Gyokuryū Temple / If You'd Come, You'd Definitely Have Gotten Here Faster Than Me

However, Miyano Shiho knows Conan's true identity. Now she still occasionally draws a vial of blood and a hair from Conan to conduct experiments. Because of this, Conan now avoids her slightly when he encounters her.

Although she had never heard of Heiji Hattori before, since he was recognized by both Jiang Hang and Conan, his level couldn't be too bad, even if it was poor.

She's not a professional detective; this was just an occasional experience with Jiang Hang to try out the deduction process. She's already done quite well to get this far.

It seems that Miyano Shiho really has no interest in the mysterious gift he mentioned.

"In that case..." Jiang Hang scratched his head. Conan and Heiji Hattori gone to Bukko-ji Temple, the three assistants had gone to another temple, Detective Boys had also scattered to play elsewhere because Conan had left. So there was no need for him to stay here any longer.

"How about we go to the lair of Genji Fireflies now? That abandoned temple is on Mount Kurama, north of Kyoto. It's far from the city center, so there shouldn't be many tourists. It might be quieter than other famous Miyano Akemi." Jiang Hang extended an invitation to Miyano Shiho and Miyano Akemi, thinking that he had organized this trip specifically to help Miyano Akemi relax.

Miyano Akemi didn't care, but Miyano Shiho resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Hang Jiang Hang.

When other people go on vacation, they visit famous tourist attractions. But Jiang Hang is different. They ignored the already arranged travel plans and took them directly to the headquarters of a criminal gang to relax.

But Miyano Shiho, who already knew about Jiang Hang Hanggang's straight-male personality, didn't say anything in the end.

After all, it's much better to bring them along than to leave the sisters in the tour group and ignore Jiang Hang yesterday.

Chapter 372: Chapter 368: Gyokuryū Temple

Gyokuryū Temple is located on Mount Kurama in the northern suburbs of Kyoto, about a half-hour drive from the city center.

The mountain isn't entirely devoid of life. In fact, the most famous temple on Mount Kurama is Kurama Temple, which was founded by the disciples recruited by Jianzhen after his return from his eastward journey during the Tang Dynasty. It has a history of over 1,200 years and is considered one of the oldest existing temples in Kyoto.

Kurama Temple was also the place where Minamoto no Yoshitsune, or Minamoto no Yoshitsune, trained in his youth.

According to legend, Minamoto no Yoshitsune was sent to Kurama Temple as a child, he secretly slipped out of the temple one night and wandered around the mountain. There he met the legendary great Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Crow Tengu Crow Tengu, and learned superb martial arts from him.

To be honest, the place Heiji Hattori mentioned this morning is actually right here.

After all, Gyokuryū Temple is located on this mountain, which is also where Minamoto no Minamoto no Yoshitsune his childhood. It is indeed very likely that the leader of the Genji Fireflies's Firefly had hidden the Buddha statue inside Kurama Temple. It's just a pity that Heiji Hattori obviously failed to find the Buddha statue.

Finding a car on Himeshiro Group's territory was quite easy for Jiang Hang.

Half an hour later, Jiang Hang and his two companions drove to the foot of Mount Kurama.

Compared to the bustling city center, this place definitely has a more rustic, rural feel.

Jiang Hang even saw several restaurants near the foot of the mountain that were directly labeled as "Japanese local cuisine," which could probably be considered Japan -style farmhouse restaurant.

If I get home late tonight, I could have a meal here and see how it tastes.

However, it's only early afternoon, so let's not talk about dinner for now.

After asking several shop owners along the roadside for directions to Gyokuryū Temple, Jiang Hang finally understood why Gyokuryū Temple had been abandoned.

The main problem is that Gyokuryū Temple is located in a very remote area.

Kurama Temple occupies most of the best spots on Mount Kurama, and some other shrines are also trying to get a share of the remaining good locations.

It's quite remarkable that Gyokuryū Temple, a small temple with little historical background, was built in a remote mountain valley and has maintained its incense offerings for so many years.

It took nearly twenty minutes to walk from Mount Kurama to the location of Gyokuryū Temple.

Today is probably the busiest day for Gyokuryū Temple in decades.

