Chapter 7 Chapter Four

This is also an afterthought. The large-scale site survey of Xianshilou ended at sixteen o'clock. It is said that the report and exchange of opinions also ended at 20:00. Although no evidence such as fingerprints that could identify a specific person was found, some remnants were found from trash cans and protruding roof tiles on the first floor of the annex. It's straw shavings.This is also found on the big roof of the main building and on the cypress tree, and it is analyzed that they are all the same thing. The police speculate that it may have fallen from the straw sandals. In addition, it was also found that the drainage pipe installed above the wall on the second floor of the annex was unnaturally deformed. The Yamashita Police Department believed that it was caused by Toriguchi climbing up. However, after careful experiments, it was found that the drainage pipe was quite strong. Climbing something rather heavy—such as a corpse—on it, the weight of a person alone would not cause such a serious deformation.In other words, it's not the bend that the bird's mouth makes when it clings.

However, the premise of this judgment is that the person Toriguchi is not unusually heavy. The decisive evidence is that part of the victim's clothing fibers remained on the cypress tree. Enokizu's claim was thus proved. The corpse of Minoru Kosaka was indeed abandoned on a tree by someone. After the inspection, from the analysis of the shape of the tree and the scratches left on the trunk, it was also found that the corpse was not so much fallen as it was slipped down.The body frozen in the Zen posture slid down the tree trunk like a slide, and then landed in a sitting posture.If it fell headlong, it might not be able to sit on the ground smoothly, and if it did, the body might be damaged.

But up to now, this problem has been irrelevant.No matter how improbably it happened, no matter how strange it looked to eyewitnesses, the question no longer mattered. It just happened by chance after the crime and had nothing to do with the crime. The question is why did the murderer do such absurd things?Why did the murderer have to leave the frozen body on a tree during a snowstorm...? Police Department Yamashita thought desperately. In this case, the most common sense conclusion is to hide the crime. As long as the body is not found, the killing goes unnoticed.Therefore, murderers will go to great lengths to dispose of the corpse.Sometimes buried in the ground, sometimes submerged in water, sometimes burned, sometimes dismembered to hide the body.Use the blade, use the medicine, destroy, obliterate, hide.Because as long as there is no body, the murder case will not stand.

Does abandoning on a tree work? ——Well, it is useful. Yamashita thinks so.The remains could not be seen from the front of the building because that angle was obscured by the roof.But it can be seen from the Xunniu where I stayed in Fanwa.No, maybe it's just that the murderer didn't know about it... No, it's impossible.Speaking of which, as long as you walk out of the courtyard and look up from the bottom, you will definitely see the corpse.And what about the view from the hillside on the other side of the courtyard?It should be visible from the mountain. ——Is it necessary to actually go and see it?

No, that's not necessary.A monk hangs from the top of a towering tree like a shrike's worm bait on a branch, surely visible from a distant perch. Of course, the premise is that there are people there. --Yes. That's right, there wouldn't be many people in this kind of deep winter mountains.In fact, it was because there was no one that the body was not found until it fell.so…… ——That’s right, you’re right to think so. This area is uninhabited and remote mountains.No matter where the murder scene is, since the corpse can be transported to this fairy stone building, there are as many other dumping places as you want.No matter where it is abandoned in the mountains in this area, it can delay the time of discovery.The places where corpses can be hidden are literally everywhere...

No, just the opposite.In this area, this fairy stone building is the easiest place to be found.In other words, the killer wanted the body to be found. --That's it. The killer hoped the body would be found sooner.In other words, it is to the murderer's advantage that the crime is uncovered within a few days.But he couldn't be found when he abandoned the corpse, so he put the corpse on a tree in order to create time to escape.If placed on an unstable tree, the body will soon fall and be found.And at that time, the murderer was already far away... --for what? Yamashita thinks this guess is good.It’s not bad, but I don’t understand what happened next, and I feel like I’m thinking wrong.

For example, this is to create an alibi... No, at this stage, even the crime scene—even the time of the crime cannot be clarified. Even if the murderer does not do such a stupid thing, he can easily prove his alibi. Proof of presence is pointless. But what if the killer lacked forensic knowledge?Or maybe the murderer has no idea about the police's search operation... ——Such a person would not forge any alibi. No, pointless. No matter which angle you look at, it doesn't make sense.Can't even catch a clue.I even felt that if it wasn't for some mistake, such a thing would never have happened.

—Is there a mistake? Say, for example, that the body fell from the tree, an accident to the murderer—how about that?This was not to hide the body, nor to create an alibi, the murderer had a completely different intention, or some other purpose, but failed due to unexpected bad weather and snow... Not a bad idea.For a well-planned crime, this ending is too rough, and it feels very sloppy.But in that case, what are the so-called other intentions?So-called other purposes... --no. This was not a good guess at all, and as a result, Yamashita's thoughts went back to a place further ahead than the original point.

"that……" Inspector Abe poked his head in, and Yamashita stopped thinking. "What! What's the matter!" Inexplicably hot. "Well, Detective Sugawara is back." "Sugawara? Oh, the strong man in that jurisdiction." Look at the clock at the foot of the mountain, it's 23:40. "It's so slow, it's too slow. What the hell are you doing, really!" Yamashita yelled, but the object of the scolding replied from behind: "If you are not satisfied, you can go by yourself." "You, what tone are you talking about! I am searching the headquarters..."

"Well, if I've been rude, I'll just apologize. The conversation isn't going anywhere." Sugawara went around and sat down in front of the mountain, turning his neck wearily, and asked uninterestedly, "Where are the others?" "They have temporarily withdrawn, and the search meeting will be held tomorrow at the police station in the jurisdiction. I am waiting for you and Masuda, because I am the person in charge." "Thank you so much." "Where's Masuda?" "Spend the night there." "Overnight? What do you mean?"

