An infinite journey starting from paradise

After hearing Mameko Mame's endless gossip, Hoshino Terumi felt even more complicated.

While the women were gossiping, the men were also busy playing cards, drinking, and bragging. With the addition of the great detective, Kogoro Mouri, the men had no shortage of topics to brag about.

First, they boasted about their past experiences and achievements, then began to talk nonsense about their views on politics, history, and economics, and told a few dirty jokes from time to time. In the meantime, they also talked about their love lives: the two older middle-aged middle-aged men, Maori Kogoro and Hijikata Yukisaburo, first teased several younger middle-aged men such as Kimura Tatsuya and Shimaki Yuji, and then these two middle-aged middle-aged men who were frustrated in their broken marriages were counterattacked and killed by these two pure love warriors who were in love and newlyweds.

While chatting, they drank one beer after another on the table. Soon the beer was not enough, so the oldest director at the table, Director Mikami, called Tsujii Yukito to ask for some sake.

First, after downing half a bottle of sake, everyone was still exchanging grandiose speeches; then, after buying another half a catty, they began to chatter nonsensically; then, after drinking another half a catty, the atmosphere became silent again. Just when the topics of conversation were running out and the atmosphere was growing dull, a bright idea would always emerge from the crowd of men.

Matsui Hidehiro, the seemingly dull and dreary suit actor, suddenly stood up and suggested, "Gewei, why don't we go take a look at that Imperial Bath? I've heard that Tsujii-kun rave about it, but I don't know what it's like inside."

"Burp~" Hijikata Kozaburo burped, then said, "I think the door to that corridor is locked. There's no way through. Going around it would leave footprints in the snow."

"It's no big deal!" Special effects artist Kawakita Koji raised his hand. "I know a little bit about sneaking in and picking locks. It's just a piece of wire to break open a door."

"Picking a lock is so boring. Hey, Mr. Maori... burp..." Kimura Tatsuya put his arm around Maori Kogoro's shoulder. "We have Detective Maori, a great thinker. He must have a way to sneak in without prying or leaving any traces."

"Hey... what's the point of just talking? It's just a few steps." Director Mikami stood up and said, "Let's go... hey, my feet are a little numb..."

Seeing the director about to fall, the stagehand quickly supported him.

"Uncle, I'll carry you. Let's go!"

Conan, standing aside, was speechless as he watched this group of drunken men. But he still followed them out, fearing that something might go wrong.

As they left the private room, they bumped into Yukito Tsujii, who was at the hot springs. The handsome man looked at the crew and Maori Kogoro with confusion and asked, "Do you need any help?"

"Ah...it's okay, just taking a stroll...hahaha."

Kogoro Mouri laughed and took two steps forward, just in time to see Mamegaki Taeko and the other two and the fat blonde woman.

"Ah! Miss Kusano and Miss Hoshino! I'm a big fan of yours." The moment he saw his idols, Maori Kogoro sobered up a bit. However, before he could approach them to chat, he was suddenly hit by a meatball.

"Taro?! Is that really you? I'm Sayuri!"

Seeing this mountain of flesh that had thrown himself to the ground, Maori Kogoro was completely numb: "Madam... shut up! You got the wrong person!!!"

Chapter 290: Secret Room

After several struggles, Maori Kogoro finally broke free from the grip of this well-built woman. Then he realized that this woman, who was estimated to weigh 300 kilograms, was called Sayuri Toumae, a well-known real estate developer.

The reason she suddenly attacked Maori Kogoro was because Maori Kogoro looked almost identical to her late husband. She was so confused that she couldn't control herself and just attacked him directly.

Only after realizing that she had held the wrong person did she reluctantly let go of Mouri Kogoro.

Although Kogoro Mouri accepted Sayuri's apology, he was still very unhappy. After all, he was crushed by a Tiger tank in front of his two idols. With such a bad first impression, it would be difficult for him to establish the image of a famous detective in front of them.

Thinking of this, Maori Kogoro secretly glanced at Kusano Kaoru and Hoshino Terumi. Kusano Kaoru just smiled slightly, as if he was very amused by this misunderstanding. Hoshino Terumi, on the other hand, had a blank expression, looking very worried, as if she hadn't noticed what had just happened.

Maori Kogoro coughed twice to correct his voice, then explained himself to the others, "My name is Maori Kogoro, and I'm a... detective. Although there was a misunderstanding just now, we're still acquainted. If you need anything in the future, Ms. Bedside, you can always ask for my help."

There was no harm in making friends with a clearly wealthy woman, but unfortunately, he was still drunk. In his hazy state, he didn't notice that Sayuri, who was standing by the bed, was looking at him with a look of deep hatred, as if she wanted to eat him alive.

