Chapter 1081: Conan: Things Aren't Developing Quite Right
On the other side, Chi Feichei, who had just entered the West Woods, received a text message. He looked at it, put away his mobile phone, and considered whether or not to destroy Conan's plan.
Destroying the plan wasn't difficult. He could just kick a pebble towards Mori Kogoro's foot in a moment, making Mori Kogoro stumble and dodge the wooden block. It shouldn't seem too intentionally either.
Knowing Conan's plan was good, it was convenient to play tricks, but there was no guarantee that after Conan discovered Mori Kogoro wasn't subdued, he wouldn't immediately follow up with an anesthetic needle...
"Achoo!" Mori Kogoro sneezed again, pulling his trench coat tighter. "The weather is really cold today. The cold wind is drilling right under my clothes..."
Chi Feichei followed behind, staring at Mori Kogoro's back, and replied casually, "After all, winter is coming soon."
There was another method.
That was for him to suddenly attack Mori Kogoro from behind and see if his teacher could realize and counterattack.
But, if he was truly hiding some big secret, Mori Kogoro would probably prefer to be knocked down rather than expose it.
He just suspected his teacher was intentionally...
"Whoosh—"
A piece of wood hanging from the tree trunk came crashing down towards Mori Kogoro's back of the head with the sound of the wind.
"Mr. Mouri, Mr. Chi, Careful!" A figure darted out from next to them and tackled Mori Kogoro to the ground. He originally wanted to tackle Chi Feichei too, but Chi Feichei, deep in thought, subconsciously moved two steps to the side upon hearing the sound of the wood, so he wasn't tackled and also dodged the wood.
Behind the tree, Conan, who was holding the rope, stared at Inoue, who had tackled Mori Kogoro to the ground. He was stunned for a bit, let go of the rope, and ran to another tree behind.
What did this criminal want to do?
Did he not want Uncle to be subdued one step ahead, insisting on taking revenge himself?
Or did he want to use this opportunity to gain the trust of Uncle and Chi Feichei, and then sneak attack?
Unlikely. If he had a rifle, he could just find a place, keep his distance, and shoot. There was no need to run out and gain trust at all.
So... did this criminal hate Uncle so much that he wanted Uncle to experience the taste of being sneak attacked from behind?
That was a possibility, but he wasn't worried. He had already told Chi Feichei the truth of the matter. Chi Feichei would definitely be alert. He would just hide aside and observe for a bit first.
If worst came to worst, he still had an anesthetic needle he could use.
Mori Kogoro sat up, looked at Inoue who was also sitting up, and then saw the piece of wood swinging above. He was a bit surprised. "Mr. Inoue? And this is..."
Inoue rubbed his scraped wrist, and looked around. "Mr. Mouri, it was done by the little boy with glasses you brought to the bar that day. He came here just now, hung the wood up, and used another rope to jam it..."
Conan behind the tree: "..."
＆％@!%#...
His subtle move was actually seen, and this criminal was even telling on him!
Chi Feichei stepped forward and helped Mori Kogoro get up, subtly paid attention to the leather case that had fallen next to Inoue's feet.
Conan said there was a rifle inside...
"Conan? Why did that brat run here?" Mori Kogoro stood up, quite angry. He turned his head and looked around. "Conan, you brat, get out here!"
Conan leaned against the big tree, silently hiding.
It was over, he was going to be hammered by Uncle...
"Brat!" Mori Kogoro shouted, "Get out here!"
Chi Feichei reached out and pulled Inoue up.
"He probably already run away," Inoue looked around. "Children nowadays are really too naughty. Even though there's a soft pad tied to it, it's still very easy to cause injury."
"Seriously, I'll see how I deal with him when I get back!" Mori Kogoro said angrily, then looked towards Inoue. "By the way, Mr. Inoue, why did you come over too?"
"Mr. Mouri," Inoue straightened his expression, and gazed at Mori Kogoro, saying, "I came to confess to you. There is no Mr. Kimura at all. Everything was a trap I set up to murder you..."
Conan: "..."
This...
"Murder, murder me?" Mori Kogoro was stunned.
