Karasuma Renye hugged her suitcase tightly and watched Yuanhuaiyu leave, thinking a lot.
In addition to being relaxed and happy, he also felt more puzzled in his heart.
He searched hard for the [Mermaid], but failed to find any trace of it after searching for so many years. In the end, the other party came to him on his own initiative.
And this [Mermaid] actually pretended to be an invited scholar and ate and drank in the Dusk Pavilion, living in vain for half a year!
Is this reasonable?
This reminded him that when he first met [Mermaid], he seemed to have sneaked into the cocktail party and had a good meal.
"What a weird guy."
Karasuma Renye rubbed her forehead.
From beginning to end, Yuan Huaiyu showed no obvious purpose in his eyes. He was more like a wanderer who played with his life as he pleased.
There are many rich and powerful people who are willing to pay a sky-high price for a tube of blood that can extend life for ten years, but he only uses it in exchange for a so-called intelligence authority and a few trivial requests.
It's confusing.
But one thing Karasuma Renya is sure of is that she must not become an enemy of such a person.
The scene where [Merman] took out the bullet from his body with his bare hands and healed it back to its original state in an instant left a very deep impression on him.
The moment he revealed his identity to him, and the moment he learned that the blood of the [Mermaid] could extend his life, the thought of using force to keep him forever never crossed his mind.
But he quickly rejected such an idea.
After two meetings with [Mermaid], the image shown by the other party was very different. Combined with the information from the military, he could easily deduce that [Mermaid] has a very high level of cross-dressing and can freely
Switch to a different image.
In this way, the black organization has a reasonable explanation for its inability to find him.
[Mermaid] is too mysterious, no one knows what kind of back-up plan he has. If he attacks rashly without controlling the opponent and allowing him to escape, he will definitely offend such a ruthless character.
At that time, Renye Karasuma will no longer be able to obtain blood to extend his life, and even the entire Karasuma family will be shrouded in his shadow.
Just imagine how terrifying it would be for an immortal, elusive monster to insist on revenge.
Karasuma Renye didn't dare to gamble.
Since we cannot bear the consequences of becoming an enemy, there is only one way out——
Do everything possible to maintain the current trading relationship and seek the possibility of further cooperation.
Having made up his mind, Karasuma Renye shouted loudly: "Here comes someone!"
The butler waiting at the door pushed the door open, bowed and asked: "Boss, what are your orders?"
"Mobilize all available personnel and raise the security level of the Twilight Pavilion to the highest level. Then find me an absolutely reliable doctor."
"During this period, if anyone is found to be in an abnormal condition, he will be killed without mercy!"
Feeling the murderous aura rising from the old man's body, the housekeeper bent even deeper, almost folding his body in half.
"yes!"
"There is also the finishing work for this time. Bring me a piece of paper and I will tell you to take notes."
…
On the luxurious bed, Senjian Kyousuke sat up in shock, gasping for air.
"Where am I?"
He remembered that he was about to be silenced by the Karasuma family, and then he saw Mr. Qingshan suddenly appear behind him and prick himself with something. His vision went dark and he fell unconscious.
He looked around in panic and found that he was now in a spacious bedroom, and Smith was lying on another bed in the room.
Qian Jian stumbled out of bed, feeling dizzy.
"Hey! Smith!" He raised his hand and slapped his old friend's cheek hard, "Wake up! Wake up!"
Smith's cheeks turned red after being photographed, and he opened his eyes in a daze: "Why does it hurt so much?"
Then he saw Qianjian come over with a slap in the face.
"Hey, what are you doing!" Smith woke up instantly, his eyes widened, and he subconsciously raised his hand to block the slap.
The next moment, he remembered his situation.
Without bothering to question Qianjian why he was so harsh, Smith stood up and sat up, looking around blankly.
"Where is this?"
"This is the bedroom of the Twilight Pavilion, which is generally not open to outsiders."
A familiar voice came from the door of the room. The two turned around and saw "Qingshan" pushing the door open and walking in.
"I know you have many questions you want to ask me now." Yuan Huaiyu touched the tip of his nose, "I'll just pick out the things you can know."
