Ke Xue: I picked up a bottle of sherry at the beginning.

Quiet.

"Heiji, that's too much!" Ikenami Shizuka gritted her teeth. She seemed really angry. Normally, Ikenami Shizuka wouldn't get angry, but when she encountered something like this, she couldn't bear it anymore.

Toyama Kazuha had loved Heiji for so many years, but was snatched away by a strange woman. If this really happened, Ikenami Shizuka would never forgive Hattori Heiji.

"It was probably around that time," Xiao Ai said calmly. "If we were in a relationship like this, agreeing on something like this would be completely different from the carefree words we said when we were kids, right?"

"It's just something from our childhood..." Kazuha's expression softened slightly. "But you know, Heiji still takes this childhood promise very seriously..."

"He only cares about the promise we made when we were little, but turns a blind eye to the people around him. I don't think Hattori Heiji would do such an extreme thing."

Yukiko was an optimist. She smiled and said, "As long as Feifei wins this match, that's all that's needed. We'll help."

Yukiko looked at everyone and saw that they were still silent. As an optimist, she realized that things were not that simple.

Toyama Kazuha said, "It's not that easy to win. The opponent is very strong."

Ikenami Shizuka said seriously, "In short, Kazuha, if you decide to participate, you must give it your all. At least you can't lose momentum. Kazuha, you have practiced Aikido, so you have a faster card-striking speed, which will be a clear advantage over your opponent. Considering that Ms. Ooka is also right-handed, her control over your right-hand karuta will be relatively weak."

Bai Quanyi said: "Jinghua, do you know each other well?"

Ikenami Shizuka said, "Ah... Ooka Kazuha is quite famous in the karuta world. I'm a karuta enthusiast and have always been following the developments in the game."

Kazuha still wasn't very confident: "But then, the opponent could just knock all my cards away at once and score points, right? After all, knocking away cards on the same side as the correct karuta won't result in points being deducted for being considered a [mistake]..."

Ikebo Jinghua said, "If your formation can still be shot out from a distance, you'd better admit defeat! After all, your reaction speed and explosive power are already your greatest advantages. If the opponent can match you in this aspect...

"I see. So I have an advantage in my half of the board, so I should keep this situation stable, right?" He Ye nodded. "So, Aunt Jinghua, do you have any tips?"

"Yes," Jinghua nodded. "You've always been a right-handed general, right? When facing a right-handed general like Ooka, you memorize all the karuta that can be identified by just a few words and place them on the left side in the order you prefer. At the same time, place the karuta that requires more reading, in order from three-character formula to six-character formula, in the middle right side of the middle and lower sections."

"Huh?" Kazuha was stunned. "Aren't karuta usually evenly distributed? Why…"

"This is based on the premise that your reaction is faster than your opponent!" Jinghua, as a senior, patiently explained, "So it is easy for you to defend the one-word formula and the two-word formula at home. There are only three rows of karuta, and it is impossible to place all the cards in a place that you can better protect. Therefore, place the simple cards in an area that is easier for the opponent who is the right-hand general to hit - even if it is relatively easy, you can still maintain dominance here. As for the lower right corner... this is your relatively advantageous area. According to the rules, after the card reader begins to read the cards, the players' hands can leave the tatami in the seating area and reach into the card formation. You can prepare the hand-protecting posture in advance and hover not far in front of the opponent's hand... Of course, you cannot hinder the opponent, otherwise it will be considered an invalid card grab. In short, your hand must be in a very offensive position, which must ensure that you can grab the cards in the deeper position of your own before the opponent, and you must be able to find opportunities to open the opponent's defensive area.

Yuanshan and Ye suddenly understood: "So it can be done this way. I understand, Auntie."

Ikenami Shizuka sighed, "Before the competition begins, I will train you well, He Ye!"

"Yes, Aunt Jinghua." Yuanshan Heye said respectfully.

Just then, Hattori Heiji and Conan came back in a hurry.

Seeing this, Bai Quanyi asked casually, "Have you found the case?"

Hattori Heiji shook his head and said, "No."

Then, Hattori Heiji picked up Conan and said with a grin, "This guy is not working today."

A well-shaped mark appeared on Conan's forehead: "Do you really think I'm the god of death?"

Conan was about to refute when he suddenly saw the girls looking at Hattori Heiji unfriendly.

"Hey, Heiji...did you do something wrong?" Conan asked.

In the blink of an eye, Hattori Heiji saw the four women looking at him coldly, and he felt creepy.

"Hey? What happened?" Hattori Heiji asked nervously.

"Hmph! Nothing!" Toyama Kazuha was extremely disappointed with Hattori Heiji and thought that if she lost, she would just give Hattori Heiji to Ooka Kazuha.

Ooka Momiji and Ikenami Shizuka's karuta competition

After arriving in Kyoto, the group checked into a luxurious hotel.

