Covered with water

The policeman said a few words in a hurry, and seemed to realize that there were still two "outsiders" in the room. He paused, and looked at Tamagawa who was sitting behind the desk with a questioning look.

Tamagawa raised his hand and said, "It's okay, let's tell the two of them the specific situation."

The policeman answered yes, and then briefly reported the known clues and the two of them.To put it simply, because Zhengguo was suspected of being a black family back then, he and Xiangzi also experienced some twists and turns after they came to Kushiro. Digging deeper is almost impossible.But during the 14 years from [-] to [-], the Kanno family lived in an old-fashioned apartment in [-]-chome, got along very well with the neighbors around them, and met quite a few friends .Later, Zhengguo's career gradually improved. Xiangzi died of illness, Kanno's family moved, coupled with a series of force majeure factors such as urban planning and house demolition, the original neighborhood scattered, and gradually lost more connections.

These are all the information obtained by the Kushiro police in the preliminary investigation, because it has nothing to do with the suicide case, so it's okay to look at it.Now the focus of the incident has changed. It can be said that apart from Masakuni Junpei's close relatives who are also deceased, it is their old neighbors who have the most say in their impression of Shoko.

The situation is almost the same - Tamagawa clasped his hands and asked, "What do you two think?"

Qin Zhi thought for a while, and said: "That's troublesome. If conditions permit, I hope to talk to them in person." Anyway, they don't have any more channels now. If a dead horse is a living horse doctor, there may be orders A surprising turn of events.

The police took the order, and the two discussed some details of the scene with Tamagawa in the office.Tamagawa is a materialist who is rigorous and somewhat rigid. Xiao Yunhe thinks his testimony is quite credible. The results of the secret room and the autopsy all point to suicide, so the two of them didn't spend much time talking about the strange things. .

About half an hour later, the police officer came back to report.There were about ten families living near 50-chome back then, most of them have lost contact, and several old people in the family passed away. The younger generation did not know the details of the reply. In the end, only one lady named Suzuhara Chiyo agreed to the police request. .Suzuhara Chiyo is in her early [-]s and still lives in Kushiro. She and her husband run a small dry cleaner not far from the Metropolitan Police Department.

The two thanked the police officer, completed the full set of procedures for taking the Japanese knife away, said "goodbye" to Tamagawa, called Tang Mingqing, who was still in the hall to supervise the work, and left the sphere of influence of the Metropolitan Police Department together.

After driving for about 10 minutes, several people saw the log-colored signboard of "Suzuhara Laundromat" from a distance.Suzuhara Chiyo is a very cheerful and talkative middle-aged woman. It seems that the Kushiro police had greeted her in advance. She was not very surprised by the visit of the three Chinese people in this group. She wiped the water on her hands with her apron Zin, and shouted in the direction of the counter: "Xiong Zhi-kun!"

Her husband poked his head out from behind the counter and said, "Tell some guests to go upstairs and talk."

Chiyo said: "The store is up to you!" Saying this, he took off his apron, hung it on the coat rack at the door, and led the three of them towards the second floor.

This is a two-story residential building. The first floor is a dry cleaner, and the second floor is the living area of ​​Suzuhara and his wife.Chiyo took out slippers from the shoe cabinet at the door, asked the three of them to change into them, and went to the kitchen to prepare some fresh refreshments.Tang Mingqing got up and wanted to help. After a round of simple housework offensive and defensive battles, Chiyo served three cups of hot tea on a tray, then sat down on the sofa on the left side of the couple, and confirmed: "Who do you want? Is it right to ask Mrs. Xiangzi about it?"

Qin Zhi said: "Yes. I'm really sorry for coming here to disturb you so presumptuously."

Chiyo felt relieved when he heard his fluent Japanese, and tentatively replied: "It's okay, this is what I should do. But as far as I know, Mrs. Xiangzi has passed away for a long time. The three are Chinese. Does the matter still have any connection with Mr. Zhengguo?"

This is really a very simple reasoning.Qin Zhi was noncommittal and said, "You know that Mr. Zhengguo is Chinese, right?"

