Chapter 257: Is Slipping People Drugs Your Traditional Art

Haibara Ai hesitated for a moment, then followed Jiangxia Tongzhi out of the room.

Even though stepping outside meant possibly running into another member of the Organization, Jiangxia had said this particular one wasn't a big deal.

And honestly, staying alone in the room at a time like this felt even more nerve-wracking. Sometimes, it was just better to have a solid thigh to cling to.

—Turned out that having a reliable human shield was practical.

Not long after, Haibara found herself chewing a skewer of grilled meat near a street stall by the hotel. That's when she suddenly heard a commotion from the direction of the pool.

She and Jiangxia rushed over and found Conan, drenched and flailing, swimming stubbornly toward the edge of the pool.

According to the surrounding chatter, he had fallen from the third-floor corridor terrace.

Luckily, there was water below, and since Conan was small and mostly bone, he bounced. Combine that with his trademark iron skull, and aside from shivering like a sad leaf, he seemed mostly intact.

Jiangxia reached out and pulled him from the water.

The moment Conan hit solid ground, he bolted upstairs toward the third floor, with Jiangxia and Haibara in tow.

But when they got there, the corridor was completely empty.

Conan scanned the area but didn't find whatever he was looking for.

Then he turned to the other two and explained, "I was pushed just now."

Haibara froze. Her mind immediately jumped to the Organization member supposedly lurking nearby. She stopped eating, wiped her mouth with a tiny handkerchief, and pulled her mask back on like a ninja going on alert.

Conan noticed her change and lowered his voice uncertainly: "The one who pushed me... was the host dressed as the Night Baron. I don't think he's from the Organization…"

Jiangxia listened quietly.

In the original timeline, something like this had indeed happened—it was the actual murderer who'd shoved Conan. The guy had been trying to scare away the nosy little detective who'd wandered into his murder puzzle. Most kids, when flung off balconies, would bawl their eyes out and beg to leave scary murder hotels, effectively dragging their adult detectives with them.

Jiangxia remembered the way that would-be killer, Maeda, had looked at him earlier in the hall—he'd assumed the guy would target him. He didn't expect Conan to keep winning the Hate Lottery like clockwork.

Jiangxia gave Conan a sympathetic head pat.

Haibara watched the scene silently. The moment Jiangxia finished patting the boy, she wordlessly handed him a handkerchief: "Your hand's wet. Wipe."

Jiangxia walked back toward the hotel suite with the two kids.

On the way, he made a show of "analyzing" things. "Dr. Agasa did say the host would play the 'Night Baron' and create some...incidents during these three days, but—"

"But pushing an innocent child into a pool is a bit much," said Conan, still dripping and shivering.

"I mean, it felt less like an 'incident' and more like a threat. A bunch of programmers gather to solve puzzles, and suddenly a detective drops in... Maybe he thought we were breaking the rules or something." A pause. "That would still be a terrible idea."

Who would hate detectives enough to yeet them off balconies?

Conan had a bad feeling. He was starting to notice a pattern: anytime he went anywhere with Jiangxia, the likelihood of body counts skyrocketed.

He hoped he was just being paranoid.

…

Back at the suite, Jiangxia opened the door.

Conan immediately shuffled into the bedroom to change clothes.

Haibara yanked off her mask, polished off the rest of her meat skewer in a few quick bites, then headed for the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

Jiangxia moved to the living room and reached for the kettle on the coffee table, planning to boil some water.

But just as his hand extended, the mermaid ghost he'd left behind to "watch the house" swam down from mid-air in a swirl of grievances, emitting an accusing hum against his hand.

Jiangxia: "…"

…Had she been watching too much Miyano Akemi?

Couldn't she pick a better aesthetic?

Jiangxia ignored her and continued reaching for the kettle.

It was already full. He'd filled it earlier—not to drink, but to boil and sterilize it just in case, so it'd be safe for hot drinks later.

Now the water inside had cooled. He was planning to dump it and boil a fresh pot.

But the mermaid clearly misunderstood, thinking he was about to drink the stuff.

She floated up and started whining in fish-language: The water isn't clean!

Jiangxia raised an eyebrow. "...Wait. I left you to guard the place, and you took a hot spring bath in the water I was gonna drink?"

The mermaid paused, then attempted an air-of-innocence routine. She did a full 360° twirl in front of him, displaying her ultra-clean, sparkling self—no dirt, no dust, squeaky clean.

Jiangxia: Unmoved.

He grabbed her tail and flung her to the side. "Touch my cup again and there'll be one less murderous tool person in this house. And that pot is also off-limits."

The thrown-off mermaid flipped angrily in the air, tail smacking, then swam off in a huff, trailing little resentful ghosts behind her.

She slipped into the bathroom to go find a new water source.

Jiangxia stared at the kettle for two seconds, then suddenly frowned. Something clicked. He set the kettle down and followed her.

Inside the bathroom, Haibara was washing her face when Jiangxia barged in.

She flinched in surprise.

Jiangxia pressed her gently back down. "It's fine, keep washing. I just need to run some water."

He kept an eye on the mermaid ghost.

To his relief, she didn't immediately dunk herself into the standing toilet water like he'd feared.

She probably just sensed water in the bathroom and hadn't yet chosen a tub.

The mermaid didn't know what Jiangxia was thinking, but when she saw him helpfully filling the bathtub, she was elated.

Unlike other ghosts, she could freely adjust her size—from human height all the way down to Xiaobai-size.

Just earlier, she'd shrunk herself extra small to soak comfortably in the teapot.

Now, with a whole tub before her, she puffed back up to regular ghost size.

Gliding through the air, she floated down toward the bathtub. From somewhere, she produced a soft lump of leftover murderous aura, puffed it fluffy like a pillow, and tossed it into the water.

Then she used the soft aura as a floaty, flopped onto it, and happily paddled in lazy circles. Her eyes turned into two happy little dotted lines.

Jiangxia let the water reach a shallow level, then returned to the living room.

He looked at the teapot. Hesitated.

Then he lifted the lid and gave the water inside a sniff.

…Good news: no fishy smell.

Also good: no faint bitter almond scent. So, not potassium cyanide.

Which meant the Night Baron host probably just spiked it with sleeping pills or something less deadly. Maybe they were trying to cut him off from the investigation without resorting to murder.

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

Progress: 40/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS

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

Progress:2/10*