I smacked my lips with surprise and relief! Yuan Chongxi was not only idling and enjoying his food; he had quietly worked his magic when the culprit fled away! The three bones on the tray were arranged to resemble the sign of Li (South in Yi Jing terminology) from the Manifested Bagua Signs! The sign itself represented the direction of South; the culprit must be fleeing south now, I realized! Yuan Chongxi's keenness whenever he was eating had yet to let us down! Behind me, Lin Feng was smiling too, obviously thinking the very same thing too. "What will we find due South?" I asked the woman still holding the tray of bones. The woman pondered for seconds. "There's a small town not far from here if you ride South. The journey on horse will take about an hour." I nodded and muttered a curt "thanks" and she replied with a bow, "Don't mention it. And urm..." I was about to leave after thanking her but her hesitation made me turned quickly. She pulled some notes

According to the signs of Bagua divination that Yuan Chongxi had given, I hacked at the directions of East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest, North, and Northeast with my sword where the flow of energies swirled uncontrollably around us. With each stroke, the flow of the energies was immediately sealed as if blocked by an invisible wall. Could this be the hidden ability of the swordsmanship Father taught me? As if on cue to my thoughts, noises like splintering glass and snapping wood began cascading from every corner of the hospital before slowly intensifying into a chaotic amalgam of crashing din until everything stopped, giving way only to a still blanket of silence. But with my Spirit Sight, I could see countless of ghosts, vengeful spirits, drifting away like air escaping from the puncture of a balloon. The ghastly spectacle of wraithlike figures escaping to their freedom sent me a jolt of shock. How could I have forgotten the countless innocent souls t

My cigarette nearly fell out of my mouth. "What the hell? So how are we going to pursue the enemy without any information?" I hissed. I could feel the annoyance slowly showing on my face. "But I can really do nothing," Chongxi muttered with a discomfited smile. "Even so, we'll scour through every fen and hollow of the whole Mongolian prairie to look for our Chief!" Edelweiss growled fiercely which elicited by a couple of whoops of assent by the rest of the girls. I turned back to look at Mother, who was still watching us from her perch on the rooftop. As if she had heard what we were saying, her arm rose suddenly, pointing into the distance. She was pointing towards Northwest, I realized. She was telling me that we should go to the northwest! I nodded to her and scrambled up the saddle of my horse, and we rumbled out of the encampment with our hunt renewed. Despite rarely being at my side to mollycoddle me, my parents had always been there for me whenever I needed them

The demoness tossed me my scabbard quietly. There was a distinct change to her expression. She appeared to feel more relaxed to know that I was not born by Mother. I caught the sheath and slid my sword slowly back into it and hung it over my back. The demoness, her eyes still fixed upon the sight of me and Edelweiss, lamented with envy. "Look at you! Kind and adoring towards each other! Look at your father! A block-headed fool!" "Where is the son of the block-headed fool? Let us all have a look!" A yell came from outside just then. A group of people entered the cave, all wielding arms. The old crone leaped before us, blocking their way. "They are my playthings! Mine! Why should I allow you a glimpse of them?" She barked furiously. Behind her, I scowled, so I am now a plaything! I threw my gaze over the band of newcomers; a group of men and women that looked ordinary, until I recognized one of them! A woman whom I encountered when I was very young! The wom

Feeling emotions surging into me, I was touched by my companions' concern for me. My hand snuck into my pocket and gripped on my phone. I peered at its screen. But it was cracked. One more item to add to my loss this trip, I brooded. Time for another new phone. I smiled weakly to myself and lighted a cigarette. "I recognized a woman from the group of people who attacked us earlier," I said to everyone, "they had tried to abduct me when I was very young, and they failed. Seems like this time, they came prepared. This would mean that Aunt Ulan's soul is with them! But still, we know little of them and I am at a loss of what to do now." Lin Feng and Yuan Chongxi too nodded morosely. Not only we did not know why were they targeting me like sharks on a trail of blood, they seemed to know every bit of our movement. Godmother was puzzled to hear about Aunt Ulan and asked me about her. Sheepishly, I began telling her what happened between Father and her. At the e