Inuyama Heita asked in confusion, "Didn't you say before that it wasn't important?"
"Are you stupid? It wasn't important?" Qian Xiaoyi looked at him strangely. "That little girl was right outside at the time. How could I let you say all that? What if she thought I was another cultist?"
"That's true. But speaking of that..." Inuyama Heita raised another question. "Mr. Qian, how did you know she was outside listening in?"
Qian Xiaoyi's expression grew even stranger. "I'm starting to wonder if assigning you to gather intelligence was the right decision... When I came back to the office and met up with you, she was across the street in the convenience store, hiding her face behind a magazine and pretending to read while keeping an eye on you. You didn't notice such a clumsy tail? You're far too careless. Didn't I tell you to be careful not to let anyone see you coming here?"
Inuyama Heita stammered, "I thought you meant I should watch out for Matsui or another member secretly following me. I was keeping an eye out for them, but I never thought the person tailing me would be Suzuki..."
"Good thing it was her," Qian Xiaoyi said. "Otherwise, you'd be in a bit of danger. Now, tell me what happened when Matsui came to see you. This is very important information—it could determine whether we can carry out our next plan."
"Okay." Inuyama Heita began recounting what had happened after Matsui led him into the private room.
Inside the bar's private room, Matsui waited until the door was shut before turning around. His easy smile was gone, replaced by a serious expression. "Heita-kun, there's something important I'd like to ask you. Whatever you see in a moment, don't panic, and don't tell anyone else. I'll explain everything. The others and I need your help."
Inuyama Heita swallowed nervously, but his voice was firm. "Mr. Matsui, please don't worry. Everyone is a good person. I'll do everything I can to help."
"Is that so? You're very reliable, Heita-kun." Matsui seemed relieved. He took a soft branch out of the bag he'd brought and handed it to Inuyama Heita. "We'll be counting on you now, Heita-kun. Remember, whatever you see, don't panic. It can't hurt you."
As he spoke, Matsui actually began taking off his shirt right in front of him. Inuyama Heita stepped back, overcome by a different kind of fear.
Fortunately, Matsui did nothing else. He merely undid the lining of his suit jacket, revealing what was underneath.
—In the dimly lit private room, his not particularly muscular body was covered in small, bluish-black handprints, and even some horrifying-looking bite marks. An infant, its entire body veined with black, crawled from behind Matsui onto his chest like a gecko. Its head had twisted a full 180 degrees, and it stared at Inuyama Heita with eyes that had no whites, baring its teeth at him. There was something childishly innocent amid its cruelty, as if it were looking at a doll and couldn't wait to tear it apart.
The sight nearly made Inuyama Heita cry out. He stumbled backward and dropped onto the sofa, but clapped a hand over his mouth and held back his scream.
"I knew it. You're scared, aren't you? I'm so sorry." Matsui looked deeply ashamed. He spoke as if the words were difficult to say. "...What you're seeing now is the biggest secret of the Lucky Mutual Aid Society, Heita-kun. Don't be nervous. I'll tell you everything, including the truth behind how we've been getting lucky."
"Mr. Matsui, why has your body become like this?" Inuyama Heita asked in horror. "What happened?"
"This is the secret behind how everyone gains 'luck,'" Matsui said. "I can't even see the marks on my own body. Only a true medium can see them, and you have that gift, Heita-kun. Have you ever heard of a Southeast Asian practice called 'Kuman Thong'?"
Inuyama Heita hurriedly shook his head. "No."
"Heh, don't look so frightened. It's not some evil magic, though I suppose it does look scary." Matsui smiled. "I learned about it at a temple when I traveled abroad. It's perfectly normal there, and many people are proud to invite these children into their homes. Do you know why?"
Before Inuyama Heita could play along, Matsui continued on his own. "Because they're babies who were abandoned or died not long after birth. They finally came into this world, only to be cheated by fate and never experience life. That's why they harbor such powerful resentment. Kuman Thong is a practice created by local monks to dispel these children's resentment. Do you know how they do it?"
Inuyama Heita pretended to have a sudden realization. "Could it be... the ritual from before? Letting them live with people?"
"You're very clever." Matsui's usual, rehearsed smile returned. He spread his hands. "That's right. This is how their resentment is dispelled: let them live with people, using a person as a vessel to help them experience what it feels like to be alive. That gradually wears away their resentment at being abandoned or dying young. If you treat them well, they'll repay you by helping their owner as much as they can. Once their resentment has faded and they have attained Buddhahood, they'll bless the person who helped them experience the joys of life. That's the truth behind our good fortune."
"But the marks on your body..." Inuyama Heita trailed off.
"Of course, the process isn't as simple as you might think," Matsui said. "The marks on my body are proof. You know children need discipline, right? As the price of good fortune, the person carrying them has to bear the resentment these children hold. The more painful their deaths were, the greater their resentment, and the less obedient they are. They might even harm their owners. This one of mine has the greatest resentment of all the children. But someone has to soothe it, and that means it falls to me."
"Mr. Matsui, you're such a kind person..." Inuyama Heita said, trembling. He was sneering inwardly. The tremor in his voice came from barely managing not to laugh aloud. A truly skillful lie was one falsehood mixed into nine truths. Most of what Matsui said was true, but according to Qian Xiaoyi, purifying these Kuman Thong required specific sutras and rituals. The process should make the little ghosts' resentment gradually fade. The one Qian Xiaoyi had taken back with him had little resentment, no horrifying black veins, and clear eyes. It was nothing like the evil things Inuyama Heita had seen with the other members, including Matsui.
That meant Matsui was lying. He was only using those little ghosts for his own gain, not trying to deliver them into Buddhahood!
Before you continue