Solving cases with Detective Conan's science? No, I'm a cultivator!

Upon seeing the contents of the letter, Katagiri Masaki and Matsudaira Mamoru exclaimed in unison, "We received it too!"

Nagayo said, "Me too."

Kogoro Mouri deduced, "How could this be? If that's the case, then this wasn't a prank."

Just then, a handsome blond man walked in. "My company also received a strange letter."

Su Fang Hongzi knew the person who came: "Dong Shi, why are you so late?"

The man named Touya said, "I'm on a nationwide tour, so I'm a little late."

Kogoro Mouri recognized the person as Touya Aikawa, the hottest rock singer at the moment, whom he often saw in newspapers and on television.

"Mr. Lan Chuan, may I take a look at the letter?"

Aikawa Touya handed the letter to Mouri Kogoro. Mouri Kogoro looked at it and saw that there was no sender's name on it. The recipient was Su Fang Hongzi, and the handwriting was deliberately very neat.

Kogoro Mouri looked at Akako Suhou: "Ms. Suhou, may I open it?"

Su Fanghongzi nodded and said, "Okay."

Kogoro Mouri opened the envelope, inside was a notice that read, "Tonight, the messenger of the Cursed Mask will drink blood."

Everyone else was shocked upon hearing this, but Su Fanghongzi, the person involved, remained calm and said, "Don't worry about it. I have been receiving threatening letters since I started doing charity work."

Koizumi Akako whispered, "It seems someone wants to use the mask to kill someone."

Kitagawa Taki understood, of course, but neither of them intended to stop it, since the person involved didn't care.

Moreover, judging from this brief exchange, Su Fang Hongzi appears to be very kind on the surface, but in reality, she is extremely arrogant and unwilling to listen to advice.

……

night.

The group gathered in the restaurant on the first floor for a meal.

Ten people, including the secretary, sat around a long table, while two maids served them on the side.

Su Fanghong raised her glass and said, "Thank you all for being guests at the charity gala that I am hosting!"

Everyone raised their glasses in a toast.

Katagiri Masaki asked, "Excuse me, Ms. Su Fang, why did you decide to hold a charity gala for children who have lost their families in traffic accidents?"

Su Fanghongzi slowly said, "I started doing charity work 15 years ago, but 5 years ago, my maid committed a hit-and-run. Since then, I have been unable to remain indifferent to traffic accidents."

Xiao Lan asked with concern, "What happened to that maid afterwards?"

"She committed suicide. Actually, that woman was my mother." Lan Chuan Dongya said expressionlessly.

Matsudaira Mori exclaimed in surprise, "Your mother?!"

“My father passed away when I was very young. After my mother died, I moved around to relatives’ homes and suffered a lot. Thanks to Teacher Su Fang’s help, I have achieved what I have today.”

Aikawa Touya ignored Matsudaira Mamoru and continued talking to himself.

Kitagawa Taki sat opposite Aikawa Touya. In his mind, Aikawa Touya's left hand, hidden under the table, was already clenched into a fist and was trembling involuntarily.

Aikawa Touya is clearly saying one thing and meaning another.

From the moment dinner started, Kitagawa Taki had been observing everyone's actions.

Now it seems that the person who produced those warning letters and announcements was none other than Aikawa Touya.

Su Fang Hongzi seemed quite moved after hearing Lan Chuan Dongya's words, "Actually, Dongya's mother is still my most important friend."

The secretary interjected at the opportune moment: "The teacher has always been committed to helping these orphans caused by car accidents become independent. Although he is often criticized by outsiders for seeking fame and fortune, he still persists."

If it weren't for Aikawa Touya's unusual behavior, Kitagawa Taki would have almost believed it; there was definitely something fishy going on.

Matsudaira Mamoru, who looks quite mature but is actually only 24 years old, was deeply moved. "I will definitely do my best at the charity gala next week!"

Su Fanghongzi was very pleased and smiled, "Thank you all for your help."

……

After the meal, everyone enjoyed themselves in the activity room for a while before returning to their own rooms.

The two maids each took a key and locked the two doors to the masquerade hall.

……

dong dong~

Kitagawa Taki knocked on Ran's door.

Xiaolan hadn't gone to sleep yet; she opened the door while still in her pajamas.

"Taki? What's wrong?"

Kitagawa Taki chuckled, pushed open the door, and locked it behind him.

Before Ran could react, Kitagawa Taki's hand was already on her shoulder.

"Xiaolan, are you unhappy today?"

Xiao Lan stammered, "No."

Kitagawa Taki pulled Ran to sit on the bed, staring at her face as he asked, "So you didn't greet me when you saw me today?"

