Chapter 136

Time passed unconsciously until late December, and there were only a few days left until the New Year.

Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan has no longer celebrated the lunar New Year.

As mentioned earlier, although Japan claims to have an "unbroken imperial line" that has continued from Emperor Jimmu to the present day without interruption, in reality, Emperor Jimmu himself cannot be verified; there is even a theory that Emperor Jimmu was Xu Fu—though there is no evidence to support this claim, there is no evidence to support anything else either!

It is generally believed that archaeology can only roughly guarantee the existence of a person starting from the tenth emperor, Emperor Sujin, and by the fifteenth emperor, Emperor Ojin, archaeological excavations, written records, and historical sites can be fully correlated; therefore, this generation is one hundred percent verifiable, and the credibility of his deeds and stories is gradually maximized, so Emperor Ojin is considered the true founder of the Yamato dynasty.

Therefore, the historical records of the second to ninth emperors are not considered "reliable history," and the Japanese themselves call them the "Que-shi Bada" (of course, they can also be called the "Eight Generations of Missing History").

According to the fact that Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui, once bestowed a gold seal upon Himiko, the Queen of Yamatai in Wa, it is almost certain that there were other rulers in Japan at that time besides the imperial lineage.

It was not until Prince Shotoku sent Ono no Imoko as an envoy to the Sui dynasty that Japan began to learn the culture of the Heavenly Dynasty in its entirety, and later, based on the "Tang Code" brought back by the envoys to the Tang dynasty, they imitated the "Taiho Code" and introduced the Yuanjia calendar to imitate the Tang people in celebrating the lunar New Year.

More than a thousand years later, after the Black Ships opened the country and the Meiji Restoration took place, the lunar calendar was abolished again and replaced by the celebration of the solar New Year.

The long river of history rolls on, surging forward, never ceasing.

Sakata Bridge Tower, Bunkyo Ward, 1802.

Since Saito Asuka moved in, the home had gradually become different; pushing open the door that had not changed at all, what came into view was a home completely transformed by Saito Asuka: the heater was on, the brown carpet was spotless, the pale gold curtains had been washed and were emitting an alluring halo in the sunset, the glass was bright as new, the kitchen was neat and orderly, and rice was cooking in the rice cooker while pork bone seafood soup was simmering.

Saito Asuka wore a clean white headscarf and a standard Housekeeper's knee-length skirt; the waves of black hair and the white scarf cascaded down from the Chosen Girl, sliding down both sides of her shoulders, the two colors perfectly echoing her youthful, cute temperament and her young, delicate face.

Following the two waves flowing downward, a pair of slender calves encased in white Silk Stockings appeared in the air, shyly hidden; beneath the skirt that went over her knees, a pair of cute jade feet wrapped in white Silk Stockings stepped into rabbit slippers, the small ankles wrapped in white Silk Stockings, jumping lightly with the owner's movements; the girl's most alluring and cute legs and jade feet, paired with the protection of pure white thickened Silk Stockings, remained sweet and delicious even in the reflection of the flying snow outside the house.

The pink toes wrapped in white Silk Stockings were slightly on tiptoe, from the tips of the toes to the smooth instep, then to the sensitive sole, and finally to the heel and ankle, forming the softest and most delicious ice cream.

It is winter, the season of snow again.

This winter was painful for the girl; she had lost too much, too much, and she had once cried until she had no tears left.

But this winter was also lucky for the girl; she had met someone she could rely on, and she had never dared to fantasize that one day she could live in a high-rise apartment like a Tower Mansion, enjoying days with heating, a private room, and a small bed that belonged only to her; she no longer needed to endure hunger, nor did she need to live in fear every day.

High-rise buildings like Tower Mansions emphasize privacy and security; compared to public housing where the five or six nearby households would know as soon as you turned on the TV, here in the Tower Mansion, unless there was a huge commotion, you wouldn't know what your neighbors were doing; as soon as the door was closed, the inside and the outside were two different worlds.

The super-strong privacy and security greatly satisfied Asuka's psychological needs; the girl feared many things, she feared the affairs of the outside world, and she once did not want to go out.

Of course, there was also the existence of Uesugi Muneyuki.

As mentioned earlier, the girl was actually prepared to trade her body for everything she had now.

However, Uesugi Muneyuki did not touch her.

The man's existence greatly satisfied Saito Asuka's emotional sustenance; in her eyes, everything about her brother-in-law was good; he was very kind to her, and she should do her best to repay him.

If it weren't for Uesugi Muneyuki's insistence, she wouldn't even want to go to school; anyway, high school was not compulsory education, and she just wanted to stay at home, guard the home, and wait for Uesugi Muneyuki to come home.

With both approaches, this period of stable and comfortable days and Uesugi Muneyuki's reliability gradually healed the pain of Saito Asuka losing her sister and everything; she cherished the life in the Tower Mansion very, very, very much, and the life with Uesugi Muneyuki; from lying awake at night unable to sleep to sleeping very soundly, the girl couldn't help but blush whenever she thought of her luck.

"I'm home!" The door lock turned, Uesugi Muneyuki was back!

"Welcome back!" The girl's slippers went *clatter-clatter-clatter*, she ran quickly to the door, knelt on both knees, her small face filled with great joy: "Dinner is ready, would Mr. Uesugi like to eat first, take a bath first, or..."

Hmm?

The girl raised her head and discovered that it wasn't just Uesugi Muneyuki who had returned.

The Ultimate Boob Freak was here too!

