《The Young Daoist (Book One: Filial Piety)》


 Chapter I. The last of the family

    The room was small. A single bed placed at one side, and at the opposite side, a computer table occupied the corner. There was a cramped place with enough room to sit on the bed while operating the computer between the bed and the table. A small faded white cabinet sat next to the computer table. It small enough, so it didn''t obstruct the door.


    Despite its size, that room had its perks. The room was next to the garden outside. When the windows opened wide, the soothing smell of jasmine, faintly carried by the wind, while the sun shone through and brightened the room.


    The owner of the room arranged everything in good order. He kept the number of items on the table or cabinet, limited. There were no items, carelessly left neglected. He made the room felt free and uncluttered.


    On the computer table, the old PC took the center, a small stack of old books on its left and a small pot with a bunch of small bamboos in it, on the other side. On the cabinet, there were rows of old pictures of men and women. Before these old pictures was a small pot, with a little incense burning inside.


    It was about 06:00 AM now. In this city, it was the best part of the day. The sky was bright, the air was fresh, and the sun gently warmed the earth. That small room''s windows and door were wide open.


    A tall and thin young man sat on the bed. The wind gently blew his hair through the opened window. He folded his long legs comfortably before him, an opened book on his lap. His long black hair fell over his shoulder. Like many other Chinese males, he had difficulty to grow a decent facial hair but still, he preferred to let his facial grew sparsely on his face. The messy facial hair created a mess on his delicate face.


    Peace reigned over the room, but shortly a banshee-like voice broke it, ¡° A Liang! A Liang! When are you going to pay your rent, you fag!¡±


    An old lady stood before the opened door. Her hands were on her hips. She wore a thick makeup that couldn''t hide her age. The bright red lipstick declared her rebellion against time and nature.


    ¡°Good morning, Aunt Sara.", the youth hastily jumped from his bed


    "If you keep angry like that then it would ruin your beauty. Listen, I''ll pay it next week. I promise you. I never break my promise, right?¡±, he grabbed her hand and swung it like a spoiled brat.


    ¡°Hmph! Don''t think I will give you any leniency, just because you act like a spoiled brat.¡±, the old lady reluctantly took her hands away.


    Her speech might be still harsh, but her expression softened a lot.


    ¡°Thank you Mama..., you must be a goddess reincarnated. Here''s a charm to keep evil away.¡±, the youth inserted a folded yellow paper to her hand before sent her away.


    ¡°Who believe in your silly charm!? Don''t think you''ll get any discount for this. You should be ashamed of yourself. A young man like you should find a decent job, but you rather dabble in any mumbo-jumbo piece of shit. Cheats on people''s money rather than doing honest work.¡±, the old lady walked away, but she still ranted all the way to the first floor.


    The youth smiled bitterly, sighing his eyes traced through all the old pictures on his cabinet, ¡°Father... grandpa... <sigh> ...you sure never give me an easy task.¡±


    They passed away years ago, but he still remembered and kept each of their words in his heart. His grandfather was a loose Daoist cultivator. According to his father, in his youth, his grandfather accidentally found the inheritance of Zhang Boduan, a famous Daoist during the Song dynasty. Almost like a story in a wuxia movie, there were other practitioners tried to take it from him. Through many chases and struggles, his grandfather successfully escaped and arrived in Indonesia. There he settled down, had a family and passed down Zhang Boduan''s inheritance to his descendant. Perhaps it was fate, or it was just a coincidence, but Mingliang''s grandfather and his father, only had one child, a son to accept the inheritance.


    His name was Huang Mingliang. Mingliang means, becoming clear. He was one among few Chinese in Indonesia who kept their Chinese name. It was not that he wanted to flaunt his identity, but his father insisted that a name could affect people''s fate.


    In the past, both his grandfather and father were famous among the local community. People respected them a lot. People looked for them for advice or asked them to lead a traditional ceremony and blessing. In turn, they provided the family with daily necessity, but that was many years ago. Who still believed in supra-natural existence in today''s modern society?


    Demons and ghosts were endangered species. They were probably rarer than Sumatran Rhino. Most of the time, people who claimed to have supra-natural power were nothing but a deluded group of people or a con man.


    According to his grandfather, thousands of years ago, physical and magical existence, existed in the same dimension. That was the time of magical creatures, gods and demons. That was the time when a single man could wield a power to rule the entire nation. That was the time when a small group of people called themselves god and stood high above the other.


    Until about 2,000 years ago when a great sage, who was angered by the injustice, decided to give his life to end it. Through a ritual, he offered his life, to separate the world into two different worlds, existed in the same three-dimensional space but at the different fourth dimension.


    That was the end of an era. There were still bits of magic left here and there. Small populations of magical creatures, ghosts, and lower demons scattered all over the world, but they lost most of their power. Practitioners still lived in this world, but no one would ever have enough power to rule the world.


    Without enough magic, all magic power slowly grew weaker day by day. Whatever left from the magical creatures in this side of the world, were hunted and killed. Even if they didn''t get caught, they slowly died from the lack of magic. The same thing happened to cultivators from various sects and culture. With magic power slowly seeped away from the world, it was almost impossible to achieve any power worth to mention.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Huang Mingliang''s father lamented the fate of their family and the fate of his son, but refused to give up the inheritance, for that would be an act of an unfilial son. In his life, he barely able to do the simplest incantations and he knew it would be much harder for his son to achieve anything at all. But, he couldn''t abandon it. He taught it all to his son, Mingliang, and expected him to preserve it, just like he did.


    Mingliang did his best to learn and practice. Some knowledge was still useful, but most of them were impossible to practice because there wasn''t enough energy in this world. The thought to give up his inheritance was something that haunted his mind ever since he became an adult.


    ¡°Yo... got scold by that old witch huh?¡±, a clear female voice woke Mingliang up from his daydream.


    A martial looking girl stood before the open door. She was about at Mingliang''s shoulder height, quite tall, considered his height. She was wearing a white t-shirt, a sleeveless denim jacket, and black yoga pants, showing her lean and well sculpted athletic body. Her hair was short, almost military-like. Her skin was smooth and well tanned.


    If that weren''t enough clues, then her knuckles were the obvious hint. Mingliang silently lamented the fate of those delicate fingers and hands, whenever he saw those knuckles. It was such a waste of a gift from mother nature. Her knuckles were big, and the skin around was thick and darkened. It ruined her delicate hand and turned her from a princess into a beast out of action movie.


    ¡°Yo, Sari. Hahaha. Yeah..., it was the monthly sermon.¡±, Mingliang was ruffling his hair and laughed awkwardly.


    ¡°Here, and Mum wants me to remind you about the cleaning ritual for my father''s collection.¡±, the girl handed out one box filled with food.


    ¡°Thanks a lot. You and your mother are too kind. I told you. Your father''s collections no longer contain anything. You can clean it normally.¡±


    Mingliang unpacked the food. Sari shrugged her shoulder, ¡°Mother wants you to come, I just a messenger.¡±


    Sari felt short when she stood near Mingliang, but it was a nice change for her. Only around Mingliang, she felt like she could let herself leaned on someone, of course, she didn''t do that. For some minutes, there was nothing but silence.


    ¡°So, you still a single huh? Are you sure you don''t want me to introduce you to my friend?¡±, it was Sari who finally broke the silence.


    ¡°Ha! No, thanks. You know my situation. No more mumbo jumbo shit, it''s going to end with me. I''m not going to make my son doing what I do.¡±, unconsciously Mingliang took a glance toward his father''s picture.


    ¡°You''re funny. Why do you have to be so stubborn? I don''t think your father wants to see you like this.¡±, there was a sense of bitterness in Sari''s voice.


    They knew each other in high school. At that time, there were some supra-natural disturbances in Sari''s house, and someone introduced Sari''s parents to Mingliang''s father. Since then, they had been a good friend. The only person who could calm the tomboyish girl''s anger was Mingliang. And at the same time, nothing could anger Mingliang, unless someone was messing with Sari.


    ¡°Nah, who want to marry a monk like you anyway.¡±, Sari saw his expression and snorted.


    ¡°Okay, that''s it. Don''t forget the appointment. See you later.¡±, as soon as Mingliang emptied the box, Sari took it away and left.


    Mingliang was staying still on his place, focused his ears and followed the sound of Sari''s steps as she left the house. He was standing for a few more minutes until there was nothing to hear anymore and bitterly sighed.


    A small stature boy with a monkey-like face was standing in front of Mingliang''s room and greeted him with a clear bell-like voice, ¡°Teacher, did Sister Sari just gives a visit?¡±


    The boy wore old clothes and shoes. Both the clothes and the shoes were a little too big for his body.


    He slightly bowed and then entered the room, ¡°What are we going to study today?¡±


    Mingliang smiled, all the clouds were wiped away from his heart, ¡°Today? Well, first let me see how much you remember Sanzijing.¡±


    The boy was Mingliang''s only disciple. Mingliang already decided that he was going to be the next inheritor of Zhang Boduan''s secret scripture. His name was Somad. Mingliang met him when he got a call from Sari. Sari, in her free time, volunteered to teach how to read and write, to kids who lived on the street. One day, one of her pupils was acting weird. Some other kids said that she was possessed by a ghost, after doing something indecent in a cemetery.


    Sari called Mingliang to help. He came and helped. He found out that it wasn''t a case of possession. The kid was facing a problem she couldn''t handle. Mingliang did his little tricks, massaged some acupoints to help her relax. After a while, she gained her consciousness again. Mingliang gave her some herbs and told Sari of his diagnosis.


    Somad was one of the street children who saw him helped the kid and got interested. For weeks, this boy gave a visit to Mingliang, every day. No matter how Mingliang explained and refused, Somad still came day after day. Mingliang''s explanation only convinced the boy even more. After Mingliang saw his determination and passion, he decided to give the boy a chance.


    He was grateful for Somad''s presence in his life. Now, he didn''t have to worry about his duty to pass the knowledge and practice. There were many things to teach, but Somad showed that street children could be more intelligent than children in general. They had street wisdom, plenty of wits and tough as hell. However, Mingliang decided to focus on teaching Somad about the values and ideals of ancient Chinese culture, before he went too deeply about the practice.


    Every day, he would teach him passages from Sanzijing. Both to teach him Chinese characters and to instill some values as well. It was also a test for Somad, to see how he would pass through this challenge. So far, Mingliang was satisfied.


    The clear sound of youth yet reach the teenage, was ringing clearly through the room, "To feed without teaching, is the father''s fault."


    "To teach without severity, is the teacher''s laziness."


    "Hmm... teacher, is that why you like to knock my head with your knuckles?", Somad turned his head to Mingliang and asked.


    Mingliang''s hand was raised, readied to knock Somad''s head, when his phone rang, singing an old midi tune.


    ¡°Teacher, you got a call.¡±, Somad wrinkled his nose and grinned.


    ¡°Hum, don''t get distracted, keep writing and read it as you write.¡±, Mingliang knocked his head before he stood up and answered the call.


    The conversation was short, as soon as Mingliang picked up the phone, he didn''t say anything but, ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°I''ll be right there now.¡±


    He took a pen and paper, wrote an address and called Somad, ¡°Somad, I''m sorry, but I must go now. Comes again tomorrow, okay?¡±


    ¡°Teacher, do you get a client?¡±, Somad couldn''t hide his excitement.


    ¡°Yes, why? You want to come along?¡±, Mingliang smiled. In his mind, he was calculating, should he allowed his only disciple to tag along or not?


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, master I won''t disturb you, I will quietly watch.¡±


    ¡°Hmm... you wait outside first. I''ll think about it.¡±, Mingliang didn''t answer right away.


    He led Somad out and then closed the door. As he changed his clothes, he was thinking, ''What could happen? It sounds serious. But, it can''t be for real. Some people do worry for nothing and tend to make things bigger than it is...''


    It didn''t take a long time for Mingliang to get ready. He wore a long sleeve t-shirt and a jean. For a few seconds he hesitated, then he opened the cabinet, took a small bronze medal and put it in his pocket. When he opened the door, he found Somad already waiting with expecting face.


    ¡°Hmm...well, you''ll keep pestering me about this, if I don''t let you come.¡± Mingliang playingly knocked Somad''s head with his knuckles.

 Chapter II. Real demon possession.

    ¡°Teacher, you''re not going to ride your bike?¡±, Somad quickly followed Mingliang who walked toward the main street, leaving his bike at home.


    ¡°Not this time, we''re going to take a taxi there.¡±, Mingliang answered without stopping, with long strides, he quickly arrived at the roadside.


    Somad had to run to keep up, ¡°Teacher, won''t it be too expensive? Is it far from here?¡±


    They didn''t have to wait for too long, before Mingliang spotted a taxi and gave it a signal to stop, ¡°It''s quite far, besides our client ask me to come as soon as possible. He''ll pay the taxi for us.¡±


    ¡°Oh... that''s good then.¡±, said the boy, Mingliang could note a relieve in Somad''s voice.


    It made him realized how his image was in Somad''s mind. He couldn''t refute it though. His financial situation indeed wasn''t promising at all. He quickly gave the address to the taxi driver. After the cab started moving, Mingliang closed his eyes and began to control his breathing. Somad wanted to talk about the case, but as soon as he saw Mingliang meditated, the boy decided to follow his example.


    Without opened his eyes, Mingliang put the paper with the address on it, to Somad, ¡°If you know this street, then keep your eyes open. Makes sure we''re taking the right road.¡±


    Somad took the paper, looked at the address and in awe staring at Mingliang, ¡°Yes teacher, I know the street. I''ll keep my eye on the road.¡±


    Curiously, Somad observed his teacher''s eyes. Very carefully he waved his hand before Mingliang while paying close attention to his eyes.


    ¡°Stop playing, look at the street.¡±


    ¡°Whoaa.... dude....¡±, with wide-opened eyes Somad gave his teacher thumbs up.


    ¡°Stop it.¡±, without looking Mingliang knocked his head with his knuckles.


    It took about an hour before they arrive. Mingliang pressed the bell next to the gate. Right now, they were standing before an iron gate, of a big luxurious house. Somad felt a bit anxious because they were in an elite residential.


    ¡°Woof woof.¡±, a dog suddenly appeared, it ran toward the gate and barked at them.


    Its eyes cheerfully stared at Mingliang. Its tail was waving nonstop. The dog was a mix breed. There was a bit of husky and a bit of golden retriever in its features.


    ¡°Teacher! A wolf!¡±, Somad quickly hid behind Mingliang.


    ¡°Don''t be silly, that''s just a dog.¡±


    ¡°Oh... I hate dogs. Is he angry? Is he going to bite us?¡±, with a distressed voice, Somad complained to Mingliang.


    ¡°No, he''s not. Can''t you see? He wants to play with you. Try to get rid of your prejudice. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Calm your mind, get rid your fear.¡±, Mingliang''s calming voice charmed the boy, within seconds his heartbeat was back to normal.


    ¡°Now, open your eyes.¡±


    Maybe it was Mingliang''s voice, or it was Somad''s presence which caught the dog''s interest. When Somad opened his eyes, he saw the dog sat, tilted its head and stared at him with its round doe eyes.


    ¡°See, he just want to know you.¡±, Mingliang rubbed Somad''s head, ¡°Of course, sometimes you''ll see a dog who barks to warn you for intruding to their territory. You should be careful by then, but don''t let your fear cloud your judgment.¡±


    ¡°Well, he''s barking, so I thought...¡±


    ¡°Haha, that''s how dog talk.¡±


    ¡°Yea... but how would I know, what he means...? Wait a minute. Teacher, do you know dog''s language? Can you teach me?¡±, Somad no longer feared the dog. Instead, now he was excited at the thought that Mingliang understood dog''s language.


    Mingliang laughed and messed Somad''s hair, ¡°You should watch this TV series, Dog Whisperer, there''s this guy, Cesar Milan. I think he understands the dog''s language. Me, I only know a bit about their behavior.¡±


    ¡°Oh... I thought you could talk with animals, like Prabu Angling Darma.¡±, Somad seemed a bit disappointed.


    ¡°Maybe we don''t understand their language, but we could at least try to perceive their emotion. Just observe a lot and learn. Not everything has to be about supra-natural power. By observing, you also sharpen your intuition. Try to be as objective as possible, get rid baseless prejudice. You have to be skeptical and open-minded at the same time.¡±, Mingliang encouraged his only disciple.


    ¡°Humm... I think I get it.¡±, Somad nodded his head and turned his attention to the dog.


    He squatted before the dog. When the dog tried to sniff his smell, Somad gave the dog his hand to smell. He just spontaneously did that without much thought. Before long, he was already rubbing the dog''s head.


    ¡°Hi...Are you uh..., Master Mingliang? Sorry, it''s chaos inside. We heard the bells, but no one could come right away.¡±, a middle-aged man was coming out of the house and greeted them.


    ¡°Ruben, stay inside!¡±, he opened the gate, one of his foot was blocking the dog.


    ¡°It''s alright sir. We just arrived too.¡±, Mingliang politely shook his hand, ¡°I''m Mingliang. And this is my disciple, Somad.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Robert. Just call me Robert.¡±, the middle-aged man shook Mingliang''s hand politely and greeted Somad warmly, ¡°Hi Somad, you like Ruben?¡±


    ¡°Oh, he''s called Ruben? Yea, I like him, he''s strong but friendly.¡±, Somad quickly fell in love with the dog. It was his first experience with a dog.


    ¡°You can play with him anytime you want. He likes children a lot.¡±, Robert smiled kindly, but he couldn''t hide the trace of worries in his face.


    He turned his attention to Mingliang, ¡°Uh... Master Ming, please comes in. We''re really at the end of the rope here.¡±


    ¡°Oh please, just call me Mingliang."


    "Can you tell us, the whole story.¡±, Mingliang carefully asked.


    With Robert in the lead, Mingliang walked along his side. Somad and Ruben followed closely behind them. Ruben ran around from time to time, full with energy. Watching the playful Ruben, Somad wanted to play with him, but he was afraid to miss something as Robert and Mingliang conversed. Somad listened attentively at Robert''s story about his youngest daughter.


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    Robert and his family never had any experience with supra-natural phenomenon before. They were Christian, had been baptized and went to church every Sunday, but they were not a fundamentalist type of Christian. For them, it was more about being a part of the community.


    Yesterday, their youngest daughter went to a midnight movie with her cousins. There were five of them, two males and three females. They went to watch a horror movie.


    In their way home, they debated about supra-natural existence. In the heat of debate, one of them dared the other, to visit an old house which was known for being a haunted house. He said that he watched this YouTube channel who made a show about famous haunted places in Indonesia. Their last video was showing a house in their city, and they were going to pass that house, on their way home.


    After some banter, they agreed to give the house a visit. The house was abandoned by its owner, for a very long time. The owner left it empty, and the doors were left unlocked. They got inside the house without much trouble. At first, nothing happened, but just when they were about to go home, Robert''s daughter fainted. They were panicked and finally decided to carry her home.


    ¡°We called a doctor when she suddenly woke up. But since then she kept on laughing hysterically, and sometimes she growls like a wild animal. When the doctor came, he gave her an injection to help her sleep.¡±, Robert wiped the sweat on his forehead.


    It was apparent how much he worried about his daughter. They went to the second floor and arrived before a room. The door was closed, and Robert turned to Mingliang before he opened it, ¡°We called a doctor. He gave her a sedative. She''s sleeping right now. We also call our pastor, from the church.¡±


    ¡°It''s alright, let''s see your daughter''s condition first. I can''t promise anything, but I''ll do my best to help.¡±, Mingliang nodded and smiled reassuringly.


    ¡°Okay, thank you so much, really appreciate it.¡±, Robert nodded back before he opened the door.


    The moment Mingliang stepped into the room, he felt the chills. Compared to his small room, the room was three or four times larger. The sun shone through a large window, and they tried to keep the air fresh for the patient. In spite all that, Mingliang felt some darkness presence in the room. He felt it in his chest, in his soul, not by his physical senses.


    The whole family was there. Robert quickly introduced them one by one to Mingliang. The family doctor and the pastor were there too. The doctor politely shook Mingliang''s hand. He curiously watched Mingliang with interest.


    The pastor didn''t hide his distaste for Mingliang''s presence at all. He straightened his back, raised his chin, and vigorously shook Mingliang''s hand, ¡°You can''t cast out demons by Beelzebul. You know those sayings aren''t you?¡±


    Sarah, Robert''s wife anxiously turned to her husband, Robert. The flustered Robert stuttered, ¡°Well... uh, let''s try to put away any prejudice first. Now, all I have in mind is Nina.¡±


    The pastor shrugged his shoulder. He was shaking his head to show his concern, ¡°I''m telling you the truth, that''s all I''m trying to do Robert. I care about Nina. I care about each one of you.¡±


    He turned to Mingliang and sternly spoke to him, ¡°I have my eyes on you, I''ll watch you closely. I will not let any trick escape my eyes.¡±


    Robert anxiously tried to apologize to Mingliang, but quickly Mingliang comforted him before he said anything, ¡°It''s alright. We all here for Nina.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you¡±, Robert was relieved, ¡°So, how do you see it? Can you help her?¡±


    ¡°First, let me take a look at her. I''ll do my best to help. Okay?¡±, Mingliang ignored the pastor. He asked permission to Robert and Sarah before he walked toward the bed and observed their youngest daughter''s condition.


    Nina''s family gave way to Mingliang and watched him hopefully, while the doctor and the pastor watched him closely, for different reasons. Somad followed behind Mingliang, Ruben the dog, stood outside the room, right before the door. It curiously peeped inside the room. All attention focused on Mingliang, while Mingliang''s all senses, physical and spiritual focused on Nina.


    Even under the sedative, the girl slept restlessly. Her face was pale. Her eyes kept on moving. Mingliang took a deep breath, lightly touched her wrist and read her pulses. Aside from her mental anxiousness, she was relatively healthy. Mingliang replayed all the story about her in his mind.


    He lifted his head and looked around the family, ¡°Does she has a tendency or shows interest or maybe fears to demons, ghost or supra-natural phenomenon?¡±


    ¡°No, she is quite a skeptic.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she used to laugh at me, when I tell stories about ghosts.¡±


    ¡°She used to google for a scientific explanation of any supra-natural phenomenon we like to talk about.¡±


    ¡°That''s why it''s so shocking. I mean, we never thought...¡±


    ¡°No one thinks this would happen. We, including Nina, were teasing Andrea when Nina suddenly fainted.¡±


    One by one, her cousins and brothers, answered. Mingliang sensed no lies or doubts in their answers. Their answers were consistent with Robert''s story as well.


    ¡°Sometimes, what people believe as demon possession, is a form of self-hypnosis. So if she believes in them, it''s more likely for her to experience it.¡±, Mingliang wanted to get a confirmation from the family.


    The doctors quietly nodded in agreement, but the pastor still watched Mingliang in suspicion. He didn''t like Mingliang at all.


    ¡°Before this happened, did she overwork herself, or maybe anxious about something? Lack of sleep?¡±


    ¡°No, she''s fine. She''s as always, full with energy.¡±, this time it was Sarah who answered.


    Mingliang looked around, turned to other family member and all of them nodded their head in affirmation.


    ¡°Do you think it''s real demon possession phenomenon? How do you see it?¡±, the doctor who previously watched quietly tapped Mingliang''s shoulder to get his attention.


    Mingliang shook his head. He observed the girl for a moment once more, before turned back to the doctor, ¡°I''m not sure, but let''s give it a try.¡±


    ¡°Mam, could you bring a glass of water for me?¡±, Mingliang turned around to find Sarah.


    ¡°Okay, wait a minute.¡±, Sarah quickly left the room and returned with a glass of water.


    Everyone stared at Mingliang with some degree of curiosity. Nina''s brother opened his mouth to ask, but Robert quickly stopped him. No one disturbed Mingliang, even the pastor who was looking at him with a great deal of suspicion. Mingliang held the glass and drew a rune on the surface of the water with his finger. His eyes focused on the surface of the water.


    Once he finished with the runes, he closed his eyes and held the glass in both hands, for a long time.


    Nina suddenly became more active in her sleep. She was still sleeping, but it seemed like something trying to wake her up. The clock was ticking. Minutes passed by. The air in the room was increasingly heavier and gloomier. Those in the room shivered for no apparent reasons. Even the pastor''s expression changed, a hint of fears flashed through his face.


    Mingliang finally opened his eyes and turned to Robert, ¡°Please help me to make Nina drink the water.¡±


    Robert hastily helped, he carefully lifted and held Nina. The girl was struggling to get away from the water, but she was still under the influence of the sedative. Everyone''s hearts beat faster. They intuitively felt the unseen battle.


    Mingliang gently opened Nina''s lips and poured the water to her mouth. The temperature around the room suddenly dropped, and an unseen presence gave pressure to everyone in the room.


    Mingliang felt the darkness grew thicker by a split of seconds. He sensed the crisis was coming, more than everyone else in the room. He was on alert and felt the darkness grew until suddenly it engulfed him.


    Right at that moment, something dark and evil burst out of Nina''s body and charged to his face in a blink of an eye.

 Chapter III. Sealing the demon.

    Mingliang sensed darkness engulfed everything around. His entire existence screamed for danger. A deep sense of crisis exploded within. Mingliang''s body instinctively moved to a fighting position. But before he even moved an inch, something cut the connection between his mind and his body.


    Something strange happened, first to his vision and next to his consciousness.


    Something strange happened, first to his vision and next to his consciousness.


    He felt, his vision shifted. Colors were changing. Forms were disappearing. A moment later, it was back to normal. Colors returned. Forms appeared again. But shortly after that, it kept on shifting, back and forth, from one vision to another. When his vision moved into this strange dimension, everything was dark and gloom. All the pieces of furniture were disappearing, and people changed into shadows of light. There, he saw a giant black snake coiled around Nina''s body.


    Its eyes were glowing green. It was staring at Mingliang with hatred. Its tongue flickered, in and out of its giant mouth that filled with sharp teeth.


    The shifting''s frequency was getting faster. At one point Mingliang could feel something blasted in his brain. And the shifting stopped. As soon as Mingliang''s mind entered this strange world, the giant black snake slithered toward his position. That snake''s face didn''t allow it to have a rich expression, but Mingliang could swear that snake was grinning evilly at him.


    As a cultivator, Mingliang''s was significantly spiritually stronger compared to other people in that room, but still, he felt that he was nothing but a prey before that giant snake.


    The snake arrogantly took its time, as it slithered toward Mingliang. It ignored other people in that room, and it seemed that only Mingliang could see the snake as well. Mingliang had no chance to confirm that. Instinctively, his attention focused on that snake.


    Mingliang tried to move. He pleased to find that once he completely shifted to the other dimension, he could move freely once again. His intuition told him that his consciousness left his body to enter this place. He never experienced it before. If there was no giant snake wanted to eat him now, he would be jumping in joy.


    The giant black snake sneered at him. It moved too fast for Mingliang to follow. Its huge body uncoiled. Within seconds it had him trapped in the middle.


    Mingliang stared at its ridiculing face in anger.


    Back in the room, as the giant snake concentrated to Mingliang, other people in the room was relieved from the previous pressure.


    ¡°Mingliang are you alright?!¡±, Robert alarmed. He saw Mingliang was in a daze and the water kept on pouring to Nina. Quickly he snatched the glass from Mingliang''s hand.


    Only then people started to notice Mingliang''s condition. He was in a daze, staring at nothing with blank eyes. Sarah quickly took a towel to dry Nina''s body. They all took a look at Nina and saw, her condition was much better now. She slept peacefully. Now, their concern was more about Mingliang, who sat there like a statue.


    ¡°Wait, leave him alone. I think Teacher is in trance, perhaps he''s using *ngerogoh sukmo, his soul is leaving the body. It''s better if we leave him alone.¡±, Somad hastily prevented them from approaching Mingliang.


    *ngerogoh sukmo is a known term in Java supra-natural belief system : sukmo = soul, ngerogoh = an act of taking something out. Something closely simimlar to Astral projection.


    The pastor snorted in disdain, ¡°Black magic. I tell you all, what you do here is dangerous. You''re dealing with occultism here.¡±


    Somad stared at him in disbelief, ¡°How dare you? My teacher put himself in danger to help, and you are saying stupid things like black magic and so on.¡±


    ¡°Dissolute! Look even his so-called disciple doesn''t know how to respect older people.¡±, the pastor stared back angrily.


    But Somad knew no fear. He used to live on the street before Mingliang found him a family, who was happy to have him in their house. They didn''t adopt him. Instead, they gave him a job to help around the house. Some people might scold Mingliang for supporting underage employment, but Somad knew better and felt grateful for Mingliang''s arrangement.


    ¡°Sorry dude, but I only give respect to those who deserve it, and I''m afraid you don''t.¡±, the boy sneered tauntingly.


    Somad''s answer angered the pastor. He moved toward the boy threateningly, but the doctor who happened to stand near the pastor, stepped in, ¡°Okay, stop the fuss. Pastor, you should know better than fighting with a boy.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! Well, someone should teach him not to spout nonsense.¡±, the pastor still glared at Somad angrily, but he realized how people might think of him if he insisted.


    ¡°You should stop provoking him too. You shouldn''t give your teacher trouble¡±, The doctor said as he smiled warmly to Somad. The doctor liked the boy. He found his audacity interesting.


    Somad turned his attention back to his teacher. The doctor''s words reminded him of Mingliang''s condition. More than other people in the room, the boy believed in Mingliang with all his heart. It was not an exaggeration if he said that Mingliang was the most important person in his life. Ever since he met Mingliang, his life changed to the better.


    Mingliang treated him with sincerity. Some people use his poverty to take advantage of him. Some other people pitied him and treated him like they treated a lost puppy. Mingliang was different, Mingliang treated him with respect. Somad sensed trust, a trust to his character and potential. When he was with Mingliang, Somad felt confident.


    Robert and Sarah turned to look at the doctor. Their raised eyebrows, expressed their question, should they believed in Somad?


    The doctor nodded his head, ¡°Let''s wait and see first.¡±


    ¡°I know nothing about this stuff, and in such situation, I prefer to believe in the specialist.¡±, he grinned toward Somad and gave a stressing in the word specialist.


    Somad grinned back, but he quickly turned his attention back to Mingliang. The boy tried to show his confidence to his teacher''s ability, but deep inside he worried for Mingliang''s safety. After all, he didn''t know as much as he pretended to.


    Mingliang''s situation in the other dimension wasn''t much promising. The giant snake surrounded him, forming a circle with a radius of about 5 meters. Once in a while, the snake attacked, trying to nip Mingliang with its sharp and poisonous fangs. Mingliang managed to avoid its attack, but he got the feeling that the snake intentionally let him avoided it.


    The snake teased him, sometimes its wet tongue lightly brushed his face, leaving its fishy smell stuck on Mingliang''s nose afterward. At the other time, it bumped its hard pliable body to Mingliang''s, left him felt sore and bruised after the attack.


    Mingliang tried to break through once, but the snake easily forced him back to the middle of the circle. The snake was toying with him.


    After some time, Mingliang began to adapt to his new environment. He was calm enough to analyze his current situation. There were various skills he only knew in theory but never had a chance to give it a try. Slowly, he browsed through his memory, looking for a way to defeat the snake.


    The snake swung its head lazily. Its eyes were glistening with evil glee. It was getting ready to nip at Mingliang again. Slowly it lost its smile. The snake saw Mingliang calmly stood his ground and observed.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Suddenly the snake felt anger raised in its heart, ¡°Psshhhhhhhhhh!!!¡±


    Like lightning, the snake charged toward Mingliang. Its mouth wide opened, readied to gobble up Mingliang in one gulp.


    Mingliang''s head looked small when placed between the giant snake''s rows of sharp teeth. The teeth were closing in quick until it reached several inches before Mingliang''s head.


    ¡°By Xuang Wu''s name from Mount Wudang! Black Tortoise Armor and Shield Condense!¡± Mingliang shouted, a black shadow in the form of a giant tortoise with dragon-like head and tail, appeared around his body.


    ¡°Ding! Screech!¡±, sparks of fire flew everywhere as the giant snake''s teeth hit the black tortoise shadow.


    In the room, at the other dimension, the bronze medal in Mingliang''s pocket buzzed a low humming sound.


    In the spiritual dimension, the giant snake was hissing in anger and wildly attacking Mingliang, but that shadow of a giant black turtle kept it away from Mingliang. Sometimes it flickered like it was going to break at any time, but it held out.


    Mingliang grunted in pain under the attack, he had to put all his effort to keep the black tortoise shadow from disintegrating under the giant snake relentless attack, ''Damn!...oh...fuck!fuck!fuck! I shouldn''t choose to defend at a time like this.''


    ¡°Bang !¡± The giant snake attacked once more. It shook through Mingliang. For a moment, he felt his whole body trembled, and his consciousness faded for a moment. The black tortoise shadows flickered, but quickly he regained the control and stabilized the shadow.


    ''I should choose to draw the rune of wind god and avoid the attack.'', Mingliang bitterly recalled when the giant snake suddenly attacked to kill. He lost his calm by that time and unconsciously chose to chant a defensive spell.


    ¡°Bang !¡±, the giant snake kept on attacking relentlessly.


    ''Ouch! You son of a bitch! Crap! Damn! If only I get a chance to change tactics.'', Mingliang didn''t have the guts to recall the defensive spell and chanted another. He didn''t have the confidence to activate to spell at the same time as well.


    It was a matter of experience. He didn''t even have the confidence to cast a spell without the bronze medal. He was glad he brought the bronze medal with him, right now it kept sending spiritual energy and provided him with enough strength to hold the defense.


    ¡°Bang !¡±, Mingliang gritted his teeth, ''Wait! I think that damn snake is slowing down!''


