Conan: When Shinjiu and Maolilan swap bodies

Or was the organization already discovered that eavesdropping incident?

He used his uncle's name to inquire about Gin's location, which led Gin to target his uncle.

He went up to the third floor with a heavy heart. While he was away, the police investigation made great progress.

Police identified three people who visited the third floor between 10 PM and 11 PM.

One was the butler, one was the maid who discovered the body, and one was Mrs. Matsui Sachiko.

The maid served tea once at 10:10.

The housekeeper came up at 10:20, stayed for 10 minutes, and reported on the matter.

Mrs. Matsui came to the third floor at 10:30 and went to her room to get something.

Mrs. Matsui and the butler met in the corridor, and both said that everything was normal and there was nothing unusual.

Then, the maid who brought tea came up to call for someone, and then they discovered that the deceased was dead.

"Could it be that the butler killed Mr. Matsui, and the madam covered for the butler?"

Kogoro Mouri began his own wild deductions.

He felt that his reasoning was exceptionally logical.

The husband and wife had a bad relationship and slept in separate rooms. The housekeeper, who had watched the wife grow up, couldn't stand it and thus murdered the husband. How reasonable!

Conan didn't comment on this kind of reasoning. His mind was entirely on Ran.

Looking around, I couldn't see Xiaolan anywhere.

"Where is Sister Xiaolan?"

"Miss Xiaolan took Xiaowu to the neighbor's house, and I don't want Xiaowu to see this..."

Sachiko Matsui explained to him where Ran had gone.

Conan breathed a sigh of relief; this was for the best.

For Xiaolan, seeing a corpse is never a happy thing.

He refocused his attention on the case and asked Officer Sato about the phenomena the police had observed while he was away.

Before long, he identified the suspect.

……

On the other side, Ran Mouri tried to extract information from the children.

Although she wasn't good at this kind of thing, it was always easier to get information out of children than adults.

"Xiao Wu, I heard from your brother that you have a little aunt."

Matsui Hirotake really likes this older sister; she makes him want to confide in her.

I was bored and had already talked about a lot of things, so I didn't think much about this issue.

"I do have an aunt, but my aunt's family passed away many years ago."

"Oh? Sorry, I didn't know that."

"It's okay. I don't actually remember my aunt. I just heard my mother mention her by chance."

Ran Mouri stared at him with wide eyes, her gaze filled with curiosity and anticipation, waiting for him to continue.

The child enjoyed this look and told everything he knew.

“My mom often says that I’m a lot like my aunt’s child. She says I’m just as smart and perceptive as him…”

As Ran Mouri listened to him speak, she imagined what Aozawa looked like when he was a child.

Mr. Qingze must have been like this when he was a child: intelligent, perceptive, and able to easily perceive things that others did not know.

This intelligence and keen insight allowed him to survive in that dangerous organization until now.

Chapter 102 I also look forward to that day.

Matsui Hirotake swung his legs and sighed like an adult.

"I don't think I'm that smart. It's just that those adults are too good at beating around the bush. They always have multiple meanings in one sentence."

"I think I'm smart because I'm a little observant and attentive, but I can't understand the true intentions they're trying to express from their roundabout words..."

"Compared to him, that cold-faced older brother is actually easier to understand..."

"Xiao Wu is like a little adult." Ran Mouri rubbed his head.

"Although I don't want to be an adult yet, my father is gone, and I have to support my mother and become an adult."

"But doesn't Xiao Wu still have his older brother? Doesn't he need Xiao Wu to shoulder the burden?"

When his brother was mentioned, Hirotake Matsui's expression became somewhat complicated.

"My brother, well, he's a bit naive and foolish, and not very smart..."

Seeing the child's air of judging a junior, Ran Mouri really wanted to laugh, and she did laugh.

Does your brother know you're talking about him like that?

"Of course I don't know!"

The topic eventually circled back to that aunt of Ran Mouri's.

Have you ever gone to pay respects to your aunt?

"Of course I've been there, I go every year, but their graves are in Kyoto, which is quite far."

"Could you tell me where it is? I'd like to go and pay my respects."

Why are you so interested in my aunt? Is it because of that older boy?

That older brother looks so much like his mother, and this Sister Lan cares so much about her aunt's affairs, it's hard not to guess.

Once again, Matsui Hirotake exposed the truth, leaving Ran Mouri helpless; she really wasn't good at getting information out of people.

Fortunately, it's just a child.

She didn't rush to ask Matsui Sachiko for information because she knew she wasn't good at getting information out of people and was easily tricked into revealing information herself, which would cause trouble for Aozawa.

