Chapter 12 Chapter nine

Do not want to enter the room. Wanting to leave everything behind and disappear without a trace. I want to go back to Fujimi House... no, I want to go back to my own home. Fanwa sat sideways a little far away from me, with a dazed expression on his face.The only remaining police officer, Masuda, was lying on a low table far away.I looked at the courtyard at night, listening to the swaying of the branches on the trees that I shouldn't have heard. Detective Sugawara tied up the old man Jiuyuan Temple and took him away. Monk Renru was also taken to Minghui Temple in a near-escort form, accompanied by the criminal policeman Jitian.

——Everyone will never come back again. I think so, can't get out.So even here... - What are you waiting for? Wait, no one will come. I heard that Kanno was killed. I don't know what I feel right now. Of course, no one asked me to comment.Nothing is nothing, but in other words.What I don't understand is how I explain it to myself. I have never met Kanno, but he does exist among me.However, Kanno among me died as early as last summer.That dead Kanno was killed today, they said. There is no point in killing the dead. Even if I heard that the dead had died, I would not be able to answer.

They said that the one who killed Kanno was—Kuenji Jiaqin. This is impossible. Because in his heart, Kanno should also be dead.Even if he meets a living Kanno, it is impossible for him to burst out with killing intent.Even if you see a ghost, you will be taken aback.I would not think of killing him, but only prayed for him to become a Buddha as soon as possible. Always feel so stupid. When I think about it this way, I feel so lonely suddenly. "Masuda." I called Masuda in a low voice, but there was no answer. Maybe fell asleep. The criminal police of Minghui Temple did not come back after all.Ordered by Sugawara, who was not his boss, to stand by, Masuda honestly waited for them wholeheartedly in this hall, and finally fell asleep.

Kyogokudo did not act. As for Fukizu, it seems that he is also wanted. But that detective likes to attract attention, so he will be caught in no time. So what the hell is he doing here? The same goes for Toriguchi and Atsuko, even though they were still together in the morning, and now they only went to a place that can be reached by walking for an hour and a half, but I even felt like we were separated forever. No one will come back, no way to leave that mountain. That mountain, once you enter it, you can never get out again - the prison threshold. That's why Fukizu went back. So Jingjitang refused to go up.

So I…… Am I in prison? Or stay out of prison? I. I call Fanwa. "Miss Iikubo..." As soon as I called out, Fan Kua suddenly raised his head. I haven't seen her smile yet. "Nothing……" I don't know much about it. "I..." But Iiwa seemed to understand something, "I...have always forgotten." "what?" "I forgot something important." "Important matter?" Sand—snow fell. I can't talk back properly. Even so, Iikubo said on his own: "Mr. Sekiguchi, do you know such a thing?..." "what?"

The room is so big. The electric lighting couldn't illuminate every place, and Fanwa's shadow became thinner, as vague as a silhouette reflected on a paper door.In landscapes that are crystal clear but feel grainy, I think her thin form fits perfectly. Her voice sounded like she was speaking to a child. "Centipede..." "Centipede?" "Well, centipedes... centipedes, here, don't they have many legs? Although I don't know how many there are..." "Ok." "Then, a person asked the centipede: You have so many legs, how can you be so dexterous and manipulate them one by one?"

"Ok." "As a result, the centipede became contemplative and rethought how he moved his feet, but he couldn't figure it out. As a result, he couldn't move his feet anymore. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't move. Finally he died..." "Oh……" "Even if you don't have to think about why, in fact, everyone understands it and lives every day like this. But once you think about it and put it into words, it becomes inexplicable, and you can't move anymore..." In the dim, warm-colored lighting, she who had been firmly refusing something, became extremely chatty for some reason.Iiwa wasn't talking to me.

She is speaking to the void. She and Songgong Renru... Is that how you speak? "Have you and him... had a good talk?" I asked. Before, it was really difficult for me to open my mouth to ask what exactly Fankubo and Matsumiya were talking about at that time.It's not so much that it's difficult to speak, it's better to say that I haven't had a good conversation with her.But for some reason, he was able to ask frankly now.In this imaginary scene, I don't know why I can face it calmly. Fanwa sighed lightly. Then she said in a bird-like voice, "I...have a lot to say to him."

"Not enough time?" "No, it turned out that nothing...was not communicated to him." "Not communicated to him...? What do you mean?" "There is only one sentence to convey to him, which is about Miss A Ling." "Oh." The reason for the sudden change in benevolence is indeed Ah Ling. Renru didn't see Ah Ling in Minghui Temple.If he hadn't seen it, the monks would never have taken the initiative to tell him about A-Ling, so Renru had no way of knowing her existence.The monks never imagined that the visiting monks would be Ah Ling's relatives.So he must have heard what Fanku said before he knew there was a girl called Ah Ling.If it weren't for this, he wouldn't be so confused all of a sudden.

"I always feel... exhausted, I think, I still can't beat Suzuko." I don't quite understand what she means. Fan Kua answered absent-mindedly: "We finally met, finally we really met..." Her tone, as if that meeting has been a distant past. Matsunomiya Renru, a monk with a sound and demeanor that is annoying. A good young man who conforms to the model in all emotions and sorrows. "You said...you have always regretted not being able to deliver the letter Miss Suzuko gave you to him." Regrets lingering on the letter from thirteen years ago... "Regret? Well, I don't regret it, but I don't quite understand this part, and I don't understand it anyway. Did I forget...or can't remember, or didn't know at the beginning..."

