Chapter 764

The opportunity to converse with a dead soul comes only once; it's impossible to recall and ask something, then recall again and ask something else.

Uesugi Muneyuki has accumulated rich experience from numerous dead soul contracts; if he hadn't clarified the situation and just asked randomly, he might miss crucial clues due to insufficient leads and lack of understanding.

This group of dead people is just like Mai Xuejie—if they resist Uesugi Muneyuki, they only answer what they're asked and won't volunteer information; if they resist him strongly, he might not even get a chance to ask questions. So, is Tokugawa Ryuichi on good terms with Uesugi Muneyuki?

Damn right! Uesugi Muneyuki beat him up!

So he didn't rashly trigger the dead soul contract; instead, he thought, put things back in his bag, stood up, and scanned the entire room. The sake bottle was placed beside the table, the cup still had some liquid. On the table was an uneaten box of Lotte snacks, half a bottle of water, and a Huawei Mate phone. The bedding was made but untouched—Tokugawa Ryuichi hadn't slept in bed.

The windows were tightly shut, the door lock intact.

There were no signs of forced entry.

Uesugi Muneyuki walked to the table and picked up the cup again. Inside the amber liquid, he saw nothing abnormal. He brought it to his nose and smelled—sake's aroma, but faintly, there was another elusive scent he couldn't identify.

Without testing conditions, everything is speculation.

He carefully poured the sake into an empty water cup to preserve it as-is, then placed the cup into an evidence bag.

"Uesugi Chief." The manager's cautious voice came from the doorway: "The Gunma Prefecture police have contacted us..."

Uesugi Muneyuki didn't lift his head: "How so?"

"The mountain road is blocked; they can't get through and must wait for it to clear." The manager swallowed: "They said... please have Uesugi Chief assist with the investigation first; everything will be handed over when they arrive. All procedures are being handled on their end—no need to worry, they've granted you full authority." This outcome was expected by Uesugi Muneyuki.

He nodded and continued his work.

First, the death flashback.

However, possibly due to excessive drinking, the memory images were blurry; Uesugi Muneyuki vaguely saw Tokugawa Ryuichi sitting on the bed, drinking and eating snacks, the scene somewhat messy, while also watching TV and fiddling with something.

"Turn on the TV." Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly said to the waiter.

"Yes." The waitress turned on the TV, which was tuned to an esports channel.

"Switch to last night's 9 PM to 11 PM slot and see what program it was." Uesugi Muneyuki continued.

The waitress adjusted it, and everyone froze.

It was actually an esports program! Moreover, it had recording and replay functions enabled; the game being played was Valorant, featuring EDG's star player from the VCT region, Valorant's executive vice GOAT, history's first sniper, Ye Wang zmjiejiekk facing an interview, declaring domineeringly: "T1, we'll send you home tomorrow!"

"Let the world witness our CNFPS!!"

"Uesugi Chief, Tokugawa-san... had set up a reminder and replay function, clearly intending to watch this late-night match, which starts at 24:00, but he never turned on the TV afterward." The waitress whispered.

"Hmm." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded.

Although he doesn't watch Valorant or understand these memes, theoretically, if someone planned suicide in advance, they'd have no reason to pre-arrange and prepare to replay a TV program.

Alright, we can proceed with the dead soul contract.

Uesugi Muneyuki signaled everyone on both sides to retreat, then activated the Qinghui Stone.

Tokugawa Ryuichi's dead soul responded as summoned, and just as Uesugi Muneyuki imagined, he immediately resisted the call: "Uesugi Muneyuki, you bastard! Do you think my suffering isn't enough? Are you here to take revenge on me?!"

"Who are you?" Uesugi Muneyuki tilted his head, bewildered: "Which roadside stray dog? I can't remember."

"Now I get it—you're the lord of Two halves, able to cross the Sanzu River to summon spirits, treat Huang Quan as a swimming pool, and come and go freely on the Naihe Bridge—no wonder you're the god of detective work! Heh heh, thinking back to when I was at your brother's wedding..." Tokugawa Ryuichi suddenly chuckled: "How about it? A perfectly good wedding, didn't it leave a bad taste?"

"I don't have time to waste on you. I'm asking you—how exactly did you die?" Uesugi Muneyuki suppressed the urge to kill him dryly, speaking coldly. "Heh, who knows?" Tokugawa Ryuichi replied.

"?" Uesugi Muneyuki's face full of confusion: "You don't even know how you died?"

"No! You TMD didn't ransack my bag, did you? Uncle me—I've had enough fun in this life!" Tokugawa Ryuichi laughed hysterically, wearing a smirk of a seasoned rogue.

