Chapter 21 Chapter 21
Three days, five days, ten days passed, and Ayu never showed up in Baiziwu.
The rumors should have spread far and wide.Even after Yomiuri no longer published the news, Shirakoya still reminded regular customers and neighbors: If you see a girl who looks like Ayu, please inform us immediately. Forget about the spirit contest.We just want to meet and talk to Ayu.
No matter how you think about it, it is impossible for Ayou to eliminate the grievances in his heart just because he ruined the spirit exorcism competition, and he will never trouble Bai Ziwu or have anything to do with Bai Ziwu from now on.As far as she is concerned, there should be a lot of complaints she wants to say to Chobei, and she should fall into Shichibei's trap.
Ah Ling discussed this matter with Gennosuke and Ami every day, and the two always calmly comforted Ah Ling, asking her to wait patiently, and said that maybe Ayu had other secrets.
After the exorcism competition, Ah Ling called Pengfa several times in a pleading tone, but Pengfa never showed up.Duo Hui has been lying in bed, and Grandpa Laughing Monk has disappeared.Ah Mei sometimes climbed the stairs at night and made the sound of thumping footsteps, but she did not appear in front of Ah Ling.I don't know if it's superfluous, but I always feel that everyone seems to be waiting for something to happen.
On the other hand, Shichibei sent people to check Shimaji's situation every day on the grounds of visiting a doctor, forcing Shimaji's wife Ako to feel bad, and finally visited the boathouse with a snack box that day.
"Thanks to everyone, the body of my family is finally slowly recovering. It was probably heat stroke last time, but unfortunately, my brain is still weak, and I am in a trance all day long. My son and I are taking care of the forest house, and I can handle it. I'm afraid I can't come to the houseboat to help again. I'm really sorry, please don't embarrass the island again."
Although A Gao's eyes were still fierce, he put his hands on the tatami respectfully and bowed deeply to pay tribute to everyone in the boat house.
Shichibei rushed over from Takadaya, sat side by side with Taiichiro and listened to her.Qibingwei comforted A Gao frequently, but seeing A Gao's sincere and frightened appearance, he probably didn't listen much.
Ah Ling hid in the dark and watched their response.In any case, if you don't catch Ayu, you won't be able to confront her with Shimaji. Even Aling understands this. Grandpa Shichibei must be on fire right now.But what is more interesting is A Gao's attitude.She didn't look like she was just sitting upright because she was reserved as a guest, but more like she was afraid of something, and her side face looked tired and listless.
Everyone called that person Shimaji, Shimaji, but it was actually just an empty shell of Shimaji, with his older brother Ginji in his body.Ginji drove away the soul of his younger brother who killed him, and took Shimaji's body back to the living world.In this way, he returned to his home and his shop, and regained his wife and children.
This is really a terrible thing.However, Ah Ling found it strange that after Ginji took revenge on Shimaji, she should be satisfied, and she would treat the proprietress and children with tenderness, devote herself to running the forest house, and work hard for the future happiness of the family. .If Ah Ling stood in his position, she would definitely do this, otherwise it wouldn't make much sense to return to the mortal world.
But why is A Gao in front of him so haggard?It looked trembling.Although this greedy proprietress gave a bad impression, the last time I saw her she was much more energetic than now.
What did Ginji do after returning to the forest house?
The sky was clear and cloudless this morning, and the guest room had already been packed with summer decorations and fitted with paper doors.The paper door was gently pulled open, and A-Ling immediately ran to the back door after seeing A-Teng leading A-Gao away.Ako left from the main entrance of the houseboat, and walked feebly along the wooden wall of the neighbor Nagasaka-sama's mansion.A-Ling confirmed that after A-Teng sent the passengers back to the houseboat, she ran to catch up with A-Gao.
"The proprietress of the forest house!"
A Gao looked back, as if she couldn't remember who the girl in front of her was. A Ling explained to her that she had gone to visit Mr. Shimaji on behalf of the stern, but she still had no memory of it, and it took a lot of talking before she finally remembered.
Looking closely, there are dark circles under A Gao's eyes, and the corners of his eyes are also very dry.When A Ling was ill and almost died in bed, Duo Hui, who had been taking care of her by her side, had the same expression.This is the face of a person who has not slept well.
