A ghost named Ota had died in a car accident half a month ago. He had lost his job before his death and was feeling down. He had also quarreled with his younger sister, so he'd stormed out, planning to sit in the park for a while. But he'd run out too fast and been hit by a truck. Unlike other Japanese people, he hadn't crossed over to another world—he'd died on the spot. Maybe it was because he wasn't a high school student.
His younger sister believed that her own selfishness had caused her brother's death. Ever since then, she'd locked herself in her room and stopped going to school. The two of them were all that remained of their family, and now that her brother had died unexpectedly, she was left all alone. That was why he had continued to linger in this world, hoping to help his sister move past her grief.
"Inuyama-kun, please pass my words on to Riko. It's my final wish..." Ota pleaded.
After hearing the ghost's story, Inuyama Heita gradually grew less afraid. He thought for a moment, then nodded. "...I understand."
"Thank you." Ota smiled with relief, though the expression was terrifying with blood all over his face.
After whispering a few words to Inuyama Heita, Ota smiled as he gradually turned transparent, then finally disappeared from the alley.
Qian Xiaoyi whistled. "Well, would you look at that—you attained Buddhahood. Seems his lingering attachment could only keep him here until now. Anyway, let's get out of here. Quite a few people died violently in this place, and there are plenty of resentful spirits around. We'd better not hang around."
"Buddhahood..." Inuyama Heita murmured. In Japan, when a ghost disappeared after fulfilling its wish, ordinary people called it attaining Buddhahood. It was a common expression, not a claim that the ghost had truly ascended to become a Buddha with supreme wisdom. Qian Xiaoyi had used the term because it was easier for an ordinary Japanese person who knew nothing about these things to understand.
Only then did Inuyama Heita remember that there were other ghosts in the alley. He hurried out with Qian Xiaoyi.
"Thank you for what you did just now," Inuyama Heita asked cautiously. "May I ask... are you an Onmyoji?"
Qian Xiaoyi gave a derisive laugh. "Heh. An Onmyoji? I'm actually a Taoist priest. Have you seen Lam Ching-ying's Mr. Vampire? It seems pretty popular in Japan. I'm the same kind of person."
"Huh?! A Taoist priest? You're Chinese?" Inuyama Heita was surprised, though it explained why the other man's accent had sounded a little strange.
"Yep. Here's my business card. Though, judging by the look of you, I doubt you have much money..." Qian Xiaoyi took a card case from his pocket and pulled out a card for him.
Inuyama Heita took it and read aloud, "Lingkong Exorcism Office... Qian Xiaoyi."
Qian Xiaoyi nodded. "That's me. Judging by how you look, your spiritual vision only opened recently, right?"
"Yes... A few years ago, I suddenly came down with a serious illness. After that, I started seeing things that weren't there," Inuyama Heita said. "Lately, those visions have gradually become clearer. Is there any way to make me go back to how I was before?"
"Hmm... That'll be difficult." Qian Xiaoyi rubbed his chin as he thought. "Ordinary people sometimes develop spiritual vision when they're seriously ill, but it's rare for it to persist after they recover. I'd say you probably had a natural aptitude for it. Once it's opened, even if you force it shut and suppress it, the slightest stimulus can make it open again... Unless you decide to become a monk at some Buddhist holy land, where you'll eat vegetarian food and chant sutras every day."
"Huh... a monk?" Inuyama Heita looked troubled. "I'd have to get into a Buddhist academy and finish university first... And having to practice asceticism every day sounds a bit..." As he spoke, Inuyama Heita's stomach suddenly rumbled.
"I'm sorry..." Inuyama Heita apologized, his face turning red.
Qian Xiaoyi shook his head, pulled a tonkatsu bento from his bag, and handed it to Inuyama Heita. "Take it home and eat. This is a precious half-price bento; you can't find any others at this hour. Good thing I bought an extra."
"Wait... I can pay you." Inuyama Heita took out his wallet and opened it. Only then did he remember that the few miserable coins inside had already been stolen by the delinquent with dyed blond hair. His hands froze.
"I said it's on me, so just eat it." Qian Xiaoyi forcibly stuffed the bento into Inuyama Heita's arms. "If you have any questions or need any work done, come find me. I haven't had much work lately, so I've got plenty of time. The address is on the card. See you, Heitaro." Just then, Qian Xiaoyi's stomach started rumbling too. He hurried off toward the office with his bento, eager to put it in the microwave and eat something hot.
"...It's Heita." Inuyama Heita watched Qian Xiaoyi leave, then stared silently at the half-price bento in his hands.
A day later, Qian Xiaoyi had expected that some Japanese kid named Inuyama Heitaro would come looking for him, but he hadn't expected him to show up the very next morning. Nobody ever came to the office, so Qian Xiaoyi had been rather lax lately and hadn't opened for business that morning. The sound of someone knocking had woken him up.
He opened the door and saw the high school student from last night. Rubbing his eyes, Qian Xiaoyi asked, "Heitaro, don't you go to school?"
"...It's the weekend. And I'm Heita, not Heitaro," Inuyama Heita said.
"Come on in." Qian Xiaoyi yawned and let Inuyama Heita inside, telling him to sit on the sofa in the office's living room.
"I'm out of tea, so have some juice instead." Qian Xiaoyi took a can of juice from the fridge and set it on the coffee table. Then he sat across from Inuyama Heita and asked, "So, what brings you here today? Just so you know, I helped you yesterday because I happened to be passing by. If you want to hire me, I'll have to charge you."
"Could I ask you about a few things first?" Inuyama Heita asked hesitantly.
From the look of him, Qian Xiaoyi could tell there wasn't a penny to be squeezed out of the kid. And since he had plenty of time on his hands, he magnanimously said, "Normally, consultations start at a thousand yen and are charged by the hour. But Lingkong Exorcism Office is having a grand opening sale, so I'll give you one free consultation."
"Really? That's great." Inuyama Heita breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly asked, "Mr. Qian, you're a really powerful medium, aren't you?"
Qian Xiaoyi smiled confidently. "What kind of question is that? Of course I am! To tell you the truth, after I came to Tokyo, I checked out some of my colleagues. Nine out of ten were frauds, which is normal. But the remaining one in ten, the ones who really could communicate with spirits and exorcise them, didn't even know the basics in any systematic way. They were all half-baked amateurs, relying on what they'd taught themselves, what their families had passed down, or some ability or artifact they'd stumbled across by chance. They barely knew what they were doing, yet some rich people still treated them like honored guests. And my skills are better than a hundred of them put together. Heh. Some of them have less spiritual power than you do. They can't even see ghosts clearly."
Qian Xiaoyi's contempt was plain to see. In his mind, those half-baked mediums were no better than the village shamans of old back in China. They weren't worth mentioning, especially compared with the experts from the great sects. Yet even those people earned so much more than he did. It made him incredibly jealous. Incredibly jealous!
"Then..." Inuyama Heita asked admiringly, "you must have solved lots of difficult problems. You have a lot of clients, don't you?"
—In reality, in three months he hadn't received a single genuine exorcism job.
"Uh... That's right," Qian Xiaoyi said, trying to sound convincing. "This office of mine only takes on jobs worth tens of millions."
—In reality, Qian Xiaoyi was already satisfied if he could afford enough to eat.
"Just as I thought!" Inuyama Heita's eyes lit up. He placed both hands on the table, then suddenly bowed. "Please take me on! Let me work here!"
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