In a dark corner of the hall, three corpses lay on a greenish-black floor.
One of the corpses had a complete body. His heart was soaked in blood, and a gory wound could be seen.
Another corpse was badly mutilated. Not only had one hand been chopped off, but even the head had been separated from the body. Fresh blood stained the floor red, and it was a gruesome sight to behold. The last corpse was further away, with a gaping wound on the forehead and a hole in the back of the head.
The people surrounding the corpses looked at the two corpses. His expression was solemn, and his lips were pursed. His eyes were focused, and he wore gloves as he examined the corpses, examining the condition of the corpses.
After examining the wounds, Kikuyama Atsushi said, "Yamada-no-miya, look. There is only one wound on the body, and that is the heart."
"This means that the person who killed him was far more powerful than him. He did not even have the chance to fight back. Otherwise, there is no way to explain the only wound."
"As for the other man, his condition is even more complicated. Judging from the wound, his hand was chopped off first, and then he was beheaded."
"Judging from the wounds, the person who killed him was the same person, and he was extremely powerful!"
"As for this corpse, after examining the surveillance cameras, it was discovered that he had snuck in from the outside. He had a reporter's ID on him, and his name was Fukamatsu Mitsuki. There were two wounds on his body, but the fatal one was on his brain."
"The knife pierced through his forehead, and the back of his head exploded. His brain matter splattered everywhere. From this, we can tell that the person who killed him had a sharp knife!" Kikuyama Atsushi said in a shocked tone, but he was still cold towards Fukamatsu Mitsuki.
Kikuyama Atsushi reported the results of his examination. Ogasawara Hidebo bowed apologetically to Pei Zi Yun and said, "I'm sorry, Yamada-no-miya, that you had to witness such an unfortunate event!"
Pei Zi Yun did not speak, and only nodded slightly.
The skinny Ogasawara Hidebo turned around and bowed slightly to Kawatake Takahiro and Nagai Nuanji, saying, "I'm very sorry, sirs. I did not expect such a thing to happen during Yamada-no-miya's succession ceremony. Please forgive me!"
"Another prying into the shrine?" Nagai Nuansi nodded in understanding. He was no longer wearing the Windbreaker Crow hat, hunting clothes, and so on. He was wearing normal clothes and looked like a slightly plump man. He was not tall, had very little hair, and was slightly bald. Overall, he looked like an ordinary office worker.
However, Nagai Nuanji's background was very powerful. During the shogunate era, the Nagai family had a total of 23,000 stones. They were one of the feudal vassals. After entering a democratic society, the land had been commercialized, and the administrative and military powers had been abolished. However, the head of the Nagai family was almost hereditary.
Although Nagai Nuanji didn't look outstanding, she was quite capable. She was good at networking and had connections with people from all walks of life. Her position in the shogunate wasn't low.
Therefore, he had a lot of experience.
Although there aren't many incidents like this, Kawatake Koshio and Nagai Nuansi have seen this a few times.
This was because every time a shrine held an inheritance ceremony, there would always be some people with bad intentions or hostile forces to the shrine who would come to interfere. These people included both outsiders and insiders.
Of course, the shrine would also keep a tight watch over the shrine. Although the chances of an accident happening were not high, it was still possible.
Nagai Nuansi spoke in a mellow voice, "It's a pity, Mr. Qinsheng."
Nagai Nuansi had interacted with the Makawa Shrine before, and naturally knew Qinsheng. Although their relationship wasn't deep, it wasn't shallow either.
Seeing this situation, Nagai Nuansi felt that it was a pity.
Kawatake Koshio looked at Pei Zi Yun and said solemnly, "Yamada-no-miya, please don't worry. This matter won't affect you much. The Hall of Gods will handle it for you!"
Nagai Nuansi added, "Within three days, the official document to promote you to a nobleman will be issued."
In a democratic society, noblemen were no longer like before. In the eyes of the people, noblemen were just a form of honor. However, in reality, they still had a lot of influence.
