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Tonight's moon was even fuller and brighter than the previous two days. Its luminous glow bathed Moonlight Island, located in the Izumo Islands, as if desiring to thoroughly cleanse this island, which harbored impurities, with its pure, soft light...
Inside the civic hall at the center of the island, Village Chief candidates Shimizu Masato, Kuroiwa Tatsuji, and Kawashima Hideo all came to attend the memorial service for the late former Village Chief Kameyama Ei. In addition to these three, there were also Dr. Asai Narumi, Kuroiwa Tatsuji's secretary Hirata Kazuaki, Kuroiwa Tatsuji's daughter Kuroiwa Reiko, and her boyfriend Sakizawa Shuichi.
Also present was the last culprit from that year, Saijo. He too attended tonight, though he had been mentally disturbed after the accidental death of Kameyama Ei, one of the perpetrators, two years prior. He appeared completely deranged.
So, out of the four culprits from that year, with Kameyama Ei having died two years ago due to an accident, the other three—Kuroiwa Tatsuji, Kawashima Hideo, and Saijo—were all present!
...
Outside the civic hall...
Yun Feng accompanied Ran, standing in the open plaza, gazing up at the boundless starry sky, enjoying the tranquil and heartwarming feeling...
Kogoro Mouri sat slumped on the steps outside the civic hall entrance, hands clasped behind his head, listlessly smoking a cigarette. He had intended to investigate Asou Keiji's case, but the village chief candidates, upon hearing about it, strangely all opted to evade his questions, leaving him at a loss...
Conan also sat on the steps, frowning as he analyzed the information gathered today...
Yun Feng felt the fragrant presence of his goddess beside him, his heart filled with an incomparable sense of peace. He thought to himself, Goddesses like Ran are truly my favorite. As for that Kuroiwa Reiko, Kuroiwa's daughter, although she has some looks, she and her boyfriend have been openly kissing and cuddling in public. I have absolutely no interest in women like that...
...
At this moment... the piano hall on the second floor of the civic hall was shrouded in darkness...
Suddenly, the door revealed a narrow crack, a figure slipped inside, then quickly closed the door.
The person who entered was Kawashima Hideo, the island's wealthy man and one of the village chief candidates, also one of the culprits from that year. He furtively looked at the small, dark silhouette in front of him, asking in a tense, hushed voice, "Who exactly are you, and why have you lured me here with news of Asou Keiji?"
However, the small figure before him did not answer his question. Instead, it spoke in a tone devoid of any warmth, "Do you know where you went wrong?"
"Huh? So it's just a little girl. Are you an opponent in the election? There's no need for such a prank." Kawashima relaxed upon hearing a girl's voice.
However, the girl continued to speak to herself:
"I have no interest whatsoever in what you did back then... But your mistake was in upsetting my master..."
"Therefore... die..."
"Heh heh, you little girl, you dare to speak to me like that? What did you mean by 'back then'? Who told you all this?! And who is your master?!" Kawashima Hideo now revealed a sinister expression, his voice full of malice.
At this moment, the girl suddenly erupted with a terrifying, overwhelming killing intent, causing Kawashima to tremble all over, unable to exert even a shred of strength...
Kawashima was now so terrified that he sat on the floor, babbling incoherently, "You... you... you exactly are you...?"
"The sin of displeasing my master... that's a very heavy one indeed..."
These were the last words Kawashima heard...
The words, imbued with a scent of blood and an aura of dread... made him shudder and tremble with cold.
Only then, by the moonlight, did he clearly see the small figure...
That was an extremely beautiful girl, appearing as pure and sacred as a Moon Goddess under the moonlight...
...
The peaceful night was suddenly broken by a soft, melancholic piano melody. Its rhythm was slow and poignant...
Yet, beneath it, a faint sense of sorrow permeated, deeply saddening anyone who heard it...
As if an earth-shattering grievance was hidden within this lyrical and gentle piano piece...
Everyone inside and around the civic hall heard this piano melody, then stopped what they were doing to listen quietly...
It was as if this piano piece could stir people's thoughts...
Even the monks performing the rituals unanimously stopped their instruments to listen attentively...
Saijo, already somewhat mentally deranged, was utterly terrified by the piano music, screaming "It's him! He's come back for revenge!" before stumbling and pushing through the crowd, running off to who knew where.
Kuroiwa Tatsuji, who was sitting next to him, was also trembling all over as he listened to this piano piece, his face filled with disbelief.
Dr. Asai Narumi, who had been standing at the back, was also stunned... This piece...
On the steps outside the civic hall, Kogoro Mouri and Conan also heard the piano music and stood up, listening intently with surprise.
Yun Feng naturally knew what was happening at this moment. Listening to the melodic and gentle piano sounds, he thought to himself, Xiaoyu's piano playing is indeed much more beautiful than even world-class masters; it's as if it can resonate with people's hearts...
"Impossible... impossible..." However, Ran beside him listened to the piece with a shocked expression... murmuring frantically...
Conan asked somewhat strangely, "Ran-neechan, what's wrong?"
Ran finally snapped back to reality and said in surprise, "This piece is Beethoven's Fourteenth Piano Sonata—Moonlight, First Movement."
"It's just a piece of music, what's the big deal?" Kogoro Mouri curled his lip beside them, saying disdainfully.
Ran then said with some fear, "This... this... this piece is played too perfectly... so perfectly that... it doesn't sound like it was played by a human at all..."
"What?!" Hearing this, Kogoro Mouri and Conan both turned pale with shock. They knew Ran had great musical talent.
Conan suddenly seemed to realize something and shouted, "Oh no!!! The sound is coming from the piano hall on the second floor of the civic hall!!!!"
Without a thought for the others, he dashed towards the hall on the second floor. Kogoro Mouri also frowned and followed him.
Yun Feng, however, grabbed Ran, who was about to follow, and said, "Ran, you're not in very good condition right now. How about we don't go up? Big Brother Yun will stay here with you."
Yun Feng saw Ran's trembling body and understood that she was scared, having connected it to the curse rumors from earlier today.
"Big Brother Yun, I want to see who played such a perfect piano piece. Will... will you come with me to see...?" Ran looked at Yun Feng with an earnest expression, asking weakly.
Yun Feng sighed inwardly and said, "Alright then, Big Brother Yun will go with you to see."
He originally didn't want his goddess to see such a bloody scene...
She was different from Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu had been trained from a young age in such blood and violence. But Ran was just a high school student.
I hope she won't be too scared when we go up...