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Ocarina of the Crescent

"Why do you say the answer is with the stand-in king?"

While waiting, Polusalino turned his head and asked.

"Guess." As I replied, I looked past him and looked into the cabin. "Before verification, all answers are just guesses."

A group of us arrived here after leaving the meeting room. The Ceylon is assigned to the residential area of ​​Dumuzi's guests.

After Bagua's death, his cabin was sealed off by the navy. At this moment, the cabin was reopened. Brigadier General Triton led two guards to step inside to check, which caused the rest of the people to wait outside.

The rest of the people include Mr. Zefa and me, as well as Polusalino and Sakaski.

The three men stood closer to the front. I don't know if it was intentional or not. Their burly bodies blocked the cabin door tightly, so that I, who was a little behind, could only see the indoor lights through the gap.

Of course, this seemingly repulsive gesture was actually the three of them blocking all kinds of unexpected dangerous factors.

Perhaps my answer was not satisfactory, Mr. Zefa and Sakaski stared at it at the same time, but Polusalino sneered, and said in a manly voice, "Before the verification? Bai Sui, your words are really humble. "

"Otherwise, what should I say?" Blinking my eyes, I asked inexplicably, "Without any evidence, I am absolutely certain that it must be the murderer."

After a pause, I hooked the corners of my mouth and lowered my voice, "Or, it's an omniscient and omnipotent god."

"And I'm neither."

"Bold assumptions and careful verification are proper attitudes."

……

"Hundred years old..." Polusalino's eyes became more and more strange, as if he hesitated to speak, and after a moment of silence, he continued, "What is your hypothesis?"

"Suppose?" I thought for a while, looked around again, and said slowly, "Leaving Dumuzi, Shikoti and the substitute king are within the sight of the navy, it's okay during the day, but at night..."

Although I don't think what Polusalino wanted to ask was a hypothesis, but he changed his words temporarily when he was on the verge of speaking. In this case, I didn't mean to get to the bottom of it, so I gave an answer according to the superficial question.

"Shikodi's attitude is obvious. As a nobleman, she will not be in the same room with the double king."

Before the murder happened, I could see very clearly that in the eyes of that woman, people were probably divided according to their blood, and except for her 'noble blood' class, the rest were existences as low as dust.

"But she is now on the Ceylon. In order not to arouse suspicion, at least on the surface she and the king must be inseparable."

"At this time, Bagua is needed. As a capable person, the two parties are lovers. I am afraid that he will be with Shikoti every night during the voyage."

"Then the double king was thrown in the former prime minister's quarters instead of staying with the slaves. After all, the less people know about this, the better."

"Among them, the stand-in king may..."

"Later, Bagua wanted to go back to the cabin because he couldn't find anything in Shikoti, and he suddenly remembered that he might have been hidden by the double king."

I squinted my eyes. Although I was smiling, my mood was actually a little depressed.

The stand-in king, that poor man, maybe he will do something during the short time alone in the middle of the night?Although most of the time is under surveillance, but I think, since I have the courage to make a desperate suggestion, I must also...

He wants to live, so it's no surprise whatever he does.

……

Just when I lowered my eyes and was a little emotionally affected by the sudden gloomy mood, my forehead was knocked lightly and hard.

When I quickly raised my eyelids and stared over, Polusalino withdrew his assailant hand, and his eyes flashed slyly, "I always feel that the deduction of a hundred years is very unexpected, and most people don't think so comprehensively."

"You want to say that most people don't look at one thing from multiple angles, right?" I raised my hand and touched my forehead, and I opened my dead fish eyes.

"No, I want to say—" Ignoring my glaring gaze, the assailant just bent down slightly, his voice was low and soft, against the indulgent gaze in his eyes, his expression was soft, "Bai Sui, you are such a smart girl."

After thinking about it, I shrugged and replied, "I'm just considering the same thing from three perspectives: the murderer, the victim, and the bystander."

"You can take it as my suspicion."

After speaking, I raised my hand to poke the chest of the person leaning over, and I raised my chin towards the back, indicating that the conversation between the two sides has come to an end for the time being.

Not long after, Mr. Zefa and Sakaski, who were standing quietly listening to our conversation, retreated slightly to the sides, the obstacles outside the cabin door disappeared, and Brigadier General Triton walked out first.

"Judging from the traces, the bathroom is inhabited these days." Brigadier General Triton, who was standing in front of the cabin door with the light behind him, looked unclear, but there was some anger in his low voice, "He is detained in the bathroom, Those bastards."

As his voice fell, the atmosphere at the scene became depressing.

