By the time Nao and the Shiraishi siblings returned from the beach, the sunset had filled the sky overhead.

There is a forest of trees on the road from the beach to the homestay. If you follow the path in the forest, you will see the only shrine on the island, Kurojin Shrine.

The torii gate peeking out of the branches and leaves of the forest looks like two huge horns that curve upwards, and the erosion of the wind and rain has faded a little, and the vermilion lacquer surface has also cracked a series of small cracks, but from a distance, the thick pillars and towering ceiling still reveal its imposing posture.

"This is the shrine we passed by when we came. ”

Nao looked up at the almost six-meter-tall torii gate and recalled the contents of the tourist brochure, "It is the only building on the entire island that is more than 400 years old, and it is the only building on the entire island that is more than 400 years old. ”

"It's amazing that such a small island has preserved the architecture of the Muromachi period!" Kuranosuke said with emotion as he built a pergola and looked out of the dense branches in the distance.

"Isn't that amazing?Isn't there a lot of old buildings in Osaka?" Tomoka tilted her head in confusion.

"Of course, Dumb, if this is really a shrine from the Muromachi period, it will be longer than the history of Osaka Castle. The current Osaka Castle was built by Taiko Toyotomi Hideyoshi on the site of Ishiyama Honganji Temple during the Warring States Period, and it has a history of just over 300 years. ”

"And that's not all. Okinawa is not as good as Osaka, and it is not easy for it to survive the U.S. occupation. At that time, Okinawa was dropped by the U.S. military with many incendiary bombs. Nao then added.

"The fact that this shrine has survived air raids and is preserved is probably the power of faith. ”

"It's amazing......"

Toukari looked at the shrine on the mountain in awe. In her eyes, the moss-covered stone lanterns on both sides of the stone path seemed to have become sacred in an instant.

The three of them walked along the approach to the shrine.

Passing through the torii, the road is lined with towering cliffs that seem to have been cut out of the dirt with a sword, and the knife-like cliffs on the left and right make you feel like you're walking in a trench, and the canopy of trees that shades the sky from the sky turns the road into a deep tunnel. Unnamed trees covered the slopes of the hill, and vessel-like roots protruded from the sides of the cliffs on both sides of the approach. Nao, who walked at the end, touched the uneven stone lantern beside the roadside, and looked up at the winding roots overhead, the dappled sunlight reflected harshly on her glasses.

At the end of the stone path, there are two stone statues that look like dragons and snakes on the left and right, and behind the statues, there is a light yellow rope hanging on the wooden Shinmon, and in the Shinmon, a small but clear spring water is constantly pouring into the rectangular stone trough, and the bubbling sound makes the surrounding environment become quiet. Compared to the imposing torii gate at the foot of the mountain, the interior of the shrine is clearly not grandiose, and can even be described as small - there is nothing but a small worship hall, not even the Ema Hall and the Naza House where amulets are sold. On the steps next to the worship hall, a young man with short gray hair was sitting listlessly playing a game console, and when he felt someone approaching, he glanced up slightly at a few people, and then lowered his head.

Unlike the Shiraishi brothers and sisters who immediately ran to clean their hands, Nao walked straight to the worship hall.

Her sharp gaze, hidden under the lenses, paused for a moment on the gray-haired boy, and then turned to the commentary board in front of the hall.

This hall is dedicated to the guardian god 'Nakajong Gen Genyamei'. During his lifetime, he protected the people and fended off invasions, repelled the attacks of the Ishigaki Island wealthy clan Enya Chibee (15oo), put down the 'Onithu Rebellion' (1522) initiated by the Yonaguni Island clan, and presented his sword to King Shōshin, the third king of the second Sho dynasty of the Ryukyu Kingdom. This knife has been missing since the fall of the Ryukyu Kingdom, but fortunately it was reappeared in 1993 and preserved here under the name of "Jikanamaru".

Seeing this, the light in Nao's eyes suddenly burst out, and the glowing green brilliance swept by.

"Really, there are no surprises at all. ”

She sighed as she uttered the words, the corners of her mouth curling unconsciously.

However, this tiny smile only existed for a moment.

The letter sent by Ji Mingjia is only four sentences in total, but each sentence hides more than one puzzle, almost every word has its own unique meaning, and to understand the whole content of the poem, it is necessary to solve all the puzzles - not only to understand the superficial meaning of these words, but also to connect the meanings behind them, in order to know the true purpose of the sender. Although the golden pill written in the letter does have something, the full sentence "when the blade of the golden pill stabbed at Ah Ju" obviously cannot be interpreted literally, otherwise wouldn't she want to steal this sword from the shrine and stab the so-called "Ah Ju" again?

