The bearded man’s words made both Aoto and Okita freeze simultaneously.

Kiyayanagi Town—this nearby town was also one of the districts under Aoto’s jurisdiction.

It also happened to be the next town Aoto planned to patrol after finishing lunch.

A murder case occurring in his own jurisdiction? This wasn’t something that could be taken lightly.

Without bothering to continue chatting with Okita,

Aoto only paused for a moment before immediately sharpening his gaze and quickly standing up, striding toward the bearded man.

“Good day. I’m a dōshin from the Kita Bansho’s Teimachi squad.” Flipping open his wine-red haori to reveal the jutte and inrō at his right waist, Aoto got straight to the point, “What exactly happened with this death in Kiyayanagi Town you mentioned?”

Aoto’s sudden appearance beside them startled the bearded man and his companions.

Seeing the jutte at Aoto’s waist and the inrō that only official constables could wear, the bearded man swallowed hard.

“The details… I don’t really know. I just heard an old woman in Kiyayanagi Town was killed in her own home. When I went to check it out, the jishinban had already sealed off the scene—couldn’t see anything.”

Seeing the bearded man didn’t know much, Aoto slightly furrowed his brows. After saying “I understand, thank you for your help,” he returned to Okita.

“Okita-kun, something seems to have happened in neighboring Kiyayanagi Town. I need to leave immediately.” Aoto took out money for the tea and placed it on the table.

“Tachibana-kun…” Okita seemed to want to say something to Aoto.

But he only managed to say “Tachibana-kun” before Aoto hurriedly rushed out of the teahouse…

……

Aoto originally planned to first go to Kiyayanagi Town’s jishinban to ask the town head and others questions like “exactly what happened” and “where is the crime scene.”

But upon arriving in the town, Aoto found—it seemed completely unnecessary.

As soon as he entered Kiyayanagi Town, Aoto immediately saw crowds of people gathering in small groups with various expressions, all heading in one direction.

Faintly, Aoto overheard whispers from these people all heading toward the same place:

“Hey… is it true that Granny Apple was killed?”

“Seems to be true…”

“Come on! Let’s go see!”

With a slightly darkened expression, Aoto followed this human current, passing through 3 main streets and 2 alleys, turning corner after corner, until finally—he stopped before an ordinary house surrounded by a massive crowd.

Looking at the dense throng tightly encircling this ordinary house, Aoto couldn’t help but let out a soft exclamation.

—Why so many people…

Aoto roughly estimated—there were at least over a hundred people gathered before this ordinary house.

Among the crowd, some stood on tiptoe, craning their necks to curiously peer at the house.

A considerable number wore expressions of grief—some with pained faces silently weeping, others even prostrate on the ground wailing loudly.

Between the crowd and the house stood a human wall—the jishinban officials responsible for managing this town.

They held their staffs horizontally before them, connecting one after another to form an invisible barrier, keeping the pressing, jostling crowd outside and preventing anyone from approaching the house.

“Make way!” Aoto shouted to the crowd blocking his path. “I’m a dōshin from Kita Bansho’s Teimachi squad! Please make way!”

“Ah! The dōshin is here!”

“It’s a Teimachi dōshin!”

“Hey! Don’t push!”

…

As soon as Aoto’s shout fell, the crowd before him noisily parted left and right, creating a narrow path for him to pass through.

Hearing that a Teimachi dōshin had arrived, a middle-aged man immediately emerged from the “human wall” keeping the crowd away from the house and approached Aoto along the cleared path.

Upon hearing a dōshin had come, this man’s face immediately filled with ingratiating smiles.

But upon seeing it was Aoto who had come, the man’s smile froze momentarily.

A flash of disdain appeared in his eyes…

But he quickly concealed this disdain and adjusted his expression.

“Lord Tachibana!” The middle-aged man hurried to Aoto’s side and bowed respectfully. “I’m the town head responsible for managing Kiyayanagi Town: Hairo.”

Kiyayanagi Town was one of the districts under Aoto’s jurisdiction.

Hierarchically speaking, Aoto was undoubtedly Hairo’s direct superior, so Hairo naturally knew Aoto.

Since this was the town head responsible for managing Kiyayanagi Town, things would be simpler.

After briefly greeting Hairo, Aoto got straight to the point—

“I heard there’s been a murder here.” Aoto said solemnly. “What exactly happened?”

When a direct superior asks a question, Hairo had neither reason nor courage not to answer.

“Ah…” Hairo sighed heavily. “Where should I begin…”

……

The owners of this house where the murder occurred—currently surrounded by crowds—were an elderly couple named Kotarō and Ahei.

Speaking of Kotarō and Ahei, these two names were practically household knowledge in Kiyayanagi Town and surrounding areas.

When mentioning this couple, many would respectfully refer to them as the “Bodhisattva Couple.”

People said: Kotarō was a “living bodhisattva” whose medical skills and ethics were beyond reproach.

Doctors during the Edo Period were considered quite respectable professions.

Not only was social status high, but with sufficient medical skill, income could be quite substantial.

With his excellent medical skills, Kotarō could have relied on his talent to treat only wealthy patients and made a fortune.

But he didn’t do that.

He consistently focused on treating the poor, often charging minimal fees or even providing free treatment.

His wife Ahei was also an excellent helpmate, fully supporting her husband’s “foolish endeavor” of sacrificing personal gain for others’ benefit.

Although Kotarō’s behavior of not pursuing wealth and often losing money to help patients might seem extremely foolish at first glance, this foolishness wasn’t entirely without reward.

Over decades of medical practice, the couple had helped countless people.

Many respected and adored this couple.

About two months ago, Kotarō passed away peacefully at age 75.

The couple had no children, so after Kotarō’s death, only Ahei—now 65 but still quite healthy—remained in the household.

Out of affection for Ahei, as she aged, younger acquaintances began affectionately calling her “Granny Apple.”

With savings accumulated over decades and occasional financial support from those the couple had helped, Granny Apple’s life remained peaceful and stable these past two months since her husband’s passing—aside from occasional loneliness.

But tragedy… struck today.

Granny Apple maintained very regular habits, waking promptly at 6 AM and going for walks at 8 AM daily.

But today, her neighbors were surprised to find—Granny Apple hadn’t come out for her walk…

At first, the neighbors didn’t think much of it, assuming she was just skipping her walk occasionally, as similar situations had happened before when Granny Apple left 1-2 hours late.

But when the sun was nearly at its zenith and Granny Apple still hadn’t appeared, the neighbors gradually sensed something was wrong…

With growing unease, they went to Granny Apple’s door and called her name.

No response…

Their ominous premonitions reaching a peak, the neighbors quickly pushed open Granny Apple’s door and rushed inside.

Upon entering, they found… Granny Apple’s body in the main room—stabbed multiple times on the tatami, her eyes wide open in death…

*******

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep