Kanoya: "Then I'll tidy up and go see Grandpa Watanabe."
Xigui: "Okay, Mr. Watanabe is right at the entrance of the village."
Xiaolu closed the window again and walked to the center of the room in two steps.
She didn't know if she woke up suddenly from sleep, but what was happening in Songze Village was beyond her scope of cognition.
"Old hunter Watanabe, wasn't he killed by me in his leech-man state?"
Kanoya was very sure that Watanabe had died last night, and this was confirmed by Little Old Man No. 3.
So there can be no mistake.
Could it be that the leech man defeated in the forest last night was not Watanabe?
Not right either.
Xigui said that old hunter Watanabe was attacked by an unknown monster in the forest last night and lost his shotgun.
This is consistent with Kanoya's behavior last night.
So what's going on?
Lu Yewu suddenly thought of a piece of information of unknown meaning he obtained when he contacted his master last night: "Bliss... and eternal life..."
Are the people of Songze immortal?
Compared to Watanabe's resurrection from the dead, Kanoya is now more worried about his own situation.
"Since old hunter Watanabe is not dead, does he know that the so-called monster that attacked him last night was me?"
If he knew, the little deer would be doomed.
Perhaps because he saw what his eldest lady was thinking, the little old man No. 3 whispered something beside him, and combined with gestures and writing on the ground, it took some time to finally convey what he wanted to express to Luye.
Room.
According to the little old man, although Watanabe came back from the dead, he probably didn't know what the "monster" was that attacked him last night.
First of all, the scouts used their super-high perception ability to carefully observe the situation of the Matsuzawa people in the "leech man" state last night. Whether they were living leech men or "dead" leech men, they had carefully observed them.
Pass.
The little old man can conclude that after the Songze villagers turn into leech people, their intelligence level will decrease, and their visual ability will be almost non-existent. They can only rely on degenerated and deformed noses with two holes and moist skin to sense the air.
The flow and the smell mixed with it.
This point was mentioned repeatedly during last night's exploration.
When attacking Watanabe, the smell of Kanoya's body was completely eliminated by the scent of "plum blossoms".
Under those circumstances, there was no reason for Watanabe to recognize her.
Secondly, before my eldest lady woke up just now, the little old man escaped into the void and explored the area around his home.
No exception.
The Matsuzawa people did not take any action against Kanoya's home.
Suppose the old hunter Watanabe knew that the monster that attacked him last night was Kanoya, and brought the news back to the village. Then Kanoya, who is not a hunter, went out privately and attacked his fellow villagers, committing such evil deeds. He pays attention to harmony and friendship.
Songze Village must not be able to accommodate her.
The hunters in Matsuzawa must have loaded their weapons with ammunition and surrounded the area around Luyeya's "home".
According to Kumiko Sugiura's information, Hunter Matsuzawa once killed normal people who had not yet been assimilated and tried to escape from the village.
So if Kanoya's outing behavior is really discovered, there is no reason why he would be given special treatment and indulgence.
Based on these circumstances, Little Old Man No. 3 feels that the eldest lady does not need to be too pessimistic, and there is a high probability that it is still safe.
"So our actions last night were not discovered? Old hunter Watanabe called me an 'unknown monster' because he really couldn't tell who I was when I only had a little bit of 'plum blossom' smell on my body?"
After Lu Yewu finished communicating with the little old man, he calmed down a little.
At the same time, I comforted myself in my mind. Even if I didn’t have confidence in myself, I should still have confidence in Teacher Yunju’s incense magic and the magical props given by Master. Because of their care, I must have had no problem handling the smell last night.
of.
"So, what should I do next? Go to the village entrance to check on the old hunter Watanabe like everyone else?"
"Abba."
Since many people in the village have gone there, I should also go to Luye House.
While being able to show his face in front of fellow villagers, he might also be able to get some information about the "resurrection from the dead" of the Songze people.
"Well, that's all I can do for now."
Luyewu tidied up, opened the door and left the house.
She felt that what she was doing now was dancing on the edge of a knife, which was full of dangers.
However, this dance on the tip of the knife did not just start at this moment, but kicked off as early as yesterday when she fell into Songze Village.
