Chapter 93

A family of Noh performers has fallen on the Sapporo Mountains. The last Noh performer in the family accidentally cut his hand while maintaining a mask. The next day, he was found dead in the warehouse by a servant. There was no weapon on the ground, only a blood-stained real snake mask.

The deceased had no medical history and was not poisoned. The only external injury was far from fatal. There was no sign of the lock being pried open from the inside. The investigation of the case was at a bottleneck. The branch family rushed to the scene and buried the deceased, but the strange rumors did not end there - nearly ten witnesses claimed that they saw the lingering ghost above the house when they passed by. They were frightened and sent to the hospital with a high fever for several days before waking up.

Having ruled out the possibility of witnesses colluding with each other, the police investigation yielded no results, and the rumor about the ghost mask became more and more rampant.

The above is the background information given to him by the organization.

Kono Seiryoshi put the documents aside, took several deep breaths, and still covered his face with his hands, unable to bear the sight.

The heat on his face had not yet subsided and was even showing signs of getting stronger - God had no idea how embarrassed he would be when he woke up and found himself holding onto Morobushi Kagemitsu's arm!

Especially when the latter was very magnanimous (adding fuel to the fire) and said, "Don't worry about it, do you want to sleep for a while?" He was so embarrassed that he almost turned the plane back!

Although he knew that he had the habit of hugging something soft before sleeping, he didn't expect that he would actually attack carbon-based creatures in his dreams, even though he had restrained himself from hugging Hanako in the police academy dormitory.

But it does seem to be very comfortable... Stop, don’t think about it anymore!

Gongye Shengliang sighed heavily, pressed his temples to calm himself down, and when he opened his eyes, his eyes couldn't help but wander for a moment, then he picked up the document again to divert his attention.

The hotel rooms they booked were adjacent to each other, so he stayed there quietly for the entire afternoon. In order to avoid being disconnected due to lack of sleep, he went to bed early.

After taking a short nap during the day, Gongye Shengliang thought he would have to toss and turn for a long time before falling asleep, but he fell into a deep sleep not long after he closed his eyes.

He slept deeply and for a long time until the next day when the phone rang several times and woke him up.

"I'm sorry, I haven't received a reply to my text message. Did I bother you?" Zhufu Jingguang was the first to apologize.

When Kono Seijiro saw the time on his phone, he was surprised at first, and then he was surprised again when he saw the unread text messages in his inbox - when did his sleep quality become so good that he not only slept for more than ten hours but didn't even hear the notification ringtone?

"It's my fault." He rubbed his forehead. The consequence of sleeping too long is insufficient blood supply to the head. "Did I delay you?"

"It's okay for me." Zhu Fu Jingguang was silent for two seconds, then slowly spoke, "If you feel uncomfortable, do you want to go for a checkup tomorrow?"

"No, let's solve it as soon as possible."

Kono Seiryoshi stared at the calendar, marked a date not far from today, and drew a small star on it.

He was fascinated by what he saw, and on the other side, Morofu Jingguang did not hang up the phone. He held his breath quietly, and fine dust particles slowly flowed in the air.

It was Gongye Shengliang who came to his senses first and quickly typed a line of words in the search bar.

The Sapporo Snow Festival that Shirley mentioned... I found it, well, it's quite a while later.

"Scotland."

"Hmm? I'm here."

Kono Seiryoshi clasped his palms together and rubbed his finger joints with his fingertips. "Are you free for the next week... month?"

I was afraid of hearing a rejection, and I couldn't show my nervousness, so I could only ask in a calm tone.

Scotland was silent for a while, and his voice was filled with his usual, impeccable gentleness: "If you need me, I'm here."

…

In the afternoon, they arrived at the village where the legendary ghost mask was placed.

After the haunting incident, the people living in this house quickly moved to a house on the other side of the village, and only cleaned the old house and maintained the mask on fixed dates.

When he heard that they were here to investigate the masks, the householder immediately changed the subject, talking about everything from this year's weather to the poor harvest of crops, and then went over the history of Noh development, hinting that "the mask is a family inheritance and cannot be shown to outsiders casually."

