Chapter 46 Forty-five, two old people

Changing the topic, about two hours drive from Shinjuku, there is a small village named H along the Kitakami Okutama Ome Railway.Here, you can overlook the scenery of the upper valley of the Tama River, with the sound of gurgling water and the cool breeze surrounded by green leaves. It is a rare and simple mountain village near Tokyo. In a secluded spot outside the village, there is a cottage with an ancient thatched roof surrounded by a low hedge of holly.The owner of the house is a gentle old man, and lives with his grandmother who cooks, and lives a leisurely life of making tea and flowers, enjoying the rest of his life in peace.

However, just four or five days ago a beautiful girl from Tokyo came.She wasn't the old man's daughter, but she wasn't a loafer, either.It is said that she is the daughter of an old friend and came here to escape the summer heat and play. After crossing the paddy fields behind and walking on Banding Road, the terrain drops suddenly to form a deep valley. A few feet below, is the clear stream of the Tama River rushing between the rocks.Even in every corner of the quiet village, the sound of the water can be heard like the neighing of thousands of cicadas.In the depths of the green shade of the valley under the eyes, there are also crisp birdsong.

The girl stood on the edge of the cliff from time to time in the early morning, singing Western songs that the villagers rarely heard.Her beautiful singing echoed above the valley, drifted away into the depths of the green shade, and disappeared. Although she seldom walked around the village, it was only a small village, and the girls from the city quickly became the topic of conversation. "That woman looks exactly like the movie star Yoko Fuji. Could it be her?" Young station attendants at nearby stations were the first to notice this. "Speaking of Yoko Fuji, I heard that she was being targeted by Spider-Man."

Even in a secluded small mountain village, the villagers have heard of the horror of the spider man. "Yeah. Maybe she ran away to this place because she was afraid of Spider-Man." This guess is absolutely correct.The woman in question is Fuji Yoko.The factory manager, K, was afraid that the spider man who would not give up until he achieved his goal stretched out his claws again, so he asked the old man of the same clan who lived in seclusion in Village H to temporarily take her in and let her hide here. Of course, he also repeatedly warned to avoid the sight of everyone, and the old man who was entrusted to protect her kept nagging.But after all, she is an energetic young girl with such a strong personality that even Spider-Man can't stand it. Naturally, it is impossible for her to stay behind closed doors.At dawn when the sky was dark, I couldn't help but want to sing a song to the valley.Even if she hadn't, it was summer and it was impossible for passing villagers to pass by the open window without noticing this beautiful, rare girl.

Danger, danger.Could this hiding place of hers have been discovered by the spider man?This place is different from the city. Not only does it lack police force, but the only people we can rely on are the frail elderly and the grandmother who cooks.When there is an emergency, there are no neighbors who live close enough to lend a helping hand in time. The director of K Film Factory also made this decision after discussing with Hayoshi and Akechi Kogoro, but how could they choose this risky method so unanimously? One morning, it was the third day after the strange incident in the crematorium mentioned in the previous chapter. The old man who got up early was sitting on the porch, admiring the morning glory on the bench, when someone outside the hedge call:

"The flowers are so beautiful, and they bloom so spectacularly." Taking a closer look, an old country man leaned into his upper body through the hedge. He looked very handsome, but probably he was an old man who usually lives reclusively in this village.The other party was wearing a fine-grained cotton robe with a white background that was washed white, and was leaning on a natural wooden stick that was stained black and shiny by dirt.Although he is hunched over, his hair is not yet completely white, and he has a gray beard on his face. Behind the small presbyopic glasses, small eyes full of gum are blinking non-stop.

"Yes, getting up early to enjoy the flowers is my greatest pleasure." The old homeowner replied with a smile.He himself has white hair and silver beard, and a pure white goatee hanging down to his chest. His elegant temperament is as different as cloud and mud from the country old man. "I also like morning glory." The country old man was very noisy. "My family also blooms every year, but it's a pity that it can't compare with your family's grand occasion. Especially the mutant big morning glory blooming next to it is simply too beautiful. You It must have taken an extraordinary amount of thought."

"Hahaha, it seems that you are also a flower lover. If you don't mind, please come in and have a look. It bloomed very beautifully this morning." "I'm getting old, and my eyesight is indeed a bit dim. Then, I accept your kindness and come closer to the flowers and take a closer look." The country old man gladly accepted the owner's invitation and walked into the courtyard unceremoniously. "Sit here, please. I'll make tea right now." After the old owner vacated a seat for him on the veranda, the country old man sat down with a "hey".

