Something shot through my mind urging me not to say any more. I snapped my mouth shut, unsure of how to continue.
He continued to look at me in confusion.
"Master Liu gave it to me." I said, all of the confidence draining out of my words.
The man nodded lightly and then shrugged. "Well if he gave it to you, it must have something to do with Taoism. I can only assume that it's enchanted," He stroked his chin for a moment. "I don't know what to tell you. I'd have to see it."
I cursed inwardly.
"Anything else?"
"Why did you dig up the girl? That's disrespectful of the dead." I raised my head to look at him, once again sure of myself.
"We had to be sure her body wasn't there, which it wasn't." His eyes pierced through me as if he was remembering, "So now we know that someone took her." He added.
I asked him, "Someone from my village?"
"No," He answered too quickly, sounding very sure of himself, "But some of them might be. This was more than a one man job."
I opened my mouth to inquire further when he raised his hand in a 'no more' gesture. "One more thing!" I cut in, bobbing my head to meet his eyes. "What's your name?"
"Lv Bin." He responded quietly. "Now it is time for you to go."
I stood up and started to walk out. Lv Bin's companion, the woman, put her hand on the back of my shoulder and walked me to the door to the yard. I saw Zhao Jie and waved him over as she escorted me to the door.
On the walk home, Zhao Jie asked about Lv Bin. I told him everything that was said.
"That doesn't make sense. Who would steal a dead girl's body without the slightest fear of getting caught?"
I thought about how to answer him as we neared my house. Coming to the front door, I could hear Xiao Wen's cries. A deep scratching worry pulled at my chest. "She never cries!" I thought and ran to the door. Zhao Jie was right behind me when we burst in. Mom was holding Xiao Wen, sitting in the middle of the living room area. Dad was sitting next to them, toying with a small rattle drum.
"What's going on?" I asked, that worry feeling digging into me.
My parents looked casually up at me. "We don't know, she just started crying out."
My little sister saw me and stretched out her small arms. "Brother!" She cried. My heart broke.
I moved to my little sister and picked her up, hugging her small body to my chest and shushing her.
"What's wrong, Xiao Wen?" I whispered into her ear. I almost dropped her when she answered.
In a deathly cold voice she spoke into my ear, "My sister was caught!"
I felt my grip loosen even as every muscle in my body locked into place. "Sister?" I thought frantically, "The ghost!"
My mom saw Xiao Wen start to slide and shouted, "Xiao Yong be careful!" I came to and readjusted my grip on the small girl. I held her up and looked into her face. Tears were streaming down her chubby cheeks making her eyes puffy and red. I looked to my parents, still sitting on the floor and looking up at me.
"I'll take care of her. Don't worry guys." They both looked at me a little incredulously and stood up.
"Okay son, but call if you need us." My dad said. He put his arm around my mother and walked her out of the room.
Xiao Wen continued to sob in my arms. Zhao Jie cleared his throat uncomfortably and came to stand next to me. He leaned in and poked Xiao Wen endearingly. "What's wrong Xiao Wen? Tell me who did it and I'll beat the tar out of them!" He gave her a big wide grin.
She gave him a pouty look and buried her face in my shirt again. Zhao Jie shrugged helplessly.
I shifted Xiao Wen to my left arm and used my free hand to take the mirror out of my bag. "I need to be sure." I said to myself. I raised the Peach Blossom Mirror in a trembling hand, unsure of what we would see.
Before raising it high enough, I whispered, "Xiao Wen, do you know who caught your sister?"
She raised her teary eyes to my face and answered, "An uncle! He used a teapot!"
I looked at her in shock. "How did you know that?" I wondered.
I raised the Peach Blossom Mirror to show the two of us as we stood. The reflection was worse than I thought. The little girl in my arms wasn't my sister. The face was so similar, it even moved in tandem as Xiao Wen sobbed and took in shuddering breaths. The cheeks were the greatest give away, and the pale red tinge of the skin. The girl in the reflection was the rosy-cheeked ghost that we watched Lv Bin capture earlier that day. "What is happening?" I whispered to myself.
Xiao Wen kept her face buried in my chest as I quickly lowered the mirror. Zhao Jie watched from a few feet away. His face was knotted into an expression of deep concentration. "What did you see?" He asked.
