Ke Xue: This police officer is too martial

Chapter 189 The Right Person Might Be Right Next to You

After calming down, the art dealer Sakura Masazo smiled again: "So it's the famous detective and Tokyo's Inspector Makino! I've heard of you for a long time~ I wonder why you're here this time...?"

Hearing the man in front of him praising himself for being "famous", Kogoro Mori scratched his head and a proud smile inadvertently appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Just as Maori Kogoro was about to tell the purpose of his visit, the abbot Yuanhai beside him suddenly said, "You may be a donor, but in fact, we are both kendo enthusiasts, so we often get together."

Everyone in Makino looked at the temple abbot Yuanhai, who was obviously old but still had a tall and straight figure, and smiled and nodded.

Maori Kogoro, who was standing by, immediately smiled and said, "No wonder you look so healthy, Master."

"Thank you for the compliment~" Abbot Yuanhai kept smiling with his eyes narrowed, and his emotions seemed calm.

Seeing this, Makino couldn't help but sigh a little.

Over the years, he has met many abbots of temples due to cases.

Even among so many abbots, the Abbot Yuanhai in front of him could be said to be calm and composed.

Compared with the abbot Yuankai, the art dealer Sakura Masazō and the bookstore owner Nishijo Taiga's ability to control their emotions was obviously much worse.

Although there was not much malice emanating from the two men, Makino clearly noticed that their attention was always on him.

Even when Kogoro Mori and Abbot Yuankai were talking, their eyes were always on him.

Thinking of this, Makino sighed quietly.

Although his "malice perception" ability is very practical, in a sense, it is probably the most disliked ability for reasoning enthusiasts.

Just like now, the two people in front of him immediately became hostile to him after learning that he was a policeman.

If it happened under normal circumstances, it would be fine. After all, there are people who like the police, and naturally there are people who hate the police.

But now, with the serial cases already occurring and the two "criminal traps" Conan and Mori present, no matter how hard you try, it is hard to believe that these two have nothing to do with this case.

He didn't remember the specific identity and name of the criminal in the original work, but if the criminal was among these two people, then the possibility that the criminal was the bookstore owner Nishijo Taiga was undoubtedly higher.

Judging from the description of Inspector Megure and others, the murderer has a high level of kendo and archery skills, and is extremely skilled.

Otherwise, the murderer would not have been able to easily kill these victims when the five victims offered almost no resistance.

From this point of view, the bookstore owner Nishijo Taikawa, who is not fat and obviously strong, is undoubtedly the first candidate for the murderer.

As for the art merchant Sakura Masazo... he was rather fat, and even if he had superb kendo skills, it would be difficult for him to kill those five people cleanly and neatly with such a body.

But of course, before getting evidence, this is just Makino's guess.

He always knew that the world of science was far more "magical" than he had imagined.

In this world, being overweight and being fit don't have to be incompatible.

After all, that extremely old, hunchbacked old man with a white beard could wear heavy armor and nail people to the wall with the long sword in his hand.

All I can say is, everything is possible.

Just as Makino was observing Sakura Masazo and Saijo Taiga with his peripheral vision, Maori Kogoro also spoke out his purpose besides the commission: "Abbot Enkai, I heard that your temple seems to have a Buddha statue that is only consecrated once every 12 years?"

"Yes, that is the main Buddha of this temple - 'Medicine Buddha.'" Abbot Yuanhai nodded slightly.

Hearing this, the monk Long Yuan beside him suddenly turned around and looked at the abbot with a complicated expression.

His movement was not small, so everyone noticed the monk's action.

At the same time, art dealer Sakura Masao and bookstore owner Nishijo Taiga have been secretly observing Makino.

Since the conversation between Kogoro Mori and the abbot interrupted Sakura Masazo's previous questions, they did not hear Makino's "purpose".

At this moment, there was a hint of vigilance in the eyes of both of them when they looked at Makino.

A few minutes later, Makino and his group said goodbye to the abbot Yuankai and the other three people, and then followed the monk Ryuen who made the commission into the temple.

After leading Makino and the others to one of the empty rooms, the monk Ryuen said, "Mr. Maori, the reason I entrusted you with this is actually because of the 'Medicine Buddha', which has been lost."

