Conan: The Self-cultivation of Fake Wine

"That's right. Only in this way can the abbot hide the body without killing anyone."

"Okay, then which of these two possibilities is correct? The first one or the second one."

"do not know."

"Don't know?" Lu Ren was a little surprised. This might be the first time he heard these three words from Conan.

"It's been at least three days since the crime happened. The police didn't even mention preserving the scene, so even if there was any evidence, it's probably been destroyed."

"And even if it's not destroyed, it's hard to really convict him." Hattori continued, "Even if we find the body and there are the abbot's fingerprints on it, we can't be sure that he killed the person."

Huihara added, "Because he can use Edogawa's explanation. As long as the test proves that Denkyu and the deceased are indeed related, then it will be impossible to determine whether the deceased committed suicide or was murdered."

"Even if we bring him to court, the most he can be sentenced to is intentional destruction of a corpse. He won't be imprisoned for long for this crime. If he applies for medical parole and hires a good lawyer, he won't even have to go to jail," continued Kogoro Mouri, who has a lawyer wife.

"So... there is no other way, we have to stop here?"

"That's not the case. If you insist, there is another way. Although we didn't find any blood, we found this."

Lu Ren took a closer look and said, "A wig? Why is there such a thing in the temple?"

"I don't know. Huiyuan found it. It was hidden quite well. We didn't notice it at first. We can try to pretend to be a ghost at night and see how the old abbot reacts."

Pretending to be a ghost to scare people? That's a pretty wild way.

But Lu Ren did not reject it.

"So, who's coming?"

Conan was the first to raise his hand: "Let Hattori-san come. He is darker and will not be easily spotted in the dark."

"..."

"Okay, that's it. I have a white tablecloth and ketchup in my car, I'll go get them. You can put on your makeup then."

Hattori shouted, "No, how can you be sure it's me? I haven't even expressed my opinion yet!"

Lu Ren smiled slightly: "Are you scared?"

"!"

……

Although this method of provoking was crude, it was enough for Hattori.

As it was getting late at night, the old monk who had finished his evening classes walked out of the room and spotted Hattori in the courtyard with disheveled hair, blood all over his body, especially on his abdomen, and a sharp knife in his hand.

Then, a very sad and mournful cry was heard in the courtyard. The sound seemed to come from all directions, making it impossible to tell the exact direction.

This is all thanks to Conan. He had pasted voice-transmitting buttons all over the area in advance, and then used a bow-tie voice changer to create such a creepy voice.

This is because Maori’s father and daughter, as well as Kazuha, did not come, otherwise he would not dare to do so and would easily be exposed.

There are only three people who actually carry out this ghost operation: Lu Ren, Hattori, and Conan.

The others remained in the other courtyard.

Suddenly faced with such a strange scene, the old host did not panic like most people.

He clasped his hands together and chanted the Buddha's name again.

"My benefactor, you are back. If you want revenge, then just take revenge on me. All the mistakes were caused by me. Whenever I think of it, I will regret the bad words I said that day."

As he said this, the abbot sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes. "But please let Chuanjiu go. After all, he is your own flesh and blood."

The woman in the uniform, with her long skirt dragging on the ground, walked forward a distance and began to wink at Lu Ren.

In the whole plan, Hattori was responsible for playing the ghost, Conan was responsible for creating the atmosphere, and Lu Ren was responsible for determining whether the abbot was lying.

Homo sapiens (Calm/Regret)

From the moment the "female ghost" appeared, the abbot's emotions kept switching between calmness and regret.

Mostly calm, very little regret, but not a trace of fear or resentment.

Perhaps Conan's hypothesis is correct.

Otherwise, the old monk's psychological quality is really too abnormal, his acting skills are also terrifying, and he can even hypnotize himself and control his emotions.

Lu Ren didn't think he was such a monster. If the old monk was really such a monster, then killing people would be just like a daily task for him, and he would never make such a low-level mistake as being caught by the young monk.

Lu Ren patted Conan on the head, "Master, it was us. I'm so sorry."

After hearing Lu Ren's voice, Hattori took off her long skirt and wig.

"It's you guys." The old monk was surprised for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and said meaningfully, "It seems that the identities of the donors are not simple."

"We are actually detectives. This time we are here..."

Lu Ren explained the whole story to the abbot.

"I see. Now that things have come to this, I won't keep it a secret from you any longer."

The old monk began to tell the story slowly.

The course of events was basically consistent with Conan's guess.

The deceased was Chuanjiu's biological mother, who had abandoned Chuanjiu at the gate of the mountain eighteen years ago. Four days ago, she came to the abbot and asked him to return the child to her.

The abbot brought a photo album filled with photos of Chuanjiu and his brothers from childhood to adulthood. But the female donor could not tell who was her child from the photos.

The abbot reprimanded her and asked her to reflect on her mistakes in the courtyard for a night. Unexpectedly, she chose to commit suicide.

What happened next is what we all know. To prevent Chuanjiu from being too sad after learning the truth, the abbot hid the body.

"Okay, call the police."

"Ah."

Lu Ren dialed 110 directly.

Although the abbot did not kill the person, he was still charged with multiple crimes including intentional destruction of a corpse, hiding a corpse, and interfering with the investigation of a case.

