Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen Family Gathering

"Professor, isn't there no need to dig there?" "No, the Indus River is very wide, and the Helabh will be abandoned because there is no railway construction, but there is still room for excavation in Moben Jodallo. Mr. Asuka, according to my research, there must be another Helabh in the Indus River Basin It is the third largest ancient civilization city after Bo, Moben and Dallo, if we can excavate an unknown ancient city, what a great contribution it would be!" "You are right, if this ancient city really existed..." "There must be, my research can't be wrong."

"I heard that place is quite deserted." "Yes, if left alone, it will eventually become part of the soil." This is the so-called "cave" in Asuka's home. If you look in from the entrance or the window, you can see bookshelves with walls as high as the ceiling. The shelves are filled with archaeological documents from all over the world, including the works of Chang Yingming. It is probably from here that Kosuke Kindaichi discovered the "Asuka Collection" from Shin Kyogo's villa. After the tragic death of his father, Asuka Zhongxi's "archaeological dream" was thus dusted.Once the pressure is too great and it is difficult to find a balance point, he always hides here to seek peace of mind.

In addition to a rich collection of archaeological documents and photo albums, this "cave" also has five large glass cabinets, which store precious unearthed cultural relics from ancient Eastern civilization and ancient Egypt. "It's such a pity that everything returns to dust like this! If its fate is destined to be like this, I hope to go there and see it before it is destroyed..." Asuka Zhongxi sighed softly, and what was placed in front of him now was a heavy document about Indian civilization, which also included the vast remains of the brick and earth civilization of Moben Jodallo.

"Zhongxi, when are these relics from?" Feng Chiyoko asked a question from the side. Showa thirty-five years can be said to be the peak period of movies. After this year, movies were quickly replaced by TV. Feng Chiyoko and Asuka Zhongxi are not young, so she is eager to catch Asuka Zhongxi; However, Feng Chiyoko will not express her thoughts openly. Chang Yingming answered Feng Chiyoko's question: "This is a prosperous civilization between 2,500 and 1,500 BC, so if we push forward from now, it will be 4,500 to 3,500 years ago... Ms. Feng, Indian civilization was started by the Ganges River, just like the Nile River gave birth to the ancient Egyptian culture, and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers gave birth to the prosperous Mesopotamian civilization..."

"Oh... is this a sewer?" Feng Chiyoko showed a high degree of interest in the photos in front of her, so she was even more encouraged by Chang Yingming. "Yes. You see, here are the remains of the Great Bath... All the remains in India are made of bricks and soil. But the salt in that area is quite heavy, and these salts will produce chemical reactions after melting under the surface. Then the bricks and soil are corroded. If these salts are allowed to continue to erode, the remains of ancient civilizations that have been sleeping underground for four thousand years and can be excavated almost intact will return to dust because they are excavated too slowly. Want to save these precious The ancient civilization of the Pakistani government alone is not enough..."

"I heard that the professor has been to Pakistan recently?" "Well, it's just like a sightseeing trip. I feel very sorry. Just thinking about these precious relics and loess will make people feel sorry." "How is it? Chiyoko, do you want to go and have a look?" Asuka Zhongxi asked cheerfully. "Well, if you want to take me there, I want to go there too." "If you want to go, we can take a plane to Karachi, and then go north for another 300 kilometers. There is an airport for sightseeing in the suburbs of Mobenjodaro, so transportation is not a problem at all."

"By the way, what does 'Mobenjodaro' mean?" "It means 'hill of the dead.' You have only to see the place with your own eyes to see that it is a terracotta world, literally. The salt erosion has spread to the upper parts of the ruins, and there are It presents a desolate scene, which makes people cry..." At this time, Kazuhiko Murakami walked in, interrupting Chang Yingming's eloquent explanation. When Asuka Zhongxi saw Kazuhiko Murakami, lines of laughter appeared in the corners of his eyes. "Kazuhiko, thank you for your hard work. I heard from Akiyama that the flooding in that area is very serious."

"Well, but it doesn't matter anymore, most of the stagnant water has receded. Ms. Feng, long time no see." Feng Chiyoko quickly stood up from the chair and said: "I heard that you went to visit Meisha, but I, a mother, didn't show any concern..." "You don't have to worry about it. Uncle asked me to do these things. It's all right now." "I heard that Meisha's grandma is not at home?" "About this, it's all my fault." "How do you say that?" Asuka Zhongxi asked. "It's like this. Misa's grandma arrived at Naganohara Station at about half past one, and I arrived at Sakurazawa's villa at the same time. At that time, I thought that grandma would take a bus back from Naganohara, so that it would take less than two hours to get home. So I waited there until three-thirty, and by the time I left, Grandma hadn't come home."

