"Fall to death?"
Domon Yasuki suddenly stopped and looked at the village chief in shock:
"What on earth is going on?"
"Well, let's go home first..."
The village chief shook his head, as if he didn't want to mention this matter in public.
After a while, Sakaki Makoto and his companions, led by the village chief, arrived at a tall wooden house in the north of the village.
The wooden house looks quite old. It is a classic old-fashioned house with brand new white paint on the exterior walls. It must have been renovated recently.
Crash...
After opening the door, everyone followed the camera into the house. A faint smell of rotting wood floated in the air. All the furniture was handmade of wood. There was even a hand-cranked landline on the cabinet in the entrance, which seemed to be still usable.
"Old lady! Kang Hui is back!"
While he was taking off his slippers, the village chief called out to the house, and soon an old woman in a loose skirt came out from the inner room. When she saw Domon Yasuki, her eyes lit up and she hurried forward:
"Is it really Kang Hui?"
"Auntie, I'm back."
Domon Yasuki smiled and said:
"You are still the same as you were 20 years ago, you haven't changed..."
"I'll go make you some tea!"
When the old woman saw the camera, she realized that Domon Yasuteru was still working. She didn't dare to talk to him too much and quickly invited everyone into the house for tea.
Sitting on the futon, Domon Yasuaki organized his words and asked:
"Uncle Hirai, what happened to Qing?"
The village chief who brought the senbei snacks put the wooden tray on the table and sat cross-legged opposite, his hunched body bending a little more:
"Alas, three years ago, in order to boost the economy, the town built a hunting ground on the mountain behind. Every year, people come here to hunt. Ah Qing is familiar with the terrain, so he became the manager of the hunting ground..."
"Last winter, there was a typhoon and heavy rain, which washed away a section of the northern mountain. The hibernating bears were frightened and ran out. After the rain stopped, the town organized a team to drive the bears back. Otherwise, if they ran onto the road, it would be a disaster."
At this point, the village chief fished out a cloth bag of tobacco and rolling paper from his pocket, rolled a cigarette by hand, took out his lighter, lit it, took a long puff, and then continued:
"As the game ranger, Aqing was responsible for leading the team into the mountains. They left early in the morning and searched for traces of black bears based on footprints and feces on the ground. It was raining at night. The team didn't find the bear and planned to retreat and go back into the mountains after the rain stopped. But when they were retreating, they bumped into a bear foraging for food."
"There are more than a dozen people in the team, and they all have guns. They are definitely not afraid, but they can't be too careless. Ah Qing and the others thought that if they wait until tomorrow, the bear will be gone, so they decided to drive it into the mountains."
"It went smoothly at first. The bear took the initiative to walk into the mountain, and Aqing and his team followed far behind. Then, an earthquake suddenly occurred, and a landslide occurred. The black bear was frightened and rushed towards Aqing and his team. In a panic, the team was separated and Aqing disappeared. After the team drove away the bear, they immediately started looking for him. They didn't find his hat until the morning, on the edge of the cliff. Aqing...he...slipped and fell to his death."
The village chief puffed on his cigarette, his expression indescribably sad, as if a scar that had not yet healed was opened again, causing him excruciating pain.
"So that's how it is..."
Domon Yasuki lowered his head in silence, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said:
"Uncle Hirai, I brought a lot of things this time. Please arrange for someone to pick them up. They are on the truck at the entrance of the village."
"Okay, you must be tired after driving for so long. Take a good rest. I'll prepare food for you tonight!"
After stopping recalling the past, the village chief quickly cheered up. To him, what was the point of Domon Yasuki having a sad face just like his own son?
People still have to look forward.
The village chief got up and left the house, and called the three middle-aged men he brought with him to move the things.
Reporters certainly couldn't miss such an important scene, and soon only Domon Yasuki, Sakaki Makoto and a few bodyguards were left in the room.
"You guys go help too."
Domon Yasuki looked at the bodyguards standing at the door:
"Go quickly."
The bodyguards looked at each other, responded, and turned to leave.
"Mr. Sakaki Makoto."
After everyone left, Domon Yasuaki suddenly spoke:
"I would like to entrust you to investigate the cause of Aqing's death."
"Um..."
Holding a cigarette in his mouth, Sakaki Makoto leaned against the door frame, observing the movements in the corridor and asked:
"Do you suspect that Qing's death was not an accident?"
"It can't be an accident!"
With a bang, Domon Yasuki slammed his fist heavily on the table. His face was extremely ugly and his emotions were almost out of control:
"20 years ago, I came to Okutama Town for a trip. I got injured and lost my way in the mountains. My leg was broken. It was Uncle Hirai and Qing who went hunting in the mountains to save me. Qing was only a teenager at the time, but he could already memorize all the routes to the mountains. The mountains were no different from home to him! Would you get lost in your own home?!"
"As for the cliff they were talking about, if nothing unexpected happens, that's where I fell. Ah Qing often went there to pick herbs. How could he have fallen to his death? He even knew how many weeds there were!"
Domon Yasuki's eyes were red, his nostrils were flaring, and his fists were clenched tightly, like an enraged lion:
"You can pay me any amount of money, but I must find the murderer who killed A-Qing!"
"Money can't buy back a life that has been lost, but it can buy the truth..."
Sakaki Makoto exhaled a puff of smoke and extinguished the cigarette:
"Okay, I'll take this commission."
"....Thanks."
"There is one more thing I want to remind you. This village is a little strange, especially the three people following the village chief."
"You mean Takao, Ryuji, and Yukio?"
With his eyes slightly widened, Domon Yasuaki said in surprise:
"They are Mr. Hirai's sons and Qing's brothers! What's the problem?"
“It’s not clear at this point.”
Sakaki Makoto shook his head and said:
"But my intuition tells me that this village must be hiding a deep secret. Boss, didn't you feel it when you came here that year?"
Hearing this, Domon Yasuki recalled carefully, but couldn't think of anything strange:
"I accidentally fell off the mountain that year and rested in the village for a month. The villagers were very friendly to me and there were no secrets..."
"Then the problem is likely to occur within 20 years of your departure."
Sakaki Makoto looked up at the quiet green mountains outside the window:
"Okutama was once prosperous and full of hope, but now it is desolate and deserted, with few people... People's hearts change, and 20 years is enough to change an era. Are we going back to Tokyo today?"
"No."
Domon Yasuki says:
"Find out the truth and go back. Of course, the sooner the better."
"oh..."
With a turn of his eyes, Sakaki took out his cell phone and said with a smile:
"In that case, I'll have to ask for some help..."
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