Chapter 8 chapter Five

About 30 minutes later, Masuda returned with Yamashita Police Department Suzuki, Sugawara Criminal Police and two police officers. It takes three hours to travel to and from Xianshilou, and it's too fast to come back anyway.It seems that Yamashita and others have already set off to Minghui Temple, and Masuda, who was going to ask for support, ran into them on the way. Down the mountain is still the same chaos. But I couldn't calm down at all, I just gave up even the chaos.This is the same for other people, and of course monks are no exception. When Yamashita arrived, he went directly to the scene without declaring his name. After arranging two police officers to monitor the scene, he forced all the monks including us to leave.He seemed to have arranged for forensics and investigators to come and support him.

Yamashita glanced at all the staff and shouted: "In short, in short, gather all the people in one room! Before the supporters arrive, no one is allowed to leave a step!" Ci Xing retorted naturally: "This will cause trouble, and it will be difficult to follow." "Trouble? What nonsense are you talking about? All of you are important people... No, they are suspects! You are not allowed to act without authorization! Japan is a country ruled by law. If you are Japanese citizens, you are obliged to abide by the law! Do not obey my orders All the people who ordered are regarded as obstructing the search and arrested on the spot!"

Yamashita cursed aggressively. Facing such a mountain, Ci Xing responded with disdain: "Ah, what an outrageous and unreasonable argument! Even if the murderer is among them, he wouldn't be so stupid as to run away under such circumstances! Besides, there can't be a murderer among the clouds and water in this temple. Outlaws who committed the precept of killing. Such evil deeds must be done by outsiders. Although the police officer is here to monitor, but the tragedy in front of you still happened. How are you going to take responsibility for this? We are the victims. This Such a rude attitude is a violation of human rights!"

"Wait a minute, Master Cixing, you'd better look at the situation. It's best to follow the police's instructions now." "This... I didn't expect Master Youxian, who is Wei Na, to say such words. I can't allow such disorder." "This is not a matter of permission or disallowance. After Master Min, no one else but Master Taiquan was killed. And it was still in the mountain—no, in the temple—no, in the hall. Even so, you still insist Do you want to proceed as usual?" "Of course. It's absurd to disrupt the act because of a murder."

"Practice is not just doing things as usual. No matter what the situation is, practice is practice. As Wei Na, I must guide monks to obey the police!" "It doesn't matter what you do, hurry up and do as I say! Masuda! Gather them anywhere!" "Anywhere...?" "Do not act without authorization in the temple!" "Do you still want to stick to your own opinion? Master Cixing." "what……" Chang Xin interrupted the confusion. "Ci, Master Cixing, please, please, please do as the police say, let the police monitor everyone..."

"What? Master Chang Xin, what do you mean by that?" "Master Cixing, no, no matter whether the murderer is inside or not, there is no guarantee that this disaster will end here. Leave it alone, then, maybe I will be next... No, maybe it will be Guanshou." "what?" "Do you mean that this kind of disaster will continue to happen?" "Uh, no, no one knows about this..." "Master Chang Xin, what you say is really stupid. Are you crazy?" "You are the one who is crazy, Master Cixing!" "What did you say……?" "Quiet! How decent!" A majestic voice sounded like it came from the ground.

The human wall surrounded by monks split into two sides at the same time, and the long-lost order was instantly restored. A majestic monk stood with his back to the dharma hall. Accompanied by two waiters. The burly monk wore an ornate cassock woven of gold and silver threads.I have seen the noble patterns on the cassock before. It is the cassock worn by the monks sitting in the center of the Dharma hall during the morning class.in other words…… "You...you are? Hey, Sugawara, who is this person?" Everyone was completely silent, but the mountain seemed to be even more chaotic, and the majesty was gone.The monk had a sense of oppression that the police department of the country's local police officers could not resist.

"The poor monk is the Guanshou Yuanjue Dan of this temple." "You, you are..." The so-called eminent monks really have this kind of demeanor.The eyes that couldn't tell whether they were open or closed didn't focus on anything in particular, but they shocked the whole world he was facing. But that overwhelming, wordless oppression seemed to hit Mercy first. "Yi, Your Majesty (an honorific title for an eminent monk), why are you here in person..." "Ci Xing, how ugly is this? It's embarrassing. It's too rude to the police." "But, but..."

"No refutation is allowed. The chaotic behavior in the mountain is the fault of the prison house; the disorder of the monks' discipline is the fault of the weina. It is a deception to blame it on foreign guests!" Juedan turned his head slowly. Then he said, "Zhetong, give ten punishments to Cixing and Youxian each." Zhetong stood at the back and watched indifferently, but he was not panicked by the sudden naming, and he walked slowly to the center without replying. This is an unexpected development.Needless to say, even the police such as Yamashita couldn't intervene at all, so we could only stand there and watch.

Zhetong looked even bigger than last night.Today he is not wearing a service coat, but a cassock, with the sleeves rolled up and tied crosswise with straps.That strange appearance is completely a ferocious wild monk. In his hand he held a flat wooden stick. That's called a police policy, and it's a stick used to alert monks. Cixing and Youxian showed somewhat tragic expressions, and sat silently on the snow with their heads bowed slightly. The strange monk Zhetong first stood directly behind Cixing, and put the police on his shoulder. I stared at Zhetong's face intently.His face was long, with a protruding forehead, and the pupils in the sunken eye sockets had no light. Apart from the flaring of the nose, his face was almost expressionless.It was difficult to see emotions from his face.

