Chapter 36: Don't Be Afraid, Little Ones

Without Jiang Xia's interference, Kyosuke Kazato finally managed to perform the difficult movement of "standing on two legs."

He was so moved he almost wanted to weep, but before he could even lift his hand, a massive force suddenly struck his back—plainclothes officers had rushed over, and in a flurry of hands, they pinned him to the ground, skillfully applying handcuffs, searching him, and pulling off his hat and mask.

Kyosuke Kazato struggled for a moment.

Then, he slowly went still.

He had thought before that if his deeds were exposed and he was caught, he would fight to the very last second.

However, at this moment, when Kyosuke Kazato realized the plainclothes officers were merely controlling him and not hitting him, his eyes instantly welled with tears, and he felt that the police officers had become quite friendly.

...

Beside them, Jiang Xia was slightly stunned when he saw the loosening murderous intent emanating from Kyosuke Kazato.

"..." He had originally thought that for someone as enduring and paranoid as Kyosuke Kazato, he might not give up his murderous intent and obediently hand it over to a medium until he reached the police station or even a courtroom.

...He hadn't expected him to be so averse to being beaten.

It wasn't even that Jiang Xia had hit him particularly hard.

Of course, it was also possible that as a man of dignity, being kicked around in the middle of the street had dealt Kyosuke Kazato a massive psychological blow... So this was another way to pick up ghosts?

Nodding thoughtfully, Jiang Xia watched Kyosuke Kazato—whose face was written with an expression of serenity as he was hoisted into a vehicle by the plainclothes officers—feeling as though he had discovered a new method for gathering ghosts.

...

An ambulance soon arrived and took away the victim lying in the telephone booth.

Jiang Xia had already lost interest in the case and was busy tallying the ghosts and murderous intent he had "plucked" from Kyosuke Kazato.

Just then, the light dimmed beside him as two large plainclothes men approached.

...

Just now, while chasing the suspect, the plainclothes officers had all heard Kyosuke Kazato's heart-wrenching cry of "Jiang Xia!"

They immediately realized that the young man passing by who had beaten the culprit might be someone related to the case.

Of course, the two did not suspect Jiang Xia of being a bad person or an accomplice to Kyosuke Kazato.

Firstly, because of Jiang Xia's recent actions... which might look like assault at first glance, but were clearly acts of bravery in the face of danger.

Secondly, there were the four children beside Jiang Xia.

The plainclothes officers had seen clearly while chasing the suspect—when the armed killer ran toward this direction, the children had quickly ducked behind Jiang Xia, appearing to trust him immensely.

Someone who could be liked and trusted by so many children didn't seem like a bad person.

...

Thinking of this, the plainclothes officers looked at the unfortunate children caught up in the incident.

Seeing them huddled together like frightened quails, unable to speak, the officers showed sympathy—poor children, they must have been terrified by the gunman firing in the street.

Officer A reached out to pat a child's head, attempting to offer some comfort.

Officer B looked at Jiang Xia: "Do you know that man just now?"

Jiang Xia remained silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, "His voice sounds somewhat familiar, very much like my primary care physician."

The two officers exchanged a glance and nodded inwardly. That was right; Kyosuke Kazato was indeed a doctor.

It seemed these two truly knew each other.

...

The plainclothes officers had used a van to apprehend Kyosuke Kazato, which was quite spacious. However, it wouldn't be appropriate to crowd ordinary citizens in with an armed assailant who had caused injury.

Fortunately, they were not far from the police station, so one officer stayed behind to accompany Jiang Xia and the children on foot to the station.

Along the way, Conan was lost in thought, appearing as if he wanted to say something but was hesitating

Jiang Xia's primary care physician turned out to be a murderer... This was something he hadn't expected.

Conan: "..." No matter what the illness was, as long as the treatment period was long enough, a doctor would gradually build a bond and trust with the patient, especially in departments like psychotherapy... Could it be that Jiang Xia had gradually discovered something was wrong during that process, which was why he had been so reluctant to go to the hospital?

But, judging from how Jiang Xia immediately stopped as soon as the doctor called out, he didn't seem to hate him that much... Otherwise, forget stopping, he should have taken the opportunity to land a few more kicks amidst the chaos.

...

Conan's father was, after all, a mystery novelist. Conan himself was well-read and had a wild imagination.

As he thought, his mind began to wander, recalling cases in novels and movies where psychiatrists first gained a patient's precious trust and then manipulated them into committing crimes.

Could it be...

Conan suddenly became alert, feeling the situation was grave. He desperately wanted to say something, but didn't know exactly how to put it.

In the end, he looked at Jiang Xia and let out a weary sigh.

—Orphaned, in a precarious mental state, and constantly running into homicides... Even just going for a routine check-up could lead to encountering such an unethical doctor.

They all grew up on the same street.

Why was it always Jiang Xia who ran into scumbags?

...

Beside him, unlike the silently worrying Conan, Jiang Xia was in an excellent mood.

—He had gone out today and picked up a "leg-clinging" deity, as well as a rare type of mushroom-soup-flavored murderous intent that he had long coveted.

As he left the Metropolitan Police Department, Jiang Xia looked at the children beside him, feeling like he wanted to present the Detective Boys with a banner reading "Case Magnet & Friend of the Medium."

The three children flinched under his gaze. Once they regained their composure, they whispered that they wanted to go to the park to play, promising to be good and not bump into any passersby.

For a moment, Jiang Xia didn't understand why they felt the need to report "wanting to play" to him. However, he couldn't be bothered to ask and simply nodded.

The three children pulled Conan along and dashed away, their backs looking like three birds flying out of a cage toward the sky.

...Well, there was also an old bird in the middle who kept looking back every three steps, though his attempt at rebellion had failed.

(End of Chapter)