Lucky Mutual Aid Society (5)

"What is that?" Inuyama Heita couldn't help but ask. Even with his clairvoyant eyes, this was the first time he'd seen such a scene. Slightly shocked, he spoke a little louder than usual.

"This is proof that the young lady is about to receive good fortune!"

Next to Qian Xiaoyi and Inuyama Heita, an old woman excitedly replied, "President Oiwa is a miraculous figure who can see the destinies of others. He believes that both fortunate and unfortunate periods in a person's life have omens. If one doesn't seize the moment when luck arrives, they might miss the opportunity and instead fall into misfortune or become trapped in a mire of bad luck. To help us, President Oiwa specifically uses this ritual to fix his connection with our destinies when revelations are about to occur. As long as this ritual is completed, President Oiwa can strengthen his bond with that person, allowing him to remind them of incoming fortune or misfortune at any time. He's truly a great man..."

The old woman mumbled on, as if answering Inuyama Heita's question, or perhaps as if telling herself that as long as she had faith, her luck would change. This display of piety made Inuyama Heita extremely uncomfortable, giving him goosebumps on his arms—more so than the anomaly on stage.

Ignoring the old woman, Inuyama Heita quietly asked Qian Xiaoyi, "Aren't we going to do anything yet?"

"Pfft~" Qian Xiaoyi exhaled a puff of smoke and lazily replied, "It's already being done. Just wait quietly and don't draw attention."

"What?" Inuyama Heita was very confused. He hadn't seen Qian Xiaoyi do anything, but he chose to trust him and held himself back.

On stage, facing the plate held by Matsui, Suzuki suddenly felt a chill.

Is the air conditioning in here too cold? she thought. The thought vanished instantly as she cast aside distractions and focused on the black pendant on the plate. She wondered what it was made of; it was a dull black, and there seemed to be some sort of pattern on it.

"Let us begin the ritual!" President Oiwa boomed with laughter. "Congratulations, rejoice! Another brother or sister is about to escape a bleak life and step into a colorful future!"

As he spoke, exciting music began to play. If one listened closely, they could hear strange murmuring mixed within the music. However, the audience was already getting restless, and these sounds were lost in the din of voices, making it impossible to discern what the murmurs were.

"That's how it is," President Oiwa encouraged Suzuki. "Put on this lucky pendant. Forge a contract with fortune. No matter how much you doubted this before, when luck arrives, you'll be convinced by the facts."

Suzuki caught sight of her expectant mother at the edge of the venue out of the corner of her eye. She sighed and reached for the black pendant on the tray.

As Suzuki moved, Inuyama Heita saw that the fetus formed from smoke in mid-air also stirred. It seemed to sense something, extended a small hand, as if reaching for Suzuki's. Suzuki picked up the pendant and moved to put it around her neck. The fetus also crawled in mid-air, beginning to approach Suzuki.

"Mr. Qian, can that person see it too?" Inuyama Heita asked, surprised. He was certain that President Oiwa on stage was staring at the moving fetus, not at Suzuki. Inuyama Heita glanced at Qian Xiaoyi beside him and noticed he still hadn't moved, holding a cigarette and looking as if he were spacing out.

A smile spread across President Oiwa's lips on stage. As the fetus got closer and closer to Suzuki, his smile widened. The audience below couldn't see this bizarre scene and thought President Oiwa was genuinely happy for Suzuki.

But just as Suzuki put on the pendant, the fetus formed from smoke crawled in front of her and then... bypassed her, continuing to crawl down towards the audience.

"What?!" President Oiwa exclaimed in shock. This anomaly had never happened before. He subconsciously whispered, "Hey, where are you going? Come back!"

Seeing President Oiwa in such a panic, Matsui, who always had a smile, frowned and asked, "President, what's wrong?" He seemed to guess that the ritual had gone awry.

Oiwa didn't answer, but kept his eyes fixed on the receding fetus. It had already crawled off stage and was about to enter the crowd. President Oiwa grabbed the incense burner from the plate, jumped down from the stage impatiently, and said anxiously, "Good child, come... come back quickly!"

After President Oiwa's unusual actions, the crowd below was initially puzzled, not understanding what he was doing. Then, someone in the crowd shouted, "President Oiwa is coming down! Please shake my hand!"

This immediately ignited the crowd's enthusiasm. He was instantly swarmed by the frenzied masses, everyone wanting to touch him for good luck. The fetus had completely disappeared from his sight, its whereabouts unknown. President Oiwa could only anxiously shout, "No... please move aside! Let me through!"

Outside the frenzied crowd, Inuyama Heita stared blankly at the smoke in Qian Xiaoyi's hand. The smoke from the cigarette had condensed into a thin line, extending towards the stage. The fetus was slowly, unsteadily making its way towards this line, crawling from the crowd to their front.

"What is that..." Inuyama Heita looked at the line made of smoke, feeling curious.

"Soul Guiding Incense," Qian Xiaoyi answered casually. He then stood the cigarette upright on the ground, took out a rather crude Scrap Jade Pendant from his pocket, and placed it in front of the cigarette. He formed a complex hand seal with both hands and chanted something. When the fetus reached the cigarette, its form suddenly became distorted and blurry, transforming into wisps of smoke that were completely absorbed into the jade pendant.

After the fetus was fully absorbed into the pendant, Qian Xiaoyi extinguished the cigarette, pocketed it along with the pendant, and stood up. "First step complete. They haven't discovered me yet. I need to leave during the chaos."

"Huh? Ah, got it. Let's go." Inuyama Heita was about to leave with Qian Xiaoyi when Qian Xiaoyi pushed him back into his seat.

Qian Xiaoyi cursed, "Idiot, if you leave with me, won't it be obvious that you're involved? You need to stay and prove your innocence. 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 do I prove my innocence?" Inuyama Heita was a little nervous.

"Just act like you don't know anything, of course," Qian Xiaoyi rolled his eyes. "I did everything. Whether you were there or not makes no difference, right?"

"Oh, right." Inuyama Heita suddenly realized. "There's no trace of me. So, staying behind might actually clear me of suspicion."

"Exactly. Don't slip up. See you around." Qian Xiaoyi waved his hand and, while the security guards were busy calming the crowd, slipped out of the venue alone.