Chapter 824: 495, Snow Country’s Little Girl
If it was just an assassination of more than twenty people, it wouldn’t be enough to make the Mysterious Business Departnt nervous.
However, a single Joker card could put the entire Mysterious Business Departnt on high alert.
After all, the last ti Joker appeared, he nearly uprooted the Jindai foundation in Western Europe, causing significant losses for the Ti Travelers from the Deer Island Financial Group.
Everything that happened at the airport quickly spread on the internet because there was no initial control over public opinion.
Too many tourists recorded videos with their phones, and even the airport surveillance footage was leaked.
Before the Nohi Bus even arrived at Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture, other tourists on the bus had already seen the news.
Qing Chen sat quietly in the last row, the two Rubik’s Cubes in his hands turning slowly but never stopping.
He listened to the tourists on the bus discussing how the assassin used soone else’s hair to kill, thinking to himself that using hair was simply because it was the easiest weapon to find, and he pulled the middle-aged man’s hair because it wouldn’t hurt himself to pull soone else’s hair.
Additionally, this way, he didn’t have to study a middle-aged man’s health guide like his master did.
The bus drove along the long mountain road, entering Snow Country.
Every winter, Shirakawa-go is covered in heavy snow, with accumulations up to a ter deep, making the whole world feel like a fairy tale.
The village still has traditional ‘Gassho-zukuri’ houses, nad for their triangular thatched roofs. Dozens of these houses form a cluster, with thick snow covering the roofs, creating a scene too beautiful for even an oil painting to capture.
In the sumr, heavily laden hikers start their journey here, traversing the challenging Northern Alps Small Loop.
In autumn, the village hosts a cloudy sake festival, where locals invite tourists to enjoy a cup of cloudy sake mixed with rice.
In winter, skiers co here to rent family-run hot spring inns, skiing by day and soaking in hot springs by night.
After getting off the bus with a backpack almost as tall as himself, Qing Chen followed the map to find the family-run hot spring inn he had rented.
In this snowy village, the locals had cleared a narrow gravel path, with snow piled high on either side, creating an unusual ‘winding path leading to a secluded spot.’
But Qing Chen was taken aback when he arrived at the hot spring inn he had rented.
Because while the snow in front of other hot spring inns had been cleared away, thick snow remained in front of this small inn.
When he rented it, all the other inns had almost been booked out, but this one had no takers.
Qing Chen had checked the reviews of this hot spring inn and found almost all were negative.
“The old lady running this hot spring inn can’t cook, and the food is terrible and hard to swallow.”
“The hot spring’s temperature isn’t high enough.”
“The inn isn’t very clean.”
There were several such negative reviews.
But Qing Chen didn’t mind. After all, he wasn’t here for a vacation. No matter how difficult the conditions were, they couldn’t be worse than the A02 secret military base.
He trudged through the waist-high snow and knocked on the wooden door.
The door opened quickly, and an eight or nine-year-old girl stood there, scrutinizing Qing Chen.
Qing Chen spoke in Japanese, “Hello, I’m the renter.”
The little girl imdiately smiled warmly, “Onii-chan! You finally arrived, co in quickly!”
She hurriedly brought slippers for Qing Chen and even took out a soft straw broom to gently brush the dust off him.
This puzzled Qing Chen. Why was an eight or nine-year-old girl doing the work in an operating hot spring inn?
Where were the adults?
The girl invited Qing Chen to sit in the living room and carefully brought him a cup of hot tea from the kitchen.
She handed it to Qing Chen and then explained cautiously, “Onii-chan, sorry, but my grandma got sick a few days ago, so she can’t get up to clear the snow or do the tasks to serve the guests… Are you hungry? I’ll prepare a al for you.”
Qing Chen didn’t speak, just nodded slightly.
He watched as the little girl brought a small chair into the kitchen.
She stood on the chair, struggling to light the fire, fry fish, make olet rolls, and prepare miso soup.
Her skills were not very proficient, indicating she hadn’t been learning for long.
Her diligent efforts showed a strength beyond her years.
Qing Chen watched silently, sowhat lost in thought.
The little girl was delicate with thick, fluffy hair that was very cute.
Her clothes were old, and a workbook lay next to the dining table in the living room, suggesting she had been doing howork before Qing Chen arrived.
He heard faint breathing and occasional coughing from a bedroom, which was probably the little girl’s grandmother.
“What illness does your grandmother have?” Qing Chen asked.
The little girl was silent for a mont, then forced a smile and said, “Onii-chan, my grandmother has lung cancer. It’s not contagious, don’t worry.”
Qing Chen didn’t speak further, but he understood sowhat.
The negative reviews from previous guests were likely because the little girl’s grandmother had been in poor health for a long ti, making it difficult to run the hot spring inn properly.
The little girl’s cautious deanor reminded Qing Chen of his own childhood.
Like a wild weed, growing fiercely and stubbornly.
She tried hard to show enthusiasm and keep Qing Chen from leaving.
