Chapter 130 Birds and Light

It was a cold and snowy night, but the room was warm and comfortable. The restaurant was more like a home than a hotel. The unique aroma of tea and butter made people feel drowsy.

Bird Mitsuki was leaning on her head to listen to the conversation, but she fell asleep in a short while.

Mizuhara Ena came in with red bean soup and saw this scene. The smile on her kind face became even brighter. Although she was old, she was very agile and placed the red bean soup in the tray in front of everyone.

"This is freshly cooked. Red bean soup is the best to drink in winter." She finished smiling, but she didn't expect that there was still a bowl left in the plate. The old woman looked at it dazedly for a while, and then she reacted, "Hey... why is there one person missing? I remember there was..." "

Mr. Suemitsu has gone to bed."

"Is that so... Then I'll take this away first," Mizuhara Ena whispered, "You went to bed so early, I remember before..."

"Is that Miss Toyokawa?" Mizuhara's voice was originally low, and the last vague sentence was easily covered by Mao Lilan's voice. The long-haired girl originally went to pull the curtains wider, but she saw a familiar figure on the snow through the glass, and quickly turned around and asked, "It's snowing so heavily outside, why did Miss Toyokawa go out alone?"

"This, "Ms. Toyokawa is hanging lanterns." Mizuhara Ena explained with a smile, "Look carefully, are there a few more lanterns on the tree?"

Hearing this, the people who were chatting at the table stood up curiously and went to the window to have a look.

It had been snowing outside for who knows how long, and there was a thick layer of snow on the trees and the ground. However, there were several lanterns hung on the two big trees outside the hotel. The flames were reflected by the light yellow surface of the lanterns outside, making them look even warmer, illuminating the surrounding snow, and it looked quiet and warm.

"It's so beautiful." Suzuki Sonoko couldn't help but sigh, "Let's go down and take a look?"

Tsukiyama Asari's expression froze when he heard that, and he quickly stopped her, "It's so cold outside, be careful not to catch a cold."

"It's okay - just wear something thicker!" The girl was obviously not persuaded, and the people next to her also had very interested expressions.

The black-haired man had no choice but to follow everyone downstairs, put on a thick coat again, and stood at the door of the hotel.

"It's actually hanging this kind of lantern." Edogawa Conan looked up and looked around.

There are six or seven lanterns hanging outside, very traditional style, with bamboo frames, paper surfaces, and burning candles inside. Although they look beautiful, they look very fragile. The candle flames sway left and right with the wind outside, as if they will lick the flammable paper surface next to them if they are not careful.

"Yes, it's so windy and snowy outside, isn't it possible that they will be blown out at any time? This is too inconvenient." Mao Lilan continued, "And it doesn't feel safe."

After listening to their doubts, the smiling Mizuhara grandmother with completely gray hair smiled and explained, "This is a tradition here. We must use this old style of lanterns."

"Huh? This kind of tradition?" The long-haired girl thought for a while, "It feels so mysterious, it seems that every place has different traditions."

"Yes, it is also related to a legend here." Feeling the curious gazes of the crowd, Mizuhara Ena smiled and explained in more detail, "According to the legend, the village at the foot of the mountain has been harassed by the wolf pack living in the mountain. The villagers dared not go out to work, nor did they dare to make any sound, and lived a miserable life. At this time, a young man chose to stand up, pulled up a wooden sword to drive away the wolves..." "

...But the wolf pack was too large, and he could not handle it alone. In the end, he could only use himself as bait, and finally fell off the cliff with the wolves."

Morobushi Kagemitsu, who had been listening to the story quietly, asked at this time, "Then...why do you hang lanterns?"

"It is said that after his death, it snowed for half a month, and the villagers could not go up the mountain. They had to wait until the snow melted before they could set out to look for the boy's body. However, it seemed that he melted into the mountain with the snow, and they could not find his body. The villagers were worried that his soul was trapped in the snowy mountain and could not find his way home, so they would light a lantern at the door at night, and it eventually became a custom."

"At night, you have to light a lantern at the door. The dazzling flame will point the way for the soul of the deceased who can't find the way home."

Jinpei Matsuda listened to the soft words of the old woman and lit the cigarette in his mouth. He looked into the distance through a layer of lingering smoke, but caught some subtle sounds in the distance.

The man narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound. It was dark in the distance, but if you look carefully you can make out swaying shadows.