But if it is specifically referred to...... And how can these words of unknown meaning be associated with the island?

"The road ahead is bumpy ......"

Without looking at the worship hall where the golden pill was enshrined, Nao covered her eyes with her palm and let out a long breath.

"Matsuda-chan, are you tired?"

Seeing Nao's movements, Yukari asked worriedly. Nao shook her head, gave the little girl a smile, and turned her gaze back to the worship hall.

Yuka followed Nao's gaze - in front of the dark shrine in the worship hall, the outline of a knife holder could be faintly seen.

"What's that?"

"Isn't it written here? ”

After cleaning his hands, Shiraishi Kuranosuke walked up and pointed to the words on the board in front of the hall, "...... This place enshrines the 'Golden Healing Pill', the sword that was once accepted by the 'Nakasunne Genya'. Oh, I really can't imagine that there will be a national treasure-level famous knife on this kind of island! But the climate of this island is so humid, doesn't it matter if you just leave the knife like this?"

"This little brother, I take good care of it every day. ”

A young voice with a distinctly Okinawan accent suddenly sounded in his ears, and the gray-haired boy who had just been sitting on the steps playing a game had stood up at some point. He put his hands in his pockets and looked at a few people obliquely, and his deep eyes were full of exotic scenery.

"Are you...... The god here?"

Kuranosuke asked with some uncertainty as he looked at him dressed in casual clothes.

"Let's not. The gray-haired boy shrugged.

"Hey~ It's really rare to see such a young god!" Yukari walked around him with great interest and blinked, "I thought that the gods of the shrine and the abbot of the temple were all uncles!"

"It's true that the former god was an uncle, but since ten years ago this small shrine has been in a semi-deserted state, and I just clean it every day. The boy looked at the small shrine in the worship hall and said in a nonchalant tone. Nao, who was standing on the side, saw his expression, and her eyes narrowed unconsciously.

"...... 10 years ago"

A sense of disobedience made Shiraishi Kuranosuke move his neck uncomfortably, and turned his head in horror, "Hey, hey, hey, it can't be the murder case ten years ago, right?!"

"Hmm, you know that!" the young man smiled at him, but the words he said made people frown, "The old man of our family died in that murder case, so now this broken place can only be inherited by me, and it is really annoying to have to scrub and sprinkle water every day!"

Listening to his fluttering words, the Shiraishi brothers and sisters all showed strange expressions that seemed to pity and annoyance.

Only Nao calmly helped her glasses.

"I hear you say that, there's a lot to tidy up here. For example, there is a large piece of moss missing from the stone lantern next to the approach - it is like being rubbed by a large stone, and there is a long mark on the cliff next to the stone lantern, which really affects the artistic conception of the shrine. ”

The gray-haired boy nodded and smiled a little unnaturally: "Understood, I will clean when I have time." ”

"Ah, it's not okay to be 'free', you have to do your best. Nao curled the corners of her mouth, "The climate on this island is humid and rainy, you must know that there is a guest in the hotel we booked 'Akahama Pavilion' who was hit on the head by a stone when he passed by the torii gate at the bottom of the mountain, if you leave it alone, there will be passers-by who will be hit by the falling rocks, and it will be bad if you are held responsible." Distractions are secondary, the key is reputation...... Right?"

Anyone who hears Nao's words will feel full of ridicule and provocation. Yukari puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction and just wanted to speak, but was dissuaded by Kuranosuke and pinched her shoulder, and the gray-haired young man sank his face as a matter of course.

But he didn't get angry.

"It's really-yes-much-thanks. The boy gritted his teeth and said word by word.

"Heh, you're welcome. ”

Nao looked at his gloomy face and chuckled, "So, let's take our leave." ”

After saying that, she walked away without hesitation. The Shiraishi siblings glanced at each other, bowed awkwardly to the boy, and left the shrine after Nao.

The sky was getting dark, and the rising moonlight was hidden behind the clouds, and the dark woods could not be seen, except for the hazy glow of the stone lanterns beside the Kurosami Shrine approach. The insects in the depths of the grass crawled in a hurry, occasionally chirping twice, and the surroundings seemed even quieter and lonely.

In the light of the stone lanterns, three squatting or standing figures swayed with the firelight, and the intermittent conversation of several people was not much louder than the chirping of insects.

“…… Are you sure he didn't find out?"

"It should be fine. With such heavy rain and the difference in the height of his line of sight, it was difficult for him to find out. ”

"Hey, hey, it's not just rain. That guy was knocked unconscious in an instant, and blood flowed all over the ground, it's strange to be able to see it!"

