous guy. I just stimulated him a little, and he showed his true nature." "He, what did he do!" "He raped Ms. Hatsune." "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... "Mr. Guizhisuke, have you vaguely noticed it? That's right. Jinhachi fell in love with your wife." "Stop, shut up! Don't talk nonsense!" Kanosuke beat the tatami. Xuanzang looked at him. Wei Guo's tone was cold. "This is not nonsense. Because your wife...is a great beauty just like Miss Buyu now. To the young and lost mother, Ms. Hatsune is completely the Holy Mother. He can't restrain himself. Mr. Xuanzang, there are other things A father is like a son. You also fell in love with Ms. Hatsune, right?" Xuan Zang remained silent. Kanosuke raised his head. "Hey hey, we finally met, this situation is really embarrassing. I heard from Jinpachi himself that he likes Ms. Hatsune so much. On that day, Jinpachi seemed to want to vent his depressed daily worries It's like... violating Hatsune. Right here, this place, I saw him. He's like a beast. Mr. Nibei, that's the day you came here with me." Imbei looked at his son Genzo, and then his eyes fell on the tatami. "Mr. Renbei, you are really convenient. You can't know the secret just because you were born as the second son. In the end, you gave up and were kicked out of the house. You were adopted by the Iwata family as an adopted son, but you caused disputes. No matter where you go Wherever you go, you will cause trouble. You are a person who cannot recognize reality at all. You always overestimate yourself, trying to make your great self, which is only an illusion, fit the society. Even so, you still go back to the village every year and stir up trouble. The tranquility of the village... You are such a fun person. I plan to use you to completely widen the gap between the Saeki family. But I don't have to. Because when I brought you back... this family is already in a mess!" "Mingwu..." Kinosuke moaned. "Families are like this. Once there is a crack, it is vulnerable. When you are arguing outside the house and in front of the porch, Jinpachi is in the room inside, knocking down Hatsune and humiliating her. I am really trembling..." Oguo glanced at the crowd. "At that time, I was still young, and I still believed that family affection should be far more important than everything else. At that time, I also thought to myself, just by me being so instigating, the family would not be able to collapse. But in fact, how is it? It's too simple .It was so simple that people couldn’t speak. My hair was standing on end. After the incident, Jinpachi apologized. But ah, Ms. Hatsune didn’t forgive him. The hatchet... forced him all the way to Bixi... and split his head with a knife." "Ahhhhhhhhh...!" Buyu screamed and stood up. "Mother, mother... mother, mother!" The glass bead-like pupils reflected the faint candlelight. There is an example of the past. Buyu backed away slowly. "That's right...you witnessed this scene, Miss Buyu." Saeki Fuyu... What she remembers should be that she slashed the forehead of her stunned brother with a hatchet. "Miss Hatsune is confused. In fact, she...is the most repressed one among you. Your mother, cut the neck of Jinba who is spewing out brains..." the father's neck... "...cut him twice on the back of the head with a hatchet." Take the grandfather's head... the back of