A Conversation Beneath the Moon
Since Jiang Hang has already guessed the truth, then the truth is definitely not that simple.
He pondered whether he had overlooked any clues.
But even after some of them said goodbye to their kind neighbors and returned to the shore to find the girls who were sightseeing with a tour guide, Heiji Hattori still couldn't figure it out.
"Did you finish investigating what you were looking for so quickly?" Kazuha Toyama glanced at Heiji Hattori, who was deep in thought, with some doubt. "How come it seems like nothing has changed at all?"
Jiang Hang briefly explained the situation on the client's side to them, which made them sigh that the client's family situation was indeed quite complicated.
"Actually, it's because she herself couldn't make up her mind to really leave her hometown," said Koharu Yoshino seemed to be thinking of herself.
Someone like her, with no education or work skills, stayed in Tokyo entirely because of her yearning for big cities.
If it weren't for Jiang Hang's job interview that completely changed her life, she would probably have already returned to her hometown.
Jiang Hang waved his hand at the other party, saying, "I think if you hadn't stayed with me, you might already be a tourism ambassador for some declining tourist town."
This was originally the other person's story, but he intercepted it.
Koharu Yoshino rolled her eyes at Jiang Hang: "There are plenty of people like me out there, what place would want a publicity ambassador like me? Jiang Hang, you're really joking."
Now that she's gotten used to being Jiang Hang's detective assistant, she's quite satisfied with her current life.
With a generous salary and relatively low work pressure, Jiang Hang's benefits are definitely among the best in Japan. Her family is happy for her.
Moreover, she could follow Jiang Hang and see a wider and more wonderful world. She couldn't imagine what better life she could have now.
Jiang Hang didn't dwell on that topic for long, but instead continued talking about the client's family.
It was only at this moment that Heiji Hattori suddenly realized what was happening.
"I understand. So Jiang Hang, you mean that the arrow wasn't actually lost by Saori Kadowaki, but that her father secretly disposed of it to someone else while she was away from home?"
Thinking about how Jiang Hang had been mentioning the Kadowaki family's financial situation and her father's Heiji Hattori became much more certain about it.
"Saori Kadowaki's strong reaction to losing the Dugong Arrow, even if she were extremely bold, she would never have taken that arrow off the island."
"Therefore, the arrow must have been lost on the island for some reason, and her father is the prime suspect!"
"I saw it online before. Because of the mermaid remains case three years ago, there have been many more tourists to Mermaid Island in recent years, and many of them want to receive the blessing of the Dugong Arrow."
"Before, because the Dugong Arrow lottery was only drawn from the island's residents and not from tourists, some people even asked the shrine if they could pay to rent the Dugong Arrow."
"If that's the case, it's not surprising that the people on the island would have the idea of selling the Dugong Arrow for profit."
Recalling how the drunkard's conversation had been relatively normal until he became extremely agitated upon hearing that they were investigating the disappearance of Saori Kadowaki and the loss of the Dugong Arrow, Heiji Hattori felt that his reasoning was probably correct.
He looked at Jiang Hang and asked if he had already figured this out before.
Jiang Hang nodded slightly, indicating that Heiji Hattori's reasoning was correct.
"However, this is not entirely speculation; I did smell some alcohol on the other person."
"You've seen the Kadowaki family's situation. They can only say that they're doing alright by fishing and receiving dividends. They're definitely not considered wealthy on the island."
"And the other party is the kind of old alcoholic who drinks every day. If we really judge based on the other party's family background, the alcohol he drinks should be the cheaper kind of beer."
"But I have recently learned a little about this, and the smell of alcohol emanating from the other person is clearly not the smell of beer, but at least mid-range sake, which has that kind of smell."
To be precise, it can't be considered something he learned, but rather a skill reward recently given to him by the system.
Although he doesn't really like drinking, because it affects his reaction speed and concentration.
However, it doesn't matter in the system space.
He spent two nights improving his wine appreciation skills from beginner to advanced. He could now identify the type of most wines in the world just by smelling them.
In cases like Muzo Kadowaki, where the pungent smell of sake emanating from someone standing right in front of them is impossible to conceal, he could tell what kind of sake the other person was drinking even with his eyes closed. He could even tell which brand of sake it was and how much it cost.
With his Eagle Eye, he could easily determine the Muzo Kadowaki and what kind of alcohol he could afford to drink.
It is clear that the alcohol he is drinking now is not commensurate with his current family situation, and the difference is significant.
Just like someone who only has tens of thousands of yen would never buy expensive liquor costing tens of thousands of yen a bottle every day to satisfy their drinking cravings, even if they want to drink, they would only buy cheap beer that costs a few hundred yen a can.
