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

Kitagawa Taki felt a little better. A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, and he would settle his scores on the spot.

After tricking Vodka, Kitagawa Taki began to observe the island.

People were coming and going on the island, all preparing for the dugong celebration that evening.

Many stalls have been set up along the street, selling mermaid amulets, dugong pies, and all sorts of mermaid-related products.

Kitagawa Taki picked up a talisman and glanced at it. It was just an ordinary item without any spiritual power, so he immediately lost interest.

He bought a box of dugong pies, tasted them, and found them quite good, so he bought a few more boxes to take back for Professor Agasa to try.

Gin and his two companions were already asking the locals about mermaids and immortality. In reality, it was Shiho Miyano who was conducting the inquiries and investigations, while Gin and Vodka followed her closely like two dutiful bodyguards.

Vodka whispered, "Brother, the mermaid's corpse, and the dugong's arrow..."

The three had just learned from the locals that a mermaid's body had been found here two years ago, and its remains were buried in the mountains near the shrine.

During the Dugong Festival in the evening, three Dugong Arrows will be randomly distributed to three people who come to participate in the festival.

The Dugong Arrow is a talisman for immortality; legend has it that whoever possesses it can achieve eternal life and retain their youthful appearance forever!

To qualify for the Dugong Arrow, one must sign their name on the shrine's register and then receive a number.

When asked about Vodka's question, Gin simply responded with an "uh-huh".

The three then headed towards the shrine, with Kitagawa Taki following behind.

Like the island's name, this shrine is also called the American Shrine.

At the entrance of the shrine, shrine staff were registering names and issuing number tags.

Gin and the other two wrote their names on the roster one after another: Kurosawa Jin, Uozuka Saburo, and Miyano Shiho.

Kitagawa Taki wrote his name after Miyano Shiho and took a number plate.

After doing all that, Gin and the other two headed towards the distant mountains and forests.

Kitagawa Taki had no intention of following them. It wasn't a big deal when he followed them when there were many people, but it would be too obvious if he followed them now, so he just wandered around the shrine.

On the way, he encountered a beautiful woman dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit, but what caught Kitagawa Taki's attention was not her appearance, but her spiritual power.

Chapter 5 The Shrine Maiden

This priestess possesses a faint spiritual power in her dantian!

Kitagawa Taki called out to her, "Miss Shrine Maiden, may I ask you a question?"

The shrine maiden smiled and said, "Of course! This gentleman must be a tourist here to attend the Dugong Festival!"

Kitagawa Taki asked, "Yes, I heard there's a long-lived old woman on the island?"

"Ah, that's my great-grandmother."

"Some people say she's 200 years old?"

"How could that be? My great-grandmother is only 129 years old. She just lives a little longer than the average person."

Kitagawa Taki felt ashamed. 129 years old was not just a little long. Even a Qi Refining stage cultivator like him only had a lifespan of a little over a hundred years!

The shrine maiden before us possesses spiritual power, and her great-grandmother must have been the same; it's reasonable that she lived to this age.

"Did your great-grandmother really eat mermaid flesh?"

The priestess was taken aback at first, then covered her mouth and laughed, "There are no mermaids in this world at all! They're all just made-up stories!"

"What about the dugong's arrow?"

The priestess explained, "That arrow used to be a cursed arrow used to cast exorcism spells, but the people on the island renamed it the Dugong Arrow in order to associate it with the historical figures."

Kitagawa Taki seemed somewhat disappointed: "I see. So, the shrine maiden doesn't have any magical powers?"

The priestess waved her hand and laughed, "No, no, those are just legends."

I never imagined that you, a shrine maiden with delicate eyebrows and big eyes, were a materialist!

Kitagawa Taki didn't mince words and bluntly stated, "I think the shrine maiden possesses magical powers!"

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Kitagawa Taki, and I am also a practitioner."

The shrine maiden chuckled awkwardly, her tone slightly strained: "Mr. Kitagawa, you've misunderstood. How could such a thing as magic exist in this day and age?"

Seeing that she still wouldn't admit it, Kitagawa Taki glanced around and then showed off his skills, conjuring a water arrow that shot into her hand.

The shrine maiden's eyes widened immediately. She did have magical powers, but not like Kitagawa Taki's.

"Alright, Mr. Kitagawa, please follow me!"

With that, the shrine maiden led Kitagawa Taki into the shrine.

She then briefly recounted her own story.

It turns out that the shrine maiden's name was Shimabukuro Kimie, and her family had been shrine maidens at the American shrine for generations. She practiced her family's breathing techniques, but her magic was only used to pray on dugong arrows.

After listening to Shimabukuro Kimie's account, Kitagawa Taki asked, "Then, has Miss Shimabukuro ever met any other practitioners of asceticism?"

Shimabukuro Kimie shook her head and said, "Apart from Mr. Kitagawa and my family, I have never seen anyone else who can use magic."

