Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Kogoro Mouri confidently stated his reasoning as he walked:

"The murderer first used poison to kill Bingchuan by the lake, and then faked a heart attack. He then changed into boots that matched Bingchuan's beforehand and carried him here."

"Then the killer threw the glacier down and stole the stun gun from him. On the way back, he followed the footprints he left behind and walked backwards!"

After hearing Kogoro Mouri's reasoning, not only Conan, but also Mitsuhiko and the other two showed expressions of doubt.

Sonoko frowned and said, "Walk backwards along the footprints? Is that even possible?"

"Hmph! Of course, I'll show you!"

After saying that, Kogoro Mouri took a few steps forward, then tried to back up by following the previous footprints.

After twisting his body and taking two steps back, he lost his balance and fell backward onto the ground, leaving a large 'human-shaped' imprint on the snow.

Seeing this, Longye and the others shook their heads helplessly.

Just then, Conan walked over to the deceased, Mr. Hikawa, and carefully examined the snow inside his hat. "I know! The murderer used a very simple trick!"

"What?" Kogoro Mouri sat up in surprise and looked at Conan not far away.

Conan laughed and said, "Didn't it snow just now? The culprit walked from the lakeside with Mr. Hikawa first, made his move here, and faked Mr. Hikawa having a heart attack."

"The snow that followed covered their footprints. After the snow stopped, the murderer put on boots that matched the victim's and slowly retreated back to the lake!"

After saying that, Conan even took a few steps back and gave a demonstration.

After the demonstration, Conan pointed to his footprints, "You see, this way only one type of footprint will be left, right? As for the evidence, it's the snow inside the victim's coat hood~"

Just as everyone was pondering whether Conan's reasoning was correct, Ryuno looked at Conan and chuckled, "Conan, I have a question for you~"

Conan glanced at Ryuno, who was smiling, and frowned.

Why did Takeda suddenly say that?

Could it be that I've missed some crucial information again, or that my reasoning is wrong?!

Thinking of this, Conan's expression immediately turned serious.

He knew that Longye wouldn't speak without reason; since he had brought it up, there must be some important reason...

Seeing Conan's increasingly serious expression, Ryuno realized that Conan was probably overthinking things.

He pointed to Conan's feet and chuckled, "Your deduction is correct, but Conan... you seem to have completely ruined the scene~"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked in the direction Long Ye was pointing.

Because Conan had been frequently near Mr. Hikawa, and considering the footprints he left while demonstrating his deduction...

At this moment, the ground around the victim was covered with messy footprints left by Conan.

Chapter 381 Is it another choice of three?

Conan glanced down at his feet, scratched his head sheepishly, and chuckled awkwardly.

He clearly realized that he had ruined the scene.

Everyone: "..."

The next second, Kogoro Mouri craned his neck, his face darkening as he walked up to Conan: "You brat!!!"

—"Bang, bang!"

"what!!!"

……

A moment later, everyone stayed where they were and analyzed the current situation together, while Conan squatted to the side, covering his head.

If you look closely, you can see that Conan has two big bumps on his head that look like ice cream cones.

After thinking for a moment, Xiaolan also noticed something suspicious. "But for this method to work, someone would have to find the body immediately after the first snowfall, right?"

“That’s right. If no one notices it and it snows during that time, the footprints on the ground will disappear.” Longye nodded.

"So, the murderer knew we would pass by here at this time, right?" Kogoro Mouri lowered his head and began to think.

Upon hearing this, Tono Mizuki pondered, "We can easily estimate the time it took for all of us to pass through here, as long as we've read the brochure for the snow walking event."

Kogoro Mouri shook his head helplessly.

If that's the case, then things are in trouble.

As far as he knew, the snow walking poster was posted in the hotel lobby.

Anyone who has seen the posters or learned about the project can calculate their walking route and the time it would take to get there.

Conan glanced helplessly at Mizuki Tono and shook his head.

He originally thought the most suspicious person was Ms. Mizuki, who brought them here.

But from this perspective, Ms. Mizuki's suspicion has instantly diminished.

Conan looked down at the direction the victim's footprints pointed, then turned to Tono Mizuki, "By the way, Mizuki-neechan, what's ahead of these footprints?"

"Muto's mountain cabin. But as far as I know, there is a road that leads directly there by car."

At this point, Tono Mizuki frowned and said, "Speaking of which, if the glacier is for getting there, why not take that route?"

After getting the answer, Conan put his hands in his pockets and began to think seriously.

He felt that the glacier and the murderer probably deliberately avoided that route.

Although it's unclear why, the two of them may have deliberately chosen to walk along this sparsely populated snowy path to the mountain cabin.

