Chapter 29

"First, imagine a corpse in your mind—this is the state of impending death, so start with the trunk bones..."

"Although the lines look chaotic, pay attention: this is the scene of a severed neck, where the color is much more vivid than other areas..."

"Below is the head region; though the red lines appear messy and heavily inked, they connect to form facial features..."

Standing in the police station's back hall, Niino Li affixed nine drawings to a whiteboard with magnets, explaining to a group of police officers posing as students how to piece them together step by step, like a teacher.

Seeing the scribble-like drawings perfectly assembled into the corpse image of Tianye Zhenyi, several evidence room staff involuntarily gasped, a deep chill surging through their hearts.

"Niino-kun, you really weren't part of any biology-related club before?" Kitagawa Satoru walked over and patted his shoulder.

From a policeman's instinct, he always felt the guy was promoting how to quickly and accurately reassemble a corpse.

If someone like this committed a crime...

Kitagawa Satoru shook his head—he simply didn't want to keep imagining such baseless, horrifying scenes.

"Really, you can check it yourself if you don't believe me," Niino Li said calmly, then shifted tone:

"Now, can you tell me why a regular high school student like me was summoned to the police station?"

After being questioned, Tianye Zhenyi and Izawa Ayane had already left by the time he was called to the interrogation room.

He, who hadn't joined the club sketching session, was the person least involved in the case—and yet he was the one kept behind.

If it were only about asking how he discovered the secret between the drawings, there'd be no need for such an elaborate setup.

"Are today's youth really this smart?" Kitagawa Satoru sighed, discovering for the first time just how vast the gap between people could be.

"Actually, the nature of this case isn't as those two ladies claimed—it resembles a strange incident that occurred in Ikamiyama City over a decade ago."

Niino Li's heart suddenly pounded violently—

He was truly terrible at hiding his reactions, but fortunately, Kitagawa Satoru hadn't noticed.

"The Shadow Ritual is a local tradition passed down through generations, held annually to honor Goshinjin."

During Ikamiyama City's largest festival, the shrine's shrine maiden performs a ritual dance, then draws Shadow Drawing of villagers' shadows to pray to Goshinjin."

Yet this once joyous festival became linked, over a decade ago, to unsolved murders whose truth vanished into obscurity.

The shrine maiden assigned to perform the ritual dance was murdered in her room, while villagers knelt outside, praying before her corpse."

The story—or rather, the legend—ended abruptly. Kitagawa Satoru glanced at Niino Li and noticed the boy wasn't reacting as he'd expected.

Even... happy?

"It's hard to understand, but the truth is this twisted. If you hadn't pieced together that drawing alone, I wouldn't have told you this."

Kitagawa Satoru took Niino Li to the station's front hall, gave his final instructions, and prepared to send him home.

Back then, in the room where the shrine maiden was killed, wooden walls had been cut into nine-square grid shapes; nine wooden panels, covered in red lines, were carelessly tossed on the floor.

Like the corpse drenched in blood.

"Mr. Kitagawa, were there any evidence items related to Shadow Drawing collected back then?" Niino Li asked, his eyes unconsciously drifting toward two slender figures near the station's entrance.

Why haven't they left yet?

"Though I admire you, that doesn't mean you can act however you please. As someone unconnected to the case, you have no right to inspect evidence, understood?"

Kitagawa Satoru's tone grew sharper, his gaze more piercing: "Those two girls are still waiting for you—go to them now."

He turned and walked back inside.

Watching his swaggering back, Niino Li was momentarily speechless.

"Niino-kun, what did they do to you?"

No sooner had he stepped through the glass door than Izawa Ayane, pulling Tianye Zhenyi, rushed forward with a worried expression.

"Nothing. I just taught them how to assemble those nine drawings." Niino Li looked completely relaxed.

Though it took some time, he'd gained useful information.

"Tianye-kun, are you feeling better now?" Tianye Zhenyi's pale cheeks bore a flush from the lingering summer heat; her complexion looked normal.

"Much better," Tianye Zhenyi replied softly, bowing her head in quiet gratitude.

Not just her—several others who had participated in the ritual were also slowly recovering when they checked on each other—

As if returning to the sunlight.

"Hehe, calling the police officer was definitely the safer choice. The rest is out of our hands now!" Izawa Ayane held Tianye Zhenyi's hand, beaming broadly.

After a brief chat, Niino Li didn't waste more time—he bid them farewell and returned to his apartment.

There was no choice: within a week, he had to complete seven artworks with distinct brushstrokes, organize the Fujii Manuscript, and keep an eye on the illustrations for Goodbye, Another World.

Oh, and he also needed to check on the progress of his mission.

The introduction was a passage dripping with remorse.

Niino Li recalled Kitagawa Satoru mentioning Ikamiyama City over a decade ago—

The shrine maiden who died in her room, while villagers knelt and bowed before her corpse.

"Please don't hate me. Even if you cannot forgive the world, I still care for you..."

Could it be that the person who caused the shrine maiden's death was begging for her forgiveness?

Neighboring lights streamed unobstructed through Niino's gauze curtains, slicing into shards of light that scattered across the desk.

The black-and-white aerial map of Ikamiyama City was half shrouded in shadow, its eerie silhouettes looming like a ruined, lifeless wasteland.

A figure clad in shrine maiden robes stood by the lake on the eastern edge of the map, silently watching.

Until the calm lake surface turned blood-red, trickling crookedly down the drawing.

Like a single drop of crimson tear.

"Preparing an outline and plot first was definitely the right move—I finally finished the first two chapters. Now, let's prepare some sketches for the upcoming competition," Niino Li said, ignoring the growing chill in the air as he stretched upward.

He rose from his desk, about to retrieve his oil painting tools from beneath the closet, when he noticed something strange.

The aerial map of Ikamiyama City had changed!

"I clearly remembered there was a low hill on the east side?" Sniffing the faint scent of pencil lead from the drawing, Niino Li scanned it up and down, comparing it to his memory.

The next second, he focused his gaze on the lower part of the painting, carefully searching for the shrine maiden's figure.

Completely empty, as if the painting were nothing but an empty shell.

"Gone?" Niino Li's brow furrowed tightly; after several back-and-forth looks, he still found nothing.

Taking his oil painting tools and returning to the desk, he stared blankly at the Ikamiyama City bird's-eye view, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind:

Combining the contents of the mission introduction with Kitagawa Satoru's words — the dead shrine maiden resented the world that had abandoned her; what was the truth she was pursuing?