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

Conan curled his lip. "It's just a basic magic trick you see on TV. It's just stuffing the knot on the red thread into the ring and then pulling the thread out."

Sonoko's face immediately fell. "This brat is as annoying as ever."

Kitagawa Taki gave Conan a sharp rap on the head. Doesn't this kid know the importance of not saying anything when you see through someone's intentions?

"Conan!" Ran glared at Conan slightly. Sonoko had performed the magic trick right in front of her, so of course she had seen through it.

'That damn Kitagawa Taki!' Conan clutched his head.

"Yuanzi, don't worry about it. By the way, when are we leaving tomorrow?" Xiaolan changed the subject.

Sonoko thought for a moment and said, "How about nine o'clock tomorrow morning?"

Because the place they were going to was a bit far away.

"Ran-neechan, where are you going?" Conan asked anxiously.

He didn't want Kitagawa Taki to go out with Ran again, leaving him stuck at home once more.

Xiaolan said, "We're going to a magic enthusiasts' gathering together."

Conan raised his hand, "I want to go too! I love magic!"

Sonoko looked at Conan and said, "What are you doing, you brat?"

"Sister Sonoko, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just now. I really love magic, please let me go?"

In order to go along, Conan went all out and admitted defeat to Sonoko.

"Alright then, I'll reluctantly agree." Sonoko was never a petty person.

Ran instructed, "Conan, you'd better behave when you go!"

"Mmm!" Conan nodded vigorously, feeling relieved. He had finally made it this time.

Chapter 74 Are there any gems here?

Saturday.

Yesterday it was still May, but today it started snowing heavily, and overnight the outside world was covered in a blanket of white.

The timeline in Detective Conan is so torturous; it's not impossible for it to be summer in the morning and winter in the afternoon.

"Conan, you're pretty resistant to the cold!"

Kitagawa Taki glanced at Conan's shorts and made a comment.

Although Sonoko and Ran were both wearing skirts, they were both wearing sheer tights that resembled "bare leg" tights.

Conan rubbed his nose, not at all thinking there was anything wrong with his clothes.

"Let's go! Let's go!"

About an hour later, the group drove to a deep mountain forest.

Seeing that the road was becoming increasingly remote, Kitagawa Taki couldn't help but ask, "Sonoko, are we on the right track?"

"No." Sonoko checked the navigation and confirmed that there was no problem.

It wasn't until they reached a suspension bridge that they saw their destination—a solitary villa with a small house next to it.

Deep in the mountains and forests, suspension bridge, detached villa, heavy snow... How wonderful, the buffs are fully stacked again!

The cell phone naturally had no signal.

Kitagawa Taki glanced at Conan beside him. He was certain that the suspension bridge was going to collapse, and some of those magic enthusiasts were definitely going to be in big trouble.

"This is it, but why does it feel so familiar?" Sonoko felt a chill run down her spine, hugged her shoulders, and moved closer to Kitagawa Taki.

Xiaolan also recalled, "Indeed... this place looks like your villa, Yuanzi..."

Conan scoffed, "Maybe rich people just like building villas in the mountains!"

The group walked across the suspension bridge toward the villa.

"There seems to be a strange smell. Can you smell it?" Sonoko asked, sniffing the air.

After smelling it, Xiaolan said, "Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit like that."

Kitagawa Taki also smelled it; his sense of smell was even more acute, and he detected the smell of gasoline.

Only Conan, because he had a cold, didn't smell anything.

The two women clearly didn't take the strange smell to heart and started chatting about online topics again.

Upon arriving at the villa, Yuanzi rang the doorbell, and a middle-aged man opened the door.

The man smiled and said, "Welcome, welcome. You are the 'Magician's Apprentice,' right? I am the 'Silent Ventriloquist,' my real name is Ara Yoshinori, and I am the owner of this villa."

"Yes, but how did you know I'm the 'magician's apprentice'?" Sonoko was bewildered.

Araki Yoshino said, "I can tell from your conversation that it's a girl pretending to be a man."

"Hahaha, Sonoko, it seems your disguise isn't quite up to par!" Kitagawa Taki laughed unkindly.

Then, everyone introduced themselves to each other.

The magic enthusiasts are "Deceitful Child" Kikue Tanaka, "Disappearing Barney" Toshiya Hamano, "Phantom" Naoko Kuroda, and a part-time worker named Kiyohiro Sugata.

Everyone sat down on the sofa in the living room.

Sonoko asked, "What about 'Red Herring' and 'Escape King'?"

