Tokyo, the shady intelligence of private detectives

Chapter 164 Hermaphroditic Statue

Although separated by a corridor, Masahiro Hanyu could see clearly that beyond the corridor was a courtyard, where a tall stone statue with a human face stood.

"What brings you to my remote and ancient temple, benefactor?" the old monk asked, scrutinizing him.

Masahiro Hanyu withdrew his gaze. "I'm a traveler. I heard there's a Shugendo ancient temple here, so I came here to visit and see the ancient stone statues. Is that alright?"

The old monk glanced at him indifferently. "Feel free to look around, but the depths of the cave are rather cold and damp; please do not linger."

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Yuzuru bowed in thanks, walked through the corridor, and came to the courtyard. On one side of the courtyard, there was a pond with still, clear water. In the center of the pond, on a platform made of stacked stones, stood a human-faced stone statue.

The stone statue is carved from a single piece of natural mountain stone. Its texture is simple and heavy, its eyebrows and eyes are deep and solemn, and its lines are strong and steady. At a glance, you can tell that this is a statue of a male practitioner.

The stone statue has mottled weathering marks on its surface, indicating that it is very old, but the complete human face can still be seen.

Yuzuru Masahiro sighed inwardly, thinking that the information given by the system—the human-faced stone statue in the pond—should have been found.

But what does this have to do with finding evidence of Kurokawa Tsuki's crimes and finding Abu Ruri's whereabouts?

Just then, the sun was setting, and the eaves of the Buddhist temple, bathed in the afterglow, and the stone slabs covered by oblique shadows were frozen in place.

As dusk settles, the stone shadows of the statues are drawn long by the sidelight, making the edges of the shadows clear and sharp.

The scene before me was exactly the same as the photograph that Hanatama had seen at her house.

Now that it's confirmed that Abuluri lived in this temple, there's reason to conclude that the top female escort, Hanatama, was Abuluri's deceased ex-girlfriend.

Is this the clue to finding Abu Ruri's whereabouts? Masahiro Hanyu still couldn't figure it out.

In addition to the old monk, two young monks appeared in the courtyard.

The two men were diligently and methodically managing the temple's affairs. One was bending down to sweep fallen leaves from the stone slabs, while the other was arranging offerings under the eaves. Their movements were quiet, and they remained silent throughout.

Hearing Masahiro Hanyu approach, the two turned around together, stood up and bowed, then continued with what they were doing.

The old monk's voice came from behind, "Benefactor, follow the stone path and you will reach the foot of the cliff. The cliffside temple is there."

Yuzuru Masahiro walked along the stone path through the quiet courtyard and, sure enough, saw the cave entrance on the cliff face ahead. It was deep and dark, and that was the entrance to the cliff temple.

The exposed mountain wall recessed inwards, and the rocks at the cave entrance were scattered. He walked along the narrow path on the cliff edge into the cave, where the setting sun shone brightly outside.

The light was completely blocked by the thick mountain walls, and the light inside the cave instantly dimmed, with a cool and damp air rushing in.

The cave was deep and quiet, without a sound of human voices. An oil lamp was lit on the stone wall, allowing one to see the path ahead. A faint wind whistled through the cracks in the cave, carrying a faint, ethereal echo.

The deeper you go into the cave, the darker it gets. After walking a few dozen meters, you reach the end of the cave.

Spring water seeping from the mountain flows down the cracks in the cliff. Inside the cave, on the right side of the low rocks, several half-broken calamus plants grow. Ripples spread slowly along the stone bank on the water's surface. The spring water flows into a natural concave rock basin, forming a rectangular deep pool.

It is the background image on the female volunteer badge.

On the left side of the pool, near the cave, there are hundreds of Buddha statues carved, while on the right side there is only a human face relief stone statue that is integrated with the rock face.

It was a stone statue of a woman with a human face.

Compared to the rugged and solemn male statues in the outer courtyard, this female statue has a softer and more delicate outline, with gentle and calm eyebrows and eyes, and warm and restrained lines.

Unlike the male stone statues in the outer courtyard, which are bathed in sunlight and openly displayed to the public, it is hidden deep in a dark cave, concealed in the shady side of the ancient spiritual site, silently lurking in the boundless shadows.

Yuzuru Masahiro took a few steps closer to observe, and was stunned when he saw it clearly, because the stone statue was not only human-faced, but also had a very complete body.

What surprised Masahiro Hanyu even more was that the female head statue's body was very strange, as it possessed both male and female characteristics, making it androgynous.

The lifelike sculptures in the main parts, so realistic they looked like real people, broadened Masahiro Hanyu's horizons.

But one is outside and one is inside, one is bright and one is dark, one is male and one is neither male nor female, one is exposed to the light and one is in the shadows.

The two human-faced stone statues face each other across the cliff. What are they trying to tell us?

Standing in the cave, Masahiro Yuzuru gazed at the eerie androgynous stone statue in the shadows. He thought of the male head statue in the afterglow of the setting sun outside the cave and felt that some clues flashed through his mind, but he could not grasp them or figure them out.

He walked out of the cliffside temple and returned to the courtyard. He saw an old monk standing quietly under the corridor, and two young monks had gone to the side courtyard. The entire ancient temple was silent.

Yuzuru Masahiro approached the old monk. "Master, I apologize for disturbing your meditation! I have a question: are the two human-faced stone statues in the front courtyard pond and the cliffside pond both remnants of the ancient Shugendo sect?"

The old monk's face was calm. "Yes, the statues existed before the temple was built, but the two stone statues only have human faces and no bodies."

Masahiro Hanyu asked, "The stone statues in the cave have female faces, but their bodies are androgynous. What secrets are hidden in this?"

The old monk shook his head. "I don't know about this either, because when I came to this temple, the stone statue already had a hermaphroditic body."

Masahiro Hanyu said, "I really want to find out who carved the stone statue's body."

The old monk sized him up. "You've come here not just to see the stone statue, have you?"

Masahiro Yuzuru looked at him. "Master, are you familiar with Aburi?"

The old monk said in a low voice, "If you are visiting the ancient temple, please feel free to do so. If you are inquiring about other matters, please refrain from doing so."

Judging from the old monk's micro-expressions and tone of voice, Masahiro Hanyu could tell that the other party knew Abu Ruri.

"Master, I found this place at the request of Abu Ruri's sister, Abu Shuilian."

The old monk remained expressionless. "Where's the evidence?"

"The old way Abu Ruri and her sister used to communicate was by publishing a promise they made to each other in the newspaper, the Mainichi Shimbun," Masahiro Yuzuru recalled this private matter.

The monk's eyes gleamed. "This secret should only be known to the two sisters. You were indeed sent by Abu Shuilian."

"When Abuluri mailed letters, I always sent a young monk to do it. But Abuluri said it needed to be kept secret, so how did Abuluiren know?"

Masahiro Yuzuru sighed, "Finally found it! I found this place through many clues. If Abu Ruri hadn't disappeared, I wouldn't have been able to get here."

The old monk was startled. "Abululi has disappeared? What happened? Please come inside and tell me."

Yuzuru Masahiro followed the old monk into the meditation room. After they sat down, the old monk poured him a cup of tea. "This cliffside temple was originally abandoned. It was rebuilt with money donated by Abu Ruri. But how could she have disappeared?"