Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

same moment

A horseback archery training ground in the woods.

After seeing that Ryūki had missed the last target, Hattori Heiji and Conan stepped forward.

"When your wife has just passed away and you are emotionally unstable, no matter how much you practice, you won't be able to practice well, right?"

Ryūki dismounted and frowned, saying, "No, the festival is coming soon, and we absolutely cannot slack off on our archery practice. I must retain my position as the best archer this year; this is a vow I made to Senior Kai and my wife."

After saying that, Ryūki led Hattori Heiji and the other person to the target where they had missed.

"The reason I missed wasn't because I panicked. Look, there are signs on the ground that the target has been moved, right?"

Upon hearing this, Hattori Heiji and Conan bent down to look and indeed saw that the target had been moved.

Judging from the position of the arrow, if the target had not been moved, the arrow must have hit the target.

“Indeed…who did this?” Hattori Heiji frowned.

Just then, Conan noticed the stares around him and turned around with a serious expression, saying, "Look! There's someone behind the tree!"

Heiji Hattori and Keiji Ryuu immediately looked in the direction Conan was pointing.

Realizing they had been discovered, the three people hiding behind the tree immediately turned and left.

Hattori Heiji shouted, trying to call out to the three, but they ignored him and walked into the depths of the woods without looking back.

Just as Hattori Heiji was about to give chase, Ryūo Kei shook his head: "I think they're from a neighboring village. Their purpose in doing this is to make me lose confidence."

"Why do you say that?" Conan asked, frowning.

Longwei Jing closed his eyes and said:

"The annual festival is held jointly by the two villages, as it concerns the reputation of both villages. Whoever defeats last year's best archer in the preliminary rounds will become the archer from that village this year."

"That village will also be incredibly glorious this year. Ever since Mr. Kai, the yakubura horse archers have been from our village for over ten years."

"Six years ago, Mr. Kai and I both hit the bullseye every time, but because it was getting late, the competition was postponed to the next day."

"But unexpectedly, Mr. Kai died the next day... It wasn't until a week later that we found his body."

At this point, Ryūki lowered his head: "If we had competed again the next day, I would probably have lost. After the match that day, Mr. Kai said we should practice some more. But I was so exhausted that I didn't even have the strength to walk..."

Heiji Hattori and Conan exchanged a glance and frowned.

Although they didn't know why, they always felt that something was still hidden in the incident six years ago.

……

Tiger Field's doorstep

Just as Ryūno and his group were about to enter the mansion to meet up with Mōri Kōrō, a loud bang came from afar.

—"BOOM!!!"

The loud noise instantly drew everyone's attention.

Longye and the others exchanged glances, vaguely realizing something, and all set off towards the source of the sound.

Soon after, Ryūno and his companions, along with Hattori Heiji and the others, arrived at the scene—a level crossing railway not far from the village.

A train stopped on the railway tracks.

At the very front of the train, squatted a man with a small mustache wearing a blue suit.

At this moment, Kogoro Mouri was squatting on the ground, staring intently at the "coke man" beside the railway.

Not far away, the moment he caught sight of the deceased's appearance, Ryūno grabbed Ran and Kazuha, telling them to stay where they were and not to go any further.

The reason is simple: the horrific state of the deceased was one of the most "worst" that Longye had ever seen.

If someone with average mental fortitude were to see this, they would likely lose their appetite for the next few days.

Although Xiaolan and her companion are both mentally strong, it's best for girls to avoid such situations as much as possible.

This can be seen from Kogoro Mouri's pale face, despite having seen countless big scenes...

Shortly after, Officer Yamato arrived at the scene with his team.

After carefully examining the body, Officer Yamato made a judgment: "Although the person's appearance and clothing are no longer clear, judging from the body shape, this person should be Shigeji Torada."

At that moment, Heiji Hattori and Conan walked up to Tatsuno and whispered, "You guys were just with Yui Torada, right?"

Longye nodded.

“We’ve been with Ryūo Kei the whole time, so the culprit is…” At this point, all three of them turned their gazes toward Torada Tatsuei, who was rushing over from not far away.

Chapter 322 Six Missing One

Soon after, all the members of the Torada and Ryūo families arrived at the scene.

Upon seeing the unrecognizable corpse on the ground, the head of the Torada family wept bitterly.

A few days ago, his adopted son, whom he valued highly and who was the future heir of the Torada family, Yoshiro Torada, was unfortunately caught in a tornado and fell to his death.

Today, his son with his ex-wife, the only remaining heir of the Torada family—Torada Shigeji—also lay dead on the railway tracks, his body covered in soot, a gruesome sight.

Within just a few days, both sons died.

Not only did the elderly bury their children, but the Torada family line also came to an end.

In an instant, the head of the Torada family burst into tears, his face filled with grief.

