Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven

The next morning, Masako took the 7:10 express train from Ueno Station.Mother sent her to the station. It stands to reason that Horizawa's parents should travel together, but it happens that neither of them is in Japan.A few days before Horizawa's disappearance, his uncle, who was a branch manager of a company in New York, invited his parents to the United States for vacation.After Horizawa's whereabouts disappeared, Masako didn't inform his parents. Considering that there was probably only one overseas trip in her life, she didn't want to add trouble to her parents-in-law. The in-laws in the United States sent a telegram.

Although her natal father sympathized with Masako, he was very indignant at Horizawa and Reiko's misbehavior and refused to go with her.In this way, Changzi can only go alone to pick up the corpse in a strange place.When she came back, she had to hold two urns. Mother would rather go with her, but Masako was afraid that her mother would not be able to bear the horror of Horizawa and Reiko, so she stopped her mother from going with her. Of course, Changzi knew very well that it was beyond her ability to deal with such an important matter alone, so she had to bear it as a disaster that fell on her head, and it would be better if no one did it.If she was accompanied by her own relatives, she would be even more unbearable.

The train traveled for more than five hours.Changzi wanted to reach the destination quickly, but also complained that the train was running too fast, and his mood was extremely complicated. The train stopped in Sendai, and most of the passengers spoke with a northeast accent.Passengers sitting in the seat in front of Masako happily chatted about what they had seen in Tokyo.It seemed that they had returned from a visit to Tokyo from Sendai. Arriving at Sendai at almost 2:00 pm, I immediately changed to the train to the Yamagata branch line and went straight to the west. The destination Zukunin Onsen was still an hour away from Sendai.

The train quickly entered the col, and the rivers on both sides were rushing non-stop.Every time the train passes an iron bridge, the river is sometimes on the left and sometimes on the right. The bodies of Horizawa and Reiko are about to be seen, and the time is approaching by the minute.In another twenty minutes, Changzi will see the tragedy in reality.Thinking of this, she didn't want to go any further, and it would be better to return to Tokyo immediately. She had telegraphed the local village office of her arrival time. The train arrives at the station.The platform was deserted and deserted, the continuous high mountains hung above the roof like a mural, and the white clouds in summer fluttered in the narrow sky.

Most of the passengers who got off were people going to take a hot spring bath.There are young couples, and there are also old people and children who are dispatched as a family.In front of the station, the receptionist of the hotel is holding a small banner to attract guests. "Have you booked a hotel yet?" As Masako exited the ticket gate, a hotel receptionist came up to ask her.She shook her head, and another young man in his thirties in a shirt came towards her. "Excuse me, are you Mrs. Horizawa?" The other party spoke with a Northeast accent, and Chang Zi knew that this was the person who came to greet him. "yes."

"I belong to the Youth League of Village A." This person has a good complexion on his face, no smile, and looks a little restrained. "Thank you for taking care of me." Changzi saluted him solemnly. Seeing the person who came to greet her, Masako immediately imagined the place where Horizawa and Lingzi's bodies were found, that was in the mountain depression. When the bodies were found, they immediately reported to the police, and then the youth league members went to collect the bodies.This series of processes appeared before Changzi's eyes. There were buses parked in front of Changzi, all bound for Sakunan Hot Spring.

"Let's get in the car!" Most of the passengers on the bus are going to the hot springs, and people are chatting and laughing.The view of the stream from the window is mesmerizing. "This river is called Guangshuchuan. The downstream flows into Sendai, and the upstream originates from Zukunami Hot Spring." The youth league members didn't even introduce them to her. The bus traveled for thirty minutes to arrive at Hot Spring Town.Although it is located in a mountain gorge, there are several hotels with modern architecture. "You have worked hard." Another man appeared, and he spoke to the youth league members who were going to meet Changzi.This person is about forty years old and is an employee of the village office.

"I never thought of this..." the man blinked and said with a northeast accent. "Go to the scene right away! We have taken care of the body. The police also know that my wife is coming, so wait there!" Changzi lowered his head: "Then go right away!" "That's good. But you just came from Tokyo, have a cup of tea and rest, rest!" "No." Masako wanted to arrive at the scene earlier, not only to see the bodies of Horizawa and Reiko earlier, but also because she was unwilling to sit and chat with strangers here and now. "Let's go now!" Masako urged.

