Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw the waterfall rushing down. In the light of the fireworks, the shadow gradually became clear: a woman with long, flowing hair, her body swaying slowly from side to side, was hanging on the waterfall.
A hint of fear appeared in the eyes of everyone attending the celebration. They had all recognized the figure. Ebihara Toshimi was like a mermaid swimming upstream.
The only difference between the mermaid, who symbolizes beauty in fairy tales, and the one in this case, Sumi, is her pale, paper-white face and her wide-open eyes.
After dragging Sumi ashore, the rope around her neck made people wonder if it was a suicide. Kōyū looked at the scene before him with curiosity.
The rope around her neck was a fixed rope placed on the riverbank to prevent danger. At first glance, it all looked like an accident caused by Sumi falling into the river because she couldn't see clearly in the dark.
But is it really that simple?
Guangyou smiled. As a resident of this island, how could she not know there was a river here, especially since it was near a waterfall? Couldn't she hear the sound of the water flowing?
Moreover, why did she come to this place? Thinking of this, Guangyou suddenly slapped his forehead: "Oh, right, what does this have to do with me? There are two great detectives here."
Naoko initially intended to leave, but seeing the group's disagreement about whether the dead Kotomi was searching for the mermaid remains that had been the subject of much speculation three years prior, she became absolutely convinced of this.
However, Fukuyama Rokuro, Sumi's fiancé, claimed that the skeleton belonged to a middle-aged woman, and that the lower half of the skeleton had been smashed away.
Amidst the conflicting opinions, Kōyū took Ai and went down the waterfall first. Shortly after they came down, the people above carried Sūmi's body down.
No sooner had they arrived than a rather overweight middle-aged man rushed over, embraced Sumi's body, and began to weep bitterly, his voice filled with despair.
The middle-aged man who arrived was the deceased, Shoumei's, father. After crying for a while, Xiaolan, a professional police officer with fifty years of experience, ran out from the crowd.
Xiao Lan was somewhat helpless. She had managed to contact the police, but the weather was bad and going out to sea was dangerous. The police said they might not be able to arrive immediately.
What Xiaolan considered a troublesome matter was actually a good thing for Guangyou, as it showed that the murderer could not have escaped by boat.
Moreover, there are two great detectives on this island. Just as he was thinking this, Kōyū inadvertently saw Heiji straighten the baseball cap that was turned upside down on his head, and then he made a tsk-tsk sound.
Everyone has their own subconscious actions. For example, Heiji often wears a hat and habitually turns the hat on his head to the right side when he is serious.
Having known him for so many years, Kazuha naturally understood this, and then smiled and said, "The culprit will definitely be caught soon. Heiji has already moved his hat to the front to wear. It seems that he is starting to get serious this time."
"But, Ran, you can't fall for Heiji, okay? If it's a competition with you, I have no chance at all."
As Kazuha spoke, her voice gradually lowered, and a blush appeared on her face. The charm she exuded instantly stirred a protective instinct in Ran.
Ran was stunned for a moment, then opened her arms and hugged Kazuha tightly: "Kazuha, you're so cute!"
Kazuha was like a protective mother cat. Even though she knew she couldn't win against the person in front of her, she still stayed in front of him. This kind of personality is quite endearing.
The group was so focused on solving the case that they didn't even bother to find a place to stay. They'd been out all day. Uncle Mori, with his hands in his pockets, looked at Saori's father, who was still drinking even after someone had died, and said, "I was thinking of going to visit Miss Saori's house, but it seems we won't get any information there. Let's go find the old woman first."
Junhui paused for a moment before nodding in agreement. Then she walked ahead to lead the way for everyone. A shrine is a shrine, so of course they couldn't stay inside it.
When Guangyou sat down at Junhui's house, he finally had time to observe the house, which looked somewhat old from the outside and was indeed quite old.
Heiji looked around and exclaimed, "I can't believe it at all. Didn't they make a lot of money selling those Dugong Arrow number plates?"
Kazuha held a cup of traditional green tea, took a sip, and then turned around to explain, "No, they only sell each number plate for five yuan."
Heiji was surprised, and so was Kouyu, because this was not five yuan in China. Five yuan in China could buy at least 10 packs of spicy strips and a bottle of soda with some left over.
In Japan, things that can be bought for five yen are basically free, but after thinking about it, Kōyū felt relieved.
In Japanese, the word "five yen" sounds similar to "affinity" or "destiny." Most people don't think of five yen as money; they consider it a lucky charm that brings good fortune. Offering a five-yen coin to a shrine or similar institution signifies that you've established a connection with the gods.
It is said that if you want to offer five yen coins at Japanese shrines and temples, you have to prepare them in advance, otherwise it will be difficult to exchange them at the last minute.
Guangyou shook his head helplessly, saying that many elderly people in China are superstitious, but in fact, most people in Japan also have this kind of "superstitious" thinking.
Ai, sitting next to Kōyū, took a sip of tea and said to him, "When you mentioned the five-yen coin, I heard a strange story about it before. Do you want to hear it?"
Guangyou was very interested in these kinds of little stories, so he nodded and said, "Tell me about it."
"I heard that a man left his wallet on the counter while shopping at a supermarket, and it was stolen. A few days later, the police called him to come and claim it. When he got the wallet, he found that tens of thousands of yen and his bank cards were gone, and all that was left were the five yen coins he had left over from grocery shopping."
After hearing Ai's story, Kōyū couldn't help but chuckle: "Not bad, that thief was pretty arrogant, he was practically saying that stealing your money was fate."
Ran and Kazuha were also explaining some things about the festival to the group, such as the completely random lottery and the continued tradition.
Guangyou nodded repeatedly as he listened. It must be said that although the shrine did not correct the common misconception of the Dugong's Arrow in the end, at least it was not something that could be hyped up for money.
This made Kōyū look at the shrine with new respect. Just as everyone was talking, the sound of a cane tapping on the ground came into the room. A few seconds later, the door was pushed open, and a wrinkled face peeked out from inside.
For a moment, everyone in the room was startled. The person who came in seemed used to everyone's reaction and calmly asked, "Do you need something from me?"
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