Isn't it very scientific to use the Death Note to kill people?

So, Mrs. Torada Tatsue led a few people to a corner of the house and found Torada Shigeji.

He was a chubby young man with a simple and honest appearance, and he didn't shave his beard. He looked unkempt and slovenly, so it was no wonder that his father didn't think much of him.

After Kogoro Mouri explained his purpose, he immediately replied:

"I was the first to discover Yoshiro's body. There was indeed a dead centipede next to his body. As for whether our family and the Ryuwei family have any connection with centipedes... I don't think so. But I think I saw centipede patterns during the sacrificial ceremony."

"At a sacrificial ceremony!?"

"Yes, everyone will be wearing that armor then."

Shigeji Torada pointed to a set of Japanese armor in the room behind him.

He then added that although it was called armor, everyone was actually wearing plastic products provided by the village, which were relatively lightweight.

"Where did you see the centipede pattern before? Was it painted somewhere on your body?" Conan asked immediately.

"...If it's a dragonfly, I remember that some warlords in the Warring States period used to decorate their helmets with it."

Xiaolan tapped her chin with her finger, tilting her head back in thought.

"If there are no patterns on the armor, could they be on the flag?" Lin Jiashu suggested.

"Ah, right! A flag!" Torada Shigeji immediately slapped his palm. "But I don't know what the centipede flag means."

If they continued to ask, Shigeji Torada could not provide any more information, so the group decided to take their leave for the time being.

"Let's go investigate the Ryūo family. Although the Torada family commissioned Uncle Mori, the Ryūo family is also a victim."

Lin Jiashu then looked at Xiaolan, who was standing beside him, and asked, "What do you think, Xiaolan? Is it alright? After all, it involves both corpses and centipedes."

"Huh? I'm still okay."

"Let's go then!"

Kogoro Mouri strode out with a nonchalant air.

He seems to be in a good mood today.

It seems that because Hayashi Yoshiki is there, they feel that this request can definitely be handled easily.

Lin Jiashu smiled and followed.

However, he took out his phone to check it during the journey because he received a message.

Ai Haibara: "Where are you?"

Yoshiki Hayashi: "I'm currently in Nagano Prefecture, handling a request for Uncle Mori. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Ai Haibara: "It's nothing."

Hayashi Yoshiki: "Really?"

Ai Haibara: "We'll talk about it when you get back."

It's all over the place.

Lin Jiashu didn't seem to care much. After confirming that it wasn't anything serious, he put his phone back in his pocket.

The Ryūo family is not hard to find. As a family with a long-standing feud with the Torada family, they also have a large mansion in the area.

However, this time there was no need to pay a visit. Soon after, Lin Jiashu and his group encountered Ryūo Kei of the Ryūo family, who happened to be riding his horse to practice archery. He was holding a longbow and accompanied by his wife, Ryūo Ayaka.

"May I ask who is looking for me?"

"Hello, I'm Kogoro Mouri, a detective from Tokyo. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of Mr. Koji's body."

"what……"

Ryuuji Kei looked surprised. "A boy with an Osaka accent came over and asked me the same question earlier."

"An Osaka accent?" "A young man?"

"Is your skin very dark?"

"Yes, his skin is much darker than the average person's."

After confirming this at the Dragon Tail scenic spot, he added, "He was accompanied by a girl who was about the same age as him."

"Could it be that Kazuha has come too!?"

Xiaolan's expression immediately filled with surprise.

This feeling of meeting an old friend in a foreign land was truly delightful. Seeing her bright and pretty face instantly become radiant, Lin Jiashu couldn't help but smile and say, "Should we give her a call?"

"Well, let's wait until Yoshiki and Dad finish their investigation before we talk about it."

Xiaolan didn't forget the more important work.

Kogoro Mouri immediately pressed for details about Ryūo Kei, who recalled that on his way home after practicing archery that day, he saw his older brother, Ryūo Koji, buried in a pile of dirt with his head bleeding profusely. He was already dead at the time, and there was nothing unusual at the scene except for the centipede corpse left in the pool of blood.

These are identical to the information provided by the Torada family.

Hayashi Yoshiki asked, "What about before that? Besides Mr. Yoshiro from the Torada family, were there any other similar strange deaths?"

Upon hearing this, Ryuuji seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding.

His face showed a hint of melancholy: "Yes... For the past few years, I have been the archer of the sacrificial dagger, but in fact, six years ago, my senior, Mr. Kai Genjin, was much stronger than me. However, he lost his life after falling off a cliff six years ago. I heard that the case at that time was also very strange."

The "Flowing Arrow Horse" requires archers to remain able to draw their bows and shoot arrows while riding a horse at full speed, and it is always a highlight of the sacrificial ceremony.

"eccentric?"

“Yes, but the body was discovered by Torada Yui, the widow of the now-deceased Torada Yoshiro.” Ryuo Kei said, looking in the direction of the Torada family home. “If you want to know more details, you can ask her.”

At least there was a new direction for the investigation, and Kogoro Mori thanked Kei Ryuo.

The latter said it was nothing, and mounted his horse again, ready to continue practicing his archery skills. Although his skills were among the best in the village and he had been the archer of the Flowing Arrow Horse for five consecutive years, he couldn't be complacent just thinking about the skills of Kai Genjin, who had died six years ago.

Lin Jiashu noticed that the longbow he was holding was a little taller than him, about 1.8 meters.

Noticing his gaze, Ryuuji Kagami smiled:

"This is a longbow used in sacrificial performances, so its length is a bit exaggerated."

"I see. But to be able to wield such a long bow on horseback is truly remarkable."

