Chapter 63

"Lord Akaso, thank you for your hard work on the journey. Have a cup of coffee first."

Ichieda Takashi hurriedly went over to take the tray.

Akaso Kaze looked at the coffee he brought over, his lips curling slightly.

He took a cup for Conan first.

Conan was frowning, thinking about the case, and took the coffee absentmindedly.

Ichieda Takashi stared with wide eyes, feeling very nervous.

Seeing Conan drink it all in one gulp, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Akaso Kaze took a small sip of coffee, smacked his lips, and asked: ""

"Is this coffee proper coffee?"

"Why does it taste so strange to me?"

Hearing Akaso Kaze’s words, the others immediately stopped their hands from reaching for the coffee and looked at Granny Yone.

"The coffee is newly bought, but the sugar has been sitting for five years," Granny Yone said.

"Ah? Five-year-old sugar?"

Everyone was startled.

Is this still drinkable?

Granny Yone said nonchalantly: "It’s just that the sugar has been sitting for five years; it won't kill anyone."

Everyone was shocked by Granny Yone’s attitude.

President Yotsui put down his coffee cup, looking displeased: "What if the sugar has gone bad?"

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Ichieda Takashi smiled and comforted: "President Yotsui, it should be fine. If it had gone bad, you should be able to tell at a glance. Everyone, let’s drink."

Gojo Osamu also added: "That’s right, the older generation is like that; they don't pay much attention to expiration dates."

Conan looked at the empty coffee cup in his hand, the coffee inside already downed in one gulp.

Akaso Kaze, you tricked me!

The few sycophants all drank the coffee.

Ran and Haibara Ai, of course, wouldn't be that silly.

Akaso Kaze also put down his coffee cup.

After waiting for those who should drink to finish, he said: "Everyone, split into two groups and search separately. Miss Yotsui is in the villa and hasn't left; we will find her soon."

Hearing his words, President Yotsui became excited.

He had been anxious, but since Akaso Kaze hadn't spoken, he didn't dare to urge him.

One cannot ignore the words of this Onmyoji; he had already suffered for it once just now.

Conan stood up, suddenly feeling dizzy, couldn't help but yawn, and collapsed onto the sofa.

In just a moment, he was snoring.

"Why are you falling asleep at such a critical moment? What a troublesome brat."

Mouri Kogoro muttered.

"It’s fine, you all go. I’ll stay here and keep him company," Granny Yone said, staying behind.

Akaso Kaze took Mouri Ran, Haibara Ai, and President Yotsui, while Mouri Kogoro took the others, and they split up to search.

Time passed bit by bit.

Suddenly, a "beep" sound echoed in the room, and a gust of warm air blew out.

Immediately after, all the lights in the villa went out.

"Could something have happened upstairs?"

"Where is the fuse box?"

"In the west corridor."

Crash.

In the darkness, the sound of breaking glass rang out.

Ichieda Takashi shouted: "Someone escaped through the window."

"Bastard, don't think you can escape."

Several people rushed out in a hurry.

Haibara Ai was about to jump out the window when a hand reached from behind and covered her mouth.

"Don't move, it’s me."

Hearing Akaso Kaze’s voice, Haibara Ai retracted her foot that was kicking backward.

In the darkness, Akaso Kaze held her and walked along the corridor toward the inside.

Conan was lying on the sofa in the living room, dazed.

He was still conscious, but he couldn't move.

Creak.

A faint sound came from the direction of the door.

Then, footsteps gradually approached.

Conan felt someone walk up to him.

First, they pushed his shoulder to confirm he wasn't awake, then picked him up.

"Who is this?"

"What are they doing?"

"It wouldn't be Akaso Kaze, would it?"

"Trying to mess with me again?"

The person carried Conan to the bathroom.

The water in the sink was running, overflowing.

Plop.

Conan’s little head was viciously pressed down by a large hand.

He immediately widened his dead-fish eyes, gulping down water.

A familiar feeling surged into his heart.

