Conan stared blankly at the scene before him.
Just moments ago, he'd been the one to tip off Jangxia about the murder—not just to stop him from blurting out nonsense, but also, well... maybe to spark a little friendly competition.
He hadn't expected Jangxia to solve the whole case so fast it looked like he'd been hiding the answer in his sleeve. Had it even been a full minute between when Jangxia entered the house and when he pointed at Suwa?
Conan thought back to that time Jangxia had climbed a wall like a ghost and considered the possibility that he'd secretly peeked at the murder scene beforehand.
But he shook the idea off almost immediately.
—Knowing Jangxia, if he had seen the crime happen, he would've just strolled over and kicked the murderer into a wall, or at least punched him a few times on the spot.
So yeah… these deductions were real.
Conan drifted away in his thoughts. When he came back to reality, he noticed Jangxia was looking at him.
He paused for a second, struggling with the bitter taste of pride, and then, with the dignity of a defeated rival, muttered, "You… you're really good."
Jangxia shook his head. "I just stood on the shoulders of dwarfs."
Conan: "…" That sounded humble.
Wait. Something's off.
Shouldn't it be "on the shoulders of giants"?
…Was he saying this case was so easy, he didn't even need a giant to solve it?
Conan: "…"
He felt his detective soul take psychic damage.
Even worse, the guy probably didn't mean to insult him. The gap between them just… spoke for itself.
Conan lost all his highlights and slunk off to a corner, drawing invisible circles and trying to cultivate mushrooms.
Meanwhile, now that the name "Suwa" had literally been carved into a cabinet, Inspector Megure finally stopped questioning Jangxia's deduction.
Following Jangxia's suggestion, he ordered the forensics team to inspect Suwa's clothes.
Then he turned to Suwa and asked, genuinely confused, "Didn't you come here to repay your loan? Why'd you suddenly kill the guy?"
Suwa had been glaring daggers at Jangxia this whole time.
But now, at the question, he looked away with a long sigh. "It was because of the sword I pawned to him."
"Sword?" Megure blinked.
He noticed a cloth-wrapped blade nearby, picked it up across his chest. "You mean this one?"
Suwa scoffed, outraged. "Of course not that piece of trash! I'm talking about my family heirloom—'Kikuchiyo.'"
"This afternoon, I came here to repay the debt like we agreed. But Maru Denjiro had already sold off my sword! Said it was just interest on the loan.
"I couldn't believe it. He dared to treat my precious treasure like that. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. So when he turned his back to count the money, I picked up a decorative sword from his house and cut him down, like—"
Right then, his eyes flashed.
Suwa suddenly lunged, reaching for the sword in Megure's arms and clearly intending to finish what he started—with Jangxia.
—He'd been holding this anger in the whole time, just waiting for the chance to unleash it.
But as Suwa reached out, he didn't grab the familiar scabbard.
Instead, his palm sank into something soft and… very much not a sword.
A handful of untoned chest fat.
Megure: "!!!"
Suwa: "???"
Frozen mid-attack, he blinked and stared at his own hand in confusion. Then his eyes drifted up—meeting Megure's stunned, wide-eyed expression.
Only then did Suwa realize… the sword was gone.
He looked to the side.
The young detective he'd been aiming for had, at some point, quietly walked over and now stood behind a short-haired policewoman—knife in hand.
Jangxia peeked out from behind her, half his face visible, and calmly scolded, "Attacking the police? No repentance at all."
Sato stood frozen for a beat—until the phrase "attacking the police" registered in her ears.
Then she saw Suwa still clinging to her superior, Inspector Megure.
A dark aura rose from her, forehead veins twitching, high heels tapping.
Next thing anyone knew, she launched like a missile.
"Wait—!" Suwa tried to backpedal, but it was too late.
Sato tackled him with a roar, suplexing him straight into the floor.
Several meters away, Jangxia observed Suwa's dazed, mosquito-coil eyes and confirmed the man had lost all ability to fight. Then he casually tossed the knife aside.
He strolled over, feigning concern for the injured man, and stealthily siphoned off a faint trace of murderous aura.
It had come from Suwa.
Not much—just a flicker. Probably more bluff than true killing intent. Suwa had only wanted to scare him, not actually follow through. And after Sato's takedown, even that small amount had fallen off.
A bit disappointing, but…
Even mosquito meat is still meat.
Jangxia didn't complain and carefully stored the windfall.
Suwa was hauled away by the police.
While things were still a bit chaotic, Jangxia wandered over to Mrs. Maru Denjiro—who, despite having just lost her husband, was clinging to her lover's arm with a face full of post-murder joy.
Jangxia watched her for a moment. She seemed to be in a good mood. So he asked directly, "What are you planning to do with the remaining collateral?"
Mrs. Maru, freshly enriched and widowed, was practically glowing. Plus, Jangxia had helped clear her dear doctor-lover of suspicion. So she looked at him with great affection.
She recalled how he'd scaled the wall earlier and vaguely guessed his true motive.
Covering her mouth with a soft laugh, she replied, "Don't worry, I won't sell the collateral off like that greedy old man—I'll just keep it until it expires. If the borrower pays up, great. If not, I'll wait a few days before selling…"
As she spoke, her gaze drifted to her husband's bloodstain on the floor. Her tone faltered.
"Actually… forget it. I won't sell it even when it's due. Better to just keep it at home."
Jangxia: "…"
He had the strange sense that she'd glimpsed a sliver of the Detective Conan universe.
But that was fine. Less running back and forth for him. No need to keep sneaking in to replant transmitters.
Before he left, Jangxia discreetly went to the warehouse and retrieved the bug he'd hidden in a flower pot.
Collateral drama: resolved.
But there was still time left before his next scheduled client meeting.
It wouldn't be professional to rush over early—what if something happened in between?
So Jangxia simply organized his findings and decided to wait for the client to come to him.
A few days later, Jangxia's phone rang.
It was Suzuki Sonoko.
She shyly reminded him not to forget the "Rex" band's after-party he'd agreed to attend.
The moment she mentioned the band, a smug male idol with spiky Super Saiyan hair popped into Jangxia's mind.
He instantly agreed not to ghost them and promised to show up on time.
Sonoko hung up, delighted.
The Rex band's party was at a KTV in a remote part of town.
The celebration was scheduled for the evening.
It got dark early. Jangxia followed the address through the twilight streets.
On the way, he passed an iron tower glowing with rainbow lights, a giant flashing signboard, a roof light shaped like a bow, a Ferris wheel star, and… a suspiciously spooky-looking building with a huge glowing sign that read: "Ghost Sakura."
Jangxia: "…" This looks familiar.
He stared at the "Ghost Sakura" sign, then suddenly remembered a certain case and considered going over to investigate.
But then he recalled the recent newspaper articles—no related cases had been reported there.
So even if he checked it out, it would probably lead nowhere.
Plus, he had an appointment tonight.
If he showed up late to his first party, Ran and Sonoko might think he came unwillingly. If that happened, they might stop inviting him in the future—and that would be terrible. He'd miss out on tons of juicy murder cases.
With that in mind, Jangxia memorized the building's location for later, then hurried on toward the KTV to make sure he wasn't late.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 6/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS*
Glossary:
Draw a circle to grow mushrooms – A melodramatic image of someone sulking in a corner, wallowing in self-pity.
Mosquito coil eyes – Swirly, dazed cartoon eyes that show someone is dizzy, confused, or knocked sens