I shook my head, lowering the mirror back into my backpack. I dipped my hand into one of the pockets and took out a soul-binding amulet. Careful not to disturb the crying girl in my arms, I placed the amulet on the back of her neck. Nothing happened. I shook my head and tried again, placing it ever so gently on her skin. Again, nothing happened. "She's not enchanted." I thought, frowning unconsciously. "Whatever is happening with the mirror is beyond me."
I dropped the amulet into my backpack and comforted my sister, whispering that I'd do everything I could to save her sister. After a few minutes she stopped crying. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her mouth pinched in a frown. I placed my chin on her forehead and reeled back in surprise. "You're burning up!" I said, looking to Zhao Jie for help. "Mom!" I called. "Dad, something's wrong!"
My parents came running and quickly took Xiao Wen's temperature. "Let's take her to the clinic." Mom told dad, they rushed out the door without another word.
When they came back later that afternoon mom explained that Xiao Wen had a fever. "The doctor gave her some medicine, she'll be fine after some rest."
The next day Wang An's death was announced in the paper. The reported cause of dead was a cerebral thrombosis, whatever that means. The story noted that his brother was left all assets and had arranged funeral services for the following day.
I checked on Xiao Wen about a thousand times that day. Sometimes she was sleeping, other times she was crying quietly, but most of the time she was just staring at the ceiling. When this happened I would lean over until her eyes locked onto mine. Her lips would writhe in semblance of speech and she'd mumble out, "When will you save her? Save sister…"
Mom caught this exchange a few times before pulling me out of the room a little too roughly. "Xiao Yong, what is she talking about? Who is her sister?"
"I think…" I said hesitantly, "I think it was the spirit that those Taoists caught at Wang An's home." I looked at my feet. "We didn't get there in time to do anything except watch it happen.
Mom looked at me through a wide glassy stare. "Is she enchanted? Is our girl possessed?"
I shook my head. "No," I told her. "Our house is loaded with protective treasures. She wouldn't be able to be anywhere near here if it were anything like that."
"She was here all day yesterday," Mom said, "How could she know what was happening to a ghost all the way across the village?"
I shook my head again. "I don't know."
We both peered into the room where Xiao Wen was staring at the ceiling. As if on cue, she mumbled it out again, "Save her."
That made up my mind. "I have to find Lv Bin." I said to myself. "I'll convince him to let me take care of the girl's spirit."
"But would he listen to me?" The voice of worry asked in my head. I shook it away. "I have to try." I told myself.
The next day at noon, Zhao Jie and I went to the police station where Lv Bin said he might be.
We walked into the entry area and told the receptionist we were looking for Lv Bin. The older woman with exceptionally long fingernails pointed at a door behind her. "He's back there, but you have to have clearance to get in. Can I deliver a message?"
I started to protest when the door opened. Lv Bin stood in the doorway. A long white hallway was lit behind him. "They're with me." He said, nodding at the receptionist. She pursed her lips and waved for us to go.
The hallway led to a series of rooms. Lv Bin's room was sparkling clean. His colleagues were lounging on a sofa watching television. They nodded at Zhao Jie and I when we entered.
"Why are you here?" Lv Bin asked as soon as the door was closed behind him.
"I need to take that ghost you captured."
The three Taoists looked at me in shock and then burst into laughter.
Wiping away tears of mirth, Lv Bin finally managed, "You? What do you want with the ghost?"
I scowled at him. I wasn't about to tell him about Xiao Wen, so I went with the first line of thought that made sense, "I want to send her away, ya' know, free her spirit for reincarnation. She was just a poor little girl, it'd be cruel to imprison her soul."
Lv Bin loosed another series of chuckles. His counterparts did the same before turning very suddenly serious. "What makes you think you can control her?" Lv Bin asked. "I know you're Master Liu's godson, but that," He pointed to the soul controlling stean sitting on a table across the room, "Is a red ghost. Can you guarantee that she won't over power you? Can you swear to me that you won't let her escape?"
"I promise I will try. I don't know if I can send her away, but I can promise I won't let her escape." I told them.
The summoning incantation ran through my mind and I said a silent thank you for the green spirit that aided me.
Lv Bin forced a smile. "Think you're real tough stuff don't you kid?" He asked. "Fine. Show me what you can do, but I warn you now," He pointed a finger at me, "She'll attack you and she'll do everything she can to get away. And when she does, it'll be on you."
I nodded and said, "I'll take full responsibility."