"Is the traffic on the Joetsu line interrupted?" "No, Uncle, I heard that Meisha's grandma is home now." "You mean..." "If only I had waited a little longer. I waited until 3:30, looking around for the devastation after the typhoon, and suddenly remembered Sakurazawa's sister, so I stopped by to see her." "So that's what happened." "Not long after I arrived at my sister's place, my brother-in-law also came back. We chatted for a while, and my brother-in-law said that Meisha's grandma came back with him."

After Kazuhiko Murakami finished speaking, a cheerful smile appeared on his face. "What's going on with Xizi? She told me on the phone that almost all the trees fell down." Asuka Zhongxi's voice sounded a little strange. "By the way, my sister and brother-in-law are coming over later! My sister said that I want to have dinner here. As for the fallen tree, I have sent someone to deal with it." "My mother-in-law... came back with Mr. Sakurai?" "Yes. Regarding this matter, my sister said that I have to apologize to Grandma Dixiaolu!" "What's going on here?"

"Grandma Futekoji and her brother-in-law took the same train, but that train was so crowded that neither of them knew they were on the same train. When they got off at Naganohara Station, they all took taxis, Grandma had no choice but to take a taxi home like everyone else. Speaking of this, I have to admire the foresight of my brother-in-law. It turned out that my brother-in-law had already asked my sister to call a taxi from Karuizawa to Naganohara to pick him up ..." "What happened to Tiexiong's own car?" "My brother-in-law said that he is not familiar with the Joetsu Line area, and it would be a waste of time to drive by himself." "That's right, taking the train is a more correct choice under such circumstances." Chang Yingming chimed in on the sidelines. "Just when my brother-in-law was about to get into the taxi, I heard my grandma calling him, so my brother-in-law invited my grandma to take the taxi together; the car drove to my brother-in-law's villa first, and my grandma thought that since she came to my brother-in-law's house, she should be polite. I said hello to my sister, but my sister happened to be in the bathroom at the time and couldn't receive grandma, so my sister said she was sorry for Grandma Dixiaolu." "So, both their grandparents and grandchildren are taken care of by your family...I'm sorry." "Ha ha……" Asuka Zhongzhao laughed heartily. "Didn't you also meet that young police officer just now?" "Yeah! The officer had the look of saying I'm a bad woman." Feng Chiyoko said so, but didn't take this matter to heart. "By the way, uncle, how is the situation over there?" Kazuhiko Murakami refers to how the investigation of the murder case where Shin Kyogo was killed is going. "Kazuhiko, what do you think about this?" Chang Yingming pointed to the matchstick figure next to the archaeological documents on the table.In fact, Kazuhiko Murakami had already noticed it just now. "Professor, what are these?" "I heard that such graphics were lined up on the table where the victim lay prone." "Mr. Shen is..." "Mr. Shen seems to have been poisoned to death with potassium cyanate." Asuka Zhongxi said in a calm tone, but there was a nervous look on his face. "Mr. Shen met someone in the studio of his villa last night. The police found that man... No, it is not yet known whether the other party is a man or a woman... In short, the police deduced that the man made Mr. Shen take the poison. At that time, Mr. Shen was probably using fire sticks to explain the matter to the other party, and if we can know what the patterns emitted by these match sticks represent, it is not difficult to know who the murderer is." "Mr. Asuka thought that these might be cuneiform characters, so he specially drew them. Kazuhiko, when you saw these graphics, did you have any special feelings?" "Has Mr. Shen studied cuneiform writing?" Kazuhiko Murakami said while looking at the matches arranged on the table. "I heard that two or three days ago, Mr. Shen came here to cherish two or three books about the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia." "Mr. Shen has no inspiration recently, and he can't draw good works. It should be impossible for him to know such things as cuneiform characters. I saw that Mr. Kindaichi drew these things seriously, so I also drew gourds in the same way. I thought this thing might have some reference value.” "Kazuhiko, what do you think of these matchstick puzzles?" "No. Professor, what do you think of these figures?" "I don't know. First, we have to determine whether these are cuneiform at all." "Yes! Assuming that Mr. Shen has knowledge of cuneiform and wants to use these graphics to explain something to the other party, then the other party must also be a person who understands cuneiform. At present, there are not many people in Japan who have studied cuneiform." "Haha! It makes sense to say so, it seems that I am worrying too much." Asuka Zhongxi laughed loudly, but Murakami Kazuhiko couldn't laugh, his eyes moved from the matchstick to Asuka Zhongxi's face. "Uncle, did Mr. Kindaichi express any opinion on this matter?" "No, that person...even if he finds something, he won't reveal