Chapter 31: It's the Doctor's Problem - Please Vote for Me
Mouri Ran scaled the bridge structure, moving like a shadow across the eaves, and landed smoothly.
However, by the time she arrived at the scene, Jiang Xia had already stopped.
From Mouri Ran's perspective, Jiang Xia was standing next to the still-breathing culprit. He looked at the child hiding behind the tree, his expression relatively calm, but it seemed like he wasn't very happy.
Mouri Ran remembered the child who had quickly hidden behind the tree and guessed that Jiang Xia's feelings were hurt by the naughty child's evasive behavior.
...The child was too much.
Mouri Ran walked over to Jiang Xia and thanked him on behalf of the child: "Thank you for saving that child."
A moment later, she couldn't help but add: "Um... next time you're acting heroically, don't be so heavy-handed. Just subdue them and let the law punish them."
Jiang Xia: "..."
He recalled Mouri Ran's various feats: punching through a telephone pole, kicking open a wall, and sending criminals spinning into the sky with a Rising Dragon Punch...
...Doesn't your conscience hurt?
Jiang Xia turned his head and looked at Mouri Ran's angelic, gentle face.
Then he looked at her seemingly delicate fist.
He silently swallowed the words he wanted to say and nodded: "I know."
...
The other three people didn't climb the bridge structure; they honestly took the long way around.
There happened to be a Police station nearby.
When the three arrived, the Police had already arrived too.
The father, Ogino, on the ground, could not be saved. Seeing his plan fail, he let out an unwilling roar.
Dr. Ogawa hugged his son, watching with mixed feelings as Ogino was escorted into the Police car. He decided that after settling his son, he would immediately transfer 25.5 million yen to Ogino's bank account, not wanting to be involved with this life-buying money anymore.
...
The next day, Jiang Xia went to the Police station again.
To complete his statement.
And to see if the father, Ogino's, killing intent had dropped.
After finishing his business and leaving the Police station.
Jiang Xia looked at his watch and found that it was just past noon, still early.
There were no exams today, so no classes.
The ghost mint ingredients had just been planted, and new ones hadn't grown yet, so there was no rush to go home.
...
Jiang Xia instinctively turned towards the Amuro Detective Agency.
Although currently, not many murder cases have been brought to the Agency.
But reputation needs to be accumulated. Perhaps one day, a client with killing intent will be recommended by old clients looking for cats.
Moreover, at the Agency, besides murder cases, there's a certain chance of encountering a randomly refreshed Amuro Tooru — the undercover agent the Police sent to the Organization.
— Jiang Xia was still thinking about Dr. Kazato's hotpot-flavored killing intent.
And Kyosuke Kazato's target, after all, was the Police, so Amuro Tooru might intervene.
If the Police actively apprehended him, then Jiang Xia would only need to wander around the Police station after Dr. Kazato was caught, and Xiaobai could extract the killing intent.
In a society governed by law, especially in this world, killing intent doesn't seem difficult to obtain.
...
Jiang Xia arrived at the Agency's door and took out the Daimon key.
However, upon closer inspection, he found that the door was unlocked — someone was inside.
Jiang Xia walked through the entrance hallway in confusion and looked inside the room.
He saw Amuro Tooru, uncharacteristically, present at the Amuro Detective Agency.
And he had brought a client. At this moment, he was sitting opposite the client, listening intently, appearing ready to accept the commission.
Jiang Xia: "..."
...Something's fishy.
— Amuro Tooru personally receiving the client indicates that the person opposite is likely someone with a story, which will then lead to cases involving ghosts and killing intent...
Thinking of this, Jiang Xia quietly approached, wanting to listen to the details of the commission.
However, Amuro Tooru, with his sharp eyes, spotted him and stopped him: "Wait outside for a moment."
"..." Jiang Xia nodded, "Okay."
He retreated to the outer room, thoughtfully closing the door.
