Chapter 22 Chapter Twenty Two

The surviving servants of the temple confessed under severe interrogation by the temple administration office—he didn’t know the abbot’s evil deeds, but only knew that the abbot would often bring back unemployed samurai or homeless people from the town a few years ago and let them live in the temple. , those people suddenly disappeared after a while, and this happened again and again.And the servants said that about a month ago, a young samurai came to see the abbot, and he has been haunting him frequently since then. I heard that the person is from the Nagasaka family of Hashimoto, whose residence is not far from the temple.

"Because of this, the Nagasaka family has no way to hide what happened to the uncle when the superiors learned about it. And my father didn't intend to follow the uncle's account from the beginning, and argued that the uncle had severed ties with the family. He was very curious about how the uncle found out the abbot What secret? Why did he enter the monastery alone that night? And who did he kill before he entered the monastery that night? My father really wanted to solve these mysteries, knowing that he would be punished for it. I still take the initiative to accept the interrogation of the public servant of the temple, but..."

It is said that there is still no clear answer in the end. "Father accepted the punishment and was forced to resign from the Yushenshou team to join Xiaopu's invitation team. The superior ordered us to move, and my father specifically asked to move here. It can be seen that my father wanted to find out what my uncle did in Xingyuan Temple in the end." Master Mizusuke's angler-like face broke into a smile, and he said to Ah Ling with a smile: "However, although my father had this wish, he didn't pursue it seriously. He just thought the whole thing was strange. When I inherited my father's I also inherited that 'very strange' feeling when I was in the same position, but I couldn't solve the mystery. I just stayed in this shabby house and lived a poor life leisurely. Every night when there was a strong wind in early spring, I would occasionally Thinking of the fire and my uncle's radiant expression...living in peace every day."

Ah Ling looked at the peaceful and gentle expressions of Nagasaka and his wife in turn. After listening to this long story, she quietly adjusted her breathing, her heart was pounding, and she decided to ask questions that gradually surfaced in her mind. "Master Nagasaka, I want to ask one thing." "What's up?" "What's your uncle's name?" A handsome twenty-three-year-old man who likes women. "His name is Gennosuke." Master Mizusuke replied, "The women around him sometimes call him Agen. My father doesn't like this name very much, saying it looks like a playboy's name."

Although A Gao woke up, he was still dizzy and unable to walk.Meixian said kindly to A-Ling: "I'll take care of that man, you go home first." A-Ling gratefully decided to obey her. In fact, she was itching the soles of her feet at the moment and wanted to rush back to the boathouse. Shichibei and Taiichiro are discussing things in the tatami room, Ateng and Axian are changing the window paper of the lattice paper window, and Duohui seems to be asleep.In order to avoid the adults' attention, Ah Ling walked on tiptoe with her neck shrunk, and came to the bottom of the stairs and whispered, "Master Xuanzhisuke?"

Thanks to Ah Xian and Ateng wiping it every day, the stair boards are shiny. "Master Xuanzhisuke, please come out, I am Ah Ling." Ah Ling climbed to the middle of the stairs and called, "I want to talk to Master Xuanzhisuke, please come out quickly." Even A-Ling herself didn't understand why, she started to cry while talking.She felt very strange and reached out to wipe away the tears. "Master Gennosuke, don't play tricks." "I'm here." A voice came from behind.Looking back, Gennosuke was sitting leisurely in the middle of the stairs as usual.

"What's the matter? Ah Ling, why are you so sad?" Seeing his face and hearing his voice, Ah Ling immediately understood why she was crying. She is very close to Gennosuke, and she also knows that the other party is a ghost. Not only can she not touch him, but his body is also translucent.Even so, Ah Ling never thought or imagined the "death" of Gennosuke.Only after death can a person become a ghost.But for a friend who meets often and talks and laughs with each other, there is no need to think about how the other party died. "Master Xuanzhisuke is indeed dead." Ah Ling finally said this, and burst into tears.

"So...you have arrived at the Nagasaka mansion?" Gennosuke put his hand on his chin and muttered to himself like a child resting his chin, "I knew it would come one day, after all, you are neighbors." Ah Ling wiped her cheeks with her hands, the backs of her hands were sticky with tears. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" "You say I'm from the Nagasaka family? Well, well," Gennosuke said with a smile, "Because it's embarrassing to say that I'm related to that monkfish-faced master Mizusuke. .” "nonsense." "It's not nonsense. The Nagasaka family will have that look every few generations, and the distance between the eyes is two inches."