Zhetong held up the warning policy wordlessly, and swung it down fiercely. There was a blunt sound like hitting a tatami mat. A gift of kindness. "Uh, hey! Stop! It's not punishing children, why beat them!" Yamashita seemed completely unable to understand the situation, and wanted to stop it, but was held back by Masuda. "Why stop me, Masuda! Hey! Don't use violence! Guanshou, don't use violence! Tell him to stop immediately!" While shouting at the foot of the mountain, the police waved down two or three times. Do your best and show no mercy. "Hey, did you hear that? Violence cannot be used to solve problems in a democratic society! No matter what kind of crime he committed, corporal punishment is not allowed! Tell him to stop!" "Be quiet, it will be distracting." "What?" "This is not corporal punishment." "This is corporal punishment! Is it corporal punishment?" No one answered.Cheol Tong moved behind Woo Hyun. "It's not someone sanctioning someone, it's not punishment for a crime. There's no other option but to hit." "what?" When Youxian was beaten to the fifth blow, the guard broke. "That's it. Zhetong, thank you for your hard work, you can step back." Juedan said seriously. Zhetong stopped silently. Youxian bowed deeply. Cixing's skin had completely lost its color, and the beautiful monk with his eyes closed and bowed his head was like a weird life-sized doll that appeared in a health fair, always feeling extremely glamorous. "Then...the head of this temple is a poor monk. May I ask who is the person in charge of the police?" "Oh, it's me." "This temple has caused a lot of trouble to the police. The poor monk will make amends for Yunshui's negligence, please forgive me." Juedan bowed his head. "Ah, uh, no..." Yamashita lost his poise and raised his messy bangs.The greatest man here is now bowing his head to Yamashita in apology.In other words, Yamashita climbed to the top in one breath.For him, this situation is tantamount to the restoration of power.Yamashita coughed dryly two or three times, and said as pompously as possible: "Uh... this is really an extremely brutal murder. It cannot be determined without investigation, but it is very likely that it is a serial murder. The situation is extremely serious. Please be careful in the future. Assist in the search. Although you are monks, you are also Japanese nationals, and you have the obligation to assist the police. Regarding the police's questioning, I hope you will tell the whole story. In addition, you must fully obey the investigator's instructions. If not, The authorities must also punish you according to the law. Do you understand?" When Yamashita said this in one breath, he let out a breath of air with a "huh".He felt as if he had suddenly become the king of a foreign land.But Yamashita is a coward after all, unable to completely suppress his nervousness and confusion. Juedan said unmoved: "Please report your name." "What?" "The poor monk said, please report your name. The poor monk has not even confirmed whether you are really a member of the national police." "Oh, I am..." Yamashita took out the police handbook, "Is it okay? Did you see? I am really a police officer. So you must obey my orders from now on. Well, first of all, everyone..." "Asshole!" With a threatening shout, Shanxia was so frightened that his legs almost went limp.At this moment, Yamashita's authority plummeted.The king of the mountain lost power before he even enjoyed the momentary glory. "Even if the poor monk says to treat him politely, he still can't listen to rude people who don't even want to report their own names! What kind of person are you!" Yamashita looked like he was about to cry. "I-I'm the police officer. No, I'm the investigation director of this incident. So..." "What kind of identity you are, has nothing to do with us!" "Uh, no, I'm just that... Citizens are obliged to assist the police..." "As a monk, what we should obey is Buddhism; as a person, what we should obey is morality; as a citizen, what we should obey is law. There is no reason why we must obey you personally. You are just a member of the police organization, great Not you personally, make no mistake." It seemed that Yamashita couldn't even talk back. Sugawara couldn't stand it, and said, "Guan Shou, I understand what you mean. But this is not what we like to see. This is the third time I have come to bother you. When I first came, I reported my name carefully. I tried my best, but you didn't cooperate, it's true. It happened in the end. We will improve our attitude, but please..." "Are you Mr. Sugawara?" "I'm Sugawara, and this is the Yamashita police department from the Kanagawa headquarters, and the one over there is..." "Mr. Yitian, the poor monk heard about it. What he said is really..." Juedan glanced at everyone in turn with his gravitational line of sight—more precisely, it is a magic power like a magnetic field emanating from the body, so it cannot be called a line of sight—and