the uncle's head... Buyu remembers the things he did to his family... all the things his mother Hatsune did to his cousin Jinhachi. "Mother, she... Mother, she..." Buyu's voice echoed in the hall like a wind chime. "You must be very scared. In front of the porch, men were arguing loudly. You fled here because you were frightened. Then you saw your mother hacking the servant to death. I can't forget your expression at that time. You didn't even I couldn't even scream, I just crawled into the room and grabbed the dazed mother..." Buyu staggered and finally fell down.Chuzenji Atsuko ran over.Okuni narrowed his eyes. "Don't kill anyone..." Chuzenji said. "...Mr. Yamabe is so strict, so you must have panicked. So...you decided to hide this matter first. In any case, you want to avoid alerting the police. So you...hypnotized Ms. Buyu ?" Okuni silently turned his back to Chuzenji. "Does that make sense?" Kiba said. "As long as that kind of thing is suppressed, it will be fine? The boss above you is the Ministry of Internal Affairs, right?" "Things are not that simple. Some things in the world can be done, and some things can't be done. Even a bureaucrat may not be able to do everything. No matter what the situation is, it is the best policy to minimize this kind of disguise work... ..." That's right, this is...common sense. Killing fifty people was not a scale that could be concealed in the first place. It would be foolish to believe such a thing. "...Moreover, I think the first thing they consider is the impact of the incident on the villagers. Even if they succeed in concealing it on the surface, they cannot stop the villagers' mouths. Moreover, the villagers who were already torn apart are very likely to be affected by this incident. The Saeki family is the same, if such an important thing happens... there is no time to reveal any secrets. It will be bad if that happens. There is no time..." Okuni turned his head slowly, looking at the exorcist. "Yes... because that person had to leave for the mainland, and there is really no time. I gave a strong hint to Miss Buyu and you, and asked you to go to the residence at the foot of the mountain. Fortunately, you were hit too hard. , fell into a state of mental loss, I successfully hypnotized you easily. I asked you to change clothes, wash your hands, and told you to run quickly. I instruct you, no matter what, you should be stationed at the station to contact Mr. Shanbian. The police officer stationed at the station has already I bought it." "I just heard from the police officer himself. Mr. Arima said that the person is outside." "Heh." Okuni's cheeks twitched. "Chuzenji... you are really leak-proof." "No. You brought him in." "Perhaps." Okuni smiled. "After Miss Fuyu ran to the foot of the mountain, I hurriedly hid the body. Fortunately, the murder was carried out on the other side of the alcove. Although the area was turned into a sea of ​​blood... the tatami mats were not too dirty. And well, at that time The others were making a fuss to prevent Jinbei from breaking in. No one came into this room. I wiped off the blood carefully. But I couldn't wipe it off completely. There are still stains in there, right?" Okuni pointed to Chuzenji. No one to confirm. "I moved Hatsune into the room, put her to sleep, and temporarily went down to the foot of the mountain to ask