Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 207 Cursed Mask
A light snow is falling in the outskirts of Tokyo.

Two cars drove along the winding road, with snow-covered mountains and forests on both sides, their leaves withered and exposed to the cold wind, creating an indescribable desolation.

The camera zooms in, and inside the yellow Volkswagen Beetle, Professor Agasa smacks his lips and glances at the rearview mirror. He notices Gao Mo staring blankly at his bald head, and his white beard trembles slightly.

"Stop looking, you'll end up like that too."

“I’m just wondering why you insisted on doing this yourself, Doctor,” Gao Mo looked away. “I just wanted to borrow the car.”

“You young people certainly don’t understand what Su Fang Hongzi means. Back in our time, she was a superstar. Her songs were everywhere,” Dr. Agasa explained excitedly, his chubby face flushed. “Now that I have the chance to meet her in person, how could I possibly miss it? She is the idol of our generation.”

"She's just a snobbish and hypocritical old woman. If you get too close, you might hurt yourself."

Gao Mo turned to look out the window without saying a word.

"It's better to admire idols from afar; at least that way, you can still retain some of your fantasies."

"What are you saying?" Dr. Agasa said in disbelief, "Su Fang Hongzi is different from others. She has been doing charity work for 15 years. She is beautiful inside and out. Even though she is old, she is still the same Japanese canary."

“Kido is right,” Ai said quietly, holding the black cat. “Women are terrible creatures, especially old women.”

The doctor suddenly shuddered.

Ai always says strange things, even though she's clearly just a child.

"Don't worry, I'm not looking for a wife. I'm just fulfilling a dream I had before and seeing what Su Fang Hongzi looks like now."

"Di Di!"

The man with the mustache honked the horn several times and shouted through the car window with a dark expression, "Doctor! How long are you going to drive like this? It's getting late!"

"There's no other way, there's still snow on the road," Professor Agasa slowed down and turned the corner. "It would be terrible if we got into an accident. You're going to a charity gala next week, right? I remember it's related to a car accident."

"We haven't seen a single ghost on the road, what kind of accident could have happened?"

The man with the mustache was furious.

"Honestly, why did we have to bring this old man here?"

"Because Ms. Su Fang also invited Brother Kido to a private banquet," Xiao Lan said with a soft laugh. "It's better to drive slowly. If something unexpected happens, Dad won't be able to attend the banquet, right?"

"That's true, we have to make some money today."

The man with the mustache barely managed to suppress his temper, but his stomach kept rumbling.

"It's all your mom's fault. She insisted on coming over to cook last night, and I've been starving for almost a day."

"It's your own fault for not eating it."

"Who would dare eat her cooking? Speaking of which, did you two cook separately?" The man with the mustache looked suspicious; there was no reason for him to be the only one going hungry.

"When we set off, Kido-san gave us some desserts." Ran wiped the cream off Conan's mouth.

"hateful!"

The man with the mustache looked resentful.

"Hmph, I'm keeping an empty stomach for the dinner later. Food tastes best when you're starving."

"Ha ha……"

Conan's lips twitched.

Let's just keep holding on.

but……

Conan pondered as he looked ahead at the Volkswagen Beetle.

It's surprising that Gao Mo, a complete homebody, would make a special trip to do so.

Very problematic.

Judging from past experience, Gao Mo seems to have a knack for finding murder cases; wherever he appears, a murder is bound to occur.

Like the Grim Reaper.

I have a bad feeling...

"Ok?"

Suddenly, a red villa appeared in Gao Mo's field of vision, nestled in a coniferous snow forest, like a princess secluded from the world, no less magnificent than the Twilight Villa before it was exposed.

"Is that Su Fanghongzi's villa?"

Dr. Agasa drove into the snowy forest from a side road and soon arrived at the spacious villa courtyard, where two cars were already parked by the brick-paved fountain.

The beautiful fountain pool was frozen by ice and snow, and the snow on both sides of the road was cleared, leading directly to the villa gate.

What's a little odd is that there's a tall archway in the middle of the villa that runs through it, while the actual main entrances are located on either side.

"What a magnificent mansion! But why are there two doors?" The man with the mustache exclaimed as he stopped the car and looked up at the towering three-story building.

“Mr. Kido, and Mr. Mori.”

The east gate suddenly opened, and a familiar maid appeared in front of Gao Mo.

"Welcome to our distinguished guests. Please enter and rest through the east entrance."

"Huh?" The man with the mustache opened his mouth in surprise. "Aren't you the twin maids from last time?"

“I am Honami,” the maid said with a smile. “Actually, we have been working here for a long time. Last time we were temporarily transferred here. Ms. Su Fang and Ms. Natsumi’s family are very close friends.”

