The Legend of Tokyo Taoist

Chapter 28 Lucky Mutual Aid Society (20)

Inuyama Heita asked curiously, "Didn't you say before that it wasn't important?"

"Are you stupid? It's not important?" Qian Xiaoyi looked at him strangely and said, "That little girl was outside at the time. How could she let you tell her those things? What if she thought I was another cultist?"

"That's true, but speaking of this." Inuyama Heita asked another question: "Mr. Qian, how did you know that she was eavesdropping outside?"

Qian Xiaoyi's expression became even more strange: "I am now somewhat doubtful whether it is right to give you the task of gathering intelligence... When I came back to the office to meet you, she was in the convenience store across the street, covering her face with a magazine, pretending to read a book and watching you the whole time. You didn't even notice such a lame tracking. You are really too careless, aren't you? Didn't I tell you to be careful not to be seen coming to my place?"

Inuyama Heita said hesitantly: "I thought you wanted me to be careful of Matsui or other members following me secretly. I was indeed on guard against them, but I didn't expect that the person following me was Suzuki..."

"Luckily it was her." Qian Xiaoyi said, "Otherwise you would be in danger. Okay, tell me what happened when Matsui came to see you. This is very important information that can determine whether our subsequent plans can be implemented or not."

"Okay." Inuyama Heita began to tell what happened after Matsui brought him into the box.

In the bar's private room, after confirming that the door was closed, Matsui turned around, changed his previous calm and smiling expression, and said seriously: "Heita-kun, I have an important matter to ask of you. No matter what you see later, don't be nervous and don't tell anyone else. I will explain it to you clearly. I and others need your help."

Inuyama Heita swallowed his saliva, a little nervous, but said firmly: "Mr. Matsui, please rest assured that everyone is a good person, and I will do my best to help you."

"Really? You're really reliable, Heita-kun." Matsui seemed to be relieved. He took out a soft branch from the bag he brought and handed it to Inuyama Heita, saying, "It's up to you now, Heita-kun. Remember, no matter what you see later, don't panic. It can't hurt you."

As he spoke, Matsui actually started to take off his shirt in front of him. This action made Inuyama Heita take a step back, and a different kind of fear arose spontaneously.

Fortunately, Matsui did not make any other moves. He just unbuttoned the lining of his suit, revealing what was inside.

——In the dimly lit box, his not-so-strong body was covered with small dark blue handprints and even scary-looking tooth marks. A baby covered with black bloodshot crawled from behind Matsui to his chest like a gecko, and turned its head 180 degrees, looking at Inuyama Heita with eyes without whites, grinning at him, with a hint of innocence in its cruelty, as if it was looking at a doll and couldn't wait to tear it to pieces.

This scene almost made Inuyama Heita scream out loud. He staggered back and sat down on the sofa in fear, but he covered his mouth and didn't scream out. "As expected, I scared you. I'm so sorry." Matsui looked very ashamed. He said as if he was having difficulty speaking: "... What you are seeing now is the biggest secret of our Lucky Mutual Aid Association. Don't be nervous, Heita-kun. I will tell you everything, including the truth about how we changed our luck."

"Mr. Matsui, why did your body become like this?" Inuyama Heita asked in horror: "What on earth happened!"

"This is the secret to making everyone lucky." Matsui said, "These marks on my body are invisible even to myself. Only a true psychic can see them, and you are the one who possesses this talent. Mr. Heita, have you heard of a kind of witchcraft called 'Kumantong' in Southeast Asia?"

Inuyama Heita hurriedly shook his head: "No."

"Haha, don't show that expression. This is not some evil witchcraft, but no wonder it does look scary." Matsui smiled and said, "I learned about this witchcraft in a temple when I was traveling abroad. It is a very normal witchcraft there, and many people are proud to invite these children. Do you know why?"

Without waiting for Inuyama Heita to add his voice, Matsui spoke on his own: "Because they were abandoned or stillborn babies. They finally came to this world, but they were fooled by fate and never experienced life. Therefore, the resentment in them is very strong. Kumantong is a kind of witchcraft created by local monks to eliminate the resentment of these children. Do you know what the method is to eliminate the resentment of these children?"

Inuyama Heita pretended to have a flash of inspiration and replied, "Could it be... the previous ritual? Let them live with humans?"

"You are very smart." Matsui returned to that formulaic smile, he spread his hands and said, "Yes, this is the way to eliminate their resentment. Let them get along with people, use people as carriers, and take them to experience the feeling of being alive. In this way, their resentment of being abandoned and dying can be gradually worn away. As long as you treat them well, they will also benefit accordingly. They will help their masters as much as possible. When their resentment is eliminated and they have completely become Buddhas, as a reward, those who take them to experience the happiness of life will receive their blessings. This is the truth of changing luck."

"But on you..." Inuyama Heita hesitated to speak.

"Of course, completing this process is not as easy as imagined." Matsui said, "The marks on my body are proof of this. You also know that children need to be disciplined, right? As the price of changing their luck, the resentment of these children needs to be borne by the carriers. The more painful their death, the greater their resentment will be, and the more disobedient they will be, and they may even bring harm to their owners. I am the one with the greatest resentment among these children, but there is no other way. Someone has to comfort this child, so I have to do it."

"Mr. Matsui, you are such a gentle person..." Inuyama Heita said tremblingly, sneering in his heart. The reason why his voice trembled a little was because he almost couldn't help sneering. The so-called clever lie is to mix one lie among nine truths. Most of what the other party said was true, but according to Qian Xiaoyi, the purification ceremony of these Kumantongs needs to be coordinated with specific scriptures and rituals, and the whole process will only make the resentment of those little ghosts weaker and weaker, just like the one Qian Xiaoyi kidnapped back. It didn't have much resentment, nor did it have those terrifying bloodshot eyes. It was also very clear, not as evil as he saw in other members including Matsui.

This means that the other party is simply lying. He is just using those little ghosts to make a profit, and he definitely does not want to liberate the other party or make the little ghosts become Buddhas!
(End of this chapter)