for instructions. At that time...you were still making noises to prevent Jinbei from coming in. You are stupid, hopelessly stupid. Your wives, Such a serious thing happened to my mother, but she didn't notice at all!" Kanosuke and Hainosuke fell to their knees on the tatami. Okuni stood in front of them, looking down at the family. "You are simply scum. The secret of the inner hall is more important than that woman, that's it!" Okuni stared at the Saiki family for a long time. "Mr. Okuni, are you too excited...?" Isn't this a trap you set yourself? ——Chuzenji said. "Mr. Jinpachi will rape Ms. Hatsune, Ms. Hatsune will kill Ms. Jinpachi, these people will not find out, just focus on arguing... In the end, it's all because of the trap you set. What are you angry about?" "Whispering!" said Okuni. "In short, there is no way out. I suggested to Mr. Yamabe that if we have to forcibly investigate anyway, we can only take in the residents forcibly, but even so, Mr. Yamabe still refuses that kind of approach. Mr. Yamabe said that once they are arrested If they are imprisoned, they will never be released again, and taking away their freedom for life is no different from killing them." "That's why... that person came out?" Chuzenji said in disgust. "That's right. In the end, it was decided to move the police officers stationed to other locations... and quickly dismantle Huren Village." "Quickly...? How?" Morihiko Toriguchi asked.Chuzenji quietly moved that fierce gaze. "Using drugs, let the villagers fall into a state of delirium at the same time. Then take them out of the village, isolate them in other places, and give them a new life-this is the plan. No...it's an experiment." "Drugs...experiments...the thing just said..." Aoki said, looking at Xuanzang. However, Chuzenji was not looking at Genzo, but at the bespectacled man who was standing at a loss - Miyata. "So you were sent here, Dr. Miyata Yoichi." "What...?" Xuanzang turned around. "Miyata...you..." "He's not the only one. You're the one responsible for transferring the villagers...? Lieutenant Takashi Iwai." "Iwa, Iwai!" Kinosuke called out. Miyata also looked at Iwai. Chuzenji stared up. "Then the one who cleans up the mess is you, Dr. Shoji Xingbu." "Punishment, the Ministry of Punishment..." "Are you the Doctor of the Ministry of Justice! You are the one..." Miyata called.Chuzenji saw his expression. "You have known each other for more than ten years. Is this the first time we have met?...Listen, these guys are all related to the Army's 12th Special Research Institute. In other words, they are all subordinates of that person. " Chuzenji arched his shoulders. "Then... Miyata, you already knew everything..." Xuanzang widened his eyes.The kindly baby-faced man took off his round glasses in the gloom. "Hehehe, Teacher Tongxuan, I already knew it, of course I knew it. It was because I knew it that I took over this stupid job as a banquet secretary." "You... what are you talking about? Then all three of you..." "No." Miyata said. "We... don't know each other's looks and identities, and we don't know what it has to do with the incident. So I didn't know that the Iwai of the Korean Wave Association was that Lieutenant Iwai... and I didn't expect that the criminal department of the sound hypnotism was the immortal way cadres. But... Maybe you can figure out this