Chapter 58 Beheading the Dog Head

Eshirou, who had been secretly listening while propping himself up, suddenly perked up. "I want long fish, short fish, big fish, small fish. Oh, right, and that eel Genta is always talking about. I want ten eels! And also fish to keep in a fish tank: two of every color—golden, white, black, multicolored, red..."

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Chi Feichi. "Master, we can keep them, right?"

Chi Feichi was somewhat speechless, feeling it was necessary to make Eshirou look at some biological picture books in the future. He said into the phone, "Send two of each common fish found in cooking, ten eels, and two goldfish of every common color."

"No problem," Morizono Kikuhito agreed readily. "Shall I have them sent to your house?"

"Send them to Beika Town..." Chi Feichi gave the address of the breeding station in Beika Town. As for whether those people knew how to keep fish, he didn't care; if they didn't know how to raise fish, they could just find someone who did.

"Alright," Morizono Kikuhito thought for a moment. "It's late now, but they'll be delivered first thing tomorrow morning."

"Oh, that's simply wonderful! So many, many fish!" Eshirou laughed up to the sky. "I have so many things to eat now, hahahahaha..."

Seeing Eshirou laughing with his mouth wide open, Chi Feichi reached out and pressed his jaws shut. A snake suddenly opening its mouth wide like that was terrifying, wasn't it? Didn't he see the police officers over there looking over?

On the other end of the line, Morizono Kikuhito continued, "Feichi, Uncle Shigematsu's leg might have some permanent sequelae, and I have to stay in the hospital for observation for a while longer. Could I ask you to speak with Miss Kaede and Sakuraba about that matter? I've already told my father to postpone the wedding, which conveniently saves them from having to find an excuse. After a little while, we can tell the others that we've parted ways."

"I'll talk to them," Chi Feichi agreed.

"Great, then I'll trouble you. I have to go for a check-up now. We'll get together after I'm discharged! I know a few pretty girls, and I'll introduce them to you then!"

Chi Feichi decisively hung up the phone. The guy was already in the hospital and still thinking about girls—there was no saving him...

Nearby, hearing Morizono Mikio telling reporters outside that the wedding was canceled, Sakuraba Yuji and Katagiri Kaede both breathed sighs of relief.

Having been through such a major ordeal, and with Katagiri Kaede almost being treated as a suspect, the two subconsciously stood very close, as if drawing some comfort from it.

Conan glanced over, glanced again, and couldn't help walking closer, looking up to ask in a low voice, "Are Miss Kaede and Brother Sakuraba dating?"

"Huh?" The two were startled and hurriedly stepped a little apart.

"No wonder I always felt something was off between Miss Kaede and Mr. Kikuhito before," Hattori Heiji also walked over. "Is it because Miss Kaede and Mr. Sakuraba are dating? But wasn't Miss Kaede supposed to marry Mr. Kikuhito?"

"Uh, no..." Katagiri Kaede panicked, not knowing how to explain.

"It looks like Mr. Kikuhito probably knew as well. Did the three of them agree to put on an act? Or..." Conan rubbed his chin in speculation, only to suddenly feel his collar tighten. Before he could react, Chi Feichi grabbed him by the back of his collar and hauled him aside.

"Adults' affairs—kids shouldn't poke their noses into them," Chi Feichi said, then turned to Hattori Heiji, who had eagerly sidled up beside him. "Minors are no exception."

Hattori Heiji choked back a retort, turned his head, and muttered, "He's only two or three years older than me, seriously..."

Chi Feichi didn't reply further and called Katagiri Kaede and Sakuraba Yuji aside to talk.

"Having a private talk with Butler Shigematsu and Mr. Kikuhito, and the relationship between Mr. Sakuraba and Miss Kaede..." Conan stared at the backs of the three. "Why wouldn't Chi Feichi say anything about it? Could it be related to Mr. Sakuraba and Miss Kaede? This wedding..."

Hattori Heiji squatted down, threw one arm around Conan's shoulder, leaned in, and whispered, "Hey, Kudou..."

"What?" Conan turned his head speechlessly. "Not to nag you, but can you stop calling me Kudou all the time from now on?"

"That's not important," Hattori Heiji picked up a cell phone, waved it in front of Conan, and flashed a grin. "This is what's important!"

"This phone..." Conan couldn't tear his eyes away once he saw it. Wasn't this Chi Feichi's cell phone?

"When I got close to him just now, I took it while he wasn't paying attention," Hattori Heiji smiled with blinding white teeth and handed the phone over. "Don't you think you should thank me?"

"Good job, Hattori!" Conan excitedly took the phone, flipped it open, and focused on entering the password...

9001.

Password incorrect.

And just as it displayed the incorrect password, the lock screen wallpaper changed. It turned into a stick figure drawing: a knife piercing straight through the screen, resting on the head of an animal resembling a Shiba Inu, accompanied by a line of text:

[Touch the phone recklessly, and the knife will sever your dog head.]

Hattori Heiji: "..."

Conan: "..."

Their smiles gradually froze.

"Hey, I'm telling you..." Hattori Heiji looked speechlessly at Conan. "Don't you know the password?"

"I knew the original password, but he changed it," Conan looked at that image, feeling like his whole being was unwell. He decisively prepared to take off the back cover to find the memory card. "It doesn't matter; his photos and videos should all be stored on the memory card. As long as I get the memory card..."

The back cover came off. Beneath the battery was a thin slip of paper:

[Don't even look, there isn't even a SIM card.]

