Although Jiangxia couldn't see exactly where the murderous aura was going, he had a good guess: it was probably being used to strengthen and expand the ghost parents' aura.
In other words, the only way to avoid getting passively buffed again... was to stop touching the ghost parents.
As soon as he vocalized this, the ghost parents burst into tears.
They used to cling to their daughter's calves all the time, and now that they had nothing to hug, they looked completely lost—like two old teddy bears with abandonment issues.
Jiangxia thought for a moment, fished out the other three ghosts from the tattoo-space, then picked up Xiaobai and placed him beside the ghost parents. "If you want to hug something, try this guy. He can run around with you too."
Xiaobai was a bit smaller than the average ghost, but ghosts didn't weigh much, and it wasn't hard for him to carry two old ghosts at once.
The ghost parents looked at each other in confusion.
After a moment, Xiaobai slowly covered his face with his paws, looking both shy and giddy—he loved playing matchmaker. And this new "ghost couple" just so happened to be right up his alley, aesthetics-wise.
After hesitating a bit, the ghost parents each reached out and gently picked up Xiaobai for a test hug.
The three of them together looked like a weird little family of three.
Everyone seemed very pleased. Pink bubbles of joy started floating up.
Jiangxia's eye twitched. He walked over and tapped each ghost gently on the head—stop burning my hard-earned murderous aura on... this nonsense.
…
There had been a murder onboard. Technically, they should have returned to port immediately or docked at the nearest location.
But by the time everyone had calmed down enough to remember that, the yacht was already closer to Hatamoto Island than to Tokyo.
The members of the Hatamoto family gathered to discuss and decided to just head straight to Hatamoto Island. After all, the ancestors of the family were all buried there. Might as well let the police take the killer away and bury the deceased patriarch at the same time. One stop shop.
It was already late into the night. After making that decision, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.
Hatamoto Natsue, understandably, wasn't in the mood to sleep. She walked out to the deck alone and quietly wept into the sea breeze.
Meanwhile, several high school students were also wide awake. When they heard someone outside, they followed.
The three girls gathered to comfort the tragically unlucky Natsue, while Hattori Heiji and Conan huddled to one side, whispering about the case.
…
Elsewhere on the yacht, Jiangxia sat in his room crafting raw materials for puppets.
He made a clay seagull.
White was the default color of puppet clay, and pinching white animals consumed the least murderous aura. If he wanted another color, he'd have to put in extra work to dye it. Too much trouble.
After finishing, Jiangxia used a ghost to scout outside, confirmed the corridor was empty, then quietly opened the door and let the seagull out.
He also released the Tengu to follow the seagull—easier to steer it remotely that way.
…
Hatamoto Ichiro didn't go to sleep after returning to his room either.
After pacing a few minutes, he quietly slipped out, snuck into the utility room, and retrieved the knife he'd used earlier—he hadn't had time to dispose of it during the chaos.
Now, finally, a chance.
He clutched the knife and rushed toward the deserted deck, planning to chuck it into the ocean and destroy the evidence.
But just as he reached the railing, a suspicious voice came from behind: "What are you doing?"
Ichiro flinched and whipped around. Hatamoto Tatsuo was standing behind him, eyeing him with raised eyebrows.
They locked eyes.
Tatsuo glanced down at the object Ichiro was trying to hide behind his back and smirked. "Oh? Trying to toss something? That shape... don't tell me it's a kitchen knife?"
Ichiro's face twisted. "Wh-what kitchen knife?"
Tatsuo wasn't actually sure. But seeing how flustered Ichiro was, he figured he could push this weakling a little—if the murder was related to Ichiro, then he'd have a nice little blackmail card. And frankly, he could use the cash. He had debts.
With that in mind, Tatsuo stepped forward, reaching out to grab whatever Ichiro was holding.
He never expected what came next.
The supposedly timid, law-abiding Ichiro suddenly went feral—he raised the kitchen knife and brought it down hard on Tatsuo's head.
The first strike was pure panic.
Then something buzzed in his brain—one hit turned into two, then three...
By the time Ichiro snapped out of it, Tatsuo was lying face-down on the deck in a pool of blood.
…He was dead.
Ichiro stumbled backward, panting. In a panic, he hurled the knife into the ocean and bolted.
What he didn't notice was the clay seagull—perched on the hull nearby, flying low and silent. It dove just in time to catch the falling knife by its hilt, saving it from the sea.
The splashes of water and the dull thud didn't attract Ichiro's attention in his panic.
He raced back toward the cabin.
But just then—
Jiangxia stepped out of the hallway.
Narrow corridor. Direct encounter.
Jiangxia's gaze swept past Ichiro to the deck beyond... and landed on Tatsuo's motionless body.
He looked back at Ichiro, just about to speak—when suddenly, he felt the murderous aura spike.
Ichiro was going for a second round. Trying to silence him.
Jiangxia froze.
Then, after a moment, he reached into his pocket and touched his collapsible baton.
His expression visibly softened as he looked back at Ichiro.
Ah. Finally, a socially acceptable reason to beat someone up.
…
Back on deck, Conan suddenly jolted.
"Did you hear that?" he asked.
The others stopped chatting and listened. All they could hear was the sound of the ocean.
"I don't think—"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—
The scream exploded across the deck like a siren.
Everyone: "?!"
…
By early morning, the yacht had almost reached its destination. Hattori Heiji finally got signal and called the police.
Because of the double homicide, the ship didn't dock at the family island but at a central island in the chain.
Local police arrived shortly afterward and found Ichiro Hatamoto curled into a sobbing mess, launching himself into their arms. They took him in and collected evidence.
After giving statements, the high school students finally left the station under the complicated gazes of the Hatamoto family.
They had lunch on the island, then made their way to the port.
The dock was bustling with boats headed to all kinds of islands—including, conveniently, Mermaid Island.
Jiangxia stood on the pier for a moment, scanning the vessels. Eventually, he picked one.
There was a visible thread of murderous aura clinging to it.
He bought a ticket, boarded the ship, and entered the cabin.
His eyes swept over the passengers and landed on a gentle, elegant woman.
She was the source of the aura.
...Then, upon closer inspection, he realized something strange.
The aura around her smelled faintly of... sweet and sour fish.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 3/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*