According to the system, the shogunate had the authority to promote noblemen.
After saying these words, Nagai Nuansi and Kawatake Koshio bade farewell. Pei Zi Yun brought a group of people to send them off respectfully. When they reached the torii, the Sakanouji bowed and took out two white envelopes. He lowered his head and presented them with both hands, "Yamada-no-miya, Kawatake Koshio, the two of you have worked hard. Please accept this."
This was a tribute. Although the white envelopes were thin, there were two cheques inside. The Hall of Gods was 30 million yen, and the shogunate was 90 million yen.
These tributes had been passed down from 400 years ago, and had never changed. The only difference was the amount.
The Hall of Gods was a reward for their hard work. If the shogunate were to inherit the shrine, they would have to pay 30% of the shrine's profits. In a democratic society, the yearly profits were 3% of the total assets. 30% was 1%. Hence, they had to pay 90 million yen.
This was the rule, and the two of them did not reject it. They accepted the cheques and bowed, "Don't worry, Yamada-no-miya. Leave everything to us."
They boarded the car. Although Kawatake Koshio and Nagai Nuansi were in different cars, they both ordered at the same time, "Investigate the itinerary of Kosei Ichino and his son!"
"Who did they meet? Who did they communicate with? Also, bring out their communication records!"
"Fukamatsu Mitsuki, what's up with this reporter? Could it be that the media company she works in has been infiltrated and controlled?"
"Investigate carefully. Every time something happens, we can find out the whereabouts of these wandering ghosts." As soon as the order was given, someone bowed deeply and said, "Understood!"
Seeing that Nagai Nuansi and Kawatake Koshio had left, Pei Zi Yun exchanged some pleasantries with the two retainers before entering a private room.
As soon as he entered the room, the witch bent down and handed him a pair of wooden clogs. She took a pair of socks and knelt down to help Pei Zi Yun change his socks and wooden clogs. Someone then served him some sake before leaving the room.
Sakako personally poured a cup of sake for Pei Zi Yun and smiled, "Yamada-no-miya, although you've lost your virginity, you're only thirteen years old. You can only drink one cup!"
She was dressed in a white and red witch costume with wide sleeves and embroidered patterns. A yellow rope was tied around her waist, and she wore white socks and wooden clogs. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail, and she looked elegant and happy.
"Since you're free now, would you like to listen to the report on Jin Chuan Shrine?" She asked as she saw Pei Zi Yun take a sip of the sake.
Now that Yamada-no-miya had inherited the shrine, she had finally succeeded.
"Speak!"
"Understood!" Sakako did not need to look at the documents to introduce herself, "Yamada-no-miya, we're from Jin Chuan Shrine. According to the ancient system, we're entitled to 600 stones."
"Now, the entire Mount Jin Chuan belongs to the shrine!" Sakako said proudly, even though Mount Jin Chuan was only 80 meters above sea level.
"As for Jin Chuan Shrine, it receives support from the surrounding districts. Just the donations from its devotees amount to seven million stones per month."
"As for the enterprises, the main ones are Ishimarumoto Corporation and Kawamoto Corporation. There are also seven other companies that own shares, with a total value of 9.3 billion stones."
"The shares that you've inherited are worth two billion stones."
Two billion stones?
No wonder they're fighting for it!
This thought flashed across Pei Zi Yun's mind. As for the shares, that was normal. For a normal inheritance, especially a business inheritance, it was already considered good to have 20% of the shares. Of course, it was impossible to have the entire fortune of Jin Chuan Shrine. This was something that only happened in novels.
This was especially true for large financial groups. If a family could own 10% of the fortune, it would already be considered very powerful. To think that a large financial group would be the property of a single family. This was common sense.
Sakako sat up straight and added, "Yamada-no-miya, although it wasn't made public, there's no doubt that Kotoshi was a traitor. He and Kotoshi Kotoshi interfered with the inheritance through a secret passageway. Nobody would object if they were killed."
