Conan: When Shinjiu and Maolilan swap bodies

On the edge of the clear, cold pond, a young man stood, steadily reeling in a fishing rod. Sunlight shone on his face, illuminating a cheerful smile.

Ran Mouri sat on a folding chair next to her, holding a fishing rod in her hand. She turned her head slightly, watching the fish catching in the lake, looking somewhat depressed.

Subaru Okiya also stood watching the young man catch a fish, his fishing rod lying to the side, having given up on trying to catch it.

The scenery was breathtaking, with shimmering water and snow reflecting in the clear sky. The atmosphere among the three was unusually peaceful, completely devoid of the probing or tense confrontation that Sera Masumi had anticipated.

"Oh? Why is everyone here?" Subaru Okiya was the first to notice the arrival of the group. He turned around, his face regaining its usual gentle smile.

Except for Sonoko Suzuki and her boyfriend, almost everyone else is here.

"I heard you guys are fishing, let's join in!" Sera Masumi walked a few steps quickly, her eyes sweeping over the three of them. Finding nothing amiss, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Hearing the voice, "Qingze" turned his head and saw so many people. His face showed just the right amount of surprise: "Mr. Mori, Ms. Kisaki, and everyone... you've all come."

In a moment of inattention, the struggling fish escaped the hook and regained its freedom.

She didn't mind and casually shoved the fishing rod into Qingze's hand, asking him to hold it for her.

"Ran Mouri," holding two fishing rods, didn't stand up, but looked at everyone and smiled:

"Are you all fishing too? The water is cold here, and the fish don't seem very active. Only Aze caught a fish; Subaru and I didn't catch anything."

Several children excitedly ran to the buckets. There were three buckets, but only the middle one contained fish.

"Let's give it a try! Where can we find a fishing rod?"

"If you want to go fishing, go to that little hut over there and borrow some fishing gear," Ran Mouri pointed out to the children.

Kogoro Mori, with his hands behind his back, glanced at the fish bucket and, wanting to show off his fishing skills, instructed the children, "Get me a fishing tackle!"

"Okay!" the children replied, then looked at the others, "Anyone else want some?"

Sera Mary stood slightly off to the side of the crowd and shook her head.

Ai Haibara stood next to Professor Agasa with her hands in her pockets, and both of them shook their heads.

Eri Kisaki stood a little distance away, admiring the surrounding snow scenery, with no intention of fishing.

Although the sun was shining, there was a breeze by the lake, and it was quite cold by the water in winter, so it wasn't suitable to stay for long.

Once they were sure no one wanted the fishing gear anymore, the three children ran to get it.

"A fish has taken the bait," Subaru Okiya suddenly warned.

Ran Mouri was taken aback and looked at the lake. The fishing rod and float that he had just handed to Aozawa started to move.

"Huh? But I haven't re-baited it yet."

The fish just got away, which means the hook is now empty and there's no bait.

Qingze's originally stable mindset was successfully shattered by this sentence.

Comparing yourself to others is truly infuriating.

He took a deep breath, tossed aside the still fishing rod in his hand, focused on the one that was moving, and began to reel in the line.

If the fishing rod is in his hand, then this counts as the fish he caught!

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the water.

The float swayed a lot.

The water's surface was rippling under the sunlight, and only a shadow could be seen moving about, making it impossible to discern what it was.

"It looks like a big fish."

Ran Mouri was somewhat expectant.

Qingze felt an unusually heavy force coming from underwater. It wasn't like the rhythmic struggle of a live fish, but rather a dragging, sluggish feeling.

This familiar feeling somewhat killed his hope.

He took a deep breath, adjusted his posture, and used the strength of his waist and legs to continue steadily reeling in the line.

The fishing rod was bent into an arc, and the nylon line rubbed against the reel, making a continuous, taut hissing sound.

The ripples on the water were stretched even more violently, and the blurry shadow gradually moved closer to the shore as the fishing line was reeled in.

The next moment, a body was dragged out of the water.

Qingze's lingering hope was completely extinguished.

Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

"ah--!"

Ayumi, who had just returned, was the first to let out a short and sharp scream. She took a few steps back and almost fell, but was caught by Mitsuhiko beside her.

Mitsuhiko's eyes widened, his face turned pale, and he felt as if his throat was being choked, unable to make a sound.

Genta dropped his fishing gear on the ground with a thud. He stared wide-eyed at the corpse, as if he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

Dr. Agasa gasped and quickly shielded the children behind him, blocking their view.

Ai Haibara's pupils suddenly contracted, and she grabbed Professor Agasa's trouser leg.

The idea of ​​fishing up a corpse is truly horrifying and frightening.

Kogoro Mouri and the others looked grave and immediately stepped forward to help drag the body ashore.

Chapter 496 This damage is too great!!

Eri's shock lasted only a moment.

A mother's instinct immediately overwhelmed her initial shock, and her gaze instantly fell on her daughter who had fished up the corpse.