"Okay, let's go now." A dilapidated mid-size car was parked outside.The staff of the village office sat beside Masako.The youth league member sat on the assistant's seat. The car drove away from Zuo Bingquan Wen.The roads are bad, a section of the road is still being repaired, and the cars are bumping badly. The stream flows under the cliff.The road twists and turns along the mountainside. "Ma'am, this place looks good!" said the staff of the village office. "This area is called Minghe Gorge. In autumn, the red leaves are very beautiful." From the perspective of tourists, this area can be called the unparalleled scenery in the world.Those who took a hot spring bath walked on the road in twos and threes.

——The bodies of Horizawa and Reiko were found somewhere.What was the situation at that time? ——Masako hoped to find out as soon as possible. The car was still bouncing, and the engine sounded like hell.It was a good opportunity to talk, and Changzi decided to ask the staff of the village office sitting next to him.The man in his forties showed sympathy for her, but his answer was as if he was dealing with business. "Three kilometers along the stream from here, there is a village named Baize. One and a half kilometers further forward, two corpses lie on the rocks in the depths of the stream. The male corpse and the female corpse are about ten meters apart. "

The youth league member added: "The corpses were discovered by the villagers. No one usually goes to that place. According to the police who came for the autopsy, they have been dead for a month. It would be great if they were found earlier." The staff of the village office knew that Changzi was the wife of the man who died in love, and the female corpse was her sister, so he seemed a little worried when he spoke. The village hall is located in an old-fashioned house with a thatched roof. Perhaps because Horizawa was an employee of the Central Government Office, the village head greeted Masako at the door as soon as Masako arrived in order to show his respect. The village head is an old man in his seventies with a white beard. "This time it was absolutely unexpected. You must be very sad!" The village chief greeted Changzi. On such occasions, the person who accepts the greeting is even more uncomfortable. "The remains are in the village hall, waiting for you to come and receive them." Having said that, the village chief paused. "You probably want to cremate the body and take it back!" "Yes. That's what I mean." "To tell you the truth, I don't have a crematorium here, and the villagers all practice burial." Changzi glanced at the village chief. "If cremation is required, the body must be transported to Sendai. So far, we have no such precedent here. If cremation must be done, it must be burned with dry firewood on the mountain." "On the mountain?" "Find a place in the back mountain, cut some firewood and burn the body on the firewood. Is this a good way? Please pay attention to my wife. You must know that the body has been exposed to the open air for a month, and some parts have rotted. I think it is best to transport it to Sendai. Difficult." This was something Masako didn't expect.She thought there were crematoriums everywhere like Tokyo. After hearing what the village chief said, Changzi thought that it would not be a bad idea to be burned on the mountain, and maybe Hori Yi and Ling Zi Zai Tianzhi would be happy to do so. "Incineration on the mountain is very troublesome!" "Yes. It will burn all night. The local youth group will manage it until the body is burned to ashes." "Then please." Masako begged. "Well, let's make arrangements right away. But madam, you don't have to go to the cremation site. You will feel sad when you see it. There is no hotel near here. Although my house is simple, you can stay in my house!" There are many hotels in Zuobin hot springs, and the village head considers Changzi's mood and invites her to live in his home. "Then, let's go and see the remains first!" The village chief gave him a wink, and another man in his forties waved to Changzi: "Please come this way." Masako apologized to them. They came to a big house like a warehouse.Masako opened the door and went in, smelling a scent of incense sticks.After a closer look, incense was lit around the body, which was from the village government to prevent the body from emitting a bad smell. "Please!" There are two coffins parked side by side in the middle."The Spirit of Hideo Horizawa" and "The Spirit of Reiko Asakawa" are written in chalk on the lid of the coffin. People from the village office gently removed the coffin lid.The husband's face immediately caught Masako's eyes. The husband is starting to rot.Mouth and nose stuffed with cotton.Incredibly long hair.Changzi also wanted to see his sister's body earlier. People from the village office removed the lid of my sister's coffin. Lingzi is also rotten.Masako recognized her sister from her hairstyle, eyebrows, eyes, and tight lips.She never dreamed that she would see her sister in such a place. She called her name, knelt beside the coffin, and burst into tears. Changzi took out a small cosmetic box and sprinkled white powder on her sister's face.My younger sister often used this small makeup box secretly during her lifetime, and the two sisters had disputes over it.Now she is willing to use it for her younger sister until the white powder in the box is used up. Changzi couldn't stop crying. ——Lingzi, you died so badly!Why die? Thinking about it carefully, this younger sister is her