"I see," the man with the mustache said suddenly, "You're here, and the other one..."

"Squeak!" The west door opened immediately afterward, and another twin maid came out of the villa to greet them, looking exactly like they were cut from the same mold.

"Welcome, esteemed guests. Please enter the house from the west entrance to rest, Ms. Nagara."

"what?"

Gao Mo followed the gaze.

A beautiful woman in a long purple coat stepped out of a taxi at the entrance of the courtyard. She had long, straight black hair, wore an elegant long scarf, and was holding a tarot card in her hand. She looked around and appeared both refined and mysterious.

"It's Haruka Nagara!" Ran exclaimed in surprise. "The fortune teller who's so popular in magazines and on TV! I heard her predictions are incredibly accurate!"

Fortune teller?
Gao Mo didn't have much of an impression of him.

Xiaolan is quite good at recognizing people.

"I always feel like this place is..."

The man with long, straight black hair approached the villa with a slight frown. The card in his hand depicted a skeleton wielding a scythe.

"Something bad has gotten in."

Before entering the west entrance, the man with long, straight black hair swept his gaze over everyone present, finally lingering on the man with the lecherous-looking mustache.

Detective Kogoro Mouri...

No wonder all the divinations mentioned the Grim Reaper; it turns out there really is a Grim Reaper.

"She was looking at me just now, wasn't she?" The man with the mustache stared blankly as the woman with long, straight black hair entered through the west gate, almost rushing after her. "She really is a great beauty. I must get to know her better later..."

"father!"

Xiao Lan couldn't stand the mustache's embarrassing appearance, so she quickly pushed him towards the east entrance.

Gao Mo lagged behind, only turning his gaze away when the west gate closed.

Although Detective Conan is supposed to be a mystery series, strange things always seem to wander in.

He didn't know whether Nagara Haruka was just being mysterious or if she really had some ability.

On the surface, nothing seems out of the ordinary; there's not even the slightest sense of threat.

Forget it.

His target was Su Fang Hongzi; everything else was irrelevant to him.

"What's wrong?" Ai put down the black cat in her arms. "Is there something wrong with that woman?"

Black Cat seems to have gained a lot of weight recently, and it's become noticeably harder for her to pick her up.

"No, I'm just an ordinary person."

Gao Mo trusted his instincts.

Those who can predict fate are bound to be on the Grim Reaper's list and cannot be so active in the public eye.

"call!"

As the group entered the villa, a light snow began to fall again from the gloomy sky, making the entire snow-covered forest silent and eerie. "What's with these masks?" The man with the mustache followed Honomi upstairs, curiously examining the strange decorations hanging on the walls.

“It’s just a regular decoration, because the teacher is very fond of collecting masks,” Honami explained. “This villa is also known as the mansion where the Cursed Masks reside.”

"Cursed Mask? What a strange name!" The man with the mustache felt uneasy. "What's its origin?"

You'll find out soon enough.

Honami smiled mysteriously.

"I'll help you put your luggage away. You guys go and visit the masquerade hall first; the others should be inside."

"Masquerade Hall?"

"This way."

On the second floor of the east wing, after pushing open the door next to the stairs, a room full of display cases for masks came into Gao Mo's view.

Right across from them was the west wing. Nagara Haruka, who had changed into a fortune teller's outfit, followed Minaho in.

This masquerade hall connects the two sides of the villa, essentially acting as a connecting corridor.

“Look at this,” Ai’s eyes were drawn to a red-faced mask in the display case. “It’s a Tengu mask.”

“Impressive, little sister,” a young blond man followed her from the east wing into the masquerade hall. “This is a mask made by Yamane Temple during the Tengu incident. It’s said that there were only a few of them. After the abbot died, it became the last of its kind. Teacher went to great lengths to collect it.”

This should also be saved.

Gao Mo remained silent.

So the Tengu mask is actually quite valuable?

"Touya, why are you only coming now?" An elegantly dressed old lady walked in from the west wing.

Her hair was covered in silver, and her face bore the marks of time, yet she still retained some of the beauty she had in her youth.

Professor Agasa, who had been casually standing with his hands behind his back, suddenly widened his eyes and stammered, unable to speak.

Su Fang Hongzi, who has aged naturally, is still as beautiful as ever...

"There's nothing I can do, I'm on a nationwide tour."

The blond-haired young man, wearing sunglasses, took a letter out of his pocket.

"By the way, teacher, the company received a strange threatening letter saying that the Cursed Mask will drink blood tonight, and it was signed 'The Messenger of the Cursed Mask'..."

"The messenger of the Cursed Mask?"

Nagara Haruka and two other guests present had slightly changed expressions.