kind of thing after a little thought..." "That's right. Genzo-san, Kobei-san, and Kinosuke-san, you are all being manipulated by your cronies. Then, Mr. Konosuke, he is the one who manipulates you." A man's figure was revealed through the gap in the slightly opened paper door. "You, you are Mr. Tsumura...even you..." Shingo Tsumura.Haneda Ryuzo's first secretary. "Mr. Tsumura...is the only civilian who witnessed this devil's plan - the son of traveling knife sharpener Tatsuzo Tsumura..." Tsumura looked at Okuni. "This is just my speculation. But... since Dr. Miyata and Dr. Shobu don't know the true face of Mr. Oguni, this guess should not be wrong. Mr. Oguni, after you sent Ms. Fuyu out of the village, you took Ms. Hatsune... ...Leaving the village, right? Because the man told you that the Army will take care of the next thing..." Okuni turned his head away. "...Instead, Mr. Miyata, you go into the village and attack the villagers one after another. Just use your medicine. It should be easy to do. Spray the medicine as soon as you touch it, and you can fall into a state of obscurity for two days. .Then, the Iwai troops took the villagers away..." "I...I'm just carrying out my mission as a soldier of the Empire. It's the commander...Colonel Dojima...but..." Iwai said in an apologetic manner while being restrained by Enokizu.Chuzenji gave him a contemptuous look. "Mr. Tsumura Tatsuzo... It should be that Iwai's troops had just left before he entered the deserted Toren Village. At that time, the village was empty. No, there was only Mr. Shiba's body... I don't know. Did Mr. Chenzang witness the corpse, but he noticed something strange and told the newspaper..." "Well, this person is the one in that report..." "It's the son of the eyewitness in that report..." Masuda and Guangbao interacted fairly and said. "Then rumors spread. Mr. Xingbu, you have been assigned to quell these rumors." "Mikiya's daughter is really a big head..." The Ministry of Justice said in front of Kiba. "Because she is different from other residents, she has parents living outside. However, her grandparents are at odds with her parents, and there seems to be almost no communication. The problem is the knife sharpener, which cannot be ignored." "But there's not enough manpower, right? Even though they've been transferred, the residents of Toto Village can't just leave it alone. Mr. Okuni, you're all focused on dealing with the problem over there, right?" "Yes. The state of delirium lasted for a short time. I took advantage of that period to decide where everyone would go and to apply strong post-hypnosis. After all, there were more than fifty people, which is not an easy task." "But Mr. Chenzang spread it everywhere. So that person...sent the gendarmerie and took Mr. Chenzang away..." Chuzenji turned to Oguni. "...Does Mr. Yamabe know about this?" "Later I found out. Asking the military police to arrest ordinary people... This is not something Mr. Yamabe would do, and he still deceived the military police, saying that he was a spy of the Communist Party, and let the military police arrest him. It is very difficult to restrain the police and shut up the newspaper. Simple...but even if Mr. Yamabe is the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' secret service, the gendarmerie is not under his jurisdiction. Although Tego and the