"It's all the same." "Really? But, what happened thirteen years ago, I remember it all the time. Whether it is falling asleep or waking up, it has always occupied a part of my heart. However, once it is necessary to explain it in words, it doesn't matter what I can't explain it clearly. I always feel...wrong." I understand that very well. "I used to like him... like Brother Ren." "You like him..." "I like it very much, and Suzuko and I are also very close. Although I know that their family is squeezed out by people in the village, these two things don't have much to do with each other..." "Then, you keep looking for him because..." "No." Iiwa said. "Isn't it?..." "I'm not very good at saying what's wrong, maybe it's just like that. However, I have been looking for Brother Ren for the past thirteen years, not because I like him or want to see him, not because of this, but how to put it... Yes , I want to fill the sense of loss in my heart. It is not so much loss, it is more like a kind of anxiety that cannot be resorted to words, a kind of..." "So, is it filled?" "I can't fill it in, Sekiguchi-sensei. He's like a puppet, talking about things that can't be understood. Whenever I say something, he gradually goes away. And I speak to fill the gap. , but the more we talk about it, the further apart we are. Ridiculous, right?" Fanwa laughed for the first time. This must be soliloquy.Because the current me is like air, so I can talk like this. "I said it desperately, because no matter what, these words have been piled up in my heart for thirteen years, but they always slip away. People often say that once they are said, they will slip away, but they don't slip away. It's like hiding in a dark place like a prison. We have many prison keys called language, but none of them are right. The more we try, the more wrong we get. When I told him about the love letter, he... " "love letter?" I sound like those two words. Fanwa's voice stopped. "Love letter...what do you mean?" "Teacher Guankou...what did you say?" "You just said a love letter." "what?" Iiwa's silhouette froze. Sand—snow fell. "Miss Iikubo, have you read the letter?" "what?" "If that wasn't the case, how would you know it was a love letter? It was a love letter, right? My sister wrote it to my brother." "what……" That is the key of the prison. "what……" Ah, the lock is open. This feeling - I understand. The gates of memory are opened and what is important is liberated. The moment it is liberated, it withers into a vulgar thing like language, is dismantled to the point where its body is incomplete, and turns into clouds, smoke and dust in a blink of an eye, disappearing without a trace. To remember is to kill the memory. "Ah I……" "Miss Iikubo, if you say it..." What is said is over. The words spoken... "I read the letter." Iikubo's memory died. "Did you... read it?" "Well, I read it." The silhouetted woman turned her face to me, who was like air. "Then, I gave it to Suzuko's father." "Father... Is Matsumiya Jinichiro?..." "Yeah", Fanwa started to move greatly, "A-Ling, A-Ling must be..." "A Ling? Are you A Ling from Minghui Temple?" "Ah, it was me, I killed it..." "Did you kill? What you killed meant..." "I was the one who ruined their family. I killed Suzuko. Suzuko cried and fled into the mountains, and never came back. Red flames, blue flames, blazing flames, many mice escaped I put the envelope, the envelope with Mr. Zhiren written on it, into the fire and burned it!" "what does that mean?" Fanwa swayed and fell down. I hurriedly approached and helped Fanwa up. "I……" "Hey, cheer up. Masuda, hey!" "W-what's wrong? What happened?" "I killed it..." It was Makura Too who screamed.In front of the Great Sun Hall, the thatched cottage directly behind the Daxiong Hall, Tuo Xiong was paralyzed all over. At the entrance of the thatched cottage, Nakajima Yukina's rock-like face lay prone sideways, with black blood flowing all over the floor. The entrance door was open, and there were two monks there, with Yuan Juedan standing behind them. At that moment, Toriguchi was extremely shocked. It seems to take a long time for the stimulus of shock to translate into a human emotion.So no matter how much Toriguchi stared at the corpse, no human emotion such as sadness or regret would emerge. A corpse is just an object. Objects have neither dignity nor majesty. That kind of thing is just a title, not what the body itself possesses, it is added.Maybe it was because he didn't see the body when Taizen-sensei was killed, which made him feel so empty, Toriguchi thought. Just ten minutes ago... The criminal policemen heard the screams, and ran out vigilantly. Toriguchi received Yamashita's instructions, first sent the old man Kuonji to the building where Imagawa was located, and then ran with all his strength to catch up with the detectives.The distance is quite far, if not