by Kylie Chan
The next morning Leo was fine but John was still very weak. He put on his navy suit and changed to his older form, ready for the border crossing. Leo drove.
John kept falling asleep in the car. I had to constantly remind him to change his hair; he seemed to have trouble keeping it short.
When we reached the stables, John pulled his bag out of the boot and went inside to change. Simone lay on the seat next to me.
Leo stiffened, then quickly pulled himself out of the car. Five armed demons approached us in the car park; level twenty or thirty. They looked like triads; their hair was dyed blond and red. They wore filthy jeans and T-shirts, and carried Chinese cleavers, the weapon of choice for Hong Kong gangsters.
I hopped out of the car, leaving Simone sleeping on the seat. I went around and stood next to Leo.
‘There’re some swords in the boot.’ Leo moved his hand and the boot popped open. ‘Pull out Dark Heavens for me, will you?’
I went and pulled out Dark Heavens, the sword that usually resided on clips in the hallway back at the Peak. My sword was there, and I took it as well, then slammed the boot shut.
I passed Dark Heavens to Leo. ‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘Go and get Mr Chen.’ ‘No need,’ I said. ‘We can handle this.’ He glanced down at me.
‘I’ll take the two on the right. You take the three on the left.’ I pulled my sword from its scabbard. ‘Ready?’
Leo turned back to the demons. ‘Hell, yeah.’
They ran towards us and we moved to give each other room.
I pushed some chi into the sword and made it sing; it didn’t affect them at all. They continued to run at us. I threw the chi at the demon on the far right and it exploded. The demon next to it was too close to hit with chi. It came at me with weapon raised and its face a grimace of anger.
It attacked me with the cleaver. I felt perfectly calm as I watched it coming at me, then sidestepped.
The demon was fast; it followed my movement, and turned to hit me horizontally.
I blocked the cleaver with my left hand on the demon’s elbow, then pushed its arm in the direction it was already going. As the demon unbalanced with the push, I raised my own sword, spun, and sliced it in half.
I didn’t have time to get out of the way, and the demon exploded all over me.
I checked Leo; he had already destroyed one and faced the other two. He sliced one demon’s head off with a swinging arc of the sword, then swept down, moved back, and took another demon through the abdomen with an upward backhand slice. Both demons exploded on him.
I saw movement and glanced up. Simon Wong stood at the end of the car park, arms crossed, watching. I filled with ice-cold fury, hefted my sword, and ran towards him.
‘Leo, there he is,’ I cried. ‘Let’s get him!’
Leo looked up and saw Wong. He leapt to run towards the demon as well.
Wong uncrossed his arms, put his hands on his hips and disappeared.
Leo and I skidded to a halt.
‘That freaking coward!’ I shouted. I nearly threw my sword on the ground with frustration, but I’d put a great deal of work into its edge. ‘I am going to get him!’
‘Scary,’ Leo said.
‘You have no idea,’ I growled.
We turned back to the car. John stood at the entrance to the country club, holding his bag, waiting for us.
‘I am going to get that ugly little freak if it is the last thing I ever do,’ I said.
‘You know what?’ Leo grinned down at me. ‘I believe you.’ He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me an affectionate squeeze, nearly knocking me off my feet. ‘We’d better go into the change rooms and have a shower, my Lady.’
‘Call me “my Lady” one more time and you’ll feel my sword as well,’ I said.
‘Yes, my Lady,’ Leo said, saluting me with Dark Heavens still in his hand.
‘Shit,’ I said under my breath. I tried to shake the black stuff off my hands but it stuck. Leo was right; we both needed a shower.
Simone had woken and hopped out of the car as we approached. ‘You were terrific, Emma!’ she squealed, jiggling with delight. ‘You were as good as Leo! Isn’t she, Daddy?’
John smiled with admiration. ‘Absolutely.’
‘Let me get a change of clothes. I need to have a shower.’ Leo popped the boot again and I threw my sword in, found a towel, and wiped my arms and face. Leo put Dark Heavens into the car. I handed the towel to him and he wiped the demon stuff off as well.
I scrabbled through my duffel bag for a change of clothes. Leo opened his bag as well.
I stopped dead as I saw the contents of Leo’s bag. ‘What?’ Leo said.
Leo’s bag was immaculately packed. Everything was neatly folded and arranged.
‘Geez. You can pack my bag next time,’ I said.
‘It would be an honour and a pleasure, my Lady,’ Leo said. ‘Your bag looks like it’s full of dirty laundry.’
I found a pair of jeans and a shirt. ‘You are so going to keep, Leo.’
Leo saluted me. ‘My Lady.’
‘We’ll have something to eat on the terrace while you change,’ John said. ‘Simone says she’s hungry.’
‘Okay.’ I shoved Leo as I walked past him. ‘Bastard.’ ‘I heard that, my Lady.’
When we arrived home, Leo parked the car under the Peak apartment building and we all piled out. He went to the boot and grabbed John’s and my bags. ‘I’ll take my own bag,’ I said.
‘It is my duty as Retainer to serve you, my Lady,’ Leo said with a broad grin. ‘I’ll return to the car later and collect the other luggage.’
