The friend of Yamazaki Myoji, Iwata Daijiro's residence, was a large Western-style manor villa.
The villa had a sizable courtyard, complete with cobblestone paths, green lawns, flower beds, trees, a pond, statues, and so on. In short, this villa, in Japan, was definitely considered an out-and-out luxury mansion.
It was still only afternoon; the evening banquet hadn't started yet.
Yamazaki Myoji took Shu Yunwen to Iwata Daijiro's bedroom to meet the master of the villa.
Iwata Daijiro was an elderly man in his early sixties, rather thin, and in a wheelchair, one leg in a cast.
According to Yamazaki Myoji's explanation, Iwata Daijiro's leg was injured in an accident and hadn't healed well, so he was still in a wheelchair. Moreover, Yamazaki Myoji also said that recently, strange "ding-dong" sounds could often be heard in Iwata Daijiro's villa. The servants had investigated but found nothing, which made Iwata somewhat frightened.
This was the main reason why his good friend, Yamazaki Myoji, had sought a "spiritual talisman" for Iwata Daijiro.
Unlike Yamazaki Myoji, Iwata Daijiro did not trust so-called "exorcists." After merely exchanging a few polite words, he said he had other matters to attend to and told Yamazaki Myoji and Shu Yunwen to make themselves at home.
After the two left Iwata's bedroom, Yamazaki Myoji immediately apologized to Shu Yunwen:
"Shu-san, I am terribly sorry. Iwata was a bit too rude. Please, you mustn't be angry."
Shu Yunwen shook his head indifferently, then said,
"Please don't mind it, Yamazaki-san. Also, if you have some free time, could you please accompany me for a walk around the rooms? Perhaps we might discover something."
"Of course."
Yamazaki agreed.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Shu Yunwen expressed his gratitude, while inwardly complaining that Japanese etiquette was really quite tedious.
While muttering, Shu Yunwen chanted an incantation. After a few seconds, a spell was cast, and his eyes seemed to be covered by a layer of hazy mist as he looked around.
Ghost Sorcery, Ghost Eye!
This sorcery, like Bad Luck Follows, was an entry-level trick, considered a sorcerer's sleight of hand. Its main ability was to see ghosts, souls, and the like.
In Ghost Sorcery, the "Ghost Eye" was considered one of the most useless spells for a sorcerer.
This was because once a Ghost Sorcerer advanced to become a junior sorcerer, they would naturally possess Yin-Yang Eyes, which didn't consume mystic power and could be opened or closed at will, eliminating the need to specifically cast a "Ghost Eye." Of course, for ordinary people, the "Ghost Eye" was equivalent to having Yin-Yang Eyes for a short period, and its effect was extraordinary.
Shu Yunwen hadn't been cultivating Ghost Sorcery for long. His body was actually not much different from an ordinary person's; he hadn't opened his Yin-Yang Eyes, so he could only cast a "Ghost Eye" on himself for observation.
Yamazaki Myoji led the way, and the two wandered around the villa. They did discover the soul of a stray cat that was about to dissipate, but apart from that, they found nothing else.
That nearly dissipated stray cat soul posed no threat at all; a normal person could blow it away with a breath. It certainly couldn't be causing trouble in the villa. Therefore, Shu Yunwen thought it over and concluded that this incident was likely not due to any supernatural mischief, but rather human factors. As for why it couldn't be found out… that had nothing to do with him, Shu Yunwen.
In the lounge, Yamazaki Myoji's attitude was a bit more respectful than before.
"Shu-san, may I ask if you've discovered anything?"
A faint mist still clung to Shu Yunwen's eyes, making Yamazaki Myoji feel that Shu Yunwen had suddenly become much more mysterious.
"No."
Shu Yunwen shook his head.
"The strange occurrences in this villa probably have nothing to do with 'strange things.' Perhaps someone was just careless and made some noise…"
"Is that so…"
Yamazaki Myoji was disappointed.
Shu Yunwen looked at Yamazaki Myoji's expression and couldn't help but roll his eyes—this guy was nuts! Isn't no ghosts better than having ghosts? If there really was some powerful vengeful spirit or evil entity in this villa, Shu Yunwen might not even be able to deal with it right now…
After a brief conversation, Yamazaki Myoji excused himself and left. Shu Yunwen rested in the room until evening, and the banquet finally began.
At the banquet, after Shu Yunwen had eaten a little something, some people came over to chat.
"Hello, Master Keqin. I never expected you to be here tonight."
This was a beautiful middle-aged woman, her attitude very respectful.
