I ripped open the door quickly, and a sweet, fresh scent wrapped all over me as a young policewoman crash headlong into me, followed by another person, and another... As the whole corral of blue-clothed eavesdroppers tumbled over me like the falling walls of a castle. It had been more than a decade since I last enjoyed something like this as an 8 years old child. But to have more than seven or eight people at the age of 20 years old or more on me now almost seemed like I was trapped within the rubble and debris of an earthquake! In the midst of the whimpers and shrieks, including my painful yelps, Zheng Shuang quickly helped everyone up and pulled me. As the vestiges of the short-lived turmoil quickly subsided, I looked at the seven or eight junior policemen and women now standing sheepishly at Zheng Shuang's office door. "What were you all up to?" Zheng Shuang barked at them, looking confused. "Heh heh heh! It's nothing, Sir. We're just curious about you

The mention of a new lead made us all look at him. "Zhu Jun just called," Zheng Shuang said, "There's another case; also odd and peculiar. The police there are grasping at straws now. He's called to ask for your help." "What is this case about?" I asked, rubbing my chin inquisitively. "Someone was possessed by spirits!" Zheng Shuang said simply, his eyes glinting eerily. My companions and I almost had our breaths held when we heard Zheng Shuang uttered the word "possessed". This could either only be the act of Bai Chuanwei alone, or the machinations of the entire Creed! Still, there was also the challenge of the Third Apostles to a fight. At any rate, we did not know which among the Apostles would appear during that day; any of the Apostles were either smart, strong, or both, and it was only prudent for us to remain cautious. "Tell Zhu Jun," I said to Zheng Shuang, "Ask him to bring his patient to the De Chang Center for Paranormal Studies!"

I voiced my suspicions to Yuan Chongxi and Lin Feng, both of whom agreed that what I said might be true. "If this is indeed true, then we are in for a hell of trouble," said Yuan Chongxi, "Including Bai Chuanwei, there would at least be four of them while there's only the three of us." He paused and swallowed another mouthful of noodles. "Chongxi's right," Lin Feng remarked, rubbing his chin, "Bai Chuanwei would undoubted has strengths of his own, otherwise he would never have earned a moniker of "the Invisible Hand". But with the help of another three men... They addressed themselves as 'the Thirteen Apostles' in the letter of challenge, I think this means that all four of them are part of the Thirteen. We know that Bai Chuanwei is the Sixth Apostles, but we still know nothing of the other three..." "Indeed," I quipped, nodding too, "Of the remaining Thirteen, save for Bai Chuanwei who is the Sixth, the Second, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth Apostles are still unaccounted f

I extracted my Spirit Gourd from my pocket and muttered some incantations, sucking the souls of the dead Apostles into my calabash gourd. The Tenth Apostle beheld the sight of his dead comrades with grief and hatred. "May the blessings of the Sages be upon us!" He cried at the top of his voice, "How dare you commit the sacrilege of slaughtering innocent lives! I'll never forgive you!" I step forward and waved him off. "Cut your blather," I cut him off dismissively, "You lot have done nothing but desecrate the good name of Taoism! There no need for fake Taoists like you who abduct children and butcher them for the sake of your diabolical rituals! True Taoists have suffered persecution since the Qing Dynasty, all thanks to you lot, that they were nearly on the brink of extinction! After so many years, you returned from your slumber and continue your witchery and harming the innocent! How dare you invoke the name of the Taoist Sages! How ignorant you are, that you do not

On the mountain were some houses made from rocks. I had no idea what purposes did they serve. Seeing that there was no road ahead of us, we got off the carriage. I told the other two to get their weapons ready and retrieved the spirit eagle. We then started climbing up the mountain. The mountain was not high. On one side of it was an abandoned quarry. There weren't many trees and the weeds were short as well, the mountain seemed to be quite barren. It wasn't too steep to climb, and slowly we approached the fences surrounding the houses. They were all built on flat ground near the top, which was just a short distance ahead. I fastened my pace and entered the yard within those fences. The yard was covered with weeds as well. At that moment, my sword started vibrating vigorously. I waved towards the back as a signal to start searching every room while not making any sound. There was no door nor window in all the rooms, only the skeleton of them built with ro