Gennosuke solemnly measured the distance of two inches with his fingers.Ah Ling laughed through her tears, but the tears still fell down. Gennosuke looked at Ah Ling's face and said with a smile: "Although Mizusuke is poor, he is very kind, right?" "Yes, madam is also very gentle." "And quite beautiful." "You say that again." "Is this true? Every time I see Mrs. Mizusuke from the window, I always grit my teeth and think, that anglerfish face is really not worthy of such a beauty." Xuanzhisuke went on to say: "The main Mizusuke's nickname is Kotaro."

"Every eldest son in the Nagasaka family is called Kotaro. That kid has that face since he was a child. I thought that as long as he trains well, he might be able to become a master of swordsmanship. After all, his vision should be wider than ordinary people." I really don't know if Gennosuke is serious or joking. "However, that kid is not only bad at swordsmanship, but also bad at abacus. His handwriting is ugly and his eloquence is not good. It may be a good thing for him to lose his public office in his father's generation. Such a useless man is really rare." Gennosuke shook his head with his hands in admiration, "But compared to him, I'm even more of a big eater, so I'm not qualified to speak too arrogantly."

"You've gone too far, Mr. Gennosuke." A Ling looked up at him and said seriously, "Why don't you just show up in front of Mr. and Mrs. Nagasaka? Then tell them what happened that night thirty years ago ,It is not good?" I also want to know the answer. Unexpectedly, Xuanzhisuke said seriously: "A Ling looks very similar to my mother." "Did you hear what Master Mizusuke said? I am the child of my father and a ten-year-old girl. My mother married to another place when I was a baby. There has been no news since then. When my marriage was negotiated, I finally married When I met her last time, she was the wife of a small businessman in Xiagu. She had just begun to put on weight, had big eyes, and was very flattering. After we married, my mother’s face was always dangling in front of my eyes. I really can't make up my mind." Ah Ling pouted and asked, "So Master Xuan Zhisuke is on good terms with his wife's sister, causing a disturbance?" "Master Mizusuke even told you this kind of thing? What a talkative guy." Nagasaka Mizusuke didn't know that A Ling knew Gennosuke himself, so it was really unreasonable to criticize him, A Ling couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Ah, I finally stopped crying. This is how I look like Ah Ling." Ah Ling herself thinks so, just like Gennosuke is not suitable for talking with a straight face. "Well, I won't cry. However, don't digress. You obviously live next door, why didn't you appear in Nagasaka-sama's dream and tell him about the past? You can also talk to Nagasaka just like you are talking to me now. Is Saka-sama talking?" Gennosuke let go of his arms and scratched the back of his neck vigorously.Ah Ling remembered that Nagasaka-sama did the same thing just now. "Well...it can't be done." "why?" Ah Ling asked, Gennosuke lowered his eyebrows with a pitiful expression. "Because I forgot all about it." "what?" "What happened to Xingyuan Temple on that windy night thirty years ago? Why did I die? Why did I plan to kill the abbot of Xingyuan Temple? Who did I kill before? And why did I kill him?" Gennosuke After saying this in one breath, he looked at the sky and continued, "I forgot everything. Since Kotaro said so, it seems that I really planned to enter Koganji Temple that night, and I did check around the temple before. But I I don't remember it at all, the memory has completely disappeared from my mind." Gennosuke raised his right fist and thumped his head. "Maybe that's why I can't ascend to heaven. Because I have forgotten everything, my soul wanders in this world." Does such a thing really exist in the world? Ah Ling couldn't answer.At this time, there was a noise outside, and the sound was approaching quickly. "Please! Please!" A short man with the hem of his clothes tucked into his belt rushed into the boat house with heavy steps, kicking up dust, and asked while lying on the edge of the wooden floor: "Excuse me, is Mr. Takadaya Shichihei here? I am Mukojima Tatsutaro's subordinate Ade, is the boss of Takadaya here?" Shichibei slammed open the paper door and ran out. "Oh, it's Ade, what's the matter?" The short man who claimed to be Ade was panting: "The Ayu you were looking for was found! That girl is hiding on the second floor of the shooting range behind the Asakusa Benzai Tenjin. She killed someone there this morning and was escorted to work place." Ah Ling could imagine that Qibei must gasp in surprise now, and she herself was also dumbfounded. "Who did you kill?" "She killed her lover, and that gambler Qiao Erlang." Takadaya