Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 556 Pu Siqinglan's Attempt to Make Things Worse

On the morning of July 23, Shiraishi and other relevant personnel boarded the Suzuki family's passenger ship.

Originally, Shiraishi didn't want the Suzuki family to come up; he thought it was enough to have the [Egg of Memories] by himself.

However, Ayako and Sonoko eventually boarded the ship as well—Ayako knew that "Urako Seiran is a dark magician" and "there might be a professional assassin named Scrooge among these people," while Sonoko knew nothing and it was not appropriate to tell her.

Since there was no reason to stop Sonoko, Ayako simply came along too.

Of course, if Shiraishi had tried to stop them, he could have kept both sisters, but Shiraishi was confident in his abilities and therefore did not insist.

Because the flight takes 24 hours, everyone has their own room...

"Conan, do you want a room by yourself, or a room with Ran?" Shiraishi asked specifically.

"I... am a man! I need my own room," Conan said with a forced laugh.

"Really? Conan is such a man!" Ran said sarcastically.

Upon seeing this, Shiraishi immediately realized that Ran still suspected Conan...

"You call yourself a man... stay in the same room as Ran and don't cause trouble on the ship!" Mori said, waving his hand.

"Eh? Okay..." Conan looked regretful.

Xiaolan: ...

In other words, Ran can't be sure yet, otherwise Shinichi would already be in trouble.

"By the way, Officer Shiraishi, can pigeons come on board?" Ran asked as she took a pigeon out of its carrier.

"Huh? This is..." Shiraishi was taken aback upon seeing this.

"The pigeon Conan found that day might... be Kid's pigeon. It's injured too, and it'll probably be a while before it can fly again," Ran said with a hint of worry.

"It's alright, there's no one else on the ship anyway." Shiraishi nodded in agreement.

However, at this moment, Shiraishi saw Nishino quietly move aside, take out his handkerchief, and rub his nose vigorously.

In addition to the necessary crew members, Shiro Suzuki also sent Masato Nishino to serve as Shiraishi's assistant.

The four who had volunteered earlier all came, of course—which wasn't surprising. If anyone hadn't come, Shiraishi would have had to wonder if they'd already been killed...

What made Baishi feel awkward was that Pu Siqinglan was probably trying to reinforce her "Chinese" persona, as she even wore a red cheongsam!

Moreover, this cheongsam wasn't very proper, and Bai Shi suspected that she hadn't bought it in China.

After all, a typical short cheongsam usually reaches the knee, but hers not only only reaches the thigh, but the slit goes all the way up to her waist.

"Brother-in-law, be a little more discreet when you're watching..." Yuanzi whispered as she came over.

Shiraishi:……

"Don't talk nonsense, I'm just checking if there's anything suspicious!" Shiraishi glared at her.

Sonoko, with an "I understand" expression, slipped onto the boat.

After everyone boarded the ship, Conan found an opportunity to speak with Shiraishi alone...

"What? A professional assassin has also set his sights on the [Egg of Memories]? And it might even be hidden among us?" Conan exclaimed in shock.

It's not appropriate to tell Conan about black magic, but there's no need to hide the matter of "Scholes" from him.

Even disregarding the fact that Kidd was targeting a mysterious organization, the name "Scooby-Doo" itself refers to an internationally renowned professional assassin!
“That’s right. What Scrooge is famous for is that when he fires, whether it’s a long-range sniper shot or a close-range shot, he always aims at the target’s right eye,” Shiraishi explained.

"Just based on this?" Conan looked at Shiraishi with suspicion—it's true that Kid's right eye was shot, but it could also be a coincidence, right?
"Of course not, I also have my informants." Of course, Shiraishi wouldn't say that the "informant" was Kid himself.

Conan also started to care about it afterward...

"Conan? You went to see Inspector Shiraishi again?" Ran asked, having not seen Conan return.

"It's nothing, I just happen to have something to ask Kid about." Shiraishi changed the subject.

Xiaolan then said, "By the way, we're chatting with Miss Pu Si and Miss Xiangsaka right now, and Sister Ayako is here too. Would you like to come?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Shi also came to Pu Si Qinglan's room—a group of girls were chatting there, mainly... about exotic customs.

such as……

"Huh? So, Pu Siqinglan is a Chinese name?" Sonoko asked curiously.

