The Tale Never Ends

In truth, we did not bang headfirst into each other. The stranger was very much shorter than I was. But the person was in a hurry, so we bumped into each other.

A weak Argh! And a pair of arms came simultaneously as the stranger tried to push me away. In the midst of the confusion, I mumbled a quick “Ah, I’m sorry.” But my hands instinctively shot up when I saw the pair of arms, grabbing firmly on the wrists. The many life-and-death experiences of battle had given me quick reflexes. But as soon as my fingers enclosed around the wrist, the tingling sensation of chill streaked up my arms. The skin of the stranger was so cold that there was barely any bodily warmth from the person! A ghastly cold so unnerving and harrowing that I would never have thought possible!

I looked down at the stranger who raised her head and saw it was a young woman with long hair that stretched down her shoulders. She was hardly gorgeous or ravishing by my standards, but she would have still been a lovely lass, if not for her pale-white face.

Immediately once she saw me, the young woman planted her fist into my chest. “You’re finally back, Shiyan!”

I should have recognized her in the first place. Xiao Qi, the youngest of the Seven Ghostly Sisters.

“Gods in Heaven, what’s all the rush about, Xiao Qi! You look like you’re rushing to Hell!” I jibed. That made her stomp at my foot. “Come on, say something nice!” I froze. Xiao Qi was stopped by Father then when she was trying to get to Hell. Of all the things that I could have said, I realized I had inadvertently struck her sore spot.

“Er… I’m sorry. Shouldn’t have brought that up,” I muttered weakly. She hugged her shoulders with an indignant “Humph!” and Lin Feng came over. “You’re all back?” he asked and Xiao Qi nodded. “Where did they go off to?” I asked, turning towards the direction of our Center. Lin Feng sniggered. “We’ve sent Xiao Qi and her Sisters ahead to get an idea of things as soon as we got Zhang Zhigui’s letter. Yesterday.”

I nodded with approval. “So, what did you find there?” I asked Xiao Qi whose forehead quickly broke into a frown. “It was not hard to look for Zhang Zhigui’s home once we’d reached Yishui. But he was not at home and nor were his friends! After some digging and information from the locals, at last, we found that Zhang Zhigui and his friends had retreated back to his ancestral residence. We found the address and located the residence, but something is barring our entry! No matter how hard we try, we just can’t pass through their doors and none of them had ever stepped outside! After some questioning of some nearby wandering spirits, they told us that the residence of Clan Zhang now looked strange. But with no signs of Zhang Zhigui and his friends, that is all that we’ve managed to find.”

Our short walk ended right in front of the Center. Chongxi rummaged his pockets and took out the keys. “That’s enough. We made some progress of our own with Shiyan’s return. We’ve deduced that Zhang Zhigui is lying to us. He’s trying to lure us to Yishui.”

Chongxi led us through the Center doors and lighted for himself a cigarette as he and Xiao Qi delved more into the details of the Sister’s reconnaissance mission to Yishui before he recounted our evening discussion, leaving Xiao Qi gaping with her mouth opened. Then she seemed to remember something, saying, “Wait. Just a minute. When we were at Yishui, we felt the presence of somebody with magical powers. But we cannot say if the aura radiated from inside the Clan Zhang residence.”

“So that means we’re not far off from the truth,” I said, “Whoever this is, this person might well be the one hiding at Zhang Zhigui’s side, instigating all these. I think that’s all for tonight. Get some good rest tonight and regroup here tomorrow and prepare to go to Yishui.”

Everyone left, leaving on Chongxi to watch over the Center. With Edelweiss and Big Sister, I drove back home. But I was flabbergasted as soon as I walked into my parents’ home! A strange dread had left me wondering if Father and Mother had hung Na San from the ceiling while they tortured at him from below. But I had never expected to find the shaman now wrapped in an apron, sitting on a stool, helping Father to peel cloves of garlics!

I was so shocked that I nearly fell over. What on Earth is going on here?! Am I dreaming?! Am I insane and this is just an illusion, or is this true and he’s actually insane?!