it unless he has certain clues and evidence." "Is Mr. Kindaichi still at Mr. Shen's villa?" "No, he's probably gone to Hoshino Onsen by now, and he said he's going to find Mr. Shinji Tsumura." "By the way, Tsumura-sensei has also come to Karuizawa." "Kazuhiko, why did you know this? Did you read the poster on the telegraph pole?" "No, I knew about it when I left Tokyo." "Why? Kazuhiko, do you know Shinji Tsumura?" Feng Chiyoko asked incredulously. "I don't know Mr. Tsumura, and I haven't met Mr. Tsumura, but my high school classmate, Shigeki Tachibana, is now a student of the Composition Department of the Music Department of the University of Arts. He comes to Karuizawa every year as the convener of the music festival. Said that this year's music festival is a presentation of Mr. Tsumura's work." At this time, Tetsuo Sakurai and Xizi walked in, and the topic stopped there. Xizi looked at Asuka Zhongxi with unnatural eyes, she probably thought of her indifferent attitude on the phone this morning, so she felt embarrassed. Then, Feng Chiyoko thanked Sakurai Tetsuo for her mother-in-law.Sakurai Tetsuo replied: "Don't be so alien, it was grandma who saw me first, and grandma has a friend." "Oh? What kind of friend?" "Grandma is a friend I met on the train. That person planned to take grandma back here, but he couldn't get a taxi. He was still worried about this at the time!" "Did that person go to Sakurazawa with you?" "No, that person has friends who live in Nanyuan." When Asuka Zhongxi heard this, he immediately asked: "Nanyuan? Who is his friend?" "Grandma may know this...but that person looks like a gentleman." Tetsuo Sakurai and Xizi had already heard about the murder in Yazaki from Kazuhiko Murakami, and the reason why they didn't bring it up was to maintain basic politeness. "By the way, brother-in-law, sister, let me introduce you, this is Professor Chang Yingming." "Just now I heard Kazuhiko mention the professor, what have you learned?" As expected of a businessman, Sakurai Tetsuo has a very tactful attitude. "The harvest you said is..." "Papa seems to be in deep trouble. How was the adventure at Moben Bridge Dallow?" Field Yingming said with a smile: "It's that matter! It's up to Kazuhiko next." "That's right, Dad hurts Yiyan so much that it hurts to the bottom of his heart." After Xizi finished speaking, he turned his gaze to the glass cabinet opposite. "By the way, Ms. Feng, there is another one here who is my most powerful ally." "Oh, who is it?" "It's you, Ms. Feng! Although Yiyan is a powerful ally, if I can have another super ally like you... Ms. Feng, please go with Dad!" "Hehe! Just kidding... However, if your father is willing to take me there, I will definitely go with him. I just like to join in the fun." "Father will definitely take you there, and Professor Chang and Yiyan will also go. After all, I am also a woman, so I can understand your feelings." "Xizi, what about you? Do you want to go with us?" Before Xizi replied, Kazuhiko Murakami interrupted and said: "No, Uncle, don't look at my brother-in-law as a man. If there is no sister by his side, he might not be able to do anything. Just go to brother-in-law Cheng Cheng's house and see." Asuka Zhongxi suddenly burst into laughter, and everyone present turned to look at him in surprise. "That's right, Kazuhiko knows the matter of Tiexiong and Xizi best, so even if Xizi wants to go, he can't." At this time, Akiyama Takuzo walked in in a panic. "Akiyama, what's going on in such a panic?" "Master, Kazuhiko, Mr. Sakurai, Miss, have you noticed a very suspicious person wandering around?" "Uncle Akiyama, what's going on here?" "Before you came, there was a strange person wandering in the opposite woods. He didn't know where he came from. I chased him from behind... Didn't you see that person?" "What does that person look like?" "I can't see clearly. I only know that he is wearing a black peaked cap and a black scarf. By the way, the man also has a pair of black sunglasses on his face." "Akiyama, why do you find him strange?" Since Xizi turned her back to everyone, no one could see the expression on her face, only Asuka Zhongxi noticed that Xizi's back was a little stiff. "Master, just now Mrs. Dixiaolu also said that she saw a man dressed like this running out of the bushes of their villa. She said that the man was completely black from head to toe." "My mother-in-law is here too?" "Yes, she also took Miss Meisha with her. I heard that she came here specially to thank Kazuhiko." "Kazuhiko, have you mentioned to Meisha that Mr. Shen was killed this morning?" "Uncle, I didn't say anything, because Meisha was alone at home, and I didn't want to scare her." "Then, did you tell me about Ms. Feng's coming here?" "I didn't say anything about it." "Akiyama, take them to the living room, wait a minute...it's half past five, please stay for a light meal. Are the lights turned on?" "But young master, that strange man..." "Akiyama, this is not like the usual you at all. Maybe that person just got lost, just be careful." Asuka Zhongxi said while secretly looking at Kazuhiko Murakami. Kazuhiko Murakami looked over the shoulder of Chang Yingming, looking intently at the matchstick puzzle on the table.