RBCT Chapter 159 Soaring into the sky, reaching the heavens!
Chapter 159 Soaring into the sky, reaching the heavens!
Chapter 159 Soaring into the sky, reaching the heavens!
The piping hot beef is coated in sweet egg yolk.
The egg mixture lowers the temperature of the beef, making it just right for eating.
Such delicious sukiyaki made Maijo Kyosuke's mouth water.
Following Jiang Liumei, Tsuchiya Takao finished off all the food on the table in one go.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill...
Maijo Kyosuke then remembered the important matter at hand.
"Mr. Tsuchiya, how is Mr. Yokomizo's condition?"
"Are you feeling any better lately?"
Takao Tsuchiya wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, his expression somewhat sorrowful: "Professor Yokomizo is seventy-eight years old this year. With his health, he can no longer perform surgeries."
"According to the doctor, it's only a matter of one or two years."
"I also received a lot of help from Mr. Yokomizo when I was young, so I plan to take care of him while he is still alive."
"This is as a way of repaying the kindness that Professor Yokomizo showed me back then."
Takao Tsuchiya seemed to realize something halfway through his sentence and smiled at Kyosuke Maijo, "What? Kyosuke? Why are you asking about Yokomizo-sensei? What are your plans?"
When Maijo Kyosuke heard Tsuchiya Takao's question, he didn't know how to answer for a moment.
But Tsuchiya Takao clearly had no intention of making things difficult for Maijo Kyosuke. He lit a cigarette, smiled, and said, "Yokomizo-sensei and I greatly admire you, Kyosuke."
"Just say what's on your mind, there's no need to beat around the bush."
"Just like I said before when I was in Jimbocho, I will do my best to help if I can."
Maishiro Kyosuke turned his head and glanced at Jiang Liu Meili, who was drinking water beside him.
Jiang Liu Meili also turned her eyes in the direction of Tsuchiya Takao.
Maijo Kyosuke didn't mince words and said directly, "Teacher Tsuchiya, not long ago I gathered Mr. Gonda, Mr. Kasai, Kodansha's Mikoshiba manager, and some of my friends to form a small organization called the 'New Orthodox Mystery Club'."
"The main purpose is to emulate the Japanese Detective Writers Club established by Edogawa-sensei," to carry out Yokomizo-sensei's ideas, and to let the orthodox mystery leave the ground and fly into the sky.
""
"Because, as you know, Professor Tsuchiya, Professor Matsumoto Seicho's influence is immense, and the 'Seicho curse' has a very wide reach."
"What we dislike isn't Matsumoto Seicho, nor is it social realism mystery fiction," but rather the "Seicho curse"—the dominance of a single author who monopolizes the entire market share.
"I don't know if I can succeed, but from the very beginning when I wrote 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders,' my idea was to break the Seicho curse that dominated the Japanese mystery literature scene," and to reignite the classic mystery genre!
"And the New Authentic Mystery Club that I created is a preparation to break the 'Kiyoshi Curse'!"
Upon hearing Maijo Kyosuke's words, Tsuchiya Takao was initially speechless, but then his eyes lit up with admiration: "Good lad! You've got guts!"
"They actually have the idea of breaking the 'Qing Zhang Curse'!"
"But, Kyosuke, do you know what?"
"The influence of the 'Qing Zhang Curse' is far more complex than you imagine!"
"The Seicho Curse" is a genre of "social mystery" established in 1957, based on the writing style of Seicho Matsumoto's "Points and Lines."
"The period from 1957 to 1968 can be considered the first era of the 'social realism' mystery genre, a period almost entirely dominated by authors such as Seicho Matsumoto, Etsuko Niki, Saho Sasazawa, and Hiroshi Sano."
"Because of Etsuko Niki's poor health, her contemporaries Seicho Matsumoto, Saho Sasazawa, and Hiroshi Sano were also known as the 'Three Masters of Social Realism Mystery.'"
"After this glorious first decade, social realism mystery novels had already become a force to be reckoned with, completely overshadowing traditional mystery novels."
"But later, as the peak passed, some writers began to create a large number of novels about customs in order to pursue the ultimate realism. These novels contain a lot of indecent descriptions, which disgust readers. Even Sasazawa Saho started to produce such works in order to earn royalties."
"It was in this environment that the so-called Qing Zhang curse arose."
2
"It was only because of the emergence of two giants of the social mystery genre, Shizuko Natsuki and Seiichi Morimura, in the second period" that the "sense of social customs" disappeared from the genre.
Takao Tsuchiya took a drag of his cigarette and continued, "It's because Seiichi Morimura improved the slow, drawn-out pace of social mystery novels, making their exposure and critique of the darker side of society even more incisive."
"Therefore, it curbed the transformation of social realism mystery into genre fiction."
