Just as that bizarre food was about to touch Ran's lips—
"Ah! Ran-neechan! This looks so delicious! Let me eat it first!"
Conan yelled, pounced forward, opened his mouth, and snatched the food from Ran's chopsticks, swallowing it whole without even chewing.
His movements were as quick as lightning, a single, fluid motion.
Everyone froze.
Ran stared blankly at her empty chopsticks. "Conan?"
Sonoko's mouth dropped open. "You little… "
Alexandrina, on the other hand, showed an incredibly moved and relieved smile:
"Conan, do you really like my cooking that much? That's so flattering! Come, eat more! There's plenty left!"
She enthusiastically added another large spoonful to Conan's bowl.
Conan didn't even have time to respond, because just a few seconds after the thing went down,
A strong wave of dizziness hit him, and the scene before his eyes began to twist and spin.
(Ah—some ancient memories awakened, a primal mix of confusion, terror, regret, and despair etched into his genes, forming an unnameable torrent that pressed upon his fragile nerves...)
Conan shook his head, trying hard to stay conscious, but his vision became increasingly blurry.
In a daze, he saw Senior Brother Pan Yinhu sitting opposite him, his plump figure distorting in Conan's twisted vision… Finally, he transformed into a panda wearing small round glasses and gnawing on a bowl of rice?!
"Heh heh, am I hallucinating?"
Conan mumbled his last words.
Thump!
As his last shred of consciousness faded, his vision went black, his head lolled, and he fainted directly beside the dining table.
"Conan!!" Ran shrieked.
The side hall instantly fell into chaos.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the corridor, Rin and Ju Fufu, who had witnessed the entire process through a phone screen, simultaneously covered their eyes, unable to watch anymore.
"It's over…" Rin murmured.
"I hope he's okay…" Ju Fufu hugged her tail, feeling a deep sense of empathy.
Two hours later, Conan's consciousness gradually returned to his body, and he first heard some vague sounds of concern.
"Are you really okay? Your face is still a bit pale…"
"It's all my fault, I shouldn't have let him eat that…"
"…Should we call an ambulance?"
He painstakingly opened his eyelids, and the first thing that met his eyes was Ran's worried face, with Sonoko, Rin, and a apologetic Alexandrina beside her.
He found himself lying on a resting couch in the side hall, covered with a thin blanket.
"Conan! You're awake!"
Ran exclaimed with delight, quickly reaching out to check his forehead,
"How do you feel? Is there anything else uncomfortable? You suddenly fainted, you scared us to death!"
Conan struggled to sit up, feeling a faint throbbing in his head.
"I… I'm fine now, Ran-neechan," he replied with a smile.
At this moment, Sister Alexandrina walked over with a small steaming bowl, her face full of apology as she gently said.
"I'm so sorry, Conan-kun. It's good that you're awake. Perhaps the ingredients before weren't very fresh.
Here, try the vitality recovery soup I specially made for you! It uses many nourishing ingredients, and you'll definitely feel a hundred times better after drinking it!"
Conan glanced at the bowl of soup.
The soup was a bizarre dark green color, emitting a strange herbal smell.
"No! No need! Thank you, Rina-nee!"
Conan was startled, almost springing up from the couch like a Catapult, waving his hands repeatedly, his movements so agile that he didn't look like a patient who had just fainted,
"I've really recovered almost completely! It's just… it's just that I feel a bit stuffy and want to go out for some fresh air! Yes, fresh air!"
Seeing his lively refusal, everyone was a bit speechless, but also felt a little relieved.
Ran looked at the time and suggested:
"It's still early. Since you want some fresh air, Conan, why don't we continue climbing the mountain? I heard the view from the top is very nice."
Sonoko also agreed. "Good! It's better than staying here…" She stopped mid-sentence, realizing her mistake, and quickly shut up, secretly glancing at Alexandrina.
Rin thought for a moment and said, "There's also an attraction on this mountain called 'Tengu Cave'. I've heard it's quite interesting. I've never been there, so let's go together and check it out."
Ju Fufu suddenly appeared from some corner, her tail wagging excitedly. "Tengu Cave? I know, I know! I'll take you! I'm familiar with that path!"
Alexandrina said that she and Pan Yinhu still had a lot of things to clean up in the kitchen, so she wouldn't go with them.
So, the group, led by the self-proclaimed Ju Fufu, left Yunkui Summit and continued towards the mountaintop.
The higher they went, the more primitive the mountain path became, and the surrounding trees grew denser and greener.
As they walked, a low, strange cry suddenly echoed faintly from deep within the mountain forest.
"Ah! What was that sound?" Sonoko jumped, instinctively moving closer to Ran.
Ran also stopped cautiously, listening intently.
Ju Fufu, however, looked unfazed, waved her hand, and explained.
"Relax, relax~ That's just the sound of the Tengu mentioned in the attraction description! Actually, I bet it's probably the sound of the wind blowing through the special rock crevices of the cave ahead, it's a natural phenomenon!
It sounds quite intimidating, doesn't it? Just right for attracting tourists~"
After hearing her explanation, everyone relaxed slightly and continued forward.
After walking for another while, a naturally formed cave entrance appeared ahead. It was quite large, and the four characters "Tengu Cave" were crookedly carved above the entrance.
Beside the entrance stood a wooden sign with an introduction to the attraction and some Precautions.
Just as the group approached, preparing to read the contents of the sign carefully—
"Rustle… rustle…"
The dense bushes below the sign suddenly shook violently and unnaturally, making faint noises.
"?!" Everyone instantly became alert.
Conan frowned, cautiously took two steps closer, stood on his tiptoes, and tried to push aside the bushes to see what was inside.
In the bushes, a middle-aged man in a suit with meticulously combed hair, but in a very undignified posture at the moment, was squatting there, staring intently at the cave entrance, completely unaware of the newcomers outside.
Conan was stunned for a moment and instinctively blurted out. "Ah! I'm sorry! Uncle, I didn't know you were here… Uh… convenient… We didn't mean to disturb you while you were pooping!"
"Pfft—" Sonoko behind him couldn't help but laugh out loud, then quickly covered her mouth.
Ran and Rin also showed embarrassed expressions.
The middle-aged man heard the sound, suddenly looked up, his face instantly turning crimson, not from shyness, but from anger.
He scrambled to his feet, furiously whispering, "Baka! Who… who's pooping?! What nonsense are you spouting, you brat! I'm ambushing! Ambushing, understand?!"