The Tale Never Ends

“Get what?” Edelweiss uttered incredulously. “Edelweiss still doesn’t understand what is going on.” Chongxi observed wryly. “Come on,” Lin Feng quipped, “Just tell us!”

Big Sister had just finished placing our order. Putting down the menu, she joined into the conversation. “I don’t know what happened before. You mentioned just now that Zhang Zhigui is fighting against a cult. An organization. And that organization also covets Little Brother’s Shiyan Blade. Don’t you find it odd that of all times, Zhang Zhigui turned against us now and has taken the Blade?”

A waitress came back for the menu and Big Sister handed it to her. With a look as if she was staring at a bunch of loony psychos who had just escaped an asylum, the waitress took the menu, spun, and left.

Lin Feng smacked the back of his own head in dawning comprehension. “Oh, my God! I didn’t think of that! So that means somebody from the Order of Pain is instigating Zhang Zhigui to take Shiyan’s sword?” With a nod of my head, I went on, “Defeating the Order of Pain shall be no easy feat. We are well-informed of everything, compared to Zhang Zhigui. That allows the Order to easily infiltrate the ranks of his family and household to influence him. That means, whoever he is, this stranger must be close to Zhang Zhigui and he must be a member of the Order. Based on our experiences with Ha’ri Naohai, I can safely say that there must be more than just taking my sword. Hoodwinking Zhang Zhigui to change his stand against us is merely Step 1.”

Lin Feng sniggered. “Only they did not realize that we had seen through their plans. That is why we did not get into a real fight with Zhang Zhigui and his friends. Instead, we quietly allowed them to take the Shiyan Blade, no?” And that earned him an approving nod from me.

Before long, the food came. We delved into the food and Big Sister asked, “So what’s your plan now, Little Brother?” I stopped for a moment to think. Then I said, “I don’t know. I guess we’ll first wait and see. This is definitely the end of their schemes, so I’d wager there would still be more. But for now, their focus would be on the Shiyan Blade now in Zhang Zhigui’s possession. So that allows us some time. But I might need to speak to Father. Without the Blade, I am useless.” “Indeed,” Big Sister muttered through her food, “Moreover, you need to ask him about becoming one with your sword. The last time you manage to spiritually fuse with your sword looked soundly different compared to our first fight. You might wanna talk to Father about that too.”

Everything Big Sister said was spot-on. Becoming one with my sword should have been an achievement. An enhancement that was supposed to grant me more power. Only now, it had become more of a hindrance than help. That was why I agreed to Big Sister’s suggestion that I needed to speak to Father.

Not even Chongxi could match Big Sister’s ferocity. She chomped and swallowed every piece of meat she could find with maniacal frenzy while the rest of the table gawked in silence. Chongxi was holding his chopsticks in mid-air, wearing a dazed expression that he lost all appetite. It took several minutes until Big Sister notice our inactivity and she looked at us quizzically. “It’s time you learn some table manners, Big Sister,” I muttered, “You can morph into the most beautiful girl on the planet. But you would be easily betrayed by your indecency at the dinner table.”

She threw me an ugly look and ignored me. “Actually, I don’t think Zhang Zhigui’s a good person,” she said suddenly, much to my amazement, “Look at him. The man even wears a queue on the back of his head! Funny, if you ask me.” As she spoke, she glanced briefly at our hairs and nodded her approbation. “Wow,” Chongxi said at once, “Big Sister Lan, you do really know your hairstyles, don’t you!” “Come on,” she replied, “I’m not stupid. I have been observing everyone on the streets and Zhang Zhigui’s the only one that stands out. That’s enough for me to know he’s a queer one.”

I had never before elaborated on Zhang Zhigui’s appearance. While definitely not looking the ugliest or most repugnant, Zhang Zhigui kept his hair long and wore only traditional clothing. At first glance, some might even think he was an artist of sorts. As a student of arts and most specifically music, I did not find his queue peculiar. So did Lin Feng, who trained martial arts and wushu. As for Chongxi, his extensive experiences in the wild in his youth had rendered him no alien to the peculiarities and eccentricities of some people. On the other hand, Edelweiss, who was a former outlaw, was by no means a shallow termagant who would pin-point at the quirks of others. Rather, we were amazed by Big Sister. A she-fox demon who had spent centuries in the wilderness was feeling perturbed and bothered by Zhang Zhigui’s idiosyncrasy!

