"What's that?" Inuyama Heita couldn't help asking. Even with his Spirit Eyes, it was the first time he had seen anything like this. He was so shocked that his voice came out a little louder than usual.
"This is proof that the young lady is about to be blessed with good fortune!"
An elderly woman beside Qian Xiaoyi and Inuyama Heita answered excitedly. "President Oiwa is an extraordinary person who can see other people's fates. He believes that both good fortune and misfortune come with signs. If you don't seize the moment when good fortune arrives, you might miss your chance and fall into misfortune instead—or become trapped in a swamp of bad luck. To help us, President Oiwa specially performs this ritual. When a revelation comes, it forges a bond between him and our fates. Once the ritual is complete, President Oiwa can strengthen his connection with that person and warn them whenever good fortune or misfortune is on its way. He really is a great man..."
The elderly woman kept muttering, as if answering Inuyama Heita's question, or perhaps reassuring herself that if she had faith, her luck would surely turn around. Her pious display made Inuyama Heita deeply uncomfortable, raising goosebumps on his arms. It bothered him even more than the strange phenomenon onstage.
Ignoring the elderly woman, Inuyama Heita quietly asked Qian Xiaoyi, "Are we still not doing anything?"
"Phew." Qian Xiaoyi exhaled a stream of smoke and answered lazily, "I'm already doing it. Wait quietly, and don't draw anyone's attention."
"What?" Inuyama Heita was utterly confused. He hadn't seen Qian Xiaoyi do anything, but he chose to trust him and held himself back.
Onstage, as Matsui held out the tray, Suzuki suddenly felt a chill.
The air conditioning is set way too low, she thought. The thought vanished almost immediately. She banished her distractions and focused on the black pendant on the tray. She couldn't tell what it was made of. It looked pitch-black, with what seemed to be some kind of pattern on it.
"Let's begin the ritual!" President Oiwa laughed. "Celebrate! Cheer! Another brother or sister is about to escape a dreary life and step into a colorful future!"
As he spoke, rousing music began to play. If one listened closely, strange whispers could be heard mixed in with the music. But the audience was already growing restless, and the whispers blended into the din, making them impossible to distinguish.
"That's right," President Oiwa urged Suzuki. "Put on this lucky pendant and make a pact with good fortune. No matter how much you doubted these things before, when good fortune arrives, the facts will convince you."
Suzuki caught sight of her mother, watching from the side of the stage with hopeful eyes. She sighed and reached for the black pendant on the tray.
As Suzuki moved, Inuyama Heita saw the smoke-formed fetus in midair stir. It seemed to sense something and reached out a tiny hand, as if trying to touch Suzuki's. Suzuki picked up the pendant and moved to put it around her neck. The fetus began crawling through the air toward her.
"Mr. Qian, can that person see it too?" Inuyama Heita asked in surprise. He was certain President Oiwa was staring at the moving fetus, not at Suzuki. He glanced at Qian Xiaoyi, who still hadn't made a move. With a cigarette between his fingers, he looked as if he were daydreaming.
A smile spread across President Oiwa's lips. The closer the fetus crawled to Suzuki, the broader his smile grew. The people below couldn't see the eerie scene, and thought he was genuinely happy for Suzuki.
But as soon as Suzuki put on the pendant, the smoke-formed fetus crawled right up to her... then passed her by and continued toward the audience.
"What?!" President Oiwa was stunned. He had never encountered such a turn of events before, and instinctively whispered, "Hey, where are you going? Come back!"
Seeing President Oiwa in such a panic, Matsui frowned. He was always smiling, but now he asked, "President, what's wrong?" He seemed to have guessed that something had gone wrong with the ritual.
Oiwa didn't answer. He kept his eyes fixed on the fetus as it crawled farther away. It had reached the audience and was about to disappear into the crowd. Oiwa grabbed the incense burner from the tray and hurried down from the stage, calling anxiously, "Good child, come... come back!"
When President Oiwa started acting strangely, the audience had been puzzled, unsure what he was doing. Then someone in the crowd shouted, "President Oiwa's come down! Please shake my hand!"
That one sentence immediately set the crowd alight. He was instantly surrounded by frenzied people, all eager to touch him and share in his good fortune. The fetus had vanished completely from his sight; he had no idea where it had gone. All President Oiwa could do was shout in agitation, "No... please move aside! Move aside!"
At the edge of the frenzied crowd, Inuyama Heita stared blankly at the cigarette in Qian Xiaoyi's hand. Its smoke had formed a thin line stretching toward the stage, and the fetus was slowly crawling along it. It had made its way through the crowd and was now crawling toward them.
"What is that...?" Inuyama Heita asked curiously, watching the thin line of smoke.
"Soul Guiding Incense," Qian Xiaoyi replied casually. Then he stood the cigarette upright on the ground and took a filthy, impurity-riddled jade pendant out of his pocket, setting it in front of the cigarette. He formed a complicated hand seal and chanted under his breath. When the fetus crawled up to the cigarette, its body suddenly twisted and blurred, turning into wisps of smoke. The translucent smoke that made up its body was completely absorbed into the jade pendant.
Once the fetus had been completely absorbed by the pendant, Qian Xiaoyi put out the cigarette and tucked it into his pocket along with the pendant. Then he stood up and said, "Step one's done. They haven't noticed me yet, so I'd better slip out while things are chaotic."
"Uh? Oh, got it. Let's go." Inuyama Heita had just started to leave with Qian Xiaoyi when Qian Xiaoyi pushed him back into his seat.
"Idiot. If you leave with me, won't that make it obvious to them that you're involved? You need to stay and clear your name. They'll probably think of you and come looking for you. Don't worry, they consider themselves a legitimate organization. They won't do anything to you."
"I... how am I supposed to clear my name?" Inuyama Heita asked nervously.
"Just act like you don't know anything, obviously." Qian Xiaoyi rolled his eyes. "I did everything. Whether you were here or not makes no difference, right?"
"Oh, right." Inuyama Heita suddenly understood. "There's no trace of anything on me, so staying behind will actually help clear me of suspicion."
"Exactly. Don't let anything slip. See you." Qian Xiaoyi waved and slipped out of the venue alone while the security guards were busy calming the people at the front.
Before you continue