BOOK 10. There are two tales at the beginning. Zhao Yunlan is searching for a lost artefact while Black Robe is searching for the same thing in a different world. One story is partly an illusion, while the other is very real and when they merge...
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"Wake up Yunlan." Chu shouted, loud enough for everyone in the main office to hear, informing his staff that their boss had fallen asleep at his desk again and not to go near him, he would be grumpy.
Daqing was the only one who ever tempted fate by bringing coffee to this perpetually tired policeman, and he collected a hot mug from the small kitchen to leave beside him on his desk and slip out quietly, before he would be caught.
"You don't sleep during the night because you sleep during the day, change your habit or you will harm your body, or swap to night shift." Chu suggested.
"I don't rest in my sleep during the night because of the crazy dreams with the caped crusader running around in my head, and don't shout, it makes me feel worse ... Thank you Daqing," he called, and Yunlan wrapped his hands around the hot coffee mug while he sat back and put his feet up on the desk hoping for peace to enjoy his drink without a phone ringing.
Sometimes fate was kind to Yunlan but not today. There was a call to report a break in at a museum, but only one thing was taken and even that was a copy for display only because they didn't own the real item. If this exhibit was a fake, then why were they even reporting the theft, and the detective's mind became interested but he was going to finish his coffee first.
When Yunlan answered a call, he usually took Chu with him because of his build and general appearance, he seemed to intimidate people very easily and they told the truth when he stood beside them. However this time he asked Chu to find a photo of the missing item first and then at least they would know what all the fuss was about. The museum faxed a copy of their display as it was before the damage, and circled the orb in pen. Chu enlarged it and ran it through the printer to have a better look, and felt the colour drain from his face as he stared at the image. He hadn't seen the orb for a long time and knew who it belonged to, but the owner hadn't been seen since his last host had died.
"You ready Chu, let's go visit a museum, make our day interesting, learn new history, and don't intimidate the security guard. Bring that picture with you."
Yunlan thought that museums were boring, they were for students or for older people to fill in their time, but he was going to one today to find out why they were concerned about some thief stealing a fake artefact. The staff could tell by his behaviour that he was not going to be happy if this turned out to be a waste of time, but just now he was curious.
When they arrived and stepped out of Yunlan's red four by four, the security guard came forward and immediately led them to the damaged showcase where the orb was taken from. Nothing to see except an empty space where it should have been but amongst the broken glass on the floor were shards from the stolen item. Whoever took it knew that it was a fake and had destroyed it. Now he has become inquisitive. The security guard stayed beside him to answer questions and Chu studied him, he was not intimidated in any way and he thought he knew why.
