The Phantom Thief of Heart! But Conan.

Chapter 1021 Lies don’t hurt, the truth is the sharpest knife

Tang Ze stroked the cat in his arms and looked at the sweaty Man Tian Nianjiu opposite him with a playful expression.

"Hey, isn't this Mr. Manda's cat?" Editor Shimoki pushed up his glasses and quickly recognized it. "Nobel, why is he over there..."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but look at the aviation box in Wantian's hand.

This cat named Nobel has been raised by Man Tian for many years and he loves it very much.

Whether he left home to go to a hotel to write, or took time out to kill someone while writing, he never forgot to bring his cat with him.

You might say he didn't commit the crime carefully, but he also had a complete set of disguise considerations. He was able to change into the clothes of a hotel waiter and mislead the editor waiting outside his door into thinking that he had not left the room.

You say he committed the crime carefully...Why did he bring a cat with him?

Of course, since his students lived in his old house, his cats often came and went, and sometimes he didn't have time to take care of it, so he would ask his students to feed it for a few days. So it was normal for cat hair to appear here, which might have made him mentally relaxed, but it was still difficult to judge his overly relaxed state when committing crimes.

What was even more difficult was that, because everyone knew about his love for cats, including his editor Shimaki, he couldn't possibly take the cat to the hotel and then come back to say that the cat was gone. He could only pretend to tell Shimaki that the cat was asleep, then he closed the airline box and, using his lifelong acting skills, carried the cat home.

If Nobel had not been discovered, it would have been normal for him to stroll around as usual and appear at the opposite door.

The problem is that now, the police discovered the case early, and Nobel was intercepted by someone...

Wan Tian was stuck there for a long time.

Megure Jusan and Takagi Wataru, who were experienced in handling cases, immediately understood what he meant.

He's in such a guilty mood, and he can't react to what's happening. He can forget about staying in the search class.

"Well, it seems I have to ask where you were two hours ago." Megure Jusan took out the manual again.

"...I have been staying in the hotel since yesterday to finish my manuscript." Although Man Tian Nianjiu was stiff and nervous inside, he still spoke the lines he had rehearsed in advance very smoothly.

"Well, the victim, Gao Ping, was originally your assistant. The hourly worker has explained this to us." Megure Jusan changed the subject and asked directly, "So, is this cat that appeared near the crime scene yours?"

"Meow~" Nobel called out, as if he knew who Megure Jusan was talking about.

Wan Tiannian opened his mouth, not knowing whether to deny or agree.

Looking at the empty airline box in his hand, Man Tian Nian Jiu could only grudgingly say, "Yes, it's my cat. I took it to the hotel, but when I finally finished finishing the manuscript, it disappeared... I didn't expect it to go home on its own."

"Hmm..." Megure Jusan nodded, but didn't say whether he believed it or not. He followed the information he gave and said, "Have you been staying with your editor in the hotel? There are surveillance cameras in the hotel, right?"

Editor Shimagi standing nearby wanted to say something but stopped. After receiving Manda's long-term gaze, he could only answer, "That's about it. He lives in a hotel not far from here, about a ten-minute walk. Although I'm not in Manda's room, I've been sitting in the lobby outside the corridor today. To enter and exit the guest rooms on the teacher's floor, you have to pass by my side."

As for why Mr. Manda kept saying on the way that Nobel fell asleep due to exhaustion and did not reveal the news that the cat was missing at all...

Shimaki Akechi had a feeling that something was wrong and kept his mouth shut.

Even if something really happened to Wantian Nianjiu, it is not something we should worry about now.

With publication imminent, the production schedule has been made and the manuscript has been sent to the publisher.

It is definitely not a good thing for the original author to be involved in a criminal case at this critical juncture.

"Yes, so I definitely don't have time to kill people." Wan Tiannianjiu immediately took over the conversation and said anxiously, "Besides, I have no conflicts with Yuan, and we have always cooperated happily..."

"Murder?" Megure Jusan raised his eyes from the manual and looked at him strangely, "Who told you that Mr. Gao Ping was dead?"

“……Ah?” Man Tiannianjiu’s expression was stunned.

