"You have no idea what you're talking about."

The police inspector, holding his gun, slowly said each word, "Put down the doctor, and maybe we can sit down and talk..."

Li Ang sighed and said, "Fukutomi Hirabaru is a very tragic man. Most of his life has been spent in the deceptions and concealments of others.

He's seen too many terrible things,

to the point that his brain, in order to spare him further pain, deliberately twisted and altered those memories into things that can be seen at a glance as fictitious."

The police inspector frowned and said, "What are you trying to say?"

"Remember those two recollections of Fukutomi Hirabaru that I told you about?"

Li Ang said indifferently, "In the first memory, Fukutomi Hirabaru, as a child, was running wildly through the fields, chased by squirming mochi people.

Fukutomi Hirabaru fled to the bridgehead and saw a chorus of demons, surrounding a headless girl wearing a white kimono, heading towards the deep mountains.

In the second memory,

Fukutomi Hirabaru, in high school, was telling his classmates a strange tale adapted from his childhood experiences. The tale mentioned that

Yuzuki's limbs and bones were all taken away by [boxes with body parts written on them], leaving only her head behind.

Hiderai went mad after seeing the Scarecrow God.

At first, I thought that Fukutomi Hirabaru couldn't bear the successive blows of his uncle trying to kill him, Yuzuki's bizarre disappearance, and Hiderai's madness,

so he interpreted that memory from May '77 as demonic possession,

and in high school, he regarded it as a preposterous and absurd tale.

But, what if Fukutomi Hirabaru's memories, which were comparable to horror stories, actually happened?

That squirming mochi person was Hiderai, who saw something he shouldn't have,

and the headless girl in the white kimono was Yuzuki—her death was also directly caused by Hirabaru and Hiderai."

The police inspector's face showed a puzzled expression, "...What?"

"Showa 52, March 20th, the Fukutomi Hirabaru family returned to their old home in the countryside.

March 24th, Fukutomi Hirabaru and his sister Yuzuki, along with his cousin Hiderai, built a secret base.

March 25th, Fukutomi Hirabaru told his uncle about the secret base.

March 26th, Fukutomi Hirabaru's uncle, Fukutomi Yamato, sneaked into the room with a knife, trying to kill the three children, but was instead killed by Fukutomi Hirabaru's parents. The explanation given to the outside world was that he was mentally unstable and committed seppuku."

Li Ang slowly said, "Fukutomi Hirabaru had a very good relationship with his uncle. On March 10th, his uncle even brought him an English dictionary and mythology books as gifts.

But on March 26th, his uncle suddenly wanted to kill the three children. Why?"

The police inspector frowned, "Wasn't this matter already settled? His uncle delved too deeply into rural legends and went mad..."

Li Ang interrupted, "Perhaps, it wasn't madness, but his uncle wanted to protect Hirabaru, Hiderai, and Yuzuki."

"Protect?"

"Yes."

Li Ang nodded, "Showa 52, May, something happened to Fukutomi Yuzuki.

Heisei 10, Fukutomi Hirabaru suffered a migraine, accidentally scalding Fukutomi Kyoko and Fukutomi Hiro with boiling water.

Reiwa 1, May, Fukutomi Hirabaru killed his entire family and kidnapped Emon Shion.

Don't you think the timing is rather convenient?"

The police inspector narrowed his eyes, the dark gun muzzle still aimed at Li Ang's head, hidden behind the doctor, "What timing?"

"Showa 52, 1977,

Heisei 10, 1998,

Reiwa 1, 2019."

Li Ang said, "The three years are exactly 21 years apart.

Moreover, Fukutomi Yuzuki, Fukutomi Kyoko, and Emon Shion were all exactly eight years old when the incidents occurred."

"..."

"Fukutomi's hometown is Kibon Village, east of Gayan City.

According to the tourist map, the Yuhime Shrine, which Fukutomi Miyoko often visited, is located in the area between Gayan City and Kibon Village."

Li Ang said, "The Yuhime Shrine enshrines the local guardian deity, the celestial maiden Yuhime, and the legend says that if people throw themselves into the lake before they die, they can be reborn in the next life.

Because of this legend, many people visit the Yuhime Shrine every year, including dignitaries and nobles.

Donations from all walks of life have made the shrine's financial situation quite good, and it bought a large area of mountainous land as real estate a long time ago.

The mountains surrounding Kibon Village happen to be within this range,

which means that the direction the demon chorus in Fukutomi Hirabaru's first memory was heading was exactly towards the location of the Yuhime Shrine.

If the demon chorus was actually comprised of villagers from Kibon Village, and the headless corpse being carried by the chorus was Fukutomi Yuzuki,

then everything can be explained.

