Disqualification

43:[-] p.m.

Qingtianya hired Xiaozhi to help, and there have been frequent chaos in Yoshiwara these days. Many teahouses are understaffed, and there is no choice when hiring part-time workers. In addition, Yuji is going out. Today, there is no plan for Oiran Daozhong, and Jinggokuya is idle. I finished it a long time ago, so I went to Qingtian House to help.

Before going out, Xiaozhi wrapped her face with a scarf, leaving only a pair of eyes soaked in autumn water.

"Customers will be frightened when they see your face." Other teahouses used this reason to reject her before, "You go to work elsewhere."

How could there be guests in the back kitchen?She opened her mouth, and just about to speak, the proprietress left, and Xiaozhi was not wronged, so she had to go back to the Kyogoku House.

Strange to say, since his disfigurement, Kyogokuya was the only tea house that employed her as usual, and it was also instructed by Warabi Ji.

The work of Qingtian House is similar to that of Kyogoku House. It is nothing more than serving as a helper in the back kitchen and preparing ingredients for the banquet. This tea house has a larger size and provides an oiran. After the oiran walks, some guests send homage money to hold a banquet.

Xiaozhi is responsible for cutting and arranging the dishes. She is very good at knives, and the trained female chefs are not as good as her.

When cutting to the third round, there was noise outside the door, which was a man's voice. It was strange that the kitchen was busy with women, and men were not allowed in.

The twig gripped the handle of the cutter.

"Guest, guest, please don't..."

"Quick, find that bitch!"

A man's voice, a woman's voice, the sound of pots and pans falling to the ground, the sound of broken porcelain, Xiaozhi's memory is very good, as long as it is a voice that has been heard before, it can be distinguished.

[Ah, it's him. ]

Kicking the knife directly into her sleeve, she was fearless and unaffected by the flustered emotions.

"Pa-ta-pat--" The heels of the clogs mopped the ground.

"I found it, the woman with the headscarf!" The servant rummaged around and pointed at the twig. It was so loud that her ears hurt.

[It's hard to keep things secret when things have developed to this point. ] She thought, [Didn't I know there would be today? ]

[No matter what, as long as you can protect your brother...]

"Boss lady." Xiaozhi increased her volume, her voice is moving, if she can enter the Xinzao House to study, she will become the best oiran seedling, proficient in various talents, "I am causing you trouble."

She was very polite, and the wandering girls who lived in the streets told her that if she wanted to be liked by male guests, she had to be soft and polite, and she had to show the beauty of women, which would make her look more advanced.

At the same time, men will let their guard down on weak women.

Like now.

She walks unhurriedly, each step only fits the width of the hem of her clothes, and is short in stature, the servant thought she had given up resistance when she saw her like this, and grabbed him with a grinning grin——

"Ho, ho"

Blood sprayed from the person's throat, and the machete sharpened by the whetstone was deeply embedded in the servant's neck. The twig didn't stop, let alone go crazy. Everyone was frightened by her hand, and the noisy scene was suppressed. Rest, she didn't pause for a second, didn't wait, she took off her wooden clogs and used her short stature to scurry between men and women, and forced her way out of Qingtian House.

The turban covering her face fell apart, exposing her criss-crossed face in the air. In addition, the sticky blood stained her forehead when the servant was beheaded, and the light rushed out, causing multiple high-pitched screams.

Xiaozhi shouted: "Brother——"

Ishijiro, who was running around in some corner, rushed out suddenly, grabbed her and ran away.

"Chase! Chase!"

No sleep tonight.

……

Did the hooker Taro hear the sound?

He heard it.

Under normal circumstances, he would treat the dandy who eats Yoshiwara to make trouble, unlike the fallen princess, the prostitute Taro is not picky about food, but when he sees those handsome, strong, and rich men, he will feel jealous from the bottom of his heart However, as for the rich and powerful who boss You Nu, it will arouse his resentment.

The prostitute Taro roughly guessed the source of the chaos in the street, but he didn't want to care about it. His mind is too chaotic now, with countless thoughts bumping around everywhere.

[No, I have to find him. ] His brows were furrowed, his cheek muscles were raised upwards, and his face, which was poisoned by spots, was even uglier, [What the hell is he, what did he do? ]

[Osamu Dazai! ]

Countless thoughts flashed through the mind of the prostitute Taro, including the monsters and ghosts in the Heian-kyo legend. He realized that Dazai could walk in the sun, and he naturally thought of the blue Higan flower.

But he didn't want to report this matter to Lord Wu Mi for even a second.

The prostitute Taro fearfully said: [My lord, would he already know? No, it’s impossible. He wouldn’t be staring at us every second. If he knew, he would have come to Yoshihara. ]

He felt that he was a smart person, but now his mind was in a mess.

Leaning on the vermilion wooden pillar at the gate of Yoshiwara, half of his body is hidden in the shadows, even more inconspicuous than a ninja. The prostitute Taro saw Osamu Dazai and Xiaomei in a rickshaw. Yes, it was not Yuji, but Xiaomei. Just like before she was alive, how strange, she never smiled like this after becoming a ghost.

Ah, yes, that bastard Dazai has always won the favor of girls.

After Xiaomei came down, he was ready to show up, how did he know that the oil bottle went up first, he seemed to give something to Dazai, what is it?

The prostitute Taro kept an eye out.

After Tomioka Yiyong left, he came up to him with a tiger's face, and Luo Ji was surprised and guilty: "Brother, brother?"

[what happen?How could my brother come out openly?Too bad, I didn't tell him when I went out just now, so I won't be angry, will I? ] Since she could only think of this, the above questions didn't even bother her for a minute, and she immediately showed off, "Let me tell you, just now Dazai took me to Kiyomizu Temple."

She stretched out her hand, pointing her pale fingertips at the forest hidden in the night: "Do you see those lanterns?"

"It's all ordered by Dazai, and he even bragged that it took 150 and three years." She laughed, "You can tell it's a joke with your feet."

The whore Taro was speechless.

"He must love me to death." After showing off, he turned to Dazai for confirmation, "Are you right?"

Fallen Princess's posture is relaxed, and she doesn't even mind showing her familiarity with the prostitute Taro in front of Dazai, which is very abnormal, and Fallen Princess's brain can't find it.

"You go back first." The prostitute Taro rarely looked coldly at his sister.

"What?" She was dissatisfied, "Hello——"

"I said you go back first." The prostitute Taro's attitude was tough, and he pointed at Dazai again, "You, stay."

……

Butterfly couldn't find the twig.

The experience of being victimized by the child made her uneasy. To be honest, she knew that the other party had a painful experience just by looking at Xiao Zhi's rotten face, so she didn't want to ask about it.

but……

Somehow, after Xiaozhi was mentioned as a victim, the inexplicable suspicion in Die Die's heart was magnified several times.

Something is not right.

Must have.

She directly lifted the curtain of the back kitchen, this action made the helper panic: "You, you are the master, how can you come to such a dirty place..."

Before he finished listening to the persuasion, he said, "I'm here to find Xiao Zhi, where is she?"

"Xiao Zhi went to work as a helper in other teahouses." The girl who spoke was like a mosquito, and the lower half of her face was covered with a cloth towel.

[etc. ] She thought of Yin's members, they only showed their eyes when they moved, afraid of being discovered by ghosts and revenge by ghosts.Butterfly endured and said, "Why are you covering the cloth?"

"I, my face was hurt." The girl's voice was even softer.

"Can you show me?" She was very tough.

The Mengjing girl was so ashamed and angry, she could see how reluctant she was, as if she had been insulted by the sky, but Die Die Ren was a guest, and the guest would do whatever she wanted, so she could only take off the veil with trembling hands.

To be honest, her face is not too much, especially compared with Xiaozhi, but there is a hideous scar running through the whole face from left to right, and her face is pretty and lovely.

["There is no benevolence, righteousness and morality in this street, and the only rule is beauty first."] The words that Dazai once said emerged from the bottom of my heart, and Butterfly endured the association of these words.

