Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 302 On the way to Moon Shadow Island, in the name of Mirror Flower and Water Moon
After understanding what happened last night, Conan and the police searched for clues in the villa and the forest.

The mannequin of the bandaged monster, the skull model, the traces of ropes beside the second-floor balcony, the dagger marks and bloodstains on the big trees in the forest.

When all the evidence matched up, the Tokyo police also found relevant evidence in Takahashi Ryo's home.

In his computer notes, Takahashi Ryoichi expressed his admiration for Miss Atsuko many times, as well as his countless hatred for Chikako Ikeda.

He even prepared nine methods of killing people and was fully prepared for each one.

As evidence from all sides came together, things seemed to become clear, at least Takahashi Ryoichi's motive for murder was complete.

As for who plagiarized whom between Atsuko and Chikako Ikeda two years ago, the police did not bother to investigate at all.

One is trouble.

Second, the people are dead, so it doesn’t matter at all.

Resurrection from the dead, the god of death, and the fire tornado on the cliff, these three are still doubts.

However, Mumu Jusan has decided to report this matter to his superiors and ask them to send someone to investigate and not get involved with the search of Sanxi's small body.

Moreover, with the previous case of Kudo Shinichi growing backwards and becoming Conan, Megure Juzo actually felt that this kind of thing was more or less within the acceptable range.

What if we know more from the above?

In short, the matter has come to a temporary end. Even though Chikako Ikeda's body has not been found and she can no longer be contacted, the police do not intend to continue the investigation.

There are quite a few missing people in Tokyo every year, but the police are investigating only a tiny fraction of them. The rest can only hope for the best.

There is no way, after all, police force is limited and operational funds are also limited.

Except for those who have social influence, other civilians can only pray for Takama-ga-hara to protect them.

In fact, if Suzuki Ayako had not reported this case to the police, it would never have come to Megure Juzo.

Missing cases are not under the jurisdiction of the Criminal Investigation Section 1 and the Investigation Department 3. They are mainly responsible for investigating murder and injury cases.

After realizing this belatedly, Suzuki Ayako was quite upset. If she had known earlier, she would have asked others to call the police.

After avoiding everyone's sight, she took out the phone that had been placed close to her waist and said apologetically, "Mr. Death, I'm sorry, I forged traces without permission, but it attracted the attention of the police. Does this cause any trouble to you?"

"It's not a big deal."

It was still the distant voice from last night, but with a hint of a smile: "It is me who has implicated you. I should actually leave an explanation."

According to what Yingsheng thought at the beginning, it was enough for Suzuki Ayako and the others to tell the truth, no matter whether the police believed it or not, that was the case anyway.

Even though the police suspected Suzuki Ayako and others were up to something, they could not find any evidence, and due to the power of the Suzuki Group, it was impossible for them to interrogate them.

If things continue to develop in this way, just like the countless snow-capped mountain disappearances that have occurred in the past, the disappearances of Chikako Ikeda and Ryoichi Takahashi will eventually remain unsolved.

The Japanese police never disappoint us when it comes to incompetence and dereliction of duty.

However, what Hotaru did not expect was that Suzuki Ayako, for some unknown reason, actually tried to fake the scene of a "beast attack" to deceive the police.

It would have been fine if her plan went smoothly, but when Hotaru heard from Kyogoku Makoto that Xiaolan was also on the investigation team, she knew that things were bad.

Xiaolan's detective ability is not weak now, and the handsome boy's psychological quality is not up to standard, so it is very likely that his flaws will be discovered.

Originally, there would be nothing wrong if Suzuki Ayako and her group had confessed directly, but after they added fuel to the fire, they are completely taking the blame on themselves.

If they confess after their disguise is exposed, everyone will think that their lies are clumsy.

And the most important thing is that Xiaolan met Aoyagi Chisume last night, and was particularly impressed by the dark suture line on her neck.

If she knew that Chikako Ikeda was also dismembered, the truth would inevitably be exposed.

