Chapter 317 A Caress from Xiaolan

"Dr. Asai, please continue." Seeing Conan hiding next to Ran, Uncle Mori glared at him fiercely, but he didn't waste any more time with him. Instead, he steered the conversation back to Asai Narumi.

"Okay." Asai Shigemi nodded, then continued in a gentle voice, "Although that patient didn't stay with me for very long, as a doctor, I would habitually chat with him while I was examining him, and I learned some things about the island from that conversation."

"For example, Mr. Keiji Aso, whom you mentioned, has about three or four friends on the island. They have a pretty good relationship and seem to have grown up together since childhood."

"Really?" Uncle Mori stared intently at Asai Narumi. "Does Dr. Asai know who among those people is?"

Asai Narumi smiled slightly: "I remember this quite clearly, because these are all relatively well-known people on the island."

"Their names are Mr. Kuroiwa, Mr. Kameyama, Mr. Nishimoto, and Mr. Kawashima. According to the old man, these four were childhood friends of Mr. Aso Keiji and had a very good relationship. So if you have any questions about Mr. Aso, you can visit them. Of course, some of them have passed away."

"Passed away?" Uncle Mori paused.

As a detective, although he usually relies on Conan's rating, he is still quite sensitive to matters of death and dead people.

"Dr. Asai, what do you know about these four people? Could you tell us about them so we can ask them about their situation later?"

Uncle Mori always behaves so politely and gentlemanly in front of newly met beautiful women.

"Of course, no problem, it's only right." Asai Narumi smiled, seemingly very impressed with Uncle Mori's gentlemanly behavior.

"After all, I've been on the island for a few years, so I know these four people quite well."

"Mr. Kuroiwa's full name is Kuroiwa Tatsuji, and he is the current village chief of the island."

"Mr. Kameyama was the former village chief, but he passed away three years ago."

"Mr. Nishimoto's real name is Ken Nishimoto. I don't know him very well. The old man said he's a useless bum who can't do any work, haha, actually he's just an unemployed bum who doesn't have a job~"

"And Mr. Kawashima, his name is Hideo Kawashima. He is also very famous on the island and is a very wealthy man."

"The old man mentioned Mr. Keiji Aso, and he seemed quite regretful when he did. It was from him that I learned that these four people had a close relationship with Mr. Keiji Aso."

Asai Shigemi always had a natural smile on his face when he brought up this matter.

It was as if everything he knew had truly come from another person.

Wang Changsheng expressed doubt about whether such an old man even existed.

However, it is possible that an old man did indeed see him for treatment, and he was later sent off the island for medical care.

But they can't verify it now, so it's up to them to say what they want.

By the time they actually have the time to follow this lead and investigate, the entire Moonshadow Island will probably have been burned down.

"Oh, you've come at just the right time."

Suddenly, Asai Narumi smiled.

"Hmm?" Uncle Mori and Conan looked at him. "Is something about to happen?"

"That's right." Asai Shigemi nodded. "I suddenly remembered that today is the anniversary of Mr. Kameyama's death! The patient who had an appointment today may have canceled the appointment because he was going to attend this memorial event."

"Oh dear, look at my memory, I'm so sorry. Most of the people in our hospital are from outside the island, so they're not very enthusiastic about these kinds of activities and didn't pay much attention to them. I forgot about it in a moment." Asai Narumi joked that the nurses outside didn't remind him, and that even the nurses probably forgot about it.

"So Dr. Asai, you mean today is the anniversary of the island's former village chief?" Ran asked from the side.

"Yes." Asai Narumi nodded affirmatively. "The anniversary of the former village chief's death is usually held at the community center on the island. I even attended that memorial service when I first came here. If you're interested, you can go and take a look. The other gentlemen should also be there."

Upon hearing that the plot had progressed, Wang Changsheng clearly sensed that Conan had become much more excited.

"Why do I get the feeling that Asai Narumi is some kind of NPC in the story?" Wang Changsheng pursed his lips and glanced at Asai Narumi again.

Seemingly noticing Wang Changsheng's gaze, Asai Narumi turned her head and gave him a sweet smile, her eyes full of genuine affection for the little boy.

"...I don't seem like an NPC anymore." Wang Changsheng blinked and returned a smile to Asai Narumi.

He could sense that Asai Narumi's affection for him was the kind of affection one has for a child, rather than any personal affection directed at him.

Even Conan, that guy, Asai Narumi treated him with kindness and gentleness.

I just don't know if it's an act...

Of course, it's unlikely.

After all, in everyone's eyes, although Conan is a bit talkative, he is also a child who is very good at acting cute.

Who wouldn't love a cute child who loves to act spoiled?

"Um, um~ I have a question, I'm just really curious and want to ask it."

Conan was pulled in front of Ran and sat on a chair with her, sitting between her legs, his feet swinging back and forth.

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He raised his head and shouted in a childish and very babyish voice.

"Your name is Conan, right? Little Conan, feel free to ask me anything. I'll answer whatever I know." Asai Narumi smiled.

Wang Changsheng sat quietly to the side, unsure whether to criticize Conan's affected behavior first, or Asai Narumi's natural and smooth self-proclaimed status as the older sister.

He seems to... genuinely treat himself like a girl.

"Young Master, what happened to your lip?"

At this moment, Reigen Shinryu, who was following Wang Changsheng, noticed that his sugar daddy's lips seemed to be twitching slightly.

It wasn't very obvious, but he was so close that he naturally noticed it.

So he quickly put on a show of concern for his sugar daddy.

"It's nothing." Wang Changsheng had no intention of attracting everyone's attention at the moment. He waved his hand, forcibly suppressing the overwhelming urge to complain that was surging within him. Then, he subtly glared at Reigen Arataka, "Don't talk too much."