[That's right, even for ordinary women, scars on their faces are unbearable. The shame from the bottom of their hearts will make them take the initiative to cover the lower half of their faces, but Twigs are all exposed. self-abasement. ]

She asked the wandering girls around: "What did Xiaozhi look like before?" She thought of the other's magical and quiet eyes and said, "Isn't it beautiful?"

Yuu couldn't figure out what Butterfly Shinobi was thinking, so she could only answer truthfully: "Yes." She said, "The proprietress even wants her to be called Waraji Oiran's 'sister'."

The younger sister is not the younger sister of kinship, but refers to Shinzao, the next oiran.

"She refused?"

"No, no." Yuu said, "Xiaozhi didn't join any tea house because she refused to start from a low-level tourmaid. Her brother hoped that she could become a new creation directly, and the requirements were very high." She paused for a while. Said, "That's against the rules, especially for waifs."

The status of children of tourist girls is lower than that of bought girls.

"Then her face..."

"I don't know the details. It's just that many homeless children suffered during that time, and Xiaozhi didn't come for a long time. We all thought she was dead. She didn't come back until half a year later, and her face changed like this."

"Every tea house is unwilling to accept her."

"Why did Kyogoku House agree to take her in?"

"It's Oiran Ji Ji." You Nu muttered, "Oiran Ji Ji said that ugly monsters can set off her beauty."

[This is not true. ] Butterfly thought, [Beauty is set off between the ugly and the beautiful, and Xiaozhi, she doesn't even look like a woman. ] It is no exaggeration to say that her face is a monster.

At this point, You Nu has exhausted everything she knows. Everyone present looks like Butterfly Ninja, who is immersed in the ocean of thinking. She recalls carefully, sorts out the past memories, and finally finds the clue.

"She." Butterfly endured, "Xiaozhi never showed pain, did she?"

[Thinking about it carefully, her expression is always calm, whether she is being scolded, smiling or arguing with a girl, even if the eyes are raised, the frequency of nerve beating is exactly the same, and the relaxation of capillaries is also...]

The anomalies in memory are constantly amplified.

"She's a nice girl..."

Butterfly Shinobu finally determined that Xiaozhi couldn't understand human emotions.

This recognition gave her a bad premonition. She first thought of her little sister, Kano, no, no, that child was just traumatized and lacked initiative, completely different from Xiaozhi.

["Ghosts are hated not only because they eat humans."] She kept thinking of Dazai, perhaps because he sent too many messages that she hadn't heard.

"What do you mean?"

Dazai said: "If you only feed on human corpses, it is not a big problem." He said calmly and surprisingly, "Do you know how many people die in Japan every day? Not to mention the Warring States Period full of disputes, just civilization and civilization The Taisho is by no means a small number, there are too many poor people living in the slums in the eastern district, and they cannot even be buried after death, only a straw mat."

"If ghosts can accept cannibalism, many people will be willing to exchange the corpses of their relatives for money."

Butterfly Shinobu had a weird expression, as if she was enduring something, but wanted to refute. The bad thing was that she realized that there was no loophole in Dazai's words.She turned her head to look at Tomioka Yoshiyuki, his face was still calm, was he born dull, or was he paralyzed by hearing too many shocking words?

"Okay, I accept." Butterfly Ren took a deep breath and clenched his hands, "We cannot coexist with ghosts because of hatred."

"No, you are still wrong." Dazai said, "There is no eternal hatred between intelligent species."

"You don't need to go around the corner." Butterfly Shinobi said, "Please speak directly, Mr. Tsushima."

"Okay." Dazai shrugged, as if to say "You're really impatient".

"Generally, I think the biggest difference between humans and ghosts is not recipes, but human nature."

"human nature?"

"Ghosts are transformed from humans. According to the law of species conversion, they only have changes in their physical structure. Psychologically, at most, they have the desire to prey on humans when they are hungry." He said, "This kind of desire is not what we imagined. As far as I know, there are ghosts living among human beings, which means that their appetites can also be restrained."

"The really tricky thing is that most of the ghosts have lost their memory after transformation, and their humanity has dissipated."

"To put it simply, they cannot empathize with humans, and at the same time they are extremely disgusted with the emotional characteristics of humans." He said, "This is the basic principle that humans and ghosts cannot coexist."

