BOOK 6. The story carries on briefly from the end of the previous book. Shen Wei is doing what he loves best, teaching and hasn't met the new Zhao Yunlan. The mansion where the hologram lives is for sale but it never will be sold, the mysterious p...
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Looking back at it now, Shen Wei was very proud of the way that Yunlan had handled the merge and immediately appeared before the guards to accept their salute and oath of loyalty. Even he had not seen a merge anything like that one, only gifted people would have seen the Black Robe Spirit passing through all obstacles, on his way to get to Yunlan.
No one knew that Shen Wei was going to drop without any warning, but thankfully he had started carrying an emergency contact card, and the hospital was able to phone Yunlan to let him know what had happened. Aneurysm, the doctor said, he could have gone anytime, he told Yunlan but he was out shopping for dinner when it happened so it took a while for an ambulance to arrive, which also gave Yunlan time to come out of the merge.
Everyone who attended Wei's funeral agreed that it was an appropriate service for him. Simple, with no excess noise because he was a quiet man and Yunlan was glad. He was still trying to adjust to this life without him, but it wasn't easy. Whenever he began to let the sadness take over, he felt the grip of Wei reflected in the spirit who hugged him, and if he closed his eyes, he could imagine that it was him. That sad feeling took a while to go away, but the welcomed feel of the hug always stayed with him.
The staff couldn't remember a thing about that afternoon, it was just an ordinary day until the phone call came from the hospital. The guards had cleared everyone's memories except for Chu and Daqing's, so it helped to put some normality back into Yunlan's life.
The Centre For the Gifted really missed Shen Wei and had to look for a replacement which wasn't easy, so Kunlun took over his classes for a short time. Then Yunlan became aware of the regular flow of students who walked past his house, but once he thought about it, maybe it wasn't that strange. His house was at the edge of the Centre's grounds and there was a shortcut at the back of the garden, and they usually only walked past once a day, so he started watching them for a while and wondering what class they were going to.
The flow of time didn't seem to matter so much now that he was a bit older and seriously thought about retirement. All his staff had changed, even Chu was gone now and there was no one left to discuss problems with, except the spirit, who didn't always answer when he asked him questions at work. "Time to give up old man and look after the garden, you talk more when we're at home," and Yunlan retired. Time passed.
The garden wasn't so tidy anymore but the passers by kept coming and watching, and if they were lucky , he waved to them but these youngsters were the grandchildren of the originals, who were faithfully following Shen Wei's wishes.
When two teenagers were passing today and talking too loud, Yunlan didn't feel like getting up to scold them for disturbing his peace, he just listened and smiled.
"They say it's haunted, ghost of an old man, nobody's seen the guy for years, bet it's the owner." First boy said.
"Don't talk rubbish, he's just an old man, harmless, sometimes he waves, but its been a few days and no one has seen him. " The second boy spoke.
"Come on, or we'll be late for Kunlun's class." and the first boy started to run away, but the second didn't.
'Why have you not been at the window?' The boy was thinking, someone always sees you but not this past couple of days, and he decided to go in, even though he was told not to and he turned the handle of the door.
The whip immediately went into position to defend Yunlan if needed, as the boy entered and was surprised at the cleanliness of the interior. Outside had the impression of neglect but inside was pristine, and he moved towards the bedroom calling out to make Yunlan aware that he was there. He took one step inside and the whip flew at him but instantly halted when it confronted Chu's strings which also confused their owner when they refused to work, similar to a Mexican standoff.
"Lie down little master, and you boy come here and let me see your face, what's your name?"
The boy watched as the whip returned to encircle Yunlan's right arm, and he approached the bed to sit on the seat beside it. Yunlan's eyesight wasn't as good as it used to be, but he could still see well enough to spot the resemblance to Chu.
"Chu Shuzhi looking young, what age are you now?"
"How do you Know my name? And what's with the whip. I know I wasn't supposed to come in but I was worried we'd find you stuck to the bed and my uncle would turn in his grave."
"You're his nephew, are you going to be a doctor or a policeman?"
" I haven't decided yet, maybe both, you don't look too good today, why are you not up, are you feeling sick, I can send for someone."
"Use your green strings and tell me." Yunlan told him while the boy looked shocked.
"You know about my strings?.. Alright, I'll check."
"Your uncle and I were very good friends and we had no secrets except one that I never told him, the names of the three deities. I asked him to work that one out himself."
"You're Zhao Yunlan," and the boy smiled, "he asked me to walk past the cottage and if I saw you then I had to give you a message. The little Master, Mt Kunlun, and The Lodger."
Yunlan laughed, "Rest well old friend. Now young man, what do your strings say?"
"You're going downhill from now on, and picking up speed."
"Did your uncle tell you about my lodger, please come out only this one time and meet a new young friend you will have in the future, best to do it now before he thinks I'm crazy."
The young Chu just smiled, thinking that he's just an old man who likes talking to himself, until he felt a slight chill and looked around to see the source of the breeze. The young man saw the black shape taking form in the corner of the room and he rose ready to run, but was stopped by the whip which circled his wrist and started to emit a green mild tranquilliser to slow the sense of panic in the youth.
"You have a lot to learn young Chu, listen to the other half of my heart and he will teach you."
The shape in black moved towards him while the young Chu studied the outline. It looked like a man and when the hood lowered, he was amazed to see a beautiful face smiling back at him.
"Chu Shuzhi, this is who we are, and you are at the beginning of a wonderful adventure. Listen while I tell you a story and when you next see us, you will know us."
Yunlan had one of the best afternoons of his life while lying and listening to Shen Wei telling a new Chu all about their lives, giving him the foundations to build his own. He now knew what he was going to do in this life and it filled him with excitement for the future.
A few days after that, when he came to see Yunlan, he found out that he had died but he wasn't sad, it meant that he was with his partner again. Young Chu could hardly contain his excitement. Yunlan's passing meant that the spirit was free, he just had to find it and help protect that special person.
