Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 227 The Murder Case Involving Black Magic

At midnight, before the tea party began, the maid Sakurako Yonehara pushed a tea cart into the living room, and then the others arrived one after another.

Gao Mo followed the script instructions precisely and appeared outside the living room right on time.

At exactly 12 o'clock, Hattori and Kazuha bumped into Gao Mo and quickened their pace, looking slightly uneasy.

Huo Sixingzi and the blond handsome guy, who arrived later, were quite relaxed and greeted Gao Mo with smiles.

"Teacher Black Melon, is everyone here?"

"Only the Nine Luminaries remain."

Huo Sixiao frowned.

"This is getting more and more outrageous..."

“It’s all my fault,” Hoshiko lowered her head, “I made him angry.”

“It has nothing to do with Xingzi. He’s just being paranoid,” Huo Sixiao shook his head. “He actually said that Xingzi wanted to kill him. It’s utterly absurd.”

"Should I go and call him?" the maid asked timidly.

The second young master has a terrible temper, and she doesn't really want to get to know him if possible.

“It’s 12 o’clock. If he’s going to come, he’ll come by himself,” Huo Sixiao said, not really believing in curses, and turned to Gao Mo. “Teacher Heigua, can we begin?”

“Mr. Black Melon,” Hattori Heiji couldn’t help but ask, “what exactly are you trying to do? Gathering everyone together at this time…”

“Now is the most dangerous time,” Gao Mo said, walking to the food cart with one hand behind his back and pouring tea. “The herbal tea made with various herbs can effectively remove the possibility of being cursed by the ritual spirits… but don’t worry too much, it’s just a precaution.”

Despite it being his first time playing a dark magician, Gao Mo easily grasped the essentials, making it impossible to tell that it was acting.

It's not just because of his acting skills; he is inherently shrouded in mystery. If it weren't for the script requirements from Takato Yoichi, he wouldn't have needed to portray it at all.

"For the next two hours, please try to stay here. You can go out to use the restroom, but please don't leave for more than 5 minutes."

"Five minutes isn't enough time to call Jiuyao..."

"Don't worry about him. He'll know how powerful he is once he's been cursed. We'll ask Teacher Black Melon to remove the curse for him then."

Huo Sixiao and his young wife, dressed in Lolita style, sat together; the 30-year age gap made the couple look particularly strange.

They are said to be truly in love.

"Let's begin distributing the teacups, Ms. Yonehara."

"We all have our own dedicated teacups, so guests can use whatever they like."

Hattori took a sip of herbal tea, only to find that the masked man played by Gao Mo hadn't moved an inch.

Don't dark magicians need to drink tea?

I'm finding these people increasingly strange.

"President Akatsuki," Hattori put down his teacup and asked, "Can we talk about President Seiryu now? It's said that before the incident, someone stole the cursed dolls used in the ritual, and one of the dolls was cut in half and placed on the toy railway tracks..."

It's practically a foreshadowing of how President Qinglong will die..."

“Hattori-kun,” Kazusa Akatsuki’s face stiffened slightly, “a tea party is not the place to discuss this kind of thing. We’ll talk about my father’s matter later.”

“It might be too late by then,” Hattori Heiji said seriously. “President Seiryu’s death wasn’t a curse, it was murder. The police have already received the autopsy report, and there was no evidence of large amounts of alcohol ingested in his stomach or intestines, which means…”

"What does that prove?" Huo Sixiao interrupted, dissatisfied. "Are you doubting us? We all have alibis for what happened."

"A curse! It must be a curse!" the young wife exclaimed in fear. "If it's not because of being drunk, then it proves even more that a curse exists!"

"..."

As Gao Mo checked the time on the clock, he vaguely sensed a spying gaze.

Outside the living room, Takato Yoichi is probably hiding somewhere in a room, secretly observing.

……

The clock hands are ticking.

In the dimly lit bedroom, Takato Yoichi was also checking the time on the clock, as if everything was under his control, playing with a miniature hanging doll in one hand.

The actors they found this time were really good, exceeding his expectations, so he didn't need to do any repairs or cleanup.

It's a pity that such a talented person can only be used once.

If conditions allowed, he might consider taking on an apprentice, but for now, he must silence him.

The Osaka detective seems to have realized his existence, and only by having his double die can his presence be concealed.

The agent of death is better off walking in the shadows; this is only the beginning.

……

The tea party didn't end until after 2 a.m. Everyone was exhausted and went straight to their rooms to rest. Only Hattori Heiji couldn't fall asleep, feeling like something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Heiji?" Kazuha yawned. "Don't come over after I've gone to sleep, okay?"