Pei Zi Yun nodded.
"This is how the Kotoshi family will be dealt with. First, the Kotoshi family will be stripped of their status as retainers. Half of the Kotoshi family's assets, which are worth 1.3 billion stones, will be taken away. The remaining 650 million stones will be converted from shares to cash. Within five years, they will be removed from the entire Jin Chuan Shrine system."
"Yamada-no-miya, what do you think of this? If you're not satisfied, we can make adjustments. "
"Very good!" Pei Zi Yun nodded his head as he spoke.
In a modern democratic society, it was impossible to be ruthless. Since they were already dead, they had to leave some leeway. If not, it would be troublesome.
It could be said that the Kotoshi family had been stripped of their status as retainers. Although they still had 600 million stones, they had lost their channels. This was a very serious punishment.
Pei Zi Yun thought about it and threw a document to Sakako, "Take a look. This is a 100 million stone worth of shares. You guys deal with it."
"Yes, I understand!!" Sakako took a closer look and realized that it was 0.5% of Tachiki Electrical Company's shares. She was not moved and nodded at Pei Zi Yun. "Don't worry, Yamada-no-miya. According to the rules, half of the shares belong to the shrine, and the other half to the family head. This is considered a blood-payer, and there might be karma involved.
"We will use normal business methods to clear our name. Once we're done, we will transfer the shares to your family."
Pei Zi Yun nodded. He agreed with this method. It was necessary.
The power of evil spirits was real. If they didn't deal with it, it would affect their family.
After saying this, Sakako lowered her head slightly. "Oh yes, Yamada-no-miya, I have to tell you about the problem of dealing with the reporter."
"The reporter who followed me, Fukamatsu Mitsuki, is dead. Although he broke into the shrine's secret realm, we still have to deal with it. If not, there might be bad rumors."
Pei Zi Yun was about to speak when he heard a phone call.
Sakako apologized and picked up the call. However, after listening for a while, her expression changed. She turned and said to Pei Zi Yun seriously, "Yamada-no-miya, bad news. The author Yoshiyuki Shijō actually committed suicide in protest."
"What?" Pei Zi Yun took out his phone and searched for it. He was slightly shocked.
Yoshiyuki Shijō was a Japanese author. He was good at writing landscapes. One of the books that made him famous was True Beauty.
This book was written when he was young. It was also the work that made him famous. When it was published, it was well received. It was even nominated for the Desolate Wood Prize that year. However, it was a pity that it didn't win.
His masterpiece was The Mountain Fairy. This book was the culmination of all his efforts. It had reached a very high level of appreciation for beauty and scenery.
The Mountain Fairy did not disappoint Yoshiyuki Shijō. It successfully helped Yoshiyuki Shijō to be nominated for the Ōoka Prize that year. However, it still didn't win.
Recently, Yoshiyuki Shijō wrote The Blood-Stained Rose. It was also nominated for the Ogawa Prize, but it failed again.
"Yoshiyuki Shijō committed suicide. The key was that he left a suicide note before he committed suicide!
"In his note, he worked hard for thirty years but didn't receive any major awards. This time, a thirteen-year-old boy received three major awards in a row!" Sakako was a little nervous as she spoke carefully. Her face was a little pale. "That's why he was in despair. He felt that there was no meaning in living in this world. Such a life was even worse than a child. What was the point of living?"
Japanese authors were highly sensitive people. There were many who committed suicide. Now that the three major awards had gone to a thirteen-year-old boy, it was normal for him to feel despair and commit suicide. Pei Zi Yun wasn't too surprised by this.
"Yamada-no-miya, Yoshiyuki Shijō committed suicide because he was in despair. There wasn't much to question. However, the key is that public opinion has led to this questioning of the three major awards. This is very disadvantageous to us!"
"Yamada-no-miya, please take a look. The television station is reporting."
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