Given Muzo Kadowaki current situation, it's as if he suddenly made a windfall, so he suddenly started spending money extravagantly, specifically buying alcohol that he couldn't normally afford to satisfy his drinking addiction.
After considering the other party's family situation, Jiang Hang could only draw one conclusion.
That means the Dugong Arrow wasn't lost at all, but rather taken by the Muzo Kadowaki to exchange for money.
Jiang Hang could only shake his head slightly, thinking that Saori Kadowaki probably lived in constant fear because her father sold the arrow, and might even have lost her life because of it.
"If all of this is because of that guy, should we tell Shimadai Kimie?"
Upon hearing the name of another woman, Kazuha Toyama's expression clearly changed, Heiji Hattori quickly explained the identity of that Shimadai Kimie.
Upon learning that the other party was a shrine maiden and the granddaughter of the creator of the Dugong Arrow, Kazuha Toyama's expression returned to normal.
"Actually, there's no need for that. When I was chatting with her before, Miss Junhui already said that the Dugong Arrow itself has no value, and starting this year, the lottery scope will be expanded so that more people will have the opportunity to obtain the new Dugong Arrow."
"The main issue is that Saori Kadowaki can't get over her own inner conflict and is still panicking about losing the Dugong Arrow. We need to find her as soon as possible to prevent her from doing something Saori Kadowaki or having any accidents."
Hearing Jiang Hang say that, Heiji Hattori also realized what the focus should be now.
"In any case, I should go and inform Ms. Shimadai Kimie first, and then see if I can get more useful information from her. After all, judging from the current situation, Ms. Saori Kadowaki probably hasn't returned to Mermaid Island since accompanying Ms. Shimadai Kimie to the dentist three days ago. She probably wrote your SOS letter around that time."
"I wonder if Shimadai Kimie knows where the other person usually goes after leaving Mermaid Island?"
It seems that Heiji Hattori is planning to investigate separately from Jiang Hang.
After all, he felt that the pressure of investigating with Jiang Hang was too great.
Although the other party's almost abnormal observational skills do indeed allow them to find problems in the case more quickly.
But he felt he still had to save face and couldn't always be outdone by Jiang Hang.
Jiang Hang simply nodded in agreement with his idea of leaving the team to investigate on his own.
It would be more suitable for him to conduct the investigation alone.
So after Heiji Hattori voluntarily left the group, Kazuha Toyama also felt it wasn't good to leave him alone, so she also left the group.
Jiang Hang continued to follow Shizuka Sakaki and Koharu Yoshino on their tour of Mermaid Island.
Although Shizuka Sakaki and the others felt that this might not be a good idea, they didn't ask any more questions after Jiang Hang said it was fine and that he already had some ideas about the case.
The three of them relaxed and played until evening before returning to the hotel.
After enjoying a fairly delicious seafood feast, and watching Hattori Heiji, who had been busy all day and was now organizing various Heiji Hattori in his room, Jiang Hang felt that it was about time for him to take action as well.
There was no attempt to conceal anything, nor did he greet anyone; he was simply walking on Mermaid Island in ordinary clothes.
There are indeed quite a lot of tourists on Mermaid Island.
Jiang Hang and his group arrived on the island a day early, but by then the hotels on the island were almost all fully booked.
Even at this time of night, there were still quite a few tourists who had just arrived on the island to participate in tomorrow's festival, making it look quite lively.
However, thanks to his Eagle Eye, Altair constantly circling in the sky, and his own ability to Presence Concealment, no one could secretly track or spy on his actions.
Without anyone noticing, Jiang Hang took advantage of the darkness to arrive at the warehouse behind the Mermaid Island Shrine.
Compared to other parts of the island, these warehouses are clearly newly built.
If Jiang Hang is not mistaken, the fire that occurred here three years ago resulted in the death of a middle-aged woman.
However, due to some accidents during the fire, others believed that the remains were actually those of a mermaid, which eventually attracted reports from television stations and news media around the world, making this originally little-known island a popular tourist destination in recent years.
Reflecting on his interactions with several young people and older folks on the island today, Jiang Hang could actually discern some rather obvious differences in their perspectives.
Among the older generation, the reality of mermaids is not really believed; they are more often seen as a marketing tactic used to promote the idea to tourists.
Therefore, when they talk about mermaids, they deliberately exaggerate the legends and stories of people who have seen mermaids somewhere.
It felt as if the story of the mermaid was a lie deliberately fabricated by the elderly people in order to revitalize the island.
Because they are fully aware that they are fabricating stories, they do not genuinely believe in the existence of mermaids; they simply tell the tourists stories.
But the young people he met today were different.
Nao Kuroe, whom I met at the shop, Sumi Ebihara, whom I met at the shrine.
Having grown up on the island, they seemed to have more faith in the legend of mermaids than the older generation.
