Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

Although Conan secretly investigated the robber group, he still couldn't find any clues.

During the event, to express his gratitude, Tatsuno handed over two amusement park tickets and two high-end restaurant tickets to Officer Takagi and Officer Sato, respectively.

If nothing unexpected happens, both of them will likely invite "the other".

At this moment, at Longye's home.

"Longye, why did Dad suddenly ask us to go to work with him?" Xiaolan asked, puzzled.

"Maybe he misses you, after all, he hasn't seen us for a long time~" Longye chuckled.

"Yeah……"

Looking at Ran pouting in front of him, Ryūno couldn't help but open his arms wide...

"Yeah~"

……

a few hours later

Nagano Prefecture.

Longye and his companions drove towards their destination while enjoying the mountain scenery outside the window.

The reason it's described as scenery rather than beautiful scenery is due to the weather.

Although the nature outside the window looked vibrant, the gloomy sky was clearly a bit of a downer.

Soon after, the group finally arrived at the client's residence—the Torada family mansion.

The head of the family, Torada Naonobu, welcomed everyone into the house.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Naonobu Torada handed a photograph to Kogoro Mouri.

After taking the photo, Kogoro Mouri examined it carefully for a few moments, then frowned and said, "He suffered a severe impact to his entire body and died from excessive blood loss... Was his death caused by a fall?"

“My son, Yoshiro Torada, was my only heir. It seems he died at the hands of a ruthless and vengeful demon who harbored hatred for the Torada family,” Naonobu Torada said calmly.

Seeing that his client was rambling and not providing any useful information, Kogoro Mouri pressed on, "May I ask, who pushed your son down from that height?"

“No, he wasn’t pushed down; it was a tornado,” Naonobu Torada retorted. “My son was caught in a tornado, lifted into the air, and then fell onto a rock before dying.”

Hearing this, Longye and the others blinked in confusion.

Kogoro Mouri was stunned and stood there dumbfounded.

tornado?!

Since your son died from a tornado, why did you call me here?

You want me to arrest Tornado and bring him to justice?!

Thinking of this, Kogoro Mori quickly asked, "Mr. Torada, is it absolutely possible that your son was murdered?"

Naonobu Torada frowned. "No, he did indeed die from a tornado! But... please take a good look at the photos. You should be able to see something in the pool of blood behind him that shouldn't be there..."

Upon hearing this, Kogoro Mouri and the others took a closer look at the photo.

There was indeed something on the bloodstains next to the head of the deceased, Yoshiro Torada.

"This is... a centipede?!" Kogoro Mouri exclaimed in surprise.

Naonobu Torada whispered, "That centipede looked like it had been stepped on and then deliberately placed on my son's still-wet blood!"

Just then, the door next to them was opened.

A middle-aged woman wearing a light green kimono walked in and added, "In other words, after discovering that my son was seriously injured, that person not only didn't ask anyone for help."

Instead, they clapped and cheered, even deliberately putting in a disgusting worm, and then watched my son die!

After the middle-aged woman entered, Naonobu Torada introduced her to everyone.

The woman's name was Torata Tatsue, and she was his wife.

At this moment, Kogoro Mori finally understood the purpose of the Torada family's request for his visit.

Although the client's son was not murdered, someone left him to die without offering any help and even placed a centipede next to him.

No wonder they asked me to investigate...

However, Kogoro Mouri still asked the question that had been bothering him: "Mr. Torada, it's also possible that the centipede was stepped on and killed by someone, and then happened to be blown there by a tornado?"

As soon as he finished asking, Torada Naonobu shook his head and said, "But Hanji, who was the first to discover the body, said that there were no centipedes around there at all. His brother died because that person refused to help him!"

Hearing this, Kogoro Mouri had another question in his mind: "His older brother? Wasn't the deceased Yoshiro Torada your only heir? And who is this Hanji you just mentioned?"

Naonobu Torada snorted coldly and said angrily, "I stopped considering him my son a long time ago, that kind of fool who's obsessed with searching for baseless treasures!"

Just as Kogoro Mouri was pondering what questions to ask next, Conan spoke up, "Uncle, what about clues about the culprit? Didn't you just say that someone harbors a grudge against your Torada family?"

"Yes, that's the Ryuo family, who have had a grudge against the Torada family for years! The devil who stood by and watched my son die must be among them!!" At this point, the client's wife, Torada Tatsue, showed an indignant expression.

……

same moment

At Longwei's home.