"Who is it?" Hagiwara Kenji also reacted. He subconsciously took two steps forward and stood in front of the others. "There aren't really wolves on your mountain, are there?"

"This... this shouldn't be possible." Toyokawa Norika, who had been listening to the conversation, said hesitantly, "I've been here for three or four years and haven't seen many wolves, but there are indeed guests who come here often to hunt..."

"Do you have any self-defense items prepared here?" Date Kou asked. In less than a moment, someone found a dusty gun in the tool room that looked like it hadn't been used for a long time, as well as several long sticks.

"It stands to reason that we have lights on here, and if it is really a wild animal in the mountains, it should avoid the hotel." Shibagaki Shoichiro handed the weapons to others and picked up a long stick himself, "But... the snow has been falling intermittently for almost a month, and it is possible that a hungry wild animal is looking for it by following the smell."

"Let's go ahead and take a look."

The few people were not prepared to go too far away from the hotel to check, but just searched around. Hagiwara Kenji took a few steps forward with his gun, and indeed saw a black shadow.

"Matsuda... It doesn't look like a wolf, but it can't be a wild bear, right?" The man frowned and whispered.

"If I were a wild bear, the first thing I would do is to carry you back to the cave as food for hibernation."

A hoarse voice came from the shadow, very low, sounding as if it was being squeezed out of the throat. Hagiwara Kenji was stunned for a moment before he realized the current situation. He almost immediately dropped his gun, snatched the lantern from Amuro Toru's hand and ran over.

The dim light illuminated the snow, and finally made the shadow clearer.

The man, who was several hours late, was barely standing by holding on to the tree trunk. There was a layer of snow on his curly hair and shoulders. He looked like he was about to fall to the ground. The illuminated snow layer below him was covered with mottled bloodstains.

Several people quickly ran towards his position, and only when they walked in did they find that Kasugawa Shugo's arms were covered in blood. There was a long tear in his windbreaker caused by a sharp weapon, and the fabric was stained with blood, but it looked like the wound had been simply bandaged. They just didn't know why the bleeding had not stopped, or the wound that had stopped bleeding had reopened.

Kasugawa Shugo knew he was in the wrong, so he shrank his neck and didn't dare to look at the expressions of the others. His pants and shoulders were already soaked by the melting snow, and his lips were slightly purple. When Hagiwara Kenji picked him up, he felt like he had touched a human-shaped piece of ice.

He subconsciously looked at Date Kou who was frowning beside him, "Squad leader."

"Go hold back Tsukiyama and Kogiri, and don't let them get over here." After saying that, Date Kou picked the man up, and the temperature of his hand made him frown.

It was embarrassing for a grown man to be carried up, but Kasugawa Shugo had no strength to struggle. He changed his position and tried to let Date Kou carry him more easily. Date Kou was sweating because of the meal. The heat came through the clothes and melted the remaining snow on his body, making their clothes even wetter. The chestnut-

haired man coughed twice, closed his eyes, and let Date Kou carry him to the warm room.

"Tsukiyama." When Hagiwara Kenji returned, he ran into Tsukiyama Asari and Asuka Kiri who followed closely behind. He remembered what Date Kou said and stretched out his hand to barely block the other party's sight. "It should just be frozen. Do you have any extra clothes to change?"

"...I'll get them." The black-haired man bit his lower lip and stood there in silence for a while before turning around and walking into the room. Hagiwara Kenji looked at the other party's back, and after hesitating for a while, he ran towards Date Kou.

It would be better not to let Tsukiyama Asari and the others see Kasugawa Shugo in this state. Besides, the wounds made by sharp weapons, I don't know what happened. If it is related to the case that his friend is in charge of, it would not be convenient to let non-police people be present when they ask about it.

There was a small lounge on the left side of the first floor of the hotel. When he entered, the chestnut-haired police officer who had injured himself because he hadn't seen him for a while was curled up on the sofa. Before a clean towel was brought, he temporarily wrapped himself in Date Kou's coat and looked listless.

"What the hell is going on?" Toyokawa Norika, who had been guarding the door, said anxiously. As she followed Date Kou to the lounge, she didn't forget to ask others to bring blankets, prepare hot chocolate and hot water.

"I'm sorry, my car got stuck on the road. Unexpectedly, it got caught on a tree branch on the way here because it was dark, and I cut my arm. I lost my way again... I came here following the firelight." The chestnut-haired man coughed twice, pointed at his arm which was obviously cut by a sharp weapon, and lied with his eyes closed, saying that the wound was the result of his own bad luck. "I'm Kasugawa Shugo who booked a room before."