    ¡°Bang !¡±


    ''Yes, he''s surely slowing down. The intensity of his attack also reduce a bit.'', A hope was surging and filled Mingliang''s heart.


    It directly affected his mental strength. He easily bore the next several attacks. He was silently observing his enemy, making a note of its every movement. The giant snake was desperately attacking. It didn''t have many attack pattern. All of its attacks were either, trying to bite Mingliang, or hit him by a sweep of its tail. Mingliang could sense, the giant snake was getting panic now after all of its attacks didn''t work.


    ''What should I do now? He''s tiring himself out, but what should I do then? Should I keep defending? Or should I prepare to counter-attack?'', trains of thoughts were running through Mingliang''s mind.


    Each choice had its own risk, and he didn''t have much experience in battle. He was lucky that the giant snake itself wasn''t smart. It only relied on brute strength.


    ''I got to take some risk. I can''t stay in this passive position. The attacks are getting slower. I think I can cast another spell before the next one.'', Mingliang steeled his heart to take control over the fight. He didn''t want to stay passive.


    He calculated the period between each attack. It would be very close, but he was quite sure he had enough time to make his plan work.


    ¡°Bang!¡±, the black tortoise shadow flickered, withstood the collision against the giant snake''s whipping tail.


    ''Now!''


    The black tortoise shadow flickered several times then disappeared. When the pattern broke, it caught the giant snake unprepared. The snake froze in its place for a few seconds. Its eyes were staring in disbelief before gleefully stared at Mingliang. It opened its jaws and charged once more.


    Mingliang sneered, the giant snake had wasted too much time. Confidently his hand moved before his body. A bluish light came out of his hand, creating a pattern in the air before him.


    Seeing those runes, the giant snake felt a real crisis for the first time since it met Mingliang. The snake wanted to stop, but it was too eager to attack. Now, the momentum prevented the snake to stop.


    On the giant snake''s path, a complicated rune appeared. An intricate blueish glittering line was forming symbols of ancient words and formations.


    The snake crashed into the rune.


    ¡°SEAL!!!¡±, Mingliang shouted, his hands made a catching movement.


    Instantly the rune rotated. It created a whirl and pulled the snake toward its center. The snake was struggling to free itself from the runes. Its giant body thrashed around to no avail. It slowly grew smaller and smaller, moving toward the center of the runes.


    Mingliang didn''t dare to relax his concentration even for a split of a second. The fight was far from over. He caught the snake, but now it was about who was stronger. It was a battle between his will against the will of the snake to free itself. Luckily he brought the bronze medal with him. It contained hundreds of years spiritual energy, gathered by his grandfather and father, provided Mingliang with abundant energy to use.


    The energy flooded through Mingliang''s vein, who continually fed it to the seal. Pain surged all over his body, his hand was numb, but Mingliang kept pushing the energy toward the seal. Through his connection to the seal, he could sense the strength of the giant snake. He realized, without the bronze medal, he already died by now.


    Mingliang felt the battle had gone for hours. The giant snake was many times stronger than him, but it had spent most of its energy, in the early phase of the fight. Now, it still had to fight the seal.


    The snake finally reached the point where it lost all its hope.


    In the blink of an eye, the giant snake form turned into a small snake, wrapped by a blue ball of light.


    Mingliang gasped for air. The battle was over, and a surge of ecstasy ran through his entire being. Now the danger was over. Leisurely he observed the seal.


    ¡°Surrender, or I shall destroy you.¡±, he lightly threatened the snake.


    Mingliang felt the snake shivered inside the ball of light. He sensed anger and hatred, from the snake.


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡±, Mingliang sneered, he silently chanted a mantra.


    The ball was sparkling with small thunder on its surface. The snake screamed without a sound inside the seal. Thunders lashed the snake over and over.


    Seconds passed by, and Mingliang kept chanting the mantra. He didn''t want to destroy the seal and the snake along with it. It was a rare opportunity to practice all the theories he learned from his father and grandfather.


    When it crossed more than two minutes, Mingliang began to feel restless. He could sense the snake was quickly weakening. If the snake refused to surrender soon, then it would be destroyed under the torture.


    By his current level of energy and experience, he couldn''t maintain the seal for a long time. He didn''t dare to take a risk and release the snake. Either the snake surrendered, or he would have to destroy the snake along with the seal.


    ''I surrender.'', suddenly a weak thought transferred from within the seal.


    A smile spread on Mingliang''s face, ¡°Sign the contract then. Make a vow that you will obey my command. You will never do anything to harm me, or people close to me. You will never have any evil intention toward me, or people close to me. Should you break your vow, may the heaven destroys your soul.¡±


    Without any struggle, the snake swore its allegiance to Mingliang. Mingliang found the snake was a simple brute. It didn''t try to keep any tricks in its sleeve and obediently vowed as commanded.


    Once the snake finished, Mingliang relieved the seal. The snake maintained its small size and flew toward his wrist. Quickly it wrapped itself on Mingliang''s right wrist.


    After the snake submitted itself to Mingliang, he now had complete knowledge of its nature.


    ''What a barbaric bitch !?'', to his surprise, it was a female snake, not a male snake, as he previously thought.


    Mingliang can senses that the snake is extremely weak right now and need a lot of rest. Feels sorry for the snake, Mingliang gently feeds a small part of his energy to the snake. The snake shivers and Mingliang senses her loyalty slightly increases.


    ¡°Have some rest.¡±, Mingliang commanded the snake, and soon he felt the snake''s consciousness dimmed.

 Chapter IV. The secret of the haunted house.

    Mingliang had read it hundreds of time, he had memorized almost every spell and runes, but only now, he truly understood. Earlier, he accidentally shifted to another dimension. But now, he believed, he could go and return as he wished. Slowly, all his physical senses were flooding back into his consciousness. Mingliang closed his eyes and calmed his mind. Slowly he let his mind absorbed all the new experience in each of its detail.


    Somad secretly let out a deep breath. A moment before Mingliang closed his eyes, the attentive Somad saw Mingliang''s unfocused wide opened eyes were slowly focused, and all the tension was gone from his face. Everyone in the room was relieved, knowing the worst was over.


    Now, they patiently waited for Mingliang to open his eyes. As they looked at Mingliang, there was a sense of awe in their eyes. Somad noticed it.


    He felt his chest wanted to burst with pride, wanted to jump and shout, ''That''s my teacher! That''s my teacher!''


    It was hard for Somad to keep his face straight. He remembered how Mingliang taught him of humility, but it was hard for the boy not to feel proud. He had this wide grin on his reddened face. Almost everyone held their laugh inside. It was so obvious, how Somad felt. Some of them wanted to tease him, but they afraid they would disturb Mingliang.


    Only the pastor seemed annoyed by the signs of success.


    No one could guess what the pastor had in mind right now, but his expression was as sour as a glass of vinegar.


    The room was silent and peaceful. The previous gloom and horror, seemed unreal, just like a bad dream that disappeared when the sun revealed its presence in the sky.


    When Mingliang opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Somad''s grinning face. Mingliang couldn''t bear to keep his laughter from bursting out. His laugh quickly spread around.


    ¡°Ha ha ha ha, I thought I saw a boiled crab demon.¡±, Mingliang grabbed the boy''s head and messed up his hair.


    ¡°Teacher, teacher, have you defeated the ghost?¡±, Somad struggled and escaped from Mingliang''s playful lock.


    ¡°Brother Mingliang, is that true? How''s Nina''s condition now?¡±, Sarah impatiently asked, her hands unconsciously gripped the hem of her clothes.


    Mingliang checked Nina''s pulse and tried to sense her mental condition, before he turned to Sarah and Robert, ¡°I think she''s fine now, but let''s wait until she wakes up, to make sure she''s alright.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank God, thank God she''s okay.¡±, Sarah threw herself to Robert and cried.


    ¡°Well, well, now..., Doctor Ibrahim, Brother Ming, you''ll stay here until she wakes up right?¡±, Robert turned to the doctor and Mingliang, while gently patted his wife''s back and comforted her.


    Mingliang and the doctor were looking at each other. Unlike the pastor, the doctor didn''t seem to hold any prejudice. He was rather curious instead.


    The doctor turned to Robert and nodded, ¡°I''ll wait here until she''s wake up. I don''t think it won''t be for long. I also to discuss many things with Brother Mingliang here.¡±


    Mingliang laughed politely, he liked the friendly doctor, ¡°Of course, we''ll stay until Miss Nina wakes up.¡±


    The pastor opened his mouth but hesitated. He saw no one seemed to need him here. His face turned bitter. After some time, he cleared his throat to get Robert''s attention, ¡°Robert, I have to go. I have some matters waiting for me at the church.¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course, of course, we really appreciate your help pastor.¡±, Robert felt guilty. He called Mingliang when he already knew the pastor would not like it.


    The atmosphere became awkward for a while, but Robert and Sarah politely accompanied the pastor leaving the room. Once they left the room, the other began to chat warmly. They all wanted to listen to Mingliang''s explanation of what happened earlier.


    --------o-------


    There wasn''t much story to tell afterward, the girl woke up fine. The whole family and the doctor listened to Mingliang''s experience in that other dimension. After that, they listened to the girl''s story. The atmosphere was warm. People had many questions, and Mingliang genially answered them all. Overall they were satisfied by Mingliang''s explanation, although some questions only received vague answers.


    They exchanged phone number, and Mingliang went home with a decent amount of money in his pocket.


    Mingliang felt grateful for their hospitality and generosity, but the truth, Mingliang wanted to go home as soon as possible. He had many things he wanted to know from the demon snake that now coiled on his right wrist, unseen by physical eyes.


    Martin, one of Nina''s cousin, drove Mingliang and Somad home in his car.


    ¡°Finally...¡±, Mingliang was alone in his room.


    He observed the snake who was flying around the room.


    The snake timidly flew around the old pictures of Mingliang''s ancestor. She reverently observed them. She felt something in there. Something powerful and awe-inspiring.


    Mingliang patiently waited for the snake to satisfy her curiosity, while at the same time kept their spiritual connection opened.


    The snake flew back to Mingliang. It fluttered around before finally decided to settle on the computer, about a meter away from Mingliang. Although she already swore allegiance to Mingliang, apparently she was still holding some grudge.


    ''Tell me how you ended up living in that house?'', Mingliang asked through the spiritual connection.


    A fuzzy and unintelligible sensation came from the snake. But vaguely Mingliang sensed a question mark.


    ''Hmm... I guess she hasn''t developed an ability to communicate with language.'', Mingliang curiously observed the snake more closely.


    He tried to ask another. Something much more simple question, without words he sent a question about the snake''s origin.


    Another sensation came from the snake, this time Mingliang could parse the information.


    He wrinkled his forehead and fell deep in thought, ''She seems accidentally crossed over and arrived at that house.''Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Mingliang tried to ask more questions, but either the snake failed to understand, or the snake herself didn''t know much.


    ''I guess, I need to check the house my self. Maybe she can tell me more when we''re there.'', finally, Mingliang gave up.


    He took the bronze medal. The medal lost its brilliance. The battle had drawn many of its energy. Whenever Mingliang saw it, he felt a loss in his chest. The medal meant a lot to him. Inside it, was his grandfather''s and father''s energy.


    Mingliang hesitated for a while, but he knew he had to. Sighing, Mingliang used the energy from the medal, to draw a rune on the computer table. The snake watched him intently. Mingliang could feel her excitement.


    Once the rune completed, Mingliang nodded to the snake, ¡°Go, get some rest.¡±


    The snake jumped in joy, it flew toward Mingliang and rubbed his cheek with her head, like a spoiled child.


    ¡°Ha ha ha, stop that, have a rest, for now. Tomorrow you''ll accompany me to visit that house.¡±, Mingliang laughed and rubbed the snake''s head before sent her away to rest on that rune.


    The rune was simple. It contained gentle spiritual energy. It gave many benefits for the wounded snake demon. The snake demon quickly rested on that rune and fell asleep.


    Mingliang stretched his back and smiled. Looking at the snake, he felt satisfied. It was his first spiritual pet. Having a spiritual pet, was something he never imagined in the past.


    Mingliang couldn''t rest yet. As the pet''s owner, he still had a lot to do. Mingliang sat in a lotus position and closed his eyes. Softly he chanted a prayer. It was Sukha Vagga, a chapter in Dhammapada, teaching about the joy that came from living righteously.


    Mingliang decided to read this particular passage after he understood the snake''s nature. This snake was just a little kid, naughty and only wanted to have fun. It scared people to make fun of them. When Nina with her skepticism, didn''t fear her, the snake got angry and attacked her. That moment, the snake learned to be cruel. It saw it as a game. By reading the scripture, Mingliang tried to affect the snake''s mind. He tried to suppress her wild and cruel nature by cultivating her righteousness and compassion.


    The chants radiated good intention and compassion. While at the same time, the rune where the snake rested, had a soothing and comforting effect. Using both Mingliang tried to change the snake''s character and behavior.


    The night passed and the next day came.


    Mingliang waited for Somad first. He gave the boy an assignment then went to the haunted house riding his bicycle. There wasn''t any problem for him to enter the house. No one lived there, and the doors were left unlocked. The moment he entered the house, Mingliang felt the Yin energy within the house was richer than usual.


    The snake flew ahead. It was enjoying the environment inside the house a lot. Considering the level of energy inside the house, Mingliang thought it was normal for the snake to like it.


    ''It wouldn''t be a bad idea if I cultivate my qi here...'', Mingliang took a deep breath and circulated his qi.


    Inside the house, it was humid and a bit cold, rich with Yin energy. Mingliang''s qi cultivation technique, gathered both Yin and Yang, so he wasn''t disturbed by the Yin energy inside that house.


    ''Show me where you came from.'', Mingliang gave an order to the snake.


    Mingliang walked, following the snake. The house was big. It took a while before the snake arrived and stopped before a small building at the backyard, separated from the main building. The entrance door to that building was closed and locked. Mingliang could feel, the energy in this house was coming from this small building.


    Mingliang checked the padlock. It was a simple padlock. He looked around and found an old crowbar. He used the crowbar to forcefully broke the lock. When he entered that small building, he couldn''t believe his own eyes.


    Someone drew large and complicated arrays of ancient rune on the floor. It nearly filled the entire room. Although there was some of its energy left, it was long dead. Mingliang didn''t recognize the runes. It wasn''t a rune from ancient China or Indonesia. He had no idea, what did the array suppose to do?


    Carefully Mingliang traced the pattern of energy, that was left behind.


    On several occasions, the snake provided additional information. Mingliang never saw an array as complicated as this one. The fact that he didn''t know the origin of the runes, made his job harder. But the difficulty incited his curiosity instead. He took out a small notebook out of his pocket and started to draw the pattern there.


    He was absorbed in the process of copying the rune. He didn''t realize there was a sound of steps from outside.


    A man dressed in all black was walking toward the building. He was young probably about 20 to 25 years old. He haunched his shoulder. His pace was quick, and his eyes were cold. The corner of his lips was drawn downward, half sneering. He saw the world as if he despised all he saw in it.


    The snake fluttered toward Mingliang, circling his head and warned him about the man in black. Mingliang now put in an awkward position, not only he entered the house without permission, he even broke into one of its building.


    ''No, you can''t do that.'', Mingliang quickly prevented the snake who wanted to get rid that person.


    Mingliang gritted his teeth. He almost finished copying the rune. He decided to focus his attention, to finish as soon as possible. He would deal with that person later. At worst, he would apologize and maybe got scold.


    He was drawing the few last lines, when he heard a man swore outside, ¡°Damn! Who dares to intrude?!¡±


    Mingliang quickly finished his notes. It was just at the right time. When he turned to face that man, that man also reached the room. For a few seconds, there was an awkward silence.


    Mingliang opened his mouth to apologize, ¡°Listen, I...¡±


    But before he could finish his sentence, that man saw the note in his hand, ¡°Bastard! Fuck you man! Are you asking for death?¡±


    ¡°Look, wait...!¡±, Mingliang felt great irrational animosity from his opponent. He tried to mediate the situation when he felt a tremendous threat coming from that man in black.


    ''Wait! You!'', Mingliang jumped away from his position.


    His eyes couldn''t follow that man in black''s hand, but his intuition told him to jump away. A flashing knife flew toward him. It hit a few inches before his chest. If Mingliang jumped a split of seconds late, he would have a knife decorating his chest right now.


    ¡°Are you nuts!¡±, Mingliang''s anger finally rose, ¡°Attack him!¡±


    The snake was growing bigger and congealed into reality, as it charged toward the man in black. The man in black''s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the snake. He jumped back to avoid the snake''s attack. His hand took something out of his pocket.


    ¡°You damn thief!¡±, he shouted angrily to Mingliang, taking out a small kris with his hand.


    *Kris is Javanese traditional dagger, there are several different type and size.


    There was something about the small kris that brought pressure to the snake''s strength. Mingliang saw it and understood at once. Someone created that array to summon and cultivate the snake. Probably it was the man in black, or maybe his master. Now, it was the time to subdue the snake, but accidentally Mingliang got the snake a day before the schedule.


    ''Avoid!'', Mingliang commanded the snake.


    ¡°Wind!¡±, Mingliang shouted, his hand drew a rune.


    The wind blew, bringing debris and dust to surround the man in black, forced him to close his eyes.


    ¡°Earth!¡±, quickly he chanted another spell, before the man in black had a chance to respond.


    The man in black felt the earth trembled and lost his balance.


    ¡°Break!¡±, the man in black pounded his right feet to the ground as he shouted.


    ¡°BAM!¡± The sound reverberated in the room. The wind stopped blowing, and the earth stopped trembling. The man in black broke the illusions with his spell.


    When the man in black was busy breaking the illusion, Mingliang hands danced in the air. A circle of arrays was formed, right above the man in black''s head. Mingliang didn''t miss even for a second. When the man in black just broke free from the illusions, Mingliang''s hand moved downward.


    ¡°Mountain of Tai! Imprison!¡±, the array fell toward the man in black.


    ¡°Damn! You son of a bitch! Shit!¡±, The man in black, felt tons of weight pressed his body. He glared at Mingliang with intense hatred.


    The man in black dropped on all four. His whole body trembled, trying to push against the weight that wanted to press him flat to the ground. Mingliang was winning but didn''t mean he had it easy. Sweat was pouring on his forehead, trickled to his eyes, but he didn''t dare to wipe it.


    A sound of chants came from the direction of the man in black, and Mingliang felt something pricky crawled on his skin. The sensation was growing more intense as if thousands of needles pricked his body. Mingliang clenched his jaw in pain. Veins were bulging on his forehead. The attack was pricking deeper and deeper.


    No one was willing to give up. Both young men were racing against death.


    The snake flew far above, her eyes warily watched the small kris. She watched Mingliang shivered in pain. She wanted to help, but the kris brought her great pressure.

 Chapter V. There is the first time for everything.

    The pain went past Mingliang''s limit. His legs trembled, and he fell on to his knees. The snake saw it and hissed in anger. Her anger made her forgot her fear for the kris. The snake blindly charged toward the man in black. Her jaw was wide open, while her eyes locked on the opponent.


    The snake didn''t see, the man in black grinning evilly. He secretly hid the kris under his body, hid it from the snake''s sight. From his angle, Mingliang saw the man''s sinister plan. He knew that man only pretended to be weak. The man in black wanted to trick the snake and used the kris to subdue her.


    ¡°No!!!¡±, Mingliang bit his tongue. The pain woke him up and for a moment cleared the pain that clouding his mind.


    The taste of blood, metallic and salty, filled his mouth. Mingliang collected it in his mouth, took a deep breath and then spat it out. The blood sprayed, forming a red fog before him. His hands moved faster than ever before. He drew the life energy contained in the blood and used it to evolve his array above the man in black.


    The man in black was staring at the snake. He didn''t notice Mingliang''s moves. He thought Mingliang already disabled under his spell. But when the array above him changed, a deep sense of crisis arose from his heart. He turned his eyes to Mingliang. The sneer in his face coagulated. For the first time, his face showed fears.


    ¡°No...no.... no... it can''t be... no....¡±, his mind buzzed with dread.


    ¡°Mountain Tai! Crush!!!¡±, with all his strength, Mingliang shouted and swung his hand downward.


    Tons of weight hammered the man down. This time, the man in black didn''t have the strength to bear the pressure. He fell flat on his face. At the same time, the snake''s jaws reached his body.


    ¡°Kacha!¡± blood splashed everywhere. The snake''s jaw crushed the man''s bone. The bone seemed as fragile as a dried twig. Her anger, the snake''s showed her wild and cruel nature.


    Arms, legs, and halves of the torsos were torn apart. If that was not worse enough, as the soul separated from the body, the snake slurped it all in one breath. Only when the man in black thoroughly died, the snake calmed down. She returned to her small size and fluttered toward Mingliang.


    The snake anxiously tried to communicate with Mingliang. She saw Mingliang''s pale face and trembling hands.


    ''I''m alright. I just need a bit of rest.'' Mingliang calmed the snake down.


    He used to think that he was psychologically tougher than other people, which probably true. But at the moment, he didn''t feel strong at all. The scene when the snake tore apart the man in black, kept on replaying in his mind. Although he knew that it was either them or the man in black who died, it still took time for him to calm his heart.


    He sat down and slowly controlled his mind and emotion. When he was calmed down, Mingliang took out the bronze medal. He drew a gathering energy rune on the floor and placed the medal.


    The bronze medal quickly drew and absorbed the residual energy that''s left from the old array.


    ''How I should clean this mess? Should I call the police? Maybe I can pretend to find the house in this condition?'', Mingliang looked around him, at the splattered blood and the separated body.


    ''Oh... shit, should I bury him? ¡­. okay maybe I should...'', Mingliang looked to the backyard outside, wild plants and shrubbery thickly grew in the abandoned garden.


    He went to the abandoned garden and searched for a place to bury the body. He saw a dried fish pond. He went to the pond and checked it. It was about knee-deep. He didn''t need to dig a hole. After he threw the body there, he just had to fill the pond.


    ''Watch the entrance, prevents people from coming in. Just scare them, don''t hurt them and inform me if someone is trying to enter the house'', Mingliang asked the snake through his mind.


    The snake seemed to feel relieved when she saw Mingliang got back on his feet and started giving orders. She showed her feeling by dancing above Mingliang''s head before she left toward the house entrance. Mingliang chuckled when he saw the snake''s enthusiasm.


    His face turned to grim again when he saw the man in black''s body. Sighing, Mingliang started to move them into the pond. It took a while, and he needed some break in between. The smell, the gore, he hadn''t got used to it, and he was glad he was not used to it. He did all the work in less than ten minutes. During the whole process, Mingliang mentally created a distance between what he did and his self.


    The next work was physically hard but mentally easy, he had to move soil from a raised garden bed to the pond. Fortunately, it was loam and easy to dig.


    When he finished all the work, it was getting dark. Fortunately, with the reputation of the house, there weren''t many people who came to look around the house. Mingliang took a look at his bloody and dirty clothes. He hesitated for a moment.


    Finally, he picked up his phone and called Sari.


    ¡°Hi... yea... uh... Listen, I need your help. Could you come to this address...¡± Mingliang gave Sari the address and asked her to bring clean clothes for him.


    ¡°I''ll explain later...¡±


    ¡°Yeah... sorry, but it''s really urgent. But if you...¡±


    ¡°Great, great, you really save me today.¡±


    ¡°I''ll explain it once you got here...¡±


    ¡°Okay, I got it, I owe you big time.¡±


    ¡°Sure.. sure... Thanks¡±


    Mingliang looked around and found nothing to clean himself. He finally gave up and wiped all the dirt on his hand, on his pants. He planned to throw them away anyway. He returned to the small building and found his bronze medal completely absorbed all the residual of energy in there. He picked it up and put it back to his pocket when he noticed something is off.


    He quietly focused all of his senses, trying to find out what it could be.


    After a while, he realized, there was a thin trace of energy left in the room. It was so weak that he barely sensed it. Mingliang took out his bronze medal and directly absorbed it clean. He wanted to make sure that no spiritual energy was left around the house, and attracted ghosts or demons. It didn''t take a long time to clean the building.


    Once again he focused on his sense, to make sure nothing was left.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    He examined it, and the result surprised him. To make sure he checked again. This time he observed the phenomenon longer because it was his first time stumbled upon the strange phenomenon.


    He was deeply absorbed in what he was doing. Suddenly, he heard a girl screamed and cursed.


    ''Oh shit, I forgot to tell her.'', Mingliang realized he didn''t tell the snake anything about Sari.


    Quickly he called the snake back and ran to the house entrance to greet Sari. The sky was dark. With no lighting worked, the house was in complete darkness. Mingliang saw Sari''s silhouette, at the entrance. Half crouching with both of her two hands on guard before her body.


    ¡°Hey..wait..arghh!¡±


    Mingliang was running to her. He wanted to apologize for the snake. But when Sari saw someone charged in, she leaped forward, closed the distance and punched him right in the solar plexus. It stunned him on his track. She then grabbed his hand and threw him to the floor. She quickly twisted his arm and locked his wrist. As if it was not enough, she pressed his elbow with her knee.


    ¡°Aww ouch ouch.... aiyaaaa... It''s me, it''s me, it''s me...¡±, Mingliang was screaming in pain, his wrist and elbow felt like they were going to break into pieces.


    ¡°Mingliang!?¡±, Sari recognized his voice but didn''t even relieve the pressure on his joints.


    ¡°Yes, it''s me, it''s me. For God sake. Let me go, please let me go. Buddhas have mercy. You''re killing me!¡±, Mingliang was calling in pain, begging for mercy.


    ¡°Haha, well, you got yourself to blame for that, asking people to come at some creepy house and then charging at me like that. Hey, is this house really haunted?¡±, Sari let him go and laughed. The truth was, she felt safer now, that she knew Mingliang was here with her.


    ¡°Oww.... huff.... you''re really a nasty one.¡±, Mingliang sat up. He massaged his joints and catching up his breath.


    ¡°Oh yeah...? Is that how you say thanks?¡±, Sari dangled a plastic bag before Mingliang.


    ¡°Okay... right... you''re right. Thank you very much, my princes, in the shining armor and sorry for scaring you like that. I heard you screaming, so I hastily ran to greet you.¡±, Mingliang put his best adorable expression and even blinked his eyes.


    ¡°Hah! Silly jerk!¡±, Sari hit him with the plastic bag.


    ¡°But hey, you are really dirty, and what''s that smell? That''s smell like...¡±, She noticed something was off.


    ¡°Hmm... let''s go inside first. I''ll tell you what happened. And by the way, uh... please introduce... how should we call you?¡± Mingliang summoned the snake to show herself, and now he just realized he didn''t know what the snake''s name was.


    Sari put her hand on her mouth in surprise. Her eyes opened wide. The snake mentally rolled her eyes. Mingliang was standing awkwardly. Sari was looking at the snake. It was showing herself in its miniature size, fluttering near Mingliang''s shoulder. It took several seconds before it dawned on her, and she understood what or who scared her back then.


    ¡°Black Jade, how about that? Do you like that name?¡±, Mingliang didn''t notice the change in Sari''s expression. He was thinking a name for the snake instead. The snake, nodded her head enthusiastically, pleased with the name.


    ¡°You bastard!¡±, without any warning, Sari exploded and kicked Mingliang''s thigh.


    ¡°Arrggh!... aw aw aw... What''s that for?¡±, Mingliang felt his thigh was going to explode. He was limping on one of his feet.


    ¡°Dare to ask again?¡±, Sari crossed her arm and raised her eyebrows.


    ¡°Uhm... yea yea yea...¡±, her glaring eyes scared Mingliang to give up. Through their spiritual connection, he sensed the snake laughing. If Black Jade had legs, she would be jumping in joy. Now, she was just dancing and circling above Mingliang''s head.


    ¡°What adorable little snake.¡±, Black Jade caught Sari''s attention.


    Like an old friend, the snake fluttered toward Sari and rubbed her head on her cheek. When he saw Black Jade was acting friendly with Sari, Mingliang grumbled, ¡°Traitor...¡±


    She heard Mingliang grumbled, it made her happy and forgot her previous anger, and Mingliang smiled when he saw that. He gestured with his head, for Sari to follow him into the house. When he saw Black Jade was following them, he mentally sent a command for Black Jade to return to the entrance. He chuckled when he sensed Black Jade was grumbling when he sent her back.


    Once they got inside the house, Mingliang told Sari about what just happened. It shocked her, for quite some time she couldn''t say a word. Her face was pale. Mingliang felt her hand trembled when she handed the plastic bag. Mingliang took the clean clothes and left her to change clothes.


    When he came back, Sari grabbed his hand, ¡°Is that for real? You just killed a man?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡±, he asked back.


    Sari closely observed his expression, ¡±You nuts..... Oh... God... you... you... How could you?¡±


    Mingliang shrugged his shoulder, ¡°I''m just as shock as you, you know. It''s so absurd and surreal.¡±


    ¡°And it all happen here?¡± Sari looked around the places around her. They were standing near the pond.


    ¡°No, it happened in that small building. I bury the body there though.¡±, Mingliang pointed at the pond behind Sari.


    Sari slowly turned her head and looked at the pond. She didn''t realize that it was a pond, but after Mingliang told her, now she can saw the traces. She felt the hair on her neck raised. Sari stared at him in disbelief and then punched his shoulder.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°How could you!? Oh... damn... What should I do now? What should we do now?¡±, she was rambling incoherently.


    ¡°Sorry, but I have no one else I could trust.¡±, Mingliang apologetically tried to calm her down.


    Sari slouched and sighed. She felt all her body weak, ¡°Oh... God...¡±


    Mingliang carefully and gently held her hand, ¡°Listen, you don''t have to worry about me. At worst, I go to jail. It doesn''t affect much of my life. This house is famous as a haunted house, I don''t think people would go in and goes so far until they find the body.¡±


    ¡°What should we do with your clothes?¡±, Sari weakly asked.


    ¡°I''ll burn them. I need you to go home now. You have too much mixed up in this already.¡±


    Sari''s face was getting cloudy. Mingliang hastily added, ¡°Think of your mother. I''m alone in this world. There is Somad, but he survives the street, he can survive even if I''m jailed. You''re different.¡±


    With conflicted feeling, Sari was standing in there, trying to make a decision, but finally gave in, ¡°Alright, I''ll go now. You be careful. I can''t help you, but promise me, try your best, don''t get caught.¡±


    ¡°Uhm..¡±, Mingliang nodded and ensured her with his gesture.


    He waited until Sari left the house then he began to burn his bloodied clothes. Watching the fire burned, Mingliang slowly accepted the fact that he just killed a man. He no longer tried to defend his innocence. Sari''s supports and beliefs in him, helped him to overcome his anxiety.


    ''I did what I did because that''s who I am. I''m still the same person, before and after I did that. I don''t know about right or wrong, but if I can turn back time, I''ll still do the same.''


    ''This is who I am.''


    And just like his clothes burnt to ashes, all the doubts, and burdens in his heart, were blown away.


    After he made sure, he burned the clothes to ashes. He returned to the small building, where he left his previous observation.


    When he returned to the small building, he surprised to find the energy was back in the building again. Back then, he had cleaned the small building. He was missing something. It wasn''t the array because he had cleaned it up. The metallic smell of blood was thick in the room, but his mind ignored it. He carefully investigated each inch and corner.


    Slowly Mingliang traced the energy to its source. There was a spot within the room. It came from that spot. Mingliang closed his eyes. His spiritual sense dived in that spot. He just touched the boundary and quickly drew his spiritual sense back.


    ''That array... it summons Black Jade from the other dimension? And cause a leak? Some crack on the border between two dimensions?'', Mingliang was squatting before the spot where the energy leaked out.


    What he saw there, terrified him. It was entirely a different universe. He sensed powerful and evil beings, were living on the other side. Black Jade was strong, much stronger than him, but there she was at the bottom of the ladder.


    ''¡­ what should I do? How I seal it?... but why should I seal it? If I leave it like this, I can cultivate the energy for myself... but what if more demons come out of it'', he hesitated and couldn''t decide.


    ''But I don''t even know how to seal it...yea... that''s right. I don''t even know how to seal it. Until I know how to seal it, I can absorb the energy to cultivate myself.'', Mingliang felt like he found the light. He could cultivate here, at least until he learned how to seal the crack.


    He cleaned the spot, and then sat there in the lotus position and started to absorb the energy. Faintly he sensed a big crisis was coming, but he tried to ignore it.

 Chapter VI. I want to grow stronger.

    It was close to midnight when Mingliang left the house. He brought Black Jade with him because he wanted to cultivate the snake''s behavior and temperament, which meant a daily dose of chanting sutra. He also wanted to improve their relationship, although he bound Black Jade by the contract, Mingliang preferred the snake to serve him voluntarily, out of loyalty. Besides he found out that the leak from the crack in dimension, was nothing but a trickle. It would take a while before it reached any level that worth to absorb.


    To prevent the energy from leaking out of the small building, he drew a simple array that would gather it all at one spot.


    Mingliang quietly entered his room and found Somad asleep on the floor. He felt sorry for the boy, but at the same time, his trust in Somad grew. Mingliang proud to be his teacher. The boy could sleep on the bed, but knowing it was his teacher''s bed, he preferred to sleep on the floor. People might call it a backward tradition, but the boy acted out of respect for the elders, and Mingliang saw nothing was wrong with it. Of course, filial piety was not about blind obedience. Filial piety also came with the responsibility to keep pushing forward the progress. But as scientists like to say, ''Standing on the shoulder of giants.'' One should never forget their predecessor.


    Carefully he picked up the boy and laid him on the bed. Gently he covered the boy with his blanket. Black Jade watched the scene. The young snake learned something new today. The snake relied a lot on her instinct and intuition, but that made her see more than the obvious.


