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

Kitagawa Taki called out loudly, "Akako, since you're alright, I'll be leaving in a bit!"

There was no echo from inside the door.

……

Just after leaving Koizumi Akako's house, Kitagawa Taki received a call from Kuroba Chikage.

Kitagawa Taki simply invited her to Akiyoshi Minamiko's coffee shop, which he had visited once when it first opened.

When he arrived at the coffee shop, it had just opened for business.

"You've arrived!"

Upon seeing Kitagawa Taki, Akiyoshi Minako came to greet him.

Kitagawa Taki smiled and nodded, then put his arm around Akiyoshi Minako and casually found a place to sit down.

The shop assistants glanced at it and then went about their own business.

When the business opened, they had already met Kitagawa Taki, who was behaving intimately with the boss.

Kitagawa Taki said, "I came to see how things are going here. I have an appointment to talk to someone later."

Minami Akiyoshi smiled and said, "It's going well here, everything is going smoothly, and business is slowly picking up."

Having avenged her great grudge, she now enjoys this simple life.

Kitagawa Taki said, "That's good. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

"Don't worry, I won't stand on ceremony with you."

As she was speaking, Minako Akiko saw a purple-haired beauty push open the door of the coffee shop, glance at the two of them, say something to the staff, and then walk over gracefully.

She knew this was Kitagawa Takiyo's person, so she stood up and greeted Kuroba Chikage with a smile.

Kuroba Chikage was somewhat taken aback, and quickly nodded in acknowledgment.

The two sat together intimately, their relationship needing no further explanation.

And when he saw her, he greeted her as if nothing had happened.

In her mind, Chikage Kuroba immediately categorized Minamiko Akiyoshi as Taki Kitagawa's lover.

Chapter 385 I Prefer Purple Grapes

"Your woman?"

Kuroba Chikage looked at the rather capable and heroic Akikichi Minamiko.

"Yes," Kitagawa Taki said quite frankly.

"You really are something!"

Kuroba Chikage felt a little uncomfortable. Kitagawa Taki said he was interested in her, but he was so open about being intimate with another woman in front of her. What did he take her for?

"Thank you for the compliment. Also, I didn't expect you to arrive so early."

Kitagawa Taki hadn't even had a chance to sit down properly when Kuroba Chikage arrived.

Kuroba Chikage's eye twitched, and she said speechlessly, "You're getting cocky just because I said you're fat!"

She glanced at Akiyoshi Minami in the distance and teased, "Aren't you afraid that Miho and I will nag about it?"

Kitagawa Taki shrugged: "She knows."

Kuroba Chikage's mouth opened slightly. She subconsciously thought that Kitagawa Taki was bluffing, but then she thought that with Miyazaki Miho's personality, it was really possible.

She protested, "You're just bullying Miho!"

"If it were me, I..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

Kitagawa Taki smiled and asked, "What will you do?"

Kuroba Chikage glared fiercely at Kitagawa Taki. She disliked philandering men, and this was the first time she had ever seen someone so openly flirtatious.

"I won't talk to you about this anymore." Kuroba Chikage adjusted her tone and asked, "There's something I'd like to ask you for help with!"

Kitagawa Taki casually said, "Just say it directly, there's no need to be so polite between us."

Kuroba Chikage was somewhat discouraged, and Kitagawa Taki lost his composure after just a few words.

She sighed and said, "It's about Kaito. I don't know if you've seen the news?"

"What news?" Kitagawa Taki hadn't actually seen it; he was quite busy yesterday.

Kuroba Chikage explained, "You saw it yesterday too. The spider killed two people casually. It's been reported in the news, and there's a lot of discussion about it online."

Some people believe it couldn't have been Kidd, but many more believe it was and are demanding a large-scale manhunt for him.

Kitagawa Taki understood and said, "So you want me to clarify that it wasn't Phantom Thief Kid?"

"Ah."

Kuroba Chikage nodded slightly. She didn't want Kid to become a pariah. Before this, most people liked Kid.

Kitagawa Taki has been dubbed the "Kidd Buster" because he has even captured Kidd before. If he were to endorse something, public opinion might change.

“No problem.” Then Kitagawa Taki changed the subject, smiling, “So what are you going to offer me in exchange?”

"..."

Kuroba Chikage was speechless for a moment, as Kitagawa Taki had not made any requests before.