The girl's expression changed immediately; she put away her ingratiating look, pouted, and said unceremoniously: "Why are you here again?"

This sentence directly tore through all of Ikeda Erena's psychological defenses!

The tall beauty was instantly unable to maintain her arrogant and indifferent expression; Erena almost couldn't control herself from giving Asuka an Arashi no Yama and throwing her directly down from the building!

What do you mean by "why are you here again"?!

Why can't I come? I am Uesugi's Partner! I am Uesugi's mentor! I am also his...

Erena's expression gradually distorted: My first love, first kiss, and first time were all given to him! I was the first to visit this Tower Mansion! And the first to enter his bedroom!

What do you mean by "why are you here again"? Clearly, I was here first!

Damn it, why on earth does this guy Uesugi want to let this girl live here and even give her a key, ahhhhhhh!!!

Erena was precisely broken, but in front of Uesugi Muneyuki, she still had to keep smiling; she just glanced coldly at the girl, intending to ignore her.

But at this very moment, Asuka and Erena's eyes met.

Lightning flashed, fire and oil!

Asuka's eyes were as hot as fire, and Erena's eyes were as cold as ice.

However, the two sides stared at each other for a few seconds, and both subconsciously moved their gazes downward by about thirty centimeters.

Erena really couldn't hold it in anymore, covered her mouth, and still burst out laughing; Asuka was full of despair, slid down the wall to an Orz position, and could not get up.

"Asuka! Don't be like this, Mentor Erena is here to see me about something." Uesugi Muneyuki had already felt the confrontation between the two sides, and he smiled at the girl: "This is official business, don't say things like that next time."

"Yes." Asuka pouted, but still politely apologized to Erena: "Sorry, Ms. Erena, it was my rudeness."

"............" Erena remembered that sentence and was still severely broken; she suddenly felt, was her choice to get along with Uesugi Muneyuki like this wrong?

Dinner was eaten by the three of them together.

After finishing dinner, Ikeda Erena finally had the opportunity to talk about business; she took out a thick file and placed it in front of Uesugi Muneyuki.

"Can you help me look at this?" The tall beauty said with some embarrassment.

"What is this?" Uesugi Muneyuki frowned; he noticed that this was a file from Otsuka Station: "This is an illegal act, how can files be taken out of the branch station?"

"This is a case I'm handling, there's really no other way, and the Section Chief allowed it." Ikeda Erena was a bit embarrassed: "There are only a few days left until the New Year, time is tight, I can only count on you, Uesugi! I beg you, okay?"

"Didn't I say that I don't want to take on new cases during this time because I need to prepare for my graduation thesis and exams?" Uesugi Muneyuki was a bit irritable; he said to Erena: "Once a precedent is set, the burden of autopsies for major and serious cases in the West 13th Ward of Tokyo and the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters will fall on me alone again!"

"I'm sorry... Uesugi, will you help me?" Erena lowered her head in grievance and said with great embarrassment: "This is the first case I've handled at Otsuka Station, and I don't want to mess things up."

"The first independent case???" Uesugi Muneyuki was even more speechless; he couldn't help but shake his head: "That's not right, it should be that the group of people in the Criminal Investigation Division forced themselves to investigate it once, couldn't get a result, and then threw it to you; anyway, they know that even if you can't find out, you will come to find me."

"Eh? Is that so?" Ikeda Erena stared with her large brown eyes, a bit confused about the situation: "But the section said this is a case involving a girl from a girls' high school, and it would be more convenient for me, a female detective, to take over..."

"Heh." Uesugi Muneyuki smiled helplessly; he looked at the tall beauty: "I know, you are willing to take it because you also want to solve this case quickly, right?"

"Yeah." Erena nodded gently; she was a bit embarrassed and looked at the man with eyes full of hope: "Help me, okay?"

"This is the last time." Uesugi Muneyuki looked at Erena with a half-smile: "Also, you don't need me to tell you what to do if you're begging someone, right? Mentor?"

"Everything... everything is up to you." Erena actually wanted this sentence; the tall beauty lowered her head with a blushing face, turned her back to Asuka, and gently unbuckled the belt of her suit trousers, revealing the waistband of her gray Silk Stockings: "I, I'm wearing them..."

"Very good~" Uesugi Muneyuki nodded with satisfaction.

He began to listen to Ikeda Erena's explanation.

Regarding the Keika Girls High School attack incident, the conclusion reached by Otsuka Station was "multiple perpetrators" and "multiple weapons," and they had been investigating in that direction, but without the slightest result.

Uesugi Muneyuki read through the file in detail, and after thinking for a moment about the scene environment, the wounds, and the Forensic Pathologist's report, he quickly provided the answer.

"The weapon was a beer bottle, it was a single perpetrator, the killer is a left-handed female, and there is a very high probability she is also a high school girl who knew the victim."

"Eh?!" Ikeda Erena was stunned.

"Beer bottle, single perpetrator, left-handed female, high school girl, possibly knew the victim." Uesugi Muneyuki repeated his words, then pushed the file back: "It's that simple, just investigate in the direction I said!"

Behind Uesugi Muneyuki, a Dharma Image of a Wisdom King proudly appeared.

With three faces and six arms, the front face has five eyes open, the left and right faces each have three eyes, the first right hand holds a Five-Pronged Vajra, the second hand holds a Sword, the third hand holds an Arrow, the first left hand holds a Vajra Bell, the second hand holds a Wheel, the third hand holds a Bow, with the left foot raised and the right foot extended, standing on a double lotus pedestal.

The Vajra Yaksha!

(End of chapter)