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"Unfortunately, not all writers in this world are like Seiichi Morimura, nor are all writers so great that they are unwilling to succumb to the enormous traffic and benefits."
"This has led to most social realism mystery novels being filled with various vulgar, indecent, and offensive content, making them unbearable to read!"
"I understand Jingjie's desire to break the Qingzhang curse, but if you want my help, I really don't have much ability to do so."
"You should know that, not to mention me, even Yokomizo-sensei was defeated by Matsumoto-sensei at the height of his popularity."
"Takagi Akimitsu, in order to support his family, began writing courtroom mystery novels."
"So, I really don't know how to help you."
After speaking, Takao Tsuchiya sighed heavily, indicating his helplessness.
Kyosuke Maijo understands Takao Tsuchiya's feelings, after all, "orthodox mystery" has been gradually weakening in the last twenty-three years.
They are almost on the verge of extinction.
Although they all have backbone, after so much time, they still can't shake the foundation of "social mystery." They're probably tired, and it's understandable that they feel powerless.
Thinking of all this, Maijo Kyosuke smiled and slowly said to Tsuchiya Takao, "Tsuchiya-sensei, I understand your concerns."
"That's why I wanted to discuss this with you in detail today, didn't I just say that?"
"My New Orthodox Mystery Club" follows the philosophy of Yokomizo-sensei, which is that "orthodox mystery fiction must leave the ground and fly into the sky."
"But if it's just a simple revival of classic mystery," then the ending will probably be no different from before.
"So, in order to make this revival of classic mystery fiction more appealing and competitive..."
"I plan to abandon the realism and sense of responsibility inherent in traditional mystery novels, making them more exciting, more romantic, and more fresh and interesting!"
"Corruption, political intrigue, tragedies caused by a distorted modern society—all of you, please step aside!"
"So-called real-world dogmas and social rules, get the hell away from me!"
"Returning reasoning to its original form is what our 'New Classic Mystery Club' should be doing most."
"Master detectives, locked rooms, isolated islands, large families, brutal and bloody murders, impossible crimes, alibis, and jaw-dropping tricks!"
"Whether it's absurd or coincidental, since Professor Yokomizo said that reasoning should leave the ground and fly into the sky," then let's fly even higher!
"I not only want to fly into the sky, but I also want to break through the atmosphere and reach the heavens!"
"Let the world of mystery novels be filled only with pure romance and the enjoyment of solving puzzles!"
"This is my 'New Orthodox Manifesto'!"
Maijo Kyosuke's words left Tsuchiya Takao speechless with shock.
After a long while, when the broth in the sukiyaki pot had boiled away, Takao Tsuchiya burst into laughter: "So this is what 'Shin Honkaku' means?"
'
Is it feasible to completely abandon authenticity?
Maijo Kyosuke thought that Tsuchiya Takao would be resistant to his ideas.
After all, the idea of "new orthodox mystery" is just too ahead of its time!
Even in the original world, it would not begin until seven years later.
Takao Tsuchiya paused for a moment before continuing, "If it's enough to revive classic mystery fiction, completely abandoning realism and feasibility isn't out of the question."
"But Kyosuke, I'm getting old. Even if I can accept it, it's hard for me to understand the thoughts of you young people."
"Tell me, what exactly does this 'Shin Honkaku' you're talking about represent?"
When Maijo Kyosuke saw that Tsuchiya Takao didn't reject his idea and even asked him about it, it meant that this was a very good opportunity.
Thinking of all this, Maijo Kyosuke took a sip of tea, then earnestly said to Tsuchiya Takao, "Teacher Tsuchiya, the 'Shin Honkaku' school was created after a long period of contemplation."
"As for what it represents?"
"He naturally represents the future of 'classic mystery' just as I said!"
Simply put, the "New Orthodox School" absorbs the strengths of the traditional "Orthodox School" while discarding some outdated ideas.
"For example, an important branch of classic mystery novels is the so-called 'locked room mystery' or 'isolated island mystery' mode."
"In this model, the first problem that traditional mystery novels must consider is how to explain to the reader why the police cannot visit."
"To explain this matter, a lot of groundwork and explanation is necessary, which will slow down the pace of the story and make the plot drag."
The "New Orthodox School" doesn't need further explanation, because it inherently rejects realism and feasibility. After the incident, those already involved cannot leave, and the police or anyone else is not allowed to go to the island or leave.
"Similarly, all investigative equipment and trace evidence detection devices are strictly prohibited from entering the scene!"
"Under these circumstances, events can become even more bizarre, strange, exciting, and interesting!"
Because the topics that Maijo Kyosuke and Tsuchiya Takao were discussing were so complicated, Eri Ryumi, who was sitting to the side, didn't have much of a chance to interject.
