Zhou Tong Detective Series

Chapter 11 Zhou Tong Detective Series I: Death Tarot Cards (11)
The hot springs in the hotel are completely open-air, and the male and female pools are only separated by a one-meter-high bamboo wall.The water in the hot spring pool is as slippery as satin, and the smoke is dense. People who live in it have a feeling of flying through the clouds.At this time, there were not many people in the hot spring pool, so Zhou Tong found a quiet place and lay down.The warm spring water instantly relaxes the whole person, making people feel indescribably comfortable all over.Just when Zhou Tong was about to fall asleep in the hot spring, he suddenly felt someone sitting next to him.

"It's been a long time." The person sitting beside Zhou Tong said suddenly.

Zhou Tong heard a familiar voice, opened his eyes, and saw a middle-aged man in his 30s who spoke. "You are?"

"I've heard you call me the man in black!" the middle-aged man said calmly.

"It's you!" Zhou Tong stood up and grabbed the man in black's hand without fear of retaliation.

"Let go, sit down, if you want to save Yan Yongjie." The man in black scooped up a ladle of water and poured it over his head as if nothing had happened.

As soon as Zhou Tong heard the word "Yan Yongjie", his heart sank immediately, he let go of his hand, and sat in the water, "What do you want?"

"I want you to understand one thing. What you are facing is not a single person, not a simple murderer, but an organization, an organization with great power." The man in black said these words unexpectedly .

"Why did you tell me this, or do you still want to play tricks?" Zhou Tong tried hard to calm down his emotions.

"Do I need to play tricks? If I kill you now, do you think it will be difficult?" The man in black leaned back.

"It's not difficult, just like you killed those innocent girls, right?" Zhou Tong asked back.

"I kill, but I only use a long sword!" The man in black said seriously.

Zhou Tong also believed this, he nodded, and then asked: "Then who killed them?"

"I can't tell you that!" The man in black shook his head.

"Then tell me how to save Yan Yongjie."

"Don't worry, I have sent the detoxification serum that can save Yan Yongjie to the hospital."

"You were the one who wanted to kill her, but now you are saving her. Why did you do that?" Zhou Tong looked at him suspiciously.

"The person I want to protect is dead... She has the same beautiful eyes as Yan Yongjie." When the man in black said this, his eyes were full of sadness and despair.

"Who is the person you want to protect? What is your relationship with Takeji Moriguchi?" Zhou Tong recalled that Takeji Moriguchi once said that in order to protect a person, if he guessed correctly, Takeji Moriguchi and the man in black should protect The young woman who killed herself with a dagger.

"I believe it will not take long before you will understand."

"If my reasoning is not wrong, the person you want to protect also committed suicide because of fear of the Tarot card of death." Zhou Tong watched the reaction of the man in black, and sure enough his body twitched tightly, "Even so, you still Don't you want to tell the truth?"

"When you come to hell, maybe I will tell you." The man in black stood up, but his strong body could not hide the sadness in his heart.He suddenly remembered a summer many years ago, also in Hokkaido, on a beach with only him and her, only the gentle sea breeze and her smile, but now, all of this will never happen again.

Zhou Tong still had many questions to ask, but he couldn't keep the man in black, so he could only watch him leave.

When Zhou Tong returned to the room, Li Ying was lying on the bed covered with a quilt, looking at him with a happy face.

"Guess if I have any clothes on?" Li Ying asked with a blink of an eye.

Zhou Tong didn't even look at it, and said without interest: "I don't have time to mess around with you now!" After speaking, he took his mobile phone and went out to make a call.

Li Ying jumped off the bed bored, she was fully dressed.

Zhou Tong wanted to confirm what the man in black said just now, so he called the Tokyo National Hospital.

"Well, the anti-venom serum has been tested and is indeed reliable. We have injected the patient, and the toxin in her body is dissipating. I believe she will recover soon." On the other side of the phone, the doctor confirmed the good news.

A big stone in Zhou Tong's heart can finally be put down, and the man in black did not lie to him.