Chiyo said: "Yes. I heard from the criminal police in charge that we all lived in [-]-chome at the time, so I wanted to find out about the situation of Kanno's house. When Mr. Zhengguo first moved to Kushiro, his Japanese was not good. Very good, so even if the looks and appearance of East Asians are similar, we are very clear in our hearts."

Xiao Yunhe said: "What's your impression of the couple?"

Chiyo said: "Their family are very nice people." There was a look of nostalgia on her face, "Mr. Masakuni and Mrs. Shoko moved to Kushiro when I was six years old. My father is a gambler I was a gangster and abandoned my mother and me not long after I was born. Moreover, because of my father's bad reputation, other neighbors were not very willing to associate with us. Not long after the Kanno family moved in, my mother had a Seriously ill, it was only thanks to their support that he gradually got better. Mrs. Xiangzi is a very gentle person, without her, Mr. Zhengguo might not be so easily accepted by everyone!"

Qin Zhi said: "Accept?"

Chiyo said: "Yes, because of the war. Although many years have passed, including me, I don't know that period of history very well, but some elderly people are always wary of Mr. Zhengguo, worried that he will do something. Bad thing. But Mrs. Shoko is different. She is a Yamato Nadeko-like character, beautiful, noble, and very approachable. Everyone likes her very much. She is like a sister and a mother to me. It is because of her care that our relationship with the neighbors has gradually improved."

Xiao Yunhe said: "Then did she mention anything about the past?"

Chiyo made a thoughtful look, and slowly recalled: "Yes. That was after Junpei-kun was born. Once I went to their house as a guest and asked Mrs. Shoko why she and Mr. Masakuni came to Kushiro. Mrs. Xiangzi told me that because her relationship with Mr. Zhengguo was not blessed by her family, they could only leave their hometown and find a place where no one knew them. I felt sorry at that time, so I didn’t ask any more .”

Regarding the part of the two eloping, Chiyo's statement is basically consistent with Yoshiki's report.Qin Zhi continued: "Then have you ever guessed about Mrs. Xiangzi's life experience?"

Chiyo said: "Yes. I once doubted whether she is the daughter of a certain noble family, or a priestess of a certain shrine."

Qin Zhi asked curiously, "Witch? Why do you say that?"

Chiyo smiled and said: "It's a feeling. Her accent is very similar to that of the nobles in Kansai. Mrs. Xiangzi should have received a good education. She is well educated and will also teach some enlightenment lessons to the children nearby. .And, she can dance a very beautiful ritual dance, and she looks very beautiful in a white kimono. By the way, I still have photos of that time!"

Qin Zhi said: "Can you show it to us?"

Chiyo said: "Okay, wait a minute." After speaking, she stood up and went back to the bedroom to take out a round tin box, which contained a stack of black and white photos that had turned yellow.The couple took the photos and flipped through them one by one.

The first photo is the torii gate of the shrine, with a deep jungle behind it, several adults are holding lanterns to open the way in front, and in the lower left corner, there are two children, one big and one small, making faces holding hands.Chiyo said: "This is when Junpei-kun and I were young." He pointed to the backs of a young couple in the corner, "This is Mr. Masukuni and Mrs. Shoko."

The background of the second photo is a dilapidated shrine. Adults bring their children to worship in front of the main hall. In the hall, a woman in a red and white maiden costume is dancing.In the third picture, the camera is zoomed in. The woman in the picture has a beautiful face and graceful dancing posture. Her eyebrows and eyes are vaguely similar to Fang Shu.The following photos are almost all snapshots of this sacrificial dance. Although they cannot form a coherent movement, you can still feel the holy and noble spirit of the dancers themselves.

Chiyo said: "This is Chidori Shrine near Gochome, and Mrs. Shoko is dancing."

Xiao Yunhe nodded, wondering if it was the influence of Fangshu, he always felt that Xiangzi's face seemed familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere.