Qingze didn't want to have any contact with these people; she would just investigate quietly.

"If I say yes, can you tell me everything about your aunt? It's very important to me."

Matsui Hirotake thought for a moment, then said, "Okay."

“That older brother is my savior. If I can help him, I will help you find out more.”

"Okay, this is our secret, don't tell anyone, okay?" Ran Mouri held up her little finger. "Pinky promise."

Matsui Hirotake gave her a look that said, "How can you be so childish?" but still reached out his hand.

The two, one big and one small, exchanged contact information, and Ran Mouri finally found a breakthrough to learn about Qingze's past.

"My aunt's family is buried in the Tamayama Cemetery in Kyoto, and their memorial tablets are enshrined at Kiyomizu-dera Temple..."

Matsui Hirotake slowly recounted what he knew.

Ran Mouri listened attentively.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple... I happen to be going on a school trip to Kyoto in a few days, and Kiyomizu-dera Temple is on the itinerary, so I can go and pay my respects.

If we could use this truth as an apology gift, wouldn't that be nice?

Matsui Hirotake leaned close to Mouri Ran's ear and whispered, "Although my aunt's family died in a car accident, judging from my mother's reactions every time she mentions it, there's definitely something fishy going on..."

The regret, sadness, anger, and the unspoken nature of the situation suggest that the matter was anything but simple.

However, their family still maintains contact with the Fukuda family, keeping a facade of friendship.

"My mom is actually quite bothered by what happened back then. How about I persuade her to get your dad a commission to investigate? Your dad's a famous detective, he should be able to find out something, right?"

Ran Mouri is well aware of her father's abilities; his fame is entirely due to Conan.

This is also why she didn't lay out the truth and ask Conan to leave the agency.

Once Conan leaves, without the sleeping Kogoro, his father will once again become that incompetent detective.

That kind of huge difference is something even my own father might not be able to handle.

However, Xiao Wu's idea is not entirely unfeasible.

If Dad isn't good enough, there's always Conan.

It's just using him to investigate some cases, what's wrong with that?

……

No one knows the conversation between Xiaolan and Xiaowu, but the murder case at the villa has been solved.

Once Conan's attention was diverted from Vermouth, he quickly discovered who the real killer was.

Using the old method, Conan knocks his uncle down and hides in a corner, beginning his own deduction.

The case is not complicated; in fact, Kogoro Mouri has stumbled upon the correct culprit and the truth.

The murderer was the butler.

The butler was a swordsman in his younger days and had practiced swordsmanship. It would not have been difficult for him to kill someone with a single blow. Because he was an acquaintance, the deceased had no defenses against him.

As for the evidence, it was the butler's black coat splattered with blood.

He was very careful, but even so, some bloodstains still splattered on it, blending into the black color without him noticing.

The motive for the murder was not complicated.

The deceased, Matsui Taizo, married into the Matsui family. In the early years when the old head of the family was still alive, he behaved very well, cared for his family, and worked diligently. He was considered a very excellent model husband.

Everything changed after the old patriarch died.

He revealed his true colors, having already started a family and had children outside of marriage, and even given his children his original surname.

They are even transferring assets in an attempt to short the Matsui Group.

The case was closed, the murderer was taken away, and the film crew left, leaving the once bustling villa suddenly deserted.

Matsui Hidetoshi sat in the empty living room, completely distraught, as if struck by lightning.

His career was just starting when his father died. The murderer was the butler who had watched him grow up, and his father deserved to die.

He's already an adult and could be the pillar of the family, but he's obsessed with acting and knows nothing about what's happening around him.

If he had been more perceptive, would things have turned out differently?

He clutched his head and wept bitterly, feeling vulnerable and helpless.

Conan looked at his rival with pity, but didn't offer him any comfort.

You have to get through this on your own.

He walked into the yard and looked at Vermouth, who was leaning against the flower bed smoking and had not yet left.

"Why haven't you left yet?" he asked, frowning warily.

The slender cigarette burned slowly at my fingertips, its crimson glow flickering.

Vermouth looked down at him. "Don't you want to see me that much?"

Conan has sharp eyes, filled with integrity and a sense of justice.

"Even if what happened today has nothing to do with you, it doesn't mean you haven't shed blood. One day I will catch you."

Looking at the righteous and idealistic aura emanating from him, Vermouth took a light drag of her cigarette and slowly exhaled.

White smoke swirled around her, obscuring her face.

"I also look forward to that day."

Words drifted in, as if from a dream.

"But before that, you'd better protect your Xiaolan."

—If you can't protect her, then I will protect her in my own way.