"The suspect said he wants to stay overnight, what can we do?" "This... just bring them back?" "It's the police department who allowed them to interview you, right? It's so late just for the interrogation, let alone the interview. I don't know, but it takes a lot of time, and it can't be done in two or three strokes. .” "But……" "Hey, thank you for waiting for me, just listen to me. Although it's the same at the meeting tomorrow... Ah, since I have to talk at the meeting, let's talk about it tomorrow." "Tell me now." From Sugawara's tone, Yamashita immediately heard that Minghui Temple was an extremely unfavorable environment for search.The monk said that he would assist in the search, but he seemed completely unwilling to cooperate.Sugawara said they interrogated Kosaka's room for just an hour before returning. Based on Sugawara's statement, Kosaka finally gained a "personality" in Yamashita's heart.To Yamashita, the corpse, which was just an ugly object, is now finally treated by Yamashita as a victim of a murder. "The victim, Minoru Kosaka, is 60 years old this year. According to records, he entered Minghui Temple in the third year of the Showa era. He was 35 years old when Renshan was born. He lived in that temple for 25 years. As for The experience before entering the mountain is still unclear. There is no record. But the current Minghui Temple Guanshou Yuanjuedan Zen Master also entered the mountain in the same year, so Guanshou should know this part of the situation." "But because I can't interview Guanshou, I don't know the details." Sugawara said unwillingly. "and then?" "Osaka's reputation is bad, but it's not all negative." "It's really unclear." "Hey, ordinary people are like this. It's just based on what we've heard, Kosaka is a monk no matter what he thinks." "Smelly? Does he eat fish?" "You, uh, I seem to eat fish too..." Kosaka appears to be leading a double life, Sugawara said. "He is the governor of Naosuke, that is, a cadre. I don't think it is because of that position, but he will go down the mountain once a month and then sleep out. It seems to have been like this since before the war. Because of this, many Gossip, saying that he was raising women outside and so on. What's that surname? That antique dealer..." "Imakawa?" "Yes. What he said... Well, it also somewhat matches. They have business dealings, don't they? I don't know much about it." "Well, if you fully believe that weird-faced antique dealer, it is somewhat consistent. Imagawa's identity has now been notified to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and I also entrust them to verify the authenticity of Imagawa's testimony. It's just about keeping women, business For buying and selling, I think this part needs to be investigated.” "It is indeed necessary. So Kosaka is different from other monks, and is often not in the temple. But every time he goes out, he will apply in a proper manner, and he will only go down the mountain after getting permission, so there has never been a case of not going out in the past." "But how do you say, does Kosaka have so much money for him to do whatever he wants? Now it costs a lot to keep a woman. He is not a rich man, but a mountain monk, right?" "That's the problem." Sugawara showed a suspicious expression, "This part is very suspicious." "That's right, monks are human beings after all. The monks in the Bodhi Temple in my hometown also drank and played with women. They went bankrupt and said that they wanted to sell part of the cemetery. Not long ago, they were severely taught by the representative of the Tan family. Well. If Kosaka is so bad at things, even in the temple..." "No, Kosaka was not attacked." "Why? Is there any reason?" "I don't know. Of course there are some monks who call him worthless, like Kuwata Changshin -- this is a very high-ranking monk, and this Changxin calls Kosaka worthless. But there seem to be some monks who don't think Kosaka is bad. Zhong Shima Yuken—this is also a high-ranking monk, and Nakajima said, "Look at Ikkyu Sojun." "Ikkyu? Are you talking about the witty monk Ikkyu?" After saying that, Yamashita felt that this reaction seemed naive. But Sugawara nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes." "That's Ikkyu. It is said that monk Ikkyu is a monk who breaks the precepts and knows how to play with women, eat meat and drink alcohol. But he is still respected as an eminent monk. Nakajima said, so you can't correct Kosaka just because of this." "Isn't Monk Yixiu a young monk?" "The little monk will grow up one day. No one is always a child." "Too." Yamashita imagined the appearance of a broken Buddhist monk who drank alcohol under the service of a woman, but his face looked like a child's. Yamashita couldn't help but wryly smiled at his poor imagination and the stupidity of the picture. "So Kosaka is not isolated?" "No. I heard that the person who gets along best with Kosaka is an old