The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

However, even someone as familiar with the true nature of the Mori family around him couldn't help but feel a deep respect for the veteran host.

Good heavens, they actually dared to let Death stay overnight, and they even forced him to buy it.

Chapter 86 Legend

Kogoro Mouri ultimately paid the fee of 38,000 yen, albeit with a heavy heart.

Although Yuu Aragaki insisted that he would pay for his own accommodation, Ran stopped him in the end.

After tallying up the four people's accommodation fees, the old abbot became even more enthusiastic towards them.

The abbot smiled and reminded them, "Oh, right, I forgot to remind you. Although you've already settled in Shanni Temple, what I said earlier wasn't meant to scare you. It's best if you don't go out on rainy days."

Kogoro Mouri looked at the mysterious abbot with some confusion: "Why is that?"

“On a rainy night like this, that guy might be watching you from somewhere!” The abbot’s expression turned serious as he said this.

"Ah...who, who is it?" Kogoro Mouri was startled by the abbot's expression.

"Are there any bears around here?" Xiaolan asked nervously.

Upon hearing Xiaolan's words, the abbot suddenly sneered: "Hmph, bears aren't such cute animals!"

"what?"

"An ancient monster that loves rain and darkness, and specializes in devouring human souls, is the Mist Tengu!"

Rumble!

As thunder rumbled outside the temple, the abbot's words began to sound eerie and terrifying.

"Mist...Mist Tengu?!" Ran and Kogoro Mouri looked at the head priest with a mixture of tension and confusion.

They didn't know what a misty tengu was, so they waited for the abbot to explain.

However, when Aragaki Yu heard the old abbot's words, he narrowed his eyes.

Sure enough, a tire blowout on the road meant things were bound to get complicated.

Unexpectedly, the abbot, who had been talking about the Tengu, suddenly stopped the conversation. He coughed twice with his back to Aragaki Yu and the others, then covered his mouth and said, "No, no, this is something that shouldn't be said. Just forget what I just said! But you must remember, never go outside when it rains."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Although the group found the old abbot's attitude somewhat inexplicable, they still nodded in agreement.

Although the accommodation services at Shanni Temple are suspected of overcharging tourists, the services provided by the abbot are indeed quite satisfactory.

Not long after, the abbot summoned his four disciples: Kuan Nian, who had been practicing for the longest time; Tun Nian, who was good at cooking; Mu Nian, who was good at carpentry; and Xiu Nian, who had just arrived but was quick-witted and hardworking.

After the abbot briefly introduced the guests, he asked Tun Nian and Mu Nian to prepare the vegetarian meal, while the more talkative Kuan Nian and Xiu Nian led the guests to the prepared room.

At Xiaolan's insistence, the four of them were put in the same room.

Fortunately, the room was large enough that there was plenty of room to lay four bedding sheets on the tatami mats.

After the group settled their luggage and Conan, who was still half asleep, in the room, Kuan Nian and Xiu Nian suggested taking them to visit a temple.

Kogoro Mouri was still agonizing over the 38,000 yen he had been ripped off for. Since the money included the cost of the tour, and with the mindset of not wasting it, he readily agreed. Yuu Aragaki, of course, did not refuse either.

Ran looked at Conan lying quietly in bed and hesitated slightly. But after thinking it over, she still didn't want to stay alone in this eerie temple room. After confirming that Conan was alright, she followed the others.

……

"This is the imperial statue in the main hall!" Kuan Nian pointed to the Buddha statue in the hall and introduced it to the group.

Looking at the magnificent golden Buddha statue, Kogoro Mouri couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow! It's truly spectacular!"

"Oh? Is that so!" Kuan Nian felt a surge of pride upon hearing Kogoro Mouri's praise.

Feeling he had found a potential customer, he excitedly began to promote the temple's other services to Kogoro Mouri: "How about this, sir, you consider having your funeral arranged here too! If you book now, I can give you a 50% discount!"

"Huh?" Kogoro Mouri and Ran even doubted their ears and looked at the monk Kuan Nian in shock.

Yuya Aragaki stared at the young monk in disbelief, unable to comprehend what kind of temple dared to sell its services to the Grim Reaper.

"Haha! I was just kidding. Come on, please come this way next."

……

Led by Kuan Nian and Xiu Nian, the three of them toured the temple inside and out.

During their visit, they also discovered a small room with a layout completely different from the other rooms. The room was empty, with a high ceiling and signs of renovation.

The group learned from Xiu Nian, who had only recently arrived, that this was a place where monks who had made mistakes were confined and reflecting on their actions, and that something related to the Tengu had apparently happened here in the past.

Just as Xiu Nian was getting to the crucial point, Kuan Nian interrupted him with a grim expression, reminding him that this was something he couldn't tell outsiders.

After the group finished their tour, the vegetarian meal was quickly prepared.