"Idiot, why would I go to your room?"

Hattori clutched his hair, his mind replaying Gao Mo's every move.

"I feel like I've seen that Black Gourd Ghost Gate somewhere before, and something's been off ever since that ceremony."

"This place is strange to begin with."

Kazuha glanced at Koizumi Akako, who was acting suspiciously on the other side.

I don't know if it was just my imagination, but the woman didn't seem sleepy at all; on the contrary, she seemed more energetic, and her smile was even brighter.

"boom!"

Koizumi Akako leaned against the door, the bone chain in her hand glowing faintly.

There's a response.

At least you can get one evil spirit, which is much easier than collecting evil spirits before.

Koizumi Akako had a big smile on her face, but when she thought about the crystal balls that kept getting damaged, her expression turned very ugly.

Damn it, why did she ever need to be in such a hurry to collect evil spirits before?
There was no other way; without any evil spirit reserves, even casting spells was a problem for her, and for now she could only make do with the bone chain on her hand.

It's unclear when we'll be able to return to our previous reserves...

After mentally tormenting the unidentified fake Kid, Koizumi Akako seriously pondered how to capture the evil spirit.

The spirits of the dead usually hide in the remains or related objects, and are generally invisible to ordinary people. Even evil spirits will only affect those who see them.

All she knows right now is that the Azure Dragon Society President is dead, and she has no idea how to capture him.

The only option is to try to lure the undead to your side while also protecting yourself from attacks.

The good news is that these days are when her magic is at its peak.

"Da da."

Between ceremonies.

Gao Mo walked through the dimly lit corridor, opened the door, and silently looked at Huo Si Jiu Yao, who was kneeling and dead under the magical light.

The magic lamp's wires were tightly wrapped around the corpse's neck, hanging from the wall.

It was as if he were confessing, but the hideous and terrifying face of the dead still showed traces of shock, as if he had never expected to be killed.

The cause of death was not strangulation by these wires, and the time of death was several hours earlier, probably around the time the tea party started.

Gao Mo stood at the door with his hands behind his back, not entering the ceremony room, but with countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

Script, black magic rituals, tea parties, cursed dolls, surveillance...

He had already seen through Takato Yoichi's criminal plan and knew who the other puppets were.

One is the seemingly harmless, innocent-looking, busty beauty, Hoshiko; the other is the murderer of Hoshiko Kyuyo—that blond handsome guy.

The surveillance cameras in the entryway that could see into the living room, and the cameras outside that could see through the window of the ceremonial chamber, were all part of the scheme. The script's restriction on leaving the tea party for no more than 5 minutes was to create an alibi for the murderer.

If he's not mistaken, something must have happened in this room during the time of Huo Si Jiu Yao's death, to help him complete his alibi.

"Teacher Black Melon?" A dark figure crept back quietly, and upon seeing Gao Mo, exclaimed in surprise, "Didn't you say you wouldn't do anything, only provide the method of the crime?"

"Just pretend I don't exist."

Gao Mo used the lamplight to see the blond handsome man's face clearly, then turned and left the ceremony room with his hands behind his back.

Upon returning to the main building, I opened the door to my guest room and saw the same masked figure sitting at the coffee table.

"Where did you go?" Gao Yuanyao's voice was devoid of emotion, yet a strong sense of malice emerged.

"I was just curious about this villa, so I took a stroll around."

Gao Mo sat down opposite him.

"Don't worry, my performance was perfect, it was an exceptional performance, and it was worth the money you paid me."

"You don't need to perform exceptionally well, just follow my script honestly."

Gao Yuanyao frowned.

He hates the feeling of being out of control, especially with the dolls he chose.

"Apart from the lines in the script, you are not allowed to communicate anything else. As long as nothing unexpected happens, you can take your money and leave this afternoon," Gao Yuanyao continued to warn.

He wouldn't bother with a dead person.

Anyway, the plan is almost complete, and now it's time to wrap things up.

Gao Mo calmly watched Gao Yuanyao leave the room, just as his phone vibrated – Xiao Ai had stayed up all night to send detailed information about the Fire Sacrifice family.

Including the deceased president of the Qinglong Society, the members of the Huoshi family originally had no connection with each other; their only commonality was that they were on the verge of bankruptcy.

However, 10 years ago, the Fire Sacrifice Company suddenly solved its funding problem and came back to life. The three people from the Fire Sacrifice Company, who had no connection with the company, were adopted by the Fire Sacrifice Azure Dragon.

In addition, there is information on the blond handsome guy.