in this silent mountain, the screams would be absolutely inaudible. Yamashita appeared to be the first to arrive on the scene.He yelled "Wow", and the detectives who arrived afterward were all dumbfounded.Atsuko, who was coming up behind Toriguchi, let out a short, weak scream, the first time Toriguchi heard Atsuko's scream. Tuoxiong yelled: "No, it wasn't the poor monk, no, I didn't kill it. I didn't do anything! Jue, feel that Dan is here, feel..." "This... what's going on here! Guanshou, please explain!" Toriguchi heard the sharp sound, turned his head and saw that Yamashita was staring at Guansou. Detective Sugawara squatted down to observe the thing that fell on the ground, then looked back at the standing boss and shook his head several times.It means that the thing that fell there was not the wounded Woohyun, but Woohyun's body.Toriguchi thought that he would know it just by looking at it, and he was really cautious. Police Bu-Yamashita called Yaya and said, "Guan, Guanshou! Is this a challenge to the police... no, to the country ruled by law? Is this kind of thing allowed here in this Minghui Temple? I, I've had enough..." Guanshou's expression was completely invisible. Even the pupils under those sleepy half-closed eyelids were looking at the corpse.Or looking at Yamashita who was speaking, Toriguchi couldn't tell. Guanshou—Juedan replied calmly: "The poor monk has no idea at all! Mr. Yamashita, the poor monk will return to you the speech you just made! Even though there are so many police officers present, how many Yunshui talents from this temple have to be sacrificed?" Willing? This is the negligence of the police! If our country is advertised as a country ruled by law, but allows such crimes to run rampant, it is the police who are insulting the country!" Guanshou's words are still full of majesty in this situation. ——This guy is also a monster. Toriguchi felt that way.He only saw Juedan's back when he was chanting sutras. From behind, he looked majestic, but from the front, he looked as majestic as if he was wearing cassock.Police Department Yamashita fought the monster bravely with his eyes, but suddenly turned his eyes to Youxian, and said weakly: "Yes, I feel the same way, I feel the same way. We don't understand anything. We can't do anything. In the face of the vicious serial killings, I... No, our police are too powerless, but I will not let the murderer go. This person, Mr. Nakajima was still talking to me just thirty minutes ago, but now ..." Then he took a deep breath and said as if exhaling: "I will not forgive this kind of thing." Hearing his words, Detective Sugawara stood up and said rudely, "Brother Yamashita... No, Director of the Search, I understand how you feel, but..." Then he glanced at Kansou, stood in front of his boss and said, "Listen, Mr. Nakajima just died. So if you want to arrest the murderer, you have to wait until the morning. This is not Imagawa's work." , It was not Kuonji or Kuwata who did it! I was wrong. You, Director, Yamashita Search Director, give instructions7 I will obey your orders." Hearing that the subordinates were willing to obey the command, the director nodded convulsively: "Uh, good. Guanshou, there are two over there, and Tuoxion over there, please go to Zhikeliao first. Uh, you, Kamei You are watching the monk, you go there first to confirm the number of monks. Jitian, please bring Renxiu, he is in the dry field behind this building and then past. That girl and Zhetong, Zhetong went out just now is it?" Is that giant? Zhetong, a giant monk. Zhe Tong smashed the long stick to the ground, then tilted his head in a puzzled look of "Is this all right?", left behind a murmur of unknown meaning like scriptures, and went out through the third gate. The action was illogical, and Toriguchi had no idea what it was trying to do. Just when everyone's attention was focused on Zhetong, Ah Ling disappeared.Hearing the screams in the distance, when everyone ran out, the frightening girl had disappeared without a trace. "Where did Zhetong go?" Toxiong, who stood up as if dragged by the police officer, reacted to what the police department said, and shouted: "Yes... Zhetong did it! That guy Zhetong, yes, he was here when I woke up He, he is standing over there!" The location indicated by Tuo Xiong is exactly where the police department is located. Although he was in a state of confusion, his tone was so rude that he didn't look like a monk at all.Yamashita, who was pinned by Toxiong, asked: "When you wake up? What does that mean?" "I... I... the poor monk was waiting for someone here, but suddenly I was severely..." "Beating? That's why you passed out? You said Mr. Nakajima would have died when you woke up. But who are you waiting for in this kind of place?" "Of course I'm waiting here..." Tuoxion's flushed face suddenly returned to seriousness, and his