Maori Kogoro began to understand everything

Seeing that even Conan couldn't come up with a good idea, Maori on the side had a sullen face, and Ayumi was so scared that she started crying softly: "What should I do? I don't want to spend the night here, it's so scary."

Seeing this, Xiao Ai walked over and patted the crying Ayumi's shoulder and comforted her: "It's okay, the worst case scenario is to ask Botu to pick us up, and we will definitely be able to go back."

They originally thought that Conan and Ai would be able to help them get back to the hotel without anyone noticing, but who would have thought that Mori would follow them. Their hopes were in vain, and when they heard Ayumi's frightened cry, Genta and Mitsuhiko felt inexplicably irritated by the feeling of helplessness and worry.

"It's all Yuanta's fault. He didn't look at the road and just drove recklessly. That's why he drove the motorcycle to a place like this and fell into the steep slope." Mitsuhiko sat dejectedly on the snow, grabbed a handful of snow and threw it heavily on the ground, complaining.

He had driven too fast just to make Mitsuhiko and Ayumi have more fun. He was driving so hard, but now he was complained by his companions, so Genta was naturally unhappy.

As soon as Mitsuhiko finished speaking, Genta yelled at him angrily: "It's you who kept urging me to 'drive faster!' I was trying to drive faster just to make it fun for Mitsuhiko and Ayumi. Now you blame me!"

To Guangyan, Yuanta's statement was just shirking responsibility. It was Yuanta who was driving, so he should be the one who was angry, right? Thinking of this, Guangyan couldn't help but stand up and raise his voice to yell at Yuanta: "It was you who wanted to show off your great driving skills, got carried away, and didn't control the speed well, right? You said you were good at riding a motorcycle, but you were just bragging, right? Yuanta, you liar. Anyway, it was because you kept saying that you wanted to sneak out to play with the snowmobile that this happened!"

"What? You and Ayumi agreed happily! We agreed to sneak out to play snowmobiles tonight while we were out buying souvenirs. It was a unanimous decision among the three of us!" It was something that Mitsuhiko and Ayumi agreed to, and the three of them agreed to share the joy together. Now that they were in trouble, Mitsuhiko pushed all the blame on himself. Genta was so angry that his face turned blue. He approached Mitsuhiko, and the two of them started arguing with each other.

Ayumi looked at Genta and Mitsuhiko who were arguing more and more fiercely with worry, and tried to mediate, but because the noise was too faint, the two did not hear it at all, and continued to argue fiercely. Ai looked at the noisy Genta and Mitsuhiko with helplessness, and then looked at the frightened Ayumi, and sighed softly, thinking that the little brats were really troublesome, and they would quarrel endlessly over trivial matters.

Conan, who was already worried about how to get everyone back to the hotel safely and had been thinking about which method was the best, now couldn't bear to watch Genta and Mitsuhiko arguing with each other anymore.

Uncle Maori and I are here to help Yuanta and the others solve their problems, not to listen to their quarrels. Besides, at a time like this, shouldn't we all unite and work together to find a solution? Quarreling at a time like this is the worst.

Thinking of this, Conan rushed between the two of them, ready to teach them a lesson seriously.

Unexpectedly, Mao Li on the side spoke first: "When you are angry and quarreling, the words you say are like a sharp knife, which will stab your friend's heart and hurt yourself. Don't quarrel over such things and say impulsive and harsh words, otherwise you may lose your lifelong best friend because of your careless words."

Seeing that Yuantai and Mitsuhiko were no longer talking, with their mouths pursed and their heads drooped, Maori exhaled and told them that the more difficult and frustrating the situation was, the more they needed to trust and support each other, so that they could solve the problem. Fighting and quarreling could sometimes make you lose a good friend forever because of a single sentence, and it could also leave hurt and knots in everyone's hearts, so that they would never meet again in their lives.

"Yes, Mitsuhiko, Genta, stop arguing. Weren't we all very happy when we were playing on the electric snowmobiles just now? Uncle Maori is right. Now that things have turned out like this, all three of us are at fault. We should work together to find a solution." Ayumi wiped her tears and hurriedly persuaded Genta and Mitsuhiko.

