Fang Zheng had no idea about the problem between Sonozaki Shion and Hojo Satoko. For now, if Hojo Teppei didn't come back, he couldn't intervene at all. And Fang Zheng couldn't directly say anything about Sonozaki Shion unless she brought it up. Fang Zheng didn't have any good solution, so he could only let it go for now.

Not to mention, he now has another thing to do.

That is the upcoming Cotton Festival.

As an annual festival in Hinamizawa, the Cotton Flow Festival is also a very lively event. Every year on this day, people gather here to enjoy the dance performed by the shrine maidens, and then put the torn cotton in the ceremony into the river.

As a horror world, this festival is naturally linked to murders. It is rumored that every year on the day of the Cotton Festival, one person dies and one person goes missing. Well... Fortunately, there are no elementary school students wearing glasses who are death gods, otherwise it would only be a matter of time before the case is solved.

As a school teacher, Fang Zheng naturally had to participate in the work and do some heavy physical labor, but Fang Zheng didn't care. On the contrary, this was a good way for him to get closer to the villagers of Hinamizawa. After all, considering what he was going to do next, it would be very beneficial to improve his reputation with the villagers as soon as possible.

With the help of the Zerg's reconstructed body, Fang Zheng played a gorgeous and perfect guest role, not afraid of hardship or fatigue, and learning from Lei Feng's spirit of doing good deeds for a hundred years. Not only did he complete the part he was responsible for smoothly, but he also helped others do a lot of work. Coupled with Fang Zheng's charm and way of doing things, the villagers also praised this young man who had just arrived in the village. It can be said that Fang Zheng also took advantage of this opportunity to greatly improve his reputation.

Finally, it’s the eve of the Cotton Festival…

"That's all for today. Thank you for your hard work."

Fang Zheng clapped his hands, looked at the booth that had been built, and turned to look around. There, Keiichi Maehara and other members of the school life department were also sweating profusely, but everyone had a satisfied expression on their face. No matter what, the sense of accomplishment brought by everyone working together and in unity is irreplaceable.

"Then let's stick with it. I'll treat everyone to drinks today. Keiichi, you go buy them. Everyone can ask for anything they want to drink. Oh, I want coffee."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng took out his wallet and threw it over, while Keiichi took the wallet with a smile and waved at Fang Zheng.

"Teacher is really generous. I won't be polite then! Everyone, what would you like to drink?"

"I want orange juice!"

"I want a Coke!"

"Please bring me a can of black tea!"

Soon, Keiichi and the others left the venue and went to buy drinks. At this time, Fang Zheng saw a man and a woman walking into the shrine and heading towards them. The man was about thirty years old, wearing a vest and shorts, holding a camera in his hand, and looked like a photographer. The woman was wearing a green coat and had long golden hair, and looked very quiet and virtuous.

When he saw these two people, Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes immediately.

The reason is simple, because the woman who appears in front of him at this moment is the ultimate and most evil enemy of this world - Takano Sanshi.

"Yeah, it's really lively."

The man dressed as a photographer came over, raised his camera, took a picture of everyone, and then raised his hand to say hello. The woman next to him also nodded to Fang Zheng and the others.

"good afternoon."

"Ah, it's Mr. Tomitake and Ms. Takano, hello."

Seeing the two people appear, Meiyin beside Fang Zheng also hurriedly stood up to greet them. When they saw Fang Zheng, they both looked over curiously. Then Tomitake spoke.

"You must be the new teacher that the rumors say about me. My name is Tomitake, and I'm a freelance photographer from Tokyo. This is Miss Takano Sanshi, a nurse at the clinic."

"Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Fang Zheng."

At this moment, Fang Zheng also nodded to the two of them and said hello. Then, he quietly glanced at the woman.

This is none other than the biggest boss in the Cicada World, Takano Sanshi.

Fang Zheng knew that the entire world of Chanming was divided into two story lines. The bright story line was about the protagonists who became black and violent due to suffering from "Hinamizawa Syndrome", killing people without parallel. The protagonist of the other story line in the dark was the woman in front of him. Her adoptive father, Takano Ichizo, had discovered the existence of "Hinamizawa Syndrome", but for various reasons, his grandfather's research was terminated and he died of depression. Takano Sanshi vowed to fulfill his grandfather's last wish and continue to study this disease.

According to Kono Ichizo's inference, "Hinamizawa Syndrome" is a disease caused by parasites infecting the human brain. It will secretly affect people's emotions, and most importantly, there is a leader called the "Queen" among the parasites. All parasite-infected people cannot be too far away from the Queen, otherwise they will get sick. This is one of the reasons why the residents of Hinamizawa rarely leave their hometown. Not only that, once the Queen infected person dies, other patients will go crazy within 48 hours.