"Actually, my name is Hiroshi Ukita," Inoue said. "You should be able to remember..."
"You're the thief I caught three years ago?" Mori Kogoro surprisedly examined Inoue before him. "I remember you weren't this thin three years ago. Then... are you taking retaliation because I caught you three years ago?"
"Yes," Inoue looked at Mori Kogoro with a frank expression, but his eyes were filled with pain. "Three years ago, I also had a girlfriend. Because I needed to raise some funds to marry her, I thought I would do one last job and then stop. Unexpectedly, after I was caught by you, she left me like that. After I got out of prison, I wanted to find you, who ruined me back then, and take revenge!"
Behind the tree, Conan was alert.
This fellow wouldn't be trying to explain the truth, vent his resentment, and then make his move, would he?
His anesthetic needle was already prepared.
Inoue looked towards the box at his feet. "The box contains a rifle. I originally wanted to lure you here and then use it to murder you. But on the way here, I kept thinking about what Mr. Mouri said to comfort me that night. You're right, people should look forward, and moreover..."
Saying that, Inoue looked towards Chi Feichei. "I really liked the song Mr. Chi sang that night. Mr. Chi knew Mr. Mouri might be in danger, but he still followed him. Your master-disciple bond is so deep. If you saw your teacher's death, you would definitely suffer a big blow. Thinking of this, I decided to give up on revenge."
Chi Feichei could only say...
"Thank you."
"Because of that song, I also want to manage the Lemon Bar well. But I probably have to wait until I come back again," Inoue sighed. "Mr. Mouri, please hand over the gun in the box to the police later."
"I understand..." Mori Kogoro stepped forward, picked up the box, and opened it to confirm the gun inside.
"Do you think I deserve it?" Inoue looked at the lake surface and suddenly spoke out, asking, "Because I committed crime, I deserve to lose my girlfriend?"
Mori Kogoro sighed, handed over the box to Chi Feichei, stepped forward and patted Inoue's shoulder, saying with a serious expression, "Mr. Inoue, or rather, Mr. Ukita, money obtained through crime cannot buy real happiness. And someone who truly loves you wouldn't let you use crime to obtain the funds for your marriage, nor would they just leave you casually."
Inoue thoughtfully nodded. "I heard Mr. Mouri's wife left you because you are addicted to liquor and like horse racing..."
Mori Kogoro: "..."
That hit home!
"That's not the same thing!" Mori Kogoro quickly straightened his expression and made a statement. "We haven't divorced yet, we just want to calm down for a while, and I'm also very annoyed with her..."
"But you've been living separately for several years, isn't it?" Inoue looked at Mori Kogoro with a 'fellow sufferers' gaze.
Mori Kogoro: "..."
This...
Chi Feichei: "..."
He suspected Inoue wanted to switch to psychological attack for revenge.
Inoue sighed to himself. "Thinking that a celebrity like you also has the same distress, I suddenly feel nothing anymore, and moreover..."
Mori Kogoro: "..."
...
The cold wind blew fiercely. Mori Kogoro, Chi Feichei, and Inoue looked at the lake surface together for more than ten minutes, listening to Inoue chatter on about his past love life for a long time, which also turned Mori Kogoro into a confidant Uncle again, leaving him dry-mouthed from giving advice.
It wasn't until Inspector Megure arrived with his team in a police car that Mori Kogoro breathed a sigh of relief.
Conan saw the police arrive and control the situation, so he also lowered his alert and came out of the forest.
Mori Kogoro explained the situation, handed over the box, and sneezed again. "Achoo! So... that's how it is."
Inoue, who was getting into the police car with Wataru Takagi, turned his head. "Sorry, Mr. Mouri, I seemingly caused you to catch a cold. I unexpectedly didn't think your body was so weak..."
Mori Kogoro: "..."
Go! Hurry up and go!
He finally met someone who was better at annoying people than his disciple.
"Mr. Chi, I hope you can visit the Bar again when I come back." Inoue said again.
Chi Feichei nodded, indicating it was no problem, and silently calculated in his heart.
Inoue attacked Mori Kogoro twice. Although he didn't injure Mori Kogoro, he did injure the laundry shop boss, and also illegally possessed a gun...
