Conan Rick's Investigator

He was abandoned on a strange street, his luggage was looted, and only his frail body was left.

Because he couldn't speak the language, he could only wander the streets, and no one was willing to help him as a stranger.

At the same time, Kinoshita discovered all the changes in his body.

His body turned pale, with dark circles under his eyes and the veins beneath his skin a faint black.

Regardless of the surrounding temperature, his body would sweat profusely and a rotten smell would emanate from his entire body.

This situation made people around him avoid him even more, probably because they thought he had some fatal infectious disease.

Not pushing him into the fire pit and burning him is the greatest kindness.

After three days, he finally fainted from hunger and closed his eyes.

However, this time Kinoshita survived again and was rescued by some Maasai people.

Hundreds of years ago, the Nandi people often created storms and cholera through evil rituals, ravaging the Maasai land, so the Maasai and the Nandi people are sworn enemies.

And here are the streets of the Maasai.

They knew that Kinoshita was sent here by the Nandi people, so they had been secretly observing Kinoshita these days.

After confirming that Kinoshita posed no threat, he finally made up his mind to rescue the person.

These Maasai were much friendlier than the Nandi people and asked a doctor to take care of Kinoshita, but Kinoshita's health never improved.

His body became weaker and weaker, and the smell of decay became stronger all over his body, and no amount of wiping would work.

Sometimes, his nosebleed would flow like black oil, the memory in his brain would become confused from time to time, and he would always see some inexplicable hallucinations.

Ordinary medical skills could no longer save Kinoshita, so the Marseilles recommended someone to Kinoshita.

Marie Laveau, the Queen of Voodoo.

……

Seeing this, we finally got to the main topic that Qin Zhibo wanted to see the most.

According to Koizumi Hongzi, voodoo dolls and resurrected corpses are both characteristics of voodoo.

There is also a voodoo curse that allows the dead to see the god of death, Baron Samedi, which is also a voodoo spell recorded in "Secrets of the Worm".

All signs indicate that these people, including Tomonori Kinoshita, are likely to have connections with voodoo.

The source of this relationship should be hidden in the following story.

……

According to the Maasai, the Voodoo Queen lives in Benin, West Africa, which is East Africa.

At that time, the African continent was quite backward. Most countries did not have airports, and railways running through the continent were even more of a luxury. The only relatively reliable means of transportation was the car.

In this way, two Maasai people carried Kinoshita from Kenya in East Africa to Benin in West Africa.

The journey across the African continent is not smooth, and it is not as "straight" as imagined.

Along the way, we must avoid some conflict areas and extremely poor countries to avoid unnecessary trouble.

To cover up the strong smell of decay on his body, Kinoshita used a local African cologne.

However, when staying with Kinoshita in a small space, one can still smell the odor of rotting meat, such as in the carriage.

From East Africa to West Africa, I saw some local customs and cultures along the way, some of which were quite interesting.

For example, in the southeast of Benin, locals believe that people will be reincarnated after death and should be happy.

So during the funeral, relatives and friends will gather around the deceased's coffin to dance and celebrate, and let passers-by on the street join in the "coffin-side dancing" procession.

This custom of happy funerals is widely spread in West Africa and is practiced in many countries.

If I die in West Africa, there will probably be people dancing beside my coffin, right? — Kinoshita

……

After a month's journey, we finally arrived in Benin, West Africa.

Voodoo is the state religion of this country, and 60% of the people believe in Voodoo, which is about 450 million people.

From this, Kinoshita guessed that the Voodoo Queen must be high and mighty and not be looked down upon by ordinary people.

But things turned out to be beyond Kinoshita's expectations. The Queen of Voodoo, the great Marie Laveau, was actually a hairdresser in a beauty salon.

Marie Laveau specializes in providing hairdressing services to wealthy families, including dyeing, perming, washing, cutting and blow-drying.

Marie Laveau was also a practicing physician, healer and herbalist, fortuneteller, and midwife.

If someone asked Marie Laveau for help with healing and fortune-telling, she would provide it free of charge without asking for anything in return.

Therefore, the locals respectfully called Marie Laveau "Queen", not because she had the rights of a queen, but because she had a kind heart, which was equivalent to an "angel".

It’s just that “angel” is a term used in other religions, while Voodoo only calls it “Queen”.

When the Maasai explained Kinoshita's situation to the Voodoo Queen, Kinoshita was immediately received.

When they first met, Kinoshita was amazed by Marie Laveau's beauty.

She was just as beautiful as Mwilu was when we first met, but she had a more holy and dignified air about her.

Marie Laveau examined Kinoshita's body and concluded that he had undergone some kind of terrible sacrificial ritual, and his body was used as a carrier vessel for a terrible and ancient existence.

Now, his body has been contaminated. If he does not receive a blood transfusion in time, his body will rot from the inside and he will slowly die in excruciating pain.

When that time comes, he will beg others to end his life.

Chapter 672 Amuro Toru: My lover, your mother... (asking for monthly tickets)

Although blood transfusion can be a cure, the process is very painful and one would like to go through a blood purification ceremony.

Now Kinoshita had no choice but to agree to this treatment.

After three days of preparation, Kinoshita's blood transfusion ceremony began.

There were some lit candles and some obscure patterns in the room.

Kinoshita was tied to a wooden bed, and special instruments made in a traditional way were inserted all over his body.

The treatment process is somewhat like hemodialysis, drawing out the black blood from the body, purifying it, and then sending it back into Kinoshita's body.

