Chapter Sixteen: The Witch's Painting

  Name: Dan Zhu

  Gender: Male

  Age: Unknown

  Occupation: Boss of Mo Xiang Zhai

  Address: No. 14 Beixingli, Bomei Village

  "Ah, Mr. Nogaya, you're back." I stopped sweeping and greeted the neighbor who was hurrying by. The neighbor seemed not to have heard my greeting, but instead walked straight to his own house with his head down and slammed the door shut.

  "Oh my, Rikka-san, why are you still greeting that kind of person?" Along with the diligent and scolding voice, Maruko-san from the street corner grocery store appeared, carrying a full basket of fruits and vegetables, and rushed to me at a speed that didn't match her plump figure. She whispered mysteriously, "You don't know about that thing yet?"

  "What was that about...?" I followed her gaze and only caught a glimpse of Mr. Noguchi's figure with his hat brim pulled low, standing by the window for an instant before the heavy brown curtains cut off our line of sight.

  "You've just moved in so you're not aware of it, actually it's not Mr. Noguchi's fault either, as you know, nobody has an easy life these days, like my family..."

  "Uh... what exactly are you referring to?" I managed to squeeze in a question during the brief pause when Mrs. Maruzou was catching her breath while reciting sutras, looking puzzled. What does the bubble economy, layoffs, and declining moral standards have to do with not being able to greet Mr. Noguchi?

  "Ah, you really don't know?" Mrs. Maruzou seemed to be surprised and pressed her thick lips with her short fingers, saying carefully. Without waiting for my nod, she looked around and waved her hand, indicating that I should lean in close, and said in a voice that was as small as possible, "Isn't it... murder of one's wife?"

  Kill his wife?! I stared at the tall paulownia tree in the neighboring house in shock: "Oh no, Mrs. Maruko, you must be joking! How could Mr. Noguchi be that kind of person? You scared me... Hehe... Is it really true?"

  Maruzō's wife put on a profound expression, like a detective in an 8 o'clock drama, and wagged her finger at me: "You don't believe it, do you? At first, I didn't either, but the more I look, the more alike they seem! Not to mention anything else, Noguchi's wife hasn't shown her face in public for a whole month now."

  It seems that's really the case. Mrs. Noguchi, who is small in stature but has a very distinctive appearance and is kind-hearted, had some interactions with me when my family first moved here, but about two months ago, she started to appear less frequently when I was sweeping the yard every day, and now it's been quite some time since I've seen her.

  "Maybe Mrs. Noguchi has gone traveling?" I tried to come up with a reasonable explanation, but in any case, it's too hasty to accuse Mr. Noguchi of murdering his wife just because she hasn't been seen for a month.

  "Has anyone seen Mrs. Noguchi leaving with her luggage?" Mrs. Maruzou shook her head in disapproval, "A trip that won't even last a month!"

  "Perhaps Mrs. Noguchi has gone back to her parents' home for some reason?"

  "You really don't know, do you?!" Upon hearing this, Mrs. Maruzou covered her mouth with her hand again and exclaimed in surprise, "Who in this neighborhood doesn't know that Mr. and Mrs. Noguchi had a private wedding? I heard it's... " She intentionally lowered her voice and said in a husky tone, "an illicit love affair!"

  "What? So you're eloping?" I never thought that my next-door neighbor had so many secrets, and reflexively raised my voice.

  "Speak softly." Mrs. Maruzō tightly grasped my hand, whispering, "That person might be peeking at us from behind the curtain..."

  I stole a glance at the window of the neighboring house, and I felt that the curtains seemed to have moved slightly, and a figure quickly retreated from there.

  "Be careful, Mrs. Tachibana, with that kind of person living next door to you..." Mrs. Maruzou clicked her tongue with a hint of meaning, the sound sending shivers down my spine.

  "Then... why didn't you call the police?"

  "But isn't there no evidence? Who would want to take on that kind of trouble? However, for over a month now, nobody has seen Mr. Noguchi carrying any large items out the door..."

  "You mean..." I felt a gust of cold wind blowing behind my ears, the setting sun took away the warmth of the day, and several crows flew by in search of food, everything around me suddenly became chilly.

  "The corpse is probably still in that house!"

  Mrs. Maruzō's conclusion was like a bolt from the blue, and I trembled with both hands, unable to even grasp the broom steadily.

  "That... that must be reported to the police!" I finally found my voice after a while, dropped the broom and hastily went into the house to make a phone call.

  "Aren't you looking for trouble?" Mrs. Maruzō tightly grasped my hand, speaking in a tone of an elder teaching a younger one, "You don't have any concrete evidence, and if you provoke the other party, won't that bring disaster to your family?"

  "What should we do?"

  "Just pretend you don't know." Maruzō's wife whispered in my ear, "You absolutely must not show any suspicion in front of him, of course, unless you have solid evidence."

  "What evidence?"

  "I heard that these past few days, Mr. Noguchi has been keeping his lights on all night, every night, to do something."

  "Huh?"