Ten years ago, my parents and sister died in an accident in the parking lot of a ski resort. The cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning caused by heavy snow blocking the exhaust pipe.

Prior to this, a family withdrew 3000 million yuan in cash from a nearby bank.

The amount of money that allowed Fire Sacrifice Company to resolve its crisis was exactly 3000 million...

Gao Mo glanced at the email, his eyes darting around before he put away his phone.

The motives also seem to align.

Should we help Hattori Heiji solve the case?
The deaths of the Fire Sacrifice family members can be seen as retribution; as a second-tier cultivator, he had no way to save those who were destined to die.

However, he didn't want Gao Yuanyao to complete his plan smoothly.

However, if Hattori Heiji were to solve the case, he would become mortal enemies with Takato Yoichi.

“Then I’ll do it,” Gao Mo turned to look at the marionette left behind by Gao Yuanyao, his mind automatically replacing it with Osaka Black Chicken. “Being treated as a puppet is better than being resented.”

Moreover, how can a performance be considered perfect if it is performed exactly according to the script?

Of course, you have to add more scenes for yourself and increase the difficulty of the challenge.

He's playing an actor now.

……

"what--!"

The next morning, a scream suddenly rang out from the Grape House.

Maid Sakurako Yonehara stumbled into the front hall and woke everyone up.

"Oh no! The cursed doll has reappeared!"

"what?"

"Right outside Young Master Jiuyao's door!"

Hattori Heiji followed the group through the corridor and, amidst their chatter, saw a small doll wrapped in bandages on the carpet.

It was indeed a doll used for cursing, with wires wrapped around its neck and a battery and a small glowing lamp attached to the side.

"What does it mean?"

"It has a light, and batteries..."

"Oh no!" Hattori, who was still sleepy, was instantly awakened. "The Ritual Room! It's that magic lamp in the Ritual Room!"

By the time Gao Mo left the room, a series of police sirens were already sounding outside.

According to police investigation, the time of death was between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. Further autopsy results are needed to narrow down the possible causes.

“However, what we do know now,” Hattori Heiji reasoned, “is that the culprit is someone outside this villa, and the surveillance cameras just happen to capture that room’s window.”
Although it wasn't very clear, a closer look revealed the light from the floor lamp shining through the curtains—the floor lamp had been on all day yesterday, only being turned off during the tea party. The murderer would have had to unplug it to wrap the cord around Mr. Jiuyao's neck…”

"We will naturally investigate these matters."

The police officer in charge didn't like Hattori Heiji very much, and he especially disliked Gao Mo, who was wearing a mask.

"It was you, wasn't it? The so-called dark sorcerer and all that... Did you make the cursed doll?"

“Officer,” Hattori Heiji took a deep breath, “the surveillance footage shows that the magic lamp went out at exactly 12 o’clock, and then came back on 11 minutes later. We were all gathered in the living room at that time, so it couldn’t be the murderer.”

"That's right," the officer at the scene reported. "The cause of death was strangulation by a thin rope or something similar, but it's impossible to wrap an electrical wire around a person like that without unplugging it."

"So you're cursed?"

"Officer, please don't say things like that."

Hattori Heiji was secretly having a headache.

I'm most afraid of these muddle-headed police officers.

However, there are many things he doesn't understand.

Intuitively, he believed the murderer was among the people in the villa, but the scene indicated that it was someone else.

Because the masked man always checked the time, he also noticed during the tea party that no one left the living room for more than 5 minutes.

The journey from the main hall to the ceremony, plus the setup of the venue, could not possibly be completed within 5 minutes.

Unless there really is some kind of magic.

Hattori Heiji glanced subconsciously at Koizumi Akako and Gao Mo, then smiled wryly and patted his forehead.

"No? How could there be no?"

Koizumi Akako stood blankly outside the ceremony room.

After trying all night and getting nothing, I finally saw the body, but even my last feelings had completely vanished.

Is an evil spirit hiding from her?
“I didn’t sense any curse,” Gao Mo’s voice rang out. “There’s no doubt this was a murder… Should we take a look at the entryway security camera? It shows the entrance to the living room right there.”

"Hmm?" Hattori Heiji's eyebrows twitched slightly.

It seems that Gao Mo has changed compared to yesterday.

2nd floor of the villa.

Gao Yuanyao, hiding behind the curtains, became extremely gloomy after discovering that Gao Mo had once again acted off-script without permission.

He was wrong.

They should never have chosen someone like that as a stand-in.

How can a small-time actor have so many ideas? Can't he just honestly follow the script?
Once the plan is complete, we'll deal with this guy.

(End of this chapter)