Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen

Hamanaka, who was sleeping on the seat, slept for another thirty minutes and finally woke up.He looked out the window: "Where is the car now?" Ise had been staring at Hamaka just now.I thought he was pretending to be asleep, but it looked like he was really asleep.He was looking for the name of the station with sleepy eyes at the moment, not at all pretending to be confused.Ise couldn't help wondering if he had made a mistake in blaming Hamanaka. There's no way Hamaka was lying to me, he was just acting according to the plan made by the editorial department.Ise thought so, and it took a lot of effort to swallow the words that came to his lips.

"Are you sleeping well?" Ise tried to force a smile, but couldn't. "Slept soundly. I've been running around since yesterday, and I'm exhausted. I wake up feeling much better." Hamaka happily took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a few puffs. "Hamaka-kun, while you're awake, I have a few questions I want to ask you." Ise tried to soften his voice. "What's the problem?" In the lingering smoke, Bangzhong blinked his eyes, with a look of innocence in his eyes. "While you were sleeping, I made a wonderful discovery."

"What discovery?" "Look, isn't there a map over there?" Ise pointed at the entrance.There hung a colored railway map in a glass frame. "Well, it's the jurisdictional map of the Railway Bureau." Hamaka replied nonchalantly, but Ise noticed the subtle hidden meaning behind this sentence. "On my way back from the toilet, I studied that map because I was so bored. You were sleeping and I had nothing to do but see where we were. The map left From Yamaguchi Prefecture to Chiba Prefecture on the right. But what really attracted me were the two blue baselines.”

Bang Zhong was silent for a while, then said: "Well, those are the longitude and latitude." He was surprisingly calm.This guy is still pretending to be garlic?Or, does he really know nothing?Ise hesitated for a moment. "I wanted to see on a map where the Tango Kizu Onsen that I went with you was, and I hadn't noticed the blue line at the time. No one who looks at a map cares about latitude and longitude in the first place. However, there is one thing Strange things made me have to notice the existence of longitude and latitude." "What's up?" "We started from Kizu Onsen, passed through Kinosaki, took the Bandan Line to Himeji, and then stayed in Akashi for one night, right?"

"That's right." "I found that there is a meridian running through Muzu Onsen in the north and Akashi in the south, which is the 135th meridian east." "Hmm." Bangzhong responded vaguely, puffing out smoke frequently. "Look carefully along the 135-degree east longitude line. Many of the places we have been to or plan to go to are on this line. For example, the five villages in the central part of Hyogo Prefecture are located near Mount Hiji, where the legend of Yuyi is located; Funaki Village, where the shrine is located, is not far to the east of Kizu Onsen. From Akashi to the south, the east longitude 135 degrees also passed the stone house in Awaji. Starting from Sumoto in the south, you can see the Tomojima on the way across the Kidan Strait. On this line."

"So that's the case, that's what happened." There was a slight smile on Bangzhong's face.Ise gradually became excited. "I thought it was just a coincidence at first, but I quickly realized that it was not a coincidence. The librarian of the Akashi Astronomical Science Museum introduced that the east longitude 135 degrees just passed the elevator of the planetarium. Moreover, the Hitomaru Shrine is also in Akashi. We are not exactly in the human Did you meet Mimako Sakaguchi in front of the front hall of the Maru Shrine where the plaque of the thirty-six song gods hangs?"

"..." "The 135th longitude intersects the 35th north latitude on the west side of the northern part of Akashi." "..." "I'm looking east along the 35th parallel, and guess what? Arashiyama is on that line. The map isn't fine enough to see it well, but I think the line crosses Matsuo Shrine." "..." "We visited Matsuo Shrine on our journey to find the legend, and it is incredible that there is a plaque of 'Sea Dragon' in the front hall of the shrine, and the same name is also found on the board of the ship found in Kizu Onsen Mountain."

"Really." "What are you pretending to be?" Ise asked slightly reproachfully, "Look east along the 35th parallel north latitude, so what will happen? This line passes through the international tourist hotel in Nijo where we stayed. Before coming here, the Sansiao Bridge where the shop where we drank coffee is located is also on this line!" "..." "What's even more bizarre is that Miho Matsubara is also on the 35th north latitude line. However, it is not Miho Station on this line, but Orito Station not far away. After we arrived in Shizuoka, we took the bus back there From Kyoto."

"Well, that's right." Hamaka gradually lowered his head and smoked silently. "Extending this longitude to the east will reach Tateyama." "..." "Kouju is a little east of Tateyama City. You asked me to get off at Kokonoe Station, which is also on the 35th parallel north latitude. In this way, all the places we have traveled so far are in the north latitude Above the 35-degree line and the 135-degree east longitude line. Hamanaka-kun, what is going on here?" "It's incredible." "Don't talk about yourself as if you are out of it." Ise finally couldn't hold back, "You must have planned in advance to pick places on these two lines, right? Don't pretend to be stupid, just confess Straight up."