Shichibei, who has always been great in Ah Ling's mind, seems to be a great figure in the eyes of the world. Ayu, the illegitimate daughter abandoned by the owner of Shirako House, Changhei, was brought to the boat house before being formally interrogated for the murder of Hashijiro.The people who had participated in the exorcism competition were summoned again, and Lin Yajima was also called to listen to Ayu's confession. Of course, this is Shichibei's proposal.It stands to reason that even half a day is not allowed to transfer the murder suspect who is about to be escorted to the detention center to another place, but Shichibei still intends to do so.It's not something that comes with money or connections, and unless those two things come together and the person making the request is trustworthy, it won't work at all.After Shichihei heard the news that Ayu had been arrested in the area behind the Asakusa Benzai Tenjin, everything was arranged before the sun set that day. "As expected of the boss." Ah Ling listened to her father muttering to herself in admiration, and she could only nod in agreement with "um, um".Although her respect for Grandpa Qibingwei has not changed, Ah Ling still feels that Grandpa is too stubborn about this matter.How could Shimaji collude with Ayu to deliberately sabotage the exorcism competition? How could it be such a coincidence. "However," Gennosuke said with his hands in his hands, "this is also good, the entangled threads may be untied." Shichibei ordered that the banquet dishes for this day must be the same as last time, and the unexpected errand made the inside and outside of the boat house very busy.Although the menu remains the same, but this time without Shimaji as a helper, Taiichiro can't prepare to come alone, not to mention that this time there are more witnesses Shichibei and the leader.Qibei also impatiently planned that if Ayu could confess his tricks in the exorcism competition, he would eat red bean rice to celebrate afterwards.If Taiichiro had to prepare so many dishes by himself, how could he be busy? Shichibei temporarily transferred three chefs from Takadaya to be Taiichiro's assistants, two of them were veterans of Takadaya, and Ah Ling was also very familiar with them.Although they said to Ah Ling that you have grown up, they didn't have time to talk too much. As soon as they arrived at the boat house, they immediately devoted themselves to the work of raising ingredients and preparing in advance.The banquet is scheduled for noon tomorrow, Taiichiro said, tonight we have to light up the lights in the kitchen. Despite this, Abba regained her long-lost vigor, and her voice seemed very energetic. Just because of this, Ah Ling was very happy.After all, if the chef has no food to cook, he can't cheer up. Ah Xian first objected to Ah Yu's entry into the houseboat on the grounds of "how can the murderer enter the shop where guests are entertained", but she also knew very well that Shichihei would never change his mind once he said it, so she simply kept quiet. Set your mind to help.Ateng is also busy in and out, and has no time to take care of Ah Ling.Ah Ling couldn't guess what attitude Ah Teng had towards this banquet, nor did she know whether the dispute between her and Ah Xian was resolved last night. The adults were so busy, A Ling could only sit boredly with Gennosuke on the vacant room list on the second floor.The tatami room next door will be used for banquets. A Xian and A Teng have already carefully cleaned it. I heard that even the screens and flower arrangements want to use the same ones as that day.Ah Ling wondered what kind of flower was planted in the exorcism competition earlier, but she couldn't remember at all. Gennosuke lay in the shape of "big" on the tatami, looked up at the big flower board, yawned and said, "A Ling, this time may be a good opportunity to catch that kid." "That kid?" "Puffy hair." "Will Pomfret appear?" "Yes, definitely will." Xuanzhisuke is full of confidence, "The entanglement of siblings stuck in that kid's heart, plus the young girl, are all the conditions complete? It is impossible not to come out." "What if it comes out?" "It depends on what that kid is doing." "What if you wield your long sword like you did at the Tsutsuya feast?" Xuanzhisuke said with a smile, "Don't worry, that kid won't cut Ah Ling." "Even if you don't cut me, it's not good to cut others." "Don't worry about it, first worry about how to appease him if he starts crying again." As soon as I felt a gust of cold wind blowing, I saw Ami floating in from the corridor. Surprisingly, she didn't wear her hair in a bun today, and she didn't even curl it into a comb. Her long hair hung down naturally as if it had just been washed, reaching to her waist His black hair shone like the