However, during this process, Kinoshita felt a tearing pain, and his throat was broken from screaming.

Blood purification was not done with the help of some scientific instrument, but with some chants chanted by Marie Laveau throughout the whole process, and other "root workers" assisted around the ritual formation.

"Root workers," ritual operators within Voodoo, are often referred to as "Doctor" or "Grandma" by those seeking help.

With the blessing of the ritual, the boiling black blood was purified into fresh blood and then continuously transported back into Kinoshita's body.

Kinoshita felt that the powerful will was slowly being peeled away from his body, and his original self was returning to his body.

Finally, the blood exchange ceremony was completed.

The Voodoo Queen personally covered his body with herbs that could help his wounds heal, and also gave him some oral herbs to relieve the pain.

While recovering, Kinoshita traveled around the capital of Benin and saw voodoo practitioners everywhere.

This belief was not forced, but was passed down by word of mouth by those who received help from Marie Laveau and Voodoo.

Voodoo has always been demonized by Western media and was even banned at one point.

Under the malicious vilification of the West, voodoo has been associated with cursing villains, summoning evil spirits, terrible night rituals, and live sacrifices.

But in reality, these are all negative stereotypes from the outside world.

Every weekend, Marie Laveau would gather with her followers in the square, mainly for dancing and worship, and to distribute amulets and potions.

Although there are many followers, Voodoo does not hold any large-scale rituals that would affect others.

After he recovered, Kinoshita naturally became a believer in Voodoo.

To find a way to heal his mother, Kinoshita began studying with a voodoo "root worker," a doctor named "John Bayou."

Root workers often use candles, herbs, oils, altars, voodoo dolls, sealed containers, or invocations for blessings.

Voodoo dolls are often thought to be used for curses, but in fact, voodoo dolls have many uses, such as protecting someone from evil forces, changing love luck, bringing wealth, etc.

Voodoo is an animist religion that believes in gods and spirits, such as Azakha, the god of agriculture, and Simbi, the spirit of rivers and springs.

Moreover, Marie Laveau in Voodoo is not a person's name, but a hereditary title, similar to "Khan".

Today's Marie Laveau, her mother is a voodoo priestess, and both of them share the title "Marie Laveau".

Voodoo believers make pilgrimages to a crypt beneath the grave of former Marie Laveau.

It is said that if you leave the symbol "XXX" on the wall, it is like making a wish to Marie Laveau...

During his time living in Benin, Kinoshita learned a lot and gradually became a formal root worker.

Before this, root workers were only passed down secretly among black people. He was the first root worker of another race.

After two and a half years of study, Kinoshita finally decided to return home to treat his mother.

(Finish)

……

After watching "African Wandering Journey", Qin Zhibo breathed a sigh of relief.

He stood up from the sofa, stretched his stiff body, and looked at the clock on the wall.

It's 3:20 now, and I've been watching for more than two hours without realizing it.

During these two hours, Qin Zhibo felt as if he was wandering on the mysterious and vast African continent.

The book introduces many local customs and social cultures in Africa through travel experiences.

What’s even more rare is that as a travel book, this book actually has a main plot.

From the main plot point of view, the protagonist "Kinoshita" travels thousands of miles to Africa to save his mother.

The main plot from a young age is that "Kinoshita" wanted to elope with the bloody-tongued Mwiru in Kenya, East Africa, but was deceived and became a sacrifice in an evil ritual.

Another main plot is to go to Benin, West Africa to find the Voodoo Queen and get treatment.

The so-called "wandering" refers to the journey across the African continent, where some interesting African culture is displayed.

But in fact, Qin Zhibo could see that what Kinoshita Tomonori mainly wanted to describe was voodoo.

When we first meet the Voodoo Queen, she is portrayed by Tomonori Kinoshita as a kind and saintly woman.

As a Voodoo Queen, she could have enjoyed high privileges like the Pope, but she still chose to help the common people personally.

In addition, the article also explains that some negative information about voodoo is malicious vilification by the Western world.

All of this gives readers the feeling that this is an orderly sect led by a benevolent queen.

If Qin Zhibo had not experienced some things personally, he would have almost believed it.

The "Curse of the Dead" not only instigates murder, but also creates resurrected corpses, and uses voodoo curses to personally kill people. It is not a good thing at all!

The so-called smuggling of love is just whitewashing!

This is nothing but a voodoo whitewash!

The book does not show any bad aspects of Voodoo. It is all about curing diseases, helping the poor, and providing convenient services to the general public. It never mentions curses or death.

In fact, strictly speaking, the "Curse of the Dead" is also helping people to take revenge, which is also "help" in another sense.

However, Qin Zhibo is not sure how true and false this book is.

Did Tomonori Kinoshita make up the story about the bloody tongue?

And there's the Voodoo Queen, is there really such a person?

And the most important thing is that the starting point written in the book is to save his mother. Does Tomonori Kinoshita think so in real life?

In order to find out the creative ideas of Tomonori Kinoshita, Qin Zhibo sat in the boss chair, turned on the computer, and looked up Tomonori Kinoshita and "African Wanderings".

Regarding "African Wanderings", a conversation between a reporter and the author was recorded on the Internet.

One of the questions is, what is the final ending of the book?

In this regard, Tomonori Kinoshita's answer is somewhat intriguing.

"The final ending is an open one, which allows readers to use their imagination freely."