Commodore Admiral Triton's answer made everyone's complexions turn ugly, because the space in the warship is tight, even the general's private cabin is very narrow, and the bathroom...even turning around is difficult.

The layout of the living quarters is actually almost the same. The bathroom, my bathroom has only a few things, a vertical shower head fixed on the wall at one corner, a washbasin, and a flush toilet. The remaining space is quite lacking.

A grown man sleeping in the bathroom?

After a moment of silence, I took a step forward, "Can I go in and have a look?"

"It was supposed to be handed over to you~" Brigadier General Triton walked out of the cabin, turned sideways, and made a gap, the coldness between his brows eased a little, "If it wasn't for your girl, that person died inexplicably." .”

Closing my eyes, I walked a few steps towards the cabin, and when I passed Brigadier General Triton, I said in a hoarse voice, "If I was quicker, he might survive, so...don't praise me."

I can't afford the praise.

The poor man is dead.

……

Out of the corner of his eye, Brigadier General Triton's expression moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't say anything in the end, just quietly glanced over with unclear meaning.

Withdrawing my gaze, I stepped into the cabin, and then I was choked by an... I really don't know how to describe the smell.

Like what kind of raw food is exposed to room temperature and airtight room, after a period of fermentation, it will form an uncomfortable taste, a faint pungent and rancid smell.

I couldn't help turning my face away, coughing a few times, I frowned, and kept walking inside.

The layout of the cabin of the former prime minister of Dumuzi is almost the same as that of the two classmates, except that the interior is much more luxuriously furnished. Although there are only a few pieces of furniture, the gold-painted paintings and meticulous carvings all show their value.

There is also a woven carpet on the ground, with a pattern of intertwined branches, so soft that you can step on it and cover your insteps. The woven carpet of unknown material absorbs noise, making it silent when walking.

At this moment, the round glass window on the wall near the sea was pushed open, and the sea breeze poured in was shallowly hovering in the room, but the effect was not good, and the subtle smell was like tarsal maggots, everywhere.

The two guards who entered earlier stood in the corner of the cabin, I glanced at the two sailors with calm expressions, and then walked towards the bathroom, somewhat admiring their endurance.

Brigadier General Triton, too, didn't change his expression.

I know the source of this smell. It’s nothing more than the central part of the room. It’s caused by the large black stain on the rug. Those traces are probably the blood from Bagua’s body that was broken in two, er… maybe there’s still a little wreckage. ?

After the death of the former prime minister, the navy sealed the cabin, and Brigadier General Triton asked to keep it as it was, that is to say, it was not even sterilized inside. After several days of brewing, the taste was naturally not very good.

……

Pushing open the concealed bathroom door, I stood outside the door and took a cursory glance. The situation inside was completely different from the outside. If the living quarters were luxurious and luxurious, the bathroom was dilapidated and simple.

It seemed that he didn't even bother to clean up, and he didn't see any garbage, but it was a place that obviously looked like a prisoner at a glance.

An iron chain is fastened to the water pipe on the ceiling, and a ring shackle is connected to the lower end. Judging from the length, the locked person cannot reach the bathroom door, and even the sink...

Squinting my eyes, I probably understood why Brigadier General Triton was angry. The people detained in the bathroom couldn’t even drink water. The length of the iron chain made it impossible for him to drink normally. If he was thirsty, he could only use the shower head. or…

"Those bastards chain people up like cattle." Brigadier General Triton's voice came from behind, this time with obvious sullen tone, "Bagua deserves to die!"

Looking back, I glanced at Brigadier General Triton with a gloomy expression, and pursed the corners of my mouth, "Where's the thing you found?"

"How do you know?" He was startled, raised his brows a little, seemed to be thinking for a while, a cunning flashed in his eyes, and then smiled recklessly, "If you can guess where you found it, I promise you one." thing, how is it?"

The corners of my eyes twitched slightly, and this man suddenly...uh~ gave me a childish thunder, then I stretched out my hand, palm facing up, "Put the toilet into the water tank."

After giving the answer, I hooked my fingers spread out in the air, and I kindly explained to him, "According to the distance, he can barely reach there, and only there can hide things."

The bathroom is so small, it is clear at a glance, such a simple question, do you still need to ask?

……

After a while, Brigadier General Triton reached into his cloak pocket and took out something and handed it over. Then he withdrew his hand, looked away, and muttered softly, "Women are too smart, men are under a lot of pressure~"

"This is common sense, and it has nothing to do with IQ." I responded without raising my head, and looked carefully at the things I got.

