Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 472 The Thorn Princess is different from other assassins

The mountain road was winding and tortuous, and the three of them continued on their way under Xishan Tao's guidance.

Occasionally, traces of blood could be seen on the road, and the drizzling rain from the sky stirred up dust, creating a mixture of smells that made one frown.

“Mr. Mori, I can give you some money, as long as you pretend you didn’t see it.”

Midway through, Nishiyama Tao seemed to have gathered his thoughts and turned back to state his price.

Putting aside the matter of the assassin, if we can bribe the famous detective, the risk of exposure is basically zero.

Neither Conan nor Hattori spoke. Although Kogoro Mouri was unreliable, his sense of justice was beyond doubt.

"Well, that depends on the amount you're looking for."

Kogoro Mouri rubbed his hands together like a fly, a smirk playing on his lips, as if to tell everyone, yes, he's here for the money.

Hattori paused, almost stumbling, and was about to glare at Kogoro Mouri when Conan caught him.

Conan shook his head slightly, then nodded, as if to say that we should trust Uncle Kogoro.

Upon seeing the detective's ugly face, Nishiyama Tao smiled knowingly.

Sure enough, after all that buildup and righteous indignation, it all boils down to money.

"Money is no problem. Everyone has to make a living. We'll definitely give the detective a reasonable amount when the time comes."

Nishiyama Tao sneered inwardly. Once this matter was over, he would immediately lead his men to Tokyo. He didn't care how much they gave him; he would make Kogoro Mori cough it all up.

Nishiyama Benyi suddenly remembered something and whispered something in his father's ear.

"Did you bring two women with you?"

Xishan Tao's eyes suddenly lit up. If what his son said was true, then it might not be so troublesome!
A woman who is powerless is the perfect hostage.

Xishan Tao gave his son a wink, and Xishan Benyi smiled knowingly.

Kogoro Mouri noticed all their subtle movements, but he didn't hear what they were saying.

Having finally reached a favorable situation, Kogoro Mouri didn't want to provoke the other party at this crucial moment; pleasing the cat and soothing its fur was the best approach.

Soon, the group arrived at the workshop in the mountains.

The area had clearly been cleaned up; the smell of blood was much less than before. After the last few bodies were moved, a new group of people started working.

"Doesn't the village chief of Xishan plan to lay low for a while?"

Kogoro Mouri asked in disbelief.

Even though more than twenty people had just died, Xishan Tao quickly arranged for a new batch of people to dissect the dugongs.

Absolutely inhuman!
"Mr. Mori is unaware of this, but if dugong meat is not processed quickly, its quality will deteriorate, and its effectiveness will also decrease."

Those who buy dugong meat are mostly wealthy businessmen and politicians; this basic guarantee must be in place, and we absolutely cannot ruin our reputation.

Xishan Tao spoke eloquently, fully demonstrating his years of experience in slaughtering dugongs.

Kogoro Mouri sneered inwardly, thinking how shameless he was, but on the surface he still agreed, saying, "As expected of the village chief, you have a grand vision."

"I dare not take the credit. No matter how good I am, I can't compare to Mr. Mori. I could never come up with such a gimmick as solving cases while asleep."

The two sides flattered each other, but in reality they wanted nothing more than to interfere with each other's affairs. Their feigned politeness left the two underage detectives dumbfounded.

That's just how human relationships are; if we let them come, there's probably nothing we can do.

Using the truth and evidence to directly expose criminals is their norm.

"Mr. Mori must know a lot of businessmen and politicians, right? Are you interested in working together to expand the dugong market? I can give you a certain percentage of the profits."

Rather than eliminating Kogoro Mouri, it might be more cost-effective to get him involved in their business.

Just then, a "crack!" sound, like a tree branch breaking, suddenly rang out.

"What's that sound?" Nishiyama Honji immediately became alert.

The group looked in the direction of the sound, but before they could see what was behind the tree, they saw a blurry figure appear out of nowhere and hurtle towards them at a speed that was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

"Father!"

Nishiyama Honyoshi, with his sharp eyes, immediately tackled his father to the ground.

The afterimage barely grazed Xishan Tao's face, drawing out wisps of blood, before continuing its swift motion and finally embedding itself in the tree trunk behind him.

"It's a tree branch!"

Kogoro Mouri felt his scalp tingle as he stuck the branch into the tree trunk. Heaven knows how much strength and speed that took!

The three detectives immediately realized that this was definitely the work of the Thorn Princess.

"Isn't she going to wait until night to make her move?"

All three of them had this question.

They always thought that even if the Thorn Princess wanted to make a move, she would probably have to wait until nightfall.

"It's yesterday's assassin! Quick, hide inside the house!"

Kogoro Mouri shouted.

Without turning his head, Nishiyama Honji grabbed his father, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and dashed into the workshop.

The three Mori followed closely behind.

"what!"

The moment he entered the room, Xishan Tao, who was being carried on his shoulder, suddenly cried out in surprise, almost spitting out his throat.

After the three of them followed in, they discovered that Nishiyama Tao had a tree branch stuck in his buttocks.

"That assassin is here to cause you trouble."

Nishiyama Honji's face flushed red. He grabbed the long spear next to him and was about to go out to argue with the other party.

Xishan Tao quickly grabbed his son's shoulder.

Leaving aside the tree branch attack just now, the fact that more than twenty people couldn't defeat one person yesterday was terrifying. If my son goes out, he'll only be sent to his death.

"Father, but!"

"let me!"