The ominous premonition is like a bat flying at night, zigzagging through A-Ling's little heart.
"What can you do with me, miss."
Although the sky is already autumnal, the sun is still dazzling. A Gao feels dazzling and squints his eyes.
"Miss Boss, I'm sorry, but I'm actually the daughter of the houseboat. I lied last time."
Ah Ling quickly explained that she happened to be near the banquet during the exorcism competition and witnessed Mr. Shimaji's collapse.
"Ma'am, I'm afraid you won't believe me when I say this suddenly, but I hope you will listen to me."
Ah Ling breathed evenly, and made up her mind to speak: "Mr. Shimaji is now the proprietress's deceased husband...that is, Mr. Yinji, his elder brother? Or did Mr. Shimaji do something that reminds you of Mr. Yinji?" or is he claiming to be Mr. Ginji?"
A Gao widened his slender eyes hanging from the corners of his eyes, and his cheeks, which already lacked blood, were as pale as a piece of white cloth.
"You, you, you," A Gao's jaw kept shaking, pointing at A Ling, "what are you talking about? What do you want?"
"Boss..."
Ah Gao pushed away Ah Ling who was approaching, turned his back, and ran away quickly as if he was about to fall forward.
"Boss, wait!"
A-Ling chased after him, and A-Gao ran to the corner of the plank wall of Changsaka's house, leaning on the edge of the wall to turn, and dropped a shoe while staggering forward.She staggered forward two or three steps, and finally fell to the ground.
"Boss, are you okay?"
Ah Ling ran over, and A Gao lay on the ground with a pale face, scratching the ground with both hands and trying to escape.
"Miss Boss, why did you run away? Is what I said strange?"
"What a naughty child, let me go!"
A Gao roared in a trembling voice, waved his hands indiscriminately and stood up, completely ignoring the fall of his shoes, and tried to run away with bare feet.
Ah Ling yelled: "Ma'am, has Mr. Shimaji really turned into Mr. Ginji? Is the lady boss also very scared? What exactly did the ghost of Mr. Ginji do in the forest house?"
A Gao staggered and stopped, looking back at A Ling.Her eyes were wide open, her mouth was open and she was panting.
"Shadow?" A Gao whispered hoarsely, "You mean, it's a ghost?"
Ah Ling silently ran to A Gao's side and grabbed A Gao's hand, her hand was as cold as ice.
"How do you know it's a ghost?"
That tone is more like a question than a soliloquy.Ah Ling replied: "I saw Mr. Ginji's ghost appear with my own eyes. He also said that he was killed by Mr. Shimaji ten years ago, and his shop, wife and children were taken away, so he wants to drive him out of Mr. Shimaji's body." His soul returned to the forest house with Mr. Shimaji's body."
A Gao drooped his neck weakly, his wide-open eyes and eyelids trembled slightly, and one or two locks of hair hung down from his messy bun, and he collapsed to the ground unexpectedly on the spot.
Ah Ling yelled, no passerby passed by on the road under the bright sun, and Ah Ling's face also lost color.
"Miss Boss, cheer up!"
At this moment, the front door of Nagasaka's back door opened with a bang, and a woman walked out.Seeing A Ling and A Gao, she opened her eyes wide in surprise, and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
This is really an old mansion.
Ah Ling thought to herself: I am a well-educated girl, Master Nagasaka kindly extended a helping hand to us, but I can't say anything rude to their family.
——But it’s not necessarily so if it’s eccentric.
What kind of house is this?It's a good thing it hasn't fallen down yet, it's like a haunted house!
In short, the house is very old and dilapidated everywhere.The tatami room I live in now is still paved with tatami mats, the walls have not collapsed, and the ceiling has no holes, but there are traces of rain leakage everywhere, and the lattice paper windows are also full of traces of subsidies.
From the second floor of the houseboat, Master Nagasaka's mansion can be clearly seen. Although Ah Ling saw that there were traces of repairs on the roof tiles, she did not expect that the mansion surrounded by magnificent plank walls and green trees was so deserted. .