reliance.Although the mother was sad, Changzi was the hardest hit by the death of her sister. She seemed to be exhausted and could not move a step. It was very dark in the room, and the faint light came in from the small window.The room is very hot, how can my sister not rot in such a place. Suddenly, she had an impulse to transport the coffin to Tokyo.Thinking of his parents, it's better not to let them see Lingzi's dead body.Lingzi also didn't want to bring this face to meet her parents. The younger sister pouted, as if she wanted to tell Changzi something.This difficult sister is actually the cutest. The people in the village hall are all outsiders, they just wait on the sidelines. After a while, nails were put on the coffin.Changzi burst into tears with a "wow".This is her farewell cry to her husband Horizawa and sister Reiko. Cremation was carried out that night in an open field on the mountain. During the day, the youth group has set up firewood in a "well" shape, and everything is ready. The well-shaped wooden frame is full of dead branches, on which the coffin is placed, and then covered with a layer of dead branches, so that the coffin is tightly covered, like a hill. Two monks chant sutras before lighting the fire.The narrow sky is full of stars.The wind rustled in the dark woods.After the monk finished chanting, Changzi lit the fire with his own hands. Gasoline was sprinkled on the dead wood, and the flames spread immediately, forming a raging fire.The flames reflected the faces of the monks and youth members.When the monk recited the scriptures again, Changzi put his palms together and prayed. Lingzi is burning.pity is burning... —Lingzi, rest in peace! Masako bowed to her sister, who must have been pained to be cremated with Horizawa.If possible, she really wanted her sister to be cremated alone.But how can it be done here and now? Lingzi will definitely protest to Changzi in the fire.She never wanted to go with her brother-in-law.At this moment, it seems that Lingzi is telling her sister that she does not want to be cremated with her brother-in-law. Flames rose into the sky, crackling the trees.Sparks are flying in the sky. "Mrs!" Changzi heard someone calling her from behind. "You rest for a while!" It was the old village head with a white beard who spoke.Here and now, seeing such an old man, one will naturally feel a sense of security in one's heart.The white beard was also reddened by the firelight. "It will burn all night tonight. Everyone stay here and keep burning until dawn." The old village chief said in a hoarse voice.His words contained love and sympathy for Changzi.Changzi felt that this old man was like his grandfather or uncle. "Everything has been arranged for you at home." Changzi could not help but burst into tears. "Please! Please!" Chief Cai urged. Changzi stood up silently and saluted him, not knowing how to thank him. Changzi saluted and thanked the youth league members who were guarding the sacrifice here. After going down the slope, the guide turned on the flashlight.The firelight behind her was dancing, reflecting on the grassland in front of her. It is about one kilometer from the mountain to the village chief's house. The village head's house is a house with a large roof, rather like a monastery's warehouse. Due to the care of the village chief, none of his family members came out. After entering the bed, it was already two o'clock in the middle of the night. The surroundings were silent, and the voices of people in the distance came with the wind. The mountain was still burning, and it seemed that the light of the fire also came here with the voices of people. Changzi couldn't fall asleep anyway.She felt sorry for her younger sister who died at such a young age. She wanted to watch the fire until her younger sister was reduced to ashes, but the customs of the village did not allow her to do so. The young people who were being cremated on the mountain were drinking wine while adding firewood to the fire.Considering the mood of these people, let them drink, but also can't let the bereaved family guard them. Masako actually saw the deaths of Horizawa and Reiko.This is an indisputable fact. Masako is still not convinced by this reality, she thinks Reiko will never be with Horizawa, and she doesn't want to die with Horizawa. This belief is firmly occupied in her heart, no matter who persuades her, she will not change her mind. Why are Horizawa and Reiko lying on the valley of the Gwangso River?She is determined to investigate this matter from tomorrow, and she must get to the bottom of it. Early the next morning, Changzi went to the mountain again. The piles of firewood had been burned to a pile of black ashes. Here comes the monk.Two or three people also came from the village office. The young man who met Masako at the station was looking for the remains from the black ashes, and was holding them in the urn with bamboo chopsticks. "A woman's bones are delicate." The man muttered. When the burnt gray bones were clamped into the urn, there was a "dong" sound. The two urns were put into two wooden boxes respectively.Write the names of Horisawa and Reiko on the lid to prevent mistakes. "thanks, thanks." Changzi thanked everyone who came to the mountain.The simple nostalgia of the local people penetrated deeply into her heart.Saying thank you is not enough. When they came to the village office, the village chief guided Changzi into the reception room. Here, Changzi solemnly thanked the old village head. If the village head wasn't around last