A Young Man, You're Possessed

When Jiang Xia left the Police Station.

The Ghost Infant dragged along a Leg-Clinging Shikigami nearly as large as itself and pattered over to Jiang Xia.

—With the curator arrested, much of the Leg-Clinging Shikigami's resentment had dissipated. It could now be completely torn off a leg.

Jiang Xia walked out of the Metropolitan Police Department and turned into a small alley.

When no one was around, he bent down and picked up the Ghost Infant and the Shikigami.

With the curator behind bars, the Shikigami's obsession had faded away.

Now, it was merely an emotionless paper Shikigami.

Collecting a Shikigami was not as troublesome as collecting a Ghost Fetus.

Jiang Xia pricked his fingertip and casually pressed a bead of blood onto it.

A smear of blood appeared on the Shikigami. The blood-red color quickly darkened, then spun and solidified into an ornate Z symbol.

Jiang Xia held up the newly acquired ghost, examined it for a while, and stored it in the Mark Space over his heart.

He had a Ghost Fetus, Killing Intent, and now a Shikigami too.

They were all scarce, but going from nothing to something was a qualitative change. A breakthrough.

Jiang Xia exhaled a breath of mist, raised the collar of his trench coat, and walked expressionlessly down the freezing street, feeling that the future was bright.

—After getting by in this world for so long, he finally looked a little like the Spirit Medium he was supposed to be.

Jiang Xia had thought the other Leg-Clinging Shikigami, the one lacking evidence, would take a while longer to resolve.

Unexpectedly, when he woke up the next day and was debating whether to attend class or go sit at the Detective Agency.

The Metropolitan Police Department called and informed him that the Murder Case he had taken over from the neighboring Detective had been resolved—the police had found evidence.

After listening, Jiang Xia put down the phone with relief.

Boss Amuro was really useful.

With that settled, Jiang Xia no longer needed to agonize over his plans for the day.

He headed straight to the Police Station to handle the aftermath of the case.

Upon arriving at the Metropolitan Police Department, Jiang Xia released the Ghost Infant as usual and let it wander around to see whether there was any spare Killing Intent or Shikigami.

He found a bench and sat down, then glanced to the side.

An acquaintance was sitting there.

—The neighboring Detective who had provided clues for the Murder Case had come as well.

After the two finished giving their statements.

While the officer organized the documents for them to sign, the neighboring Detective looked at Jiang Xia and shook the Newspaper in his hand at him.

Then, amid the rustling of paper, he smiled. "Looks like I'll soon have a Great Detective for a neighbor."

Jiang Xia said, "A Great Detective?"

He turned to look and saw an enormous photograph of himself in the Newspaper.

The background was yesterday's Medieval Exhibition Hall.

When reporters had surrounded Jiang Xia at the entrance of the hall the night before, he had not said much, being unfamiliar with this sort of business.

But the curator beside him had been exceptionally talkative. The police had not stopped the old curator either. In this world, cases were hardly confidential.

Facing the cameras, the curator had pondered briefly before launching into lavish praise for Jiang Xia.

Perhaps he had suddenly realized that the stronger his opponent was, the less embarrassing his own defeat would be.

Besides the curator, the little girl from the kidnapping case had also happened to be nearby with her father the night before.

After father and daughter stumbled upon the incident, they eagerly recounted Jiang Xia's touching deed of rescuing the hostage. A swarm of reporters immediately surrounded them and demanded the details.

On top of that, some well-informed media outlets had learned that Jiang Xia was Kudo Shinichi's classmate.

It so happened that Kudo Shinichi, who had been appearing in the papers frequently, had recently vanished without a trace. There were even rumors that he had been killed.

That gave them their hook.

—Two High School Detectives appearing one after the other, and they just happened to be classmates.

That coincidence alone was enough for the media to fabricate several pages' worth of stories.

Jiang Xia said, "..."

He accepted the Newspaper handed over by the helpful neighboring Detective and finished reading it with some speechlessness, feeling that the media in this world had truly wild imaginations.

Still, although the media had made up stories about him, he needed a certain amount of public attention if he wanted to raise his reputation quickly, receive more commissions, and thereby come into contact with more people who might become ghosts after death...

Jiang Xia was unlike the other High School Detectives.

He did not have hundreds of cases to build up his credentials.

But a gimmick like "possessed by Kudo Shinichi's vengeful spirit" could, much like a Detective who "suddenly fell asleep at crime scenes and began reasoning," make Jiang Xia famous overnight through sheer uniqueness.

"..." In short, it was complicated. His feelings were complicated.

After finishing the Newspaper, Jiang Xia silently handed it back.

Then, pretending to straighten his trouser leg, he bent down and picked up the Ghost Infant that had run over, along with the Leg-Clinging Shikigami it had conveniently brought back.

After they finished their statements, the officer brought over two envelopes before they left and gave them a specially approved bonus.

Apparently, it was because in the case taken on by the neighboring Detective, the victim's body had been dumped at a Festival and burned in public. There had been many witnesses, and the impact had been enormous. Successfully solving it deserved a reward.

Jiang Xia fell silent for a moment upon hearing that explanation.

As he accepted the envelope, he rubbed the rough kraft paper and somehow felt that the money carried the aura of a Salary Thief.

A week later, as expected, the case involving the Festival cremation appeared in the Newspaper as well.

Looking at his photograph in the paper, Jiang Xia thought for a moment, bought several copies of the Newspaper, and bought a notebook as well.

After returning home, he cut out every article that mentioned his name and pasted them into the notebook one by one.

He had heard that in this world, many famous people liked to drag Great Detectives over and ask to hear stories about how they solved cases.

So Jiang Xia planned to put together a collection like this first.

If anyone asked in the future, he could simply hand it over and let them read it themselves.

Besides, these reporters had decent photography skills. The pictures they took were all rather good-looking.

The next day, after Jiang Xia got up, he checked the school schedule.

There were no exams today.

So Jiang Xia happily flaked on class.

He carried a teapot and gardening shears, tending to the Potted Plants in his home and the plants growing in the yard—these were all ingredients used for Ghost Mint.

While pruning, Jiang Xia picked the ripe fruit and leaves, cut them into suitably sized pieces, and spread them out in the Basement to dry in the shade.

He gathered up the ones that had already dried, took them into the living room, rolled them into homemade cigarettes, and packed them into sealed boxes. He was extremely practiced at the entire process.

After finishing, Jiang Xia checked the time and found that it was not yet noon.

So he carried a cage of cats and planned to sit at the Detective Agency, waiting for customers to come by.