Stay away from Conan

Chapter 171 Machine Box

Gao Yuan also looked at the "Nissan Silvia S15" parked here and saw the red leaves in Ooka. Gao Yuan couldn't help but asked with a little curiosity:

"Miss Hongye, what's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

Ooka Momiji replied, "Mr. Akechi, please come with me."

With that said, under the leadership of Ooka Momiji, Gao Yuan followed to the gate of the mansion. Then, Iori Muga who was accompanying him stepped forward and knocked on the closed door.

Soon, someone came out of the house and opened the door for everyone.

The visitor was a middle-aged woman wearing a brown kimono. After seeing the visitor outside, she couldn't help but respectfully said: "It's Ms. Hongye, please come this way."

With that said, he guided everyone into the mansion.

Walking into the gate of the mansion, Gao Yuan glanced at the wooden door that showed a bit of age and the quaint atmosphere of the entire mansion building. He couldn't help but sigh: "Miss Hongye, this mansion is old, right?"

"Mr. Akechi noticed it."

Hearing Takato's words, Ooka Momiji who was walking in front couldn't help but said, "This mansion was built during the Tokugawa period. It is said that it was built for my ancestors by Sansui Kichiemon, a famous puppet master at the time. My uncle saw it Fascinated by the scenery near this mansion, he chose this place as his retreat after his retirement.”

What about Sansui Kichiemon? What a familiar name.

Hearing this, Gao Yuan thought so.

Not long after, everyone entered the mansion and came to the door of a Japanese-style room. Then the woman stepped forward and knocked on the door, then respectfully opened the door of the Japanese-style room and motioned for everyone to enter.

Therefore, Ooka Momiji walked in front and entered the Japanese room first. Iori Muga and Takato followed behind Ooka Momiji and walked in.

Entering the Japanese room and walking through the screen at the entrance, you can see two people kneeling in front of the table in the center of the Japanese room.

Sitting at the main seat is an old man with gray beard and hair, wearing a dark gray kimono. Although he is over sixty years old, he still looks very healthy.

Opposite the old man was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a suit and leather shoes, and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

"Uncle, long time no see."

Seeing the old man, Ooka Hongye bowed respectfully and said.

"It's Hongye, you're here."

Seeing the arrival of Ooka Momiji, the old man responded with a kind smile, and then looked at Gao Yuan behind Ooka Momiji.

"This must be Detective Akechi!"

"Wise and lofty, I take the liberty of disturbing Professor Ooka."

Hearing what the other party said, Gao Yuan immediately bowed and responded - yes, this old man is Ooka Kiyoshi, and he had seen his photo before during his investigation.

Then, after Ōoka Momiji and Ōoka Momiji exchanged a few brief greetings, Ōoka Kiyoshi signaled that the two of them could sit down, so Iori Muga on the side bowed slightly towards Ōoka Kiyoshi and Ōoka Momiji. Bowing, he went out and stayed outside.

Ooka Momiji walked to the side of the table, close to Ooka Kiyosaku, knelt down and sat down. Then she gestured to Gao Yuan and asked Gao Yuan to kneel down next to her.

"By the way, I forgot to introduce."

Seeing that both of them were seated, Ooka Kiyosaku began to explain, "This is Professor Ayukawa from Naniwa National University, and he is also the guest I invited today."

"Ayukawa Tatsuya."

After nodding to Ooka Momiji and Takato, Ayukawa Tatsuya said his name.

So Ooka Momiji and Gao Yuan nodded in return. At this time, Gao Yuan and Ooka Momiji also understood who the car outside the door belonged to, but they didn't understand why Ooka Kiyoshi would deliberately arrange the meeting time between the two parties.

"No one comes to my place all year round, so I'm used to it being quiet. So for the sake of convenience, I made an appointment with you."

Ooka Kiyoshi said.

"Professor Ooka, you are too modest. Who doesn't know that you have already made a fortune all over the world? As long as you are willing, your students will naturally visit you often."

Ayukawa Tatsuya said, "I feel very honored to accept your invitation this time. I just don't know why you invited me here."

Saying that, Ayukawa Tatsuya looked at Ooka Kiyosaku with some confusion.

In this regard, Ooka Kiyosaku did not say anything, but took out a wooden box from behind, placed it on the table, and carefully opened the box, only to see a mechanism box placed inside.

It is about thirty centimeters long, twenty centimeters wide and ten centimeters high. It is a rectangular shaped machine box.

"This is something I accidentally discovered in the warehouse of this mansion recently."

Ooka Kiyosaku said, "Because this mansion is suspected to have been built by the master of the secret mechanism at the end of the Tokugawa period for my ancestors, the mechanism box in the warehouse may contain very important things for my family. I take the liberty to invite Professor Ayukawa before I just want to ask if you can figure out a way to open the box."

"Professor Ooka made a strong statement."

Ayukawa Tatsuya said with some fear, "But, I don't know anything about mechanisms like this, right?"

"Professor Ayukawa can take a look first and then draw a conclusion."

Ooka Kiyosaku said, and then looked at Gao Yuan, "If Detective Akechi has any ideas, please help."

In this regard, Gao Yuan could not refuse, so Ayukawa Tatsuya and Gao Yuan came together to observe the detailed appearance of the mechanism box.

I saw that on the front and back of the machine box, there were many small square squares with words written on them, but these small squares can be moved, because there is a small vacancy in the rectangle formed by these small squares. The position of the square, so there is room for the other small squares to move——

"This is...'Huarong Dao', right?"

Seeing the style of this mechanism, Gao Yuan immediately reacted, and——

"The words on this..."

Just when Takato was about to explain, Ayukawa Tatsuya was the first to say in surprise, "There are no kana, all are kanji!"

"Yes, this is a puzzle game mechanism called 'Huarong Dao' composed of Chinese characters."

Ooka Kiyosaku said, "But to be precise, this should be ancient Chinese, because the original owner of this mansion was a Sinologist from my ancestor, so I have reason to believe that the mechanism above is that ancestor." It was designed together with the mechanism master. That’s why Professor Ayukawa, your Sinology professor, needs help.”

"But generally speaking, a mechanism like 'Huarong Dao' needs to complete a certain purpose before it can be considered unlocked. With so many Chinese characters on it, what specific purpose is required to be achieved?"

Ayukawa Tatsuya said with a confused expression.

"Probably to form a sentence."

After playing with the small squares on the mechanism box, Gao Yuan suddenly said, "Look, the eight squares in the middle row, move to the squares in these few squares, if you look carefully, their heights It is obviously lower than the grid on the side. Therefore, you should find eight Chinese characters from these Chinese characters, form a sentence, and move them to these eight grids... This is true for both sides!"