“I also received a similar letter a few days ago, saying that I would definitely regret attending Ms. Su Fang’s charity gala!”

"me too!"

"Who on earth did this?" the blond-haired youth asked angrily.

“Don’t worry about this kind of thing,” Su Fanghongzi said dismissively. “I’ve never heard of threatening letters since I started doing charity work. Don’t take it to heart.”

"But……"

"So be it."

Su Fanghongzi turned her gaze to Gao Mo.

"It's been a long time, Mr. Kido. I knew you weren't as self-destructive as people say. How about joining my company for a comeback?"

“I don’t have that thought anymore,” Gao Mo’s memories surged, “I’m fine as I am now.”

"That's true. Mr. Kido has his own business now. It's just a pity that such a good actor has been lost."

Su Fang Hongzi didn't mention the charity gala, but just turned to Xiao Ai with a smile.

"Does the little sister like masks too? The most precious things here are not actually these outside. My most prized collection is the Cursed Mask, which is also the mask of Shable."

"There are other masks?" The man with the mustache looked around in surprise.

The bespectacled female secretary following Su Fanghongzi stepped forward and pressed the switch. The curtains on both sides of the wall opened, revealing shelves full of white smiling masks.

“These are,” Nagara Haruka exclaimed in surprise, “the cursed masks that Shoebul left behind before his death?”

"That's right, all 200 are here."

Su Fanghongzi was quite pleased with herself.

"It is said that Shabul was framed by his envious brother, who stripped him of his status, reputation, and wealth. Despairing of humanity, Shabul seemed possessed by something, endlessly carving these masks. After completing the 200th mask, he took his own life."

The masks scattered around the body were all stained with blood, as if they were sucking the blood of their owner. Later, these masks were scattered in various places, and whoever obtained them suffered misfortune, gradually giving rise to the rumor of the cursed masks.

"So you've collected 200 of them?" The man with the mustache's voice trembled slightly, finding the wall full of white smiley faces particularly terrifying.

"It's nothing. Rumors are just rumors. I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"

Su Fanghongzi smiled and left with her secretary.

"Please enjoy your tour first. The dinner should be ready soon."

"She really has a big heart." The man with the mustache was full of admiration; even he, a famous detective, didn't have that kind of confidence.

"Ms. Su Fang has been in the industry for almost 50 years, she's seen it all, of course she's not afraid," the blond young man explained, then stared at the mustache with a puzzled look and asked, "You look somewhat familiar..."

"Of course you look familiar. After all, you're the rising star detective Kogoro Mouri," a dark-skinned young man among the guests greeted with a loud laugh. "I heard you solved a police assassination case the other day. That's truly remarkable!"

"Uh……"

The man with the mustache stood frozen in place.

"That wasn't something I solved."

"Ah? Sorry, I remembered wrong, it should be Master Himuro Ichisei's..."

"That's not me either!"

The man with the mustache's face grew increasingly dark.

This guy is a hater, right?

Not wanting the dark-skinned youth to continue his rambling, the man with the mustache immediately retorted, "And who are you?"

"He is a professional baseball player, home run king Matsudaira Matsushita."

Xiao Lan excitedly introduced.

"I didn't expect so many celebrities to come. The one just now seems to be the super famous rock singer Aikawa Touya, and this gentleman... is Mr. Katagiri Masaki, a photographer who has traveled all over the world and photographed the scenery of various countries for many years!"

"I'm just a nobody." The middle-aged man, who was focused on photographing the masks on display, turned around and smiled.

Even high school girls know his reputation; all his years of hard work have paid off.

"Could you sign this for me later?" Xiaolan looked around but couldn't find any paper or pen.

"no problem."

"Are you all Mr. Mori's family?" the fortune teller Nagayoshi asked after a moment's hesitation.

She had decided something was strange from the moment she spoke.

Even if she brought her family to Su Fanghongzi's private banquet, it was still a bit too much for such a large family.

With elderly parents to care for and young children to raise...

She only realized she had misunderstood something after seeing Su Fanghongzi's conversation with Gao Mo.

"No," Ran chuckled, "Kido-nii was also an invited guest; we just happened to come together."

"Kido...Kido Takamori?"

Nagara Haruka recalled the events and gave Gao Mo a deep look.

"So you're that retired superstar."

"He's not exactly a big star."

Gao Mo nudged Professor Agasa, who seemed to have been bewitched by Su Fang Hongzi.

"Doctor, everyone's gone."

This old man actually has a side like a young fanboy.

"I'm sorry, I was just too excited," Dr. Agasa said, his face turning red. "Seeing Professor Su Fang reminded me of my younger days. It's hard to believe so many years have passed."

(End of this chapter)