"Who are you talking on the phone with such a happy smile?" Li Ying pushed open the door and asked Zhou Tong standing in the aisle.

"The poison on Yan Yongjie's body has been cured." Zhou Tong said happily.

"Oh, really." Li Ying's reaction was a little indifferent.

"Ah, I heard that Japanese sake is good, shall we have a drink or two?" Zhou Tong extended the invitation with great interest.

"No, I'm not interested!" Li Ying had a strange feeling that Zhou Tong was so excited because of Yan Yongjie.

"Are you afraid?" Zhou Tong asked Li Ying, who was learning and selling.

"I'll be afraid of you, let's see who gets drunk first!" People like Li Ying will not show weakness at all.

It is quite easy to find a tavern in Hokkaido. Just next to the hotel where Zhou Tong and Li Ying lived, there is a Japanese-style tavern full of ethnic customs.

The atmosphere in this tavern was easy-going and relaxed. Zhou Tong and Li Ying found a seat and sat down.

Sake is also Japanese native rice wine, which is delicious and sweet.Zhou Tong ordered two large bottles, and then ordered some Japanese food, which is the best match for drinking sake.Zhou Tong first put the sake into a small porcelain bottle, and then poured it into two small wine glasses.

"Let's have a drink first!" Zhou Tong picked up the wine.

"Just do it!" Li Ying drank it without clinking glasses with Zhou Tong.

"Let's play some games, it's fun to drink." Zhou Tong began to provoke.

"What are you playing?" Li Ying ate a mouthful of raw fish.

"Guess the punch!" Zhou Tong said maliciously.

"Guess what punch?"

"Bee Punch!"

Li Ying wiped her mouth with a tissue, "Come here, whoever is afraid of whom!"

"Two little bees, fly to the flowers, fly to the left, fly to the right..." So, the two began to play guessing games with great enjoyment.

Sake is sweet in the mouth, so people who drink it tend to ignore the vigilance they should have for alcoholic drinks, one after another, very easy to get drunk.In less than two hours, Zhou Tong and Li Ying began to get better and better, and became dazed.

"Again... again..." Li Ying yelled.

"No...don't play...let's go..." Zhou Tongmei thought that this sweet sake is so powerful.

"Continue...fly...fly..." Li Ying waved her hand, her mouth still not idle.

Zhou Tong settled the bill, stood up reluctantly, and then pulled Li Ying up. The two of them supported each other like this, and went back to the hotel crookedly, and fell on the bed...

A burst of dazzling sunlight entered the room, and Zhou Tong reluctantly opened his eyes.There were actually two people standing beside his bed, one was Li Wanren and the other was Yan Yongjie, Zhou Tong jumped off the bed in fright.

Li Wanren's face was a little embarrassed, while Yan Yongjie's face was dark.

"I really thought you came to look for clues. It turned out that Merry and Happy came." After Yan Yongjie woke up, Li Wanren told her the whole story.Regardless of her recovery, she was afraid that Zhou Tong would be in danger, so she immediately rushed to Hokkaido with Li Wanren to find Zhou Tong.But she never thought that she would see such a scene.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not what you imagined!" Zhou Tong couldn't help secretly rejoicing when she found that her clothes were still on, and Li Ying who was asleep was also intact.

"You wash it first, come out and talk!" Li Wanren smelled Zhou Tong's mouth full of alcohol and knew that the two of them were drunk, and seeing that they were all neatly dressed and did not do anything out of the ordinary, he was a little relieved.

Yan Yongjie didn't say anything more, turned around and walked out, she didn't know why she was so angry, she couldn't help asking herself in her heart: "A boy six years younger than her is lying on the bed with a girl of the same age. Why are you angry?"

Li Wanren shook his head, and was a little angry when he saw his drunken sister lying unconscious on the bed. He didn't want to look any more, and followed him out.

Zhou Tong tidied up her clothes in a panic, washed her face, rinsed her mouth, and ran out.