Xiaolan turned her head away. "I told you, you just didn't hear me."

Kitagawa Taki whispered in Ran's ear, "Actually, I came with Koizumi Akako because she said there was something interesting here, and now you know it too—it's those Shabbur masks."

Xiaolan realized that her thoughts had been seen through and felt somewhat embarrassed.

Just as she turned her head to say something, her red lips were sealed by Kitagawa Taki.

After a while, Kitagawa Taki finally released Ran, whose face was flushed.

"Turn off the light and go to sleep!" Kitagawa Taki said, getting up to turn off the light.

Ran quickly asked, "Wait a minute, Taki, aren't you going back to your room?"

Kitagawa Taki smiled meaningfully: "Ran, aren't you scared? I came here specifically to keep you company."

"Don't be afraid!"

Ran pushed Kitagawa Taki towards the door.

She also realized that Kitagawa Taki had "ulterior motives" and refused to let him stay no matter what.

Ran became increasingly shy, her face turning bright red, and she forcefully pushed Kitagawa Taki away.

After closing the door, Xiaolan leaned against it and touched her burning cheeks...

Chapter 147 I Know the Murderer

The next morning.

Kogoro Mouri, who was fast asleep, was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

"Who?"

From outside the door, Honami Shimokasa shouted, "Mr. Mori, something terrible has happened! Ms. Suoh is dead!"

Upon hearing that someone had died, and that it was the very person who had sent the notice yesterday, Kogoro Mouri immediately snapped to attention, jumped up, and opened the door.

Kogoro Mouri asked, "What exactly happened?"

Honami Shimokasa was so shocked that her pupils lost focus: "It's the Cursed Mask! The Cursed Mask killed Suoh-sensei!"

At this moment, Kitagawa Taki also came out of the room. He took out a spirit charm and stuffed it into Shimokasa Honomi's hand, saying, "Miss Honomi, take us directly to see it."

With the Spirit Charm taking effect, Honomi Shimokasa calmed down considerably. She looked at Taki Kitagawa curiously and said, "Okay."

Honami Shimokasa led Taki Kitagawa and Kogoro Mouri through the masquerade hall.

Kogoro Mori exclaimed in surprise when he saw the empty counter: "Shoble's masks have all disappeared?!"

Honami Shimokasa explained, "Those masks are all in Professor Suoh's room."

When the group arrived at Su Fang Hongzi's door on the third floor on the west side, they found that Katagiri Masaki and Shimokasa Minaho were also there.

Honomi Shimokasa was a little sad. "Minaho and I knocked on Ms. Suoh's door as usual, but there was no response. We happened to run into Mr. Katagiri, who had just gotten up, so we asked him to check on the situation. I didn't expect..."

Kogoro Mouri stepped forward and tried to open the door, but it was locked from the inside and couldn't be opened at all.

So he stood on a stool and looked through the air vent that Katagiri Masaki had smashed.

Upon seeing the scene inside, Kogoro Mouri gasped.

Su Fanghongzi lay dead on the bed, her blood staining everywhere, while Xiao Buer's mask was scattered throughout the room, densely packed, a truly eerie sight.

Kogoro Mouri turned around and asked, "Did you call the police?"

Minaho Shimokasa replied, "Yes, I have."

Kogoro Mouri then asked, "There's another door inside. Can we go in from there?"

Honami Shimokasa said, "That door was sealed off a long time ago."

Kitagawa Taki interjected, "Brother Mori, come down first, I'll break down the door."

Kogoro Mouri got off the stool and stood to the side.

Kitagawa Taki slammed into it with all his might, but he couldn't break free.

He released his divine sense to scan the area and discovered that there was actually a padlock the size of a fist inside.

Kitagawa Taki was speechless. Su Fang Hongzi must have done something wrong. Why not just lock it from the inside? Why bother with all these locks?

Then, he mustered all his strength and slammed the door open.

Kitagawa Taki and Mouri Kogoro went into the room to check it out.

Su Fanghongzi had been stabbed in the neck and was beyond dead.

"Here's a piece of paper." Kogoro Mouri picked up a piece of paper from the ground, his expression changing. "My curse is complete!"

Kitagawa Taki took it and saw that the words on it were also spelled out from the newspaper.

Kogoro Mouri was a little unsure and asked, "Brother Kitagawa, this isn't some kind of curse, is it?"

Kitagawa Taki glanced at the masks filling the room. "These masks do indeed have curses on them, but Su Fang Hongzi wasn't killed by a curse. Someone is just playing a trick on her."