Chapter 580 The Night of the Dugong Festival
Even with the help of Shimabukuro Kime, a well-known witch on the island, in the end, no one found the missing Karasawa.
"Although it is not appropriate to say this, everyone, if he is really lost in the mountains and forests..." Shimabukuro Kime tilted his head in embarrassment, "That may have to wait until the festival ends tomorrow. After that, the county police were asked to send more manpower to search.”
Although the area of the American Island is not very large, due to its small population, the degree of development is still very insufficient. More than half of the island’s area is. They are all jungles with extremely complex terrain and relatively primitive ecology.
According to Shimabukuro Kimie, even for locals who have been in and out of the mountains and forests for many years, it is difficult and time-consuming to penetrate into the most remote locations. If Karasawa's disappearance is due to his presence in the mountains and forests If an accident occurs and the person loses consciousness and cannot move independently, it may be difficult to complete the search with only one or two skilled guides.
"You have never had any cases of missing tourists in the past. Can't the local residents help to find them?" When Kogoro Mouri said this with an ugly face, he was almost questioning.
Shimabukuro Kimie smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It has happened before, but it is impossible for everyone on the island to spare time to help now. That's why I said that it needs to be done until the end of the festival After."
She looked at the only brightly lit commercial street under the purple night sky, with some helplessness and bitterness in her expression.
“Since tourism on the island has become booming, some islanders have completely given up on traditional industries such as fishing and regard the tourism industry as their own livelihood. Now they will not allow any Someone is ruining this important festival." Shimabukuro Kime straightened her miko uniform and replied seriously, "Even if I say it, nothing will change."
"... ...His mobile phone still has no signal." Mao Lilan finished dialing again, holding the phone with a layer of mist in her eyes.
"What did the police say?" Mouri Kogoro looked at Hattori Heiji who had finished playing the alarm call and returned to the room.
"They said that the wind and waves today are too strong, and it may be necessary to go to the island tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to assist in the search." Hattori Heiji recounted the answer he got, his brows furrowed.
Although the nearby waters are covered with reefs and the currents are fast, he does not think that the local county police will really exaggerate to such a slow speed.
This is most likely an excuse for them to be aware of the resistance Shangdao is facing at this time and choose to avoid its edge.
Aware of this underlying logic, Hattori Heiji's worries increased.
If the residents of this island are so unfriendly that even the county police find it troublesome and do not want to conflict with them, then the missing Karasawa might be the same...
"Let's go eat, everyone." After a moment of silence, Mouri Kogoro stood up first, "There's no point in rushing now, save your energy. If we are all exhausted and unable to support him, that boy will only become more helpless."
A few The two looked at each other for a few times, and slowly followed Mouri Kogoro's footsteps.
Although the worries are still there, although the uneasiness is still there, it is just as this sentence says.
As Tangze's backing, they cannot fall before they find him because of negative emotions.
This worry was like a heavy stone, always falling in their hearts, and along with the fact that the search was fruitless, it lasted until the start of the Dugong Festival the next day.
"Dong dong dong——"
The drums were beating noisily, and the bustling tourists all headed towards the shrine. In the gradually darkening sky, the crowds of people going up the mountain Like migrating ants, small black dots covered the stairs, stretching out a long line.
Conan and his party, standing in the crowd and following everyone, seemed out of place with the expectant, excited, chatting and laughing people around them.
They stood behind the isolation zone, looking at the singing and dancing islanders, with complicated expressions on their faces.
This festival is undoubtedly the reason why most tourists come to this island, and it should have been an anticipated event.
However, when they realized that this celebration was the biggest obstacle standing in front of their rescue companions and the culprit that forced them to miss the golden 48 hours, they looked at the gathering in front of them and tasted another The taste.
“For a carnival event, we have to overcome all difficulties, even ignore the possible suffering, and everything must be compromised... It would be too cold and utilitarian.” With his hands in his pockets, Hattori Heiji looked at the fire burning in front of the shrine with a cold face, his mouth straightened.
"We shouldn't leave him alone in the hotel." Yuan Shan and Ye lowered their heads, looked at the wooden sign in their hands, and squeezed it tightly.
Youth and beauty are certainly desirable blessings, but if the price is to watch the relatives and friends around you disappear, it seems to have become a vicious curse.
No matter where it is, whether it is a god or a mermaid, if there is really a blessing, then wish Karazawa safe and sound...
Hattori Heiji looked at the carefully prepared festival performance and felt more and more Seeing that he was getting more and more irritable, he simply looked away and lowered his head to look at Conan standing next to him.
Then he discovered that Conan was holding a mobile phone and dialing a number.
"Are you still dialing Kudo?" He bent down and leaned close to Conan's ear, "Don't waste your phone's battery."
Yesterday, they had basically determined that Karasawa might He fainted somewhere in the forest, or was attacked and lost consciousness. His mobile phone was probably dropped in an area with no signal, so he almost didn't try it today.
As expected, Conan's cell phone sounded a notification that the other party was not in the service area or had been turned off.