"Karasuma Renye is about to die. There are countless people in the Karasuma family who are coveting her, secretly or openly. Once Renye dies, the Karasuma family will be divided up by wolves sooner or later."
"So he decided to create a big event before he died. Using this big event as a guide, he divided the Karasuma family's apparent collection and wealth into parts to preserve their secret strength."
"Of course, the main purpose of inviting you scholars here is indeed to find the treasure. He kills a few people every once in a while to scare the monkeys and force you to work harder to search."
"It's just that in the end, everyone is destined to die."
"The outside world will not know all this. Others will only find that everyone in the Karasuma family, including you scholars, have disappeared without a trace."
"At the same time, Karasuma Renye made a deal with those powerful people to jointly bury the truth of this murderous case."
"That's about it."
Yuan Huaiyu said softly.
"Then why are we still alive? And, Mr. Qingshan, who...are you?"
Qianjian stared closely at this companion whom he had known for half a year, and suddenly felt extremely strange.
Looking back, in the past six months, their understanding of Mr. Qingshan was limited to "medical workers", "work and rest patterns", "healthy diet", and "usually fishing when doing research and searches".
Every time I wanted to talk about a more in-depth topic and test Mr. Qingshan's background, I would always be cleverly diverted by this unkempt-looking man.
Qianjian and Smith looked at Yuanhuaiyu. They were both smart people and had already vaguely guessed that since they had not been dealt with by the Karasuma family, they must have something to do with Mr. Qingshan.
"As for my identity, you can roughly understand it as a person who has some energy and can say something in front of Karasuma Renye. It is not convenient for me to say more, because it will not be good for you or me."
Yuan Huaiyu spread his hands: "I made a deal with him to save your lives."
"But as a price, you may have to live under the strict surveillance of the Karasuma family for the rest of your life, and you will no longer even be able to contact the outside world."
Looking at Qianjian and Smith whose expressions changed greatly, Yuan Huaiyu sighed:
"This may be hard to accept. But think on the bright side, it's better than death."
"Life is the most precious thing, isn't it?"
Seeing the expressions of the two people changing constantly, Yuan Huaiyu fell silent, waiting for them to sort out their thoughts.
"……you're right."
The one who spoke was Smith. He was no longer the dignified middle-aged gentleman he had been when Yuanhuaiyu first met him. Months of searching under the pressure of death, coupled with everything that happened today, made him look tired and tired.
The vicissitudes of life make him look ten years older.
"I am satisfied if I can save my life. Thank you, brother Qingshan."
He smiled with relief and patted Senjian Kyousuke beside him.
"Sigh... I really didn't expect that for the generous reward given by the Karasuma family, I ended up paying for it. This is also true to the saying that people die for money and birds die for food."
Qianjian looked at Yuanhuaiyu: "Mr. Qingshan, you are right. We can't ask for more."
His hands and legs trembled slightly, and with regret and anger, he accepted his future situation.
Yuan Huaiyu comforted the two of them and said: "There is an old saying in my hometown, which is to keep the green hills and you will not be afraid of running out of firewood."
He thought for a while and said: "If you two can trust me, you can tell me what you are worried about. If I have the opportunity, I can help take care of you. This can be regarded as a thank you to you for taking care of me in the past six months."
"Thank you so much!" Qianjian's eyes lit up and she held Yuanhuaiyu's hand tightly. "I have a daughter named Qianjian Jiandai. I have been worried about her since the incident happened here."
"If possible, could you please Mr. Qingshan and tell me her current situation every few years?"
"Of course." Yuan Huaiyu nodded.
He even wanted to tell Senjian Kyousuke in front of him: "Your daughter later became a famous female detective, and forty years later, it triggered another major incident in this Twilight Mansion."
"Mr. Smith, what about you?" Yuan Huaiyu looked aside.
Smith scratched his head: "Except for my collections, I seem to have nothing to worry about as a lonely person. Brother Qingshan, can you please help me donate them all to the orphanage in my hometown?"
