"Come on, this is MY rate. An honest one to boot!" I glowered at Lu Shengnan with tremendous exasperation. "What makes you think the rates charged by swindlers and hustlers are the correct ones?"
Only Lu Shengnan seemed to misunderstand me. She was thinking I was being too courteous. "Wow, I've known you for so long, Shiyan. This is the first time you're so soft-spoken! I'm not a complete amateur! I know the market rates for exorcising spirits! They usually charge at least tens of thousands!"
Edelweiss and I broke into fits of laughter. "And were they effective?" "Urm..." Lu Shengnan stuttered, "Well, I know at least that those Huang Li went to were useless. Otherwise, she would never be forced to come to you. She had looked for more than ten of them, having spent hundreds of thousands for nothing!"
Wow, so being a swindler could still be such a lucrative calling, I almost burst into another fit of guffaws. I was pondering on ways to explain to
More of the mysteries that haunted me began to unfurl as the hidden hands hiding in the shadows began to show themselves. Among them included a descendant of the Emperors of the Qing Dynasty, Jin Qichen, and the Order of Pain which Zhang Zhigui had been fighting against; and now, our latest discovery, a woman in black whom we discovered to be an heir of Tribe Nine Li, the tribe once led by the legendary tribal leader Chiyou from prehistoric China.According to what paltry information Jin Qichen was willing to divulge, the three parties were vying for the same goal: the possessorship of the Shiyan Blade. What was more, everyone seemed to be aware of the disappearance of the Dragon-slaying Blade and this clearly indicated that anyone could freely reawaken any of the dragon leys and claim them to become king without suffering any consequences and this culminated into a race for the Shiyan Blade.Right now, one of my former classmates from university, Lu Shengn
Lu Shengnan stared at me with the paper held between her fingers for seconds until she finally uttered, "You said you are neighbors?!" "Urm... Heh heh heh," I giggled sheepishly and said, "I'm staying in Unit 105." Lu Shengnan gaped with disbelief at me for another few seconds. "Oh, my God! You're hiding a huge fortune, are you!? The villas there cost millions each!"Never to miss out any chance to brag, Lin Feng placed a hand on my shoulder, quipping triumphantly, "Heh, as if that amount would matter to Shiyan! He can easily win that amount of money in a single bet! I'm sure you've heard of the children abductions that happened before around Wu Zhong? The case that involved some evil cultists? That was solved by us! One million yuan, piece of cake!"The hoiden Lu Shengnan watched as Lin Feng carried on with his histrionics with awe, rubbing her hands, her eyes dreamy and mystified. At this, I hurriedly waved my hands and said, "All right, enough there! Don
It was ten by the time we left. We limped out of the bar, clinging on to each other. Chongxi was looking as if he was suffering from a stroke. At least Lin Feng was still able to walk on his own. I was feeling tipsy myself with the dizziness that had me walking in circles and figure-eight round and round. Lu Shengnan was worst; she would have collapsed if not for me still struggling to keep her on her feet.I was the undisputed best in drinking out of all four of us. But cocktails, which were nowhere near the beers we normally gulp down like water, were really way out of our league and we were now paying the price for our ignorance and brashness. In a slurry voice, a half-drunk Lin Feng yelled, "W-wait up! Ah (I) will get the cut (car)!" I grabbed at the scruff of his shirt and shook him, "Look... at yourself... You can't even... speak... Quit driving... I want to live... a... long life..." Lin Feng stowed his keys back into the pocket and crouched on the pavement.
Unlike Huang Li earlier, Cao Xuedong had inadvertently betrayed his fear of me. Smiling wryly at the former instructor's inability to fully rein in his emotions, I said, "I'm fine, Instructor Cao. I believe you need our help to see what's wrong with your house?""Of course," Cao Xuedong chuckled and said, "Huang Li told me about your visit. I have been expecting you. Come on in." He whirled around and began walking deeper into the darkness of the house and we followed just behind.The last of us had barely entered through the threshold when the door swung with an invisible force and clicked shut, plunging all of us into pitch-black darkness that I could not see anything. Blasted hell! I cursed quietly, It's all because of the bloody liquor that I have become careless and clumsy to have fallen into such a trivial trap!"Godd*mmit!" Lin Feng was the first to burst with an expletive, "It's a trap! *hick*" His knees began to give way and with Chong
Shaking off my confusion and puzzlement, I hastily acknowledged and said, "Heh heh heh, it's been a long time, Instructor Cao.""Oh, a long time indeed, Murong Shiyan," Cao Xuedong replied, turning to face me with that unsettling smile of his. What's happening!? I gasped to myself quietly, Has Time been reversed when we were trapped in the dark? Is this even possible?!"Huang Li told me about your visit. I have been expecting you. Come on in," he said and he pivoted around just like he did earlier, once again plunging into the dark interior of the villa. Lin Feng shot me a look that seemed to say: This is completely the same as just now?! There's no way this is an enchantment! Two persons cannot have the same hallucination at the same time!"Am I mistaken in thinking that we are reliving what we experienced just now all over again?" Lin Feng stammered in a shaking, doubting what he had just seen and wondering if he was going mad. I grabbed at h
For the third time, we plunged into the darkness and Lin Feng's voice came, asking how should we go. I stood there, unmoving and thinking, until I finally decided. "Whatever direction would hardly matter now. We can take any direction and the result will be just the same." And before I waited for any response, I began walking aimlessly.Before long, we saw once again the door lighted by two lanterns again, exactly the same as before.But this time, I took out my cell. The time was three in the morning. We have been walking in the dark for more than two hours.With a deep breath, I pushed the door and it swung open, revealing the same scene outside: the cold air, the dim street lamp and the creepy and quiet road outside. But I did not stow away my cell. In fact, I had been paying attention to the time when I walked through the door. Indeed! Just when we were outside, the door swung on its hinges on its own quietly and the time showing on my cell
With that newfound discovery, I quickly unlocked my phone and looked for Father's phone number and tapped on it!Father sounded as if he was sleeping when he answered after the dial tone with unmistakable lethargy in his voice. "What time is it now, Father?" I asked first. A beat of silence ensued as Father checked his watch before he breathed into the mouthpiece. "One in the morning. What is it?"I quickly gave him a concise version of what was happening. Father remarked in a drowsy voice, "The Stone Sentinel Maze... That's easy. Just look for the weakness. Find it and destroy it." "I know! But I can't find it!" "Huh?! Then what good is your Spirit Sight for?!" Father scoffed impatiently from the other end, although his voice softened just as easily, "Use the Spirit Sight and look east." "But the directions in this enchanted space are all jumbled up. How am I supposed to know where's East?" "Up is North, Down is South, Left is West, and Right is East. Just
I wrenched my cell phone and checked the time. It was only twenty minutes past one in the morning. Barely an hour had passed since we came over from Unit 105 opposite.Lin Feng was enraged to see the door with two lamps beside, having seen it one too many times when we were trapped in the pocket dimension of the Bamen Dunjia just now. He lifted his foot and stomped hard, only this time, the actual door adamantly refused to yield. With a furrowed eyebrow of mild interest, I walked to the door and twisted the knob. The door creaked open obediently and a chilly gust of night wind hit me face first, indicating my confirmation.I whirled around and smiled at Lin Feng, indicating it was time we went back. "You're sure we're out now? It's real now?" He croaked, gulping a mouthful of saliva. The experience of being trapped inside the magical domain of the Bamen Dunjia had clearly unsettled him. I chuckled and marched out the door, lifting my cell phone for him to s