…
There is a big pine tree at the entrance of Songze Village, and many villagers are gathering here at the moment.
Bustling and bustling.
Next to the old-fashioned Songze natives, one or two modern people in fashionable clothes can be seen standing side by side. People from the old era and people from the new era are affectionate and affectionate, with joyful smiles on each other's faces, as if they have always been there.
Compatriots living together in harmony.
Kanoya came here and carefully observed the situation. He felt that the Matsuzawa people did not pay much attention to her arrival.
In the center of the crowd, the old hunter Watanabe and another sturdy middle-aged man were surrounded by villagers, recounting their experiences on the "forest patrol" last night——
"I only smelled a strange smell, and then suddenly my head hurt, and I passed out. When I woke up again, it was already dawn, and the gun I carried with me was gone..."
Kanoya stood on the outskirts of the crowd, stood on tiptoes and stretched his neck to look inside for a while.
She thought in her mind: "It's true that I was the one who attacked them last night, but it wasn't as simple as knocking them unconscious. The heads of the two leech men were dented by me."
But looking at the two Watanabes now, their heads are intact, with no trace of injury at all.
In addition, the two people who were resurrected by the deceased were completely soaked, as if they had just crawled out of the water, with water dripping from their hair and clothes.
But neither hunter gave any explanation, and none of the villagers watching asked questions.
It seems like this is a normal thing.
In addition, Kanoya also noticed that the smell of water on the Watanabe duo was significantly stronger and fresher than that of other Matsuzawa people.
"In short, there are wild wolves and monsters in the mountains and forests, and the village is very dangerous..."
Watanabe and another hunter, who were currently the focus of the crowd, were still talking, but their faces were cheerful.
The villagers who were watching also burst into laughter from time to time.
With so much laughter and laughter, the atmosphere at the scene did not seem to be telling the story of the village's critical survival. Instead, it seemed that Watanabe and another hunter were like a pair of comedians, performing cartoons for everyone.
The people in the village gathered at the entrance of the village for a long time, and finally dispersed happily.
Luyeya also left with the crowd, and the people in Matsuzawa treated her in a normal manner throughout the process.
This made her feel a little relieved: "It seems that the people in Matsuzawa really didn't realize what I did last night."
Back home, the deer took another nap for a while to recharge his batteries.
After getting up, I drank some water and ate more than half of the sandwich because I was hungry.
"I don't know when Master will come to save me. My drinking water and food consumption are also a big problem."
Luyewu is facing many problems now.
During the afternoon, she stayed in the village, looking around, and met Kumiko Sugiura.
This woman was not trustworthy. Kanoya only talked to her in vain, and even heard her talk about her daughter Hina.
During this period, Kanoya thought of trying to ask her why the Matsuzawa people were "immortal".
But I don’t know how to phrase it better, so I can’t just say it directly——
"I sneaked out last night and killed two leech men, but they came back in human form during the day. What do you think about this?"
As for Kumiko Sugiura, she only hinted at the deer's issues about food and drinking water in a very subtle way.
But because Kanoya didn't trust her, the topic didn't go well.
…
The time finally passed until night.
After some thought, Luyewu decided to sneak out into the forest again just like last night.
I'm thinking of meeting up with Sendlang first to exchange the new information I've got.
In addition, Kanoya also wanted to check the place where he fought with Watanabe and another hunter last night. These two hunters were reincarnated from the dead. The place where they "died" last night might leave some clues.
trace.
Because of the precise control of the smell and the presence of Little Old Man No. 3, the operation tonight went very smoothly.
And when we get to the place where the battle took place last night...
On the way over, Xiaolu imagined the situation here in his mind, but he never expected that it would be like this——
In the dark mountain forest, there are still clear dent marks on the trunk of the pine tree that was hit by the imperial incense burner.
In the shadow under the tree, a blue-gray corpse lay quietly there, with its head collapsed and lifeless.
Just like last night.
The only difference was that the bluish-gray color of the leech man's skin seemed to be turning toward black, which caused the flesh and blood of the corpse to look a bit like the pieces of meat that the Matsuzawa people grabbed for food in the canteen.
