Lin Feng looked at us, and we too looked at him for a few uneasy seconds. "Why are you all looking at me?" he asked bashfully. I chuckled and whispered to him something. He took out his mobile phone and made a call. "Aunt," he said to his god-aunt, "It's me. Can you get me the number of your nephew's wife? ... Ohhh... It's nothing. I just have something to ask her... Okay, I'll wait for your message!" He ended the call and explained that his god-aunt would send the phone number via SMS to us. She was not very adept in using her mobile phone, hence sifting through her phone book would need some time.
His phone rang suddenly and Lin Feng forwarded the message to me. I immediately pressed at the number on my screen to make the call. "Hi there. Do you remember what happened at the bazaar?" I said to the woman when she answered the call, "I am a colleague of the man who took you. We are part of the same investigations agency. You remember who, do you?" "Is there anything I
Zheng Shuang snarled at the shivering Li Shanpao with his eyes wide and livid as if he wanted to swallow him whole, "Think closely! What else did your teacher leave you recently?" "Two pieces of talisman!" Li Shanpao gasped with a shaking voice, "My teacher had made them and he instructed me to keep them safe. But he did not mention their uses and how they could be used!" Zheng Shuang took out two strips of talismans from the table and showed him. "Are these the ones you refer to?" he asked and his detainee replied quickly with a "Yes". I slipped a quiet word into Zheng Shuang's ear, and I took the talismans with me and left. We left the police station and adjourned to another soiree of barbecue skewers. Oddly even to ourselves, we had found ourselves plunged into a never-ending craving for barbecue skewers ever since we had tasted grilled wolf meat at Mongolia. We were then rejoined by Zheng Shuang and we spent the afternoon discussing on how we should deal with Bai C
I ripped open the door quickly, and a sweet, fresh scent wrapped all over me as a young policewoman crash headlong into me, followed by another person, and another... As the whole corral of blue-clothed eavesdroppers tumbled over me like the falling walls of a castle. It had been more than a decade since I last enjoyed something like this as an 8 years old child. But to have more than seven or eight people at the age of 20 years old or more on me now almost seemed like I was trapped within the rubble and debris of an earthquake! In the midst of the whimpers and shrieks, including my painful yelps, Zheng Shuang quickly helped everyone up and pulled me. As the vestiges of the short-lived turmoil quickly subsided, I looked at the seven or eight junior policemen and women now standing sheepishly at Zheng Shuang's office door. "What were you all up to?" Zheng Shuang barked at them, looking confused. "Heh heh heh! It's nothing, Sir. We're just curious about you
The blinding sparkle of the sunlight was the first thing that beckoned to me when I finally regained consciousness. Strangely enough, I still feel dizzy and drowsy as a cigarette was being slid into my mouth. I took two spontaneous heaves, and slowly felt the groggy vertigo beginning to fade. I peered around through my half-opened eyes, and here I was, lying in a bed surrounded full of people. I blinked hard to see more clearly. Lin Feng and Yuan Chongxi were sitting just beside me, with Old Man Xie and Old Man Chen behind them. There was also Uncle Quan and my parents. I took another breath, drawing another gulp of smoke. Immediately I recognized the flavor: it was one of my father's peculiar cigarettes! I began to move my lips, but felt numbness instead. I flexed my jaw, shaking off the lethargy. "What has happened to me?" I croaked hoarsely. My voice! It had become raspy and coarse like an old man's! "You've made quite a progress your swordsmanship, di
The mention of a new lead made us all look at him. "Zhu Jun just called," Zheng Shuang said, "There's another case; also odd and peculiar. The police there are grasping at straws now. He's called to ask for your help." "What is this case about?" I asked, rubbing my chin inquisitively. "Someone was possessed by spirits!" Zheng Shuang said simply, his eyes glinting eerily. My companions and I almost had our breaths held when we heard Zheng Shuang uttered the word "possessed". This could either only be the act of Bai Chuanwei alone, or the machinations of the entire Creed! Still, there was also the challenge of the Third Apostles to a fight. At any rate, we did not know which among the Apostles would appear during that day; any of the Apostles were either smart, strong, or both, and it was only prudent for us to remain cautious. "Tell Zhu Jun," I said to Zheng Shuang, "Ask him to bring his patient to the De Chang Center for Paranormal Studies!"