"What did you say?!" Kogoro Mouri immediately looked at the monk Ryuen with a surprised expression.

As if to confirm his words, the monk Ryuen turned around and opened the wooden door behind him.

Inside the wooden door, there are two Buddha statues placed on the left and right, with a gap that is obviously too wide between the two statues.

After noticing the gazes of Makino and the others, the monk Ryuen sighed and said, "It's a long story. It happened eight years ago... The one on the left is the Sunlight Bodhisattva, and the one on the right is the Moonlight Bodhisattva. You should have noticed that the Medicine Buddha should have been placed between the two statues."

"Eight years ago, when I learned that the Buddha statue had been stolen, I immediately wanted to call the police, but the abbot stopped me. He said that if we are destined, maybe one day we can meet this Medicine Buddha again..."

Hearing this, Makino and the others looked at each other, and a look of helplessness flashed in their eyes at the same time.

No wonder Abbot Yuanhai always looks so “calm”; it turns out he has been living with such a Buddhist mentality.

Worthy of being a master.

Soon after, the monk Long Yuan led Makino and his companions to a room specially used to entertain guests.

After making tea for Makino and the others, the monk Ryuen took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Maori Kogoro: "Mr. Maori, I found this letter in the mailbox in the temple five days ago."

Kogoro Mori carefully examined the envelope and found no other clues on it except the recipient "Sannoji-dono".

There were two pieces of paper in the envelope.

On one of the papers were two lines of text: - "As long as you solve the puzzle of this painting, you will know where the Buddha statue is."

The other piece of paper contained the puzzle painting referred to in the two lines of text.

The moment he saw this painting, Makino recalled a lot of things related to the case.

This puzzle is about the streets of Kyoto.

The pictures of cicadas, tengu, goldfish, etc. seem to correspond to the streets of Kyoto.

To solve this puzzle, you must have a certain understanding of Kyoto's complex streets.

But for Makino, a cheater, it doesn't have to be so troublesome...

After seeing the arrangement in the painting and the “丶” on the second layer, a word immediately appeared in Makino’s mind – “玉”.

If I remember correctly, this Buddha statue seems to be hidden in an abandoned temple whose name begins with the word "玉".

Just take a quick look at the map of Kyoto and find the abandoned temple whose name begins with "玉".

At this moment, Xiaolan, who was standing beside him, suddenly looked at Makino and frowned, "Brother Makino, could this matter be related to..."

At this point, Xiaolan glanced at the monk Longyuan next to her, nodded slightly to Makino, and did not finish her words. After noticing Xiaolan's actions, Makino nodded and said, "I personally think that there is a high possibility that these two things are related."

Hearing this, Kogoro Mouri and Conan's expressions became noticeably more serious.

The monk Long Yuan turned to look at Xiaolan and asked in confusion: "Miss Xiaolan, what did you just say?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaolan immediately looked at Makino, as if asking with her eyes if she could talk about this.

Makino nodded casually: "It doesn't matter, the press conference has already been held, it's no longer a secret."

Seeing Makino nod, Xiaolan then explained what had happened to the monk Ryuen.

After listening to Xiaolan's explanation, the monk Ryuyuan's expression immediately changed, no longer as relaxed and calm as before.

The room suddenly fell into silence.

Everyone knows that, judging from the current situation, the group of thieves called "Genji Hotaru" must have stolen the Buddha statue.

But the death of the five thieves undoubtedly cast a bright red veil over the incident.

After a moment of silence, the monk Long Yuan looked at Makino nervously: "Officer Makino, if the Buddha statue is related to those cases, what should we do next?"

At this point, he no longer knew what to do.

In two days, they will open the temple to the public to visit the Buddha statues.

He had wanted to find the Buddha statue with the help of the famous detective Kogoro Mori before the visiting day, but he didn't expect such a thing to happen again.

At the same time, Makino was thinking about something else.

He almost knew the location of the Buddha statue and had also identified two "suspects".

The only problem is the suspect's accomplice.

He remembered that the suspect seemed to have many subordinates, and those subordinates had a "fierce fight" with Hattori Heiji and Conan.

Um…?
Wait, this is not an accomplice, this is clearly performance!

