Chapter 80 The Estate's Treasure Trove and Bidet Wine
Actually, I already deciphered this code a long time ago~
"Clang!" Gu Ze could almost hear Conan petrifying.
"Really! Gu Ze, you're amazing!" Bu Mei exclaimed in amazement.
"Wow, that's really amazing!" the others chimed in.
Amid the praise of the three children, Conan broke down and said, "Since you solved it, you should have said so sooner, really."
Gu Ze chuckled at Conan, seemingly doing it on purpose.
"Ahem, actually this code is very simple." Gu Ze pointed to the words on the paper and began to put it away.
"The numbers here refer to the number of times these letters appear in the word; 'patg 1' means that these letters appear only once."
"And so on..."
"This is an English word made up of 'patg' and two 'in's."
After finishing his explanation, Gu Ze turned his gaze to Conan. "Conan, you should know what the word is now, right?"
"Yes, it's 'painting,' which means drawing." After saying the word, Conan even translated it for the three little ones.
"A drawing!" Ayumi exclaimed.
"Yes, absolutely right. As expected of you, Conan! You know so much!" Gu Ze couldn't help but praise him.
"In other words, the clues to the treasure are hidden in the painting," Mitsuhiko said excitedly.
"Yes." Gu Ze nodded.
Conan, standing nearby, couldn't resist asking, "The code has been deciphered, why didn't you go find it yourself before?"
"Do you know how many paintings are treasured here? There are at least a hundred!" Gu Ze gestured a number. "Are you trying to kill me by making me search for them all by myself?"
“I need someone to help me!” he said matter-of-factly.
Conan: ...
"Then leave it to our Junior Detective Club!"
"Brother Gu Ze, we'll help you find all the clues!"
The three little ones cheered and jumped for joy, eager to get started immediately.
At this moment, Ai Haibara, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa, said, "If we're talking about clues, there's one in the painting over there."
She pointed to the oil painting she had been examining earlier; it was a natural landscape painting with an Impressionist style.
"The clue is right on the side of the picture frame."
Ai Haibara either doesn't speak at all, or when she does, it's a bombshell that startles everyone, who rush over to see what's going on.
Wow, it really exists!
The painting was not only beautiful, but the frame was also exquisite, with intricate carvings and what appeared to be a layer of gold plating.
On the right side of the frame, in that narrow corner, is carved a stick figure with its limbs moving as if it were dancing.
Below the dancing figure is engraved a Roman numeral "4".
Yuan Tai scratched his bald head with his hand, "It's just a stick figure, what does that mean?"
The three children all looked at Gu Ze, hoping he would give them an answer.
Gu Ze smiled without saying a word, but his gaze was fixed on Conan.
This was a code he had specially prepared for Holmes's apprentice, so naturally Conan had to say it himself.
"This is a code from the Sherlock Holmes stories; each pose of the dancing figure corresponds to an English letter."
"And the little figure engraved here represents 'd'."
The focus shifted to Conan, and Gu Ze gladly gave up the spotlight to Conan.
He followed behind Conan and said, "There's more than one clue, so let's ask our super-powerful Junior Detective League to look for the other patterns."
Then, he took out a few sheets of white paper and a few pens from a drawer and distributed them to several people one by one.
“If you find it, draw it on top of the map.”
"Okay!" the three little ones said in unison.
"Then I'll go look on the second floor."
"I want to go to the fourth floor."
"I'll go to the third floor."
After assigning each person their floor, the three little ones set off first.
Children in this age group have a very strong desire for adventure.
Seeing the children disappear at the stairwell, Conan finally no longer needed to pretend.
"Hey, you should have found that so-called treasure by now, or maybe there isn't any treasure at all."
"Just like yesterday, you're leading us step by step. What trick are you playing this time?"
[Ding! Shinichi Kudo's approval rating +5]
Gu Ze frowned, feigning annoyance. "Conan, it's very impolite to expose someone so directly."
"Ahem, don't be impatient. Just do as I say, and I guarantee you'll get the answer you want."
Gu Ze winked at him, then gestured for Ai Haibara to follow him to the fifth floor, while Conan stayed on the first floor to look for clues.
Time passed by in this way, and an hour and a half later, everyone returned from upstairs with their purchases.
The group spread out white paper with symbols drawn on it on the table and began their final analysis.
There are eight letters in total, namely "abdeinrt", and each letter is followed by a Roman numeral.
Moreover, the number of digits varies; for example, below "r" are the two letters "2" and "11".
“There’s a little flag in the hand of this little figure.” Ayumi seemed to have made a new discovery; she noticed the little figure corresponding to the letter “r”.
"The little flag in the little man's hand represents that this letter is the last in the word, which means that 'r' is the last letter."