then said majesticly: "The poor monk understands, please Forgive the poor monk for his rudeness. Act of kindness." "exist." "From now on, I will obey Mr. Yamashita's command and fully assist in the search. Except for the main hall and the dharma hall, they are all open, allowing them to come and go freely. Rearrange the operation, and everything will be searched as a priority. If necessary, the poor monk will cooperate at any time. Mr. Yamashita..." "Ah, yes?" "Please try to solve it as soon as possible..." Juedan saluted again and left.Yamashita was pushed down once, and then rescued again.That is to say, being played with in the palm of the hand, there is no prestige at all.It took nearly five minutes for Yamashita to finally regain his consciousness as a police officer. "Suga, Sugawara, that..." "I understand, you are really miserable. Everything here is like this, and it will always be like this in the future. You should be mentally prepared. Hey, monk Cixing? Well, can you lend us a big room? Are you going to move the search headquarters...to there? Brother Yamashita?" "Move over there, there is nothing to investigate in Xianshilou." "Yes. Then please lend us that side, gather all the monks in a room near there, and don't let anyone leave until reinforcements arrive. If you want to practice, let them sit in meditation or kneel. And ...Ah, brother...No, brother Masuda, gather those people to the place yesterday. Can you watch them?" Those people—our interview team and Imagawa—were imprisoned again in the Inner Law Hall. When I went back to the Inner Law Hall, I saw that Toriguchi was still sound asleep. I knew he wouldn't wake up even if I called him, so I ignored him at first, but no one else seemed to want to wake him up. Masuda, Atsuko and Imagawa all looked gloomy and remained silent.It's not a definite state of inner turmoil, but a mental state that approximates the difficulty of calming down.Fanwa still looked pale, and I couldn't fathom her mood. "Mr. Sekiguchi," Masuda said, "what do you think?" I didn't think about anything. "What's there to think? I... well, Masuda-san, I'm confused. The teacher was killed. It's definitely a murder. And we were talking to the dead just a few hours ago. .Usually, this should be more...yes, more sad or shocking. I am indeed shocked. In short, it should be that kind of mood. But my current feeling, as a person...or referring to social ethics , should be very inappropriate, but to be honest, I can't germinate that kind of ordinary emotion." "This... I am the same, Mr. Sekiguchi. I have been a detective for about five years, but so far, even if it is not a big incident, I still feel righteous indignation, and I have a feeling of being a person who protects social justice. No, I'm not that strongly aware of my position as a detective. It's just that when I'm an ordinary person, it's hard to encounter murders, isn't it? So no matter how ordinary it is—although such a statement is rude to the victim— —Ordinary and accidental deaths, how can I put it? That is also a special kind of death. It is not like being killed by society one after another in war. No matter how petty the murder is, There is still a murderer, and there is a motive. Although the murder is unforgivable, compared with the mass killing in war, at least the dignity of the individual is preserved." Masuda gave up his position as a criminal police officer to monitor suspects and said so.This statement is very emotional and illogical, but I think there is some understanding. "But I always feel that it's not like that this time. It's too simple to say... Yes, there is a kind of death, and killing people is not a big deal... No, the police shouldn't say such things." "No, Masuda, I understand how you feel. Although it's not solemn, I also think it's a farce. I didn't see the scene when Monk Liao Min was killed, and of course I didn't see him in his lifetime, so even if I watched When I saw the corpse, I felt it had nothing to do with me. I thought it was because of this, but Teacher Taiquan...I talked to him and saw the scene, but..." There was a "so what" feeling. Someone killed Teacher Taiquan and inserted him upside down into the toilet. So what's the matter...? It's really, really inhuman emotion.It can't be good. I've had a couple of tragic events in the last year so I've developed inertia? No—it’s not like that, there’s no such thing. Not like that. Atsuko said: "That is... what does such a performance represent?" "show?" "Isn't that a show? Other than that, I can't think of any other words to describe the situation. It can't be that the corpse is thrown into the toilet to hide it? That's some kind of hint... No, claim? No , it really is still a performance.” "Is it a message from the murderer?" "Or... it feels like a prank." Atsuko pressed his cheeks with both hands, lost in thought. Indeed. If Teacher Taiquan was found in the state of an ordinary corpse—although I don’t know what kind of state