Chapter 226: Stop Beating People Already (●`●)

Message: Hi guys! I was unwell and missed out on 4 chapters for Friday and Saturday. Sunday's chapters have also been delayed until now. I apologise for this. Today I'm uploading normal 4 plus the missing 4 chapters. Tomorrow I'll update the regular 4 + 5 BONUS Chapters out of the 10 as we were very close to the goal and also as an apology. Hope you guys enjoy and please vote! Thanks!

Jiangxia walked out onto the balcony, sensing the lingering murderous aura behind him—though to his disappointment, it hadn't increased by much.

Still, he consoled himself. This whole detour was originally about picking up a cat anyway. Anything extra is just a bonus.

He kept one hand on the collapsible baton hidden in his pocket, ready to collect the fresh "rations."

But just as he turned around, there was a loud BANG!—followed by a door literally flying off its hinges and slamming straight into Naoki Uemura's back.

Jiangxia instinctively took a step back. Almost simultaneously, Uemura and the door crumpled together into a heap right at his feet with another thud.

Jiangxia looked down silently at the fallen door and measured the distance between it and himself. "…That was close."

The source of danger quickly stepped over the door and ran to him.

Ran Mouri grabbed his shoulders and anxiously scanned him from head to toe. "Are you okay?!"

Jiangxia replied, only half-truthfully, "…Thanks to you, I'm fine."

Then he looked down at Uemura and let the ghost beside him scoop up the scattered murderous aura from the floor. This village kid clearly wasn't built for hardship.

Uemura Naoki might be mentally fragile, but physically speaking, he was a football player.

He blinked a few times, eyes gradually focusing again. Trembling, he raised a hand to try and push the door off himself.

But just as he exerted some strength—BAM!—another impact landed squarely on the door.

Ryoko Akagi had seen her little brother across the room. She bolted forward and leapt into a flying hug. "Mamoru-chan!!"

Uemura Naoki: "@%￥*&…"

Conan circled around the fallen door and squatted next to Uemura, giving him a light poke.

Confirming the guy was alive and still kicking, Conan calmly stepped over him and walked into the living room.

—All things considered, this outcome wasn't bad for Uemura.

Better a short burst of pain than long-term suffering. Being taken out by Ran was far more merciful than trying to attack Jiangxia and ending up trampled, pinned, and smacked unconscious with a stick.

Compared to Jiangxia, Ran Mouri was practically a saint.

…

On the TV, the live broadcast of Hideo Akagi's soccer match was still playing.

Now that his younger brother was safe, Akagi didn't have to keep faking his performance. They needed to let him know ASAP.

While the others handled the kidnapping aftermath and comforted Akagi Mamoru—who, aside from being nearly hit by a door, was surprisingly unfazed—Jiangxia wandered back to the balcony.

He opened the curtains, slid open the glass door, and reached down to pick up the cat, which was still stuck to the floor with a glob of puppet clay.

Earlier, when he'd gone upstairs, the cat had been peacefully napping. But now, thanks to the building-quaking chaos inside the apartment, it was wide awake and had tried to make a run for it—only to get trapped by a phantom object that appeared out of nowhere.

Jiangxia hadn't seen Ran at the door earlier, but if Naoki Uemura hadn't opened it, he'd been about to knock it down the same way she did. She'd just beaten him to it.

Well, it worked, didn't it?

Jiangxia patted the cat, which struggled wildly under the invisible hold.

He realized he'd forgotten to get the cat carrier from his brother, which made things trickier...

He quickly messaged the Yellow-Haired One (who hadn't gone far) and asked him to bring a bag.

Then he looked down at the ghost parents floating next to Xiaobai.

They instantly got the message and happily drifted over to help him out.

Not long after, the cat calmed down.

It looked up at him with big, round eyes, hesitated for a moment, and then licked the back of his hand.

Jiangxia took that as a cue, released the clay restraint, and gently scooped up the cat.

This time, it didn't resist. It simply curled up comfortably in his arms and let out a big yawn.

Jiangxia happily rua'd it a few times.

Back in the living room, Ryoko Akagi was still on the phone with Hideo Akagi.

Ran Mouri had just hung up her own call when she saw Jiangxia returning from the balcony, a cat nestled in his arms.

Her eyes lit up when she spotted the feline. "Hey, that cat looks like the one my dad's been looking for lately!"

"It's probably the same one," Jiangxia said, scratching the cat's chin. "I saw the photos when I visited your office. This coat color's pretty unique, and the people here don't seem to keep any pets."

Ran looked around and nodded. True—there were no signs of a pet-owning household. Even the balcony was empty, and the display cabinet had a bunch of easily breakable trophies and framed photos.

If Uemura didn't own the cat, then it must've been a runaway. It was wearing a collar, and now that it was nestled so calmly in Jiangxia's arms, it clearly wasn't a stray.

With that distinct fur pattern, there was no mistaking it—this had to be the cat Kogoro Mouri was looking for.

Jiangxia played with the cat for a bit longer before glancing at Uemura, still crushed under the door, as if he'd just remembered something. "Hey, do you know who owns this apartment?"

Conan nodded and briefly explained Uemura's whole kidnapping scheme.

In his mind, Jiangxia probably just came here today to help Kogoro Mouri catch a cat… and somehow wandered straight into a kidnapper's den.

He couldn't decide if that made Jiangxia unlucky—or the kidnappers.

…Though the unluckiest one was probably the little kid still clutching his game console in the corner.

Good thing Jiangxia and the others arrived when they did. Otherwise, once the kidnapping was over, that poor boy might've ended up silenced for good.

—Because if there's one thing everyone in this universe knows, it's that when Jiangxia Tongzhi is around, the children are never safe.

Whether it's him attracting murder cases or murder cases chasing him down, the result's the same: Danger is imminent.

While Ryoko Akagi continued talking to Hideo Akagi, Ran quickly called the police.

After the officers arrived, Jiangxia and the others gave them a quick rundown, left their contact info, and left.

What happened next was up to the police, Hideo Akagi, and Uemura Naoki.

Jiangxia personally delivered the cat to the Mouri Detective Agency, successfully logging his "cat found" quest in front of Kogoro Mouri.

This connected him to "Katsuyoshi Asahi's cat," which then linked him to "Katsuyoshi Asahi."

That way, next time Kogoro Mouri starts thinking about Katsuyoshi Asahi and those number-based murders, it'd be easier for Jiangxia to tag along.

Having handed over the cat and earned himself an invisible case-participation ticket, Jiangxia went back to monitoring news about Murakami.

Though now and then, he had to deal with... other matters.

—Like recording a variety show.

He'd agreed to it for exposure and to fish for cases in the entertainment industry.

But now his name was getting too popular. It felt like fewer people were approaching him with cases anymore…

Still, it was too late to back out. Even if breaching the contract didn't cost him anything, trying to bury the reputation he'd already built would be way harder.

And besides, who knows? Maybe he would stumble into a case or two—this world's entertainment industry was full of names Jiangxia found suspiciously familiar.

*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.

Progress: 4/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS

Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.

Progress:2/10*

Glossary

rua – A slangy onomatopoeia for petting an animal, especially in a cute or squishy way.