Genta and Mitsuhiko listened to what Conan and Ayumi said, looked up at each other, nodded, and apologetically stretched out their hands to shake hands. Seeing Genta and Mitsuhiko shaking hands, Conan, Ai, and Ayumi all smiled faintly, and even Maori smiled and nodded. The relationship between good friends cannot be established by a small thing or a word, but sometimes a small thing or a word can cause a rift between good friends, and may even destroy precious friendship, family affection, and love.

This truth, which will affect their entire lives, was understood by Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi on that snowy night.

Uncle Maori was right. They were the best partners of the Junior Detective Team. How could they quarrel over such a small matter? And the most important thing at the moment was to find a way to get back to the hotel. The damaged snowmobile also had to be returned to the owner for an explanation.

It is useless to escape from mistakes. Only by facing them head-on can you be a qualified member of the Junior Detective Team!

At this moment, a car headlight shone over from a distance. Conan and Genta looked at the orange headlights in surprise. The driver of the car had also seen Conan and his friends on the roadside through the headlights. Although there was an adult next to them, it was indeed unusual to see so many children in the snow at this late hour. The driver quickly drove the car over and stopped beside Conan and his friends.

The bearded uncle got out of the car, looked at Conan and the other five kids with the help of the car lights, then looked at the broken snowmobile and Maori beside him, frowned and asked: "What's wrong with you? You should be responsible for bringing so many kids out to play snowmobiling at night. How did you get into an accident?"

"No, that's not it..." The cheering children embarrassedly explained the situation to the uncle.

Chapter 204

"Oh... So that's what happened. Sorry, I wrongly blamed you."

The uncle smiled apologetically at Maori.

"Nothing, rather than this, could you please give us a ride?"

Maori said.

"Of course no problem." The uncle patted his chest and reminded everyone to get on the bus quickly. It was so late and it would be bad if they didn't go back.

"Thank you, uncle. We are going to the hotel managed by Ms. Tono Mizuki." When Conan sat in the back row, he thanked the uncle with a standard good student smile and told him the address of the hotel.

Since Maori is an adult, he sat in the passenger seat holding Ai.

After hearing Conan's words, the uncle looked at him in surprise, then laughed and said: "That's really a coincidence, I was going to that hotel. It's fate to meet you. Just call me Uncle Muto."

Uncle Muto seemed to be very familiar with the terrain of Kitazawa Village and the nearby snow-capped mountains. He could even talk to Mori and the others easily while driving.

"Mr. Muto, you have lived here for a long time, right? You seem to be very familiar with the road conditions here." Maori asked Muto, who could drive easily at night, with some curiosity.

Muto pondered for a moment as if Mori's question had brought back memories, and he exhaled softly and told them: "Before the dam was built, I had always lived in Kitazawa Village. I was more familiar with this village than anyone else. However, since the dam was built, I moved to a neighboring village."

Maori looked calm on the surface but was very surprised in his heart as he looked at Muto who looked a little regretful and disappointed. He secretly guessed that Mr. Muto might be someone who opposed the relocation of the village to build the dam! Unexpectedly, by accident, he had planned to ask around tomorrow to find out who were the opponents of the dam construction, but he actually ran into one of them. Moreover, even if the dam was built in the end, he didn't want to live in Kitazawa Village anymore, but he still moved to the neighboring village. This shows that Muto must have a very deep affection for Kitazawa Village.

"Uncle Muto should have strongly opposed it at the time, right?" Conan, who was sitting in the back row, carefully tested Muto. Muto smiled bitterly helplessly, sighed and said self-deprecatingly: "It's useless. Most of the villagers have been convinced. The words of a craftsman who makes wooden owls have no weight at all. No one will listen to me."

Conan wanted to continue to ask for more information along this topic by using his identity as a child. When he heard that Uncle Muto made wooden owls, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta immediately shouted: "Ah, we saw a wooden owl in the specialty gift shop! Was that also made by Uncle Muto?"

As a result, the topic turned to specialty gifts, and Conan rolled his eyes at Genta and the others with a twitching mouth.

"Haha, you went to buy souvenirs? So you are from Tokyo, right? Are the children from relatives or are they here for sightseeing organized by the school?"

Uncle Muto skillfully navigated the rugged mountain road, and the car continued to move forward steadily.

Fortunately, they met a passerby who seemed to be a friendly and easy-going uncle. Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi had already thrown away the unhappy things just now. When they heard Uncle Muto ask them if they were relatives' children, Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi laughed happily: "We don't look alike at all. We are the five-member team of Teitan Elementary School Junior Detective Team, haha." The three of them did not forget to point at Conan and Ai who had been silent.

