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

Just as he finished speaking, a strange sound suddenly rang out, attracting everyone's attention.

The sound was like the wind blowing through a pipe, distant and lingering, and seemed particularly eerie on a quiet night.

Yuanshan and Ye immediately sat up straight, not daring to move.

Rena Mizunashi seemed to be startled as well, and reached out to grab Taki Kitagawa's arm.

Kitagawa Taki smiled inwardly. Of course, he didn't believe that Mizunashi Rena would be scared, but since she had come to him, there was no reason for him to let her go.

He reached out and grasped Rena Mizunashi's slightly cold hand, giving her a reassuring look.

"Woof—" The dog, which had been quiet, let out a low whimper, and then started barking loudly.

"What...what is that sound?" Hattori Heiji found the sound grating and unpleasant to hear.

Danzawa Michiki replied with a mysterious expression, "It's a chirping sound, the chirping sound of a 'ye'."

"Could there be that legendary monster in this forest?"

Kazuha Toyama subconsciously turned her gaze to Taki Kitagawa, as she had always firmly believed in these things.

"That should be a bird!" said Ranji Kangke.

"It's a bird that usually inhabits broad-leaved forests in hilly or low-altitude mountainous areas, called a tiger thrush, which used to be known as a 'nu'," said Danzawa Michiki with a hint of doubt.

"However, I remember there shouldn't be any tiger thrushes around here."

Masuko Fumie said, "So that means there are no monsters at all, and the excavation team member just saw this kind of bird, right?"

Tsurumi Hajime scoffed, "That's utter nonsense. Where would a bird come from in a cave? The depths of that cave are definitely teeming with the legendary monster Nue!"

Hattori Heiji questioned, "But none of the other members of that excavation team have seen it, have they?"

"This village also has a history. It used to be called Ye Niao Village, which sounds the same in Japanese. The combination of the two names is Nue. It was only later that the name was changed."

Ranji Kangke deliberately used a terrifying tone to say, "That sound might not be a tiger thrush, but a real nue!"

Kazuha Toyama was startled and said weakly, "Should we go back?"

Before, she could rely on Xiaolan.

Hattori Heiji, hands in his pockets, said, "Idiot! It's already late, and we've come all this way, how can we go back now!"

Just then, the barking outside stopped, and the golden retriever quieted down and silently started eating its dog food.

Hattori Heiji glanced at the old dog and asked, "Village Chief, is the story about this excavation team real?"

"Of course, that note is still there!"

As he spoke, Takekuma-dono stood up and picked up a leather bag from the table behind him.

“Look!” He took out a piece of paper sealed in a plastic bag, which had the word “nue” on it.

"And that's not all. Along with the note, there was also this hairpin and a notebook."

Kitagawa Taki said, "Can I take a look?"

Takekuma handed the notebook to Kitagawa Taki.

Kitagawa Taki flipped through it and found a detailed record of how the excavation team carried out the excavation and where they excavated, but it made no mention of the Nue monster.

Takekuma-dono continued, "Tomorrow, everyone can stand in front of the camera with notebooks and talk about the buried gold in a very serious manner. That will be a great help to Sukusato Village!"

Kitagawa Taki's lips twitched. So that's what they wanted to do for publicity!

Yeah, only a fool would believe that so much gold.

No one had any objections; after all, the village chief had already paid, so whether the gold treasure was real or not didn't matter.

Lord Takekuma nodded in satisfaction and said, "Everyone, after you finish eating, go and rest early! We'll set off for the cave first thing tomorrow morning."

Someji Yasunori asked, "Mr. Takekuma, is the drink I asked you to prepare alright?"

Lord Takekuma smiled and said, "No problem, I have prepared everything that everyone needs."

He repeated, "Mr. Someji is milk and whiskey, Mr. Tanzawa is sake and snacks, Ms. Masuko is red wine and sparkling water, and Mr. Tsurumi is cola and potato chips, right?"

Then, he looked at Hattori Heiji and the others: "Mr. Hattori, what about you?"

Hattori Heiji said, "I don't need to trouble myself. What about you guys, Kazuha?"

The group waved their hands, but Toyama and Kazuha were worried that she wouldn't be able to sleep at night, so they had no appetite.

Chapter 397 This monster is quite particular

"Dong dong~"

Kitagawa Taki opened the door, and the person who entered was Mizunashi Rena.

She was wearing a simple white nightgown, and her ponytail was down.

