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

Chapter 425 Where to Go From Here

in the afternoon.

Kitagawa Taki took the opportunity to meet with Shimabukuro Kimie alone.

In front of Kitagawa Taki, Shimabukuro Kimie was no longer as cheerful and sunny as she was in the morning; a deep melancholy hung between her brows.

"Mr. Kitagawa, I've made my move after all..."

After being overwhelmed by pressure, Kadokawa Saori revealed the truth to her, and she has been in pain and struggling ever since.

Of her few friends, all but one, Fukuyama Rokuro, were the murderers of her mother!

Not knowing what to do, she thought of Kitagawa Taki and asked him for help.

But before Kitagawa Taki could arrive, Kadoya Saori's words made her unable to bear it any longer.

Not only does Kadokawa Saori want the arrow, she also wants to dig up the mermaid's grave, which is the grave of Shimabukuro Kimie's mother. How can she tolerate that?

Kitagawa Taki waved his hand: "It's okay, tell me first."

Kimie Shimabukuro then revealed the whole truth—

Three years ago, her mother died in a fire, and she always thought it was an accident.

It wasn't until Kadokawa Saori revealed the truth to her.

That fire was actually started by Saori Kadokawa, Naoko Kuroe, and Toshimi Ebihara!

Their purpose was even more absurd: simply to verify whether the longevity woman truly possessed magical powers.

Seeing that the Longevity Woman still appeared before the world after the fire, they became convinced of the existence of the mermaid and the Longevity Woman.

In fact, it was Kimie Shimabukuro in disguise.

The previous longevity granny was actually her mother in disguise.

Kitagawa Taki then asked, "What are your plans?"

Shimabukuro Kimie then told Kitagawa Taki her plan without reservation.

“I’ll help you, otherwise you might get caught.” Kitagawa Taki warned, “Be careful of Hattori Heiji and that brat Conan, don’t let them find any flaws.”

"Thank you, thank you..."

Kimie Shimabukuro was somewhat incoherent, kneeling on the tatami mat and leaning forward.

The next second she burst into tears.

Kitagawa Taki didn't go over to comfort him or anything; sometimes, crying is actually a good thing.

Kimie Shimabukuro was clearly on edge the whole time; let her have a good cry and release the pressure.

After a long while, Shimabukuro Kimie straightened up and wiped away her tears while sobbing.

Kitagawa Taki asked, "So you plan to stay on the island as the Longevity Granny forever?"

In Shimabukuro Kimie's plan, she mentioned that she would fake her death to escape and then remain on the island as a long-lived old woman.

Kimie Shimabukuro nodded and said, "Yes, this is my mother's last wish."

Kitagawa Taki shook his head. "Even so, I still don't agree."

It's truly heartbreaking to think that a young and beautiful girl would have to live like this for the rest of her life.

Kimie Shimabukuro opened her mouth, but didn't say anything.

Kitagawa Taki said slowly, "I think most of the people on the island probably know the truth about the longevity woman."

After all, you can't really tell just by looking at human remains, right?

Furthermore, the mother and daughter were impersonating the old woman, and there were some flaws in their disguise.

Especially Shimabukuro Kimie, it's impossible for her to appear at the same time as the longevity granny. In time, someone will definitely notice the problem.

Shimabukuro Kimie covered her mouth, incredulous: "How could this be? Then why didn't they expose us?"

"What else could it be? Besides fishing, the biggest source of income for your island is tourism, and the mainstay of your tourism industry is the Longevity Woman and the Dugong Festival, right?"

Kitagawa Taki's meaning was crystal clear: the islanders hadn't revealed the truth about the longevity woman because of their own interests.

However, he knew that Shimabukuro Kimie might find it hard to believe at first, so he added, "If you don't believe me, then you'll..."

Shimabukuro Kimie's expression was complicated; she didn't doubt that Kitagawa Taki possessed such miraculous abilities.

But if what Kitagawa Taki said is true, and the islanders are just using them as tools to make money, then what should she do?

