The Visible Boy (6)

"I say... you come to my place every few days, but you don't have any commissions and you don't pay consultation fees. Do you think I'm that idle?" Inside the Lingkong Exorcism Office, Qian Xiaoyi said weakly to Inuyama Heita while slumped on the sofa.

"Here's one thousand yen." Inuyama Heita handed over a banknote, thinking to himself, "He looks pretty idle to me..."

"Then let's talk for five minutes." Qian Xiaoyi's eyes lit up, and he immediately sat up straight, taking the one thousand yen. Although he felt a little guilty taking money earned by a child, every little bit counts. In the early stages of starting a business, he had to take what he could get. He reluctantly accepted it. Besides, once he was paid, he was a client, and his attitude as a professional had to change. Qian Xiaoyi immediately put on a "I am a professional" expression and asked solemnly, "So, Heitaro, what is your question? It's best to be concise. Time is money, my friend."

"It's Heita," Inuyama Heita corrected him. "The thing is..." He recounted what he had seen the previous day.

Qian Xiaoyi rubbed his chin and muttered, "It sounds a lot like the methods used to raise ghost children... but similar situations aren't uncommon. It's also possible it's a case of lingering infant spirits."

Hearing him speak so knowledgeably, Inuyama Heita asked expectantly, "If it's really as you say, then someone is using dark magic to harm people?"

Seeing his expectant gaze, Qian Xiaoyi realized something and pointed to himself, asking, "Hey, why are you looking at me? You're not expecting me to stop them, are you?"

"You... you won't do anything?" Inuyama Heita asked, somewhat surprised. As a member of Gen Z, he hadn't seen "Mr. Vampire" when Qian Xiaoyi first mentioned it. It was only after Qian Xiaoyi helped him that he rented the movie and related discs from a video store. If you ask why he didn't watch it online... it's because his family only had DVDs. While it might seem incredible domestically, they hadn't phased out this technology, and many families even still had VCRs...

In short, Inuyama Heita learned from the movie that these righteous Taoist priests considered it their duty to vanquish demons and uphold justice. They wouldn't stand by and let evil harm people.

Faced with Qian Xiaoyi's denial, Inuyama Heita asked doubtfully, "But didn't you say you were like the one in 'Mr. Vampire'..."

"That's a movie, okay?" Qian Xiaoyi chuckled at the question. "Do you really think I'm some kind of righteous hero?"

"Ah..." Inuyama Heita felt a bit awkward. "You're not?"

Qian Xiaoyi's smile faded, and he said seriously, "But you're not wrong. If this were back home, I would definitely get involved in something like this. After all, if someone dared to do something like this back there, everyone would want to punish them. But the environment here is different."

Inuyama Heita looked at him, confused.

Qian Xiaoyi continued to explain, "Back home, religion is controlled by the state, and cults are on the decline. Those who do such things are considered heretics by all major sects. As long as they know about such a situation, the call to vanquish demons and uphold justice is often met with widespread support, and fellow practitioners will do their best to help. Although my sect is just a branch, it's still considered part of the orthodox Xuanmen. But here... I am the heretic."

Qian Xiaoyi pointed to his own nose, which made Inuyama Heita somewhat stunned. He murmured, "I don't understand..."

"Do you know how many religious groups there are in Tokyo alone?" Qian Xiaoyi said. "I've done a bit of market research these past few months. New religious groups pop up almost every day – Christian, Buddhist, Tibetan, Shinto, Zen, Esoteric, psychic, magical, spiritual, even religions that claim to be scientific. I've been approached by missionaries on the street several times, and without exception, they are all legal. Do you understand? They're all legal. So, think about it now, as a foreigner with an unknown background, if I suddenly show up and tell the victims that they've been deceived by that cult using evil methods, put yourself in their shoes, do you think they would believe me?"

"Probably..." Inuyama Heita said hesitantly. "No, right?"

"Right?" Qian Xiaoyi spread his hands. "Whether they believe me or not is one thing. And even if I were bursting with righteousness and wanted to defend justice, here's the problem: without the victims' help, how would I find that religious group among Tokyo's ten million people, and then carry out justice without breaking the law?"

"This..." Inuyama Heita looked somewhat dazed.

Qian Xiaoyi shook his head. "That's why I say, in your country, I'm the heretic. Because heretics have become the mainstream here. Even if I successfully stop one cult's actions, there are countless other groups doing the same thing. Are you expecting me to transform into One-Punch Man and just steamroll through everything? It's very difficult."

"Is that so..." Inuyama Heita murmured, looking somewhat dejected.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Qian Xiaoyi noticed that Inuyama Heita seemed a bit off, as if he had something unspoken on his mind.

Inuyama Heita shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Thank you for your trouble."

"Mm~ It's good that you understand the trouble," Qian Xiaoyi resumed his slouched posture on the sofa, playing with his phone, and lazily waved his hand. "Alright, the five minutes of consultation for one thousand yen are up. Thank you for your patronage~ Remember not to do anything foolish, don't get yourself into trouble, keep working diligently. You're welcome to visit again. Goodbye."

After Inuyama Heita left, Qian Xiaoyi, still lying on the sofa, thought for a moment, picked up his phone, and searched for "Lucky Mutual Aid Society," muttering to himself, "That kid isn't secretly crushing on his classmate and going to stir up trouble, is he? Honestly, adolescence is so clingy and annoyingly sentimental..."

The next day, although it wasn't that Inuyama Heita had a crush on Suzuki as Qian Xiaoyi had imagined, the two did end up interacting at school on Monday.

During lunch, Inuyama Heita stopped Suzuki in the hallway and stammered, "Um... about what happened yesterday..."

Suzuki was taken aback at first, not expecting Inuyama Heita to approach her. She bowed slightly in thanks and replied politely, "Thanks to you, Inuyama-kun, last night. Thank you for your concern, but everything is fine now."

"Really?" Inuyama Heita was somewhat suspicious. Recalling the strange scene he had witnessed yesterday, he hesitated, wondering how to warn her but not knowing how to start. Should he say he could communicate with spirits and saw a ghost trying to harm her? That would be too absurd. Being labeled crazy would be the least of his worries.

Suzuki bowed to him again, looking a bit tired. "Yes, I apologize for troubling you. This is a family matter, so you don't need to worry about it." With that, Suzuki walked past him.

"..." Inuyama Heita scratched the back of his head. His approach was indeed too abrupt. They had only met by chance last night, and normally they were just classmates. To suddenly inquire about someone's family affairs today, it was no wonder she was a bit distant.

"Religious groups... huh?" A dim image flashed through Inuyama Heita's mind as he watched Suzuki's retreating back.