Chapter 021 Hot Spring Trip (Part 3)
The scenery along the forest path was indeed beautiful. The group, all top students from the University of Tokyo, suddenly got in the mood and started playing "Five Seven Five," or haiku.
Higashino Hiroshi, who knew nothing about Japanese short poetry, refused to participate. Furthermore, his mind was preoccupied with the possibility of something happening to Higashino Kento, and whether he should go back to save him. But what if he did save him, and the murderer turned on him again? What would he do then?
Seeing that Higanohei was the last one left, Hatori couldn't help but slow down his pace. When Higanohei reached him, he asked, "Senior, what are you thinking about? Why do you look so worried?"
Dong Yexi quickly shook his head and said, "Nothing, I'm just having a headache about studying. Hahaha~" He pointed ahead, "Why don't you continue playing? Although I don't quite understand, I can see that you are very good."
Hatori Yui smiled and said, "I can't be the only one to take the spotlight. I have to give others a chance to perform."
Dong Yexi nodded.
When playing games, I am afraid of encountering a crushing situation. That would be too boring.
As the group walked, they discovered that there was a small waterfall at the end of the plank road.
"Wow!"
Kaneda glanced at Matsuzaki Tetsu and said with a smile, "You already knew about this, didn't you? You're pretty tight-lipped."
Matsuzaki Tetsu smiled and said, "That's the only way it can be a surprise, isn't it?"
It was indeed a surprise.
The splashing water from the small waterfall felt cool on his face, making Dong Yexi forget his worries for a short while.
Just then, they saw Kogoro Mori and his group coming from the other side.
"Mr. Maori~" The newcomers waved at him involuntarily.
When they came over, Anda Shizuku asked, "Mr. Maori, where did you come from?"
Hattori Heiji said, "I came from the back door along the mountain road."
Edogawa Conan slipped in from the gap under the railing of the plank road and asked, "Hey, where does this plank road start?"
Anda Shizuku pointed and said, "The starting point is at the side door next to the front desk. Just open it."
"How long did it take you to walk here?" Edogawa Conan continued to ask.
Toyama Mima glanced at her watch. "We've been walking for almost an hour and a half. But we were playing as we walked, so the pace was very slow."
Kindaichi said, "It's less than three kilometers. An average adult male would need about twenty minutes to run here. For someone who exercises regularly, it might take less than fifteen minutes."
After he finished speaking, Kogoro Mori and his group fell into deep thought.
Kindaichi smiled and asked, "Excuse me, what case are you investigating, Mr. Mori?"
Maori Kogoro glanced at Hattori Heiji, who spread his hands to show he wasn't bothered. He then said, "Actually, we received a strange request. It read, 'A long-haired wild man has appeared in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture, exactly the same as he was sixty years ago. Please help us investigate the truth behind his longevity.' Attached were photos of the wild man taken sixty years ago and more recently. We've examined them carefully, and they do resemble each other."
"Savage?" Dong Yexi asked, "Isn't that a wild animal? A hairy gorilla or something like that?"
"...Orangutans don't have hair." Edogawa Conan explained, "And the wild man in the photo has white hair all over his body, and his appearance doesn't match the characteristics of an orangutan."
Dong Yexi asked again: "Could it be that someone is wearing white fur? And that person is quite tall and strong, so from a distance he looks like a wild man?"
Conan Edogawa said with small eyes: "This situation is not impossible..."
Mao Lilan and Toyama Kazuha, who had been very scared, felt relieved when they heard him say this. Toyama Kazuha said, "Heiji, listen to what he said. It makes so much sense!"
Hattori Heiji said innocently, "I told you from the beginning that there were no wild men. You just thought too much."
Yuanshan Heye's cheeks flushed, and she argued, "Well, anyone who saw such large footprints would suspect the presence of wild people!"
"Footprints?" Kindaichi asked.
"The person who took the photo of the wild man found traces similar to footprints at the scene after the wild man left. They were twice as large as the average male's feet. That's why the news spread that there were wild men in this area." Conan Edogawa explained.
Hattori Heiji added: "And we also saw huge footprints on the other side just now, so we are a little confused."
Dong Yexi stroked his chin and thought for a moment before saying, "That could also be someone else's disguise. The client used the excuse of investigating the Savage to lure you here. Perhaps he wants you to help him investigate other cases, and the Savage could just be one of them."
After hearing this, several detectives fell into deep thought.
It must be said that what Dong Yexi said made sense. This wasn't the first time they had encountered a case within a case.
"Anyway, let's go back first." Kindaichi reminded, "It's already evening, and the forest at night is very dangerous."
Mao Lilan and Yuanshan Heye suddenly felt a gust of cold wind blowing, and they couldn't help rubbing their arms, and then urged: "Let's go back first! It's not easy to find clues at night!"
The detectives could only nod in agreement.
They turned over and climbed up the plank road and went back with the people from the research society.
Ran Mao Li had a good impression of Toyama Mima, so she brought Toyama Kazuha to be with her.
"What a coincidence, your surname is all Toyama!" Mao Lilan said with a smile.
Yuanshan Meizhen raised her eyebrows and said, "Maybe the older generation is still a relative!"
Yuanshan Heye also smiled and said: "I will ask my dad when I get home if we have any relatives in Tokyo!"
Several girls quickly changed the topic.
Dong Yexi listened from the side.