……

That afternoon

Niigata Prefectural Police arrived at the scene.

After conducting a brief investigation at the scene, the police sent Mr. Bingchuan's body to the university hospital for a detailed investigation by a forensic pathologist.

After listening to Kogoro Mouri's description, Inspector Watanabe and Inspector Sasamoto decided to question several of the victim's friends in the hotel restaurant.

Apart from Ms. Mizuki, neither Keisuke Yamao, Fuyumi Tachihara, nor Takehiko Muto had an alibi.

After recording the alibis of the individuals, Officer Watanabe turned to look at Takehiko Muto.

Based on the location where the victim was found, his destination was most likely Mr. Muto's cabin in the mountains.

"Mr. Muto, do you know why Mr. Hikawa wanted to go to your mountain cabin?"

“How could I possibly know about such a thing?!” Takehiko Muto exclaimed.

Upon hearing Muto Takehiko's answer, Yamao Keisuke immediately stood up. "Were you really not in the mountain cabin at the time? You didn't call Hikawa over, pretending to talk to him about Mizuki, and then take the opportunity to kill him, did you?!"

"What did you say?!" Takehiko Muto stood up angrily.

Just then, Officer Watanabe interrupted the two, "What you're saying is...? Could you elaborate?"

Keisuke Yamao nodded and said, "Because Hikawa proposed to Mizuki when he was young, but was rejected. However, Hikawa still can't forget Mizuki. So as long as Mutou mentions her name, Hikawa will definitely keep his promise!"

"Explain yourself! Why do I have to kill Hikawa?!" Takehiko Muto shouted.

"That's because you've had a lot of disputes over that reservoir!"

"That's ridiculous. Killing someone for something like that? I can't even be bothered to talk to you about it!"

"..."

Seeing that Officer Sasamoto had already written down everyone's words in his notebook, Officer Watanabe nodded and said softly, "I understand. Let's stop asking here for today."

"We will ask you for further information after we confirm that Bingchuan was murdered and not died of a sudden heart attack."

After saying his goodbyes, Officer Watanabe left the hotel restaurant.

After the police left, Sonoko looked at Ryuno with a puzzled expression and asked in a low voice, "Ryuno, we still haven't found that stun gun, right? Why didn't the police check our belongings?"

"Until the autopsy is completed, the police cannot be certain that Mr. Hikawa was murdered. As requested, they cannot forcibly inspect our luggage and personal belongings," Ryūno said calmly.

“That’s right, and so much time has passed. Even if someone did steal the stun gun, that person would probably have hidden it somewhere else long ago.” Kogoro Mouri nodded.

……

After dinner, Conan found an excuse to call Tatsuno outside the hotel.

"Takeda, who do you think is more suspicious, Ms. Mizuki or Mr. Yamao?"

"Oh? Have you forgotten someone?" Longye chuckled.

Upon hearing this, Conan looked at the smiling Ryūno and paused slightly, "You mean..."

Upon hearing Ryūno's 'reminder', Conan immediately lowered his head and began to think.

Although, based on yesterday's and just now's conversations, it seems on the surface that only 'Tono Mizuki' and 'Muto Takehiko' harbor hatred for the deceased.

However, in reality, both 'Yamao Keisuke' and 'Tachihara Fuyumi' are also suspects.

The victim, Mr. Hikawa, said he returned to attend the village's fifth anniversary celebration, after working in Tokyo.

Apart from Keisuke Yamao, who went to the city hall with him yesterday, others may not know that he has a stun gun.

After all, who would casually tell others that they carry a stun gun?

Furthermore, yesterday Mr. Hikawa pulled out a news article about Keisuke Yamao's crimes from his notebook, and yesterday Mr. Yamao also asked for some old maps at the city hall...

Although it's unclear whether these two events are related, both are highly suspicious.

Therefore, Keisuke Yamao is also a prime suspect!

Thinking of this, Conan pressed on, "Takeda, there's one more thing. Why do you think the culprit took the stun gun? Could it be... um? Takeda?"

When Conan looked up again, he found that Ryūno was nowhere to be seen.

Conan sighed, shook his head with a smile, and turned to walk back to the hotel.

"Damn it, this guy still hasn't changed..."

Chapter 382 Diamond Dust Might Actually Be Real Diamonds

Early next morning

Before dawn, all of Tatsuno's group except for Kogoro Mouri left the inn to watch the sunrise.

Yesterday, everyone heard from Ms. Tono Mizuki that the sunrise in Kitasawa Village was exceptionally beautiful and well worth seeing.

"Honestly, why do I have to get up so early to watch the sunrise? It's so cold!" Sonoko said, breathing on her hands and rubbing them together.