More of the mysteries that haunted me began to unfurl as the hidden hands hiding in the shadows began to show themselves. Among them included a descendant of the Emperors of the Qing Dynasty, Jin Qichen, and the Order of Pain which Zhang Zhigui had been fighting against; and now, our latest discovery, a woman in black whom we discovered to be an heir of Tribe Nine Li, the tribe once led by the legendary tribal leader Chiyou from prehistoric China.

According to what paltry information Jin Qichen was willing to divulge, the three parties were vying for the same goal: the possessorship of the Shiyan Blade. What was more, everyone seemed to be aware of the disappearance of the Dragon-slaying Blade and this clearly indicated that anyone could freely reawaken any of the dragon leys and claim them to become king without suffering any consequences and this culminated into a race for the Shiyan Blade.

Right now, one of my former classmates from university, Lu Shengnan, came looking for me with a job offer. Only unexpectedly, the actual client of this assignment was not Lu Shengnan, but Huang Li, another former classmate with whom I had had a beef with.

Accepting the job should not have been too hard for me. A long time had passed since my estrangement with Huang Li. But I was utterly astonished when I saw Huang Li again. Her manner of speech and her poise had undergone a huge transformation that she looked as if she was a different person. The coolness that she exuded mimicked the taciturnity of a person who had had all her emotions stripped like a machine completely devoid of emotions or sentiments.

But the truest extent of her transformation was only felt at the very moment when I took her hand to shake it!

The bite of chill from her hands stung as soon as my fingers closed around hers, so cold that I was briefly reminded of cadavers in a morgue right before a strange, unknown dizziness struck me before my mind was assailed by myriads of hallucinations!

I found myself surrounded by swirling dust and smoke; I was standing in the midst of a battle! Everyone around me was clad in strange-looking armor and mail and the weapons they wielded were battered and rusty. Through the chaos, I spied a man coming at me, the bright eyes on his misshapen face gleaming maliciously as he drew nearer. Despite his hardened look, there was also weariness and fatigue. Then everything blurred around me and I was hurled into another scene. A lumbering giant with a hideous face and the length and breadth of a huge tree towered menacingly over me. He swung his giant battle axe at an enemy and I was just in the way of his weapon’s dangerous arc!

The flurry of images whizzing before my eyes would have looked like a film strip, yet every image and sensation felt so real that they were struck into my mind like bolts of lightning hammering relentlessly at me. I felt myself shaking and my back slick with cold sweat. Just when I was drowning in the suffocation of phantasmal hallucinations, I felt a hand suddenly at my shoulder and Huang Li’s hand slipped quickly from mine and everything stopped. I was back. Lu Shengnan leaned over to me, staring at me strangely as she withdrew her hand from my shoulder. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked, “You looked as if you were hit by lightning. Must you look so surprised and stunned from meeting Huang Li?”

I frowned and shook my head. Ignoring her remark, I stared quietly at Huang Li, who gave me a dry and frosty smile before she curtly spun and moved upstairs. Noticing the strange atmosphere, Lu Shengnan merely shrugged and waved at us. “Come on up! Let’s talk upstairs.” I feigned a benign smile and nodded, looking on as Lu Shengnan trotted up the stairs.

With Lu Shengnan and Huang Li moving up, there left only the three of us. Lin Feng briskly stepped forward and whispered urgently, “What happened just now, Shiyan? You looked as if you were possessed. Is there something wrong with this Huang Li girl?” I said nothing and Chongxi remarked instead, “Well, there’s something wrong with her all right, although I still cannot quite point out how. Only that my instincts would never be wrong.”

I sighed. Shaking my head, I jabbed a finger upwards and motioned for my companions to go up with me.

We reached the upstairs landing to find the second floor furnished into a little sitting area decorated by slews of different wallpapers. A teacups-laden little coffee table sat in the middle of a ring of rattan-made long chairs—a simple Bohemian setting with a dash of modest bourgeois comfort.

Lu Shengnan appeared from a corner where she extracted three cans of Coke and offered it to us. “I know you like drinking this!” She beamed and I chuckled. She still remembered what I loved and despite not resembling a woman, she understood me just as much as Lin Feng and Chongxi did. Then again, if Lu Shengnan was a tad more feminine, I might have fallen for her instead of Edelweiss. Still, these were sentiments best left unspoken or else Edelweiss would kill me.

