The large double-decker was not a normal bus coming from nor it was heading to somewhere else; it was a conveyance from the Underworld, here to deliver spirits and ghosts! The ghost of the dumb person had felt it coming; this explained his forlorn reluctance to leave the black cat! He, a dumb person, did have less attachment left in this world than other common people, save for the black cat which had been his companion for some time. With Smoky’s wellbeing now seen to, the ghost could now pass on in peace, hence the coming of the Underworld Express for him.

Most spirits and ghosts were taken by the heralds of Hell into the Underworld. But those which final wishes had been fulfilled, and had passed on in peace, could just ride on the bus into the Realm of the Dead without wading through messy formalities. The bus had found the ghost of the dumb person, since his final deathbed bequest was effectuated. The large bus screeched to a halt before us. Its doors slid open, revealing two hell guards of the Underworld who stepped down.

The two hell guards took notice of me and were immediately stunned to see me there! But they recollected themselves same as swiftly, giving me a nod of acknowledgment, indicating their awareness of my profession as a medium and a fellow colleague in common cause. I returned a curt nod to them with a smile. Without any penchant for talk, the two hell guards took the ghost with them and returned to the bus. Before long, the bus revved off into the night, with no sign of it having been there at all.

I returned back to the Internet cafe, and realized the time at about four in the morning. But once I stepped off the stairs, I realized a strange, chilly air in the darkened room. Why were the lights of the cafe off? Was the caretaker bored and decided to take the night off? But my handphone was still with her, I realized and cursed. But I heard a noise. A soft series of tapping that came from behind the bar counter of the cafe! Something was behind there! I tiptoed softly towards the counter, releasing six of my spirit wolves warily. With my spectral familiars, we slowly surrounded the counter. If it was indeed any pursuers from the Creed of the Eight Trigrams, then the caretaker girl might already be in danger!

My crusade against the Creed had somehow left me disturbed; I would always be reminded of the Creed’s thirst for revenge first and foremost whenever I encountered any sign of unrest or trouble. But I was very badly mistaken this time, so badly that I almost caused harm to an innocent. My spirit wolves could better see in the dark than any human. My wolves were almost upon the bar counter, when a shrilled cry tore through the eerie silence! I knew that voice! It was the caretaker girl! I unsummoned my spirit wolves and rushed to the other side of the counter. There she was, the frightened young girl, cowering fearfully under the counter. The tapping noise I heard came from the chair that she held with her shivering body.

I helped her to her feet, still puzzled by everything. “What are you doing down here? Why are the lights all shut off?” Even in the dark, she was still trembling badly with panic. “You are back at last, Shiyan! Y-you had just left, when a strange gale of wind blew into the cafe and everything went dark! I felt the presence of somebody coming in, although I could not see them!” My head turned around in the darkness, the darkness and shadows closed in on us. Suddenly, I realized that the electric meter on the wall was still flashing! This was no power outage, I realized! Something was wrong! Something had indeed slipped in when I was out! At my summons, all six of my spirit wolves reappeared around me and began sniffing around for intruders. Slowly, their trails began to converge on the seat I was in before I had left. They inched closer and closer, growling menacingly as I braced myself, wondering ominously, “Damn, so it has begun.”

The caretaker girl agape with shock and amazement, tugged at my shirt. “Err… Shiyan… From where did these huge hounds come from?” In my haste, I made no reply. With my other arm behind my back, I made some hand seals and muttered a quick spell. There was the sound of steel whistling through the air, followed by a loud “Crash!” as a window shattered, and my sword flew into my grasp. The caretaker girl had her hands over her mouth in a desperate attempt to stifle her astonished yelps. My practice with the summoning charm of my sword seemed to be working well, I thought, although I did not think that the spell would be useful so soon! Armed with my sword, I slowly approached the point where my wolves were surrounding. They were wary against pouncing headfirst at their quarry in the dark as if expecting further instructions from me. Things might be hairy from now on, I thought as my heartbeat resounded loudly in my ears.

In the dark, I could see the silhouettes of two figures standing at my earlier seat! Flanking on either side of my chair, the two figures remained strangely motionless. With another two paces forward, I could vaguely see that the two figures were wary of the ring of wolves now enclosing them, even though they indicated no signs of hostilities.