    When the snake rested on an array like the day before, and Mingliang chanted the scripture for the snake, he felt the snake''s nature became much gentler.


    That night, Mingliang had so many things in his mind that he didn''t feel sleepy at all. The crack between dimension opened a once in a lifetime chance for him. He didn''t plan to use the energy inside the bronze medal, because he wanted to give that medal to Somad in the future. Now, with the available source of energy, he could use it to further his cultivation.


    ''It would be a waste if I don''t use this chance.'' Mingliang thought to himself. The night was quiet, it helped him to think calmly.


    ''Xuan Wu body.... yea... if I could practice Xuan Wu body then I don''t have to worry about my defense. During a fight, I can focus on other aspects.'', Mingliang remembered the difficult situation he was facing during his fight with Black Jade.


    Xuan Wu body was divided into nine layers. The first layer was to draw the defensive rune all over his skin. The denser he could arrange it, the better the result was.


    Mingliang checked on the energy level left inside the bronze medal, ''There was enough to practice the first layer, and I still got the energy from that crack.''


    For some reason, Mingliang felt a crisis was coming. He no longer had any thought to save the energy inside the bronze medal, ''I got to grow stronger....''


    Somad got up early in the morning. Mingliang was still meditating on the floor, by that time. The boy saw it and quickly jumped down. He wanted to tell Mingliang to get up but didn''t want to disturb him. Somad stood in hesitation.


    Mingliang opened his eyes and smiled at him, "Yo boy. It''s still early, why don''t you go back to sleep?"


    "I... well, uh teacher. When did you come home last night? I waited for a long time.", Somad decided to change the topic and sat on the floor, next to Mingliang.


    Mingliang had thought about it last night. He was considering to tell his disciple about the incident in the haunted house. In the end, he decided to tell Somad everything, because that incident brought some risk to Somad as well.


    ¡°Hmm..., now that you ask. There is something I want you to know.¡±, Mingliang got up and sat on the bed. He gestured Somad to sit next to him. He told Somad all that happened, without omitting any information.


    Somad listened to Mingliang''s story attentively. Sometimes there were signs of excitement in his voice when he asked something in detail. It was the total opposite of Sari''s reaction. It didn''t escape Mingliang''s sharp eyes. Secretly he acclaimed his disciple mentality. Sometimes he wondered, what did that boy experience during his day living on the street. Whatever it was, Somad dealt with Mingliang''s experience better than Mingliang himself.


    "Now, as you can see. I might provoke someone strong this time. Even if that man in black doesn''t have allies, there is still a good chance that I have to deal with the law. Do you still want to be my disciple?", Mingliang had told him all. Now, he wanted Somad to make a decision.


    Somad laughed and answered casually, "Teacher, is there any choice in life without any risk? Say I''m hungry and then there''s a stranger offer me food. If I don''t take it, most likely I would die from hunger. If I take it, maybe he''s a pedophile. It would be lucky if he just drugs me and then fucks my ass. I could end up killed and mutilated."


    "Risks are everywhere in life. Better I choose a path, that will give me a chance to learn something to defend myself."


    "Besides, even if I give up now, people still know that at some point I was your disciple. They will use the fact that you send me away, as a hint that you do care about me. So I''m still at risk."


    *In 1996 and 2007, there was a series of mutilation case in Indonesia. The victims were street children, and in both cases, the perpetrator was someone they knew and close to them.


    Somad brushed away Mingliang''s question without any hesitation. Quickly his attention turned toward Black Jade, ¡°Teacher, where is the snake? Why can''t I see it?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Secretly Mingliang embarrassed, his disciple had more guts compared to him, "She''s sleeping right now. When she wakes up, I''ll tell her to show herself to you."


    ¡°Hmm... since you determine, then I''ll begin to teach you how to gather energy and cultivate your chakra. I will teach you a few simple runes. With runes, you relatively take less energy from yourself and rely more upon the energy around you. The downside, it takes a longer time and higher concentration compared to skills and abilities, which become part of your self after you attain it.¡±, Mingliang spoke seriously.


    Now that Somad was determined to follow him, with the crisis looming in the future, Mingliang felt it wasn''t the time for teaching the boy in ethics and morality. Somad needed to learn something he could use to protect himself.


    "Alright! That''s cool, what should I learn first?", Somad threw his fist in the air.


    "I planned it last night. First I''ll teach you two runes. One to call forth wind element, and another one, to excite earth element. They are the simplest runes in our inheritance. At this moment, I will teach you the form and the theory. Later, when you''ve learned how to gather and control qi, then you can practice it. Now, look at the first rune.", Mingliang then drew the rune on the floor with his finger.


    Somad watched him drew attentively and listening to Mingliang explanation, "Do not forget the sequence and the form. Keep your movement smooth and stable. There can''t be any broken lines. Once you remember it, I''ll teach you what each character means. It will help you to remember what intention you should keep in mind when you draw it."


    Teacher and disciple deeply engaged in their study, that they lost track of time. They realized it when the sun shone through the windows.


    "Have you remembered them?", Mingliang was watching Somad, repeatedly drew the runes he just taught him.


    "Yes, teacher."


    "Okay, I''ll take you back to Mr. Ryan''s house.", Mingliang stood and stretched his body.


    "Teacher, I can return by myself. You need some sleep. You haven''t slept at all yesterday. ", Somad saw Mingliang''s tired face.


    "No, no. I need to apologize too. Yesterday, I forgot to call.", Mingliang rubbed his disciple''s head.


    "I already called them, when you didn''t return at eight.", Somad tried to persuade his teacher.


    "You do? Well, that''s good. We should try our best not to trouble other people. Still, I have neglected my role as your teacher. That''s why I should personally go and apologize to them. Now let''s wash our face and then I''ll take you there.", Mingliang ended it, Somad saw that his teacher wouldn''t change his mind and nodded his head.


    So they went to the family who had Somad in their home. Mingliang sincerely apologized to the family, then returned to his rented room and got some rest. Later, after Somad finished his work, the boy went to Mingliang''s rented room once again and continued his study.


    After a week passed by, through Mingliang''s guidance and Somad''s sincere efforts, the boy mastered the rune.


    "Now, use the energy from the medal to draw the rune. Don''t draw too much. Your body isn''t ready to handle it. Just carefully use a bit of it each time. The purpose of this practice is for you to learn to control the energy."


    "Keep it smooth, flowing, yes... like that."


    Using the medal''s energy, Somad drew the wind rune. Mingliang watched at his side, reminded him whenever he lost control over the process. They began practicing for real since yesterday. Now, Somad could draw it smoothly.


    "Be careful now, don''t lose your concentration at the last line. You almost finish."


    Somad''s heart beat faster. A cold sweat ran through his back. But he insisted and drew the last line smoothly and complete the rune. The wind blew, a very weak wind whirled across the room, barely made a stack of papers fluttered.


    "Teacher! I did it! I made it!", Somad shouted with a sense of success.


    Mingliang patted his shoulder gently. He couldn''t hide how proud he was. Mingliang found that watching his disciple''s success was a greater satisfaction than achieving his own, "That was good, now you have to practice it again and again, for the next two hours. Wait until you can draw a hundred times without making any mistake, then you can start practicing with the second rune. I have talked to Mr. Ryan. He agreed to let you stay here tonight. Tonight, I will help you to open your energy veins."


    A concerned look was on Somad''s face, "Teacher, I know you are good to me, but if you spent too much time to help me. How about your own? Two days ago, you spent the whole night to help me open my chakra and vein. Now, you will spend another whole night to help me again."


    Mingliang laughed, "Don''t worry, it''s not that I neglected my own practice. I almost finish practicing the first layer of Xuan Wu body, but I need to give some time for my body to recover. That''s why I plan to use this time to help you open your energy vein."


    "Thank you, Teacher.", Somad didn''t argue anymore, but still, his respect to his teacher grew.


    "Okay, don''t think about it. Focus on your study, that''s how you repay me if you feel you have to. Rune is the foundation of our sect''s inheritance. Learn the basics well, and it will help you later in the higher level.", Mingliang rubbed the boy''s head before he left to his old computer.


    Somad saw his teacher operating his computer and asked, "Teacher, have you found something about that rune?"


    Mingliang nodded his head, "I have looked for several ancient writing, so far I haven''t found something close to that one. I''m not in a hurry though. It''s not that important. I''m just curious that''s all."


    Somad wanted to ask some more. He hesitated. He looked at his teacher''s grim expression. Somad gritted his teeth and started to draw another rune, "With my current skill, I can''t help Teacher at all. I got to grow stronger soon."


    Mingliang just downloaded a document of some ancient writing. He was looking that document at this moment. He tried to crack the rune in that haunted house. His face was grim, as he ran through all his finding up till now.


    Mingliang found the origin of the rune the day before. It was an ancient Jewish rune. He hadn''t solved what it suppose to do. The sage who sealed away the magical world was a Jew. Now, in that small building, there was a crack between two worlds. Was that only a coincidence? A side effect of a summoning process? Or he had made a wrong guess since the beginning?


    He was deep in his thought when his phone rang. Somad lost his concentration. The boy stared at the phone angrily. Mingliang laughed at him, he stood to get the phone, and nudged the boy on his way, "Don''t blame the phone, how would you use your rune in a fight, if you lose your concentration so easily?"


    "But...", the boy looked for an excuse.


    But Mingliang quickly cut it out, "No but, back to your practice now."


    Quickly he picked up the phone and answered, ¡°Hallo. Yes, it''s me Mingliang.¡±


    "Oh Doctor Ibrahim, how are you?"


    "Hmm... okay I see.", Mingliang''s expression became serious as he listened to Doctor Ibrahim, "I''ll get there as soon as I can."


    "No, no, no problem at all. I''ll see what I can do."


    "Yes, thanks."


    "Okay, see you there."


    When Mingliang put down the phone, he saw Somad was looking at him.


    "Teacher, is something happen? Is that Doctor Ibrahim we met when we were at Sister Nina''s house?", the boy asked.


    "Yeah... he needs my help."


    "Are you going to see him now? Can I go with you?", the boy got excited.


    "No. This time you stay here. Keep on practicing, don''t waste your time for something unnecessary.", Mingliang shook his head.


    His expression was grim. When Somad saw it, he argued no more.

 Chapter VII. A corpse that brought the bad tiding.

    Mingliang didn''t want to bring Somad with him. Although the boy was a tough little monkey, he still felt a bit worried to bring the boy with him, because this time, he was going to visit a mortuary.


    The smell of embalming fluid faintly entered Mingliang''s nose. Aside from it, there wasn''t decayed smell that Mingliang imagined before. He followed Dr. Ibrahim, to see one of his colleague, Dr. Sunyoto, he was working with the local police force as part of his job.


    They shook hand. After a short chit-chat, Dr. Sunyoto explained his problem, "I just got a corpse this morning from police. There wasn''t much mystery in how the victim died, but there was something that bothers me. When I talked about it with Ibrahim, he mentioned your name."


    Doctor Ibrahim picked on, "I remember when you treated Nina, you drew something on the glass of water. Later you said that you were drawing a rune to dispell the demon of her body."


    Mingliang nodded in affirmation, he didn''t say anything and waited for further explanation.


    Doctor Ibrahim continues, "When I asked about rune, you drew several examples on paper."


    Mingliang still stayed silent. He waited for Dr. Ibrahim to continue, but dr. Ibrahim turned to Dr. Sunyoto instead.


    Dr. Sunyoto seemed hesitated, "Look, this is still under police investigation. Whatever you see, you can''t tell other people."


    Mingliang noded, "Of course, don''t worry about that."


    He silently added in his mind, ''But you already told one of your friend about it.''


    Dr. Sunyoto nodded but still hesitated. He looked at Dr. Ibrahim who gestured him to tell Mingliang before he finally explained, "So here''s the case, the victim was drugged and then bleed to death. There was no doubt about it. But...", there was a pause, "... we found this strange drawing all over his body."


    Dr. Ibrahim added, "We don''t know the importance of this drawing, but that reminded me of your rune."


    "I understand now, so you want me to take a look at this drawing. To see if there are a certain significance behind this drawing?", Mingliang finally understood what brought him here.


    "I''ll help you to look at it then.", Mingliang quickly agreed. He had nothing to lose anyway, and as a good citizen, he would be happy to help the law at any time.


    "I took pictures of the drawing. Would you prefer to look at the pictures or do you need to look at the corpse directly?", Doctor Sunyoto asked after all not many people were used to dealing with corpses.


    "Let''s see the pictures first then.", Mingliang quickly made a choice. Although he had experienced dealing with a human corpse after the incident with the man in black, he preferred to stay away, if it was possible.


    Dr. Sunyoto took his tablet out and showed the pictures he took before. Mingliang looked at each picture with interest. At the third picture, he saw a clue, and he felt his heart pounding inside his chest. Once more a bad premonition surged in his heart.


    "Do you find something?", Doctor Ibrahim asked. He was watching Mingliang''s expression and saw something.


    Mingliang answered carefully, "I think I recognize something, but let''s see all the pictures, then I''ll show you something. Do you have a computer with internet connection here? One that I can use?"


    Dr. Sunyoto nodded his head, "You can use my computer, it''s in my office. Come, you can look at the rest of the picture on the way."


    The three of them went to Doctor Sunyoto''s office. As a doctor in one prestigious hospital, his office was neat with modern interior design. The dominant color was white. They kept everything simple and elegant. A couple of ornaments decorated the room.


    "You can use the computer.", Dr. Sunyoto gestured at Mingliang to use his computer freely.


    "Okay, thanks. It will just take a few minutes. I''ll download something for you to see."


    Within a few minutes, Mingliang already downloaded the documents he looked for. It was the one he tried to learn this morning. His clue to crack the array in the haunted house. He presented it to the other. Dr. Ibrahim and Dr. Sunyoto looked at the document seriously.


    "See this and this.", Mingliang pointed out at some characters on the document, "Don''t you think it is the same one as the drawing?"


    Dr. Sunyoto and Dr. Ibrahim quickly saw the similarities. Mingliang stood from the chair and gave it to Dr. Sunyoto. Dr. Sunyoto quickly sat and checked the document. He flipped it back to the first page and then perused it to the end. Once and a while, Dr. Ibrahim or Dr. Sunyoto would point out at the screen. Mingliang watched at their side silently and waited until they finished.


    When they finished, Dr. Sunyoto leaned back and rested on his chair. He took a deep breath, turned to Mingliang, "Do you know what it''s mean?"


    Mingliang shook his head, "Unfortunately, I don''t know much about these runes. I learn a lot of Chinese and Indonesian ancient runes. These ones came from Jewish tradition. Almost every ancient culture has their own."


    Dr. Ibrahim, who gained new interest after he met Mingliang asked, "Are you saying that in every culture they use runes to perform magic?"


    Mingliang knew of Dr. Ibrahim''s curiosity. He smiled and replied, "Well, I will make some analogy. A programmer, he has an idea in his head, an algorithm. This is a spiritual existence in itself. It exists, but it doesn''t exist in reality."


    "What does he do then? He wrote it in a programming language. Compile it and then run the app. Now, runes or spells have such power. It turns formless into a form. It turns intent into something that has power over reality."


    "Languages, words, it has power. For many ancient belief systems, words have energy, even life, in itself. In the gospel of John, it is said that Jesus is the incarnation of the Word of God."


    "And just like there are many programming languages, there are many ancient runes and spells. It is not for no reason that Muslim keep their holy book in its original language and writing. Because translating it will make it lose its power."


    ¡°I see...¡±, Dr. Ibrahim gave a deep thought over Mingliang''s explanation, ¡°If you analogize runes and spells as the programming language, what''s the hardware then? You need harddisk, mainboard, monitor and so on. Not just a programming language."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "Yes, runes and spells in itself are not enough. We also need a medium such as...", Mingliang explanation was cut off.


    "Such as that glass of water, where you drew your rune on it.", Dr. Ibrahim excitedly cut in.


    "Yes, that''s right. Water in its element has the power of cleansing. Which makes them a good media to exorcize dark energy.", Mingliang happy to see the doctor enthusiasm.


    It was rare to find someone who appreciated his job. Especially people with high education such these doctors.


    Dr. Sunyoto quietly listened to their conversation. Suddenly some inspiration flashed into his mind, "Wait, this corpse, whoever did the murder, drew these runes in the victim''s body and let it bleed to death. By your analogy, would this man''s body became the medium for whatever spell the perpetrator wants to make?¡±


    Dr. Ibrahim and Dr. Sunyoto turned their focus to Mingliang. Mingliang''s expression turned grim, "Drawing runes and spells, are not enough. We also need to infuse it with intent and spiritual energy to make it work. Take me to the corpse. If someone did some rituals on the corpse, then I should be able to sense some residue from the spiritual energy."


    "Are you sure?", Dr. Sunyoto asked to confirm after all not many people enjoy the sight of a corpse.


    Mingliang sighed and shrugged in submission, "There is no other way to confirm, take me there."


    The three of them walked toward the mortuary. Dr. Sunyoto walked at the front, led them to the room. Dr. Ibrahim asked many questions along the way., "If water has cleansing nature, what about human? Why do it on a human body?"


    "Life. Any rituals perform on a living body, be it animals or human, have one distinct characteristic, that is the sacrifice of life. It could mean many things. It could be said that life energy is one most miraculous energy that exists in this universe."


    "Think about it, from nothing turn to living things. From the simple life, evolve to more complex life. From nothing but the most basic instinct to survive, into a living being with a mind that could comprehend abstract ideas and concepts."


    "That''s the energy of life."


    "And human...?", after a moment of silence, Dr. Ibrahim asked.


    Mingliang sighed, all the way to the mortuary, he felt his chest stuffy, "Human..., you could say the final result of evolution. The sacrifice of human life could mean the noblest one when done voluntarily and in full consciousness. Martyrs, heroes, people who fully understand the result of their action, but with such clarity still choose to do it, in exchange for something bigger than themselves."


    "In the other hand, it could mean the evilest and lowest, when someone sacrifices other people''s life. Most of the time, it was done in the worst way. It''s an act of rebellion against life. An act of perverting life. It called forth the darkest power that exists beyond our world, chained and sealed in the depth of hell."


    Dr. Ibrahim and Dr. Sunyoto got goosebumps all over their body. Dr. Sunyoto secretly cursed his colleagues for asking those question. Dr. Ibrahim himself partly regretted it.


    In such a mood, they arrived at the mortuary. Dr. Sunyoto dealt with corpses many times in the past. He went in and out mortuary probably a hundred times. Sometimes he even worked at night. He never felt scared, but today, in bright daylight, he entered with a palpitating heart.


    Back to the mortuary, Dr. Sunyoto directly brought Mingliang to look at the corpse. There were traces of Dr. Sunyoto autopsy, but everything was stitched back to its place. Dr. Sunyoto took extra effort, to keep the drawing intact. Although he already took pictures before the autopsy, the doctor tried his best to return it to the condition before the autopsy.


    Mingliang closed his eyes. His hand hovered above the corpse. Faintly he induced the trace of spiritual energy formed along the runes on it.


    ''This somehow reminds me to the runes in that haunted house.'', to Mingliang''s surprise, he opened his eyes and pondered over the situation.


    "What? How do you see it? Do you find something?", Dr. Sunyoto impatiently asked.


    Mingliang hesitated for a second, "Well..., there''s traces of energy along the runes. It is a ritual and whoever did it, know what they''re doing. Uhm... is it possible for me to see the location?"


    "The location where we found the body?", Dr. Sunyoto responded.


    "Yes."


    "Hmm... I''ll talk to the detective who leads the investigation for this case first. I can''t decide it by myself.", Dr. Sunyoto took his phone and walked out of the mortuary, leaving Dr. Ibrahim and Mingliang.


    "What do you think the purpose of these runes? The ritual?", Dr. Ibrahim couldn''t stand the silence.


    "I have a guess, but it''s still too early... Maybe if I can look at the location where the ritual took place. I need time to learn about the rune as well.", Mingliang walked away from the corpse, he had seen enough.


    Dr. Ibrahim covered the corpse back before followed Mingliang walking away from it, "Care to share your guess with me?"


    "Haha, sure. It''s not a secret or something, but you have to remember, it''s just a wild guess at best.", they walked toward the entrance where there were a desk and chairs.


    Dr. Ibrahim pulled a chair, Mingliang took another chair. From the small window glass on the entrance door, they saw Dr. Sunyoto walked back and forth. Mingliang secretly felt guilty. It seemed his request brought a lot of trouble to Dr. Sunyoto.


    "So what''s your guess?", Dr. Ibrahim sat comfortably on his chair.


    "Hmm, I think that person try to summon something. Or maybe exchange something with some being from the other side.", Mingliang turned his attention back to Dr. Ibrahim.


    ¡°Ah, that one. You already mentioned it before. But you''re not sure about it yet. So what''s the other possibility?"


    "To gain power perhaps. You see, there is this seal that separates the physical and the magical. People like me find it harder to achieve anything at all. You can have all the knowledge, but without the energy to power it, it means nothing. It''s like having a computer without electricity."


    "But if that''s the case, how about you? You don''t do such a thing, don''t you?"


    "No, I don''t.", Mingliang felt a bit uncomfortable. He had some secrets he didn''t want to reveal.


    Dr. Ibrahim seemed to notice and tried to find a way to avoid the topic, "So, is there no other way to get this... power? Aside from having a ritual that like... what? Open a crack to another dimension?"


    "Yes, there are. Like me, I have this medal. I inherited it from my father. It contained energy. It''s enough for me to use it to practice up to a certain level. But then, if I do, whoever inherits my knowledge wouldn''t have anything to use.", Mingliang quickly grasped the chance.


    "Ah, I see.... so you''re in a tough spot now. Whatever you do, it''s either end with you or ends with your disciple. I guess you choose not to use the medal. I see you''re taking a disciple.", Dr. Ibrahim nodded his head, feeling satisfied with his answer.


    "Yes, I try not to. But sometimes, I''m in a situation that forced me to use it.", Mingliang hesitated, and there was a pause, "Also, there are other ways. Sometimes there are places, where there is still energy left."


    "Ahh... I see... Do you know such a place? Hmm... I guess you do, but it''s secret, right?", Dr. Ibrahim thought he finally found the reason why Mingliang seemed hesitated before.


    Mingliang just smiled, he happily decided to let Dr. Ibrahim satisfied with that idea. A moment later, Dr. Sunyoto entered the mortuary. He didn''t look happy. There was a moment of awkward silence.


    ¡°Sorry, the detective can''t allow you to see the location. And... He was angry because I called you to help with the investigation.", Dr. Sunyoto shrugged his shoulder.


    "It''s alright. I hope I don''t put you into trouble.", Mingliang felt apologetic as well.


    "No, we''re fine. It''s just that I have to ask you to leave the mortuary and all. Really, sorry. You try to help and..., well I guess it''s my fault. I should ask the detective opinion first.", Dr. Sunyoto smile bitterly, it seemed his conversation with the detective was gone wrong.


    Before the situation became more awkward, Mingliang decided to end their meeting. Both doctors accompanied him left the hospital. Dr. Sunyoto asked for his phone number, and they ended up exchanged phone number.


    He no longer involved with the investigation, but the runes on that corpse weighted his mind. He couldn''t put it aside as some coincidence. When he got home, Mingliang found Somad still practicing.


    "Teacher, how''s it going?", Somad steadily finished the rune, before turned and greeted Mingliang.


    Mingliang hid nothing and told the boy everything.


    "What''s our plan then?", the boy asked seriously.


    "I feel something is brewing, and we''re running out of time, but there isn''t much we can do for now. All we can do is to prepare ourselves. You need to grow stronger faster. Tomorrow, I''ll talk to Mr. Ryan. I''ll try to arrange so you could move to live with me as soon as possible.", Mingliang rarely showed the sign of worries in his face, but this time it was all over his face.


    Somad nodded his head, his eyes were steady and had no fear in it.

 Chapter VIII. Consolidating allies.

    The night was silent, once in a while, the sound of cars could be heard. In Mingliang''s rented room, the faint sound of the TV could be heard coming from the first floor. Inside the room, Somad was sitting on the bed, in the lotus position, facing the wall with his eyes closed. Mingliang stood behind him. His right hand above Somad''s head, while his left hand holding the bronze medal.


    Sweat poured over the boy''s body. His expression was serious. His eyebrows knitted and his jaw was clenched. Once in a while, his body shivered, trying to hold itself to stay upright.


    A low humming sound came from the bronze medal.


    On Mingliang''s forehead beads of sweat was formed.


    They had been like that for nearly an hour now. A few minutes later, Somad let out a long breath. His whole body felt relaxed and refreshed. Mingliang slowly opened his eyes. He didn''t disturb his disciple but quietly watched his condition.


    The boy seemed to enjoy his meditation. He remained there more than half an hour before slowly opening his eyes. Mingliang waited patiently. He seemed tired but happy.


    When Somad turned to him, he asked gently, "How do you feel?"


    The boy''s face was glowing with vigor. His body steeped in sweat. He jumped down from the bed enthusiastically. He sincerely bowed to his teacher, "Thank you, teacher. I can feel my body refreshed."


    Mingliang laughed and then gave the medal to the Somad, "Try to draw a rune, but this time, use more energy. Slowly draw more energy, about twice as much as before."


    "Where should I target it?", Somad took the medal and enthusiastically getting ready to give it a try.


    Mingliang took a stack of paper in the corner of the room and placed it about two meters from Somad, "Okay, here."


    They had been using that stack of papers for Somad to practice his wind rune. It was easier for them to see the result of Somad''s rune with it. So far, Somad''s whirlwind wasn''t big enough to create any mess in the room.


    Somad focused his attention. He couldn''t wait to see his new strength. The boy felt his heart started to beat much faster. He didn''t want to disappoint his teacher who had sacrificed much for him. Somad knew any distraction would only ruin his performance. The boy closed his eyes and took several long deep breaths. Slowly his heart beat normally, he opened his eyes and focused on the pile of papers before him.


    Somad drew energy from the medal and gathered it to the tip of his finger. He wasn''t in a hurry, but carefully let the flow slowly grow stronger. When it reached about twice the usual intensity, he began to draw in the air. It didn''t take long before he finished, he almost completely mastered it. A strong wind blew, stronger than ever before and whirled the papers into the air.


    "Quick, draw another one before it subsides! Enforce the whirlwind!", Mingliang quickly and sternly commanded.


    Somad didn''t ask any question and quickly started to draw the second rune. He drew a split second faster than the first. Another gale joined in and the whirlwind grew stronger.


    "Control them, keep them localized!", Mingliang kept giving order.


    Somad knitted his eyebrows and concentrated to control the whirlwind. Kept it in place. The wind was much stronger than before, even Mingliang''s and Somad''s clothes were flapping because of it.


    "Draw another one, right now right in the center of the whirlwind and make it blow in the opposite direction!", Mingliang gave a quick order.


    Beads of sweat began to form on Somad''s forehead, but the boy quickly followed the order. As the first and second rune began to lose its power, the third rune was completed. The third whirlwind blew and shredded the paper into pieces. It only took seconds, and the whirlwind subsided. Leaving hundreds of small pieces of papers raining down upon the room.


    Mingliang patted Somad''s shoulder, "Good, excellent, but remember those just papers. That''s one way to use a rune. As you can imagine there are many other ways to use it. As you learn more, you become more versatile."


    Somad couldn''t take his eyes off of the small pieces of paper that rained down. The might of the simple rune shocked him. A sense of enlightenment came to him.


    Mingliang decided to leave him undisturbed. He climbed onto the bed and started meditating. He closed his eyes and observed the small runes, joined to each other chainmail-like, covering most of his skin. He had spent many hours and thoughts into arranging it as dense as possible. He almost finished to cover the entire surface and when he did that he would complete the first layer of Xuan Wu body.


    Unfortunately, the energy within the medal was running out.


    This was his biggest problem at this moment. He needed to finish at least the first layer of Xuan Wu body. He also wanted to have enough saved energy in the bronze medal for Somad to use. The gathered energy in the haunted house would not be enough to achieve both.


    A flash of memory of his conversation with Dr. Ibrahim passed through his mind. It crossed his mind several times, to gain energy through sacrificial rituals. There was a section in one of his books about this subject, along with a severe warning. The idea never interested him. The gain was small, and the risk was high. Besides, he couldn''t cross the line without feeling guilty.


    The problem was, other people might not have such a problem, and these people would gain power faster than him. It never bothered him before. After all, the true knowledge in magic was rare, and those who dare to practice such rituals would quickly face the law. At least, that''s how he thought until he met the man in black.


    Suddenly Mingliang had to find more sources of energy. He had to grow stronger. He had to make his disciple be able to defend himself. He also thought about Sari. Sari and her family always had supported him when no one else did.


    He had made several arrangements. Since Black Jade had many compatibilities with Sari, he planned to give the demon snake to Sari. Meanwhile, for Somad, he would teach the boy basic runes he could use to maintain his life and to compensate for the lack of his strength, Mingliang planned to leave the bronze medal for the boy. For himself, he planned to keep practicing Xuan Wu body for defense and keep enough ample energy in his dantian for any fight he might have to face.


    After all of his arrangements, it all returned to the same problem. He needed more resources of spiritual or magical energy to achieve them all.


    Now, he had to face the temptation he threw aside many years ago once again.


    Somad finally woke up from his deep thoughts. The boy turned around and found his teacher was meditating. Still high in spirits, after achieving a big leap in his cultivation, the boy quickly sat on the floor and began to meditate. Somad wanted to gather spiritual energy as much as he could. It was an arid job with an insignificant result.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Mingliang sensed the change in the air and opened his eyes. He sighed sadly, gently he tapped Somad''s shoulder, "Come, get up, go to sleep. That would be a waste of time. Tomorrow, we''ll go to a better place to gather energy."


    Somad opened his eyes and asked, "How about you?"


    Mingliang smiled, "I need to think. Now, you go to sleep. Don''t argue anymore."


    Mingliang truly had a hard time to sleep that night. He kept on having a bad premonition. Something dangerous would happen. He didn''t know what it would be. He didn''t know where it would come. The unknown aspects made it more frightening. The more he thought about it, the more frightening it became, and the greater it was the temptation to gain power through any means.


    He fell into this cycle of fear, and the survival instinct and the temptation grew. It trapped him so strong that he couldn''t extricate himself out of it. Suddenly something knocked the small pot before the rows of pictures on the small cabinet.


    The pot fell, rolling on the floor. The ashes of the burning incense spread all over the floor. The burning tip of the incense fell right into Mingliang shoulder. Both the sounds of the pot fell to the floor, and the burning pain from the tip of the incense woke Mingliang up.


    Cold sweat suddenly poured over his body. Mingliang now was wide awake. He quickly put the small pot back to its place. He cleaned the floor and lighted up new incense. He still shook in trepidation when he cleared them all. He took his time to arrange everything back to normal. He looked at each of the old pictures before him with a sense of deep reverence.


    Slowly his heartbeat back to normal. Mingliang reverently bowed to each of the old pictures on his cabinet. He held his right fist with his left palm, raised it on his chest.


    Mingliang realized, he almost fell into his heart demon. If there was no incident that woke him up from his condition, he would surely stray from his chosen path.


    Now, he still had no solution to his problem, but he knew there was a path that he should never tread upon.


    He spent the next few minutes to pray to his ancestors then he left his room. He went to the common bathroom in the building to wash his face and poured cold water on his head. He dried his hair and then returned to his room.


    He felt fresh. When he checked the clock, it was already 05:00 AM.


    Mingliang hesitated, but just for a short moment. He checked on Somad. The boy still slept soundly. Mingliang smiled, took his phone and left the room.


    He walked slowly along the road, next to the house. Once in a while, there were people passing by. Mingliang dialed Sari''s phone number. Walked around the house, he waited for her to pick up.


    "Hi, Sari, it''s me."


    "Ha yeah, no... no... because I know you''re already up and run at this time."


    "Hmm... okay, I''ll compensate you with something. How about breakfast?"


    "Yea, my treat."


    "I have something important to tell you."


    "No, I can''t tell you on the phone. I need you today too."


    "Okay, yea, I''ll wait for you."


    "Probably going to take the whole day."


    "It''s really important."


    "Thanks, I really appreciate it."


    "You know me, I won''t make you break your schedule if it''s not important."


    "Okay, see you later."


    He returned to his room and found Somad already washed and changed his clothes with a new one. His yesterday clothes were nicely folded and placed inside his plastic bag.


    The boy was practicing the rune he knew diligently without using energy.


    "Good morning teacher.", the boy jumped to his feet and bowed.


    </a> "Good morning. It seems to me you already mastered those two runes. Now, I''ll teach you something else. It''s a bit more complicated.", Mingliang rubbed the boy''s head.


    After showing Somad the drawing, he asked him to repeat it until he could draw it correctly, Mingliang left the boy to take a bath.


    Somad was practicing when a small black snake appeared and fluttered toward the boy. Somad noticed the small snake demon, "Hey Jade. How''s your rest?"


    The snake gently nudged his finger.


    "Haha, I do practice diligently.", Somad laughed and continued his practice.


    Somad was practicing when he saw someone was standing at the entrance. He lifted his head and saw Sari. Quickly he got up and politely bowed, "Sister Sari, good morning."


    "Hey Boy, where''s your teacher?", Sari jumped and sat on the bed, "that damn brat, he called me very early in the morning. Now, that I''m here, he''s nowhere to see."


    "Hei Hei... Don''t embarrass me before my disciple.", Mingliang appeared at the entrance.


