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

Early the next morning.

Sonoko woke up first. She looked at Ran, who was sleeping soundly next to her, and the scene from last night flashed through her mind. Ran had been bullied terribly.

She tiptoed out of bed and saw Kitagawa Taki busy in the kitchen downstairs.

"Taki!"

Kitagawa Taki turned around, smiled at Sonoko, and everything was understood without words.

Sonoko lowered her head shyly; although she was the initiator, this was her first time doing this.

Kitagawa Taki asked, "Hasn't Ran gotten up yet?"

"No." Sonoko stuck out her tongue and smiled sheepishly. "I feel like Ran won't dare to come down for dinner for a while."

Given Ran's personality, she's very likely to do what Sonoko said.

"It smells so good!" Yuanzi went to the stove and sniffed. "I'll bring it up to Lan in a bit."

"Thank you for your hard work." Kitagawa Taki blinked.

Sonoko understood and playfully slapped Kitagawa Taki with her hand.

……

When Sonoko brought breakfast into the room, Ran was still curled up in bed.

Sonoko saw Ran visibly tremble when the door opened.

She knew Xiaolan was already awake, but was just pretending to be asleep.

"Ran, wake up!" Sonoko pretended not to notice, placed breakfast on the bedside table, and said, "This is a special breakfast that Taki made for you with love!"

Xiaolan's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she still didn't open her eyes.

Sonoko leaned close to Ran's ear and breathed softly, "Ran..."

She has now found Xiaolan's sensitive spot.

Sure enough, Ran's composure crumbled instantly, but she still pretended to have just woken up, asking sleepily, "Sonoko, what time is it?"

"The sun's already high in the sky," Sonoko said, not bothering to call her out.

The blizzard outside had long since stopped.

Upon hearing Sonoko's words, Ran blushed, as if she had thought of something.

Sonoko understood immediately, chuckled, and teased, "How does it feel?"

"what!"

"Sonoko, stop talking!"

Ran covered her ears, afraid that Sonoko might say something inappropriate.

In her opinion, how could such an absurd thing be mentioned?

"What's there to be embarrassed about between us?" Sonoko put her arm around Ran's shoulder.

It would have been better if Yuanzi hadn't brought it up, because the more Xiaolan thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.

Why did Sonoko suddenly come over?

Ran finally realized that it was Sonoko who had persuaded them to share a room.

She initially thought it was Kitagawa Taki who did it, but it turned out she was tricked by her best friend.

But she couldn't bring herself to be angry with Sonoko.

So, Xiaolan deliberately put on a cold face and pretended to be angry, saying, "Yuanzi, tell me honestly, did you arrange this?"

Sonoko knew Ran all too well. She knelt on the bed and cooperated, saying, "Ran, I accept the punishment."

Xiao Lan was both amused and exasperated; she couldn't possibly bring herself to do it.

"Oh dear." Seeing this, Sonoko pressed her advantage, saying, "Ran, you know we're both planning to stay with Taki forever, so it's only a matter of time, isn't it?"

"You still dare to talk!"

Xiao Lan pounced on the garden and started tickling her.

……

After Xiaolan finished breakfast and washed up, she went downstairs and saw Kitagawa Taki in the living room. She deliberately put on a cold face and didn't give Kitagawa Taki a good look.

She didn't want Kitagawa Taki to think she was easy to bully.

Sonoko cooperated with her, remaining silent.

"Ran." Kitagawa Taki smiled and took Ran's hand.

Ran gave a soft snort and slapped Kitagawa Taki's hand away.

"Ouch~" Kitagawa Taki pretended to be in pain and shook his hand.

"Are you alright?" Xiaolan asked instinctively.

She is aware of her own strength, so she usually holds back.

"Just blow on it and it'll be fine." Kitagawa Taki stretched out his hand to Ran.

Xiaolan immediately realized she had been tricked, turned her head away, and ignored Kitagawa Taki.

Just then, Chiyoko Yuasa's voice rang out: "Something terrible has happened!"

She rushed into the living room, breathless: "Those two guys... are dead!"

Kitagawa Taki was not surprised at all; he already knew that Sakami Yuzo and Itakura Hajime were dead, and that Kanari Riako was also missing.

