Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 386 The Izakaya Was Vandalized
"Shuichi! Speak with your conscience."

Kogoro Mouri's face flushed red, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He waved his hands, trying to explain, but was startled by a sharp look from Liuli and shrank back.

"Kogoro, you still dare to argue?"

Ruri grabbed Kogoro Mouri's ear with such force that he winced in pain.
"I saw you peeping at those girls in bikinis at the beach just now!"

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Be gentle, Liuli!"

Kogoro Mouri was bent over, dragged by the ear like a child who had done something wrong, to a coconut tree not far away.

"Ah—be gentle! Ruri, I really know I was wrong!"

Kogoro Mouri's wails drifted on the salty sea breeze, eliciting laughter from the crowd on the beach.

When Hayashi Hideichi and his sister, along with Kogoro Mouri, returned to Beika Izakaya, it was already past 8 p.m., and everyone else had already gone home.

"I'm so tired..." Reiko rubbed her sore ankles and muttered softly.

The little girl yawned, her eyelids already drooping.

To the three's surprise, Officer Matsumoto and Officer Megure were waiting for them at the entrance of the izakaya so late at night.

Inspector Matsumoto kept checking his watch, while Inspector Megure paced back and forth impatiently, his leather shoes making a crisp sound on the stone pavement.

"Officer Matsumoto? Officer Megure?" Lin Xiuyi raised an eyebrow, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

He noticed that both men's suits were wrinkled, and Inspector Megure's tie was even askew, indicating that they had clearly been waiting there for some time.

Upon seeing Lin Xiuyi, Inspector Megure immediately approached him, his face showing a mixture of urgency and hesitation.

"Is there something you need?" Lin Xiuyi asked proactively, while taking out his keys to open the door.

"This..." Inspector Megure began, but suddenly choked up.

He subconsciously touched the back of his head, his face full of hesitation.

Just then, Officer Matsumoto strode forward and grabbed Officer Megure's arm.

“No need, Mr. Lin,” Officer Matsumoto’s voice was much lower than usual, with a hint of deliberate distance. “We’ll handle this ourselves!”

After saying that, Officer Matsumoto practically dragged the still-dazed Inspector Megure away.

"What are they doing?" Kogoro Mouri looked at the two figures as they walked away, completely bewildered.

Reiko tilted her head thoughtfully: "They're all from the Metropolitan Police Department, so they must be here to see Oni-san about something related to the case."

The little girl paused, her brows furrowing slightly.
"But why did you stop talking about it in the end?"

“They’re probably having some difficulties and can’t bring themselves to ask,” Lin Xiuyi shook his head and pushed open the door of the izakaya. “Don’t guess. If they really need my help, they’ll come to me again later.”

"Onii-chan, are you opening the shop again today?" Reiko asked, yawning.

"At this hour, of course we're not opening."

Lin Xiuyi smiled and ruffled her sister's hair, then walked towards the kitchen, explaining as she went.
“But we can’t go without eating tonight, can we? You two come and help out. Once dinner is ready, we’ll take it up to Aunt Maoli.”

It was already quite late, so Lin Xiuyi didn't make any complicated dishes, but simply cooked some curry.

Lingzi found a chair and sat down, her little head nodding like a sleepy kitten.

Kogoro Mori leaned against the kitchen counter, complaining about Hideaki Hayashi's earlier "framing." "Anyway, Ruri is going to teach you a lesson," Hideaki Hayashi said righteously. "In that case, it's better for you to be scolded alone than for both of you to suffer together."

"No matter what, I've taken the blame for you again," Kogoro Mouri leaned closer to his friend, "You have to make it up to me!"

"Understood," Lin Xiuyi, who had expected this, took out five thousand yen from his pocket and handed it over. "Is that enough?"

Upon seeing the money, Kogoro Mouri's eyes immediately lit up.

He was already a big spender, and when Liuli found out he was still buying photo magazines during their trip, she deliberately squandered his allowance, leaving his wallet completely empty.

"Five thousand yen is enough for two books!"

Kogoro Mouri happily accepted the money, then cautiously glanced at Reiko, who was dozing off at the table not far away, before winking at Shuichi Hayashi and lowering his voice.

"I'm going to buy the last two issues of the photobook right now! We can each take one tonight!"

After saying that, he ran out excitedly, like a cat that had stolen a fish.

He pushed the wooden door open forcefully, but it bounced back with a loud "bang".

The noise startled the sleepy little girl awake.

She rubbed her eyes and looked at the doorway in confusion: "Onii-chan, where did Kogoro-nii go?"

"He's going to school tomorrow, and his pen is broken, so he's going to the supermarket at the street corner to buy a new one," Lin Xiu said, covering for her good friend without batting an eye.

"I see," the little girl nodded, then lay back down for another nap, still half asleep.

However, she had only been lying down for a short while when a sharp "crack" broke the silence of the izakaya.

A pebble the size of a fist shattered the glass on the side facing the street, flying in with shards of glass and rolling a few times on the ground before coming to a stop.

"Onii-chan!" Reiko was startled and instantly snapped back to reality.

The little girl stood up and looked at her brother in a panic.

Lin Xiuyi, already holding a kitchen knife, rushed out of the store in three quick steps.

Under the dim streetlights, he could only see a small figure in the distance running away quickly, disappearing around the corner of the alley in the blink of an eye.

"It looks like a child about my age?" Reiko followed her brother out and stood next to him, squinting as she tried to make out who it was.

Then the little girl stomped her foot angrily, her face turning bright red: "Damn it, why did he smash the shop's window!"

"It was probably an accident," Lin Xiuyi frowned and turned to examine the broken glass.

"What should we do, Onii-chan?" Reiko asked worriedly. "At this hour, it's probably too late to fix it, and we have school tomorrow."

"It's alright," Lin Xiuyi smiled and patted her sister's head. "Aunt Mori is always home. I'll call and arrange for the glass repairman tomorrow morning, and then I'll ask Aunt Mori to keep an eye on things."

While the brother and sister were talking, Kogoro Mouri walked over happily with two magazines in his hand.

He clearly hadn't expected that Reiko, who had been half asleep, would actually appear at the izakaya entrance.

By the time he realized what was happening and tried to hide the two magazines in his clothes, his sharp-eyed little cousin had already spotted them.

"Brother Kogoro, you're buying these pornographic magazines again!" Reiko said, hands on her hips, her face full of disdain.

“They’re just some photos,” Kogoro Mori quickly explained. “These can’t be considered pornographic magazines.”

(End of this chapter)