Chapter 61 Yesterday’s Phantom (Part )
"legend?"

Kudo Yusaku touched his chin: "Is this a goal? Or a dream?"

"A little kid actually wants to become a legend by doing bad things?"

He found it very strange, but there were not many clues now, so he could only put it aside.

##
【XNUM X Year X NUM X Month X NUM X Day】

【I received another commission call. 】

[The client is called Ueno, and he wants me to kill a restaurant owner named Ida.]

[I rejected him and told him that I only accept funeral work.]

【He made an appointment with me for two nights later.】

【…】

【XNUM X Year X NUM X Month X NUM X Day】

[I was invited to the Shanxi Hot Spring Hotel to help him deal with the murder scene.]

[For some inexplicable reason, I did not disguise myself, and even deliberately left my appearance on the surveillance camera.]

【…】

【XNUM X Year X NUM X Month X NUM X Day】

[As expected, I was summoned by the police.]

[A month later, they finally discovered the case and my face in the surveillance video.]

[But they had no way to prove that I was involved in the disappearance, or they didn't suspect me at all.]

[When I escaped from the police station unscathed, a thrilling feeling of trampling on authority surged into my heart, and I became addicted.]

Is this...the disappearance case at the Mountain Creek Hot Spring Hotel?
Conan was stunned.

This was the first case he saw when he was looking through Su Beixun's files at Dr. Agasa's house.

If I take this diary to the police station, it should be able to be used as evidence that Su Beixun is involved in the case.

But it's too late.

Now he doesn't need to find ways to prove that Su Beixun broke the law, as there are plenty of witnesses who witnessed his murder.

Besides, the person is already dead...

【…】

【XNUM X Year X NUM X Month X NUM X Day】

【Today is Monday, Bai Chuanren did not come to school. 】

[Since the trip to the cemetery, he always follows me during breaks, but today, he is nowhere to be seen.]

[His teacher didn’t care about this at all, and after failing to get through to his parents, he forgot about it.]

[But I kept wondering, where did he go? ]

[This is not worry, just curiosity. ]

【So, I left school and went to his home to look for him. 】

[But there was no one there.]

##
Yushan Cemetery.

The staggered tombstones look eerie.

The temperature is already low, and it feels even colder here.

Bai Chuanren sat on the ground with his back against the tombstone and buried his face in his knees.

"Today shouldn't be the anniversary of his death, right?"

Su Beixun asked this after finding him.

Bai Chuanren didn't look up, but he could tell who was speaking by the voice.

"I don't want to go to school... I have nowhere else to go except here."

His voice was muffled.

Su Beixun understood immediately: "What's going on? What happened at home again?"

"My dad is...getting married."

Su Beixun sighed.

He thought to himself that he had come so far for such a thing, and it was really a waste of time.

"This is normal, it's something that young single men go through."

He comforted her perfunctorily: "Besides, if your stepmother has a good personality, then you are relieved. Why do you have to look so sad?"

Bai Chuanren didn't say anything.

He sobbed quietly.

"But...but she said that she wanted my dad to get rid of all traces of my mom at home..."

"…They threw away my mother's clothes and burned all her photos…"

"...I, I don't want them to be like this."

He cried louder and louder, his whole body shaking, like a young animal whose last habitat had been taken away.

Su Beixun just remained silent.

##
[This is the first time I saw him cry like this. It was not because of the grievance he endured alone, but because of the fear of losing something and being unable to get it back.]

[But, Baichuan Ren...]

【Tears are the most useless things.】

[Even if you cry until you are hoarse, you will still lose what you are supposed to lose. You cannot use it to change the environment where you are bullied, nor can you use it to buy back your mother's life. ] [Tears can only build a weak heart. ]

"What are you waiting for! Go and comfort him!"

Yukiko Kudo shouted anxiously into the diary.

"Come on, Mom, it's just a notebook."

Conan rolled his eyes: "Besides, we're here to find clues, not to get you addicted to watching TV series."

Kudo Yusaku's heart went to his wife, and he spoke to comfort her, "Be patient, Shinichi. Every piece of information is useful until the dust settles."

He recalled Conan's description and the records in the diary: "Now, besides being able to find that he still has kindness in his heart, there is one more thing you haven't noticed?"

He paused for a moment, "He's only eight years old, but his personality is much more stable than the sixteen-year-old he was when you met him."

Conan was stunned: "It seems so!"

He rubbed his head. "When he was eight, he had a mature personality, but after he turned sixteen, he became like a child... Why?"

Kudo Yusaku shook his head and turned over the diary: "Keep reading, there will always be an answer."

【…】

【XNUM X Year X NUM X Month X NUM X Day】

[Bai Chuanren has dark circles under his eyes today. ]

[I didn't ask about it. I'm used to this kind of thing and I'm not surprised.]

[Perhaps... seeing him holding his head in familiar motion, maybe he has gotten used to it as well.]

【only……】

[After everyone left, I found a familiar metal shell where he fell.]

##
"Cry if you want to! Why are you crying here on such a happy day?!"

A slap landed hard on Bai Chuanren's face.

"…But…I can’t find my mother’s photo…"

"Of course we can't find the burned things!"

"No... the necklace... was not burned..."

The man was very impatient when he heard his son crying out, "Stop making so much noise! ​​Stop asking me for the photo necklace. That woman is dead! From now on, she is your mother!"

"…don't want……"

Bai Chuanren murmured, clenched his fists and summoned up the courage to shout, "I don't want it!"

He closed his eyes and dared not look at his furious father, stiffening his neck and saying, "I don't want to call anyone else mom. She's not my mom at all!"

The man kicked him to the ground, grabbed him by the collar and threw him out of the house: "Then get out of this house!"

In the strong wind, the festive shouts of a wedding not far away can be clearly heard.

Bai Chuanren lay helplessly on the ground, tears flowing silently.

"Get up."

Su Beixun sighed, looked down at the child on the ground, and threw down what he was holding.

Bai Chuanren did not respond.

Let Su Beixun's things hit his face.

"It's your necklace."

The little fat boy was stunned and immediately turned over.

The necklace that had fallen on her face slipped to the ground.

He knelt down and carefully picked it up, holding it tightly in his palm.

"Go get a change of clothes!"

Su Beixun shouted orders amid the noise.

Bai Chuanren looked at him in confusion.

"You can stay at my house for the next few days."

Looking at his dusty appearance, Su Beixun said coldly: "You are such a trouble."

Bai Chuanren shrank his neck, trying to reduce his presence as much as possible, and stammered, "...I'm sorry."

##
【really weird!】

【What's the situation now? 】

[Why do I always do this unnecessary thing? Why do I treat him like this? ]

[What role does Baichuan Ren... play in my heart? 】

【friend? 】

[No, how is that possible! ]

[I am willing to lead the way for him, to return the necklace for him, and even to let him live in my house, simply because these are not a big deal! ]

[I never intervened when he was bullied! ]

[Because this kind of thing can't be solved once and for all, I don't want to waste energy on protecting him all the time. ]

[How can I consider him as a friend when I am unwilling to do anything troublesome for him? ]

【but……】

[There are some things I must admit...]

[In those insignificant little things, I am willing to leave the last bit of kindness to him. ]

(End of this chapter)