Fukutomi Hirabaru's uncle, Fukutomi Yamato, knew long ago that the entire Kibon Village held a special 'belief' towards the celestial maiden Yuhime,

and knew that Fukutomi Yuzuki had been chosen as a shrine maiden, a sacrifice, or something else.

But this choice didn't pose any life-threatening danger, so he remained cautiously observant.

Until March 25th, Fukutomi Hirabaru told him about the secret base, and the children's actions in the secret base ruined Fukutomi Yamato's plan.

Based on the following speculation, I tend to believe that Fukutomi Yuzuki was no longer 'complete,' and could no longer fulfill her responsibility as a shrine maiden or sacrifice.

Since Fukutomi Yuzuki was already the chosen candidate, if she was found to be incomplete during the ritual in May, she would likely face a very terrible fate.

So, on the night of March 26th, Fukutomi Yamato snuck into the room with a knife, intending to cut scars on Yuzuki, or even cripple her, to prevent her from being chosen.

Or perhaps, he wanted to take Yuzuki and escape the village altogether.

Unfortunately, he failed and was instead discovered and killed by Fukutomi Hirabaru's parents.

Fukutomi Hirabaru was terrified and didn't dare to reveal what he and his uncle had discussed earlier.

Finally, one day in May, the adults discovered that Yuzuki didn't meet the requirements, but it was too late to change the candidate. They had to follow some ancient tradition, kill her, cut off her head, and dress her headless body in white bridal garments—

Before the Japan became westernized, white was used as a sacred color for sacrificial clothing, and gradually evolved into bridal gowns.

That night, Hirabaru and Hiderai, who knew nothing about the ritual, returned from outside and happened to see their sister's head at home. In horror, they fled into the fields,

and on the mountain path at night, they saw the familiar villagers of the past, dressed in festive attire, carrying torches, surrounding the altar enshrining their sister's headless corpse, and walking into the mountain path.

This terrifying scene drove Hiderai mad on the spot and completely stunned Hirabaru, causing him to suffer from migraines ever since—which was a harbinger of multiple personality disorder.

Afterward, Hiderai stayed in the countryside and was soon transferred to a sanatorium in Gayan City.

But the matter didn't end there.

Those who held special beliefs in the celestial maiden Yuhime and the Yuhime Shrine were not just the villagers of Kibon Village. There were many others like them in Gayan City.

This group had a great deal of power, and Fukutomi Hirabaru's parents were part of it.

For some reason, they didn't absorb the traumatized, amnesiac, or rather, memory-disordered Fukutomi Hirabaru into the organization. Instead, they raised him like a normal child.

Fukutomi Hirabaru's father likely underwent a change in thinking, hoping that Hirabaru could leave Kibon Village and Gayan City, and stay away from the organization.

But Hirabaru met his junior high school classmate, Hani Rie, in college and proposed to her.

Hirabaru had no idea that Hani Rie also believed in the celestial maiden Yuhime, and foolishly brought her back to his old home in the countryside, telling his father that he planned to marry her.

Upon hearing this, Hirabaru's father was furious. He didn't want to see his son continue to get entangled with the organization.

So, like Fukutomi Yamato, he entered the room at night with a knife, trying to kill Hani Rie, but was discovered by Fukutomi Hirabaru and accidentally killed.

The memories in Fukutomi Hirabaru's brain began to become disordered and mixed up.

The memories of seeing his uncle die and of killing his father with his own hands intertwined, completely throwing him into chaos and further exacerbating his multiple personality disorder.

A year later, Hirabaru graduated from college and was introduced to a company in Gayan City through an acquaintance—I think that acquaintance was also a member of the organization.

The Fukutomi family name had a unique specialty.

The unique bloodline of the family members made the organization unwilling to let him go so easily.

As Kyoko and Hiro were born, Fukutomi Hirabaru's migraines worsened. One of his personalities (tentatively referred to as the second personality) constantly analyzed past memories, trying to figure out what had happened in the past.

The second personality vaguely sensed the cause of his uncle's death, the existence of the organization, and his wife's abnormality,

but his sphere of influence was very limited. He couldn't control Fukutomi Hirabaru's body for a long time, taking his children and fleeing the city to stay away from the organization.

Moreover, there were more than just two personalities within Fukutomi Hirabaru. There was also a third, stronger personality who believed in the celestial maiden Yuhime.

The surrounding area was also full of the organization's spies.

Rashly contacting Fukutomi Hirabaru could be detected by the third personality or the organization, leading to the failure of the plan.

Not only would he be unable to save his children, but he would also lose his freedom completely.

Therefore, the second personality could only use the method his uncle had once used, deliberately scalding Kyoko and Hiro's skin with boiling water, creating scars on them to make them ineligible for the organization's recruitment.

This is what Fukutomi Hirabaru and his son-in-law said during the psychological treatment process, dreaming that he smiled happily when he scalded his children."