Chapter 43 Forty-two, approaching the end of everything

I rushed into the entrance and ran up the stairs with Meixiang who had been staying on the first floor.Mom has come back and is yelling at me for finding the old newspapers I threw around.I don't have time for this.There is no time.There is not much time left. "What's wrong? So flustered?" I rushed into the room, Mr. S asked in surprise.I didn't answer, but just approached Mr. S immediately. "I heard about it from my grandfather." "Oh, you already know. So what's the matter? Did the old man admit it all? He admitted that he was the murderer who killed kittens and puppies?"

"Stop pretending! Didn't I already tell you, I already know everything! I already know everything you have done!" "Oh? What the hell do you know?" I took a deep breath and continued speaking in one breath. "The murderer who killed the kittens and puppies is you, Mr. S. You were having a bad time at school, feeling miserable and lonely, so you went to kill those kittens and puppies to vent your anger. Then you put the place where you put the dead bodies Tell the old man through the map distributed by the school. The old man will find the corpse according to the map, and then break the leg of the dead body!"

"Oh. That's right. And then?" "I finally understand the reason why you trained Daji to look for rotten meat. You want to bring home the carcasses of the animals you killed. Mr. S, that's what you planned at the beginning. Because you found kittens and puppies If your figure was found at the scene before the dead body, you would be suspected immediately. But you can’t suppress the cruel idea of ​​killing animals. So you plan to kill those animals and let Daji put them at night Bringing back the dead bodies. This was your original plan. But then you gave the dead animals as gifts to the old man, so this plan was abandoned. You decided not to bring back those dead bodies but to the old man. Do not recover those corpses, that is to say leave them where they are. This change of plan is very dangerous for you. But you sympathize with the old man very much, because the old man is in the same situation as you. So you just Take a risk and want to do something for grandpa."

"It's ridiculous! Mr. Dao, you don't know. If a dog has been trained once, it won't forget. As long as you remember to look for the dead body, no matter how you try to stop it, Daji will still break free from the rope and run out. The dog's dead body back. It's like bringing back my dead body." "So you use soap!" I didn't back down a step.Now, I know very well that if I want to suppress Mr. S, I have to gamble everything. "Daji hates the smell of soap very much. So you put soap in the mouth of the cat and dog you killed. This way even if Daji runs out, the body will not be brought back."

"Huh? It's the first time I've heard of it. It's incredible." "I will never believe anything you say again." I stretched out my right hand and brought the bottle containing Mr. S to my eyes. "Ah, Mr. Daoist!——What are you going to do?" "Nothing. I'm just telling you. Don't lie to me again." "Your face is so scary. It's the same as when you put that big spider in last time. You go and look in the mirror. Don't you feel surprised, Daofu? You didn't even notice it yourself. You have a very scary face That part-"

I hold the bottle with my left hand and quickly twist the cap with my right. "Did you take out the last trump card? Want to use violence?" "If you don't promise me that you will never lie to me again, I will do it!" I opened the lid and threw it on the floor, sticking two fingers into the bottle. "Are you kidding me?" Mr. S's voice changed. "No kidding. I mean it." I stretched out my finger at Mr. S, and Mr. S hurriedly retreated to the other end of the nest.When his fingertips were about to touch his body, he suddenly stretched out his eight legs to kick the nest, and jumped to the mouth of the bottle.

"Master Daofu, calm down!" My fingers are always chasing Mr. S. Mr. S wanted to jump up again, but it was too late, his body was firmly clamped by my thumb and index finger.Mr. S can be felt on the fingertips, ready to move. Mr. S and I have nothing to say.I stared fixedly at the other person's face. Mr. S no longer squirmed, just waiting for my action. "I see." Finally, Mr. S said.A voice that seemed to come from the bottom of a cave, dark and emotionless. "I will never lie again." This sentence made me feel relaxed all over my body, and I sat on the floor paralyzed. Mr. S finally understood my wish, which made me very happy from the bottom of my heart.I looked at Mr. S and said calmly: "I'm sorry, Mr. S. I didn't want to—" But what Mr. S said next made me feel cold all over.

"—I'll tell you everything." Time seemed to stop at that moment.I really don't want to believe what Mr. S said just now. "What's the meaning?" I felt that my voice was extremely fragile. "I'll tell you all I know. The truth. Isn't that what you want?" "I didn't say that. As long as Mr. S, you don't lie anymore." But Mr. S ignored my words. "I'm here to fulfill your wishes. First—Michio-kun saw those in Iwamura-sensei's room by accident. Iwamura-sensei just happened to have that perverted hobby, and that has nothing to do with my death actually. Relationship. Second——I was not by Iwamura-sensei..." Mr. S's words came to an abrupt end as if cut off. Mr. S was crushed silently under my fingers.

Just like when he was hung from the Japanese-style room that day, Mr. S leaked fluid from his body and died.The only difference is that the liquid dripped on the tatami that day.This time it was on my hand. I turned back to Mika. "Mei Xiang, Mr. S is dead." I still held Mr. S's body with my fingers, and slowly approached Mei Xiang. "Meixiang—do you like Mr. S?" I knelt down and grabbed Meixiang's body with my left hand. "Then you eat him!" His right hand was close to Meixiang's mouth. "You don't have to bear it anymore. Eat Mr. S!" Meixiang opened her mouth happily. Mr. S's body disappeared in her mouth. "It's time for this to end."

I walked out of the house. August 4th at 6:30 pm. Facing the sun, Taizao walked on the path among the oak forests.The fallen leaves on both sides are shining orange-red under the light of the setting sun.The clear chirping of the oil cicada seemed to be sucked into the evening sky.Taizo walked slowly and step by step, as if full of nostalgia. "Crime of damaging animal corpses? Is there such a crime?" I don't know if there is such a charge.Anyway, I am afraid that I will be imprisoned soon. "Cough, forget it, I'm mentally prepared anyway..." Even if he was detained by the police, no one would care.The daughter doesn't have much contact at all. This job at Gifu Agricultural University has been going on for a whole year, and it just ended this morning.It didn't cause any trouble to the people in the research room.

