However, this didn’t seem like the time to dwell on such things.
“Who screamed?” Tsukiyomi Ruri asked, puzzled.
“The voice seemed to come from outside.” Inoue Keiko, who was near the window, propped herself up and rubbed her head.
“Who is it?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki yawned; it was rare for her to be so listless right after waking up.
“Could something have happened?” At that moment, Izumi Shirayuki remembered the real reason she had come to the hospital; she hurriedly got up, put on her clothes, and rushed out.
She felt a bit of urgency; could it be that someone at the hospital had been harmed while she wasn’t paying attention?
Tsukiyomi Ruri thought of the same thing, frowned slightly, and quickly got dressed as well.
The four of them soon finished dressing, went outside, and headed toward where the sound had come from.
Before long, they saw a crowd gathered in one spot.
As the four rushed over, Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu, who was already there, quickly stopped them: “You four, don’t go any further.”
“Why not?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki was the first to protest.
“There’s a dead body up ahead.” Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu frowned, looking troubled.
“A dead body? Who is it?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki said in surprise; the others were also taken aback.
“It’s not someone from our hospital. It’s an unfamiliar person, and we have no idea why they were in our hospital.” Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu shook his head, as if struck by an unexpected calamity.
An unfamiliar person?
Tsukiyomi Ruri and the others were puzzled; why would an unknown person die in the hospital?
Izumi Shirayuki in particular was dying of curiosity; she said to Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu, “Uncle Mizuhashi, we aren’t afraid of dead bodies. Let us go take a quick look.”
“No!” Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu immediately put on a stern face.
Let a bunch of little girls see a dead body? He, Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu, could not allow that.
Seeing that there was no room for negotiation, Izumi Shirayuki could only say nothing more.
Not long after, the police came to the hospital, took the body away, and cordoned off the scene of death, attempting to investigate and uncover something.
“Ah, I really want to see the scene too, and investigate on site.” Sitting on a bench, Izumi Shirayuki propped her cheeks in her hands and said with some frustration.
“My dad will definitely have people guarding the area; there’s no way to get past.” Mizuhashi Yuzuki shrugged.
Hearing this, Izumi Shirayuki sighed again.
Inoue Keiko couldn’t help but say, “Why do you want to go look? There’s a dead body there; it’s better not to get close.”
“But I’m so curious.” Izumi Shirayuki said with sparkling eyes, “I really want to investigate on-site and find out what happened last night.”
Inoue Keiko didn’t know what to say; she couldn’t understand such intense curiosity.
“Right now, the police suspect this was a thief who entered the mental hospital to steal, but was killed by a mental patient.” Tsukiyomi Ruri said, holding her smartphone.
“How do you know?” Izumi Shirayuki asked curiously.
Tsukiyomi Ruri held up her phone: “Some fast-moving news outlets have already reported it online.”
“Do they know which patient?” Izumi Shirayuki asked.
Tsukiyomi Ruri shook her head: “Not yet. And the idea that a thief was killed by a mental patient is only a guess for now.”
“Last night, killed by a mental patient?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki said doubtfully, “Impossible. I remember that every night before ten, all patients must return to their rooms, and then the doors and windows are locked. There’s no way a patient could have gotten out.”
No one could answer that question; after all, they were just delicate girls who couldn’t even get close to the scene.
“Great Sage, I see you again.” At that moment, a voice came from nearby.
Hearing the title “Great Sage,” everyone knew who it was.
Gounon approached with a respectful expression, kneeled on one knee, and paid his respects to Mizuhashi Yuzuki.
Seeing this scene, everyone’s eyes were inevitably strange. After all, Gounon was in a hospital gown, and stuck in his pants was a tree branch serving as a sword; they wondered if it might poke somewhere unpleasant.
“Great Sage, I forgot to ask last time we met: who are these people with you?” Gounon asked.
“They are my envoys.” Mizuhashi Yuzuki replied without a second thought.
“So they are three envoys.” Gounon greeted them politely.
Tsukiyomi Ruri and the other two: “…”
Mizuhashi Yuzuki wanted to shoo Gounon away, so she said, “Hero, to defeat the Devil Lord, you must seize every second to improve yourself. Go cultivate now.”
Hearing this, Gounon smiled slightly: “There is no need, Great Sage. Just last night, the dreadful Devil Lord attacked, and after a desperate battle, I slew him.”
Mizuhashi Yuzuki: “???”
Last night?
Slew?
As if something had clicked, four pairs of eyes fixed intently on Gounon.
“Where did you slay the Devil Lord?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki quickly pressed.
“Right over there, in that place.” Gounon pointed in a direction.
The four looked in the direction he pointed and for a moment didn’t know what to say. That direction was exactly where today’s dead person had been found.
So, Gounon was the one who killed him?
Mizuhashi Yuzuki rubbed her head helplessly, took a deep breath, and asked, “Then how did you get out of your room?”
“Do you mean the Cultivation Realm, Great Sage? I know that without reaching a certain level of cultivation, one cannot exit the Cultivation Realm.” Gounon smiled slightly, “But I long ago shattered the barrier of the Cultivation Realm. To avoid being noticed, I normally seal it successfully with a Sealing Strip. When I need to come out, I just peel off the Sealing Strip.”
Everyone listened blankly; what was he talking about?
Even Mizuhashi Yuzuki couldn’t understand Gounon’s words; she could only say, “Take us to see your room… uh, the Cultivation Realm.”
“Of course, no problem.” Gounon agreed.
Under Gounon’s lead, everyone went to his hospital room.
Soon, Tsukiyomi Ruri understood what the Sealing Strip was—it was transparent adhesive tape. And the barrier of the Cultivation Realm was the window guard; at some point, Gounon had broken the guard, and he secretly used tape to fix the iron bars in place. Unless one looked closely, they wouldn’t notice the guard was damaged.
This explained how Gounon could leave at night.
Mizuhashi Yuzuki looked at Gounon with complicated eyes, then called Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu.
“Dad, I found the culprit.” As soon as the call connected, Mizuhashi Yuzuki said directly.