Afterwards, the two had a heated discussion about the morning glory for a while.Both sides have considerable research in this area, and because they are experts, there are many topics.It wasn't enough to just look at the potted plants placed on the bench. I went around the yard and watched the potted plants that were just about to bloom. "Oh, sir, sir, this is not yours, is it? It fell here." There was a distance between the two, and the old house owner let go of his voice and said loudly.It was an oversized old-fashioned woolen men's wallet. "Ah, this, this, this, I'm really sorry."

As soon as the country old man saw it, he ran over in a hurry and snatched it back from the owner. "Hahaha! It seems that this is very important. It feels heavy in the hand." "No, no, no, it's just insignificant things inside. It would be nice if it contained gold and silver treasures, hahaha!" He looked embarrassed and vague. The two returned to the original porch and sat down. "Where's your wife? With the children?" asked the old country man. "I live here alone. Oh, you mean her?" The mosquito net in the innermost room is raised by a corner.Seeing the other party glance over there, the old man added:

"That's a guest from Tokyo, the daughter of a relative. As you can see, young people are sleepy in the morning, which is really troublesome. Hahaha! Let's make a cup of tea? Unfortunately, the servant who cooked the meal last night because of his daughter-in-law I have something to go back home, so I have to come to light the fire by myself.” "Then don't bother, I should leave too." "It's okay, anyway, I want to drink tea myself, if you don't dislike it, you can sit for a while longer." So this blunt country old man really sat still, it seemed that he really wanted to ask for a cup of tea.So the old owner disappeared across the courtyard to the kitchen. As soon as the owner left, the country old man began to look around, and then he didn't know what to think, but quietly went up to the veranda, and crawled forward on hands and feet close to the mosquito net in the inner room.Yoko Fuji slept in the mosquito net.What the hell is he trying to do?Could this old man have a bad habit of stealing things?Or is there another purpose? Probably in order to avoid making noise, he crawled forward cautiously, and finally climbed to the edge of the paper door, then raised his head all of a sudden, stretched his neck, and peeked at the mosquito net at the other end of the paper door.Of course Yoko didn't notice, she was sleeping soundly.The old man was like a cat that has run into a mouse, staring intently at her sleeping position. "Unfortunately, it looks like you've finally taken the bait." The sudden voice made him turn around in astonishment, and at some point, the old house owner stood quietly behind him. "Ah, what did you say?" The country old man quietly retreated to the verandah, pretending not to know.Be prepared and want to escape when the other party is off guard. "Hahaha! It's useless. Don't look at me like this, I won't lose to you in the race." The two just stared at each other, and at some point they sat down side by side on the veranda. "Are you kidding me. I just, this..." "Just to check on Fuji Yoko? Hahaha! I've been looking forward to it for a long time. Isn't Fuji Yoko the best bait? You say so, Dr. Banliu." At that moment, the four fiery eyes stared straight at each other as if they wanted to see through each other's hearts. The next moment, the old homeowner turned his palm, and the country old man's gray hair flew into the air, and his beard was lifted up.The face under the beard is Dr. Pan Liu, who is completely different from the old country man just now, and extremely capable. "Even Spider-Man—I remember your nickname being Spider-Man—was taken aback, right? I'm so happy to think you've been duped. Wahaha! I'm sorry. I couldn't help it, too. Happy." "So, you are..." "Haven't you reacted yet?" "Of course I know. Akechi Kogoro, how about it, I guess right? That man is the only one who can play tricks like this." Dr. Pan Liu is not a fuel-efficient lamp, so he doesn't panic when things get to this point. "Thanks to the admiration. You guessed it right. So—" As the old homeowner said, he also took off the disguise props - wig and beard - to restore the true face of Akechi Kogoro.But at this moment of lightning and flint, Zhizhi reveals a small flaw, which is a golden opportunity for the old and cunning Pan Liu. "Unfortunately, I'm still one step ahead." It turned out that the wallet dropped in the yard contained a pistol. Dr. Pan Liu took out the pistol before he was wise at the critical moment. "You'd better look carefully, you have no chance of winning this duel. Because you are a gentleman with principles, you will not kill casually, and you have no practical experience, right? But me, I am a born killer, you know Is it? This pistol is not a bluffing toy. I can really shoot. Oh, that's not okay. Before you take out the pistol in your arms, the muzzle on my side is already smoking. You have to be careful , be careful." Ah, even Kogoro Akechi, who is very capable, can't do anything when he meets this man?Could it be that in this duel, he really had no choice but to admit defeat? One minute, two minutes, three minutes, the wordless confrontation filled with hatred continued. Is the villain surrendering?Or is the detective defeated?The two giants finally meet within close proximity.