The doors and walls here were soundproofed. With the door closed, he couldn't hear the conversation inside.
...However, a mere bit of soundproofing material, did it really think it could stop a Spiritual Medium with a ghost?
...
Jiang Xia sat on the waiting bench and summoned the Ghost Infant.
Xiaobai consciously climbed onto Jiang Xia's shoulder and pressed itself against his ear.
Jiang Xia's hearing instantly shifted to the ghost's body.
Afterward, Xiaobai consciously flew towards the soundproof door and gurgled its way through.
In Jiang Xia's ears, the sounds from inside the room suddenly became clear.
...
Jiang Xia, with the ghost, eavesdropped for a while and gradually understood the situation.
— A few days ago, the client's home was burglarized. No money or jewelry was lost, only a valuable pottery piece was stolen.
He initially thought it was a thief with taste, only stealing art.
Who knew that the next day, the client found deliberately shattered pottery fragments near his home.
"..." Not for money, not for art, and violently smashing the newly acquired pottery, as if venting anger... This unknown motive made the client's hair stand on end.
He reported it to the Police, but the Police couldn't find any results.
Later, when the client was complaining about this to a friend in a Coffee Shop.
A passing waiter suggested he try finding a Detective.
So they came to the Amuro Detective Agency — that enthusiastic waiter, of course, was Amuro Tooru, who "happened" to be working at the Coffee Shop.
...
While eavesdropping on the case, Jiang Xia recalled the plots he had read and didn't remember any similar cases occurring.
There were a few cases related to pottery, but the details didn't match up.
Jiang Xia: "..." Maybe it's not related to a case, just an Organization mission. Of course, it could also be the Public Security Bureau's.
...
Not long after, Amuro Tooru took down the client's contact information and saw him out.
Jiang Xia retrieved the Ghost Infant, his hearing returning with it, and stood up to help Amuro Tooru see off the guest, taking the opportunity to strike up a conversation.
After seeing off the person, Amuro Tooru turned around and found someone still following him. He suddenly remembered that Jiang Xia had taken leave to go to the Hospital yesterday.
So he casually asked: "How are you? Are you alright?"
Jiang Xia hesitated to speak.
Amuro Tooru was startled.
He had only asked casually because Jiang Xia looked very normal. Going to the Hospital should have just been a routine check-up.
But now, why was his employee making that expression...
Amuro Tooru sensed a hidden meaning and focused his attention: "What happened?"
Could it be that a terminal illness was found during the physical examination...
Jiang Xia shook his head: "It's nothing. It's just that the Dr. who examined me... I always feel like he's killed people before."
Amuro Tooru: "?"
Jiang Xia continued: "And my intuition tells me that it's not over yet — in the future, similar things might still happen."
Amuro Tooru: "..."
He subconsciously rolled up his sleeves, his eyes becoming sharper.
— In short, there are currently two possibilities.
One is that Jiang Xia is a genius at reading people: he saw that the Dr. was a dangerous serial killer from a short conversation.
The other is that Jiang Xia is not as normal as he seems, but is instead harboring something like paranoid delusions.
Amuro Tooru: "..." Whichever it is, it's worth being vigilant about and needs to be dealt with quickly.
The former means dealing with the Dr. The latter means sending the employee to the Hospital and having the Organization reimburse the treatment costs.
After Jiang Xia finished speaking, he felt that Amuro Tooru's expression was a bit strange.
He cautiously took a step back and added: "And that Dr. has a gun in his bag, I couldn't be mistaken."
...The gun was actually seen by Xiaobai. Ghosts have an inherent advantage in searching — they can phase through luggage and check unopened bags.
Amuro Tooru: "Is that so...?"
Amuro Tooru finally reacted to the specific information about the "gun" and gradually leaned more towards "the Dr. has a problem."
During the process of psychological treatment, even if the Dr. intends to control it, it's difficult to completely hide some of his habits and mindset.