Taizo now intends to go directly to the police station.He doesn't think it's okay to make a phone call.If he hadn't confessed face to face, he might have escaped.Said some high-sounding words before getting into the topic, and then hung up the phone easily emerged.However, if it drags on, the police investigation will move forward.Not far from the surface of their own name.By then it will be too late.So you must confess to the police as much as possible.Tell the police what you just said to that boy called Dolph. despite this. ——Did your mother-in-law do it too—— Could it be that he is still dead?Could it be that someone killed the old lady, then broke her legs, and stuffed soap in her mouth?It's supposed to be a copycat crime.Without Taizo's knowledge, someone imitated his method of damaging the dead cat and puppy, and did the same thing to the old lady. "Even so. The responsibility lies with me..." Taizao looked forward, and the shutter box was still in its usual place.There is no need to check it anymore. "Oh, this must be returned." Taizo reached into his trouser pocket and took out the key to the lock. Walking to the side of the blind box, Taizo stopped in his tracks, staring blankly at this small white box with four corners that looked like a house in a Lilliputian country. Is that all right? That question came to mind. Surrender to the police before the crime you committed is revealed.Sounds like the right behavior.However, the purpose of Taizao's doing this was just to protect himself.What Taizao wanted to confess to the police was, after all, what he had just said to Dove. —I will also confess to the police everything you said.It's just practice—Taizo had said so to Doffer.This is the truth.It was for this purpose that Dolph, who was suspicious of himself and came to his house on purpose, was allowed to sit face to face in the house.Taizao felt that after he told the story to a child, he knew how to organize the language when facing the police. But is that really the case? No matter how hard you think about it, there is no conclusion.The sun is getting lower and lower, and the oak forest where the oil cicadas are singing is gradually darkening.Taizo was fiddling with the keys in his trouser pocket, and accidentally touched something hard with his fingertips. "Forgot to give this back to the kid—" Taizo took the thing out of his pants pocket.It was an elementary school student's badge with his name written on it.That day, at the door of S's house, when Taizo was pounced and bitten by Daji, Dove came to help him who accidentally fell to the ground.After Dolph left, Taizo picked it up and wanted to return it to him later, so he kept it in his trouser pocket. Taizo brought the badge close to his eyes, carefully reading the words on it. "His name is Mayedov." Maya should be the name of Sakyamuni's mother. It was Maya who gave birth to the Buddha.She is the one who gave birth to Buddha. "That kid is so smart, this surname suits him very well." Taizo smiled lightly. Turn around.When returning to the avenue toward home— "Great, here it is." Taizo raised his head abruptly. "I was at your house just now, and you were not here. I thought maybe you would be here." "you--" Dolph was standing by the side of the forest path. "Why, come here to find me..." With a smile on the corner of Dove's mouth, he kept watching Taizo. In his right hand, he held a white plastic bag with a mouth tied and a bottle that seemed to contain something.He was holding the bottle when he met Astoria at the station that rainy day.Because the sun was setting, I couldn't see what was in the bottle. "Grandpa. Have you already called the police?" Taizo shook his head. "Now I want to go directly to the police station instead of calling. I always feel that calling is easy to shake." "Really--" For some reason, Dove showed a relieved look. "That's not too late." Taizo didn't understand the meaning of Dove's words. "What's too late?" Dove didn't answer Taizao's question, but just staggered towards this side. "I was almost cheated by the old man." Taizao watched Dove's expression wordlessly.Dolph smiled again slowly. "Grandpa, you lied to me just now, didn't you?" "How could I lie..." "Because I was afraid of being reincarnated, I broke the legs of the kittens and puppies. For the sake of Mr. S, I didn't stop him from killing those kittens and puppies—" Dolph burst out laughing. "What nonsense. It's not like that at all. Just think about it a little bit and you'll see." Taizo felt his body stiffen a little. "Why are you afraid that those kittens and puppies killed by Mr. S will be reincarnated? Even if they were reincarnated, they wouldn't hold any resentment