After checking that Conan was still not awake in the room, Yuu Aragaki and his two companions decided to go to the restaurant for a meal first, and then bring Conan his food when he woke up.

Although the dishes on the table were all vegetarian, it must be admitted that Tun Nian was indeed a monk who was very good at cooking, at least Aragaki Yu ate with great relish.

However, Ran and Kogoro Mouri seemed somewhat distracted, whether because they were worried about Conan or because of the eerie atmosphere that had appeared after they discovered that special little room.

However, the abbot and his four disciples showed no unusual reaction.

The atmosphere quickly became lively again amidst the abbot and Kuan Nian's banter.

Before they knew it, the group had steered the conversation back to the "Mist Tengu".

Finally, at the insistence of the patron Kogoro Mouri, the old abbot began to slowly recount the story of the Tengu.

There has been a legend of the Mist Tengu in the vicinity of Shanni Temple since ancient times, but it is just an obscure local myth.

It is an ancient creature that can fly. The Mist Tengu will sneak into the village like mist on rainy nights, use its superhuman strength to break through the walls of houses to grab people, fly to the towering trees, hang them up, and then eat them.

However, two years ago, a bizarre murder case turned the legend of the Tengu into a hot topic, attracting many curious tourists and reporters.

Two years ago, after a rainy night, Nianzhong, a monk in Shanni Temple, was mysteriously hanged in the mysterious room that the others had discovered earlier. Given the height of the room, this was something that no human could have done. Therefore, many media outlets reported on the case of the Tengu being responsible for the murder.

In the years that followed, due to the legend of the Fog Tengu, tourists flocked to Shanni Temple to investigate, and the temple began to make a fortune.

Until recently, with the fading of the popularity of the Tengu topic, Yamane-dera Temple has once again become a deserted place.

As Xiaolan listened to the abbot's story, she began to feel a chill run down her spine. Trembling, she hid next to Aragaki Yu, hoping to gain a sense of security from this "Onmyoji" who also possessed mysterious powers.

At Aragaki Yu's urging, Mouri Kogoro introduced himself as a detective and offered to help solve the legend of the Mist Tengu.

The four young monks were extremely excited and delighted.

However, the old abbot's expression suddenly changed drastically. He slammed his hand on the table and scolded the group for meddling in temple affairs, lest they anger the Tengu. He then sent everyone back to their respective rooms.

Chapter 87 The foggy dog

Looking at the old abbot's gloomy face and evasive gaze as he left.

Aragaki Yu couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

The abbot of this mountain mud temple is surprisingly impatient.

They practically had the words "I feel guilty" written all over their faces.

He was puzzled as to how a murderer like this could evade suspicion during the police investigation.

Thinking about this, Yuu Aragaki couldn't help but feel a deep sadness for the Japanese police's inability to solve cases.

As for Kogoro Mouri, a former detective, although he seemed to be a little curious about the Tengu, he didn't find anything unusual about the old abbot's behavior. Instead, he happily led Ran and Yuu Aragaki back to their room.

Looking around the room, Aragaki Yuu stared at Conan, who was fast asleep, and hesitated, wondering if he should try to wake him up.

After all, what if something really happens here next?

Yuu Aragaki felt that after eliminating the unreliable Kogoro Mouri and Ran, who was afraid of ghosts, solving the case on his own was a very difficult task.

Because of the passage of time, Aragaki Yu only remembered it in legends.

The monk Chungnian, who was killed by the "Mist Tengu" at this temple two years ago, was actually killed by the old abbot.

The reason he did this was because he didn't want to see his granddaughter, who was engaged to the heir of a large temple, elope with the monk Zhongnian, with whom she shared a deep affection.

So the old abbot used the special solitary confinement room in the mountain mud temple, the cliff waterfall next to the temple, and the legend of the mist tengu to create a bizarre murder case and frame the "mist tengu".

That's right, that solitary confinement room was the special little room that Aragaki and his friends found when they visited the temple.

The small room had a high ceiling, painted wooden walls on all four sides, and a window at the top that was close to the waterfall.

Because the room was well-made and coated with waterproof paint, the entire room did not leak.

Back then, after strangling the monk Zhongnian, the old abbot sealed the gaps in the doors and windows below with duct tape.

Next, a wooden plank was used to channel water from the waterfall into the room, and the water level inside the room slowly rose.

The buoyancy of the water carried the body of the monk Zhongnian to the ceiling.

The abbot then effortlessly hung the body of the monk Zhongnian from the ceiling.

Finally, they broke through the bottom wooden wall to drain the water from the room. Because it was raining outside, and by the next day, the water stains in the painted room had been mostly cleaned up.

This created a murder case that was impossible for human beings to carry out.

This is why Aragaki and the others discovered that there was a renovated area in that small room.

……

Recalling the case from back then, Yuu Aragaki felt somewhat speechless. He really couldn't understand how such an outrageous method of committing the crime could have been accomplished so perfectly at the time.