"Teacher." Bangzhong threw away the cigarette butt and rolled his eyes, "You misunderstood me." "What? Misunderstanding?" "Actually, I discovered this coincidence before I came here. To be precise, I was drinking coffee in front of Sanjo Ohashi Station in Kyoto. Teacher, do you remember? I went to a nearby bookstore. I went to Check the location of Taketa Village, Tottori Prefecture, the hometown of Susumu Fujimura who is about to go. When I looked at the map, I noticed the 135th east longitude line that the teacher said. Then, I wanted to find Kizu Onsen, which I had been to before. As a result, I found exactly the same thing as my teacher—five villages, Nagu Shrine, Akashi, and Tomojima were all on the 135th longitude east longitude. Then, I noticed the 35th north latitude line. It is clearly marked on the map In Bien, Nishiwaki, which you just mentioned, there is a monument to the intersection of the 135th parallel and the 35th parallel.”

"Will this be marked on the map?" "I was looking at a detailed map that only included the Kinki and Chugoku regions, so even this monument was marked." "Did you really find out at that time?" Ise stared straight at Hamaka, trying to capture the change in his expression.But it was impossible to tell from his face whether what he said before was true or not. "Of course, I discovered it for the first time at that time, and I didn't know it at all before." Hamaka emphasized with a serious face. "Then let me ask you, why have you been hiding it from me? Why didn't you tell me immediately after you found out about it?" "Because I don't want the teacher to have unnecessary misunderstandings." "How could it be misunderstood? Facts are facts. It does make me uncomfortable, though, to think that I might be manipulated." "That's right. That's why I'm hesitant. I don't know whether I should tell you. Maybe I'm also waiting for the teacher to find out..." "Hamaka-kun, who exactly did our travel planning?" Ise's question was to the point.The people who plan the "journey to the legends of remote places" are the key.The 135-degree east longitude and the 35-degree north latitude not only connected their series of travel locations, but were also closely related to those few murders. "As I said before, I planned it." Hamaka admitted bravely.I say he is brave because looking at his expression, he seems to be under great pressure. Ise concluded that this was by no means the case.Hamaka replied like this, but he saw through Ise's suspicions, so he wanted to try his best to cover someone up.The person who was sheltered by Hamaka should be the boss of the publishing house, or a third party manipulating the boss.When admitting that the plan came from his own hands, Hamaka's expression was actually quite painful.Anyone can see that there are inextricable connections between the planner of the trip and the murder.If Bangzhong could disclose the name of this key person, the complex and difficult situation like a maze would immediately become clear. "Is it really you?" Ise confirmed suspiciously. "Yes. I said it before when I went to the teacher's house to ask for a manuscript." Bang Zhong was still lying. "Okay, forget it." Ise didn't want to press Hamaka anymore. Ise felt sorry for Hamaka who had to take the blame for someone.No matter how much you ask, he won't tell the truth.Rather than doing this, it is better to find this person out with your own hands.Doing this is more meaningful than forcing the words out of Bangzhong's mouth, and I can feel better. However, to make an accurate judgment, one must constantly observe Hamaka's expression. "Let me run around along the latitude and longitude lines, it's like playing people like monkeys!" Ise said this sentence deliberately in order to observe Hamanaka's reaction. "But, teacher, the places you've been to are all famous legends, and the legends of each place have something in common, don't they? The legends of Urashima, Hagoromo, and Shiratori—there is no place where these legends are not spread. Folklorists generally believe that these legends all come from the same root.” Hamaka said confidently. "Hmm." Ise had a premonition that Hamaka would start to publish a long speech again. "As you know, Amino Shrine near Kizu Onsen is where the legend of Urashima is located, and Nagu Shrine not far to the east of Amino Shrine is where the legend of Hagoromo is located. The legend of Hagoromo originates from Mai on Mt. The priest of Amino Shrine said that Mr. Tsubouchi Xiaoyao once created a new dance drama called "Fallen Girl". Along the 135th east longitude line to the south, there is also a legend of feather clothing in Shenyoshi Village near Akashi. It is recorded in the book Boyang Liweng Shuo. As we all know, the most typical spreading place of Yuyi legend is Miho Matsubara, and Miho Matsubara is on the 35th parallel north latitude. To the east along the 35th parallel north latitude is the Chiba Prefectural Museum Shan, when I went there with the teacher, I introduced you to the legend of Empress Keiyuki. I think this story comes from the legend of Shiratori, that is, the legend of a certain clam turning into a white bird. Later I also heard It is said that Chiba Park in Chiba is also where the legend of Yuyi is located. However, there is still a distance from the 35th parallel north latitude. "Going south along the 135th longitude line, in the rock house in Awaji, there is a cave where Izanagi