Mouri Kogoro came forward and watched Chi Feichi measure the length and width of the letter paper with a soft ruler, "The length of the letter paper...is exactly 24 centimeters, and the width is..."
"19 centimeters," Hattori Heiji read out the number on the ruler first and concluded with certainty, "This is one of the standard specifications of Japanese drawing paper. The two portraits of Heiye and Xiaolan just now should be both. No. 8 drawing paper is 45.5 centimeters long and 38 centimeters wide, while this letter paper is 24 centimeters long and 19 centimeters wide, which is the specification of No. 2 drawing paper."
When Chi Feichi put away the ruler, Maori Kogoro guessed, "In other words, the murderer is probably a painter?"
"It's not certain yet, but there must be some reason why the murderer used drawing paper to print..." Heiji Hattori thought about it seriously and took out his mobile phone, "Anyway, let's go to the crime scene first. I'll make a call on the way. Give it to Officer Otaki, tell him about this discovery, and ask him to confirm the size of the original letter to see if it matches the drawing paper No. 2."
A group of people stopped a taxi at the intersection.
On the way to Kinshui Temple, Hattori Heiji told Officer Otaki about the letter-sized discovery on the phone.
Mouri Kogoro, Ike Feichi, Koshimizu Nanatsuki and Conan were in the back seat, studying the contents of the letter and the two waka left at the scene.
Kyoto has many temples and shrines, so many that you can see them everywhere. There are well-known temples or shrines in the east, west, south, and north. There is even a saying that "a temple is built every five steps, and a temple is built every ten steps".
The Jinshui Temple at the scene of the first crime is not a big temple. There is a large pool built in the temple. The main hall building is built near the water. The other buildings are only the side hall and the monk's dormitory next to the main hall. Usually, there are only abbots and monks in the temple. The two apprentices who presided over it.
"The person who was killed this time was Quan Hui, the abbot of Jinshui Temple. Although Jinshui Temple is not a big temple, abbot Quan Hui seems to be a very famous monk..."
Hattori Heiji walked along the gravel road outside the pond, and when he reached the area with warning tape, he stopped and looked at the pond and continued to introduce the case, "He was tied up with ropes in circles, and then thrown into this pool. He was drowned like this. It is estimated that the time of death was between two and three o'clock in the middle of the night. There were no witnesses. In addition, the poem Michizane Waka found on the rocks at the scene said, "If the east wind blows, causing the fragrance of the garden to come on the wind, my plum blossoms will come." From the lost owner, never forget the spring."
"This is a poem written by Michizane Zuo when he moved to Kyoto to praise plum blossoms. It means that when the spring breeze blows, the fragrance of flowers comes to me with the wind. Even if the owner is not there, spring has not forgotten me..." Koshimizu Nanatsuki said, turning to look at the surrounding environment, "There don't seem to be any plum trees around here."
"This waka seems a bit strange..." Conan held the photo of the waka content in both hands. When others turned to look, he held the photo up with one hand and pointed at the small words on the photo with the fingers of the other hand, "That's it. Here! It says 'におい(花香)' here, but if it was the era when Michizane left his poems, shouldn't it be written 'にほひ' or pronounced 'におい'?"
"Ah, that's indeed the case." Hattori Heiji affirmed thoughtfully.
"But as long as the pronunciation is 'におい', right? It's just that the prisoner accidentally spelled it wrong," Mouri Kogoro said nonchalantly, turned around and looked around, and urged, "Since the police have put all the places they can investigate After all the investigations, there’s nothing to see here, so let’s go to the next scene quickly!”
Chi Feichi also felt that there were no clues to investigate here. When he turned around and walked out, he reminded Mouri Kogoro, "But this means that the murderer's research on history and Chinese literature is not very thorough, or the murderer does not know Daozhen that well." The work is not like the kind of person who excessively worships Daozhen, frantically collects information about Daozhen, and kills people according to the legend of Daozhen's resentful spirit. The reason why the murderer chooses the victim is probably not because a certain characteristic of the victim fits the legend, but should have something else. The reason, then, the investigation can give priority to motives such as vendetta, robbery, and silencing of accomplices. Compared with committing crimes based on religious beliefs, the murderer with these motives will know the deceased."
Hattori Heiji added, "In other words, the victim's interpersonal relationships are still worthy of investigation, especially those disputes in which the victim is involved, those who may be resentful of the victim, and the relationship between the two victims. You need to pay more attention to your connections!”
Mouri Kogoro nodded repeatedly, "Ah, that's right!"
Conan followed and sighed helplessly.
If this continues, Uncle Kogoro will become more like the apprentice... No, from the beginning, Chi Feichi was a little stronger than Uncle Kogoro. After Chi Feichi became familiar with the process of case investigation, his uncle followed Chi Feichi is completely on a different level.
He sometimes wonders if there is a problem with Chi Feichi's cognition in some aspects, so the uncle can take advantage of it and gain a powerful apprentice with nothing?
This is not impossible.
…
The second crime scene was still a temple.
The temple is called Aobao Temple. Because it was burned by fire, the site is a charred ruin.
