After Baishi Hui teased Conan, he looked at Conan's expression of wanting to gnash his teeth but being helpless against him, and was very happy.
He looked at Mouri Kogoro, who was standing nearby, and asked, "Uncle Mouri, have you found anything?"
"I found something... but it's not good news." Mouri Kogoro plopped down on the beach towel and said gloomily, "That Keiji Aso set himself on fire and died 12 years ago... It seems someone wants to commission me to investigate the real cause of his death."
"He's been dead for 12 years, how are we supposed to investigate that?"
As he spoke, he let out a puff of white smoke with a sigh, unsure of how to proceed with the investigation.
"Then... maybe we should just give up? And return the commission fee?" Ran also felt that after so long, it would be difficult to find anything.
Mouri Kogoro was clearly tempted to give up; he didn't want to continue investigating, as the case was too difficult for him.
"Giving up right at the start?" Baishi Hui looked at Mouri Kogoro, feeling quite speechless, as he had no tenacity at all.
He didn't want them to just head back home like this.
If he didn't leave with them, he would become suspicious.
So Baishi Hui proactively offered a suggestion: "First, let's investigate Keiji Aso's social circle. Since he lived on the island, he must have had quite a few friends. We might be able to gather some useful information."
"Shirashi is right, we can start investigating from his social relationships." Conan also didn't want to just go back.
He realized there must be a hidden truth behind this case; otherwise, after 12 years, it would be impossible for someone to be willing to pay to commission an investigation into this old matter!
Compared to cases with no difficulty, Conan preferred these challenging ones, as solving them brought a stronger sense of accomplishment!
"That's true," Mouri Kogoro thought. "Let's find someone who knew Keiji Aso first!" Seeing that there was still a lead, he temporarily dismissed the idea of leaving!
The reward for this commission wasn't low, and if possible, he didn't want to give up either!
"Then we won't disturb your work," Baishi Hui said. Seeing that Mouri had given up the idea of leaving, he stood up and said to Ran, "Let's go, let's not waste time... Renting this jet ski for an hour isn't cheap."
"I'm coming~~~~" Ran happily followed. As she Ran, she turned back and said to Mouri and Conan, "Dad, Conan! Good luck with your work!!"
Watching the two of them get on the jet ski one after another, and seeing that Ran was even holding onto Baishi Hui's waist, Conan became completely jealous. He rushed forward, wanting to squeeze in between them!!
However, Mouri Kogoro grabbed him!
"Uncle Mouri! I want to play too! I've never played this in my life!!" Conan pleaded repeatedly.
"What are you playing during work? Talk about it after work!" Mouri Kogoro watched Baishi Hui carrying Ran, speeding across the sea on the jet ski, his eyes full of envy.
He wanted to play too!
"......" Conan struggled repeatedly, and seeing that it was useless, he had no choice but to give up.
Watching their figures disappear into the vast sea, his heart was very conflicted, especially when he saw Ran's smile like that, which filled him with a sense of crisis!
He swore that if he turned back into Kudo Shinichi, the first thing he would do is confess to Ran!
He had to confirm their relationship first!
After a short rest, Mouri Kogoro and Conan continued their search for Keiji Aso's old friends on the island.
————————————————————
Seven o'clock in the evening.
Baishi Hui and Ran met up with Mouri and Conan at the restaurant.
While eating dinner, Baishi Hui inquired about the progress of the investigation.
Mouri Kogoro said, "Keiji Aso was an internationally renowned pianist who often went on overseas tours. He didn't stay in the village very often, so not many people knew him well."
"But he was friends with the village chief, so I was thinking of visiting the chief later."
"It will probably be late by the time we finish, so I plan to stay on the island tonight!"
"Ran, Baishi, you two should take the boat back first!"
Baishi Hui said naturally, "I'd just be sleeping if I went back to Tokyo, so I might as well sleep here... We can even wake up early tomorrow to watch the sunrise over the sea!"