I tried to grab my bag from Leo but he wouldn’t let me. He moved it out of the way every time I tried to take it, and eventually just raised it out of my reach.
John took Simone’s hand and led her to the front door. ‘Watching you two is the most amusing thing I’ve seen in centuries.’ He glanced down at Simone. ‘What do you think?’
Simone giggled. ‘Yeah, they’re funny. They’re stupid.’
Jade and Gold were waiting for us inside. They both fell to one knee and saluted us. ‘My Lord. My Lady.’
Leo took the bags down the hall, grinning broadly. I wanted to thump him.
‘We have an urgent problem that must be dealt with immediately,’ Gold said. ‘The engineers have discovered that the student dormitories on the Mountain are so badly damaged they must be demolished. We need to find somewhere for the students to live while we rebuild.’
‘I need to rest,’ John said. ‘Emma can handle it.’
My mouth dropped open and I looked from John to the Retainers.
‘You can do it, Emma, I have complete faith in you,’ John said. ‘Could you come with me for a minute first? I need to talk to you.’
I sighed with resignation and indicated for Jade and Gold to go into the dining room. ‘Wait for me in there.’
Leo came down the hallway from the bedrooms, saw me and fell to one knee, saluting.
‘Cut it out,’ I said.
He rose and grinned. ‘Face it, Emma, your life is about to become a hell of a lot more interesting.’ He saluted me again. ‘My Lady. I’ll take Simone while you meet with your staff.’
I ran my hands through my hair in exasperation and followed John into his room.
He turned away from me and pulled off his T-shirt. The muscles flexed over his back, golden and glowing. He undid his black jeans and pulled them off. He had black silk boxers underneath. He turned to me as he retied his hair and the skin rippled over his abdomen.
I swallowed hard. ‘I think I’d better go.’
‘Oh, come on, Emma. I’ve seen inside your head, remember? I know what you want. I’d like to let you see all of me, but it wouldn’t be a good idea. I don’t think I could control it.’
He sat cross-legged on the bed and gestured for me to come closer. ‘Sit. I need to talk to you.’
‘Isn’t there any way at all that we can…’ My voice trailed off as I sa
t on the bed, as near to him as possible without touching.
‘None that I can think of.’ He shrugged. ‘We’ll find a way. There has to be a way.’
‘Look but don’t touch. It’ll kill me. Next time you’re going to undress in front of me, let me get a video camera.’
‘If you like. Don’t reciprocate though; much as I’d like you to, I’d definitely lose control.’ He saw my face. ‘What?’
‘I was expecting you to be more old-fashioned Chinese about this. We’re not even married.’
He smiled gently. ‘I’m an animal Shen. You’ve seen the Tiger. I’m a Turtle. A reptile. Many human attitudes don’t make much sense to us. As I said, the Jade Emperor often doesn’t know what to do with us. Particularly me. There are many people on the Celestial Plane who firmly believe that I don’t belong there.’
‘John Chen Wu, you never cease to amaze me.’
He looked me right in the eyes. ‘Good.’ I sat on the bed next to him. ‘Too close.’
I edged slightly away.
He sighed. ‘Emma, the demons all know about you now. If you want, I can move you somewhere safe where they can’t get you.’
‘No. We won’t have much time together before you go. I know you promised to come back for me, but there are no guarantees in life. I want to spend as much time as I can with you now. Besides, I’m here to look after Simone.’
He pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them. ‘We really are a pair of fools.’
‘I know. Lie down.’
He stretched his long legs under the covers and I pulled the blankets over him, careful not to touch him. ‘Now get some rest.’
‘Is that an order?’ he growled. He wriggled under the covers and banged his head on the pillow. ‘Damn straight it is.’ I turned to go out. ‘Emma.’
I turned back to him. ‘I love you.’
‘I love you too, Xuan Wu.’ I had a sudden inspiration. ‘How about later this evening I go into my room and call you on your mobile?’
He shot upright to stare at me. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. His gaze was very intense as he shook his head.
‘Is that a no?’
He fell back onto his pillow and his voice floated to me, soft and deep. ‘No, my love, that is very much a yes.’
I went out to talk to Jade and Gold. Leo was right. My life was about to become a hell of a lot more interesting.
Epilogue
The Serpent sleeps buried in the silken mud at the bottom of the sea. The water is freezing and dark and suffocating. The Serpent awakes and shifts, raising the mud in a floating cloud. The Serpent cries. There is no answer.
Glossary
A NOTE ON LANGUAGE
The Chinese language is divided by a number of different dialects and this has been reflected throughout my story. The main dialect spoken in Hong Kong is Cantonese, and many of the terms I’ve used are in Cantonese. The main method for transcribing Cantonese into English is the Yale system, which I have hardly used at all in this book, preferring to use a simpler phonetic method for spelling the Cantonese. Apologies to purists, but I’ve chosen ease of readability over phonetic correctness.
