Chapter 295: Where’s My Part?!

BONUS CHAPTER#3

Jiangxia Tongzhi glanced behind Keiko Yabuchi, a complex mix of emotions flickering across his face. "Are you going to look for 'Uncle Yoshifusa'?" he asked in a low voice. "I just saw him and his bodyguard heading this way."

Bullseye.

Keiko Yabuchi instantly panicked. "No! I'm not looking for him. I just... needed to grab something from my room. Yeah. My jacket. It's freezing in the courtyard at night."

Jiangxia didn't respond. He simply stared at her, eyes thoughtful.

Under his gaze, Keiko Yabuchi's face grew stiff, like her guilty thoughts were being peeled open one by one.

But to her surprise, Jiangxia didn't accuse her with something like, "You're going to assassinate him, aren't you?"

Instead, he glanced down the corridor and whispered, even quieter than before, "I actually came to warn you. Don't approach him alone."

Combined with the late-night chill, the empty suburban silence, and the occasional breeze brushing her neck, Jiangxia's hushed voice gave Keiko a spine-tingling chill—like they were being watched by some lurking mastermind.

"Although there are still some doubts," Jiangxia continued, "the one who killed Mrs. Machiko Yabuchi is most likely Uncle Yoshifusa."

Keiko's heart skipped a beat. Uncle Yoshifusa... killed her stepmother?

It was like being zapped with static—goosebumps all over. She'd spent all this time stalking her prey, only to realize it was actually a final boss. One touch, instant KO.

And Jiangxia wasn't the kind of guy to throw out wild guesses, so she believed him instantly.

If Yoshifusa was the killer, the only conflict between him and the victim was about the inheritance—and her wanting to get rid of him to claim it.

Keiko's blood ran cold. She, too, had considered taking out Uncle Yoshifusa! What if he had noticed?! What if she'd already landed on his hit list?!

As the realization hit, the surroundings fell eerily silent. Something had stopped. Even the moonlight felt colder.

She suddenly realized what was missing—the tick-tock of a clock.

It had always been there in the background, dull but constant, like the silent pine trees, the shoji screens, the stale night air. You don't notice it until it's gone.

And now...

Thwip—

A taut string snapped.

A crossbow bolt blasted through the shoji screen from inside the Buddhist hall. It sliced across Keiko Yabuchi's instep and slammed into the floor beside her foot with a terrifying thud.

The blade left a deep gash. For a moment the cut went ghostly pale—then came the blood, gushing out like a horror movie.

Keiko screamed. She collapsed to the floor.

Even Jiangxia looked surprised. He grabbed her arm, yanked her aside, and dove behind the wall himself. Then he flung open the damaged shoji screen and shouted, "Who's there?!"

Keiko sat frozen, clutching her bleeding foot, a curse stuck halfway up her throat.

She knew there was no one in the Buddhist hall—just a crossbow on a timer. The worst part? That arrow wasn't scheduled to fire yet.

Why had it fired early?

A cold face surfaced in her mind—Uncle Yoshifusa.

Her heart dropped. She got it now.

He'd spotted her following him. He'd gone into the Buddhist hall, found the trap, and tampered with it—hoping it'd injure whoever was behind him.

Exactly what Jiangxia said—this guy's murderous intent was off the charts. Keiko thought of the gruesome corpse of her stepmother and trembled.

Jiangxia peered into the Buddhist hall. Empty. He made a show of preparing to go in—

But just then, Keiko spotted two figures sprinting from deeper in the corridor.

It was Yoshifusa Yabuchi. And his "bodyguard."

Her soul nearly left her body.

She latched onto Jiangxia's leg like a lifeline, sobbing, "Don't go! Don't go! He's going to kill me, they're going to kill me!!"

Jiangxia silently looked down at her. As the fake Yoshifusa got closer, the air around Keiko seemed to panic—her murderous aura visibly startled, then slowly floated down like frightened pollen.

Jiangxia pried his leg free, crouched down, and gave her a gentle pat. Like comforting a distressed tool person.

He also casually collected the freed murderous aura while no one was watching.

Then he turned to face the approaching duo, warily.

The young Brazilian bodyguard looked confused. Yoshifusa looked... also confused. They'd followed the scream.

But when the fake Yoshifusa saw the crossbow bolt, the Buddhist hall, and Keiko Yabuchi mumbling "Don't kill me," he pieced it together.

Seeing Jiangxia's suspicious expression, he sneered, "The police are really slipping these days. Can't even compete with a student still in school."

Jiangxia: "..." Apparently Brazil doesn't do the whole high school detective thing.

Yoshifusa stared at the terrified Keiko for a second, then walked past her toward the cluster of police officers.

He may have mocked them, but as a Japanese-born con artist, he knew how sharp Japanese detectives could be.

Now that he'd been exposed, it was only a matter of time before Jiangxia found hard proof. Better to act honest now—maybe the cops would let him stick around until the will was read tomorrow morning.

Even if they kicked him out, he already knew who the most dangerous people were. And once the police were involved, the rest of the Yabuchi family would think twice about doing anything stupid.

After all this chaos... maybe things were finally winding down.

...

The next morning, in the Yabuchi family's warehouse—

Yusaku Kudo groaned and sat up from the concrete floor, rubbing his aching neck. He blinked at the dim surroundings, confused.

Then, in a rush, he remembered what had happened.

No one around. Looked safe enough.

His detective instincts kicked in. Who had attacked him? Possibilities flew through his mind, but none of them stuck.

He pulled out his phone to check the time.

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

Progress: 6/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS

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

Progress:2/10*