"Don't come over, Detective Mouri." Sayuri grabbed Mouri Kogoro's hands in front of the bed, "I'm in trouble now... I came to the hot spring bathhouse partly to discuss business, and partly to avoid being followed. Recently... I always feel that someone wants to harm me... What exactly..."

Sayuri, who was standing by the bed, grabbed Maori Kogoro's hand and dragged her towards her room. "Come to my room and I'll tell you in detail."

"Wait a moment, bed lady."

Kogoro Mouri wanted to break free, but his body size and strength were not in the same league, and he couldn't subdue the opponent by throwing him over his shoulder, so he could only struggle reluctantly.

Although the drunkards in the Ultraman crew were all laughing at Maori Kogoro's joke, there were also some reliable people among them. As a reliable middle-aged man, Hijikata Kozaburo, who was not as drunk, stood up and took Sayuri's arm in front of the bed. "Mrs. Bedside, how about this? We happen to be with Detective Maori. Why don't you come over and see if we can help too? There is strength in numbers."

Before Hijikata Yukisaburo could finish his words, Sayuri suddenly let go of Maori Kogoro's hand and looked at him excitedly. She asked in a trembling voice, "Are you Hijikata Yukisaburo?!"

"Ah...right."

"Oh, there's also Kimura Tatsuya and Yamada Katsumi!"

As a fan with an extraordinary passion for costume dramas and rock music, Sayuri Couch immediately recognized several famous Taiga drama actors and singers in the Ultraman crew.

"You guys, are you guys having any activities? Um...ah, then, then I'll just listen to Mr. Hijikata... Um... Do I need to touch up my makeup or something...ah..."

Looking at Sayuri, who was very uneasy and awkward in front of the bed, Conan felt that she looked familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before. Then, looking at Maori Kogoro, who looked like a pig in the face facing the two female idols, Conan couldn't help but complain: "These two people are surprisingly a good match."

With Sayuri joining the crew and the three female members returning, the Ultraman crew temporarily put their plans to go to the Royal Baths behind the bathhouse on hold. Seeing the group return to their private room, a man hiding in the shadows, Hei, breathed a sigh of relief. If Conan had looked around more carefully, he might have noticed something amiss. But at that moment, his attention was completely focused on something else: "Where's Xiaolan?"

"Why didn't she come out with these ladies? Didn't she say she was going to the hot springs first?"

Thinking this way, Conan stayed near the women's bath. At this time, the curtain of the women's bath was lifted, and a tall figure walked out. Due to the dim light, Conan could not see the man's appearance clearly, but he felt that the body outline was very similar to Xiaolan, so he walked over.

"Sister Xiaolan?"

"Go away!"

Conan received a cold rebuke in response. Only then did he see clearly that the person who came out of the women's bath was not Ran Mouri, but a strange woman with a mean expression.

"Ahh… I'm sorry."

Conan apologized and lowered his head.

The woman knocked Conan down with her leg, then walked towards the stairs to the second floor with a serious look on her face.

"Ugh."

Conan staggered after being bumped into, and looked at the woman's back with an unhappy face: "What kind of person is this? How dare you do this to a child?"

"Conan, what's wrong?"

Mao Lilan's voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"Sister Xiaolan...what are you doing?"

"Let's go to the hot springs," Mao Lilan said. "I was just on the phone with my mother, so I was delayed for a while. Um... Conan, you are a boy after all, so it's better not to stay here. It would be bad if others think you are a little pervert."

"Oh... I see. Then I'll go find my uncle. He just bumped into an aunt who had just finished a hot spring bath, and then the aunt grabbed his hand... well, and..."

Conan tried his best to organize his words, wanting to tell Mao Lilan in a childish tone, "There is a rich woman who likes your father." However, before he could finish, Mao Lilan raised her fist.

"Damn it! That old man actually dared to mess around today! Mom is coming soon. If she finds out, Dad will probably end up alone for the rest of his life! Conan, where are they now! Take me there immediately!!!"

“Ah… yes…”

Looking at the aggressive Mao Lilan, Conan's calves began to tremble unconsciously, "Uncle is going to be in trouble... But, it's none of my business."

……

Let’s not talk about how Ran Mouri rushed into the Ultraman crew, how she discovered that the woman who wanted to steal her father was a little different from her imagination, how she vigilantly stood between Kogoro Mouri, Terumi Hoshino and Kaoru Kusano, but found that these two had no interest in her good-for-nothing father at all, etc.

