Chapter 14 3. The third murder

The next day, Erlang got up earlier than ever.He took a walk in the courtyard, strolled casually to the entrance, and happened to see the old man Yinji who was busy cleaning the entrance door of the bungalow.Take a closer look, Yinji didn't wipe it aimlessly, but tried to wipe off the chalk writing on the door. Erlang stopped in surprise, and asked aloud: "Old man, wait a minute, don't wipe it off!" Yinji was frightened and stopped immediately. Unfortunately, most of the chalk writing had been erased, leaving only a straight line with no meaning. "Old man, do you remember what was written on it?"

Seeing Erlang's complexion changed, old man Yinji trembled in fright, and replied: "Someone did a prank and scribbled on the door. It's really nerve-wracking." "No, I won't talk about that. Old man, think about the content, it can't be a number, right?" "Uh, numbers... oh, if you put it that way, it might be a number. I don't know much foreign language, so I'm not sure which number it is, um... what is it called?" "Trace the shape with your finger." "The shape is very simple. There is a slanted stroke under the horizontal line."

"Isn't that 7!" "Oh, that's right, that's 7, it's 7." Erlang's face turned pale immediately, and he froze in place.It was 8 yesterday and 7 today.If it is just graffiti, it can be ignored, but from yesterday to today, the number has decreased. Is it just a coincidence?It looks like it was written casually, but it is even more frightening. After a day, Erlang tensed his nerves to pay attention, and eventually became a little nervous, looking around like a headless chicken for the "6" that might suddenly pop up in a corner.Sure enough, he encountered strange characters again.

This time it was discovered further.At that time, Erlang felt tired due to excessive concentration, and unconsciously suspected that he was careless, so he relaxed his vigilance and returned to the bedroom.Unexpectedly, Shinichi, who was staying in the room, saw him coming in and said: "Uncle, why are you tearing up the calendar randomly? It's true. Today is November 24th, why did it turn to December 6th?" After his reminder, Erlang unconsciously looked at the calendar.That's right, the above is really dazzling 6. "Xiao Jin, did you play a prank?" Erlang wanted to laugh but couldn't force a smile.

He understood that Shinichi wasn't that naughty, someone had obviously sneaked into the bedroom.This time, instead of writing down the numbers, it is announced by tearing up the calendar.The previous two numbers appeared outside the house, but this time it was inside, in Erlang's bedroom.The monster with magician's unique skills avoids the sight of everyone in the house, and shuttles freely in the mansion.Erlang thought to himself, the situation is getting more and more severe, and he is no longer allowed to keep silent. On the evening of the next day, on the way home from the shop in Tokyo, the car of the Tamamura family drove along the Keihin National Highway towards the Omori house.Erlang rides in the same car as his father.During this period of time, his father's safety was in danger. In order to protect his father, he secretly undertook a lot of unknown pressure.

Should I tell my father?How to do it?If it was just a simple prank, wouldn't it make my father, who has always been busy, worry about it?When Erlang hesitated, the car passed Omori Station and drove towards the high platform.As twilight deepened, the driver turned on his headlights. "Dad, I think I should be more cautious recently." Erlang reminded as if he had made up his mind. "Are you talking about that guy? We are cautious enough. Not only have we increased our manpower, but we also have you walking to and from the store every day." "It's useless. If my guess is right, the guy has come to the door himself."

Then, Erlang briefly explained the observations of the past three days, but his father laughed instead: "It's ridiculous, you think too much. In any case, the villain can't hide from the eyes and ears of the many servants in the house, and he is not a magician who knows magic when he comes in and out of the house recklessly." "No, you are too negligent. That guy is indeed a magician. Isn't this very clear when Uncle Fukuda was killed?" When the two were arguing, the car had reached the long concrete wall outside the Yucun house. "So, 5 will appear today, right? Hahaha, you're not too poisoned."

When the car changed direction in front of the gate, the headlights cast a magic lantern-like circular light on the concrete wall beside it. "I'm sure..." Erlang gasped, "Hey, stop the car!" Erlang even changed his voice, "Dad, look at that..." Look, it's like seeing the microbial colony under a microscope, and the "5" appears faintly in the halo on the wall, making the scene even more weird. The slide text shook slightly due to the vibration of the engine.It seems that some words were written in ink on the headlight glass, and the words were enlarged and projected on the fence.