In the story, in order to prove to others that the research of his adoptive father, Ichizo Takano, was correct, Takano Sansi not only killed Rika Furute, who was infected with the "Queen", but also sent his own Yamanouchi troops to release poison gas, killing more than 2,000 villagers in Hinamizawa. Even when Rika's parents tried to stop her from continuing to experiment on their daughter, Takano Sansi killed Rika's parents in order to prevent her research from being hindered.

It can be said that in order to prove that his adoptive father's research is correct, Takano Sanshi has resorted to all means.

Because of this, Fang Zheng naturally had no good feelings towards this woman.

In response to Fang Zheng, Takano Sansi smiled slightly.

"Please advise me. Mr. Fang Zheng is very famous in Hinamizawa. I often hear patients talk about you in the clinic... I heard that you just came back from studying in the United States? Why did you come to such a small place?"

"Because of Chie Rumiko-senpai's invitation, and I happened to have some research to complete, so I came to Hinamizawa. Although it is a small village, it is very peaceful, and I enjoy life here."

"Really..."

Hearing Fang Zheng's answer, Yingye Sansi looked at him meaningfully.

"So... Mr. Fang Zheng, do you know anything about the evil deeds of the Imperial Shrine God?"

"cause trouble?"

Facing Takano Sansi's question, Fang Zheng was "appropriately" stunned for a moment. At this moment, Meiyin beside him suddenly looked gloomy, opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but didn't know how to start.

"That's right. Mr. Fang Zheng, do you know about the Hinamizawa Dam Project?"

"I've heard a little bit about the plan to build a dam here."

Fang Zheng nodded. He knew what Takano Sansi was going to say. But now, I will just watch you perform quietly.

"Yes, and in order to oppose this plan, the residents launched a protest movement here. At that time, they used this shrine as the center to pray for their victory."

"Now it seems that the plan should be withdrawn."

Since he is an actor, he naturally has to be professional, so Fang Zheng also put on a confused expression at the right time.

"But what does this have to do with the so-called evil spirits of the shrine?"

“It’s very simple.”

Takano Sansi seemed very keen on telling others about these things, so when faced with Fang Zheng's questions, she started to "popularize science" with a smile.

"Four years ago, the supervisor of the Hinamizawa Dam construction site was killed. The following year, a couple who were local residents of Hinamizawa but supported the dam construction fell off a cliff and died while traveling. Then in the third year, the head of this shrine died suddenly of an unknown disease. And last year, someone found the body of the family of the Hinamizawa resident who died accidentally, beaten to death."

"So, deaths occur every year?"

"That's right. Moreover, these incidents and accidents always happen on the night of the Cotton Festival every year."

At this point, Takano Sansi's face was already flushed, with an expression of great excitement.

"If this is not a ghost or a coincidence, then what are these incidents about?"

"Then it is a crime, of course."

Fang Zheng was not as easily deceived as Keiichi Maehara, and gave the answer directly.

"This kind of thing is not uncommon. Using the name of a ritual to kill people has happened in many areas. I just hope the police can find the murderer as soon as possible and make him confess his crime and be brought to justice."

"Well……"

Perhaps Fang Zheng's answer was too unexpected for Yingye Sansi, so the woman's expression froze for a moment, and then she continued to speak without giving up.

"Mr. Fang Zheng, do you really think this is a criminal act? You know, these four incidents all happened on the night of the Cotton Festival? Four times in a row? Can this still be considered a coincidence?"

"Four times in a row is certainly not a coincidence, but according to what you said, Miss Takano, it is not difficult to explain. The Cotton Flow Festival is the most grand festival in Hinamizawa, so people will definitely go here on the day of the festival. Naturally, there will be not many people in other places. At this time, if someone kills someone, then the probability of witnesses will be smaller, right? And the sudden death of the abbot of Furutetsu Shrine - I haven't seen the autopsy report, so I can't say more, but in fact, science has long proved that human psychological activities will have a certain degree of impact on body functions. As for the incident in the fourth year... Miss Takano, you yourself said that he was beaten to death, so why do you rule out human crime? In my opinion, among these four things, only the accident in the second year can be regarded as a coincidence, and the others have almost nothing to do with the so-called evil spirits. Miss Takano, I can understand people's curiosity about strange stories, but it is not good to consume dead people as entertainment material."

"this……"

Faced with Fang Zheng's rebuttal, Yingye Sansi was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say. After listening to Fang Zheng's words, the others were also stunned. Only Meiyin looked at Fang Zheng beside her with a complicated expression, not knowing what to say.

At the same time, suddenly, a voice sounded behind everyone.

"Oh my, young man, what you said is very interesting."