    He was drying his long, wet hair with a towel. Wearing a casual t-shirt and knee-length short, he stood at ease, with a big grin on his face. He was too thin to be called athletic, but he still had a nice frame for a man. When Sari saw him, with messy wet hair which framed his face, her heart beat a bit faster.


    Suddenly she blushed and quickly threw a pillow to cover her feeling, "Bah! I can act any way I want. You better learn to respect this old lady."


    Mingliang caught the pillow, and playingly bowed, "Forgive me, my queen, please have mercy. Your servant will listen to your command."


    "Hahaha... Hmm, my good servant. Your queen feel tired...", Sari laughed and acted along.


    "Oh... my poor queen, should your servant massages your shoulder?", Mingliang walked closer and made a gesture as if he was going to massage her shoulder.


    "Bah! Bah! Stop playing the game. You call me so early in the morning. Now quickly explain.", Sari quickly got away and changed the topic.


    "Bah! Bah! Stop playing the game. You call me so early in the morning. Now quickly explain.", Sari quickly got away, moved to the corner and changed the topic.


    "Hahaha... Somad, you need to listen too.", Mingliang laughed and sat on the other corner.


    Mingliang''s expression turned to serious. He waited until he got their attention. Without omitting anything, he began to tell them his finding and his suspicion, "... I can''t get rid of this bad premonition. That''s why I want you all to prepare."


    "Sari, you already met Black Jade. Until this over, I will leave Black Jade with you. Later I want you to learn a skill or two from me. I hope you don''t mind. Black Jade, from now on, you have to follow and protect Sari.", Mingliang nodded to Sari and at that moment too, he sent a command to Black Jade to protect Sari.


    Sari nodded to show her willingness to learn from Mingliang. The demon snake loyally followed Mingliang''s command, she already knew Sari well and showed no resistance at all.


    "Somad, you take this bronze medal. You can use, the rune I just taught to you, to gather energy toward the bronze medal.", Mingliang took the bronze medal and gave it to Somad. The boy took the medal reverently.


    "And this morning I plan to return to the haunted house. I need to use the energy there, to finish the first layer of my Xuan Wu body. Somad, later you draw that rune and gather the energy at the main building. Sari, I want you to help me secure the house while I cultivate inside. I hope nothing would happen, but I don''t want to take any chances.", Mingliang threw the towel to the corner and stood to get ready.

 Chapter IX. Second encounter with the enemies.

    With Sari''s car, they quickly arrived at the haunted house. Sari parked her car, a few houses away from the haunted house.


    Sari watched the busy road and nudged Mingliang, "There are many people right now, are you sure we should do this now?"


    Mingliang nodded, "Yeah... people will see us enter the house. But I can''t feel at ease until we do it. I keep having this feeling that things are going to go crazy pretty soon. Just try to act normally, sometimes people would forget things if they think nothing is important about it. Sorry, I know I could get you into trouble...."


    Sari shrugged her shoulder, "No worries, I got no problem with it. But I worry about you... I mean you know about that thing in the pond."


    They already entered the haunted house''s front yard. Mingliang ignored the peoples who watched them from afar, and pushed the gate open, "I know, I wish no one sees me go in and out of this house. But as I said, I keep having this bad feeling."


    "Even if they saw us come in, they have no proof against you Teacher, you know about that thing in the pond.", Somad followed Mingliang in. He spoke casually, probably he was the calmest in this little group.


    Sari sighed and calmed her heart. She''s the last to enter and closed the gate before followed the other two.


    </a> They felt nothing as they entered the haunted house. Rather than being scared, they found the house was a pleasant change. It felt much cooler and relaxing compared to the noisy road they left behind. Even thinking about the dead body buried in the pond, didn''t make them troubled. As soon as they entered the house, Mingliang divided work between them.


    Somad drew a rune on the floor to attract the energy in the main house and stored it to the bronze medal. Aside from that, Mingliang also asked Somad to practice his qi cultivation and gathered energy for himself, as much as he could.


    Meanwhile, Sari would accompany the boy and watched the entrance.


    As for himself, Mingliang went to the small building at the backyard. He did a quick scan. When he saw no danger, Mingliang quickly sat on the floor and drew the energy from the array he made a week before.


    Slowly he used the energy and started practicing Xuan Wu body. The moment he chanted the mnemonic, his skin glowed. Dense glowing small runes appeared on his skin. Half of the skin on his head was already covered. Mingliang carefully drew another rune, continuing from the last one. He could feel a prickly-burning sensation as the line slowly formed on his skin. But he''d been through the same process many times, in the past few days, that it no longer even bothered him.


    Two hours passed by, the energy stored in the array still abundant and only a small patch on the top of his head left uncovered. Mingliang kept on doing the arid process.


    About twenty minutes later, Mingliang was drawing the last rune. The moment he connected the last line, all the runes on his skin glowed several times brighter. Mingliang could feel the runes, became one array and now drawing a large amount of energy to fill it.


    He kept his heart calm. Carefully he controlled the amount of energy absorbed by the array on his skin. He monitored the stored energy in the array on the floor and felt relieved to find it still had more than enough.


    ''BZZZZZZZ.....! Ding!'', around ten minutes later, he felt his whole skin buzzing and vibrating, then a second later it congealed and hardened. He felt like there was a sheet of steel covered his whole body. Slowly Mingliang opened his eyes and let out a long breath.


    There was some energy left and Mingliang closed his eyes once again, this time he planned to calmly absorb them all when he heard loud noises and shouts coming from the main house.


    Mingliang quickly ended his practice, he jumped and ran toward the main building. The closer he was, the clearer the sounds became.


    "Damn bitch! Don''t get cocky! I''m showing some leniency back then. Now, don''t make me start seriously!"


    "Oh, shut up, I can''t stand a whinning. I feel like I want to throw up soon.", Mingliang could hear, this time was Sari who spoke.


    "You..! Shit!...", the first person shouted, followed by a series of sounds of people fighting.


    Mingliang sped up, he forgot, Sari was at least two times stronger than him in fighting. In a fight, he would need her to protect him, not the other way around.


    With his long leg, it took less than a minute for him to reach the main building. As he rushed toward Sari and Somad, he still caught the sight of Sari sending flurries of jabs onto her opponent and ended it with a roundhouse kick right to his jaw.


    Mingliang cringed from watching the scene, and for a moment he felt sorry for the assailant.


    Somad heard him coming and the boy turned to find him staring. He grinned when he saw Mingliang, "Teacher! Did you see it? Sister Sari is awesome!"


    Mingliang walked toward Sari and Somad. He patted the boy''s shoulder, but his eyes never left the three men before them. Sari stepped back, moved toward Mingliang. She didn''t fear the prospect of fighting against three men, but she still felt better if she had Mingliang at her side.


    "Hmm, nice job there.", Mingliang winked at the girl as he gestured over the man who was struggling to get up from the floor.


    "Wanna taste some?", Sari shook her fist in his direction.


    Mingliang grinned at her, but quickly their attention turned to the men before them. The other two helped their friend to get up and stand on his feet. They stared at Mingliang cautiously, while the one who got beaten by Sari stared at him angrily.


    Mingliang silently complained of injustice, ''I''m not the one who beat the shit out of you ¡­''


    Outwardly he showed a calm demeanor, "So what''s going on here?"


    Mingliang quietly observed the three men before him. Physically, two out of those three weren''t the sort that would intimidate people. The one who fought with Sari and lost was the one who had intimidating physics. He was tall and muscular. It was unfortunate for him to meet Sari. She had many experiences dealing with men stronger than her.


    The other two were dressed better than the muscular one. They wore a traditional batik suit, the more expensive type too. One of them had gray hair and lines of wrinkles on his face. The second probably was in his early thirties, well groomed, with a slight measure on the heavy side.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "They''re trying to go in and force their way when I told them not to.", Sari told Mingliang.


    "You have no right to stop us from entering the house.", the younger of the two stepped forward and responded.


    Mingliang glanced at Somad. The boy twirled the bronze medal with his deft fingers. Their eyes only met for less than a second, but they understood each other''s meaning.


    ''I''ve filled the medal.'', Somad''s eyes said.


    Mingliang sighed and put his arm on Sari''s shoulder, "Yeah..., he''s right you know. It''s not like we''re the owner of this house."


    "Okay, let''s go, we have seen enough here. There''s no ghost. It''s all just stories. Come, I''ll treat you chicken porridge near here. It''s not famous, but it''s super delicious.", Mingliang winked at Somad and Sari.


    "Bah! Keeps your hands away from me and don''t think a bowl of chicken porridge is enough to pay your debt to me.", Sari flung his hand away and swaggered out of the house.


    "Teacher! Teacher! I want two bowls!", Somad didn''t want to lose in showing an attitude.


    The muscular man snorted but didn''t dare to stop them. Mingliang, Sari, and Somad were going to pass those three when suddenly the gray-haired man suddenly called, "Wait, stop."


    Mingliang, Sari, and Somad slowly stopped, their eyes never left their opponent. The muscular man took a step forward. Sari sneered, her eyes sparked a threat, and the muscular man faltered.


    The gray-haired man snorted in disdain, and pushed the muscular man back, "Just stay back..."


    The muscular man almost choked in rage, but he didn''t dare to argue the gray-haired man.


    "What were you doing inside? Did you find something? Did you take it with you?", the gray haired man stared at Mingliang and ignored the other two.


    "I have no right to prevent you from searching the house, and you have no right to ask questions as well. How about that? Fair enough?", Mingliang coldly smiled.


    They stared at each other, no one willing to submit to the other. Sari and Somad couldn''t see what happened between the two of them. Neither the muscular man nor the fatty. It wasn''t merely a staring contest. Both men''s expression slowly hardened. Beads of sweat appeared on their forehead.


    The gray hair softly chanted something, and in response, Mingliang drew a rune in the air and confidently said, "I warn you, better for all of us if you don''t go too far."


    The gray hair stopped chanting and quickly made a calculation. He didn''t have any confidence to win against Mingliang. At the same time, he knew Sari could easily defeat the muscle in his team. The one who would decide the fight then would be his disciple against the boy with the medal, and faintly he felt a threat coming from the medal.


    The gray hair glanced at Sari and Somad, trying to weight their worth. There was no question about Sari, and Somad the wild card. He turned his attention back to Mingliang. Mingliang still watched him closely and had his rune ready to release.


    Gray hair finally relaxed his stance and shrugged his shoulder, "Hmm... I guess you''ll be on your way and we''ll be on ours."


    Mingliang nodded, "That would be for the best."


    "Would you mind leaving your name?", Gray hair asked, a contempt slightly expressed on his face.


    "If I gave you a name, would you believe it?", Mingliang sneered in return.


    The gray hair snorted and turned his back to Mingliang. He gestured to his colleagues and walked toward the backyard.


    Mingliang exchanged a glance with Sari and Somad. He hesitated for a while then said, "Let''s leave the house."


    Sari and Somad followed him left the house. Mingliang stopped at the front door, he gestured Somad and Sari to go first. When they all out of the house, Mingliang quickly drew a rune on the floor, right before the front door.


    "Okay, I guess that will do.", he turned to the other and smiled.


    "Come, it won''t hold for long.", he led the other to leave the house quickly.


    "BANG!", they just reached the house next door, when there was a loud bang coming from the haunted house''s front door.


    The sounds drew much attention. Several people even came over to take a look. Mingliang slightly pulled Sari and Somad aside, "Come, we better move faster."


    "What was that?", Sari asked.


    "I''ll tell you on the way. That''s your car, come, quickly, let''s leave this place.", Mingliang replied.


    "Bang!!", another loud noise came from the haunted house.


    Sari quickly opened her car, and they hit the road, leaving the haunted house behind. More people came to see the house. No one paid attention to them three leaving the place.


    "Okay, now you can explain that noise?", Sari navigated through the roads. She was taking a turn here and there. Within minutes, they already left the area.


    "I think those three were related to the man in the pond. Something about them, smell familiar. I can''t put my finger on it, but that''s how I feel. So I left something on the door. Something that will block any black magic user or black magic from passing."


    "Were they trying to attack us back there?", Sari''s hand slightly trembled. It was hardly noticeable, but Mingliang noticed it.


    "Maybe, but whatever it is, we are safe now.", Mingliang gently squeezed her shoulder.


    Sari sobbed a bit, "Damn..."


    She hit the steering wheel. She hated it the most when people think she was weak.


    "It''s over now. It''s alright. We''re safe herre, let''s pull over first.", Mingliang tried to comfort her.


    She didn''t say anything but quickly spotted a free parking spot at the roadside and pulled over. She turned off the car, and threw herself to Mingliang, sobbing at his shoulder.


    "Sorry.... maybe I shouldn''t get you into this, but I need someone I can trust.", Mingliang let her cry on his shoulder, he gently put his arm around her. For some minutes, there was no sounds but Sari''s sobs, quickly she got a hold of herself though.


    Sari pulled herself away, then with her eyes still a bit red and puffy, but she already got her spunk back. Suddenly she punched Mingliang on his arm. "I''ll kick your ass if you don''t ask for my help."


    "Arghh... girl...". Mingliang wanted to complain, but when he saw Sari''s face, he lost the words.


    He had never seen her so scared like that before and when he thought about it, this time it was out of their ordinary life. He killed a man about a week ago, and now they found out this man had people behind him. They weren''t the common local bullies either. They might be involved in a dark ritual that murdered a man in its processing. Gently he rubbed the trace of tears from Sari''s face. She held his hand for a moment before letting it go.


    "What should we do now? Is everything going to be okay? Can they track us down? How about my mom?", Sari waited until her voice was back to normal before she asked.


    "I don''t want to take any risk. Doesn''t your family have another house in Central Java? I think you and aunt should stay there until everything is back to normal. I told you, I have a bad premonition about all this.", Mingliang held her hand.


    Sari frowned, "Are you trying to get rid of me now?"


    "No, I''m not, but I get the feeling that the danger is real. I don''t want to put you and aunty in danger."


    "I''ll take my mom there, and then I''ll return to help you here.", Sari said it, there was no compromise in her voice.


    "Okay, if that''s what you wish.", Mingliang knew her well. Once she spoke like this, it would be a waste of time, trying to make her change her mind.


    "What should we say to my mother?", Sari put her hand on her chin, and her finger lightly tapped her nose. Her eyes looking at the street.


    "I think it''s better if I told her the truth. Come on, let''s go to your house. I don''t want to waste any moment.", Mingliang tapped her shoulder.


    "Are you sure about that?", Sari started the engine, but she still doubted Mingliang''s decision.


    "Yeah, trust me. I really have a bad premonition about all this and it''s much better if your mother knows the truth. I''ll leave some protective charm for her too.", Mingliang nodded confidently.

 Chapter X. Cheng Ying Sword.

    Mingliang spent the whole day on arranging Sari''s mother departure to her home in another province. Like mother, like daughter, he must spend a couple hours to convince her to leave the province. After that, he spent another couple of hours to explain, why he couldn''t leave with her.


    After they finished talking, they spent the next few hours on planning and packing.


    He finally sent both mother and daughter on their way to another province. Now, he was dragging his body to his rented room. Somad tagged along behind him, carrying a bag that contained all his wealth.


    The scene of his room, the familiar smell of the burning incense, and the wind faintly blew through the windows, they all greeted Mingliang the moment he opened the door to his room.


    The first thing Mingliang did, was to light a new incense. The sight of his ancestor pictures, all stood in a row, caught his eyes. A part of the past that never went away, just by looking at them all, he felt all big part of his worries away. Probably like an animal returned to its nest, a sense of security washed the weary bones.


    "Okay, find a place to keep your clothes, I think the two bottom rows in the cabinet was half empty.", Mingliang threw his body to his bed.


    "Yes, teacher.", Somad smartly answered. He wasted no time and started to arrange a place for his clothes.


    Mingliang didn''t lay on his bed for a long time. He closed his eyes for maybe five minutes before got up and started to hit the old computer. The detective who handled the murder case didn''t want him to meddle with their investigation, and at first, Mingliang didn''t want to disobey his wish.


    Their encounter with people from the same group as the man in black changed his mind.


    Dr. Sunyoto didn''t tell him the location of the murder, but such a case would never totally escape the public''s eyes, and Mingliang knew exactly where to find it on the net.


    In real life, his social reputation was on the floor of the society. But here on the net, where all kind of people were mixed, Mingliang found himself a perfect niche. There were several forums where people who were interested in supra-natural and mysticism gathered. Among them, he was known as the Venerable of Bright Mind.


    He even had his own column, explaining the nature of supra-natural existence and cultivation technique. His followers reached more than thirty thousand members. More than 70 percent were Indonesian, but the rest came from other countries as well, even reaching the US and Europe.


    He browsed through all the news and found the post he wanted to find. Someone posted about a strange murder that happened in his neighborhood.


    The poster even took a picture of the corpse. Mingliang only needed to see it once to confirm that it was the same corpse. Mingliang sent a pm to the poster, asking for the location of the murder.


    He didn''t wait for a reply. He had been thinking about it for a while and decided to start a new topic on the forum. In the op, he wrote a short explanation about a crack between the two worlds border and how it would affect the area around it. He explained that so far, he already met with one such phenomenon.


    Mingliang asked the member of the forum, to open their eyes and see if there were similar phenomenon near their place.


    He read the post for the second time and was satisfied. With a click, the topic was created, now he just had to wait. Mingliang turned his attention to his only disciple. Somad finished with his task. He was sitting in a lotus position with his eyes closed, right now. His breathing was long and steady.


    Mingliang nodded his head. He had no complaints at all with his only disciple.


    He was planning to meditate too when his phone rang. He looked at the screen. It was Dr. Sunyoto''s call. Minglian didn''t want to guess, so he picked it up right away.


    "Hello... Yes, it''s me."


    "Haha, yeah everything is fine. How about you?"


    "Hm... yeah. Good to hear that."


    "Of course I still remember that case. Any new development?"


    "What!?"


    "Do you need my help?"


    "Uhm..no? Okay, sure. I understand."


    "I see... I got no problem with that."


    "Yeah, I''m really okay with that. In fact, it makes me feel safe knowing the police are watching me."


    "Hahaha, yeah, you''re right. Like having a personal bodyguard."


    "Okay, thanks for the news. You can call me anytime if you need my help."


    "Yeah.... yeah... once again thank you very much."


    Mingliang put his phone on to the table. He turned around and saw that Somad was looking at him. Mingliang explained it all to the boy, "Hmm... there was another murder. Same runes were on the corpse. Now, the detective who leads the investigation thinks that we might have something to do with the case. He sent someone to observe us closely."


    Somad was indignant when he heard the police suspected them, "What an idiot..."


    Mingliang knocked his head, "Don''t talk like that about police. They''re just trying to do their job, besides that means we got some protection now."


    The boy''s eyes glistened mischievously, "Hehe... it would be interesting if we can make them meet that old man."


    "Hahaha... I won''t count on it. If we got the chance to let them know each other, then we should. But for now, I prefer if those men never found this house.", Mingliang laughed, he knew the idea of his disciple.


    "Yeah, we have to make the detective see them doing something suspicious, that won''t be easy.", Somad gave a serious thought about it.


    "Now, stop worrying about that. Focus more on your own training. I see you make good progress, that''s why I decide to let you read my book. You know the basics now, and I think you''re ready to study on your own.", Mingliang perused his collection and took one book.


    He gave it to Somad, who accepted it reverently. The boy opened it carefully. His eyes hungrily digested every character in the book.


    Mingliang messed the boy''s hair as usual, "Take your times. You can ask me when you find something you don''t understand. Be careful when you try a new rune."


    Somad closed the book and bowed to his teacher, "Thank you very much, teacher. I promise to take care of the book and use it carefully."


    "Hm, I know that. By the way, that book covers all the basics rune and also teaches several intermediate runes. Once you master them all, you can begin to learn how to combine runes to create an array of runes.", Mingliang showed his trust in him.


    "But don''t forget, although you know many runes, it is better to master a handful runes than knowing many but master none.", Mingliang seriously reminded his beloved disciple.


    "I know, teacher. Because in a fight, I have to be able to draw runes fast and under pressure.", Somad replied confidently.


    Mingliang raised his thumb, "Good answer. Now, go to sleep, because tonight, we''ll go to check the murder location."


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Have you found the location? But, I think you said the detective doesn''t want us to meddle with his investigation.", Somad carefully asked.


    "I know that, but we need more energy to grow stronger.", Mingliang sighed, he wondered if he gave a bad example to his disciple, "Listened, I don''t like doing something against the law, but sometimes we''re forced to..."


    Somad laughed, "Oh, teacher, don''t worry. I get it. I mean what you did in that haunted house was much worse than what we''re going to do tonight. Or at least that''s the plan.


    "I know that, but we need more energy to grow stronger.", Mingliang sighed, he wondered if he gave a bad example to his disciple, "Listened, I don''t like doing something against the law, but sometimes we don''t have any options."


    Somad laughed, "Oh, teacher, don''t worry. I get it. I mean, what you did in that haunted house a week ago, was much worse than what we''re going to do tonight. Or at least that''s the plan."


    Mingliang knocked Somad''s head with his knuckle, "Smarty ass... just go to sleep now."


    "But I''m not sleepy at all...", Somad complained, his eyes were glued to the book. He wanted to read it.


    Mingliang laughed, "Okay, I give you two hours, but after that, you have to go to sleep. We start moving at midnight."


    "Alright! That''s great! Thanks, teacher.", the boy quickly made himself a comfortable spot to read the book.


    "Teacher, how are we going to go to that location? I thought someone is going on a stakeout on us?", the boy asked the question, without his eyes leaving the book.


    "Hmm... I have to think about it. When Dr. Sunyoto called, he just heard it from the detective. He doesn''t know for sure, whether there is someone are on stakeout on us right now, or not. Now, leave that to me. I''ll think about it.", Mingliang answered him, but he didn''t seem to worry about it at all.


    Somad nodded and decided to focus on reading the book. Mingliang watched him studying for a while before he returned to his old computer. He checked on the forum and saw he got a pm. Mingliang opened it and read the message, and just like that, he got the address of the first murder location. He gave a reply to say thank you and then checked the new topic he made.


    People started posting there, but so far he didn''t find new information. Fortunately, his reputation attracted many members in the forum to the topic. He believed, if there were any new information, he would see it posted in a day or two. All he had to do now was monitoring the topic once and a while.


    To keep people''s interest, Mingliang post another message on his topic, giving a hint that the phenomenon could be related to the murder. He gave hints about the rune and how it could affect the seal that separates the two worlds.


    Mingliang was thinking about posting a description on the gray hair and his team, but after some thought, he decided to give it up. He decided to keep his identity on the internet as his hidden card. His reputation in the forum provided him with information. His loyal followers were his eyes and ears. He could use the forum to warn them too, in case the problem with the seal spread and not stay as a local phenomenon.


    Mingliang looked at the clock. It was 10 hours before midnight. Suddenly he remembered something, he took some money out of his wallet and gave it to Somad, "Listen, sorry, I forget about your dinner. Here, buy something for your dinner."


    "Hehe, no problem. How about you, teacher? What do you want for dinner?", Somad deftly took the money and prepared to dash out and buy his favorite dish.


    "Just buy something for yourself. I''ll skip dinner today.", Mingliang gestured Somad to go, the boy waited no more.


    Left alone, Mingliang threw himself, laid on the bed and thought, ''I wish I have some character''s panel like in those RPG.''


    He closed his eyes and checked on his dantian, through years of effort, his qi channel and centers were enlarged and had decent capacity. He only needed to gather more energy, but he had relatively no problem in using a large amount of Qi.


    ''Even if I gather another round of qi from the haunted house, which would take another week. Collect some more qi from the murder''s location. I won''t have enough qi to build up the 2nd layer of Xuan Wu body.'', he calmly analyzed his situation.


    The 1st layer of Xuan Wu body would strengthen the skin layer. The practice involved embossing the skin surface with the runes. The final result depended on the practitioner''s degree of creativity, effort, and knowledge.


    Mingliang spent a lot of time to design the rune and the placement of each rune, for his 1st layer Xuan Wu body. The result was satisfying, but the energy to complete it was enormous.


    The 2nd layer of Xuan Wu body was doing the same process, but this time he embedded the rune into his muscles creating a three-dimensional array. He could arrange a less dense array to cut the energy consumption, but the result would be weak. The 2nd layer of Xuan Wu body, not only create a defense layer but by strengthening the muscle, it would also give the practitioner more muscle power. But that power needed a strong bone structure, which was the 3rd layer of Xuan Wu body.


    After he thought about it, Mingliang decided to put aside the 2nd layer of Xuan Wu body for now. He refused to practice a lower quality Xuan Wu body, in exchange of cultivation speed.


    Since he wouldn''t practice Xuan Wu body, he needed to strengthen himself at the other aspect.


    Suddenly he remembered their first encounter with the gray hair. The fight between Sari and the muscular man replayed in his mind. Mingliang clenched his jaw, unconsciously he made a fist, and anger filled his heart. He didn''t show it before but back then, watching the scene frustrated him. He felt powerless in that situation, although he already completed the 1st layer of Xuan Wu body by then, he lacked the strength to subdue their enemy.


    Later that day, he saw bruises on Sari''s forearm. It pained him more. With fire in his eyes, Mingliang got up and opened the top drawer of the small cabinet. He took a wooden chest from the drawer.


    He opened the chest. Inside the chest was an old wooden sword handle and bunch of metal hexagon coins. A rune was etched at the surface of each coin. One coin was bigger than the other, Mingliang took it and slipped it into a gap on the wooden sword handle. It fitted perfectly, forming a small dagger.


    With the small dagger in his hand, Mingliang fed his energy to the dagger and it cheerfully hummed.


    "Cheng Ying sword, wake up!", Mingliang hissed the name of the sword.


    "Bzzziiinngg! Bzzziiinngg!", all the metal coins flew to the dagger and attached themselves to each other, forming a long sword.


    Cheng Ying sword was one legendary sword. The myth said that it only had a handle and the blade was nowhere to be seen. Mingliang didn''t know, whether the sword in his hand was that Cheng Ying sword, or it just happened to have the same name.


    The sword was part of his family inheritance. He never used it before, neither his father. Only his grandfather had used it in the past.


    The sword had its own consciousness, but Mingliang''s grandfather sealed its power and kept the sword sleeping, to preserve its energy. He only summoned the sword when he introduced the sword to its new owner, his son. And then his father do the same when he gave the sword to Mingliang.


    Through their relation, Mingliang could feel the sword was happy. The sword was ancient, his age probably close to four thousand years or maybe even more, but his age didn''t change his character. The sword was vibrant and valiant.


    When Mingliang told all that happened in the past few weeks, the sword was humming excitedly. He wanted to see the enemy and fought.


    The sword''s valiance, affect Mingliang''s soul as well. When he remembered the gray hair and his men, Mingliang''s heart was itchy to fight. He trained in sword for years. His build wasn''t muscular, but his muscle was well developed to use the sword. His fighting style focused more on agility and accuracy, which fit well with the Cheng Ying sword characteristic. Nimble, resourceful and sharp.


    His decision to wake the sword meant he was serious now. He could tolerate insults and threat to his own life, but he couldn''t tolerate the fact that someone threatened Sari and her family.


    Mingliang pulled up his shirt, the sword flew and wrapped himself around his body. One of Cheng Ying sword''s characteristic was his ability to change form, depended on the metal coins formation.


    With the sword wrapped around his body, Mingliang closed his eyes and started to meditate. Strengthening the link between his mind and the sword''s soul and familiarized himself with the sword. It was their first time to work together.

 Chapter XI. Mingliangs Archenemy.

    When Somad returned, he found Mingliang meditating. He didn''t notice the changes in his body. The sword perfectly concealed itself under Mingliang''s loose clothing.


    Seeing Mingliang deep in his meditation, Somad didn''t want to disturb him. He sat on a corner and studied the rune in the book. He glanced at Mingliang''s book collection on the computer table. For a moment he was wondering, what would be written in there, but greed never took control over his heart. He was curious, that was all, and his respect for Mingliang was too great for him to open the book without permission.


    Two hours later, Somad stopped studying and ate his dinner. After he cleaned up, he went to sleep. Mingliang still deep in his meditation, Somad did all that on his own, he didn''t wait for Mingliang to remind him.


    Time flew as midnight was approaching. Mingliang opened his eyes. He found Somad still sleeping soundly. Gently he shook the boy''s shoulder. Quickly Somad woke up, but it took some time before he was completely awake.


    "Is it midnight already?". the boy rubbed his eyes and yawned.


    "Yeah, go wash your face. I''ll wait.", Mingliang nodded.


    A few minutes later, teacher and disciple were on an old bike, that made a creaking sound as Mingliang pedaling.


    "Teacher, how are you going to deal with the police who are following us?", Somad asked. He stood from the back seat, like a meerkat. Mingliang''s broad back protected the boy from the wind.


    "Nah... leave them be. You see, I''ve been thinking, we''re just visiting a crime scene. We are not going to break any laws. They won''t do anything unless they catch us breaking the law. Plus, they''re extra protection for free. Now, sit properly.", Mingliang answered.


    "Yeah... but that''s boring. I wish Sister Sari is here. We can use her car then.", the boy murmured as he obeyed his teacher.


    "Are you saying something?", Mingliang shouted from the front seat.


    "No, teacher, nothing.", the boy shouted back.


    "Are you sure?", Mingliang teased his disciple. His ears were sharp enough to hear that boy''s murmur.


    "Hee hee...", the boy just laughed.


    Few hundred meters behind them, a car was following. The windshield was dark. There weren''t many cars on the street at this hour, so they didn''t dare following too closely. Mingliang''s bike wasn''t fast either so that the car had to stop every once in a while to keep their distance.


    "Damn...", the middle-aged man who drove the car, swore as he had to pull over once more.


    "Haha... don''t lose your patience. Now, who acts likes a new cop?" his younger partner laughed.


    The middle-aged cop turned off the engine, "Yea yea yea, now you drive."


    He opened the door and went to the other side. His partner moved to the driver seat, laughing. They still waited for Mingliang to disappear from their sight. The road wouldn''t have any branches for another six kilometers, so they had nothing to worry.


    "What do you think about that guy?", the younger cop asked.


    "A weirdo, that''s all. Detective Jim is, just desperately grabbing at straws.", the middle-aged cop thinned his eyes and snorted.


    "You don''t believe his cult hypothesis? But all those cuts in the corpse body, it seems fit with the doctor''s theory."


    "Hmph... ritual, kiss my ass... It''s just a madman on the loose. Start the engine now." the middle-aged cop was slouching on his seat. His lips always formed a sneer.


    "They checked the drawing, and it closely resembles an ancient Jewish alphabet.", the younger cop started the engine and once again slowly closing in on Mingliang''s bike.


    "Then it''s a Jewish madman.", the middle-aged cop snorted, and the younger one secretly rolled his eyes.


    "Hey, look where he is going... doesn''t it seems... is he going to the first murder location?", the younger cops saw Mingliang take a turn and figured out his destination.


    The middle-aged cop straightened his body. He watched Mingliang who was still pedaling his bike casually. When he thought that his colleague might be right, he harrumphed, "Hmph... I think you''re right..."


    Meanwhile, from time to time Somad kept looking at the road behind them. He noticed the same car kept on appearing every once in a while. He nudged Mingliang and whispered to his ear, "Teacher, I think I recognize that car, it has been following us all this time."


    ¡°I told you, just ignore them.¡±, Mingliang calmly replied.


    He pulled over and jumped down the bike, Somad quickly followed. Mingliang looked around to find any hints showing where he was right now, ¡°Hmm, according to the information, there should be a pharmacy nearby.¡±


    "Teacher, I think you passed the pharmacy.", Somad pulled Mingliang''s sleeve and pointed at a building a block away behind them.


    Mingliang turned to check it out. There was a big billboard on the pharmacy''s rooftop. It was lit up in bright neon around its border, facing the street.


    "KIMIA PHARMA.", was written on the board.


    "Haha, you got it right.", Mingliang gave Somad a thumb up.


    "Come, they found the body in a dead end alley nearby.", he turned and walked toward one dark alley.


    The two detectives parked their car about a hundred meters from the pharmacy. The younger cop turned to his partner, his hand was on the door handle, "I''m right!... I mean we''re right. What should we do now?"


    The middle-aged cop hit his partner''s head with a folded newspaper, ¡°Wait! Are you crazy? We don''t want him to know about us. Just stay and observe!¡±


    ¡°What if he fudges with the crime scene?¡±


    "Hmph! The forensic team had checked everything. They took pictures and all. If they missed anything, then we would never find it anyway. Just leave him be for now. We only observe and make our report, until we got any stronger evidence against him.", the middle-aged cop waved away his partner''s question.


    He was turning back his attention to Mingliang and Somad but what he saw was not expected.


    Mingliang and Somad were walking toward the dark alley when a huge man walked out of that alley. That man was over 2 meters tall. He had a pot belly. His torso was thick and wide. He stood on two pillar-like legs. His pair of muscular arms hung at his side. His presence was towering.


    One by one muscular man came out of the alley. No one as big as the giant, but each one of them was wearing a tight t-shirt, showing their muscles. There were six of them all up, and the last to appear was their old acquaintance. He was the man who had gotten beat up by Sari at the haunted house this morning.


    "It''s you...", Mingliang''s hand touched the sword handle behind his shirt.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "Hehehe... apparently Uncle Rangga guessed it right. There is a good chance that you will appear here.", the muscular man laughed, he gestured his men to surround Mingliang and Somad. The giant silently stood behind him like a looming giant statue.


    "Rangga? Is that the name of that old gray-haired man?", Mingliang took a glance at Somad. He saw the boy already had the bronze medal grasped in his hand.