Toyama Kazuha and Ikenami Shizuka are in the same room, Ai and Yukiko are in the same room, and Shiraizumi Masu, Hattori Heiji, and Conan are in the same room.

In the room, Shizuka Ikenami was coaching Toyama and Ye in a karuta game.

"I remember that Ooka Kazuha was once Nagoro's favorite student and received many years of education from her."

"A favorite student of the Nagoro-kai?" Kazuha was surprised. "But she's now affiliated with the Satsuki-kai... What happened later that made her switch to the Satsuki-kai?"

"The reason is actually very simple. The Nagoro-kai disbanded." Ikenami Shizuka shook her head. "Shortly after that match with me, he challenged Ms. Satsuki, the leader and strongest member of the Satsuki-kai, to a duel to the death. The loser would disband the club. He even announced it directly in the media, leaving almost no room for maneuver between the two of us."

"Then in the final battle, Nagoro was defeated?" asked Kazuha.

"If that were the case, there wouldn't be so much trouble, but the truth is, it's far stranger than that..." Ikenami Shizuka shook her head. "Because, in reality, Nagoro suddenly disappeared a few days before the match and didn't even show up for the match. Ultimately, the Nagoro Club fell apart due to the combined effects of the withdrawal and the disappearance of their leader."

"Didn't you find it later?" He Ye asked.

"No more," Ikenami Shizuka clarified. "In fact, some believe Nagoro Shikao, believing he couldn't win, committed suicide in a secluded location before the match to preserve his reputation. But I think... Ms. Satsuki and I are only roughly equal in ability. Mr. Nagoro has no reason to fear her. He could even approach her with a superior attitude."

Just as they were talking about this, there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, is Queen Ikenami here?" A polite girl's voice came from outside the door.

"Who is it?" He Ye was puzzled.

"She is Ooka Momi." Ikenami Shizuka replied.

"Ooka Hongye?" Kazuha was shocked. "Auntie...how could Hongye..."

"If we're going to train specifically against Ooka Kouyo, we'll have to practice against her to understand her tactics and techniques," Ikenami Shizuka said, standing up and heading towards the door. "Besides, you'll have to observe her up close and personal."

Having said this, she opened the door and invited Ooka Hongye in.

Ooka Momiji, a woman with short golden hair wearing a beige dress, black stockings and white women's shoes, has pretty features and a three-dimensional sense. She does not look Japanese and should be a mixed-race.

"Queen Ikenami—" Ooka Momiji bowed respectfully to Ikenami Shizuka, but then noticed that there seemed to be an uninvited guest in the room. "Kazuha? Queen, this is…"

"I am very interested in both of you younger generations, so I invited you both to compete with me, an old woman." Ikeba Jinghua had already thought of an excuse for this. Besides, she also wanted to see what this woman who claimed to be her daughter-in-law was like.

Shiraizumi Masu, Yukiko, and Ai naturally would not miss the duel between Ooka Momiji and Ikenami Shizuka, and hurried over to join in the fun.

As for Hattori Heiji and Conan, no one knew where they had gone to play.

Just as the game was about to begin, Ooka Hongye saw three strangers coming in.

Ikenami Shizuka explained, "They are all karuta enthusiasts. They came here to watch. Miss Momiji, you don't mind, do you?"

Ooka Hongye smiled and said, "Is this a strategy of yours to unite against me, Queen Ikenami?"

Ikebo Jinghua said, "Ms. Hongye, are you scared?"

Ooka Hongye said confidently: "Of course I'm not afraid. I will bravely accept any challenge!"

"So, Queen Ikenami, when can we..."

"Right now," Ikenami Shizuka nodded with a faint smile. "Let me see the strength of the most talented high school players in the Satsuki Cup in recent years. Momiji, can you handle the duties of referee and caller?"

"Ah? Oh, okay!" Hongye was slightly stunned before quickly complying. "So, everything will follow the standard procedure?"

"Of course, don't just view karuta as a competitive art form; it's also a valuable cultural treasure in its own right!" Ikenami Shizuka instructed, pulling a folding fan from her sleeve. "You certainly have a remarkable talent for competition, but you still lack an understanding of the value of karuta in non-competitive traditional culture—both the Hyakunin Isshu songs and the sport itself."

"Yes."

In the karuta competition with Momiji, Ikenami Shizuka did not use any special abilities, but competed with Momiji with the abilities of an ordinary person.

Hongye's strength was beyond Ikebo Shizuka's imagination. Three hours later, Ikebo Shizuka was nearly defeated...

"The disciple truly surpasses the master." Ikenami Shizuka knelt on the tatami and shook her head at the two remaining karuta cards in front of her. "I lost."