"The second victim was Jianrong, who was also a monk at Aobao Temple. He was a monk who came from a large temple. He later came to Aobao Temple. He is quite famous in Kyoto. He may be the same as Quan Hui of Kinshui Temple. The host was quite right. Three nights ago, he was doused with gasoline and burned together with the temple. He died miserably." Hattori Heiji walked around the blackened wooden pillars on the ground and led a group of people inside, "Burn. The time I woke up was three nights ago, around two o'clock in the morning. In addition, a note with Michizane's waka written on it was left outside the door in a place that was not burned by the fire. The content was: ' The water is as deep as the sea and also reflects the moon, and the heart of the heart can finally see its brilliance'..."
"It means that no matter how deep the water is, the moon can still be reflected on the water. My heart is like the moon and will not lose its clarity." Koshimizu Nanatsuki looked around and murmured in confusion, "But there is no pool here. There seems to be no water that can reflect the moon. When the murderer chose the Japanese song, didn't he choose it based on the environment? Then what was the reason for the murderer to choose these two Japanese songs respectively?"
Chi Feichi heard Koshizui Nanatsuki's murmur, thought for a moment, and then asked Hei Hattori for the letter, "Hattori, give me that letter again."
Hattori Heiji immediately took out the letter and handed it to Chi Feichi, "Brother Feichi, did you find anything noteworthy?"
"No... I'm not sure if I've found it yet," Chi Feichi took out his cell phone and took a photo of the contents on the copy of the letter before returning the letter to Hattori Heiji, "I just wanted to do more research."
"It turns out there are still some rooms left that have not been burned down." Mouri Kogoro stepped into the corridor of the charred building, frowned and sniffed the smell in the room, "The smell here is too bad, there is a strange burning smell. …”
With that said, Mouri Kogoro stepped forward and opened the door next to him. He felt a stronger burnt smell coming to his nose and quickly took two steps back.
Koshimizu Nanatsuki also felt that the smell in the air was strange. Holding his breath, he walked to the door and looked into the room. He saw many burned paintings on the floor. "They are Buddha paintings. They seem to have been burned to pieces." Burn... Huh? There seems to be a painting in front of the wall over there that is still complete..."
Mouri Kogoro took the lead into the house, trying to avoid the charred Buddha paintings on the ground. When he got to the corner, he squatted down and looked at the unburned Buddha painting. He suddenly noticed the pattern of flower branches in the lower right corner, "Huh? This is not realgar. Orchid branches?”
"Could it be that this Buddha painting was painted by the painter who painted Xiaolan and Kazuye's portraits before?" Koshimizu Nanatsuki also recognized the flower branch pattern and looked at the overall painting. "This Buddha painting is very good." It's very good, and it should only be painted by a painter with profound painting skills..."
"Ring ring ring...!"
The phone's ringtone rang suddenly.
Hattori Heiji, who was standing at the back, took out his mobile phone, looked at the number displayed on the screen, and answered the call, "Officer Otaki, it's me... What's wrong?... W-what? The third victim has appeared. ?!”
Hearing Hattori Heiji say this, Conan and Mouri Kogoro's expressions changed, and Koshimizu Nanatsuki also looked at Hattori Heiji in surprise.
The murderer committed the crime four and three days ago, and there was no movement in the following two days. Chi Feichi did not expect that the third victim would appear today, but if you think about it carefully, it is not surprising.
The god of death is coming, will the victim be far behind?
"Is your location...the art museum on Omiya-dori Street in Shimokyo Ward?...Mr. Mori and the others are also with me. We are at Okubaji Temple. We will go there right away..."
Hattori Heiji hung up the phone and recounted the location of the third crime scene to the others.
Before the group left Aobao Temple, they used their mobile phones to take pictures of the conditions in the room and the unburnt Buddha painting.
On the way to Shimokyo District in a taxi, Koshimizu Nanatsuki sat in the front seat and used his mobile phone to search for information about realgar orchid branches on the Internet.
Hattori Heiji looked at the photo of the Buddha painting on his mobile phone and frowned, "There are traces of smoke on the edges, but it's not too much. It means that the painting was in the room when the fire started, but it was just in the room from the beginning. It was not placed with other paintings, but was placed in that corner. Someone must have placed this painting there intentionally..."
Conan leaned next to Hattori Heiji, looked at the photos on his mobile phone with Hattori Heiji, and also frowned.
If the murderer placed this painting there specifically to prevent the painting from being burned, then the murderer must have some relationship with the artist who painted the painting...
Mouri Kogoro stared at the flower pattern in the lower right corner of the painting and said, "The realgar orchid pattern on this painting of the Buddha is exactly the same as the realgar orchid on the portrait of Xiaolan and the others!"
"I checked on the Internet, and this pattern of realgar orchid branches does not seem to be the logo of a painter's association or painting hobby club," Koshimizu Nanatsuki put down his mobile phone and turned back to the four people in the back seat. "Of course, it cannot be ruled out that this is The logo of an unknown painting team, but there is not much information on the Internet. It is better for us to inquire in the Buddhist painting circle, because some Buddhist painting painters are indeed not well-known in the outside world, only monasteries, monks, and Buddhist paintings. Only painters and some Buddhist research enthusiasts will know. In addition...Uncle, do you want to call Xiaolan and the others to be careful? The painter who painted their portraits is probably the painter suspected of being connected with the murderer. They go If you inquire about the other party's information, you may be targeted by the murderer."
(End of chapter)