gendarmerie have a cooperative relationship with each other, there is still no way to easily get back the knife sharpener division." Chuzenji looked at Tsumura. "That's what happened, Mr. Tsumura. Mr. Yamabe... I really feel sorry for you mother and son." Tsumura lowered his head deeply. Okuni continued: "Well, Mr. Yamabe is very worried. I quarreled with him several times about this matter. But for some reason, the knife sharpener was pushed around by various gendarmerie units." "Push back and forth?" Tsumura asked. "Yes. From Shizuoka to Tokyo, Yamanashi, and then Nagano. Every time Mr. Yamabe made a move, the person has been removed." "Did that guy instigate it?" Chuzenji said. "I don't know. As a result... In the end, they were snatched back in the form of being taken over by the special high school. At that time, the number of military police increased greatly, and the quality was also greatly reduced. Although the people were snatched back, they were already in good spirits. That's unusual. The military police officer in Nagano who interrogated him at the end...was Ichiyanagi Shiro—your husband." Okuni said, staring at Akami Ichiliu. "Ms. Zhu Mei, your husband seems to hate the job of the military police very much. It is very rare. People like the military police will never show mercy as long as they hear the word 'against the war'. They are a group of people who have no doubts and are simple-minded. But... your husband is different. So we worry that he might have heard something from that knife sharpener and believed it. That's why I... was sent to spy on your husband. Even after retiring... It was also under surveillance." Zhu Mei looked at Wei Guo with some pity, and said: "That's really hard work for you... My master doesn't know anything about this kind of thing. Anyway, he is a cowardly gendarme who can't even sleep that night after torture. He must I couldn’t get any clues from that population either.” "I know." Okuni said. Chuzenji didn't seem to miss the slight change in the medicine seller's expression. "Ms. Zhu Mei..." Chuzenji watched Okuni said. "This man seems to be very soft-hearted towards women. So at least...he should always treat you sincerely." "what……" "Of course, he concealed his identity... But the organization has been disbanded a long time ago. This person is indeed a drug seller..." "Chuzenji, what nonsense are you talking about! I've already said that your tricks won't work for me!" Okuni said loudly. "Is that so...? Then why are you... hiding Ms. Hatsune?" "I, I didn't hide her!" "Really? But... didn't you just spare Ms. Hatsune from this cruel game? Why?" "That woman..." "I'm pregnant...are you?" "Pregnant...?" Kinosuke raised his head. "Hatsune, is she...pregnant?" "That's right. Ms. Hatsune, she..." "Nah, long-winded! Shut up! Chuzenji!" Okuni took two or three steps and raised his hand. "That...that woman..." "What's wrong with Hatsune!" Kinosuke roared, stood up, and rushed towards Oguni. "Where are Hatsune, Hatsune, you bastard, here, look! Both Henosuke and Buyu are still alive! Father and Acethon are still there too! Why is Hatsune the only one not here! Hand over Hatsune!" Okuni dodged his body, and then turned his face away. "That woman...is dead." "Dead...dead? Nonsense. I don't believe it. Who will believe your nonsense anymore? It's all a lie, right? It's all a