Because it is the Banner House, it occupies a large area.From the back door through the atrium, to this tatami room is indeed through a long corridor.However, in the rooms seen along the way, either the tatami mats were lifted to expose the floor, or the roof was broken with big holes, or the lattice paper windows were all removed. Just looking at those rooms gives people the illusion of walking into an abandoned house.
Grandpa Shichihei once said when A Ling's family planned to move to the houseboat, "the neighbor is a poor man".When grandpa came to say hello, did he see the inside of the house?
—and so is the yard.
Looking from the outside, especially when looking down from the second floor of the houseboat, it seems that there are many tall trees planted in the yard, but from a close view, it is obvious that the yard is not cared for, and the trees are as dense as a mountain forest.It is not surprising that there are foxes or civet cats living behind the overgrown rockery.Thinking about it carefully, Ah Ling has never seen the gardener come and go in and out of the neighbor's yard.
There was a sound of light footsteps, and someone came from the corridor.A Ling was startled secretly, and immediately lay down on the tatami.
"Oh, don't be so restrained."
The voice was amiable, it was the woman just now.She is about the same age as Duo Hui, with a petite figure, a round face, and a girly voice.
"I'm sorry to leave you here alone. Come, have some tea."
The woman sat down beside Ah Ling, and took a teacup from the tray to invite Ah Ling to drink tea, her movements were smooth.
"You're probably scared, right? But don't worry, the lady has already woken up. She can fully recover after lying down for another half an hour."
"Thank you very much." Ah Ling bowed deeply again.
The woman smiled and said, "You are so polite, are you the daughter of the restaurant next door?"
Ah Ling was taken aback: It turned out that the other party knew about me.
"Yes, my name is Bell."
The woman also replied: "I am the wife of Mizusuke Nagasaka, the owner of this house, and my name is Meixian."
wife?ah?Not a maid?
Probably Ah Ling's surprise was written all over her face, and Mei Xian covered her mouth with her hand and laughed: "We don't have any daughters in our family, so I do all the housework."
"Ah, is that so?"
"As you can see..." Mei Xian gestured to the dilapidated tatami room, "We are so poor that we don't even have decorations."
Not only the house, but the clothes on Meixian's body are also patched clothes that have been washed white, and the right sleeve obviously has traces of mending.The bun on her head is just an old boxwood comb.Ah Ling didn't know how to answer the conversation, her face flushed, and Mei Xian giggled again when she saw this.
"Oh, I'm sorry, you don't have to worry about it. My husband-in-law and I like this mansion very much. No matter how dilapidated and dilapidated, we are not ashamed. But after the boat house opened, my husband-in-law and I often talked about you. I want to say so A high-end restaurant doesn’t know what kind of dishes it will serve? What kind of customers come to the door?”
The positions of the two seem to be reversed.Ah Ling couldn't help but said: "Actually, my house is not high-end or luxurious at all. Instead, I often wonder what great person lives in the mansion next door."
"Isn't this just that both parties are in unrequited love?"
The voice of the other party matched the identity of Hatakemoto's wife, calm and elegant, but from her mouth came out the common people's term "unrequited love".A-Ling thought, not every Mrs. Banner is like this, this lady in front of her should be regarded as a special case.
There was a barking sound from the grass in the yard, and Meixian patted her hands lightly and said, "Aling, have you seen Xiaobai?"
"noob?"
Meixian got up and went to the narrow corridor, calling "Xiaobai, Xiaobai, come here".A white dog came running through the weeds. "Xiaobai, sit down, there are guests. Have you met before?"
"If you say that, how can this child remember?"
A voice came from the corridor, and the owner of the voice walked into the room slowly.The visitor was about forty years old, tall and thin, with a long chin, and the distance between the eyes was a bit far away——the face looked a bit like an anglerfish, and Ah Ling felt familiar...
"Ah!" Ah Ling yelled and jumped up, "That's right! It's the samurai lord I saw back then!"
The incident happened on the day when the first group of guests came to the houseboat. Ah Ling, Ah Yuan, and Xiaomaru were throwing stones by the river to play. Because Ah Mei suddenly appeared, Ah Ling was startled, and the candy choked in her throat.At that time, the savior who picked up Ah Ling and patted Ah Ling's back to make her spit out candies was the man in front of him.
"By the way, this dog was also there at that time!"