Let's turn our attention to another group of people in the hot springs - a documentary crew from Okinawa.

Today's filming has essentially concluded, and it's time for a break. However, only the female host, Ie Hira, remained at the seaside hot springs, while most of the crew went to the nearby ski resort for a nighttime ski. This isn't to say the crew is collectively ostracizing this sexy, dark-skinned, busty woman; it's simply that Ie Hira herself is a bit cold-blooded and afraid of skiing.

The crew had no complaints about this. At most, the photographer Ohira Gen would say inwardly, "This woman really thinks she's a lady."

In reality, Taira Ie was indeed a daughter of a wealthy family, or at least she had been—before she changed her name and surname, and her fair skin hadn't been deliberately tanned. Her original name was Kinjo Mi, the adopted daughter of the owner of a large island in Okinawa, and a renowned local beauty. Until five years ago, she had lived a life of princess-like luxury until her mother's death. From her mother's dying words, she learned that she was actually an adopted daughter of the Kinjo family. This fact has been a source of deep resentment for her ever since.

In order to verify whether his father really cares about him, Jin Chengdu, like the little girl from a wealthy family in the first case Conan solved, chose to plan a fake kidnapping case with outsiders to test his father.

As a result, her father did not honestly hand over the ransom, and in a fit of rage, she chose to make the fake play real and planned to steal the priceless gold screen in the house with several companions who planned the fake kidnapping.

Then, as expected, their plan went wrong: several of her accomplices happened to run into the maid of the Jincheng family during the theft. Under pressure, one of the criminals chose to kill her to silence her.

In this way, a fake kidnapping, seemingly out of boredom, escalated into a robbery and murder. Seeing the situation was unmanageable, Jin Chengdu chose to escape, changing his name and appearance, and starting a new life as Taira Ie. Meanwhile, the police believed that the Jincheng family's little princess, "Jin Chengdu," had been murdered by the kidnappers and her body dumped at the bottom of the sea, where it disappeared without a trace.

Five years have passed to this day.

For five years, Jin Chengdu suffered from a constant pang of guilt. She considered turning herself in several times, but hesitated to act. She wasn't afraid of legal punishment. After all, she was merely an accomplice: she had merely orchestrated a fake kidnapping, and as for the robbery and murder, she had merely provided her companions with information about some valuables in her home. Under Japanese law, the sentence was likely to be less than three years of hard labor. With the money and resources, she could be released on bail in just six months.

What Taira Ie was really afraid of was facing her family, her adoptive father, the butler who treated her like his own daughter, and the murdered maid was the butler's fiancée.

"Rather than being tried as Jinchengdu and letting them know the truth about all this, it would be better for them to always think that I'm dead."

Taira Ie had exactly this idea.

Escaping is shameful and useless, and will only make people with conscience constantly feel the condemnation of their conscience. But compared to being condemned by one's own conscience, it is still easier than facing the bleak reality.

Taira Ie lay on her back in the hot spring, looking confusedly at the patch of night sky exposed on the dome. It was pitch black, just like her future.

"Do you want to continue living in this muddle?"

"Or, just die like this. As the orphan Taira Ie... Jin Chengdu was killed by bandits, and Taira Ie died to atone for his crime."

……

A snowy night, a hot spring bath with a natural secret room structure, several groups of seemingly unrelated guests with their own concerns, plus the presence of the Elementary School Student of Death himself and the two heroes of the Mori family. It would be a shame if the staffing didn't happen a few murders here.

While several groups of people were either partying and drinking or being emo alone, the murder had already happened quietly.

Just one scream would start a bloody and cruel sleepless night. And the scream that broke the silence happened half an hour later, when Hayashi Shangren and Kissing Eri arrived at the seaside hot spring baths.

At this time, in the Ultraman crew's box, Mao Lilan was staring blankly at the snow scene outside the window.

"The snow is getting heavier. I wonder if something happened to my mother on the road?" Mao Lilan thought worriedly.

Just as she was about to lower her head and send another text message to Hibiki, a tall figure in the snow outside the window suddenly caught her eye. It was a person wearing a full set of ski equipment. Although her hair was tightly covered by ski goggles and a ski neck guard, Mao Lilan still recognized her identity.

"Is that Ms. Maki Sawara, the makeup artist for the documentary crew?"

While secretly calling Kisaki Eri, Ran Mouri had once encountered a documentary crew from Okinawa Television. They had just finished filming and were ready to go skiing. It was then that they asked Mouri about the location of the ski resort and exchanged a few words with her. It was also at that time that Mouri memorized the color and style of Maki Sawara's ski jacket.

"What is she going to do?" Mao Lilan thought puzzledly.