eyes drooped. In front of his line of sight was an object that was originally Woohyun. "Are you waiting for this Mr. Nakajima? Are you waiting here for Mr. Nakajima to come out of his thatched cottage?" "Do you want to kill him?" "Sugawara, don't just talk about those things that cause chaos. Anyway, ask for details there. Ah, we took this person away, please maintain the scene and don't let anyone in. If something happens, just blow the siren , Absolutely audible. Don't make judgments on your own, act alone." The officers stood upright and saluted. Toriguchi thought, as long as he works hard, he seems to be able to gain popularity.Then he said: "Mr. Yamashita, if there is not enough manpower, I will help. I remember my late grandmother said that it is the duty of the people to assist the police." "That's it. Then, Toriguchi, Masuda is in Sengokuro, can I trouble you to explain the situation, ask him to ask for support immediately, and call the forensic personnel to come? As soon as possible. And Mr. Kuonji to conduct an interim autopsy— —But the cause of death and the moment of death are already clear—and, take that lady back, it’s dangerous here. Are you all right? Or do you want to rest?” Atsuko, who stayed behind Toriguchi for a while and stared at the corpse with her mouth covered, said, "It doesn't matter, I'm used to it." Atsuko was trying her best to be brave, her eyes were wet. "Okay, so..." The worst comeback ever. The door opened suddenly, and Imagawa was honestly relieved when he saw a familiar face there. Toriguchi and Chuzenji Atsuko supported the old man Kuonji and walked in, almost falling down, and then a tall monk who had never met walked in. Yamashita poked a face through the entrance and said, "Hey, you, untie Imagawa's rope, and take care of the old man, and then stand by here. Come here." He disappeared after saying this.The fatter of the two detectives followed.Toriguchi said, "That's trouble for you," and followed out.Why would he act with the police?More importantly, what's going on out there?Imagawa, who was dozing off, was completely at a loss, but the situation must have progressed.Atsuko of Chuzenji helped the old man of Jiuyuanji to sit down, and when he saw Imakawa, he said, "Mr. Imagawa! Are you okay?" Imagawa said with some embarrassment: "It's just a little pain from being tied up, I'm fine." Hearing their conversation, the detective suspiciously and lazily began to untie the rope.The old man of Kuenji sat down on the tatami, spread his palms and fingers vigorously, stopped Atsuko Chuzenji who wanted to help him, and said, "Miss Chuzenji, I'm fine, you can go." His shoulders heaved and he was panting. After a little hesitation, Chuzenji Atsuko said, "Then Mr. Criminal Police, I will trouble you next." Then she ran out of the building. The detective who was left behind was confused by that sentence and didn't know what to do. The monk stood at the entrance, spying on the situation outside. He didn't take off the Ashiro hat, and then again, he didn't look like he wanted to go to the scene. The criminal police asked of course: "Are you a wanted monk? How did you get brought here? What happened?" "This person is not wanted, but a related person who voluntarily came forward. His name is Songgong Renru." The old man of Jiuyuan Temple shrunk his chin so much that he couldn't shrink it any more, and pouted his lower lip. The old man was already a bit cynical, but now he hated the police even more.Even so, the monk remained motionless, and the criminal police seemed even more confused. "By the way, aren't you the suspect? Uh... Jiu... Jiu Nengji..." "You bastard, didn't you hear what Yamashita said just now? Also, my surname is Jiuyuanji, and there is only one person who can yell casually." The old man was obviously out of breath, but he exuded a strange arrogance. "Ah, you're killing me. Come and take care of me, don't you even have tea? Oh, Imakawa, you are really flying in and out of trouble." It felt as if he had just discovered Imagawa now. "It's the old man. Has the suspicion been cleared? Mr. Kanno was killed, and the Sugawara detective was furious, saying that the old man was the real murderer. Before that, I was the real murderer, but now I am an accomplice." The detective poured the tea from the teapot into the teacup and said, "It turns out that you are not the murderer. But I didn't think so. If there are so many real murderers, then it's okay. In this case, the most suspicious person is usually The murderer, that is, the unexpected result, is usually like this." It's almost whining, and the arguments are childish. "But if this happens again and again, won't the least suspicious person become the most suspicious person? As the saying goes, the more suspicious a guy is, the less suspicious he is." "Oh, in that case, the most suspicious guy is the murderer. It's not