monk with the highest qualifications. It is an old man named Daxi Taiquan who is nearly ninety years old. I heard that he came to Minghui Temple earlier than Guanshou, but I I couldn't talk to him. Nakajima didn't say too badly about Kosaka, maybe it was because of Onishi's face." "Does Onishi hold great power?" "He's an old man, old man. But there seem to be other young monks who look up to Kosaka. Speaking of which, it seems that the monks who entered the mountain after the war were all connected through Kosaka." "Putting strings?" "No monk would come to such an obscure temple. Kosaka brought it after negotiating with relatives or other temples. Because of the war, half of the young monks died in battle. Except for the cadres, there seem to be only fourteen left. " "Has the monk also gone to war?" "There is a new recruit of the Pure Land Sect in my army. Every time he beats him, he will recite the Buddha's name to me. He is so mad." "Well, no one's talking about you. I mean, do places like this get summons?" "Chi Zhiguan can send him anywhere in the world." "Yeah...that thing..." As long as they are Japanese nationals—that is, as long as they have household registration, healthy adult men will definitely receive it. probably.Even monks in monasteries located in the mountains far away from the village still have household registration. "You can get it." Yamashita said as if telling himself. "Osaka seems to be very good at taking care of people, but there are many people who don't get along with him. But I don't know what is the focus of their confrontation. As I said just now, Kosaka and the governor of Norizaka, Kuwata Tsunenobu, these two people are very angry Not allowed." "Dianzao?" "It's the person in charge of the cooking." "Is it the chef?" "Basically, they hate each other like natural enemies." "Then what is Kosaka's status in that temple? Can't we say that he is hated or loathed?" "Of course, the police department. If it is so simple to determine whether a person is a good person or a bad person, the police will not have to work so hard." "Sugawara, what I mean is not so simple. The temple is also a kind of organization. Then the monk is a member of the organization, and Kosaka should also have a status in the so-called organization. In this way, there will be an automatic interest. If Kosaka Not the end of the organization but the central member, that's all the more so." "Ah... oh." Sugawara nodded vigorously, "You are right, there are factions in monasteries. It can be seen. According to my observation, the monks of the cadres feel that they are establishing their own factions. But it seems like yesterday. He Tian Cixing who came here can also be seen from his previous attitude. He seems to be quite critical of Kosaka, and he is an anti-Osaka faction. But he is also an anti-Osaka faction, and Wada and Sangtian are against each other. On the contrary, Nakajima is close to the Kosaka faction, but he is very close to Kuwata. It's complicated." "It's not just a simple distinction between the mainstream and the mainstream. That club..." Yamashita almost said "President", and hurriedly corrected, "So what about Guan and Guanshou?" "Guan Shou seems to keep a certain distance from every cadre. But I haven't met him directly, so I don't know. It's just that in my opinion, Hotan should be the one with the greatest power. And before Hotan's power rose, sitting That position seems to be Kosaka." "Oh……?" However, monasteries are different from corporate organizations, and there is no such obvious benefit as being able to master privileges by being outstanding.Because these people are monks.But no matter what, the intricacies are certain. "and then……?" "what?" "What? What about the whereabouts of Kosaka?" "Oh. Minoru Kosaka was found missing five days ago, that is, four days before the body was found." "The monk Hetian also said about this matter yesterday." "Yes. To be more specific, the morning class five days ago—that is, the monks gathered to chant scriptures every morning. During the morning class that day, the people of Xiaosaka were still there. Cleaning, washing and so on, these things are clearly stipulated, and the time is more cumbersome than that of ordinary civil servants, in short, it is to deal with that kind of chores. Then there is breakfast. Yunshui and others gather in the cafeteria to eat. The monk eats in his own room. Kosaka lives in a small building called Xueshuangdian, and we have also investigated there. The monk on duty delivered the vegetarian food there on time, and it turned out..." "Is he not there?" "Not here." "What time?" "Five thirty." "Five-thirty? Breakfast at five-thirty? That's early enough. Who was the last to see the victim?" "So, when I recited the scriptures in the morning, all the monks saw it." "What time did you finish reading the scriptures?" "Five o'clock." "Then he disappeared between five and five-thirty?" "That's