After that, all the senior members of the Lucky Mutual Aid Society, along with Qian Xiaoyi and the others, were taken to the police station for questioning and investigation. Harada Taro was the only exception; he was sent to the hospital for treatment. It was worth mentioning that when Qian Xiaoyi and Inuyama Heita showed up for inspection with two big bags, the officer checking them gave the contents a strange look, wondering if the two had come to the wrong place.
Since Qian Xiaoyi was the one who'd reported them, the police didn't give him much trouble during questioning. They only asked a few basic questions, like how he'd discovered their illegal trade in infant corpses and how he'd gotten involved. Qian Xiaoyi made up an excuse, saying that one of his clients had been harassed by the Lucky Mutual Aid Society, which was why he'd started investigating. During his investigation, he'd recognized the trick behind the ornaments the society handed out. After following them and looking into things, he'd discovered the location where they hid corpses and made ritual implements, then reported them straight away.
After confirming there were no problems with Qian Xiaoyi's account, the police let him go without much fuss. Things were just as easy for Inuyama Heita. After all, he was only a high school student, and his statement matched Qian Xiaoyi's. So the police treated him as one of the Lucky Mutual Aid Society's victims, not a suspect.
The two of them were then driven back in a police car. Qian Xiaoyi looked around the interior with interest. It was his first time riding in a police car, while Inuyama Heita looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't. Qian Xiaoyi yawned and said, "It's getting late, Heitaro. Whatever it is, come ask me tomorrow. You're tired too, aren't you? Get some rest."
Inuyama Heita had plenty of questions, but since Qian Xiaoyi had said that—and they were in a police car, where it wasn't convenient to discuss many things—he could only let it go for now. They rode back to their lodgings.
The next day, after class, Inuyama Heita headed straight to the Lingkong Exorcism Office, full of questions.
"Qian... um, Brother Yi, are we expecting a client?" The moment Inuyama Heita entered, he spotted all kinds of pastries and snacks on the coffee table. Judging by the selection, they must have been brought back from the venue the day before. There was no way Qian Xiaoyi could finish them all by himself.
"Expecting a client? Not right now. We'll have one in a few days," Qian Xiaoyi said. "These are to celebrate your passing the final test and officially joining us! Besides, some of this stuff won't keep for long. It'd be a waste not to eat it. Sit down. I'll pour you some juice, and we can take our time talking."
Inuyama Heita wanted to say that he still had a huge pile of snacks at home, but he had other questions to ask. As soon as he sat down, he asked, "When you said you wanted to take over the Lucky Mutual Aid Society, you weren't serious, were you? You called the police, after all."
"What would I want with that mess?" Qian Xiaoyi scoffed. "Running something like that means throwing away your conscience. I'm not planning to toss mine aside."
Inuyama Heita breathed a sigh of relief. He'd already more or less guessed the truth, but hearing Qian Xiaoyi say it aloud put him at ease. He asked, "Then what did you mean by the entrance test yesterday? Were you testing how I'd react? If I hadn't stood up to you then, would I have failed?"
"Exactly," Qian Xiaoyi replied. "If you'd agreed to my request, or if you'd shown that you accepted it—or stayed silent—under my pressure, you would have failed. But I didn't expect you to punch me. You've got guts, taking a swing at your immediate superior."
"I'm sorry!" Inuyama Heita jumped up and hurriedly bowed. "I didn't realize it was a test..."
Qian Xiaoyi waved a hand. "It's fine. If anything, your response pleasantly surprised me. In our line of work, the worst people are those with weak convictions who can't resist temptation, or those who have no mind of their own and just meekly go along with everything. They tend to end up in a terrible state: either a ghost gets them, or a person does. So the firmer you stand, the higher your score on my test."
Inuyama Heita felt a little pleased. "Do you mean you also opposed Harada being killed like that? I'd rather he'd been put on trial than die in such an absurd way."
"So you're against using evil sorcery to kill people," Qian Xiaoyi said with a nod. "It's a pity I don't particularly care that Harada died to that sorcery. One thing I said back then was true: they brought this on themselves. I wouldn't care if they were killed by the very things they created. I wouldn't use those techniques to hurt people, but that doesn't mean I'd save them."
"Huh?" Inuyama Heita froze. "Then if the police hadn't arrived at the end, would you really have just watched Harada die?"
"Not exactly." Qian Xiaoyi shook his head. "I still wouldn't have let him be killed?"
Inuyama Heita was utterly confused. "Why?" Qian Xiaoyi's contradictory answers had left him bewildered.
"Take a look at this and you'll understand." Qian Xiaoyi got up, went to the storeroom door, and opened it to show Inuyama Heita what was inside.
The moment the door opened, a chill breeze blew out. The altar table inside had been turned into a three-tiered shrine, with seven or eight memorial tablets arranged on each tier. Dim candlelight flickered on either side, and incense sticks stood in a censer at the center. Behind it was a pile of snacks, laid out as offerings. The whole scene looked eerie. In Inuyama Heita's eyes, the smoke gradually took the shape of baby heads, which stared at him, grinning.
"You brought them all back?!" Inuyama Heita was so startled that he sprang up from the sofa. Then, as he realized what Qian Xiaoyi meant, he pointed into the room and asked, "So they're the reason you wouldn't let Harada die?"
Qian Xiaoyi closed the door, and the temperature in the office returned to normal. He nodded. "That's right. Those children were innocent. They died shortly after birth, and then bad people took them and used them. On top of that, they were whipped every so often. Anyone treated like that would build up a terrible grudge. If they killed Harada Taro too, they'd become true evil spirits, and I'd have no choice but to wipe them all out. Just imagining that ending makes me feel sorry for them."
"When you put it that way... I guess you're right. They really are pitiful." Inuyama Heita was convinced. Then he asked, "But the police must have confiscated all their Buddha plaques this time. So how did you collect these little ghosts, Brother Yi?"
"I went to the warehouse where Matsui made the Buddha plaques. That was also where he kept the censers." Qian Xiaoyi picked up a pastry from the table and stuffed it into his mouth, then continued, "With this kind of Raising Little Ghosts, the Buddha plaque and censer are part of a set. The other day, I took some ash from those censers—the ash mixed with bone powder—and used it to draw them here. These little ghosts carry a heavy grudge. They need daily offerings and chanting; it'll take at least a year, and as long as three, for their resentment to fade and for them to attain Buddhahood. If we leave them alone, those senior members won't necessarily die, but they'll at least have some very bad luck. The ghosts will become a menace and harm other people too."
"So everything's fine now, right?" Inuyama Heita asked.
"How could it be? It's not that easy to get rid of little ghosts once you've invited them in. Those senior members have a deep connection with their own ghosts." Qian Xiaoyi suddenly flashed a sly grin. "That's why I said we'd have plenty of clients in a few days. In other words, the Lingkong Exorcism Office is finally about to officially open for business!"
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