Besides, he would have to point out the place where the body was buried. On the one hand, it was to collect evidence, and on the other hand, it was to find a better place for the deceased.

Given the old man's physique and the short time available, we can't expect him to build a proper cemetery.

The Tokyo police, who received the report, attached great importance to it.

In less than half an hour, they drove to the temple, ten minutes faster than Lu Ren expected.

But after seeing Miss Sato Miwako getting out of the driver's seat, things suddenly made sense.

Everything that happened next had nothing to do with Lu Ren and the others.

Hear testimony, find the body, arrest the criminal and then return home.

Chuanjiu stood in front of the mountain gate, watching the flickering red and blue lights gradually disappear into the mountains.

His face was confused and a little bewildered.

For an 18-year-old boy who grew up in a temple and had little contact with the outside world, everything that happened tonight was beyond his expectations.

He probably didn't even realize what was happening before the police arrived and his master was taken away.

Lu Ren stepped forward and patted his shoulder. "It may take a long time for your master to come back this time. My suggestion is that you should close the mountain gate, leave this sad place, find another place to be an apprentice and learn a craft, and start a new life again."

"Can I really do this?"

"Give it a try. You're still young. Think about it carefully."

"Ah."

This time, Chuanjiu took an unusually long time to nod. After nodding, he bowed deeply to Lu Ren and turned back to the temple.

Outside the mountain gate, Mao Lilan was a little confused.

"Brother Ren, why did you persuade him to leave? I'm not saying it's a bad thing for him to leave. It's just..."

In Mao Lilan's impression, Lu Ren never cared about these trivial matters. His attitude towards the deceased and their families could even be described as indifferent.

Looking down at the foot of the mountain and the lights of thousands of houses in the distance, and then looking back at the quiet ancient temple behind him, Lu Ren's voice also sounded a little empty, "Because I think this place is not only a sad place, but also a place of right and wrong."

"Ok?"

"So far, the case has been solved. But you overlooked one thing. Where is the knife that served as the murder weapon?"

"Ok??"

"You have also stayed in that courtyard. It was basically empty. It is impossible for a knife to appear in the room out of nowhere. Where did the knife used by the deceased to commit seppuku come from?"

"Hmm???" Ran Mouri sensed something was wrong and began to hug Conan subconsciously.

Conan's expression also became somewhat solemn.

Lu Ren continued, "It is possible that the deceased brought the knife to the mountain herself. That means she was determined to die. If that is the case, did the abbot realize this at the time?"

"And what did he do? He reprimanded her in a harsh tone. Is there even a possibility that the knife was left in the room by the abbot? Because how could a mother who longed to be reunited with her child come to the door with a knife with the intention of killing herself?"

Huihara asked, "Is it possible that she stole the knife from the kitchen?"

Lu Ren shook his head: "It takes ten minutes to get to the temple from the villa, and twenty minutes to go back and forth. If I were her, I would have killed myself in the kitchen, why would I have to run back again?"

"That's true."

"In the final analysis, I still find the abbot's behavior a little abnormal. Although it makes sense, would someone really hide and manipulate a corpse in order to protect his own disciples? His own mother died, and he didn't even know the truth. Can this really be considered a kind act?"

"Also, our ghost-playing plan also has shortcomings."

The old monk's behavior was too calm.

Is there really someone who would not feel scared at all when encountering strange things?

This kind of psychological quality is probably not human.

"That wig is not ours. We found it in another courtyard. We don't know where it came from, but the old monk must know. Maybe he recognized this wig from the beginning."

Hattori couldn't help but ask: "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Because I just discovered it too." Lu Ren smiled back, but this smile seemed a bit bitter no matter how you looked at it.

"I was there when the body was dug out. The police did not find the murder weapon in the grave. The old monk explained that he had thrown the murder weapon away long ago."

Having said that, Lu Ren took a deep breath.

"That's where I realized something was wrong. I left the scene and slipped into the room where the old monk had been doing evening classes."

"I found a sharp knife in that room. Tell me, why would a knife be placed in a room used for spiritual practice, chanting sutras while beating wooden fish in front of a Buddha statue?"

If this was the murder weapon, why did the old monk lie?

"what!!!"

A belated scream, and a duet.

Ran Mouri threw herself into her father's arms, and Kazuha grabbed Hattori.

It's just that the performance of the other few people was not much better than theirs. Everything Lu Ren said was really too weird.

Lu Ren also took Huihara's hand and rubbed her head.

"That's why I said this is a place of trouble."

"Brother Ren, let's go, let's go down the mountain now. I don't want to stay here anymore." Mao Lilan's voice was already a little tearful.

"Ah."

ps: The wigs were left behind by monks who had left the temple. Sometimes they would put on the wigs and sneak down the mountain to play.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 459 Transporting Talents

Fifty minutes later, Lu Ren sent Conan and the others downstairs to the office, and then prepared to send Haiyuan back to the doctor's house.

But Haiyuan didn't seem to think so, "Brother Ren, I haven't seen Dabai, Orange and the others for a long time."

"Okay, I'll tidy up the room for you when I get back."

"No. I can do it myself. You've been busy all day." Haiyuan rejected Lu Ren's suggestion, and then asked: "How is your mystery novel going?"

"It should be about two or three days. The outline has been sorted out. I will write it when I get back."

"Ah."