Na San’s unkempt hair was no longer… unkempt; it was now held in a ponytail at the back of his head and he was dressed in my old clothing. A closer look at his face would show that he had also washed himself up and shaved. He rose to his feet as soon as he saw me, squeaking an obedient “Y-young… Young Lordling.” What had Mother did to him, I almost blurted. It was the first time I heard Na San actually speaking properly. But I could recognize his hoarse, raspy voice from the time when he was chanting his spells. I nodded, my face still looking awestruck. Father’s head popped out of the kitchen when he heard us, beaming brightly, “You’re back! Have a seat and drink something!” And I nodded again.

We might already have had one dinner earlier, but Big Sister and Edelweiss clearly did not have enough. Moreover, Father’s cooking, which could easily overshadow even the oeuvres of professional chefs, was enough to make anyone’s mouth water. Big Sister and Edelweiss quickly took their seats at the dinner table, their gleaming eyes gazing expectantly at the kitchen. Despite still not yet fully acclimatized to the warmth of having a family, Big Sister was getting there. She looked more comfortable mingling with us now. “What is this with you?” I turned my attention to Na San, asking him, “What’s behind this huge change in attitude? You were still snarling at me the last time I checked.”

A blush of red burned on his face as he quickly rubbed his hands with a table cloth to mask his embarrassment. “My apologies for the offense. I had no idea that you are the son of our most esteemed matriarch.” I nodded. It was true and I had seen it myself; in my travels through Time, I had glimpsed with my own eyes how Mother had turned herself into one of the earliest ancestors of the shaman tribe and made a pact with the Wudaxian zoomorphic deities. This would make Mother one of the foremost matriarchs of the shaman tribe which served the Aisin Gioro. As a descendant of the shaman tribe, Na San had but only the deepest respect for Mother.

I chuckled and that seemed to make the scarlet patch on his face blazed even brighter. “Err… I hope you won’t mind what happened before, Young Lordling…” Na San croaked diffidently. I smiled and shook my head, indicating everything is fine.

As it happened, Na San came from Clan Yehe Nara. He blushed again; the name of Clan Yehe Nara was a prominent one especially due to Empress Dowager Cixi, one of the clan’s most famous members and also Na San’s distant cousin.

His service to Jin Qichen started back when his grandfather had pledged the clan’s fealty to Jin Qichen’s grandfather, swearing that the shamans would forever serve the house of the former monarchs of the fallen Qing Empire. Just as much as how the house of Jin Qichen prided themselves as deposed princes of the former Qing Empire, Na San’s family reveled in the glory of their shamanic heritage. Since his birth, he was slated to serve Jin Qichen just like how his father served Jin’s father and his father before him. And this was apparent from how Jin Qichen dressed so richly while Na San was only clad in frayed and battered clothing. Still, regardless of all the respect and deference that Na San had reserved for his master, he was visibly crestfallen and downcast, knowing that his master had so readily abandoned him in the slightest face of adversity. It was when he finally met Mother, an ancestral matriarch of his family, Na San knew better: it was time for him to switch sides.

Father walked out of the kitchen just when Na San finished his story. “This boy has lived a miserable life himself. Hence, your mother and I had not given him a hard time. But he still has loyalty for his prince. So I’ll be sending him back to the North-east tonight.” A gleam of moroseness flashed momentarily in Na San’s eyes. But it waned just as quickly as it came as he got up and said a grateful “Thank you” to Father.

I nodded, understanding his plight. Big Sister and Edelweiss emerged with plates of dishes. As they set the table, I took the opportunity to speak to Father about Zhang Zhigui and his letter. “We’ll be going to Yishui tomorrow. I’m afraid that Zhang Zhigui has been under this person’s spell for quite some time. But this is not something we can tell him directly; not only will he refuse to believe me, but things could also escalate into something worse and we risk alerting this stranger before we are ready.”

Father said nothing. He took a long, deep swig from his cigarette, eyeing me thoughtfully for seconds until he finally spoke quietly, “I gather that Master Six has told you everything.” “Not really,” I muttered, smiling weakly, “He told me nothing, in fact. What he did was he sent me back to the final days of the Ming Dynasty.”