an ordinary corpse refers to—maybe I would feel differently. The feet protruding from the toilet exude a comicity sufficient to drive away such sincere emotions as sentimentality or grief.Taiquan's corpse lost the particularity of Daxi Taiquan's personality—personality—because of the special decoration.The corpse lost even its dignity as a human being and was reduced to a comical object. So, then... "Xiao Dun, could the performance you're talking about be done to curse the deceased? To tarnish, belittle, and humiliate the personality of the former teacher Taiquan..." "But," Dunzi raised his head, "then what will Monk Ren say?" "What do you say?" "Mr. Masuda, do you think these two murders are not related to each other?" "I don't think so. It would be too coincidental to say that these two cases are separate incidents that have nothing to do with each other. This should be a serial killing incident." "In that case, the corpse on the tree...is not so much abandoned as a show, right?" "Ah, that's how it is." Masuda opened his mouth blankly, "You mean, rather than saying that the corpse was hidden and thrown there, it's more like the murderer wanted to decorate and put it there." "In that case..." Atsuko put his index finger against his forehead, "Placing it on a tree, is it an insult to the dead, Mr. Sekiguchi?" "That's... at least according to my common sense, that's not much of an insult." I think so. Inserting it into a latrine is not comparable to placing it on a tree in my opinion. "In other words, if we adopt Xiao Dun's corpse performance theory, if we don't find out that the latrine is equal to the tree, will we not be able to find out who the murderer is?" "Yes, I don't think we can find such a truth in our common sense. Maybe it's just that I don't have the knowledge and cultural literacy." "It means—is this a crime committed by an anomalous person?" Masuda made a disgusted expression. "I don't think that's right either. I don't like the term deviator, but I think it's different from the common deviance that kills people happily. These people have their own laws that cannot be universally used by the outside world, and those crimes are carried out according to those laws. But this incident—although unfounded, I have a strong feeling that the law does not emanate from within what is commonly called anomalous—is not something confined to the personal world." "yes." I regurgitate past events I was involved in. The many corpses that appeared in the incident were sometimes placed, sometimes cut up, and sometimes decapitated.In retrospect, no corpse was ordinary.In a sense, they are cursed as a person and blessed as a corpse for being unusual.Each is more than a mere corpse.The murderer or the criminal environment is necessary and indispensable in order to fulfill, maintain or destroy the delusions they harbor—which is reality to them.In their stories, those were nothing but dead bodies.So the corpses in the incident were all pure victims.Although there are corpses whose names and faces I don't even know, they are of the same quality in my mind, and they are special corpses. And this time... It seems that something is different. I think like what Atsuko said, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with personal will or delusion.No matter what kind of life Minoru Kosaka has lived through, what kind of person he is, what kind of thoughts Daxi Taiquan has, and what kind of personality he is a monk, it seems that it has nothing to do with it... It was such an event. Is it because of this environment? This place is indeed different from the lower world we live in. The detectives who wanted to unravel the truth looked closer to the Joker.The delusion that the mountain itself is a suspect is more convincing than the fallacy that all the monks in this monastery are suspects.The monks - including us - are captives taken by the mountain.And these captives seem to be being wiped out one by one by a huge will beyond human intelligence... Maybe so. ——I can’t leave here. Tai Quan said so. ——Can't leave here. — cannot open this prison. It is the prison threshold. Here—this mountain is indeed a prison threshold. So why, why did those two people... "I just thought of it..." Dunzi's voice interrupted my thinking, "Could this be a comparison?" "match?" Masuda and Imagawa reacted. "When you say comparison, you mean the one who eats water as wine and pickled radish as fried eggs. Like the one who enjoys flowers in a long house?" "Is it a comparison of expressing objects as other things in waka and haiku?" Masuda uses rakugo and Imagawa uses waka haiku to understand. "Well, that's right." Atsuko said, "Although I don't know what this is being compared to..." "A comparison..." Masuda said, turning his eyes to the ceiling. "By the way, I've read it in detective novels and the like. Is it the official history of Henggou? That's right, it's also a story about hanging corpses and decorating them..." Masuda seems to not only listen to rakugo, but also read detective novels. "Yes, as you said, Mr. Masuda. I think that only by understanding it from this perspective can we find clues to this incident. But this is just hope." "Oh, look outside for a reason?