Lord Yunwen's Exorcism

~

At four in the afternoon, on a pedestrian street near Tokyo Tower.

Holding a photograph, Shu Yunwen looked back and forth at the signs along the street, then scratched the back of his head in frustration.

When he'd watched Detective Conan back then, he'd only skimmed through it once, and his memory of it had long since grown hazy. If he'd known he would transmigrate—and into the world of Detective Conan, no less—Shu Yunwen would've watched the series carefully N times and missed not a single detail.

Well, ideally, he could've kidnapped Uncle Gosho and gotten him to spoil the rest of the story, or something.

Damn, it'd been twenty years and over seven hundred episodes, and the Black Organization's big boss still hadn't made an official appearance. It was ridiculous. He'd heard that some fans had already written their wills, asking their descendants to burn Uncle Gosho as an offering when they visited their graves.

"Lord Yunwen, still no luck?" Matsushita Heisaburo asked beside him.

"Right. The second symbol, the one shaped like a hat, was easy to find, but there are far too many of these three-triangle symbols around here. I have no idea which one it is. Damn it!"

As he spoke, Shu Yunwen glanced at his watch, looking rather helpless.

Just then, the pager at Matsushita Heisaburo's waist began to beep.

Matsushita Heisaburo hurriedly took it out and checked the message. "Lord Yunwen, Mr. Yamagishi called. He's probably asking about the exorcism..."

"About the exorcism?" Shu Yunwen thought for a moment, then turned and instructed him, "Call Yamagishi Eiichi and ask him and Ono Yoko to come over to Tokyo Tower. Hmm..." As he spoke, Shu Yunwen glanced around. "...Let's meet at this Mengluo Café."

Matsushita Heisaburo glanced at the café beside them, nodded, and went over to a public phone to call Yamagishi Eiichi.

After the call, Shu Yunwen and Matsushita Heisaburo went into the café to wait.

About forty minutes later, three people entered the café. Yamagishi Eiichi was in the lead, followed by a disguised Ono Yoko and a middle-aged man.

When Yamagishi Eiichi spotted Shu Yunwen and Matsushita Heisaburo, he hurried over to their corner.

"Lord Yunwen, Vice President Matsushita, sorry to trouble you." Yamagishi Eiichi greeted them. Ono Yoko bowed right after him. "Lord Yunwen, I'm sorry to trouble you with this today."

Ono Yoko looked exhausted. She wore thick makeup, but even that couldn't hide her fatigue.

Shu Yunwen smiled. "You don't have to be so formal, Miss Yoko. And this gentleman is...?"

Shu Yunwen looked at the man beside Ono Yoko.

Yamagishi Eiichi immediately introduced him. "Lord Yunwen, this is our agency's president, Akechi Kunihito."

So he was a minor character who hadn't appeared in the original story at all!

"Nice to meet you, President Akechi." Shu Yunwen offered a polite greeting and gestured to the seats opposite him. "Please, have a seat."

After the three sat down, a café server brought them three cups of coffee. The five of them chatted casually for a while, then Yamagishi Eiichi hurriedly said, "Lord Yunwen, it's already four fifty. You said the best time for the exorcism was now..."

Shu Yunwen glanced out the window. The sky had already begun to darken. He smiled. "The time is right. Please wait a moment."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shu Yunwen began chanting a Sorcerous Curse. A few seconds later, he cast Ghost Sorcery: Ghost Eye. A thin mist seemed to veil his eyes, and his surroundings shifted. He immediately saw a wisp of fog-like spirit hovering above Ono Yoko's head.

Before he died, Fujie Akiyoshi had been clutching one of Ono Yoko's hairs.

So after his death, it made sense that his obsession had left him clinging to the top of her head.

"Miss Yoko, does your head feel heavy?" Shu Yunwen joked with a smile.

It was the sort of dark humor only he understood.

Ono Yoko froze, then stammered, "Lord Yunwen, I... I feel heavy all over right now..."

She was tired and sleepy, wasn't she?

Shu Yunwen rolled his eyes and began chanting another Sorcerous Curse. Then he spoke the word "Seize." The fog hovering above Ono Yoko's head seemed to struggle against an unseen force as it flew into Shu Yunwen's hand, where it shrank into a sphere the size of a ping-pong ball. On its surface, a ghostly face formed from Fujie Akiyoshi's mist howled continuously, as if trying to claw its way out.

With the ghost contained in his hand, Shu Yunwen smiled. "All right, Miss Yoko. Since I was the one who suggested this exorcism, I can set the fee myself. I'll give you a twenty-five percent discount, so the total is one and a half million yen."

"D-done already?" Before Ono Yoko could speak, Yamagishi Eiichi blurted out, "Lord Yunwen, was it really all right to do it so quickly? That was a very powerful vengeful spirit..."

Yamagishi Eiichi hadn't thought Shu Yunwen's fee of one and a half million yen was too expensive. If Fujie Akiyoshi's vengeful spirit could really be exorcised, he wouldn't have minded paying twice as much.

Even now, remembering what he'd seen of Fujie Akiyoshi in the mirror at noon made Yamagishi Eiichi's skin crawl.

But... the exorcism had been far too quick! It hadn't even taken half a minute!

Shu Yunwen said casually, "Mr. Yamagishi, I know better than you whether the problem's been solved. Please don't question a real exorcist, all right?"

"Oh? Yes..." Yamagishi Eiichi hurriedly nodded.

After a pause, Shu Yunwen continued, "Of course, if you're not reassured, I can let you see the spirit I caught with your own eyes. But it'll take some of my energy, so it'll cost an additional five hundred thousand yen."