Yuan Huaiyu remained silent. He knew that Smith was born in an orphanage and was alone. He had gained his current wealth through hard work for most of his life. He had also been enthusiastic about public welfare and was not even married.
"No problem." He agreed with a serious expression.
Yuan Huaiyu looked at the sad two people and said, "It's already very late. Let's go to bed early."
"Tomorrow will definitely be better."
He stood up and was about to leave.
Suddenly, Qianjian and Smith stood up together and bowed to him, as if they had agreed.
"Thanks!"
Qingshan not only saved their lives, but also extended a helping hand to them. The two sensible middle-aged men expressed their sincere gratitude to him.
Yuan Huaiyu waved his hand: "This is what I should do."
All the banquets in the world have come to an end, and it’s time to leave here.
He returned the gift to the two of them and said, "It's time for me to go. I wish you both good luck and hope that we... will see you again in the future."
After that, he disappeared from the sight of Senjian Kyousuke and Smith without looking back.
…
Standing on the Dusk Pavilion's only bridge leading to the outside world, Yuanhuaiyu faced the direction of the Dusk Pavilion and silently admired this gold-made annex.
The evening breeze blew through his messy hair and made his coat rustle.
Logically speaking, if he proposed to completely let Qianjian and Smith be freed, Karasuma Renye would definitely give him this face.
Letting the two go back would only be an extra cost for the Karasuma family to suppress the news they spread.
But Yuanhuaiyu cannot do this.
During the sixty years since he came to this world, he also summarized some laws related to the operation of the world.
The most important one is [Don’t try to reverse the historical trajectory of the main line].
For example, if Senjian and Smith are allowed to regain their freedom, Senjian's daughter will no longer be able to find traces of her father forty years later, and will not collaborate with the detective Ogami to invite the detective in the name of Kaitou Kidd.
They return to the House of Twilight to look for treasures.
The direct consequence is that Conan will no longer be able to actively access information related to Karasuma Renya.
This will change the main line of the entire Conan story.
This kind of change will be rejected by the entire world, and the intuitively manifested phenomenon is——
Before Qianjian can return home, various natural and man-made disasters will befall him, and by then, he will undoubtedly die.
At the same time, although the main plot cannot be reversed, it can be changed to a certain extent. For example, Qianjian and Smith, who were originally destined to die, can "die" in another form and keep their names.
This is the law that Yuan Huaiyu concluded during his explorations in the 1960s.
Therefore, he could not make such a request to Karasuma Renya. Letting the Karasuma family keep strict guard over the two of them was to protect them.
He took a deep breath and felt the cool and refreshing fragrance of nature.
In order to prevent changes in the main trajectory in the future, he also made some small requests to Karasuma Renye during the transaction.
First, he was asked to start preparing to restore the peeling wall of the Dusk Pavilion to its original state. Second, he sent a letter to Qianjian's daughter that had no abnormalities on the surface, but had a bunch of words densely pierced with needles.
At the same time, he asked the Karasuma family to decorate the Twilight Pavilion like a murder scene according to his description when they evacuated, and left bloody words in the piano room that pointed to the treasure puzzle.
"That way it should be fine."
He carefully sorted out the plot of the Dusk Pavilion copy in his memory to ensure that forty years later, his arrangement would give the group of detectives a stage for a battle of wits and courage.
Taking one last look at the Twilight Pavilion, he stopped staying and turned around to leave.
He didn't wear a watch with him, not only to guide the two of them to discover the anomalies in the Dusk Pavilion, but also because it was simply unnecessary.
He has a regular work and rest routine, and has developed a fairly accurate biological clock under this routine for many years.
It was now early nine o'clock in the evening, and he still had time to go back early and go to bed on time at eleven o'clock.
"Okay, it's time to go back."
Yuanhuaiyu stretched his waist and said to himself: "The goal has been achieved, and I also got an extra six months of feasting. This time I made a lot of money."
"Successfully establishing a connection with the black organization is a good start."
"Let's see you later."
Leaving behind a meaningful word, his figure disappeared under the bright moonlight.