Judging from the direction Sawara Maki was moving, she seemed to want to make a big circle and go to the back of the hot spring bath.

"Could it be that she also wants to sneak into that imperial bath to find out what's going on?"

Just an hour ago, the drunken Ultraman crew, along with Kogoro Mouri, once again couldn't contain themselves and were about to sneak into the bathhouse's backyard. They happened to run into the bathhouse's owner, Mr. Tsujii. Luckily, they reacted quickly and simply claimed to be wandering around. Otherwise, a conflict would have been inevitable.

Later, unconvinced, Hijikata Yukisaburo tried again. He successfully knocked the door open and walked into the hallway. He happened to run into Tsujii Yukito, who had just finished cleaning the Imperial Baths and was wearing only a loincloth. Fortunately, Tsujii Yukito was a gentle man and didn't argue with him. He simply told Hijikata Yukisaburo to leave before his grandfather discovered what had happened, then went into the dressing room and changed his clothes.

After confirming that no one else wanted to enter the corridor leading to the Imperial Bath, Tsujii Yukito walked out of the corridor and locked the door.

In other words, the main entrance to the bathhouse and the main entrance to the corridor connecting the bathhouse and the bathhouse were both locked. Furthermore, the open space between the two was covered with snow, so anyone trying to walk from the open space to the bathhouse would have left footprints.

"Hmm...what is she going to do?" Mao Lilan was a little confused. "Oh, my mom sent me a text message. Will she be here soon? Hmm..."

Ran Mouri turned her head and looked at Kogoro Mouri. This guy had been drunk unconscious and was being hugged by the shoulders by the aunt called Sayuri in front of the bed, who was complaining incoherently.

"Hehe... I always feel that if Mommy comes a little later, it won't be a bad thing."

Chapter 291 Naked Corpse

"Hey, Sahara, are you here?"

"what sound?"

After hearing the shouts in the corridor, Yukito Tsujii, who was preparing salt-grilled salmon and beer for the Ultraman crew in the kitchen, walked out of the kitchen.

"Excuse me, what happened?" asked Yukito Tsujii.

The person shouting in the corridor was a man in a ski suit. Judging from the fact that he was still wearing the ski suit with snow on it, he must have just returned to the hot spring and had not had time to go back to his room to change clothes.

"Are you Mr. Ohira from the film crew?"

Yukito Tsujii recognized the man in front of him. After all, it was he who contacted the film crew this morning.

"Ah, Mr. Tsujii. Have you seen Ms. Sawara, the makeup artist of our crew?" asked Gen Ohira.

Originally, they went to a nearby ski resort to ski together. However, when they had been skiing for a long time and were about to regroup and return, Maki Sawara was missing. They couldn't find her and their phone couldn't be reached.

The crew was afraid that something might happen to her, so they split up to look for her. Ohira Gen suspected that Sawara Maki had returned to the hot spring baths first and fell asleep, which was why he didn't receive the call, so he returned here first.

He happened to meet Taira Ie who had just finished a hot spring bath. Taira Ie opened the door of their room, but found that Sawara Maki was not inside. Her dress was still lying on the tatami in the same careless manner as when she left. It was obvious that she had not returned to her room.

"Ma Fei wouldn't wander around the bathhouse in her ski suit, would she?"

Thinking of this, Ohira Gen received a call from director Sakuragi Ken, who said that they had confirmed from the staff of the ski resort that two staff members had seen Maki Saki Sawara leave the ski resort with their own eyes.

"So, Miss Sawara might have met with an accident on her way back, right? After all, she would have gone back to her room to change clothes before returning to the bathhouse," Tsujii Yukito speculated reasonably. "Mr. Ohira, why don't you try looking for her on the road leading from the bathhouse to the ski resort? It's not that far anyway, about a twenty-minute walk."

"Actually, I doubt..."

Looking at Yukito Tsujii, Gen Ohira shook his head.

"No... nothing... I'll look somewhere else then."

As he spoke, Ohira Gen said goodbye to Tsujii Yukito and headed towards the entrance to the hot spring baths. Taira Ie, having changed into warm clothing, also came downstairs and followed Ohira Gen.

"I hope nothing will happen." Tsujii Yukito thought.

"Hey, Snowman. Go clean up the Imperial Bath."

Yukito Tsujii heard his grandfather's cry:

"Boss Lin called and said he's bringing a distinguished guest, and he wants the most luxurious bathroom. So, open the door to the Imperial Bath and prepare to receive them with the highest standards!"

"Ah...ah, I see. Grandpa, please send the grilled fish and wine in the kitchen to the second private room."