There was a snap, and the sound of fists smashing into the palm of the hand sounded.

"Hey, he's a big deal, why wasn't he stoned to death? Hey Chuanxiong, your target is too stinky!"

"Damn, to put it lightly, you might as well try to aim with such a big rock, not to mention that it's still raining, it's good to be able to hit it!"

"Ahh

Suddenly, a sigh sounded quietly, and a cold voice that was completely different from the previous two sounded-

"That's what you called me and Mingcheng to come and that? ”

The flame of the stone lantern flickered, and in the change of light and shadow, a simple gray kimono was faintly revealed, and the words "Akamahama Pavilion" were vaguely printed.

"If there's nothing important, I'll go back. I'm not like you, I have a lot of things to do in the store. ”

"Hey, don't worry! Of course, I have something to discuss with you. A figure put his shoulder on his shoulder, his short gray hair flashed in the firelight, and the figure's voice with a little ruffian instantly became serious, "Actually...... As for what we did at noon, it seems that someone has found out. ”

"Lie to people! There was no one around at the time, so it was impossible to be discovered!" Without waiting for the other party to answer, another voice lowered his voice and roared, "Hey, Chuanxiong, you can't talk nonsense about this kind of thing!"

"Mingcheng, shut up!" Kawakuma rubbed his hair irritably, ignoring Mingcheng, and told the people next to him about the conversation that had taken place at the shrine in the afternoon.

“…… Therefore, the man seemed to have found traces on the earthen cliffs, as well as the moss that had been rubbed off the stone lanterns, and his words were full of strangeness. Hey, Youren, why don't you go back and try to tempt it? If you don't mean to, it's better to say, if it's true...... If he really notices what we're doing, that's going to be a problem!"

"So, it's the people who live in my homestay?"

The boy in a simple kimono, Yuto Matayoshi, frowned.

"Who's that man?"

"It's a middle school student with glasses, about the same height as Mingcheng, I don't know the name. There was also a man and a woman about his age, who walked with him, but they didn't know much about it. ”

"Wear glasses...... That Matsuda Uchizosuke. Yuto clipped his hand, and the flames cast a deep shadow on his face.

Seeing that the two of them fell into a short silence, Mingcheng on the side couldn't wait to interject: "If you want me to say, the situation at that time is impossible to be discovered! That glasses bastard must not be talking about our business, Chuan Xiong, you are too nervous! We have all checked around before we started, after the guy surnamed Higa was knocked down, we stayed for a long time and didn't find anyone nearby, it is absolutely impossible to be discovered!"

"No, it's too early to tell. ”

Yuto calmly rejected Mingcheng's words. He raised his eyes to look at the earth cliff - although he couldn't see anything in the darkness, he still had deep marks on the earth cliff and the stone lantern in his mind, and the huge rock more than half a man high that still lay where Higa Soji had been attacked.

"I miscalculated. The heavy rain only washed away the bloodstains, but the traces of the stones did not destroy it. Although it is said that most people don't think in that way, according to his words...... That Matsuda Uchizosuke probably guessed what happened to us. ”

"Oh my god! If the eldest sister were here, we wouldn't have to do such a thing. ”

Kawakumi scratched his hair vigorously and squatted on the ground in frustration, "I don't know if she received our letter." ”

"I don't know. Yuto replied without emotion.

"Baht - I should have written it in blood if I knew it, how could someone pay attention to that kind of plain entrusted letter!"

Mingcheng squatted next to him without any nervousness, holding his cheeks with both hands, and said vaguely, "Besides, the eldest sister is now a police officer, didn't you also watch the TV a few days ago, I'm afraid she is still investigating other cases now!

The words spoken by this simple-minded teenager seemed to pierce the hearts of the other two, and for a moment, only the sound of heavy breathing remained in the air.

Several people invariably thought in their hearts - for their purposes, do they really have to resist the suspicion of others and take matters into their own hands......

"No, no, no, I can't do it anymore! If the eldest sister comes, will we report the case or turn myself in?" Kawakumi rubbed his hair in annoyance and snorted.

"But what if that bastard escapes?" asked Mingcheng weakly.

Youren looked at the two of them silently, their expressions uncertain, while Kawakuma and Mingcheng sighed in unison.

In the silence of the woods, along with their sighs, there was a very soft sneer.

"I see, is that why? ”

Behind the half-human-high boulder next to the torii, two snow-white lenses emerged.

The girl, dressed as a teenager, clenched her fists, and there was a "crackling" sound between her fingerbones.

"—get down on your knees and turn yourself in, bastards!"