[Lack of humanity, so discrimination, because of discrimination, wanton killing. ]

"Then people..." She swore she was just asking casually, "What happens to people if they lack humanity."

"Ah," he said, "I'm afraid it's a ghost in human skin, a natural monster."

……

The courtesan Taro took him into the narrow corner between Kyogokuya and other teahouses.

"!" Dazai touched the "hidden weapon" that attacked him, well, it wasn't a hidden weapon at all, but his picture book.

"Did you see it?" He still knocked his head hypocritically, "Oh, that's really careless."

If it wasn't for him being vigilant, the prostitute Taro straightened his eyes and wanted to roll his eyes. Looking back on the past, Osamu Dazai was very smart and mysterious, and he was very clumsy in life. In short, he was a person who would not make low-level mistakes.

"Stop pretending." He reached out to scratch his hair irritably, "What are you and what do you want to do?"

[No matter what he is, I have to tell Mr. Wu Mi the information...] He was walking around, extremely irritable, [If Mr. Wu Mi knows that I know and doesn't report it, Xiaomei and I will...]

"Don't worry too much."

"Oni Wu Tsuji can't see you, and can't hear you." He said, "As long as it is within a certain range around me, the connection between Oni and Oni Wu Tsuji will be cut off automatically, and even he himself can't find it."

"When I leave, he still can't see everything related to me in your mind, and the memory will be replaced automatically and reasonably."

"You..." The prostitute Taro took a few steps back, he even took out his sickle, and looked at Dazai warily.

"Relax." Dazai was unmoved, he was full of flaws, obviously not a good fighter, "I'm not good at martial arts, you already knew that." He said, "You can treat me as a frail... person."

"You're not a ghost," said the prostitute Taro.

"Obvious."

He narrowed his eyes and said, "Do you know what the blue Bana is?"

"No." Dazai said, "I haven't even heard of it." He squinted his eyes, and you wouldn't know if he was telling the truth or not.

The prostitute Taro gritted his teeth, he thought angrily, well, well, not only Xiaomei, but he himself is also an idiot, this idiot factor must have been inherited from their Yu Nv Niang.

He is a selfish ghost who has killed countless people, but when this faceless monster appeared in front of him, he still did not tell Mr. Wu Mi, even if he and his sister would get more blood.

He walked up and down irritably, turning around again and again, but he still couldn't think of what to do to Dazai.

"Tong Mo said, 150 years ago, you were already dead." He said, "When Xiaomei and I became ghosts, I asked him to find you, and he said you were burned to death."

"really?"

……

[My inspiration is strong. ]

[Should I say inspiration?It's still the sixth sense. In short, there is always a vague sense of the coming crisis, which may be due to life itself's avoidance of death. ]

It was a cold autumn day. In the morning, I went to help the oiran of Zhixiawu paint new portraits. They were very satisfied with the new painting skills that Lanxue had passed on.

Lanxue refers to the skills handed down from the country called Holland.

[The strange thing is that I have never been in contact with Lanxue before, but after hearing about the painting techniques, I displayed them naturally, like projecting portraits on paper. ]

[This is another weird point, I have learned not to care about it. ]

When I passed by Xinzao, I wondered if I would go in and ask for some hot wine. It was getting colder and colder. The women in Xinzao were very cute and willing to send me some useless food and wine. Xiaomei said she hated them, but still liked them very much. Wagashi.

I have stayed in Hualiu Street for a few years. I have never lived in poverty like before, but I enjoy it very much. There are no ghosts here, and even if there are, they only haunt occasionally. Everyone does not live like a person.

I like this kind of environment. There are no morals and no real good people. Every day is very close to death and tragedy.

[I was born to be in this environment. ]

Live each day as if it were your last.

When I got home, Xiaomei was dressed and ready to go out. I saw her loose silver-white hair, and for some reason, her heart beat a little fast: "Where are you going?"

"Working as a helper." She said succinctly, "A samurai is here." She said enthusiastically, "The money given is quite a lot, and if we save a little more, we can change into new clothes in winter."

"I want a new kimono," she said.