"??" Uesugi Muneyuki staggered, but seeing Tokugawa Ryuichi's strong urge to speak, he gestured for him to continue.

The story begins with the Kii Tokugawa line having no heirs; having reached this generation, the Kii Tokugawa household—one of the Tokugawa Shogunate's three main houses—under the current head Tokugawa Noriko, had no male heirs, so they had to appoint Tokugawa Noriko as female head and recruit a son-in-law adoptee. However, by this time, as previously mentioned, the Kii Tokugawa household had declined due to repeated business failures under Tokugawa Noriko; when the son-in-law adoptee arrived, he found the estate already emptied, and after a while divorced Tokugawa Noriko; they had one son and one daughter; at this point, the Kii Tokugawa household fell into dire straits—if not for aid from the Tokugawa main house and Owari Tokugawa household, it might already have gone bankrupt.

Tokugawa Ryuichi was born into this environment; his life was a cycle of rich-one-poor-one-rich; as a child, like Cao Xueqin's Jia Rainstorm, he enjoyed several years of pampered aristocratic living, but soon the household declined, life became extremely harsh, and he was frequently mocked by those around him and the outside world. There's no way—mocking fallen nobility is a timeless, universal human pastime.

Tokugawa Ryuichi couldn't accept this life, found it deeply painful, and began gradually rebelling; with later help from the Tokugawa main house and branch houses, the Kii Tokugawa household at least recovered to a modest comfort, and Tokugawa Ryuichi began retaliatory spending and reckless indulgence—what's called being good-for-nothing. "What should I pass down to the next generation? I am the last generation!"

This son was clearly useless; left with no choice, Tokugawa Noriko decided to recruit a son-in-law adoptee, so the future Kii Tokugawa household would be inherited by the son-in-law adoptee, who would attend Tokugawa Sadanori's wedding as a first public appearance; this decision enraged Tokugawa Ryuichi, leading to the wedding disruption. "So how exactly did you die?" Uesugi Muneyuki said after listening, showing understanding.

"Who knows? Anyway, my health's been terrible these past few years—alcoholic liver, fatty liver, gastric ulcer, intestinal obstruction; I often feel abdominal pain. Last night I originally wanted to watch EDG 13-0 crush T1's Kang God in a showdown to execute Izhu, but once I got excited, I drank a few cups, kept drinking, and fell asleep, then just... kicked the bucket." Seeing Uesugi Muneyuki uninterested, Tokugawa Ryuichi sneered: "What? Can't the academic elites of Tokyo University figure it out? Heh heh, your so-called godlike detective skills—probably just know how to talk to dead people, right? I'm screwed—why doesn't this kind of luck ever hit me? Is Uesugi Kenshin really just a password?"

"Then it could be sudden illness or accident, or even homicide?" Uesugi Muneyuki, not arguing with a dead man, continued: "Assuming you might have been murdered, who do you think is most likely to have killed you?"

"Who else could it be? Obviously my adorable little sister Tokugawa Ayako and her husband—then that damn dog bastard, Tokugawa (Tokugawa) Yaso!" Tokugawa Ryuichi suddenly laughed: "Let me tell you, Uesugi kid, my sister's been trying to conceive lately, but that brother-in-law of hers probably never imagined she might give birth to my child! Hahahahahaha hahahahahahaha!!" Uesugi Muneyuki blinked; he first didn't grasp Tokugawa Ryuichi's smugness, but then immediately understood.

This guy's hopeless!

"Eh!" As Uesugi Muneyuki forcibly severed the dead soul contract, Tokugawa Ryuichi's dead soul let out a strange cry and fell still.

Sai Baba Meichan shake it ah!

This is the same—throughout history and across the world, those so-called noble families are always internally corrupt.

No way—when basic needs are met, thoughts turn to lust; this is also human nature; lust truly does not deceive me; human essence lies in becoming doubly excited only when touching extreme danger and taboo realms.

In the crowd outside, Miyawaki Sakura softly asked Shirakawa Mai: "Mai-sama, how did Uesugi judge? Was it suicide?"

Shirakawa Mai gazed at that focused back in the room, gently shook her head: "Listen to what he says."

Uesugi Muneyuki finally stood up, removed his rubber gloves, and walked out of the room.

He glanced at the dense crowd at the doorway, his gaze finally settling on the manager.

"Preliminary judgment as follows."

Everyone fell silent, even their breathing softened.