Hearing Kyosuke Maijo propose the definition of "New Orthodox Mystery," she suddenly snapped out of her reverie: "Maki-sensei? What you just said—why does it sound so familiar?"
"Convergence! It's Convergence, isn't it?"
"Mr. Mai, so you were already considering this when you were writing 'Convergence'!"
"Isn't 'Convergence' just what you just said? It not only abandons authenticity and feasibility, but also fairness, even though it seems a bit like playing dirty tricks."
"But thinking about it carefully, this method is indeed much more interesting than being rigid and inflexible!"
Maishiro Kyosuke smiled and nodded at Jiang Liu Meili: "Miss Jiang Liu is right. 'Convergence' takes the 'New Orthodox School' to its extreme. With just a simple storm, it confines everyone on the island to the island, and the police outside the island are also unable to enter because of this restriction."
"Under these conditions, no reader will take it seriously and ask a stupid question like why we didn't call the police."
Upon hearing Maijo Kyosuke's words, Tsuchiya Takao's face lit up with interest: "Now that you mention it, it's quite interesting."
Are there any other examples like this?
Maijo Kyosuke continued, "Of course!"
"Because traditional mystery novels also care about feasibility and realism, there's always a feeling of being unable to fully unleash their potential."
"At most, some 'narrative tricks' will be added as spice to the story."
"But it's just a seasoning."
"Therefore, I think the 'new orthodox' school should be bolder and let more people join the mystery genre."
"Since many social realism mysteries exploit a subtle blind spot, they manage to write an entire book without any mystery plot."
"Then we, the 'new orthodox' school, can naturally also use a narrative trick to complete a book!"
"For example, my recently published book, 'The Summer of the Ubume,' which also received reviews from Yokomizo-sensei and Tsuchiya-sensei, revolves around a narrative-like trick."
"In other words, an 'unreliable narrator'!"
"Although I incorporated elements such as 'locked room mystery' and 'impossible crime,' *The Summer of the Ubume*..."
The core trick remains the unreliable narrator.
""
Therefore, while accepting traditional mystery fiction, the "new orthodox school" should also broaden the scope of reasoning!
Since elements like "locked room mystery," "impossible crime," "alibi," "dismemberment," and "faceless corpse" can all be core tricks, then we must also accept that "narrative tricks" are also tricks!
"And with the acceptance of narrative tricks and the rejection of feasibility and authenticity, things that would never happen in the real world should also be accepted!"
Upon hearing Maijo Kyosuke's words, Tsuchiya Takao became interested: "Something that's impossible in the real world?"
"Kyosuke—could you elaborate?"
After a brief moment of thought, Maishiro Kyosuke took a sip of water to moisten his throat: "Teacher Tsuchiya, this topic is a bit complicated, so I'll just pick out the simplest points to explain."
"For example, in my short mystery story 'Convergence,' which I published in the second issue of Top Hat magazine, I boldly referenced theories such as quantum entanglement, Schrödinger's cat, and Cañades's ship plank."
"The result is obvious: even though 'Convergence' isn't exactly fair, the story is very popular."
"So in my book *The Summer of the Ubume*, I extensively referenced theories such as 'imaginary pregnancy,' 'schizophrenia,' 'collective unconscious,' 'yokai studies,' and 'folklore,' further enhancing the book's appeal!"
"Following this line of thinking, I believe that 'new orthodox mystery' should retain the original core of 'mystery solving and puzzle setting' in orthodox mystery, while discarding feasibility and realism."
"To put it more distortedly, we can completely discard all realism and feasibility."
"Since we've already reached the heavens, why not go all the way!"
In the world of "New Orthodox Mystery," what's with all this "VR virtual reality," "time travel," and "resurrection of the dead"?
"In short, everything that can serve as a vehicle for solving or setting up a mystery, and every imaginative background that can be utilized, will become fertile ground for the growth of the 'New Orthodox Mystery'!"
"Only in this way can we broaden the scope of 'New Orthodox Mystery' and attract more writers to join our ranks!"
Only by doing this can "classic mystery" be resurrected and return to the public eye!
Takao Tsuchiya never expected that Kyosuke Maijo would have so many amazing ideas.
I never expected that Kyosuke Maijo would be able to think this far ahead!
The sheer volume of information left Takao Tsuchiya speechless with shock.
Jiang Liu Meili has been by Maishiro Kyosuke's side ever since she debuted.
Having a much better understanding of Kyosuke Maijo than others, I listened to his interpretation of "New Orthodox Mystery".
Jiang Liumei raised her question: "Teacher Wucheng, this sounds pretty good, but there's a very important problem that seems difficult to solve."
"What's the problem?"
Maijo Kyosuke and Tsuchiya Takao asked in unison.
