The Boy Who Could See Ghosts

Three months later.

Qian Xiaoyi lay sprawled on the office sofa, an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth as he stared blankly at the reddish clouds outside the window.

Three months—three whole months—and he hadn't received a single real commission. He'd only managed to stay afloat thanks to Brother Zhang referring some Chinese clients to him for things like feng shui consultations. Otherwise, he would've starved to death long ago. Of course, he hadn't made much money. He'd already promised to give Brother Zhang's referrals half off, and he hadn't encountered any evil spirits either, so he was barely scraping by.

It wasn't that Japan had as many ghosts and monsters as Daoist Lingkong thought. Japan had far too many more than the mainland. Qian Xiaoyi could walk down any street and spot one or two ghosts mingling among the crowds, but nobody else noticed them. At first, Qian Xiaoyi had felt charitable and would go to crossroads in the middle of the night to perform rituals and help these harmless ghosts pass on. Unfortunately, after two or three times, a passerby called the police, and he was arrested as a suspicious person. In the end, Brother Zhang had to come and get him out.

That was when he understood: the social atmosphere here meant these harmless ghosts couldn't all be helped to pass on. They'd dissipate on their own anyway, only for new wandering ghosts to appear in their place. He might as well leave them be.

Over the past three months, Qian Xiaoyi had tried all sorts of advertising. He'd posted ads online and printed out flyers himself, for example. But nobody took him seriously. He had to admit that Japanese people were indeed quite exclusionary, especially in Tokyo. They seemed polite on the surface, but deep down they were extremely cold. Most people simply went along with the prevailing trend. If everyone avoided doing something and one person did it anyway, that person stood out and might get bullied. Usually, this took the form of words and actions—basically, the cold-shoulder treatment of "nobody wants to hang out with you," with a few sarcastic remarks thrown in now and then. For the average Japanese person, it was devastatingly effective.

As a foreigner, Qian Xiaoyi was someone most Japanese people kept at arm's length, let alone someone they'd hire to exorcise spirits. But Qian Xiaoyi wasn't Japanese, and he didn't care what they thought. He'd keep living as he pleased. At this point, he'd given up trying.

After lying around for a few more hours, he checked the time. It was already past eight in the evening. Qian Xiaoyi stretched, got up, and headed out with the cigarette still in his mouth. He was going to the nearby supermarket to grab discounted bento boxes. They'd been his meals lately. If he went too late, there might be nothing left but plum bento—the kind with a bowl of rice and a single pickled plum in the middle, like a "Hinomaru" flag. He had no idea how Japanese people could eat those.

Humming as he went downstairs, he spotted a fat figure standing beside the utility pole. When the figure saw Qian Xiaoyi, he greeted him respectfully. "Hello, Brother Yi!"

"A Jian, you're still here? How about moving on to Buddhahood?" Qian Xiaoyi asked.

"No!" the fat man replied. "I have to wait for that game to come out!"

"Oh, suit yourself." Qian Xiaoyi waved a hand and ambled off toward the supermarket, completely ignoring the strange look from an old woman passing by.

The fat man from a moment ago was, as you might have guessed, a ghost. Ordinary people couldn't see him. What set him apart from wandering ghosts was that he was bound to this place. The first floor of the building where Qian Xiaoyi lived was a shop selling anime merchandise and other things beloved by otaku, as well as video games. A Jian was a local who'd died of a heart attack beside the utility pole a few years earlier, while waiting in line at night to buy a game. His last wish had been to play the sequel to a game called Heartbeat Bishoujo Adventure. His powerful resentment had turned him into a ghost bound to that spot, and he'd been guarding the store entrance ever since.

—Honestly, Qian Xiaoyi had only ever encountered ghosts born from this kind of obsession in Japan.

But the game's sequel never came out, and the shop had even taken the original off its shelves. The otaku A Jian's resentment grew stronger and stronger, and he was close to turning into an evil spirit. He'd started attacking the shop employees and players who'd forgotten the game. By chance, Qian Xiaoyi had rented the second floor there and walked by. He hadn't even started performing a ritual—he'd only spoken to A Jian, but that alone had scared him witless and turned him back into a ghost bound to the place.

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry for causing you trouble!" A Jian had prostrated himself before Qian Xiaoyi, forehead to the ground. The moment he realized someone could see him, he'd been so frightened that all his resentment vanished. He didn't dare do anything bad anymore.

Qian Xiaoyi had discussed helping him pass on, but the otaku's obsession was too strong. He insisted on waiting for the game to come out, no matter what, so Qian Xiaoyi let him be. A Jian didn't want to leave, and forcing him to pass on would go against the natural order. Besides, he wasn't causing any trouble, so Qian Xiaoyi decided to leave him alone.

"Even when your hopes are dashed, you can't help but sigh; even when you're down and out, you can't help but feel afraid..." Humming to himself, Qian Xiaoyi arrived at the supermarket, planning to buy several discounted bento boxes and keep them in the fridge for a couple of days. As expected, a few people had already gathered near the bento section, ready to snap up the discounted meals: a salaryman who looked thoroughly miserable, several middle-aged and elderly women, and a shabby-looking high school student in his teens. As soon as the time came and an employee put half-price stickers on the bento boxes, the crowd reached out and began grabbing them.

Qian Xiaoyi had timed his arrival perfectly, and he'd positioned himself well. His hands were quick, too, and he easily snagged two half-price pork cutlet bento boxes and some discounted fruit. He was about to take them to the checkout when he noticed something interesting.

The high school student had been pushed to the back of the crowd and had only managed to grab a bento box with fried baby fish. But as he tried to join the checkout line, he stopped in the aisle between the shelves. Someone was blocking his way. He tried to go around, but the person kept moving to block him, refusing to let him pass.

"Um... could you please move aside?" the shabby-looking boy asked timidly.

"Just as I thought..." The figure heard the boy's request and laughed. He raised his head, grinning with a blood-covered face. "You really can see me!"

"?!" The high school student was horrified. He hurriedly dropped his bento box and, to everyone's bewilderment, ran straight through the ghost's body and out of the supermarket.

"...You can't escape! I'll find you! You can't escape!" the ghost muttered with a laugh. The blood on his face made his grin look especially sinister. Then he passed through the wall and went after the boy.

Qian Xiaoyi had been about to stop him, but he looked at the discounted bento boxes in his hands and reconsidered. He decided it was better to pay first. It would be a shame to throw away food he'd gone to all that trouble to grab, like that high school kid had.

By the time he'd finished waiting in line, paid for his things, and left the supermarket, the boy and the ghost had already vanished.

But Qian Xiaoyi had expected as much. He pulled a small Bagua Compass from his pocket and fiddled with it for a moment. The needle in the center began to sway slightly, pointing in a particular direction.