Since last night, a large number of police officers have been pouring in to search the area.

It's now afternoon, and although the initial search has ended, there are still quite a few police officers guarding the temple entrance to prevent tourists who might accidentally wander over.

But Jiang Hang felt that the police didn't need to do that.

Who would come here to visit a place that has been abandoned for many years? If someone does come this way, I suggest you just detain them and interrogate them thoroughly. Maybe you can catch one of the Genji Fireflies who slipped through the net.

Upon seeing Jiang Hang and his group approach, the police officers who were guarding the entrance of Gyokuryū Temple wanted to come over and explain to him that this was a closed area. However, since Jiang Hang already informed Officer Shiratori in advance, he only gave his name, and the police officers warmly welcomed him into the temple and explained the situation.

The police searched the Gyokuryū Temple for a whole morning and found a lot of stolen money and goods, but it was nothing compared to the wealth that Genji Fireflies had acquired through theft over the years.

As they continued their investigation, they discovered that the abandoned Gyokuryū Temple had maintained considerable economic ties with Kurama Temple over the years. They only learned the details after consulting with the abbot of Kurama Temple.

Originally, Mount Kurama was the site of Kurama Temple, and Gyokuryū Temple was supposed to be demolished immediately after it was abandoned. However, because the last abbot of the temple continued to pay management fees to Kurama Temple after Gyokuryū Temple was abandoned, the matter was put on hold.

This situation had been going on for many years until three months ago when the former abbot passed away. Kurama Temple had not received any management fees, which led to the plan to demolish Gyokuryū Temple again.

After listening to the police's explanation, Jiang Hang understood somewhat.

It seems the abbot formed the theft gang in order to preserve Gyokuryū Temple after its destruction.

Over the years, after the proceeds from the thefts and subsequent sale of stolen goods by Genji Fireflies were distributed among the organization members, it is estimated that a considerable portion of the money was used to pay management fees.

No wonder Saijō Taiga and Sakura Masazo were willing to kill so many people for a Buddha statue.

Back then, the power lay with the leader. Although they received a considerable amount of money, the lion's share remained with the leader.

Since their leader's health began to deteriorate a few years ago, the Genji Fireflies has stopped their theft operations.

Over the years, they've probably spent most of the money they were allocated back then. And since their leader can't come up with any more money due to management fees, they naturally have no choice but to set their sights on that precious Buddha statue that hasn't been able to fetch a high price because of its defects.

"So, you didn't find that Buddha statue inside the temple?"

Upon hearing Jiang Hang's question, the policeman nodded somewhat embarrassedly. "We've found quite a few places where things are hidden in the temple, but we haven't seen the Buddha statue. As for the coded map you gave us last night, we haven't been able to decipher any useful information from it yet."

Jiang Hang nodded to indicate that he understood.

After talking with the policeman, he turned to the Miyano Sisters beside him and said, "The police have been searching for so long but haven't found the Buddha statue here. It seems that the Buddha statue is really not here. It looks like we can only wait for news from Conan."

He paused for a moment, observed Miyano Shiho's expression, and then suggested to them again, "Before that, shall we wander around here for a bit?"

To be honest, although Gyokuryū Temple has actually been abandoned for many years, the interior of the temple does not look desolate because people still live there.

"Since we're already here, let's take a walk," Miyano Akemi nodded casually. Come to think of it, these temples that are about to be demolished might be more interesting to visit than other famous tourist attractions.

After all, decades from now, Kiyomizu-dera Temple will still have its iconic mountain spring water, and Kinkaku-ji Temple will still radiate golden light under the sun.

But for this Gyokuryū Temple, let alone decades, it will probably be completely buried in the dust of history by this time next year, and no one will ever know what it used to look like again.

Chapter 373: Chapter 369: If you guys came, you'd definitely be faster than me.

When Miyano Shiho heard that the temple was about to be demolished because it couldn't pay its management fees, she subconsciously glanced at Jiang Hang in front of her.

Isn't Jiang Hang's favorite thing to do after solving a case to acquire the companies and businesses that are about to go bankrupt and put them under his own name?

From the Beika Art Museum at the beginning, to Daibao Films later, and then to Eito Studios most recently, Jiang Hang acquired all of them after the case was closed.

