Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

Seeing this, Conan continued with a forced smile, "I'm so sorry, we just happened to be passing by and couldn't resist stopping by to take a look at this magnificent castle~"

Conan's practiced apology made Tatsuno chuckle. His practiced movements were clearly the result of extensive training and refinement!

Thinking of this, Ryūno looked at Conan with a hint of sympathy.

Since Professor Agasa got married to Aunt Anzu, he has significantly reduced the time he spends with the Detective Boys.

Not to mention, even Ai Haibara rarely interacts with the members of the "Detective Boys" due to her own reasons, let alone take the blame for them.

But... energy in the universe is always conserved!

To put it bluntly, even without the doctor's company, the number of times Mitsuhiko and his two friends "act recklessly" will not decrease.

Previously, because Professor Agasa was the only adult among them, he shouldered most of the burdens of the Junior Detective League.

But now… looking at Conan’s practiced movements and tone, Ryūno grinned slightly: “You’ve become a full-time babysitter too, huh? How pathetic~~”

"Go back now! This isn't a place you can just wander around in!"

After hearing Conan's explanation, the man roughly understood what had happened and immediately chased away Ryūno and the others.

Just then, a man in a suit heard the commotion outside and came out of the house.

"What happened? There shouldn't be any guests visiting today, right?"

Upon seeing the visitor, the man in the hat immediately bowed: "Sir! These fellows insisted on coming in for a tour..."

Upon hearing this, the man immediately looked towards the door. When he saw Ryuno's face, he remembered something and exclaimed in surprise, "I remember...aren't you Takeda Ryuno?!"

Upon hearing the man's words, Longye looked at him curiously.

“My name is Mitsuru Mamiya. We met at Professor Moriya’s tea party! Your rapid solution to the puzzle truly amazed everyone! Hahaha!”

After saying that, the man named Mamiya walked to the door and said with a smile, "Please come in, everyone~ Speaking of which, I also have something I'd like to ask you! If you don't mind, would you like to stay here for the night?"

Before Longye could reply, the man in the hat immediately spoke up: "But sir, we didn't discuss it with the first wife!"

"It's okay, just tell her these people are my friends."

"All right…"

……

Not long after Longye and his group entered the gate, they saw many huge chess piece sculptures in the courtyard.

Mitsuhiko and the other two immediately ran forward excitedly and hugged the chess pieces.

Ryūno and Conan looked at the chess piece sculptures with curiosity.

Before Mamiya Mitsuru could speak, the gardener wearing a hat said, "These were all left to me by Master Teisho, according to the last wishes of the former master. These chess pieces were left by the former master. As for the former master and his wife, they have already..."

Just as the gardener was explaining, Long Ye had a sudden thought and said to himself, "Xiao Jia, help me scan these chess pieces and mark their positions on the chessboard."

【receive. 】

After giving his instructions, Longye looked up at the charred black tower not far away.

The moment he saw those enormous chess pieces, he remembered. This… wasn't this the incident?!

This castle incident is also one of the famous "childhood nightmares".

A sinister atmosphere, companions disappearing one after another, the face of an old woman in the darkness...

Back when I watched this episode, the concept of "bullet screen protection" didn't exist. Whether it was Conan and Professor Agasa's "ambush" scene or Ai Haibara and Ayumi's escape, it all gave him a jolt and invigorated him...

Huh? Wait... a sudden, unexpected blow?

Thinking of this, Longye suddenly looked at Conan's big head, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

Before long, the group entered the castle hall.

Several large portraits hung on the walls of the hall. The beautiful woman in one of the paintings immediately caught the attention of Longye and his companions.

"That lady is so pretty!" Ayumi exclaimed, looking at the painting on the wall.

"That's my daughter!"

At this moment, an old woman wheeled herself up to them and smiled as she looked at the painting of a woman on the wall.

The gardener immediately looked at the old woman: "Madam! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been talking to them about the master here..."

“It’s alright. My daughter has said it herself; her father is just an intellectual spouting nonsense. Don’t worry, I’ve long since gotten used to life without him. It’s like the change from paper money to passports; it’s certainly not something you’re used to at first, but after a while, it’s not so strange anymore…”

Longye narrowed his eyes as he watched the old woman talking eloquently.

To be honest, this guy really went to great lengths for the treasure!

Not only did he ruthlessly kill more than a dozen people, he even had his face surgically altered to look like this...

No wonder she suffered a mental breakdown and wept bitterly when she learned about the "real treasure" left behind by the master.

This guy is ruthless! Ruthless to others. Even more ruthless to himself!

At this moment, the old woman looked at the unfamiliar Long Ye in front of her and asked, "Who is this?"

Upon hearing this, the gardener glanced at Mitsuru Mamiya beside him, and Mitsuru Mamiya quietly nodded in agreement.

