Detective Conan: The Ultimate Growth Space

“Yes, because I hadn’t seen the abbot since early this morning, I looked around and found him in the meditation room…” Kuan Nian said sadly.

Conan, feigning cuteness, said, "Master Kuan Nian, your intuition is really accurate."

Kuan Nian didn't understand Conan's meaning and looked at him with confusion.

Conan then explained, "Because the abbot was hanging from such a high ceiling, I certainly wouldn't have noticed so quickly if it were me."

Kogoro Mori agreed, staring at Kuan Nian and saying, "That's right, Master Kuan Nian, you didn't kill the abbot, did you?"

Kuan Nian hurriedly waved his hands and said, "No, no, please don't joke, I just..."

Before he could finish speaking, Mu Nian, standing beside him, said, "It's only natural that you'd find out who the abbot is."

Kuan Nian hurriedly said, "Mu Nian, you..."

Mu Nian ignored Kuan Nian and continued, "Because this room was the site of the exact same incident two years ago."

Kogoro Mouri asked, puzzled, "Two years ago?"

Inspector Megure said, "That's right, that was also a case I was in charge of. I remember the deceased was a monk named Chūnen. The body was discovered by two masters, Kannen and Kōnen."

The two nodded.

Mu Nian recalled, "It was during the rainy season two years ago. Zhong Nian was punished by being confined to this room for solitary cultivation. Somehow, a large hole appeared in the wall, and he disappeared. We searched for him for three days but couldn't find him. We assumed he had run away from the temple and gave up the search."

As he spoke, he took a deep breath and said, "On the morning of the fourth day, Kuan Nian and I went into this room to repair the walls. When we looked up by chance, we saw Zhong Nian hanging from the ceiling."

Looking at the large hole in the wall, Kogoro Mouri asked, "Is the wall damaged again this time, just like last time?"

Kuan Nian's face was a little pale as he said, "Yes, at first we thought that Zhong Nian had broken open the door to escape from this room. However, the door was not locked at the time."

Mu Nian also chimed in, "Yes, the carpenter who came to repair the exterior wall told us that it would take at least a day for one person to dig such a large hole in the wall. Ordinary people couldn't do it in such a short time."

Kuan Nian was trembling all over, and his speech was not very fluent.

He continued, "Only that ancient monster with superhuman strength could accomplish this so easily. Only the Tengu has the ability."

"Mist Tengu." Kogoro Mouri was also quite surprised to hear this.

Inspector Megure scoffed, "That's absurd. There's no way such a monster could exist in the world."

Zhiyong also found Inspector Megure's actions strange.

Since he doesn't believe it was the legendary Tengu who killed him.

So many questions remain.

How did he determine it was suicide two years ago?

At that moment, someone shouted from above.

"Officer, just like two years ago, the dust is clearly visible on the crossbeams on both sides of the rope. There are absolutely no signs of contact. The crossbeam in the center, although it has some dust on it, only the rope is hanging on it. There are no signs of dragging it. This should be a suicide case."

"Suicide?" Kogoro Mouri asked, puzzled.

"Yes. If you wrap the rope around the beam, a single person can barely climb up. The deceased Zhongnian and Abbot Tianyong are both quite tall. It's absolutely impossible to carry them up the rope. Even if you tie the rope around your neck and hang up, there will still be drag marks left on the beam."

Inspector Megure paused for a moment, then continued, "Of course, it's also possible that he climbed up to the beam first and then pulled himself up from there. However, there's only such a thin beam, and it's impossible to have a firm footing."

Zhiyong asked curiously, "Inspector Megure, if you think it couldn't have been murder, then how did he commit suicide?"

"I think he climbed up the beam by himself using a rope, tied a loop around his neck with the rope, and then jumped down from the beam. The axe that fell to the floor, I think, was used to cut the rest of the rope. That should be it."

Zhiyong then asked, "What's with this big hole in the wall?"

Inspector Megure was also a little puzzled. "I don't know how the wall broke either, but making holes in the wall and hanging things from the ceiling are probably to match the old legend. It's to give everyone a hint that the Tengu who fell from the sky took his life. It's really a touching story."

"Touched my ass! If you hadn't closed the case so hastily last time without investigating it properly, there wouldn't be this murder case now," Zhiyong thought to himself.

But this is something I can only complain about in my heart.

Zhiyong asked solemnly, "Inspector Megure, you said he climbed onto the beam. Then, how do you explain the officer who said earlier that the dust was clearly visible on the beams on both sides of the rope? Could he have been standing in mid-air?"

"This..." Inspector Megure was speechless.

"Also, this axe is so big, if he wanted to cut the rope, wouldn't he have used a knife? Wouldn't that have been much easier?"

"Two years ago, Zhongnian was young and it wouldn't have been difficult for him to climb up the rope. But Abbot Tianyong is so old. Do you think he could have climbed up?"

When Zhiyong asked several questions, Inspector Megure was at a loss for words and didn't know how to answer.

Mu Nian said from the side, "Although the abbot is in good health now, he really can't climb up there if it's heavy work or climbing that high."

When talking about Abbot Tianyong's advanced age.

Zhiyong suddenly thought of something.

If Abbot Tianyong had actually used that method to kill Zhongnian, he wouldn't have had the strength to last until the water was full.

Forget it, pursuing the truth is Conan's job.

Zhiyong's only purpose was to collect ghosts.

The last time Zhongnian was found dead, it was three days later.

Even if the clothes on the corpse were wet at the beginning, they had dried long ago.

“Although I don’t know who killed the abbot this time, Zhongnian was killed by the abbot in the case two years ago. Today’s incident may just be a copycat crime,” Zhiyong said.

"What?" Inspector Megure and everyone else present were extremely surprised.

