We finally got Chongxi to wake up the next morning, not without any difficulty. He rubbed his eyes drowsily as he clambered up, looking at us with a sleepy and blank look. "What time is it? It is time to go?" "What go?! It's already morning!" Lin Feng bellowed, slapping the back of his friend's head.
Chongxi spun around, his eyes blinking wide with confusion until he saw the bright, vibrant rays of sunlight coming through the window. He scrambled up quickly. "What happened yesterday, Shiyan? I was dreaming! I dreamt about us being trapped somewhere, and then..."
I cast him an ugly look. "That was no dream," I uttered, "We were really trapped last night inside the pocket dimension of the Bamen Dunjia bounded field. Fortunately, we were able to get out, all thanks to you, otherwise, we would still be inside by now! Somehow in your sleep, you were able to cast the Windchaser magic!" "Ah?!" Chongxi gasped, hardly believing a word I said. "Good job. Just like th
I lighted a cigarette. But deep inside, I was grimacing quietly. Huang Li looked utterly ignorant about the woman in black. I jabbed a finger at the black plastic bag on the floor. "That is the souvenir left by a mysterious guest who came calling last night after we solved the problem at your house. Don't you want it back?"Huang Li's face convulsed into a disdainful moue. "I don't know what you're talking about," she muttered firmly and that made Lin Feng and I looked at each other again. "Oh yeah," I went on, "That guest has a stare that resembled both you and Cao Xuedong. So I wondered if you might know each other." Looking rather pale now, Huang Li hissed, "I don't know who you're referring to. And what have you done to Xuedong!?"Huang Li's apparent ignorance rather bothered me but it did not prevent me from keeping up my smile. "Well, since you insist that you don't know our mysterious guest. I guess we'd better just leave it at that. As to Cao Xuedon
Master Six's and Father's met for a brief and subtle moment when I finished my tale, having voiced out my hypothesis. The look they exchanged would have been imperceptible if I had not been looking, but it seemed to me as if they were exchanging views telepathically for that fleeting second."So, you were having hallucinations when this Huang Li girl shook your hand?" Master Six breathed gravely and I nodded. "Not only Huang Li, but Cao Xuedong too," I answered, "Scenes and events I have never seen before and I understand nothing about them." Father took a draft of his cigarette and puffed a smoke ring before saying, "What did you see?""It was a strange and peculiar-looking man I saw when I took Huang Li's hand. Then I saw a bear-like man swinging a battle-ax at me. Then it was the scene of a battle. When I shook Cao Xuedong's hand, I saw a man with two eyes but four eyeballs. Then I was flying in the sky before a bolt of golden light hit me and that was t
The Seven Ghostly Sisters had never met Master Six before. They immediately ducked behind me, immediately fearing him for what he was, an actual immortal whereas Xiao Qi and her sisters were mere ordinary ghosts sustained in human form through the use of magic. Master Six looked at Xiao Qi, his eye brows furrowing with interest. Then he looked as if he realized something as his head jerked sideways to face Father."Gods in Heaven, Murong Hai. Have you fallen so low?!" He glowered. Father only shrugged and muttered lackadaisically, "What is it to you? These girls met their deaths in the most pitiful way. Go below yourself and ask them. Do you think they are reserved any chance to reborn?" Master Six landed back in his sofa, seething beyond words yet he could find no valid reason to counter Father's.As ghosts of people who died tragic deaths, Xiao Qi and her sisters should have been escorted to the City of Innocent Deaths in the Underworld where they would r
Our party of three young men and six female ghosts walked through the wormhole rimmed with sparkling lights that shone like diamonds. The familiar scene and sensation moved Lin Feng to tears. He wiped his wet eyes, gasping, "Oh, my God! I really thought we would be trapped forever in the past! I'm so relieved that we're back!"Recovering from the shock and consternation, we found ourselves in an empty stairwell. Lin Feng rubbed a hand on the steel railing and felt a hand emotionally on the wall peeling with paint. "It's true," his eyes were ringed scarlet and wet and he said, "We're really back! Steel railings and heating radiator, oh!" Lin Feng had always longed to return since we stepped into the past. We had spent such a long time there that we were beginning to forget how modern-day Wu Zhong looked like.I left Lin Feng to his histrionic revels about returning to the present and began looking around. It had been so long and we were losing touch with mod
Chongxi scratched his nose. "How rough can these guys be?" He muttered, ending with a derisive chuckled that Zheng Shuang could only scowl in response.It was almost an hour later, when we were relating about our experiences in the past to Zheng Shuang over tea, when hurried footfalls began to resound from the corridors. Then came three rapid knocks on Zheng Shuang's door. Three intolerant and terse taps on the timber that portended our unfriendly guests. Zheng Shuang rose from his chair with a flustered but displeased look on his face, replying testily, "Come in."The door opened with a click and a mob of officers, all clad in the uniform of the department of internal affairs, flooded the room. The squad leader of the officers gave a perfunctory salute to Zheng Shuang before he cast a fierce look at us.The beer-bellied barrel of a man, who was clearly the leader of this team of officers, looked hardly young. With an acrimonious stare at us, h
"Of course, I understand! Perfectly, sir! I'd be bringing the boys there on the double!" Sergeant Zhan uttered apprehensively and he took a deep breath before he redirected his attention back to me. "Well, that was a call from the top..." He explained wearily, "The... the..." "What's going on, Sergeant Zhan?" I asked. I just had to, even though I know exactly what was going on.Beads of perspiration rolled anxiously down his face as he struggled to keep himself under control after listening to the unbelievable report from the District Headquarters. "The call came from HQ," he said again to me, "The victim has awakened suddenly from death. Everyone there now is either shocked or terrified." An amused smile broke across my face as I emitted an interested "Oh?" and the sergeant went on, "The victim has given a statement after he's woken up and what he said cleared you. You're free to go." He indicated a signal to the young police officer who promptly left with a nod. Then
Lin Feng, Chongxi, and I shared a quick look. "It's been so long," Chongxi wondered and said aloud, "We won't know whether it's the same spot she had mentioned as we're going to. How about a look then?" Lin Feng nodded and said, "Might as well. Since we would be nearby anyway."Hearing this refilled Yuanyuan with excitement. She screamed to come along and so did Edelweiss and Xiao Yu. "I'm coming along too, since all of you would be going," Big Sister added. "Come on, all of you," I pointed out and said, "Look at the time. It's not that we're going now." Only then everyone realized that it was already six in the evening. The debacle at the police station had taken up so much time that we hardly had any drop of water the whole day.However, for Chongxi, something else came to mind: food. He jabbed a finger at the clock on the wall. "All right, enough talking. It's time for dinner! Let's settle that first! The food in ancient times is nowhere near as deliciou
At first, I could not recognize who the stranger was. It was only when my eyes fell upon that dirty and crumpled shirt that used to be mine, then I knew who he was: Na San!He looked just as soiled and haggard as a farmer, with that shirt of mine that looked as if it could do with a washing that it has been owed since I gave it to him last time we met. Nevertheless, Na San seemed to love it very much. Despite the many stain marks, there were two parts where he had patched it up meticulously. His hands caught some oil when he grabbed the chair and when he was about to just flippantly wipe his hands on his shirt, he paused, only to reach further down and wipe the oil of his pants instead.I was rather surprised at his unbidden arrival and he noticed my puzzled expression. With an abashed smile, he croaked sheepishly. "Urm... Greetings, Young Lordling." His voice was just as raspy as ever like a broken tin gong.Edelweiss and Lin Feng began to not