Sonoko said, "Grandma Chiyoko, please calm down."

"I went to deliver food to them and found that their heads had been smashed to pieces."

Yuzo Sakami and Hajime Itakura didn't eat anything last night.

"Ayako, she's gone." Mika Funaka came down from upstairs.

"Could it be that Miss Ako killed them for revenge?" Ran covered her mouth.

"Yako..."

Mika Funaka felt conflicted; she also wanted to avenge Natsuya, but she couldn't do it.

Kitagawa Taki shook his head: "Forget it, let's leave this to the police. Let's not get involved."

They haven't had a proper chance to enjoy themselves on the mountain yet.

Chapter 417 The Sorrowful Lover

After spending a day playing in the mountains, Kitagawa Taki and his two companions returned to Beika Town.

After taking the garden home, he saw several acquaintances on the roadside.

So, Kitagawa Taki parked his car behind the two cars, one red and one white.

“Mr. Kitagawa.” Wataru Takagi had already spotted Taki Kitagawa’s car.

Kitagawa Taki nodded, glanced at Sato Miwako who seemed to be offering prayers not far away, and asked, "What's going on here?"

Takagi Wataru scratched his head. "Actually, I'm not too sure either."

"I remember now!" Shiratori Ninzaburo, who had just been deep in thought, suddenly exclaimed, "Today is the anniversary of the death of Inspector Sato's father, Superintendent Sato Masayoshi!"

Masayoshi Sato was a police inspector before his death, and was posthumously promoted to superintendent after his death in the line of duty.

"On this day 18 years ago, he died at this intersection while chasing a robber and murderer."

He was hit by a truck, but because it was raining heavily that day, the ambulance was late..."

Shiratori Ninzaburo thought for a moment and then said, "Because he kept repeating the name 'Shushiro' to the murderer, the case is called the Shushiro Case. Unfortunately, the case has not been solved to this day."

Kitagawa Taki remembers this incident; the so-called "Shuseirou" is actually a Japanese homophone for "Go and turn yourself in."

He didn't remember the killer's specific name, but he did remember that the person was one of Sato Masayoshi's friends.

After Shiratori Ninzaburo mentioned it, Takagi Wataru also remembered:

“I’ve seen this case on TV a few times. It’s said that the only clue was a ten-second video of the bank’s surveillance footage. As for how Officer Sato Masayoshi identified the killer, it became a mystery after his death.”

Shiratori Ninzaburo sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do about it; there are just too few clues."

As soon as she finished speaking, Sato Miwako, who had finished her prayers, walked over to them.

After nodding to Kitagawa Taki, she said, "Actually, there is another clue. In my father's police handbook, there are three suspicious characters circled—カンオ (KAN O)."

“KAN O? This is the first time I’ve ever heard of that.” Shiratori Ninzaburo rested his chin on his hand, as if deep in thought.

"Because the police did not want this clue to be leaked, based on the records in the police manual, these three words were definitely a key clue."

At the time, the police frequently asked my mother if she had heard of this, but she had absolutely no recollection of it.

When it comes to her father's death in the line of duty, Miwako Sato is now able to face it with equanimity.

"Because I used to stare at those three words a lot when I was a child, I have a very deep impression of them," Miwako Sato said with a smile. "I also often thought that if anyone could help me catch the murderer, I would agree to whatever they asked for."

A half-joking remark sparked a flood of thoughts in the two men.

Kitagawa Taki interrupted their pleasant fantasy: "The police must have investigated someone named Shushiro back then, right?"

“That’s right.” Sato Miwako nodded and said, “At the time, we investigated all people named Shushiro, but in the end, they were all ruled out as suspects.”

Kitagawa Taki made a surprising statement: "Have you ever considered that 'Shusou' isn't a person's name?"

"Huh?"

"what?"

The three of them looked at Kitagawa Taki.

Kitagawa Taki didn't keep them in suspense and continued, "What your father said was probably 'go and turn yourself in,' but it was misheard as 'Sorrowful Man.'"

Sato Miwako's eyes widened; Kitagawa Taki's explanation was highly likely!

Just then, a voice came from the side: "Miwako!"

Sato Miwako turned her head and saw several of her father's friends.