Even with compensation and surrender, plus the time for the court hearing, he probably wouldn't be out this year.
If he wasn't coming out this year, then it would be a very, very long time before they could see each other again.
"Brother Mouri, Brother Chi, you worked hard this time," Inspector Megure saw Inoue getting into the police car, patted Mori Kogoro's shoulder, and turned around to get into the police car. "Then we'll be leaving first. But I have to say, Brother Mouri, you really should exercise your body properly."
"Uncle really should exercise properly!" Conan said with a smile, looking up.
Mori Kogoro only then noticed Conan, lowered his head, and staring at Conan with a gloomy expression. "So you pranked me by tying up wood to help me exercise?"
Conan then realized he had forgotten a very important matter. He sweated a bit and quietly moved his footsteps backwards. "This..."
Run!
Mori Kogoro saw Conan actually run, clenched his fist and chased after him. "You stop right there!"
Conan ran madly, "I know I was wrong!"
Chi Feichei looked up at the darkening sky, silently watching Mori Kogoro chase Conan.
Following for a few days wasn't without gain. At least he had familiarized himself with the terrain around the Lemon Bar. The location where Conan secretly used binoculars to lookout for Mori Kogoro before was good, very suitable for surveillance and ambush.
Watching Conan get hammered could also relieve his regretful mood about not being able to test successfully.
Having someone more miserable than oneself always provides a bit more comfort.
Conan deeply felt that the development of this incident was wrong, and was chased by Mori Kogoro and hammered on the head, resulting in three overlapping bumps. By the next day, the three bumps hadn't completely disappeared, so he could only wear a hat to school. He also had to find a reason to deceive Sumiko Kobayashi and gain the privilege of wearing a hat in classroom that day under Sumiko Kobayashi's smiling gaze.
As soon as school dismissal, Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi gathered around.
"Conan, why were you wearing a hat in classroom today?"
"You didn't lose hair, did you?"
"Huh? Are you sick?"
"No..." Conan half-moon eyes took off his hat. He knew he had to handle these three kids. Fortunately, after a day, the bumps on his head had disappeared.
Aside, Haibara Ai saw that most of the students had left and wasn't in a hurry to leave. She took out her mobile phone and replied to a UL message.
[We're school dismissal, but is it okay to invite us to the birthday banquet? That should be your family banquet, right?]
"Ding dong!"
Setara Renxi, whose account used her selfie as a portrait, quickly replied:
[It's okay, I've already told Grandpa. I'll invite friends to his birthday banquet this year. Also, do you want to come to my home in advance? I have a lot of violins at home, and a lot of small toys I made myself when I was a child. They're very interesting! (^—^)]
Haibara Ai looked at it. What a cute girl. She even wanted to agree, but she didn't want to go to someone's home she wasn't very familiar with...
"Ding dong!"
Setara Renxi sent another message.
[If you're uncomfortable alone, you can call Mr. Chi. I just don't know if he's free. If my Uncle knew he was coming, he would definitely be very happy.]
Was she inviting Brother Feichi through her?
Haibara Ai pondered for a bit, but still replied with a refusal.
[No need, let's just go and bother you on the birthday.]
Going to stay at Brother Feichi's place in advance for two days...
Let's just forget about it.
Beika Town has had quite a few incidents recently, either robbery or murder, and they are all quite serious.
Aside, Conan sent away the three children, packed up his schoolbag, and saw that Haibara Ai was still playing with her mobile phone. He spoke out and asked, "Haibara, aren't you going back yet?"
"No, just replying to a friend's message."
Haibara Ai lowered her head to reply to the message, said something to Setara Renxi, got up and packed up her schoolbag.
"Tell Doctor that I'll come over tomorrow on holiday," Conan put on his schoolbag and said in a low tone, "to get the Power-Enhancing Shoes I gave him for maintenance before."
"Understood..."
Haibara Ai was lost in thought, put on her schoolbag, and left the classroom.
Indeed, she should go to the shrine to get an exorcism charm for Brother Feichi...
Also, should she prepare a birthday gift for Old Master Setara...