not the case either." "What is that? Tell me." "Someone testified that he saw Kosaka after nightfall. And Kosaka was in the room of his natural enemy, Kuwata Tsuneshin. What he saw was Changshin's Xingzhe—that is, the little monk who followed him. That Xingzhe, uh... called Makimura Too , He saw Kosaka coming out of the building where Sangtian lived between about 8:40 and 9 o'clock at night." "Is the time of the sighting uncertain?" "From 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. is the time for people to bathe or tidy up. Because the bathhouse can't accommodate everyone at one time, they have to line up. Toxiong is relatively new, so he is in the back. When he came out of the bathhouse, he found himself Forgot something." "what?" "He said it was a scripture. He needed it when he read the scriptures the next morning, so he panicked. He couldn't find it in his room—not a room that could be called a room—so he thought he must have forgotten it. Master was there, so he ran to look pale." "Paled face?" "Of course it will turn pale. If you lose something so important, you will be scolded and beaten with a stick, just like in the army. I used to beat recruits a lot." "No one is asking about you." "Well, it seems that he will be severely punished anyway, so Toxiong sneaked over to look for it. It was a building called the Hall of Enlightenment, and Kosaka suddenly walked out of it." "Oh? So he's still in the monastery?" "That's right. But from the time I read the scriptures in the morning to that time, my whereabouts were unknown. I disappeared completely. No one saw me." "Will he stay there forever?" "No, during the day, Sang Tian went in and out of the Enlightenment Hall several times. It was his own room, of course. Tuo Xiong also came in and out, because he was Sang Tian's follower. And Tuo Xiong said he forgot the scriptures. There, it was around seven o'clock in the evening." "Do you even remember the time when you forgot the scriptures?" "That's right. Starting at six o'clock in the evening, they will practice separately._Tuoxiong seems to be practicing chanting. The scriptures will be used in the practice, so the scriptures are still there at that time. Later, Tuoxiong was called by Sang Tian to the Hall of Enlightenment The scripture seems to have been forgotten there. Then it was around seven o’clock, so Kosaka entered the Hall of Enlightenment after that.” "Then Kosaka disappeared like smoke after five o'clock in the morning and disappeared without a trace. Then, at around 20:40, he suddenly walked out of that building. Then?" "that's it." "Didn't that little monk call out Kosaka?" "It doesn't seem to be. Tuoxiong was hiding the past. He turned back secretly, so he didn't dare to call out. Listening to his tone, he hid at that time." "That... is it called Sang Tian? The owner of the building. What did he say he was doing at that time?" "Sit at night." "What? Night Leak?" "Night sitting, sitting meditation at night. He said he was in the meditation hall." "Did anyone see it?" "No. Hmm...? No, is there?" "Is it there or not?" "Night meditation is voluntary meditation, and the time is not fixed. Chang Xin is a very high-ranking monk, so he can sit in meditation at a time he likes, right? I didn't ask about that. At that time, in the meditation hall..." "no one?" "There is someone, that is Hotan Cixing. He said that he is also in the night sitting, and there is also the young monk who is accompanying Cixing, both of them are there. The three of them go to the night sitting together." "Didn't you see it then?" "I didn't see it. Sangtian Changxin was sitting facing the wall. So Hetian and other three people who entered the meditation hall later said they didn't know if it was really Sangtian himself." "Will you not recognize it?" Yamashita wondered, "No, you should recognize it, right? They will at least say hello, right? When they entered the room, they said good night or bothered..." "I don't know how to say hello. No sound is allowed in a place like a meditation hall." "Like a cough or from a pose..." "Coughing is also prohibited. And every posture of the monk is very correct, and there is almost no light, so it is dark. So although there is indeed a monk sitting there, I don't know if it is Sang Tian. And the hairstyle of every monk is the same. Well." "I know that. Is there no way to judge from the cassock or body shape?" "Even if you say that, the witnesses say they don't know. What can I do? I can't know without asking the testimony of each of the thirty or so monks and confirming each other's location and time." "Did you ask?" "How is it possible! The interrogation time is only one hour. Just asking these questions, I don't know how much work I have spent. You still yell at me for coming back too late, don't you?" "Wait a minute, wait a minute, it's useless for us to scold each other. I understand the situation on your side. Got