Lucky Mutual Aid Society (21)

Inuyama Heita then asked, "Mr. Matsui, what do you need me to do?"

"Children need good education," Matsui said, his face darkening. "They must be taught what they can and cannot do. You can't just spoil them, or you'll only raise monsters who are ungrateful, have no sense of proportion, and only know how to take endlessly. This child has been getting a little carried away lately, playing a lot of pranks on me. If this continues, it will become a bad child and might harm others. That's why I need someone with talent like you to educate them a bit, which can also suppress their resentment."

"But how should I..." Inuyama Heita suddenly froze, looking at the willow branch in his hand.

"This is a method taught to me by that eminent monk at the temple," Matsui said. "For them, willow branches are a special medium. If you're a psychic, you can touch them using a willow branch. So, you know what to do, right, Heita? Give it a small lesson."

Inuyama Heita said in disbelief, "You want me to whip them with a willow branch?!"

"Only you can do it; we untalented people can't," Matsui said. "To be honest with you, our President Oiwa is also a psychic, just like you. He's been doing this all along, but recently... he's changed a lot. He keeps suggesting to me that he wants to use these children to control members or other terrifying things. It's made me afraid to approach him lately. Fortunately, I met you. So, for everyone's sake, will you help me with this?"

"...I understand," Inuyama Heita pretended to hesitate for a moment, then said firmly, "Leave it to me."

"Come on," Matsui said, opening his arms.

He picked up the willow branch in his hand and aimed it at the little ghost on Matsui's chest, whipping it. The moment the willow branch touched the little ghost, Inuyama Heita felt a cold sensation transmit into his body through the branch. At the same time, the little ghost let out a silent, piercing scream. It opened its dark mouth, its face contorted with a mixture of pain and ferocity, and glared at Inuyama Heita, revealing a mouth full of fangs.

"Continue, Heita!" Matsui seemed to feel a bit lighter and encouraged him.

Inuyama Heita gritted his teeth and continued whipping...

"An adult and a high school student in a locked room, with the adult being whipped while showing a look of pleasure..." Qian Xiaoyi said with a strange expression. "It sounds really weird. And the high school student is a guy..."

"Now that you mention it, it does seem that way..." Inuyama Heita also realized something. They both fell silent for a moment. If someone who didn't know what was going on saw this, they would definitely think they were perverts.

"What happened next?" Qian Xiaoyi asked. "After you whipped that little ghost with the willow branch, Matsui took you out and whipped others?"

Inuyama Heita said sheepishly, "Please don't use such easily misinterpreted descriptions... Afterwards, Matsui took out a porcelain bottle and asked me to dip the willow branch in the water and then pat the little ghosts on others' bodies, saying it was a purification ritual. But those other little ghosts weren't as terrifying as the one on Matsui, it was easy."

Qian Xiaoyi scoffed, "Of course. If I'm not mistaken, the little ghost on Matsui should be the earliest one in the Mutual Aid Society. Considering when the society was founded, it probably attached itself to him about a year ago. Suppressing it with his method until now, the resentment must be immense. Heh~ Willow Branch Ghost Striking, what a thing for him to come up with..."

Inuyama Heita asked confusedly, "Is there something wrong with this method?"

"More than wrong," Qian Xiaoyi sneered. "It's practically courting death. Willow Branch Ghost Striking is a folk art from my country, a kind of crude method that has nothing to do with raising little ghosts. This method, if the person who taught him wasn't skilled, then they must have had malicious intentions. It's definitely not the eminent monk he mentioned. These methods are too mixed, too amateur. True raising of little ghosts requires multiple rituals working together, like special scriptures, techniques, and materials. Lacking these can easily lead to backlash. Whipping them with willow branches will only make them temporarily submit, but their resentment will grow deeper and deeper. Heitaro, you actually dared to treat those vengeful little things like this, you should be careful in the future~"

"R-really?" Inuyama Heita felt a chill run down his spine. He now recalled the resentful looks of those little ghosts at the time and felt a sense of lingering fear.

"Of course, it's true," Qian Xiaoyi said. "When you were whipping those little ghosts with the willow branch, did you feel a cold sensation spreading from that direction? This crude method is enough for you to establish a connection with those things. When you do it enough times, their target of resentment will gradually shift to you. Before you die, the original owner of the little ghosts will have a chance to breathe, and won't be targeted by their resentment for the time being."

Inuyama Heita felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He said angrily, "So Matsui had that idea in mind, that scoundrel! He actually used me as bait!"

"Mhm, now we know the method of raising little ghosts. The last piece of the puzzle is in place," Qian Xiaoyi muttered to himself in Chinese, stroking his chin. "No backing, not deep in cultivation, it's practically a gift from heaven. If not now, then when?"

Inuyama Heita asked, "Mr. Qian, what did you say?"

"Nothing," Qian Xiaoyi waved his hand. "It's getting late, and I have plans to drink with someone today. Let's leave it at that for today."

"Is it with President Oiwa?" Inuyama Heita asked. "You've been drinking for several days straight, is your body okay?"

"Mhm, it's fine. That guy's alcohol tolerance is much worse than mine," Qian Xiaoyi took off his tracksuit and changed into a slightly unfashionable thin windbreaker. "The main intelligence has been gathered. The next step is to decide the time of action, which should be soon. Today should also be the last time I go drinking with him. If I keep drinking like this, I'll go bankrupt. So, you need to be careful recently, Heitaro, don't let them discover anything."

"Got it. Then I should go to work too," Inuyama Heita said. "Although I've already told the manager that I might be a little late, it would be best if I could be on time."

The two turned off the lights, went downstairs, and walked together towards the station. Then, they took different trains to their respective destinations.