Unbeknownst to her, the moment she began to have doubts, the scales in her heart had already begun to tip in favor of Kitagawa Taki.

……

Ai Haibara looked at her suspiciously: "You went to the bathroom and it took you this long?"

She strongly suspected that Kitagawa Taki had gone to see that person.

Kitagawa Taki chuckled, "My stomach isn't feeling too well."

Ai Haibara felt a pang of sadness, but after thinking about it, she decided to let it go, as long as Taki Kitagawa didn't bring women home.

She didn't want to appear as a jealous woman in Kitagawa Taki's eyes.

Just say a few words to let Kitagawa Taki know, that's enough.

Hattori Heiji glanced at his watch and said, "Let's go eat. The Dugong Festival is about to begin."

……

Night falls.

shrine.

A large group of tourists and islanders gathered in front of the shrine.

As the celebration began, the Longevity Granny revealed her true colors.

"That's the Longevity Granny?!" Conan exclaimed in surprise.

Judging from his appearance alone, he does look very old.

Hattori Heiji scoffed and said, "She's just an old woman in heavy makeup!"

The tourists around him cast unfriendly glances at him.

Kitagawa Taki shook his head and laughed, "Hattori, if you can talk, then say more."

Kazuha Toyama quickly gave Heiji Hattori an elbow strike to shut him up and give him a good look.

You may not believe it, but don't say anything.

Hattori Heiji swallowed the words he was about to say.

The longevity woman burned the winning numbers onto the paper door.

Ebina Sumi, standing in the crowd, exclaimed, "I finally won!"

"I... I won too!" Yuanshan and Ye were so excited that they stammered.

Holding the number plate, Kitagawa Taki smiled and said, "Looks like my luck is pretty good."

Ai Haibara rolled her eyes at him. She didn't believe it was such a coincidence that both of the tickets Shimabukuro Kimie had taken out were winning.

In front of the shrine, the old woman announced the winning lottery numbers and then left.

A while later, Kimie Shimabukuro came out and announced that everyone should go to Mermaid Falls in an hour, where the Dugong Arrow would be awarded.

……

Below Mermaid Falls.

Several people who had drawn the winning numbers stood at the front of the crowd.

Besides Kitagawa Taki and Toyama Kazuha, there is also Kuroe Naoko and a drunk middle-aged man.

Hattori Heiji stroked his chin: "Strange, I remember that Ebina Sumi won the lottery, didn't she?"

Conan nodded: "I remember it was her too."

"boom!"

Fireworks burst in the night sky.

Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out from the crowd: "Look, what's that?"

A man pointed upwards at the waterfall, his face grim.

Someone chimed in, "That... looks like a person!"

This immediately caused an uproar in the crowd.

Shimabukuro Kimie covered her mouth: "That's Kotobuki?!"

All that could be seen was a pale-faced Ebina Sumi hanging from a rope in the middle of the waterfall, with the river water cascading over her body.

Heiji Hattori immediately ran towards the top of the waterfall, with Conan close behind.

"Heiji!" Kazuha Toyama stamped his foot and followed.

Chapter 426 Clues

Hattori Heiji and Fukuyama Rokuro, who were at the forefront, worked together to pull Ebina Sumi's body up.

Hattori Heiji looked at the rope tied to many wooden stakes and asked, "What kind of rope is this?"

Fukuyama Rokuro said, "This is a fixed rope specially installed on the riverbank to prevent danger."

He put down the rope in his hand and looked at everyone: "Sumimi may have encountered an accident."

“That doesn’t seem right,” Kitagawa Taki said. “What is she doing here so late at night? The festival is clearly being held under the waterfall.”

“Sumimi is probably looking for the mermaid’s grave, since the mermaid’s grave is in this forest,” Naoko Kuroe interjected.

Upon hearing Naoko Kuroe mention the mermaid's grave, Kimie Shimabukuro's expression changed.

"After the shrine's warehouse caught fire on the night of the festival three years ago, the mermaid's bones were reburied in the forest."