"Fortunately, you are not injured. It's very dangerous for a car to get stuck in the road in this weather. I'll go get the first aid kit." Hearing this, the proprietress breathed a sigh of relief. When she turned around and left, she did not forget to close the door of the lounge to prevent the warm air in the room from escaping through the wide open door.

"Was it cut by a branch?" As soon as the door closed, Amuro Toru asked back in a bad mood. He pointed at the narrow cut on the other's arm, "What kind of branch could cut it like this? What were you doing? Aren't you on vacation?"

"I'm sorry..." The curly-haired guy, who was surrounded by a group of gorillas, apologized quickly, "Something happened on the way."

"What could happen on the way? Monsters suddenly attack the village and you're going to save the earth?"

Kasugawa Shugo shrank his neck. After his body warmed up, his head began to feel dizzy. He didn't know if he would have a fever. He lowered his head and coughed a few times, and whispered, "I saw a few figures on the road..."

The chestnut-haired man arrived later than the others. Unexpectedly, when he drove to the halfway point of the mountain, he accidentally saw a flash of human figures in the forest. It was very similar to the scene at the beginning of every case with horror elements in comics. According to convention, he should have regarded it as a dazzled sight, and then when a few people gathered together and the locals talked about the famous legend, he said that he saw the figures on the way here.

But Kasugawa Shugo was obviously not a guy who would sit and wait for death, and he would not let the unknown hidden danger stay with them on the mountain. He parked the car on the spot and chased along the place where he had just captured the figure. Sure enough, he saw a small group of suspicious people in the deep forest.

They were carrying guns and knives. At first glance, they looked like ordinary villagers who came to hunt in a team, but...

The man narrowed his eyes and looked at the faces of those people carefully. Although two of the guys were wearing goggles, their facial contours were very familiar. He simply continued to follow them, and finally waited until one of them took off his goggles, revealing the face that appeared on the wanted order.

"How can we just leave this situation alone... I controlled them and then contacted the county police, so it took so long." Kasugawa Shugo grabbed his hair that was half wet from the snow and sighed, "Because I was wearing too many clothes and it was not convenient to move, I got cut, but the wound is not deep, it's nothing serious."

"Why do you always run into criminals wherever you go?" Morobushi Kagemitsu couldn't understand. He rubbed his chin with his hand and said with real emotion, "I encountered hostage-taking on the street, I encountered human traffickers installing bombs in the hospital, and now I encounter a wanted criminal on vacation."

After knowing that it was nothing serious, Hagiwara Kenji's expression relaxed, "You really scared me just now. I think Shugo-chan should find a chance to worship in a more spiritual temple."

"Hey, hey, how dare you talk back at me." Kasugawa Shugo rolled up his sleeves helplessly, and took off the gauze on his arm that was soaked with melted snow and blood. The area around the wound was a little white due to the wet gauze, "Since the police academy, you guys have never been safe when you go out..."

[I was so scared, so scared. Fortunately, only my arm was injured. Ah, Shuugo, did you know that the people who appeared outside at that time were all victims of crimes? I was so scared.]

[(#Kasugawa Shuugo's back holding the branch#) Did he do this on purpose? He didn't draw it below the knees. It's like he said the last sentence and then knelt on the ground and barely propped himself up but had already stopped breathing. I was so scared that I almost lost my soul, not to mention how many of them there were! !]

[How can you run into a wanted criminal on vacation, Officer Shuugo! So you really rushed here after beating the little monsters! ]

[Ah, I was originally crying because of Asari's expression when Hagiwara persuaded her to leave, but when I turned around and saw Shuugo's complaints, I started laughing again. I remembered the poor guys in the police academy chapter who could encounter robbers at a convenience store. I suggested that the six of them go to worship together]

[Speaking of which, where is Song Tiantian? Wasn't she the first one when she rushed out just now? How come she suddenly disappeared?]

[(#background screenshot#) She's here. Speaking of which... Mazda hasn't spoken a word this

whole time. It feels a bit strange] When seeing these replies, Kasugawa Shuugo was about to reach out to take the towel handed over by Morobushi Keimitsu.

Yes... why hasn't Jinpei Matsuda spoken this whole time. The chestnut-haired man looked up in a daze, his hand not yet touching the dry and soft surface of the towel, still reaching out to take something.