Li Wanren and Yan Yongjie were standing at the door waiting for him.

"Let's get down to business, did you send Yan Yongjie's detoxification serum to the hospital?" Li Wanren asked.

"No, it's the man in black!" Zhou Tong said seriously.

"Why would he do this?" Yan Yongjie was not surprised, because the man in black once did not kill her in the woods.

Zhou Tong told what happened in the hot spring bath yesterday.

"The man in black is not the owner of the death tarot card, so who is the real murderer?" Yan Yongjie was full of doubts.

"The man in black knows, but he never said anything." Zhou Tong sighed, and then asked Li Wanren: "By the way, Brother Li, have you got any information about Takeji Moriguchi?"

"Well, here, but there is only Fukaguchi Wuzhi's information. The Japanese woman who committed suicide didn't have any documents on her body, and she didn't even know her name. It's too difficult to check." Li Wanren took out a lot of money from his bag, The detailed information about Takeji Moriguchi has just been collected.

After Zhou Tong took the information, she sat down on the grass and read it impatiently, while Li Wanren and Yan Yongjie stood quietly aside.Zhou Tong looked at it for a long time, his face was cloudy and clear for a while, and finally he stood up suddenly.

"How is it? Do you have any clues?" Li Wanren asked hastily.

"Yes, let's go to hell together!" Zhou Tong said with a smile.

Hell Valley is surrounded by mountains, and there are exposed rocks everywhere, shining red like a soldering iron.Zhou Tong, Yan Yongjie, Li Ying, and Li Wanren walked slowly along the path of Hell Valley. The strong smell of sulfur came to their nostrils, and billowing white smoke enveloped them.And the magma from the depths of the ground condenses on the surface and spreads out in green or scarlet colors, which is indeed somewhat hellish.

After walking for a while, a rock blocked the way.There is a sign next to the rock, which specifically warns not to climb the rock in the fence without authorization.

Zhou Tong didn't care about these warnings, he jumped onto the rock and climbed over.Yan Yongjie and Li Wanren also followed behind and climbed up.Only Li Ying was a little scared and didn't dare to take a step, but seeing Zhou Tong and the three of them climbing farther and farther, she finally gritted her teeth and followed.

After crossing the rocks, the four continued to move forward, but the surrounding temperature was getting higher and higher, and the road became more difficult.

"Why did you come to this ghostly place?" Li Ying couldn't help complaining.

"You can go back and continue to sleep, but I didn't let you come!" Zhou Tong said angrily.

"You..." Li Ying just wanted to lose her temper again, but was interrupted by Yan Yongjie's question, "Come here, what exactly are you looking for?"

Hearing Yan Yongjie's question, Zhou Tong explained: "I found something in the information of Takeji Moriguchi, the man in black is probably Takeji Moriguchi's elder brother Hideyoshi Fukaguchi, and Hideyoshi Moriguchi often goes to Hell Valley to practice kendo. "

"So you think you can find the man in black here?" Li Wanren interrupted and asked.

Zhou Tong continued to infer: "Yes, and the man in black once said to me that if I go to hell, he will tell me the truth. I didn't understand the meaning of this sentence at the time, but now I miss him. Does the hell mentioned here refer to this Hell Valley?"

"Look, there is a figure in front!" Li Ying suddenly pointed to the front and shouted loudly at this moment.

Everyone looked in the direction she pointed, and there was indeed a figure looming in the dense fog, like a ghost, which was frightening.The four people approached slowly, passed through the thick fog, and finally saw clearly that the figure turned out to be a terrifying dead body, with iron nails between the eyebrows, and a death tarot card tightly held in his hands.

Li Ying screamed, covered her eyes, and hid behind Li Wanren.

"The man in black!" A complex emotion flashed in Zhou Tong's eyes.

"Is he the man in black?" Although Yan Yongjie has fought against the man in black several times, she has never seen the real face of the man in black. She can't believe it. Deep down in her heart, she doesn't want to die Man in black.She knew that this man was not heinous, at least he let her go and saved herself.