Just then, Heiji Hattori and Conan approached the group with a fishing rod in hand.

"What are those fishing rods you're holding?"

Officer Yamato frowned slightly as he looked at the fishing rod in Heiji Hattori's hand.

Hattori Heiji slowly began to speak: "Mr. Hanji was electrocuted and burned to a crisp because his long fishing rod touched the overhead wires of the tram."

After he finished speaking, he pointed to the woods beside him and told everyone where he had found the fishing rod.

Kogoro Mori glanced at the fishing rod a few times, then suddenly clapped his hands and said, "I remember now, Mr. Shigeji Torada seemed to have been carrying a long, blue fishing rod bag before!"

Conan replied, "Yes, the bag containing the fishing rod that Uncle mentioned fell down very close to the level crossing. And... there was a dead centipede next to that bag."

Upon learning this news, Officer Yamato immediately set off in the direction Conan had indicated.

Only Kogoro Mouri remained standing beside the victim to protect the scene.

Heiji Hattori and Conan placed their fishing rods near the victim, then walked over to Kogoro Mouri and asked, "Uncle, I heard you've been following Mr. Hanji. What happened?"

Kogoro Mouri closed his eyes and said:

“Yes, I’ve been looking for reasons to follow him. Not long ago, I followed him to a small hut next to the ‘cave,’ where he kept rummaging through cabinets.”

"He said that after all this, we probably can't go treasure hunting for the time being. That's why I came to get some information. But the notebook that recorded the treasure hunting process is missing."

"Later we went back to the Torada house, but after I finished using the toilet, he suddenly disappeared. I rushed out to look for him, and just then, there was a loud bang..."

At this point, Kogoro Mouri shook his head, and Heiji Hattori and Conan understood what he meant.

After thinking for a few seconds, Hattori Heiji looked up and asked, "Uncle, did he find that treasure-hunting notebook back then?"

"No, he searched for ages but couldn't find it... Oh right! Before he left, he seemed to have taken out his phone, as if he'd received some text message..."

Upon hearing this, Hattori Heiji and Conan's eyes lit up.

If nothing unexpected happens, the text message that Torada Shigeji received was sent by the prisoner.

The criminals used this method to lure the victim away and then murdered her here.

……

Shortly after

Officer Yamato's subordinates arrived at the scene and, under his instructions, conducted a thorough search of the surrounding area, eventually finding a small notebook.

After glancing briefly at the contents of the notebook, Officer Yamato called everyone over.

"This notebook records the entire process of searching for buried gold. However, it seems to also be an exchange diary..."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attention to the laptop.

Everyone has heard that before his death, Shigeji Torada was apparently looking for this notebook.

Inspector Yamato continued, "Although I didn't look closely, it contained this information—six years ago, they accidentally killed someone by mistake."

"They seemed to have a heated debate about whether or not to call the police, and ultimately decided to remain silent and not call the police."

At this point, Officer Yamato turned to look at Ryuuji Kei: "Ryuuji Kei, it also says here that all of this is for you."

"What? For me?!" Ryuuji looked at Officer Yamato with a completely bewildered expression.

"Wait! Could the person who died six years ago mentioned above be...?" Miss Yui also realized something and quickly asked.

Inspector Yamato sighed: "That's right, it was Mr. Kai Gento. They devised a plan to injure Mr. Kai in order to help you win the preliminary round of the Ryūburama Archer competition."

"They used fireworks to scare Mr. Kai's horse, hoping to make it fall off. But the horse was so frightened that it lost control and ran wildly, eventually plunging off the cliff."

As Officer Yamato finished speaking, everyone present showed expressions of horror.

Longwei Jing froze on the spot, his face pale: "How could this be..."

"Judging from the handwriting, there were four people who wrote this diary. It's probably Yoshiro and Shigeji from the Torada family who died this time, and Koji and Ayaka from the Ryūo family," Officer Yamato analyzed, flipping through a few more pages of the notebook.

Before anyone could say anything, Officer Yamato suddenly put away his notebook and announced to everyone:

"Alright, the truth has come to light. After killing the other three, Torada Shigeji wanted to take this notebook with him and turn it to ashes in order to cover up the truth! He did this to apologize to Mr. Kai."

"The reason he wanted to destroy the notebook was to prevent Ryūki from knowing the truth. Unfortunately, the notebook was knocked away and didn't get burned."

Upon hearing this, everyone seemed to accept the truth and stood there sighing.

"In short, the matter is over. We originally wanted everyone to go home and rest, but according to procedure, we still need to investigate your homes..."

After saying this, Officer Yamato turned and walked towards his subordinates.

This whole operation left Hattori Heiji and Conan a little confused.

……

Soon after, in the woods.

Heiji Hattori and Conan walked up to Tatsuno.

"Takeda, is that Officer Yamato any good...?"