it." Yamashita said Sugawara unhappily swapped his cross-legged feet. "Speaking of which, what about the news release from the police department?" "Oh, it was announced by the headquarters. It only said that a monk's murdered body was found in Hakone Mountain..." "A wise move, the inside story of this incident seems to be very innocent." "Sugawara, it means about the murderer..." Unknowingly, Yamashita lowered his posture.Feeling an inexplicable humiliation, Shanshita swallowed hard: "Have you got any ideas?" "The murderer should be a monk from Minghui Temple." "Is this inferred from the woman's testimony?" "Of course part of it is. The suspected murderer who was witnessed is a monk, and the nearest monastery is there. And every monk there is walking like flying. It takes me an hour and a half to travel, and they walk in an hour. I can finish the walk. I think it will take only two and a half hours to reach the big platform. In other words, their scope of action is wider than we imagined. Moreover, they have physical strength, and they can easily carry corpses. The murderer is among the monks of Minghui Temple, there is no mistake about that." "You, have you got any evidence?" "The evidence will be obtained later. In fact, I already have clues. The main culprit... no, the culprit is Changxin Sangtian, but the whole monastery wants to hide this fact. In other words, all the monks in that monastery are accomplices This is a crime committed by the entire Minghui Temple in collusion!" "The monks in the entire monastery are accomplices? This..." "It's absurd, isn't it? But didn't you just conclude this morning that it was a crime committed by the whole hotel?" "Well, yes. But on what grounds?" Sugawara smiled maliciously, with a rustic expression. "Motives. Those guys have motives. Kosaka is Naotoshi, who is in charge of construction and repairs. It's expensive, so he controls part of the finances. It's an old temple, and repairs should be expensive too. Kosaka will always find a reason to go down the mountain and sleep outside, and on the surface it seems that he is also talking about raising supplies." "Where is the motive? Do you mean that other monks are jealous of the hateful Kosaka who enjoys the sweetness alone?" "No. Kosaka seems to have embezzled the monastery's public funds, and there are even rumors that he invested in his career in addition to supporting women." "Occupation...so that's the case. What's that like? Are the bad monks who embezzled monastery money punished by God?" Sugawara smiled vulgarly again. Then he opened his notepad and stammered out the fact that the monastery itself was suspicious.Yamashita could only understand about half of it, but he understood it as similar to an unregistered company number.He didn't know anything about religion, but he thought ambiguously that if it violated the law, it should be banned. "As I just said, there is no Tan family in Minghui Temple. It is strange enough that a monastery without a Tan family has money that can be embezzled. So if there is any secret that cannot be made public, it is the temple." "The temple has secrets?" "Financial resources, financial resources. If there is no Tan family, there will be no religious affairs to do. There are as many as thirty-six monks there without any source of income. Even if they live in the mountains, the monks are not immortals, and they can't drink from the northwest. Let’s live in the wind, we need maintenance fees. There must be some source of money.” "In other words, Kosaka has mastered this secret source of money?" "That's right. So Kosaka also took advantage of this opportunity to enrich himself. After the incident was revealed, he was criticized. But the temple couldn't make the crimes committed by Kosaka public. Kosaka took advantage of this and entangled him endlessly. In the end, Kosaka Going all out, implying that he wants to reveal the secret, so..." "Have you been murdered...? But Sugawara, this is not very realistic. It's not a martial arts movie. Will there be such an evil secret society temple?" "It's much more realistic than a hot spring hotel like a secret society." This country detective is really annoying enough.Yamashita was angrily thinking about how to refute, and he soon thought of a counter-proof. "Hmm... I withdraw this morning's opinion. But, Sugawara, I think the murderer should be a monk, but I really can't agree with the idea that the whole temple is colluding." "why?" "First of all, the crime scene. You don't know it yet, but it's possible that the scene is in the area beyond Okuyumoto. Of course, it's not confirmed yet." "Ou Yuben? Why did this place suddenly appear? It's on the other side of the river." "Well, someone provided information, and the witnesses confirmed it. It's surprising to say that someone came across a corpse on the side of the road. And the murderer was still at the scene at that time, and even confessed to