As soon as he heard that, Yamagishi Eiichi agreed without a moment's hesitation. "Lord Yunwen, I want to see it for myself. Please show us!"

Paying another five hundred thousand yen to see the vengeful spirit caught with his own eyes and put his mind at ease was worth it.

Beside him, Akechi Kunihito, another character who hadn't appeared in the original story, chimed in. "Lord Yunwen, I'd like to see it too."

"It'll cost five hundred thousand yen per person," Shu Yunwen explained. Then he turned to Ono Yoko. "Miss Yoko, don't you want to see it for yourself?"

"I..." Ono Yoko bit her lip. "I want to see it too!"

"Three people, five hundred thousand yen each, for a total of one and a half million yen." Shu Yunwen smiled faintly, then chanted a Sorcerous Curse again. He cast Ghost Sorcery: Ghost Eye three times in succession. Once Ghost Eye had taken effect on Ono Yoko and the two men, Shu Yunwen opened his hand, revealing the misty sphere the size of a ping-pong ball.

"You can all see it, right? This is Fujie Akiyoshi's spirit."

The three stared at the thing in Shu Yunwen's hand, hardly able to believe their eyes. Was this really Fujie Akiyoshi's vengeful spirit? It didn't look like one!

As they wondered, the "ping-pong ball" suddenly rippled. A cloud of mist burst from the sphere and gathered into a face before them. Its expression was terrifying, as if it were howling in fury—and the face belonged to Fujie Akiyoshi!

"Ahhh!"

In an instant, Ono Yoko and the two men screamed in terror.

The other customers in the café looked over curiously. A server hurried over and asked, "Is something wrong, folks?"

Shu Yunwen quickly replied, "Nothing's wrong. I just told them a ghost story, and they got scared."

"Is that so? Heh... If you need anything, just call me." The server smiled faintly and walked away.

The other customers nearby chuckled, too.

But Ono Yoko and the two men couldn't calm down for a while.

Shu Yunwen really had told them a "ghost story." It was just that the "ghost" was right in front of them!

Shu Yunwen reached out and grabbed Fujie Akiyoshi's spirit again. Smiling, he said, "All right, you've all seen it. I really did catch this ghost. So, Miss Yoko, you can go home and sleep soundly. I can guarantee that Fujie Akiyoshi won't cause you this kind of trouble again."

After seeing the captured "vengeful spirit" with his own eyes, Yamagishi Eiichi grew even more respectful. "Lord Yunwen, thank you so much for your help. You saved our lives. Yoko-chan, hurry and thank Lord Yunwen."

Ono Yoko quickly thanked him as well.

Shu Yunwen waved a hand. "There's no need to thank me. You paid for it."

After a pause, he checked the digital watch on his wrist. "Sorry, but I have something else to take care of, so I have to leave. Matsushita-kun, collect the payment."

Matsushita Heisaburo froze, then looked at Ono Yoko and the others.

Ono Yoko froze too. Akechi Kunihito hurriedly took out his checkbook and scribbled out a check, then handed it to Matsushita Heisaburo. "Yoko's an artist with our agency, and solving her problem also solves a problem for the company. So let's put the three million yen on the company's books."

Matsushita Heisaburo took the check, looked it over, and handed it to Shu Yunwen.

Shu Yunwen didn't take it. He stood up and said, "Since the payment's settled, I'll be going. By the way, if you're not in a hurry, you'd better stay here for another hour before leaving. You've all got Ghost Eye active, and it'll last about an hour. During that time, you'll be able to see other spirits, too. If you leave now and run into one, you'll be frightened."

"Right!" Ono Yoko and the two men hurriedly nodded.

Just then, Akechi Kunihito, who hadn't appeared in the original story, stood up and said, "Please wait, Lord Yunwen. I'm very impressed by your abilities. Our agency would like to establish a long-term partnership with the Keqin Exorcist Agency and hire you to handle cases like this. Would you have time to discuss it?"

A new job!

Shu Yunwen glanced at his watch and smiled. "Sorry, but I really do have something urgent to take care of, so I have to leave. If you're free tomorrow, you can contact our agency. Matsushita-kun can handle everything. Matsushita-kun, I'm counting on you. Tomorrow's Monday, after all, and I have to go to school."

"Understood, Lord Yunwen." Akechi Kunihito didn't dare insist.

Ono Yoko suddenly asked, "Lord Yunwen, what will you do with him?"

By "him," she naturally meant Fujie Akiyoshi's spirit.

Shu Yunwen smiled faintly. "How to deal with him is a matter for us exorcists, and has nothing to do with you, Miss Yoko. Besides, as I said at your apartment, he killed himself there and even tried to frame you for murder, ruining your life in the process. In my opinion, he's no good person and doesn't deserve any sympathy."

Ono Yoko's expression darkened, and she said no more.

Only after watching Shu Yunwen and Matsushita Heisaburo hurry out of the café did Akechi Kunihito, who hadn't appeared in the original story, ask curiously, "Lord Yunwen still has to go to school? Is he a teacher?"

"Um... no. Lord Yunwen is a second-year high school student," Ono Yoko replied. Ran had told her about Shu Yunwen.

"What?"

Akechi Kunihito, who hadn't appeared in the original story, was dumbfounded.

That guy's face had looked even older than his!

He looked nearly fifty, but he was only a second-year high school student?

Yoko-chan, are you messing with me?

PS: Akechi Kunihito hurled a brick into the sky:

"Author! Do you have to keep saying 'who hadn't appeared in the original story'? Are you trying to drive me crazy?!"