——From what I have said, this is really abstract. In other words, the meaning is not to kill people, but to act——I can understand this kind of words. In other words, the meaning of killing The motivation was because of the need to act out the dead body for that scene." In other words—does it matter who the victim is?For the murderer, the murder itself has neither motive nor inevitability, but rather the creation of that strange object is the point?So is the disobedience I feel caused by this? I don't think so. I think it should be correct to compare this view. But the idea of ​​killing people is for the sake of comparison—to be determined.Discuss. Imakawa said, "So, is Teacher Taiquan regarded as a work? I don't think so. No, I hope not. I..." "What's wrong?" "I think I was hit harder than everyone else, so this is not a calm judgment, but..." "The impact is greater? Mr. Imagawa, what do you mean? Ah, so it seems that you stayed with Teacher Taiquan for a while yesterday." Masuda suddenly resumed the tone of the criminal police and questioned Imagawa. As always, Imagawa replied in a slow and sticky tone: "Yes. Yesterday I wanted to ask the teacher about something anyway, so I stayed. Then I talked with the teacher, and the teacher told me to go again the next day .” "Go again?" Hearing this, Masuda took a breath, "Then Mr. Imagawa, did you see Mr. Taiquan today?" "Yes, I saw it." "But... Teacher Taiquan was killed today?" "But I saw the teacher. The teacher told me to go after the morning class and at the end of the morning fast, so I went to Lizhi Hall at about the end of the meal." "After the meal? Is that why you disappeared during the interview?" The interviewees—five people other than Imagawa—ate breakfast late in order to photograph the monks eating.At that time, Imagawa was ready to go out. When everyone went out for interviews again and came back at noon, he was no longer there. "Mr. Jinchuan, how long will you stay in Lizhi Palace?" "Well, it started at half past six, about thirty minutes. Then I thought about things by myself for a while, and visited the teacher again around half past eight, but the teacher was gone by then." "Then what do you do next? You also ate lunch separately from us, right?" "Yes. I have been staying here since I returned to the Inner Law Hall. At noon, Yingsheng brought me lunch, but everyone didn't come back, so I used it alone first, and then went to the Lizhi Hall again But the teacher still didn't come back, I wanted to see the teacher no matter what, so I wandered around in the monastery, and the result was..." "The commotion over the discovery of the body?" "Yes, that's all." "That's all, Mr. Imagawa." Masuda retracted his slender chin, "According to the circumstances, your testimony is very important. Speaking of which, why do you want to see Teacher Taiquan so much?" "Hmm..." Imagawa showed incredible eyes, "It's a long story but it seems short..." "Didn't you come here because you wanted to know about the relationship between Minoru Kosaka and your cousin? Regarding this matter, didn't Teacher Taiquan tell you everything he knew at that time? We heard it too. Besides Besides, what else do you want to know?" "Well, it's about enlightenment—no, it's about art—and it's not right. It's about things that slip away when put into words." "what?" That being said, Taiquan also told Imagawa yesterday. —You already understand. —If you try to put it into words, it will slip away. What is that talking about?I remember we were discussing art or something.In this way, Imagawa seemed to have a deep feeling at that time. Imagawa said slowly, "I was born into a family of artists." "artist?" "But it's actually a family of artisans." "artisan?" "And the two are the same, thinking about this kind of thing itself... Ah, I still can't explain clearly." When Imagawa said this, the incredible face was tangled together and fell into boredom. Masuda showed a completely unconvincing look: "I don't understand, Mr. Imagawa. The craftsman you are talking about is the person who makes wooden barrels and paints the walls, right? The artist is the person who draws some inexplicable paintings and makes some strange sculptures." ? It's not the same at all." "No, it's the same. No, it's a little strange to say the same, but as long as I try to explain this, it will slip away anyway." "Oh... that's something that can't be expressed in words?" "Yes. I used to think that as long as I painted well, I could become an artist. But this idea was corrected by my father. I couldn't understand it, and I fell into frustration. I just walked all the way. I didn't understand anything. I wanted to What’s wrong with painting well. But yesterday I heard what Teacher