Chapter 18 Seventeen, restless night

The old man at the left gate of Kusakabe hired a car at Shuzenji and hurried back to the "castle" in Taniguchi Village.Thirty minutes later, Akechi Kogoro and his party also arrived. In a group of people, apart from the wise detective who had changed into a well-fitting black suit, there were also three sturdy and stylish gentlemen in suits. All three were detectives from the police station. The old man exchanged greetings. The old man immediately took the four gentlemen to the famous painting collection room deep in the house, showed them the scrolls hanging side by side on the wall, a large number of national treasure masterpieces packed in boxes and stacked in cabinets, and introduced the origins of these treasures one by one .

"These collections are really eye-opening. I also love old paintings and visit museums and monasteries whenever I can, but I've never seen so many historical masterpieces in one room, so it's no wonder Art-loving Twenty Faces will stare at you, making me salivate." The wise detective was full of praise and made a high evaluation of each famous painting.And his comments are so incisive and detailed that even experts in this field can't hold a candle to them, which surprised the old man of Zuomen.Now, he has even more respect for the famous detective. It is said that after everyone had an early dinner together, they further studied the deployment of guarding famous paintings.

Zhizhi commanded the three criminal police in a capable tone, ordering one to guard the studio, one to guard the main entrance, and one to guard the back door, each standing guard all night in charge of guarding.Once a suspicious person is found, immediately blow the whistle to warn. After the detectives were deployed, Detective Wisely closed the heavy door of the famous studio from the outside and ordered the old man to lock it. "I'll just wait in front of this door all night." The detective said, sitting down on the tatami corridor in front of the door. "Sir, there will be no problem, right? It may be rude to say this to you, but I heard that the other party seems to be able to do magic. I always feel that I am very nervous."

The old man secretly observed Zhizhi's face, and said hesitantly. "Hahaha...you don't have to worry. I checked carefully just now. There are solid iron railings on the windows of the room, and the walls are as thick as 30 centimeters. They can't be broken by knocking casually; there is Mr. Criminal Police in the middle of the room Surveillance; what's more, I am guarding the only entrance and exit. This layer of protection can be said to be watertight. You'd better go to bed with peace of mind. Even if you stay here, the result will be the same." Despite Zhizhi's persuasion, the old man refused to agree to anything.

"No, I'm going to stay here all night. Anyway, I can't sleep even if I lie in bed." After speaking, he sat down beside the detective. "I see, then, maybe it's better this way. I just happen to have someone to talk to, and maybe even start a fierce battle over painting." As expected of a well-known detective who has experienced many battles, his calm attitude is enviable. Afterwards, the two put on the most comfortable poses and began to talk about famous ancient paintings in a low voice.But Zhizhi was talking alone, and the old man was in a state of confusion, looking around absent-mindedly, and answered questions that were not relevant to him several times during the period.

After what seemed like a long time for a whole year, finally, the bell struck twelve o'clock.In the middle of the night, Zhizhi asked the criminal police in the room through the door from time to time, and each time the other party answered in a clear tone that everything was normal. "Ah——I'm a little sleepy too." Zhizhi yawned, "That guy with twenty faces might not come tonight. Under such strict security, it shouldn't be so unwise to throw himself into a trap... ...Old man, would you like a refreshing one? In Manchuria, everyone smoked this extravagant thing."

As he spoke, he snapped open the cigarette case, took one himself first, and handed the case to the old man at the same time. "Is that so? Is he really not coming tonight?" The old man at the left door still said anxiously while accepting the Egyptian cigarettes he handed over. "No, don't worry. That guy is definitely not an idiot. If he knew that I was here to guard him, he would never have foolishly sent him to the door." After that, both of them fell into silence, each thinking about their own thoughts, smoking with relish, and when the smoke was completely reduced to ashes, Mingzhi yawned again:

"I'm a little sleepy, you go to sleep too. Don't worry, there will be no problem. As the saying goes, a warrior will wake up when he hears the sound of a bit. In our line of work, even the lightest footsteps will wake us up." .I won't really fall asleep." Just as he finished speaking, he was already lying in front of the door and closed his eyes.Not long after, there was the sound of steady breathing. The detective's foolish attitude made the old man feel even more uneasy.Not only did the old man dare not sleep, but he pricked up his ears even more, lest he would miss the slight sound, and listened with all his strength.

He seemed to hear something strange.Is it ringing in your ears, or is the wind blowing through the treetops in a nearby forest? Listening so intently, it seems as if you can hear the sound of time flowing slowly, and feel the night gradually deepening. The brain suddenly went blank, and the eyes seemed to be covered with a mist, hazy. When he came back to his senses impressively, a man in black with glowing eyes was looming in the light white mist. "Ah, Mr. Wise, here comes the thief, here comes the thief." He couldn't help yelling, shaking the sleeping wise shoulder vigorously.

"What's the matter? What are you arguing about? Where is there a thief? You must be dreaming." The detective remained motionless, his voice tinged with reproach. That's it, maybe I was dreaming or hallucinating just now.In short, I looked around again, but I didn't see any men in black. The old man was a little embarrassed, so he had to lie down in silence according to the original posture, and still listened with his ears up.So, just like before, my brain became blank again, and a faint mist seemed to be covered in front of my eyes.The mist became thicker and thicker, and finally, it turned into a black cloud like a dark cloud, and the body seemed to fall into the deep, deep ground.The old man fell asleep unconsciously.

How long did you sleep for?In the dream, he seemed to fall into hell, full of horrible scenes, when Youyou woke up, he was shocked, and the surroundings were already bright. "Oh, I fell asleep. But my nerves are so tense, how can I fall asleep?" Even the old man Zuomen found it incredible.Looking back, Detective Wise has maintained the posture of last night, still sound asleep. "Ah, I'm saved. It seems that Twenty Faces is really afraid of the wise detective, so he didn't dare to come. Great, great!" The old man stroked his chest to rejoice, and gently woke up the detective. "Sir, it's already dawn, sir." Sensei immediately opened his eyes: "Ah - I slept too soundly... Hahaha... Look, isn't there nothing wrong with this?" As he spoke, he yawned again. "Mr. Detective, who is guarding you, must be sleepy too. I'm fine now. After dinner, let everyone take a good rest." "Alright. Then, please open this door." Following his instructions, the old man took out the key from his pocket, unlocked the door and pushed the door panel open with a rattle. Unexpectedly, as soon as the door opened, he took a look into the room, and he screamed horribly as if someone had strangled his neck. "What happened?" Akechi jumped up in fright, and peeked into the room with his head. "That, that, that..." The old man didn't even have the strength to speak, and while stammering out words that didn't make sense, he pointed toward the room with trembling fingers. Taking a closer look, it's no wonder the old man reacted so violently.The ancient famous paintings that were originally collected indoors, no matter whether they were hung on the wall, packed in boxes, or piled up in cabinets, none of them remained, and all of them disappeared. The guarding detective lay on the tatami as if he had been knocked unconscious.Look at his virtue, he is still snoring! "First, sir, was, was, stolen. Ah, I, I..." In an instant, the old man from Zuomen seemed to have aged ten years, his expression became horrific, and he wanted to grab Zhizhi's clothes.