I don't know whether it was by accident or on purpose, the old man Yinji happened to open the door to greet him at that time.He accidentally saw the numbers in the round light, and he couldn't help but let out a strange "Huh". "Who wrote this? You?" Tamamura Zentaro snapped at the driver. "The villain doesn't know, when was it written..." The driver was puzzled.I'm afraid someone drew it quickly when the car was parked in front of the Tokyo store. Even Yucun, after witnessing this astonishing slide show, couldn't continue to laugh at Erlang's timidity.This matter became a hot topic during dinner, and it spread among the servants in no time.Yucun also informed the Bo Yue Police Department to discuss asking the police station in the jurisdiction to send additional police forces to guard.

Today, the Tamamura mansion has become a terrifying haunted house.Everyone was worried, and even the sound of family members' footsteps would cause them to panic. Before it was dark, the door was tightly closed, the doors and windows of each room were locked, the scholars took turns on duty at night, and plainclothes criminal police were on duty at the front and back doors at any time.In this way, even if the magician possesses all-powerful abilities, he will not find a chance to enter the house. However, the numbers that decrease every day still appear in the house.It would be too trivial to memorize them one by one, so most of the details are omitted. The general situation is like the black 4 written in ink on the milk bottle that Taeko gets up to drink; the next day is a dead leaf that floats into the window of Erlang's study 3 is shown above.In this way, the number changed to 2, which happened to be November 29th.If this is really a warning that there is only one day left, it is estimated that the next day, that is, the 30th day, will be the day of the forecast.

First Fukuda, then Akechi Kogoro, who will be the victim of the monster's fierce blade next?Worryingly, villains often only give vague dates without specifying targets.The ambiguity hovering on the blade adds to the thrilling atmosphere. On the 30th, no one went out in the Yucun house, and family members gathered in one room early in the morning.In order to dispel the lingering shadow of terror, everyone played games or chatted.The head of the family, Zentaro, also closed the shop and hired five or six strong shop assistants to strengthen his guard. However, contrary to expectations, the whole day was safe and sound.Then, eight o'clock, nine o'clock passed, the night gradually deepened, and the house was still calm.Where is the horror imagined?Faced with this tight defense, it seemed that even the magician was helpless, and everyone finally felt a little relieved. At ten o'clock, everyone went back to their rooms.Of course, he didn't forget to close the door tightly after entering, and two more people were sent to guard the scholar's room next to the entrance all night.In addition, the main entrance and the back entrance are also strictly guarded by criminal police. Erlang also went to bed to rest, but he didn't feel sleepy.He was really worried, after all, he was the only one who had experienced the monster's inscrutable tricks. It was eleven o'clock at night when the death-knell sounded from the formidable bell tower far overhead.About thirty minutes later, Erlang noticed a sudden sound. He heard it, he did hear it.This is not a hallucination, but the flute music that captures the soul.The tune is exactly the same as when Uncle Fukuda was killed. Erlang gripped the pistol he had prepared beforehand, and jumped off the bed. He knew very well that the sound of the flute meant that a murder had happened, or was about to happen.In any case, there is no time for delay, not even a minute's hesitation at this critical juncture.There was no time to wake up the family members one by one, so Erlang yelled on the spot.He yelled like fending off birds, and rushed to the source of the sound.Passing through the long corridor that runs through the bungalow, the more I ran forward, the more I felt that the music seemed to be coming from the bedroom of my younger sister Taeko. "Ah, is the third victim a younger sister?" He suddenly realized. Taking a closer look, there is indeed a wriggling black monster in front of Taeko's bedroom.Erlang stopped abruptly, cold sweat pouring down from his armpits.Finally, the true face of the bloodthirsty monster is about to be revealed.Erlang screamed crazily at the top of his lungs: "Who? Don't move! If you dare to move, I'll shoot!" Erlang's hands trembling as he held the gun. "Is it Master Erlang?" The monster replied slowly.What's going on, it was the old man Yinji, "I heard a strange flute sound, just to be cautious, I looked around, only to find that there seems to be something wrong with Miss's room." "I see. Okay, break the door!" Erlang cheered up and shouted. Fortunately, the door of the room was not as strong as that of Futian's house, and the two smashed it together. The two of them rolled into the bedroom, and simultaneously let out "ah" in astonishment.