The Legend of Tokyo Taoist

Chapter 12 Lucky Mutual Aid Society (4)

In the audience, a middle-aged man who looked very excited took the microphone from Matsui and stood up: "Hello everyone, maybe some of you know me. My name is Kuroda Nobunaga, and I am a truck driver."

"Hello, Kuroda." President Oiwa said with a smile.

"Hello! Kuroda!" The entire venue shouted in unison, as if they had rehearsed it beforehand, or as if they had already performed this segment many times.

"Thank you, everyone!" Kuroda seemed to become bolder after receiving encouragement from everyone. He said, "I just said that I am a truck driver. Because of an accident when I was transporting goods, I lost a batch of very valuable goods and needed to pay a lot of money. Not long after, my wife ran away with the children. In order to escape debt, I went to the park to be a homeless person for half a year. If I hadn't joined here by chance, I might have lived in a daze all my life and rotted there... Thank you, President Oiwa!"

Halfway through his speech, Kuroda choked up. With a hoarse voice, he bowed deeply to President Oiwa on the stage and thanked him loudly.

"Kuroda, this is not just my achievement, but everyone's." President Oiwa said modestly, "We in the Lucky Mutual Aid Society are all children forgotten by God. Only by sticking together can we move forward. We are like a big family, sharing the joys and sorrows of our companions. Kuroda, please tell everyone your good news quickly. I'm sure everyone is looking forward to it."

"Yes! President! After that, I finally made up my mind and visited the boss of the original delivery company." Kuroda said excitedly: "With my unremitting efforts, I successfully got the boss's forgiveness. He kindly agreed to continue to take me in and let me work to pay off my debts. I got my job back, and my wife and children got in touch with me some time ago. My life has come out of the trough and has become more and more fortunate. All this is thanks to everyone in the association! Thanks to that ceremony! Long live the Lucky Mutual Aid Association!"

"Congratulations, Kuroda." President Oiwa smiled and led the applause.

"Congratulations!"

"It's gratifying, it's gratifying."

"Great job Kuroda!"

There was thunderous applause in the venue. Kuroda was overjoyed to receive everyone's congratulations. He kept bowing to the people around him and saying words of thanks.

"Hey~ It's really heartwarming. It makes me want to join this big family. After all, I'm also quite unlucky." Qian Xiaoyi watched coldly, his words full of sarcasm. He stared at Kuroda's neck, where there was a pendant rope hanging on his neck, but because the ornament was hidden in his collar, he couldn't tell what it was.

Inuyama Heita asked quietly, "This looks no different from an ordinary mutual aid group, right?"

"The key lies in the 'ritual' he mentioned." Qian Xiaoyi said, "Just wait, it's coming soon."

Inuyama Heita suppressed his somewhat uneasy thoughts and quietly waited for what Qian Xiaoyi said, "right away." The next part was the same as before, selecting a few members from the crowd who had walked out of their gloomy lives because of "joining the Lucky Mutual Aid Association" and letting them tell their own experiences. Of course, the ending was mainly to thank everyone. Under their rendering, everyone in the venue felt a strong bond that connected them together, like a community of shared destiny, or as President Oiwa said, a family. "...Thank you for sharing your experience, Miko." When the last member shared his own experience, President Oiwa finally stopped inviting others to speak, but like a kind elder, he smiled and opened his hands and said: "With our joint efforts, this time so many brothers and sisters have walked out of bad luck and welcomed the arrival of the goddess of luck. This is our common achievement. Please applaud for them and for yourself. This is what you deserve."

The venue erupted in thunderous applause. Everyone's face was flushed with pride. They seemed to have seen their future selves and knew that as long as they continued to stay here, they would have their lucky moment one day.

When the applause gradually died down, President Oiwa continued, "The reason for calling everyone here this time, in addition to letting everyone get together and learn about the latest situation, is of course, for another thing. I'm sure you've guessed it. Yes, just recently, I got a revelation and found that another lucky family member has been favored by the goddess of luck and can hold a 'ceremony'. To be precise, she is not a member yet, but a relative of a member. But it doesn't matter. After the ceremony, she will be one of us. Let us welcome - Miss Suzuki!"

"Here it comes!" Inuyama Heita perked up and stared at the stage.

Amid the cheers of the crowd, Ms. Suzuki came onto the stage from the backstage with her daughter Suzuki. Ms. Suzuki looked very excited and kept whispering something in Suzuki's ear, while Suzuki was very impatient and seemed to want it all to be over quickly.

"Well, it seems that the girl was not brainwashed or anything." Qian Xiaoyi touched his chin and said, "She must have agreed to some conditions from her mother, asked for a few days off, and then was semi-forced to come here. It seems that the situation is not as serious as I thought."

"Aren't we going to do anything now?" Inuyama Heita asked, "Are we just going to sit here and wait for their ritual to be completed?"

Qian Xiaoyi squinted at him and said, "What do you want me to do? You went up to stop them when you didn't even know the details? Be careful, or the police will arrest us instead of the president. Heitaro, why do you seem to be so concerned about this matter? I didn't realize you were such a kind-hearted person, even though you're just a classmate I don't know well at all."

Inuyama Heita was silent, his eyes flickering, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Ignoring the strange boy, Qian Xiaoyi continued to stare at the stage. President Oiwa did not do anything strange, but Matsui next to him was different. He was holding a plate in both hands. There was something on the silk on the plate. Next to the plate was a small incense burner, which was emitting green smoke. It looked like a decoration. Matsui respectfully brought the plate to President Oiwa, bent slightly, and looked at Suzuki with a smile.

In Inuyama Heita's eyes, the smoke from the incense burner gradually formed a curled-up baby-like shape in the air, condensing without dispersing. However, the people below the stage ignored this scene, they just looked at Suzuki on the stage with envy, their faces full of longing.

"That's it!" Inuyama Heita's pupils vibrated when he saw the smoke forming.

Qian Xiaoyi took out a lighter, lit the cigarette in his mouth, exhaled a puff of second-hand smoke, and said: "...Is it finally going to start?"

(End of this chapter)