Ke Xue: Xiaolan delivers goods to your door at the beginning

"Kazuha, don't be afraid."

"Thank you, Xiaofeng."

Kazuha Toyama felt warm; as expected, Lin Xiaofeng was gentler, while Heiji Hattori completely ignored her.

“Mother…we can’t just jump to conclusions like this.” Ryuuji’s expression revealed helplessness.

"Wei Shi, your character is too weak!" the old man scolded. "With that kind of hate-filled method of violence, who else could it be but them!"

Longwei Shi paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile: "Perhaps the relationship between our two families shouldn't continue like this..."

"What did you say?!"

The old man, his face stern and angry, strode over to the sofa.

Lin Xiaofeng interrupted their argument: "Mr. Ryūwei, may I ask, how many sons does the Torada family have?"

"The two... The one who died 6 years ago was named Torada Yoshiro. He and Torada Shigeji were both children born to Torada Naonobu's first wife."

When it comes to gossip about other people's families, Ryuo Tamefumi is not at all reserved and directly tells the whole story of how the current head of the Torada family, Torada Naonobu, remarried after losing his wife.

Lin Xiaofeng thought for a moment, then calmly nodded and asked, "How did Torada Yoshiro die?"

"He encountered a tornado, was swept into the air, and finally fell onto the rocks and died," Longwei Weishi said.

Was it not a revenge killing, but an accidental death?

Upon hearing this, Hattori Heiji couldn't help but ask, "Were there any witnesses? Who was the first to find the body?" He believed that the key reason why the Torada family suspected that their son's death was related to the Ryuo family might lie here, such as the witnesses and the person who found the body being members of the Ryuo family.

However, Tatsuo Tamefumi's answer completely surprised Hattori Heiji: "The eyewitness is said to be a friend of Torada Yoshiro, and the person who found Torada Yoshiro's body was his other son, Torada Shigeji."

This... is actually someone from the Torada family?

Hattori Heiji scratched his head in disbelief, then turned to look at Ryūo Tamefumi's mother, "Since it was an accident, why did you think that Mr. Koji's death was revenge by the Torada family?"

"Because there was also a centipede next to the body of that kid from the Torada family 6 years ago!"

The old man, still agitated, continued pounding the floor with his cane, saying, "Now that thing has appeared next to my poor grandson's corpse. What is this if not revenge!"

Perhaps it was a series of murders orchestrated by a third party... This thought flashed through Hattori Heiji's mind, and he looked at Lin Xiaofeng, preparing to exchange a tacit understanding.

The result... was predictable.

Lin Xiaofeng didn't even look this way. He said, "As far as I know, there was another person who unfortunately died around the time of the festival six years ago. Were there centipedes next to his body too?"

"The person you're talking about must be Officer Kai, right? The night he went missing, everyone in the village except the elderly and children went out to look for him. Unfortunately, the wind was very strong for the next few days, and he was buried under the fallen trees after falling off the cliff. It wasn't until a week later that his body was found."

Longwei sighed: "Because of his identity as a detective, the police quickly took over the scene... However, I later heard that the case was treated as an accident."

To find out why Ryūo Kōji was killed in such a cruel way, we need to go to Torada's other son, Torada Shigeji, and ask him about the centipede.

Having made up his mind, Hattori Heiji got up to take action and asked Ryuo for the location of the Shikota family.

After a moment of silence, the latter suggested, "Well... it's getting late. Why don't we wait for my son and daughter-in-law to come back so we can have dinner together? Then Ayaka can take you all tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow? Why?" Hattori Heiji asked, puzzled. In his view, investigating a case should be done sooner rather than later. From the Ryūo family's perspective, shouldn't they find out the cause of Ryūo Kōji's death as soon as possible?

Ryūo Tamefumi's expression towards Hattori Heiji became somewhat (fortunately) strange. After a few seconds, he slowly spoke: "Your investigation into my son's matter will definitely provoke the Torada family's hostility. I'm a little worried that a conflict might break out. And Ayaka used to help take care of the horses in their stables..."

"Don't worry, I just want to find out some information from that Shigeji Torada. I won't say from the beginning that I'm the detective you hired."

...He's not stupid. He knows that such a reputation, which would obviously get him beaten up, should be dealt with after the investigation has yielded some results.