"As for this, it's our ever-good friend and guardian, Uncle Maori."

"My elementary school classmates and good friends, you are a group of five, and it seems that you have a very good relationship. Haha, I really miss it. I once had friends like you, who went to school and played together and grew up together."

Maori noticed that when Uncle Muto said these words, there was a complicated look in his eyes, and he seemed to miss his childhood.

"Haha, really? Are you still good friends now?" Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi asked curiously.

Muto's eyes were filled with confusion, and he sighed and told them: "People grow up and change. It's impossible for them to stay the same as when they were little. You may not understand it now, but you will understand it slowly in the future."

I already understood it. The only ones who didn't understand were Mitsuhiko, Genta and Ayumi. Conan saw Muto's eyes passing over him, and he unconsciously clarified it in his mind. However, for someone like Muto's age, who has to go through such a complicated matter as the migration of the village, the relationship between him and his childhood friends will be more complicated than they think.

The car slowly moved away from the snow-capped mountains and entered Kitazawa Village. Muto became silent, and the smile disappeared from his face. He looked like he was worried about something.

Maori remembered that Muto had just said that there was someone he wanted to meet at the hotel. Who was that person? Could he also be someone who opposed the construction of the dam?

Conan was also curious about the identity of Mutou and the person he was going to meet. He secretly planned to follow Mutou as much as possible when they arrived at the hotel, and maybe he could collect useful information and clues.

"We're here. Take the kids home quickly. Remember to ask them to admit their mistakes and apologize. Don't go out to play in the middle of the night." Muto parked the car and turned back to remind them. His eyes fell on Conan who hadn't gotten out of the back seat of the car yet. Conan looked up and asked, "Who is Uncle Muto here to meet?"

"Ah, I haven't seen you for a long time, hehe." Muto smiled and urged, "Okay, come in quickly."

Although Conan was reluctant to give up, he had no other choice but to run into the hotel.

……

After giving the children a good lesson, Mao Li and others came to the hotel lobby. Yuan Tai, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi immediately pointed at Uncle Muto sitting in the lobby and shouted: "Ah, the uncle who sent us back."

Xiaolan also discovered that the woman sitting near Muto with no smile on her face was Tatehara Fuyumi, the doctor at the village clinic where Genta was seeing patients.

Maori and Conan were even more surprised to find that the people sitting together in the hall, in addition to Muto, Dr. Shigehara, and Miss Tono, there were also two men they met in the village committee office - Hikawa and Yamao.

Hikawa immediately recognized Conan and Maori and waved to Conan: "Hey, are you two staying in this hotel?"

After that, he smiled at Tono Mizuki who was sitting opposite him and said, "Tono, you must entertain the guests well."

It seems that these five people know each other. It is obvious that they were talking before they came to the lobby. Could it be that Muto said he would come to the hotel to meet people he hadn't seen for a long time, and they were these four people? What is the relationship between them?

Miss Tono noticed that Maori and his group seemed a little suspicious, so she introduced them: "The five of us grew up in Kitazawa Village and have been good friends since elementary school."

"Haha, we're good friends, but we haven't seen each other for 8 years." Muto frowned slightly, with the same complicated look in his eyes that he had just seen in the car. That's right, Muto came all the way from the neighboring village to meet his old friend whom he hadn't seen for 8 years, but he was not simply happy about it, but instead showed an unusually tangled feeling.

Maori was very concerned about this, and he keenly noticed that not only Muto, but the other four people were also a little strange.

Tachihara Fuyumi, who always smiles gently at people, has been looking uneasy since just now, and has been carefully checking the expressions and atmosphere of the old friends who have reunited. Hikawa is not as talkative as he was in the village committee office, and just looks at everyone coldly with a half-smile on his face. Yamao, who is already taciturn, is even more gloomy, making people dare not approach him. Only Tono Mizuki can be considered normal, but it can be seen that he is trying hard to hide his emotions and maintain a calm appearance.

Genta and his friends, who didn't know how to read people's expressions, ran over curiously and asked Tachihara Fuyumi: "I didn't expect that Dr. Tachihara and Uncle Muto were elementary school classmates. So are you having a class reunion?"