"Those Roman numerals likely indicate the position of the letter in the word."
As Conan explained, he arranged the text on a piece of paper with a pen.
"Finally, it will form a word with 11 letters, which is 'brainteaser'."
Upon hearing a complex English phrase, several question marks appeared above the heads of the three children.
"It means a riddle or riddle," Ai Haibara said, standing to the side with her arms crossed, explaining the meaning of the word.
Even knowing the answer, the group was still completely baffled.
A riddle? Or perhaps a puzzle?
Gu Ze broke through their doubts, pretending to suddenly realize something, "'brainteaser,' then I know."
"Come with me to the study on the second floor."
As the owner of this house, Gu Ze was quite familiar with the area.
The study has the same decorating style as the outside, with a retro and elegant feel.
Gu Ze came to a row of inconspicuous bookshelves in the corner, which were filled with books with English titles. However, mixed in with the English books was a book in simplified Chinese.
The book was called "Brain Teasers".
Wow, Chinese characters.
"Do you know Gu Ze?"
"Of course I know her, my mother is Chinese."
“I visited this manor when I was a child. Out of curiosity, I tried to take this book, but my third uncle scolded me severely. I haven’t dared to open it since then.”
Gu Ze lowered his eyes, a hint of sadness in his voice, "Thinking back now, those were truly happy times."
"Brother Gu Ze, don't be sad." The perceptive Bu Mei quickly sensed Gu Ze's change and comforted him.
"Keep pretending! Go ahead and pretend!" Conan chuckled. He would no longer believe a word Gu Ze said.
With a crisp "click," the book was opened.
It looks like a book, but it's actually a puzzle box.
Under the light, the treasure inside the box is revealed.
There were more than a dozen jade pendants, carved with various mythical beast shapes. The craftsmanship was exquisite and the pendants were beautiful. The patterns on the pendants were carved to lifelike detail.
Wow, so beautiful!
"Is that a little rabbit? It's so cute!"
Exclamations of amazement rose and fell, and everyone stared with sparkling eyes at the "treasure" inside.
"If you like them, you can take them." Gu Ze smiled and picked up a small rabbit pendant for Bu Mei.
"Oh, this isn't a good idea!"
“This was left to Gu Ze by his uncle, we can’t take it.”
"Here, consider this my fee for the Junior Detective Club," Gu Ze said, sending a message to everyone.
"Conan, this one is engraved with Bai Ze. In China, Bai Ze is a mythical beast that knows everything."
Conan took the pendant from Gu Ze, examined it carefully, and then spoke in a voice only Gu Ze could hear.
"Hey, you've already sent it out? Judging by the quality of this jade, it must be quite valuable."
"Here you go, just take it. You're not happy about getting something for free?" Gu Ze glared at him.
"Give this phoenix one to Ai."
The other four people were all around Gu Ze, but Ai Haibara stood alone in front of an oil painting.
Accepting Gu Ze's mission, Conan took the pendant and walked towards Ai Haibara.
He kept cursing in his heart.
So what exactly is Gu Ze doing? Coming to the manor to play with the kids and then give them a gift?
Is Gu Zege too idle?
"Haibara, this is the pendant Gu Ze gave you."
Ai Haibara took it expressionlessly and said slowly, "Kudo, haven't you noticed yet?"
"This painting and the one in the downstairs living room are by the same artist, an abstract painter."
"What's wrong?" Conan asked instinctively at first, then he suddenly realized!
Same author!
Those paintings with carved clues are examples!
Conan was instantly struck dumb.
"What do the paintings you see look like?" he called out to the three little ones who were chattering away.
"Conan, what are you doing?"
Tell me now!
"Mine is a girl wearing a purple dress."
"It's a pond with lots of lotus flowers..."
The three children told Conan about the paintings they had found one by one.
Conan, who has a certain level of artistic skill, immediately recalled the year these paintings were created.
If you sort the letters according to the year of the painting, you can form a word.
"Bard!"
Bideli, a French wine!
He looked up from his reverie, eagerly searching for Gu Ze, and then asked him for clarification.
"Where's Gu Ze?" Conan didn't see Gu Ze anywhere.
"He just said he was going to the next room to get something."
Before Ayumi could finish speaking, Conan rushed out of the study.
The door to the next room was open, as if waiting for Conan's arrival.
The moment the door was pushed open, the dimness of the entryway collided abruptly with the soft light inside. The table lamp was the only light source, its warm yellow glow narrow and concentrated.
Gu Ze sat behind his desk, most of his face hidden in shadow, only revealing his hard jawline and smiling lips.
He didn't move an inch, like a sculpture blending into the darkness.
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