"Thank you... Queen Ikenami." Although Hongye, who was sitting opposite Ikenami Shizuka, won the game, her face looked extremely ugly, and even her tone of voice was a little depressed.

"Please don't call me the queen anymore. The next karuta queen must be you, Miss Momiji." said Ikenami Shizuka.

"I dare not." Hongye waved her hands quickly and stood up.

"Then I'll take my leave first. It's getting late, and my family will probably be worried if I don't go back soon." Standing up, the daughter of the Ooka family bowed deeply to Ikenami Shizuka, then glanced at Toyama Kazuha, and after Ikenami Shizuka nodded, she walked towards the door. "Iori, are you still there?"

"Here!" A male voice suddenly came from outside the door. It was Ooka Hongye's attendant.

Soon, Momiji left with Iori, whom no one had seen before.

"Jinghua, how strong is Hongye?" Bai Quanyi asked.

"She was incredibly impressive. You saw how formidable she was at the beginning." He smacked his lips, as if recalling something deeply impressive. "But I always felt like she started to... waver midway through the fight?"

When Ikenami Shizuka, who was far behind, scored several points in a row in the middle stage, Ooka Koha suddenly showed obvious anxiety, frequently making mistakes such as aiming at the wrong cards or hitting the cards without calling them. She barely calmed down until the final stage, avoiding the tragedy of being overturned by Ikenami Shizuka, who remained stable throughout.

"Hmm, maybe it brought back some bad memories for her?" Yukiko interrupted. She had just enjoyed a high-quality round of karuta, and her face was full of satisfaction.

"Maybe it's because of your irritable mood?" Bai Quanyi added.

"Maybe. Anyway... I probably have an idea of ​​how to train Kazuha." Having said that, Ikenami Shizuka still felt that Kazuha had no hope of defeating Ooka Kouye, but she didn't say it out loud for fear of discouraging Kouye.

"I'm counting on you, Aunt Jinghua!" Ooka Hongye bowed sincerely to Ikenami Jinghua.

……

If nothing unexpected happened, Bai Quanyi's night should have been a peaceful night - but unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

Hattori Heiji and Conan, who were outside, really encountered a case.

Outside a quiet courtyard somewhere.

"You two have a case, why do you have to have me come?" Shiraizumi Mashi got out of the taxi and questioned Hattori Heiji and Conan.

"It's not me who asked you to come here, it's Heiji." Conan curled his lips.

"The three of us are one." Hattori Heiji laughed.

Shiraizumi Masu was speechless. Hattori Heiji was really an even more straight man than Kudo Shinichi. Even Kudo Shinichi had to admit defeat.

The three of them arrived at the crime scene. The person in charge of the case was Ayanokouji, who greeted them politely.

Ayanokouji actually doesn't want outsiders to get involved, but he is really helpless. The IQ of the detectives in the detective world is worrying.

"So, you should at least tell us what exactly happened," Bai Quanyi said, glancing at the courtyard before him. "Of course, I've already roughly guessed what happened. So, who was the murdered person?"

"The deceased, Toshiya Yajima, was the eldest son of a large brewing company. He didn't work full-time, but was completely devoted to competitive karuta. To allow him to focus on his studies, he lived alone in this courtyard, only occasionally inviting friends from the club to discuss karuta." Leading the group into the courtyard, Officer Ayanokouji explained the deceased's condition. "He died around six this morning, and was discovered at five in the afternoon by a younger member of the club who had been invited to the scene."

Walking along the courtyard path, they arrived at the only building with lights on. Judging from its size and location, which far exceeded the other buildings, it was probably a residential area used for daily life. Without a doubt, this was where the murder had occurred.

"What conclusions have you reached so far?" Conan asked, looking at the open building door and the police officers walking out in twos and threes. "Since everyone has started to leave, your identification work should be completed, right?"

"Yes, it's already been done. So, you don't have to worry about destroying any evidence while you're investigating there. Just go ahead and do it." Officer Ayanokouji gave them a high level of authority for their actions. "As for the conclusions we've reached so far... they're actually somewhat contradictory. There's a lot of evidence of rummaging through the house, which is typical of a burglary. But the perpetrator seems to have caused excessive damage in the living room—for example, the screen of the large, bulky TV, which had little loot value, was smashed, and the projector was also deliberately shattered. If the perpetrator's goal was truly burglary, there's no need to cause these things that can't be converted into monetary gain."

·· ·······Request flowers····· ·····

"In other words, you suspect this was a premeditated murder disguised as a burglary-turned-homicide?" Shiraizumi concluded. "Hattori, what are your thoughts on this?"

"I'm thinking about the suspect, but it's basically just a castle in the air right now." Hattori Heiji waved his hand. "Besides, I know the same thing as you do. Even I haven't been authorized to go in and take a look. I just got the news a little earlier than you did, notified you, and arrived here ten minutes earlier than you did.