Kitagawa Taki continued, "I understand. Now, may I ask, where is your great-grandmother now?"

After a moment's hesitation, Shimabukuro Kimie said, "Actually... my great-grandmother has already passed away, and the current old woman is an imposter."

Since the other party was also a practitioner, Shimabukuro Kimie felt that she couldn't hide it from Kitagawa Taki, so she had no choice but to tell him the truth.

Kitagawa Taki was somewhat surprised and apologized, "I'm sorry."

Kimie Shimabukuro shook her head: "It's alright."

"Excuse me, but why are you pretending to be your great-grandmother?"

"To preserve the customs of Mermaid Island, and also because it was my mother's dying wish—my mother was also an actress who played the role of the Longevity Granny—she died in an accidental fire two years ago..."

Kitagawa Taki apologized again, expressing his surprise that Shimabukuro Kimie was carrying such heavy pressure at such a young age.

Shimabukuro Kimie wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and a bright smile returned to her face: "Let's not talk about that anymore. What was that spell Kitagawa-san just used? I've never seen it before!"

"Oh, this is called Water Arrow. It doesn't look like much, but it's actually an offensive spell!"

Kitagawa Taki released a water arrow that flew out of the room, struck a tree branch outside, and snapped it in two.

Kimie Shimabukuro exclaimed, "Amazing!"

Shimabukuro Kimie possessed spiritual power, but he did not cultivate any techniques, nor did he practice any Taoist arts.

"Mr. Kitagawa, could you teach me?"

At this moment, Kimie Shimabukuro was like a little girl who had spotted a prey with great interest.

Then she realized that she shouldn't have made such an unreasonable request, because such magic must be a family secret, just like hers, and would not be easily known to outsiders.

He quickly apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, Mr. Kitagawa. I was just too curious. I didn't mean it that way."

"fine."

The "Primordial Immortal Technique" passed down in the Kitagawa Taki family can be practiced by both men and women who have the aptitude for cultivation, but he will only pass it on to his own women and children, and it is naturally impossible for outsiders to do so.

"Ms. Shimabukuro, are you aware of the situation in China?"

In his previous life, Kitagawa Taki had never met any other cultivators. But after arriving in the world of Detective Conan, he finally encountered cultivators, and his desire to explore the possibility of other cultivators arose once again.

“I heard my great-grandmother tell me about this. There were many cultivators over there, but a long time ago, they all disappeared at once.”

Hearing what Shimabukuro Kimie said, Kitagawa Taki couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

If there are more cultivators, although there will be more dangers, there will also be more opportunities.

Afterwards, Kitagawa Taki asked some questions about Onmyoji and exorcists.

Kimie Shimabukuro is very open and honest in speaking his mind.

The two chatted for a long time, and Kitagawa Taki even left his contact information with Shimabukuro Kimie, telling her to contact him if she had any problems.

Although this trip to Mermaid Island confirmed that immortality is just a legend, Kitagawa Taki still gained a lot.

……

night.

The dugong celebration has officially begun!

Kitagawa Taki squeezed into the crowd and saw Miyano Shiho and the other two who had disappeared for half a day.

He had already learned the truth about mermaids and immortality from Kimie Shimabukuro, so Shiho Miyano and the others' trip was destined to be in vain.

Amidst the sound of drums, the longevity goddess, whom everyone had been eagerly anticipating, finally appeared.

She was short, wore heavy makeup, and was also dressed as a shrine maiden.

The drumming stopped, and the old woman raised her torch, burning the winning numbers onto the screen. Then she turned and went into the room, disappearing from sight.

Kitagawa Taki observed carefully. Shimabukuro Kimie's disguise skills were not bad, but they were far inferior to Vermouth's.

Ordinary people who are not familiar with disguise may find it difficult to notice, and their attention can easily be diverted to the burning of characters on the shoji screen.

However, with Kitagawa Taki's eyesight and hearing, he still noticed a few flaws: the human skin mask wasn't realistic enough, and the walking posture and footsteps sounded unnatural.

A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd after they saw the winning numbers.

"Oh my god! It's true! I won!"

Kitagawa Taki turned around and saw a young woman wearing glasses.

At this moment, two priests began to extinguish the fire on the shoji screens, and Kimie Shimabukuro also came out of the room.

"We will be officially awarding the Dugong Arrows at Mermaid Falls in one hour. Please prepare to proceed to the assembly point!"

Mermaid Falls.

The area was also decorated in a similar way, with the flames from two braziers shining brightly in the darkness, and the sounds of burning firewood and the waterfall mingling together.

Shimabukuro Kimie said in a clear voice, "Now, please come forward, the three lucky guests who drew the numbers!"

Two women and one man walked to the front of the crowd.

Shimabukuro Kimie solemnly received the Dugong Arrow from the priest, recited a spell, and then handed it to each of the three people.

The woman with glasses seemed particularly excited and hurriedly put it into her bag.