The Visible Boy (3)

The ghost named Oda died in a traffic accident half a month ago. Before his death, he had lost his job and was feeling down. He also had a falling out with his sister. In a fit of anger, he ran outside intending to sit in the park for a while. However, he ran too fast and was hit by a truck on the road. Unlike other Japanese people who might have transmigrated to another world, he died on the spot. Perhaps it had something to do with him not being a high school student.

His sister believed her own willfulness led to her brother's death. Since then, she had locked herself in her room and stopped going to school. The siblings were all that remained of their family. Now that her brother had died unexpectedly, she was left all alone. That's why he had been lingering in the human world, wanting to help his sister overcome her grief.

"Inuyama-kun, please relay my words to Riko. This is my final wish..." Oda pleaded.

Inuyama Heita listened to the ghost's experience, his fear gradually subsiding. After a moment of thought, he nodded, "...I understand."

"That's great." Oda showed a relieved smile, though it looked quite terrifying with his blood-stained face.

After Oda whispered some things to Inuyama Heita, he smiled and gradually became transparent, finally disappearing in the alley.

Qian Xiaoyi whistled, "Yo~ He's achieved Buddhahood. It seems his obsession could only keep him here this long. Well then, let's get out of here. There are quite a few people who died tragically here, and many residual souls with grudges. It's better not to linger."

"Achieved Buddhahood..." Inuyama Heita murmured. In Japan, the phenomenon of ghosts disappearing after fulfilling their wishes was commonly referred to as achieving Buddhahood by ordinary people. It was a general term, not actual ascension to Buddha with supreme wisdom. Thus, Qian Xiaoyi's use of the phrase was more understandable to ordinary Japanese people who knew nothing about it.

Inuyama Heita then remembered that there were other ghosts in the alley and hurriedly left with Qian Xiaoyi.

"About what just happened... thank you." Inuyama Heita asked cautiously, "Excuse me... are you an Onmyoji?"

Qian Xiaoyi let out a scoff, "Heh~ Onmyoji... I'm actually a Taoist priest. Have you seen Lam Ching-ying's 'Mr. Vampire' (or 'Mr. Vampire')? It seems quite famous in Japan. I'm that type."

"Eh?! A Taoist priest? Chinese?" Inuyama Heita was a bit surprised, but this also explained why the other person's accent was slightly odd.

"Mhm~ Here's my business card. Although, judging by your appearance, you probably don't have much money..." Qian Xiaoyi took out a business card holder from his pocket and handed him one.

Inuyama Heita took the card and read, "Lingkong Exorcism Office... Qian Xiaoyi."

Qian Xiaoyi nodded, "That's me. Judging by your looks, your clairvoyant eyes only opened recently, right?"

"Yes... a few years ago, I suddenly fell ill, and since then, I've been having some hallucinations," Inuyama Heita said. "Recently, those hallucinations have become clearer. Is there any way to return to my original state?"

"Hmm... that's a bit difficult," Qian Xiaoyi pondered, stroking his chin. "For ordinary people, under severe illness, symptoms of clairvoyant eyes do occasionally appear. But cases where the clairvoyant eyes persist after recovery are very rare. I can only say you naturally have talent in this area. Once they're opened, even if you forcefully close or suppress them, a slight stimulus will cause them to open again... unless you choose to become a monk at a Buddhist holy land, eating vegetarian meals and reciting scriptures daily."

"Eh... a monk?" Inuyama Heita's expression turned a bit unpleasant. "That would at least require getting into a Buddhist academy and finishing university... Besides, practicing asceticism every day is also a bit..." As he spoke, Inuyama Heita's stomach suddenly rumbled.

"Excuse me..." Inuyama Heita apologized, blushing.

Qian Xiaoyi shook his head, pulled out a pork cutlet bento from his bag, and handed it to Inuyama Heita. "Take it back and eat it. This is a precious half-price bento. You can't buy them anywhere else at this hour, thankfully I bought an extra one."

"Wait... I can pay you." Inuyama Heita took out his wallet and opened it, only to remember that the few miserably small coins inside had already been snatched by the blond delinquent. This made Inuyama Heita freeze.

"I told you to eat it, so eat it," Qian Xiaoyi forcefully shoved the bento into Inuyama Heita's arms. "If you have any problems or business, you can come find me. I'm quite free lately, not much work. The address is on the card. That's all, bye-bye, Heitaro." Just then, Qian Xiaoyi's stomach also started growling. He carried the bento and ran towards the office, wanting to quickly put the bento in the microwave and eat it warm.

"...It's Heita." Inuyama Heita watched Qian Xiaoyi leave, then looked at the half-price bento in his hand, remaining silent for a long time.

A day later, although Qian Xiaoyi expected the Japanese kid named Inuyama Heitaro to come looking for him, he didn't expect him to show up the very next morning. Since no one had visited the office, Qian Xiaoyi had been very lax lately and hadn't opened for business in the morning. He was woken up by the knocking.

Opening the door, he saw the high school student from last night. Qian Xiaoyi rubbed his eyes and asked, "Heitaro, aren't you going to school?"

"...Today is the weekend, and it's Heita, not Heitaro," Inuyama Heita replied.

"Come in first." Qian Xiaoyi yawned and let Inuyama Heita in, gesturing for him to sit on the sofa in the living room of the office.

"There's no tea, have some juice." Qian Xiaoyi took a can of juice from the refrigerator and placed it on the coffee table. Then he sat opposite him and asked, "So, what brings you here today? Let me be clear, I was just passing by and helped out yesterday. For formal work, I'll start charging fees."

"May I consult about something first?" Inuyama Heita asked hesitantly.

Seeing his appearance, Qian Xiaoyi knew he wouldn't be able to squeeze any profit out of him. And since he was very idle right now, he generously said, "Originally, consultation fees start at one thousand yen, charged by the hour. But the Lingkong Exorcism Office is having a grand opening promotion, so I'll offer you one free consultation."

"Is that so? That's great." Inuyama Heita breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly asked, "Mr. Qian, you're a very powerful psychic, aren't you?"

Qian Xiaoyi smiled confidently, "What are you talking about, of course! To tell you the truth, after I came to Tokyo, I investigated some of my peers. As expected, ninety percent were scammers. But the remaining ten percent, who could genuinely perform psychic readings and exorcisms, didn't even understand the basic systematic knowledge. They all relied on themselves, family traditions, or abilities and tools obtained by chance. They were all half-baked, understanding only a little. Yet these guys were treated as honored guests by some wealthy individuals. My strength is greater than a hundred of them combined, hehe~ Some of them have less spiritual power than you, they can't even see ghosts clearly."

Qian Xiaoyi's disdain was evident. In his opinion, those half-baked psychics were comparable to shamans and sorceresses in ancient villages back home, completely beneath notice, let alone compared to masters from great sects. Yet these very people earned so much more than him, which made him extremely jealous, very, very jealous!

"Then..." Inuyama Heita asked admiringly, "You must have solved many difficult problems and have a lot of clients, right?"

—In reality, he hadn't had a single genuine exorcism request in three months.

"Uh... yes~" Qian Xiaoyi stubbornly insisted with weak confidence, "My office only takes on deals worth millions."

—In reality, being able to eat his fill was already satisfying for Qian Xiaoyi.

"As expected!" Inuyama Heita's eyes lit up. He placed his hands on the table, suddenly bowed, and said, "Please take me in, let me work here!"