Tachihara Fuyumi forced a smile, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded: "Well, I guess so. We haven't seen each other for 8 years. This time, we agreed to go back to the village to get together during the 5th anniversary celebration of the new village."

So Muto drove over from the neighboring village, and Hikawa and Yamao also returned to Kitazawa Village from outside. Five elementary school friends who had not seen each other for 5 years reunited, and there should have been endless things to talk about, and the atmosphere was warm and joyful. But the atmosphere in front of me was not what I expected. Rather than talking about their own things, they seemed to be deliberately avoiding talking about too many things.

The strange atmosphere of the elementary school reunion of these five people also aroused Conan's suspicion. Conan curiously asked Bingchuan: "It's strange, why haven't you seen each other for 5 years?"

Even if you move to Tokyo or other cities, it is not difficult to return to your hometown, so why does it take exactly 8 years?

Conan's question made Yamao, who had been looking down, suddenly look up. Hikawa glanced at the panicked Yamao, smiled triumphantly, and took out his wallet from his pocket. Hikawa took out a folded news bulletin from the compartment of his wallet and showed it to everyone.

The news report in Hikawa's hand was: A car accident occurred in Kitazawa Village one night 8 years ago. In that car accident, a girl was killed and the driver was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

"So, this is why we haven't seen each other for eight years." Bingchuan pointed at Shanwei with a smile, "Because Shanwei has been in prison for the past eight years to atone for his sins, right?"

"Hirokiwa! Don't tell these things to the kids." Seeing Yamao biting his lips and clenching his fists without saying a word, Tachihara Fuyumi raised her voice slightly to remind Hiiroki.

Hikawa shrugged his shoulders, as if it was no big deal, and put the folded briefing back into the pocket of his wallet. After that, he smiled at Yamao and said, "Anyway, everyone knows about this, and you have served your sentence. There is nothing you can't say, right, Yamao?"

Maori found that when Hikawa talked about this incident, the people who reacted strongly were not only Yamao, who had hit someone with his car, but also Miss Tono. From the moment Hikawa took out the briefing, Miss Tono's face became very ugly. She bit her lips tightly and didn't say anything. It seemed that her whole body was trembling slightly.

"Ms. Tono, are you okay?" Maori asked the pale and trembling Tono Mizuki softly. Since she checked into the hotel, Tono Mizuki had left everyone with the impression of a calm, simple and low-key beauty. This was the first time Maori had seen her with such an uncivilized and calm expression.

Without waiting for Touno Mizuki to answer, Hikawa suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed with an expression of sudden enlightenment: "Oh, oh, I forgot to tell you that the girl who was hit and killed by Yamao 8 years ago happened to be Mizuki's sister, her name was Touno Natsuki."

When Hikawa said the name "Tono Natsuki", Tono Mizuki suddenly couldn't help but tremble violently all over, and ran into the hotel with his face covered.

"Hiroshiwa! Look at what you said. It's been 8 years since the incident, and Yamao has turned himself in and accepted legal punishment. It's a rare opportunity for us to reunite, but you said these things, knowing that it would make Mizuki sad!" Tachihara Fuyumi angrily accused Hikawa again, and stood up and hurriedly ran after Tono Mizuki.

The atmosphere in the hotel lobby became more solemn. Yamao buried his hands deeply in his hair and spoke in a low voice, as if telling everyone or talking to himself: "That night when I came back from outside and bumped into Xia Shu, I was really scared, so I left Xia Shu on the road and ran back home."

Yamao said that after he returned home, the image of Natsuki being knocked to the ground kept appearing in his mind. He was filled with guilt and could not forgive himself for killing the sister of his elementary school friend, so he took the initiative to turn himself in.

Seeing that Yamao was choking up and unable to continue, Muto, who had been frowning and silent, spoke for him: "Because Yamao took the initiative to admit responsibility for the accident, he was given a light sentence and was released from prison in 8 years. However, Yamao's grandmother, who depended on Yamao for everything, was deeply shocked by her grandson's imprisonment and died not long after. Hum, Yamao, you probably never thought that after 8 years, your home would be gone, right?"

When Muto said the last sentence, his eyes stayed on Hikawa, and he deliberately emphasized the tone of "your home is no longer there". Sensing the provocation in Muto's eyes, Hikawa immediately responded with a disdainful look and snorted.