It was wet, about the size of a thumb's knuckle, and felt like wood, with a little mottled pattern left on it, which seemed to be a kind of painted drawing, but because someone rubbed it for a long time, it became smooth, and the original pattern faded.

this shape...

"It's a nesting doll. It's the little figure in the center of the nesting doll." I tightened my palms and raised my eyes. "Brigadier General, please order the infirmary to dissect it. That thing was swallowed by the stand-in king."

After a moment of silence, the man's eyes widened slightly, and then he narrowed his eyes without a trace, his eyes revealing a trace of sharpness, "So you strongly oppose sea burial and demand that that person be frozen."

His voice was not loud, but there was a hint of murder, "You have already guessed everything."

"That kind of thing is not important, right?" I raised my eyebrows, put the little wooden figure back into my pocket, fixed my eyes on the eyes of the person in front of me, leaned forward slightly, and lowered the volume so that only two people could hear it , "Promise me one thing? What can Mr. Brigadier General give me?"

As the distance between the two drew closer, I smelled the smell of sea tide and gunpowder smoke, the smell of years of drifting at sea, replacing the dirty smell in the sealed cabin.

With my face raised, I slowly approached this man with a slightly astonished expression. I licked my lips, "I hesitate even for such a small request, what else can I expect?"

In an instant, an almost tense breath radiated from the man, and his expression was changing under the dim light in the bathroom.

Almost before I posted it, I stopped, paused, and took a step back, "Find that ring, Brigadier General Triton, only if we find it will we be sure of victory."

"The rest, I will confess everything, how about it?"

……

Not long after, Brigadier General Triton, who came back to his senses, turned and left angrily.

After he walked out of the cabin, I waited for a few more minutes before I slowly followed him outside.

When I passed the two sailors standing in the cabin, for some reason, I seemed to see a little bit of treachery in the silent eyes of the two young men.

After thinking about it, I walked out without squinting, with the corners of my mouth raised a little.

The two soldiers huh~ Maybe they saw something just now?Although Brigadier General Triton blocked most of the sights...but forget it, I was just venting my anger.

Commodore Triton happened to be swept by the tail of the typhoon, and I'm not particularly guilty of that.

He was in a bad mood, and I was in a bad mood.

The worst thing is that I'm used to venting anger, and I don't care if the other party is innocent~ I didn't catch the hint in time, and on the day I left Dumuzi, no one on the Ceylon noticed anything unusual...

Okay, okay~ I'm the one who vented my anger.

……

Walking outside the cabin, he stopped and took a few deep breaths, allowing the normal air in the corridor to flow into the lungs, replacing the smell that made people want to vomit.

Finally, I raised my hand and rubbed my forehead, trying to relieve the discomfort.

Maybe it was because the smell in the cabin was so bad that I suddenly ignored it?

After a while, I took my hand away, raised my eyes, and what imprinted on my retina were the faces of the three people waiting outside before. Polusalino and Sakasky were fine, but Mr. Zefa looked suspicious.

Looking up and down, Teacher Zefa frowned slightly, "What did you do, Triton doesn't look good."

"It's nothing." I tilted my head slightly to the side, and replied with an innocent face, "Maybe the air is not good? What's wrong, Brigadier General?"

While speaking, he looked around, and then saw Brigadier General Triton walking back from the other end of the corridor.

"The air is not good?" Teacher Zefa only glanced over, the corner of his mouth curled up, but he didn't say anything. Before he turned his eyes away, the understatement in his eyes clearly confirmed that I had done something wrong.

I raised my hand and scratched my cheek, smiled, and then turned my attention to Brigadier General Triton who was walking by.

After standing still, he stared at me, didn't speak for a while, and waited for a long time before opening his mouth in a muffled voice, "I've already ordered, so what about your confession?"

"What order?" Teacher Zefa spoke first.

"She said that the ring was swallowed by the stand-in king and asked for an autopsy." Brigadier General Triton gritted his teeth. "She knew a long time ago, including the clues found in the pumping tank, so she strongly opposed the sea burial from the beginning."

A few seconds after the voice fell, the expressions in the four pairs of eyes suddenly changed, and whether it was surprise or scrutiny, the sharpness in them was roughly the same.

"I can guess that the stand-in king left something behind, and I also guessed that the clue is pumping the water tank." I blinked and said slowly, "But I can't guess what it is~"

"If I hadn't studied Dumuzi's dossier."

"As for the objection to sea burial, I just don't want that person to sink into the cold seabed. After the matter is over, I would like to request that he be allowed to return to Beihai for burial."