Linghuan Xinlong was taken aback by Wang Changsheng's words. He hadn't expected his concern to be discarded like trash, and for a moment he shrank to the side, feeling somewhat aggrieved.

Wang Changsheng rolled his eyes inwardly and ignored him.

At this point, Conan also asked Asai Narumi his question: "So, how did that former village chief, Mr. Kameyama, die?"

He smiled while squinting at Asai Narumi without making a sound.

Of course, he did this simply to hear more from Asai Narumi and gain more information, not because he had any doubts about Asai Narumi.

There was no way around it; he had already become quite agitated when Asai Narumi told him that the former village chief had been dead for three years.

Although he knew absolutely nothing about the situation on the island, there was the former village chief, the current village chief, and someone who had been dead for three years…

When these few terms are put together, they suddenly become less ordinary and even interesting.

Seeing Conan's expectant look, Asai Narumi recalled what Detective Mouri had said earlier—that the boy liked watching detective shows—and immediately understood. He couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

"Little Conan, you don't actually think Mr. Kameyama was murdered, do you?"

Conan didn't answer, looking noncommittal, and just stared at him silently.

Seeing this, Asai Narumi understood.

"Haha~ You're such a funny little brother!" Asai Narumi said with a cheerful laugh. "Unfortunately, you'll be disappointed. Mr. Kameyama died of a heart attack, and it had nothing to do with anyone else~"

"A heart attack?" Conan seemed to instinctively doubt everything. "It's serious, but... cough, but I saw on TV that these kinds of illnesses are usually treatable, right? How could he just die like that?"

"That's true, but Mr. Kameyama was alone when he had his heart attack, so he wasn't discovered in time and there was no way to save him."

Asai Narumi had a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his lips as he said this.

His expression looked somewhat sad and regretful, but the others didn't notice.

"I see." Conan frowned.

"Well, I do think there's something strange about Mr. Kameyama's death." Asai Shigemi sighed dramatically.

"Oh? Doctor, do you think there's anything strange about this?" Conan's eyes lit up when he heard him say that.

That makes sense. Asai Narumi is the doctor on this island. He arrived on the island around three years ago. Maybe he was already on the island when the former village chief died?

In this way, as the island's doctor, he could be considered one of the first people to see the deceased's remains.

If he notices anything strange, that's normal.

To Conan's dismay, Asai Narumi didn't say what he wanted to hear; instead, she started talking about some superstitious things.

Moreover, before he could even speak, Uncle Mori had already given Conan a lecture.

"You little brat, why are you asking so many questions? I haven't even asked anything yet! Even if it weren't for me, there would be other adults here. Who gave you the right to ask questions? Go and stay quietly over there!"

As Uncle Mori was speaking, he leaned over and slapped Conan on the head.

And it made a muffled sound, like cracking a winter melon.

"Ooh-san!" Ran swatted away Uncle Mori's hand, glaring at him with displeasure. "You can talk, but don't always resort to violence!"

"Hahaha~ It's been so long since I've seen such cute people like you guys." Asai Narumi laughed out loud, not minding at all, as she watched Uncle Mori and Conan's antics.

He waved his hand gently: "It's alright. The child likes detective games, which must be due to the influence of you, the famous detective."

"Huh? Hahaha, that's not true. It's just that this guy likes to watch detective dramas."

Asai Narumi's words made Uncle Mori burst into loud laughter, and his right hand involuntarily touched the back of his head.

Fortunately, he still had some self-control and didn't stick his tongue out and laugh strangely.

With a slight smile, Asai Narumi continued, "Actually, it's not that strange; it's just a rumor."

"It is said that when Mr. Kameyama suffered a heart attack, he was in the community center and collapsed on a piano."

"I don't know who told it to, maybe it was a resident near the community center, but anyway, the news just started circulating."

"Mr. Kameyama died of a heart attack, and the piano at the time miraculously played a piece of music on its own, supposedly as a funeral procession for the deceased."

"And that's not all. I heard that the piano in the community center originally belonged to Mr. Keiji Aso, but it was placed in the community center as a memorial after his death."

"The piano of a man who had long since died is now linked to the death of another man, and since then, a legend has been added to the island."

"Everyone says that the piano is haunted by the ghost of Keiji Aso, who killed Mr. Kameyama, and that the funeral piano piece was played by him for Mr. Kameyama."

Asai Narumi's voice grew increasingly cold as she spoke.

As he finished speaking, everyone present stared wide-eyed.

Xiao Lan couldn't help but swallow twice.

He pulled Conan into a tight embrace, holding him close, his face blank: "A demon...murder?"

Asai Narumi seemed to be really into his speech, and the atmosphere in the small doctor's office was indeed quite good. Wang Changsheng noticed that Xiao Lan's legs were trembling a little, as if she was feeling weak.

Luckily she was sitting down, otherwise Asai Narumi might have plopped down on the ground while she was talking.

"Are all girls afraid of ghosts? Sakura is too." Wang Changsheng pursed his lips and couldn't help but look at Sonomi again.

"That's not right either. Tomoyo isn't afraid of ghosts, but it's normal for girls to have more yin energy and be more likely to see strange things."

If Sakura is afraid of ghosts or the like, it's because she was often frightened by Touya when she was little.

So what was Xiaolan's reason?

"Could it be that Uncle Mori used to scare Ran with ghosts every day when she was little?"

Conan was held tightly in Ran's arms, the back of his head pressed against her chest. His cheeks were flushed, but he curled his lip in disapproval of Asai Narumi's statement.

He coughed twice, then started chattering in his childish voice, "Don't be afraid, Sister Xiaolan. The doctor just said it's just a rumor!"