The plump boy's mother was covered in tears as his classmate told his tale. She was understandably heart-stricken by the torment her son had to endure, even though we have doubled over in laughter on the inside ourselves. Still, our best efforts to squelch our laughter failed. Zheng Shuang, Zhu Jun, the plump boy's mother, and his classmate were confused to see us struggling against our urges to guffaw with laughter! "Oh my God! So much for aiming at the moon!" Yuan Chongxi burst out laughing, slapping on his lap. "Good Heavens! Look at how desperate he was! The methods that he'd been trying," Lin Feng quipped as well. I held off all remaining urge to continue laughing. "Auntie," I said to the plump boy's mother, "Rest assured that I can help your son. Have no fear! If he is indeed a studious student, he might already be able to go back to school tomorrow!" The boy's mother twinkled with hope and joy! "But please," I said to her again almost immediately a
I voiced my suspicions to Yuan Chongxi and Lin Feng, both of whom agreed that what I said might be true. "If this is indeed true, then we are in for a hell of trouble," said Yuan Chongxi, "Including Bai Chuanwei, there would at least be four of them while there's only the three of us." He paused and swallowed another mouthful of noodles. "Chongxi's right," Lin Feng remarked, rubbing his chin, "Bai Chuanwei would undoubted has strengths of his own, otherwise he would never have earned a moniker of "the Invisible Hand". But with the help of another three men... They addressed themselves as 'the Thirteen Apostles' in the letter of challenge, I think this means that all four of them are part of the Thirteen. We know that Bai Chuanwei is the Sixth Apostles, but we still know nothing of the other three..." "Indeed," I quipped, nodding too, "Of the remaining Thirteen, save for Bai Chuanwei who is the Sixth, the Second, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth Apostles are still unaccounted f
The Tenth Apostle seemed awfully sure that his Twelfth counterpart would emerge victorious. They knew enough about us to know that Yuan Chongxi is the weakest in both combat and magic of us three, hence they intend to first defeat him to gain the momentum. I looked back into the ring. The Twelfth Apostle was clad in a buttoned traditional Chinese garb and bell-bottom styled pants with Chinese slip-ons. He was even wearing a pair of wristbands that fully completed the set! He wielded a rope which has a steel dart attached to one of its end, a weapon commonly known as a rope-dart. Most rope-darts these days, including those used during wushu performances, were required by law to have no sharp tips. Sharp-tipped rope darts that could be dangerous were viewed as controlled items that require the permission of the police to be used. It was clear that the Twelfth Apostle was using his illegally; he wanted only to kill his opponent! Unlike Lin Feng's darts which were throwing
I extracted my Spirit Gourd from my pocket and muttered some incantations, sucking the souls of the dead Apostles into my calabash gourd. The Tenth Apostle beheld the sight of his dead comrades with grief and hatred. "May the blessings of the Sages be upon us!" He cried at the top of his voice, "How dare you commit the sacrilege of slaughtering innocent lives! I'll never forgive you!" I step forward and waved him off. "Cut your blather," I cut him off dismissively, "You lot have done nothing but desecrate the good name of Taoism! There no need for fake Taoists like you who abduct children and butcher them for the sake of your diabolical rituals! True Taoists have suffered persecution since the Qing Dynasty, all thanks to you lot, that they were nearly on the brink of extinction! After so many years, you returned from your slumber and continue your witchery and harming the innocent! How dare you invoke the name of the Taoist Sages! How ignorant you are, that you do not