The Legend of Tokyo Taoist

Chapter 30 Lucky Mutual Aid Society (22)

"cheers!"

In the noisy izakaya, the drinkers around were shouting and yelling without restraint, some even started singing at the top of their lungs, others were clapping and cheering, and in the corner of the bar, two drunks were drinking and toasting each other.

"Brother Harada, come on, fill it up, fill it up, another glass."

"No... I can't drink anymore, I really can't drink anymore, please spare me..."

Qian Xiaoyi patted President Dayan on the shoulder and said with a drunken laugh, "Brother, you are so annoying. You can't even drink this much. I specially asked the boss to bring a bottle of good wine today. It would be a pity if you don't finish it."

Chairman Oiwa's face was as red as a monkey's butt. He closed his eyes, covered the wine glass with his hand, and said in a daze: "Mr. Qian, I've had enough to drink today. If I drink more, I won't be able to go home."

"Really? That's a shame." Qian Xiaoyi put down the bottle in his hand and sighed, "To be honest, brother, today should be my last day to drink with you."

"Eh?" President Oiwa seemed to like this drinking buddy who had been treating him to drinks for several days. Hearing this, he asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Qian Xiaoyi drank the wine in his glass and said angrily, "I get angry when I talk about this. I got the news yesterday that the guy I was working with actually kicked me out. He found another person to work with, so I had to drop my work and rush back to the country to deal with this matter. I can't drink with you. Damn, what the hell..."

"Is that the partner you mentioned?" President Oiwa said angrily, "How can there be such a disgusting guy? You are the one who is in charge of the export business! How could he kick you out like that?"

Qian Xiaoyi shook his wine glass and said, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it. After all, the supply is in that guy's hands. Maybe it's because I'm the only one who deals with the customers here and he only recognizes me, so that makes that guy feel uneasy, right?"

"Hmph." President Dayan snorted coldly, "That guy is such a coward." After hearing what Qian Xiaoyi said, he seemed to think of something. For a moment, President Dayan felt a sense of shared hatred and was extremely angry.

Qian Xiaoyi sneered and said, "But it doesn't matter. I have my own capital. We founded this company together. I will have a good time with that guy when I go back. I won't let him kick me out so easily. Who will win or lose is still unknown! Maybe I can kick him out in return!"

President Oiwa poured himself a glass of wine and raised his glass, saying, "In that case, I wish you good luck in martial arts."

Qian Xiaoyi smiled slightly, drank the glass of wine, and then took out a long narrow wooden board from his arms. With the help of the light of the pub, President Oiwa saw that there seemed to be some complicated and profound patterns and words engraved on the long wooden board. Qian Xiaoyi handed the wooden ruler-like thing to President Oiwa and said drunkenly: "Brother Harada, although we have only known each other for a few days, I can only feel relaxed when I drink here these days. We are destined to meet, so I will give this thing to you, brother."

President Oiwa took the ruler and looked at it carefully, then asked, "What...is this thing?" The words and patterns engraved on it seemed to vaguely tell him what religion this thing was related to.

"This~ This thing is called a ruler." Qian Xiaoyi said mysteriously: "It is a Taoist magic tool. Didn't I tell you before? I am in the coffin business, so it is inevitable to encounter things in that area. That is, you understand... Don't understand? Then let me make it clear... Ghost, brother, you should have never seen one?"

"Uh... no, I haven't seen it." President Oiwa said dryly.

"I have seen it." Qian Xiaoyi's voice became a little softer: "It was late one night, I was working the night shift at my own coffin factory..." Qian Xiaoyi told a clichéd ghost story, the gist of which was that he accidentally violated some taboos and was haunted by dirty things, but fortunately he knew a master in a Taoist temple, who gave him this thing, and he took it out when he saw a ghost again, and he never encountered those things again. This treasure was his favorite, and he didn't even give it to his father when he asked for it.

Although it was a clichéd story, President Oiwa was fascinated by it. He looked at the ruler in his hand and asked, "Is this thing really that useful? Can it subdue ghosts?"

"Of course! That Taoist priest is a true hermit!" Qian Xiaoyi boasted.

President Oiwa asked, "In that case, isn't it very precious? Do you really want to give it to me?"

Qian Xiaoyi waved his hands drunkenly and pretended to be angry and said: "With our brotherly relationship, why are you saying this? Do you look down on me, brother? That master and I are good brothers. I can just ask him for another one of this thing!" He meant to make another one himself.

President Oiwa's expression became strange: So everyone you know is a brother, right?
Seeing Qian Xiaoyi start to talk drunkenly, President Dayan did not take his words seriously and just thought they were bragging, but he still put away the ruler.

"It's almost time... I have to go." After delivering the things, Qian Xiaoyi stood up unsteadily, muttering, "... I have to catch a flight tomorrow, Boss, pay the bill!"

Chairman Oiwa also stood up and said, "I've almost had enough to drink, so let's go together."

They walked out the door. Although it was almost summer, it was still a bit cold at night. The wind made President Dayan a lot more sober. When the two of them walked to a fork in the road and were about to go their separate ways, Qian Xiaoyi staggered and held President Dayan's hand and said, "Brother! I'm going back now. I don't know if we can meet again in the future... I'm going back to beat that bastard! You too, don't let your partner look down on you! Do the same as me, kick him out and be the boss yourself!"

President Oiwa thought to himself, you haven’t succeeded yet, why do you want me to be the same as you?

However, these words made the little thoughts in his heart expand rapidly like a candle flame meeting oxygen, and gradually occupied his mind.

"If I can kick that guy out, can I become the real 'President Oiwa'?" This tempting thought kept lingering in his mind. On his way back, he kept hesitating and thinking...

This caused him to almost hit a figure on the side of the road.

"Sorry..." He stopped and was about to apologize when he noticed that the figure was blurring and flickering.

President Oiwa secretly cursed in his heart that he was unlucky. What was in front of him was actually a remnant soul. Once these remnant souls realized that he could see them, they would instinctively approach him, even if they had no ill intentions. For a psychic like him, his sensitivity in this aspect was much higher than that of ordinary people. Even if he just touched these things, he could feel the trembling from the soul. The sour feeling was like a dentist drilling his gums after anesthesia. It didn't hurt much, but it was uncomfortable.

But it was too late for him to escape. The remnant soul was too close to him and was sticking to him. Just as he closed his eyes and was ready to grit his teeth to endure the uncomfortable feeling that was about to come, he suddenly felt something hot in his arms. Then, the remnant soul that had lost its ability to think actually showed an expression of fear and disappeared.

"This is..." President Dayan lifted up his coat and saw the ruler given to him by Qian Xiaoyi standing quietly in the inner pocket.

(End of this chapter)