surface of a river in the autumn sun. "Oh, it's as if you just crawled out of the bottom of the well." Gennosuke lay down and said mockingly, "Sister, how much does it cost?" Ah Mi didn't change her face, she stepped over Gennosuke and came to Ah Ling's side.Ah Ling was sitting in front of the window, the bright afternoon sun reflected on her cheeks.The sunlight also reflected on Ami's body, and the part of her body that was exposed to the sunlight appeared relatively thin. "Close the window." Ah Ling stretched out her hand to the lattice window. "No need, Ah Ling, you need to bask in the sun a lot at your age." Ami sat with her knees bent and reclined, resting her elbow on the window frame, and said with a smile, "A Ling, did you visit Aunt's room today?" She refers to Duohui. "Well, I went to say hello to my mother in the morning." "Really? How is Mommy?" "It hasn't improved much. Although the illness is not serious, it is still difficult to get up and do things in the short term. I don't eat much, and my face is as pale as Ami's." Hearing what Ah Ling said, Ah Mi gently held her hair with one hand and frowned slightly. "Is that so... Ah Ling, your father and the others must be very busy tonight? You should sleep with your mother tonight." Ah Ling was taken aback, why did she say that suddenly?Gennosuke turned over and looked this way with his head resting on his elbows. "Everyone in the houseboat is very busy, only your mother is not feeling well and lying in the room, she probably feels that she has been left behind. And your father has to stay up late to do things, she must be even more lonely. A Ling, you tonight Let's sleep with mom." Ah Mi's tone was sincere and gentle, and Ah Ling felt her heart ache.Ah Mi is really a good person, after Ah Mi reminded her, Ah Ling felt that she was indeed so.Grandmother must be very lonely now, I don't know how reconciled she can't be with Dad who finally cheered up. "Yeah! I will!" Ah Ling quickly stood up, "I'm going to see Grandma right now! Maybe she just wants something." Ah Mi smiled and watched Ah Ling who ran out of the room.Gennosuke lay on his elbows and turned his head, pursing his lips and smiling. "What's the matter? Sis, you performed very well today." Ah Mi didn't answer, she played with her hair with her fingers silently for a while, and then said: "Ah Xuan, does that child know something about your dying time?" Gennosuke blinked and said, "Yes." "You really forgot what happened before you died? Didn't you lie to that child on purpose?" "I'm not lying, the memories really disappeared from my head." Gennosuke got up, "But maybe Ah Ling... can help me retrieve the forgotten memories." Ami didn't look at Gennosuke, looked out of the window and said, "You mean, that kid will investigate the Koganji incident?" "If she believes that doing so can help us rise to heaven, she will definitely investigate. In fact, she has already gone to the landlord of Sun Bingwei's courtyard, and she seems to know Kotaro from the Nagasaka family." Ami suddenly asked: "Do you really want to ascend to heaven?" Xuanzhisuke laughed: "I don't know, I have no experience, so I don't know if it is good to ascend to heaven." "Don't joke around." "It's not a joke. What about you? Do you like the state in front of you, or do you want to go to some western pure land?" Amy didn't answer.She put her long hair in a bunch on her left shoulder, leaning her head against the window. "Is... a good place?" She whispered, "The Western Pure Land." Xuanzhisuke joked: "Everyone seems to want to go, maybe the environment is not bad." "Then, Ah Xuan, you can go, I don't want to go." Xuanzhisuke looked at Ami's slender back and asked, "Ami, what's wrong with you?" "It's nothing." Ami said behind Gennosuke's back, "It's just... seeing something annoying and bringing up unpleasant memories." Xuanzhisuke thought for a while, he was thinking about the conversation between Ami and Aling just now. "Is that 'annoying thing' related to Ah Ling's mother?" Ami nodded, then quickly turned around and said, "Anyway, there is a jealous bug in the houseboat, and that jealous bug crawls around as if it is the master." "Ami..." "Isn't Ah Ling a good child? You love that child too, right?" Ami's eyes flickered with a desperate and sad shadow. "I don't want that child to know what a bad woman I was when I was alive, and I don't want her to know that I went astray because of jealousy. But... I can't bear to see that child sad because of losing his mother, and I can't let that kind of thing Happened. How can one take a mother away from a child?" "Ami, what do you want to say?" "I mean, there is a woman in this room who intends to drive Duohui away." Ami leaned forward with one hand on the tatami, "But if I want to explain to that child why I know