Only after recognizing them both, I realized that there another two persons with them. The two strangers greeted me and I too waved back politely. I invited the guests indoors and made them tea when Lin Feng came back with a sweat-soaked towel over his neck; he must have been out exercising. Seeing that there were already guests present, Lin Feng came over and introduced himself. As the four guests were getting themselves comfortable in their seats, Lin Feng and I shared a quick look: Fate must have been smiling upon us! We had clients despite being freshly opened for the first day of business, we thought in unison!
I turned towards the two strangers that the couple had led to us, a man and a woman who were watching me expectantly. "So, they are..." I asked curiously, gesturing to them. Brother Plasticbag (as he would henceforth be known as, for his past exploits with a plastic bag he had mistaken as a wraith) then explained, "They are our neighbors who live
Curiosity: the basic and unquenchable human thirst to understand more about themselves and their surroundings. Yet many failed to comprehend that some mysteries are best left unsolved, and this man was the epitome of this very fact. I had been frank in telling him that the condition of his mother was simply beyond our scope of abilities. The truth of the entire episode, which I would rather not divulge, was something not a son would be able to suffer. He might even turn cross and things might even become ugly... I could only hope that Lin Feng would refrain from delivering his blows too heavily if things were to indeed come to such lamentable outcome... But the man was relentless. He stubbornly demanded that I tell him the truth, or he would refuse to leave. Why the hard-headedness, I wondered, my face contorting sourly. He left us no choice then, but to disclose the whole story. I said to Yuan Chongxi, "Let me do the talking. This needs to be delivered delicately.&quo
I studied the frown on the man's face and asked, "Where are the two vengeful spirits that you were charged to subdue?" The man replied that the spirits were kept in urns that he had left at his hotel room. "Did you not ask them about the whole story?" I asked again and the man replied, "I did but to no avail. The spirits refused to answer me." I shook my head, exasperated, and said, "I'll have my colleague first divine your condition before we decide what to do then." Realizing his cue to act, Yuan Chongxi asked the man about his birthdates and time of birth and began working. The man must surely had begun plying his trade despite being fully-trained, I thought. Surely the matter was one beyond his skills and abilities to handle; hence his need for help. But I was wrong. Beside me, Yuan Chongxi calculated and augured the truth of the two vengeful spirits, his expression darkened, gradually turning into horror. By the time his calculations were
Lin Feng's aunt grew teary, her eyes rimmed with a moist, scarlet shade, and said, "I know. I'll go then. Goodbye!" She held my hand tightly before she let go and got up her car. I placed the two urns into the car, not forgetting to paste some talismans on the rear windshield of the car. The talismans would function as a homing beacon so that the foul spirits would be drawn towards us rather than Lin Feng's aunt and her nephew. I said to Lin Feng and Yuan Chongxi, "The Institute. Not only this matter requires his help to communicate with the Sansheng Stone of the Underworld, but this matter has to be kept under wraps to prevent any opposing parties from preparing further countermeasures." Lin Feng nodded to me, indicating his agreement to my intentions and steered the car towards the direction of the Institute. For reasons unknown, Father seemed to had foreseen our arrival. He was waiting for us at his office and pointed immediately to the two c
With a smile across my face, I explained, "It's normal that you do not understand, Mr. Liu. There are people who think that we of this trade command immense power and authority over foul beings and evil spirits. But there is a reason why this agency is named 'De Chang' (Virtuous and Prosperity). It's a reminder that we have to be accountable for everything we do. I can expel the female spirit from Mr. Yang's body, but the female spirit has an intense grudge even after her death. Setting her loose here might endanger the lives of other innocents around here. Moreover, to completely restrain her or eliminate her contradicts our principles to exact justice, not to take lives indiscriminately. There must be a reason to which the female ghost had chosen to remain so long at the farm. It's only right that we send her back there and find out the truth behind everything so that we could fully resolve the whole matter!" Mr. Liu flashed a thumb and exclaimed. "Well said! Very w
That night, we had dinner at a lakeside restaurant. Mr. Liu treated us to a meal of barbeque fish, followed by a trip to the karaoke. With Lin Feng's little disciple's class rescheduled to the evening, we had fun until about four or five when Mr. Liu invited us to a game of mahjong, which we declined. It was already a little more than five when we got back to the center. But there was another visitor that night whose arrival we hardly expect: it was the superintendent that I encountered that morning at the haunted farm. Only this time, he came in civilian clothing. I ushered him in and made him tea. As I slipped him a cigarette, he asked if we could meet up for coffee that night. The man was here for help, but he could not dare openly ask. "You can speak freely here. Everyone here is family, including..." I said, gesturing to both Lin Feng and Yuan Chongxi, "My friends here. We're like brothers. Rest assured that what you say today will not be repeated elsewh
The Taoist priest bowed, and I returned the same courtesy to him before I led him to our sitting place and poured him some tea. The priest was direct, saying, "I am here today, to implore for your help to join me in ridding evil and foul beings!" "You, yourself, command great powers, Master Priest," I replied modestly. "We can only plead incompetence in comparison to one as great as you!" The priest heaved a long breath and sighed. "To tell you the truth, your name was recommended to me by a colleague. There have been whispers of a powerful person at the National Studies Institute around here. I had gone there to try to meet that great man, only to have my requests for a meeting rejected. But a lady there told me that the Head Person of the Institute rarely shows himself to strangers. But his son had just started a paranormal investigative firm here, she told me; and here I am." It must have been Aunt Fen who had recommended us to him
My head jerked back to look for the origin of the voice and found an unruly brat, clutching a plastic toy rifle in his arms, running towards us. My third aunt was chasing after him from behind, gasping for breath. "I'm breathless just by chasing this rascal!" She managed through her infrequent pants. Seeing us, she came to us and greeted us. "You have graduated, have you, Shiyan?" She asked. "I have. In fact, the three of us here have started our own paranormal investigative firm. We specialized in looking into supernatural incidents and some counseling too. But we have hit a snag; hence we're here today. I heard that Third Uncle knows a man who commands certain authority even over deities and immortals. There were rumors that he could even move mountains and shift the oceans!" My third uncle guffawed hilariously. "What is this you're talking about? From where do I find somebody with such powers!" The boy scurried over and leaped into the arms
For reasons unknown, I was able to neglect his abrupt laughter. In a strange moment of clarity despite his bellowing chortles, it dawned upon me that this old man hardly looked like the gnarly, frail old man that we would have imagined a person of a hundred years old would look like. Instead, he looked as if he was only in his seventies. Shallow creases lined across his weather-worn face although they were hardly the deep wrinkles most old men had. Through his jovial grin, I could see his neat, white teeth which I suspected were dentures. As he and Third Uncle continued their talk, his movements and gestures were agile and rapid; hardly fitting the image of a feeble and sickly old man with long, flowing mane and beard. Like Third Uncle himself, the old man was also a garrulous and effusive person whose loquaciousness would never cease unless bidden to. His caretaker appeared with more teacups minutes later and poured us tea. We sat down too, realizing that there were