towards the old man. If you say that Mr. S is afraid of this, it's about the same. Grandpa, are you afraid?" What? There's something wrong with what you said." "This--didn't I tell you? When I was young, I had a very scary experience because of my mother's reincarnation. So I was afraid of the reincarnation of the corpse." Dove whispered as if peeping into Taizo's face : "Oh? Grandpa, do you think your mother's corpse is the same as those kittens and puppies?" "No, that's not true. I meant to say, that is to say..." Taizo frantically searched for the right words.At that moment, the corner of Dove's mouth suddenly raised. "Sure enough, Grandpa, you are lying!" "what?" "I was testing you just now. I just wanted to give it a try. If I said those words, what kind of reaction would you have, Grandpa?——Grandpa, you were trying to force your words just now. And this just proves your Fear is fake, and it proves that what you say is not the real feeling. If it is real fear, it will not be so forceful here." The wind is blowing, and the surrounding branches and leaves are shaking. "Then there is one more thing. The reason why you didn't stop Mr. S from killing kittens and puppies, you said that you took Mr. S's feelings into consideration, but that's actually not the case. Grandpa, you know that Mr. S killed kittens The reason for the puppy? Because of the bad relationship at school and the great pressure, so you do those cruel things. If this is the case, can you talk to him and it will be resolved? Rather than letting him go Killing small animals, having someone to talk to should be more able to save Mr. S——Didn’t you say it yourself, grandpa, when you are upset, it’s really nice to have someone to listen to you.” Indeed, Taizo said that if.That is Taizao's sincere words. "One more thing. The first time you broke the kitten's leg by the sluice, you didn't hide the body. Why is that?" Dove's upward gaze firmly grasped Taizo. "Being driven by fear, the legs of the dead body were broken - generally speaking, the body should be hidden. There is a dead cat with its legs broken in that kind of place, and there will be rumors immediately Yes. It was indeed the case later on.” "I was panicking—" "No! Grandpa, it's not okay to forget what you said when you lie. You said this to me-after breaking the kitten's legs, the heart that had been insane just now finally returned to calm." Taizo felt intense anxiety.In order not to show it, he tried his best to restrain himself, and lowered his head slowly and cautiously. "Grandpa, you didn't move the body because you wanted to tell Mr. S, 'I accept the gift you gave me.' Is that so?" Taizo felt Dove took another step closer to him. "In short, that's how it is—grandfather, you didn't break the legs of cats and dogs because you were afraid of reincarnation. And you never thought of stopping Mr. S. On the contrary, you hoped that Mr. S would continue to do it. This is another Why? There is only one answer, that is—" Taizo raised his face.There was still a faint smile on Dove's lips. "Grandpa, you really want to break the legs of the corpse!" The moment he heard these words, Taizo felt that the solid barrier surrounding him collapsed with a bang.He was exposed as if he had been stripped naked. Yes—Dorff was right.Taizo really wanted to plug his ears, but he barely held on.Still facing Doffer. "Grandpa, why do you want to break the legs of kittens and puppies? Tell me!" Facing this nine-year-old boy, Taizo felt an indescribable terror.It's like a mouse's instinctive fear of a bird of prey. For a moment, both of them were silent—— "In the beginning, I was really scared... I was really scared about the reincarnation of corpses..." Like a dream, Taizo began to tell. "A year ago, there was a car accident that killed a little girl. You also said you remembered it. I was a witness to the car accident. In the last consciousness of the little girl who was hit by the car, she made a big mistake. Mistake—she regarded me as the perpetrator. So..." On that momentary impulse, I broke the little girl's leg.Taizo told Dove what had happened.A sharp light flashed in Dove's eyes for an instant, and then disappeared. "I really regret what I did. I was scared of myself. The thing about my mother's dead body reincarnation has always dominated my heart. I also feel that this is wrong. What should I do? I always think desperately , How can I forget that experience when I was a child? My conclusion is that I should confirm that the reincarnation of my mother’s corpse is actually my illusion. I think, only in this way. This horror that has taken root in my heart can disappear.” So Taizo immediately returned to the countryside