that person that he killed himself." "What? This is too powerful, it's just a first-level witness testimony. It was solved in one go. Then?" "Unfortunately, the witness did not witness it. The man who testified—was a blind man." Yamashita said to himself, sighing in disappointment.For Yamashita, denying Sugawara's opinion is tantamount to cutting off the only remaining way out.While disappointed, Yamashita vaguely thought that even if it was a crime of collusion by the whole temple, it wouldn't matter.So he waited for Sugawara's rebuttal in the corner of his head. "Then the police department said, that person saw... no, the corpse he encountered, didn't he know if it was Minoru Kosaka?" "I don't know. As for the confessed murderer, of course I only heard his voice, Sugawara. Human memory is unreliable, very unreliable. What's more, there is only a voice, and the witness must have been unable to recognize it. But , Sugawara, it’s okay if he was killed in the temple, but for Okuyumoto, the place is too far away. It’s really a collusion of the whole temple..." "That's irrelevant at all. And that kind of testimony, not to mention whether it is Kosaka, is even hard to say whether it is a corpse. Even if it is really a corpse, it may be something else." "However, it is said that the murderer claimed to be a monk. Listen, in such a small Hakone, a monk appeared again, monk. And..." "and?" "The time when that incident happened happened to be the night four days before the body was discovered, which coincided with the date of the day Kosaka disappeared. It shouldn't be a coincidence." "What time is it at night?" "Twenty-two o'clock, around ten o'clock in the evening." "This...such words are not right! The police department said that Minoru Kosaka was in the Enlightenment Hall of Minghui Temple at 8:40. Even a monk who walks like flying can't walk to Okuyumoto within an hour and 20 minutes Yes! Even as a practicing monk, Kosaka is already sixty years old. The only place I can go at that time is this area at most.” "Ok?" "It takes more than two hours to even go to the big platform. Even if you take the train, it should take more than four hours to go to places like Okuyumoto. That's right, it's not Kosaka's body. . Absolutely not." "Wait a minute, wait a minute. But, Sugawara, didn't you say that the monks were all accomplices? Then those testimonies can really be trusted... right?" "Ah, yes!" "That's right." Yamashita resonated with Sugawara, making sounds almost simultaneously. The negative elements suggested by Yamashita strengthened Sugawara's thoughts.The joke came true.And Sugawara seems to have come to the same conclusion. "That is to say, that..." "That's right, Sugawara, that's..." That's what happened: the testimonies of the members of the temple are completely unreliable, and only the testimony of the outsiders - Yuhei Ojima, the masseur, is enough to be trusted.In other words, assume for the time being that the crime took place in Otomoto at Blackjack. Well, first of all, there is a contradiction with the testimony of Too Makimura. If Tochon's testimony was false, why did he do this kind of perjury? The murder happened in Okumben. There, the killer meets Ojima.The murderer thought there was nowhere to escape, and pleaded guilty in desperation.But the murderer soon discovered that this was a wrong judgment.So he faked it after the fact. The murderer temporarily hides the body, taking advantage of Ojima's blindness, making Ojima himself mistakenly think that what he encountered was a prank.This was just a stopgap measure, but it was a success for the time being.In fact, Ojima is said to have gone around claiming to have been tricked by rats.In this way, there was a temporary delay.But sooner or later the body will be found.In that case, someone will definitely connect the prank that happened to Ojima with the murder. At this time, Tochon's perjury will come into play. Toxiong testified that Kosaka was in Minghui Temple around 20:40.Then, as Sugawara said, it is impossible for Kosaka to go to Oku Yumoto when he was killed, so the suspected corpse that Ojima encountered could not be Kosaka.In other words, what happened to Ojima would still be taken as a prank. In fact, Sugawara, who heard about it, judged it that way. Toxiong's testimony is likely to be supplementary material fabricated to separate Ojima's experience from the incident. Suppose Kosaka was killed at twenty-two o'clock. It took about five hours to get from Minghui Temple to the scene, so if Kosaka was witnessed at Minghui Temple after 17 o'clock, then Ojima's testimony would be considered irrelevant. However, problems can also arise if the time of the crime is too close to the time of the sighting.Because it turns out that Kosaka was killed in the temple. That would be bad.Then, the people inside will definitely be suspected.so…… It is necessary for Kosaka's body to be found some distance away