lie! In the past fifteen years, our family's life has been a lie Come on! Here, quickly hand over Hatsune!" "So, that woman has..." "She passed away. Leave the child..." After being shot, Temple held up his gauntleted hand. in front of his fingers, In front of the huge paper door - stood the blue boy. "What, what?" "Lan, blue boy..." Lan Tongzi just stood there, unresponsive. "He...is the child born to Ms. Hatsune, Blue Boy—Cai Hesheng. Although the characters of the surname are different, he was raised by you, right? Mr. Zahe?" On Oguni's flat face, vertical lines of disgust were drawn between his brows. "You, what did you say...?" Gui Zhisuke roared, glanced at Lan Tongzi, and rushed towards the drug seller as if he jumped up. "You, you put Hatsune...my wife...!" I don't know why, Oguni went out of his usual way and ran away in a panic.He flinched. "No, no! He, he is Shiba's child. That woman was raped and became pregnant. I..." "Mr. Oguni, it's outrageous. Why are you panicking? No matter who the father of the child is, you took the initiative to hide Ms. Hatsune, and let her give birth to the child and raise him up." "Zahe! Is this true?" the Ministry of Punishment asked. "Shan...Mr. Shanbian, he..." "Are you going to say this is Mr. Yamabe's instruction!" "Whispering! Shut up! Chu, Chuzenji, do you want to say that I have any special feelings for that woman? You are wrong. It's just because the woman is pregnant. Mr. Yamabe instructed me to let her give birth to a child. But that adult said...that Hatsune cannot be given special treatment alone. But that woman, Hatsune...was getting weaker and weaker after giving birth, and died soon. So..." Okuni turned his back on Blue Boy. Lan Tongzi looked at him coldly. "That's why... he was forced to participate in this game instead of Ms. Hatsune. But... he is a joker." game. Okuni stood in the middle of the room as if he was an enemy of everyone present. Apothecary does seem to be isolated.Until just now, this person was still aloof, as if manipulating everyone present... Chuzenji Temple... Unmoved. Unmoved. Is he sure he can win at the end of the fiery rhetoric? On the other hand, Okuni is in disarray.It's ugly.He pointed at Kinosuke. "Hey, Kinosuke, I see you put on a husband's face, but have you ever thought about your wife? Hey, you... each of you is, who has ever thought about that woman—for that woman? Hatsune thought about it, I don't know if you are a couple or parent-child, but each of you will only brazenly rely on your family and only care about complaining!" You are scum— Kunio said angrily. "Hatsune told me everything. She told me how cruelly she has been treated and how severely suppressed she has been since she married into the Saeki family. Even so, Hatsune still loves her children. Have you ever thought about this? ? If you really think about it, do you think you have the right to complain!" "Everyone, have you all heard? What he said just now is the truth of this person." Surprised, Okuni looked at Chuzenji. His eyes widened and his mouth opened wide. "This person, Mr. Oguni, has a strong yearning for motherhood, and at the same time he has a deep attachment to the family. At the same time, he also uses strong self-hypnosis to deny such feelings." "Stop, shut up!" "How can I shut up? If your trick is post-hypnosis, then my weapon is language. But Mr. Oguni, after all, hypnotism can only be described to the subconscious mind. Language, it is not only effective on the pre-conscious mind ，也能够确实传进潜意识。