Hattori Heiji shook his head. Conan hung up the phone, but his expression relaxed a little.
He said that since the members of the Phantom Thieves were also on the island, there was no way they could just sit back and watch Karasawa encounter major risks.
Hearing that joker's cell phone also lost signal, he guessed that they were probably searching for Tang Ze, and even said that they had followed Tang Ze's footsteps.
After feeling a little calmer, he finally raised his head and looked steadily at the shrine in front of him.
Although Karasawa's sudden disappearance disrupted their plans, he has not forgotten the many mysteries on the island and the missing client Saori Kadori.
This dugong festival is like the climax of music, pushing everything to the highest point in the blazing fire.
“Oh, is it coming——”
“Master Goddess, Master Goddess is coming out!”
“Wow! The door is really open. ! ”
Amid the sudden noisy cheers of tourists and islanders, the sliding door in front was slowly opened by people on both sides, revealing a figure with gray hair kneeling in the center of the screen.
As if disturbed by the movement behind him, the man slowly got up and turned his head slowly, revealing a face that was painted extremely pale, but some wrinkles could still be seen.
She picked up the long pole on the shelf in front of her, turned around slowly, used the stick in her hand as a crutch, dragged her clogs with difficulty, and moved little by little to the front of the steps.
"Okay, so small..." Looking at the man standing in front of him who was only half the height of a normal person, Mouri Kogoro was surprised, "Has your body shrunk to this extent?"
"...She's just an old woman wearing heavy makeup." Hattori Heiji curled his lips.
If the so-called eternal youth and immortality are just like this, maintaining an old appearance, dragging a lingering body, and living until one's own children and grandchildren have passed away...
Then Isn't this immortality a pure torture?
Thinking of this, Hattori Heiji looked down at the whirlpool of hair on Conan's head and secretly gritted his teeth.
So, this guy must be protected, and this secret must be protected.
This is the door to the forbidden, a Pandora's box that will release disaster when opened.
While they were talking, the old man in front of the shrine slowly stretched out the pole in his hand, moved it to the fire in front, and ignited the cloth strip at the top.
Then she turned around, raised the stick in her hand, and moved it against the paper door.
"Ah? Can you light a fire directly on the paper door? Is there any problem with fire safety?" The startled Mouri Kogoro leaned back reflexively.
A paper door made of this kind of material will be ignited if it comes close to an open flame... Will the residents here be equipped with fire extinguishers? That is a question...
However, the flames did not turn out as he expected. She swallowed up the door made of paper and wood in an instant, but left burning marks on the door as she painted.
She wrote one stroke after another, and soon, a number consisting of three Chinese characters was left on the door.
"I actually used this method to write the winning numbers..." Mouri Kogoro, who was still frightened, touched his neck and breathed a sigh of relief. And among the crowd, an irrepressible cheer sounded.
“It’s actually me!” Ebihara Hisumi, who had met them, looked at the sign in her hand with bright eyes and couldn’t hide her excitement, “Too Well, you're so lucky!"
Conan, who was attracted by her voice, frowned as he watched her excitement.
There is something very wrong with this person.
Hisumi Ebihara is a woman with long flowing hair and a beautiful appearance.
Compared with Shimabukuro-kun's gentle and beautiful face, her beauty is a more dense and gorgeous one. Paired with the large dress she always wears, she is a very visually attractive person. One look at beauty.
However, at this moment, her face was green and white, and there was an unmistakable black-gray color under her eyelids. Coupled with the wrinkles on her body, she looked like someone who was overly excited and hadn't slept for several days. She was so gorgeous, Under such a complexion, it can even be called miserable.
To put it bluntly, she looks like a female ghost at first glance.
He had seen people in a similar state before, for example, Kuroe Naoko who pointed at Karasawa and yelled yesterday.
After Tang Ze disappeared, these residents who had expressed unkindness to him naturally became the focus of his observation.
Based on the map left in Karasawa's room, Conan even felt that maybe a resident of the island had used some excuse to trick Karasawa out of the hotel.
Today Kuroe Naoko also went to work in the gift shop. However, judging from her appearance, she seemed to be possessed by something. Her face was pale and she was mumbling something from time to time.
Just like Ebihara Hisumi looks like now.
"Eh...?" Toyama Kazuye looked up for a while, staring absently at the numbers on the door. After a few seconds, he slowly realized, "I, I seem to have won... ...?
"Really..." Mao Lilan leaned over and looked at her sign, her eyes widening.
"It seems that my prayer has taken effect." "Toyama and Ye cheered up and clenched the wooden sign in their hands, "We will definitely find Tang Ze soon! "
"Uh, Dugong Arrow, does it still have this effect? "Mao Lilan, who didn't understand, scratched her cheek blankly.
"Miss Shimabukuro said that this kind of arrow has no effect of blessing people with immortality. It is a spell that can break evil and protect people from demons and ghosts. The Forbidden Arrow must be able to do it! "Yuanshan and Ye clenched their fists to cheer themselves up.