"Hmm...you're going to find Torada Shigeji?" Ryūo Tamefumi's expression became increasingly strange.

This puzzled Heiji Hattori, who frowned and asked, "Mr. Ryuo, what's wrong?"

Ryūo no longer kept him in suspense and explained, "Torada Shigeji is an oddball in the Torada family. He goes into the mountains almost every day with a hoe, and I don't know what he's busy with. He probably hasn't gone back yet at this time..."

"Do you know roughly which area he's in?" Lin Xiaofeng asked You.

"I have no idea……"

Longwei shook his head. "However, A-Jing and Linghua have a good relationship with him, so they might know where he is."

Hattori Heiji:"……"

Previously, in order to see the scene where Ryūo Kōji was murdered, they not only did not drive, but also took a detour.

Should I go to the shooting range again to find Ryuji and his wife?

By the time they made it back, it was almost dark. But the problem was... I really wanted to know if the centipede was a message left by the perpetrator at the scene. What if another victim appeared if the mystery wasn't solved soon?

"Huh? Then we need to act immediately, or it'll get dark." Kazuha Toyama also realized the problem.

474. Toyama Kazuha is already Lin Xiao's woman.

To go or not to go...

Hattori Heiji was somewhat conflicted.

"Let's go together," Lin Xiaofeng suddenly said.

"Huh!?" Hattori Heiji was startled and a little guilty. "Seriously, Hayashi Kofuku, what did you say?"

You're wearing your heart on your sleeve...

Lin Xiaofeng glanced at the black-skinned animal. "If we don't reveal our identities and just go to pay a visit, even if we can't get anything out of them, their attitude will tell us a lot."

Hattori Heiji's eyes lit up, and he immediately made a decision: "Then I'll go with Lin Xiaofeng to the Torada family first, and you, Kazuha, will..."

“I want to go too,” Toyama Kazuha insisted.

"Then the three of us will go together." Rather than leaving Toyama and Ye behind, Lin Xiaofeng preferred to keep her by his side. Now she was his woman, not Heiji's woman.

"Oh……"

Hattori Heiji nodded, offering no objection. His logic in handling this matter wasn't complicated—

Aside from complaining about his dark complexion, Lin Xiaofeng rarely did anything unnecessary. Since they had said so, there must be a reason for going together; if he couldn't figure it out, he could just ask on the way.

Huh? Could this young man be the leader among them?

Longwei glanced at Lin Xiaofeng discreetly, and had some guesses in his mind.

However, seeing that the three of them were in agreement, he couldn't say anything more to object.

……

Walking towards the Torada residence, Hattori Heiji glanced at the 'OK' reply in email 310 on his phone and continued:

"By the way, Lin Xiaofeng, just now in Longwei's living room..."

Lin Xiaofeng knew what he wanted to ask and answered directly:

"You should understand that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Torada family will find out tonight that the Ryūō family hired you as a detective. Although the probability is low, and Ryūō Tamefumi's explanation makes a lot of sense, he is ultimately trying to prevent us from going to the Torada family. Suppose... the clues we get from the Torada family are completely contrary to the information we already know, do you think it would be safer to leave Kazuha there than for her to come with us?"

"This……"

Heiji Hattori hadn't considered the possibility of the Ryūo family "crying wolf," and after a moment's thought, he murmured, "The head of the Ryūo family wouldn't be lying to us, would he..."

"A murder has occurred here." Lin Xiaofeng shrugged.

"Okay." Hattori Heiji couldn't find a reason to refute it... He couldn't just insist on finding fault.

At that moment, Toyama Kazuha suddenly let out a soft "Eh?" and asked, "Kaze, why would the Torada family possibly know about Heiji tonight?"

Hattori Heiji:"……"

Everyone else is already driving on the highway, and you (bhbe) are still here learning how to start...

"Oh, it's probably related to the festival they're going to hold. Some of them can predict the future."

"Eh?! That's...that's terrifying!"

Kazuha Toyama covered her mouth and exclaimed in surprise, "Then...why did they even need Heiji to solve the case?!"