Maori's eyes flickered between Muto and Hikawa several times, and he could clearly sense that the atmosphere between the two was a bit strange. They had just said that they were old friends from elementary school, but they looked full of hostility.

Shanwei nodded heavily and said in a low voice: "Yes, I never thought that eight years later, the world would be completely different. Not only did my grandmother die, but even our home disappeared and turned into a dam."

Maori and Conan suddenly realized that this was the reason why Yamao not only asked for a map of the new village when he went to the village office, but also a map of the old village as a reference. Yamao, who was released from prison and returned to Kitazawa Village 8 years later, looked at the dam that replaced the village and was unsure where his home was, so he wanted to find out where his original home was.

What a poor man...

"Humph! That's why I was so against it! Why do we have to demolish a good village? Why do we have to build a dam? People like Shanwei who have been away from home for many years have become homeless wanderers after returning!"

As soon as the topic of relocating the village to build a dam was brought up, Muto immediately became extremely excited. Moreover, Maori discovered that Muto's anger was clearly directed at Hikawa, although Hikawa, who was glared at by Muto, just smiled coldly as if it had nothing to do with him, and snorted from his nose.

Sure enough, Hikawa's attitude angered Muto, who raised his voice and scolded Hikawa directly: "That's right! It's because of people like you, Hikawa! People who sell out the village for fame! For money, they even destroy the hometown that gave birth to you and raised you!"

Being scolded by Muto in front of Conan and the others, Hikawa felt ashamed and stood up angrily and loudly retorted: "Hey! Muto, watch your words. What do you mean by 'a person who sells out his village for fame'? I am not the only villager who agreed to relocate the village to build the dam! Why should I be called a traitor by you?"

Hikawa's words made Muto even more excited. He stretched out his hand to grab Hikawa's collar to teach him a lesson, but Tatehara Fuyumi, who was helping the calmed Tono Mizuki out, stopped him in time and said, "Hikawa and Muto, you two should just calm down and stop making fun of you in front of the children and guests."

After Tachihara Fuyumi's reminder, Muto put down his hand and sat down farther away from the iceberg, so as not to rush over and fight again. The doctor, Maori, Xiaolan and Sonoko, who were originally stunned by the complicated and tangled relationships among the reunited elementary school classmates, finally reacted and realized that it was not appropriate for them to continue staying in the hall.

They smiled at Fuyumi Liyuan, hurriedly said good night to the silent people in the hall, and pulled Genta, Mitsuhiko, Ayumi and Conan to the inner room where the room was.

Chapter 205

After seeing what happened to the five people and hearing what they said, everyone knew that the relationship between these five elementary school friends who hadn't seen each other for eight years was very complicated. Whether it was the relationship between Yamao, who hit and killed Miss Tono's sister, and Miss Tono, or the relationship between Muto, who insisted on opposing the construction of the dam, and Hikawa, who betrayed the village, it seemed that the grudges could not be easily resolved. Those unchangeable facts that had already happened had probably become a knot in their hearts that could not be untied.

Under such circumstances, Mao Li felt it was inconvenient to stay in the lobby, although he still wanted to learn more information. However, the awkward and tangled atmosphere made him feel uncomfortable.

Those five people, maybe they were like Conan and his friends now? They used to be good friends, going to school together, playing together, and traveling together. But now they have become like this, and they are not only not friends, but even a bit like enemies.

It seems that not all friends from elementary school can maintain the innocent and friendly relationship they had when they grow up. Conan walked behind Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi, and looked at the three people who became silent, with a relieved smile on his face. If it were these people, they would definitely not become like Muto and Hikawa.

Of course, what Conan is more worried about now is that they will no longer unite and cause trouble in this way.

On this night in the snowy country, everyone said good night to each other and returned to the rooms that had been arranged. After washing up, Yuanzi lifted the quilt and got into bed quietly, and fell asleep with Xiaolan.

In Kitazawa Village, apart from Ran and Sonoko who were sleeping peacefully, there were also many people who could not sleep. The five elementary school friends who reunited after eight years, and Maori and Conan who still had no clear clues about the case and the criminal.

