Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 27 Crow Leaves and Bluestone Steps

"Quack!"

into the night.

The unpleasant cries of crows in the forest made the area around the shrine even more deserted, in stark contrast to the bustling atmosphere of the nearby Beika Hotel.

Gao Mo took a comfortable hot bath. When he returned to the banquet on the second floor, the supervisor and Maori Kogoro were already drinking happily and the atmosphere was cheerful.

"Oh, no matter how many times I listen to it, it's always so exciting. I didn't expect the Tsumoto family to have so many inside stories. These wealthy families are just different."

"Who says it's not?"

"Come on, keep drinking, Mr. Maori!"

"Ahahaha! Cheers!"

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." The proprietress in kimono brought beer again.

Gao Mo followed and sat down cross-legged.

Compared to his luxurious three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment with a bathtub, the tatami Japanese-style room has a unique charm that modern style does not have.

Although we are in the city, we have a leisurely feeling of vacation.

Even the crows' cries outside in the night sounded much more pleasant.

"By the way, where's Mr. Nachi?"

"Nachi said he didn't want to stay in a cheap hotel, so he drove to the Teitan Hotel. What a guy."

"Let's ignore that self-righteous guy. Come on, drink!"

Kogoro Mouri seemed to be floating under the flattery of the people around him. His tongue was tied from drinking, but he still picked up the draft beer cup and poured it into his throat.

This old guy usually either studies horse racing books or drinks and sleeps. Occasionally he goes to an izakaya to brag, and when he has money he goes to Ginza. He always looks confused and pathetic.

But now he is gradually becoming full of energy, with a gleam of vitality in his drunken eyes, sweeping away his past decadence.

"Give me a bottle of juice." Gao Mo didn't let the kimono proprietress pour him some wine, and he started eating a chicken leg alone in the corner.

Coach Kageyama's advice to him was to eat as much as he wanted and build up his physical foundation first.

Now he doesn't need to worry about body management like his idols do.

It’s a rare opportunity to have a meal, so I can’t let it go badly.

"Kirouto boy," the handsome mustache man finally noticed Gao Mo and made a promise in a daze, "I... I understand what happened today. I can see Miss Yoko again and get 30 consulting fees... Don't worry, leave the judo training to me!"

It still has some conscience. It would be even better if it could be exchanged for money.

Gao Mo continued to eat.

What the mustache guy said before was right. Without a good physique, learning things like judo is just empty talk.

He is now no match for the mustache boy whose body has been hollowed out by alcohol and sex. Practicing judo in advance will only harm his body.

It would be best if you were luckier and got the judo book with a mustache.

The Shooting Guide really made him feel refreshed.

"I didn't expect Kido to be such good friends with Mr. Mori," the supervisor exclaimed. "Today, Kido has impressed everyone. He's definitely weathered the storm over the past few years. Let the past be the past. We need to move on!"

"Kurodo-kun and I hit it off right away," Maori Kogoro said excitedly, "Last time at the Tsumoto family..."

"Cough cough!" Gao Mo coughed heavily several times.

This unreliable guy.

"Ahaha," the man with the mustache realized what was happening and quickly changed the subject with a laugh. "Why are we talking about the Tsumoto family again? Look at my memory..."

"It's nothing. We'd love to hear it even if you tell it a hundred times." The supervisors laughed.

"Mr. Maori, I haven't mentioned your partner, Mr. Kindaichi. I heard he's your Sherlock Holmes?"

"Who said that? It's obviously my Watson."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Maori is the new era Sherlock Holmes!"

……

By the second half of the banquet, Xiaolan and Yoko Okino had already returned to their rooms.

Photographer Anxi said he was going to maintain the camera and got up and left after drinking a few glasses of wine.

"Yuji," Mamegaki Taeko, who had been silent for a long time, gently touched her fiancé, "I have something else to do. I have to go home."

Maori Kogoro: "Go home?"

"Mr. Maori, you don't know yet? The headmistress of the Rice Flower Shrine just now is Grandpa Taeko. She used to live here."

"I see."

"Ms. Taeko," Gao Mo called Douyuan Taeko, "If you have time, you can teach me how to put on makeup. I've been very interested in this recently."

"Good, good."

Mamugi Taeko agreed absentmindedly, then hurried downstairs and left the hotel as if in a hurry.

Shimazaki Yuji next to him didn't care too much, but his face turned red again amid the laughter of the crowd.

"Yuji is so lucky to have such a good bride like Taeko."

"Hahaha!"

"Brother Shiroto," Conan frowned amidst the laughter and crawled to Gao Mo's side in a low voice, "Have you noticed it too? I'm always a little worried."

"Hmm... I'll go take a look."

Gao Mo put down the juice and his gaze lingered on Shimazaki Yuji, who didn't notice anything wrong.

He also didn't want to watch the newlyweds go astray.

Think of it as paying for your makeup technique in advance.

"By the way, go and call Xiaolan to come along."

Gao Mo left quietly.

Even though there's no real danger, a bodyguard is still needed just to be on the safe side.

"What do you think of Xiaolan?" Conan couldn't help but complain, curled his lips and went to the other guest room.

……

Rice flower shrine.