"With consistent practice, it's actually not difficult to do this."

"Does that mean all the young people in the village know how to ride and shoot horses?"

"No, but quite a few households do keep horses... Or is Mr. Lin interested in horses?"

"Yes, there are some, but it feels like it's been a long time since I've ridden one."

"If you're interested, there are quite a few families in the village who are willing to lend their horses to others. Mr. Lin can go and ask them."

After expressing their gratitude, the group immediately headed back towards the Torada family's residence.

Conan was eager to see Heiji Hattori, while Ran was pleasantly surprised to see Kazuha Toyama possibly there. Only Kogoro Mouri was grumbling, annoyed by the arrogant dark-skinned boy.

"But did Yoshiki-san ever ride a horse before?"

"Yeah, I've ridden it a few times before, it's actually quite fun." Lin Jiashu smiled at Xiaolan, "Would you like to try it sometime later?"

"Okay."

"I also need to go!"

Upon hearing the conversation between the two, Conan immediately interrupted and shouted.

Before Hayashi Yoshiki could even speak, Ran looked at him and said, "No, riding a horse is still a bit dangerous for Conan."

"why?"

"Because there's simply no horse that a little brat like you can ride."

Kogoro Mouri was extremely disrespectful.

Conan subconsciously looked down at his short legs and choked up—he wasn't even as tall as a fully grown horse's knees when he stood up straight.

He could only stare at Lin Jiashu, hoping the other would understand.

Lin Jiashu's smiling expression made it seem as if he hadn't seen it.

asshole……

Conan then wore a resentful expression.

Back at the Torada residence, after some questioning, they learned that the dark-skinned high school detective was currently in the direction of the stables. As they walked over, they overheard him talking to someone in the stables with his back to them: "Excuse me, have you seen a detective wearing a suit, with combed hair, a small mustache, and who looks a bit silly?"

Kogoro Mouri, who had just arrived at the stables, overheard the whole conversation.

Already harboring some dissatisfaction with this kid, he twitched at these words and strode over:

"Does a detective with combed hair, a mustache, and a goofy look like me?"

"Well--!"

Suddenly attacked from behind by a voice filled with suppressed anger, Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha's shoulders trembled. Turning around, they saw Mouri Kogoro staring at them with a benevolent expression.

Kogoro Mouri suddenly closed in on Heiji Hattori, looking like he was about to devour him.

"It's been a long time, Hattori-kun."

"Hey bro?" Hattori Heiji looked at him like he'd seen a savior. He quickly ignored Kogoro Mouri's awkward smile and exchanged pleasantries with Yoshiki Hayashi: "You're here too?"

"Consultant Lin?"

At this moment, a fierce-looking man with two scars above his left eye came out of the stable.

What's more striking than his eye is his posture of using a cane with one hand.

"Yamato Police Department?"

"...You still remember me?"

This surprised Yamato Kansuke.

He had met Yoshiki Hayashi once before, during a meeting at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department with police inspectors from other cities in Ireland. There were many police inspectors present at the time, and Yamato Kansuke was mainly impressed by Yoshiki Hayashi's status as an advisor and his performance... He never expected that the other party would remember him.

"Of course, the police inspector from Nagano Prefecture, I remember it very clearly."

Lin Jiashu said with a smile.

Nagano Prefecture is arguably the only police force in the world of Detective Conan, unlike other police forces that always wait for detectives to help them... The Nagano Prefecture Police Trio specializes in high-level cases.

Kogoro Mouri and Heiji Hattori, however, were surprised to learn that this menacing-looking guy with crutches was a police officer.

"Is Inspector Yamato handling this case?"

"It was me, no doubt."

Yamato Kansuke nodded, then glanced at Kogoro Mouri and the others, and said, "I'll share the detailed information with you later. Let me ask this lady first."

There was another person in the stable, the widow of Yoshiro Torada, who had recently died.

When asked by Yamato Kansuke about the details of Kai Genjin's death six years prior, Torada Yui shook her head:

“I remember there weren’t many dead centipedes near the body, only a dead horse… but Kai Genjin’s body was very thin.”

Chapter 22: Take your hands out!

"Kai Genjin, who fell off a cliff six years ago, was a senior I respected."

“He works at the village police station and has a strong sense of justice. I would say it was under his influence that I chose to wear this police uniform.”

Yamato Kansuke had no interest in Kogoro Mouri or the dark-skinned detective, but he leaned on his cane and found a secluded place to talk with Hayashi Yoshiki.

Meeting Hayashi Yoshiki's calm yet serious gaze, Yamato Kansuke's tone was grim:

"Six years ago, he was still alive when he fell off the cliff. He must have hit rocks and trees all over his body, and his hands and clothes were covered in blood that had turned black from oxidation. The cause of death was starvation—not only because his back was broken and he couldn't stand, but also because the place where he fell was never in the sun and no one usually passed by there. His body was not discovered until a week later."

"...However, there were no dead centipedes at the place where Mr. Kai died, and it is difficult to confirm whether his death is related to the two recent incidents."

Lin Jiashu pondered for a moment before speaking.

His words did not surprise Yamato Kensuke.

But he had a hunch that Kai Genjin's fall from the cliff was not a simple accident. However, as a police officer, Yamato Kansuke could not rely solely on intuition to make a deduction.

"Who knows?"

He was somewhat annoyed and soon left, leaning on his cane.

Kogoro Mouri and Heiji Hattori obtained the same information from Yui Torada, but Ran and Kazuha weren't very interested in cold, hard cases, and the two girls stood aside and chatted.