of Kyushu.In the place where I lived at that time, investigate what happened at that time. "I found a document in the village library. It was about funerals held in this area at that time. When I saw it, I was really surprised." When Taizao lived in that small village, the body of the deceased would be put into the "coffin" when holding a funeral.That is to say, the body is put into a barrel-shaped coffin, the body is in a sitting position, and then buried in this state. "The information is very clear. When the body was put into the coffin, most of the body was hardened. Therefore, monks, relatives, or helpers can only break the dead's arms and legs." "Then, grandpa, what you saw in the yard when you were young—" Taizo nodded. "That's just the process of putting my mother's body in the coffin. Those people came to help purely for the funeral." "But, after Xia Mang, isn't your mother reincarnated?" "That's also recorded in the data." Taizo recalled the content in the file.Speak slowly. The seat coffin is different from the sleeping coffin. When burying, a deep, deep pit must be dug in the soil.However, before the popularization of funeral companies, it was difficult to dig a grave that deep when the locals held the funeral by themselves.In other words, many coffins were buried very shallow at that time. "It's probably the same with my mother's coffin. The body wasn't buried deep enough, so it was dug up by wild dogs or something. It doesn't seem like a new thing." "Grandpa, did your mother also get given by wild dogs..." "It's likely to be like this. The grave was dug open by wild dogs and carried away to the mountains—just like how Daji brought back Mr. S's body." Taizo caressed his cheek with both hands. "I told you that after my mother was reincarnated, she found the murderer who killed her to avenge her. I immediately found the truth from other materials. That person was killed by a highwayman, and the murderer was later caught." "It's all grandpa's illusion." "Yes, from the very beginning, my mother's murder was a fantasy of mine. In short, the horror that has always been in my heart for years, decades, is actually my own making up. It's just a story. How foolish I am to use this nonsense as a lifeline!" However, in that nothingness, Taizo had a strange feeling.Like a snake raising its head, a small, dangerous feeling.At first, Taizo himself didn't know what this feeling was. "From the moment I saw the dead puppy in a plastic bag, I knew what that feeling was. The moment I saw it, the desire came up all at once." "That desire?" "The desire to break the legs of corpses." Taizo was shocked from the bottom of his heart by this subconscious impulse.I seem to be somewhere crazy.He was very surprised. "Then why do you want to break the legs of the corpse, Grandpa?" "I am the same as Mr. S. —— very empty, lonely, and always want to vent. Mr. S is right. Just like Mr. S killing kittens and puppies, my heart is also eager to do something beyond normal Orbital, crazy things. And to me, the craziest thing in the world to do is—just break the legs of a corpse." The evil act of stepping on the little girl's knee and breaking the joint should be a necessary self-defense method for Taizo, and it is also the only way to save himself from unbearable fear.But when that fear disappeared, it only left a crazier mark in Taizo's heart that he could clearly recognize. "When I broke the puppy's leg in the plastic bag, I felt an indescribable sense of relief. Until now, I still remember clearly the muffled sound when the joint was broken. That kind of The sound came to my skin, the uncontrollable excitement in my heart. I felt my emptiness and loneliness dissipated like fog at that moment, and when I realized this, the excitement..." "Did Mr. S see that scene?" "Yeah, he saw it. Maybe he saw through my heart right away. Ah, this person is the same as me. It must not take much effort to think of this way of venting." "Then Mr. S began to give those corpses as gifts to the old man?" "yes." Taizo turned his head and cast a sad look at the S family. "He killed those kittens and puppies, and then told me where the corpses were placed. I went to that place, broke the legs of the corpses, and satisfied my own desires. In this way, Mr. S will also feel satisfied. This terrible The cycle lasted nine times..." Taizo let out a long breath.On the other side of the bamboo bushes, the windows of S’s house reflected yellow lights.Mitsue is at home.Are you eating dinner alone?Or just like the morning when Mr. S's body was found, just staring blankly at the yard with his knees hugged on the porch?That-- At that time, Taizo heard a strange breathing