Taiquan said, and I felt that I understood. But I thought to myself that just feeling understood does not mean I really understood, so I stayed and asked the teacher for advice. I asked the teacher: Understanding and feeling understood are the same. Is it different?" "Oh, and then?" "The teacher said, it's the same. But the teacher also said that even though you understand, you just feel that you understand, and it's the same as not understanding." "I don't understand at all. It contradicts the answer I just gave." "I think so too. So, I asked the teacher which side is it? As a result, Teacher Taiquan told me a koan." "Kanan? Oh, that brain teaser. What kind of content?" For Imagawa who came to ask for advice, the teacher’s koan was as follows: Once upon a time, a monk asked his master. "Do dogs have Buddha-nature?" Master replied on the spot: "Yes." The monk then asked, "Then why do dogs look like animals?" The master replied: "Because it knows that it has Buddha nature, but it does evil karma, which is caused by karma." The other monks asked the same question again. "Do dogs have Buddha-nature?" As a result, Master replied on the spot this time: "No." So the monk asked, "Why not?" The master replied: "Because it does not know that it has Buddha nature, and it is caused by the confusion of ignorance." This seems to be a koan called "Gouzi Buddha Nature". Among the many koans, this is also the basic of the basics.Of course, I have absolutely no idea of ​​its provenance and age, nor can I judge how correct the modern Chinese interpretation is.First of all, Imagawa's memory is not necessarily trustworthy, and Mr. Taiquan may tamper with it arbitrarily when he narrates.All in all, this is what the teacher told Imagawa about the koan. "I don't understand," Masuda said, "both of these are based on the Buddha nature—the so-called Buddha nature is the nature of the Buddha, right?—the premise of having the Buddha nature? Obviously there is, and if you don't know it, you don't have it. I know there is, but do you still have it after doing bad things? It’s not good to have it... No, that’s not the case. I don’t understand that kind of sophistry.” "Well, I also told the teacher that I didn't understand. As a result, Teacher Taejun said, 'No, you should understand.'" "Oh? Even if others say you should understand, it will only increase the confusion. So at that time, is there anything wrong with Teacher Taiquan?" "Well, when he told me about Gouzi's Buddha nature, the teacher said: 'Ah, so that's the case.' It seemed that he had discovered something, and he seemed to understand." "Is that so? Did he say that?" "Yes. And after I finished speaking, the teacher said to me with a cheerful expression: 'I see, that's it, Imagawa, thank you very much.'" "Thank you with a bright face? What's the matter?" "Then the teacher said: 'You've already understood it, so come back tomorrow after another night.'" "Thank you, and tell you to go again? Then Mr. Imagawa, have you been thinking about the case all night—but only for a few hours?" "Yes. Even if the teacher told me not to think about it, I still couldn't help but think about it. But, I'm not thinking about the answer, I'm just thinking about it carefully, and the result..." "In the end...Mr. Imagawa, did you come up with the answer to it?" "Well, I have that feeling... No, it's not like that, how should I put it..." Imagawa finished his breakfast by himself and waited for the interview team—our return.But we came back in a hurry, and Imagawa completely missed the opportunity to explain this delicate experience.Indeed, we looked very busy eating.During that time, Imagawa was still thinking about the case, and when he noticed it, we left to interview again. Imagawa had no choice but to go to Lizhi Hall alone. At first he called out at the entrance, but no one answered, and he couldn't even feel the human breath. Imagawa wondered if he had missed the opportunity and didn't know what to do, so he walked around the building. "At that time... By the way, Zhetong was there." "Where?" "He came out of the mountain directly behind the Lizhi Hall. From the relevant position, it is equivalent to the back of the Daxiong Hall. I called him out, but he ignored me. He was dressed the same as before, and went to the third gate. Went there." Imagawa went back to the entrance again, went around again, walked outside the room where we met last night, and tried to call Tae-jun's name from the window.As a result, a voice came from the other side of the paper window this time. "who is it?" "I'm Imakawa." "Imakawa?" "Antique dealer Imagawa." "Well, oh, it's the antique dealer Imagawa." "Excuse me, is it the teacher?" "Yeah yeah." "About the Koan about Gouzi's Buddha nature that the teacher told me last night..." "Dog's Buddha nature?" "Yes. I've thought about that a lot." "That's it, Gouzi's Buddha nature, have you unlocked it?" "Well, that's what I thought..." "You unlocked it! Mr. Imagawa!" Masuda