    "Hmm..., too bad that bitch isn''t here. Where is she? I can''t wait to get my hands on her", the muscular man ignored Mingliang''s question. His hand was indecently gesturing grabbing movement as he asked about Sari.


    "It seems you have a short memory. I still remember how she gave you a lesson this morning. I almost feel sorry for a big guy like you. I wonder how you can gain all those muscles but easily get thrashed by a girl? Had you traded your brain for a muscle?", Mingliang sneered. Without anyone noticing he reached and a dagger appeared in his right hand.


    "Hmph... she''s just lucky. She has speed but no strength. Once I get my hands on her, she won''t have any chance to win.", the muscular man''s face twisted in anger.


    "Keep dreaming..., it''s a well-known fact, a loser can''t face reality. Somad, keep that in mind. You can''t always win in life, but to fail to acknowledge it, you''ll end up a loser for a lifetime.", Mingliang felt his anger arose. He hardly contained his murderous intention, but he knew someone from the police force was watching them.


    Somad nodded his head. Mingliang couldn''t see it, and the boy wanted to answer, but he afraid to show how tense he was if he spoke.


    "Hah... full of talk. Now, come with us peacefully. If you don''t, then I don''t mind breaking every bone in your body before I tow you back to Uncle Rangga.", the muscular man didn''t wish to rubbish anymore.


    "Hehehe, what''s the source for your confidence? You think you''ll win with numbers?", Mingliang laughed. Inwardly he waited for the police to make a move.


    "Somad, leave them all to me. Your duty is not to get caught.", Mingliang openly gave the command to Somad in front of his opponents.


    "You''ll be sorry for your arrogance...", the muscular man gestured his friends to start.


    The muscular man and the giant stood and watched. The other walked toward Mingliang and Somad. They slightly lowered their stance, with their fists ready to a punch at any time. Like a predator a watching its prey, even with a dagger in his hand, they didn''t see Mingliang as a threat.


    They came for Mingliang from all side. Fortunately, no one tried to get Somad. They focused on disabling Mingliang as soon as possible. Mingliang pushed Somad away from their circle. The boy always followed his teacher''s command. He escaped from the circle and watched.


    Mingliang calmly stood in the middle. He didn''t try to break through their circling. Their distance was getting closer. His opponents approached him more carefully. Suddenly two of them, one in front of him and one from Mingliang''s back, jumped to attack.


    They were fast, but Mingliang was faster. He moved forward and quickly enter his opponent''s range. He slipped inside and closed the gap. Before his opponent could pull-back his punch for a defense, Mingliang''s dagger had drawn the first blood. He stabbed his opponent''s front leg and left him immobile.


    "Argh....", yelling in pain, one opponent fell.


    Mingliang dashed to get his next victim, but one of his opponents sent a roundhouse kick toward his opened wide back.


    "Bang!", the kick sent Mingliang flying away.


    "Oh shit!" His opponent felt like he just kicked a sheet of iron.


    The pain made him failed to send the second attack. Meanwhile, Mingliang used the momentum to roll on the cement floor, away from his opponents. He quickly jumped back onto his feet, just in time to avoid another attack.


    His opponents had years of experience fighting on the street, while Mingliang had the skill but lack the experience. He managed to injure one of them because they had been underestimating him. Now, they took him seriously, and Mingliang did not have another chance for a surprise attack. They took out their weapons. One was using a meter length of heavy steel chain. Two of them took out a knife. The last one got himself a thick wooden stick. Probably, he just grabbed it from the nearby alley.


    Several hundred meters from them, the middle-aged cop and his partner watched as the tussle developed.


    ¡°Oh shit... It''s getting out of control. Shouldn''t we stop them?¡±, the young cop turned to his partner.


    The middle-aged cop wiped the sweat on his forehead. He thought about the situation and then quickly made a decision, "No... First, call Detective Jim. Report the situation to him."


    The younger cop dialed a number and waited for his call to be picked up. He watched the fight and getting anxious, "What if they killed him? At least two of them have a knife."


    The middle-aged cop watched the fight and shook his head, "Don''t underestimate that skinny Chinese boy. He''s got some skill. Hehehe... now this stakeout is becoming interesting. My gut is telling me, there is something fishy about these people."


    The younger cop secretly rolled his eyes in his mind, ''What a dull intuition... just an hour ago you still grumbling about doing stakeout in vain.''


    Back to the fighting, once his opponents took him seriously, Mingliang began to lose the fight. He had taken several hits already. Fortunately, his 1st layer Xuan Wu body was a perfect defense for such physical attack. He still had to bear the brunt, but aside from sore muscles and bones, he didn''t receive any serious injuries.


    The muscular man enjoyed seeing Mingliang knocked around back and forth. He didn''t anxiously try to end the fight quickly.


    Somad watched the fight anxiously. Somad didn''t know about Cheng Ying sword. He was surprised when Mingliang took a short dagger out of nowhere. But even with a weapon, Mingliang was in losing position. He had to fight against four armed opponents. Somad wanted to help, but Mingliang had asked him to stay out of it.


    Somad also noticed that the muscular man and the giant hadn''t joined the fight. He decided to watch them closely. He wouldn¡¯t let them plan a sneak attack on his teacher.


    It took some time, but along with the fight, Mingliang began to adapt. He had used this fight, for practice. He learned to judge distance, sharpened and hone his intuition. At the same time, Mingliang was waiting for the police to take action.


    Since he knew the police were watching him, Mingliang knew he couldn''t seriously harm his opponent. Although he saw the muscular man as a threat for Sari and wanted to eliminate him, he knew he had to wait for a better opportunity. He kept the complete form of Cheng Ying sword out of the fight and treated as his hidden card.


    When the muscular man saw Mingliang''s situation was improved. He began to lose his patience. Now, Mingliang had already had several chances to counter-attack his opponent.


    While Mingliang showed no sign of injuries, his opponent had traces of blood decorating their bodies.


    The muscular man''s eyes burned in anger. He turned to the giant, "Finish him quick. I want you to break his arm and leg."


    The giant was grinning from ear to ear. He seemed to enjoy the chance to torture someone. Compared to his body, his speed was surprisingly quick. The ground seemed to tremble, as the giant charged toward Mingliang. Somad who had watched them closely, quickly drew a rune and sent across gale of wind.


    The wind brought dust and debris against the giant. It couldn''t stop the giant, but for a few split seconds, it was enough to cause a distraction. The giant was stopped in his tracks by Somad''s attack.


    That short moment gave Mingliang enough time to avoid most of the charging giant''s attack. The giant''s body just brushed him slightly, but even that was enough to send him flying.


    Mingliang quickly balanced himself. He was afraid his opponent was going to target Somad, and yelled to the boy, "Somad, I told you to stay away!"


    The giant saw Mingliang escape his first attack and roared like a wild beast. He charged forward again, but now Mingliang was ready. He quickly avoided the attack once more, but the other four men didn''t watch the fight idly. Quickly they blocked Mingliang''s path to escape.


    Mingliang was quickly losing the fight once more. He escaped only by a split of a second. Several attacks landed perfectly on his body. He can''t avoid the giant''s attack without getting a hit from the other four.


    ''Should I summon Cheng Ying''s complete form?'', Mingliang hesitated.


    "Ugh!", He grunted in pain. A thick wooden bat hit his shoulder.


    ''When will the police start to take action?'', he silently complained as the pressure against him grew bigger.

 Chapter XII. A clue, a vision.

    "WHAMM!¡±, this time Mingliang couldn''t avoid the giant''s punch.


    The fist almost as big as Mingliang''s head, it directly hit his chest. Mingliang reaction was late. Luckily, Cheng Ying sword was a spiritual sword and had consciousness. When the sword realized the danger, the small pieces of the sword, formed a small shield and protected Mingliang''s chest.


    The small shield flew an inch away from Mingliang''s body and bore most of the brunt from the punch, but it couldn''t stop the punch entirely. The fist kept moving forward and landed on Mingliang''s chest. The runes on Mingliang''s body glittered and held out, but his body flew like a kite and hit the wall behind him.


    Mingliang fell down to the floor, gasping for air.


    A strong iron-like hands grasped his arm. Mingliang quickly ordered Cheng Ying sword''s pieces to protect his elbow. It was just in time. The giant was going to break his elbow and found his hand stabbed by many sharp metals.


    In his pain, the giant threw Mingliang away. Mingliang''s body hit the wall once more.


    1st layer Xuan Wu body protected his body, but the giant was too strong and Mingliang found himself dizzy from the constant thrashing to the wall. But at least, he got free from the giant''s hand.


    Mingliang forced himself to jump away from the giant. He prepared to complete Cheng Ying sword form when he heard people shouting.


    "Stop! Drop your weapons! Raise your hands above your head!"


    The shouting came from many directions. Knowing the police force finally came, Mingliang felt relieved and closed his eyes.


    ¡°Stop! I warn you!¡±


    There were sounds of fighting.


    ¡°Stop! Stop damn it!¡±


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    Someone shot his gun.


    ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!¡±


    Several other shots quickly followed.


    The shooting woke Mingliang up. He never thought someone would dare to disobey the police. He anxiously looked for Somad. He found Somad followed his example and sighed in relief. The boy squatted right next to the wall. That little monkey didn''t scare at all, he was excited by the fight. He looked around and saw Mingliang. He grinned from ear to ear and raised his thumb.


    Minglian shook his head, leaned to the wall and closed his eyes once more. He didn''t care how the fight would end. From a glance, he could see the police and his opponent were fighting. No one cared about him and Somad.


    Amidst the confusion, the Cheng Ying sword quietly flew to a dark corner near that place. Mingliang didn''t worry about losing the sword. No one could find the sword once it decided to hide.


    Mingliang used the chance to recover. Although he didn''t have any serious injury, he wasn''t free from wounds. He realized the limitation of 1st layer Xuan Wu body. When the opponent had overwhelming power or incorporated qi in their attacks, the attack could break through the skin layer and wound his muscles, bones and internal organs.


    When the tumult subsided, Mingliang opened his eyes. He saw several police officers surrounded him. He raised his hand above his head and obeyed their instruction. Their emotion still ran high after the fight, but his submissive behavior reduced the tension.


    Mingliang glanced around as a cop took him to a police car. It seemed the muscular man and the giant managed to escape, while the other five were caught. Several police officers were wounded during the fight. No wonder, the cops seemed to feel unhappy. He checked on Somad, Mingliang felt relieved since they didn''t handle the boy roughly. The two cops who were responsible for observing Mingliang didn''t show themselves in the whole process. They secretly watched from afar.


    ---o---


    An hour later, Mingliang was sitting in the interrogation room. He finally met with Detective Jim, the one who led the serial murder investigation. At this moment, they had gone through all the basic questions. The detective pretended not knowing of Mingliang''s involvement in the serial murder case.


    "What were you doing so late at night at that place?", the detective coldly asked, his face like a chiseled wooden mask, flat and expressionless.


    Mingliang began his story from his meeting with Dr. Sunyoto. He knew the detective knew, but he pretended he didn''t know about it. The detective just sat there and let him talked.


    Mingliang went on to his first encounter with the muscular man at the haunted house this morning, "We visited this haunted house, out of curiosity. About a week before this incident, I got a case of a girl who was possessed by something after she came to this house. You can ask Dr. Ibrahim, he knows."


    "When I investigated the house, I found a small building in the backyard. There, I found a rune closely resembled the rune on Dr. Sunyoto''s corpse.", Here Mingliang twisted the sequence of events. For a few seconds, Detective Jim showed interest in his face, before returned to the expressionless face.


    "We were going to leave the house when three men came and threatened us for entering the house without permission. One of them was the leader who led those who attacked me tonight."


    "You haven''t told me why you came to that alley tonight.", Detective Jim asked with flat intonation.


    "I kept thinking about the rune in the haunted house and on the corpse. Previously, I asked Dr. Sunyoto about the location of the murder, but he refused to tell me the location. Today I was looking on the net and found it.", Mingliang observed Detective Jim''s expression, but this time the detective kept his face flat and cold.


    Mingliang waited for the detective to respond, but he just stared at Mingliang in silence.


    "I just want to help.", Mingliang added after waiting for a long time without any result.


    Once more there was nothing but silence for a very long time. This time Mingliang refused to break the silence. Two men were sitting face to face, staring at each other without any words.


    "You broke the law.", after a long time, finally, the detective opened his mouth.


    "What law?", Mingliang asked back. He kept his calmness.


    "Breaking police line without permission from a police officer.", said the detective without any intonation.


    "I broke through no police line.", Mingliang smiled.


    "But you plan to."


    "That''s only your assumption."


    "You said yourself, you wanted to investigate the location."


    "You assume that I would break the police line to investigate. The truth I would only take a look from outside the police line, without breaking it.", Mingliang and the detective were arguing back and forth.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "What do you know about those men who attack you?", the detective asked.


    "I just met their group twice. Once at the haunted house and then tonight at that alley. If I guess right, then likely they have something to do with the murders.", Mingliang happily answered.


    Detective Jim observed the young man before him. He had been working as a detective for more than fifteen years now. His excellent record got him where he was right now. Two years ago he was offered a promotion. It was his own choice to stay in the criminal investigation department, in homicide division as an active investigator.


    He was fascinated by human psychology and was proud of his ability to observe and judge people''s character.


    "Okay, come with me.", the detective stood and gestured Mingliang to follow.


    "Where?", Mingliang followed the detective left the room.


    "The crime scene, you want to see it right?", The detective called one of his colleagues. A little while, a police officer came with Somad. The boy observed his surrounding with lots of curiosity.


    "Teacher! Are you okay?", he ran to Mingliang.


    Mingliang rubbed the boy''s head, "Ha, of course, I''m alright. Lucky for us the police came quickly and saved us. Have you said thanks to them?"


    Somad''s eyes flashed mischievously. He turned to Detective Jim and bowed, "Thank you, officer. Thank you very much. You saved our lives."


    Detective Jim glanced at Mingliang and saw him smiling. The detective shook his head and snorted. He ignored their play and walked to a nearby desk. He called one of his colleagues, a few minutes later two men came.


    "This is Detective Anton, and this one Marzuki, from forensic.", he introduced his colleagues to Mingliang.


    "You can call me Jim. Captain.", Captain Jim added.


    He then turned to Anton and Marzuki, "We''re going to check on the serial murder''s crime scene. Both of them."


    Anton and Marzuki were used to Detective Jim''s style and followed his lead without much question. They curiously looked at Mingliang. As part of the investigation team, they had heard about him when Captain Jim ordered a stakeout on him.


    Less than half an hour later, they were back at the alley. This time Mingliang came with the investigators. He didn''t have to worry about breaking the law. When he stepped out of the car, his eyes happened to met Somad''s eye. The boy winked and grinned mischievously. Mingliang silently laughed, everything went well, thanks to the muscular man. He wished he knew the muscular man''s name.


    When he thought about it, he remembered something. Mingliang nudged Detective Jim''s arm, "I forgot to tell you something. About the group that attacked us."


    The detective nodded his head, encouraged him to continue.


    "One of them mentioned a name, Rangga. I believe it''s the name of the older one. The one with gray hair. I think he''s the leader of their group.", Mingliang told everything he knew.


    The detective gave it a thought then spoke to Mingliang, "Later today, I need you to come to our police station once more. I need you to help our artist to draw their pictures. I''ll call you when the artist is ready."


    "I''m glad to help.", Mingliang gave his best smile. The detective just snorted.


    Somad followed closely behind Mingliang, who was checking the crime scene. A drawing of man body was outlined by chalk, on the cemented floor. Mingliang closed his eyes and spread his spiritual senses on the location. As he expected, he found another crack in the border between the worlds, centered around the chalk drawing.


    ''What were they trying to achieve?'', Mingliang rubbed the stubble on his chin.


    Mingliang turned to Somad, "Can you sense it? See what you can do with your medal."


    Somad nodded his head, after his advanced training, he could sense the energy around the chalk drawing. The boy knew what Mingliang wanted him to do. He took out the bronze medal from his pocket, squatted next to the crack and started to absorb the energy into his bronze medal.


    Meanwhile, Mingliang stood and started to talk about his theory to the detective and his colleagues. Marzuki, the forensic guy watched Mingliang and Somad closely. His intuition told him they were doing something, but he couldn''t tell what they were doing.


    Captain Jim and Anton were listening to Mingliang''s long-winded explanation. Half belief, half disbelief, they couldn''t tell whether Mingliang just made it up or telling the truth. But Mingliang could point at each rune in the array around them and explained what it was supposed to do.


    "And do you see the same thing in that haunted house, where you meet with those three men?", Captain Jim waved his hand to stop Mingliang''s chatter and asked.


    "Yes. If you want to, I can show you the place.", Mingliang sportily answered and added a big smile over it.


    Somad stood up and put a frustrated expression on his face, "Sorry teacher, I can''t find anything with the medal."


    "Nevermind, maybe you just need more practice.", Mingliang comforted the boy.


    He turned to Detective Jim and asked, "It seem I can''t find any further information here. Perhaps we can check the second location?"


    Detective Jim turned to Marzuki the forensic, who just shrugged his shoulder.


    "Alright, let''s check the other site.", finally, the detective grudgingly agreed.


    On his way to the car, he felt something crawled on his foot. He froze on the spot for a second, but soon he felt a familiar feeling. Smiling, Mingliang entered the car. That was Cheng Ying sword. Now the sword partly wrapped on his right ankle and the rest on his left ankle, covered by his pants, hidden from sight.


    While he was driving the car, Anton asked Mingliang, "Since the ritual used human life to perverse nature, or as an act of rebellion against the law of nature. What characteristic they look for in their victims?"


    "In most cases, it is youth. Some ritual even use child or babies.", Mingliang answered seriously. He happened to wonder about the same thing too.


    "But in both cases, it''s adult men.", Anton quickly argued.


    "I know... That''s why there is something we don''t know yet. I haven''t cracked this array meaning. I only grasped the surface knowledge of each rune meaning.", Mingliang seriously replied, this time even the detective could hear his seriousness.


    "But the victims must possess something, that made them perfect candidate as a sacrificial offering.", Mingliang was seriously thinking about the problem. He felt he had missed something.


    When they arrived at the second location, Mingliang repeated the same procedure. He spent time, discussing with the police, while Somad was busy absorbing energies into the bronze medal.


    "Sometimes, the sacrificial offering was chosen based on their family lineage.", Mingliang tried to suggest a link between the victims.


    Anton quickly shook his head, "Not likely, the first victim was a Javanese, while the second was Chinese. No record shows any relation between them."


    "Maybe certain physical qualities? Strength, speed, agility, even intelligence. Since it is an offering, if there is something extraordinaire about them, maybe that''s the key?", Mingliang kept throwing suggestions.


    Aside from giving more time to Somad, Mingliang himself wanted to know more about the serial murder case.


    Anton hesitated, he turned to Captain Jim. When Detective Jim nodded, Anton turned to Mingliang and told him, "The first victim was a martial art master. He actively taught and trained many young Muslim from a various Islamic youth organization."


    "How about the second one?", Mingliang felt he found something within the information.


    Anton shook his head, "There is no indication of any physical superiority. He was just an old man working as a gardener in nearby Catholic Church."


    Mingliang stared at Anton. An idea flashed through his mind, "What did he do?"


    "A gardener.", Anton felt the change in Mingliang''s attitude, "... in a nearby Catholic Church."


    "When you talked with their families and friends. What did they say about their faith in their religion?", Mingliang couldn''t hide the tension in his voice.


    Apparently, they all had similar ideas, carefully Anton said it, "Both were known as a devout follower of their faith. People praised them for their religious lifestyle, kindness and other spiritual qualities."


    Mingliang turned to look at the runes. Ancient Jewish rune, a Catholic and a Muslim. A crack in the seal between the two worlds. A sense of crisis suddenly overwhelmed him.


    A vision or mere imagination of his overactive mind, Mingliang saw in his mind. A fissure appeared in the sky. It grew and proliferated. After that, one by one, winged creatures passed through the fissure.


    Suddenly Detective Jim''s phone rang and broke his fantasy.


    Jim picked up his phone, "Yes... What!?

 Chapter XIII. I am who I am.

    Detective Jim''s face grew grim, "We got another murder."


    His eyes calculatingly stared at Mingliang and Somad. At least this time, it wasn''t them. He had people watched them all the time. They got a good alibi for the murder this time. It didn''t mean that he would so quick to erase them from his suspect list. He turned to Anton, "Anton, take Mingliang and Somad home. Marzuki, you come with me."


    They followed Jim''s order obediently. Anton took Mingliang and Somad in his car. They didn''t talk much, all the way to Mingliang''s place. Only once in a while, when Anton needed a direction. Even Somad sat quietly.


    "Thanks for the ride.", Mingliang got down, followed by Somad.


    "No, problem. Probably someone would pick you up tomorrow.", Anton nodded and waved his hand before he drove his car away.


    Mingliang and Somad stood at the roadside and waited until Anton left.


    "What should we do now?", Somad turned to Mingliang.


    "There''s only one thing you need to do. That''s sleep.", Mingliang laughed, he opened the gate and entered.


    Both one big and one small walked as quietly as possible since everyone else in the house was already asleep. Somad whispered to Mingliang, "Teacher, here''s the medal. We surely got some good harvest tonight."


    Mingliang accepted the bronze medal from Somad''s hand. He checked the energy in the medal and satisfied, "Yea, we surely gained a lot tonight. The police got their nose on those bad guys too."


    "Serve them right! If they didn''t try to mess with us, then we will be having a hard time making a plan to bait them.", Somad chuckled when he remembered it.


    ¡°Now, police will have their eyes on them. Tomorrow police will get their description too. This is great!¡±, Somad was excited as he kept thinking about it.


    Mingliang knocked his head and whispered, "Keep your voice down."


    The boy giggled as he put his hand on his mouth. They safely reached Mingliang''s room without disturbing anyone. It''s almost 3 AM now, other people who lived in that house, still slept soundly. Mingliang waited until Somad slept before he turned on his computer.


    Quickly he logged in to the forum and checked on his thread.


    He was relieved when he found no one reported strange phenomenon related to his warning. Many members in the forum debated about the thread. Some said Mingliang was using his reputation to scare people and would scam people for money. Mingliang''s friends and followers fought back. Mingliang felt grateful, but he chose to see the time passed by without any of his warning came true.


    He checked several other threads before he logged out and turned off his old computer. Mingliang missed a post though. Someone posted in his thread, just right after he logged out.


    Without knowing about the new post, Mingliang laid down on the floor and closed his eyes. It was a tiring day, and within seconds he fell asleep.


    The next day, Mingliang''s phone rang and woke them up. Mingliang groggily grabbed his phone. He stared at his phone for a few seconds, trying to make sense these loud vibrating thing in his hand. Slowly his consciousness cleared up. He looked at the number and didn''t recognize it.


    As soon as he picked up the call, Detective Jim''s hoarse voice greeted him, "Get down quick. I''m waiting. We need your help."


    All the sleepiness went away with that short call. Mingliang woke Somad up. They quickly got ready and ran down to meet the detective. Mingliang got his sword concealed under his shirt. Somad had the bronze medal on his pocket. Now, it became almost as natural as wearing shirts and pants for them.


    Mingliang and Somad found Detective Jim already waiting in his black SUV. He started the car as soon as they closed the door, "You''re too slow."


    "Sorry.", Mingliang raised his eyebrows.


    "Hm..", the detective replied, his eyes didn''t leave the road.


    There was a depressing silence in the car. Mingliang poked Anton''s shoulder who sat on the front seat, next to Jim who drove the car. Anton turned to look at him. Mingliang raised his eyebrows and silently mouthed, "What happened?"


    Anton gestured to stay silent and mouthed, "Bad situation. Very bad."


    Detective Jim glanced at Anton, and his young partner gingerly closed his mouth. Sighing Jim looked at him and made a gesture toward Anton, "You explain."


    After he got permission from Jim, Anton relaxed a bit and started to explain. Just as Mingliang and Somad heard this morning, there was another murder. What they didn''t know was the fact that the victim this time was more than one. This time the murderer killed the whole household, husband and wife, two children and a maid.


    Runes etched on each of their bodies. The victims laid down in a certain pattern, inside a big array of runes. Anton showed some pictures to Mingliang. Somad wanted to peek, but Mingliang glared at him, and the boy shrunk back to his seat.


    The pictures on Anton''s phone raised the hairs on Mingliang''s back. He involved in homicide case more than once. He even killed a man once. But he had never seen children as victims. The sight was more shocking than he thought it would.


    He returned the phone to Anton and sincerely asked, "What do you need from me?"


    "I want you to work with us. I want to hire you as our consultant. You''ll get paid on case base.", Jim spoke.


    "That''s a surprise? Back then, you were mad at Dr. Sunyoto for asking my help.", Mingliang spoke thoughtlessly.


    Anton rolled his eyes at Mingliang. Jim said nothing for a while and then, "You will understand when you see the scene later."


    And then he added, "I know you hid something from me. I can smell it when people lie or hide something from me. But I know you''re not involved in this one. You just don''t fit the profile. I don''t care what you did or doing or done. I just want you to help me to catch this bastard."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "Hm.., I understand.", Mingliang answered, his tone made his statement unquestionable.


    "Good.", Jim always had to be the last and shortest.


    There was silence as they drove toward the crime scene. The atmosphere in the car was heavy and grim. No one wanted to chat. Mingliang lost his appetite for conversation, as the pictures of the two killed little children haunted his mind. Somad who was sensitive to his teacher''s mood sat silently as well.


    Several blocks before the house where the crime was committed, Mingliang saw many TV reporters were covering the story. When they arrived and stepped out of the car, one of the reporters recognized Jim. She quickly strode toward them. Soon other reporters followed and gathered around them, just like sharks when they smelled blood.


    "Detective Jim! Detective, please give your comment.", several reporters were blocking their way.


    Jim''s thick eyebrows started to move closer. His face hardened. Mingliang thought he was going to see the detective explode, but to his surprise, The detective handled it calmly. He turned to Anton and making a gesture toward Mingliang, "You guide him."


    And then he turned to the reporters and started answering their questions. Anton grabbed Mingliang and Somad, who watched the scene with a shock expressed on their face. They passed several police officers who prevented unauthorized people entering the house. They nodded at each other. Sometimes, Anton stopped and had a small chat with them, before going further.


    As they entered the house, Anton explained, "You can''t become a captain without dealing with the reporters. He scolded a reporter once in the past. It caused some big scandal. Our superior called him and chewed on him for hours. He almost lost his job. Since that, he had to compromise."


    "Hey, you can''t eat without working.", Somad grinned, he was happy to know that even the big detective like Jim, still had to bow his head to someone.


    "Ouch!", Mingliang knocked his head.


    Anton just rolled his eyes, to see their antique. Unlike his older partner, he had no suspicion toward Mingliang and Somad. He was rather curious to see how they would affect the case.


    They quickly arrived at the family''s room. Anton stopped before the door and turned to Mingliang, "Okay, this is where it all happened. We have taken all the bodies. But..., are you sure you want him to come too?"


    Anton nodded his head at Somad direction. Mingliang turned to Somad. They were looking at each other.


    "You can feel it right?", Mingliang asked the boy.


    Anton didn''t know Mingliang as well as Somad. But the boy knew since his teacher entered the house, he acted cautiously. And it didn''t need a long time for him to realize the reason. This house was a massive vortex of energy. Several times greater than the other ritual site they had visited before.


    Somad nodded his head.


    Mingliang was staring at the boy and thinking. Slowly his eyes grew colder, and his expression hardened.


    "You can''t be a boy forever.", he patted on Somad''s shoulder and turned to Anton, "He''s coming with us."


    Anton didn''t say anything, he just nodded his head and opened the door. The metallic smell of blood heavily lingered in the room. Although all the body had been removed, the stain on the floor and wall still there. At some spot, the blood pooled. They had begun coagulated but still had some moistures. At other places, Mingliang and Somad could see bits of skins and meats.


    Anton took a glance at Somad. He worried the boy wouldn''t be able to deal with the scene in the room. The boy struggled to keep himself to stand on his place with ragged breathing and pale face.


    Anton wanted to remind Mingliang of Somad''s condition. He turned around and found Mingliang staring at the center of the room. His eyes focused somewhere at the center. His teeth chattered. His whole body was taut and tense. He seemed like a man who was forced to face a wild beast. His expression was so intense that it started to affect Anton.


    The young detective felt all the hair on his body raised. He shook his head vigorously to get rid the fear that crept into his head.


    What presenced in Anton''s mind as a simple psychological phenomenon, was a supra-reality for Mingliang. The moment he entered the room, his eyes pulled toward the center of the room. It wasn''t just a crack in the border between two worlds. It was a giant hole, a gate, between two worlds.


    But it wasn''t the hole that scared him out of his wit. It was the presence behind the hole. A giant eye was looking through the hole. It was so big that Mingliang could only see one of the iris. He couldn''t see the owner of the eye, but he sensed it sneered, a colossus whose existence could cover the entire galaxy.


    "Submit to me!", It spoke to Mingliang, and he felt it reverberated all over his body. Somad couldn''t see nor heard it, but he vaguely felt its terrible presence.


    "Submit To Me !!!", once more the colossus spoke. Mingliang felt his strength almost buckled before the pressure. It came like a wave, crushing his body and mind. But he insisted and fought, his knee trembled, but not bent.


    Somad could feel the towering presence that attacked his teacher. Fear engulfed him. He wanted to give up and run. But when he saw the back of his teacher, he clenched his jaw and stubbornly stand his ground.


    "SUBMIT TO ME !!!!", It spoke for the third time, and this time it shook Mingliang''s entire existence, his body, mind, and spirit.


    Mingliang felt the pressure broke his whole existence into pieces. Separating his body from his mind, and his mind from his spirit. It blew away all his strength out of his being. His entire body went limp. His knee finally buckled under the weight of his own body. He was falling on all four when suddenly the memories of his father appeared in his mind. He heard the last words of his grandfather on his deathbed.


    He caught himself before his hand touched the ground. His body bent but not fall. The memories of his father and grandfather flooded into his mind and heart. Their words rang through his heart and broke the colossus''s voice. Their smiling face appeared on his mind and cleared the fog that clouded his judgment. His reverence to them surged upward and straightened his back.


    "I am who I am.", said Mingliang to the colossus.


    "I am more than I."


    "I never stand alone. There''s my father before me, my grandfather before him, a long line of men and women. We never bent down by fear."


    "There those before me.", his mind saw his father, grandfather, and all the ancestor before them.


    "There those after me.", his mind saw Somad who stood his ground, clenching his jaw, shaking but never give up, never left him.


    Mingliang felt his strength returned to his body. He stood his ground. His back was straight. His eyes sharply stared against the giant eye who peeped from the whole.


    As Mingliang regained his composure, Somad felt his strength returned to his body. As Mingliang straightened his back, he did. As Mingliang stood proudly, he did.


    The colossus watched them, teacher and disciple, stood there before him with back straightened and eyes stared at him proudly.


    He snorted in disdain and laughed in contempt, "Fool, you''ll be sorry."


    Slowly he turned his back and disappeared.

 Chapter XIV. Huge Breakthrough.

    Once the Colossus left, Mingliang and Somad felt as if they just returned to reality. The smell of blood and rotten meat were the first that greeted their senses. Mingliang and Somad wrinkled their nose. The next thing that greeted them was the traces of previous night slaughters. It was a horrible sight but was nothing compared to the horror of the Colossus.


    Anton couldn''t see or feel the Colossus, but he saw how Mingliang and Somad were struggling against something. The horror became intense as he didn''t know what was going on.


    As Mingliang and Somad relaxed, Anton felt the tension in his chest was relieved, he took a deep breath and asked, "What just happened?"


    Somad focused his attention on his teacher too, although he was involved in the struggle, he only vaguely sensed of what happened. Mingliang saw the boy''s eyes at him.


    He smiled and patted Somad''s shoulder approvingly, "You''ve done well back then."


    Somad felt his chest swelled with pride.


    Mingliang turned to Anton, "I''ll explain when Detective Jim arrived. I think I finally know the purpose of this array."


    Anton reluctantly nodded his head. He felt Mingliang had changed. He couldn''t tell what changed in Mingliang, but now when he talked with Mingliang, he felt like he was facing someone with authority.


    Mingliang thought a bit and then added, "I need to do something, we still have to wait for Detective Jim anyway. Could you help? Make sure no one disturbs me?"


    Anton nodded his head. It was as if, he was naturally to follow Mingliang''s order. Mingliang smiled and patted his shoulder, "Thanks a lot."


    Mingliang turned to Somad and nodded his head, "Somad, you do the usual."


    Mingliang chose a spot that relatively clean and sat down. Without paying attention to other people in the room, he began to meditate. After his fight against the giant, Mingliang had made a decision. Although he would not be able to complete the 2nd layer of Xuan Wu body, he decided to start practicing the 2nd and the 3rd layer of Xuan Wu body to certain parts of his body.


    The 1st layer of Xuan Wu body was too passive, but the 2nd layer of Xuan Wu body, strengthen his muscles. It wouldn''t just add some form of defense, but depending on which muscles, it translated into increased in strength and speed.


    Now, with the gate opened, he had an abundant source of energy for use. Mingliang didn''t want to waste time. His suspicion was likely true. After he met the Colossus existence beyond the border, he understood that he probably didn''t have much time to prepare. He might not have time at all. But he didn''t feel any fear, he knew he wasn''t alone.


    There were people in his past. Their existence prepared him for today. There would be those in the future, those who would keep the hope alive.


    He wasn''t a dot or a short line, that started at birth and ended in death. He was a part of a long line, a long thread that began far away in the past and continued far away to the future.


    Mingliang had made a choice, he wanted to work on his lower leg. This would give him a short burst of speed. It also turned his lower leg into a weapon. A weapon he could use to defend and attack.