“That’s right, in Mandarin, it’s called ‘Pu Si Qing Lan’ (扑死晴烂), meaning ‘to rot and spoil the whole thing’,” Pu Si showed off his half-baked Mandarin.

"How do you say Suzuki Sonoko in Chinese?" Sonoko asked with interest.

“Leimu oil balls…” Pu Si said in a very awkward accent.

The others, not understanding Mandarin, didn't notice anything strange, except for Shiraishi, who was extremely embarrassed.

When Sonoko saw Shiraishi staring at Urashi Seiran, she couldn't help but wink at him repeatedly—Are you really not afraid of my older sister?

After all, Pu Siqinglan was already wearing short clothes, and now that she's sitting down, she looks even more "sexy".

“By the way, Officer Shiraishi’s name is Ba Sihei.” Pu Si seemed to sense Shiraishi’s gaze and said in a cadence.

Shiraishi:……

These few sentences in Mandarin highlight the fact that people from an island nation cannot understand them, and people from China cannot comprehend them either.

The conversation then turned to Natsumi Kosaka...

Kosaka then recalled, "Because I've always been in Paris, my Japanese has become quite stilted... By the way, when I was little, my grandparents often said a phrase in Japanese, and I still don't know what it means."

"Huh? What? What?" Sonoko asked enthusiastically.

“Baruxue, Nikuka, Tameka,” Kosaka awkwardly uttered a few syllables.

"This is... someone named 'Baru-sue' who went to buy meat and then ate it?" Sonoko was speechless—even as a pure Japanese, she only understood words like "Niku" and "Tame".

However, Shiraishi's expression changed at this moment. Upon closer observation, he noticed that Pusi's expression shifted slightly, so Shiraishi said directly, "No, I think it should be 'Barubini, Kuka, Kaiyaka'?"

Shiraishi re-punctuated the sentences and changed some pronunciations, even starting to pronounce retroflex consonants. To Ayako and the others, it no longer sounded like Japanese. "Eh? It seems... that's right, only the tongue isn't curled up like that!" Kosaka quickly said.

Shiraishi:……

“If it’s not that upturned, it’s probably because your grandparents only heard it from your great-grandfather, so they don’t know it…” Shiraishi shook his head, paused, and then said, “It’s a Mao phrase, which translates to ‘the magician of the end of the century.’”

"The magician of the end of the century... Ah! Isn't that Kid? Could it be... Kid is actually an old man?" Sonoko exclaimed in surprise.

Indeed, if Kosaka's grandparents always mention "the magician of the end of the century," then this person must be an old man, or even a centenarian if it really was the end of the last century!
Shiraishi:……

Shiraishi was speechless at his sister-in-law's thought process.

“No, I think the title ‘Magician of the End of the Century’ refers to the skills of Mr. Kiichi Kosaka. Kid also knows this title, which is why he specifically mentioned it… After all, Kid was also active twenty years ago, at the end of the last century,” Shiraishi said matter-of-factly.

Sonoko finally breathed a sigh of relief—at the end of the last century, that was still the category of "handsome middle-aged men"!
Shiraishi didn't actually want to say it...

Kidd specifically mentioned the "magician of the end of the century," possibly for other reasons. However, since Natsumi Kosaka had already spoken it without any precautions, and it was overheard by Seiran Urashi who also discovered it was in Mao language, there was no point in Shiraishi hiding it anymore. It was better to let everyone know.

At this point, Shiraishi was basically certain...

Pu Siqinglan is a Mao person!
Just as Hongzi speculated, she must be a descendant of Rasputin.

Even in a society that largely does not accept "supernatural powers," many legends still exist about this "sand-haired demon monk"...

He is said to be skilled in hypnosis, able to foresee the future, and capable of quelling illnesses or causing sudden death...

Initially, it was precisely because he was the only one who could alleviate the prince's hemophilia and accurately predict crises that he gained the trust of the last Tsar and Tsarina, and gradually rose to the center of power in Tsarmaeus.

However, from the perspective of governing the country, he was obviously not very good, otherwise he would not have become the "last emperor" - at the peak of his power, Rasputin was able to control the central power when the Tsar himself led the army to war, and could be called the deputy Tsar, so naturally he also had to bear the blame for the "last emperor".

Ultimately, Rasputin was assassinated by the Shah nobles...