There was no choice but to take remedial measures immediately after watching Kyogoku Makoto leave.

The first step is to go to the villa to find Suzuki Ayako and tell her some things.

He didn't show up at that time, but just made a sound behind her.

Yingsheng originally thought that this step would take some time.

As a result, Suzuki Ayako trusted him quite a bit and completed the conversation with him without turning around. After knowing the reason why Yingsheng came, she apologized to him again and again.

She said she was a slow-witted woman, and asked Mr. Death to expose his existence for her.

Yingsheng actually wanted to say that he did it mainly for Xiaolan and Aoyagi Chiso, and secondly because he happened to have a fire source, so he wanted to experiment with his tornado idea.

As for preventing you, a stupid young lady, from going to jail, it's just a side effect.

But Yingsheng would of course not say these words out loud. He just told her that the psychological quality of the other two was not as good as hers. So she should not tell them these for the time being. After hearing some unusual noises from the other side of the cliff, she would find a chance to pass the message to the two of them.

In hindsight, Ayako Suzuki did a great job.

"Is there anything I can do to help Mr. Death? I want to express my apology with practical actions."

When Hotaru was walking along the mountain road carrying a large package and was about to hang up the phone, Suzuki Ayako asked softly.

Yingsheng raised her eyebrows slightly. Is she trying to get a connection with the gods to the Suzuki Group? As expected of the head of the group, she has the courage to seize the opportunity.

But why does he need help from the Suzuki Group for this vest that he puts on casually and throws away after use?
Yingsheng said: "Nothing is needed, just like that."

The vest and the real body must be separated. It would not be good if both sides were involved with the Suzuki Group.

"So when can I see Mr. Death again?"

There was an inexplicable hint of urgency in Suzuki Ayako's voice, which Yingsheng found quite amusing.

You are a living person, why are you so anxious to see the god of death? Shouldn't you hope that you will never see him?

At worst, we'll see each other again in a hundred years.

Yingsheng smiled and said, "We'll meet again if we're lucky, but I hope we'll never see each other again. Goodbye, Miss Ayako."

After that, hang up the phone.

It was almost noon, and the bright sunshine completely broke through the thin clouds in the sky and shone onto the earth.

The road down the mountain was still quite muddy, but it was covered with a layer of soft glow.

Yingsheng strode down the mountain, chanting something.

"Xuanzong of heaven and earth, the root of all things."

"Cultivation for thousands of kalpas will prove my magical power."

.........

.........

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the coastline of Hiratsuka City became increasingly distant, and the high-rise buildings that were lined up one after another also crouched like a layer of gray-white shell. From a distance, it merged with a tentacle of Tokyo Bay, looking like a mutated rhinoceros beetle.

At the back of the wide cruise ship deck, Yingsheng was lying on a sun lounger, wearing big sunglasses, taking a comfortable nap in the soft sea breeze.

Although I took a nap in the police hospital yesterday afternoon, my energy is a little low now.

In the sea breeze from further away, there is the laughter of young men and women, and from time to time there is the sound of splashing water.

That was the swimming pool in front of the deck, where many people were playing and frolicking.

"Mr. Shuiyue isn't coming over?"

Next to the recliner, after the sound of pages turning lightly, Masayo Aida's peaceful and gentle voice was heard.

Yingsheng laughed softly: "Don't disturb my sleep, it's too noisy over there."

"Okay, I get it now."

Aida Masayo continued to sit quietly and read. Sometimes, when the gentle sea breeze made her read too fast, she would gently turn the page, neither arrogant nor impatient, always calm and composed.

I don't know how long it was before someone came running towards the front of the deck with a thumping sound.

"Shuiyue..."

He paused as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, and his steps also stopped. For a moment, he even felt that he should stop breathing and heartbeat completely.

At the end of the deck, next to the white fence, two men in white were lying and sitting, flipping through books, in a quiet and harmonious atmosphere.