When Jiang Liu Meili noticed that the two of them had suddenly focused their gazes on her, she felt a little uncomfortable, but still slowly said, "Ms. Maishiro's interpretation of 'New Orthodox Mystery' was very interesting and novel."
"But a large portion of readers of detective novels are very concerned about elements such as feasibility and realism."
"If the new orthodox mystery genre completely abandons the elements of feasibility and realism, it will inevitably lose a large number of readers. This is a problem we must consider."
Upon hearing Jiang Liu's beautiful words, Takao Tsuchiya nodded in agreement: "Miss Jiang Liu makes a lot of sense."
"If we discard the elements of authenticity and feasibility, it will indeed cause dissatisfaction among readers who care about these aspects."
"Kyosuke, what are your thoughts on this?"
Upon hearing Takao Tsuchiya's words, Kyosuke Maijo indifferently spread his hands and shrugged: "There's really nothing to talk about with this kind of question."
"Because the very beginning of 'New Orthodox Mystery' was to absorb the strengths of 'Orthodox Mystery' while discarding its weaknesses."
"Since feasibility and realism impose limitations on 'new orthodox mystery'—preventing it from indulging in wildly imaginative scenarios and creating a unique kind of romance within the mystery genre—it is inevitable to abandon them."
"If readers can't agree with this viewpoint and keep focusing on its veracity and feasibility, saying things like, 'If the police got involved, this kind of case would be solved immediately!'"
"That means they are not our target audience. Even if we let these readers see it, they will criticize it."
"The most suitable detective novels for them are social realism and police novels."
After finishing his explanation, Maijo Kyosuke turned his gaze back to Tsuchiya Takao: "Tsuchiya-sensei, now that I've said so much, it's time to get back to the main topic."
"The 'New Orthodox Mystery Club' is a newly established club with a relatively small membership. Including Hirayama Yumeaki, who just joined, there are eleven members in total, including myself."
"However, among them, the person with the highest status in the mystery genre is only Mr. Gonda Manji, the master of Japanese mystery commentary."
"It's not that Mr. Gonda Manji's status is too low, but I believe that if we want the 'New Orthodox Mystery Club' to have a legitimate reason for its establishment, we need to invite a heavyweight grandmaster to serve as its first president!"
"Although the 'Seichō curse' actually has little to do with Matsumoto Seichō himself."
"But they invited Seicho Matsumoto to serve as the president of the 'New Orthodox Mystery Club.'"
"Then using the 'New Orthodox Mystery Club' and the 'Kiyochi Curse' to counter it is really absurd."
"So, the only Grandmaster left is Yokomizo-sensei."
"So—Tsuchiya-sensei, what do you think? Will Yokomizo-sensei agree?"
When Takao Tsuchiya heard that Kyosuke Maijo had gone through all that trouble just for this matter, he couldn't help but shake his head and smile wryly: "Kyosuke! So this is what you were waiting for, kid?"
"You want me to ask Yokomizo-sensei if he'd be willing to be the president of your 'New Orthodox Mystery Club'?"
"Well, I can ask for you, but whether Yokomizo-sensei is willing or not is not up to me."
""
Upon hearing Takao Tsuchiya's words, Kyosuke Maijo's face lit up with delight, and he continued, "Then—Tsuchiya-sensei, would you be willing to join my 'New Orthodox Mystery Club'?"
"I also look forward to you joining us and giving us some suggestions."
Upon hearing Maijo Kyosuke's words, Tsuchiya Takao gave a helpless smile: "Kyosuke, you're quite cunning, aren't you?"
"So, if Yokomizo-sensei doesn't agree to be the president of your 'New Orthodox Mystery Club,' you're going to make me the one?"
Upon hearing Takao Tsuchiya's words, Kyosuke Maijo exchanged a glance with Misaki Eri, then revealed a knowing look: "Aside from Yokomizo-sensei, the only authors who can truly represent 'orthodox mystery' are currently you, Tsuchiya-sensei, Akimitsu Takagi-sensei, and Tetsuya Namikawa-sensei."
"If Yokomizo-sensei really doesn't want to, then this position of president can only belong to you."
Upon hearing Maijo Kyosuke's words, Tsuchiya Takao hurriedly waved his hand, "I'd better go and try to persuade Yokomizo-sensei for you."
"Joining the New Orthodox Mystery Club as a member is fine, but I will absolutely not become its president."
"I'm not falling for your tricks, kid. Who knows what kind of trouble you'll cause me?"
When Maijo Kyosuke heard that Tsuchiya Takao was willing to help him, an undisguised smile appeared on his face.
Because if Takao Tsuchiya agrees, the matter is practically settled!
Thinking of all this, Maishiro Kyosuke immediately reached out and gave a high five to Jiang Liu Meili beside him!