As expected, the person who received the anonymous letter of commission was Hattori Heiji. He was actually not interested in the wild man, but just wanted to find an excuse to ask Conan out for fun, and he also wanted to return the commission fee to the other party.
But it's easy to imagine that he won't be able to find his client and will be involved in even stranger cases later.
When the group returned to the hot spring hotel, it was already completely dark, and they met Kento Touya at the door again.
Dong Yexi felt a lot more at ease for a moment, fortunately the person was fine.
It seemed that Kento Touya just came out for a stroll and then turned back to his room.
At this time, the boss came out and said that dinner was ready, so everyone went to the restaurant to eat together.
"Wow! It's seafood sashimi!" Adachi Shizuku looked at the table with shining eyes, "It looks delicious!"
Dong Yexi, who sat at the same table with him, had a slightly changed expression. He said, "If you like it, eat more!" and picked up the beef bowl beside him. He had a poor tolerance for raw food and could only accept the drunken crab and shrimp from his hometown.
However, the beef rice bowl is a big bowl, obviously for everyone to share.
He looked at the others at the table and asked, "Do you want beef rice bowl?"
Toru Matsuzaki shook his head.
Hatori Yuiichi handed over the bowl: "Give it to me. I don't eat sashimi."
Dong Yexi was afraid that he would not be full, so he gave him half a bowl.
Anda Shizuku looked puzzled and asked, "There are actually people who don't like sashimi? And I met two of them at once?"
Matsuzaki Toru picked up a piece of tuna with his chopsticks and said, "Respect other people's eating habits. Actually, not everyone in Japan likes to eat raw food."
Anda Shizuku also quickly picked up a piece of tuna with chopsticks, stuffed it into her mouth, and said incoherently, "Well, then they can't experience the delicious taste of raw food. Oh~~ This piece of fish belly is so fat!"
Dong Yexi ignored him and just stared at the cooked food on the table.
There was a sushi platter on the table, so he picked out the ones without sashimi and even helped Hatori Yui pick up a few. He said, "We'll eat the cooked ones, and give them the raw ones."
Hatori Yui smiled and nodded.
Toru Amuro, who was sitting diagonally opposite, could just see their table. Seeing how familiar the two of them were, he couldn't help but look at them a few more times.
Conan Edogawa noticed that he had slowed down his eating speed, followed his gaze, and twitched his lips.
Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong with you guys? Can't you restrain yourself in public?
As a last resort, Edogawa Conan also picked up a piece of sashimi and put it into Amuro Toru's bowl.
Amuro Toru looked at him in surprise.
Edogawa Conan smiled sweetly: "Mr. Amuro, eat more!" Don't look at other people! It's no big deal to pick up food!
Toru Amuro felt confused, but accepted his kindness with a smile.
Hattori Heiji looked at Edogawa Conan with surprise and horror, then leaned close to his ear and asked, "Kudo, what are you doing?"
Edogawa Conan rolled his eyes at him and whispered, "Don't ask, just eat yours."
Hattori Heiji glanced at him and said sarcastically, "To Mr. Amuro, it's 'Eat more', and to me, it's 'Eat yours'. Am I your friend?"
Edogawa Conan was completely confused, not knowing what was wrong with him. He could only pick up another piece of shredded radish for Hattori Heiji with his chopsticks and said with a smile, "Hattori-san, eat more!"
Now, everyone at the table looked at him.
Maori Kogoro said: "Oh, this is a treatment that even my uncle has never had!"
Edogawa Conan: ...
He could only stretch out his little arms and pick up food for everyone at the table, and then received a series of compliments from Mao Li Ran and Toyama Kazuha.
Only Hattori Heiji frowned at the shredded radish in his bowl: "What does Kudo mean? Am I just a side dish?"
The sumptuous dinner received unanimous praise from everyone.
Finally, chef Makoto Kuwahara made an appearance. He excitedly stated that he was a fan of Maori Kogoro, and he praised him profusely, and then successfully obtained Maori Kogoro's autograph.
Everyone in the research club:!!!
It's actually possible!
Now everyone couldn't sit still anymore and all said that they were also fans of Mr. Maori and wanted his autograph!
Maori Kogoro waved his hand and said generously: "Come on, I will satisfy you today!"
Then, the autograph session at Kogoro Mori Onsen Ryokan began.
Everyone lined up one by one, not only coaxing him to sign, but also asking him to write some blessings.
Higashino Hiroshi had previously played a fan of Kogoro Mori, so he couldn't help but join the queue.
However, he wanted the other three's signatures more than his own.
So, after Kogoro Mori finished signing, he handed his autograph book and pen to Toru Amuro.
Amuro Toru was stunned and said embarrassedly: "I'm just a half-baked detective, what do you want my autograph for?"
Higashino Xi said seriously: "Don't say that, I believe in the ability of Mr. Maori's disciples! One day your name will spread throughout Japan!"
Maori Kogoro heard this and said, "Then you should sign one! There aren't many opportunities to sign with the teacher!"
Amuro Toru smiled helplessly and could only sign his name.
Then Higashino Hiroshi walked up to Hattori Heiji and Edogawa Conan.
Hattori Heiji was often asked for his autograph, so he was much more generous; Edogawa Conan almost signed his name as Kudo Shinichi at the beginning, but he could only scribble a few words to pretend that he had made a typo, and was even ridiculed by Maori Kogoro.
Dong Yexi put away the signed copy and thought: "Who knows the value of this copy! If it were put back in the original world, it would definitely be sold at a high price!"
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