made a strangely high-pitched voice. "I don't think I've solved it, I just thought it should be there but it wasn't, so I told the teacher so." "What? Oh, it was also said yesterday that there was no solution to the case." Masuda tilted his head slightly.Atsuko said: "No, Mr. Imagawa thinks that dogs do not have Buddha-nature is the correct answer, right?" "Huh? But it's not that there is no, it is basic to have, but there is no... Uh, it's so hard to understand." Imagawa explained to the two of them with a strange expression: "Uh...it's not like that, what I want to say is that it's the same whether you have it or not." "what?" "I think dogs have Buddha nature, but that's the same as not having it." "Uh, Imagawa-san, I don't understand at all. Then what did the teacher say?" Upon hearing Imagawa's answer, the teacher's voice from inside immediately became animated. That being said, last night the teacher also changed several timbres. "Amazing, amazing insight." "Oh, is that the correct answer?" "Kanan doesn't seem to have such a thing as a correct answer. It's just that the teacher continued to say so." "Mountains, rivers, plants, and trees all have Buddha nature. Everything in the world has an image but has no image. It comes from nothing and returns to nothing." It is said that the teacher said so to himself, laughing out loud.Then he said: "Continue to study further, let's perish the body and die. There is nothing, nothing, that's good. It was also said in "Wumenguan": "Does a dog still have Buddha nature?" Zhou said: 'No, nothing.' Simply." "What scripture is that? I don't understand it at all." "I don't quite understand the meaning either, but understand-understand is not a good word, it seems to be the source of confusion. Difficult to understand. I don't understand, but..." "You have figured it out, Mr. Imagawa." Atsuko said. "I don't know if such a trivial matter can be called comprehension—I don't understand it and it pops up again. Language is such a thing. It's too complicated, so I'll repeat it as Miss Chuzenji said. I don't know. Got it, but I got it." "What kind of comprehension?" "Oh. That is to say, everything is nothing. Since everything is nothing, it is the same whether there is or is not. So, the first question I asked last night was the question of whether understanding and feeling understood are the same. Its answer... ..." "you understood?" "To borrow Miss Dunzi's words, it means understanding. I can't explain it subtly, but it's like this: Even if I understand, but the moment I feel that I understand, it becomes the same as not understanding. That is to say, I feel that I understand, and I explain to myself that I have understood. The state of this matter. In fact, I have understood it, but lost its essence in the stage of explanation. So when I feel that I understand it, although I understand it, it is the same as not understanding it. There is no need to explain it. It is already understood by living itself This matter is truly understood.” "Hmm..." Masuda held his head. "In other words, when drawing a picture, you have to turn yourself into paper and pen. When you treat paper as paper and pen as pen, that's just superficial technology..." I can not understand.Logically, it's not that I don't understand it, but it doesn't have a sense of reality.That difference may be the difference between understanding and understanding.Anyway, I just don't get it. But despite this feeling, the difference between understanding and comprehension is actually just a substitution of words and sentences?我觉得那只是将它替换为修辞的问题，借此获得安心罢了。 而且我也不觉得今川这个我隐约能够理解的逻辑是从老师的话导出来的。里面似乎有某种不可估量的跳跃，那么那种跳跃是否能够不是跳跃，或许就是领悟与未领悟的差别。 “总觉得好深奥啊，这就叫哲学吗？” 益田说。敦子间不容发地开口：“益田先生，听说禅并非哲学哟。要是把禅说成哲学，我哥哥可是会大发雷霆的。” 虽然我没听说过京极堂对于哲学的看法，但是从敦子现在的说法来看，京极堂似乎把它摆在与禅距离相当远的地方。目前我无法区别这两者的差别。 益田不认识京极堂，只是缩起脖子说“是”。 今川继续说道：“虽然我获得了这渺小的领悟——不过听说领悟不是可以获得的——但是我并不是刚听完老师的话就立刻到达这样的境地。是我离开理致殿，前往这栋内律殿之后才想到的。虽然我无法理解老师的话，却不断地咀嚼，才总算领悟。所以我再一次前往理致殿，因为我无论如何都想告诉泰全老师这样的境地。那是……对，八点半左右，但是这次不管我怎么呼唤，都没有响应了。” 那么，泰全是在七点到八点半之间被杀害的吗？ 益田佩服地说：“原来如此啊。那么今川先生，已经领悟的你，认为这次的那个并非比拟是吧？” “请别再说什么领悟了，”今川说，“会被真正的觉者给斥责的。说到我为何觉得那并非比拟，是因为我亲眼目睹了了稔和尚与泰全老师两方的现场，却没办法将它们看成其他任何事物。” “没办法将它们看成其他任何事物？” “是的。了稔和尚的尸体，在我看来只是个坐着的和尚。哦，它一开始是在树上，所以是坐在树上的和尚吧。完全就是这样。而泰全和尚看起来只像是被倒插在茅厕的尸体。换言之，这若是比拟，了稔和尚便是被比拟为'在树上坐禅的和尚'，而泰全老师被比拟为'被倒插在茅厕里的和尚'了。” “原来如此——那不是比拟，根本就是那个样子。” “啊，这样啊……”敦子再次按住脸颊，“所谓比拟，是把对象当做其他别的东西才叫比拟呢。那些遗体除了那样以外，看起来什么都不像——什么都不像呢。真的。换句话说，那果然只是一种下流的演出吗……？” 敦子似乎回忆起陈尸现场。 被倒插在茅厕里的难看尸体。 完全不是什么比拟。 that kind of thing... 那种东西并未象征任何事物。 那丑陋的模样，果然只是在冒渎死者而已吗？这若是单纯的恶作剧，那就太残酷了。是出于强烈恶意的行径吗？不，这也不对。我觉得不对。 今川开口道：“是的。那若是比拟，比拟的还真是奇形怪状的东西。无论泰全老师是被比拟成什么怪东西，或者是因为这样而被杀，我都觉得……很难过。我希望有什么其他不得不如此的理由。虽然只认识了相当短暂的时间，但我觉得自己好像成了老师的弟子。如此罢了。” 今川有着他自己的感慨。 我对今川感到有些歉疚。 我没有把泰全当做一个人。 益田和敦子也都沉默了。 鸟口的鼾声传来。 什么都不知道，真是太舒服了。 “对了，饭洼小姐。” 益田想起来似的唤道，饭洼靠在纸门后面坐着。 只看得见她的脚尖。 益田出声之后，迟了一拍，饭洼的脸才从纸门后面露出来。 面容憔悴。益田看到她，开口问：“我想反正等一下你会被问到，为了慎重起见，我还是先请教一下。山下先生已经发飙了，要是我一问三不知，到时候会被骂的。采访结束后，你似乎也个别行动了，你去了哪里？是什么时候离开的？” 饭洼悄悄看了敦子一眼。 敦子敏感地察觉她的态度。“哎呀，益田先生不是一直都醒着吗？