"Look... You come running over here every few days, but you never hire me or pay for a consultation. Do you think I've got nothing better to do?" Inside the Lingkong Exorcism Office, Qian Xiaoyi sprawled on the sofa and spoke to Inuyama Heita in a listless voice.
"Here's one thousand yen." Inuyama Heita handed him a banknote and thought, You sure look like you've got nothing better to do...
"Then let's talk for five minutes." Qian Xiaoyi's eyes lit up. He sat up straight at once and pocketed the thousand yen. He felt a little guilty taking money a child had earned from a part-time job, but even the smallest amount still counted. In the early days of starting a business, you took whatever you could get, so he'd make an exception and accept it. Besides, once someone had paid, they were a client, and of course that meant a different level of service. Qian Xiaoyi immediately adopted the expression of a professional and asked solemnly, "So, Heitaro, what would you like to consult me about? Try to keep it brief and to the point. Time is money, my friend."
"It's Heita," Inuyama Heita corrected him. "Here's what happened..." He recounted what he'd seen the day before.
Qian Xiaoyi rubbed his chin and murmured, "Sounds a lot like Raising Little Ghosts... But cases like this aren't rare. It could also be something like a vengeful infant spirit haunting someone."
Hearing how confidently Qian Xiaoyi spoke, Inuyama Heita asked with anticipation, "If it really is as you say, then they're using evil magic to hurt people, right?"
Seeing the hopeful look in his eyes, Qian Xiaoyi realized what he was getting at. Pointing to himself, he asked, "Hey, why are you looking at me? You're not expecting me to go stop those people, are you?"
"You... aren't going to do anything about it?" Inuyama Heita asked, somewhat surprised. As a young man born in Generation Z, he hadn't watched the movie Mr. Vampire when Qian Xiaoyi had mentioned it earlier. After Qian Xiaoyi helped him, he went to a video rental shop and borrowed that film and some related movies. Why hadn't he watched them online? Because his family only had a DVD player. That might seem incredible in China, but people here really hadn't phased the things out; plenty of households still had VCRs, too...
In any case, what Inuyama Heita had learned from the movies was that these righteous Taoist masters from prestigious lineages saw it as their duty to vanquish evil and protect the way. They were champions of justice who wouldn't stand by while demons harmed people.
Faced with Qian Xiaoyi's denial, Inuyama Heita asked in confusion, "But didn't you say you were like the one in Mr. Vampire...?"
"That's just a movie!" Qian Xiaoyi laughed at the question. "You really think I'm some kind of champion of justice?"
"Ah..." Inuyama Heita looked a little awkward. "So you're not?"
Qian Xiaoyi stopped laughing and turned serious. "But you're not wrong, either. If this happened back home, I'd definitely get involved. If anyone dared do something like this there, everyone would be clamoring to put an end to it. But things are different here."
Inuyama Heita looked at him, puzzled.
Qian Xiaoyi continued to explain. "Back home, religion is regulated by the state, and cults are in decline. Anyone doing this kind of thing would be considered a heretic by all the major sects. If word got out, people would rally to fight evil and uphold the way, and everyone in the community would do what they could to help. My lineage is only a minor branch, but it's still a legitimate school of mysticism. Here, though... I'm the heretic."
Qian Xiaoyi pointed at his own nose, leaving Inuyama Heita dumbfounded. He murmured, "I don't understand..."
"Do you know how many religious groups there are in Tokyo alone?" Qian Xiaoyi asked. "I've done a little research on the market these past few months. New religious groups pop up almost every day—Christian, Buddhist, Tibetan Buddhist, Shinto, Zen, esoteric Buddhist, psychic, magical, spiritual... There are even religions that call themselves scientific. I've been stopped on the street by people trying to convert me several times, and every last one of these groups is legal. Legal, you understand? So, think about it. I'm a foreigner whose background is a mystery, and I suddenly show up and tell the victims they've been deceived by an evil cult using wicked methods. Put yourself in their shoes. Do you think they'd believe me?"
"Probably..." Inuyama Heita murmured. "Not?"
"Exactly." Qian Xiaoyi spread his hands. "And that's just whether they believe me. Let's go a step further: say I'm bursting with a sense of justice and want to defend it. Here's the problem: without the victims' help, how am I supposed to find that religious group among the ten million people in Tokyo, then bring them to justice without breaking the law?"
"Uh..." Inuyama Heita stared blankly.
Qian Xiaoyi shook his head. "That's why I say I'm the heretic here. Heretics have become the mainstream in this place. Even if I manage to stop one cult, there are still plenty of other groups doing the same thing. Do you expect me to turn into One-Punch Man and bulldoze my way through them all? That's really hard, you know."
"So that's how it is..." Inuyama Heita murmured, looking dejected.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Qian Xiaoyi noticed that something seemed off about Inuyama Heita. It looked like he had something difficult to say.
Inuyama Heita shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Sorry for the trouble."
"Mm, good. I'm glad you realize you're troubling me." Qian Xiaoyi resumed his languid sprawl on the sofa and played on his phone, waving lazily. "All right, your five-minute consultation for one thousand yen is up. Thanks for your business! Remember, don't do anything stupid or get yourself into trouble. Just keep working your part-time job. You're welcome back anytime. Take care, and don't let the door hit you on the way out."
After Inuyama Heita left, Qian Xiaoyi lay on the sofa, thought for a moment, and searched for "Lucky Mutual Aid Society" on his phone. "That kid wouldn't happen to have a crush on his classmate and be going out of his way to get into trouble, would he? Honestly, teenagers are so clingy and gooey. It's enough to make you sick."
The next day, things didn't happen quite as Qian Xiaoyi had imagined—inuyama Heita wasn't in love with Suzuki or anything—but when they went to school on Monday, the two of them did end up talking.
At lunchtime, Inuyama Heita stopped Suzuki in the hallway and stammered, "Um... about what happened yesterday..."
Suzuki was taken aback at first; she hadn't expected Inuyama Heita to come looking for her. She bowed slightly in thanks and replied politely, "I'm grateful for your help last night, Inuyama-kun. Thank you for being concerned, but everything's all right now."
"Really?" Inuyama Heita asked doubtfully. Remembering the eerie scene he'd witnessed the day before, he hesitated over how to warn her, unsure how to bring it up. Should he say he could communicate with spirits and had seen a ghost trying to hurt her? That was way too ridiculous. Being taken for a lunatic would be the least of his worries.
Suzuki looked tired as she bowed to him again. "Yes. I'm sorry for the trouble. From here on, it's a family matter, so you don't need to worry about it." With that, Suzuki walked past him.
"..." Inuyama Heita rubbed the back of his head. Approaching her like that really had been abrupt. They'd only run into each other by chance the night before, and ordinarily they were just classmates who barely knew each other. It was no wonder she'd been a little cold when he suddenly asked about her family affairs.
"A religious group...?" A gloomy image flashed through Inuyama Heita's mind as he watched Suzuki walk away.
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