[Xiaomei has always been like this, extremely arrogant and indulgent, the family situation has no extra money to buy new kimonos, she will not be considerate, she will only go out to work by herself, and then urge us to work together. ]

She is stupid, poisonous, and inconsiderate.

[The palpitations still haven't disappeared. ]

I said, "Why don't you wait until the prostitute Taro comes back."

"Huh? Are you stupid?" Xiaomei said.

[Well, this is normal, she is beautiful, and many teahouses will ask her to work as a helper to add some appearance. ]

"You haven't finished your painting." Xiaomei waved her hands impatiently, "Do your job well and wait for me to come back." She said, "If you beg me, I will steal some snacks for you."

Half an hour, an hour...

Feeling uneasy, I went to the tea house to find her.

When I saw her, she was covered in oil.

To be honest, I can't recall what I thought at that moment. I want to die, but I can burn to death. Such a painful death is definitely not within the scope of my plan, but when I am conscious, I Rush into the crowd and hug her tight, I have oil on me too, a lot of oil.

"Where did this guy come from!" The one-eyed samurai was furious, and I knew what had happened just by looking at him.

"Listen, I heard that it is the man who lives with her."

"Separate them." The samurai was even more annoyed, and he ordered his servants to light a cluster of fire in front of me.

"Dazai, Dazai, Dazai—brother——!" Someone pressed me and forced me to kneel there, watching Xiaomei being burned to death, I wanted to save her, I had countless ways to save her, but at that moment, An invisible and powerful force suppresses me, making me unable to act rashly. It may be fate.

Fate requires Xiaomei to die here, a miserable death, and I can only watch.

The samurai was full of jealousy. He thought that Xiaomei and I were concubines. After Xiaomei was burned, I was thrown into the common house where the three lived. The servants sprayed oil in every corner of the house and sealed the doors and windows.

They also lit a fire.

I don't want to struggle.

……

Dazai smiled and rolled his eyes: "How is it possible."

He answered the prostitute Taro's question lightly: "It must be someone else who died, not me."

"I escaped a long time ago."

……

The raging fire covered the humble house. It didn't burn for too long. Only a small amount of old and rotten wood was used in the construction of this house, and there were not many combustible materials.

The servants looked at the collapsed roof. After the fire subsided, they didn't even confirm whether Dazai was still alive. After such a big fire, he must have died after going through the landslide.

"Kara—"

"------"

Not long after they left, there was a trembling sound from the ruins. It was very weak at first, and the movement became louder and louder, like a pangolin digging under the ruins.

Smoked to death.

resurrection.

Was burned to death.

resurrection.

The beam was smashed to death.

resurrection.

Loess smothered.

resurrection.

Life has gone through multiple reincarnations within an extreme period of time, and every pain is reflected on the body as it is. Unless it is completely digested by eating firewood, the body cannot be converted into golden and finely divided spirits, and can only exist in the world in the form of anthropomorphic serious injuries .

The scorched skin fell off quickly, and from the depths of the flesh and blood came the characteristic itching of rapid cell division and growth. He spent a long time panting on the ground to make himself look human.

And clothes.

[I have to help Xiaomei collect the body. ]

[She is so beautiful. ]

[Prostitute Taro must have died too, he is a good brother and will help Xiaomei to avenge her. ]

[If he lives, he will come back. ]

[I want to collect the corpses for both of them. ]

The pain remained in his soul, making his movements numb and sluggish. Finally, he stole a man's kimono from other people's house, and walked to the place where Xiaomei was burned, but he saw Xiaomei intact, with the girl who was carrying him on her back. Taro the whore, and the man with the blond hair.

[I understand better than anyone that they have become ghosts. ]

[This is not a big deal, there is no difference between ghosts and people in my heart, it is better to say that my long and strange life has always been entangled with them. ]

Walking two steps forward, I wanted to look happy and greet them. I had to find a reason to say that I escaped the fire. Xiaomei should still remember this...

I walked forward, and the prostitute Taro came here steadily with Xiaomei on his back.

We missed it.

They didn't look back.

[At that moment, I realized very clearly]

[None of them remember me. ]