Naturally, the person picking fruits would hardly be able to escape the senses of the tiger when it lunged for the wildfowl. The man would also end up as a game of the tiger's conquest to quench its hunger. Then again, the director and the chief physician understand nothing of the underlying message behind Old Man Xie's parable; their dazed expressions fully conveying their perplexity, as if waiting for the old man to give them the answer to his riddle. Old Man Xie scowled at the two men, sighing with his ire in full display and grumbled. "You still don't understand, do you? You nerds... For all the books you've been poring over... The beefsteak plant is the wildfowl that I tossed in to trigger the patients' immune system to kick in. Moreover, beefsteak plants have a poison of their own, although the amount of toxin they contain is hardly lethal. Villagers these days neither plant beefsteak plants for food nor for chicken food but as natural pesticides. They ward off bugs and i

The clock was already showing ten when I got home that night, a drunk and groggy young man reeking of food and wine as I stumbled through the door. I saw my father relaxing, half-lying on the sofa with my mother's head resting on his shoulders. The pair of couple was enjoying a frivolous moment of youthful entertainment watching cartoons. This sometimes begged the question, what age group was they for real? Despite their dignified and aloof presence outside, this particular pair of husband and wife could, in their most candid moments at home, behave as though they were still 5-year-olds still missing Christmas. 　　Due to the warm weather that night, I laid my sleeveless shirt over the sofa and said, "Do remember to remind Old Man Li that it's our opening day tomorrow, Father. We need him to perform something for the guests." My father grunted a "Yes", his eyes still glued to the TV screen. Old Man Li was another of the senior counselors at the Institute, kn

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

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

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