The tall samurai smiled at Meixian, then sat down, and said to the surprised Ah Ling in a slow tone: "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself at that time. Is it the neighbor's poor flag? Or are you making fun of me for looking like an anglerfish?"
Nagasaka Master Mizusuke said indifferently, "Although I am poor, I have a lot of time."
"I am Xiaopu Group... You must not understand this word. To put it simply, although I have a family background, I have no errands, so my salary is very little, so little that I can even support my wife and I. It is very difficult, but fortunately there are various side jobs for the family to do, so I can barely make ends meet.”
"Ah, yes." Although at a loss, A-Ling still answered vaguely.Can you tell me about this?But it doesn't matter, just from the inside of this mansion, it can be seen at a glance that the owner's life is difficult.
"I've heard that there are many disasters in the houseboat. After all, the house was haunted long before the houseboat moved in." Nagasaka Mizusuke said with his chin tilted, "I wanted to ask the houseboat directly what happened this time, but I often bring up this matter with my wife. Just now my wife informed me that A-Ling of the houseboat is in trouble at the back door, and this is a good opportunity."
"Thank you for your help."
"Where is that? But, that woman is not from the houseboat, right? Mei Xian said, that woman seems to be arguing with you, what's going on?"
It's a long story.Where should I explain it to him?
"This matter is also related to the haunting of the ghost of the houseboat...Well, Master Nagasaka..." A-Ling hesitated, and simply asked the other party for advice, "I heard that the houseboat now was a cemetery thirty years ago. There is a monastery called Xingyuan Temple, and I heard that the abbot of that monastery...killed many people, terrible things happened, and then the monastery was completely burned down because of a fire."
"Well," Master Mizusuke nodded and said, "Actually, I don't know what happened at that time. Because the Nagasaka family's mansion was not here at the time, this house was built after the incident at Koganji Temple, when I was still ten years old. year-old child."
Ah Ling was very disappointed.It turned out that Nagasaka-sama didn't know the whole story.
"It's just..." Master Mizusuke glanced at his wife and continued, "I heard from my father that the Nagasaka family was ordered to move here because a relative was related to the Koganji incident. The shogunate not only wants us to move, It is also because of this that my father was dismissed from his post and became Xiao Puqian's group."
Although Ah Ling had no intention of doing so, she couldn't help but retreated from Master Nagasaka.Meixian smiled and said:
"If you say that, A-Ling will be scared, as if there is a terrible murderer in our family. I'm sorry."
Mizusuke stared at those anglerfish-like eyes that were a little far apart, and then laughed.
"I see. But facts are facts...not to be distorted."
"No, no, I'm not afraid." Ah Ling sat up again, "I'm not afraid at all, I was just startled."
"That's good, you will know after listening slowly."
Master Mizusuke scratched his neck and continued, "It is my uncle, the youngest son of my grandfather, who is involved in the Xingyuanji incident. My father is the eldest son. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, I understand."
When Koganji Temple burned down, Mizusuke's father was thirty-five years old, and his uncle was only twenty-three years old.
"I don't know if it's appropriate to tell you about such a young child. My grandfather was very romantic. In addition to having a boy with my grandmother, he also had a daughter who died young. When I was young, the women played with each other, and they gave birth to each other in their later years. Three children who are old enough to be his grandson, and born to three different women. Do you understand this?"
"I think... I understand." Ah Ling replied solemnly.
"Although my father is the head of the Nagasaka family, he has suffered a lot for these young half-brothers. Before he died, he still complained, saying that these uncles not only spend money like water, but also all of them Arrogant slob..."
Mizusuke conveyed his father's complaint empathetically.
"The most troublesome thing is this uncle. He has a gentle personality and often played with me when I was young. It's just that he is romantic by nature. In this regard, he can be said to be the true biography of his grandfather. In addition, he is handsome, and women are very attractive. It’s hard not to be moved by him.”
Master Mizusuke's father managed to find a job for him, but he was fired twice, and the reason for the dismissal was a woman. One of them even had an affair with the chief's wife, and the two planned to elope.They had nothing to say when they were cut in half for this kind of behavior, but probably the thief was very lucky, and he just lost his salary.That being the case, let him live a common life from now on. Master Mizusuke's father prepared a sum of money to support him in opening a dojo, but he didn't expect that he would spend all of that money on prostitutes.In the end, he finally found a well-matched family for him to marry in. This time, he actually hooked up with his wife's sister, which caused a storm——
Mizusuke narrated it smoothly as if he was telling someone else's story.Did he always want to tell people about this past?Because he even looked a little cheerful.