Come to think of it, Shiratori and Takagi have been employed for almost enough years...

Well! We can’t act on impulse! We can’t miss any accomplices!
Thinking of this, Makino took out his cell phone and quickly edited a text message.

Just as Makino finished sending the text message, he heard Conan's slightly "childish" voice.

"Sister Xiaolan, do we have any plans next? If not, I want Officer Makino to take me around Kyoto~ We have already made an appointment~"

At this moment, Conan has already run in front of Xiaolan and is looking at her with his bright big eyes.

Makino: "?"

Before Makino could speak, Maori Kogoro narrowed his eyes and said, "Kid, do you know the current situation? You actually want Officer Makino to play with you?!"

"But uncle, you can definitely solve this kind of puzzle, right? After all, you are a world-renowned detective! Can't you just tell Officer Makino the answer directly when the time comes?" Conan looked at Kogoro Mouri with an "admiring" expression.

After hearing this, Maori Kogoro blinked at first, then immediately patted his chest and said: "Ha, haha! You are right! I can definitely solve such a puzzle!"

Makino, Xiaolan: "..."

At this moment, Makino suddenly felt some sympathy for Kogoro Mori in front of him.

Since being "possessed" by Conan, Kogoro Mouri not only has to receive injections, but is also often "forced" to take actions that Conan wants him to take.

Hearing this, Xiaolan suddenly thought of something, looked down at the time on her phone, and said, "Ah! I almost forgot, I have already made an appointment with Kazuha to meet at Kyoto Tower!"

After saying that, Xiaolan quickly said goodbye to Makino and the others, then got up and left the room.

After a while, after a brief chat, Makino also stood up, said goodbye to the monk Ryuen and Mori Kogoro, and left the temple.

Shortly after leaving the temple, Makino looked down at Conan beside him and chuckled, "Kudo, where do you want your uncle to take you? Come to think of it, your lying and acting skills have improved~ I think you're more like a criminal than a detective~"

Conan: "..."

Conan knew that Makino was mocking his previous behavior, so his face turned a little red.

After calming down, Conan said, "Officer Makino, do you want to go to Gojo Bridge together? If you mention Yoshitsune and Benkei, it should be there, right?"

Hearing this, Makino looked at the time and accepted Conan's proposal.

Anyway, Officer Shiratori and the others won't be here until the afternoon, so I don't have anything to do right now.

……

Soon after, on the Five Bridges.

Makino lay on the edge of the bridge, admiring the scenery around him.

Conan looked at the puzzle photos on his phone while carefully observing his surroundings.

After a moment, Conan reluctantly put away his phone and walked over to Makino: "No, there doesn't seem to be any clues related to the painting here."

Makino continued to look at the scenery in front of him, and without turning his head, he said: "Hattori, didn't you act with Kazuha today?"

"Hattori?" After hearing Makino's words, Conan was stunned for a moment, then turned his head to look behind him.

Before Conan could turn around, he heard the familiar voice behind him: "Hey~ Officer Makino, Kudo! I didn't expect we would meet again so soon!"

After greeting each other, Hattori Heiji looked at Makino with a serious expression: "Officer Makino, the reason why you and Kudo came to Kyoto should be because of that case, right?"

Seeing Makino nod, Hattori Heiji also told him the reason why he came to this bridge.

He was familiar with one of the victims, the owner of the takoyaki restaurant in Osaka.

He has often been taken care of by the boss since he started junior high school.

Therefore, although he had known two days ago that the boss was a member of a gang of thieves, he still wanted to find the murderer himself and avenge him.

That's why he came to Kyoto alone today to look for clues.

Coincidentally, he had just thought of this "Five Bridges" not long ago, and unexpectedly met Makino and Conan here.

After listening to Hattori Heiji's explanation, Makino couldn't help but look back and forth between Conan and Hattori Heiji with strange eyes.

Fate?
Compared to Xiaolan and Heye, they are obviously more suitable, right?
As for how Hattori Heiji knew so many details of the case...it's no longer a topic worth paying attention to.

There's nothing we can do about it, since the Osaka Police Headquarters also has a "good guy" like Takagi.

(End of this chapter)