Lucky Mutual Aid Society (8)

Qian Xiaoyi carefully chose his words and said, "Heita, you have to understand that I'm a foreigner here. If it's just a minor investigation into the inner workings of such an organization, or providing some 'special' protective measures for clients, I can do that. But destroying a legitimate religious group… that's very difficult for me. After all, I'm essentially playing on enemy territory here, with no advantage. I might even face significant hurdles due to my foreign status, making it impossible to investigate anything. So…"

" I understand," Inuyama Heita nodded, somewhat disappointed. The other party had made himself perfectly clear. He stood up, intending to leave.

"No, you don't understand," Qian Xiaoyi wagged a finger, speaking seriously. "What I mean is… you need to pay more~"

Inuyama Heita froze for a few seconds. He looked at Qian Xiaoyi strangely and asked, "How much do you need?"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't look at me like that. I'm not asking for the moon. I run an agency, and I certainly can't do business at a loss," Qian Xiaoyi spread his hands. "Think about it. As a foreigner, if I'm going to investigate an organization that's legally legitimate, I'll need to grease the palms of various people to get things done. Stopping them from harming people with dark arts is simple enough for me, but how many times can I do that? As long as they aren't completely eradicated on a legal level, they'll continue their practices. And if they discover me, they'll use legal means, violence, or other methods to deal with me. Being forcibly deported would be the least of it. My risks are huge… So, if you want to commission me for this, you'll need to prepare at least one or two million yen."

"Two… two million yen?!" Inuyama Heita's face turned pale. He was just a student, earning one thousand yen per hour, and he still had to save up for living expenses. Where would he get so much money?

Did this guy have his eye on my apartment? Deeply aware of the wickedness of human hearts, Inuyama Heita immediately became wary. Although the price the other party quoted seemed reasonable, he should also know his financial situation. How could he possibly afford so much money? So, he immediately started to think in the darkest direction. After all, they hadn't known each other for long, and such things were still possible.

Inuyama Heita cautiously asked, "Are there other ways… Mr. Qian, you know I don't have that much money right now." If the other party dared to bring up his apartment, he would leave immediately.

"Other ways… it's not impossible," Qian Xiaoyi said, stroking his chin as if in thought. "There's a method that can significantly reduce the cost of investigating this matter, and I can even give you a discount on the commission fee."

When Inuyama Heita heard that there was such a good thing, and the other party hadn't mentioned his apartment, he quickly asked, "What method is it?"

"As a foreigner, if I had a local assistant, it would be much more convenient for both investigation and other tasks," Qian Xiaoyi finally revealed his true intentions. He looked at Inuyama Heita slyly and said, "If you're willing to be my assistant and participate in the investigation, then you won't need to pay those investigation fees, and my commission fee can be repaid with your wages… To put it more simply, if you're willing to work for me, then I'll accept this commission. You're a high school freshman now, right? So, let's set the timeframe within three years. After you graduate from high school, whether you choose to stay or go to university, it's up to you. How about it? Do you agree to this condition?"

Inuyama Heita thought about it. He had asked to work here before, but the other party hadn't agreed. Why was he offering it now? So, he asked, "How are the salary and working hours arranged?"

"5% to 20% of the commission, depending on your level of involvement. Working hours will be determined by the commission, with no minimum hourly wage," Qian Xiaoyi replied. "This means you get paid when there's a commission. If there's no commission, you can't refuse doing odd jobs, though these odd jobs won't exceed your capabilities."

"Understood, I'll join," Inuyama Heita said.

"You agreed so easily?" Qian Xiaoyi asked. "Aren't you going to consider it carefully?"

"No need," Inuyama Heita replied. "For me, it's pretty much the same wherever I work."

Qian Xiaoyi revealed his own situation, "But as you can see, I'm not getting any clients yet. It might be months before I get a single commission. Is that okay even so?"

Inuyama Heita pondered for a moment and said, "It's fine, but correspondingly, if you don't complete this commission, then our deal is off, right? I won't abide by this condition then."

"Of course," Qian Xiaoyi smiled and extended his right hand. "Then, it's settled."

Inuyama Heita looked at the outstretched hand, first stunned. Japanese people don't usually have the custom of shaking hands. Then he realized and extended his hand to shake it. The two reached a verbal agreement.

With an extra cheap laborer, Qian Xiaoyi was in a great mood. He continued to work on his current task, saying, "You can sit here for a while. I'll be done soon. Oh, right, help me turn on the light."

Inuyama Heita pressed the switch for the door light. The white light immediately illuminated the entire room. After turning on the light, he walked back and looked at the jade pendant on the table. He had recognized it earlier as the one the smoky infant had entered. At this moment, in Inuyama Heita's eyes, the impurities on the jade pendant seemed to have formed the outline of something, and there were faint signs of smoke flowing within. Its outline vaguely resembled a fetus in the womb.

"Um, Mr. Qian… Since I'm your assistant now, can you tell me what this thing I saw today actually is?" Inuyama Heita asked.

"Hmm…" Qian Xiaoyi replied casually. "Since you have clairvoyant eyes and witnessed the entire process, I won't deceive you. Infant spirits exist in many places around the world. What we encountered is a type of sorcery from Southeast Asia called 'Kuman Thong.' The principle involves using the ashes and corpse oil of stillborn infants or fetuses to create a ritual object, and then finding a normal person to wear these objects. Through the connection of the ritual object, the resentment of the abandoned infant spirits is eliminated. By the way, the amulets used in Kuman Thong from regular temples are usually golden."

"But the amulet I photographed was black," Inuyama Heita said.

"So their purpose is definitely not to eliminate resentment," Qian Xiaoyi smiled. "It's more like the evil practice of raising ghost children in our country."

Inuyama Heita asked curiously, "Is it really possible to achieve that through this method? Like making a person's luck better or something."

Qian Xiaoyi glanced at him. "What are you thinking? Of course not. If there were such a good thing, then fate would be too cheap."

Inuyama Heita was a little confused. "But many people say they've become luckier… How did they do it?"