Naoko Kuroda replied, "'Red Herring' has arrived and he's upstairs now."

dong dong dong~

As they were talking, "Red Herring" Doi Takaki came down from upstairs.

When he saw Kitagawa Taki, he paused for a moment, then looked at Sonoko and said, "You must be the 'Magician's Apprentice'. I am the 'Red Herring,' and my real name is Doi Takuki."

Doi Toki? Is that a surname? Kitagawa Taki glanced at Doi Toki, who looked like an ordinary, fat man.

"Hello, I'm Sonoko Suzuki." After greeting everyone, Sonoko introduced Kitagawa Taki and the other two.

"I'll call the 'Escape King' and ask him."

As he spoke, Huang Yi walked to the landline and dialed the number, but no one answered.

"There's nothing we can do. We can't get in touch with the 'Escape King,' and the 'Shadow Mage' hasn't come either."

"Is the 'Shadow Mage' coming too?" Sonoko didn't like the Shadow Mage.

This person keeps saying strange things in the chat room, like "I'm going to fly."

Araki said, "They said they were coming, but never mind them, let's play first."

The group gathered to talk about magic, but Kitagawa Taki and Conan seemed a little bored.

But Kitagawa Taki soon noticed that Doi Takuki was always looking at him with a cryptic gaze, making him quite uncomfortable.

So, Kitagawa Taki asked directly, "Mr. Doi, have we met before?"

Doi Takaki was taken aback, scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly, "You don't know him, do you? Why would Mr. Kitagawa ask that?"

Kitagawa Taki looked at him suspiciously, then scanned him with his divine sense and discovered that this guy was actually Kuroba Kaito in disguise.

"Haha, I just felt an instant connection with Mr. Doito."

Kitagawa Taki sat down next to Kuroba Kaito, put his arm around his shoulder, and looked very familiar with him.

"Could there be gems here?" Kitagawa Taki murmured.

Kaito Kuroba's lips twitched. This guy really recognized him, and he even made it sound like he had no important business other than stealing gems.

"I have other things to do," Kaito Kuroba replied in a low voice.

Kitagawa Taki released Kuroba Kaito, who had initially been rather uninterested.

Now, with the arrival of Kaito Kuroba, things have become even more interesting.

Kitagawa Taki glanced at the remaining four magic enthusiasts, wondering who the unlucky guy about to be killed was.

“Let’s all talk about the Japanese magician you admire most!” Araki Yoshinori suggested. “I’ll go first. My favorite is Toichi Kuroba. His stage performances can only be described as divine.”

Upon hearing his father's name, Kaito Kuroba chimed in, "What a coincidence, me too!"

Kikue Tanaka said, "My favorite is Yoshiro Kinoshita, who has accumulated all the titles at such a young age."

Toshiya Hamano: "My most admired person is Motoyasu Tsukumo."

Naoko Kuroda: "Ichizo Sanada, a very popular magician these days. Sonoko-san, what about you?"

Sonoko replied without hesitation, "My favorite is definitely Taki!"

"Speaking of which, Mr. Kitagawa is the magic master that Ms. Sonoko mentioned! Why don't we ask Mr. Kitagawa to give us a performance?" Kaito Kuroba smiled maliciously and egged them on.

Others echoed this sentiment.

"Alright, let me give you a simple example to get the ball rolling!"

As he spoke, Kitagawa Taki stood up and showed his empty hands.

The next second, Kitagawa Taki's hand trembled, and a bunch of red roses appeared in his right hand, which he handed to Sonoko.

Then, with her left hand, she conjured a bouquet of white roses and handed it to Xiaolan.

Conan was carefully observing Kitagawa Taki's magic trick when he saw Kitagawa Taki hand Ran a white rose, and he instantly felt sad, especially since Ran accepted it.

I already had a cold and was feeling a bit dizzy, and now that my blood is rushing to my head, I feel even more dizzy.

Everyone else applauded.

Magicians mainly rely on techniques and visual illusions to conjure things out of thin air, but Kitagawa Taki's trick just now was like magic, with no flaws to be seen.

Kaito Kuroba had no idea that Taki Kitagawa had this trick up his sleeve. Looking at the happy Sonoko and the shy Ran, he felt like he was about to be fed a full dose of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), especially since Taki Kitagawa had been the one to help him.

Chapter 75: Preparing an "Impossible Crime Scene" for Conan

in the afternoon.

Huang Yi picked up the phone and called "Escape King" again. "Strange, why can't I get through to him?"

Naoko Kuroda guessed, "Could it be that the telephone line broke somewhere?"