She herself did not realize that her mindset had changed. In the past, she would take the initiative to exchange chips with Kitagawa Taki to avoid being looked down upon by him.

"I..." Kuroba Chikage couldn't think of any good bargaining chips, while Kitagawa Taki seemed to lack nothing.

Seeing this, Kitagawa Taki offered, "Then let's owe it for now and talk about it later."

Hearing "I'll owe you for now," Kuroba Chikage's heart skipped a beat. This was exactly what she feared, but what could she do?

Seeing that Kuroba Chikage had lowered her eyes and remained silent, Kitagawa Taki waved his hand in front of her and said, "What are you thinking about?"

"Afraid of owing too much and not being able to pay it back?" Kitagawa Taki chuckled meaningfully, "Maybe you won't have to pay it back in the future."

Kuroba Chikage certainly understood what "no need to return" meant.

She was somewhat amused and exasperated; Kitagawa Taki really never missed an opportunity to tease her.

Kuroba Toichi was like that before...

Bah Bah!

Kuroba Chikage shook her head, cursing herself for being shameless enough to compare the two of them.

Kitagawa Taki continued, "I still prefer you the way you usually are."

Kuroba Chikage usually looks somewhat like Fujimine Yukiko.

Kuroba Chikage rolled her eyes at Kitagawa Taki, deliberately putting on a stern face, and said, "Kitagawa, can't you be serious for once!"

Kitagawa Taki said seriously, "When it comes to love, I'm serious!"

Kuroba Chikage said helplessly, "Never mind."

Kitagawa Taki laughed heartily, "A good woman can't resist a persistent suitor; being too shy won't do."

"What are your plans for the distillery?" Kuroba Chikage asked in a low voice.

"I have some ideas, but let's talk about them after this incident is completely over."

Kitagawa Taki wasn't just making excuses for Kuroba Chikage; he had indeed come up with a plan that might force Rum out and resolve the situation.

I just need to think about it some more and discuss it with Vermouth.

Seeing that Kitagawa Taki didn't intend to say anything more, Kuroba Chikage nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

"By the way, what was that talisman you used to restore Kaito to normal?"

“Spirit Heart Talisman,” Kitagawa Taki explained. “I will refine more of them later. With this, we won’t have to worry about encountering spiders again.”

He added, "I'll give it to you then."

Thank you.

Kuroba Chikage was quite grateful to Kitagawa Taki, who had saved her several times already.

But one thing at a time, she wouldn't do anything out of line because of this gratitude.

Today, witnessing Kitagawa Taki's womanizing ways again gave her an even better reason to reject him.

Thinking of this, Kuroba Chikage suddenly remembered Aoko and said, "Aoko said that it was you, Kitagawa, who sent her out of the art museum?"

Kitagawa Taki nodded: "Yeah, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Kuroba Chikage pondered for a moment, then asked, "You've taken Aoko as your sister?"

Kitagawa Taki remained noncommittal, smiled, and asked knowingly, "Chikage, what exactly do you want to ask?"

Kuroba Chikage pouted and said, "Don't you dare try anything with Aoko!"

In her eyes, Kitagawa Taki was Aoko's idol; he was handsome and caring, while Kaito was still stuck in the childish stage of teasing girls to attract attention.

If Kitagawa Taki had any ulterior motives, Aoko, a young girl, definitely wouldn't be able to handle it.

What she didn't know was that while Kaito Kuroba was incredibly skilled at flirting with other women, he only acted that way with Aoko Nakamori.

Kitagawa Taki laughed heartily, winked at Kuroba Chikage, and said, "I prefer purple grapes."

"You!" Kuroba Chikage frowned, stood up, and said, "I'm leaving!"

After saying that, she left the coffee shop without saying goodbye to Kitagawa Taki.

……

Kitagawa Taki caught up with Kuroba Chikage, drove her back to her hotel, and then went home.

After greeting the Miyano sisters, he plunged into the training room.

He planned to break through to the next level first, and then refine new talismans, so that the talismans would be more effective.

After half a day of effort, Kitagawa Taki successfully reached the seventh level of Qi Refining.

At the seventh level of Qi Refining, one can cultivate the "Lie" technique, which allows one to create multiple clones in battle, control them with divine sense, and use their spells.

However, this method can only be practiced later; for now, he needs to refine talismans first.