The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

Naoko, who had just looked gloomy, was now full of excitement.

However, Naoko, whose mind was filled with desire, was probably unable to realize—

Why would Kazuya Saori, who had clearly disappeared, suddenly send her such a text message?

After trying to call Saori back but receiving no answer.

Naoko also anxiously replied with a text message—

[Saori, where are you? I'm coming right now! —Naoko]

……

At this moment, Kogoro Mouri and his group began to split up and investigate the island's residents.

Heiji Hattori and Kazuha were working together, preparing to return to the river upstream of Mermaid Falls on the mountain to conduct another search, hoping to find any clues they might have missed during the night.

After all, as the primary scene of Ms. Sumi's death, the situation there is indeed highly suspicious.

The trees on the mountain are lush, and apart from the path we took last night, the surrounding area is full of verdant forest.

However, Kazuha, who was walking along the path with Hattori Heiji, suddenly stopped and unconsciously sniffed.

Heiji Hattori, who was walking ahead, had obviously noticed Kazuha's actions, so he turned around with some confusion and asked, "What's wrong with you, Kazuha?"

Chapter 468 Goodbye, Idiot

"That's strange." Kazuha muttered to Hattori Heiji while looking around, "Heiji, can you smell any fragrance?"

"Are you out of your mind? How could there possibly be fragrance in a place like this?" Hattori Heiji seemed a little impatient.

All he wanted to do was get to the open space next to the riverbank as quickly as possible.

After all, there was no one guarding the scene. What if the murderer left some clues but was caught?

"Alright." Although she still had some doubts, seeing Heiji Hattori's anxious look, Kazuha stopped worrying about it.

"Let's go, this should be the way."

Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar scenery ahead, Hattori Heiji pointed in the direction based on his memory.

Unexpectedly, after walking for a while, Hattori Heiji and Kazuha did not reach the riverbank, but instead saw a simple grave.

The reason why Kazuha smelled the fragrance was because there was a stick of incense that had not yet burned out in front of the simple grave.

"I told you I smelled a fragrance!" Kazuha grinned at Hattori Heiji, revealing a rather proud expression.

Hattori Heiji was also somewhat surprised, looking at the grave in front of him with astonishment.

The tomb looks very simple, less than half a meter in diameter, with a rounded tombstone on top, on which no words are engraved.

"Could this be... the graveyard of mermaids!?"

He quickly realized that this tomb was very likely the mermaid tomb that the island's inhabitants had been talking about.

Unexpectedly, the mermaid tomb, located in such a mysterious place on the island, was discovered by the two of them, Kazuha and Kazuha.

While pondering, Hattori Heiji took two steps forward, squatted down, and examined the simple tombstone in front of him, subconsciously placing his hand on top of the tombstone.

After all, when faced with something round and smooth like this, many people will instinctively reach out and want to grab it.

Kazuha, on the other hand, felt a chill run down her spine looking at the grave deep in the woods. Coupled with the mermaid legend she had recently heard, she became even more flustered and cautiously looked around.

As a result, not far from the grave, they saw a fallen warning sign.

She took two steps closer and then noticed that the warning sign read—

[Cliff ahead! Danger!]

Just as she was about to warn Hattori Heiji to be careful, she heard Hattori Heiji exclaim in surprise, followed by the sound of stones rolling.

She looked up in confusion, only to find that Hattori Heiji had somehow managed to knock over someone's gravestone.

Because of the uneven terrain, the tombstone rolled uncontrollably toward the bushes in the distance.

Knowing he had caused trouble, Hattori Heiji instinctively chased after the gravestone.

Little did he know that behind the thicket of bushes in front of him lay a steep cliff.

"Oh no, danger! What's that over there...!?"

As Kazuha cried out in alarm and the sound of bush branches snapping, Hattori Heiji, who was chasing after the gravestone, wondered why the space behind the bushes had suddenly become open, when he suddenly felt his feet sink into the ground.

Then, he blinked his eyes in a daze and realized that he was actually hanging in mid-air.

Perhaps due to the power of some emotion, Kazuha, who was still several meters away from Hattori Heiji, suddenly unleashed unparalleled speed and power.

Amidst Hattori Heiji's bewildered expression, Kazuha grabbed his arm and pulled him back up the cliff just as he was falling.