Blending with the sea and sky, it is poetic and picturesque.

The man inexplicably felt that he should recite a few lines of poetry or song, otherwise it would be a complete shame for what he had seen.

Unfortunately, he held it in for a long time, feeling ashamed of his lack of culture, and left in a huff.

What was he going to say?

forgotten.

At the end of the deck, Yingsheng smiled gently.

"What time is it?"

Aida Masayo glanced at his watch: "It's 3:30 in the afternoon. At the speed of the cruise ship, it will take about an hour and a half to reach Yueying Island."

"How convenient! Did I just laugh?"

"Just now? Was it two and a half hours ago? It was. At that time, there was the sound of Miss Lan's laughter in the wind."

"Oh? It seems you are not reading seriously."

"You are my employer, so I have to keep my mind outside in case you have any instructions."

After reading the current paragraph, Masayo Aida placed a green bookmark on the top and closed the book.

Yingsheng stretched lazily on the lounge chair, reached out to pull the parasol on one side a little closer to cover his head, but did not get up.

"That's a bit weird. You're a psychological counselor, not a full-time babysitter."

Aida Masayo didn't respond and turned to the matter he was concerned about: "Do you need me to introduce the general situation of Yueying Island? And the possible insiders of the incident back then."

"Let's talk about it later so I don't have to repeat it to Xiaolan."

Yingsheng tilted his head to look at the book in Aida Masayo's hand. The cover was green outside and mostly white, with deliberate scribbling on the edges.

Jung's book, The Ego and the Self.

"When you need to calm down, do you read psychology books?" Yingsheng asked.

"Is there any problem?" asked Masayo Aida.

"You may be able to realize that your words are full of self-defense."

Aida Masayo was silent for a moment: "Sorry, can I continue reading?"

"Why are you asking me about this? You should ask your own heart."

Then, the pages of the book were turned lightly again.

When the sun was no longer so hot, Yingsheng moved the parasol away again. His cell phone rang, he took a look and started replying to emails.

Lots of emails, and Skype.

It took him a long time to reply to all the questions one by one. He put down his phone and looked at the sea and sky in the distance.

"Can you read a passage to me?" Yingsheng said.

"For men, Eros, which has relational functions, is often not as developed as Logos. For women, Eros is a reflection of their true nature, and their Logos is often a pitiful accessory." Masayo Aida read out this paragraph without any fluctuation in her tone. Although her voice was quite soft, it inexplicably reminded Yingsheng of the primary AI dubbing.

This made him laugh: "Are you trying to console yourself? I think your Logos is quite developed."

Logos generally refers to all the understandable laws of the world, and can also be simply defined as rationality.

Eros is the symbol of all love, lust and emotion, which can be simply understood as sensibility.

"I just happened to see this part." said Masayo Aida.

"Really? Then do you remember how long it has been since you turned the page?" Yingsheng asked.

Aida Masayo remained silent.

Yingsheng stood up, took off his sunglasses, sat down opposite Aida Masayo, turned over a white porcelain cup from the small white table, and poured himself a cup of tea with a purple clay teapot.

His nostrils flared as he gently sniffed the light white mist rising from the cup. Unable to tell whether it was good or bad, he drank it all in one gulp.

It has a sweet aftertaste and a lingering fragrance in the mouth. Well, it is definitely better than the ones in the restaurant.

Aida Masayo picked up the book again, first placed it on his knees, looked at Hotaru for a few seconds, then simply put it on the table and raised his hand to pour himself a cup of tea.

She took a sip, took a short breath, put down the teacup, and reached for the book.

Didn't pick it up.

He was held down by Yingsheng.

Aida Masayo looked up and saw Yingsheng opening the lid of the purple clay teapot, looking inside for a few seconds, and then looking up at her.

"Why? Does it taste wrong?"

What Yingsheng asked was naturally why she had only just touched her lips.