动辄使用催眠术的傢伙……是二流的。” 尾国沉默了。 “佐伯家的各位。刚才这个人所说的，就是你们所犯下的……罪。” “罪……” “不去为母亲着想、不了解母亲的心情，然后为了各自的事不满……这是罪吗？” “没错。这个人无法忍受。你们一开始应该会像其他村人一样，在别的地方度过不同的人生。但是初音女士过世以后，尾国的想法改变了。这个人决定惩罚你们。他认为既然你们这么憎恨彼此……就让你们憎恨个够吧。他让你们认定你们残杀了彼此。既然怀有罪恶感，就为此痛苦到底吧。若非如此……你们就是真正的禽兽。” “好过分……”中禅寺敦子说。“这……可是、可是布由小姐不是打从一开始就有了杀戮的记忆吗？” “记忆是后来回溯窜改的。在昭和十七年的阶段……” “布由小姐……当上旅馆女佣那一年？” “没错。是布由小姐发挥她身为华仙姑的能力的时候。那一年，山边先生失势，陆军第十二特别研究所成立了。那一年……尾国诚一惩罚了佐伯家的每一个人。但是有个傢伙说……光是这样没意思。” “什么叫没意思……？” “就如同字面上的意思。然后同一年，甲兵卫先生成了曹真人，癸之介先生成了韩大人，亥之介先生成了南云正阳，乙松先生成了东野铁男，玄藏先生成了张果老……而岩田先生成了磐田纯阳……” 中禅寺拿起蜡烛。 “……无聊。实在像是崇拜中国的那傢伙会开的低劣玩笑。何仙姑，张果老，韩湘子、曹国舅，这是……八仙。” “八仙？” “明太祖的孙子周宪王写了一部杂剧《八仙庆寿》，就是这部杂剧中出现的八位仙人。类似中国版的七福神。八仙经常被画在庆贺的画上。那个人就是将这些人比拟为八仙。” “比拟？” “或许是附会吧。你们的假名是自己想出来的吗？怎么样？岩田先生？” 壬兵卫露出一副莫名其妙的表情。 “你们应该不记得。其他的八仙……汉钟离，字云房，号正阳子。南云正阳这个名字肯定是从这里取的。吕洞宾，道号纯阳子。东野铁男则是从东华教主李铁拐来的吧。蓝童子……是蓝采和。会把杂贺的杂字改成彩，一定也是为了配合采字。你们都被玩弄了。然后……游戏开始了。” "game……" 玄藏断断续续地呢喃。 “多么残忍的……游戏……” “没错，恶劣到了极点的残酷游戏。但是，只有游戏的主办人一个人不这么认为。那个人曾经对我说，他在进行一场有趣的游戏，让崩坏的一家人彼此竞争，看看到底谁比较强？他还说他正在个别做准备，等到战争一结束就正式开始。” “战争一结束？” “那个人……早就预料到日本会战败。他和站在那里的岩井先生不同，一点爱国心都没有……” 岩井瞪大了眼睛，做出反应。 侦探用力按住他。 “让、让一家人竞争，是什么意思？”癸之介问道。 “你们每个人都受到罪恶感折磨。对你们来说，户人村是绝对必须封印起来的场所。幸好，战时它受到封锁。但是……封锁迟早会解除，那么一来，只能先早一步前来这里，湮灭证据才行。所以你们会开始行动。但是……” “啊啊，原来如此。他们都认定对方已经死了，所以……” “没错，他们绝对不会想到对手就是自己的家人。而且要是自己的罪行曝光，一切就完了，所以他们绝对不会说出真相。就算要拿到土地，也会编出一些有的没的理由，什么地相佳、立地好，千方百计欺骗周遭的人。所以状况更显得莫名其妙了。你们每个人都认为有许多可疑的人马出于各式各样的理由想要这块土地，对吧？户人村里隐藏着自己犯罪的证据，所以绝对不能交给别人。你们争先恐后地……开始抗争。由于彼此欺骗，事态更形混乱。” “真的太残忍了……”中禅寺敦子呻吟。 “残忍。没错，很残忍。正因为残忍，那个人才觉得有趣。然后，他给了你们每个人武器，好用在抗争上。” “武器？” “对，武器。你们以各式各样的形式，被传授了那个人从中国弄来的各种东西。炼丹、气功、风水、老庄思想、民间道教、占卜……” 彼此排斥的魑魅魍魉。 根源只有一个。分岔之后……发尾也只有一个。 “所以你们被给予的新人生，一面为自己的罪行战栗惊恐，一面卷入周围的人，驱使着诡异的伎俩，不知不觉间与家人自相残杀……就是如此骇人的人生。” 佐伯家的每一个人都茫然了。 “日本败战后，你们各自被分派了参谋。曹方士是音响催眠法的刑部博士，韩大人是岩井前中尉，张果老是宫田博士……南云正阳是津村先生，而东野铁男则得到了羽田隆三的财力。” “为什么是羽田？”津村问。 “羽田隆三先生透过研究徐福传说，似乎与山边先生有所交流。山边先生虽然没有明目张胆地标榜，但他其实是个反战论者……。所以昭和十七年的时候，他被调离了第一线，担任闲职。但是他对于徐福的兴趣似乎没有稍减……” 中禅寺望向尾国。 尾国不知不觉间坐下了。 “然后，尾国先生……你被派给了华仙姑，或者说，是你自告奋勇的吧？你怎么样都无法抛下出落得有如初音女士再世的布由小姐。” “没错。我……想让布由小姐获胜。” “你真是傻。” “为、为什么！” 尾国瞪住中禅寺。 “所以才说你是傻瓜啊，竟然相信那种人定出来的规则，什么这场游戏只有第一个抵达这里的人可以知道真相。如果我没有介入，应该会有一个人进入这个房间……只有那名赢家会发现欺瞒。然后那傢伙应该会现身，保证赋予赢家一个全新的人生吧。” “剩下的人——输家会怎么样？”木场修太郎问道。 “一生都到不了这里，终其一生都无法摆脱罪恶感。当有任何一个人抵达的阶段，游戏就结束了。” "How could you..." “干部们就是为了这个目的而紧跟着参加者。不管是尾国、刑部、宫田或岩井……都必须在失败的时候让各自的棋子收手。对吧？” No one answered. “等一下……那么为什么布由小姐会被盯上？布由小姐是棋子吧？”敦子问道。 中禅寺“呵”地一笑，说：“那是因为宫田先生盯上了她。” “盯上她？为什么？” “宫田先生所协助的玄藏先生没有这块土地的权利。” "what……" “所以宫田先生想要一个身为继承者的本家的人，但是韩流气道会——岩井察觉了这件事，先下手为强。他认为绝对不能把布由交给条山房，对吧？” 岩井低吼了一声。 “这些随从比主子更拚命哪。真是肤浅哪。怎么样？宫田先生？” 宫田把脸撇向一边。 “你很不满吧。所以……你们一家人为了隐匿自己的罪，自以为欺骗了这些手下，利用他们……然而事实上完全相反。你们只是被手下操纵罢了。然后，自以为操纵了佐伯一家的你们……也被欺骗了。” “你胡说些什么！”岩井说道。 “岩井，这里没有零战啊。” “骗……骗人！你少骗人了！”岩井挣礼起来。 “你相信了是吧？是那个人告诉你的吧？要是你跟随的韩大人赢得游戏，地下的基地和物资、零战全都是你的了……” “没错。我要靠那些把这个国家……” “别在那里痴人说梦了。岩井，听好了，零战似乎真的还藏有几架，但不在这里，而是在更北边，这里只不过是中继点。从热海挖掘的地下道，里面什么也没有。” “骗……” “不是骗你的。我是从那位明石老师那里听说的……你也知道明石老师吧？这里没有物资。” 岩井仿佛完全崩溃似地瘫倒在榻榻米上。于是榎木津放开了手。 “津村先生也被骗了。关于这一点，你已经知道了。你所援助的南云获胜的话，东野的罪行将会被揭露……但是东野其实是无辜的。” 津村点点头。 “还有宫田先生，以及刑部。你们也被骗了。藏在这里的东西并不是什么长生不老的仙药啊。” "Humph……" 刑部总算甩开木场的手。 “中禅寺，就算你想骗我也没用。那个人可是亲自交代过我，要我千万小心你说的话。你嘴上这么说……其实是想要自己一个人独吞吧？” “刑部，你也太愚蠢了。要是真有那种东西，那个人怎么可能拱手让人？” “因为山边和那个人发生争执吧？户人村的村民被移送出去，不就是最好的证据吗？美军也监视着这里。那是真货吧？” “这里的村民会被移走，是因为他们防心太重，以及发生了不测的意外。那是紧急措施。而且这里面的东西……老早就已经调查过了。” "nonsense!" "It's not nonsense." “哎唷，别在那里磨磨蹭蹭啦，京极！” 