Xishan Tao was adept at navigating social situations. Since he was an assassin, he could be bribed with money! He glanced around at the terrified villagers in the workshop and gave them a smile as bright as a chrysanthemum: "Don't worry, as long as I'm here, there won't be any problems."

Having said that, he turned to look at the door, puffed out his chest, and raised his head, adopting a posture as if he were about to give a speech:

"I know assassins have rules; they can't reveal their employers' information. I'm not asking you to tell me who your employer is, because none of that matters. I have something more important to tell you!"

Xishan Tao paused for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and continued, "I can give you double the price, as long as you agree, I can forgive and forget what happened before!"

Over the years, Xishan Tao's wealth has exceeded what the villagers could ever imagine.

All the businessmen and politicians he knew became his resources.

Besides selling dugong meat, he occasionally acts as an intermediary for businessmen and politicians, exchanging favors and receiving a substantial commission once a deal is struck.

Besides Mermaid Island, he also owns many properties and has bank deposits in the tens of figures.

Therefore, he has the confidence to say such things.

Even if a dugong doesn't take a single penny of money, he can live a carefree life for a long time.

Kogoro Mouri really wanted to tell the other party that the Thorn Princess was different from others. Her code of conduct was related to the resume of the person on whom the bounty was placed. Judging from what Nishiyama Tao had shown, even if the employer did not pay, the Thorn Princess might not let him go.

However, Xishan Tao didn't give him a chance to speak at all. Seeing that the assassin didn't respond, he mistakenly thought that the other party had begun to weigh the pros and cons, and immediately added more chips:
"If you think twice isn't enough, I can offer more. I can even share some dugong meat with you, or you can join us and I'll give you shares!"

This was a sudden whim of Xishan Tao.

If a highly skilled assassin could become your teammate, his influence would definitely increase significantly.

In the past two years, he has clearly realized that simply selling dugong meat is not a way out, so he handed over the job of hunting dugongs at sea to his son, while he transformed himself to manage his network of contacts.

He transformed from a butcher into a middleman in the exchange of money and power!
These words were like lighting a powder keg; several sharp branches came whistling through the air and pierced the door panel.

Looking through the sharp points of the door, Nishiyama Tao felt an endless chill creep up his spine.

The next moment, everyone's gaze shifted to the top of their heads.

From the top of the workshop hut came hurried footsteps, followed by the creaking sound of trees breaking.

"boom!"

The lush branches, untrimmed, could pierce through the roof of the wooden house like javelins stuck in the ground, with a few unlucky ones being impaled by side branches.

Upon seeing this, the villagers inside could no longer contain their fear and rushed out of the house.

"Eh!"

Conan and Hattori reached out to stop them, as it was clearly more dangerous outside than inside.

However, the person who had lost their mind was incredibly strong and managed to break free and burst through the door.

Seven or eight villagers ran out of the workshop and scattered.

However, they underestimated the power of the Thorn Princess.

A magnificent black robe suddenly flashed past the door, and the villagers who were scattering and fleeing suddenly lost their strength and collapsed without a sound.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the back of their heads or the back of their necks had branches, some as thick as a finger, stuck in them.

"Quick, kill him!"

Xishan Tao didn't care about the villagers' lives or deaths; he was overjoyed.

The unknown is what's truly terrifying; when the assassin reveals himself, that's when he'll strike back.

Now is a golden opportunity; the other party has their back to the door, and there's no better time to make a move!
With a loud shout, Nishiyama Benyi led several burly men and charged out.

They all wielded sharp knives.

Unlike the villagers, they were professional thugs, trained not to cut meat, but to be used as bodyguards.

Some carried machetes, some carried samurai swords, and the leader, Nishiyama Honyoshi, carried a long spear.

When out at sea, this thing can be used as a speargun to deal with sharks, and in a fight, the spear is one of the most advantageous weapons.

Because he's long!

At least that's what Nishiyama Honyoshi himself thinks.

"go to hell!"

Nishiyama Benyi's lips curled into an exaggerated grin, his eyes blazing with madness and murderous intent.

Having slaughtered dugongs for years, he possesses a fierce and bloodthirsty nature. Even Kogoro Mouri had to admit that this guy was quite capable.

With steady steps and muscular arms, he swept his spear across the ground, creating a sharp gust of wind.

"Qiang!"

Princess Thorn's dark red eyes gradually turned crimson, and she raised her hand to gently block with her golden cone.

She didn't even glance at Nishiyama Honyoshi.

These oddballs are no better than the peripheral members of the distillery.

Her gaze was fixed on Nishiyama Tao, while her peripheral vision was on Kogoro Mouri.

Just now, she overheard that Kogoro Mouri was about to join forces with the other party.

A burly man forcefully swung his samurai sword, interrupting the Thorn Princess's train of thought.

Princess Thorn grew impatient. She spun the golden cone in her palm, knocking away the spear and sending it hurtling towards the samurai sword.

When the katana clashed with the golden cone, the ordinary katana was no match for the special material of the golden cone. With a loud clang, the katana broke instantly!

The moment it broke, the golden cone suddenly lunged forward and collided with the broken blade once more.

The broken blade flew backward with a "whoosh" and stabbed towards the burly man.

Pfft!

The burly man looked down, trying to see the source of his pain, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lower his head.

—Because the broken blade had pierced his throat, and if he lowered his head, his chin would touch the sharp edge of the broken blade.

Princess Thorns kicked the man away with all her might, ending the strong man's sinful and short life.

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)