Upon seeing this, the gardener immediately introduced, "This is the master's friend, a very intelligent man! He's here specifically to help the master solve the puzzles in the castle."

"Oh? That's wonderful... I'll leave it to you. I'm also very curious to know what mystery he's hiding in this castle~"

"My daughter will be back soon. As soon as she arrives, I'll take her to my room immediately."

After saying that, the old woman turned the wheelchair and quickly returned to the room.

"First Madam..."

Upon hearing this, the gardener watched the old woman's retreating figure and sighed.

Chapter 168 People who lose connection usually have a hard time reconnecting.

The gardener's sigh was noticed by the perceptive Conan.

Conan immediately blinked and asked, "Uncle, what's wrong?"

Upon hearing Conan's question, the gardener glanced down at Conan and sighed again.

"Ever since the First Madam's daughter, the First Madam depicted in the painting, died in the fire, the First Madam has become like that. She has always believed that her daughter is still alive..."

Upon hearing this, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi's lips curled into a smile: "How pitiful..."

After the gardener left, Mitsuru Mamiya walked up to Tatsuno and slowly explained the matter of the patriarch's will. Afterward, he promised Tatsuno that he would also receive a small reward if the treasure was found.

After listening to their conversation, Conan remembered the chess pieces in the courtyard and immediately asked, "Uncle, where can I see the chess pieces in the courtyard?"

"Hmm... let me think. There are two rooms on the second floor that should offer a view."

After getting the answer, Conan immediately ran upstairs, with Mitsuhiko and the other two following closely behind.

Seeing this, Mamiya Mitsuru smiled and looked at Tatsuno: "What a lively bunch of kids!"

Ryuno watched Conan and the others walk away and shook his head: "They're just sometimes a little too lively."

Mamiya Mitsuru smiled and patted Tatsuno on the shoulder: "Come on, I'll show you around. Maybe you'll discover something related to the 'puzzle'!"

"Okay, thank you for your help then."

……

Room on the second floor

Conan looked out the window at the courtyard while marking the "chessboard" in the courtyard with his notebook.

After memorizing the colors and positions of all the chess pieces, he squatted down against the wall and began to seriously consider the meaning of these pieces.

Since these chess pieces were left by that "master," they are most likely related to the mystery hidden in the castle. In fact, one could even say that these chess pieces are the mystery itself!

With that in mind, Conan began to scribble even more intently in his notebook.

"Conan! Genta!!!"

Ayumi's scream interrupted Conan's thoughts, and he immediately craned his neck to look at the window next door.

At that moment, Genta was hanging precariously by the window. If Mitsuhiko hadn't been pulling Genta's arm, he would have almost fallen off the window.

"Damn it! What are you doing?!" Conan gritted his teeth and immediately rushed to the next room.

Just as he ran to the next room, Genta was pulled up by Mitsuhiko.

Seeing that Genta was safe and sound, Conan immediately breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall, panting.

After calming down a bit, he suddenly realized something and looked at the wall in surprise.

You see, he had to run quite a bit to get to this room. But both the previous room and the two windows in this room are right next to the wall... This means there must be a hidden space between the two rooms!

Thinking of this, Conan's eyes lit up, and he gently tapped the wall with his fist, searching for the mechanism on the wall.

Before long, he knocked on a wall that sounded hollow. Upon hearing the sound, he looked up and saw a wall clock in his line of sight.

Looking at the wall clock, Conan's face broke into an incredibly confident smile.

……

“Mr. Mamiya, the interior design of this castle is truly unique, quite similar to those famous castles abroad!”

"Thank you for the compliment. My father-in-law seems to have done in-depth research on historical architecture. This castle is very likely modeled after one of his existing castles."

Longye smiled and nodded.

Apart from the sealed stone tower, he had visited almost all the rooms in the castle.

Although some rooms were vacant and dirty due to the number of occupants, Longye's focus was not on the quality of individual rooms, but on the overall structure of the castle and the division of its various functional areas.

In these respects, the castle's design can be considered quite reasonable.

The first floor of the castle, apart from the main hall used for welcoming guests and a couple of lounges, is basically the "servants' area"—the kitchen, laundry room, servants' quarters, wine cellar, and storage rooms are all located here.

The second and third floors house the master bedroom and several VIP rooms, with some rooms even featuring private viewing balconies.

After the visit, Tatsuno gained a deeper understanding of the castle.

Seeing that the tour was almost over, Mitsuru Mamiya raised his arm, glanced at his watch, then looked up and smiled, "It's dinnertime. Let's go eat first! After dinner, we can continue our conversation about the 'mystery'~"

"Alright, then I'll gladly accept your offer."

Just as Ryuno and Mamiya Mitsuru reached the restaurant entrance, Mitsuhiko and the other two rushed up to him, anxiously saying, "Ryuno-nii, oh no! Conan is missing!! We've searched everywhere..."

After listening to the three little ones, Longye immediately understood the situation.