"The attacker may have intended to kill. But Mr. Takahira was very lucky. A few children happened to break his window while playing baseball. Although the injury was serious, he was sent to the hospital in time and his vital signs are now stable." Takagi Shigeru explained.

Wan Tian Nianjiu was completely panicked now.

Originally, as long as Gao Ping had not lost his memory, when he woke up, no matter how he tried to cover up the things he had done, they would not be able to be concealed.

I was in the same room with him, and the next second, he was knocked to the ground.

If it wasn't Man Tiannianjiu who did it, you can't say that the cat pushed the vase down, right?

"Don't struggle, Mr. Manda." After calming the cat down again, Tang Ze hugged Nobel, who was purring happily, and gave a conclusion, "As long as the victim wakes up, you will definitely be identified. If you take the initiative to confess now, at least things won't be too ugly.

Wan Tiannianjiu turned his head and looked at him blankly.

It was only then that he finally seemed to notice the young man who had been holding his cat in his arms.

Nobel is a gentle chinchilla, but he carries him by his side wherever he goes. Over the years, Nobel rarely gets close to strangers.

Apart from Wantian Nianjiu himself, only Yuan Gaoping, who often feeds it, can get close to it.

If this person had found Nobel and easily become close to him...

"Nobel would be sad if he knew you were so vicious and considered it as part of the arrangement." Tang Ze said in a flat and light tone.

Manda's old shoulders finally collapsed.

----

"Your works in recent years were all written by your disciple Gao Ping..."

"Teacher..." Editor Shimaki's small eyes were almost filled with sweat. He called out in a trembling voice while wiping his forehead and listening to him explode.

It’s over, it’s really over this time… The publishing house has already paid the royalties…

"Humph, I'm not a teacher anymore." Wan Tian, ​​whose spine was taken away, was bent over for a long time, exuding an air of old age. "I'm just an old man who has no motivation after losing his wife."

"So, you have a disagreement on the issue of ghostwriting?" Megure Jusan knew that the criminal was in a state of emotional fluctuation and needed to talk, so he cooperated and continued the conversation.

"...Originally, he didn't want to continue being my shadow." Wan Tiannianjiu laughed at himself, "In the beginning, he was just a young man with some ideas and poor writing skills. He valued my opinions and would make changes according to my requirements. But as he improved himself, the performance of the several books he wrote for him got better and better, and he hated my interference more and more. Recently, even when I expressed my suggestions for revision, he would evade me..."

"He wrote his own work." Conan glanced at the still open drawer, "and it's not the direction you usually write in."

Man Tian Nianjiu is a famous historical novelist. Regardless of the information obtained from the hourly worker's wife or the current content on his desk, it seems that Yuan Gaoping is currently writing detective mystery novels.

This is also a timeless classic classification, but it is obviously not a big turn that Man Tian Nianjiu would make at his age.

Originally, Gao Ping's next work could not be used by him, which was probably the biggest reason why Wantian had been holding up the vase for a long time.

Of course, there may also be an unspeakable fear involved.

After all, the works originally written by Gao Ping were gradually getting out of his control. Gao Ping's own colors were becoming more and more intense, and it was an intensity that was difficult for Man Tiannianjiu to imitate. It was also a sign that his creative career was coming to an end.

At a time like this, with a little provocation, there is a high possibility that Wan Tiannianjiu would kill someone in a fit of rage due to his emotional excitement.

"I knew that this day would come sooner or later, and I promised him that as long as the book was successfully launched, I would consider introducing him to the publishing house and let his own works be signed with his name. But he...!" Man Tian Nianjiu said this, gritted his teeth, and gasped uncontrollably, "He said, 'Please leave it all to me, and you just stay in the audience. It's time for you to hand over the baton.'"

Conan pushed up his glasses, not surprised.

Everyone understands the reason. Gao Ping was willing to accept this job as a ghostwriter for a famous artist just for this reason.

First learn to polish under a famous master, and work as a ghostwriter under an assumed name, but you can earn a very high income.

No matter how reluctant this famous writer is to give up the title of writer, he will eventually grow old.

However, when the time came for the identity to be changed, it was not surprising that Man Tiannian could not accept the fact that the gunman had surpassed him and did something extreme in excitement.

