Chapter 13: The Japanese Believe in Sorcery

In the Military Police interrogation room, Kameda Jiro stared at Ozu Jiro's face, which was powdered and lipsticked, feeling as if he had swallowed a fly; he suddenly raised his fan-like hand.

"Smack!" A crisp sound rang out.

Five finger marks immediately appeared on Ozu Jiro's face, and his military cap was knocked askew.

"Baka! Last night, as an officer, instead of commanding on the front line, you went to watch a play. If you don't give me an explanation, I will make you taste the instruments of torture here!"

Kameda paced back and forth in the interrogation room, pondering which instrument to use to test on Ozu's delicate skin.

Seeing the fire in Kameda's eyes, Ozu Jiro felt fear; having drunk too much sake last night, his brain was still sluggish. He lowered his head, racking his brains, and suddenly, he really thought of an idea. Intentionally controlling his voice, he said, "Calm your anger, Officer Kameda! What happened last night, truly, it was not that your subordinate is incompetent, but rather... rather, the enemy is too cunning and strange! The one who stole the foreign firm's supplies might not be human!"

"Not human?" Kameda sneered. "Then what is it? Could it be an immortal? A ghost?"

Ozu shook his head and said, "I believe the one who stole the foreign firm's supplies is a person with special abilities. Next, I, I would like to explain to you in detail exactly what is going on."

Kameda was stunned after hearing this, but he still picked up a leather whip, playing with it in his hands, ready to lash Ozu at any moment.

Ozu felt a tightening in his gut and whispered, "Last night, I did indeed go to the theater, but I, actually, I went to find inspiration. Although we lost twenty heroic Imperial soldiers, our gains were not small!"

"What gains! Speak quickly!" Kameda raised the whip.

"It means our investigation direction is correct; this special mysterious person is among the people we are investigating!"

Kameda nodded and said, "Ozu, I know you studied drama at the Imperial University and can weave stories, but if you cannot provide a reasonable analysis, you will not be able to leave here unscathed."

"Officer, according to my analysis, in two searches, we lost a total of over forty Imperial warriors. This shows that in both investigations, we encountered this extraordinary person; he is on the list of people we have investigated. He was even caught. But this extraordinary person was more skilled; he killed the people who caught him, and to confuse us, he killed many innocent Great Japan warriors. Officer Kameda, you only need to investigate those who have been captured!"

Kameda nodded. "Yoshi! Ozu Jiro, this time, you are right! But since the people who caught him are all dead, how can we know who caught him? We still have hundreds of suspects locked up in our prison! Analyze what this extraordinary person looks like and what abilities he has."

"Officer, after the foreign firm theft occurred, I analyzed it for a long time and finally reached a conclusion: this person can command ghosts and gods to serve him!"

Kameda wanted to slap Ozu again, but his extended hand suddenly stopped. He suppressed his anger and asked, "Then, I would like to hear your 'story'."

"A person who can move over a hundred tons of supplies in the blink of an eye—I have never seen one, but I have heard that there is a kind of person in China who can do it."

"Speak quickly, don't keep me in suspense!" Kameda cursed angrily.

"That person must be a conjurer. I have seen with my own eyes someone who can produce snakes from an empty basin and make withered wood sprout instantly. Officer Kameda, I suggest arresting all the conjurers in Si Jiu Cheng."

"Baka!" Kameda slapped Ozu again.

Ozu was getting a bit anxious and hurriedly defended himself: "Officer Kameda, I am wronged! Think about it: in the warehouse, over a hundred tons of cargo disappeared in an instant, and not even a cart track was left at the scene! The only valuable clue is a person about 1.5 meters tall, dressed as one of our 'Imperial soldiers'. There is something evil in this!"

"Ozu!" Kameda Jiro slammed the table. "I must say, you do have a rich imagination! But I want evidence! Evidence!"

"Officer Kameda, if it wasn't this extraordinary person who stole it, then it was done by others in the foreign firm; they committed the crime together!"

