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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Yunlan awoke in his office a couple of hours later and sent everyone home early, except for Chu. Daqing transformed into his cat persona and also stayed to listen.
"Come in and close the door Chu, we have to talk,"
Chu could tell by the tone of Yunlan's voice and behaviour that he had found out about him.
"I understand why you haven't spoken about this to anyone, if you had tried to explain it to me yesterday I wouldn't have reacted well, but now circumstances have changed. The thieves have the real orb and are on their way to the palace to steal the crown jewels but from what Wei has told me, there are no jewels. They were sold off years ago to balance their economy. He's safe by the way, he's in the palace grounds with the royal guard."
Chu was astounded. Yunlan had delivered all the information without a rude or sarcastic remark, which meant that he had accepted everything as real. In his mind it was no longer a dream.
"How are you able to go there in your sleep?" Chu asked, because he'd never heard of anyone having the ability to travel while they slept.
"I really don't know. It only started about three weeks ago, Shen Wei doesn't know either, but maybe if you explained it to Guo Ying he could find out somehow. What did the woman across the road from Wei's house have to say to Lin Jing, I haven't seen his report yet?" Yunlan asked and Chu arose to bring it while Daqing sat near the door to the office.
"Chu, is that your cat, he's watching you all the time, have you fed him yet?" Yunlan asked as he stared at the beautiful black silky fur and looked around for a dish for water.
"He's fine Yunlan, not hungry, just curious. Here's Jing's report," and he handed over the typed page.
Yunlan suddenly sat up straight in his seat and stared at the paper in front of him.
"Long hair with a purple ribbon. He has it and he's the one on his way to the palace. His name is Zhu Jiu and he's not after the jewels, he wants something else but Wei doesn't know what he's planning. We need more information, would Guo Ying be able to tell us any more now that there is less of a barrier between us?"
Yunlan saw the slight hesitation in Chu's behaviour and realised that there was something he didn't know which could be very important to the situation, and he sighed before he spoke.
"Spill it Chu. What do I not know about the curator of the museum?"
Chu glanced towards the cat who tilted his head as if to say go ahead and tell him. Now would be the best time while he was so willing to understand any information he was given.
"There are several important issues that you are not aware of, so I will try and explain as simply as I can. Black Robe and Shen Wei live in the same body. Shen Wei is human, but Black Robe is a spirit who is as old as time. He originally came from the world that you visit in your sleep, and to cut it short, he now lives here but he needs a host to survive, and that's where Shen Wei comes in. The host can live for as long as he wants because of the influence of the spirit inside him. Some want to die for whatever reason and then the spirit needs a new host who is always a descendant to Shen Wei. The one you have met is only two years old and is still learning. Do you understand everything so far?"