from the temple, such as this Xianshilou.It takes about an hour from Minghui Temple to Xianshilou.In this way, it is understandable why it was falsely claimed that 20:40 was the moment of the final sighting.Because such a time is just right for Kosaka to come here. In fact, the body was found here. Why was Kosaka, who disappeared at five o'clock in the morning, seen again after nearly sixteen hours?Could the unnatural eyewitness testimony have been fabricated in order to transfer the scene of Kosaka's murder to this Xianshilou? The time of sighting had to be 20:40. "From Kuwata's point of view, even his voice was heard, so he must feel that Ojima's testimony is quite in the way." "If what I just assumed was true, then that's it. It's very disturbing. Normally, when someone bumps into you, you would bow your head and confess your guilt, but if the person present happens to be a blind person, you will want to struggle to the death. It’s also human nature.” "That's right. That guy named Toxiong is Kuwata's entourage, right? And he said that the Hall of Enlightenment that he saw Kosaka come out of is also the building where Kuwata lives? You can say whatever you want, Sugawara." "But the police department added that this perjury was done on the premise that the police determined the time of death. I am ignorant, but can the time of death be determined even for a dead person who is frozen like that? Or has it already been determined?" "Not yet, the dissection may be in trouble, because it's all frozen, and this is the first time I have encountered a frozen corpse. But Sugawara, this is not the Edo period. Tomorrow—the day after tomorrow at the latest The presumed time of death has been found out. Scientific search is omnipotent. Even if the crime location can be concealed, as long as the body is found, the murder time will be found out sooner or later. You are probably the only one who doesn't know this kind of thing these days, even the one from the mountain temple. The monks know it. So..." Even if we look at it separately from the Ojima incident, as long as the time of the killing is confirmed and the identity of the victim is found, the police will search the temple sooner or later.In order to prevent problems before they happen, Sang Tian had better prepare his alibi first.That is the unnatural night sitting as if there are witnesses and no witnesses.On the one hand, Sang Tian's sitting at night proves that he and Kosaka did not meet each other in the Hall of Enlightenment, and at the same time it became an alibi at the time of the murder. Regardless of whether the entire monastery was in collusion or not, the conspiracy between Kuwata Tsuneshin and Makimura Too should be unmistakable. Yamashita was extremely satisfied. "How about this, Sugawara." Sugawara responded more contentedly: "That's it, that's right. Like I said, Kuwata is the murderer. It's that guy, it must be. That's right..." wrong. "Wait a moment." "What's wrong?" "Why is it Xianshi Tower... No, why is it a tree?" "This……" no. Pointless. If you can't figure out the meaning of abandoning the corpse on the tree, it's still not right no matter what. After some twists and turns at the foot of the mountain, he ended up going around to the place he was thinking before Sugawara came back. It's basically going in circles. He thinks the outline is roughly correct, and the rest... "Is there a reason why the body must be found?" Ying Yuan folded his hands on his chest, and Yamashita sighed again. But Sang Tian's murderer said it was a pity to abandon it. 而且调查小坂生前行动的同时，也必须彻查明慧寺的财源及底细。也需要知道每一个和尚的身份和来历。 “菅原，关于明慧寺的和尚，你有多少情报？” “我记了姓名和人山年限回来。年龄是自称，出生地等也尽可能问了。” 菅原半自暴自弃地递出一叠和纸。 山下厌倦地看着那些纸张。 贯首圆觉丹禅师昭和三年入山六十八岁 知客和田慈行昭和十三年入山二十八岁 维那中岛佑贤昭和十年入山五十六岁 典座桑田常信昭和十年入山四十八岁 老师大西泰全大正十五年入山八十八岁 与其说是在看人名，更像在读经文。和田在干部中显得异常年轻，但人山已经有十五年了。他十三四岁就出家了吗？至于大西，都已经八十八岁了。山下的家累中，最年长的是八十五岁。那个老太婆脚和腰都直不起来了，然而一个比她更年长三岁的老人，竟然能够在这样的荒山僻野中生活？那真的是人吗？ “就算这么记上一大串……和尚的名字特别莫名其妙。” “没什么难的，地位高的人名字是很奇怪，不过其他人只是把名字换成音读罢了。很简单的。例如说，警部补叫什么名字？” “我的名字不能换成音读。” “哦，这样啊。我叫刚喜(takeyoshi)，换成音读就叫gouki。如果我出家的话，就是刚喜和尚。” “比起和尚，你更像入道。” “是吗？唔，除了干部以外，战前入山的中坚分子有十四人，是战争幸存者。战时没有人人山，战后很快地，昭和二十年有五人人山。接着二十一年有四人，二十二年有两人，二十三年有三人，二十四年有两人。这是最后了。之后就再也没有僧侣入山了。” “那个桑田的随从小和尚呢？” “你说托雄吗？不就写在这里吗？二十四年那一组，二十二岁。” 名字埋没在名字堆里。 所以这份名册对山下而言，只是写了一堆汉字的纸屑罢了。完全看不出意义。这么一看，就像菅原说的，这些和尚不分青红皂白，每一个看起来都可疑万分，真不可思议。山下无奈，只算了算人数。 “喂，菅原，这里头只有三十五人啊。和尚不是总共有三十六个吗？” “还有一张啦，你这人也真是粗心大意。” “咦？哦，我知道啦。杉山哲童，二十八岁啊。喂，这个人的人山年份呢？” “哦，他没有入山年份。” "No?" “听说他出生的时候就在山里了。” "What's the meaning?" “嗯。啊，我想这家伙应该无关吧。虽然把他也算进去，不过说是和尚，智商好像也有点那个……不足。” “咦？智能障碍吗？” “那种叫什么呢？他就是住在附近的老人家的家人，小时候就一直做着类似寺男的工作，不知不觉就成了和尚。” “门前小僧啊。” “才不是什么小僧哩，他是个巨汉。这就叫做体大无脑还是什么吗？读写好像会，但是智力很低，顶多是小学生的水平吧。” “等一下，你说住在附近的老人家，有人住在寺院附近吗？” “哦，听说好像有。一个女孩，一个老人，还有那个哲童三个人一起生活。那个女孩也都在寺内游荡。我是没有看见，但是那个小说家好像看到了。听古董商说，她在这一带好像很有名，叫什么山中的长袖和服姑娘。这家旅馆的人好像也知道。” “穿着长袖和服？在这种深山里？真够怪的。那个老人怎么维持生计？是樵夫吗？” “箱根又不是木曾，才没什么樵夫呢。唔，说可疑是可疑，可是应该没关系吧。要调查吗？” “你……当然没有调查吧。我想应该也没那个时间，可是总觉得啊……” 反抗资本主义、近代国家及管理社会的荒唐家伙们一个接一个冒了出来，山下困惑不已。 