Jiang Hang wouldn't be thinking of buying the land of Gyokuryū Temple, rebuilding it, and using it to compete with Kurama Temple for incense offerings, would he?

Thinking about how Jiang Hang suddenly became the abbot of Gyokuryū Temple, praying for people while solving cases for his clients, Miyano Shiho couldn't help but shudder.

It's better if this kind of thing doesn't happen.

Thinking of this, Miyano Shiho felt it was necessary to keep an eye on Jiang Hang's every move. As soon as Jiang Hang made any move, she would rush over to dispel Jiang Hang unrealistic ideas.

Of course, Jiang Hang had absolutely no such idea.

He's not out of his mind, so why would he insist on buying a temple in Kyoto that's been abandoned for who knows how many years and doesn't look particularly special?

Although temples and shrines wield considerable power in Japan, and most cemeteries are managed by various Japan, the monks in these temples are allowed to marry, have children, and continue their lineage.

But Jiang Hang isn't Japan, and with the system at his disposal, even if he were to die in the future, he wouldn't be unable to afford a burial plot.

He now treats the temple purely as a small tourist attraction without any visitors.

Gyokuryū Temple is indeed not very big.

The main hall at the entrance of the temple, along with the two side halls on either side used for living, meditation, and meals, and an old bell tower to the left front of the main hall, constitute the entirety of this abandoned temple.

"This place is so small, probably less than ten acres. Even if you hid that Buddha statue underground, finding it wouldn't be a big project," Jiang Hang complained to Miyano Shiho and Miyano Akemi as he stood in front of the old clock tower.

In just a few minutes, the three of them had circled the entire temple.

While the Japan police may have many shortcomings in terms of competence, surely they can find no Buddha statue in such a small place?

"But speaking of which, I've never seen a temple with this kind of design before. The two side halls are connected to the main hall by a passageway, and then there's a bell tower in front of the main hall that doesn't really serve any purpose..." Jiang Hang scratched his face, suddenly feeling that something seemed off.

As Jiang Hang noticed something amiss, Miyano Shiho also noticed the same problem.

"Wait a minute," she said, taking a few steps back and standing at the temple entrance, looking at the entire temple complex. "Whether it's a coincidence or not, isn't the shape of this temple exactly the Chinese character for 'jade'?"

The main hall is the horizontal one in the middle, the two side halls are marked with the upper and lower strokes of the word "yu", the aisle that connects the main hall and the side halls is the vertical one, and the bell tower, which seems a bit abrupt, exactly corresponds to the point of the word "yu".

And this jade character happened to be the Chinese character that Conan and the others finally saw on the map of Kyoto according to the code map!

Jiang Hang wiped his forehead in disbelief. "There's no way that Buddha statue is hiding inside this clock tower right now, is there?"

This is the lair of Genji Fireflies, so logically, this should be one of the places that Saijō Taiga and his men have searched the most.

As a result, Saijō Taiga and his team searched here for more than three months without finding it. This morning, a group of police officers came to search the area but still couldn't find it. If the Buddha statue really was hidden in this seemingly ordinary clock tower, Saijō Taiga and Sakura Masazo would probably faint from anger on the spot if they found out.

Jiang Hang first activated his Eagle Eye to observe the inside, but of course, such a secret treasure location wouldn't immediately reveal itself through the wall as soon as Jiang Hang approached.

Seeing Jiang Hang observing, Miyano Akemi reminded him, "I think if that Buddha statue is really inside this bell tower, the most likely place would be under the roof, on the lower level. After all, if you add a roof to the character 'jade,' it becomes the character 'treasure.'"

Hearing the reminder from the Miyano sisters, Jiang Hang nodded, and then he nimbly climbed up to the second floor of the clock tower, intending to find a place to check the sealed-off compartment on the second floor.

"Can't you walk up the stairs? You're like a monkey. It's only a few steps more than climbing stairs," Miyano Shiho said to Jiang Hang as she watched him skillfully climb the wall.

Jiang Hang shrugged.

Would a normal assassin still be considered a legitimate assassin if they simply walked up the stairs?

Wall climbing and parkour are signature skills of an assassin; he can't afford to lose these skills so easily.