Matsuda Jinpei was standing a little behind the others, with his arms folded across his chest, just behind the light. He was still wearing those semi-permanent sunglasses at night, and his expression could not be seen clearly in the shadow, but it made people feel a little scared for some reason.

"And then?"

Kasugawa Shugo was stunned for a moment, and his hand that was reaching for the towel was withdrawn in dissatisfaction.

Thinking that he didn't understand what he was asking, Matsuda Jinpei spoke again with a cold face, and no other emotions could be heard in his tone, "Then what? After you dealt with those wanted criminals and left the local police station."

"Then I drove here." The chestnut-haired police officer pursed his lips, and his eyes were a little evasive at first. I don't know what he thought of, and he tried to raise his head to look at the other person's eyes blocked by sunglasses, "As a result, the car broke down again when we were about to reach the hotel, and we had to walk over. I was almost frozen to death."

At last, he showed a very helpless expression, the arc of the round eyes drooped, and with the red nose and cheeks that were frozen, he looked pitiful.

Morobushi Jingguang put the towel that he had not taken on his half-wet hair.

"Okay, where is the anchor throwing car parked? I'll go find it." Maybe the sunglasses automatically filtered out the enhanced honey rays of Kasugawa Shugo, the ace police officer of the explosion department was not affected at all, and even his expression and movements did not change, and he still asked relentlessly.

"You're going to look for it now?" The chestnut-haired man was stunned, and immediately understood why the other party said that. He forced a smile and waved his hand, "In such a heavy snow, why are you going out to look for the anchored car? After the mountain road is reopened, why don't you just find a tow truck to tow it away..."

"Where did you park it?"

Matsuda Jinpei's gritted teeth question made Kasugawa Shugo lower his eyes. He stammered a few times, and finally whispered, "It was too dark, I can't remember it clearly, it may be halfway up the mountain."

After he finished speaking, the room fell into silence again. Obviously they could feel that the atmosphere was not right, and they also noticed something from the conversation between the two. The others stopped talking and just looked at the two of them quietly.

"Kasugawa Shugo." Matsuda Jinpei took a step forward and stood completely in front of the man sitting on the sofa, "Do you really have to make me say this?"

The man's voice was very cold, and Kasugawa Shugo didn't even hear any anger in it, but this made him even more frightened.

"No matter how inefficient the department managing the mountain area is, with today's snowfall, the road into the mountain will be closed before 7 p.m. Even if you drive back to the hotel at 7 p.m., one second before the road is closed, even if the mountain roads are difficult to travel on snowy nights, it will take an hour and a half to get to the hotel."

Matsuda Jinpei took out his cell phone and took a look, "There are still thirteen minutes until eleven o'clock. Almost four hours, enough to walk from the foot of the mountain to this hotel."

Kasugawa Shugo lowered his head, feeling like several visual arrows were shooting at him, almost piercing him.

Knowing that he was in the wrong, he was silent for a while and could only apologize, "I'm sorry..."

"Whatever you want. I've heard too many apologies and don't want to hear them anymore. Anyway, you're always like this whether you admit your mistakes or not, you'll stick to your own way and never change." Matsuda Jinpei put down his hands that had been crossed over his chest, and let them hang by his legs and clenched into fists. "

I'm sorry...but," Kasugawa Shugo bit his lower lip, "when I rushed back down the mountain, the road was blocked because of the snowfall tonight, there was no other way..."

All the roads leading up the mountain were blocked, and vehicles could not pass at all.

There was absolutely no other way to get here. But this time... after seven years, we finally got together, who knows when the next reunion will be.

Matsuda and the others didn't know how long it took them to get the leave, and they really didn't want to disappoint them.

Kasugawa Shugo hesitated again and again, and exchanged a product that looked like a candy bar with a warming effect at the system, and then found a shortcut beside the mountain road.

However, he did not expect that when he was about to arrive, the group of people suddenly wanted to go downstairs to see the lanterns. He did not know if he could hold on and pretend to knock on the door after they returned, so he could only tighten his nerves and continue walking towards the hotel.

"Don't come if you have no other choice." His explanation was coldly scorned by the other party.

"But this matter is really..." Kasugawa Shugo didn't know how to describe it for a moment. He thought about it and could only speak in a low voice, "very...important."

"How important can it be? Is it more important than your own life?!" Matsuda Jinpei said angrily, almost yelling, "It's a mountain road of dozens of kilometers, and cars are not allowed to drive in. You dare to walk in by yourself. Do you want to experience what it feels like to have an amputation, or do you want to just die in the snow and be dug out from under the snow a few days later?"