Qin Zhi has already turned to the next photo, which is the scene after the ceremony.Shoko changed out of his sacrificial attire, and Junpei fell asleep on Masakuni's shoulder.Qin Zhi arranged the photos on the table, motioned Tang Mingqing to come and take pictures, and then asked Chiyo: "As for the Japanese swords left by Mrs. Xiangzi, do you know their origins?"

"... Japanese sword?" Chiyo repeated softly, quickly searching for the term in memory, and replied with some uncertainty after a while, "It seems... so, Mrs. Xiangzi should have a Japanese sword enshrined in her home, Junpei-kun told me that Mrs. Shoko gave him the knife before she died." Her voice suddenly became a little sad, "Not long after Mrs. Shoko passed away, the Kanno family moved out. In Wuchome, Junpei-kun, Mr. Masakuni, and I gradually lost contact. Later, about ten years ago, I suddenly saw in the news that Junpei-kun had a car accident on the way to the competition. ..."

Junpei Kanno was indeed a well-known kendo player during his lifetime. It is not surprising that Chiyo would see reports about him. Tang Mingqing thoughtfully handed over a tissue.Chiyo said thank you, and raised her hand to touch the red corners of her eyes: "Sorry, other things, I..." The knife was really very vague in her memory.

Qin Zhi said: "It's okay." Chiyo might really not know the details of the knife, so he didn't continue to ask.The husband and wife met each other's eyes. They had almost finished asking the questions that should be asked. Seeing that neither of them had anything to add, it was time to get up and say goodbye.

Qin Zhi said: "Thank you very much today, we have finished asking our questions, so I won't waste your time."

Chiyo also stood up and said, "Then... ok, I'll send some of you downstairs."

Xiao Yunhe pretended not to notice the unnatural pause in her tone. Just when Tang Mingqing was about to open the car door for the couple, Qiandai suddenly made up his mind and said hastily, "You two, please wait a moment!" Her There was some trepidation in the voice, "I want to ask, Mr. Zhengguo, is he..."

Xiao Yunhe nodded lightly, and said, "Mrs. Suzuhara, please forgive me." The incident of the bronze tripod a while ago was full of turmoil, and finally ended with the curator's suicide for the time being.Although the name of the deceased was not announced in the news all over the sky, based on her understanding of Kanno's family, it should not be difficult to guess that the person who committed seppuku was Zheng Guo, otherwise she would not have agreed to the police's request so readily.

Chiyo seemed to have expected this result, her lips moved, and she was at a loss for what to say for a moment.In the end, he only clasped his hands in front of his body and bowed deeply in the direction of the couple.

Qin Zhi said: "Mrs. Suzuhara, take care of yourself."

As the black commercial vehicle drove away from the corner of the street, Tang Mingqing asked, "What's your next plan?"

Xiao Yunhe said: "Wait first." He needs time to sort out the information he got from Chiyo.When Qin Zhi asked the question just now, he intentionally blurred the point. Unfortunately, Chiyo was not an insider of the "seeking relatives" incident back then, so they still failed to find out the true meaning of the existence of the pair of swords.As for Xiangzi's identity, it seems more and more confusing now.

Miko with a Kansai accent...

Xiao Yunhe shook his head, thinking of that glamorous face, he seemed to have captured something for a moment.When I opened the webpage and searched for a map of Japan, I had a bold idea in my heart.

Qin Zhi also saw the place where his finger tapped, and soon gave a "hmm".

The husband and wife looked at each other and smiled, and they seemed to be in a good mood.Qin Zhi raised his hand and knocked on the back of Tang Mingqing's chair, and said, "Take us back to Kanno's house. Also, please tell Director Tong that we need all the information on Tsubaki Kojiro's ex-wife Miko Ise, and hope he can help."

Tang Mingqing replied yes, turned the car around and prepared to go back the same way.But at this moment, Qin Zhi's cell phone rang, and there was a hint of urgency in the narrow space.

"Mr. Qin." Ouyang Ling's voice came from the other side of the receiver, "I got some information from Mr. Wu, which should be helpful to what you are investigating."

The author has something to say: the original name was blocked because of Buzao, so change it first.