He heard that some people are extremely sensitive in this regard. And Jiang Xia is not an ordinary depressed patient — on the contrary, he is connected to the Organization and has already encountered many murderers.
Amuro Tooru: "..." From what he remembered, the psychotherapy department at Mihana Yakushino Hospital was very famous.
As far as he knew, many Police officers also went there for appointments. If the Dr. wanted to, it wouldn't be difficult for him to extract some information from the Police, or even, conversely, influence those Police officers.
If such a Dr. really had a problem...
Amuro Tooru slowly realized the seriousness of the problem.
...
However, no matter what he thought in his heart, he definitely couldn't say it out loud.
— After all, he wasn't a Police officer now; he was Bourbon from the Organization. He should be happy if the Police were unlucky.
"You're overthinking it." Amuro Tooru put his rolled-up sleeve back down and said indifferently, "However, since that Dr. makes you think that way, it means he's not suitable for you. Try a different Hospital next time."
Jiang Xia nodded and said no more.
If he said more, his intention would be too obvious. In that case, the undercover comrade, to hide his identity, would definitely not move against Dr. Kazato, and Jiang Xia would have to do it himself.
...
Amuro Tooru was still very busy today, and after chatting with Jiang Xia for a few sentences, another task was added to his heavy workload.
He didn't stay any longer and left quickly.
On the way, Amuro Tooru sent Dr. Kazato's information to his subordinates, asking them to investigate.
Of course, he emphasized that the operation must be covert. Even if a problem was indeed found, they had to make Kyosuke Kazato "accidentally" expose himself, and absolutely not let anyone know that this was a targeted investigation.
Otherwise, if Jiang Xia said someone had a problem, and then that person was arrested by the Police right after... given Jiang Xia's perceptiveness, he would very likely discover the problem.
...
Detective Agency.
Jiang Xia was about to lock the door and leave, but at that moment, he inadvertently glanced at the magazine rack in the entrance hallway and paused slightly.
— On the rack was a familiar book.
Jiang Xia walked over, pulled it out, and saw that it was precisely the Detective Handbook he had borrowed from the library.
He had brought it with him when he applied for the job.
Later, after actually getting into the Agency, Jiang Xia forgot to take the book with him.
The borrowing period for Mihana Library is relatively short; ordinary citizens can only borrow for 14 days.
Jiang Xia looked at the date and found that it hadn't exceeded the limit yet. The next time he wanted to randomly get within these 14 days, he didn't know how long he would have to wait. It would be better to return it now...
Thinking this, Jiang Xia looked at his watch and found that it wasn't yet closing time.
So he got on his motorcycle and headed straight for the library.
...
Jiang Xia sped all the way to the library.
At this time, there was still over half an hour until closing time.
However, upon closer inspection, the Daimon was locked. It had already closed.
Jiang Xia was startled. He walked to the notice board by the door and saw that today was a holiday, and the library closed two hours early.
...
Jiang Xia held the book he needed to return, looking at the darkness inside the door, feeling a bit disappointed.
He was about to turn and leave.
But just then, Xiaobai suddenly perked up, raised a hand to poke Jiang Xia, and gurgled its report.
— There was something in the library.
Not only was there killing intent, but there also seemed to be a recently deceased Shikigami.
Jiang Xia: "!"
...
This library did not have anti-theft bars.
Jiang Xia walked halfway around the library and found a locked window on a secluded corner of the building.
He stopped in front of the window and raised his hand.
Several Shikigami flew out lightly, slipped through the window crack, and landed on the library floor, gradually solidifying into white clay-like puppets.
The puppets awkwardly climbed onto the window, laboriously extended their short hands, and clicked open the locked window.
Jiang Xia put on his gloves, pulled the window open with a whoosh from the outside, and leaped into the library.
The moment he landed, the puppets collapsed back into paper Shikigami and disappeared into the tattoo on his chest.