However, due to inertia, Kazuha and Hattori Heiji switched places and fell towards the bottom of the cliff.

Hattori Heiji, who had been thrown back onto the cliff and hadn't yet regained his footing, instinctively lunged towards Kazuha as well.

And so, after a series of back-and-forth attempts to save each other, Hattori and Kazuha both ended up falling off the cliff.

Fortunately, there was a crooked tree growing at an angle on the cliff face.

At the critical moment, Hattori Heiji, with quick reflexes, grabbed a tree branch on the cliff and clung tightly to Kazuha below. The two of them were hanging from the tree branch on the cliff without any real danger.

"Phew~ I'm finally saved!" Hattori Heiji breathed a sigh of relief as he stopped falling.

Kazuha, who was hanging at the bottom, had already closed her eyes in despair. But when she opened them, she found Heiji hanging from the tree branch, holding her hand tightly. Tears welled up in her eyes without her even realizing it.

"Are we... saved?"

Just as they were beginning to feel relieved after surviving the ordeal, a muffled "crack" sound from the tree branches above made Kazuha and Hattori Heiji's hearts sink.

Kazuha subconsciously looked up, past Heiji who was pulling her, and clearly saw that the branch Heiji was holding was bent at a 90-degree angle, and the fibers on the branch were constantly crackling and popping.

This tree, which was simply growing randomly on the cliff, was on the verge of breaking because it was bearing a weight that it should not have had to bear at its age.

"Oh no! That tree... it's going to break!" Kazuha's heart suddenly tightened when she saw this.

There was absolutely no place around them where they could find a foothold.

At this moment, she realized that if things continued like this, both she and Heiji would fall!

Rather than that, it would be better to...

Looking at Hattori Heiji clinging tightly to the tree branch above, trying to pull her up, Kazuha knew very well that he would never let go of her hand easily.

"I'm sorry, Heiji!" Kazuha murmured to Heiji as she reached into her coat pocket with her free hand.

That's right, there was the dugong arrow she always carried with her.

If I use it to prick Heiji's hand, he'll definitely let go of his grip when he feels the pain!

If it's only supporting the weight of one person, the branches above might be able to hold out until someone discovers the situation.

You must live well for me!

Just as Hattori Heiji was wondering about Kazuha's inexplicable words, he noticed the dugong arrow in her hand.

Add to that the lingering reluctance in Kazuha's tear-filled eyes, and he knew perfectly well what Kazuha was up to.

In an instant, Hattori Heiji realized all this and his eyes widened in horror.

"He Ye!"

Goodbye, you idiot!

The next second, Kazuha also gripped the dugong arrow tightly in her hand and stabbed it at Heiji's hand.

Chapter 469 Helping Hand

Hattori Heiji: "!!!"

With the sound of an arrow piercing the back of his hand, Hattori Heiji winced in pain from the sudden injury.

"Hei...Heiji!" Kazuha was completely stunned as she watched the blood slowly flowing from the wound on Heiji's hand where the arrow had pierced his hand.

Although Hattori Heiji's face was contorted with pain from the wound on the back of his hand, he still held on tightly to his own hand, showing no intention of letting go.

"Heiji! Why, why won't you let go!" Kazuha's voice trembled.

Fresh blood slowly seeped from the wound on Hattori Heiji's hand, and then flowed down Hattori Heiji's arm onto Kazuha's arm.

"If this continues, we'll both die. Let go!"

Seeing Hattori Heiji gritting his teeth and pulling her along despite the pain, Kazuha finally couldn't hold back her tears and they streamed down her face.

She twisted her wrists desperately, trying to break free from Hattori Heiji's grip.

"Kazuha! Stop moving around!"

Heiji Hattori, who fully understood what Kazuha was thinking, grinned and warned her, "If you fall, I'll jump down to join you!"

Upon hearing Hattori Heiji's words, Kazuha froze, staring intently at him. Her previously pale face gradually flushed. "Fool..."

Kazuha knew very well that, given Heiji's straightforward personality, these words were definitely not just empty talk.

Since he said so, he will inevitably do so.

Unfortunately, the trees on the cliff face were not moved by the sincere feelings of the young boy and girl.