It was only when I was very close to the mysterious intruders when I realized who they were. I was momentarily stunned before I withdrew my spirit wolves and opened my mouth to speak, “How can I help you both, guards of the Underworld?” Damn, I almost cursed out loud! It was not any remnants of the Creed seeking vengeance, but only two Hell Guards! At my question, there was a puzzled expression on the guards who observed and peered at me intently before one of them spoke, “You are…” I bowed to them respectfully and clasped my hands together in salute and introduced myself. The baffled look on their faces was replaced with one of respect for a common ally. “We were wondering if you had encountered the ghost of a person slightly dull and simple-minded, Master Shiyan.” At last, I understood: like the Underworld Express earlier, these two guards were here for the ghost of the dumb man! But they had come here instead because they picked up his scent that the ghost had left here when he came to me! I informed the two guards about everything and mentioned to them that the ghost had been picked up by another two guards aboard the Underworld Express. Satisfied, the two guards turned and left through the door.

Their backs were barely out the door, and immediately, the lighting of the entire Internet cafe returned back to life! The caretaker girl crumbled into a chair and sighed heavily. “I will never want to take the night shift again!” I lifted the cup of coffee she prepared for me earlier, now cold and tasteless, and took a gulp. I leaned on the counter and said to the girl, “What is there to be afraid of? You’ve only encountered two Hell Guards at their own business. Consider this an opportunity! Many live their entire lives without being fortunate enough to witness something like this!” I would, in most cases, refrain from being open about paranormal matters to ordinary mundane people. But there was no point in hiding everything from the caretaker girl since she had witnessed me at work with her own eyes.

But after everything that had transpired, I had lost all will and thrill to enjoy any games, at least for the day. It was already five in the morning and I stood up, preparing to return to the Center for a nap when the caretaker girl pulled at my arm. “Wait, Shiyan!” she pleaded, “Please accompany me for a while more! My shift ends at six, but I am scared of being alone now…” I emitted a brief chuckle and plopped into a chair, sitting beside the girl for another hour before I left in my car back to the Center.

I returned to the Center to find Xiao Qi and her Sisters having the time of their life, wheezing overhead of me with great fun. I threw my stuff onto the cushion and collapsed into a deep slumber. The dregs of the Creed would most certainly relish vengeance on me for my work in dismantling their order. But faced with the absence of information and knowledge about their whereabouts and plans, I could only patiently wait for their move. The days came and went as usual, save for Xiao Qi and the Sisters. Peeved by their antics, Mr. Zhang and Aunt Fen had requested our permission that the Sisters could come over sometimes. They were allowed to use the Center like their own house, but they were forbidden to frighten others. With the absence of Lin Feng and Yuan Chongxi, it was they who had provided me with distractions in the form of noises and flickering lights in the otherwise noisy nights.

As my story reached its end, Yuan Chongxi and Lin Feng slapped at the table with amazement and wonder on their faces. It was rare to have encountered any Hell Guards, more so to communicate directly with them! “There’s no need to fret,” I chortled, “You will get your time, in more than a few decades or so.” Yuan Chongxi nodded in agreement; clearly, he did not understand my joke, nodding blankly at what I said. Lin Feng slapped the table again. “Of course!” he said with a smile, “We are not brothers born on the same day, but we would surely hope to be able to die heroically together! You better not run off…” Lin Feng gestured at Yuan Chongxi. “Wherever we go, we’ll go together!” Finally, Yuan Chongxi realized my joke and spat, “Damn, Shiyan! So it was a curse! What a thing to say!”

In an afternoon a few days later, we had another visit from the village councilman Mr. Kang. But his sudden visit had us thinking that his mother’s condition had returned when he revealed that it was another family of his that needed our help. A distant relative of his was sick, but it would be quite a journey for us to travel far into the northern countryside hundreds of miles away. The relative had sought help from other mediums and shamans but they were nothing but charlatans and shylocks who did nothing to help his situation. Mr. Kang had recommended us to his relative, having witnessed our capabilities. He offered us a 2000-yuan deposit which we accepted, and after a short discussion, we agreed to help out.

Wu Zhong and its neighboring county were once part of the same jurisdiction under varying governments through different dynasties in the course of history. In some eras, they were viewed as separate counties while in some, they were governed and viewed as one single area. But a mountainous rural area bordered the northern boundaries of both counties and it was there where the patient, the relative of Mr. Kang, lived. With Lin Feng at the wheel, the three of us ventured into the backwoods with Mr. Kang as a guide. As we entered the rural town that was part of Wu Zhong’s neighboring county, we noticed that the houses’ style there was also different from that of Wu Zhong; the dwellings there had flat-top roofs where residents could dry things out in the sun atop their houses. With the councilman in the lead, we came to a pig farm. There were a dozen of houses and tenements behind the farm that seemed to serve as hostels for the staff of the farm. Between the hostels and the farm was a canteen in front of which we parked our car. Mr. Kang led us into one such tenement where we were received by a youthful-looking man, introducing himself as Wang, and Wang promptly ushered us indoors…