Conan: The Heart Thief

"Wow... so beautiful and fragrant!" Yue Yexue picked a fresh flower, put it close to his nose and sniffed it. The fragrance was rich.

"Wait a minute, Xiaoxue, that flower is a poppy." Hoshino Terumi quickly stopped her.

"Poppy, is there something wrong?" Yue Yesue asked in confusion.

"Poppy is the raw material of drugs." As an actor who often participates in detective dramas, Hoshino Terumi recognized the poppy flower at a glance.

"Huh? Why? There are so many poppies planted here!" Yue Yexue was shocked.

"Perhaps this is the reason why the villagers in Liujiao Village have become rich." Lin Xiao explained.

Lin Xiao looked around and saw that there was no one else, so he took the hands of the two girls and said, "Let's get out of here quickly."

Hoshino Terumi said, "Detective Lin, should we pretend we didn't see it?"

Lin Xiao asked back: "What are you going to do if Kaoru Kusano's family also gets involved?"

Hoshino Terumi remained silent. She didn't have the courage to sacrifice her own family for the sake of justice, so she could only pretend that she knew nothing.

At night, the living room of the Clock House has been transformed into a festive wedding banquet hall. This is the last step before the wedding today. After the guests have finished the wedding banquet here, the wedding ceremony will be officially held.

These guests were mainly the owners of the six mansions.

Except for the owner of the Clock House, Jusan Kusano, who was the host of the wedding.

The others are:

The owner of the Ivy House is an old lady with a wrinkled face named Kusanagi Sanko.

The owner of the Tower was a middle-aged woman who looked very dignified and elegant, and had a pretty appearance. Her name was Wutali.

The owner of Kaizhiguan, a man in a suit wearing a pair of round glasses, is called Dou Reiji, and his daughter, the gloomy woman from before, Dou Kiriko, who also serves as the bridesmaid.

The owner of the weather vane museum is a gentleman with a friendly appearance, named Feng Ji Junye.

The owner of the Colored Glass Museum, a man with a scar on his face, a shifty look and very annoying, his name is Isshiki Torao.

The strange thing is that everyone is here, but the groom is missing. And no one cares about the groom's disappearance.

Chapter 382 The Groom's Head is Cut Off

Huimei couldn't help but ask Kusano Kaoru: "Xiaoxun, why isn't your husband here?"

Kaoru Kusano smiled bitterly and explained, "Because it is the custom in the village, he must be baptized by God alone in the church before he can officially marry me."

Huimei said: "It's really a strange custom."

Kaoru Kusano said: "There is no way. The customs of the village are indeed very confusing."

At this moment, a drunk man ran up to Kaoru Kusano, grabbed Kaoru Kusano's hand, and shouted, "Kaoru Kusano... the groom is gone... I can take his place, please, please, I have liked you for a long time..."

Kaoru Kusano pushed him away in panic and said, "Teacher Oda, please don't do this, you are drunk..."

Teacher Oda shouted: "I'm not drunk, I'm not drunk..."

When the people around saw that Mr. Oda was drunk and crazy, they quickly pulled him away.

Huimei asked in confusion: "Xiaoxun, who is this Mr. Oda?"

Kaoru Kusano said: "Teacher Oda is my childhood sweetheart. He has always had a crush on me...but I don't like him at all."

Yue Yexue said: "Xiaoxun, you are really popular. Jian Xiongdu is so lucky to marry you."

Kaoru Kusano smiled awkwardly: "Ahaha..."

Suddenly, the owner of the Ivy House, Kusagi Mitsuko, who was at the other end of the table, slammed the table, pointed out the window, and shouted in a shrill voice: "Help! The church is on fire!"

Hearing this, everyone turned their heads to look into the distance, but the ancient church was still standing quietly in the night, and nothing unusual happened. They all realized that they had been fooled by the old woman.

Seeing the puzzled expressions of the guests, Feng Jichun, the owner of the Weathervane House, also stood up quickly, waved his hands and said apologetically: "Please forgive me, Kusanagi Sanko's only son died in an accident five years ago, and she has been mentally ill ever since. She must have had an attack just now..."

After carefully observing the expressions of Feng Jie Junye and Kusanagi Sanko, Lin Xiao finally relaxed. He had already seen that what Feng Jie Junye said was the truth from his heart, and that Kusanagi Sanko was indeed insane.

At this time, Lin Xiao always felt that the mistress of the Tower House, Wutali, seemed to be looking at him intentionally or unintentionally from time to time. There was something indescribably strange about that look...

Lin Xiao glanced sharply at Wutali who was not far away, and after noticing Lin Xiao's scrutiny, Wutali quickly revealed a gentle and kind smile, and nodded to him gracefully.

At the same time, Kusanagi Sanko grabbed the food on the table and threw it on the ground, saying kindly, "Oh, come on, it's time for the kittens to eat..."

"Mr. Kusano, please send someone to take this old woman away quickly. It's so unlucky. This crazy woman should have been put in a mental hospital long ago!" Seeing that Kusanagi Sanko was going crazy again, Isshiki Torano suggested to Kusano Jusan with a disgusted tone.

Looking at the three little cats of Kusanagi being forcibly taken away by the servants called by Kusanagi Jusan, Hoshino Terumi said to Lin Xiao with some reluctance: "Husband, Mrs. Kusanagi is also very pitiful. It seems that she treats the kittens as her deceased sons. Let's not blame her..."

After hearing Huimei's words, Lin Xiao nodded slowly. He would never bother with a mentally ill person. What's more, compared to other museum owners, this crazy old woman was the most reassuring one.

Yue Yexue felt very uncomfortable: "What kind of people are there in Xiaoxun's hometown? If I had known, I would not have come here."