Generally, guests at the hot spring inn only stay for two or three days; it’s rare to have soone like Qing Chen renting for a month. The little girl feared that Qing Chen might leave for another inn because of negligence.
So, even though they had just t, the little girl used the term “Onii-chan,” making it seem more intimate.
This form of address is typically reserved for very close older brothers.
Qing Chen took out two Rubik’s Cubes again, turning them slowly.
This wasn’t just multitasking; he was ‘restoring’ the Rubik’s Cube while also contemplating the little girl’s situation with the inn, effectively using his mind for three tasks.
It was unclear where the little girl’s parents were, requiring her to learn to please guests and take on responsibilities she shouldn’t have to at such a young age.
Soon, the little girl returned to the dining table with a tray.
She carefully placed the tray on the table and tentatively asked, “Onii-chan, have you seen the reviews of our inn online…?”
Qing Chen nodded, “Yes, I have.”
The little girl hung her head, “We really have no other options, but could you please not switch inns? I can wash clothes for you, and I’ll do it very cleanly!”
Qing Chen shook his head, “No need, thank you.”
“Oh…”
He picked up the bowl of rice in front of him and took a bite of the fried fish; it was salty.
Extrely salty.
The little girl anxiously watched Qing Chen eat, afraid he would say the food was bad.
To her surprise, the brother in front of her didn’t say anything and carefully finished all the food, leaving nothing behind.
Seeing Qing Chen eat so cleanly, the little girl thought she did well this ti.
But she also knew her cooking skills, so she hesitated for a while before asking, “Onii-chan, was it good…?”
Qing Chen looked at her, “It wasn’t good.”
The little girl didn’t know how to respond. She felt this brother had a distant and cold aura, like the weather in Shirakawa-go.
Like the thick snow on the triangular roofs of Gassho-zukuri houses.
After Qing Chen finished eating, she brought out a bowl of cloudy sake from the kitchen, holding it with her small hands, which made her look particularly pitiful.
Jinguji Maki said, “Onii-chan, this is our family’s cloudy sake, brewed with spring water fetched by my grandma. It’s better than the others.”
Qing Chen shook his head, “Sorry, I don’t drink.”
He needed to stay sharp, not wanting to consu any alcohol.
Jinguji Maki stood there, at a loss. The cloudy sake was ant for entertaining guests, and she hadn’t expected it to be declined.
With her head down, she whispered, “My na is Jinguji Maki, your room is on the left, connected to the hot spring in the backyard. Don’t worry, my grandmother and I won’t disturb you. The bedding is all prepared, and you can call anyti if you need anything.”
After saying this, Jinguji Maki humbly returned to the kitchen, took out a tiny cold rice ball, and started eating slowly.
As she ate, tears began to silently stream down her face.
To her, this new guest would likely leave because of the poor service, just like the others.
Qing Chen didn’t care. After finishing the al, he returned to his room, where a mattress and blanket had been laid on the floor, clean enough.
Jinguji Maki wiped her tears, collected the dishes, and washed them in cold water, her small hands turning red from the cold.
Other houses had diesel boilers outside, providing heating and hot water.
But she kept the heating on because it was a necessity for guests.
Using it for hot water, however, seed wasteful, so she used cold water instead.
This way, their diesel could be saved for keeping the heating going throughout Qing Chen’s stay.
After tidying up, the little girl quietly took out dicine from the kitchen drawer and brought a cup of hot water to her grandmother’s room, restoring tranquility to the little hot spring inn.
Snowflakes danced outside like a fairytale scene from where the Seven Dwarfs lived.
People were having snowball fights and building snown.
Inside, the house was quiet as everyone slept early.
…
…
The next morning.
Jinguji Maki woke up beside her grandmother; she first felt her grandmother’s forehead, relieved to find the fever had subsided.
The girl glanced at the quartz clock on the wall, suddenly exclaiming softly and quickly getting up to make breakfast.
She was late. According to the inn’s rules, she had to prepare breakfast for Qing Chen by 8 AM, but it was already 8:10.
When she reached the living room, she was surprised to find the door of Qing Chen’s room open, with the bedding neatly folded.
But Qing Chen was nowhere to be found.
Her face fell. Had he already left for another hot spring inn, just as she feared?
Turning around, she saw a bundle of money on the dining table and a note in Japanese: I’ll be back by 8 PM; please save so dinner. The money is the full rent in advance, feel free to accept it.
Jinguji Maki stood quietly at the dining table.
In Shirakawa-go, guests typically pay the rent upon departure, only needing to leave a deposit upon arrival.
She understood that the brother had noticed her financial difficulty and had paid the rent in advance.
Jinguji Maki opened the door, wanting to see where Qing Chen had gone. But when she pushed the door open, she found the snow in front had been cleared, revealing a neat gravel path.
Just like the other hot spring inns, even cleaner.
The little girl stood dumbfounded, recalling Qing Chen’s cold deanor from the previous night.
She thought, “That brother is cold but very kind.”
…But where could he have gone so early?
Looking around, she noticed Qing Chen hadn’t taken any skis with him.
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