榎木津礼二郎突然叫道。侦探似乎再也按捺不住，朝着中禅寺冲过去。 “那种东西，赶快打开就是啦！” “笨、笨蛋！住手！不可以……！”癸之介扑了过去。“……不可以！不可以打开！” “啰嗦！你都多大岁数了，还不明白吗！就是为了保护这种可笑的水母，事情才会演变成这样啊！你的老婆都给害死了不是吗！一家人都变得一塌糊涂了不是吗！” “可是它、它是我们家族的……” “混帐东西！”榎木津推开相隔十五年后重生的佐伯家当家。“我已经看过那玩意儿啦！” "Wow!" 癸之介吓软了腿。中禅寺张开双手。 “榎木津！……等一下，这里……” “京极，我和你不同，我是侦探！侦探就是为了揭露秘密而存在的。不管会有人受伤还是毁灭，都与我无关！这是我的工作！” 榎木津推开黑衣男子，爬上壁龛，狠狠地一脚踢开挂轴。 叽……地一声。 通往异界的入口——家族的秘密张开了黝黑的大嘴。 “喏，看仔细吧！” 榎木津抓起烛台，照亮里面。秘密的祭坛被照了出来。 前方倒着一个干瘪的物体。是佐伯甚八的遗体。 大陆风格装饰的祭坛上，是古书——白泽图。 里面…… “是、是君封大人吗……！”光保公平叫道。 上面放了一个质感湿滑的肉块。 肉块微微抽动。 “噢噢，那就是……那就是……！” 刑部跑过去。榎木津推开他。 “怎么样？这就是秘密。无聊！” Right?京极——榎木津对着中禅寺说。驱魔师不知为何，犹豫了一会儿，不久后抬起头说了： “刑部，宫田先生，还有佐伯家的各位。这个……不是什么长生不老的生物。这……是新种的变形菌植物——所谓的黏菌。” "Varied……" “黏菌？……关、关口老师专门的……？” 乌口守彦叫了出来。 “那、那是黴菌吗？” “不是黴菌。听好了，昭和十三年的时候，这个东西已经被调查完毕了。它似乎确实具有若干药效。我听说上面检验出某种抗生物质。此外，胞子也含有生物碱，会造成轻度幻觉。可是，它并不是什么长生不老的生物。” “可、可是它会动啊，你看到了吧！” “黏菌……是兼具植物与原虫类两种性质的特殊菌类。它不会进行光合作用，而是寄生于尸体，摄取营养。它就像黴菌般，会从胞子发芽，但是在营养时期，是呈变形虫状自由活动。换言之……它会动。” “不、不是长生不老……” 宫田坐倒下去。 “……被、被骗了。我被骗了……” “废话！”榎木津骂道。 “没错。黏菌一进入生殖时期……就如同各位看到的，它会形成黴状的子实体，请看。一端出现许多恶心的突起，胞子就是从这里散布出去。散布的胞子会着床在固体物上，摄取固体物，成为变形体。它们是腐生生物，所以就算没有日光，只要有可供摄取的营养和水份，怎么样都能够繁殖。可是这个已经……几乎死了。因为长时间都没有照顾哪。” “可恶！”宫田用拳头捶打榻榻米。 “这个东西……这个君封大人，是附在人的尸体上的黏菌。你们一族在漫长到令人无法想像的时间里，一直照顾着这种东西。” 癸之介颓然坐倒。 “那、那么……佐伯家流传的徐福、徐福的传说是……” “那……已经无所谓了吧？宫田先生，了解了吗？就算你所追随的张果老获胜，交到你手中的也只是这种恶心的黏菌而已。那个人八成随口对你说什么内务省暗中插手，还是什么GHQ监视着，所以才无法出手，可是封锁这块土地的，根本就是他自己……” “我，我究竟是为了什么……白白糟蹋我的人生，把我的人生赌在这种东西上？怎么能有这种事……” 宫田哭了。 “宫田先生……刑部还有岩井……你们都想要欺骗佐伯家的人图利自己。就算自己被骗，也没资格在那里懊悔吧？你们全都是些笨蛋。什么长生不老、零战、大屠杀……怎么可能有那种东西！” "That's right!" 侦探大步走进秘密房间。 接着…… “这种东西，就这么办吧！” 侦探高声说完后……将君封大人从坛上踢落了。不语不闻，隐匿于无数星霜，一直被崇敬膜拜的长生不老生物——神圣的肉块撞上墙壁，完全粉碎了。 “这个世上根本没有什么不可思议！……对吧？京极！” Enokizu said. 中禅寺不知为何皱起了眉头。 众人几乎都茫然若失。自以为骗了人的人，全都被欺骗了。 中禅寺总算离开壁龛前，走近双膝跪地的尾国身边。 “怎么样？尾国先生？这场游戏是一场闹剧。无论是输是赢，都没有人能够得利，也没有人能够得救。获胜没有意义。不管怎么样，高兴的都只有那个人。这种事应该马上就能够察觉，然而你却没有发现。你应该要明白……你也被欺骗了。” “我……我才没有被骗。” “是吗。可是你为了这种无聊事……杀了一个婴儿，不是吗？那真的是你的真心吗？……怎么样？” “我……我应该说过，你的伎俩对我行不通。” "Stop being aggressive." “你才是。我还在想你为何会插手干涉，结果竟是为了那个婴儿吗……？你也太慈悲为怀了吧？” 尾国无声无息地站起来。 接着他把脸凑近中禅寺耳边。 “你……把那个人给惹火了。你以为可以就这样善了吗？” “我会让它善了的。你以为我是谁？” “这样。关口……会出不来唷？” “我会让他出来。你才是，今后打算怎么办？你已经失去布由小姐的信任了。你所做的事，并不是初音女士所希望的。是你毁掉了初音女士。是你杀了她。是你被那个人的花言巧语说动，任由他摆布的啊，尾国先生。” 尾国斜瞪着中禅寺的颈子。 “你、你说什么……？” “你不应该相信那傢伙，而应该相信山边先生才是。山边先生有那种搭档也实在倒楣。听说那个和平主义者的晚年只有悲惨两个字能够形容。而你抛弃了那样的山边先生，投诚到那傢伙身边。这就是报应，你这个……杀人凶手。” 尾国僵直了。 “尾国先生，你想要一个家，对吧？所以你嫉妒这里的一家人吗？所以你才加以破坏，对吧？山边先生就是如此。他孑然一身，最后罹患结核，死在老人院里。可是听说他到最后都为自己的所作所为感到懊悔。他边流着泪，边说着好寂寞、好孤单，就这样死去哪。” “山、山边……” 尾国把鸭舌帽砸在榻榻米上。 “……我、我……” “尾国先生，你真是太窝囊了。你……这不是比我脆弱太多了吗……？” 中禅寺慢慢地把脸转向尾国。 “……你寂寞吗？” “呜！”尾国呻吟，离开中禅寺身边。 “那么……你就和那孩子一起静静地生活吧。” 尾国望向蓝童子。 附身妖物离开了。 “笙……” 所有的人都望向少年。 蓝童子双手环胸，站在原地。 “喂，京极。这个小鬼……是什么角色？”木场问。 “这个少年……是最强的鬼牌。是对所有的手牌都有效的障碍。换言之，他负责扯全员的后腿。对吧……笙？” 蓝童子在暗处垂下头。 “笙……” “已经可以了吧？我们收手吧。” 少年开口道。 “中禅寺先生说的没错。我们输了。” 蓝童子上前一步…… “我们输了，父亲。” 尾国摇摇晃晃地走近他身边。 “我已经受够这样了。你是我的姐姐……” 他望向布由。 “你是哥哥……” 他望向玄之介。蓝童子是初音的孩子，这两个人是他的异父兄姐。 “你……是我的曾祖父。你是祖父。” 壬兵卫与玄藏——如果甚八是蓝童子的父亲，他们确实是这种关系。 “在这里的……全都是我的家人，对吧？父亲？” “笙……你……” “我已经不愿意再这样了。我……” 就在尾国颓然垂下肩膀的时候…… 益田龙一背后的纸门打开了。一名男子手持菜刀站在那里。除了益田以外，所有的人的注意力都集中在蓝童子和尾国身上。 “你、你要干什么……！” “蓝童子！我逮到你了！” 男子叫道。 “竟然把我的人生搞得一塌糊涂！就是因为相信你，我的、我的人生……” “你是……岩川……！”木场叫道。 “岩、岩川兄！？”河原崎也叫了出来。 “去死吧！” 岩川真司大叫，一直线朝着蓝童子冲过来。 “笙……！” 尾国飞扑上去。岩川在刺中蓝童子之前撞上尾国，两人扭打在一起，扑倒在榻榻米上，岩川拚命挣扎，尾国“噢”地一叫，按住岩川。木场压上去，制住两人。河原崎也扑上去。青木奔过来。 “哇啊啊！”一道惨叫。 “尾、尾国！” 木场按住岩川。尾国站了起来。 他的腹部深深地插着一把菜刀。 “杂……杂贺先生！” 中禅寺跑过来。 "Hey……" “杂贺先生……” “喂，中禅寺……” "you……" 尾国一个踉跄。 中禅寺抱住他。 “你……就像堂岛先生说的……” “杂贺先生！喂！笙！”