"The deceased Tokugawa Ryuichi, aged thirty-nine, time of death between 9 PM and 11 PM last night. Cause of death: respiratory paralysis, most likely poisoning, acute alcohol poisoning."

Someone sucked in a breath of cold air.

"But," Uesugi Muneyuki shifted tone: "I currently have no testing conditions, cannot confirm the presence of toxins, nor determine how they entered the body. The liquor might contain something, but it could also be other routes. The scene shows no signs of struggle, the deceased has no external wounds, nor defensive injuries."

He paused, his gaze sweeping the crowd, finally resting on the manager and staff.

"The deceased's luggage contained numerous bills and medical records. He owed considerable money, his health was poor—chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer, abnormal liver function, alcohol dependence. Doctors had warned him that continuing this drinking carried a risk of sudden death."

"Then... could it be..." a staff member whispered: "Drunk himself to death?"

"Sudden death from acute alcohol poisoning?" Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "Theoretically possible. Given his condition, drinking too much could trigger an acute episode, which could indeed lead to death."

A hint of relaxation appeared in the crowd.

"But"

That hint of relaxation instantly froze.

Uesugi Muneyuki's gaze turned sharp.

"From the scene, he had booked an esports program, which makes suicide unlikely, because if he intended to kill himself, why would he book an esports program? If he did this deliberately to confuse the investigation, why would he specifically come to Sekizenkan to commit suicide? There is currently insufficient logic to support this." "Moreover." He continued: "I examined all the medicines in his luggage, and they were all ordinary prescriptions, with nothing abnormal. Among the things he brought himself, there was nothing that could directly cause death. If he committed suicide, where did the poison come from? If it was a sudden illness, why now? Why on this isolated night?"

He did not draw a direct conclusion, but everyone present understood the meaning of his words.

"Among you, some may hope it was suicide, some may hope it was a sudden illness," Uesugi Muneyuki said calmly, yet each person felt a chill: "But as a forensic pathologist, I must say that the evidence for suicide is insufficient, the possibility of sudden illness exists but cannot explain all doubts, and the possibility of homicide cannot be ruled out."

"That... that murderer..." the general manager's voice trembled.

"If it really is homicide," Uesugi Muneyuki looked at him, word by word: "The murderer is still in the inn."

This sentence was like a bomb exploding in the crowd.

Panic spread like a plague. People began to eye each other, their eyes filled with suspicion.

Several female servants huddled together, softly sobbing.

The general manager took a deep breath, struggling to calm himself. He turned to the crowd and shouted loudly:

"Everyone listen! From now on, everyone gather in the lobby! No one may be absent! Before the police arrive, no one may act alone!"

"Also, immediately go fetch the two from the Kii Tokugawa family, Tokugawa Ayako and Tokugawa Kazuya, I want to question them!" Uesugi Muneyuki said lightly.

"Yes!"

The entire inn immediately sprang into action—shouts, cries, howls, discussions—a long-forgotten terror and eeriness rose in everyone's hearts.

Could it be homicide?! Could the murderer be one of us?!

We have truly encountered the Blizzard Mountain Villa!

Kinoshita Hiroko, executive producer of the television drama version of Hand of God, was trembling all over with excitement at this moment.

She grabbed the director's arm, her voice unable to be contained:

"Filming! Filming has been going on, right?! Just now! From the autopsy to the reasoning to the conclusion! All of it filmed?! "

The director swallowed: "Filmed, filmed..."

"Good! Good! Good!" Kinoshita Hiroko's eyes were shining: "The Gunma Prefecture police can't get in! Excellent! This is our exclusive! When the road opens, when the police arrive, when the case is solved—this material, every second is gold!"

"But, but this is a murder case..."

"What do you mean, a murder case?! A murder case is the real deal!" Kinoshita Hiroko had already entered a frenzied state: "The actors are here, the forensic pathologist is here, the murder scene is here, the Blizzard Mountain Villa is here, and did you hear? This also involves the family secrets of the Kii Tokugawa clan, the grudges of the old nobility, the secret history of the main house of the Violent Bandit Shogun—this is heaven-sent material! If we don't film it, who do we owe?! Fuji TV?! The Monday 9 timeslot and over three billion yen in production costs?!"

The director stared blankly, then

then he also became excited.

"Yes yes yes! Camera crew! Multiple camera positions! Sound team! Keep up! Yamada, you go to the lobby and set up a fixed camera position! Tobu Television anchor, you follow Uesugi Chief, wherever he goes, you follow! Keep your distance, don't interfere with his work!"

Fuji TV's Monday 9 timeslot has never before seen such a "location shoot"—it has begun!