"I want to watch the sunrise over the sea too!!" Ran saw that everyone was staying, so of course, she didn't want to go back alone.
Besides, she really wanted to see the sunrise over the sea; that scene must be beautiful!
The only pity was that she didn't bring a change of clothes, but that wasn't a big deal.
The hotel would provide pajamas. When she showered later, she could just take off her clothes and wash them, hang them out to dry, and wear them tomorrow!
Seeing that neither of them wanted to leave, Mouri Kogoro didn't say much more.
After dinner, everyone found a hotel to stay at and booked three rooms: one for Mouri Kogoro and Conan, and separate rooms for Baishi Hui and Ran.
"I'm a bit tired after playing all day," Baishi Hui said, showing a tired expression. "We have to wake up early tomorrow to watch the sunrise over the sea... I'll wash up and go to bed. See you tomorrow."
"Shirashi-kun, remember to wake me up tomorrow morning to watch the sunrise over the sea!" Ran quickly reminded him.
"Okay!" Baishi Hui nodded, then waved goodbye to everyone and returned to his room.
When the door clicked shut, the tired look on his face vanished completely.
He had played enough; it was time to get down to business.
————————————————————————————
There wasn't much nightlife on the small island. By past nine o'clock, hardly anyone was walking around outside.
Only a few streetlights illuminated the roads at night.
Baishi Hui put on the azu mask, transforming into Azu the Bandit. Avoiding light sources, he headed to the beach to meet Akemi.
After meeting with Akemi, he noticed that she was wearing a fox mask.
This made him feel greatly relieved—she had finally realized the importance of covering her face. This was a significant improvement.
"Azu-sensei, I've gotten a general understanding of the situation on this island." Akemi couldn't wait to show off her hard work as soon as they met!
"Talk as we walk," Baishi Hui motioned for Akemi to follow him.
Akemi reported the general situation of Moon Shadow Island as she walked.
After walking for a while, she noticed that Azu-sensei stopped at Asai Clinic.
Clinics on small islands often stay open quite late, so Asai Clinic was still lit up at this moment.
"Azu-sensei, what are we doing here?" Akemi felt very strange. She knew that an Asai doctor lived here, who was quite pretty and had a good personality.
"Looking for someone to help," Baishi Hui said, pushing the door open and walking in.
The door hit the hanging bell, making a jingling sound.
This would alert Asai Narumi that a patient had arrived.
She came out of her office and said, "Good evening, may I help you with... Hmm?"
After Asai Narumi walked out of the office, her steps stopped. She stared in astonishment at the two masked man and woman.
Especially the man with the red mask covering half his face; he had been appearing in the news frequently recently!
This made her heart skip a beat. She didn't understand why Azu the Bandit would appear on Moon Shadow Island.
"Narumi Aso, do you want to avenge your Dad?" Baishi Hui had no interest in playing guessing games. As soon as he met her, he dropped a bombshell.
This instantly made Asai Narumi's head buzz, and she was momentarily stunned, her mind filled with "How does he know my real identity?".
Narumi Aso?
Akemi was also confused when she heard this name. Wasn't this female doctor called Asai Narumi? Did Azu-sensei get the name wrong?
Then she noticed Asai Narumi's expression was wrong and immediately realized there was a story behind this!
Baishi Hui didn't wait for her to process it and continued, "I am your Dad's friend... I came back this time to avenge him."
Avenge? Weren't we here for those drug trafficking groups?
Akemi's head was full of question marks, but she couldn't ask them out loud and could only suppress her curiosity and continue listening.
"You... you know my Dad?" Asai Narumi was startled and said with some disbelief.
"Yes, we met abroad... Come to think of it, we've met before, you were still so small back then." Baishi Hui casually gestured to a height at his knee and said, "Your sister hadn't been born yet at that time."
!!!!" When Asai Narumi heard this, she believed him somewhat.
She had many questions she wanted to ask, but she held back and said, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's go upstairs... Please."