manynovel Page 501
Page 501
An elderly islander glanced at Junhui with a complicated expression, then looked at Xia Ye:
"At least many of the younger generation believe it, especially Kotobuki, Saori, and Naoko; those three are the most enthusiastic about mermaid skeletons!"
"Junhui!" Xia Ye frowned:
Where is that skeleton buried?
"and many more!"
Conan and Heiji Hattori realized what was happening, their eyes wide with shock:
"She wouldn't be planning to—?"
"It should be right!"
Seeing that the group of people around her didn't understand, Xia Ye explained calmly:
"Naoko Kuroe clearly believes she has done something to offend the mermaids and is terrified of being hunted down by them!"
"When she left, she said she had thought of a way: as long as she found something, she wouldn't have to be afraid of mermaids anymore!"
"Clearly, she was referring to the mermaid's skeleton!"
"In her mind, eating mermaid flesh would grant immortality, and she could even transform into a mermaid herself, thus eliminating any fear of being hunted down by mermaids, so—"
"So, Xia Ye, guess where Miss Junhui's body was buried back then?"
Xiao Lan, holding Jun Hui's hand, had a pale face.
"Naoko Kuroe wants to find that skeleton, and then—eat it!? Has she completely gone mad?"
After Xiaolan and Xia Ye got together, she became accustomed to murder, since her boyfriend was a core member of a criminal organization.
Although he never indiscriminately killed innocent people, quite a few people still died at his hands!
only--
Eating human remains was still too perverse for her!
Just hearing about it makes me feel physically uncomfortable, and I feel like vomiting!
"what?!"
Surprisingly, the person who reacted the most to this matter was not Junhui, who should have been the most anxious, but the elderly islanders!
Upon hearing that Naoko Kuroe wanted to eat the skeleton, they instantly became furious!
"We must not let Naoko touch that skeleton!"
"That's right, after all, that is—"
"Ahem! Those are, after all, the remains of a mermaid, a symbol of our entire island. How can we let Naoko squander them?"
"Junhui, tell us quickly, where is the Mermaid's Tomb?"
"..."
Junhui fell silent. These uncles, aunts, and other relatives clearly already knew something!
Otherwise, how could they be so certain that they knew about the Mermaid's Tomb, something only the "Longevity Granny" knew?
"Miss Junhui!"
A police officer from Fukui Prefecture reminded them, "My subordinates just reported that they lost track of Naoko Kuroe in the forest. If you tell us the location where the remains are buried, we might still be able to stop her!"
"Okay~"
Junhui nodded.
He revealed the location of the "Mermaid's Tomb".
...
American Island is a small island.
Traces of human activity cover roughly one-third of the island, while the other two-thirds consist of mountains and forests rarely visited by humans.
At this moment.
It was already 10 p.m.
The forest was illuminated by the beams of many flashlights.
The island's residents, Fukui Prefecture police, and Kogoro Mouri, Conan, and Heiji Hattori walked ahead, heading towards the "Mermaid Grave."
Xia Ye, Xiao Lan, Ye, and Xiao Ai walked behind Jun Hui. Looking at the composed Jun Hui, Xia Ye asked:
"Junhui, you moved the remains?"
"Eh?!"
Ran and Kazuha exclaimed in surprise!
"That's right~"
Junhui's pretty face revealed a serene smile, "Those girls are always thinking about finding some 'Mermaid Tomb,' how could I not be on guard? After returning from Tokyo last time, I brought out my mother's remains and buried them with my great-grandmother!"
"Eh--!!!"
Ran and Kazuha's beautiful eyes widened in shock, and they let out a long exclamation!
"What's wrong, Xiaolan?"
A concerned inquiry came from the front, from Uncle Mori, a doting father:
"What happened?!"
"fine!"
Xiaolan casually replied:
"Xia Ye is telling a ghost story!"
"What?!" Uncle Mori exclaimed speechlessly, "Natsume is really childish, still in the mood to tell ghost stories at a time like this!"
"Xiao Lan..."
Xia Ye looked at Xiao Lan helplessly.
That's some incredibly skillful way of covering the pot!
The well-behaved and adorable Xiao Lan from before wasn't like this at all; this girl is getting more and more mischievous!
"Hehe~" Xiaolan stuck out her little tongue and apologized insincerely: "Sorry, Xia Ye, I was just trying to appease Daddy!"
"Compensation!" Xia Ye said succinctly.
"So what do you want?"
Xiao Lan pouted, knowing that Xia Ye was taking the opportunity to make a scene, but since he was the man she had chosen, she naturally had to pamper him. Besides, it was also a kind of fun!
"Last time at Universal Studios..."
Xia Ye smiled mischievously, the meaning of which was self-evident!
"Pooh!"
Xiao Lan and He Ye blushed and simultaneously spat out a soft "tsk".
That guy is really something, always thinking about those kinds of things!
The two girls exchanged a glance, and Xiaolan huffed in annoyance:
"Okay, you're going with Shiho, right? We agreed!"
"and many more!"
Ai rolled her eyes, feeling like she'd been dragged into this mess for no reason!
"If you agree, then you agree, why drag me into this?"
"Oh, Ai, don't be shy—"
Ran pinched Ai's cheek and teased her playfully:
"You can play with Yukiko, but not with me and Kazuha? Don't you consider us your sisters?"
"..."
Ai gritted her teeth!
How did Xiaolan become so annoying!
Moreover, based on what she just said to Natsume, she, Sonoko, and Kazuha are already with Natsume in Osaka—
That brat is playing so wildly!
And then there's Kazuha, who's clearly quite innocent and cute, yet she can accept that kind of thing...
really--
No matter what kind of girl.
Even meeting that scoundrel Xia Ye makes me feel all tingly!
What a tragedy!
Xia Ye looked at the two of them with a smile on her face, feeling completely satisfied.
These were my three favorite girls back then. If I could add Sonoko to the mix, it would be an exaggeration to say that I could die without regrets, but it would definitely be a dream come true!
"Cough cough!"
Junhui coughed lightly.
Remind these guys they've gone way off-topic!
They were clearly talking about serious matters, but suddenly they started getting ambiguous, and the topics they discussed became inappropriate for children!
Is this the future of being a woman in summer?
"Hey!"
Xiaolan also realized that Junhui, who wasn't entirely one of them yet, was still nearby. She quickly took Junhui's hand and softly apologized:
"Sorry, Junhui, we're used to fooling around with Xia Ye, and we made you laugh at us!"
"No--"
Junhui smiled.
"It's okay, you guys seem so relaxed together, I'm so envious~"
"If you're envious~"
Xiao Lan's beautiful eyes darted around, and she whispered in Jun Hui's ear:
"Do you want to come together?"
"Cough cough!"
Junhui never expected that Xiaolan, who seemed so innocent and well-behaved on the surface, would be so straightforward!
Not knowing how to answer, she could only forcefully change the subject, pointing ahead and saying:
"We've reached the grave!"
"We've arrived?"
Xiaolan knew when to quit while she was ahead.
I was just teasing Junhui on a whim.
Let's wait until she actually gets the log before saying anything weird!
"found it!"
A loud shout came from the front.
Xia Ye and the others quickly walked over.
On the edge of a cliff at the end of the forest.
The small grave and the small tombstone in front of it were not particularly eye-catching, however—
Police searchlights and island residents' flashlights illuminated the area around the grave as if it were daytime!
The figure digging in front of the grave had nowhere to hide!