Aida Masayo said: "It's too soaked. It's actually not suitable to be exposed to direct sunlight."

Yingsheng suddenly realized and stood up to bring the parasol over.

"Sorry, you could have said it sooner."

"nothing."

Masayo Aida continued reading.

Yingsheng drank several cups of tea in a row before he felt a little better in his mouth. Not only because he had dried the salted fish in the sun for so long, but also because he had inhaled too much hot air when he spoke while playing tricks on the cliff in the morning.

Really, I have been quite restrained, am I actually a chatterbox by nature?

I don’t know if Xiaolan and Conan noticed the little bit of doubt, the gaze they felt, and the strangeness of the lichen at the bottom of the cliff.

The fire tornado was quite powerful, but the eye of the storm was calm and peaceful. Yingsheng entered it and stood on the piano line that was left behind.

As for the cloak that Xiaolan and the others saw, the principle behind it was actually just flying a kite.

The rising hot air is the strong wind, and the piano string hidden in the wind vortex is the kite string.

And the sight that everyone perceived at that time was even simpler, it was just the bending and changing of light.

First of all, it should be made clear that although humans' sixth sense can always sense the gazes of others, the group intuition of warriors is even more acute.

But from a physiological point of view, humans do not have a radar-like organ that can detect the gaze of others except for a glimpse out of the corner of the eye.

In various studies on the "sixth sense", many subjects, under certain circumstances, will have a strong sense of being watched, even if they are in a completely closed room.

This undoubtedly verifies that human's so-called "intuition" is actually very unreliable.

Some mimicry that resembles human facial features, such as the owl butterfly; air movement similar to human breathing, and a slight rise in temperature can actually create a similar effect.

What Yingsheng chose at that time was mimicry and temperature increase. There were actually two small water mirrors on the cloak.

The light is scattered, which is the sense of gaze.

The light was focused and the murderous intent was intensified, just like what happened outside the gymnasium yesterday, but with a slightly smaller power, and Takahashi Ryoichi's body exploded.

The lichens at the bottom of the cliff actually receive some light because of this.

After the fireflies carefully cleaned up the traces of burns and used [Enlightenment] to accelerate the growth of lichens, their lives have since had a touch of green because of that ray of sunlight.

Raise the glass, drink it all, and there is nothing in your mouth.

Yingsheng lowered his head to look into the purple clay teapot, only to find that he had drunk it all while being distracted.

Well, whatever.

It wouldn't matter if that kind of thing was discovered, unless they happened to know a psychiatrist and a magician, and they got together to discuss it in detail.

The possibility is not very high.

Moreover, the skill of [Enlightenment] is definitely a force that comes from a higher dimension. According to current human science, many things are completely inexplicable.

"I'll go make another pot."

Aida Masayo put down the book for the third time, picked up the purple clay teapot, and was about to get up.

Yingsheng sighed and put the lid of the purple clay teapot back.

"If your mind is not at peace, then it is not at peace. Why do you have to make all kinds of excuses?"

Aida Masayo pretended not to hear it, picked up the teacups she and Hotaru were using with her other hand, and turned and left.

"Complexes are not necessarily negative and counterproductive. What's the next sentence?" Yingsheng asked.

Aida Masayo paused, looked back, and saw that Yingsheng did not flip through her book. A slight ripple appeared in her calm eyes.

"It can and often does become a source of inspiration and motivation for a person," she replied.

"You know it very well, Miss Counselor." Yingsheng smiled slightly, "Do you mind telling me the story between you and Mr. Aso?"

Aida Masayo was silent for a few breaths, but finally walked back and looked at the book.

"Have you seen it too?"

"I read some of it when I was hospitalized in Qingshan Mental Hospital, but I only read it briefly. It's not suitable for me." Yingsheng said casually.

"Mental hospital?" Aida Masayo frowned slightly, "You can't be a doctor, Mr. Shuiyue, don't tell me you are still a patient."

"Oh, do you want more money?"