Even Rokuro Fukuyama, who was reluctant to discuss this matter, seemed to believe in the rumors about mermaids.
Didn't the elderly people on the island mention these things to their descendants?
Or is there some reason that makes these young people believe that mermaids are indeed real?
For example, the fire three years ago?
With that thought in mind, Jiang Hang casually climbed to the top of the warehouse, found a ventilation opening, and then silently sneaked into the shrine warehouse that no one would normally come to at night.
Because Jiang Hang already knew that the murderer in this case was Shimadai Kimie, he left a mark on her body when he first met her that afternoon.
It was precisely because of his mark that he was able to see that Ms. Shimadai Kimie had entered and exited this warehouse tonight, and had stayed in this warehouse for quite some time, and had not yet come out.
After infiltrating the warehouse, Jiang Hang quickly discovered Shimadai Kimie's whereabouts in an inconspicuous and hidden location.
She was kneeling in the corner of the warehouse, with a few candles lit in front of her, as if she were whispering a prayer to someone.
And there was the short-haired woman who was not far from her, bound and with her mouth taped shut, looking extremely weak but still showing signs of life.
If he wasn't mistaken, the short-haired woman must be Saori Kadowaki, who sent him the letter asking for help.
So, she hasn't been killed yet?
Is it that Shimadai Kimie is temporarily unwilling to take action, or is she keeping the other person's life for another purpose?
However, it's good that they didn't make a move; at least it means the other party still has a chance to turn back.
Chapter 513: Chapter 509: Conversation Under the Moon
Jiang Hang, hidden in the darkness, watched Shimadai Kimie, who was still in a praying posture, wondering what she was trying to do.
About ten minutes later, she finally stood up and poured some water from the side, seemingly preparing to give some water to Saori Kadowaki, who had been tied up and hadn't eaten much for several days.
In other words, she doesn't intend to kill him yet.
This made Jiang Hang somewhat suspicious of the other party's purpose.
But then, with Saori Kadowaki's pleas for mercy and Shimadai Kimie's light laugh, this brief conversation did reveal quite a few new things.
In addition to the information Jiang Hang gathered on Mermaid Island, a completely new truth slowly began to piece together before Jiang Hang.
This afternoon, he casually inquired with the tour guide about Shimadai Kimie and the 130-year-old Life-Giver at the shrine.
Just like other older people who know that the legend of mermaids is fictional.
When talking about the Miyo-sama who supposedly lived to be over 130 years old, the tour guide spoke in a tone as if he were telling a story to the tourists, as if he knew that the Miyo-sama hadn't actually lived that long and that it was all a lie that Mermaid Island had deliberately fabricated decades ago to attract tourists.
The tour guide also gave a brief explanation of Shimadai Kimie's family situation.
According to Miyo-sama, Mikoto should be the great-grandmother of Shimadai Kimie. Apart from Miyo-sama, all the other generations of the Shimashiro family have passed away.
Her grandparents passed away more than 20 years ago, and then her parents died in a shipwreck five years ago.
Now, only Miyo-sama and Shimadai Kimie remain in the entire Shimashiro family.
Judging from the tour guide's sorrowful expression, there might be some hidden secrets behind the passing of Shimadai Kimie's parents.
For example, regarding the half-body that was burned to death three years ago, the police in Fukui Prefecture investigated all the residents on the island but could not find a corresponding identity, so they could only treat it as an unsolved case.
Knowing some of the plot details and having received some hints from Miyano Shiho, Jiang Hang could boldly deduce that Shimadai Kimie's mother did not actually perish in the shipwreck five years ago.
For some reason, she was unwilling to reveal that she was still alive, and instead continued to pretend to be the real Miyo-sama who had been dead for many years, appearing in front of others as an old woman.
Then, three years ago...
That fire was probably not an accident, but rather a deliberate act by the young people on the island who knew nothing about the truth of Mermaid Island, in order to test whether humans could actually die.
That's why we saw the Miyo-sama of those who were burned to death, which actually reappeared not long afterward.
Even the police were unable to find any useful information, so these young people, unaware of the truth, actually took the mermaid legend deliberately fabricated on the island as real.
These words were also mentioned in Saori Kadowaki's pleas for mercy.
In other words, the fire back then might have been set by Saori Kadowaki herself, which is why she was so frightened after discovering that the Dugong Arrow she had drawn in the lottery had mysteriously disappeared.
She probably believes that her disrespect for Miyo-sama back then is now backfiring on her.
It was probably around that time that she told Shimadai Kimie, whom she trusted, about what happened three years ago, hoping to obtain Miyo-sama's forgiveness through Shimadai Kimie.
But she didn't know that for so many years, it was the women of the Shimashiro family who had been playing the role of the Miyo-sama until the end of her life.