so smooth. Since you are not the murderer, please drink tea." The criminal police invited the two of them to drink tea, which felt very funny. When I took the tea, I looked at my wrist, and the traces of the rope turned red like wheel marks on the mud.The tea was also delivered from Xianshilou several hours ago, and it was already cold. The old man of Jiuyuan Temple urged the monk to sit down, and the monk who had been standing took off the ashiro hat. The facial features are very delicate, but they are different from Fu Mujin and Cixing.Imagawa didn't understand what was different. The monk leaned his tin staff against the wall, took off his travel clothes, saluted the criminal policeman and Imagawa, walked up to the seat, and sat down on his knees, as if he had been practiced.This person seems to be the person Miss Iikubo is looking for-Jin Matsunomiya.In other words, he is Ah Ling's uncle. The old man Kuonji drank his tea as if drinking alcohol, and wrinkled his face as if he couldn't swallow it.Then he glanced at Song Gong's mechanical movements and asked: "Speaking of which, Song Gong, have you seen it?..." Songgong's expression remained unchanged, and he turned to the old man. "Didn't you meet me when you came here before? The one just now was Ah Ling." Songgong answered briefly: "Yes." Imakawa observed with great interest. ——Has he seen Ah Ling? How does he feel? It's not sad or sad, it can't be loneliness, and it's not right to say nostalgia.It's like the rebirth of a dead sister... No, monks don't think so.Imagawa couldn't imagine. The old man continued to ask: "How is that? Is that kimono Ms. Suzuko's? It's been too long, don't you remember?" It turned out that he was a living witness. His memory is the best evidence to prove the old man's reasoning of Kuonji. Matsumiya's upright face became stiff, and she was silent for a while, and then answered intermittently as if talking to herself: "That is the clothes of the deceased Suzuko, it is indeed the clothes she wore... thirteen years ago. .” The voice was gloomy. "Do you remember?" "Remember, very clearly, pattern, color, everything..." Song Gong's voice became louder and louder, and soon became hoarse. Then, he started talking like a dam bursting. "My father dotes on Suzuko very much. Although my face-saving father is financially distressed, he will definitely order new clothes for Suzuko every year, and he will not modify the old ones. Our family is very poor, but my father said to modify the old ones. Clothes are something only poor people do. So Suzuko's dress is a symbol of my father's face - a symbol of vanity. Suzuko is happy from the bottom of her heart, but the poor monk..." When the monk said this, he remained silent. From the looks of it, it wasn't a pleasant memory. The old man Kuonji changed the subject. "That's it, hey... Although many things should have happened, let's not talk about the past, what is important now is the girl. By the way, how is Ah Ling's face? Does she look like Miss Suzuko? Because it is also possible that the robbers will take away the fine clothes and give them to other girls to wear. Although the distance is a bit far, how do you look? Do you have the shadow of Suzuko-san?" Song Gong fell into deep thought again, he was comparing the long-term memory of thirteen years ago with the memory just now. Then the monk replied intermittently again: "It's very similar... no, it's exactly the same, it's exactly Suzuko. She's just like you said... she's Suzuko's daughter..." "Do they look that much alike?" "Yes, the looks, the appearance, the long-sleeved kimono, everything is exactly the same, exactly the same as that day. That is... that is Suzuko's daughter!" Matsumiya became excited for a moment, and immediately closed her eyes. As if trying to stay calm. Imagawa felt something was wrong, it was... Not a big deal, but... The old man Jiuyuanji said happily: "That's it, then that girl is your niece! Imagawa, did you hear that? It's just as I thought!" "Exactly the same as that day?" "What? Imagawa, what's wrong?" "What day does that mean?" "That meant the fire, of course—the day of the fire, does it matter? The day he didn't like to think about?" "But old sir, I think so too, but..." "What? Is something wrong?" "Ms. Iikubo once said that Ms. Iikubo said that Mr. Ren—is this him? This master came home the morning after the fire. I remember what Miss Iikubo said, isn't it right?" "The detective said that too." Imakawa looked at Matsunomiya, his expression did not change. "Miss Fanwa also said that this master ran away from home from the end of the year until he returned home." "It seems to be like this." "That's all." "That's all, Imagawa..." Matsunomiya's cheeks froze slightly. "So old man, in this way, Miss Suzuko has been wearing a kimono since the end of the previous year before this master ran away from home? A