Conan: What's wrong with my Yan Shuangying's painting style?

"Kaito, your magic trick failed! You didn't even notice that the magic props fell out..."

How is that possible? My magic props won't fall to the ground and be picked up by others.

Just as Kuroba Kaito was about to defend his magic skills, he saw Koizumi Akako calmly pointing her finger outside the window to a place in Ekoda High School. Immediately, Kuroba Kaito frowned.

Although Koizumi Akako always claims to be a magician and makes some strange predictions.

However, the other party seemed to have never played tricks on him for no reason. Could it be that Koizumi Hongzi did this just to attract his attention and make him pay attention to something somewhere outside?

The second generation Kaito Kid turned his head, restored his signature poker face, and looked out the window.

At this moment, inside the Jiangtian High School campus, a familiar-looking man in a black coat was watching here——

This inexplicable painting style that is out of tune with the surroundings, this inexplicably cold temperament, there is no doubt that this is the urban legend of Beika Town, Yan Shuangying, who was previously suspected by Kuroba Kaito to have died in the collapse of the abandoned magic venue!

"...He's really not dead. I thought Hakuba was just talking nonsense."

Kuroba Kaito whispered in his heart.

On the second day after Yan Shuangying disappeared in Tokyo, Bai Ma Tan, who had once been against him, came to Jianggutian High School to attend classes. He also asked Bai Ma Tan if he knew the whereabouts of Yan Shuangying.

The detective who liked to COS Sherlock Holmes said that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department could not confirm the specific whereabouts, but he believed that Yan Shuangying would not die in a building collapse of that magnitude.

To be honest, a building collapse of that magnitude would be difficult for even the second-generation Kaito Kid to escape. Therefore, he had always been skeptical about Hakuba Tan's words, and only now did he confirm that the other party's reasoning was correct.

"Aoko, sorry, I have to go out for a while."

Kuroba Kaito turned around, stood up smoothly, and placed the flowers in his hand into Nakamori Aoko's hand like flowing water. Then, he seized the moment when Nakamori Aoko was stunned and walked out of the classroom directly.

————Isn’t it almost time for class now?

Aoko Nakamori quickly put down the flowers in her hand and wanted to call Kuroba Kaito, but saw that the teacher had already walked in from the front door.

However, surprisingly, there was obviously one person missing in the classroom, but the teacher did not notice anything wrong. He skillfully asked the students to open their textbooks and then started writing on the blackboard.

She sat down, stood her book up to block her face, and turned her head to look at Kuroba Kaito's desk next to her.

I don't know when, an inflatable doll was placed there, lying on the desk, covering its face with a book, and sleeping - well, if the teacher didn't come over and open the book, he really couldn't see the details from that angle.

Tick, tick, tick, tick.

Kuroba Kaito, who was an expert at skipping classes, walked quickly towards the place where he had seen Yan Shuangying before.

And Koizumi Akako followed behind him. Although she moved gracefully and slowly, her speed was strangely consistent with that of Kuroba Kaito, so that Kuroba Kaito couldn't get rid of her.

Soon, they arrived at the location where Yan Shuangying was, which they had just seen at the classroom window.

————The green forest in the corner of Jianggutian High School.

Of course, calling it a green forest may be a bit of an insult to the word forest. At best, it is a densely planted area of ​​green trees. It’s just that there are no buildings here, so it looks like a small forest.

For Kuroba Kaito, the situation here can be seen clearly at a glance.

But Yan Shuangying, who had been standing here before, disappeared without a trace.

"...Want to play hide and seek? I'm a master at it."

The second generation Kaito Kidd said confidently.

However, before Kuroba Kaito could show his skills, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice sounded behind him.

"Maybe, but I'm not in the mood to play hide-and-seek with you."

The urban legend of Beika Town quietly appeared behind him.

If the other party hadn't made a sound, it would probably take Kuroba Kaito some time to realize the other party's location!

"...How did you get into the school? Did you climb over the wall?"

Kuroba Kaito sighed, turned around and looked at the urban legend of Beika Town.

However, Yan Shuangying just pointed at the ladder placed on the wall next to him.

————It is said that in this world anyone can enter any place with a ladder.

This time he didn't do any wall-climbing or climbing operations during the day. Instead, he simply walked into the school with a ladder, without attracting the attention of any security guards. The security guards even handed him a cigarette.

Kuroba Kaito didn't say much, just sighed, then he held his forehead and asked.

"Are you here to see me about the preview letter for the [Gem of Destiny]?"

"I thought you only dealt with serious crimes, but you'd even deal with my [magic show]?"

"...What is the [Gem of Destiny]?"

Yan Shuangying, who never reads entertainment news, frowned slightly. His eyes fell on Koizumi Hongzi who was silent next to him, and then he spoke concisely.

"I'm here to find her."

Chapter 223 A Ghost Wandering in Beika Town (5/5)

"Huh? You're not looking for me, but for her? Why?"

Kuroba Kaito was stunned. He didn't remember Yan Shuangying and Koizumi Hongzi having any dealings with each other.

He had previously relayed Koizumi Hongzi's magical prophecy, but he had not mentioned who said it and had not revealed any information about Koizumi Hongzi. So why was Yan Shuangying able to directly find Jiang Gutian High School and Koizumi Hongzi?

Did you also physically leave your household registration like Hakuba Tan? But Koizumi Hongzi has never really been involved in the affairs here. Even if you really open the box, it won't be on Koizumi Hongzi, right?