The wedding banquet was over at this time, but there was still some time before the ceremony started at ten o'clock. Everyone was standing at the door of the Clock Hall, looking at the ancient church where the wedding would be held.

"Mr. Kazesami, is the groom staying in the church with the burn marks?" Hoshino Terumi pointed at the church in the distance and asked Kazesami Jun with curiosity. Among these hall owners, Kazesami Jun was the kindest one, and he was also the representative of Rokkaku Village.

Feng Jijun also heard what Hoshino Terumi asked, and immediately nodded and said kindly and slowly: "Yes, that church was built by seven mysterious missionaries who came to the village to preach about half a century ago. The seven of them came here to look for the 'Apple of the Garden of Eden', which is the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve ate as mentioned in the Old Testament. What exactly this forbidden fruit is, no one knows until now...

The burn marks on the church were caused by a fire 27 years ago. That year, the church suddenly caught fire and water, killing a pastor and his wife, as well as their seven adopted orphans...

The custom of the groom being baptized in the church during a wedding in Liujiao Village was actually introduced after that year, with the purpose of praying for the disaster that happened that year.

Yue Yexue pointed at the human-powered crane outside the church in the distance and asked curiously, "Mr. Fengji, what is that small machine used for?"

"Oh, that, is just a simple pulley lifting device. It should have been used by the pastor and his wife in the church when doing farm work." Feng Jijun really had the demeanor of a gentle gentleman, and answered Yue Yexue's questions very seriously.

Finally, it was ten o'clock, time for the wedding ceremony to begin. Just as everyone was preparing to walk into the church, the big bell on the church suddenly rang. The sound was melodious and dull, giving people a creepy feeling.

"Is this bell ringing also a part of the wedding custom?" Hoshino Terumi asked curiously after hearing the bell ringing.

However, all the museum owners looked shocked at this moment. Feng Jichun also said in doubt: "No... no... the church bell... only rings during funerals in the village... let's go and check the situation."

Outside the church...

"Damn it, these iron doors are locked and can't be opened at all!"

Feng Jichun also banged hard on the church door and shouted anxiously.

"Let me do it."

Under the surprised gaze of the crowd, Lin Xiao, equipped with a personality mask, kicked the church's big iron door open with one kick.

However, the scene inside the church turned people's original surprise into horror!

The groom, Jian Xiong Du, was seen kneeling alone in front of the statue of the priest, his hands clasped tightly in a posture of devout prayer. However, his head was gone, and it was obvious that he had been cut off at the neck...

A large amount of blood flowed out from the headless neck, covering the clean white sheets, and dripped down along the edge of the bed...

At the bottom corner of the bed, on the clean white sheets that were not stained by blood, there were a row of bloody words written in bright red font:

"The seventh mummy, take the bride's head."

Hoshino Terumi was obviously frightened, but she quickly calmed down and said puzzledly: "The groom died, why is the bloody word the bride's head?"

Lin Xiao said with a gloating expression: "It is very likely that the murderer's next target will be the bride. I must take measures to protect the bride!"

Yue Yexue asked worriedly, "Then, isn't Kusano Kaoru in danger?"

At this moment, Kaoru Kusano was so sad that she couldn't speak after seeing her husband being killed.

Lin Xiao turned to Feng Ji Junye calmly and said, "Mr. Feng Ji, call the police immediately..."

Feng Jichun also nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, I understand."

Lin Xiao looked around and found that everyone was sad, but more than that, they were terrified. Everyone had their eyes wide open and their bodies trembling.

Lin Xiao said to everyone: "Everyone, go out and don't destroy the scene. Wait for the county police to come and investigate tomorrow..."

Feng Jichun also agreed: "Yes, yes, yes... Let's all go out."

Everyone left the church.

Kusano Jusan comforted Kusano Kaoru and said, "Daughter, I'm sorry for what happened..."

Kaoru Kusano said, "Dad, don't say anything. I just want to be alone."

Chapter 383 Lin Xiao becomes Kaoru Kusano's new groom

After Kaoru Kusano returned to her room, she was immersed in sadness and at a loss. Then there was a knock on the door.

Kusano Kaoru opened the door and found it was Lin Xiao.

"Detective Lin, why are you here?"

"Since you know I'm a detective, you should know why I came here?"

“Please, please come in…”

Kusano Kaoru invited Lin Xiao in. Kusano Kaoru sat on the wedding bed and sat on a chair.

Lin Xiao looked around the bridal chamber and found it beautifully and warmly decorated. It would indeed be a happy thing if the bride and groom consummated their marriage here. Unfortunately, the groom died.

"Detective Lin, what do you want to ask?"

"Ms. Kusano, what do you think about the murder of your spouse, Makuma Atsushi?"

Kaoru Kusano shook her head and said sadly, "Atsushi Jianxiong came to my hometown to get married but was murdered. I feel sorry for him, but I can't figure out why he was killed."

Lin Xiao gently grasped the small hand of Kasano Kaoru wearing white silk gloves: "Compared to the death of your fiancé, the murderer left the bloody words of taking the bride's head, which is likely referring to you. You are in a very dangerous situation now!"

Kaoru Kusano asked in a panic: "Then, what should I do?"

Lin Xiao said: "I think you should have an idea of ​​who the murderer is. Can you tell me?"

Kaoru Kusano said, "I don't know. How would I know who the murderer is?"

Lin Xiao said: "Don't you know? This will be difficult to deal with. The murderer may attack you at any time."

Seeing Lin Xiao looking at her with a complicated expression, Kusano Xun asked nervously, "Detective Lin, just tell me what you think?"

Lin Xiao said confidently: "Do I have to protect you all the time?"

"protect me."

"That's right, I'm going to stay here to spend the night in place of your dead fiancé."

"Ah? How can this be done?"

Kaoru Kusano became flustered.