night, she still didn't know how to deal with herself. "In this way, you can also be at peace." The old village head said with a smile: "Everyone has his own destiny. Anyway, he must die anyway. After death, he will become a Buddha." The village head asked Changzi to forgive his husband and sister. People from the police station are here.A police officer with the marking of the Minister of Inspection walked ahead.Perhaps he was the Minister of Inspection simply expressing his condolences to Masako.Then he asked Masako about the situation, how Horizawa and Reiko came out at that time, and their usual behavior. Masako thought that no matter how detailed he was, he would not gain people's understanding.She said that she usually did not notice any irregularities between her husband and Momei. The so-called love death is an abnormal death.The police station only formally recorded Changzi's words in the relevant documents. "Please press a fingerprint." The inspector handed the document to Changzi, and Changzi stained his thumb with inkpad from the village office, as if dipped in Lingzi's blood. "Excuse me—" Changzi asked the inspector. "What medicine did the two of them take?" "Sleeping pills." The inspector replied.Only then did Changzi know the cause of their deaths. "An empty bottle of sleeping pills was found on the rock. The two obviously died in love, so no autopsy was performed." "On the rock? That's next to Horizawa's body! Where's my sister?" "There is the same medicine bottle next to your sister's body." "Same bottle, that means they're taking the same medicine, doesn't it?" "yes." The Minister of Inspection said the name of the medicine. "How did the two come to this village? Has anyone seen it?" "Nobody saw it." The inspector replied.A person from the village office interjected: "We asked everywhere and they said no. There is a bus going through Yamagata, maybe they got off halfway to get here. The place where they committed suicide is rarely visited by people. No one saw them. Not surprisingly." "The same love death case happened here before, and it was not discovered before the death." The inspector added. "Then where did the two of you come from, you can't understand Luo!" "No. I know where your husband is from." "Where is he from?" "The night before, Mr. Horizawa stayed at Sakunami Onsen." Masako stared at the inspector's face. "He's staying at the Aobaya inn in Sakunami Onsen." "Stay overnight?" "No, stay for two nights." "Two nights? At that time..." Changzi's voice was blocked again when it reached his throat. "Is he with Weimei?" "No, only himself, no companions." "Really?" Chang Zi breathed a sigh of relief. "It is said that after your husband opened the hotel, he seemed to be waiting for someone to come." "Waiting for someone to come?" "Yes, the proprietor of the hotel said so." "Who is Horizawa waiting for?" "I don't know. I heard from the people in the hotel that your husband noticed the arrival time of the bus and went to the station to check occasionally. The shopkeeper asked: Who are you waiting for? Please tell me the name, and I will meet you. Your family The master said: "No need. I don't know if I will come or not?" Changzi blinked his eyes, could he be waiting for Lingzi? "The shopkeeper said, although your husband said, he still doesn't know if he will come or not? In fact, judging from his expression, that person must come." According to the inspector's voice, the person Horizawa is waiting for is Reiko. "Did that person come later?" "No. Your husband stayed two nights and left the hotel at eleven o'clock in the morning on the third day." "Did he take the train after he left the hotel?" "That's the problem. The person in the hotel said: I'll get you a car. He said: No need. Just walk over there. As for whether he went to the station, I don't know. Let's talk about this matter It’s been a month, and there’s really no way to investigate.” "Then what about the train tickets? Normally, the guests always entrust the hotel to buy the train tickets." "Neither. Besides, he has made up his mind to commit suicide, and he tries not to let others know his whereabouts, or he has already bought it himself." "How's Horizawa's situation? Has he been depressed and lost in thought since he opened the hotel?" "The people in the hotel didn't say anything about this. It's probably because there was nothing unusual, so others didn't pay attention to him. In short, he gave the strongest impression that he was waiting for someone." "thank you." At this time, the inspection minister handed over the relics of Horizawa and Lingzi to Changzi.Masako took a look and recognized that it was a suitcase that Horizawa often used. "We once wondered if there was a suicide note inside, so we opened the box together with the people from the village office." Masako opened the suitcase, and found that everything inside had been put in by herself, without any change.There are two spare shirts, which do not appear to have been worn. Of course, no suicide note was found either. Then she opened her sister's box, which contained face washing tools, a replacement dress, and underwear, all neatly packed.The police once opened it and looked at it, but it was still packed as it was. Lingzi is dead, but Lingzi's life seems to be still alive in this small box.Thinking of this, Changzi was very sad. Who is Horizawa waiting for?Did he really wait for Lingzi to arrive? "Excuse me—" Changzi asked the inspector. "Has anyone seen Reiko? Even if she wasn't with Horizawa, has anyone seen her walking alone?"