他觉得不能够胡乱增加嫌疑犯的数目。虽然这么觉得，但可疑人物确实增加了。每一个都是他不想扯上关系的那种人。 他只能祈求这些人和事件没有关系。 ——这座山里没一个正常人。 菅原一开始也不像个正常人。 但是现在已经算是差强人意的一个了。 益田怎么了呢？ 山下非常挂心。 “菅原，咱们的益田呢？” “哦，那个小哥啊。他生龙活虎地在搜查哪。现在应该跟嫌疑犯一起打鼾睡觉了吧。” “生龙活虎？益田他吗？要不要紧啊？” 现在益田正引领着一干嫌疑犯，深入更加疑云重重的嫌疑犯大本营。只身留在那里，应该是四面楚歌才对。 菅原下流地笑了：“不要紧的，又不会被杀掉。只是最近的年轻人真没体力呢，锻炼的方法不一样哪。看他已经累得快垮了。噢，这么说来你也挺年轻的呢，真是失礼了。啊……对了对了，你说明天要在署里开会是吧？几点？” “早上十点。” “那今天能不能到此为止？我的脚也痛了。” "Oh……" 在山下回答之前，菅原已经举起右手说“告辞”，打开了纸门。 阿部巡查就站在纸门外，他吓了一跳，敬了个礼，心想菅原接下来还要回到山脚下去吗？ 菅原离开后，女佣走了进来，但山下一句话也没招呼。 凌晨一点三十分了。 翌日早晨，山下起得比任何人都早。因为他不想见到那个教人愤恨的侦探和那个赤脸医师。即使如此，他起床的时候也已经六点了。山下看着时钟，想到明慧寺这时候连早饭都用完了。他交代掌柜要是益田回来时该怎么做，总算在第三天离开了仙石楼，只身下山。 搜查会议进行得很顺利。 遗弃小坂遗体的凶嫌，似乎穿着类似草鞋的东西。 这与凶嫌做僧侣打扮的目击证词有一定程度的吻合，结果菅原的报告受到了重视。 会议上也提出了解剖报告，死因是由于后脑勺遭到殴打而造成的骨折。几乎是当场死亡，没有被毒杀的可能性。死亡推定时间大约是失踪当天黄昏到翌日早晨，但范围没办法再缩小了。这全都是根据胃中食物的消化情形所作的判断。这个结论感觉相当靠不住，而且这暖昧的范围是建立在小坂从失踪前一天的晚餐之后就没有再进食的前提上。 这样一来，死亡时间在现阶段等于是无法确定。因为明慧寺的斋饭菜色似乎每天都一样，而且这要是像菅原说的是整座寺院串通好的犯罪，只要篡改情报，要将死亡推定时间偏离个一两天也不是问题。于是尾岛的证词受到了关注，因为警方认为尾岛与明慧寺问没有任何利害关系。商议的结果——也就是在没有确证的情形下——尾岛的证词被采信，达成了小坂是在失踪当天的二十二点前后遭到杀害的共识，并决定以此为前提进行搜查。 此外，考虑到被害人小坂过着双重生活，一方面必须彻底调查他的异性关系与事业等流言的真伪，同时明慧寺的真实情况、僧侣们的来历与身份也成了调查重点。搜查完全以明慧寺为焦点展开。 死掉的是和尚，疑凶也是和尚，这可以说是理所当然的结论。 最后山下决定亲自出马，进人敌方大本营明慧寺。 从会议的发展来看，这是情势所迫。明慧寺不能不调查，而若要调查，那也是身为本部长的自己的责任——应该。当然，菅原要求同行。 会议在正午结束，用完难吃的午餐后，山下带着数名警官和菅原，再次踏上山路。 心情沉重。 抵达仙石楼是十四点。短短的七八个小时前还在这里，但山下却觉得暌违已久。 益田还没有回来。 蠢侦探和刻薄医师正在下棋。真是轻松，教人连气都生不起来。 不过这两个人根本连山下都没注意到。 说起来，那个蠢侦探到底是来干什么的？——山下想道，看着两人，结果侦探发出奇怪的大笑。山下觉得他是在嘲笑自己，升起一把无名火。 自己好不容易才找回步调，再这样下去又会前功尽弃。就在山下决定不理他们，别开视线的瞬间，他听见了不想听见的声音。 “哇哈哈哈哈……已经没救了，久我山先生！你赢不了我的！” “也还不一定没救吧。可是你啊，该不会是用那种奇怪的能力赢过我的吧？” “你也是大笨蛋之一哪。全知全能的我才没有什么奇怪的能力，我有的只有多到不能再多的才能！” “哎，或许的确是这样哪。不过我觉得你可能只是碰巧赢的。” “有可能吧，没什么才能赢得过碰巧。” “我不懂你在说什么，不过无所谓。不管这个，榎木津，可以请你准备着手进行我委托的侦探工作了吗？关口和中禅寺小姐都没有回来。” “猴子回山里去了吧，没什么好担心的。” “我在想，干脆连我也一起去好了。” "Where are you going?" “什么去哪里，当然是明慧寺喽。” "No!" 无法置若罔闻地就这么经过，竖起耳朵偷听的山下终于忍不住插嘴打断了这场骇人对话的结论。 “不行，禁止外出！” “噢噢！这不是社长吗？你还在啊？话说回来，你说禁止什么东西？” “禁止你外出！” “喂，山下警部补，你有那种权力吗？虽然我是嫌疑犯，但榎木津不是吧？你不能限制他的行动。” “啊，啰嗦！菅原，把这几个……” “警部补啊，不能把这些家伙绑起来。弄不好会是滥用职权。而且还有寺院里那些人的先例，总不能区别对待吧。倒不如把他们摆到一处或许比较好。” “混账，难不成你想把他们给带去吗？” “我是不会把他们带去啦。我只是说，如果他们要跟来，我们也阻止不了。不过如果他们妨碍搜查的话，就可以逮捕他们了。” “逮捕啊……” 就像菅原说的，干脆让这些家伙捅出什么娄子，再加以逮捕，还比较乐得轻松。山下斟酌着这种想法，医师收起了下巴说道：“怎么，警察要去明慧寺吗？和尚当中有嫌犯吗？如果已经知道真凶是谁，我们也不必进行什么侦探活动了。” “啰、啰嗦！我没有义务跟你们报告搜查进度！随你们的便。菅原，走了。” 山下头也不回地大步出发，这是他不管怎么样都事不关己的意志表现。在警察署里头事事都很顺利，但是只要踏进山里一步，就变成这个样子。完全无法一如所愿。而且就算他们跟来，山下也绝对不愿意和蠢侦探一道远足。这阵子诸事不顺的山下，还是留有一点自尊心的。 好陡的斜坡。 菅原和警官们都默默地爬着，身为主任的山下不能够在他们面前说丧气话。这是警部补的志气。菅原咒骂着：“哼，我今天一定要逮到那些和尚的狐狸尾巴。事无三不成！” “菅原，太卯足了劲不行啊。人不是说有二就有三吗？” “事不过三啊，警部补。所以要是这次不成，我就要变成铁石心肠了。我要揪住那个桑田，硬逼他给我招出来。” “比起证词，证据更重要啊，菅原。物理证据胜过一切供词。要是找到和那些稻草屑相同的稻草鞋，那就很够了。” “一点都不够，搜查的醍醐味在于供认啊。” 菅原豪迈地说。山下完全无法理解。而且他总有一种疏离感。 这座山在拒绝山下。 “话说回来，这条山路也太不人道了吧？你不觉得住在这种没效率的地方，本身就是一种犯罪吗？” 这是拐弯抹角的泄气话。 “寺院姑且不论，像是一般老百姓，而且还是老人跟小孩，真能住在这种地方吗？小孩子的教育问题该怎么办？” 塞塞搴窜的，令人生厌的气息从背后逼近。 山下缩起脖子，但菅原回过头去。“噢，警部补，是侦探来了吗？” 山下一点都不想看到那种东西。“别管他们，快点前进吧。” "Huh? It seems not." "no?" 山下回头一看，一个人偶站在树木之间。 微弱而悦耳的声音传了过来。 ——如是人子，装进烦恼的皮囊里，抛入水流。 “那、那是什么？” “噢，那就是你刚才还在质疑存不存在的山中的长袖和服姑娘吧？” "girl?" ——那是人吗？ 肮脏的长袖和服动了。 枯枝沙沙摆动。 雪花纷纷飞舞。 极其怪诞。 却又无比真实。 人偶笑了。 "you you……" 住在哪里？——山下想这么问。 "go back." 说话了。 山下张口结舌。 “不要再过去了。” 一阵猛烈的恶寒窜过全身。 警官们和菅原也失去了冷静。 女孩用一种恐怖得不属于这个世界的表情瞪着山下，甩动长长的袖子，像一阵风似的溜过警官身边，奔上斜坡消失了。 “啊……警部补，你看见了吗？” “当、当然看见啦，那种东西……” 竟有那样的东西猖獗跋扈，这里根本就是魔界。 那样的话，下界的法律是否无效？ 山下像要追上女孩似的仰望她的去向。 瞬间树丛左右摇晃，一个浑身沾满了雪的男子连滚带爬地跑了下来。男子一看到山下等人，放声大叫：“啊……！山下先生！这不是山下先生吗！” 来人是益田。 “呃、益、益田，怎么了？” “又、又被杀了！和、和尚……” “什么？你冷静一点。” “明、明慧寺再度发生杀人事件了！”益田这么说道。 “所谓坐禅，”敦子的声音响起，“一言以蔽之，就是……唔，该怎么形容才好呢？这……” 敦子停下拿着钢笔的手，自言自语地说道，回过头来。当然没有人回答得出来，所以也没有响应。 不过这个时候，清醒的——处于能够回答的状态的人，只有我一个。 然而就连这样的我都以全身露骨地表现出痴呆状态，回过头来的敦子露出愣住的表情。 "God knows." 我落井下石地回了个愚蠢到家的答案。敦子目瞪口呆，再次转回书桌，用钢笔盖轻轻顶住鼻尖。 今早…… 我们手忙脚乱地追赶着僧侣们凌晨三点半开始的生活。采访大致结束的正午过后，众人疲劳到了极点，到了午餐后的休息时间，我们紧张的神经全都绷断了。 我和鸟口完全瘫痪，青年摄影师就这样遁入了梦乡。应该负责监视的益田刑警也打起瞌睡来。饭洼一个人不知为何积极无比，似乎自己一个人继续采访去了。 没看见今川。 他去参观寺院了吗？还是去找僧侣聊天了？早上的采访今川并未陪同，所以也许不像我们这么疲劳，话虽如此，早饭也一样是在早上五点半用的，没什么差别。 敦子好像已经开始撰写报道的草稿了。 勤劳得教人吃惊——不，持续力令人惊异。 如果效法敦子，我一个月应该可以写出一部长篇小说吧——我一边与逼近的睡魔搏斗，一边头脑昏沉地想。 敦子昨晚应该也几乎没睡。 last night…… 明慧寺最年长的老师特别答应接见我们。老师的心情很好，会见一直持续到深夜。我认为不管对稀谭舍还是对警察，以及对今川来说，都是一段非常有意义的时光。 若问为什么，因为听完老师的话，我们对于明慧寺的疑问大半都得以冰释，对僧侣们的疑心也几乎都消除了。我在逐渐退后到名为惰眠的溟濛彼方的意识当中，回味着昨晚与老师会面的始末。 last night…… 菅原与益田在九点展开侦讯工作，情况是不折不扣的兵荒马乱。 因为时间只有短短一个小时。然而僧侣人数众多，若是两者相除，一个人能分配到的时间不到两分钟。以三名干部为首，年轻僧侣一个接一个被叫入内律殿。不过只有高龄的老师和贯首无法配合警方的侦讯。不对，与其说是无法配合，更应该说是在一个一个叫来年轻僧侣时，时间到了。这才是实际情况。 侦讯结束，菅原刑警返回仙石楼后，一度退下的中岛佑贤的行者——我记得是叫英生——再度造访内律殿。 说是老师希望与我们会面。 根据英生的说法，老师和小坂了稔交情匪浅，主动提出想和我们谈谈。 我们大家鱼贯跟随英生走去。 我们被带去的，是一栋叫做“理致殿”的建筑物。 老师名叫大西泰全。 那是个身上只穿了一件暗黑色无袖外套的干枯老人。 我们原本擅自想像那会是一个身穿金碧辉煌袈裟的高僧，所以全都大感意外。 "Good night." 招呼的方式也完全是个慈祥的老爷爷。 “老衲就如同各位所见，是个老糊涂，只不过做和尚做久了，被人称做老师，其实只是个普通老头子罢了。自由自在、随心所欲。虽然是潜心修行，不过不必负责作务。所以老衲除了坐着打禅和诵经，其他时间都闲得很。话说回来，老衲已经不晓得几年没见过年轻的姑娘喽。” 慈祥的老爷爷用干涸的声音大笑说。 此时三名僧侣送来了茶。 “噢噢，噢噢，来，请用茶。” 老师请我们喝茶，然后说了：“话说回来，了稔师父也真是不幸哪。那到底是怎么一回事啊？” 老师询问益田。尽管没有自我介绍，但他好像看穿了我们大略的身份。益田简要地说明发现遗体的经过。 老师惊讶不已。 “哦？柏树上头？仙石楼的？那座庭院的柏树上？哦，原来如此啊。” "Do you have any clues?" “庭前柏树。” "what?" “没事没事，没什么。不过这真是骇人听闻哪。仙石楼也真是无妄之灾。” “老师知道仙石楼吗？”饭洼问道。 “小姐，老衲当然知道那里。老衲来到这里，已经将近三十个年头了吧。而且建造那座庭院的，正是老衲的师父。” "what?" 敦子露出诧异的表情。据