The two took a look, and sure enough, the card slot was completely empty. Forget a memory card, even the SIM card wasn't inside.

Hattori Heiji: "..."

Conan: "..."

On the other side, Eshirou poked his head out from Chi Feichi's collar, watching the commotion with great amusement. "Master, Master, they are completely dumbfounded!"

Chi Feichi didn't turn his head to look, continuing to discuss Morizono Kikuhito's plans with Katagiri Kaede.

Ever since Conan tried to target him with a tranquilizer dart, he had known this kid hadn't given up his crafty intentions. He had originally just wanted to tease Conan, but he hadn't expected Hattori Heiji to get mixed up in it as well...

"Master, their faces have turned dark..."

"Hm, something's not right. Why do they both have such sinister, malicious smiles? There's definitely a conspiracy. I'm going to go take a look!"

Eshirou pulled his head back, slid down from the hem of the clothes, and quickly approached Conan and Hattori Heiji.

"Thank you!" Hearing that Morizono Kikuhito was willing to call off the wedding, Katagiri Kaede immediately expressed her heartfelt gratitude. "Thank you so much!"

"Tomorrow, let's go visit Young Master Kikuhito and thank him in person as well!" Sakuraba Yuji also wore a grateful expression.

Someone else's fiancée becomes yours, and you still make a special trip to the hospital to thank him?

Chi Feichi's gaze turned complicated for a split second. "Go ahead, though you should still keep a low profile outwardly for now."

"That's true," Sakuraba Yuji scratched his head and looked at Katagiri Kaede. "Then let's still go separately tomorrow. I need to go check on Uncle Shigematsu too..."

Nearby, Conan and Hattori Heiji were whispering to each other.

"It's not like there's no way," Hattori Heiji said with a grin. "Why not grab some dirt on him, and then openly negotiate a trade?"

"That..." Conan turned to look at Hattori Heiji. Their eyes met, and they both smiled. "That's not a bad method either!"

"Still, since the wedding is canceled, I'm heading back to Osaka tomorrow," Hattori Heiji patted Conan's shoulder with a smile. "If you discover any little secrets about that guy Chi Feichi, be sure to share them with me!"

"Alright, alright," Conan was speechless at Hattori Heiji's attitude of watching the world burn without minding the scale of the chaos. "I'm not even sure when I'll be able to get my video back. You saw it yourself—my thoughts are completely seen through by him. I couldn't even get my hands on the memory card, let alone find any dirt on him..."

"Anyway, do your best!" Hattori Heiji smiled, but suddenly felt a cold gaze fixed on him. Lowering his head, he saw Eshirou slithering near their feet.

Eshirou: "..."

It seemed he had overheard some unbelievable news again...

"Why did Eshirou run over here?" Hattori Heiji didn't dwell on it. Seeing that Chi Feichi had finished talking, he picked Eshirou up and lowered his voice to Conan, "I'll go buy you some time, so hurry up and reset the phone. Look for more opportunities to interact with him in the future; maybe you'll discover something then. Though Eshirou really is well-behaved. If only we could ask him—he definitely knows a lot of things..."

"Even if you asked, I wouldn't tell you..." Eshirou muttered. Seeing Chi Feichi walking over, he immediately flicked his tail. "Master, those two were plotting to get dirt on you to trade for Conan's video!"

Chi Feichi took Eshirou from Hattori Heiji's hands. After Eshirou burrowed back into his sleeve, he kept his hand extended.

Hattori Heiji was momentarily startled. With a sheepish smile, he took the phone from the approaching Conan and placed it in Chi Feichi's hand. "Here, you dropped your phone just now!"

Chi Feichi nodded, took back the phone, reinserted the SIM card and memory card, and powered it on. A glance showed one missed call and one unread text message—both from his cheap old man.

Hattori Heiji: "..."

He really didn't ask anything at all...

Megure Juzo led Eguchi Sachiko out, and Takagi Wataru looked at the others. "Everyone, then as for the statements..."

"I'm heading back to Osaka tomorrow," Hattori Heiji found a way out and pointed smilingly at Chi Feichi. "Actually, he was the one who discovered the culprit first. If it's giving statements, he can just go handle it!"

"Th-that's fine!" Takagi Wataru maintained a polite smile while silently chanting in his heart: Please let the one giving the statement definitely not be him, please absolutely not be him...

As the police cars drove away, the reporters outside the gate gradually dispersed as well.

Chi Feichi also received a call from his cheap old man. "Hello..."

"I'm outside. Come out," Chi Zhenzhinushi said briefly and hung up.

Outside the gradually quieted main gate, a black car and a white car drove up.

When Chi Feichi walked out and saw the vehicles, Morizono Mikio had already walked over with Morizono Yuriko.

A young man wearing glasses stepped out of the white car and chatted with Morizono Mikio.

Only the back window of the black car was rolled down, dimly revealing an upright figure dressed in a black suit.

After walking out, Chi Feichi glanced around, spotted Hemu flapping his wings among the bushes, and then headed toward the car.

With tacit understanding, Hemu flew ahead to the outside of the gate first, found a wall to squat on, and prepared to follow the car.

"...I'll go to the hospital first tomorrow to find out the situation with your esteemed son," the bespectacled young man was saying to Morizono Mikio. "Before submitting the evidence and starting the trial, I might come back to confirm some details to ensure there's no possibility of the culprit's sentence being reduced."