饭洼姐可是好好地向你报备后才出门的呀。对吧？”像是捉弄对方似的说道。 益田搔了搔头：“中禅寺小姐真是坏心眼呢。其实吃完饭之后，我忍不住小憩了一下。虽然没有鸟口先生睡得那么熟。” 稍微一瞄，鸟口还在睡。他的睡相非比寻常。远超过熟睡，根本是不省人事了。话说回来，益田对敦子的态度似乎越来越亲昵了。 饭洼以微弱的声音说：“我……去了仁秀先生那里。” “仁秀先生？是那个以前就住在这里的老人吗？为什么？” “嗯……我有些……感兴趣。” “饭洼小姐，唔，我不是在怀疑你，可是你是不是知道些什么，又瞒着没说？” "what?" “益田先生，你这话太过分了。你在怀疑饭洼姐吗？就连益田先生都把我们……” “啊？中禅寺小姐，不是的。基本上我是相信大家的。相信是相信，但那是认为你们应该不是凶手的信任。只是你们也有可能知道一些我们所不知道的事实，却隐瞒……不，还没有告诉我们，所以……” 益田的姿势越来越低，最后结论变得含糊不清。 他的心情也不是不能够理解。饭洼的举动——特别是来到这座明慧寺之后的态度，明显地脱离常轨。仔细回想，一开始提议留宿采访的也是她。虽然最后除了菅原刑警之外，其他人都留下来过夜，但是她也表现出就算只有自己一个人也要住下来的气派。不，我有一种她一开始就打算要留宿在此的印象。而且——对于往来于雪中的神秘云水，还有那个不会成长的迷途孩童——准确地来说是她的原型女孩阿铃，她也…… 她知道些什么。 这么说来，榎木津也很介意饭洼。 ——你既然知道的话就早说啊。 这是榎木津说过的话。当时我照字面的意思去理解奇矫的侦探的话，认为饭洼是目击者，会注意到什么也不奇怪，但是那段发言或许有着更深的含义。 榎木津看见了什么吗？ ——看样子和尚太多了。 榎木津还这么说。他看见和尚了吗？不管怎么样，益田会起疑也是理所当然的。 敦子庇护饭洼似的说道：“可是益田先生，这次我们会来到这座明慧寺，是近乎偶然的。要是明慧寺拒绝采访，我们就不会来了。饭洼姐不可能和这个地方有私人的关系。” “中禅寺小姐，虽然你这么说，但是他们答应采访，应该是相当久以前的事了吧？” “嗯，是这样没错。” “而且这次的采访，也是因为得到调查脑波的许可才企划的吧？” "This... yes." “换句话说，你们收到回信，得到调查的允诺，才要求采访；原本调查脑波的委托，是在更早之前。而这座寺院的信件往返相隔一个月左右，所以至少从四个月以前开始，饭洼小姐就与这座明慧寺有关系了——不对吗？” “唔，是这样没错……” “而且饭洼小姐昨天自己说过，她虽然不知道这座明慧寺的名称，却从以前就知道它的存在。再加上她似乎是在这附近出生的——我也不想怀疑，但是她有十足的理由受到怀疑。而且就算我不怀疑，山下先生也在怀疑了。” "That's right..." “好了，敦子。”饭洼总算发出像样的声音来，“其实我……没错，我有事相瞒。” “饭洼姐，你真的……” “敦子，对不起。我完全没想到会发生这样的事，可是没办法。” “是和犯罪有关的事吗？” “我想是……没有。” “若是方便，可以请你一并告诉我你今天的行动吗？” “我在找人，”饭洼说道，“我在找一个人。然后，实在是太过于巧合……可是，我觉得应该不可能有这种事……” “不管是什么事，都请尽管说吧。刑警益田龙一会视情况捂住耳朵的，我的目标是成为一个可以通融的警官。” “这种信念我想还是不要大大咧咧地标榜比较好哟，益田先生。” 敦子说，益田便“嘿嘿嘿”笑着，说道：“哎，也是啦。我只是想说现在既不是讯问也不是侦讯，所以……” 于是，饭洼响应益田要求，总算吞吞吐吐地开始述说自己的事。 “我出生在小涌谷上游，蛇骨川旁的一个小聚落。现在老家已经搬到仙石原了，不过直到战前，我们都一直住在那里。是发生在那里的事。” 饭洼述说时，依旧低垂着头。 “那是个小聚落。产业几乎都是锯木加工，我家也是靠着收入微薄的渔获——大多是捕捉早饭吃的鱼而已——再来就是锯木加工了。家父一整天转着辘轳，主要做些响陀螺、掷套圈环等玩具。当时那一带的一般传统家庭似乎都是如此，不过我小的时候家境贫苦，家母必须外出采伐原木，贴补家用。家父总是说，以前日子过得更加悠闲。家兄在宫之下的旅馆就职，家境变得宽裕一些后，家父过世了，那是昭和十二年的事。那个时候，我就读宫之下的一般小学。学校很远，上学非常辛苦，但是还有从更远的地方来的孩子，我也不敢有所抱怨……不，那个时候过得非常快乐。那是……对了，是家父亡故三年之后的事。” 十三年前，昭和十五年正月的事。 中日战争爆发后第三个新年，以纪元二千六百年如此欣欣向荣的宣传展开的那一年，我记忆犹新。 那一年对我而言，与去年同样是无法忘怀的一年。这对现在身在仙石楼的久远寺老人来说也是一样吧。所以我记得非常清楚。 那一年的正月，我还是个学生。 由于白米禁止令，吃的是碾去七成谷壳的米制成的、黑得像木炭的年糕。被粗野捣蛋的学生强灌的酒，则是混了三成以上清水的掺水酒。 因为军需需求等原因，景气蓬勃，但那只是片面的宣传，由于物资缺乏，奢侈被视为罪恶。举国上下彻底执行俭约、自律体制，就像不久后即将造访的太平洋战争的前奏曲，逐渐腐蚀、扰乱人心。 就是那个时候的事。 饭洼述说道。 当时饭洼十三岁。 益田既没有搭腔也没有打岔，只是听着。可能是因为他看不出追述会在哪里与事件发生关联吧。 饭洼居住的聚落有一户富裕的人家。 据说是大正末期迁居而来的人家。 姓松宫的那户人家的家长既非工匠也非农民，而是个企业家。虽然不知道他的本业，但是他出资兴建箱根水厂，输入箱根木工艺用的漆，并进行原木采伐，统筹木工艺的买卖，甚至投资采石场，事业经营得相当广泛。当然那些原本都是当地人所经营的事业，所以发生了相当大的摩擦，但是本人完全不当做一回事。 他很有钱。或许插手当地的产业，只是他一时兴起罢了。因为那些都是赚不了钱的零碎事业，就算四处插手，利润也十分微薄。在努力经营的当地居民眼里，他是个令人极度嫌恶的存在，纠纷遂无可避免地产生了。 让他与地方间发生主要争执的，就是汽车。昭和初期，从大平台到底仓村——也就是所谓的温泉村——的物资搬运几乎全靠称为“马力”的货运马车帮忙。货运汽车全村加起来也只有一台，非常不便。在这种环境下，松宫家却奢侈地拥有自家用的货车。若是有效地加以利用，它将给当地带来莫大的贡献。尽管如此，松宫除了自家用以外，绝不使用那辆车子，更遑论为村落出借车子了。这个人似乎是只顾自扫门前雪，不管他人瓦上霜的类型。 松宫某人有两个孩子。 大一点的是男孩，名叫仁(hitoshi)。 饭洼说她并不确定是不是“仁”这个字。 仁不像父亲，是一个人品高尚的年轻人。 当时他似乎才十七八岁，却反抗父亲的做法，连学校也不上了，劝谏父亲必须作为村民的一员，为全村的发展尽心尽力。 父亲对他的话置若罔闻，即便如此，仁依然不放弃，想说只有自己也好，积极地主动与村民交流。尽管他还年轻，却是个相当有主见的青年。 然而看在村人眼中，他毕竟是个外来者，就算乳臭未干的小子拼命地奉献服务，想要促进地区繁荣，看不顺眼的还是看不顺眼。再加上也有偏见。因为他是松宫家的孩子，一开始就被人用有色眼光看待。虽说是无可奈何之事，但仁的计划似乎相当不顺利。 为何年幼的饭洼会知道这些事？因为她和仁的妹妹同年级。就算是外来者、暴发户、受村人排挤的人家的孩子，那里也毕竟是个小村落。年幼的两人也因为年纪相同，感情非常融洽。 饭洼的儿时玩伴——仁的妹妹，名叫铃子。 “铃……子？”此时益田总算出声了，“咦？我记得那个长袖和服姑娘也是叫这个名字——是叫阿铃吗？啊？” 那一年新年—— 松宫家在火灾中烧毁了。 “门松都还没拿下来，不过这一带挂的不是松，而是杨桐。嗯，是一月三日发生的事。” “火灾？全部烧毁了吗？” “完全烧毁。那里难得发生火灾，所以当消防团赶到时，已经……” “原因难不成是纵火？” “似乎不是意外。最后好像还是查不出是失火还是纵火，但是似乎有盗贼闯入的迹象。依常理来判断，应该是纵火才对。” “那是当然的吧。可是有盗贼闯入的根据是什么？是强盗吗？” “遗体不是被烧死的。” "what?" “铃子的父亲和母亲的死因是遭殴打致死，是杀人事件。” “哦，强盗杀人又纵火吗？真是凶恶的犯罪哪。” “不，所以说，发生火灾和杀人事件是事实，但是不是强盗以及是不是纵火都不清楚。也有可能是失火之后，趁乱打死男女主人吧。” “如果是偶然失火的话啦。” “因为失火，所以萌生了杀意，这也是有可能的。而且似乎有理由推断并不是强盗。松宫家有三名外国佣人，但那三名佣人都是单纯被烧死的。没有抵抗的迹象，也就是逃生不及，以盗贼入侵而言有些不自然。至少不是强行闯入。强盗不被佣人发现而打死男女主人并且放火——说奇怪也是奇怪。” “是蛮奇怪的呢。平常的话，那应该是行窃失风吧？躲过佣人的耳目偷偷潜进去行窃，却被主人发现，因此杀人并且放火。” “嗯。只是那个时候，警方也判断挟怨杀人比行窃的可能性更大。因为松宫以半带好玩的心态扰乱当地的产业，招来相当多的怨恨，当地盛传大多是这个原因。” “啊，这我了解，应该就是这样吧。那凶手呢？” “这件事就像益田先生你们说的，成了悬案。” “哦，成了悬案啦……”益田交握双手，望向天花板，“这样啊，嗯……咦？这么说来，松宫家的儿子——仁吗？还有女儿——铃子呢？” “嗯，年终的时候，仁哥和父亲大吵一架，离家出走了，所以保住了一条命。但是铃子她……” “铃子她呢？” “火灾现场找不到她的遗体。” “逃走了吗……？” “不知道，行踪不明。” “行踪不明？消失了吗？” “不过，有几个人看到有一个女孩边哭边往山里走去。” “山里？为什么？” “不晓得。而那个走进山里的女孩……据说穿着长袖的盛装和服。” “长、长袖和服？这……” “嗯，就是长袖和服。当时崇尚节约才是美德，更何况深山里的荒村，很少有女孩能够穿到盛装和服。不，我们的村子里只有铃子一个人有那种和服。我记得当时我也是羡慕万分，而那天铃子也穿着长袖和服。所以如果证词是真的，那九成九是铃子不会错。所以……” “啊……！”我忍不住发出呜咽般的声音。 穿着长袖和服深入山林的少女。 那就是“不会成长的迷路孩童”。 就那样一直…… impossible…… “不可能有那种事！” 阿铃不可能是铃子，那么…… “嗯，当然了。关口老师，不可能有那种事。那场火灾之后，已经过了十三年之久，我也已经二十六岁了。后来战争爆发，战争结束，时局也有了重大的变化。这一带大肆开发，我原本住的聚落也已经没有了。然而却只有铃子还是原来的模样，这绝对不可能。绝对不可能。明明不可能，这里却……” 饭洼开始失去冷静。“这里却有个穿着长袖和服的十三岁的阿铃！所以……” 饭洼无力地垂下头来。“所以我……” 一定震惊极了吧。 昨晚得知阿铃的存在时，她会错乱成那样，也是情有可原的。 就连旁观者的我在得知背后的缘由之后，也几乎要陷入错乱了。 十三年之间，时间完全停止的女孩。不会成长的迷路孩童。 那是——妖怪。 就像京极堂说的，这种看法真的令人感到十分稳当。但是另一方面，那个名叫阿铃的女孩实际存在，也是不争的事实。无论看起来有多么的梦幻，也没有任何一种怪异会如此堂堂正正地出现在众人面前。正因为如此…… 正因为如此，才让人觉得不对劲。没办法把她当成妖怪处理，但我们却也没有足够的情报来导出科学而且合理的结论。换句话说，只能够把它当成不了解的事，放弃理解。 "That day..." 我无谓的思绪徐徐融人饭洼的话里，烟消云散。 “其实，火灾那一天的中午，我和铃子见面了。” “咦？这样吗？那你一定很……唔……” 难过吧——益田是想这么说吧。饭洼维持着遥望的眼神，十三年前的情景似乎在她的视线前方扩展开来。 “她穿着长袖和服，就像人偶一样，好漂亮。铃子平常就非常在意仁哥的事，她说再这样下去，不是爸爸不见，就是仁哥会不见……不，爸爸不会不见，所以一定是仁哥会离开。十三岁这个年纪，已经是可以出外帮佣的年龄了，所以大部分的事也都懂了。铃子很喜欢哥哥，而最后仁哥真的离开了。虽然知道他大致的去处，铃子却不能够大过年期间自己跑去找。所以她才会偷偷地把我叫出来吧……” "why?" “为了和仁哥取得联络，我……