Really...very angry.

This sentence was the first to flash out of the chestnut-haired man's blank mind. Before he could say anything else, the ace policeman of the explosives department with a frighteningly black face continued to speak.

Matsuda Jinpei snorted coldly. "You like to torture yourself so much, and make others worry about you, right? Or is getting hurt also a part of how you feel your own value?"

"No, Jinpei, I..."

Feeling that the other party was getting more and more excited, Kasugawa Shugo reached out to grab him, but before he could say anything, he felt a pain in his cheekbone, and the whole person fell back with this force, hitting his back on the sofa.

He was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously used the back of his hand to block the severe pain in his cheekbone that was hit hard by the other party.

"Jinpei!" Kenji Hagiwara finally reacted, and quickly put his hand on his childhood friend's shoulder, stopping his movements and said anxiously, "Calm down first, don't..."

Jinpei Matsuda pulled away his hand that was holding him, lowered his head and met the gaze of Kasugawa Shugo, as if his previous anger had been knocked out by this punch, and when he spoke, he had recovered his previous expression without any other emotions, "Kasugawa Shugo, this life is your own, and you can even not care about yourself... then so can I."

"Don't think of me taking care of you again."

After saying the last word, Jinpei Matsuda loosened his clenched fists, turned around and prepared to walk out.

"Zhan...Zhan Ping." Kasugawa Shugo finally reacted. He was panicked and quickly reached out to pull his sleeve. Just as he grabbed the thin layer of cloth, the sound of the door handle being opened came from outside.

He quickly let go of the other person's hand.

Toyokawa Norika poked her head in and put the medical kit she finally found on the cabinet at the door. She was a little puzzled by the overly silent atmosphere in the room. Before she asked, she heard the new guest smiling and shaking his head and said, "Thank you... I want to treat the wound on my body, please..."

It was indeed inconvenient for her to stay here. Toyokawa Norika nodded in understanding and quickly left with Shangmen.

After the door was closed again, Kasugawa Shugo put away the expression he had just shown to the landlady and reached out to grab the other's sleeve again, but this time, before he could touch him, Matsuda Jinpei dodged him.

He walked out without looking back, and paused for a moment when he reached the tea table in the middle of the living room. His voice was very soft, but in the extremely quiet room, the person on the sofa could hear it clearly, "Sometimes... I really wish I had never met you."

Kasugawa Shugo suddenly widened his eyes.

"Jinpei... why do you say that..." Hagiwara Kenji, who had been standing next to the two of them, took a few steps to catch up, trying to stop the person who was about to leave, "Let's sit down and have a good chat first, you..." As

he spoke, he saw his childish expression, and his hand that had been trying to hold the other person fell. Matsuda Jinpei pushed open the door and walked all the way to the room on the third floor. His expression was so ugly that Mao Lilan and others who wanted to ask about Kasugawa Shugo's situation did not dare to step forward.

After finishing the call, the man felt dizzy. He pushed open the door of his room, but before he walked in, he saw from the corner of his eye that the door of the room not far away was opened from the inside. Tsukiyama Asari, who was persuaded by Hagiwara Kenji to find clothes, was holding a pair of black sports pants and a navy blue velvet sweater in his arms.

He gritted his teeth and spoke when the black-haired man passed by him, "Wait a minute."

"......Hmm?" Tsukiyama Asari stopped in his tracks for a moment. He looked at the other party hesitantly, and subconsciously thought that the quarrel over there with Kasugawa Shugo had avoided the other party's sight, and he didn't know what Matsuda Jinpei wanted to say.

The man didn't say anything more, but just pushed the door and went into his room. Not long after, he came out with a piece of clothing and handed it to the other party.

Tsukiyama looked down at the clothes in his arms. It was a two-piece outfit of a sleeveless sweater and a shirt. There was only a thin layer of shirt fabric on the arms. It seemed that the material used was more breathable.

"A fleece sweatshirt will cover the wound. Let him wear this."

After saying that, without waiting for the other party to react, Matsuda Jinpei turned around and walked back into the room and closed the door.

The author has something to say:

Issue 7.1 has been revised, and the hot spring chapter has been revised. If it is not connected smoothly with the following text, it may be that the revised chapter has not been loaded. Refresh a few times and it will be fine. Bobo~