Kono Seiryoshi said he understood.

Then he took out a check with understanding.

He held out his hands. "You go on."

Household owner: “…”

Thirty minutes later, the owner, with a big smile on his face, led him into the warehouse to tour it. "I'm not bragging, but I have the most complete collection of masks here. Would you like to take a look at some other ones?"

Kono Seiryoshi looked around at the masks that looked creepy, some crying, some laughing, and his eyes went dark again. "…Just give me the real snake."

The ghost mask enjoyed the highest level of treatment. Not only did it have a separate wooden box, but it also had several circles of spells wrapped around it.

According to family tradition, a blood-stained mask must be exorcised before being given to others, otherwise it may be cursed.

Gongye Shengliang was worrying about how to find an excuse to travel at public expense. When he heard this, he was overjoyed. He generously paid for the householder to drive for half a month first, and he would pay more if the money was not enough.

The car stopped at the foot of the mountain and had to go through a winding mountain road. As soon as Kono Seiryo came out of the owner's house, he saw Morofu Keimitsu standing under a tree not far away, waiting for him.

The black-haired young man with a backpack also saw him at a glance, nodded, and walked towards him.

The sky was clear and blue. On the narrow steps of the mountain road, two figures stood one in front and one behind.

The leaves of the trees have almost all fallen by the time of winter. The touch of the ground underfoot is both thick and crisp. Gongye Shengliang feels curious and keeps walking in places with more leaves.

There was a thick layer of ginkgo leaves on his left hand side. His eyes lit up and he was about to walk over quickly to accept the gift from nature when he was suddenly pulled by someone.

The force was not strong, but he was caught off guard and had no balance, so he stumbled and was about to fall down the stairs.

"careful!"

The other person's actions were faster than the sound, and by the time Kono Seiryoshi reacted, he was already in someone's arms.

Morobushi Kagemitsu's helpless voice came: "...I wanted to remind you that the way down the mountain is on the right, but it seems that I did something unnecessary."

Kono Seiryoshi: ...I forgot I was on a business trip and not a winter tour!

Shit, isn’t that just seeing him stepping on leaves along the way?

He pulled his scarf to cover his red earlobes and mumbled, "I know."

Zhufu Jingguang said nothing.

After waiting for a few seconds without any response, Kono Seiryoshi prepared to slowly withdraw from the other person's arms. He turned his head and lowered his eyes to look at the stairs to avoid stepping on air.

However, just as he was about to move, he suddenly felt a pressure on his back, stopping him. Then, a warm breath, in stark contrast to the slightly cold mountain air, approached, and the surroundings were so quiet that they could catch the rhythm of each other's breathing.

What happened…?

Kono Seiryoshi blinked twice and saw that Morobushi Kagemitsu quickly let him go, holding a ginkgo leaf picked up from the hood in his hand.

Zhufu Jingguang threw down the leaves and reached out to adjust his scarf which had somehow slipped off.

She tied a knot that would not easily come undone, and the cashmere scarf covered the lower half of her face. Her clear eyes looked at him in surprise.

——Looks like someone who shouldn't be here.

Zhu Fu Jingguang walked past him, looking calm, "Let me lead the way."

--

After returning from the mountain, Morofushi Jingguang seemed to have really entered a leisurely vacation mode.

Shengjiu spent most of his time in the room. Although he couldn't see him, Morobushi Jingguang could tell his daily routine from the movement of the door opening.

There was a subtle delay in the room cleaning time, which seemed to be related to the delayed waking time; there was basically no sound after 10 o'clock at night; it was rare to see Shengjiu come out to eat, but it was also rare to see him ask someone to deliver food...

All in all, it’s an unhealthy daily routine.

And on the few occasions that Shengjiu went out, Zhufu Jingguang followed him diligently.

On the first day, I walked around the hotel and bought a wooden landscape puzzle at a vintage shop. If there is anything special about it, it is probably that there are a lot of pieces. A puzzle of 1,000 pieces would take at least two or three days for one person to complete.