"As I said before, I was ten years old at the time of the incident at Xingyuan Temple, and I still have a deep impression on this uncle. Six months before the incident, he was kicked out by his wife's family, and he has been living with us since then."
Master Mizusuke said, "Although we live together, I don't know why my uncle has anything to do with the abbot of Koganji Temple."
"I heard that the abbot was secretly lending usury money. My father guessed that it was because of this that the two of them met. I also think so. The reason why my uncle needs money is for women. Unlike other uncles, he is not doing well. Extravagant, spending money on women. I don’t know where the women are, maybe prostitutes.”
"It was a strong windy night in early spring—" Master Mizusuke changed his tone, "At three o'clock when the grass and trees were already asleep, my uncle knocked on the door impatiently and called my father. My father and I woke up at the same time and found that uncle He was standing in the yard with a broken lantern. He was wearing casual clothes with the hem tucked into his belt and the sleeves on both sides were tied with drawstrings. Looking carefully, his face and arms were covered with blood. His uncle said that he just Killed someone. He sounded cheerful and crisp when he said it. I didn't know why I was suddenly proud of him. I thought he must have killed a bad guy. In fact, my uncle raised his eyebrows very energetically at that time. , full of heroism and majesty."
——I still have something I must do, someone I must kill.I was about to rush into Xingyuan Temple to chase that person, but I was afraid that I would bring trouble to the Nagasaka family in the future, so I came back to let you know.
"Uncle said that the Changsaka family has nothing to do with this matter. If someone asks, they will say that he left home very early and has severed ties with the Changsaka family for a long time. The uncle also said that if the superiors come to investigate this matter He has already written the whole story in a letter and hid it in the letter box in the room. Just show the letter to them at that time. After finishing speaking, my uncle was about to leave. My father rushed up and asked him if he A man, he said he needed no help in this matter, just ran off into the night."
Master Mizusuke paused, recalling what happened that night, his sight became far away.
"After half an hour, Xingyuan Temple caught fire."
At that time, Nagasaka’s house was one town (about 109 meters) away from here, but he still saw the burning flames of Koganji Temple clearly appearing in the night sky, bursting sparks were flying in the wind, and the smell of burning was everywhere, which made people feel sick. People can't breathe.
"The strong wind howled that night, but the flames did not spread outside the Xingyuan Temple. From my young age, it seemed that the flames surrounded the Xingyuan Temple, preventing anyone from escaping from the Xingyuan Temple."
After Master Mizusuke said this seriously, he suddenly laughed again.
"This wording seems a bit hypocritical. At that time, no one knew that many people died at the hands of the abbot. It was the surviving monastery servants and monks who confessed these things before the truth came to light. My memory of the night of the fire was circulated by some. The influence of the alley talk, it must not be real. Anyway, the memory is probably like this."
"I heard that it was the abbot who set the fire. After setting the fire, he fled by himself. I don't know where he fled. His whereabouts are a mystery."
Hearing what Ah Ling said, Master Mizusuke nodded and said, "You really know a lot. That's exactly how it is. For the monastery's enforcement office, this incident is completely different from such trivial matters as a monk committing lust and abstinence. It's serious. It’s a big deal. For the sake of reputation, I have to find the abbot no matter what, but I don’t know whether he ascended to heaven or got into a hole in the earth, and I still couldn’t find him in the end.”
Then, he added in a low voice: "And my uncle didn't come back."
"Not only human bones were found in the ruins, but also several corpses that were obviously burned to death, and some corpses were also pressed under the pillars and walls. My uncle was probably among them. If a long knife is found, we can also determine which corpse is his Yes, but the long knife may have been buried in the rubble or someone took it away, but we have not been able to find it, and there is nothing we can do about it.”
"Who is Nagasaka-sama's uncle planning to kill? Is it the abbot?"
"It should be. It seems that my uncle did not succeed but died in the fire pit."
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