So, it’s up to you to believe what you want?
Hattori Heiji, who was speechless by her adaptive prayer, couldn't help but shake his head.
While they were talking, several women in kimonos were already holding water-soaked brushes and stepped forward to extinguish the flames on the door.
Amidst the white mist, Shimabukuro Kimie walked out from behind the screen, held her head high and walked upright to the front of the steps.
"Well, everyone, we will start making this year's arrows now, bless them and give them to everyone who wins." Shimabukuro Kime raised her voice and announced to the crowd in front, " Please go to Mermaid Falls and wait!”
"Mermaid Falls, it sounds like it's located in the mountains..." Conan, crossing his arms, murmured and repeated the name, "When we were looking for people in the past two days, have we seen any place similar to a waterfall?"
The jungle on this island is dense, and the altitude varies greatly. The main area of human activity is the gentle area near the coast. No matter how it sounds, it doesn't look like there will be a waterfall.
"So, it's a place we haven't looked for in the past two days?" Hearing him say this, Hattori Heiji's eyes suddenly lit up.
Almost impatiently, several people followed the islanders who guided the tourists, climbed down the steps of the shrine, followed the road lit by torches, and walked into the jungle with tall trees.
This is a forest that is so dark that it needs lighting during the day because of the tree canopy that blocks the sky and sun. Now at night, even under the guidance of firelight, the surrounding trees are still so dark that it is impossible to see the details.
The path opened between the trees could not be called spacious. Under the cover of the tall trees, it was impossible to see the sky above. They seemed to have walked directly into the dark abyss.
If it weren’t for the crowds of tourists that fill this road, you would inevitably feel a deep and lonely fear if you entered here alone, even during the day.
"No wonder we didn't find this place at all." Hattori Heiji raised his head and tried hard for a while, but still couldn't see the top of the tree clearly. He pursed his lips, "If this path is not lit by torches, just walk on it. There should be no way to find a road here. "
"It's too hidden. Only the locals know about it, right?" Conan also nodded and quickened his pace.
Only locals know that the road is hidden and hard to find... The more I talk about it, the more suspicious it becomes.
Could it be that Karasawa was led here by a certain resident and then attacked...
Even if they were anxious, surrounded by tourists, they had no room to speed up and could only move along. The crowd slowly stepped on the dead leaves and stones under their feet, followed the mountain road, and walked into the surrounding jungle.
At the end of the road is an open space that has obviously been cleared and can barely accommodate many people.
A waterfall dropped from a height of tens of meters and fell into the pool below. The isolation fence pulled up by the locals drew a circle around the pool.
The front is obviously a place for the host to stand. Several ignited fire pots are set up there, and the water and waterfalls behind them are emitting a faint light along with the firelight.
It's like it's really a fairyland in the dark woodland.
"It's quite atmospheric..." Mouri Kogoro muttered as he looked at the venue.
"If we don't do this, it won't become a tourist hotspot, right?" Hattori Heiji, who didn't care about the ceremony ahead and just wanted to clear the place as soon as possible so that he could find someone, muttered.
When the tourists had occupied the open space here, Shimabukuro Kime, holding a few arrows in his hand, stepped on his clogs, walked through the specially left passage, and walked in In everyone's sight.
“Then, please three lucky people who have been drawn, step forward to receive the arrows!”
"Then, I'm going over there?" Yuan Shan and Ye took a breath, waved their hands to their companions, and bent down to cross the isolation barrier in front.
At the same time, Kuroe Naoko, dressed in black, also crossed the isolation rope, wrapped her windbreaker tightly around her body, and approached silently.
"There is another one, isn't he here?" Shimabukuro Kimie looked around and asked loudly.
"Coming, coming right now." A rough voice sounded, and a drunken uncle lifted the rope in front and walked into the open space.
"Hey, it's not that person..." Conan, who was deeply impressed by Ebihara Hisumi, quickly frowned.
She doesn't look like someone who would give up at all, right?
Shimabukuro Kimie glanced at the face of the visitor, nodded, and said nothing, waiting for the three people to stand in front of him and start distributing arrows.
At the same time, several islanders who had been preparing for a long time straightened the fireworks in their hands and began to light the fuses.
"The light of happiness shines on the three lucky ones..." As the fireworks were lit and lifted into the sky, Shimabukuro Kimie began to chant loudly.
However, her voice was soon interrupted by the noisy tourists.
"Over there, what is that...!" With the light of the salute, the tourists who saw the waterfall behind her screamed.
A clearly human-shaped thing was swaying slowly in the thin and delicate stream of waterfall water.
"Merman, it's a mermaid!" Naoko Kuroe, who was standing in front of Shimabukuro Kimie, let out a horrific scream and fell to the ground.
As she moved, the arrow in her hand broke with a click.
Conan and Hattori Heiji, who were always paying attention to the changes in the field, couldn't help shouting the moment they saw the figure clearly.
"Karasawa——!"
(End of this chapter)