Conan tossed and turned in bed, his mind constantly sorting out what happened after he came to Kitazawa Village. After listening to the conversation of the five people in the hotel lobby, he did learn a lot of things, especially the matter between Muto and Hikawa, which made people very concerned. Muto seemed very dissatisfied with Hikawa for betraying the village and agreeing to relocate the village to rebuild the dam, and even had a hint of resentment. The person who had the greatest connection with Governor Asakura receiving threatening letters and the tunnel explosion was none other than Muto. Besides him, who else would have a grudge against Governor Asakura and wanted to kill him because of what?

However, Muto did not mention Governor Asakura. He seemed to hold greater resentment and dissatisfaction towards Hikawa, who was also a villager of Kitazawa Village but agreed to relocate the village to rebuild the dam. Just as Hikawa expressed his dissatisfaction, there must be more than just Hikawa who agreed to relocate the village to rebuild the dam. Why did Muto target him and condemn him as a traitor?

Could it be that in Muto's eyes, Hikawa and he were friends who grew up together and should stand on the same front with him, but in the end Hikawa agreed to move the village to rebuild the dam for personal gain? Therefore, Muto was so angry and regarded Hikawa as a traitor?

Conan kept thinking about these questions, but the clues and information he had were far from enough. No matter how many questions he had, he was still puzzled. After a bumpy ride to Kitazawa Village, he went to the village office to get a map, ran to the village clinic out of worry about Genta, accompanied Xiaolan and the others to buy local gifts, and ran to the snowy mountains to save Genta and the others. After a day of hard work, Conan fell asleep unconsciously.

……

After leaving the hotel, Tachihara Fuyumi did not go home immediately, but went to the village clinic and stayed with the boy who was sleeping quietly as usual.

The moonlight fell on the boy, making his skin look even paler. Tatehara Fuyumi gently tidied up the boy's bangs. Looking at the boy's face that seemed to be sleeping quietly, Tatehara Fuyumi thought, this child should not have nightmares. I remember when I was a child, when I was sleeping, my eyebrows would be twisted when I had nightmares. Or is it because he is not sleeping like a normal person now, but is in a coma, so he will not dream?

Tachihara Fuyumi looked at the boy sleeping quietly, then shifted her gaze to the group photo on the table. Looking at the happy smiles of everyone in the photo, they were still ignorant but pure children at that time. Compared with them now, Tachihara Fuyumi still likes them back then.

Looking at the group photo, recalling what happened in the hotel lobby just now, Tachihara Fuyumi couldn't help shaking her head. It was a fact that Yamao accidentally hit and killed Mizuki's sister Natsuki. It was impossible to forget or not care about it. And the conflict between Mutou and Hikawa was probably not easy to resolve, because. Mutou's favorite village had long been demolished and buried under the dam.

After a big fight with Hikawa in the hotel lobby, Muto always felt a bad temper in his heart, and could only smoke one cigarette after another, letting the smoke blur his vision. Back then, he desperately opposed the relocation of the village to rebuild the dam. At least he hoped that his friends who grew up with him in Kitazawa Village would support him and stand on the same front with him to oppose the construction of the dam. Because the village that was demolished and sank to the bottom of the dam was where they were born and grew up, and it was full of happy memories of them playing together.

It turned out that I was too naive and took my so-called childhood playmates and friends too seriously. If I had known Hikawa was such a jerk, I would never have become friends with him when I was a child, and I don't have to be so angry about such a person now. Muto sighed and extinguished the cigarette in his hand.

……

In the dead of night, in the empty hotel corridor, the cold white moonlight illuminated half of the corridor, stretching out the shadow of a person. After that person completely merged into the darkness, only the shadow cast by the moonlight could be seen, but it was also blurry and dark.

At the end of the corridor, in front of a room, the shadow stopped, seemed to hesitate for a moment, and finally reached out and knocked on the door. The gentle knock on the door did not disturb the person who was sleeping late at night, but the person living in this room immediately opened the door, as if he had been waiting for this late-night visitor.

"Hey, I've been waiting for you for a long time. I knew you would come to see me. Come in." The person who poked his head out of the room, his face illuminated by the light in the room, was Bingchuan, who was grinning. The person facing Bingchuan was always shrouded in darkness. When he saw Bingchuan make way, he quickly went into Bingchuan's room.

Bingchuan looked around and confirmed that no one had seen what had just happened. He smiled triumphantly, retracted his head, closed the door, and let the hotel return to its quietness late at night.