"I didn't expect him to die in such a way!" Zhou Tong said and began to observe the condition of the corpse.

"When did he die?" Yan Yongjie knew that Zhou Tong had expertise in this area.

"It's hard to infer accurately. The temperature here is higher than that in the normal environment, which will accelerate the changes of the corpse. It's not easy to judge from the appearance, and further autopsy is needed." Zhou Tong once familiarized himself with the content of autopsy in his father's notes , so make a judgment based on the environment.

"The clue seems to be broken again." Li Wanren shook his head in disappointment.

"No! He must have left a clue!" Zhou Tong said with certainty.

"How can you be so sure?" Yan Yongjie asked suspiciously.

"When the man in black came to me, he probably knew he was going to die, and he didn't tell me the truth about the death tarot card. There must be another reason. Although he didn't tell me the reason directly, he hinted that I Come to Hell Valley, then the answer is that he must have stayed here." Zhou Tong's idea is not without basis, not to mention that he will never let go of any possibility.

"Then where did he put the answer?" Li Ying asked at this time carefully showing half of her head from behind Li Wanren.

"That's a problem!" Zhou Tong laughed dryly.

"I have a question." Yan Yongjie said while stroking her hair, "If the man in black knew he was going to die, as a warrior, why didn't he choose to use his sword to end his life with dignity?"

"Why not use a sword?" Zhou Tong said to himself, "Could it be that the answer is hidden in the sword?"

"Let's look around!" Li Wanren suggested.

"Well, look for it separately!" After Zhou Tong finished speaking, several people started to look for the long sword used by the man in black separately.

The pervasive heat obstructed people's sight, and the search process became quite difficult.

Because Li Ying was afraid, she followed her elder brother Li Wanren all the time, and her hands tightly grabbed Li Wanren's clothes.Suddenly, she felt her feet being grabbed, and she screamed loudly in fright.

"What's the matter?" Li Wanren was also startled by her, and asked quickly.

"Big... big brother...someone held my foot..." Li Ying was about to shed tears as she spoke.

Zhou Tong and Yan Yongjie also rushed over when they heard Li Ying's cry.

"No one grabbed your feet, it's because your trouser legs are caught by something!" Li Wanren squatted down and looked at it, and couldn't help laughing.

Li Ying raised her leg, and it was indeed caught by something.

"Don't move!" Zhou Tong yelled fiercely.It turned out that what was hanging on Li Ying was the hilt of a long sword.

Zhou Tong ran forward, slowly moved Li Ying's leg away and said, "This is the long sword!"

I saw that the blade of the long sword had been deeply inserted into the gap between the rocks, and only a section of the hilt was exposed. If it hadn't been for Li Ying's accidental hit and being caught on her trouser leg, it would have been hard to find in the dense fog. This long sword.

Zhou Tong held the hilt of the sword and pulled it out vigorously, trying to take out the long sword, but the sword seemed to be inserted too tightly, no matter how hard he tried, it would not move.

"Get out of the way!" Yan Yongjie pulled Zhou Tong away, secretly using her breath, and yanked the hilt of the sword, only to hear a crisp sound, and the long sword came out in response.

"It's just an ordinary Japanese sword." Yan Yongjie took the sword in his hand and looked at it for a long time, but he didn't see anything obvious.

"Show me!" Zhou Tong took the long sword from Yan Yongjie's hand.

The length of this Japanese sword is about two feet. The entire sword body is based on a circle shape. The head and tail of the sword body are upturned. The forging is very beautiful.Zhou Tong carefully looked at the long sword from the beginning to the end, and then kept beating on the sword.After knocking on the hilt of the sword a few times, a smile appeared on Zhou Tong's face.

"The secret is here!" Zhou Tong said, pointing to the hilt of the sword.

"Is there something in the hilt?" Li Ying tried to ask.

"That's right, it's hollow inside!" Zhou Tong said as he handed the sword to Yan Yongjie, "I'm afraid you'll have to do the destructive work."

(End of this chapter)