sound.Turning his gaze back, he looked at Doffer again.With his head down and his shoulders trembling, Dolph desperately—— "Is there something wrong?" Dolph was trying to suppress a laugh. "Forget it, grandpa." Dove said while holding back, "Forget it, don't lie anymore. It's useless, I know everything." "I lied?" Dolph stopped laughing and raised his face. "Ten times, right? Not nine times. Mr. S told you the location of the corpse ten times in total, right? Did you not count the one who gave up halfway?" "give up halfway?" Taizo asked with strong fear. "That's Mr. S himself." Dove's eyes almost pierced Taizo's, cold and sharp. "If you don't count Mr. S's own corpse, isn't he too pitiful? Although you may not be able to break the legs of Mr. S's corpse, grandpa, this is after all Mr. S's last gift to you." Taizo felt a huge shock, as if a wooden wedge had been driven into his neck.The dim landscape in his eyes also began to shake.Those bristling trees and dolphins' faces were squashed like candy. "Mr. S's matter, I—" "Don't you know? Are you lying? Mr. S did this for you." Dove took out something from his pocket.Taizo narrowed his eyes and watched carefully.It's a white, air-dried bar of soap. "Mr. S will never fail to tell Grandpa where his body is. Moreover, in order to prevent Daji from moving the body, he stuffed soap into his mouth before hanging himself." Dove held the corpse in his hand Playing with the soap, he continued talking. "Grandpa, you always want to create a false impression that Mr. S was killed by someone. You also told me about the perverted novel. But, grandpa, Mr. S actually committed suicide. You know best!" With cold sweat dripping from his temples, Taizo just looked at Doffer. "Grandpa, if you don't tell me, I will tell you. On the morning of July 20th, Mr. S died, you got a new map from Mr. S. It is the tenth map that you didn't want to show me just now. map." "you--" "You just said that the 'last map' is the ninth one on the table—the one marked with an X in the open space near Jun's house. When you put this map on it, there was still a piece of paper on your lap. Zhang, I've seen it." Yes, there is one more.Taizo did get the tenth map that day.When returning along the path in the forest, Mr. S chased up from behind and handed it to him with his own hands, and silently handed the four-folded map to Taizao—— "Grandpa, you probably don't understand what's going on when you see this. The newly added X-shaped mark on the map is at Mr. S's house." Daofu's words are correct.The new corpse location indicated on the map is S's house.No matter how you look at it, the tenth X-shaped mark is drawn on the location of his home.And it's extraordinarily large.Before Taizao could ask a question, Mr. S hurriedly turned around and ran back along the forest path. "Grandpa, did you think so when you saw this? The corpses of the new kittens and puppies were placed in Mr. S's home. But immediately you felt that something was wrong. You felt that it was impossible for you to run to Mr. S's house." Go home to find the dead body, and then break the legs of the dead body. You feel that something is wrong, so you go home. After a while, you will understand that this is the last gift from Mr. S. He wants to give you his own dead body .Grandpa, you ran to Mr. S's house right away. When we arrived at Mr. S's house, it was exactly half past twelve, and it would not be later than a little later. It should be from the time I found Mr. S hanged to Mr. Iwamura During the time when the police and the police rushed to Mr. S's house?" "It was indeed that time. Taizao suddenly understood the meaning of the map, and immediately ran out of the house, ran desperately along the forest path to the bamboo bushes, and looked over - Mr. S deliberately chose to see clearly from the outside. He was hanged where he could see, I think, he was trying to make it easy for the old man to see, right? After seeing Mr. S’s body, you carried the body back home through the oak forest. At that time, half of your heart felt that You have to accept Mr. S's last kindness, the other half is really happy to get a dead body. Isn't that so?" The idea of ​​Mr. S is even stronger.For Mr. S who can understand him, for Mr. S who satisfies his terrible desire. "When the corpse was removed, the old man tidied up the Japanese room. You wiped Mr. S's excrement on the tatami. You untied the rope from the handle of the big wardrobe, the chair that was kicked over, and Mr. S's weight. The big wardrobe that was moved, you put them all back. You want to hide the truth about Mr. S's suicide." Yes, Taizo was afraid that someone would find the body taken away.So he decided to