According to official records, he first ate food laced with potassium cyanide, but remained unharmed. The assassins then changed their plans and shot him, but Rasputin survived multiple gunshot wounds, including to the head.

Finally, during the struggle, he was struck on the temple and then thrown into an ice cave... The autopsy revealed that he had drowned—meaning he was still alive when thrown into the water.

And for some unknown reason, his right eye had also disappeared...

According to the prince who assassinated him, there were only gunshots and blows to the temple; his eyes were not gouged out.

When Bai Shi found this claim online, he was more inclined to believe that "Pu Siqinglan is Shi Kaobing"!
After all, it's almost certain that Pu Siqinglan is related to Rasputin; he's either a descendant or a successor from a later generation, and "Skaobing" is known for aiming at the enemy's right eye...

These are only records from the secular world.

Even more outrageous folk tales say that when Rasputin was dug up and whipped by revolutionaries, he sat up and struggled while being burned, and was continuously doused with oil and burned for ten hours before finally dying...

Of course, there's no need to go into the rumors about him being able to steal a woman's soul with just one glance or having affairs with almost every noblewoman.

These are just legends, but more concrete evidence is still preserved in museums today...

Originally, Shiraishi did not believe in other legends except for the one with evidence and the official records. However, when he learned that Rasputin was very famous in the supernatural world... even a dark wizard who was famous at the time and even changed the entire supernatural world, he began to believe it.

Of course, this also shows how severely "magic" is suppressed by "secular" things.

Even the most outstanding wizards can only use various means to bewitch people, gain the trust of those in power, and then obtain power. But when they really clash with the "worldly" and try to fight back with force, they are simply not good enough!

It's not that the power is insufficient...

Shiraishi estimated that Rasputin must have wanted to use magic to fight back, but after being repeatedly attacked by the backlash, he eventually couldn't withstand it and was truly killed!
It seems that Shiraishi is becoming increasingly satisfied with the power of "evolution"...

Although it doesn't have as many fancy moves and its stationary output is far inferior to "magic," it also doesn't have as many restrictions when used!

Shiraishi thought to himself that if they were to live together in different places, in that era a hundred years ago, no one could kill him.

Given the level of weaponry at the time, unless they could deceive Shiraishi's intuition and lure him to the armory to blow it up, no matter how many people there were, they couldn't stop Shiraishi, and no matter how many weapons there were, they couldn't stop Shiraishi from escaping...

"By the way, Miss Pu Si, you should be around my age, right?"

"I am twenty-seven years old, and Ms. Kosaka is..."

"Just as I thought! Same as me! When is your birthday?"

"May 5th."

"Ah! Even my birthday is so close. I was born on May 3rd."

Kosaka was very enthusiastic and not at all wary of people. She even chatted with Pu Si about their ages.

Conan, standing nearby, then said in a cute way, "What a coincidence! My birthday is one day after yours!"

Conan: ...

Conan regretted it as soon as he said it.

Why can't I control my mouth?
He could already feel Xiaolan's gaze fixed on him from behind...

"By the way, is May 4th a holiday in China?" Bai Shi deliberately asked Pu Siqinglan.

Conan glanced gratefully at Shiraishi—thinking that Shiraishi had asked the question to help him out of a predicament.

Upon hearing this, Pu Siqinglan paused slightly, then immediately said, "That's right, it's a very... memorable holiday."

but……

Based on her previous behavior, she should have explained what the specific holiday was, but Pu Siqinglan directly changed the subject and invited everyone to go up to the deck for some fresh air.

When everyone came outside, they saw Han Chuanlong drinking coffee. There were only a few passengers on the ship at the time, so it was especially comfortable to sunbathe. There were tables and chairs on the deck for everyone to use and rest.

As soon as Pu Siqinglan sat down, she stared at Han Chuanlong sitting next to her and asked casually, "Huh? The necklace you're wearing seems to be..."

“That’s right, as expected of an expert from the Romanov dynasty. I just got this ring recently.” Han Chuanlong said, taking it off for Pu Siqinglan to see.

After observing the situation, Pu Siqinglan proposed to acquire the property again, but unfortunately... Han Chuanlong had no intention of selling.

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Dongdong: Today is October 7th. 1829 years ago today, Emperor Xian of Han came to Xuchang, the city he served. Please vote for me! Please vote for me! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)