    He closed his eyes and concentrated to etched the rune to the muscles in his lower leg. About an hour passed by, Jim had ended his conference with reporters and now checked on Mingliang. He stared at Mingliang and Somad who were meditating in the room. He turned to Anton who helplessly shrugged his shoulder.


    A man of little words, Detective Jim glanced over the master and disciple once more, then turned to Anton, "You guard here. Call me when they''re done."


    Jim didn''t wait for Anton''s reply, he turned and left the room. Followed by Anton who scratched his head bitterly. Mingliang knew about Jim''s arrival, but he chose to ignore the detective. He had determined that he wouldn''t stop until he completed the change in his lower leg. He could only offer an apology to Anton silently.


    Hours passed by, noon turned into evening. In the beginning, Somad had drawn a simple array and left the medal to absorb the energy. Now, he was meditating and slowly absorbed the energy around him. It was a rare opportunity, and he didn''t want to miss it. Most of the time, cultivation was a repetitive and arid business. Many people failed long before they achieved anything, but Mingliang and Somad weren''t one of them. Both master and disciple were diligently practicing, ignoring the noise around them.


    Jim came once again, this time he carried two boxes of chicken rice, few bottles of coke and snacks with him. Anton was sitting on one chair, playing games on his mobile, "Cap... dinner?"


    Jim gave one box to Anton, "Hm... dinner."


    "How long are we going to wait?", Anton asked with a lowered voice. He unconsciously tried not to disturb Mingliang and Somad.


    Jim opened the other box and started eating. Seeing that he wouldn''t get any answer from his older partner, Anton sighed and opened his box. He mentally distanced himself from the room, before ate his dinner slowly.


    The finished their dinner in silence. Jim finished first. He straightened his back and then turned to look at Mingliang and Somad. Anton pretended not to notice that.


    "Seems like going to be a long wait.", suddenly Jim spoke.


    Anton put down his box. He secretly sighed, "They''ve been like that for hours... maybe just a little longer?"


    Jim patted his shoulder, "Call me when they do."


    Anton gave up and dispiritedly replied, "Alright... I got it."


    He resentfully watched Jim left the room, softly humming a song on his way out. Anton stared at his dinner. He took a big bite and chewed it vigorously.


    "Just wait until I get a promotion.", Anton grumbled with his mouth still filled with food.


    "That smells good...", suddenly Anton heard Mingliang talked.


    Mingliang opened his eyes, he had harvested a lot this time. Both of his lower legs were filled with strength. He had completed the 2nd layer and 3rd layer Xuan Wu body for his lower legs. Although he couldn''t use it fully until he strengthened other parts in his body, it''s still adding to his battle efficiency.


    Anton looked up at Mingliang''s direction, quickly he gulped the food in his mouth and excitedly dialed Jim''s number. Mingliang checked Somad''s condition when he saw everything was well, he went to Anton, feeling a bit apologetic.


    Anton frantically spoke to Jim, while his eyes stared at Mingliang, afraid of seeing him back to his meditation, "Yes, quickly come back. He just awoke."


    "Sorry, I make you wait for a very long time.", Mingliang sincerely apologize.


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    "It''s alright, that''s part of my duty. Detective Jim is on his way, he''ll be here soon.", all Anton''s grudges were swept away by Mingliang''s apology.


    Secretly Anton kept wondering, how after the previous incident, something changed in Mingliang. It almost like he was a different person. Anton tried to find a word for it. Finally, he felt a blooming flower was the right way to describe it. He was the same person, but all of his good points suddenly multiplied several times.


    Anton was wondering, maybe this was how it felt when people met with a charismatic spiritual leader in the past. People who would gather thousands of followers just by talking to them.


    Mingliang saw how Anton looked at him reverently. He quickly realized what happened here. The battle with the Colossus existence helped him to reach another level in his practice.


    A human had a physical dimension, a mental dimension, and a spiritual dimension. Each of them was like an independent existence on its own, but they weren''t. They were closely related to each other, the physics affect the mental and vice versa.


    When each aspect was not in harmony with the other, the human became weak. It was like a country in constant civil war. They would be fighting against themselves. They physically desired something but felt guilty about it. Or they physically satisfied but felt spiritually empty. It made them anxious, bitter and ridden with guilt.


    When one aspect ruled over the other, the human became strong. But it was like a country led by tyranny. One aspect repressed the other. They would be too one dimensional, failed to use all the potential within themselves. Worse, they had to constantly repress a part of themselves. It became a hidden danger. There were many cases when such approach fired back. A priest forced to live in celibacy, ended up molested a child. Or a famous and talented celebrity suddenly committed suicide.


    The most ideal situation would be when all aspects live in harmony. It supported each other work together to achieve one goal.


    This was what happened to Mingliang. His struggle against the Colossus existence, helped him to bring all aspects of him to reach a certain situation, where they all have the same goal. It was a breakthrough in his practice as a cultivator.


    Once he realized it, Mingliang quickly closed his eyes and examined himself. He was too focused on his Xuan Wu body practice that he missed the fact.


    Anton saw him closed his eyes and feared that Mingliang would end up meditating again, he gingerly reminded Mingliang, "Uh... Detective Jim would be here in a minute."


    Mingliang saw each of his chakras was lively and full of vigor. They were radiating energy like a generator running at full speed. Quickly he took control and restrained it. Anton felt it too, he knew somehow Mingliang controlled his own radiance.


    Mingliang opened his eyes and smiled, "Okay, don''t worry. I''ll wait for Detective Jim first."


    It didn''t take a long time. Jim entered the room and directly went to Mingliang. He wasted no time, "Anton said you know something."


    Mingliang didn''t want to waste time either, he quickly told Jim everything he knew. He told him about the seal that separates two worlds. The rune''s origin and what he knew about its meaning. The crack in the seal at each crime scene. The big hole in the border in their current location and the Colossus existence who peeped from the hole.


    "I think the ritual isn''t as simple as trying to summon or exchange something with existence beyond our world. They''re trying to break the seal and let the two worlds merged once more.", Mingliang ended his explanation with his hypothesis.


    For a long time, there was silence. No one made even the smallest noise. Anton felt his back wet with cold sweat. He was thinking about the Colossus beyond the world, he was there when it peeped into the hole. Jim''s expression grew grimmer by each second passed.


    "There was nothing I could do about the seal. My job is to capture the murderer, tell me how I can catch them.", after a long thought, Jim spoke.


    Mingliang shook his head apologetically, "Although I know what they''re up to. I don''t know, how they choose their victim or the location of the ritual."


    "You don''t have any clue at all?", Jim didn''t want to give up at him.


    "Hmm... maybe I can try to find a pattern from the location they''ve chosen so far.", Mingliang hesitated.


    "Good, you do that. We''ll do what we can do too.", Jim nodded.


    "Actually, maybe you can try this man.", Mingliang took his notebook and pen. He wrote a name, phone number, and an address on it and then gave it to Jim.


    Jim took the paper and read it, "Who is he?"


    "A man who has deep knowledge in geomancy. If someone could calculate where the next ritual will be held, that''s him.", Mingliang spoked confidently.


    "Okay, I got it. Should I mention your name?", Jim asked.


    Mingliang hesitated, "He doesn''t know me. Try to ask his help first, when he isn''t willing, try to tell him, Veronica''s son asks for his help."


    Jim raised his eyebrows, and Mingliang shook his head, "Don''t ask."


    Jim simply nodded. Anton''s corner of lips was twitching, but he held it. He turned his attention to Somad who was still meditating and asked, ''So are we done here yet?"


    Mingliang turned to Jim, "Do you mind if we stay here?"


    Jim looked deeply into his eyes and asked, "Why?"


    Mingliang nodded his head, "Two reasons."


    "First, this environment is abundant with energy due to the big hole in this location. It gives us a big advantage to practice."


    "Second, you won''t want this big hole left unattended. Although such big powerful existence like that Colossus can''t pass through, many lower and weaker demons could."


    Jim sighed, "Can''t you do something about the hole?"


    "For now, I''ll draw a huge array around it. It could hold for a while. I''m not strong enough to fix the seal.", Mingliang shrugged his shoulder.


    "Okay, you can stay here as long as you want. I''ll take the responsibility.", Jim quickly gave his permission.


    "How about me?", Anton asked in trepidation.


    "What about you? Want to be a paranormal too? You come with me.", Jim raised his eyebrows and snorted.


    Anton laughed in relieved, he turned to Mingliang, "Well, see you then. Do you need me to ask people to buy some dinner and water for you two?"


    Mingliang looked at Somad and then nodded his head, "That''ll be nice. Something simple and mineral water would be enough. Thanks."


    He took his wallet, but Anton quickly kept his hand, "No need, this time is my treat."


    Mingliang laughed genially, "Haha, well thanks a lot then."


    Soon, Anton and Jim left the two master and disciple cultivating in the room. It was a big harvest for Mingliang. He had studied and practice for a long time. He knew all the details and trained his body, soul, and spirit, but lacking the energy to provide the needed power for them. He was like a high tech computer, without electric power.


    Now, in this environment, his growth was in leap and bound.


    And with his breakthrough during the struggle against the Colossus, he progressed smoothly in his practice.


    Meanwhile, Somad who was caught in the previous struggle between his teacher and the Colossus also got some benefit from it. His confidence in his teacher and his teaching grew. The doubts and worries that used to disturb his training were gone. And since the environment abundant with energy, he could clearly sense, how his strength progressed from one moment to another.


    It created a sense of achievement, and this motivated him to work harder. It was a positive cycle that made the boy deeply fall into his practice. Mingliang carefully examined his condition. He saw the boy calmly progressed and not rashly absorbed the energy.


    Mingliang then started drawing an array that kept away any supra-natural creatures who tried to pass the border. It was a complex defensive array but with his current condition, and the abundant energy around him, he smoothly drew one rune after another. It took about two hours. Once it had done, he checked it once again.


    It was the best he could do for now. Freed from worries, Mingliang began to practicing Xuan Wu body.

 Chapter XV. A Mysterious Man, Mingliang Didnt Want to Meet.

    Close to midnight, Somad opened his eyes and let out a long breath. He could feel his body filled with energy. He turned and saw Mingliang was still meditating. He saw bottles of mineral water and packed food nearby. He felt hungry and thirsty. He stood and stretched his body, checking on the packed food, the smell worked on his appetite.


    Looking back and forth, from the food to his teacher, finally, he decided to wait for his teacher.


    He took the bronze medal and checked the energy in it. The medal seemed to glow now. It contained lots of energy. Feeling satisfied, Somad put it back into the array.


    He began practicing to draw runes, with his new level of energy. Along with time, Somad learned to work with his new level of strength. He had learned several new runes as well. He could practice to his heart''s content, with all the energy around him.


    "That''s good, you have improved a lot.", suddenly he heard his teacher spoke.


    Somad turned and found Mingliang was standing and watching him practice, "Teacher, how about you? I can feel you become more... like... hmm... grow? Like... become bigger... stronger?"


    "Hahaha..., yes you''re right, I achieve something of significance today. Come let''s eat something, and I''ll explain it a bit.", Mingliang opened the packed food and shared it with Somad.


    Mingliang explained the main principles in their sect''s cultivation technique.


    In principle, their technique was to use their body as the furnace to congeal a spiritual seed. He explained the interdependent existences of the physical body, mental disposition, and spiritual self. He explained how their cultivation technique tried to bring harmony between the different character of each existence.


    Then working through cultivation to the physical body, they congealed the spiritual seed. Once a spiritual seed formed, they had to nurture it through certain technique and practice. The spiritual seed then grew matured and formed the spiritual self. In all of those process, the physical body became the medium, the mind became the moving force, and the final result was the spiritual self.


    Only after they formed the spiritual self, they could start practicing spiritual techniques and skills.


    During the practice, there would be many difficulties. One of them was the conflicting natural character of the physical body and the spiritual self. It would keep arising from time to time and became a stumble on their path.


    Sometimes, due to a certain situation, a practitioner could reach a condition where all aspects in them were in harmony. It was an ideal condition for a cultivator.


    Although through the various method of practice they tried to achieve such a condition. In reality, there was no sure way to achieve it. You just had to be at the right time and the right place. All the practice did, was to prepare you, that you wouldn''t miss the chance.


    "And teacher happened to get that chance?", Somad asked excitedly.


    "Yes, it happened during the struggle against that demon. Sometimes, it is in the face of such struggle you grow. Don''t seek for a fight, but don''t run when you have to. Maybe you learn something out of it.", Mingliang calmly nodded.


    "Teacher, so what happened earlier? I only felt you were struggling against something."


    Mingliang then told him about the Colossus that forced him to submit. He told Somad all the detail of his experience and what enlightenment he gained from that experience, "I told you all this, so you can use it as a reference. Do not blindly follow my footsteps. Do you understand?"


    Somad silently thought about it. It took a long time, "My life is different from yours. I''m different from you, so my path to my spiritual self would be different too."


    Mingliang nodded his head, "That''s it. A teacher could only share his experience with you. Teach you skills, techniques, and knowledges, but none of that is cultivation. Cultivation is about you, making a journey to find and define your self. No one can do it for you. You have to walk on your own."


    "I understand.", Somad nodded his head confidently. He didn''t survive the street, relying on someone''s protection.


    "Okay, now you go to sleep first.", Mingliang said, then he took his phone and gave it to Somad, "I have back to practice again. If Sari calls or sends a message, you handle it. Tell her where we are, in case she''s on her way back."


    Somad took the phone and nodded, "Got it."


    Mingliang started meditating once more. Previously, he had completed the 2nd and 3rd layer of Xuan Wu body on both of his fist and wrist, which means now he had his lower legs and fists as his weapon.


    It was still another 6-7 hours before morning came around. Mingliang decided to complete up to his lower back. If he managed to pull it off, his speed and attack would be improved greatly.


    Somad went to sleep, with Mingliang''s phone in his hand. He ignored the fact that he slept in a crime scene where the whole family just got murdered. He was mentally calm but physically dead tired. Less than a minute, the boy already slept soundly.


    Nothing out of the ordinary happened that night. After about seven hours of practicing Xuan Wu body, Mingliang stopped his practice and opened his eyes. He could feel his whole body filled with vigor. His entire lower body had filled with runes. Each rune now was vigorously absorbed the energy around them.


    The 1st layer of Xuan Wu body on his skin quickly filled to the brim with energy. His hands up to his wrists, also brimming with energy.


    He watched his leg slowly filled with energy. He proudly examined each rune. They perfectly arranged and linked to each other. He didn''t miss even the smallest detail. He slowly examined each part, all the way from his foot to his lower back.


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    ''Yep, I miss nothing.'', He was mentally blushing as he checked his private part.


    ''Don''t want to get kicked in my balls.'', He silently defended his decision.


    He saw Somad was still sleeping. Carefully he took his phone from the boy''s hand. He checked the time. It was 6:30 AM, he finished a bit earlier than his target.


    There was a message from Sari. She sent it about an hour ago. She was on her way back. She probably would arrive around lunchtime. Mingliang started typing, explained to her the last situation. Everything progressed too fast, suddenly they would work with the police, and they also involved in something that bigger than their imagination.


    Mingliang wanted to get a short nap. He just closed his eyes when his phone rang. He let it rang several times, hoping it would stop after a while. After he waited and the phone kept ringing, reluctantly he picked the phone and checked the caller. It was Sari who called him.


    Quickly he accepted the call, "Hello, good morning."


    "Do you got the police there?"


    "No, we''re alone here. Only me and Somad."


    "Okay, so do they know about the body in the pond?"


    "I can''t say for sure. The detective hinted that he knows I''m keeping some secret from him."


    "And...?"


    "He said he believed that I''m not involved in the serial killing, and that''s enough for him."


    "That''s not so assuring."


    "Yeah I know, but I don''t think they would have time for anything else. I told you, this case is a disaster. No one would even remember about that guy in the pond, once this case fully erupt.", Mingliang was sure he wasn''t exaggerating.


    There was a moment of silence, "Okay, I''ll be there around lunchtime. Should I go to see you or lay low?"


    "Call me once you''re in town. We have to work together.", after some hesitation, Mingliang added, "I need you."


    Hundreds of kilometers away from Mingliang, Sari blushed when she heard it. She felt her heart beat louder than usual. She put her phone away and cleared her throat, "Okay, I''ll call you later. See you."


    "Okay, take care. Don''t speed, safe drive."


    "Humm... thanks. You too.", she still held the phone, until the call ended.


    She reluctantly put the phone down and murmured, "Shouldn''t he say something? Like yea, be careful. Miss you. You ended the call first. No, you first."


    She was unconsciously humming a song, as she drove back.


    Meanwhile, Mingliang already fell dead asleep. Both him and Somad slept on the hard floor. But they still slept soundly. They didn''t wake up when Jim and Anton entered the room with 4 cups of hot coffee and burgers. That was about 9 AM in the morning.


    Anton glanced at Jim, "Cap, you sure pick some treasure. I mean, sleeping in a room like this? Could you believe that?"


    Jim observed the two who slept soundly and sighed, "Let''s wait for a while."


    He walked to the chairs nearby and sat on one of them. Unpacked one of the burgers and ate it. Anton followed his example. He looked at his burger, hesitated, and at the end, he preferred to take a sip out of his coffee rather than ate the burger.


    Anton stole a glance at Jim. He was taking a big bite from his burger, obviously enjoying it.


    Anton secretly thought, ''Well, you sure think they''re normal.''


    They didn''t have wait for too long. About 30 minutes later, when Jim got a call, Mingliang woke up. In his dream, he dreamed about Jim telling him something vague. He tried to concentrate on Jim, but still couldn''t understand a word. Slowly his consciousness returned. Mingliang faintly heard Jim talking in the phone, and realized it was just a dream.


    He just slept for about 3 hours, on a hard cold floor, with the smell of blood and rotten meat around him. But still, it was better than nothing. He slowly got up and stretched his stiff back.


    Doing a bit physical exercise to warm his stiff muscles, he greeted the two detectives, "Good morning detectives."


    Jim turned to him and ended his call, "I''ll call you later. That''s all I can say for now."


    "Yes, later okay.", he hung up the phone and slipped it on his pocket.


    As usual, there was no run around with Jim, "The one you recommended to me, he refused to cooperate with the police. He wanted to see you though."


    "He said that?", Mingliang wrinkled his eyebrows.


    "Yes, so we''re here to get you there.", Jim curtly replied.


    Mingliang turned and saw Somad also already got up and stretching his body with all his might. He turned back to Jim, "At least take us to our place first, we need some shower and change clothes."


    Jim didn''t object at all, "Sure."


    He turned to Anton and made a gesture, "Come on."


    Anton stood up and handed the coffee and burgers to Mingliang. Grinning the young detective winked, "Here, your breakfast. Having a nice dream last night?"


    Mingliang took the coffee and cleaned it in a few gulps, "Yeah... you bet. Hahaha, but telling you honestly, this place a trove of treasure for a cultivator. The energy is abundant. I progress a hundred times faster than usual."


    "You do?", Anton asked in disbelief.


    He still remembered how Mingliang almost looked like a saint or angel yesterday. Now, he looked normal. Seemed like whatever he gained yesterday, was lost in a night. He didn''t know that now, Mingliang had control over his energy and restrained it all, no longer blazingly radiating it like yesterday.


    Mingliang didn''t know what Anton thought, "Yes, I do. Somad too."


    Anton looked at Somad in disbelief. Somad grinned back, "I can blow you away in less than a second."


    Anton snorted and took it as a joke.


    On their way to Mingliang''s place, they cleaned up all the burgers and coffee. Somad ended up drank a cup of coffee too.


    Mingliang watched the boy drank the coffee and said, "If Sari here, she would nag about it to no end."


    Somad laughed, "Well, let''s keep it a secret then."


    "Who''s Sari?", Anton asked from the front seat.


    "Teacher''s girlfriend."


    "My friend."


    Somad and Mingliang replied at the same time.


    "Stop joking.", Mingliang scolded the naughty boy beside him.


    Anton exchange a glance with Somad and grinned from ear to ear, "Oh... sure it''s fun to be young."


    All the way, they spent throwing jokes to each other, while Jim was staying quiet as usual. Quickly Mingliang and Somad become friend with Anton. The young detective was outgoing and open-minded. He asked many questions about their practice. Sometimes he openly showed his disbelief, but he was non-judgmental and no one offended by his way to show it.


    When they arrived at their destination, Mingliang checked the time. It was close to lunchtime.


    He watched Jim pushed the bell button on the intercom. Mingliang stood awkwardly there. He preferred to avoid the meeting, but he had no choice. He remembered seeing this person once when he was a kid, and it wasn''t a pleasant memory.


    "Who''s that?", the intercom made a sound.


    "Detective Jim, we met early this morning.", Jim talked to the intercom.


    "Oh, you. Hee hee hee, do you bring that boy with you?"


    Jim turned and looked at Mingliang. Mingliang shrugged his shoulder and nodded.


    "Yeah, I bring him with me here."


    A few seconds later, with a buzzing sound of an electric motor, the gate opened automatically.

 Chapter XVI. Six Months to Grow Stronger.

    The room they were sitting at right now, was well designed. It came unexpected for Jim, Anton, Mingliang and Somad, because the front yard and the entrance of the house were dirty, left unattended and cramped. They were expecting a gloomy dark room. A weird smell lingered in its humid air and maybe with spider webs on the corners of the room.


    But they found a large lounge, big comfortable modern sofas. A large glass rail door, at one side, opened and faced a beautiful garden. The light flooded the room from that direction.


    A small fish pond with waterfall decorate the interior, combined with several plants, create a cool natural setting for the lounge.


    A tall old man was sitting on one of the sofas. He was watching the koi fish in the pond when they entered the room.


    He took his time, ignored them, play with the fish and let them wait for him before he turned to them and greeted them, "Come in, take a seat. I''ve been waiting for you."


    Jim quietly observed the old man. He had a thick cotton-like white hair, framed his dark sun-burned skin. Wrinkles deeply etched on his face, creating a line that accentuated his hawk-like features. He was tall and athletic. There was no sign of fatigue or weakness in his posture. From his forearm, under his wrinkled skin, Jim could see the lean, well-toned wiry muscles.


    The old man smiled, but there was no smile in his calculating eyes. There was no emotion there, just calculating.


    Anton knew Jim wouldn''t start talking. He also saw Mingliang was reluctant to come. So the young detective decided to take the burden on his own, "Mr. Wisnu, I believe you already knew of our purpose, visiting you here."


    The old man waved his hand dismissively. He didn''t even look at Anton. He fixed his eyes on Mingliang.


    "Well, boy, you sure a clone of your mother. Grow your hair, shave all those annoying facial hairs, a bit narrow shoulder, wider hip and a bit volume on the chest. Hmm..., you''ll be exactly like your mother. Tall, slim, elegant.", the old man''s eyes weirdly gleamed as he spoke.


    Somad''s eyes slowly opened wide, he stared at the old man, then glanced at his teacher.


    At first, Anton was annoyed when the old man dismissed him. But then he heard the old man, and Anton stared at the old man in disbelief. A minute later, he lowered his head, and his body was shaking. There was a muffled sound of giggles coming from his direction.


    Even Jim''s mouth was twitching furiously.


    Now they knew why Mingliang didn''t want to give the old man a visit. From a glance Jim found clues. There were many group pictures of two men and a woman in various places in the room. One of the men was the young version of Mr. Wisnu. The other men and the woman reminded him of old pictures in Mingliang''s room. Jim assumed that was Mingliang''s father and mother.


    Mingliang blushed to his ears. He knew it was going to happen. The old man was an old friend of their family and never hid his unrequited love to his mother. His father just laughed it off, whenever the old man acted like this.


    "He was just teasing you.", He said.


    Anton finally had his giggles under control. He raised his head and talked to the old man once more, "I''m sorry sir, but we''re here for official business. It''s about people''s lives."


    The old man leaned his back comfortably on his sofa, once again he waved Anton''s plead dismissively. His mouth turned down showing his dissatisfaction. His eyes fixed on Mingliang, not even a glance to the other.


    "We need your help.", finally, Mingliang gave up and spoke.


    The old man''s smile bloomed on his face, "Well well well..., that''s what I''m waiting for Not hard isn''t it?"


    Mingliang almost exploded, he had to work hard to control his emotion. He was going to retort when the old man waved his hand, "Now, now, okay forget about it. My fault, okay? My apology. Just tell me the whole story."


    Anton silently applauded the old man, for cutting right at the moment when Mingliang was going to explode. Mingliang struggled to take back all the words he prepared to say. After closing his eyes and taking several deep breaths, Mingliang was ready to tell the story. He practiced meditation for years, not for nothing. In a short time, he got good control over his emotion. Efficiently, he narrated all the incidents, didn''t waste time on the details, neither forgot any important one.


    The old man didn''t make jokes any longer. He from time to time closed his eyes, making calculations, from time to time opened his eyes and stared at Mingliang. Sighing the old man was shaking his head. He seemed to lose some of his earlier vigors, "Why do you want to stop it?"


    "Since the seal existed, we''ve been living like ants and cockroaches."


    "We who wield power and knowledge, to crumble a mountain with our fist and dry an ocean with a single word."


    "Why would you want to stop it?"


    "They''re breaking the law.", Mingliang replied.


    "Screw the law.", the old man snorted in disdain, "The law is made to cater for the weak."


    Jim''s eyes were thinning dangerously as soon as he heard that. He didn''t take it lightly when people despised the law. The law was his life. He took the offense personally. The only reason, he didn''t physically attack the old man right now, because it would break the law.


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    The old man, still looking at Mingliang, was making a gesture at Jim and sneered, "You see. That''s law. Even when you think you''re right, the law binds your hands, and you can''t do what you believe is right."


    Jim growled, "Without law, everyone will do what they want to do, forcing their truth to other people. The strong eat the weak. People would suffer. Without law, there would be chaos everywhere."


    The old man was shaking his head, showing his pity for Jim, "Oh..., I won''t argue with you. Soon, you will see how fragile your so-called law is."


    Mingliang coldly cut the old man''s long speech, "Stop it, please. You are my elder, and I respect you, but I believe you''re wrong. The law we''re discussing here exists to protect the weak, that''s true. But that doesn''t mean it has no wisdom in it. Doesn''t means it''s a fool''s job to protect it."


    "I prefer to stand for this man-made law because I believe the weak have the same right as the strong. I''m not defending this law in itself, but defending what this law represents."


    "Weak, strong, both are different aspects of one same truth. We''re all related in a way we can''t see. It isn''t some altruism to protect the weak. It is wisdom. Even the great Dao gives a space for the weak to live and prosper."


    The old man had a gentle smile on his face, for a while it reminded Mingliang to his own father, but a few seconds later the smile went away. He was looking at Mingliang, and the previous weird look came back, "Hmm... Have I told you how much you remind me to your mother?"


    "You....", Mingliang choked with rage.


    "Okay, listen to me now. There is something you need to know.", before Mingliang exploded, the old man''s expression turned serious.


    Once again Mingliang lost his chance to explode.


    "All of you need to know this.", the old man looked around to all of his guests.


    The old man waited until he got everyone''s attention, "Among real practitioners, the news you just brought to me, isn''t something new. We''ve heard of the plan to break the seal for quite some time now."


    "The incidents you told me, we''ve heard it. We know what it''s supposed to do. And we know, the next one will be the last one. The biggest ritual that will completely break the seal."


    "Do you know where the location is?", Jim''s voice was chilly when he asked. He believed all the old man''s word, but the more he listened, the more he disliked the old man.


    "I don''t know, but I can calculate, where it might be.", the old man ignored Jim''s expression, he calmly answered. "I even know when they will do it. The news had spread around several days ago."


    Jim wrinkled his eyebrows, "Who spread this news? You are saying that you''ve heard all these rumors. How reliable is the source?"


    The old man silently stared at Jim, "First, I don''t care whether you believe me or not."


    "Second, hehehe, do you know who started the news? It was their own group spreading their plan. They tell people in my community all their plan.", he smirked.


    The old man turned to Mingliang, "Why do they do that? What do you think?"


    Mingliang eyes widened, "Are you saying..., are you people supporting them?"


    The old man nodded his head, "Not everyone, but many are attracted to the idea. Can you imagine that? There are who have tasted the power and then slowly losing it. Now, someone promises to return that power to them, even tens of time, or hundreds of time bigger. How many people do you think would give their commitment to help?"


    "How many?", Mingliang''s hand wet with cold sweat.


    "I don''t know. You know how these old bones live in secrecy. Each only trusts and knows two or three others. And you don''t tell others what you know about the other.", the old man shook his head.


    "Are you support them?", Mingliang pursued the old man.


    The old man snorted in disdain, "No, and no one with their right mind will support this crazy idea. They think they''ll break the seal and then what? Grow powerful? How strong? Compared to those old devils sealed on the other side, they''re nothing but ants."


    "You said many committed to the cause, don''t they know about those colossus existences at the other side?", Mingliang remembered the one he had met.


    The old lowered his head and shook it helplessly, "They''re blind by their greed for power. They said they''ve made a contract with the ruler of the other side. They think, they''ll rule along with those who came from the other side."


    "You..., you don''t like the idea. Would you help us?", Mingliang hopefully asked.


    The old man shrugged his shoulder, "I will help you calculate where it will be held. But I won''t risk my life, trying to stop them."


    "How about the other? You can talk to them. We can gather them to fight together.", Mingliang didn''t want to give up to have the old ones to fight with him.


    "They''re same with me. We know how futile it is to stop it.", The old man raised his head and looked straight at Mingliang, "You don''t know what you''re going to face boy. Just let it happen. Stay away from it."


    Mingliang''s hand formed a fist, he had met the Colossus existence from the other side. He had faced him and made his stand. Smiling calmly he shook his head and replied, "No."


    "I''ll not hide. If I hide from this, maybe I will live. But whatever lives, is no longer I.", Mingliang''s eyes clear and bright.


    The old man saw his determination and sighed, "You have exactly six months to prepare. The big ritual will be held six months from today. I''ll help you to calculate where they might do it. I don''t know the exact location, because I refused to make a contract with the devil."


    Mingliang clenched his fists, "Six months.... six month is enough."


    ---- o ----


    Before they left the house, they finally got the old man promised them, he would calculate where the ritual would likely happen. He needed time, once he got the locations, he would give them the list. With a heavy heart, Jim, Anton, and Mingliang left the house. The threat hung above their head like the sword of Damocles. Only Somad didn''t really care about all the old man''s warning.


    Inside the house, the old man gently watched Mingliang''s mother picture.


    "I''ve tried... I''ve tried to stop him, but he wouldn''t listen.", shaking his head, the old man seemed to grow several years older in seconds.

 Chapter XVII. Gun vs Xuan Wu body.

    On their way out, Mingliang talked to Jim and Anton, ¡°I have to stay around the last crime scene. The amount of energy is abundant there. I need to get as strong as possible in six months. Can you arrange that?¡±


    Anton couldn''t make a decision and turned to Jim.


    Jim decisively answered, ¡°I''ll arrange that for you. Is it going to be you two? You and your disciple?¡±


    Mingliang answered right away, "No, make it three. Me, a friend and my disciple."


    They arrived at Jim''s car, he unlocked and then opened the door, "Do you think all that old man said are true?"


    "I believe him. My father and my mother believe this person. They would without any doubt entrust him with their life. Besides, all the information is fit with my suspicion.", Mingliang threw himself on the back seat, that was his favorite spot.


    A flash of doubt passed on Jim''s expression. Mingliang couldn''t see that, but Anton did. They were exchanging glance for a few seconds. Hidden by his body, Jim made a gesture with his finger, pointing at his forehead. But Anton hesitated, he shook his head and shrugged his shoulder.


    "How bad would it be? You know it better than me? Do you think we can stop them?", Jim couldn''t stay quiet any longer.


    He didn''t believe all the stories, but even if it all was about a group of deluded people, living their delusional grandeur, the consequence still a disaster. What if they blew a bomb in a famous ancient temple like Borobudur or Prambanan?


    There was silence in the car, Jim had started the engine, and now they were on their way back to the last crime scene.


    Mingliang answered it short and without room to wiggle, "No."


    Anton and Somad lowered their head in despair when they heard Mingliang''s answer. Only Jim still waiting for Mingliang next words. He knew Mingliang wouldn''t give up so easily.


    He was right.


    Mingliang spoke again after a while, "But we still got a glimpse of hope, if we could stop the ritual before it started. I can''t tell you how to convince your people, but you got to convince them. Would be better if you can involve people from the army. You do that, and I''ll do the best I could too."


    "That''s our only chance."


    "One they started the ritual..., we''ve lost the battle."


    Jim wanted to think that Mingliang was exaggerating, but deep inside he believed the young man. He quietly calculated all the possibilities. He had several good relations in the upper echelon. The story and the suspicion was too absurd to accept by any man with common sense. But Jim believed, with some polishing, he could make these people support his move.


    "I think I could get the anti-terrorism force work on this. If you can help me to give them some hints, or even rumors, it will help me greatly to convince them.", after making some plan inside his head, Jim spoke to Mingliang.


    Mingliang thought about his persona in the online forum, "Would a forum on the internet good enough for that?"


    Jim gave it a thought then nodded his head, "Yeah, with my lead and some evidence we have right now, I could spin it to a convincing story.


    He added, "Heheheh, all we have to do is, leave them few pieces of puzzles. Their imagination will do the rest."


    Anton stole a glance to his older partner. He never saw this side of him. Somad secretly gave a thumbs up. Mingliang saw his disciple and a smile formed on his face.