"........."

Masayo Aida was speechless. She admitted that what she did at the beginning was a little too much, but it was mainly because she was quite concerned about Kogoro Mori's performance.

But after a while, what she does now is no longer just a hired psychological counselor.

"Don't worry, there are many people in this world who have more serious problems than me, like you right now." Yingsheng said with a smile.

“…I consider myself a normal person.”

Masayo Aida actually didn't really want to talk about these things with Hotaru, but Hotaru's words always made her feel uncomfortable unless she said something.

"Please note my qualifier, 'now'. Mental states are changing all the time, aren't they?"

"But the definition of 'psychological normality' doesn't follow this, it's more about..."

The conversation flowed naturally, like flowing water.

When Masayo Aida felt a little thirsty and couldn't help but drink up the tea in the cup that she had previously despised, she suddenly realized something.

Am I being uncharacteristically talkative today?
Looking up at Yingsheng, he still had that gentle face with a faint smile on it, and his obsidian eyes were sparkling and full of concentration.

Expectation, encouragement, longing...

If there is anything that Masayo Aida saw in Hotaru's eyes besides himself, it must be the above.

Why it came out like this?
After all, Masayo Aida is a professional psychological counselor. As he turned the porcelain cup in his hand, he subconsciously analyzed the reason.

Back to the beginning of the topic, it is not difficult to find that Yingsheng's behavior is like...

Playing tricks?

Is it that he overestimates his own abilities and shows off his amateurishness in front of professionals, making people want to expose his empty pretense?
But once you start talking to him in detail, you will find that he seems to have become a good student who is proactive and motivated. At the same time, he has quick thinking and can draw inferences from one example. This makes people feel a great sense of accomplishment. You can't help but keep teaching him, and unknowingly, you will shift to other topics.

Continuous and natural.

When he thought of this, the look in Masayo Aida's eyes when he looked at Hotaru became a little different.

"Mr. Shuiyue, are these also the skills you learned in the mental hospital?"

"Haha, maybe. There are so many talented people there. I will have no worries about food and clothing the day I am discharged from the hospital."

Hotaru just blinked slightly, and Aida Masayo noticed that the original expression in his eyes disappeared in an instant, replaced by the usual free and easy and indifferent look.

However, her own figure in those eyes became increasingly clear.

For some reason, Masayo Aida suddenly thought of the mirror and Hotaru's last name.

Water moon.

If her eyes were regarded as a water mirror, did she just fall into it accidentally?

As soon as the thought came to mind, his mind seemed to be in chaos for a moment, and Aida Masayo suddenly stood up and picked up the purple clay teapot and teacup.

"I'll make another pot."

It didn't take long for Masayo Aida to calm himself down and return to the end of the deck.

Yingsheng was leaning on the fence admiring the distant scenery. The sea breeze blew his white shirt and black hair on his forehead, and the soft sunlight outlined his exquisite profile.

Aida Masayo suddenly wanted to turn back to make a pot of tea, but Hotaru had already seen her, turned back and smiled slightly, then turned back to admire the scenery.

Aida Masayo walked over there at a leisurely pace, placed the tea tray on the small white table, and walked to the fence.

The sky is high and the sea is vast, and the clouds are light.

The surging fish created ripples, and golden seagulls flew over the snow-like waves of the sea.

Neither of them spoke.

The universe is speechless, yet already infinitely magnificent.

Perhaps it was the moisture of the sea breeze that soaked his heart, and Aida Masayo felt that the depression in his heart was slowly dissipating.

“Unconscious forces often lead us toward someone without us even realizing it,” she said.

"Although we may not fully understand the source of this attraction," said Yingsheng.

Masayo Aida suddenly wanted to talk to Hotaru about the question he had asked before, about her and Aso.

Just then, brisk footsteps were heard behind me.

"Suiyue-kun, we have arrived at Moon Shadow Island."

It's Xiaolan's voice.

(End of this chapter)