"This leech man...is Watanabe, right?"
The deer's pupils were trembling and he stood there at a loss.
Even the little old man next to him was confused when he saw this situation and didn't make any sound for a while.
It must be Watanabe, right?
Watanabe, the old hunter who came back during the day, told about his experience of "attack on forest patrol" and what happened last night.
But, why?
Why is there still a body here?
Didn’t Watanabe come back to life?
The mountain forest at night is quiet and dim.
In the dark and distant corners, only summer insects are still chirping. The faint chirping of insects is like half a stream, melted into the air by the mountain fog. The outline of the sound is completely inaudible, leaving only a thin layer.
A thin, ethereal sound, as cold as the skin of the dead.
"If the body on the ground is Watanabe, then what is that thing that came back to the village during the day? Where did that thing come back from?"
The mountain breeze blows at night.
Lu Yewu, who was at a loss in his heart, suddenly felt shuddering and terrified.
"Although I knew that Songze was a weird place from the beginning, this is too weird... Master, please come and save me..."
…
Real world, countermeasures room building.
I stayed up late last night to hold a meeting and discuss the next course of action. During the day, a new spiritual exterminator who arrived in Tokyo participated in the discussion.
Yukisuma Kenyu, who was appointed to carry out the next operation against the earthquake catfish, is also back.
Kamiya and Onizuka both went home to rest for a while during the day, but Kamiya and Kamiya returned to the countermeasures room building not long after.
When Kamiyagawa entered the building, he saw Masao Nagatomo communicating with a clerk in the countermeasures room in the lobby.
Xiao Pingtou left the campus prematurely due to a special experience and stayed with Uncle Jiecheng as an assistant for more than half a year. Now that I see him again, I feel that his youthful temperament has faded a lot and he has become more calm.
and reliable.
Moreover, Kamiyagawa saw fluctuations in spiritual power in his body.
Nagatomo can now be regarded as a spirit exterminator. Being able to get started so quickly must be inseparable from the special spirit behind him.
"Kamiya-kun."
Seeing Kamiya coming in, Nagatomo took the initiative to say hello.
"Where's Uncle Jiecheng?"
"Still in the conference room. Shortly after you left in the morning, two folklorists came to the countermeasures room. They first speculated that an earthquake related to supernatural power was likely to occur in Tokyo."
Nagatomo briefly explained what happened in the unit while Kamiyagawa went home to rest.
"Did those two folklorists bring any new news?"
"Yes, and it is still being discussed and further verified. Now it is said that based on the previous earthquake catfish activity trends and some abnormal conditions in various parts of Honshu, it is speculated that the next earthquake catfish will appear in Ibaraki Prefecture.
and near Tochigi Prefecture.”
This is actually a news breakthrough.
At least I have a rough idea of where to go to catch earthquake catfish.
"Oh, and you came just in time." Changyou handed over a file in his hand. This file was taken from the clerk he just talked to. "The data room has sorted out some files, which are about
From Songze Village.”
I didn't expect that the information related to Songze Village actually existed in the countermeasures room.
Kamiya took over the file, and there were very few records related to Matsuzawa——
From the information, we only know that this village was once located in the mountains of Higashi Izumo in Neshima Prefecture.
It is an isolated existence.
In 1928, due to an earthquake and subsequent mudslides, the village completely disappeared.
Today, there are no relevant records in the records of Higashi Izumo, but there are still many historical rumors about Matsuzawa Village. The files given by Nagatomo are the results of the compilation of these rumors:
Songze Village once had heretical beliefs and mysterious customs and inheritances that were never seen in other places.
Matsuzawa is called the "Village of God's Hidden God" by neighboring villages because it is a place where missing persons occur frequently.
In the Matsuzawa area, the number of natural disasters is unusually high.
In addition, Kamiya also saw an eye-catching name appearing in this thin record of information——
[According to legend, a person who claimed to be the Eight Hundred Bhikshunis once appeared in Songze Village before disappearing.]
Eight Hundred Bhikshunis, a woman in Japanese legend who gained endless life after eating mermaid meat.