Tokyo, the shady intelligence of private detectives

Did Keiko Tanaka commit suicide?

This was so shocking that Masahiro Hanyu put on his clothes and ran out of the apartment building.

Police cars were already parked at the end of the alley, and a cordon had been set up in front of the ginkgo tree, keeping onlookers outside the cordon. Police were investigating the scene.

The body had already been lowered from the tree, but Masahiro Hanyu did not see it.

The tenants in the apartment building saw her and confirmed that it was indeed Mrs. Tanaka.

The corpse had clenched fists, staring eyes, and a protruding tongue; its death was gruesome.

When Masahiro Hanyu returned yesterday, he passed by this place and did not see anyone hanging themselves.

Keiko Tanaka is widowed, single, and has no children.

When the bubble economy bursts, suicides are not uncommon.

But Keiko Tanaka had no burdens and was in good financial condition, so why did she hang herself?

People at the scene were discussing it, with some speculating that it might not have been a suicide.

The manner of Tanaka Keiko's death appears to be murder!

However, this is just speculation, and we'll have to wait for the police to give us the answer.

Now that Keiko Tanaka has passed away, it is unknown who will inherit her property and who will be the next landlord.

In this situation, he shouldn't be forced to move for the time being, Masahiro Hanyu thought to himself.

The police need to investigate and there won't be any results immediately, so he turned and went back to his apartment.

On the balcony of room 501, a figure flashed by; it was the female neighbor next door.

She seemed to be intentionally avoiding people around her, trying to avoid running into anyone.

After returning to his apartment and washing up, Masahiro Yuzuru left home and took a car to Dengjia Mountain to meet the monks there.

Mount Tōka is 80 kilometers from Kyoto. It was past noon when Masahiro Hanyu arrived at the gate of "Masumi Kanki-ji Temple".

A light rain began to fall from the sky. The vermilion mountain gate was open, but there weren't many pilgrims coming and going.

The statue enshrined in Masumi Kankiji Temple is "Daisei Kankiten," which is associated with marriage, wealth, and fertility.

The statue of "Great Sage Joyful Heaven" is located in the inner hall and is not open to the public. Worshippers can only worship outside the hall.

As Masahiro Hanyu entered the mountain gate, he saw a young monk in a gray robe sweeping in the corridor.

He went over and asked, "Young monk, excuse me, could you tell me which way is the abbot's meditation room?"

Yamagami Tomoo is his secular name; he should have used his Buddhist name after becoming a monk.

The quickest way to accurately locate this person is to ask the abbot of the temple.

"Are you here to pay your respects, or is there something else? Abbot Chengyue usually doesn't see visitors." The young monk looked him up and down.

"I'm from Tokyo, and I'm trying to find out where a friend is. Only the abbot can guide me," Masahiro Hanyu said honestly.

The young monk nodded. "Looking for someone? Abbot Chengyue often comes looking for people. Come with me."

He followed the young monk out of the covered walkway, through the corridor lined with hydrangeas, and into the depths of the temple.

"What you just said, young master, means that I'm not the only one looking for someone?"

The young monk walked with his hands clasped together. "Yes, things are alright here at the monastery, but there are often people of unknown identity at the nunnery."

"Abbot Chengyue is kind-hearted, so she took them all in."

Masahiro Hanyu then learned that "Masumi Kankiji Temple" was a dual-temple temple that could accommodate both male monks and female nuns for practice and residence.

Since there are nuns here! The clues provided by the intelligence led him here. Could Mrs. Yayoi have become a nun?

The passageway wound its way through the trees until the young monk came to a carved wooden door and stopped, gently knocking:

"Abbot Chengyue, a benefactor from Tokyo requests an audience, saying he is looking for someone."

A gentle voice came from inside the door, "Please come in, benefactor."

Judging from the voice, she is a female abbot!

As Masahiro Hanyu pushed open the door, a faint aroma of tea and sandalwood wafted towards him.

A brocade cushion was laid on the tatami mat, and a celadon vase with a few white lotus flowers was placed on the table.

What touched Masahiro Hanyu was a plate of dessert next to the clean bottle: Sendai edamame mochi.

What a coincidence! The intelligence tip came up here again.

Seated behind the desk was a nun dressed in a moon-white robe.

She's over fifty, bald, with regular features; she must have been a beauty when she was young.

Upon seeing Masahiro Yuzuru enter, the nun raised her hand in a gesture of respect: "Please have a seat, benefactor."

"Excuse me for disturbing Abbess Chengyue." After bowing, Yu Shengzhenghei sat down opposite the nun.

The female abbess sized him up. "Are you looking for someone, benefactor?"

"Please state your identity and the reason for your search so that I can consider whether to check the case file."

"After all, the person you are looking for has already become a monk, and presumably does not want to be disturbed."

Masahiro Hanyu glanced at the mochi again. "My name is Masahiro Hanyu. I'm looking for two people: Tomoo Yamagami and Yuko Yayoi."

"I was asked by Yayoi Yuko's daughter to find her mother."

Whether Mrs. Yayoi is here or not, it can’t hurt to ask her more questions.

Moreover, saying this can also cover up the fact that he had no reason to seek out Yamagami Tomoo.

The rain pattered softly outside the window, and the nun chanted a Buddhist prayer: "Amitabha."

"Yuko's daughter has finally sent someone here!"

Masahiro Hanyu's eyes lit up. Did Abbot Sumigetsu mean that Mrs. Yayoi had really arrived at Kankiji Temple?

If that's the case, this commission can be completed very quickly.

"It's just a little too late, Yuko has already left!" Abbot Chengyue looked somewhat disappointed.

"She followed Master Zhenru."

"Oh, Yamagami Tomoo's Buddhist name is Shinnya."

It's already quite obvious that Abbess Sumizuki not only knows Mrs. Yayoi, but she also knows Yamagami Tomoo.

"Abbot Chengyue, you seem to know these two very well?"

Abbess Chengyue pushed the edamame mochi forward, "Please try some, benefactor. This was brought back from Sendai by Yuko."

"It's been sitting here ever since it was given to me; I really can't eat it."

"Although I've been able to face that past, eating this mochi still feels like my body and mind are about to be tormented."

He observed the female abbess's expression; his mind-reading ability was at work.

"Abbot Chengyue, you were also...an adult film actress?"

After a brief silence, Abbot Chengyue nodded slightly, "So you already know, benefactor."

"Initially, there were only two artists, Yuko and me, and I was the only one who signed that contract; Yuko was free."

"I couldn't take it anymore, so I put poison in the edamame mochi and planned to commit suicide."

"Yuko saved me. She let me leave and then took over the contract for me."

Masahiro Hanyu wasn't interested in the female abbess's experiences. "Where did Mrs. Yayoi and Tomoo Yamakami go after they left?"

Abbess Chengyue sighed, "I originally wanted to keep this from Yuko, but she went to Sendai and found out the truth in Miyagi Prefecture."

"Tomoo Yamagami is from Miyagi Prefecture. He was the president of the production company behind the film that featured sadomasochistic themes back then."

Yuzuru Masahiro was shocked to learn that the culprit behind Mrs. Yayoi's eye disease was Yamagami Tomoo.

"Did Mrs. Yayoi come to see Mr. Yamagami... for revenge?"

Abbot Chengyue shook her head. "This temple was built by Yama-no-kun. Perhaps he felt uneasy and asked me to be the abbot."

"However, he went bankrupt and had nowhere else to turn, so he came here to become a monk and became Master Zhenru."

"Yuko came to see Master Zhenru to ask him to return to his old profession!"