A dark-skinned young man looked at the photo in his hand and slowly spoke:

"Your son, Constance, was kidnapped and buried in the ground. He was allegedly killed by being repeatedly struck on the head with a blunt object. Moreover, before the blood completely congealed, the killer left a dead centipede... This is incredibly cruel!"

"By the way, what did the police say at the time?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man wearing round glasses sitting opposite the young man replied, "Of course, they only give the same old answers—'Under investigation,' 'We are currently investigating'..."

"That's why I asked my old friend Mr. Otaki at the Osaka Prefectural Police Station to bring you here, Hattori Heiji-kun!"

“But Inspector Otaki said that it seems we’ve made some progress in identifying the culprit…” Hattori Heiji recalled.

—"Click"

Just then, the door opened, and an old woman pushed it open and walked into the house.

What followed was his angry inference:

"It must be revenge! That family always felt that our Longwei family was responsible for their son's death. They harbored resentment towards us, so they killed Kang Si as well!"

"The murderer must be someone from the Torada family!"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man wearing glasses immediately spoke up: "Mother, we can't draw conclusions about this yet..."

"Hmph! No one but them could commit such a hate-filled killing!" the old woman said angrily.

Seeing this, Hattori Heiji immediately steered the conversation back on track: "May I ask, who was the first person to discover the body?"

“Ah, it’s my other son, Jing. He found it on his way home after practicing archery and horsemanship,” the middle-aged man explained.

At this point, a hint of pride appeared on the man's face: "My son, Longwei Jing, is the best in this village. He performs this skill for everyone during every sacrificial ceremony."

After listening to the man's account, Hattori Heiji immediately expressed his desire to meet this Ryūo Kei and learn more about the details.

Chapter 315 The Silly Little Mustache

Shortly after

Kogoro Mouri and the others went into the woods and found Ryuo Kei, who had just finished practicing.

A young woman dressed in purple stood next to Tatsuno.

"Hello, you must be Mr. Ryūo Kei, right?" Kogoro Mouri asked directly.

Upon seeing Kogoro Mouri and his group, Ryūo Kei paused slightly, then nodded and said, "That's right, that's me."

"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 Koji Ryūo's body."

Upon hearing this, Longwei Jing exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!" and then nodded.

Seeing that Ryūki's reaction was a bit strange, Kogoro Mouri stared intently at his face and asked suspiciously, "Could it be that you have some unspeakable secret?"

"No, no. It's just that someone asked me the same question just now. It was a teenage detective with an Osaka accent."

"A teenage detective with an Osaka accent?!" Kogoro Mouri was somewhat surprised to hear this familiar description.

Xiaolan also looked at Longye and whispered, "Could it be..."

Ryūno nodded: "Yeah, it should be Hattori Heiji and the others~"

Conan, standing to the side, had his glasses reflect a white light for the first time in a long time, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a crazy smile.

same moment

At the Torada family home.

Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha found the "first discoverer" of the Torada family's property—Torada Shigeji.

He was the first to discover the body of his older brother, Yoshiro Torada.

"When I found the body, there was indeed a dead centipede next to it. Come to think of it, I seem to have seen centipede patterns at the annual festival," Torada Shigeji said, frowning.

Heiji pressed on, "Could it be that your Torada and Ryuo families have some connection with centipedes?"

"It doesn't seem like we have any connection, but I always seem to see him at that archery and horsemanship ceremony," Torada Shigeji recalled.

Kazuha Toyama frowned and said, "Could it be related to the warlords of the Sengoku period? I remember that some warlords used to decorate their helmets with dragonflies..."

Upon hearing the word "military general," Torada Shigeji trembled slightly: "Besides you, a detective just asked me similar questions."

"A detective?" Hattori Heiji was clearly intrigued.

"Yes, he seems to be a detective from Tokyo. I remember his surname is the same as some military commander's! What was his name again..."

"Is it Mori?!" Hattori Heiji exclaimed in surprise.

Shigeji Torada nodded with a smile: "Yes, yes, yes! It's Mori from Mori Motonari's name!"

Kazuha, who was standing nearby, also became interested and asked, "Is there anyone else with that Uncle Mori?"

Seeing the two people in front of him so agitated, Torada Shigeji was startled and took a step back: "That's right, there are two other young men and a child with him. But I don't know their names..."

Upon hearing this, Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha's eyes both lit up with excitement.

Next, Hattori Heiji asked some more questions about the incident.

They also learned that six years ago, a man named Kai Genjin had also died in a strange accident.

This Kai Genjin was a Nagano Prefectural Police officer who had served as a mounted archer in the rituals and was very popular with the local people.