Compared to the lanes lit by streetlights, the shrine was pitch black, adding a touch of terror to the night. Gao Mo saw Douyuan Taeko and Anxi meeting in the corner, and moved closer, vaguely hearing Anxi mention Douyuan Taeko's rebellious days in high school.

The two already knew each other at the time and had done a lot of stupid things with a group of thugs.

Until the last time he stole expensive ritual utensils from the shrine, which led to the warehouse manager's suicide...

These experiences now become bargaining chips for Anxi's threats.

"Can you please let me go? I'm getting married!" Douyuan Taeko held a knife in front of her to protect herself. "I just want to live a good life. If you keep pestering me..."

"You still want to kill me? If you kill me, you will forget about getting married."

Anxi grinned sarcastically.

"No matter how much you deny what happened in the past, it's useless, Taeko. You're an accomplice in the administrator's murder. But... hey, as long as you pay me, I promise that no one else, including that idiot Yuji, will ever know."

"Don't push me, Anxi! At that time, I didn't even think you would come here to steal things!"

"Hey, you were the one who said those things were valuable, do you think you can get away with it?"

"I'll really kill you, don't come over here!"

"You don't have the courage, you used to..."

"call!"

Gao Mo clearly felt the change in the air flow in the shrine.

Why is Conan so slow?
He had thought about many things, but he didn't expect that Douyuan Taeko would kill on impulse without any preparation and directly confront Anxi with a knife.

"Ms. Taeko."

Seeing that Conan still didn't move, Gao Mo had no choice but to take the initiative to walk towards the shrine.

"What's wrong with you? Is this guy Anxi bullying you?"

"Mr. Kido?"

Mamoko Mameguki hid the knife in panic, her face pale with fear.

"No, nothing... Why are you here, Mr. Kido?"

"I was thinking of going to the convenience store to buy something," Gao Mo looked past Douyuan Taeko and turned to the sneering Anxi, "Mr. Anxi, you are meeting Mr. Nachi alone and looking for Miss Taeko. What are you planning? If the supervisors knew..."

"Tsk, you nosy guy."

Anxi's expression changed. He didn't want to ruin his career as a photographer because of this matter, so he could only walk past Gao Mo with an annoyed look on his face.

As if he thought of something, he chuckled and stopped.

"I almost forgot, big star Kido, do you know why you got into such a big scandal before? Humph, there's no way you can become famous again, so just give up on it!"

Gao Mo's pupils trembled violently.

The memory of death was like a valve opened, flooding into my heart, as if I was back to the day of my resurrection.

The hellish, dying seabed...

"It's you?"

"I didn't say it was me. What? You want to kill me too?" Anxi looked at Gao Mo's small body with contempt. "I can lift a guy like you with one hand."

"call!"

Gao Mo closed his eyes tightly, and it took him a while to calm down. He pulled out a banknote from the lining of his clothes.

"Ms. Taeko was just too excited just now. If you don't want to lose your job, just pretend nothing happened today. Buy a pack of cigarettes and go home quietly. From now on..."

"1000? You can't buy cigarettes with that much money."

Anxi snatched the banknote, clicked his tongue in disgust, and looked at Gao Mo who had his back to him, greed flashing in his eyes again.

"If you really want to become famous again, then be honest. I've been in debt for a long time."

"Brother Kido!" Conan ran to the shrine panting slightly, "Sister Xiaolan is not here. It seems she went to the convenience store..."

"Get out of here, kid!" Anxi was also very unhappy with Conan, and walked through the shrine's torii gate with the banknotes in his pocket.

At this time.

A few crows fluttered over the treetops around the shrine, and a pile of bird droppings landed right on Anxi's head.

"Cuck!"

"Damn bird!"

Anxi angrily chased the crow away, but when he stepped onto the stairs, his shoes happened to step on the pile of slippery leaves, and he stumbled and lost his balance.

"not good……"

In panic, Anxi missed a step and instinctively tried to grab something, but he still fell on his back on the stone steps, and his whole body rolled towards the road in front of the shrine.

Suddenly, a bright beam of light illuminated the road at the corner.

"boom--!"

"Squeak!!"

The harsh sound of brakes pierced the night. The white car knocked Anxi away and then slid continuously before stopping in front of the shrine's stone tablet. The headlights just happened to illuminate Anxi's bulging eyes.

A large pool of blood leaked out from the twisted limbs, instantly staining the thousand-yen bill that Anxi was holding tightly in his hand red.

"No, it's none of my business!"

Nachi Shingo got out of the car carefully with trembling legs. After seeing Anxi's face clearly, he fell to the ground in fright and backed away repeatedly.

Turning around, he saw Conan and Gao Mo on the stairs, and he shouted as if he was grabbing a life-saving straw: "It was this guy who suddenly rushed out. He asked me to meet him here... You have to testify for me. It's none of my business! I really..."

"how come?"

Conan's face was shocked. He looked at Anxi in the light of the car lights, and then checked the steps that caused Anxi to slip.

Crows, leaves, bluestone steps...

It seemed like a coincidence, but also like a script had been written in advance.

"Brother Kido, you...it shouldn't have anything to do with you, right?"

"What are you thinking about?" Gao Mo came back to his senses from the memory of death, turned around and ruffled Conan's hair, "Call the police first."

Is there any problem with the current plot? It is easier to change in the early stage.

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(End of this chapter)