kimono? No, this master just said that the clothes for the New Year are made to order every year. Did you see it when you tried it on? No, this is not a western dress, so you have seen the cloth?" Matsumiya's face stiffened even more. "That day, which day do you mean?" Song Gong didn't answer, but became more and more stiff. The old man Kuonji poked his bald head for a long time. "Oh!" He uttered a strange cry shortly afterwards, "Song Gong, could it be, could it be that you lied..." Song Gong's face became even paler. "Were you there when the fire happened? Right? Hello!" Matsumiya didn't answer anything. "Can't you tell me? Why? What happened that day? I understand how I feel about losing my family, and so do I. I don't think this matter has nothing to do with me! I treat Miss A-Ling as my own daughter..." "Mr. Jiuyuanji!" Songgong finally let out a flesh and blood cry, "Please don't say any more! The poor monk would say that day, but it was just a misunderstanding. I should have never seen that beautiful dress before. That's Lingzi, she The one who looks like Suzuko, 151 Qing, has distorted my memory. But as you said, that girl must be Suzuko’s daughter. Her appearance also has the words and age of the amulet bag... no , even without these things, the poor monk knows, no evidence is needed." The old man of Jiuyuan Temple showed complex wrinkles between his brows. "Then... just answer my question. Song Gong, are you an arsonist?" The detective was surprised. "Tell me, I want to entrust Ah Ling to you. You seem to be a trustworthy and polite monk, and you seem to have a strong sense of justice...so please tell me." "Poor monk..." "Didn't kill the parents." "So, can I trust you?" Song Gong nodded. "Then I won't ask, and Imagawa doesn't care anymore." The criminal police seemed to be very concerned. Suddenly the door opened and Toriguchi rushed in. "Ku-Kuonji-san!" "What's wrong? His face changed drastically..." "Yukei Nakajima was killed!" Toriguchi said loudly.The detective really jumped up now. "Uh, hello! What are you talking about...and, someone else..." "Monk Yuken Nakajima was killed! Doctor Kuonji, although you may be tired, Mr. Yamashita said please do an autopsy!" "What did you say? This is bad. Hey, what about you?" "I'm going to Xianshilou to ask for support. Mr. Criminal Police, you'd better rush to the scene, and leave this place to the sleeping police officer! Farewell!" This guy is not a murderer—Yamashita thought again.Exclude them one by one like this.In the end there may be none left.But what is wrong is wrong. The murderer was a murderer from the beginning, not created by the police.If there is really no one left, it means that there is no murderer. Too Makimura is incontinent. Not only that, but his mood was very chaotic. When he saw Sang Tian and others in Zhike's office, he immediately became excited.Sangtian Changxin was shocked, shaken, and in a daze when he heard the news, and then fell into anemia and almost collapsed.But seeing the indecent and absurd appearance of his traveler, he frowned and shouted loudly. Tuoxion slumped down feebly and sat down. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yamashita began to question again: "Let me tell you, Mucun, can you explain the situation in order?" "I... the poor monk did nothing, nothing." "Let me tell you, you are an important person, and no one says you are a murderer." Toshon lowered his head. "Is it Monk Sangtian and...uh, what's your last name?" "Kaga, my name is Kaga Hideo." "So, Mucun, is it convenient for you to tell if Kaga is here?" Mucun nodded, and Yamashita ordered the two to move to the next room. Sugawara and Kamei are actively running outside, and only Yamashita and Too Makimura are left here. "Calm down?" Mucun was silent. But he felt that the excitement in his heart had calmed down a lot. "Why are you there?" "I... chased Master Youxian..." "and then?" "Master Youxian entered the thatched cottage under Guan Shouyi, so I waited for him to come out." "why?" "I... don't want Yingsheng to be snatched away." "What did you say?" "Master Youxian is planning to go down the mountain, right? So I'm worried that he will take Yingsheng away..." "Yingsheng... Kaga's partner turned out to be you!" The young monk nodded slightly. When the knife edge... After hearing that Yamashita and others took Nakajima Yuken out of the meditation hall, the monks began to sit in meditation.In the past few days, when they are not being interrogated, they seem to be sitting in meditation.Their movements were not restricted, but with so many intruders, it seemed that they couldn't carry out their actions properly.Yamashita asked, "Sit like this for twenty-four hours, won't you go crazy?" "When you meet at the Laba University, you have to sit for a week." He got this answer. Anyway, the monks started sitting in meditation. Kosaka, Onishi, and