He did not look at the frustrated Manada Tokugawa, but turned his head to look at Kitagawa Yusuke who was staring at the suspect.

He didn't forget this guy's background.

The reason why Kitagawa Yusuke's financial situation is so difficult is because of his special family environment.

When his mother was dying, she was taken in by his former teacher, who left him and her own works to her and passed away.

Kitagawa Yusuke was raised by his teacher and learned painting from him, and they were almost like adoptive father and son.

However, as his teacher grew older, he lost more and more inspiration and creative ability, and began to turn his attention to his disciples.

...It's exactly the same as what Manda has been doing for a long time.

The same applies to the part of providing shelter, training and educating disciples.

After Kitagawa Yusuke introduced himself, Conan spent some time asking his father and the police about the incident. The conclusion he got was that it was true after investigating old news. The man had exploited and oppressed his disciples for many years, and even caused deaths...

Although Conan didn't quite understand why he had no impression of such explosive news, he still believed the information.

Combined with the incident that happened at the beginning, the apprentice of magician Jiujiu Motoyasu, Miyoshi Asako, actually encountered Kitagawa Yusuke on the day of the case...

Conan looked at the cat in Kitagawa Yusuke's arms and his hands that were patting the cat regularly, as if repeating mechanically, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

He was wronged. He definitely didn't come here for the cat.

This guy probably used the time when he was out of sight after the police arrived to find out Gao Ping's original situation, and then because of similar experiences, he couldn't help but intervene and assist in the investigation...

Feeling a gaze, Tang Ze turned his head and saw Conan's classic expression of sighing, and raised his eyebrows.

Well, he guessed what Conan was thinking.

It's nothing more than sighing at the similarity based on the character design of Kitagawa Yusuke that he originally gave.

Tang Ze withdrew his gaze and looked at Man Tian Nianjiu, who had a hunched back and allowed the police to handcuff his wrists.

However, he did have that intention anyway, so let it be a misunderstanding.

"The teacher stole the students' work. This is just like an adult bullying a child. How shameless." Yoshida Ayumi clenched her fists as she watched Man Tian being handcuffed and taken away.

"Their relationship can't be called teacher and student, right? It seems like they don't have any feelings for each other." Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya curled his lips.

Genta Kojima touched his head, turned around and looked at the study which was now surrounded by police.

"...Is it because I hit the ball into that room that this incident happened?" He came to his senses and was a little dazed. "If I hadn't hit it in, that uncle would have died, right?"

Compared with the inherent conflicts between teachers and students, or between gunmen and celebrities, his baseball hitting the originally high and flat window was the real accidental incident.

That is to say...

"My baseball saved a life, right!" Kojima Genta suddenly became excited.

"Yeah, if we hadn't come in, the murderer's arrangement would have been successful, right?!" Yoshida Ayumi also became excited when she heard this.

"Hiss, what did he arrange?" After recalling for a while, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya began to think.

Yes, because this time I had a high school student to look after me, so it was very quick for us to find the place and call the police.

They only had time to investigate the situation briefly before the police took over. The suspect's tactics were exposed in one encounter because of a cat that had been seduced away...

"He turned everything in the room upside down." Huiyuan Ai kindly reminded, "Because Gao Ping would do the same thing. He hoped that the hourly maid wouldn't get suspicious and just clean the house like this, so that the cat's hair he brought would be cleaned up...

"That's impossible..." Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya immediately retorted, "The victim was lying on the ground, and the hourly worker would have found blood and the body as soon as she came in - if we hadn't come. How could she have been in the mood to clean the cabinet for others... Isn't this a waste of time..."

Gao Ping's workshop was where he was attacked.

His desktop ornaments and collectibles are all placed on the cabinets inside.

As long as the hourly worker, Mrs. Ichimura, was not blind, she would have discovered Gao Ping, who was lying on the ground and was obviously dying, as soon as she came in.

"Yeah, what a stupid trick."

"He still stole the victim's detective novel manuscript even though he did that? How can he continue writing at this level?"

"I don't know. Uh, maybe, find another gunman?"

Lies don't hurt, truth is the knife.

Conan turned his head and saw that Man Tian Nianjiu, who had not walked far, began to stagger.