conceal the truth about S's suicide, creating the illusion of disappearance.It was an impulsive behavior without deliberation. "However, what you did was in vain. Because before that, I have seen Mr. S hanged." At that time, Taizo never thought that anyone would have seen Mr. S's body. "Grandpa, it's because you did a lot of inexplicable things at the scene that you made it like this. If Mr. S's body doesn't disappear, all this will end at that point. But it's useless to talk about it now. " Dolph sighed. Taizo couldn't understand the meaning of the words "It all ended at that point". "Grandpa, you moved Mr. S's body away, put it in a plastic bag and hid it. Maybe it's in the yard, where the locker is." Yes, tucked into that locker. "Do you still remember what happened that morning? It was in front of Mr. S's house, Daji jumped at you and bit you. I was thinking just now, could it be Daji's reaction to the smell of dead cats and dogs? Grandpa, you have broken the legs of the corpses of kittens and puppies, and the smell of corpses will be on your clothes and body, so Daji will have that kind of reaction. But it is still a bit wrong. Because you did not go to Mr. S’s house that day. The legs of the dead body have not been broken. The last time you touched the dead body, it should be near Mr. S’s house, that is, the kitten in the open space that I also saw. It has been a long time. After so long, the smell should have disappeared on the clothes and body. Grandpa, did you touch the corpse of Mr. S that you hid that morning?" Is such that.That morning, Taizo opened the door of the locker and came face to face with Mr. S's body. On that day, Taizo visited Mizue and told her that S's death was probably not a suicide.Of course, this is all nonsense.Taizo said that he found that S seemed to be talking to someone before he died, and these statements were all intended to be used as the basis for the homicide.If the police suspected that S's death was a homicide, it would be very difficult for the police to reveal that they had hidden Mr. S's body.Because everyone will suspect that the person who killed Mr. S moved Mr. S's body.However, it is not certain that things will go smoothly.So Taizo once again faced Mr. S's body hidden in the locker, and wanted to re-understand his helpless situation.It is also a kind of self-motivation. "Anyway, it was you, Grandpa, who moved Mr. S's body and hid it. You also want to break Mr. S's legs just like those kittens and puppies. But you can't do it anyway. Do you think Mr. S is too pitiful?" Yes. S is really pathetic.Even when he ended his own life, he hadn't forgotten his sympathy for Taizo.As long as I think of this, I feel that the child is too pitiful.But at the same time, the urge to break the leg of Mr. S - a human being - was still surging in Taizo's heart.This is also true.These two diametrically opposed ideas kept churning and colliding in Taizao's heart.Taizao is distraught.At this moment——"Grandpa, you didn't do anything after stuffing Mr. S's body into the locker. But the smell of Mr. S still came out from the plastic bag, and Daji smelled it. So when Grandpa slept While he was lying down, Daji walked through the oak forest to your house and took Mr. S's body away." That morning, Taizo found the locker door was open and S's body was gone.At that moment, Taizao had an illusion: Could it be that S was reincarnated?Again the terror of peering into my mother's grave came over me.Taizo ran to S's house in a panic.There, Officer Guwei told him that it was Dae-gil who brought Mr. S's body back. Dolph shook his head regretfully. "If Mr. S had soap in his mouth, this kind of thing wouldn't have happened." "Soap?..." "By the way, grandpa, you don't know the function of soap, do you? It was Mr. S's painstaking method to prevent Daji from approaching and move the corpses. At first, Mr. S wanted Daji to transport the corpses of those kittens and puppies. He came back. For this, he also specially trained Daji. But later, he decided to give the corpses of those kittens and puppies to the old man, so it would be bad if Daji brought the corpses back. So Mr. S took advantage of Daji to hate The smell of soap. If there is a smell of soap on the body, Daji will not touch it even if he finds it, let alone bring it back." So that's what happened—— Until now, the only thing Taizo couldn't figure out was why he put soap in the corpse's mouth.He felt that this should be an act with very deep intentions by S.When Taizo learned that not only the corpses of cats and puppies, but also the ingredients of the soap were found in the mouth of S's own corpse, he thought that there must be a similar ritual between the