You can't be like that illusionist who can get things wrong whenever he opens a box and treats Koizumi Akako as a murderer, right?

"Just confirming some things."

Yan Shuangying's voice was calm.

He had long wanted to find time to ask Koizumi Hongzi about the prophecy, but unfortunately, the day he set off was the day when four forces joined forces to hunt him down, so he had no chance to escape and find Koizumi Hongzi——

After actually escaping from the abandoned magic venue, he had to conceal his whereabouts and play a trick of sneaking into Tottori in an attempt to capture the king.

Now that the important matters have been dealt with, the remaining matters can be postponed for the time being, so he chose to first look for Koizumi Akako, the "magician" who performs completely differently on different sets.

"Koizumi Hongzi, were you helping me evacuate the emergency exit of the abandoned magic theater?"

————At that time, he noticed that the sound of collapse above him paused strangely for a moment, which allowed him to successfully escape from the collapsed emergency passage. Before leaving Tokyo, he repeatedly reviewed the situation.

Finally, he determined that if the collapse directly above him really stopped, it would be impossible to achieve it by physical means.

So, if it can't be done physically, can it be done by other means, such as magic?

The answer is yes. As a magician, Koizumi Hongzi can do many incredible things, such as creating winds strong enough to sweep people away, drawing lightning from the sky, and making predictions...

If Koizumi Akako made a move secretly, then it is not impossible that her magic could stop the collapse of the emergency passage.

"Hey, you don't really think there's magic in this world, do you? You're too superstitious."

Kuroba Kaito waved his hand, indicating that it was absolutely impossible, and said.

"When you left Tokyo, I happened to be sending Hongzi home. No matter what happened to you in the emergency exit, Hongzi at home couldn't help you unless she really knew magic—"

The second generation Kaito Kid turned to look at Koizumi Hongzi and asked again for confirmation.

"You don't know the kind of magic you see in novels, right?"

The answer is no————

"Kaito-kun, I've told you this many times, haven't I?"

Koizumi Hongzi smiled and said calmly.

"You are known as the urban legend of 'Half-human, Half-ghost, the best spearman'. I have divined your fate many times, and the final result is always that you will die in the abandoned magic venue on the outskirts of Tokyo."

"Just like the situation in the [Reichenbach Falls], you and the man in black are like Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty, but the man in black is the Holmes who escaped, and you are the Moriarty who will be truly buried."

"You can change your destiny, not because of me, but because of yourself."

The Red Mage's words were puzzling.

Even the urban legend of a man who had lived three lives as a human, was called half-human, half-ghost, and the best gunslinger couldn't help but squint his eyes.

If someone in his previous life had told him about prophecies, magic, and ghosts and gods, Yan Shuangying would definitely use his bullets to tell the other person that magic and miracles do not exist. He is a staunch materialist.

However, magic does exist in this world. If he denies this established existence, he will become a mechanical materialist. But even if he is willing to accept the concept of magic in this world, he cannot understand what Koizumi Akako means.

"You might as well make your words clearer."

Yan Shuangying asked directly.

"What does it mean to say 'I can change my fate, not because of you, but because of me'?"

"Because all I did was use the magic that was supposed to help Kaito escape from the Illusionist Spider on you. The magic that was spared on Kaito was also because of your actions."

Although his boxes are opened every day, Kuroba Kaito has gotten used to it after opening them so many times.

Anyway, both Koizumi Hongzi and Yan Shuangying are tight-lipped people and it is impossible for them to leak anything to the outside world. He is now a little interested in what Koizumi Hongzi said about "changing destiny".

The second generation Kaito Kidd raised his eyebrows and asked.

"What do you mean? I remember you told me I would encounter the Spider before the Tokyo National Stadium bombing. Yan Shuangying didn't seem to do anything, but didn't I still encounter the Spider in the end and fight it?"

————"Because Yan Shuangying didn't exist in the original prophecy."

Koizumi Hongzi's eyes fell on Yan Shuangying and she said without hesitation.

"You will encounter spiders, but you won't encounter spiders to save Yan Shuangying. It's because Yan Shuangying killed Shi Kaobing that Pramya attacked Suzuki Jirokichi. That's why you asked Yan Shuangying to protect Suzuki Jirokichi."

"Because Pramya was going to take action against Suzuki Jirokichi, she forged your notice letter, causing Suzuki Jirokichi to have the martial artist named Kyogoku Makoto meet Suzuki Sonoko at the museum in advance."

"Because Kyogoku Makoto had met with Suzuki Sonoko in advance, he had an impression of you. That's why he helped you out when you encountered a spider on your way back from rescuing Yan Shuangying. All this was because of Yan Shuangying."

The Red Magician stared at Yan Shuangying, but Yan Shuangying said nothing.

"————You should have arrived at the abandoned magic venue exhausted, which prevented you from severely inflicting damage to the man in black. As a result, the man in black escaped from the collapsed theater after his plan went awry."

"But because you helped so many people, they repaid you, causing your condition to improve. And it was because of you that people who shouldn't have been there showed up at the door of the emergency exit and gave you a hand."

“The person who changes your destiny is you and everyone else who is connected to you.”

————Good deeds will bring good results.

After getting the answer, Yan Shuangying no longer stayed, but turned and left.

Looking at Yan Shuangying's back, Hei Yu Kaito touched his chin, still not figuring out what was going on, so he just asked.

"Hongzi, in your eyes, who exactly is this guy?"

Koizumi Hongzi answered calmly.