"Beichuan, I'm a little scared..."

Kitagawa Taki could tell at a glance that she wasn't wearing anything underneath.

He stepped aside to let Rena Mizunashi into the house, but in his heart he was wondering what her purpose was.

It goes without saying what might happen if someone dressed so scantily enters a man's room late at night.

Since she just came to him like that, Kitagawa Taki didn't think she had fallen for him or was trying to do something.

“I didn’t expect you to be afraid of these things.” Kitagawa Taki joked, “I have a deep impression of how you dealt with the terrorists on the airship, Rena.”

"These are two different things."

Rena Mizunashi smiled awkwardly, somewhat embarrassed.

"Would you like to have some wine?"

As he spoke, Kitagawa Taki magically produced a bottle of red wine in his hand.

Then, he took out two wine glasses from his storage space.

He has everything in his space now.

Rena Mizunashi's eyes burned: "This...is magic?"

"It's a magic trick." Kitagawa Taki smiled, opened the red wine, and poured some for each of them.

Rena Mizunashi's gaze swept over the name of the red wine; a wine at this price was definitely not something the village chief had prepared.

She picked up her glass and took a small sip: "How did you do that?"

Kitagawa Taki laughed and said, "You can't learn this."

Rena Mizunashi said, "I'm just too stupid to learn it."

Kitagawa Taki chuckled and said, "This is not to be revealed to outsiders."

Rena Mizunashi's eyes flickered slightly, and she was about to say something when there was a rapid knock on the door.

"Beichuan is on fire!"

Kitagawa Taki opened the door, and outside stood Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha, looking anxious.

Hattori Heiji shouted, "The hotel is on fire!"

Kazuha Toyama saw Rena Mizunashi wearing a nightgown and the wine on the table. He immediately thought of something. What could be going on between a man and a woman drinking alone in a room late at night?

Heiji Hattori saw it too, but he was more concerned about the fire at the moment, and was just a little envious of Taki Kitagawa's romantic encounter.

"Let's go." Kitagawa Taki took off his coat and handed it to Mizunashi Rena.

He had used his divine sense to investigate the fire outside, and it wasn't serious.

When the group arrived at the gate, everyone except Ranji Kangke was already there.

At this moment, apart from Kitagawa Taki who didn't care about the fire at all, no one noticed that someone was missing.

Flames were burning on the lawn to the left of the hotel.

Just then, the piercing cry rang out again.

Everyone looked around.

“Nue! That…that’s a Nue!” Tsurumi Hajime stared in the direction of the fire, his expression terrified.

A gigantic monster slowly emerged from the hotel's cover.

With its monkey-like head and snake-like tail, it was quite eye-catching. It was clearly not appropriate to call it a raccoon dog's body; it was obviously a tiger-shouldered, bear-like creature.

Kazuha Toyama screamed, clearly startled.

Rena Mizunashi supported her shoulders, her eyes fixed on the monster before her.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, it bit up a warning sign that was considerably taller than Conan, then turned and left.

Hattori Heiji then realized what was happening and tried to give chase, but was blocked by the flames.

"Village Chief, quickly grab the fire extinguisher and put out the fire! Everyone else, help put out the fire! Kitagawa and I will go around and check!"

After saying that, he ran towards the back of the hotel.

Kitagawa Taki followed behind him at a leisurely pace. He had seen everything that had just happened, so he knew that they couldn't possibly find the so-called "Nue".

As expected, when the two circled around from the back of the hotel to where the Nue had appeared, the Nue was nowhere to be seen, only a warning sign with huge tooth marks on the ground remained.

Hattori Heiji looked in the direction of the pool: "Could it have escaped through the forest and into the Black Gold Pool?"

Kitagawa Taki laughed, "Escape? Why would it escape?"

This reminded Hattori Heiji that if the monster was so huge, why did it only bite a warning sign and then run away?

"No! Kitagawa, Mr. Someji is missing!"

He then suddenly remembered that he hadn't seen Randikangke.

Kitagawa Taki pointed to a trail of blood on the grass that stretched to the edge of the pond: "There's blood on the ground."

"Oh no!" Hattori Heiji's expression changed.

The two followed the trail of blood to the edge of the pool, where they saw Yoshihiro Yoshihiro lying unconscious on the ground.

There was a huge claw mark on his back, dripping with blood.

Hattori Heiji stepped forward to examine him, then shook his head. "He's dead."