"That is impossible! The Special Higher Police interrogated them all night, and they have all been cleared of suspicion!" Kameda said.

Ozu Jiro licked his dry lips and said with a touch of mystery, "In that case, it must be this extraordinary person. Perhaps with just a turn of his mind, he can command ghosts and gods anytime, anywhere, to transport items thousands of miles away. This time, we must have encountered such an evil person."

"If such a person truly existed, how could the Imperial Army of our Great Japan be invincible and occupy this vast land? That 'Huang Daxian' is nothing but a trick used by petty people to deceive! That you actually believe it is utterly stupid!"

"But Officer!" Ozu Jiro's voice carried a sob. "For two consecutive days, forty Imperial warriors have met their end! What I cannot understand most is why this person would transport the remains from different locations to the same place? Is he not afraid of exposing his tracks?"

Kameda Jiro was choked by the question, his cold, gloomy eyes sweeping over Ozu: "Then tell me, why?"

"Your subordinate dares to guess," Ozu Jiro took a deep breath, with a hint of mockery toward Kameda, and said flatly, "It means that transporting these things is no trouble at all for him!"

"This is indeed the strangest part. We have already set up checkpoints on many streets; apart from our own people, it is absolutely impossible for anyone to transport these remains at will." Kameda nodded, falling into deep thought.

"That's it!" Ozu clapped his hands.

Kameda shook his head. "However, I still cannot accept this conjecture of yours. What kind of black magic could achieve this!"

Ozu suddenly became animated and said excitedly, "I have heard a Chinese folk legend. It is said that those who perform magic, if they want to command ghosts and gods to serve them, must go to a graveyard in the dead of night and use a whip made of willow branches to lash the grave mounds. Some ghosts with weak willpower will let out wails. After lashing the grave mound continuously for eighty-one days, these ghosts will follow this person forever and acknowledge him as their master. Of course, some people whose 'eight characters' are not strong enough, if they insist on doing this, will be haunted by the ghosts." Ozu Jiro spoke in a hoarse voice, his tone sounding just like sorcery, making Kameda stare with wide eyes, his hands having nowhere to rest.

After hearing this account, Kameda broke out in a cold sweat. He let out a long breath and cursed, "Baka! Ozu Jiro, you almost tricked me; I actually almost believed you."

"Officer Kameda, I am not tricking you. You are the smartest person; think about it carefully."

Kameda was silent for a long time and said, "Even if this person has this ability, he still left flaws when he committed the crime."

Ozu's eyes lit up and he asked, "Officer, what flaws? Please give me tactical guidance."

Kameda walked to the wall and, to bolster his courage, took down the hanging samurai sword.

He drew the military sword, pointed the tip at Ozu, and said with some pride, "I carefully examined all the corpses, and thirteen of them left behind an extremely unique knife wound! This kind of knife should have been forged by a blacksmith. We must use this clue to find this person."

"Officer is wise! Your subordinate simply overlooked this useful piece of evidence."

Kameda took out a piece of paper and produced a portrait. This time, the portrait had been changed quite a bit; he had thinned the thick eyebrows and removed the black mole. And it must be said, this portrait actually bore a thirty-percent resemblance to He Yuzhu.

"I don't care what method you use, investigate! Search every blacksmith shop in Beiping that can forge knives! Three days! I will give you only three days! Within three days, if you cannot find the source of this murder weapon..." He turned abruptly, his blade-like gaze piercing Ozu, "You will use this sword to commit seppuku and apologize to His Majesty the Emperor!"

Ozu Jiro gave a bitter smile: "Officer, if we are to investigate, we must do it secretly! And we cannot set a time limit. We can dispatch the Imperial Collaboration Army to watch over all the blacksmiths in the city; once this person goes to a blacksmith shop again, we can catch him."

"That makes sense." Kameda nodded.

"Once we identify this person, we must mobilize a large army to capture him; a small number of people will not be able to catch him," Ozu said.

"Your suggestion is very good!" Kameda said.