The dialect mainly spoken on the Mainland of China is Putonghua (also called Mandarin Chinese), which was originally the dialect used in the north of China but has spread to become the standard tongue. Putonghua has a strict and useful set of transcription rules called pinyin, which I’ve used throughout for Putonghua terms. As a rough guide to pronunciation, the ‘Q’ in pinyin is pronounced ‘ch’, the ‘X’ is ‘sh’ and the ‘Zh’ is a softer ‘ch’ than the ‘Q’ sound. Xuan Wu is therefore pronounced ‘Shwan Wu’.
I’ve spelt chi with the ‘ch’ throughout the book, even though in pinyin it is qi, purely to aid in readability. Qing Long and Zhu Que I have spelt in pinyin to assist anybody who’d like to look into these interesting deities further.
Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter: A harbour on the south side of Hong Kong Island that is home to a large number of small and large fishing boats. Some of the boats are permanently moored there and are residences.
Admiralty: The first station after the MTR train has come through the tunnel onto Hong Kong Island from Kowloon, and a major traffic interchange.
Ancestral tablet: A tablet inscribed with the name of the deceased, which is kept in a temple or at the residence of the person’s descendants and occasionally provided with incense and offerings to appease the spirit.
Anime (Japanese): Animation; can vary from cute children’s shows to violent horror stories for adults, and everything in between.
Bai Hu (Putonghua): The White Tiger of the West.
Bo: Weapon—staff.
Bo lei: A very dark and pungent Chinese tea, often drunk with yum cha to help digest the sometimes heavy and rich food served there.
Bu keqi (Putonghua, pronounced [roughly] ‘bu kerchi’): ‘You’re welcome.’
Buddhism: The system of beliefs that life is an endless journey through reincarnation until a state of perfect detachment or Nirvana is reached.
Cantonese: The dialect of Chinese spoken mainly in the south of China and used extensively in Hong Kong. Although in written form it is nearly identical to Putonghua, when spoken it is almost unintelligible to Putonghua speakers.
Causeway Bay: Large shopping and office district on Hong Kong Island. Most of the Island’s residents seem to head there on Sunday for shopping.
Central: The main business district in Hong Kong, on the waterfront on Hong Kong Island.
Central Committee: Main governing body of Mainland China.
Cha siu bow: Dim sum served at yum cha; a steamed bread bun containing barbecued pork and gravy in the centre.
Chek Lap Kok: Hong Kong’s new airport on a large swathe of reclaimed land north of Lantau Island.
Cheongsam (Cantonese): Traditional Chinese dress, with a mandarin collar, usually closed with toggles and loops, and with splits up the sides.
Cheung Chau: Small dumbbell-shaped island off the coast of Hong Kong Island, about an hour away by ferry.
Chi: Energy. The literal meaning is ‘gas’ or ‘breath’ but in martial arts terms it describes the energy (or breath) of life that exists in all living things.
Chi gong (Cantonese): Literally, ‘energy work’. A series of movements expressly designed for manipulation of chi.
Chinese New Year: The Chinese calendar is lunar, and New Year falls at a different time each Western calendar. Chinese New Year usually falls in either January or February.
Ching: A type of life energy, ching is the energy of sex and reproduction, the Essence of Life. Every person is born with a limited amount of ching and as this energy is drained they grow old and die.
Chiu Chow: A southeastern province of China.
Choy sum (Cantonese): A leafy green Chinese vegetable vaguely resembling English spinach.
City Hall: Hall on the waterfront in Central on Hong Kong Island containing theatres and a large restaurant.
Confucianism: A set of rules for social behaviour designed to ensure that all of society runs smoothly.
Congee: A gruel made by boiling rice with savoury ingredients such as pork or thousand-year egg. Usually eaten for breakfast but can be eaten as a meal or snack any time of the day.
Connaught Road: Main thoroughfare through the middle of Central District in Hong Kong, running parallel to the waterfront and with five lanes each side.
Cross-Harbour Tunnel: Tunnel that carries both cars and MTR trains from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon under the Harbour.
Cultural Revolution: A turbulent period of recent Chinese history (1966-75) during which gangs of young people called Red Guards overthrew ‘old ways of thinking’ and destroyed many ancient cultural icons.
Dai pai dong (Cantonese): Small open-air restaurant.
Dan tian: Energy centre, a source of energy within the body. The central dan tian is roughly located in the solar plexus.
Daujie (Cantonese): ‘Thank you’, used ex
clusively when a gift is given.
Dim sum (Cantonese): Small dumplings in bamboo steamers served at yum cha. Usually each dumpling is less than an inch across and four are found in each steamer. There are a number of different types, and standard types of dim sum are served at every yum cha.
Discovery Bay: Residential enclave on Lantau Island, quite some distance from the rush of Hong Kong Island and only reachable by ferry.
Dojo (Japanese): Martial arts training school.
Eight Immortals: A group of iconic Immortals from Taoist mythology, each one representing a human condition. Stories of their exploits are part of popular Chinese culture.
Er Lang: The Second Heavenly General, second in charge of the running of Heavenly affairs. Usually depicted as a young man with three eyes and accompanied by his faithful dog.
Fortune sticks: A set of bamboo sticks in a bamboo holder. The questioner kneels in front of the altar and shakes the holder until one stick rises above the rest and falls out. This stick has a number that is translated into the fortune by temple staff.