  Seeing my puzzled expression, Mrs. Maruzou smiled triumphantly and continued in her husky voice, "Mrs. Yamaguchi across the street was playing mahjong at a friend's house until late at night, and on her way back, she passed by Mr. Noguchi's house and saw that his lights were still on, so she went to take a look... who would have thought..." Mrs. Maruzou suddenly raised her voice, startling me and making me shudder.

  "What...what...what did she see?" I stuttered, barely able to get the words out.

  "Mr. Noguchi and others are on the wall!"

  "Painting walls?" I repeated unconsciously, my thoughts unable to function normally.

  "It's not often acted out in TV dramas, right? To cover up the bloodstains and all that, they whitewash the walls. But such tricks can't fool my sharp eyes! Alright, alright, I should get going to cook dinner too. What I told you today, don't go telling others, okay?" Mrs. Maruzou said with a wave of her hand, disappearing from my line of sight as quickly as she had appeared, leaving me alone in shock and fear.

  "Kazuhiko, you know, just now Mrs. Marutaro from the grocery store said that Mr. Noguchi next door killed his wife and even said the body is still in the house! It's so scary!" I said while ironing clothes and flirting with him.

  "It's really true that you can't judge a person by their appearance, Mr. Noguchi... Ichihiko? What's wrong, are you still not feeling well? You haven't touched your food either, is my cooking not to your taste?"

  "Alright, go to sleep. Tomorrow I'll cook your favorite fish porridge." I picked up the clothes, turned off the light, closed the door and left.

  Maruko's credibility is uncertain, even to herself. This can be seen from the fact that she walks three streets every day to buy everything at a supermarket where only Chinese cabbage is 30 cents cheaper, and always greets people with a red face. But I've been troubled by Mr. Noguchi's affairs, so much so that I couldn't eat or sleep well, and my appearance has become haggard.

  "Oh my, Oh my, Rikka-san, you've lost so much weight recently!" Maruko-san exclaimed, rushing over from afar.

  "Thanks for your concern, lately I've been... " I couldn't say it's because I was shocked by the rumors about Mr. Noguchi and ended up like this, "My husband has been feeling a bit unwell recently, maybe I'm just over-worrying."

  "Is that so? I was worried if my words last time had caused you unnecessary trouble, but they were just rumors from the streets. Don't take it to heart, haha, you definitely won't take it to heart, right?"

  "Yes, yes, of course." I hastily replied, intercepting her before she could bring up more shocking topics. "Mrs. Maruzou, please come visit me again when you have time, I won't keep you any longer now."

  "Ah, oh..." Maruzō's wife trailed off, somewhat dissatisfied but also helpless, and slowly walked away.

  I let out a sigh of relief and patted my chest, my eyes inadvertently glancing at the window next door to see a figure flashing by - it was Mr. Noguchi sneaking a peek at us! Had he discovered something?!

  I hadn't planned on going to the neighbor's house at first, maybe it was Mrs. Maruzō's words that made me a bit dizzy, or maybe I was really too concerned about what happened in the afternoon. When I came to my senses, I was already standing in front of the Noguchi family's door, and I had even rung the doorbell.

  What should I do now? Should I escape? Just as I was about to make a decision, the door unexpectedly opened, and standing at the entrance was none other than Mr. Noguchi.

  "Anything wrong?" Mr. Noguchi replied coolly, his voice flat and showing no signs of panic.

  "Uh... I'm Rikka from next door, thought I'd drop by to say hello." I made up a casual excuse, my eyes catching the vibrant stains on Mr. Noguchi's grey sweater - oil paint?

  I thought I would be rejected for sure, but after a moment of silence, Mr. Noguchi calmly said "Please come in" and stepped aside.

  This has turned into a situation where I'm stuck and can't move forward. A room with a corpse! My mind keeps replaying the thrilling scenes from horror movies, my legs feel like they're filled with lead and it's hard to take another step. Could it be that he discovered our conversation and wants to kill us to silence us? Thinking this way makes me even more afraid to move forward.

  "Tachibana-san."

  "What...what's going on?"

  "Please come this way."

  "Okay..." I reluctantly agreed, following him stiffly to the living room.

  The terrifying scene I had imagined did not materialize. The Noguchi family's living room was cluttered with bento boxes, old newspapers and other trash, but there was no sign of a violent crime scene anywhere. On the wall opposite the window hung a large tapestry that obscured what lay behind it. Mr. Noguchi gestured for me to sit down, clearing a space among empty paint cans to do so himself. The table held various paintbrushes and a color palette, with wet paint still on it.

  "You must have heard some rumors." Mr. Noguchi lit a cigarette slowly, took a deep breath, and exhaled.

  "Huh?"

  "Say that I killed my wife or something." He took off his glasses, revealing a pair of unexpectedly clear but tired eyes. This was the first time I had seen Mr. Noguchi's face up close, with stubble all over and noticeable wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Although he looked disheveled and worn out, one could vaguely see the elegance of his youth, which made me wonder if Mr. Noguchi was perhaps an artist... a painter?

  "That's fake." He jumped to conclusions before I could even respond.