Right, that’s how it felt when I fell into the sea last time.

However, this water tastes much better...

No, wait, at this time, I should be shouting for help.

He struggled hard.

But how could his little arms and legs compare to an adult’s?

Just when Conan thought he was done for.

Click.

The lights came on.

The person turned around in a panic and saw a crowd of people standing at the door.

And Yotsui Reika was being held in President Yotsui’s arms.

"Ichieda Takashi, what are you doing?" Akaso Kaze asked with a smile: "Are you helping Conan wash his hair?"

……

"Achoo!"

Conan sneezed, wrapped in a blanket.

"Brother Akaso, how did you know Miss Yotsui was hiding there?"

He asked while blowing his nose with a tissue.

"You forgot, I’m an Onmyoji. Of course, I relied on divination."

Akaso Kaze sipped his sugar-free coffee leisurely.

"Since you had already divined it, why didn't you save her as soon as you entered the house?"

Conan’s eyes flashed with suspicion.

"Hehe, Conan, that’s where you’re an amateur."

"Divination isn't just imagination; just like solving a case requires reasoning, it needs to follow a certain order."

The people around immediately pricked up their ears.

Although they knew Akaso Kaze was a powerful Onmyoji, they had never heard how powerful he was.

Now that they saw it with their own eyes, they were naturally very impressed.

Now, the Onmyoji was starting to reveal the secrets of divination.

It was as if a door had been opened in front of everyone.

Behind the door was a mysterious, unknown world.

They only heard Akaso Kaze say leisurely:

"In fact, when I first arrived, I didn't know the situation at all. The divination result I got for Miss Yotsui was just that she was still alive and in this villa."

"At that time, if I had said it out loud, there was no guarantee the criminal wouldn't be driven to desperation and take hostages."

"So I had to wait, wait for the criminal to reveal a flaw."

Everyone nodded together.

So that’s how it was.

President Yotsui understood and felt deeply self-reproachful.

At the time, he thought Akaso Kaze was asking for an exorbitant price and wanted more money.

I truly measured a gentleman’s heart with a petty man’s yardstick.

"When I entered the building and the coffee was served, my Onmyoji intuition told me there was a problem with the coffee."

"So I said the taste of the coffee was wrong, and at the same time, I took the opportunity to observe everyone’s expressions."

"At that moment, I noticed Ichieda Takashi’s expression was a bit nervous."

Everyone immediately looked at Ichieda Takashi, who was tied up like a rice dumpling.

Thinking back to the situation at the time, it was indeed so.

At that time, Ichieda Takashi had even urged everyone to drink the coffee.

"After divination, I confirmed he was the criminal."

"But I didn't know what arrangements he had, nor where Miss Yotsui was hidden."

"So I remained calm and didn't expose him."

"Instead, I waited for him to lead me to where the young lady was."

Akaso Kaze’s eyes flashed with wisdom.

So handsome.

So charming.

So confident.

Haibara Ai, standing nearby, was stunned.

"After finishing the coffee, we split into groups to search. To put Ichieda Takashi at ease, I specifically assigned him to Detective Mouri’s group."

"However, he couldn't understand the methods of an Onmyoji at all. Everywhere he went, I knew clearly."

"I believed that where he had searched, the young lady must be hidden."

"Sure enough, I found traces of the young lady in the bathtub Ichieda Takashi had searched."

"However, the young lady had been drugged and was afraid she couldn't identify the murderer."

"In order not to let the young lady suffer in vain, and to make the murderer unable to argue, I still didn't make a sound."

"I was waiting for him to make a mistake, to catch him on the spot, so he would have no excuses."

In everyone’s minds, the Onmyoji was like a hunter with victory in his grasp, silently watching the clown-like murderer.

Waiting for him to walk into the trap.

— Author's Notes —

Thanks to Yunwu Yunwu Zhirao for the urging tickets and the Shenjie Xiaobawang monthly ticket. Everyone, please support me more.