Jangxia Tongzhi stepped into the haunted house. Before long, at the end of the corridor, he noticed a lifted floor panel revealing a flight of stairs beneath it.
He followed the stairs down to the bottom, where a dimly lit dungeon came into view.
This was where the dutiful son had been locked up by his loving mother.
The cell door was open. Inside, Conan's voice echoed faintly—he was mid-reasoning again.
Jangxia approached the entrance and peeked in.
Iron bars split the room in two, separating a cell from the rest of the space.
The disheveled son sat inside the prison, a shikigami on his lap like a cursed plush toy.
Outside the bars stood three figures—Conan, Ayumi, and a thin woman with waist-length white hair.
The moment Jangxia laid eyes on that silver-white hair, his fingers twitched instinctively, almost reaching out to grab it.
But after a quick focus, he realized the woman's murderous aura was weak.
More "snack for hunger" level than the juicy kill energy from the kidnapper last time.
Ghost baby took a look at the woman, blinked in mild disappointment, and hopped to the ground, still eager to snack on the scraps of murderous intent.
The white-haired woman held a knife and loomed over Conan and Ayumi, who were huddled nervously in the corner. Her expression screamed unhinged joy.
With her back turned to the door, she hadn't noticed Jangxia at all.
Conan had noticed him though. His explanation paused briefly, then resumed like nothing had happened.
But emotionally? He was clearly rattled.
He spoke faster, his tone sharper, full of that signature righteous anger.
Thankfully, the white-haired woman was too mentally scrambled to pick up on the shift.
Ayumi cast a nervous glance at Jangxia but stayed quiet. It wasn't clear if she had become clever in a crisis, or just frozen from fear.
Or maybe she had that common Yan Gou delusion: That guy at the door doesn't look like a bad person.
…
Conan was clearly the kind of detective who would finish his reasoning even if it killed him. Literally.
In fact, at first, the white-haired woman hadn't planned to kill anyone.
Yuanta and Mitsuhiko, who were currently unconscious in the yard, had just been knocked out.
She'd figured that even if one of the kids reported it, the police wouldn't care.
But Conan? Oh no, Conan was a problem.
He hadn't just found the son locked in the dungeon—he'd correctly deduced that the son was the murderer.
"There are homeless people in the haunted house" and "There's a murderer in the haunted house" are very different headlines.
The second one? That'll definitely bring the cops.
So now, as she listened to Conan unravel the truth, a real flicker of murderous aura bloomed around the white-haired woman.
And when Conan hit her with: "It was your son who killed your husband," she finally snapped.
"Shut up!" she snarled, lunging at Conan and wrapping her hand around his throat. She raised her kitchen knife with a deranged look in her eyes.
Ayumi yelped and covered her face.
Even Conan was stunned.
…Wait.
This isn't how the script was supposed to go.
He'd definitely seen Jangxia just now.
Shouldn't this be the part where he deduces everything perfectly, and Jangxia heroically restrains the suspect at the same time? Then they both nod knowingly and call the police, their teamwork wordless but flawless, quietly hiding their genius from the world?
So why...
Why was he currently being strangled?
Conan's vision blurred. He struggled, trying to look back toward the door to confirm Jangxia's presence.
But the woman's body blocked his view.
The furious mother roared and closed her eyes tight as she swung the blade—probably to stop herself from hesitating if she saw the kid's face.
But before the knife could connect, her hand was suddenly empty.
Someone had yanked the weapon from behind.
At the same time, a firm hand pressed down on her shoulder.
The next thing she knew, half her body went numb and she collapsed onto the ground.
From outside, faint sirens could be heard approaching.
Jangxia glanced at the entrance. Right on time—as expected of this world's ever-efficient police.
He tossed the knife into a corner and, noticing a mop nearby, picked it up.
The tunnel entrance was open, but the police would still need time to find it.
He needed to suppress the murderous aura before they arrived.
Earlier, when he'd seen Conan being strangled, Jangxia had thought about stepping in.
But watching how Conan's chatter made the woman's murderous aura spike even higher… he'd been too curious to interrupt. He wanted to see just how much rage Conan could pull out of her.
The result was impressive.
Conan truly was gifted at pulling aggro.
The white-haired woman, now on the ground clutching her shoulder, turned and glared at Jangxia and his mop in disbelief.
Their eyes met.
After a moment, the murderous aura began to fade on its own.
…Maybe she'd realized the difference in strength and given up on the idea of murder altogether.
Ghost baby, who had been waiting excitedly, trotted over and gathered the fallen murderous aura into a fluffy cotton-candy ball.
He brought it to Jangxia like a proud puppy with a prize.
Jangxia crouched down, took out the cigarette case containing the ghost mint, unwrapped the seal, and let the murderous aura drift in.
Glossary:
Yan Gou – A person who judges others solely based on appearance, usually favorably.