lives in seclusion. There are also many legends of marine tribes circulating in that area. These legends have one thing in common-basically they are about picking pearls from the seabed. , or went fishing to get a good harvest. The legend of Empress Jingxing mentioned above is also about fishing and harvest, so it is a legend of the same system. According to the legend, the Ukishima Palace where the queen lived is near Jiuzhong Station. There was still a vast ocean in ancient times.” "..." "How about it, teacher? The places we've been to have something in common, right?" "Then how do you explain the Matsuo Shrine? You don't want to argue that it is also related to the legend of Urashima and Yuyi?" "Of course there is a relationship. In the legends of Urashima, Hagoromo, and Shiratori, there are both northern and southern elements. The sea turtle in Urashima's legend is a southern animal, and the white bird in the Shiratori legend is a northern bird. "However, the legend of fishing and good harvest is obviously related to the marine people in the south. There are many legends of the marine people around Akashi, because the people living here are the race that believes in the god of mountains. The god of mountains is the ancestor god of the sea people. The god is the Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka. According to ancient history experts, the marine tribes who believe in the Oyama God are distributed in Tajima, Kii Peninsula, and Bousou Peninsula, so the legend of Miho Matsubara's feathers will be on the coast of the remote Sea of ​​Japan The Tango is also passed down. "The main god enshrined in Matsuo Shrine belongs to Oyama God. This god is also regarded as the god of brewing. It can be seen that the marine people brought the brewing technology. The old couple who stole the fairy's clothes on Mount Tango Hiji learned how to brew from the fairy. A legend just confirms the above conclusion." Hamaka hadn't shown his erudition like this for a long time. "Teacher, what's interesting is that if the 35th parallel north extends eastward into the Pacific Ocean, it will pass between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the west coast of the United States. There is also a legend about the white bird." "What?" Ise asked in surprise. "I'm not kidding you. It's discussed in comparative folklore books. In ancient times, there was a land bridge connecting Asia to America at the Bering Strait. Peoples who migrated from Asia to America, from Canada to the west coast of the United States, would The legends of the peoples of North Asia were brought there." I don't know how long Bangzhong will continue to talk like this.The train has entered Kyoto Prefecture from Tottori Prefecture. "By the way, Hamaka-kun, Miss Sakaguchi Mimako..." Ise interjected. "Huh?" Bangzhong interrupted the conversation, his eyes became serious. "She seems to have discovered the secret of latitude and longitude earlier than us." Ise expressed her guess. Bangzhong listened in silence with a rare expression on his face. "My guess, what do you think?" Ise asked. "Yeah..." Bang Zhong crossed his arms and sighed with infinite emotion, "I heard the teacher say that, and I have the same feeling." "Right? She was killed because she discovered the secret too early." "The teacher said that the person who planned the travel plan hid the secrets of the 135th parallel east longitude and the 35th parallel north latitude line, and when Mimako Sakaguchi found out the secret, he killed him, right?" "That's what I assume." "Are you kidding me! Stop messing around!" Bangzhong snapped. "Can't you?" "There are no such bad people in our publishing house! Please don't make offensive remarks!" "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't say it." It seemed that Hamaka was really angry, and Ise had no choice but to apologize. Although Bangzhong is free and easy by nature, he is still loyal to the company he belongs to.Ise's understanding of him deepened. "By the way, Hamanaka-kun, on November 16th, Mimako Sakaguchi came to my house for the first time and asked me a bunch of questions about Miho Matsubara, Matsuo Shrine, and Kokusai Tourist Hotel. I was in a fog. She went back At that time, she said that she had called and was going to meet some important person." Ise recalled.He changed the subject to adjust Hamaka's mood. "Oh? She said something like that?" Bangzhong's eyes lit up. "Yes. I asked her who the important people were, but she just smiled and didn't answer. On the 24th, Mimako Sakaguchi came again. I went to Tateyama with you. I hadn't returned to Shinjuku Station when she came. My wife told her I wasn't there, and she left after waiting for a while, and was killed in Atami on the way home. I think the 'important' appointment made on the phone by Mimako Sakaguchi after her first visit to my house Character' is probably the murderer." "Oh? Did the teacher inform the police of his suspicions?" "No. I hadn't thought of that level at the time and forgot to give the details to the police." "From what the teacher said, this 'important person' is probably the murderer who killed Ms. Mimako on the night of the 24th. In short, we must find the murderer and avenge her. It is terrible to kill a person with a mental disorder. What can't be tolerated!" Bangzhong's eyelids twitched.He is indeed a hot-blooded young man.

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