Hattori Heiji couldn't help but mutter a few complaints to himself, then looked at his 'silly' childhood friend with a hint of helplessness and explained:

"It's just a possibility! Didn't Mr. Ryūo say before that his son and daughter-in-law have a pretty good relationship with that Torada Shigeji...?"

"Uh..." Toyama Kazuha shrank into Lin Xiao's arms fearfully. Hattori Heiji raised an eyebrow. When did Toyama Kazuha start relying on Lin Xiao?

After some time, the three arrived at the front of the Torada family's villa.

Unlike the modern style of Longwei's house, this two-story building still uses retro wooden panels for decoration.

Approaching the open gate, one can see several decorative pine trees and smell the unique, pungent odor emanating from the stables.

If you look closely, you can also see some footprints and shiny spherical objects on the ground beside the stone path.

"Even without looking at the house number, the Torada family is definitely here."

Hattori Heiji said this half-jokingly, and was about to confirm the details with Ye Xiaofeng again when he saw Lin Xiaofeng also turning his head in his direction, but his gaze was fixed on the woods on the other side, past where he was standing.

"Huh? Who's there..." Hattori Heiji was a beat slow to react; by the time he looked over...

From the shadows of the woods, where the setting sun had not yet illuminated, a slender woman in a kimono and wooden clogs slowly walked towards them.

Both sides looked at each other.

The woman paused slightly, stepped forward, and asked with a puzzled look, "Who are you...?"

Her voice was slightly androgynous, and combined with her slanted eyes, it gave people a very direct feeling of gloom.

The other party is very difficult to approach… Hattori Heiji subconsciously made this judgment and said:

"Excuse me, is Mr. Torada Naonobu at home?"

"..."

The woman didn't respond immediately, but scrutinized the three of them for a moment before asking, "What do you want with him?"

"Ah, no... actually, we have something we want to talk to Mr. Hanji about."

Heiji Hattori pretended not to understand what the other party meant and deliberately avoided the question to buy time.

However, before he could test how the woman in front of him would react, he heard the clatter of hooves behind him.

Ryūo Kei and Ryūo Ayaka rode together on one horse and soon arrived in front of the group.

"Aunt Darong."

Ryūo Ayaka greeted the woman in the kimono. Ryūo Kage didn't say anything, just glanced over, dismounted, and stood to the side.

Seeing this, Hattori Heiji lowered his voice and said helplessly, "Lin Xiaofeng, it seems we're late..."

Given the current situation, it's impossible for them not to talk to the young couple from the Longwei family.

He could no longer hide his identity as a detective.

Over there, Ayaka Ryūo was talking to Tatsue Torada while holding the reins. After learning that Heiji Hattori was actually a detective, she once again cast a scrutinizing glance in their direction. After a slight hesitation, she said, "Hanji went to the mountains; he's not home."

"When does he usually come back?" Hattori Heiji asked immediately.

Tiger Field shook his head and said, "I don't know... or maybe I've already given up hope. My husband told us not to worry about trivial matters."

After saying that, she ignored the others and led Ryūki Ayaka towards the stables.

"Hey, wait a minute..."

Hattori Heiji wanted to ask a few more questions, but Ryūo Kei stopped him and whispered:

"Let's come back tomorrow morning. Fanci usually stays home and sleeps at that time."

"……All right."

Hattori Heiji glanced at Kazuha with half-moon eyes, thinking that if it weren't for Kazuha, he would definitely stay here and wait for Torada Shigeji to return, even if he didn't go into the mountains to look for someone!

Ayaka Ryūki returned the horse.

The group of five returned to Longwei's house together.

While having dinner, Heiji asked Ryuuji about some things concerning Shigeji Torada.

After a brief inquiry, I learned the truth.

It turns out that the son of the Torada family was disliked by the head of the Torada family because he was obsessed with treasure hunting games all day long, which led to his current state of being completely ignored by the family.

475. Forever Alone

In the guest room.

Hattori Heiji rested his head on his arm and murmured, "Lin Xiaofeng, don't you find it strange... The person who died was clearly Ryūki's brother, but when I asked about the treasure, he wouldn't say a word..."

He then recalled that right after dinner, Ryūki Ayaka pulled Ryūki Kage away, saying that he had been practicing riding and archery all day and needed a massage to relax, which left him with many unanswered questions.

"Um……"