Same as before, Big Sister refused to leave until a member of the restaurant’s staff had to show us our bill, tacitly indicating that it was time for us to pay up and leave. Unsurprisingly, it was a meal that cost me a whopping few hundred yuan. “Wow,” Chongxi swooned and said, “Big Sister Lan will need a high-paying job. Otherwise, we would go broke trying to feed her!” Lin Feng and I returned weak smiles. Indeed, at this rate, even our credit cards would be way past their limits…

But foxes have more acute hearing than man. Our quiet exchange did not go unnoticed. With a slap each to every back of our heads, Big Sister scowled jokingly, “You filthy whelps! How dare you plot against me here!” “We’re sorry! We’re sorry!” Chongxi and Lin Feng looked like chickens pecking the ground as they bobbed their heads in unison. Big Sister threw an amused look at us before she turned to a quiet Edelweiss and slipped to her a little battered-looking pouch that she produced from thin air.

“I wonder how much money can we exchange from this now?” she muttered. I took the small but heavily-patched cloth pouch and opened it. To my disbelief, it was filled with gleaming gold sycees! That made me suspicious. With a strange look at Big Sister, I had to ask, “Where did you get this many gold pieces?” “Where else?” Big Sister replied nonchalantly, “It’s the stash I kept during my stay at the mountains.”

“Stash?!” We blurted as one. Big Sister threw a narrowed-eye glare at us, looking slightly annoyed. “These were found on the bodies of the humans I ate. I thought that I might have use of them if I morph into a human, so I began stockpiling as much gold as I could find.” Big Sister’s explanation might have sounded calm and casual, but we felt a lick of chill up our backs and shuddered.

“Urm… Big Sister Lan… So how much have you amassed in total?” Chongxi stammered fearfully and a calm and relaxed Big Sister muttered lackadaisically, “A lot. It would have filled one whole wagon.” “How many humans have you actually eaten before?!” Lin Feng retorted sharply and that earned him a harsh glare from Big Sister who then resumed her laid-back demeanor, “It used to be a lot until I used the lion’s share of it to forge a sword. I didn’t know what metal would be best for making swords, so I used every type I could find; gold, silver, copper, and iron…”

“And then?” I pressed. She shrugged, “Then I realized that these were all ordinary metals. I needed a magical sword and no amount of ordinary metals would be of any use.” “And then?” I hissed again, slightly peeved at her loathing to reveal more and she chuckled and said, “Then I remembered about the earring Father gave me. There were already different types of metal ores in addition to some jewels and valuables inside when he imparted it to me. Some metal ores which I don’t know the names of. By then, my powers have grown and I began to realize the properties of these rare metal ores which some I used to forge the Qinglan’s Edge which is most compatible with my brand of magic.”

I nodded with a whiff of relief. At least she did not end up plundering or robbing others.

What Big Sister said about Father having hoarded a huge mound of gold, silver, jewels and precious stones in his magical earring reminded me about the scene long ago in the past when Master Six had sent back through Time. We were in an ancient crypt and Father had made a huge heap of valuables disappear into thin air in the blink of an eye. I guess that was how he made it missing: he had stored them all into his earring.

“So,” I cackled and said, “It seems our Father is also a very profligate spendthrift; look at the amount of gift he’s given his daughter!” That remark made Big Sister felt she was no less loved than I was and she smiled.

I proceeded to recount the tales of that night in the ancient crypt to everyone, much to everyone’s marvel and gasps.

By the time my tale ended, we were almost back at the hotel. The time was almost midnight and the staff in the hotel lobby had long gone off. But we crept inside only to find that the quiet lobby was far from being empty.

Somebody was sitting alone on the plush sofas of the lobby lounge. I paused my story, lest the person might overhear me and think I was insane. Noticing the person sitting alone, every one of us hushed and tried to sneak in quietly. Just then, the person stood up and whirled around, heading straight for us!