……

After a brief silence, Polusalino hooked the corners of his lips, his voice was a little coaxing, "Taking advantage of the waiting time, let's tell all about centenarians~"

"Don't bully us~"

Who bullied you!I stared at him dumbfounded, but at this moment, my shoulder was patted hard and hard, so I turned my face slightly... Σ(°△°|||) I didn't know when I touched Sakas behind me Ji, took away the hand that had patted my shoulder, raised the other hand, and was handed a ball of hair less than half a meter away from me.

The hairs all over my body exploded, and I was so frightened that I wanted to jump up on the spot, but before I could move, Polusalino took a step forward and pressed his hands hard on my shoulders.

cat... cat...

I was so frightened that my mind was confused for a moment, and I didn't even care about my chin being clamped by someone's hand. My eyes widened, my stiff neck was like a rusty gear, and I slowly pulled it back to its original position. .

"Hundred years old, be good~ Tell me all about it." There was a perverted expression on the bowed face, and the black pupils were clearly full of threats, "Be good, Qiuqiu will be good too." of."

I...I said...put that thing away ahhhhh—o(>﹏<)o.

I was in a hurry, and after a while, I heard someone chuckle again, and before letting go, his thumb brushed the corner of my lips, "Is the only thing that can stop you? I'm so jealous~"

……

After a long time, I was still in shock and glanced at Sakaski, who was standing aside again. Seeing him put the hair ball into his pocket as promised, I regained my composure, quickly closed my eyes, and said with a choked voice, "Gunrud. "

According to the Dumuzi dossiers studied these days, after the fragmentary clues are connected together... In fact, the call of the new moon is a hoax that has lasted for hundreds of years.

The story of the founder of Dumuzi/the king of the country, the Hero King and Gu Enlude, is a wonderful legend in the folk of Dumuzi, comparable to a fairy tale.

Hundreds of years ago, the King of Heroes and Gu Enlude, who had not yet become kings, were a pair of "highly respected" nobles. After hearing about the tyrannical deeds of the Siren King, the couple decided to eliminate harm for the people.

The heroic and brave King of Heroes, the beautiful and noble Gu Enlude, after going through many obstacles, the two finally got the god-given flute of the Crescent Moon and killed the Siren King.

The King of Heroes who donated the heart of the Siren King was named King of Dumuzi, but his poor wife died of illness a few months later.

However, is it really a death?

My mood gradually settled with the long and trivial narration. I raised my eyes and asked in a low voice, "Where did the Crescent Flute come from? The origin of that thing in the file is vague."

"No one knows how the gods are bestowed by God, but... In the legend of Dumuzi, Gunnlud is the god of music, and at the same time she is in charge of handicrafts."

"Why? Hundreds of years ago, the status of craftsmen was low. Why would Gunnrud, who was born as an aristocrat, be hailed as the patron saint of fine craftsmanship?"

"In the dossier of Dumuzi, most of the details are vague, but the legends that have been circulated outside are very interesting."

……

"What does it mean to be a hundred years old?" Polusalino raised his eyebrows, and then his eyes showed a sense of comprehension, "The Crescent Flute was made by Guen Lude, so..."

"Yes, if she makes the Ocarina of the Crescent, all the mysteries will be solved." I nodded, somewhat happy in my heart, because Polusalino could keep up with my messy thoughts.

"The modified layout on the only handed down portrait, and the ring worn on her hand, which later became a must-have item for King Dumuzi strangely."

"With the cooperation of that ring, the flute of the new moon can be played."

"Gunlude's sudden death is probably not a death of illness but a murder."

"Why is it only allowed by King Dumzi, who is of the blood of Gunnrud." I sighed, paused, and then continued to express my guess, "Because the two families reached an agreement to keep the secret."

"The first queen of Dumuzi is Gunnrud's younger sister. If you want to say that a woman is jealous, you must never allow her husband to keep things from her predecessor, right? Not to mention that the new queen's child must wear the dead sister's ring when he succeeds to the throne. .”

"The King of Heroes stole his wife's achievements, and Gunnrud's family sacrificed her in exchange for the right to share the land with the king."

"After the agreement was reached, the two families shared the country of Dumuzi. After hundreds of years, the power has changed several times. Gradually, the royal court of Dumuzi excluded the Gunnrud family without a trace."

"The blurred details of the royal files cover up the past truth, and the long time even erases the subtle clues."

"There is no blood power or curse at all. It is just a conspiracy and lie of two families for power."

"It's a disgusting truth, so I don't want to say it."