When Xiaolan saw the eerie building, she felt a little apprehensive. After all, she was most afraid of ghosts and monsters. She asked, "Dad, are we really going?"
“We’ve all received the invitation, so of course we have to go! Besides, they’ve already given us a check for two million, it wouldn’t be right to stand them up, would it?” Uncle Mori may be a bit of a scoundrel at times, but he values keeping his word.
Xiaolan was still a little scared: "What if there really are vampires?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Japan doesn't have vampires. If there are any, it's the Black Mountain Demon."
As soon as he finished speaking, the car slowly rounded the bend. Suddenly, Uncle Mori's eyes widened. Not far in front of the car, there was an old woman standing with an umbrella. The old woman's face was hidden in the shadow of the umbrella and could not be seen clearly.
Uncle Mori slammed on the brakes, but the old woman remained completely calm in the face of the oncoming car. Her hands didn't even tremble. The car's brakes were quite responsive; she was just a fist's distance away from flying into the sky and becoming the brightest star.
The car headlights illuminated the old woman's wrinkled face, and Uncle Mori exclaimed in surprise, "Chen Bumu Cao, there really is a Black Mountain Demon!"
The old demon pushed up his glasses with his other hand: "Isn't it a bit inappropriate to address a woman I'm meeting for the first time like that?"
The group then realized that the old demon in front of them was a living human being, who just looked slightly similar to the demon.
Conan stuck his head out of the window and asked, "Grandma, what are you doing here?"
The old woman tilted her head and explained, "As you can see, my precious Phil suddenly couldn't move, so I'm waiting here for someone to pass by."
She then walked to the driver's seat and said to Uncle Mori, "You're also going to the Twilight Mansion, right? Could you give me a ride?"
Uncle Mori, sweating profusely, agreed. Before getting into the car, he even helped the old lady carry her luggage into the vehicle.
After parking, the car set off. Once inside, the old woman took out a book and started reading it intently.
Not long after restarting the car, Xiaolan's face flushed slightly. She whispered to Uncle Mori, "Dad, are we there yet? I need to go to the restroom."
Before Uncle Maoli could answer, the old woman in the back seat said, "Miss, please don't take offense, but the principal of the elementary school in our town used to tell people, 'A successful person will not give up any opportunity to succeed, and a person who always waits for the same opportunity will never have one, no matter how much time has passed.' Do you understand?"
The old woman closed her book, looked up, and said with a smile, "Why didn't you use the restroom at the gas station earlier?"
A simple sentence left the group somewhat taken aback, because they were certain that the old witch had not been nearby.
"Grandma, how did you know?" Conan asked, puzzled.
The old woman pointed to the ashtray in the car and said, "It's very simple. You see, the ashtray in the car is empty, and the cigarette butts inside are from freshly smoked cigarettes. If the ashtray is full, it proves that the owner of this car smokes a lot."
"But the car is empty now, so the only place to clean up cigarette butts is the gas station ten kilometers away. A gentleman who would let a stranger into the car would not throw cigarette butts out the window in front of his daughter, so I think you must have passed by the gas station and stopped there for a while."
The precise reasoning surprised everyone. Uncle Mori asked, "Excuse me, who are you?"
"My name is Senma Kazuyo, and like you, I am a detective."
The old lady's name was clearly well-known among the detectives on this bus. Even Xiaolan knew this famous detective who was said to be able to solve cases simply by listening to others tell their stories while sitting in an armchair.
This made Conan sigh and say that one cannot judge a book by its cover.
Chima Kazuyo took out the ashtray and said with a smile, "I'll keep the ashtray here for now. I hate the smell of cigarettes. Sorry, Mr. Mori."
Although Uncle Mori had some complaints about this, he wasn't going to die if he left the cigarette for a short while, so he could only bear it.
Guangyou leaned out the window, watching the misty drizzle. The car window was opened a tiny crack by Guangyou.
As the car drove along, the wind and rain brought a natural fragrance to Guangyou's nostrils. Even in the city, the air is fresher after the rain, let alone in this desolate wilderness where there is no one for miles around.
At this moment, he had no interest in what was happening inside the car. Chima Kazuyo's experience was much like Sherlock Holmes's; he could solve cases just by listening, which was indeed very impressive, but none of this concerned him.
He glanced at Senma Kagome and saw the death intent hidden deep in her heart. He had no time to care about the life and death of people he didn't know well or who were even strangers to him.
Thinking of this, he glanced at Uncle Mori's place. Besides, with that guy around, he didn't need him. This time, he was just there to freeload and admire the greatest fortune he had ever encountered.
There is a suspended wooden bridge that everyone must cross on the way to the Twilight Mansion. Crossing the wooden bridge means that the destination is not far away. As such, the group soon arrived at the entrance. When they arrived, several other cars were already there.
The house does look much more sinister up close.
After getting out of the car, Uncle Mori noticed that the cars parked next to him were all luxury cars, such as Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, and Porsche. What interested Uncle Mori the most was an Alfa Romeo.
The somewhat excited Uncle Mori stroked the Alfa Romeo as if he had seen an unparalleled beauty.
"Hey, please don't touch my woman, okay?"
A man wearing a bowler hat and smoking a cigarette stepped off the Romeo. His voice was full of arrogance: "It took me five years to get her. If other men's dirty hands touched her, I wouldn't be able to handle it if she threw a tantrum. You should understand, little mustache."
Chima Kazuyo seemed to recognize the man in the hat. She held up her umbrella to keep Uncle Mori from getting soaked, and then said to the man in the hat, "It's been a long time, Mogi-kun."
Mogi also recognized Chima Kazuyo, and replied with a cigarette in one hand, "Oh, it's you, Chima-neechan. It seems you were invited here too."
Conan also recognized Mogi's true identity. He was also a detective, whose full name was Mogi Harufumi. His distinctive feature was a very obvious cleft chin.
Conan was somewhat surprised by the conversation between Senma Kazuyo and Mogi Harufumi. He learned that Mogi Harufumi had been ambushed by the Mafia in Chicago the previous week, but Mogi Harufumi didn't seem to care at all, which showed that his mental fortitude was indeed very strong.
After all, how can a detective be considered a good detective without a good heart?
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