Conan: When Shinjiu and Maolilan swap bodies

Why is he so fearless?

Has he broken free from the organization's control?

What is his real purpose?

Each one is a mystery.

The car drove past a streetlamp, the dim yellow light sweeping through the window, illuminating half of Qingze's face before quickly fading away. A faint smile played on his lips, revealing nothing more.

Gin stared at the road ahead.

He doesn't like mysteries.

The car was parked in front of the residence.

The engine shut off, the headlights dimmed, and the surroundings were once again swallowed by the night.

Qingze pushed open the car door and got out, stretching in the cold wind. His joints made a slight cracking sound. He looked up at the gray night sky and exhaled a puff of white breath.

Gin followed him out of the car. His boots made a deep, resonant sound as they stepped on the concrete.

He followed Qingze into the house expressionlessly, his boots leaving a shallow muddy mark on the clean floor.

His gaze swept across the entire living room. The living room was decorated quite warmly, with a bouquet of fresh flowers in a vase and some decorative paintings on the wall, giving it a very homey feel.

— Koniak really lives here.

Gin walked straight to the sofa and sat down, leaning against the cushions with one leg crossed over the other, his posture as casual as if he were at home.

But those eyes did not relax.

It stared at Qingze, watching his every move and every change in expression.

The muscles were slightly tense, like a fully drawn bow.

"Speak, what you call the truth."

Gin spoke calmly, his voice low, like the calm before a storm.

Qingze tilted his head.

"So soon?" His tone was light and slightly teasing. "Coming to my house as a guest, not having anything to drink? Just sitting there makes me seem very unhospitable..."

"...Do you have that kind of thing?"

Qingze smiled.

“I thought we could sit down and have a drink at a time like this.”

Over the years, we've been both teacher and friend.

Although they were also enemies and adversaries at the same time.

However, it cannot be denied that Gin played a very important role in Koniak's career as an assassin.

He shattered his kindness and perseverance bit by bit, teaching him how to survive in this organization and letting him experience what coldness and cruelty truly mean.

But at the same time, it was he who brought him back to the base when he was on the verge of death, allowing him to survive.

"Drinking with you usually doesn't end well."

Qingze chuckled again and walked towards the kitchen.

A short while later, he returned carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses.

He placed the glass on the coffee table and unscrewed the cap. The deep amber liquid poured into the glass, making a soft splashing sound.

Gin's gaze fell on the bottle of liquor.

The words on the label were clearly visible under the light.

He raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Brandy?"

"uh-huh."

Qingze sat down to his side, casually picked up a glass, and gently swirled it, the liquid slowly rotating against the glass.

He took a sip. Then he looked up and gazed at Gin through the rim of his glass.

"Try this brandy that's been aged for eight years."

Gin squinted and picked up his drink.

He wasn't afraid of Koniak poisoning him.

To kill him, Koniak didn't need to resort to poisoning at all.

As the wine went down his throat, his brow furrowed.

"Is this brandy?"

It was clearly a mixture of various liquors without any order, resulting in chaos and the burning sensation of strong liquor.

Qingze picked up the bottle and swirled it under the light. The dark liquid swayed gently in the glass, like something fermenting.

"To be precise, it's brandy with added gin, rum, vermouth...

He raised his eyes to look at Gin, the slight upturn at the corners of his mouth deepening.

"But brandy makes up the majority of the liquor, so this bottle is still called brandy."

Chapter 588 You Now Have Two Choices

Gin put down his glass.

"It's brandy, so what?"

His voice was flat, as if he were asking something trivial. But his eyes were fixed on Qingze, his gaze sharp enough to dissect him.

Qingze looked at him.

It's like watching someone struggling in vain, or watching something whose ending is already predetermined.

"Brandy, Vermouth, and Shinichi Kudo are all one family."

“They have the key of bloodline, so they can open that lock.”

"And you... are just an outsider."

The air seemed to freeze as soon as the words were spoken.

Gin didn't move. Only his eyes, under the light, slowly sank.

"You are not qualified for it. Nor are you destined to cross that threshold."

Qingze looked at him, the slight curve of his lips still there, but there was no smile in his eyes.

The room became eerily quiet for a moment.

Only the occasional sound of wind passing by the window, muffled, like some distant sigh.

The two glasses of wine on the coffee table stood silently, the liquid gleaming amber under the lamplight, but no one touched them.

Gin stared at him.

"evidence."

Qingze met his gaze, the slight curve of his lips still present, but there was no real smile.

“I do have evidence,” he said softly, as if he were talking about something insignificant, “but why should I give it to you?”

Gin tapped his fingers on the coffee table. Once, twice, a very soft sound, amplified a thousand times in the silence.

“You have no evidence,” he said, his voice low and firm. “I will not believe you.”

Qingze tilted his head.

Whether you believe it or not is not important to me.

Gin's gaze darkened.

He didn't speak immediately, but stared at Qingze with a sharp, scrutinizing gaze.

Even if I can't open that lock, the chips on the table are still mine.

Qingze looked at him and smiled.

The smile was light and slow, spreading little by little from the corner of his mouth, carrying a strong sense of malice.

"Oh?" He leaned forward slightly. "What if the table is gone?"

Gin's gaze instantly sharpened like a knife.

"So you really want to destroy it."

Qingze did not answer.

He merely tilted his head slightly, and a strange look appeared in his scarlet eyes, as if he had seen something beautiful, like a hungry person finally smelling the aroma of food, with a morbid enjoyment that sent chills down one's spine.

Why don't you want to?

His voice was very soft, almost like a whisper.

"I really... can't wait to see that table burn down."

Gin looked at him, expressionless.

"You're firmly tied to that table; if you light a fire, you'll catch fire too."

"So what?"

Qingze's smile remained unchanged.

How can the soul be cleansed without being burned by flames?

How can one rise from the ashes?

He picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

The strong liquor went down his throat, but to him it was like drinking a glass of water.

He put down the cup, the glass hitting the coffee table with a crisp sound.

"Dear elder brother."

He looked at Gin, his scarlet eyes burning like fire.

You now have two choices.

"Drink this glass of wine, then hit the road."

"Or—come with me and light this fire."

Gin held the glass of sake he had only taken a sip of and swirled it slowly.

The wine swirls slowly against the glass, gleaming amber under the light, like a flowing, frozen moment in time.

He took a slow sip.

The burning sensation of the strong liquor spreads from the tip of the tongue all the way to the throat, spicy and pungent.

The burning sensation cleared his mind, suppressing all other noises and leaving only the most crucial and calmest thoughts.

He raised his eyes and looked at Qingze.

"You trust me that much that you won't go back on your word after making a promise?"

Qingze looked at him.

Their eyes met in the dim light, without sparks or murderous intent, only a near-calm standoff.

He knew that Gin had made his choice.

Good.

He glanced around the room; it was quite comfortable after living there for so long. It would be a shame if it were stained with blood.

"Do not."

Qingze spoke, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"It's not about trust."

He paused, his scarlet eyes seeming to burn with an invisible fire.