On the third day, I went to the old main building of the Hokkaido Agency and visited it with the tourists coming and going.

On the sixth day, I went to the Sapporo TV Tower, but I didn't go to the observatory to enjoy the view. I just stood there for a while.

It seemed a little late today. Zhufu Jingguang glanced at the sky outside which was beginning to darken. Should he still go out?

"The cafe is not closed yet, let's go." Shengjiu said to him.

There is not much difference between the cafes in Sapporo and those in Tokyo. If I have to say, it may be because the weather is colder and the aroma of coffee is stronger.

When Morofushi Jingguang walked into the cafe, the melody of the piano music playing in the store sounded familiar.

He looked at the Christmas decorations inside and outside the store and realized something belatedly.

There was no time to celebrate any holidays during the three years of carrying out missions in the organization. Long-forgotten memories flashed back, along with the identity he had long since abandoned in order to go undercover.

...So today is his birthday?

He opened his phone to confirm, but didn't care much and put the phone away.

The identity used to join the organization is naturally a fake one, and all past identity information will only increase the risk of exposure.

Before the organization collapses, it doesn't matter whether you are twenty-six or thirty-six.

During this time of his shallow recollection, the order for the sacred wine was completed.

From chiffon to tiramisu, mousse to Black Forest, except for those that were sold out, he seemed to have ordered all the dishes on the menu, regardless of whether he could finish them or not, and filled up the table one after another.

Yu!

The white-haired young man pointed his finger, muttered something to himself, selected one from among them, and moved it in front of himself.

Just before he put down his fork, he suddenly remembered something and looked up and asked, "Aren't you coming?"

"..." Morofu Jingguang smiled, "I don't like sweets."

Shengjiu slowly frowned and looked at him with disapproval.

Zhu Fu Jingguang paused, remembering the cappuccino he had drunk in the cafe last time that was so sweet that it seemed like poison.

Shengjiu seems to like sweet things very much. Should he cater to his taste?

He thought about it for a while, then pulled out a chair as if nothing had happened: "But it would be good to have some sugar supplement. I'm a little hungry."

Shengjiu nodded, his expression softening greatly.

Morofushi Jingguang took the piece closest to him, which was a blueberry ice cream cake with cheese filling. It melted in the mouth and was not too sweet, so it was acceptable.

He deliberately slowed down his movements and put the cake into his mouth. Suddenly, the person opposite him put down his fork.

Shengjiu propped his chin up and turned to look out the window. In the distance, the 150-meter-high TV tower lit up with golden lights, its outline overlapping the Christmas tree in front of the store.

"I seem to have heard this song somewhere before." He seemed to be talking to himself, or to someone else, "...very beautiful, and very sad."

The lights of passing cars shone through, reflecting the fine mist and delicate profile on the glass, presenting a blurry and unreal scene.

The melodious piano music continued, just as he said, beautifully and sadly.

"Oh, I remember now."

He let out a low cry, and when he looked up, there seemed to be a smile in his eyes, with a faint halo flowing in them.

"Merry Christmas——"

The car horns that rang from far away drowned out all other sounds. For a moment, Zhu Fu Jingguang could only see his lips opening and closing twice.

His heartbeat was like a drum. For a moment, it seemed that everything he had tried so hard to hide was exposed in that look.

“…”

He lowered his eyes and clenched his hands tightly under the table.

Only after his heartbeat returned to normal did he force a smile and said, "Christmas is still a few days away, right?"

"Um--?"

Shengjiu blinked a little late, "Is that so?" As if it was true, he picked up the fork nonchalantly, "Just consider it as a courtesy."

They didn't finish the cakes they ordered, so they carried the paper bags containing them back to the hotel.

As I was walking, I suddenly felt a little wet.

Zhufu Jingguang stopped and was startled when he saw the person walking in front of him. He subconsciously turned around to look for him.

In the few seconds when their eyes met, a light white halo floated around, blurring their vision.

It's snowing.