Then he looked at the ceiling, which was more than two meters above his head. It was obviously impossible to jump up there normally, and climbing up by holding onto a pillar on one side wouldn't look very good.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Hang simply raised his hand and flicked it towards the ceiling. A hook from his right wrist shot out and embedded itself deeply into a piece of wood in the ceiling that didn't look very sturdy.

Jiang Hang briefly tested the load-bearing capacity of the wooden plank, and then he pulled it down forcefully, dragging it directly off the ceiling.

Once you can see the roof beams through the gap in this wooden plank, the rest is simple.

With a little skill, Jiang Hang managed to get the grappling hook to wrap around the roof beam, and then, under the watchful eyes of the Miyano Sisters, he easily "flew" up the roof ledge.

As soon as Jiang Hang's gaze entered the partition, he immediately noticed the Buddha statue, which was covered in dust and no longer showed any signs of its preciousness.

Jiang Hang's Eagle Eye never makes mistakes. The moment he saw the Buddha statue, his Eagle Eye, with their exceptionally dazzling golden light and the empty hole above the Buddha's head, told him that this was the Buddha statue they were looking for.

"It really is that outrageous..." Feeling the dazzling light that was almost blinding, Jiang Hang couldn't help but complain again.

They found the genuine product here, but what happened to Conan and the others?

Is there something else hidden inside the Bukko-ji Temple they're visiting now?

It's highly unlikely that there are actually two identical Buddha statues in the world, one at Gyokuryū Temple being male and the other hidden at Bukko-ji Temple being female—that would be an even more absurd possibility.

Seeing Jiang Hang's expression, Miyano Shiho knew that her and her sister's deduction was correct.

"So, that mysterious gift ended up falling into my hands?" This thought suddenly flashed through Miyano Shiho's mind.

Although luck played a significant role, if Jiang Hang hadn't suddenly wanted to come here to relax, they probably wouldn't have followed him and discovered the problem with the temple.

But luck is part of ability, after all. Jiang Hang said before that whoever finds that Buddha statue will receive a gift.

Now that they revealed the location of the Buddha statue before Jiang Hang even arrived, and Jiang Hang successfully located the statue based on their deductions, he shouldn't try to renege on this gift.

Looking at Miyano Akemi with an expectant expression and Miyano Shiho with a strange look on her face, Jiang Hang didn't think too much about it and said directly to them, "Go and call the police. Oh, and remember to tell them to bring a ladder when they come, otherwise I really can't move this Buddha statue down by myself."

This Buddha statue is not considered too heavy for Jiang Hang.

But this thing is quite valuable and is the most prized possession of Sannō Temple.

It's best to be careful when moving such a precious item. Even Genji Fireflies and his gang didn't leave any marks on this Buddha statue. It would be a real sin if he accidentally scratched or damaged someone's treasure.

Soon, the police, who had heard that Jiang Hang had found the Buddha statue, arrived in shock.

The police officers were taken aback when they saw that the Buddha statue was hidden in the ceiling of the clock tower.

After all, the clock tower looked empty at first glance and didn't seem like a place to hide things. Their colleagues had also investigated whether there was anything in the basement of the clock tower, but they didn't notice that the real hiding place was on the three or four-meter-high ceiling.

At the same time, they felt even more admiration for Jiang Hang, the detective from Tokyo.

No wonder he was specially appointed as an advisor to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

They were highly efficient at solving cases, resolving the Genji Fireflies, which had been a headache for them for over a decade, in just one day.

They were quick to find the object; after searching all morning without any leads, Jiang Hang arrived and located the Buddha statue's hiding place in just five minutes.

Most importantly, this advisor from China is quite nice, and you don't feel any pressure when communicating with him.

With the careful assistance of several police officers and Jiang Hang, the Buddha statue was quickly lifted down. Jiang Hang then personally brushed away the dust that had accumulated over the past few months, revealing the Buddha statue to everyone.

"Hey, why is there a missing Byakugo on this Buddha statue?" The police officers quickly noticed the hole in the Buddha's forehead and immediately panicked.

They probably don't know much about the confession from the Saijō Taiga side, only that they stole the Buddha statue a few years ago but haven't been able to sell it.