Chapter 8: Poor health since childhood

Mihana General Hospital.

After being unconscious for an unknown period of time, Qianzhu opened her eyes and was greeted by a pure white scene. The pungent smell of disinfectant seemed to linger in her nostrils.

"Brother Qianzhu, you're awake?" Bu Mei's surprised voice rang out, attracting the attention of the others.

The moment Qianzhu sat up, someone placed a pillow behind him, and he realized that there was a bunch of short, chubby people around him.

"Qianzhu, how are you feeling?" Ran Mouri asked, leaning closer with a worried expression.

Qianzhu shook her head, a faint apologetic smile appearing on her still pale face. "I'm fine. I'm sorry to have worried you."

"Brother Qianzhu, I'm sorry..."

The three little ones next to him suddenly lowered their heads and apologized.

"Hmm?" Qianzhu looked a little puzzled, then chuckled and raised her hand to rub Bu Mei's head. "It's not your fault. After all, no one noticed that those bandits were following you."

"Besides... after discovering that you are in danger, I really can't just turn a blind eye and leave."

The more gently he comforted them, the more guilty they felt.

Tears welled up in Ayumi's eyes, and she threw herself into his arms.

Qianzhu's smile froze for a moment, but she quickly covered it up with a soft sigh.

He reached out and gently put his arm around Ayumi, patting her back softly to comfort her.

Once she calmed down, Qianzhu gently patted her head and said softly to her and the others, "It's getting late, you should go home first, otherwise your families will worry."

Mitsuhiko nodded. "We understand. We'll come see you again tomorrow, Chizuru-nii."

"Okay, be careful on your way back."

"I'll take you back," Xiaolan said, standing up beside her.

The four left one after another, leaving only Chizuru and Conan in the quiet ward.

After glancing at Qianzhu's injured shoulder, Conan remained silent for a moment before finally speaking up and expressing his doubts.

"Brother Qianzhu, how did you know we were there?"

Qianzhu let out a breath, relaxed his back and leaned back. Hearing his question, he couldn't help but smile and explain, "I learned from Xiaolan that you hadn't gone back yet, so I went to look for you. At that time, the neon lights on that street were also lit up, and I happened to see a sign that looked just like the picture on that note."

Upon hearing this, Conan nodded thoughtfully, then looked up curiously with his bright eyes, intending to use the innocent way of an elementary school student to get information out of him, "Hey, how come Chizuru-nii knows how to use a gun?"

It hasn't even been a few days, and you've already mastered the "Death God acting cute" technique?

Qianzhu found it amusing, but calmly nodded and smiled, "Yes, I know a little. Isn't that incredible?"

Conan blinked.

"Because I've been in poor health since I was a child, someone suggested that I practice martial arts, saying that it might improve my health. The person who taught me... was a policeman, so he also taught me some knowledge about guns."

"However... I couldn't stick with either martial arts or gun training for long due to my physical condition."

In the end, Qianzhu gave a self-deprecating laugh, and a faint sense of helplessness appeared in her eyes as she turned her head to look out the window at the night.

Conan stared blankly at the scene for a few seconds before awkwardly changing the subject, "Oh right, there really were gold coins in that building, but it seems someone else took them before us..."

Qianzhu: ...

So why should I continue the conversation following your clumsy attempt to change the subject?

Turning back to look at him, Qianzhu's face showed a thoughtful expression, "Could it be that besides us and that bandit gang, someone else knows the secret about the coded message on the note?"

Conan nodded in agreement, "Very likely..."

In an instant, the ward fell silent.

The silence was broken only when a cell phone rang.