corpse and the soap that only S knew. General wonderful relationship.However, I didn't expect that it was just to prevent Daji from touching the corpse. "Originally Mr. S stuffed soap in his mouth when he hanged himself. But unfortunately, the soap flew out" "It flew out..." "Yes. When Mr. S kicked over the chair and was hanging on the lattice window, the rope tied to the door of the wardrobe at the other end pulled the door of the wardrobe open due to Mr. S's weight, so Mr. S went down As soon as it sank, the soap that was finally stuffed in my mouth flew into the yard." "Did it fall into the yard?" Just now Taizo was still thinking that maybe the soap in S's mouth fell into the oak forest.It fell out when I was transporting S's body. "But haven't the police already searched the yard?" "In the sunflowers," said Dolph. "sunflower?" "One of the big leaves was withered and rolled up. The soap was in the middle of that leaf, wrapped up. So the police didn't see it, they just searched the ground." "Really, it's in there..." Taizo remembered.In that yard, there was only one sunflower that didn't bloom.The leaf curled up as if it had been bitten by aphids. "indeed so." "When Mr. S was dying, he thought that the sunflower was a god. How should I put it—it might really be a god. If the soap is discovered, both of us will be in danger." Staring at the soap in his hand, Dao Fu said with infinite nostalgia. S said so. But Taizo couldn't understand what Dove said.What exactly does Dove mean by "each other"?It was indeed very lucky for Taizao that the soap was not found by the police.indeed so.If the police found soap in the yard, there would be no room for suspicion that Mr. S committed suicide.Because if someone kills S and deliberately creates a fake scene of suicide, and stuffs soap into S's mouth for some reason, then once the soap falls into the yard, the murderer should pick it up and stuff it back again .The fact that the soap was not put back into S's mouth means that there was no one else around when S died, that is to say, S committed suicide. "It's important to say now." Doffer's tone became flat and emotionless again. “S君的尸体被大吉运了回去。那个给您送去小猫小狗尸体作为礼物的S君己经不在了。而这时老爷爷您所做的事情是非常重要的，对我来说。” “我所做的事情……” 泰造等待着道夫接下去的话，漠然地预想着。这孩子所指的就是那只猫吧。经常到泰造家的院子里找东西吃的那只三色猫。妻子去世后不久就在院子里出现了，所以泰造总是觉得那只猫就是转世后的妻子。泰造杀死了那只猫。 曾经不断地提供新的尸体的S已经不在了。作为最后的礼物的S自己的尸体也被大吉弄走了。泰造实在是无法抑制自己那疯狂的欲望。 S的尸体被发现的那个早上，泰造在S家听谷尾警官讲了事情的经过之后就回到家中。那只猫又在院子里出现了，还是一如既往地眼睛里充满了渴望。看见那只猫的一瞬间，泰造感到一股强烈的烦躁，那种欲望也燃烧起来，眼前一片空白。好像被迎面重重地打了一拳，一瞬间充满了难以抑止的冲动。then-- 回过神来的时候，泰造发现自己已经抓住了那只猫的身体，高高举起，摔在了地上。 那只猫只是嗡地大叫了一声就气绝身亡了。 “你是说那件事，我——” 但是道夫所说的却和泰造预想的不大相同。 “老爷爷，是您杀了所婆婆！” 泰造大吃一惊，没想到从道夫的嘴里又说出了自己杀了人。泰造拼命地摇着头。 “不是的！真的不是！不是我！我没杀过人！那、那一定是谁在模仿我和S君——” "wrong!" 道夫打断了泰造的话。 “我没说您杀人啊。” 一阵眩晕，泰造的嘴张得老大。 “老爷爷，在您家我问您这个相同的问题时您也否认了。您说您没有杀死所婆婆。后来我才意识到，其实您并不知道所婆婆是谁，对吧？” "who is it?" “所婆婆就是您杀死的那只三色猫。” 一瞬间，秦造脑子里一片混乱。 “老爷爷，在您的眼里那就是一只猫。但是对于我和美香、还有面粉叔叔来说，所婆婆就是所婆婆。” 泰造感到道夫的眼神里充满了强烈的敌意。 “上了年纪已经去世了的所婆婆转世成了猫。这是两年前的事情了。葬礼之后没过几天，它就回到了大池面粉厂。面粉叔叔看到了它就说'这就是婆婆转世啊！'特别高兴。我看到它的一瞬间也马上就明白了。动作慢吞吞的，乍一看一副爱搭不理的那张脸。都跟从前活着的所婆婆简直一模一样。从那以后，所婆婆还和从前一样在窗边天天看着商业街的风景。也和从前一样，跟我、还有美香一起说话，商量事情。” 泰造想起来了。的的确确，自己杀死的那只猫多多少少有一点人类的老太太的模样。肯定是一只上了年纪的猫。所以泰造才会觉得那可能是自己的妻子转世而来的。而且泰造还想起，的确，在妻子去世前两年，就在差不多同一时候，那家面粉厂旁边的民宅门外好像贴过写着“忌中”的丧事告示。 泰造恍然大悟。 “原来是这样啊，那是你们喜欢的宠物猫啊……” 听到这句话，道夫的目光突然变得锐利了。 “不是什么喜欢的宠物猫！”道夫叹息了一句，然后说：“老爷爷。您是不明白的。” “我不明白——可能是吧……” 泰造的脑子里浮现出一个迷失在陌生世界的人的形象。可是自己和道夫究竟是谁陷进去了呢？泰造实在是很难判断。但是他觉得，比起他自己的世界来，道夫的那个毫不犹豫地叫一只猫“婆婆”的世界似乎要更加强大，更加难以动摇。同样的一只猫，在泰造的世界里不过就是一只猫，是死去妻子的转世化身，也是自己残忍欲望的发泄对象。 “不管怎么说，老爷爷您还是对所婆婆做了那些残忍的事。婆婆什么错事也没做，就被您杀死了，被您折断了腿，嘴里还被塞上了香皂，故意扔在路边侧沟里，为了不让警察察觉出杀死那些小猫小狗的凶手是S君。” "you are right." 泰造第一次清楚地、直接地回答了道夫的疑问，没有任何隐瞒。 “因为S君尸体的口腔里也发现了香皂的痕迹——万一警察发现杀死小猫小狗的凶手是S君，那么S君是自杀的事实也就明了了。因为有嘴里有香皂这样一个共同点。于是我想，如果新发现的小猫尸体嘴里也有香皂，那就能够掩盖S君是凶手这个事实了。因为S君已经死了。” “您忙活了大半天，就是为了制造一个假相，证明S君是他杀。这么做的原因就是不想让警察注意到是您把S君的尸体搬走了。如果S君是他杀，那么老爷爷您搬走S君尸体的事情败露的可能性就会小一些。警察自然会认为杀死S君的和搬走S君尸体的是同一个人。您是在'搅乱搜查'是吧？尽管您自己也不知道这么做有没有实际意义。” 应该是有意义的。实际上警方最终的确是倾向于S君是他杀的观点了。但那只是从S的口腔中检查出了香皂成分却偏巧没有在院子里发现那块香皂而已。所以现在想来，对美津江说了那么多，还和她一起去警察局主张S的他杀说，又把《对性爱的审判》这本小说的作者行为怪异告诉给了道夫，这一切努力其实并没有发挥什么效果。 想到自己那拙劣的把戏，泰造感到十分厌恶，顿时垂头丧气起来。似乎是在乘胜追击，道夫把一只手伸到了泰造的面前，手掌心里有一块香皂。 “这块香皂没有被警察发现，可真幸运啊。” 泰造的心里对道夫的话深表赞同。 泰造本准备就像刚才在自己家里对道夫所说的那样，对警察坦白自己和杀死小猫小狗的S之间的关系。对于搬走S尸体的事情，他还是打算继续谎称那是别人的行为。也就是说，是杀死S的凶手弄走的。但是，如果根据这块在院子里发现的香皂继而判定S是自杀的话，那么警方肯定就会怀疑搬走S尸体的人可能就是泰造。残害小猫小狗尸体的泰造很可能就是搬走S尸体的人。这样一来，泰造主动自首坦白也就没有意义了。泰造想的是，在把S的尸体搬走的罪行败露之前去自首，与其因为搬走人的尸体而被逮捕，还不如先坦白自己残害动物尸体的行为，然后否认自己与搬走尸体有关为妙。“老爷爷您准备把刚才对我说的原封不动对警察说吧？”可是道夫却似乎看穿了泰造的所思所想。 “您肯定是不打算把搬走S君尸体的事情说出来吧？如果警察怀疑的话，您就会说'我是因为害怕动物转世所以才折断尸体的腿的'，而S君尸体的腿并没有被折断。这样一具尸体不可能和您在一起共处那么长的时间，因为您是那么害怕尸体会转世的啊。您是不是想给警察造成这样的错觉？” “对，我就是这么想的。” “果然啊。不过，所婆婆的事情您打算怎么办？” “那个我也不打算说。我本想说。这是有人在模仿我们犯罪——” “老爷爷您想的可真简单啊。” 道夫长出了一口气。 “老爷爷您隐藏S君尸体的事情警察肯定会马上开始调查的。