Upon hearing this, Shu Yunwen knew she had mistaken him for his "convenient" father, Shu Keqin.
"Excuse me, madam. My name is Shu Yunwen. My late father was Shu Keqin, but he has passed away."
"Is that so?"
The middle-aged woman was very disappointed and surprised.
"But your face…"
Shu Yunwen could only explain,
"Due to practicing exorcism techniques, I appear somewhat aged. It will recover in the future."
After sending one away, another person approached, their attitude still respectful:
"Hello, Master Keqin. I never thought I'd meet you here. There were rumors that you had passed away…"
"My father has indeed passed away. My name is Shu Yunwen, please take care of me."
Shu Yunwen explained again.
"The reason my face looks so old is because I'm cultivating our family's traditional exorcism techniques. It will recover in the future."
"Is that so? Then I was being rude."
In a short while, Shu Yunwen had sent away six people. Before leaving, each of them left Shu Yunwen a business card. These were likely part of the connections Shu Keqin had left behind.
"Shu-san, were those people just now all friends of your father?"
Yamazaki Myoji emerged from some nook or cranny.
Shu Yunwen nodded.
"So it's Mr. Yamazaki. They all mistook me for my father."
"That's understandable."
Yamazaki Myoji said with a smile.
"After all, Shu-san's current appearance does resemble Master Keqin very much."
After chatting with Shu Yunwen for a few sentences, Yamazaki Myoji suddenly raised his hand and looked at his watch.
"I'm very sorry, Shu-san, I have some other matters to attend to now, so, excuse me."
"Mr. Yamazaki, you're too kind. Please, go ahead."
After Yamazaki Myoji left, Shu Yunwen stayed in the banquet hall for a while longer, then walked out. He asked a servant to prepare a room for him, instructing them not to disturb him and to call him when Yamazaki Myoji was leaving—yes, he still had some homework assigned by his teachers to do.
The miserable student life.
Just as he finished his homework, Shu Yunwen also heard the sound of police sirens outside the room.
Looking out the window, Shu Yunwen saw some people getting out of the police cars outside the villa and hurriedly entering.
Shu Yunwen paused for a moment, opened the door, and waved at a servant in the hallway outside the room.
"Hello, may I ask what happened? I saw police cars from the window…"
"Ah? Hello, guest."
The servant quickly bowed.
"Y-yes, an incident has occurred. A guest seems to have been murdered."
"Someone died?"
Upon hearing this, Shu Yunwen's eyes lit up.
"Quickly, take me to see."
Someone dying, for him, was basically a freebie! And, it seemed like they were murdered.
The servant shook his head and refused.
"N-no, you can't. The police have instructed that no one is allowed near the scene before them."
Alright, this was indeed the most common request from police officers.
To protect the scene and preserve evidence!
"Heh…"
Shaking his head helplessly, Shu Yunwen once again chanted an incantation, activated his "Ghost Eye," and began searching within the villa himself.
About two minutes later, Shu Yunwen successfully found the room where the person had died. The police had already cordoned off the surrounding area.
Not far away, Iwata Daijiro, in his wheelchair, had an expression of utter grief mixed with anger.
"Inspector Megure, please, you must catch the murderer and avenge my good friend Yamazaki!"
Yamazaki?
Shu Yunwen paused, asking a bystander nearby,
"Hello, excuse me, do you know who was killed?"
"Ah! I heard it was the general manager of Hachiryo Bank, Mr. Yamazaki Myoji…"
The one killed was really Yamazaki Myoji?
"Make way! Make way! Let me in! Let me in!"
At this moment, a voice came from outside. A few seconds later, a young man in blue clothes squeezed his way nearby. When he turned his head and saw Shu Yunwen, he was surprised.
"Shu-san? Y-you, why are you here?"
"Why can't I be here? Kudo? Uh…"
Shu Yunwen said with a smile, then suddenly froze, as if he had thought of something—
Wait! This scene isn't right!
The God of Death Kudo Shinichi, Inspector Megure who is always his foil, old Mr. Iwata Daijiro with a broken leg in a wheelchair, and the murdered Yamazaki Myoji, the general manager of Hachiryo Bank…
What the fuck? Why does this feel like the case from the beginning of Detective Conan?
The murderer, it seems, is…
Shu Yunwen's gaze shifted, landing on Iwata Daijiro, who was still in his wheelchair, looking utterly grief-stricken.
Mm…
This guy's acting skills are pretty good!
PS: Yamazaki's identity revealed.
That's right, this guy is the man killed at the beginning, the one who didn't even get a memorial photo…