As they spoke, they walked onto the wooden floor outside the building's door.

"Squeak——" Such a somewhat unsettling sound of pressure was heard under the feet.

"This thing... is a bit out of repair, isn't it?" Bai Quanyi frowned, looking at the wooden planks beneath his feet. "Even though he's a wealthy young master, he hasn't done any maintenance here? For the record, while he's a wealthy young master, what's his cash flow like? Are there any serious debts or other negative factors that could affect his liquidity?"

The title of "rich young master" only proves that his family once had sufficient assets at a certain time, but it cannot guarantee his current financial situation. Whether his family has cut off his source of income or the entire family has fallen into financial difficulties, this title may become a name without substance.

0 ....... .......

"He has no debt and sufficient cash flow—he holds a considerable amount of securities in the United States and domestically, as well as a considerable checking account," Officer Ayanokouji rejected. "The information we've found so far indicates that he receives a substantial monthly payment from the company, sufficient to cover his expenses here and a certain amount of extra luxury goods."

"This thing could actually be used as a security feature, for example, making a loud noise that could alert the occupants immediately if someone approaches," Hattori Heiji offered. "But if that's the case, if a burglar were to break in here, wouldn't the sound of the wooden planks being stepped on draw the deceased, Toshiya Yajima, out?"

"Technically, it should be possible, but in that case, please allow me to ask, where was the body ultimately found?" Conan carefully observed the outermost part of the interior corridor that they could now see from outside. "If the sound really would have occurred here, would the deceased have remained indifferent while the intruder walked from the door to the living room? If he immediately realized something was wrong after hearing the sound—the time of death was before six in the morning. Someone who suddenly came to their house at such a time could not be a friend, but could only be someone with ill intentions. Based on this point of inference, Mr. Yajima Shunya must have encountered the other party while rushing out to investigate. The specific intersection point should be in the corridor just after the door. The robber had just entered the corridor and had not taken a few steps when he ran into Mr. Yajima who was rushing out."

"Why?" Bai Quanyi didn't react at first.

"If you were a robber and you realized the wooden floor you were stepping on made such a loud noise, how would you feel?" Conan reminded him. "If they were here to steal something, such a loud noise would definitely wake the homeowner, who is already waking up at dawn. Even if they weren't scared away on the spot, they would definitely slow down to reduce the noise. No matter what, they can't compare to Mr. Yajima's speed."

"However, Mr. Yajima's body was found in the living room, quite a distance from here." Officer Ayanokouji revealed a fact that surprised everyone present. "Mr. Yajima was wearing complete home clothes, not the pajamas found in the closet, which means he was quite awake at the time."

"Hmm..." After exchanging bewildered glances, Hattori Heiji finally agreed with the other three. "If I were the attacker, and only encountered and confronted the deceased in the living room, that could only mean one thing...

"My mind was clear. I came here to kill Mr. Yajima. I might even have known that he would be in the living room at this time, so after stepping on the floor and making a loud enough noise to alert the enemy, I immediately rushed to the living room and trapped Mr. Yajima there."

As they spoke, they walked along the messy corridor, which was covered with many signs of tumbling as if caused by a burglary, and arrived outside the living room door.

Collaboration between Shiraizumi Masu, Hattori Heiji, and Conan

Before them lay a remarkably simple bedroom—tatami mats occupied almost every inch of the floor. Above them sat a single, bulky TV cabinet, housing a heavy television, and a small, sideways table. But what was strange was that the television, weighing dozens of kilograms, had been flipped to the ground, its screen shattered. Inside the undamaged TV cabinet, the projector seemed to have been struck in half by a sledgehammer, dented in the center. Undoubtedly, even the disc inside had been damaged.

In addition, perhaps because he is a competitive karuta player, there are a large number of karuta scattered on the ground concentrated in a corner of the room - perhaps they were messed up by the traces of fighting after being attacked, or there is a lesser possibility that Mr. Yajima is practicing the card-hitting movements.

Not far from the square table was the body of the deceased, Toshiya Yajima, lying on the ground.

There was a wound on his head, but the bleeding was not large from the angle they could see at the living room door. Judging from the pool of blood beside him, it was probably a wound on the back of his head from some place they could not see.

"Alright, everything here was originally in this position. Aside from the murder weapon, the samurai sword, we didn't take anything else," Officer Ayanokouji, who had led them here, said in his final words. "Now you can carefully examine all the traces here. If you find any clues, please notify us immediately. Good luck."

After saying that, he gestured to the other subordinates who had been stationed here before, and almost all of them walked out of the living room, leaving only an older policeman guarding the high school students.

"I'll take a look at the body first," after saying this, Shiraizumi Yoshi came to the side of the body, and couldn't wait to use the bloodless back of the head as a force point to gently lift up Toshiya Yajima's head.