BOOK 9. Zhao Yunlan is a private investigator who will accept almost any case as long as it pays, and when he finds a client's lost cat, they ask him to look into their friend's memory loss but he refuses. Shen Wei is an architect and after he mee...
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Shen Wei tried to sit up but he required help from Ying and Chu, and he slowly removed the orb.
"Yunlan was taken this morning by someone, who is using his whip against him. I had the chance to see where he was being held, he's in chains in a cell, he ordered Apep to behave like an ordinary whip because he knew what it would do if it had the chance. It was our favourite psychotic lunatic who took him."
No one could think of anything to say and the silence remained until Ying spoke first.
"You do realise that it is all a trap to catch and kill Black Robe, My Lord."
The silence returned while Shen Wei struggled to get off the bed and stand, before he walked over to the window and stared out, until Chu brought him a jacket to cover his bare back.
"I might have to allow The Spirit more freedom this time. He has always protected me in any situation. Trust is a two way street and I have to believe that he will know when to stop and not go too far down that road."
"Do you know where Yunlan is being held, My Lord?" Chu asked.
"No, but it was an old stone building."
There was so much about this situation that no one liked, but so far they had no ideas of how to end it and rescue Yunlan from this madman. It was dangerous for both Shen Wei and the spirit but they began to realise that Yunlan was already doomed, he was only the bait to draw out the main target and he would be killed as soon as he had outlived his usefulness. Wei's muscles ached all over and he knew that Yunlan was in a lot of pain, but suddenly he felt a very sharp stab in his shoulder and howled as his legs gave way, and reached for the window ledge to support himself. Chu ran towards Wei and held him up as they walked back towards the bed to sit down.
"Let me see your shoulder My Lord." Chu asked and Wei allowed him to remove the jacket to examine him. There was the unmistakable mark of two fang punctures which Chu recognised instantly and realised that Apep had bitten Yunlan.
"Why would Apep bite him?" He was confused by the snake's behaviour but Wei knew because he'd felt the effect as well.
"Painkiller Chu. He was helping him which could mean that he's managed to get free, we need to find this place. I must still be linked to Yunlan and it wasn't the orb, it's a natural link. Ying, teleport us to the attic please."
Wei was thinking three minds are better than one, maybe they would see something that he couldn't while Ying lifted a clean shirt for Shen Wei to wear before he took them to study the new painting.
The light in the room had changed again with more coloured shards added to the window in the roof but the painting was still the same. Wei pointed out the rose which the little flower spirit had given him and his orb from Yunlan, while he stared once more at this cryptic image and Chu indicated the shape of the snake. In one of the other corners, there were old rocks or stones but they couldn't understand the meaning, it was too vague. Ying noticed some small seashells in front of the rocks but everything they had seen so far was around the edge of the picture, the centre had been left blank, a space filled with red, as if it was not complete.