    When he saw they would soon arrive at their destination, his face turned serious again. They got six months. It was enough for him to complete the 2nd and 3rd layer of Xuan Wu body. But that wasn''t enough. He browsed over his memory. There were many skills and techniques to choose.


    They arrived and walked toward the entrance when Mingliang''s phone rang. He checked on the caller and quickly accepted the call, "Sari, where are you now?"


    "Hmm... okay... wait a minute.", Mingliang turned to Jim, "My friend is coming here. Is that okay?"


    Jim asked back, "The one you talked about when you need my permission to live in this house?"


    Mingliang nodded to affirm, and Jim refreshingly gave his permission, "Hmm, give me her description and name. I''ll tell my people to let her in."


    As they entered the house, Mingliang talked to Sari and gave her the address of the house, "Yeah, I''ll be waiting here."


    "Hmm..."


    "Yeah sure, there are fours of us here.", Mingliang turned to Jim and Anton, "You guys will have lunch here too right? She''ll stop by McD''s drive-through on her way to here."


    Anton gestured to Jim to answer his question, Jim scratched his chin, thinking for a second, "Okay, say thanks to her then."


    "Yup. 4 people.", Mingliang back to his phone and informed Sari.


    "Uh...", Mingliang turned again, "Any special order?"


    "Anything, just get us anything.", Jim quickly answered.


    "They said anything. Yeah. Thanks a lot."


    "Hmm... sure. Okay, see you later."


    Mingliang hung up the phone and turned to the other, ¡°She''ll be here in 30 to 40 minutes.¡±


    Anton slapped his shoulder, ¡°Alright, nice to have girlfriend huh?"


    Anton slapped his shoulder, ¡°Alright, nice to have girlfriend huh?"


    "She''s not my girlfriend.", Mingliang rolled his eyes. Throwing banter at each other, they got into the house. No police officers guard the house anymore. Forensic team had cleared up the house. Only the police line was left barring the house entrance.


    Mingliang asked Anton, "You will leave the house just like that?"


    Anton smiled, "You think we have men power to keep watching here for weeks? Besides whatever clue, there is, the forensic should already find it out."


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    Jim added, "Once in a while, someone would take a quick look during their patrol. It''s rare, but I''ll tell my men so they know about you."


    Looking at the room, Somad asked to Anton, "Will it be okay if we clean up the room."


    Anton hesitated, but then Mingliang got involve, "We can use other room. I''ll just create some array to control the flow of the energy. So it will move toward that room."


    "Hmm, that would be better.", Anton nodded and then he added, "Actually, we just need to get permission from the forensic team."


    Jim nodded, "You get it before this evening. So tomorrow we can get someone to clean up the room."


    "Okay, I got it.", Anton agreed right away.


    ¡°Also ask someone to check who has the right to this house.¡±, Jim added.


    ¡°Oh, I asked about it yesterday. Irwan is taking care about it now. Do we want to have lunch here?¡±, Anton looked around the room. The forensic team had cleaned the room. But it still had traces of the murder everywhere.


    Jim turned to Mingliang and Somad. They were the one who needed the room. Mingliang checked the time on his phone, "Sari should be here soon. You''re right, let''s wait for her somewhere else."


    They closed the door to the room, leaving the stench behind. Anton led them to the back porch. It has a long wooden table and bench, perfect for a small group of people to have lunch. The air was fresh. There was a small garden with a koi fish pond. Anton saw a pack of fish food next to it. He opened it and threw some for the fish. Somad watched them happily. He tried to feed them too and having fun watching them.


    Jim and Mingliang watched Anton and Somad played with the fish. Jim took a pack of cigarette out of his pocket and offered to Mingliang, "Want one?"


    Mingliang stared at it for a second before he shook his head, "No, and... I would appreciate it if you don''t. I can''t stand the smoke."


    Jim watched his cigarette and sighed. He took one and slipped it to his lips, but he didn''t light it though.


    Mingliang smiled, "Thanks."


    "Hm.", Jim nodded his head. There was a period of silence before he asked, "Do you have another lead? How''s the translation going?"


    "Another lead?", Mingliang turned to look at Jim''s expressionless face, staring at the garden, "No. Not for now."


    Mingliang observed Jim''s face, trying to guess what he had in mind, "You don''t believe me don''t you?"


    There was a hesitation before Jim answered, "I believe you."


    Mingliang fixed his eyes on him, Jim still looking at the garden, ignoring his stares and Mingliang laughed, "Hahaha, no you don''t. You don''t believe me."


    "Hey, don''t worry. I''m used to it.", Mingliang patted Jim''s back.


    "I know you''re not a con man, and I trust you...", Jim shrugged his shoulder.


    "But..., you think all I said is just some superstitious. Maybe I''m a bit delusional.", Mingliang resumed his words.


    "That''s right.", Jim nodded. Mingliang could see a corner of his mouth upward. They looked at each other and laughed.


    Jim held the cigarette with his fingers. He sighed and decided to put it back to its pack, "I don''t care whether it''s true or not, because I know these men believe in it. I learn how they think through you, and that will give me a chance to catch them. That''s what matters."


    Mingliang turned and looked at Anton and Somad, who pretended heard nothing. He turned back to Jim, "You know detective, we''ll have a better chance to stop it from happening if you believe me."


    "Stop the ritual? Stop the killing? I don''t see how it''s going to make a difference.", Jim shrugged his shoulder.


    "Stop the merge of two worlds. You don''t believe it. As long as you don''t, you won''t take it seriously enough, and we only have a slim chance to succeed.", Mingliang didn''t laugh this time.


    Jim heard the seriousness in his voice and turned to him. They stared at each other for a while, then slowly Jim took his gun and showed it to Mingliang, "We got this. We won''t hesitate to use it against murderers."


    Mingliang shook his head. He didn''t blame Jim, but he worried. Mingliang didn''t have the confidence to stop the merging of two worlds. Their enemies had gained support from many from supra-natural communities, while his allies didn''t even believe in it. A few months ago, he wouldn''t worry about it, but now, the situation was different. Just a couple of weeks ago, he would have no chance against a gun.


    ''But now..., Wait...?'', suddenly Mingliang got an idea.


    "Shoot me.", suddenly Mingliang turned to Jim.


    He got everyone''s attention. Jim frowned, "You know I can''t."


    "I''ll show you that you don''t stand a chance unless you believe me.", Mingliang stood in front of Jim.


    Anton and Somad couldn''t pretend anymore. They stopped playing with the fish and had their attention focused on Mingliang and Jim.


    "You don''t believe in supra-natural power. I want to show you that I can stand a bullet. If that can''t convince you, I don''t know what could.", Mingliang insisted.


    Anton stared at them two in horror. In the other hand, Somad watched it in excitement. He couldn''t wait to see how his teacher would blow their mind. Jim couldn''t hide his surprise for a few seconds, but he quickly got control over his expression.


    Jim snorted and shook his head, "You''re crazy. What if I shoot you? Then you bleed to death, and I''ll end up in prison for life for that."


    Mingliang held his hand forward, "Shoot my hand. I won''t die from it."


    Jim and Mingliang were staring at each other. No one could guess what was passing through Jim''s mind right now. Slowly Jim took his gun. His eyes never left Mingliang''s expression. He saw Mingliang calmly waited for him to shoot his hand. Anton wanted to stop Jim, but, he could not find a word to stop them when he saw their expression.


    Somad had full confidence in Mingliang, but he couldn''t help to have his heart beat faster.


    Jim put his gun''s muzzle, right on Mingliang''s hand. He pushed Mingliang''s hand slightly, so his bullet wouldn''t hit his body after passing through his hand.


    "Ready?", he calmly asked Mingliang.


    "Do it.", Mingliang nodded his head without hesitation. He would hesitate if Jim pointed his gun at his body. His skin might hold, but his bone might crack from the impact. It was different with his hand. There, he had the defensive runes etched in the skin, muscles, and bones.


    Anton saw that Jim was not bluffing and bumped Somad''s shoulder to get his attention.


    "Cover your ears.", said Anton to Somad, as he covered his ears.


    Somad turned and saw him covering his ears. The boy without any hesitation followed his example and quickly returned his attention to his teacher and Jim.


    Jim noticed it all from the corner of his eyes. There was a moment of hesitation, but when he saw Mingliang''s confidence, Jim knew he had to do it.


    "Bang !", without even a flinch, Jim pulled the trigger.

 Chapter XVIII. Special Force Unit.

    "Bang !", without even a flinch, Jim pulled the trigger.


    Mingliang could feel his energy absorbed by the runes. The force of the bullet was far above his expectation, but his Xuan Wu body held strong. Lucky for him, since he trained near the hole between two worlds, he had ample energy. He used the chance to see how much it took to hold against a shot. From the amount of energy, he probably would be able to stop about 30 rounds shot from Jim''s gun.


    He had little knowledge of guns, so he couldn''t figure out how much energy he would need to defend against other types.


    While he made a note of this new experience, Jim and Anton were staring in awe, and Somad was jumping excitedly.


    And Mingliang''s phone rang. He picked it up and accepted the call, "Hey."


    "Oh, you''re already in front. Just wait there, I''ll be there in a second."


    "Yeah, we''re inside. I''m on my way.", Mingliang threw the bullet to Somad, who deftly caught it, before walked away, leaving Anton and Jim staring at him.


    A several minutes later, Mingliang brought Sari in. He carried two big plastic bags of chickens, fried fries, rice, and soda. He found Anton and Jim were still looking at the bullet. Mingliang shook his head, "Hey..., that''s enough.


    He placed all the food in the table then introduced Sari to them So this is Sari, Sari, this is Detective Jim and Detective Anton."


    As soon as they greeted each other, Jim turned to Mingliang, "Can you show me that power once more?"


    "What power?", Sari looked around and saw Jim''s and Anton''s expression, tensed and excited. She turned to look at Somad grinning wide.


    "What have you done?", Sari turned to Mingliang, with her hand on her hips.


    Mingliang exchanged a look with Somad before grinned and replied, "Just a little demonstration."


    He then turned to Jim and held out his hand, "Be my guess."


    This time even Jim couldn''t keep his cool, he took his gun and pointed at Mingliang''s hand, "Ready?"


    "What are you doing?", Sari wanted to stop them, but Mingliang quickly grabbed her hand. She turned to look at their faces. There was a mix of excitement, nervousness, and anticipation, but no sign of hostility or anger.


    She didn''t stop them, but it was easy to see her trepidation. Her eyes kept moving between the gun, Mingliang, and Jim.


    "Hey, cover your ears.", Anton reminded her.


    Sari turned, she saw Anton and Somad already covering their ears. She followed their example, but her attention quickly returned to the gun and Mingliang.


    Jim focused his attention on Mingliang''s hand. He wondered if there was a trick to it. He couldn''t think of any, but if there was, he determined to find it.


    "Bang!", Jim pulled the trigger. He stared at Mingliang''s hand. He could see the bullet stopped for a split of second before it fell to the floor. His eyes followed it rolled on the floor.


    "Once more!", Jim frowned, he clenched his jaw and aimed once more.


    "Do it.", Mingliang calmly replied.


    "Bang!", Jim didn''t dare to blink, afraid of miss anything. Once more, the bullet stopped and then fell to the floor.


    All eyes looked at the bullet rolling on the floor. Sari watched in disbelief, her fist still clenched hard.


    "Don''t show off.", to release the tension in her heart, she punched Mingliang''s arm.


    "Hey, hey, be careful.", Mingliang worried she would get hurt, as the runes automatically activated.


    "Oh, good, so you''re a tough guy now, huh?", Sari pretended to be angry, but it was easy to see that she felt proud over Mingliang''s new toughness.


    Jim bent down and pushed the bullet around with his finger as if he wanted to make sure that it was the one he had shot before. With his finger, he could feel the heat of the bullet. He stood up and coughed, to get Mingliang''s attention.


    "This... is this what we''re going to face six months from now on?", Jim tried to put orders on all the questions inside your head.


    Mingliang was playfully roughing up Somad, who previously teased him and Sari. But Jim got his attention. Mingliang lifted his head and found Jim was looking at him with this grim expression on his face. While he, Sari and Somad were joking around, Jim and Anton couldn''t keep calm, thinking they would face enemies who had no fear to a gun.


    "That''s what I''m afraid of.", Mingliang nodded his head, he no longer joked around.


    "But why we never met something like this before? What keep you guys from using this power? How many people have power like you?", Anton flustered and intensely asked questions.


    "It''s what all these rituals do, isn''t it?", Jim quickly grasped the situation.


    "Yes, that''s what I''m trying to tell you.", Mingliang nodded his head.


    Jim sighed and weakly sat on the bench, "Yes. You''ve told me. More than once and I think you''re just delusional."


    Jim was losing his mind for some moments. He slowly sat on the bench, Anton sat next to him. Mingliang decided to leave them alone. He turned to Sari to tell her all she missed the last couple of days.


    Sari quietly listened, she slowly nodded her head, she believed in his judgment and asked, "What are we going to do now?"


    Mingliang without any hesitation replied, "We''ll fight."


    Somad nodded his head in spirit, "Yeah! We''ll fight! Right, Sis?"


    Sari smiled to the boy, "Yeah, sure you right."


    Then she turned to Mingliang with a frown on her face, "Do you think I can help? I know how to fight physically, but this kind of fight?"


    "I''ve thought about it. We have six months, and I''ll teach you something you can use within six months.", Mingliang patted her shoulder.


    "How about me, Teacher? Can I be ready in six months?", Somad asked hesitantly. He''d been excited about Mingliang''s demonstration and high in spirit. Nut after he heard Sari''s question, he was in doubt about his ability to help in the fight.


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    "Yes, I''ve thought about you too. For now, learn the basic in the book I gave you. Once you finish with that, I have something for you.", Mingliang rubbed the boy''s head.


    "Do you think, that''ll be enough to stop them?"


    Mingliang turned and found Jim was standing behind him. He shrugged his shoulder, "If it''s just the three of us, then the answer is no. But we got you too, right?"


    Anton stood from the bench and walked next to Jim, "But our guns are useless against you people."


    He wasn''t as depressed as Jim. Instead, there was a fire in his eyes, "Mingliang, could you teach me this stuff? Would you take me as your disciple? What should I do, to make you accept me? You will give tests, right? No problem. Somad told me all about it."


    Mingliang laughed when he saw his enthusiasm, "No test. I''ll teach you a skill or two. I''m glad you ask."


    Anton enthusiastically shouted, "Cool, you''re my man!"


    Somad slapped his back to get his attention. Anton turned to him and asked, "What?"


    "Now you have to call me First Big Brother Somad!", the boy grinned mischievously.


    Anton rolled his eyes, but then bowed playfully and called, "First Big Brother."


    They joked among them, and their laughter infected the other but Jim.


    Jim with a grim face put his hand on Mingliang''s shoulder. He looked Mingliang straight in his eyes, "That isn''t enough. Stop joking around."


    His voice was deep and rough. It caught everyone''s attention and set the mood to a serious and grim one, "There will be tens or maybe more people who have been practicing for years there. And what we got here?"


    "There''s you. Young but maybe a master.", he pointed at Mingliang.


    "And what? One disciple, barely a teenager. One female fighter, presumably a ferocious one. And one over-excited fanboy.", he pointed at Somad, Sari, and Anton one after another.


    "You won''t be joining us too?", Mingliang winked his left eyes playfully.


    Jim snorted, "You know I will and stop acting like it is just a game."


    Mingliang nodded and wiped the grin out of his face, "Sorry. Yes, it is not enough with just the five of us. But we still have a good chance at it."


    "You just saw me stood against few shots of your gun and you think I''m invincible against a gun, you''re wrong. I''m not. Every time a bullet hit me, to defend against it, consumes my qi. By my calculation, probably I could defend against 20-30 rounds of shot. And after that, I''m just as vulnerable as you."


    The knowledge slowly dawned on Jim, "Wait..., okay, good. I get it now."


    The information relieved him a bit, "How about those we''re going to fight against?"


    Mingliang smiled reassuringly, "Most likely, they''ll have different skills, techniques, and abilities, but the same principle still works. They need the energy to execute it, and you can exhaust their energy by bombards them with attacks."


    Mingliang quickly added, "But..., there will be many of them. There''s a good chance that some of them will be stronger than me. Many will be as strong as me. Some of their technique could easily disable normal people. They can create illusions, psychic attack, or I don''t know..."


    Slowly an idea was formed in Jim''s mind. He stared at Mingliang and spoke to him, word by word, "We should form a special unit, and you will be the leader. Teacher or Master, I don''t know how you like to call it."


    Everyone watched Mingliang closely. He didn''t answer right away. He hesitated and finally shook his head, "Your idea is good, but give me time to think."


    Jim raised his shoulder, "What''s the problem with that? You said you''ll train Anton. You already have one disciple and going to teach Sari too. What the difference between teaching them and teach another group of people?"


    Mingliang answered carefully, "I trust Somad and Sari. And despite I only know him for a couple of days, I believe I can trust Anton too."


    "But your plan is for me to teach my inheritance to a group of people I barely know. It''s different.", Mingliang shrugged his shoulder apologetically.


    "I know you''ll worry about what they would do with the skills you taught them. That''s why you''ll be the leader, the commander of this special unit. It can''t guarantee there won''t be any miss-conduct on their part, but you''ll have control over that.", Jim quickly answered.


    Mingliang still shook his head, "I don''t know. I''m not rejecting your idea, I''ll think about it. Can you guarantee that I''ll have 100% control over the unit?"


    There was a pause before Jim replied, "I''ll do my best. I know some people in the upper echelon. I can''t guarantee 100%, but I think I can pull it off. And if they don''t agree with it, you could always reject the deal."


    "I need to choose them personally too. You can send candidates, but I''ll have the final decision.", Mingliang added.


    "Of course, no problem.", Jim confidently nodded his head.


    He quickly added, "Remember, you can''t do this alone. You need help. We could try to get help from people like Wisnu, but as you can see already, they''re reluctant to fight against these group of murderers. Some even decided to help. I can give you the allies you need to fight them. They''ll learn from you, study from you and fight under your lead."


    Mingliang still hesitated, he walked back and forth, while the other waited for his decision. Finally, he shook his head, "Give me some time to think..., I''ll think about it tonight, tomorrow I''ll give you my answer."


    Jim didn''t seem satisfied, "We can help you without your training, but think how many casualties we''re going to sacrifice without proper preparation?"


    Mingliang let out a long breath. He stopped and looked straight to Jim, "I know, but even if I accept your proposal, it''s impossible to train a large number of people effectively."


    "You got six months, how many people you think you can train effectively in six months?", Jim asked back.


    Mingliang rubbed the stubble on his chin and carefully answered, "Maybe fifty... a hundred at most. They have to be dedicated and have the talent in it."


    Jim shrugged his shoulder, "No problem, so we''ll get two hundred maybe. Give them preliminary rounds of training, then get the top one hundred out of them."


    Mingliang closed his eyes and slowly massaged his forehead. It never crossed his mind, that he would in less than a week, from a nobody, suddenly got to bear such an opportunity. It was a great opportunity but a heavy responsibility as well.


    He looked around, to Sari and Somad, he could see how they were proud of him in their eyes.


    He turned to Jim and saw the expectation in his eyes. Mingliang''s eyes turned firm, "Tomorrow, I''ll give you my answer tomorrow."


    Jim saw the determination in his eyes and satisfied with that, "Okay, so... tomorrow?"


    Mingliang smiled, "Yeah. Tomorrow I''ll give you my answer."


    Sari clapped her hands, "Okay, that''s enough, enough of talking. Let''s have lunch now."


    Sari broke their discussion, she already unpacked and arranged the food she bought on the table.


    "Yeah, that'' right. My stomach already scream for food for hours now.", Anton rubbed his tummy and walked to the bench to sit and waited for the other to gather.


    "I get a chicken leg, who get breast? Anyone want to swap with me?", Anton checked his box and looked around.


    Somad opened his box and found he got a chicken breast. He raised his hand, "I got one here, swap with me, swap with me."


    Now that they had some plan, the atmosphere became less depressing. Jim walked to join them, and Mingliang patted his shoulder, "Tomorrow. I''ll give you my answer tomorrow."

 Chapter XIX. Saris Choice.

    Jim and Anton didn''t stay for long after the lunch. At first, Anton wanted to stay and started his first practice as soon as possible. Mingliang finally sent him away, after taught him simple meditation to practice on his own.


    Jim and Anton didn''t stay for long after the lunch. At first, Anton wanted to stay and started his first practice as soon as possible. Mingliang finally sent him away, after taught him simple meditation to practice on his own.


    As soon as Jim drove his car away, a black shadow flew out of Sari''s bracelet and slammed to Mingliang''s cheek. It was too fast, none of them reacted quick enough to stop it. Somad almost screamed from the surprise. Mingliang, on the other hand, wasn''t flustered at all. Because he knew it was going to happen and he knew what the shadow was.


    A little black snake was rubbing Mingliang''s cheek. It flew around Mingliang and from time to time, rubbed itself to Mingliang. Just like a puppy who met its long gone master.


    "Black Jade! You scared me.", Somad shouted, both to relieve the tension in his chest and his happiness to see the little snake again.


    The snake turned to look at him then flew to the boy. It settled on his shoulder.


    Sari laughed and shook her head, feeling a bit jealous. It wasn''t clear though, who was the subject of her jealousy. She turned around to look at the house, she was going to live in probably for the next six months, "Yo..., what an exciting place. Murder, the gate to the devil''s empire and..., what''s that smell?"


    Mingliang reflexively replied, "Oh, that''s..."


    Good thing he caught Sari stared at him and stopped, "...uh... do you really want to know?"


    Sari rolled her eyes, "No, don''t want to even think about it. Can''t we clean it now? Do we have to live with that smell all the time? Six months?"


    "No, the detective said we could clean them, but I said that it''s not necessary, so maybe I better confirm it with him again.", Mingliang quickly replied.


    "Well, hurry, hurry, call them.", Sari waved around her hand.


    Somad giggled, as he watched their banter. Mingliang quickly made the call. A few minutes later, they were busy scrubbing and cleaning the room where the murder happened. Sari went out to buy air freshener, rice, and other food ingredients to fill the refrigerator. At first, she wanted to help with the cleaning, but Mingliang insisted that he would do it without her.


    Black Jade, went along with Sari and resided inside her bracelet. Mingliang had infused the bracelet with some spiritual energy for the snake to absorb. And Black Jade happily slept inside to enjoy it.


    Two hours passed by, considering the room size, two hours was too long to clean it up. But Mingliang and Somad scrubbed every inch and corners diligently. And even after that, still, faintly they could smell the putrid odor left.


    "Teacher, can''t you draw a rune to clear the air?", Somad sprawled on the floor.


    "Hmm... magic is not a shortcut. The same principle applied to all things, including magic. It doesn''t make things easier or harder, it just one of many roads.", Mingliang stretched his lower back.


    "Yo. It''s not so bad. Just leave the windows and doors opened for a while.", Sari greeted, she just arrived from the market.


    "Look what I got here? I bought ingredients for oxtail soup. I''ll cook for our dinner today.", Sari showed a bag filled with food ingredients.


    Black Jade flew out of the bracelet and rested on Mingliang''s shoulder. She liked the bracelet, but prefer to stay close to Mingliang whenever possible.


    "Yay! Oxtail soup! Sister Sari is the best.", Somad jumped and ran to take a look.


    "Hey, you need a hand there?", Mingliang came over too.


    "Nah, you two have worked hard, now wash your hands and get some rest. I just made a fried banana and tea. You can find it on the back porch.", Sari laughed, she pushed them away, then walked to the kitchen.


    She busily prepared the ingredients, boiled the oxtail and unconsciously she hummed a song as she cooked. Suddenly she blushed.


    ¡°Pa!¡±, She slapped her face.


    She shook her head, with her hand on her hips, she scolded herself, "Oh silly girl. What the hell are you thinking?"


    She took a deep breath and suddenly shadow boxed for a couple of minutes. Her body waved left and right, her hands flashed around, jabbing and striking in combination. When she stopped, she felt much better.


    She was lightly slapping her cheeks, "Yeah! work, work, work."


    Quickly she was back to cooking.


    Meanwhile, at the back porch, Mingliang and Somad were enjoying the fried banana and tea. Once in a while, Somad drew a rune randomly in the air and a ball of energy formed around the rune. Black Jade would quickly fly and gulped the ball.


    Mingliang watched Somad playing with Black Jade. He felt happy and proud. He never taught Somad how to do it, but out of his creativity and understanding, Somad came up with the idea, to create a small ball of gentle energy. The rune based on the one he used to draw for Black Jade''s resting place. But Somad made some modification, now, it was in the form of balls and floated on the air.


    "Teacher, can you teach me the skill you use to defend against the gun?", Somad turned to Mingliang. While he waited for an answer, he checked the banana on the plate and decided to take one.


    Mingliang shook his head, he took a bite and chewed it slowly. Somad had to wait for a while before he explained, "You''re too young to practice it."


    "The technique is called Xuan Wu body. It has nine levels. In principle what you do, is to etch a defensive rune, on your body. There were many ways in designing the runes, to make it into one complete array. Depend on your creativity and understanding, one person might have a better result compared to the other."


    "Can''t you help me to design it?", Somad asked.


    Mingliang laughed, "Of course I can. But first, who knows maybe if you learn all the basics well enough. Maybe you can design better than me."


    "And second, your body is still growing and changing. The best design today might become a weakness later."


    "Oh... I see...", the boy spoke in low spirited.


    Mingliang messed his hair, "Hey, what is this. It''s not like you at all."


    Somad laughed and restored some of his spirits. He then said, "Yeah... I want to help you in that battle. I want to grow stronger."


    "Have you forgot what I said earlier? Quickly learn all the basics in the book I gave you. After that, I''ll teach you something you can use in that battle. Yes, I won''t put you in front, but doesn''t mean your role is not important.", Mingliang flicked the boy''s forehead.


    "What my role would be?", Somad''s interest was growing.


    Mingliang laughed, "Hmm..., it''s like a playmaker in football. You will support us during the fight, just like how you feed balls of energy for Black Jade. You can draw runes that make us move faster, restore our energy, heal some injuries, and many others."


    "Oh, I know! It''s just like a team in RPG. I''ll act as the priest. Hmm..., Sister Sari is a knight and how about you Teacher?", the boy now was excited.


    "Hahaha, okay then, I will be the black mage. I can do a long range attack and AOE.", Mingliang jokingly replied.


    Sari came out and joined them. She only caught the last part of their conversation. With her hand on hip, she laughed and asked, "It seems, I was missing something important. So what my role in your party?"


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "Sister Sari! You''ll be the knight!", Somad replied enthusiastically.


    Sari pulled on Mingliang''s ear and jokingly grumbled, "Oh great, so you want me to act as a meat shield? My dear Mr. Black Mage."


    Somad laughed as the couple did their old routines. When they passed it, Sari joined them in enjoying the snacks and asked, "So have you thought about forming the special unit?"


    Mingliang nodded, "To tell the truth, Detective Jim convinced me. But I want to get time to think about it on my own. I don''t want to teach wrong people who will miss-use it later."


    "You can slowly judge their character and teach accordingly. Until you find someone you trust, you can teach defensive skills and techniques first. Something they can''t use to hurt other.", Sari suggested.


    "Hmm... that''s my plan too.", Mingliang replied.


    "So what makes you still hesitate?", she asked.


    Mingliang raised his hand above his head and stretched, "I worry more about the responsibility. What if I mess everything? I never learn how to lead."


    Sari looked him deeply, "You always say that you can''t get a decent life because you choose to preserve your family''s inheritance. Now you have the chance to do it and build your career at the same time. Every change in life are scary, but you won''t progress further without one. Even the word progress itself indicates a change."


    Mingliang carefully digested Sari''s words. There was a hint of her disappointment between the lines. He faintly understood what she meant. Gently he held her hand and nodded, "I understand. This chance I will not waste it."


    For a while, Sari couldn''t reply. She pulled her hand away and wiped her eyes. Mingliang felt a bit guilty when he remembered their past. He patted her shoulder, "This could be something temporary. I mean, if we succeed, there''s a good chance that they don''t need this special unit anymore."


    Sari punched his shoulder. This time, Mingliang just laughed, "Don''t worry. I''ll do my best. At worst, it''s a six months contract. As a bonus, it''s a good free advertisement."


    "Good, if you dare to spout any other negative statements, I''ll punch you right on your nose.", Sari finally got over her emotion and giggled.


    They were looking at each other for a while. Somad secretly watched to see how they would progress, but it didn''t go any further. They started talking about how Mingliang should arrange the program.


    Somad quietly rolled his eyes and secretly muttered to himself, ''Duh..., feels like I need to check the calendar. Do we live in 1700 or something?''


    Neither Sari or Mingliang noticed the boy''s reaction. They were busy planning for the next six months. Sari especially concerned with her training, since she had little knowledge in cultivation.


    "I understand why you want me to take the fighter role, and I have confidence in my close range fighting skill. But we''re facing people with supra-natural power here, and we only have six months.", she told Mingliang of her worries.


    "I know. Time is the problem, but you''re not as hopeless as you thought. In your martial art training, don''t you do meditation too?", Mingliang responded.


    "Yes, we do. It''s good training for concentration, mental toughness and controlling my emotion.", Sari answered. She raised her eyebrows threateningly when she saw Mingliang''s lips twitched when she mentioned about controlling her emotion.


    Somad secretly giggled, he wasn''t disturbing them too and busied himself having a friendly spar with Black Jade.


    After some jokes and passes, they began to discuss it again seriously. Mingliang told Sari his plan for her, "First, I will help you to open your meridians and activate your chakras. I can teach you many techniques, without energy it''s useless."


    Sari nodded, "I understand, you told me about it many times."


    "Hmm... now that we can practice near the gate, I believe you will quickly catch up with me. Aside from that, you need to practice techniques that strengthen your physical body.", Mingliang continued.


    Sari quietly thought about it before nodded, "I understand. Even if they have supra-natural power, a strong physical attack still work on them. How about the technique you''re using against that detective''s gun? Or is that just a defensive technique?"


    "That technique...", Mingliang hesitated a bit, but when he thought about it, actually Xuan Wu body probably would fit Sari''s well.


    "Hmm..., that technique, indeed could strengthen your physical body. In principle, it uses array techniques on our body. The first three levels involve etching runes to skin, muscle, and bones. Once we complete all three levels, it would boost our defense, speed, and strength."


    "Next five levels will etch runes to the internal organs, digestion system, liver, heart, lung, and kidney. It boosts your physical energy, endurance, explosive power, and even longevity."


    "The last two levels are about etching runes to spinal cord and brain. It will strengthen and upgrade the nervous system. You''ll have a faster reaction, faster computation, and such, compared to normal people."


    "Xuan Wu body main goal is to reach the pinnacle and even beyond, of what our physical body could be.", Mingliang concluded his explanation.


    Sari and Somad listened attentively. Especially Somad who wanted to learn the technique ever since he saw Mingliang could stand against gun easily.


    Sari worried, "That sounds complicated. Do you think I can master the technique in six months?"


    Mingliang smiled encouragingly, "It won''t be easy, but why do you think you have to complete them all in six months? Even if you only complete it partially, it still a boost to your physical ability. At this moment, I only finished the first layer, my skin. And then I etched for the muscles and bones in my arm and leg."


    There was a twinkle in Sari''s eyes, "Oh, I see..."


    "But..., you need to learn how to draw a rune first. I can help to design the rune for you, but you need to etch the runes yourself.", Mingliang a bit hesitated to reply.


    "How long it takes, to learn how to draw a rune?", Sari frowned.


    "Well, it depends on talent. And runes for Xuan Wu body is quite complex too.", Mingliang scratched his head awkwardly.


    "You''re talking about that now? Should say that earlier!", she punched him again.


    Mingliang laughed silly, "Well, who knows? Maybe you have talent drawing runes."


    "Any plan B?", Sari wasn''t interested at Xuan Wu body anymore.


    "Hmm.. of course, actually this is Plan A, there is another technique to temper our physical body. I plan to offer you this one. It is much more simple for the practitioner, but require strong will, because during the process you will have to bear enormous pain.", Mingliang turned serious.


    Sari waved her hand, "I don''t have problem bearing pain. How strong this compared to the one you practiced?"


    Mingliang nodded satisfied with her reply, "I know you will say that. It offers less improvement in speed and power but focuses more on improving toughness. In defense, depending on how much you can endure the process, it could be stronger than mine."


    Sari raised her eyebrows, "Hah! So you do treat me as a meat shield."


    She quickly turned serious and asked, "Based on your calculation, how long it takes for each plan?"


    Mingliang tried to explain as clear as possible, "With Xuan Wu body, your biggest challenge is to master how to draw a rune. From learning the basic to the necessary level, you''ll need at least three months. I can help you with designing the array, and then you''ll spend another month to complete up until the third layer of Xuan Wu body. At the same time, you also need to gather qi into your dantian."


    Sari quietly listened until Mingliang finished his explanation, "So there is a good chance that I will spend six months, just to master it up to level three?"


    Mingliang nodded, "Yes. Depend on your talent we might have time to learn other skill before six months."


    "How about your first plan?", Sari asked.


    "Hmm, the technique I''m about to offer is called Wuxing Shan Bi (Reforming Five Element Mountain). It based on the story Journey to the west. When Buddha trapped and imprisoned Sun Wukong, the monkey king in five element mountain. After I teach you how to gather qi into your dantian, I will draw five seals, and all you have to do is practicing the qi gathering technique inside them. The longer you stay, the stronger you will be. But you only have one chance, once you stop then it''s over.", Mingliang explained the second technique.


    Mingliang added, "Actually, it doesn''t matter whether you''re gathering qi, or do something else. As long as you stay inside."