this, I have to tell her Tell me about my past? Say I did the same thing when I was alive, say I did the exact same thing to take the man I love from a woman. How can I say that? The kid will hate it Me?" Gennosuke crossed his arms and looked at Ami with his mouth bent into a "へ" shape.Ami has completely lost her previous look, she lowered her head so that her long hair covered her face. "This matter... we will talk about it later." Xuanzhisuke said slowly, "There will be other jealous people here at noon tomorrow. Envying someone else's life is another kind of jealousy. I'm talking about Yuu, Shimaji, and Ginji." "Ah, I hate it!" Ami shook her hair and said, pointing her nose at the ceiling, "Man, why is it so dirty? Why can't you live a more dignified life?" "If you know, you don't have to suffer." Gennosuke finished speaking, smiling slightly. That night, Ah Ling begged Ah Xian, and finally got permission to sleep with Duo Hui.A-Ling said, everyone is very busy, and A-Mu is too pitiful alone.Ah Xian was surprised that Ah Ling was so sensible, and immediately agreed. Although Duo Hui was also surprised, she was happy from the bottom of her heart.But she was still worried that her disease would be transmitted to Ah Ling.Ah Xian kept talking to Ah Ling and comforted Duo Hui. The doctor said that the disease would not be contagious, and Duo Hui finally agreed with peace of mind. The mother and daughter chatted a lot, about the food, the weather, and it would be better for Ah Ling to go to a private school, etc.At night, A-Teng brought the decoction before going to bed, saw A-Ling get into the quilt next to Duohui, and scolded A-Ling severely, A-Ling insisted that it was A-Xian's aunt who agreed. "But, it's not good for my mother's health!" "Won't!" It was only when Ah Ling stayed in her mother's room that she deeply realized that even if the people around her were not intentional, the patient would feel intensely lonely and would inevitably feel neglected by everyone.The sound of hurried footsteps, the voice of ordering things, and the roar of laughter all sounded very far away, too far away to be approached.It turns out that the loneliness of being exiled to a deserted island alone is so uncomfortable. "Sister A Teng, it doesn't matter if you don't worry about it all night." Duo Hui helped A Ling to speak, "Besides, I am more energetic when A Ling is with you. The houseboat is so busy, I can't help you with anything, and I feel very embarrassed and embarrassed." I'm sorry everyone, having Ah Ling here makes me feel much relieved." At this time, A-Ling noticed that there was a flash of anger in A-Teng's eyes, but A-Ling was not timid.When she had a heated argument with Ah Xian last night, that kind of look must have flashed in Ateng's eyes too—seeing clearly the sincerity that Ateng has tried so hard to conceal so far, Ah Ling felt that she couldn't shrink back and show weakness at this time. Will the quarrel between the two of them appear in Ah Ling's nightmare?It's unbelievable that Aunt Axian said that kind of thing, and Aunt A Teng also refuted without politeness.Thinking about this matter, Ah Ling's heart wavered.But that is what actually happened after all.That night, Aunt Ateng revealed the secret she had hidden for a long time.Now facing each other face to face, A-Ling finally understood that it was an unavoidable fact. Aunt Ateng likes Abba and thinks Aunt is an eyesore.The reason why she pretends to be a good aunt who loves her in front of Ah Ling is because she thinks that by doing so, Ah Ling may love her more than her biological mother. This is simply impossible.And even if Aunt Ateng didn't do that, A-Ling still liked her.Why not just keep it going? Because she was too sad and angry, A-Ling couldn't speak, but looked back at A-Teng with firm eyes, as if telling her: "I heard it, and I know everything." "Hey, Ah Ling, if you stare at Auntie like that, Auntie will be scared." Atten lowered his eyes.She probably didn't see through Ah Ling's intentions, but she seemed a little timid. "There's really nothing I can do about you. Then, lady boss, don't forget to take your medicine." A-Ling watched nervously as Grandma drank the decoction. I don't know how good it would be if it was a miraculous medicine that would work as soon as she drank it. "Will it be bitter?" "A little bit." Duo Hui smiled. "A-Ling, you must not lick the soup and medicine bowl for fun." After Adeng sternly instructed, he left with an empty bowl. "I was scolded." Duo Hui and Ah Ling looked at each other and smiled. Not long after, they held hands and fell asleep.After a while, Ami appeared in the corner of the room.She looked at the sleeping faces of the two, her lips moved slightly as if they were singing.

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