The daughter was clearly frightened. She let go of the fishing rod, took two steps back, her face pale, and almost instinctively reached out and grabbed Qingze's arm tightly beside her.

Ran Mouri was also surprised.

How can you catch corpses like that?

She didn't hesitate; her reaction was incredibly quick. As Qingze grabbed his arm, she swiftly turned to the side, using her body to shield the corpse, while simultaneously raising one hand to half-cover the girl's eyes.

"Don't be afraid."

He gently comforted them, without helping to drag the body away. Instead, he decisively led his men back, away from the area closest to the body on the shore, to a relatively safe location far away from it.

Eri Kisaki witnessed this entire scene.

Faced with such a sudden change, Qingze's first concern was not curiosity or showing off, but Xiaolan's safety and feelings.

He is attentive, reliable, and knows how to protect Xiaolan in critical moments.

This is much better than a reckless teenager.

After some effort, Kogoro Mouri and Subaru Okiya dragged the body ashore. Kogoro quickly looked at his daughter.

This is the second time my daughter has caught a corpse while fishing.

Fortunately, Qingze reacted quickly and retreated with his daughter.

This attitude and reaction satisfied him.

He looked at his wife and instructed her:

"Eri, call the police!"

"it is good."

Subaru Okiya's gaze shifted from the corpse to the two people who had retreated.

He was right there beside them the whole time they were fishing, and he never expected things to turn out this way.

As luck would have it, the fishhook got caught on the clothes, and that's how it was fished out.

Everyone says fishing is all about luck.

But Ms. Mori's luck today is really not good.

Qingze grabbed Ran Mouri's arm, his back to the crowd, and gritted his teeth in secret.

He even had a feeling that this fishing trip would turn his luck around and that he would catch a few fish.

It really is a huge illusion in life.

Ran Mouri patted his back gently to comfort him.

Her gaze fell on the corpse.

The body was male, dragged up in a supine position. The torso was slightly stiff due to the low temperature, but the skin and flesh had become uniformly swollen from being soaked in water.

She couldn't quite tell how long she had been dead; low temperatures can also affect the assessment of time of death.

Since Conan left the agency, the number of cases she encounters has dropped dramatically.

It's unclear whether it was an accidental fall into the water or homicide...

Hopefully it was an accident.

"Find an excuse to leave. I don't want to stay here anymore," Qingze said in a low voice.

He had absolutely no interest in how the corpse had died.

"Okay." Ran Mouri wasn't particularly interested in the truth either.

She walked towards Eri Kisaki. "Ms. Kisaki, Ran is a little frightened. I'll take her back to rest first."

"Go ahead, try to distract her so she doesn't have nightmares tonight."

Eri Kisaki had no intention of keeping her daughter here. Everyone had clearly seen how the body was fished up. They had only arrived this morning, and the body couldn't possibly have anything to do with her daughter.

Sera Marie watched the two figures leave.

She caught a corpse, but instead of screaming or panicking, she showed some fear. This Ms. Maori has quite the composure.

The same goes for Qingze.

Looking at the children, apart from being frightened at first, they are not so scared now. Some of the bolder ones are even peeking behind Professor Agasa, trying to see the condition of the corpse.

She turned her gaze to the particular girl.

The girl was unusually calm, with a cool and aloof demeanor. Her gaze lingered on the departing figures of the two people.

Noticing her gaze, she took a step back, concealing herself.

Sera Mary remained silent.

These people, whether adults or children, are truly special.

Once out of sight of everyone, Qingze looked as if his bones had been removed, his whole body listless, like a frostbitten eggplant.

He lost interest in fishing for a short period of time.

Ran Mouri found it amusing. "You've fished before, why are you so discouraged?"

Shouldn't someone be used to fishing up corpses?

Qingze raised the hand that was holding the fishing rod, and it trembled dramatically.

"That fishing rod was invincible in your hands, but in mine, it hooked a corpse!! I hate it!"

Without comparison, there's no harm done, but this is just too much!

He just wanted to catch a fish!

Ran Mouri grabbed that hand, rubbed her hands together lightly, and muttered some kind of spell.

Qingze didn't hear him clearly, "What did you say?"

"I cast a spell and transferred my good luck to you. May you catch a ton of fish every time you go fishing, and may your catch be endless."

Qingze's lips curled up. "That's more like it."

Ran Mouri smiled and took his hand, leading him towards the courtyard. "Want to go soak in the hot spring? Everyone's outside, and there's no one in the courtyard. We can soak together."

There is an open-air hot spring in the courtyard, surrounded by bamboo railings, and the environment is very elegant.

"Let's soak together?" Qingze's ears twitched, a blush creeping up his face. "Isn't that inappropriate?"

"It's an open-air hot spring, so you can soak together."

"No, it's not suitable for you to soak in hot springs because of your injury; it's not good for your wound to heal."

"It's okay, I can stay by your side and watch over you."