Kanno died, Kuwata disappeared, and even Nakajima Yuken was leaving, leaving only Wada Toshiyuki as a cadre.Therefore, Hotan's power has become absolute. As long as Hotan meditates, everyone will follow.It seemed to be so, Wada sat on the sheet silently, and everyone followed him. But Hideo Kaga did not sit in meditation. Only Hideo Kaga did not sit down, but stood for a while.Mucun was concerned about his situation and was completely unable to concentrate on sitting meditation.Wada didn't reprimand Kaga, but Kaga, who was standing at the entrance, said something to Detective Kamei, and went out together. Mucun is restless. Even if this is not the case, Mucun has been hit hard. Yamashita, who is not gay, can't understand his feelings, but speaking of it means that his lover was almost raped by a middle-aged man, and he himself witnessed a public trial on this matter-although single Yamashita has never encountered such a thing , but if I had to describe it, it must be this kind of mood. And that lover actually followed the rapist away, so Mucun... "How did you slip out?" "I said I was worried about the stove fire in the treasury. Master Dianzuo Changxin has not been here since last night, and the poor monk was appointed by Master Cixing as the person in charge." Mu Cun slipped out of the meditation hall and quietly approached Zhike Liao to spy on the situation. "I heard Master Chang Xin's voice asking: Do you want to go down the mountain? When Master Youxian left the meditation hall, he said that he would leave the temple, so I think both of them will leave this Minghui Temple. Yingsheng belongs to Master Youxian. Disciple, so I thought he would go down the mountain together..." Rather than saying that Yingsheng is Youxian's disciple, Toxiong seems to be more suspicious of Yingsheng's change of heart. Not long after, Nakajima Yuxian walked out of Zhike Liao alone. Mucun hid reflexively, and after a moment of hesitation, he chased after him.Woo-hyun walks through the hall.Walk through the Daxiong Palace.During this process, Toxiong wanted to speak out several times, but he didn't know how to speak at all.As a result, Nakajima entered the Great Sun Hall, and Mucun had no choice but to wait at the door, and his memory was interrupted here. "I... was beaten." Yamashita saw that the back of his head was injured. Appears to have been beaten from behind, not a wound that he could fake himself. "Oh, it looks like it hurts. Look at it...you even hurt your neck?" Hearing what Yamashita said, Mucun stroked the wound in pain. "And then you passed out?" "Ok." "When you were beaten, were you squatting? Or standing?" "Well, I squatted down." "Not standing?" "I remember I got down on one knee." Judging from the location of the wound, that should be the case.However, if it was really Sugiyama Tetsuto who beat Mucun—but Tetsuto is a giant man, so it is impossible to say so.On the other hand, if Tuoxiong was beaten standing up, the assailant could not have been other than Zhetong. "Do you know how long you've been down...how long you've been passed out?" "This... I don't know. It's just that when I wake up..." "Zhetong... Sugiyama Tetsutong is standing there, right?" "That's right. That guy... that guy did it. He beat Master Youxian to death with that flagpole." "Flagpole?" "It's the flagpole, he holds it in his hand." "Oh, that stick, so it is." Yamashita ordered the police officer dispatched outside to recover the stick. Thankfully it still appears to be lying on the flagstone floor of the courtroom. "But, is Zhetong standing where I was standing just now? How did he stand?" “拿着棒子，双脚叉开站立，看不出来他是在看哪里。那个时候我还昏昏沉沉的，结果他不知何时不见了……我清醒时，看到眼前有什么东西，我不知道那是什么，没想到那竟然是……啊，所以……” “不用担心，我没有怀疑你。嗯……？可是等一下，那里是出人口吧？哲童站在那里的时候，尸骸已经在那里了吗？” “有……又好像……没有，我没办法清楚地回想出来。我昏昏沉沉的，只知道哲童在，然后……嗯，有人倒在地上，应该是贯首猊下等人从里面出来。叫出佑贤师父名字的时候，我才发现那是佑贤师父。当我完全清醒之后，只看到血流了一地……我吓死了，就……” “尖叫出声？可是……” 哪里不太对劲。 假设凶手是哲童好了。 昏倒的牧村暂时觉醒，看到凶手哲童。假设这是行凶之前。 那么就等于是哲童本来潜伏于站在大日殿人口旁边的牧村背后。而他殴打牧村使其昏厥，然后特地绕到另一头——容易被人看到的地方站着，等待中岛出来，而且他就让牧村这么倒在玄关口，这根本不算埋伏了。既然牧村负伤依然活着，就表示凶手让牧村昏倒的目的，是不想被目击到自己杀害中岛。那么按理应该会将昏倒的牧村从现场移走才对。就算没有那个时间，至少也不会特地跑到另一边去。 就算牧村醒来时，中岛已遭杀害——那还是不对劲。因为那样就变成哲童一直呆呆地注视着遭到自己杀害的中岛遗体，直到费工夫弄昏的牧村恢复意识了。那样就没有殴打牧村的意义了。不仅如此，哲童还放着发出尖叫的牧村不管——也就是尽管明白牧村目击到自己行凶，却拿着凶器悠然出现于众人面前，将凶器砸到法堂前的石板地…… too weird. 绝对太奇怪了。 山下也知道哲童的智能发展似乎比一般人略微迟缓，但是他觉得并没有相差太多。不，也有可能是成长在特殊环境之下，所以看起来如此而已。他连基础教育都没有接受过，所以语汇应该很少，知识也很偏颇。再加上那沉默寡言与木讷的性格以及魁梧的体格，让人感觉他宛如怪物一般。不过这些都是偏见罢了。除去偏见来看，哲童的心智是否有障碍，即使有又是何种程度？山下不是医生，无法判断，但惟一可以确定的是，杉山哲童绝非异常。 异常的是这座山本身。 所以这种情况下，绝不该去认定那种人理所当然会做出那种异常行动。哲童不是什么杀人淫乐症的异常者，以这种意义来说，哲童与健全者没什么两样。不能把这些混为一谈，山下认为这是不正当的歧视。这种情况反倒应该视为哲童无法耍任何小手段才对，他应该不会做出湮灭证据或捏造不在场证明这类的隐蔽工作。 --But…… 一种恐怖的想法忽地掠过山下脑海。 ——如果哲童有杀人淫乐症的话…… 好黑，而且难走得要命。 心情也逐渐动摇起来了。 人一个接一个死去。 不明就里地。 鸟口有一点觉得自己窥见了恐怖的真面目。 道理无法通用的——无法理解的恐怖。 鸟口小的时候不怎么害怕幽灵，因为他觉得自己没有做任何会遭到作祟的坏事。因果报应，会遭到幽灵作祟的人，说穿了就是坏家伙。鸟口读《四谷怪谈》，觉得真是大快人心。民谷伊右卫门多半都被写成狼心狗肺的家伙，他忍不住会边看边想：可怜的阿岩加油呀，打倒伊右卫门呀！ 