Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 270 - 191: The Advancing Tree Man

Chapter 270: Chapter 191: The Advancing Tree Man

Without having time to think, Minamoto Tamako turned her head and fired a shot, aiming for the leg. Unfortunately, the dim light and the moving target caused the shot to miss, and the person fled into the great hall.

This wasn’t the time to chase down the culprit; the top priority was ensuring the safety of Yazaki Momo and the others. Minamoto Tamako quickly asked Kawai if he had seen anyone else, but he shook his head, saying, "When I returned to the room, the mistress was already gone."

The phrase ’mistress’ struck a chord of disappointment in Minamoto Tamako’s heart. She realized she had another hallucination, mistaking Ono Ken for Nagono Kawai.

"When I called you earlier, why didn’t you respond?" Minamoto Tamako asked.

Ono Ken was startled, claiming she hadn’t heard anything and had been searching for Mrs. Nakako. It was only when she passed through the corridor that she saw Minamoto Tamako in mortal danger and intervened.

"Did you see that person’s face clearly?" Minamoto Tamako pressed.

Although she suspected Doctor Fukuyama was likely the culprit, she had no evidence, had not figured out the method, nor the motive for murder, so she couldn’t make hasty conclusions and needed to confirm with the eyewitness.

Upon hearing this, Ono Ken’s expression became a bit unnatural. She evasively said, "I didn’t see clearly... the light was too dim..."

Seeing her expression, Minamoto Tamako understood. Ono Ken had likely had a hallucination too, mistaking the Believer for someone else—perhaps the person was a knot in Ono Ken’s heart, thus she was unwilling to say more.

Minamoto Tamako didn’t press further. The two of them discussed and decided to search together. Ye Tea seemed to affect hearing, making separate actions unfavorable.

To prevent further hallucinations, they established a secret code to identify themselves.

Minamoto Tamako bent down to pick up the flashlight, while Ono Ken stood behind her, keeping watch. Her gaze swept across the floor, noticing the sporadic bloodstains leading into the depths of the fog in the great hall.

At first glance, Minamoto Tamako thought it was blood left by an injured culprit. But on second thought, it didn’t seem right. The culprit was injured in the head, and if such a large amount of blood had spilled from the head, the brain might have been drained.

"What did you use to hit that person’s head?" Minamoto Tamako scrutinized Ono Ken from top to bottom. She still looked like Nagono Kawai, holding nothing in her hands.

"Just that lamp."

Ono Ken pointed towards the room entrance, and Minamoto Tamako looked down to see the lamp lying in the fog, the lampshade dented, with no blood, indicating the perpetrator did not bleed.

Could it be... someone else’s blood?

Minamoto Tamako’s first reaction was that Mrs. Nakako was injured, leading her to leave the room while trying to escape with her injury.

The thought of potential casualties made Minamoto Tamako increasingly tense. She hurriedly conveyed her hypothesis to Ono Ken and decided to follow the trail of blood to find someone. Ono Ken had no objections and agreed to help.

With their minds made up, the two stood shoulder to shoulder, guarding front and rear, tracing the blood trail through the great hall, past several Japanese-style rooms, into the depths of the old house. They looped around to the east side, where they finally saw a room at the end of the corridor illuminated by a dim light.

The light didn’t resemble that of an incandescent bulb; it was dim and flickering, likely candlelight. As they peered closely, they noticed the blood trail on the floor turning into the door.

Exchanging a glance, Minamoto Tamako and Ono Ken crept towards the room. The latter whispered, "That’s the alcove... for storing Mr. Akihito’s collection and Princess Akishino’s ashes."

"Shh! It’s not the time to talk about that!" Minamoto Tamako signaled with her finger.

Ono Ken quickly fell silent. Together with Minamoto Tamako, they crept to the door. The latter peeked inside, seeing a katana on the left and a tea set on a shelf on the right. In the center were spiritual tablets and an urn, with a white candle quietly burning.

Mrs. Nakako was kneeling on a cushion, her back hunched, half of her body covered in blood.

Seeing no one else in the room, Minamoto Tamako sighed in relief and hurriedly entered with Ono Ken. Seeing the family mistress in uncertain condition, Ono Ken turned pale and hurriedly supported Mrs. Nakako, carefully checking the wound, finding a knife embedded in her left shoulder.

Ono Ken was about to reach out to pull it, but Minamoto Tamako quickly stopped her. Pulling out the knife at this time would cause massive bleeding, and with no access to emergency services, she could die from blood loss.

Having undergone emergency training at police academy, she knew what to do at moments like this.

First, she quickly checked the injured’s consciousness, breathing, and pulse. Fortunately, they arrived in time. Mrs. Nakako was still conscious, and though her breathing was weak, it was stable enough.

Minamoto Tamako used the katana to cut open the coat sleeve to secure the knife, preventing it from shifting and enlarging the wound. She also did circular bandaging to stabilize it around the shoulder. After finishing, she asked Ono Ken to hold Mrs. Nakako in a semi-reclining position while using finger pressure to stop bleeding by pressing the subclavian artery.

"I’m fine..."

Mrs. Nakako had beads of sweat on her forehead, her lips pale as paper. She gave a dry smile, looking at Ono Ken: "Ah Ken... the Spirit Summoning Ceremony was a success... I saw Akihito... saw Mako... but Akihito changed; he wants to kill me... but I don’t blame him..."

Tears streamed uncontrollably down Ono Ken’s cheeks, dripping onto Mrs. Nakako’s face, as the latter softly said, "Don’t cry... why are you crying? You should be happy... Akihito wants to take me away, to reunite with me..."

Minamoto Tamako knelt beside her, clutching her fists. Her heart was heavy, like filled with stones, knowing the truth but unable to speak.

"My lady, please stop talking," Ono Ken choked, "Your health is more important; the sir wouldn’t want to see you like this..."

Mrs. Nakako was about to speak when suddenly heavy footsteps echoed from outside.

Minamoto Tamako immediately blew out the candle and stood by the door with her handgun drawn, motioning them to silence.

Through the sliding paper door, a faint light revealed someone outside holding a flashlight, slowly approaching. After listening attentively for a moment, Minamoto Tamako confirmed there were more than one set of footsteps.

Thud... thud... thud...

Tap, tap... tap, tap... tap, tap...

Tap, tap, tap... tap, tap, tap... tap, tap, tap...

The footsteps came closer, and Minamoto Tamako’s heart sank. She counted at least four people, yet the total outside didn’t add up to four.

The pistol only had five bullets left after shooting twice. If just one man survived, they could be all wiped out. Minamoto Tamako calculated for a few seconds, realizing they couldn’t wait passively. She stealthily slid open the door to observe outside.

But one glance was enough to send chills down Minamoto Tamako’s spine, her heart pounding wildly.

The corridor was packed with tree men, dressed in Hunting Clothes and wearing crow hats, wobbling their way along the blood trail.