  "Huh?" I was taken aback for a moment.

  "I didn't kill her, in fact she left me." He snuffed out the cigarette butt and spread his hands, "She went off with another man a month ago."

  Things have changed beyond my expectations, and I stared blankly at Mr. Noguchi, who suddenly looked exceptionally old with his hunched back, wanting to say something comforting but not knowing what to say.

  "You must have heard too, I and Kiyoko ran away from home."

  I nodded silently, taking the thing handed over by Mr. Noguchi, a photograph. In front of an ultra-luxurious villa, Mrs. Noguchi was wearing a Western-style dress and laughing brightly, clearly a rich family's young lady.

  "Kiyoko's father was a diplomat, her mother a somewhat famous ikebana artist, and I was just a poor young man studying oil painting. Of course, I didn't expect to win Kiyoko's hand in marriage," Mr. Noguchi gazed up at the ceiling, lost in thought, "I was overjoyed when she accepted my proposal, but as expected, her parents strongly opposed our relationship. We eloped soon after. Giving up wealth, giving up family, giving up everything - what a great love it was!" He smiled wryly and shook his head, "If only I had known things would turn out like this, perhaps I wouldn't have proposed to her in the first place."

  "She..." I carefully chose my words, afraid of touching Mr. Noguchi's sore spot.

  "Ah, she regretted it. Because I never made a name for myself and could only make some small money teaching kids to paint, even this house was rented by her, waiting for me all these years wasn't easy for her either, so I let her go."

  "Have you heard of the Bomei Market?" Mr. Noguchi suddenly changed the subject, stood up and walked to the curtain, stopping in front of it, "It's a rather strange market that sells all sorts of peculiar things, like..." He suddenly pulled open the curtain, I was stunned for an instant, blurting out.

  "Mrs. Nodaya!"

  No, this is just a painting. On the wall facing me was painted an endless field of lavender stretching out to the horizon under a brilliant blue sky where Mrs. Noguchi from her youth sat in a one-piece dress mischievously crouched down in front of a cluster of flowers trying to swat at a butterfly fluttering around her face. No, this doesn't seem like just a painting! I could almost smell the fragrance wafting through the field and feel the gentle breeze rustling past my ears carrying with it the soft whispers of the leaves, as if the entire ocean of flowers was in a state of subtle flux.

  "Isn't it amazing?" Mr. Nodaya lovingly stroked the face of Mrs. Nodaya in the painting, "That person told me that as long as I use my heart and emotions to paint, I will definitely get what I want with these colors and brushes."

  Following his gaze, I saw the painting tools on the table, and for some reason, at that moment, I felt that the metal paint tubes were shining with a strange and mysterious aura.

  "There's just a little more, just a little more!" Mr. Noguchi seemed to have fallen into a trance, laughing hysterically as he wildly kissed the person in the painting, "Kiyoko, wait for me, you must wait for me!"

  I turned around speechlessly and left, after which I never saw Mr. Noguchi again.

  Two weeks later, the landlady came to inspect because she hadn't received the rent. Surprisingly, after opening the door, there was no one inside, and all of Mr. Noguchi's belongings were left behind, but he himself was nowhere to be found. Moreover, no evidence of Mrs. Noguchi being harmed was discovered, and the whole incident ended with Mr. Noguchi being assumed to have absconded without paying rent.

  "Landlady, are you sorting through Mr. Noguchi's things?" I walked up to her with a smile.

  "It's not, is it? I originally wanted to see if there was anything valuable left behind that could be used as rent. Who would have thought that they were all just worthless trinkets." The landlady huffed and puffed as she rummaged through Mr. Noguchi's belongings, tossing the paintings she considered worthless into a trash bag. "This family really has no upbringing, if you can't afford the rent then don't rent such a big house. And to think they even painted the walls like that, now I'll have to hire someone to repaint them again. What bad luck."

  "Ah, you're referring to Mrs. Noguchi's portrait?"

  "A picture?" The landlady frowned, "Did he draw other pictures on the wall? How annoying! The lavender field in the living room is already bothering me enough!"

  Astonishment flashed across my face, fleeting in an instant.

  "Landlady, if possible, could you send me these paints and brushes? I've recently become interested in oil painting. Okay, thank you."

  As soon as I entered the house, the phone rang. I hastily put down my brush and paint on the table to answer it.

  "This is the Tachibana residence, who are you looking for?"

  "Ah-ha! I've found your address! My husband was supposed to meet you two weeks ago to discuss a divorce, where have you hidden him? Hmm?"

  I slowly hung up the phone and let go of the hair tie, allowing my long black hair to flow down. Kazuhiko once said that this was his favorite part about me.

  "Yi Yan, your wife is so annoying, always calling to harass us." I coquettishly said, wrapping my arms around the man's neck, "But it doesn't matter, we'll be together soon, very soon..."

  The afterglow of the sunset faintly spilled into the courtyard, enveloping the interior in a thick, reddish-yellow hue. In one corner of the house, a long-haired woman was embracing a man, whose pale face seemed to have been dead for many days.