"How could it be the abbot who killed Zhongnian?" Kuannian asked, somewhat agitated.

“Master Kuan Nian, although it’s a bit unreasonable to say this to the deceased, it’s also to explain the reason. I think Abbot Tian Yong must have been very greedy for money,” Zhi Yong asked.

“This…” Kuan Nian hesitated and did not say it.

Zhiyong smiled and said, "The legend of the Mist Tengu has made Shanni Temple famous and attracted many tourists, as well as journalists. This should have been a profitable thing for your temple. However, Abbot Tianyong forbade you to talk about it and also forbade the journalists to interview you. Doesn't that say a lot?"

……

Chapter 75 Inspector Megure is a little confused

Kuan Nian retorted, "What does that prove?"

Zhiyong shook his head and said, "Abbot Tianyong's greedy nature, yet he was able to give up the opportunity to make money, which in itself reveals something unusual."

Kuan Nian wanted to say something more.

But Zhiyong ignored Kuannian. Tianyong was already dead, and there was no evidence left, so it would be pointless to say anything.

Therefore, Zhiyong began to tease Inspector Megure.

"Inspector Megure, the fact that you didn't notice the problem with this big hole only shows that you're not a good student."

Inspector Megure said, quite annoyed, "Sato-kun, what do you mean by that? If the abbot committed murder, how did he manage to hang the body up there? Did he fly there? He's not the legendary Tengu of the Mist."

Seeing Inspector Megure's depressed expression made Tomoyuki feel much better.

Zhiyong didn't keep him in suspense any longer and said directly, "To put it simply, the abbot could seal the room, fill it with water, and make it easy to hang someone from it while they float on the surface. Moreover, no traces would be left on the beams."

Inspector Megure found it even more impossible, saying, "To fill this room, how much water would that be? It's simply impossible."

Instead of answering, Zhiyong asked, "Did you hear the sound of the waterfall outside?"

Inspector Megure said in surprise, "You mean to bring the water from the waterfall in, but there is still a certain distance between the skylight and the waterfall, so you can't bring the water in right now."

Zhi Yong smiled and said, "That's simple. Just build a bridge between them."

Inspector Megure asked in confusion, "Build a bridge?"

Kogoro Mori said, "By placing a plank or something similar over the skylight, we can easily bring the water in."

Inspector Megure then asked, "Even if that could bring the water in, wouldn't both the prisoner and the corpse be soaked? But there's no trace of water left on the corpse."

Conan interjected, "I once heard Master Kuan Nian say that the temple has rubber boats. As long as you put the body on the rubber boat and cover it with a plastic bag, you can ensure that the body can reach the ceiling without touching the water."

Zhiyong nodded and said, "That's right, just like Conan said. The abbot sealed the door with tape, then left the room through the small window. Then, he placed a wooden board on the skylight, started filling it with water, and then entered the room through that small window. He then sealed the small window with tape again."

At this point, Zhiyong paused for a moment, then continued, "After making good preparations, as long as the water doesn't touch the body, we just wait for the water to fill the room. Once the water rises and the rubber boat is directly under the crossbeam, we hoist the body up there. Then we go out through the skylight."

Inspector Megure asked, puzzled, "But how do we drain the water?"

Zhiyong pointed to the axe on the ground and said, "This is the axe we'll use."

Inspector Megure asked, puzzled, "An axe?"

Zhiyong continued, "This room is a square, 2.7 meters long and wide, and 10 meters high. That gives us 72.9 cubic meters. Since the specific gravity of water is 1, the weight of the water in the room is 72.9 tons. You can just chop down the small window at the bottom of the wall of the room with this much water."

Inspector Megure asked doubtfully, "You mean, this huge hole was made with just one axe stroke?"

Zhiyong nodded and said, "That's right. With so much water accumulating in the room, if we break a hole, the force of the water flow will be enormous. To put it in perspective, it's about the force of a truck hitting the wall. The walls will crack and crumble due to the force of the gushing water."

Inspector Megure nodded and said, "I see. No wonder there were no pieces of wood left after such a big hole. They must have all gone down below."

He said to the policeman next to him, "Send a few men downstairs to look for any fragments of broken wooden planks." Several policemen immediately went out.

Inspector Megure asked, "Do you know who killed him this time?"

Zhiyong shrugged and said, "I don't know yet, but I think only those who are familiar with the temple can do that. And only these four young monks."

Inspector Megure nodded and said, "I see."

Conan interjected, "If we were to fill the room with water, it would probably take six or seven hours. The abbot was murdered between 10 p.m. and midnight, so this person must have been in the room all night. We met Master Kuan Nian last night, and he can clear him of suspicion."

Conan looked at the remaining three and asked, "Master Xiu Nian, someone screamed around midnight last night. Do you know who it was?"

Xiu Nian was startled at first, then said, "It was around 2 o'clock that Mr. Mori made the noise. I was studying the scriptures at the time, and it startled me."

After speaking, Xiu Nian glanced at Zhi Yong out of the corner of her eye, and saw that Zhi Yong did not say anything.

However, a faint smile appeared on Zhiyong's lips, making him feel a little guilty.

Conan was also annoyed. He recalled everyone's situation today, and only Xiu Nian was the most suspicious.

Conan originally thought that if Xiu Nian was in the training room, the waterfall water would be drawn into the room.

With the waterfall so loud, Xiu Nian certainly wouldn't hear Kogoro Mouri screaming outside.

If Xiu Nian doesn't know what happened last night, then it can be confirmed that Xiu Nian is the murderer.

But now that Xiu Nian has accurately stated it, Conan still doesn't know where he went wrong.

"Is there something we haven't figured out?"

Conan glanced at Zhiyong and wanted to ask him what he thought.