We sat on the rattan long chair facing Huang Li, popping open our Cokes. Huang Li sat at the other side of the coffee table, still wearing that sardonic smile of hers. Chongxi gave me an imperceptible nudge that only I could feel and gave me a look that implied, “Nothing about her seems like a woman reeling in fear of a haunted house!” I signaled my assent and Lin Feng chuckled, indicating that he too, shared our doubts.

The atmosphere in the sitting area was tense, as a silence appeared and lasted far longer than felt comfortable. Lu Shengnan did not predict such an awkwardness would follow as she clearly knew nothing about what she should be doing. Finally, after a brief moment passed, Lu Shengnan croaked, “Urm… Huang Li, you can tell Shiyan about the troubles at your place now. Shiyan is a professional in this line of business. Talk to him about your problems, Shiyan has been a very good friend to me and I’m sure he’ll be able to help!”

“Oh? So our former classmate is now as skilled as the charlatans and swindlers I’ve encountered?” Huang Li hissed after being prodded by Lu Shengnan.

“Err…” Lu Shengnan gasped abashedly. She did not expect Huang Li would spit such belittling mockery after she had come to me for help on her behalf.

But I did not wait for Lu Shengnan to reply and I tapped a finger loudly on my can of Coke. “Well,” I said thoughtfully, “If I am indeed only as good as conmen and hustlers, then I would have been the one in trouble during the military exercise in university long ago.” Huang Li was stunned beyond words, but only for a split-second. She did not anticipate such a vicious retort from me that cited the wound which I caused her, a wound which still clearly throbbed to this day.

“So, since the former classmate is learned in such disciplines, how much would you charge me for the services of helping me to solve the problem at my place?” Huang Li asked, still wearing that satirical smile.

Lu Shengnan’s face blazed full red with bashfulness at the helplessness to keep us all from trading barbs. She was badly embarrassed at the nastiness both of her good friends were viciously trying to hurl at each other.

“Charges, eh?” I cackled lightly. “It would depend on what’s in store. I’ll see what have you prepared for me before I can decide. But if it’s the same as before, I guess I’ll only charge you… ten yuan.”

Huang Li’s eyes flared with malice as she hooted a laugh that chilled the air around us. “So be it then, former classmate. I shall await your good news.”

Lu Shengnan exhaled heavily at last, relieved that everyone had survived the situation as tense as a powder keg and we had reached an agreement. “All right, then! Let’s have dinner together tonight! My treat!”

Huang Li cast a deadpan look at Lu Shengnan and uttered blandly, “I’m afraid I’m engaged tonight. I’m eating with Xuedong. He has an appointment with some of his old colleagues.” I threw an inquiring look at Lu Shengnan, who hastily explained, “That’s Huang Li’s husband. Remember our former instructor? His name is Cao Xuedong.” I responded with an “Oh” and turned to face Huang Li. “I see. Just give me your address then. I’ll go with my partners at midnight tonight.”

A devilish smile curled at her lips and she took out a paper from her purse and laid it gently on the table. Scrawled on the paper was a few words, “Unit 104, Nanhu Villa Precinct (the Villa Precinct of Nanhu Lake in Tangshan district)”

I almost burst out laughing. Lin Feng stared at the paper and he froze. Suddenly, he choked and nearly spat out the mouthful of Coke he was drinking. Gulping it down hard, he screamed, “Wow, Shiyan! This woman is your neighbor!?” Chongxi craned over the table for a look at the paper and giggled. “This must be bought just after the new year! Must be a new home!” All three of us looked at each other, grinning broadly. The villa home that Mother had bought for me and Edelweiss was in fact Unit 105, also of the Nanhu Villa Precinct.

Lu Shengnan was the only one still oblivious of what was happening. She stretched her neck for a look at the paper. “What’s wrong? What neighbor?” she asked as she took the paper to look at it while saying to Huang Li, “Oh, yeah! You haven’t told me where you’re living now, Huang Li.” But when her eyes finally saw the writing on the paper, she almost exploded.