您杀死所婆婆的事情也是一样，藏不住的。要是我，就绝对不会做这种不彻底的自首。我就会一直不说，什么都不说。” 的确可能真的就像是道夫说的那样。警察的调查能力并没有那么差。警察这个组织也绝不像自己想像的那样。 是的——其实泰造自己心里也是非常明白的。 但是自己又为什么要去做道夫所说的那种“不彻底的自首”呢？为什么要去做那种危险的事情呢？泰造们心自问。马上，一个简单的回答浮上心头。 “老爷爷您呐……” 道夫喃喃自语一般地说道。 “——您只是想逃避而已。” 泰造感到自己的身体不由自主地僵直了。“实际上，您是觉得全都败露了才好呢是吧？自己干的事总有一天会被查出来。S君尸体的事警察也总有一天会找上门来——与其成天想着这些，提心吊胆地过日子，还不如这就被警察逮起来。但是，您又没有勇气一下子全说出来，所以就决定来一个不彻底的自首。自以为这是一个好主意而强迫自己去做，给自己找借口。”被别人说穿自己的真实想法是非常可怕的事情。更何况对方不过是个孩子，而自己已经是七十多岁的老人了。 “的确——可能就是这么回事吧。” 泰造已经再没有什么话可说了。突然间，他感到自己的存在在这个世界上是一件非常可耻的事情，就连抬起头来的勇气都没有了。despite this-- 泰造还是不太明白道夫的用意。他是想要把已经了解到的泰造的罪行报告给警察吗？不，似乎不是。因为警察没有发现S嘴里的香皂似乎让道夫也非常高兴。如果警察知道了香皂被找到的事实，那么S杀死小猫小狗，还有S自杀的事情，就都真相大白了。也就是说，现在正陷入困境的警察们就会大大推进调查的进程。警察们破案的关键，毫无疑问就是这块香皂。S君的尸体要是不消失的话，这一切就会在那一点上结束了————这个如果被发现了，彼此都会陷入危险的——不明白。泰造怎么也不明白这孩子的意图。 夕阳西沉，周遭笼罩在一片微暗之中。周围树木的轮廓，还有与自己相对的少年的表情，一切都渐渐地模煳起来。 “我究竟想干什么。您是不是觉得不可思议啊？” 泰造反弹似的抬起了头。“那我告诉您吧。我追着不放过您还跑到这儿来的理由。”泰造努力镇定一下自己，等待着对方的话继续下去。“我想把这个故事结束。” “把故事……” “对。都已经到了这个地步了，我想该结束了。实际上我也没有想到会变得这么复杂。我自己也弄不明白是怎么回事了。”道夫一边说着，一边把手里的香皂重新放回裤袋里。“但是，我发现了一种漂亮的结束方式。虽然有点犹豫，但还是决定试一试。我既能确认了老爷爷您杀死所婆婆的事实，而且刚才我还知道了，您对隅田也做过那种残忍的事情。” “隅田？” 当道夫说出这个名字的时候，泰造大吃一惊。 “你认识那个小姑娘吗？” “岂止是认识，我们是同一个学校，同一个班的好朋友。她现在就坐在我后面的座位上。” “坐在你后面的座位上？现在？” 这奇妙的说法让泰造迷惑地皱起了眉头。隅田就是一年前遭遇车祸的那个小姑娘，就是那个被泰造残忍地折断了双腿的小姑娘的名字。 “当然了，在您眼里隅田不过就是鲜花而已。就像您眼里的所婆婆不过就是一只猫而已。” “鲜花……” “是啊，白色的百合花。我们班的女生放在那里的。” "Are you—" “再多说什么也都没有意义了。反正您也不会明白。”暮色渐深，道夫只剩下声音还没有消失在黑暗中。“算了，反正隅田也不是老爷爷您杀死的。不过您杀了所婆婆真是糟糕。太失败了。因为我最喜欢所婆婆了。所婆婆比任何人都理解我和美香，总是和我们聊天，真的是最好最好的朋友。真正的朋友。是这样吧？” 最后一句话究竟是对谁说的呢？泰造一时没弄明白。道夫的视线落在了右手拿着的瓶子里。这样说起来那天在车站碰见他的时候，他也时不时这么看一眼。泰造眯缝起眼睛，伸长了脖子，透过幕色仔细地看着瓶中。 "you--" 抬起头，泰造问道：“为什么这蜥蜴——” “这不是蜥蜴！” 刀锋一般锐利的声音。道夫睁大了眼睛瞪视着泰造。黑暗中，眼白宛如鬼火一般显眼。 “不许管美香叫蜥蜴！谁也不许这么叫！” 泰造本能地向后退了一步，想离道夫远一点儿。可是，泰造退一步，道夫就向前迈进一步。“老爷爷，您可真是很努力啊，把岩村老师的那本小说搬出来，还往所婆婆尸体的嘴里塞香皂，可是老爷爷，您还是太天真了。”道夫把右手里的瓶子和塑料袋换到左手，慢慢地把腾出来的右手放到背后。 “要是想编出一个故事，就必须更认真啊。” 听着这话泰造觉得自己和道夫所处的世界之间忽然出现了一道屏障。 道夫把右手伸到了秦造的眼前。 “不锁门可不行峨，老爷爷。” 道夫右手握着的，是一把菜刀。那菜刀原本是放在泰造家厨房里的。“我不是对您说了嘛，刚才我先去了您家。这是我借来的。” “你——你究竟想干什么？” “不是我，是老爷爷您自己动手。老爷爷，您就在这儿自杀了吧！” 泰造向后退去。道夫却步步紧逼。 “这就是我想出来的办法。为了结束这个故事。老爷爷，您要是自杀了的话，您知道会有什么结果吗？警方就会认为老爷爷自杀的理由和这次事件是有关联的。然后就会搜查您家。您知道警察会发现什么吗？警察会发现您隐藏S君尸体的痕迹，还有那十张地图。地图上标注着到现在为止那些被虐杀的小猫小狗尸休被发现的地点，而且最叫人吃惊的是，有一张就在S君家的那个地方标注着×形记号。警察呢就会这么想——杀死小猫小狗的凶手就是老爷爷您，杀死S君并且把尸体藏起来的，也全都是您！” 道夫握着菜刀的右手缓缓地划了一个圆圈，然后重新回到原来的位置，紧贴在身边。黑暗中，刀刃闪出一道白光。 “老爷爷，您一直努力制造一个S君是他杀的假象，却没想到最后导出了自己就是凶手的结论。” 道夫的右手突然迅速向泰造的左胸伸了过去，几乎是同时，泰造脚一蹬地面，跳进树丛里。 泰造在黑暗的树林里飞跑。什么也不顾，拼命地向前冲。背后道夫追赶他的脚步声逐渐迫近。泰造感到脖子上似乎被扔过来的什么东西击中了。但是这一切都无法阻止他逃跑的脚步。他不断地忽左忽右变换方向。每变一次方向，道夫的脚步声似乎就因为迷惑而有些乱。泰造感觉两个人的距离渐渐地拉远了。不一会儿——突然传来什么东西扑通一声倒下来的声音。泰造感到身后道夫的身影和声音都不见了。 就在这时，泰造撞到了一个坚硬的东西。他强忍住没有喊出声。停下了脚步想看个究竟。箱子！他在心中叫了起来。是那个百叶箱。泰造又返回到了一开始的地方。 How to do it?该往哪儿跑呢？泰造已经混乱不堪的脑子拼命地想着。他先想到朝着S家的方向跑，翻过竹丛，跳进院子向美津江求助。但就在此时，他又听到了道夫的脚步声。四周已经完全陷入了黑暗，根本看不见人影。但是那声音的的确确是在向他靠近。泰造马上转身，想要向相反的方向逃走。但是等等—— 一种本能让泰造停住了脚步。 不能发出脚步声，不能踩到落叶发出声响。 泰造缩着两条腿，就那么蹲在原地，双手紧紧地捂着嘴，遮掩住那剧烈的喘息声。道夫的脚步声一点点逼近了。唿哧，唿哧，唿哧，那急促的唿吸声听得一清二楚。现在，道夫已到了泰造的身边，似乎是停下脚步在调整唿吸。泰造使出全身的力气，拼命地克制着身体的顺抖。道夫轻声叹了一口气，嘴里嘟嘟囔囔说着什么。渐渐地，脚步声离泰造远了——过了一会儿就听不见了。 但是还不能掉以轻心。泰造双手撑着膝盖，背负着很重的东西似的站了起来。他感到自己恐怕是跑不动了，连挪动脚步的力气都没有了。 泰造伸出右手在裤袋里摸索着。终于，指尖触到了那把钥匙。只有这个了—— 泰造打开百叶箱的锁，把自己的身体藏进了这个大概六十厘米宽的四角空间里，从内侧关上门。后背紧紧贴着壁板。无力感弥漫全身。黑暗的百叶箱里充斥着自己的唿吸。泰造感到一阵头晕，紧紧闭上了眼睛。可是，即使闭上眼睛也依然能感觉到那好像是狂乱鼓点一般的心跳，太阳穴的血管宛如巨大的蚯蚓一般蠕动着。等体力恢复一点，就从这里面跑出去，然后一口气跑出树林——泰造这么决定了。 突然，一阵臭气刺进鼻端。是什么啊——缠绕在脖子上的一种不合时宜的气味。泰造想起来了，刚才道夫从背后扔过来一个什么东西。What would that be?泰造伸手摸了摸自己的脖颈。指尖上沾上了粘煳煳的东西。 "this is……" 正在他自言自语的时候—— boom!百叶箱外面被重重地按击了一下。接着是哧哧挠着壁板的声音以及逐渐变强的吠叫声。混杂在这些声响中还有一个踏着落叶的脚步声，重重地，缓缓地。 “老爷爷，原来您藏在这儿啊。” 是道夫的声音。“谢谢你啊，大吉。好啦好啦，下面的就交给我吧。”泰造机械地转过头，看着百叶箱的门。在自己面前，那扇门正在向左右两边缓缓打开。两扇门之间，能看见一条狭长的，四角形的夜空，从中可以看到道夫上半身的身影。 “我还在想，弄不好老爷爷您就跑掉了。还好我预备了这个。刚才我扔过去一个软乎乎的东西吧？那是我家的一块猪肉，扔在垃圾袋里，已经腐烂了。我发现之后就连塑料袋一起带过来了。万一老爷爷跑了，我就拜托大吉来找你。刚才我到S君的家里把大吉放了出来。一解开绳索还真是吓了我一跳。大吉疯了似的冲了出去。以往S君的训练可真不错啊！” 后悔也晚了。折断小猫小狗的腿，把S的尸体藏在储物柜里，把道夫让进屋说出事情的原委，无处可逃钻进这个百叶箱——这一切后悔都晚了。at this time.Crack!突然响起了踩踏落叶的声音，与此同时，道夫的身影向下消失了。短促的叫声。大吉低沉的吠声。落叶被踩踏的声音。道夫的声音又一次响起。这一次毫无疑问是悲鸣。What happened?泰造在箱子里直起身，这时，在两扇门的缝隙里又看见了道夫的身影。道夫的一只手快速地伸向了泰造。泰造本能地向后躲闪，就在这一瞬间，道夫的身体却被什么东西一把向后拉去。道夫的手抓着百叶箱的底部。不停地被向后拖着。手掌就要离开百叶箱边缘的时候，道夫的五根手指好像被夺走了食物的野兽一般拼命地乱动，指尖敲打着微微打开的百叶箱门的一端，因为他的击打，百叶箱的门砰的一声关上了。虽然脑子里一片混乱。可泰造还是明白了。道夫被大吉袭击了。可能大吉认为道夫要抢走自己的猎物。现在必须趁机跑出去。不对，现在绝对不能跑出去。这两种截然相反的想法在泰造的脑海里交织。不一会儿，百叶箱外面传来了一个巨大的东西倒在地上的声音。 所有的声响突然间都消失了。 在地面上踩踏的声响消失了，叫声，吠声也都听不见了。泰造在黑暗中屏住唿吸，一边听着自己的喘息声。一边盯着门的内侧。 终于又听见了一个声音。 "Ahh..." 泰造禁不住从喉咙深处叫了一声。是咯吱咯吱挠着壁板的声音。 "Good luck..." 泰造似乎是在细细地玩味着那只狗的名字。恐怖、绝望与困惑交织的脑子里宛如台风过后的大海，重新归于平静。起伏的波涛已经退去。心中只留存着一种情感，宛如一叶小船——那就是纯粹的安心。 泰造站起身，把手伸向百叶箱的门，用颤抖的手一下子推开，从两扇门的中间探出头。夏日夜晚的空气瞬间围拢过来，泥土的气息飘然入鼻。然后泰造像石块一样僵住了。 地面上倒卧着的，是大吉。 转回头。 咯吱咯吱，咯吱咯吱—— 道夫正拿着菜刀，用刀背摩擦着百叶箱的角。 bass!菜刀的刀刃发出声响。泰造的左边锁骨上顿时传来一阵烧灼般的触感。无声地从嘴里流淌出带有铁味的温暖的泡沫。道夫的脸颊倏地移到了左边。泰造意识到这其实是自己在倒下，就在此时，他的脸触到了落叶。泥土的气息。窥视母亲的墓穴时闻到过的那种气息。意识消失的瞬间，泰造听到了记忆中那熟稔的闷响。那是腿被折断时的声响。 但是被折断的究竟是自己的腿还是母亲的腿，泰造已分不清了。