    Sari asked to confirm something, "So, if you taught me other techniques, then I can practicing it too and practicing the Five Element Mountain at the same time?"


    Mingliang nodded his head, "Yes, you''re right."


    Sari nodded, "I understand now, why that''s your first plan. With that technique, I can do two things at the same time."


    "So what''s your choice?", Mingliang nodded to confirm and then asked her decision.

 Chapter XX. The True Successor.

    "There is no need to consider any further. Let''s go with the Five Element whatever plan one. But teach me several techniques before we start. I want something that improves my attack strength and variation.", Sari without any hesitation decided.


    "Hmm..., actually with your martial art skill. Once you can imbue qi into your body, it will instantly improve your power. It takes practice to master it, but I think with your experience practicing a martial art, you''ll be quickly master the skill.", Mingliang replied confidently.


    There was a spark in Sari''s eyes when she heard that, "Good, let''s do it."


    "Now?", Mingliang was taken aback by Sari''s response.


    "Yes, now. What are we waiting for?", She raised her eyebrows.


    "Ah, okay. First, I''ll help you to open your meridians and activate your Chakras.", Mingliang hastily replied and then turned to Somad, "Somad, you know what to do?"


    Somad nodded his head, "Yes, Teacher. I will focus on mastering all the runes in the book you gave me. Teacher, can Black Jade accompany me?"


    Mingliang gave it a thought for a second then nodded, "Okay, Black Jade stays with you."


    "And how about me?", Sari stood up from the bench in high spirit.


    Mingliang was in high spirit too, but for a few seconds, he hesitated, "We... uh, will be better if we go to one of the room here. We should prevent disturbance as much as we could."


    "...eh... in a room... just the two of us?", Sari flustered and lost her stance for a moment. Her face was blushing now.


    "Yeah... that''s if you''re okay with it.", Mingliang cursed himself since now it sounded ambiguous.


    Sari coughed to clear her throat that suddenly dry, "Ahem... sure it''s okay. It''s nothing. It''s not like, I never been in a room with you before."


    "Of course. Yeah. Okay let''s get started.", With broken words, Mingliang quickly concluded their conversation and went inside. Sari followed closely behind. Somad already ran inside and practiced in the room where the energy was abundant.


    Mingliang picked a bedroom randomly. He checked the condition, and it seemed fine for what they were going to do. He waited for Sari to follow, and closed the door after she joined in.


    "What should I do now?", Sari looked around the room.


    At first, they felt awkward about the situation, but as soon as their mind turned to cultivation, they quickly focused about their training and easily got rid all the distracting thoughts.


    "First, I''ll teach you how to absorb qi from the air around you, circulate it, turn it into your energy using certain Chakras and then gather it in your dantian.", Mingliang started his explanation.


    Then, Mingliang began to teach her step by step. After each step, he would ask Sari to give it a try. Sometimes he would help to clear a meridian. Slowly Sari got the hang of it, and a few hours later, she could do it on her own. After several rounds of circulation on her own, Sari opened her eyes and let out a long breath.


    "How do you feel?", Mingliang asked. He had been staying there patiently to watch over her.


    Sari had a deep frown as she explained, "I can feel it run through my meridians. Faintly I could feel each meridian and chakra work in me. I''ve been practicing martial-art for years. Qi felt different back then. Why is that?"


    Mingliang smiled, "Probably, because what you felt back then isn''t qi at all."


    She raised her eyebrows, and he elaborated, "Back then, there wasn''t much energy in this world. Without assistance, people couldn''t get enough qi to open their meridians and chakras. But through meditation and usually your senses and awareness are heightened. You begin to feel all the sensation in your physical body."


    "As your focus moved from one part to another, your awareness moved too. It gives an illusion of energy moving inside your body."


    "Then all that effort is for nothing? Why you never told me this?", Sari felt a bit disappointed.


    "No, it''s not wasted. It helps your practice now. You already develop your concentration and awareness. Make it easier to practice, when you have a real qi to gather and process.", Mingliang comforted her.


    "Hm..., you haven''t explained, why you never tell me?", She didn''t want to let him passed easily.


    Mingliang smiled, "Because back then, I don''t see any reason why you have to cultivate. Look, as you''re cultivating qi, it''s like upgrading your engine. Imagine what happened when you have a powerful engine without energy resource? At times, it becomes a burden more than a convenience."


    "I see..., is that why many cultivators support their attempt to break the seal?", Sari pondered.


    "Most likely, yes. Especially old cultivators who had lived for more than a hundred years. They''re running out of life energy. Probably, they feel like a fish who was thrown on land, dying, gasping for breath.", Mingliang shrugged his shoulder.


    "Your father...?", Sari hesitated, she remembered, how hard it was for Mingliang''s father before his death.


    Mingliang nodded, "Yes, it is known for many people. Those who are practicing will be having a hard time on their death bed. The technique both keep their life but also a burden."


    "Most people would relieve themselves from the technique. Sometimes another practitioner would help them to destroy it from their body. But my father didn''t have the heart to do it.", Mingliang''s eyes looked to the distance.


    "Because he learned it from your grandfather...?", Sari carefully asked.


    "Yes, because it''s part of my grandfather''s legacy.", Mingliang turned to her and smiled.


    "How about you? What will happen to you later? I know you well, you will never destroy your inheritance. Now..., now you even dive deeper into cultivation, more than your father.", Sari worried about him now.


    "Hahaha, I''m fine, I still have years to live. Don''t give me any bad luck, alright.", Mingliang laughed it off.


    "Don''t laugh at it! Don''t you think, this is your chance to live normally? Not just that, but if you let the seal broke, your life will turn into a better one. You''ll be..., a superhero.", Sari frustrated by Mingliang''s negative attitude toward life.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Mingliang''s expression turned cold. His words were calm but cold, "Don''t tempt me. Life is suffering. Everyone has something they have to bear. What makes them different is, some people are willing to sacrifice others to alleviate their own. Some people try carefully not to hurt others, as they struggle with their suffering. And at the other end, some people are willing to sacrifice themselves to alleviate other''s suffering."


    Sari never saw him angry at her before. She was stuttering as she tried to apologize, "Sorry... I..."


    Mingliang''s expression softened, he gently patted her shoulder, "It''s okay. I know you worry about me."


    "But there are things more important than life itself.", he didn''t explain any further, but for a moment Sari could feel his presence filled the room almost overbearing. The pressure gradually subsided, Mingliang sighed and turned to Sari, "For now, try to practice the technique. This time I will help you to clear out your meridians."


    Sari gladly changed the topic. She complied and began to focus on gathering the qi around her. Mingliang put his hand above her head and slowly guided his qi to help Sari clearing and strengthening her meridians. Just as a clogged pipe cleared out, she felt energy flowed through her meridians smoothly.


    She was enjoying the feeling when she heard Mingliang spoke, "You can keep practicing. That''s all I can do for you. Now, it''s left to you to train your energy system. Just like you train your muscles, the more you make it work, the stronger it will be. But don''t excessively force it beyond its strength, because you can injured yourself instead."


    She felt Mingliang left the room. For a moment she lost her concentration, but quickly she regained it and continued her practice. Meanwhile, Mingliang went to the source of all energy in that house, the gate to the other world, and found Somad and Black Jade training there.


    To his pleasure, the boy diligently performed drawing one rune after another, flawlessly and smoothly. He didn''t disturb the boy but quietly watched from the side. Black Jade leisurely fluttered and rested on his shoulder, chirped some greeting. Her days of socializing with human, made her learn human''s behavior more and more. Mingliang could recognize some words from her.


    When he thought of their first encounter, who would expect her to behave like today?


    Mingliang remembered a passage in one of his book and softly whispered to the snake, "Black Jade, here is a chant and a spiritual law. You listen and remember it well. Once you memorized it, go to meditate over and practice it diligently, there will be the time when you can transform into a person."


    Then slowly Mingliang told Black Jade, the chant and the law. The young demon snake listened reverently. Mingliang patiently repeated it four times before she memorized it completely. The snake rubbed herself to his cheek gently, before fluttered to a corner and then meditate over the law.


    Mingliang turned his attention back to Somad. Now, the boy was practicing the last part of the book. He hadn''t completely mastered the runes. Sometimes he failed, but he would just start over, unceasingly.


    Toward his only disciple, Mingliang had no complains at all. He felt grateful that fate led the boy to him.


    Mingliang patiently watched the boy practicing. At some point, he approached the boy and patted his shoulder, "That''s enough. Have some rest first. Trying too much could be just as bad as not trying enough."


    The boy let out a long breath, his forehead filled with beads of sweat and his clothes wet from perspiration. Turning to his teacher, the boy valiantly spoke, "Teacher, I think I could master all the basic runes within a week."


    "A week? Ha. That''s such a brave words boy. I''ll see how you''re doing a week from now.", Mingliang laughed and punched the boy lightly on his shoulder.


    "Hehee, Teacher, you want a bet?", the boy grinned mischievously.


    "Not a chance. I will never bet against sly little monkey like you.", Mingliang flicked Somad''s forehead as usual.


    Before the boy could throw another word, Mingliang put his finger on his lips, "No more joking. Meditate, let your body and spirit relaxed. After that, we''ll have some serious discussion."


    Somad obeyed it at once. Mingliang didn''t have to tell him twice. The boy quickly adjusted his mood and sat on the floor. He closed his eyes and started meditating. Within seconds, his breath became long and smooth, his whole body relaxed, his expression softened. Mingliang sat in front of him, patiently waited for the boy to finish.


    After nearly 10 minutes, Somad ended his meditation, he opened his eyes and found Mingliang was waiting for him. The boy then patiently waited for his teacher to speak.


    "Kid, I have decided to accept the detective''s proposal. Which means I will teach some of our inheritance to other people.", Mingliang began.


    "However, I will teach only its basic and superficial knowledge. My only true disciple and the only successor of our legacy is you. On your shoulder, I will put a great burden. We don''t know what will happen, six months from now on. You must listen to each of my commands. If I command you to leave, then you''ll have to leave immediately. No question. No complaints. Not even waste a second to stay there."


    "Do you understand?", Mingliang stared down at Somad solemnly.


    There were a few seconds when Somad hesitated, but when he saw Mingliang''s stern face, he held the words he was going to say. He bit his lips and nodded.


    Mingliang''s expression relaxed, "Good, you have given me your word, and I trust you to keep it."


    "Somad, now I will give you a trial, a challenge as the true successor of our lineage. Tomorrow, we''ll return to my room to take all my belongings, books and sacred items. You will be its keeper from now on. I will tell you about each one of them."


    "And when Detective Jim comes with the men to form that special unit. You will be their instructor."


    "What? Me? I''ll be the one instructing them?", Somad stood up, jumped from the floor, his eyes wide opened.


    "Yes, why? You have any problem?", Mingliang smiled, but his eyes stared at the boy sharply.


    Somad took a deep breath. He watched Mingliang for a few seconds. He saw his teacher wasn''t joking with him. He gritted his teeth and then nodded, "If that''s a task from you, Teacher, then I will do it."


    "Good, I know you won''t disappoint me.", Mingliang stood up and patted the boy''s shoulder.


    "Now, go to sleep. Your body needs a rest too.", Mingliang gently pushed the boy toward the door.


    "Okay Teacher, I''ll go to rest first.", the boy slightly bowed to Mingliang then left the room.


    Mingliang watched him left the room and secretly sighed. He showed confidence to everyone, but deep inside he had no confidence at all. He just knew that not trying would be the worst decision. They had a slim chance, but it was still a chance.


    He sat on the floor on full lotus position and closed his eyes. Carefully he observed the runes in his body. Slowly he began to etch more runes, completing his 2nd and 3rd layer of Xuan Wu body. For now, he didn''t think any other distracting thoughts.


    Little did he knew, online, the thread he started on the forum, began to get new posts. Reports from many other members slowly filled the thread.

 <Incomplete Chapter XXI> A short break

    To you who read this story, thanks a lot for following this story.


    I need a short break since I''m facing a big project in my real life. I''ll try my best, to update at least once a week. And hopefully, within a month or two, I could back to my usual pace 1 upload/3days.


    Thanks for all your support. I know I still lack many good qualities as a writer. Your reviews, comments, rates, favorites and follows, encourage me to keep writing.


    Below is part of Chapter XXI that is still in proccess.


    Best regard,


    Han


    Incomplete Chapter XXI


    The next day, all three went to see each other at the back porch. Each greeted the day with a different emotion. Somad was tense and anxious from the sudden great responsibility on his shoulder. Mingliang as always hid his concern well under his laidback disposition. While Sari was in high spirit, still indulged in her new experience in cultivating the qi.


    Mingliang found her, punching and kicking on the backyard. He could induce Qi within each movement.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    He must admit, that Sari had a talent in practicing a martial art. He looked around and found Somad, sitting on the bench with his eyes wandered. Mingliang didn''t try to console him. He watched Sari and Somad for a while, then went to the kitchen to prepare a simple breakfast for them all.


    About an hour later, they were having breakfast together. After that, Mingliang didn''t wait for Jim and Anton, he and Sari left with her car, to get his belongings from his rented room, while Somad waited for Jim and Anton alone.


    Nothing important was happening that day, until about lunchtime, when Jim and Anton came to visit.


    Mingliang and Sari already returned and kept all Mingliang''s important belonging in one of the room. They packed them inside one big old leather suitcase.


    Mingliang, Sari, and Somad were going to have lunch when Jim and Anton came.


    "Look, my luck is always good. In my previous life, I must have been a good person.", Anton laughed and greeted everyone warmly. Without any hesitation, he picked a position on the bench and took an empty plate. Eager to wait for his turn to scoop the rice.


    Jim sat next to him, but he paid no attention to all the food served on the table. After shortly greeted Sari and Somad, his attention turned to Mingliang, without any greeting, he jumped directly to the point, "So, what''s your answer?"


    Mingliang knew he would ask, and he already had the answer prepared, "Yes and no. I agree to lead the unit, but I don''t personally teach them. Somad is my only true disciple. He will be the one who''ll teach them all they need to know."


    "Somad !?", Anton stared the boy in disbelief.


    Jim said nothing, but he was taken aback too, it showed on his expression, "Are you sure about this?"


    Mingliang nodded without any hesitation, "Yes, six months isn''t enough for them to learn anything advanced and Somad already knew all the basics. Don''t worry, I''ll check on their progress from time to time. I might personally teach a skill or two when I see fit."


    <unfinished>

 Chapter XXI. A pressure that turned coal to diamond. (A complete chapter)

    The next day, all three went to see each other at the back porch. Each greeted the day with a different emotion. Somad was tense and anxious from the sudden great responsibility on his shoulder. Mingliang as always hid his concern well under his laidback disposition. While Sari was in high spirit, still indulged in her new experience in cultivating the qi.


    Mingliang found her, punching and kicking on the backyard. He could induce Qi within each movement.


    He must admit, that Sari had a talent in practicing a martial art. He looked around and found Somad, sitting on the bench with his eyes wandered. Mingliang didn''t try to console him. He watched Sari and Somad for a while, then went to the kitchen to prepare a simple breakfast for them all.


    About an hour later, they were having breakfast together. After that, Mingliang didn''t wait for Jim and Anton, he and Sari left with her car, to get his belongings from his rented room, while Somad waited for Jim and Anton alone.


    Nothing important was happening that day, until about lunchtime, when Jim and Anton came to visit.


    Mingliang and Sari already returned and kept all Mingliang''s important belonging in one of the room. They packed them inside one big old leather suitcase.


    Mingliang, Sari, and Somad were going to have lunch when Jim and Anton came.


    "Look, my luck is always good. In my previous life, I must have been a good person.", Anton laughed and greeted everyone warmly. Without any hesitation, he picked a position on the bench and took an empty plate. Eager to wait for his turn to scoop the rice.


    Jim sat next to him, but he paid no attention to all the food served on the table. After shortly greeted Sari and Somad, his attention turned to Mingliang, without any greeting, he jumped directly to the point, "So, what''s your answer?"


    Mingliang knew he would ask, and he already had the answer prepared, "Yes and no. I agree to lead the unit, but I don''t personally teach them. Somad is my only true disciple. He will be the one who''ll teach them all they need to know."


    "Somad !?", Anton stared the boy in disbelief.


    Jim said nothing, but he was taken aback too, it showed on his expression, "Are you sure about this?"


    Mingliang nodded without any hesitation, "Yes, six months isn''t enough for them to learn anything advanced and Somad already knew all the basics. Don''t worry, I''ll check on their progress from time to time. I might personally teach a skill or two when I see fit."


    "I hope you take this unit seriously.", Jim didn''t hide his dissatisfaction. His eyes stared straight at Mingliang.


    Mingliang genially returned the stare. He didn''t wince at all and calmly answered, "I do."


    For a few seconds, both men stared at each other. Mingliang did his best to show his determination and seriousness. Jim did his best to read the truth behind it. After a while, Jim''s face softened, and he nodded, "Okay, I trust you."


    "I believe you already know, but I have to remind you, people won''t like it. You and Somad, are going to face some challenge. And I don''t blame them for it.", he added.


    Mingliang grinned and patted on Somad''s shoulder, "I believe in my disciple."


    Unlike his usual mischievous grin, Somad showed a reluctant smile. The boy had been thinking all the time since Mingliang entrusted him with the responsibility. A part of him was proud for the trust. There was another part of him who disappointed at his teacher''s decision. Somad didn''t understand, why Mingliang seemed to plan a suicide mission. Even worse, he dragged Sari who loved him in that mission. While at the same time, for the sake of keeping the inheritance alive, he asked him to escape.


    The boy was confused. There was a conflict in his mind, between his respect toward his Teacher and his disappointment at his Teacher''s priority, that put the inheritance over everything, including his life and the life of the woman he loved.


    Anyone could see the responsibility weighed on his mind, without knowing the real reason behind his silence. Sari gently patted his back. But Mingliang who usually comforted the boy, this time showed no sympathy at all. They ended up eating their lunch in awkward silence.


    "I''ve talked with the family who will own this house. They agree to sell it to the government. After what happened here in the house, they have no interest to keep it anyway.", Anton broke the silence.


    Jim nodded, "He''s right. Considering the nature of this house, I have contacted and convinced several people above. They would like to meet you and see you demonstrate your power, but in principle, they agree to support us. This house will be your special unit''s main base."


    Sari frowned, "This house is quite spacious compared to its neighbor, but I don''t see how you would put a hundred of people here?"


    Jim nodded, "That''s true, I have discussed it. They asked me to bring Mingliang to meet them. I''m afraid I overestimate my influence, they don''t agree to form such a large unit."


    Sari seemed dissatisfied. She ignored Somad''s relieved face, "How come? We''re facing a real emergency here. How many are they willing to invest in this special unit?"


    Jim calmly finished his last spoon, "Hmm, they might not see, what you see. I wouldn''t surprise, to find someone among them might see it as an opportunity instead. You weren''t there if you were there, then you might think some of them are part of this act of terrorism."


    Sari looked disappointed and had a hard time to believe what she just heard. Jim''s sharp eyes observed Mingliang and Somad. He didn''t surprise to find Mingliang calmly accepted the news. But he didn''t expect to find Somad, just as calm as his teacher. When he saw it, Jim suddenly felt relieved. His trust in Mingliang restored a bit.


    "So, when are you going to see them? One of my purpose for this visit is to arrange a schedule for your meeting with them.", Jim turned his head to look at Mingliang.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Mingliang flexed his arm and leg. His eyes fixed on the table before him, seemed to think about something. After a few minutes passed, he lifted his head and looked at Jim, "Do they want it as soon as possible? How long you could postpone it?"


    "Isn''t sooner will be better?", Jim raised his eyebrows and asked back.


    Mingliang nodded, "Hm, but I have planned to close up and train. That''s why I entrust the rest to Somad. I didn''t know there''s another meeting. But if you give him a week or two, he will be able to demonstrate what I did and even more."


    Jim''s and Anton''s eyes sparked when they heard it. They took a glance at Somad in disbelief. Jim turned back to Mingliang, "Are you sure about it?"


    Mingliang nodded his head and turned to Somad, "What do you think?"


    Somad gave it a thought seriously and then nodded his head, "Two weeks. Give me two weeks."


    Jim was inspired. Somad''s demonstration would leave a stronger impression compared to Mingliang''s, and they would receive less opposition when Somad became the teacher later.


    He vigorously turned his stare to Somad, "Boy! Are you sure about that? Two weeks you said?"


    Somad didn''t falter under his stare and confidently nodded his head, "Two weeks it is."


    Jim nodded, "Good! I''ll give you three weeks."


    He turned to his younger partner and slapped his shoulder, "We back!"


    The middle-aged captain didn''t wait for his partner. He marched out of the house, in giant steps. Anton who almost spurted his lunch grudgingly stood from his seat in haste.


    "Sorry, guys, got to go now.", he still reached out for a chicken leg before running to catch up with Jim.


    Mingliang waited until they both left the house, before he turned to Somad, ¡°Have you finished your lunch?¡±


    The boy''s plate already cleaned, and he didn''t want to add more. His mind already filled with many worries, he already lost his appetite since yesterday. He looked at his plate and then turned to Mingliang, "Yes."


    "Sari?", Mingliang turned to Sari.


    Sari gestured with her head, "You do your business. I''ll clean the dishes first."


    Mingliang stood up and nodded, "Okay, once you finish with it, go to the room. I''ll prepare the array for you."


    "I got it.", Sari replied.


    "Somad, come with me.", Mingliang then turned around and went.


    He brought Somad to look at his book collection. Patiently he explained the content of each book to Somad. Somad listened attentively and crammed as much information as he could to his memory. After each explanation, Mingliang would stop and gave the boy a chance to ask questions.


    There were more than 40 books there, but Mingliang grouped and arranged them, that helped Somad to remember each book''s content and importance.


    It took longer than Mingliang thought. When they finally went to the room where the gate to the other world opened, Sari was there already. She sat in meditation, Mingliang''s and Somad''s sensitive senses could feel strands of energy pooled like a whirl around her.


    Somad watched her in awe. He knew Mingliang just taught her yesterday.


    Mingliang saw his expression and patted his shoulder, "Don''t think she only began practicing yesterday. She has trained her body and mind for years. Like a building with the good foundation already laid out, she advanced faster than people in general."


    Somad nodded, "I understand, Teacher. I must follow Sister Sari example, never rush, but lay each foundation in good order before trying to advance."


    Mingliang gratefully patted his disciple, "Good."


    "Now, I will tell you what we will do. I and your sister, Sari, would stay in this room to focus on our practice for forty days. I will draw protection arrays surrounding this room, no one will be able to enter, until that 40 days pass."


    "Your duty is to prepare yourself, for the demonstration. Prepare yourself, to be the teacher for the new special unit."


    "I won''t tell you how you should arrange it, but I leave all my book collection for you to use."


    Mingliang patted Somad''s shoulder, "I leave the responsibility to you. Whatever happens, you have to keep our inheritance alive."


    Somad merely nodded his head, couldn''t say a word. The weight burdened his mind and heart. Mingliang gestured with his head, to send the boy out. Somad nodded once more and then left the room, leaving Mingliang and Sari.


    Sari heard their conversation from the start. She circulated the qi another round before she ended her training.


    Slowly she opened her eyes and saw Mingliang sat a few meters before her, waiting.


    "Aren''t you put a burden, too heavy for his age?", she asked right away.


    Mingliang sighed, "To tell the truth, I don''t have much confidence in our attempt to stop them. We even might not survive it."


    His eyes searched deeply into her eyes, and she said, "Don''t ever think of asking me leaving you then."


    Mingliang smiled bitterly and nodded his head, "I know."


    There was a long pause, "That''s why I have to put all of my hope on his shoulder."


    Sari said nothing and Mingliang continued, "I only have six months to prepare him. If something happened to us, he had to survive alone, in a much different world than we''re living today. I have to force him to grow, by putting this pressure on him."


    "I believe in him. Other might crumble under this pressure, but not him. This pressure will turn him to a diamond.", when he said that, his face was firm, there was no doubt in it.


    "And I believe in you.", Sari softly said. Her words, made Mingliang''s expression softened.


    "So what are we going to do now?", Sari asked.


    Mingliang nodded and pointed at some open space, "I will draw the array there. It will draw energy and create the five elements energy inside, where you will practice. You can stop at any time, and the limit is 40 days. If you can stay inside for 40 days, then the technique is perfected in you."


    "By the way, you won''t need to eat and drink, while you''re there. The array will provide these energies for your body.", he added.


    Sari nodded her head, "Okay, I''m ready. How about you? What will you do then?"


    Mingliang answered, "I''ll be here practicing and watch over you. I''ll act as your protector."


    The girl jumped, "Okay, let''s do it."


    She hated all the worries and anxiety. She hated all the wait. She preferred stopped worrying and started taking action. When she did something, she felt her life was in her hand to control. Mingliang knew her well and wasted no time. He started to draw the array. With the abundant energy coming out of the gap, the process became easy and smooth.


    While they were busy inside, Somad was walking back and forth. He was having a hard time to calm himself. Black Jade, the snake, rest on his neck, hanging there like a necklace.


    The boy''s mind cluttered with many ideas and thoughts, "What should I do? How should I start?"

 Chapter XXII. A Challenge for Somad.

    Somad had three books before him. He had completed the first book he received from Mingliang. Now, all the books were in his hand, and he was free to choose which one he wanted to learn. Previously, Mingliang explained each book''s content. Not all the books contained a technique, some only a notes from Mingliang''s father and grandfather.


    Although Mingliang explained each book''s content and importance, he didn''t leave any guidance to Somad which books and in which order he should study. Somad had to think about it himself. A few hours ago, the body was walking back and forth near the room where Mingliang and Sari practiced.


    He wanted to ask for guidance since Mingliang never prohibited him from doing so. But the boy knew, his teacher wanted him to learn how to solve the problem by himself.


    He wasted almost an hour, unable to make a decision. He feared to make mistakes and at the same time, wished he could fulfill his teacher wish. In the end, Somad chose to risk making a mistake. The boy knew why his teacher had decided to leave him such enormous responsibility.


    Somad knew he had to prepare for the worst. There wasn''t much hope to win the battle. His teacher believed he might lose his life in that battle. Thus, Somad had to survive and save their inheritance on his own.


    Somad left the room and went to where he kept all the books.


    After spent almost two hours to make a plan, Somad''s choice finally left to these three books. One book explained a body strengthening technique. It wouldn''t prevent him to practice Xuan Wu body in the future. It wasn''t as strong as Xuan Wu body technique, but it still allowed him to withstand a shot from a gun.


    The second book was an advance rune technique. Besides introducing several complicated advance runes, it also taught how to combine runes and formed a complex array.


    The third book was a complete fist technique, teaching a set of body movement, defense, and offensive skills. It was called The Seven Constellation Fist. The fist art combined martial art with knowledge of runes. It would look great for a demonstration. He could imagine how the fight would resemble a scene in an action movie. A young kid fought and won against several opponents armed with guns.


    Somad had browsed through other books. With the three weeks limit of time, only these three were within his current ability to learn, and gain some decent attainment. Personally, the one that caught his interest was the fist art. But the one that fitted with his current direction of learning was the advance rune technique.


    He quickly put aside the book that taught body refinement technique. It was time-consuming and lack versatility. Besides work well as a tool for demonstration, it didn''t give him further advantage.


    Left with two options, Somad spent nearly half an hour. With a heavy heart, the boy put aside The Seven Constellation Fist technique book. As much as he liked the technique, it wouldn''t be able to support Sari and Mingliang much during the battle. If he wanted to be useful for them, then he had to choose the advance rune technique.


    Somad kept the other two books back to its safe place.


    After he made sure all the book secured, he closed his eyes and meditated to calm and clear his mind. About an hour later he opened his eyes. He stretched his body a bit. Feeling refreshed both in body and mind, Somad picked the book and started studying it.


    Black Jade, accompanied the boy faithfully. When she saw Somad was busy with his training, the young snake chose a corner for herself and practiced the law given by Mingliang.


    Three weeks passed in a blink of an eye. Jim and Anton came several times during that period. Mingliang and Sari never left the room only Somad met them two. As soon as he understood their situation, Jim arranged a catering service to provide their daily needs. So, even Somad focused solely on training during those three weeks.


    That morning, Somad wasn''t practicing his skill as usual. The boy sat on the back porch quietly. He hung the bronze medal on his neck and then tucked it behind his shirt.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    He was waiting for Jim and Anton.


    Today, Somad had to represent his teacher and convince a group of powerful officials in government.


    He had checked all his preparation several times. Black Jade now was curled on his wrist, looked like a bracelet from black wooden roots. He had planned all the routines. He even prepared a speech, just in case they wanted him to speak.


    Now, he preferred to sit and calm his mind. He didn''t want to ruin the meeting today, out of nervousness. He could feel his heart beat faster whenever he started to picture the meeting in his head. Yesterday, he visualized the meeting, thinking about various scenarios that might happen. In the end, he gave up. He had no idea how today''s meeting was going to happen. After all, he never had such experience before. So the boy decided to let things took its course.


    Somad''s faintly heard the sound of a car stopped, the door opened and then closed. And several seconds later, steps of heavy boots on the floor.


    The boy stood up, he looked down and saw Black Jade raised her head.


    Somad nodded his head, "It''s the time Black Jade. Wish me luck."


    The snake rubbed her head on Somad''s wrist before returned to the shape of a bracelet. Somad didn''t wait for Jim and Anton at the back porch. He went out to greet them first.


    Jim watched the kid with critical eyes, "Are you ready?"


    Somad showed his thumb up, "Just get it on."


    Jim turned around and went to his car. Anton waited for Somad to catch up and patted the boy''s shoulder, "Don''t worry, I know you can do it."


    Somad grinned, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. It''s easy for you to say. Just by thinking about it, I almost pissed myself this morning."


    Anton laughed, "Well, it seems you''re fine."


    Somad unconsciously tried to imitate Mingliang''s laid back disposition, but he couldn''t well hide his nervousness. He was glad, that Anton kept throwing small jokes, helped him to distract his mind from the meeting. He couldn''t imagine if there were only Jim and his grim face.


    They were on the road, passed the busy hour, and arrived at the police headquarter less than an hour.


    Jim didn''t lead Somad through the front door. They didn''t even enter the main building. He took them through the side yard, crossing a large yard where they used to hold the flag ceremony. Somad didn''t ask anything, he followed him blindly, his mind wasn''t on the road at all. Anton who didn''t have to face the questioning slowly grew restless too.


    Quickly they arrived at another building. It was smaller compared to the main building, and the location was a bit reserved. But it was built with better building materials. The moment Jim opened the door, a cold air braved from inside. Somad took a deep breath before he entered.


    The air inside was slightly cooler than outside. Faintly Somad could hear the air conditioner hummed. Their steps echoed on the marble floor. Jim led them to the second floor. Following along the corridor, they reached a large meeting room at the end of it.


    Jim turned to Somad, "You wait here. I''ll call them and arrange the meeting."


    Then he turned to Anton, "You know what to do, right?"


    Anton nodded, "Sure, no problem. I''ll get them here right away."


    Jim nodded his head and then left. Somad and Anton stood quietly, listened to the sounds of Jim''s steps, clattered on the marble floor.


    Anton patted Somad''s shoulder, "Okay buddy. I''ll leave you for a moment. I''ll be right back quickly."


    Somad nodded his head. He didn''t have his usual grin, and when he asked Anton his voice trembled a bit, "Ugh, so what you got to do anyway?"


    Anton caught his nervousness. He laughed and punched the boy''s shoulder lightly, "What''s wrong? Don''t tell me you got a scare?"


    Somad blushed a bit, "Who said I got a scare? I just curious."


    Anton nodded his head, "Well, that''s much better. I''ll call several friends of mine. They''ll be here to help you with the demonstration."


    Somad already got some of his spunk back, the boy put his hand on his pocket and shrugged his shoulder, "Great, I hope they won''t disappoint me."


    Anton laughed as he left the room. A few minutes later, no one in the building but Somad. The boy looked around the room. It was a large room. Arranged like a classroom, but with better desks and chairs. There was a large empty space at the front. Somad could imagine, he would have to demonstrate his ability there.


    Somad didn''t have to wait alone for long. He was walking along the room, and counting the chairs to take his mind off the interview when he heard noises coming from the corridor. Somad stopped on his track and watched the door.


    A few moments later, Anton and a small group of men came into the room.


    When Somad saw Anton''s expression, he knew something was wrong.

 Breaknews, bad news, and an apology

    Hi, I haven''t updated the story for a long time now. I know I already told you all about it, but it seems that things are worse than I thought. Several things happened at the same time. Some is expected and some is unexpected.


    I got several projects at hand, with deadline spread all over Feb to March.


    Just a couple of weeks ago, we got a meeting, a colleague of mine admitted that he had too much at hand and my boss decided to turn one of his project to me.


    And I''m facing a divorce too, which is another source of stress for me. It''s been years of problem and I hope with the divorce, it will end this year. Or maybe longer, since the process seems like a long dragging torture. (Yep, writing is an escape for me).If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    As if that''s all is not enough, about two weeks ago, during a work trip away from my main office, my laptop broke down. I think it has something to do with its mainboard or harddisk, or both. The harddisk indicator doesn''t blink at all. Just once during the start and then nothing. Fortunately I got all my projects already uploaded to their system, so I can work without my laptop.


    I just back to my main office today, and wait to see the news from the IT guy. For now, they lend me an old laptop. Maybe if they found the harddisk fine, I could try to copy my old data from there, and continue the writing with this borrowed laptop.


    So, once again, I would like to apology for the late update. I can''t promise when I can upload the next chapter, but now with the borrowed laptop, I can start working at it again.


    Thanks for all the support.