只是，不明就里的东西很可怕。 所以他讨厌战争。因为他不明白非死不可的理由，也不明白非得杀死敌人不可的理由。他觉得为国牺牲这种夸大、冠冕堂皇的说辞，与个人的死亡是格格不入的。 鸟口也觉得，世上所有犯罪全都有复仇或怨恨、利益纠纷等等理由，这会不会是为了与战死作出区别而存在的？ 只要有理由，人就感到放心。但另一方面，现在这个世上，也的确存在着无特定对象连续杀人或没有动机的杀人事件。这在上次涉人的事件中，鸟口深刻地体会到了。但是，那依然与战死不同，那些事件的中心依然是人。 但这次——没有人。 very scary.一点一点地越来越可怕。 所以鸟口有些用力地握住敦子纤细的手，快步向前走。 沙沙——雪落下了。 走得太急会跌倒，走错路的话，攸关生死。 鸟口再也没有比这个时候更怨恨自己是个路痴了。 手电筒照射得到的范围极为狭窄，完全没有任何记号能够判断这里是哪里。 “是这里吧？” “应该……可是……不太确定。” “反正是下坡没错。” "Ok." 不——确认就感到不安。 因为看不见脸，连自己牵的是谁的手都不知道了。就算以为那是敦子，但如果她在不知不觉间变成了阿铃的话…… “敦子小姐？” “怎么了？”是敦子的声音。 “刚才……松宫先生，我们和他擦身而过的时候……” "Ok." “敦子小姐不觉得有点怪怪的吗？” "It's weird." “咦？”鸟口的脚滑了一下，“什么意思？……” “那个人——完美过头了。” “完美过头？” “感觉就像个模范和尚——不管是态度还是语调或外表都是，总觉得完美过头了，不是吗？” "so what?" “觉得很像我。” “我不懂你的意思。” “一副'真的有这种人呢'的人，大部分都很假，很容易被别人觉得是装出来的，对吧？可是也有人的本性就是这样。” “哦，敦子小姐的意思是，你就是这样？” "yes." “是吗？我是觉得你是个很优秀的人啦……” “我这个人连一点八卦也没有，只知道埋首工作，简直就像是为了闯入这种事件而生——可是我就是这样一个女人。” “没有那回事的。” 鸟口觉得完全没那回事。 原来敦子也有许多烦恼，一想到这里，恐怖便缓和了些。 但是他对于道路的自信却已经大大动摇了。 光束前端看得见的只有树和草与雪还有…… ——长袖和服。 "what!" "What's wrong?" “呃，没有，我刚才看到阿铃小姐……” “咦？哪里？” 敦子像要抓住鸟口的身体似的前倾，望向前方。 鸟口有些胆怯，却还是照亮那里。 如果有障碍物的话，光就能够有效地捕捉并照亮它，但是在呈网目状交错的树木那无垠的深远中，实在无法发挥效力，只有眼前的树枝晕白地浮现，前方依然是一片黑暗。 有句成语叫杯水车薪，完全就是形容这种情况，面对山所怀抱的巨大黑暗，手电筒的灯光实在太过渺小了，一点用都没有。因为夜晚的黑暗不是覆盖着山，而是渗入了山。 “是我多心了吗？我们快走吧。” “嗯，可是那个阿铃小姐……” "What's wrong?" 敦子没有回答。 at this time. 喀沙喀沙，响起什么东西分开草木而来的声响。 在背后，一团东西气势汹汹地过来了。 鸟口用力把敦子拉近，把她拉到自己前面，再转过身去与声音对峙。 The sound stopped quickly. 一停下脚步，就寒冷无比。走下山路是件苦差事，因为穿得很厚，也流了汗。动的时候并不会意识到，但是一停下来的瞬间就冷了起来。 脚尖冻僵了。 他也注意到指尖还有耳朵和鼻头都冻结了似的冰冷。 一旦注意到，就冷得受不了。 敦子似乎也在发抖。 发抖并不全是因为寒冷所致。 “刚才……有声音吧，敦子小姐？” "Have." “是野兽……还是野狗出没吗？”“我觉得是更大的东西。”“这里有熊之类的吗？应该没有吧？”进退不得，怕得没办法背对声音传来的方向。但是现在自己背对的方向……或许有阿铃。 --very scary.鸟口突然回头，用手电筒照亮去路。这种时候，最好的办法就是狠下心来看个清楚。反正光束只照得到黑白的雪和树木……彩色？阿铃在那里。 "Wow!" "What's wrong!" 光束一下子就错过了阿铃。 不仅如此，光束还一边照亮极为狭小的范围，一边发出“喀沙喀咚”的声音，沉人深邃的草丛大海中。 鸟口手电筒掉了。 这是致命的过失。 “刚、刚才阿铃……” 视网膜有着残像，剪齐的直发与苍白的脸庞，如洞穴般的眼眸。 她的确在那里，她在那里——但现在不是在意那种事的时候。不管是害怕还是怎么样，对方也不过是个十二三岁的孩子。比起阿铃，手电筒更重要。 幸好手电筒还亮着，能够确认它的位置。好像卡在斜坡上了。虽然不太清楚，不过感觉距离不远。 “啊，敦子小姐，对不起，请你待在这里别动，我这就去把它捡回来。” “可是……不行，太危险了，不要捡了。” “危险是危险，可是仙石楼那里没有人知道我们要回去，而且明慧寺那个状况，也不会有人来救援，我们必须自己下山才行！” 就在鸟口如履薄冰地踏出脚步的瞬间。 树木轰然摇晃，是一个黑色的、巨大的影子。 “嗄！嗄！” 鸟口的下半身滑落了，敦子慌忙抓住他的手，当然连她自己也踉跄了。影子猛然逼近。 “谁、是谁？” "what?" “哲、哲童！” 两人剧烈一晃，滑落下去。 久远寺医师来到知客寮，以“虽然都已经很清楚了”为开场白，陈述验尸结果，头盖骨骨折、脑挫伤。山下过去从未如此血淋淋地去理解这些医学用语。每当老医师说什么，山下的脑中便浮现中岛佑贤的死相，又立刻浮现出他就在那里害怕地叫嚷的模样。出于职业因素，山下看过众多非自然死亡的尸体，但从未碰过短短三十分钟之前还在交谈的人死掉的状况。战争时，山下的部队也净是在挖洞、种甘薯，从未有同伴死在眼前。 “能够判定凶器吗？” “不是石头或钝器，是棒子，坚硬的棒子。一击毙命——不是凶器很重，就是凶手力大无穷。脑袋上简直被打通一条路来。” 山下向有些疲惫的老医生道谢，请他回到禅堂旁，再次面对牧村托雄。 青年僧略微恢复了平静。 “那么，牧村，刚才发生的事大致上都了解了。不过我还有一些事想问你，也就是你目击到小坂吋的事，那是几天前的事来着？” 日期时间的感觉麻痹了。 “是小坂失踪……不，被杀害那天，所以已经过了一星期吗？你说你忘了经本，去了桑田和尚的草堂……叫什么来着？” “您是说觉证殿吗？” “对，你说小坂从那里走出来。这段证词——是真的吗？虽然我不是在怀疑你……” 这番证词确实是让警方怀疑桑田的开端。 所以山下才想问清楚。 托雄隔了一段时间才回答。“我看见了稔师父，这是真的。” “什么叫这是真的？” “我说他从觉证殿走出来，是……” “假、假的吗？那么他其实是在其他地方？” “不，准确地说——我是从觉证殿寝室的窗户看到的。” “寝室？可是你不是忘了经本……啊，那是骗人的吗？” 牧村腼腆地说出真相。 那个时候，桑田常信每晚都为了夜坐，前往禅堂。但是不知为何，他不强迫自己的行者牧村夜坐，反而不许他与自己一同打坐。 牧村在桑田夜坐的期间被疏远。那个时候，桑田的内心依然豢养着内疚的老鼠。 桑田回来的时间虽然不一定，但在熄灯之前都不会回来。 这段期间牧村是自由的，觉证殿成了空屋。 而觉证殿——就成了牧村与加贺英生幽会的场所。 “那一天，我假装要去沐浴，把英生约出来。然后……” “详细的情形就不必了，真的不必了。” 山下有一种肚子里被人搔痒一般，而且还害臊不已的不可思议的感觉。这种事情还是应该保持隐秘，而不该像这样大刺刺地说出口。不管是说的人还是听的人，都会羞得无地自容。 “那个……要离开时，我发现寝室的纸窗微微地开着，所以想要关上，结果看见了稔师父走了过去。” “只有这样吗？” 牧村点头，他似乎真的目击到了。 “可是，那样的话，用不着说他是从建筑物里走出来的也行吧？” “嗯，可是……” 觉证殿是背山而建的。 寝室的窗户位于觉证殿背面，那里看得到的景色，从建筑物的正面看不到。 换言之，小坂了稔的人影，只有从那里——觉证殿的寝室窗户——才看得到。那一带并不是路过能够看到的地方，但是牧村毫无进入寝室的理由，要是被问起他为什么进到那种地方去，他就百口莫辩了。所以牧村一开始打算保持沉默，但不久之后害怕起来，只说他看到了了稔。 “结果，那位刑警先生非常严厉……” “穷追不舍地问？” It's Sugawara. 是菅原逼问的。 山下的脑海里历历在目地浮现出那个乡下刑警口沫横飞地对牧村逼供的场面。 ——看见了？在哪里看见的？时间呢？ 被这么严厉地逼问，牧村一开始只回答“觉证殿”。 时间则回答了他事实上目击到的时刻，八点四十分到九点。因为这是杀人事件，牧村觉得这部分得据实回答才行。 到这里都是真的，牧村托雄没有作任何伪证。but…… 他以为这样就结束了，没想到菅原穷追猛打。那个菅原就像头山猪般，肯定是严厉地打破沙锅问到底吧。因为这是近乎惟一的目击证词，山下认为若换成自己，应该也会这么做。 被问到他为什么在那里，牧村词穷了。 他不能说出实情。幽会这种事，撕破了嘴巴都不能说，这也是理所当然的。所以他信口胡诌，说他去拿经本。 ——听你胡扯！给我说清楚点！ 据说菅原这么说。山下虽然不当一回事，但他认为菅原的确有长年经验累积出来的刑警的第六感。这当然不确实，但是一个人是否在说谎，似乎意外地可以轻易地判断出来。这是为了隐瞒情事而当场编造的谎言，所以轻易就被看穿了吧。但是就算被命令说清楚，也惟有这件事是无法从命的。当时与事情败露的现在不同。可是菅原就是追究个没完，牧村终于忍不住说出口了。 “从觉证殿里面的房间——我才刚说到这里，刑警先生就凶狠地问：了稔从那里走出来是吧！我忍不住回答，是的……” “不是从里面的房间走出来，而是从里面的房间看到啊……” 一厢情愿——或者说是自然而然。 菅原在不合作的环境中，太躁进了。 但是，那么小坂究竟是从哪里要去哪里呢？ 这么一问，牧村便回答：“我不知道了稔师父从哪里走过来的，不过他应该是要下去汤本一带吧。” 那么这也与尾岛的证词符合，证词一致性增加了。 山下抱起双臂，应该还有问题要问这名青年。 “对了，大雄宝殿旁边的药草园。” “药草园怎么了吗……？” “它现在怎么样了？桑田和尚说他没有动过。” “哦，大半都已经荒废了。除了博行师父以外，其他人别说是煎法，连药草的种类都不清楚。而且很难照顾，也不知道种植法。有些已经枯萎，与杂草混在一起了。而且又下了雪，已经……只是，去年夏天前收成后干燥或制成粉末的成品还有许多。” “还有吗？在哪里？” “在药草园旁边有个小仓库，或说是个遮雨的棚子，药草就装在陶器罐里，放在那边……” “里面有麻吗？” “您……怎么会知道？” "Have it?" “是去年春天收成之后阴干的……” “是你把它……” “是的，博行师父在去年夏天发狂，遭到隔离，其中的……理由……” “这我都知道，也明白理由，所以你不用再说明这部分的事了。你有没有把那些干燥麻交给菅野先生？” “有的，我每天都按照处方带去给师父，怎么了吗？” “处、处方？每天？” “贫僧当班时，是每早送粥过去时。不是贫僧当班时，则是在之后的作务时间送过去。” “当班？当什么班？” “博行师父的斋饭是由负责伙食的僧侣轮流送去的。警方来了之后，就由常信师父送去，但是在那之前是轮班制，贫僧每三天就会轮到一次。博行师父直到去年年底之前还处于错乱状态，后来渐渐恢复，到了今年……对，博行师父说那是治疗神经的药，要求拿干燥麻给他。” “向你要求吗？” “其他人不知道东西在哪里，贫僧以前是博行师父的行者，所以……” “这样啊，原来如此……” 牧村是毫不知情地奉命送大麻过去吧。 “所以我照着博行师父吩咐的处方，每天送少量的干燥麻过去。那是与粥一同食用的，或者是……” “是用来抽的，像香烟一样。那是……唔，就是麻药，在日本算是麻药的一种。” “麻药——像鸦片一样的？” “对，在日本是违法的。” 像鸦片一样的——山下觉得这种措词让人体认到牧村的年龄。 但是这么听来，感觉上