‘Come on, Simone, these things are big,’ the Tiger said. ‘Get out your Celestial Form and pull down the Seven Stars.’
Simone generated a wall of darkness around her and changed into Celestial Form. She grew to be nearly four metres fall, towering over the elementals, which moved back slightly, obviously intimidated. She was in full majestic Celestial Form, with robes of space sparkling with glittering stars, black hair, and huge black eyes with no whites. She dismissed Dark Heavens and the sword disappeared. She raised her hand, summoned Seven Stars, and ripped the enormous dark blade out of its scabbard. It had a hilt of shining white, but the blade itself was black, and down its centre were seven indentations surrounding holes which were about three centimetres across.
The elementals hesitated when they saw the blade.
Simone raised the blade vertically in front of her and closed her eyes. A deep, resounding note echoed from the sword and a red light appeared in the base of her abdomen, then disappeared and appeared in one of the holes in the sword’s blade. The rest of the colours quickly followed, each with a higher note than the one before—orange from her pubic region, red from her stomach, green from her heart, blue from her throat, a deep blue from the centre of her forehead, and then a vivid, almost invisible ultraviolet from the top of her head. The lights transferred to the sword, from base to tip, and when the lights were complete she raised her head and lowered the sword. Her eyes glowed completely white, and the blade shone with a similar light, enhanced by the colours in the holes.
Simone moved so fast she was a blur of light and darkness. The sword left trails of light and brilliant colour through the air as it carved the wood elementals to nothingness. She took out the six elementals in less than ten seconds, moving with an elegance and speed only her father could match.
When the elementals were gone she stood in an attack-ready wide stance, left hand out with two fingers raised and glowing with shen energy, and the brilliantly lit sword held in her right hand to one side, ready to sweep away any attackers. She looked around and saw that they had all been destroyed. She lowered her hand, removed the shen energy from it and then raised the sword again. She removed the chakra lights from the blade, starting at the top of her head and moving down through her body until the sword no longer glowed. She picked up the scabbard from the ground, resheathed the sword, and, as she raised the sword and dismissed it, she retook her normal human form.
She came to us to check on us, then stopped, her face full of disbelief as loud cheers and applause broke out behind her.
She turned to see. The residents of the Celestial Plane were cheering her with enthusiasm. Some of them came to her and patted her on the arm and back, but many held back, respectful, and applauded her.
She bowed to the crowd, who cheered louder, then she rejoined our group, blushing furiously.
‘Well done, Simone. Your father would be so proud,’ I said.
She stopped and stared at me for a moment, her face blank, then shook her head.
‘What?’ I said.
‘That’s not what you said in Sai Kung,’ she said.
‘I can’t remember what I said.’
‘I can.’
‘If it was anything cruel, it was the demon talking, and I want you to know that exactly the opposite is true.’
‘No, Emma,’ she said. ‘Some of what the demon said was very true, which is why it hurt so much.’
I rubbed her arm with my snake head. ‘I’m sorry.’
She smiled down at me and put her hand on my head. ‘Don’t be. And thanks for not calling me “sweetheart”. I know you want to.’
‘It’s only ’cause I love you.’
She put her arms around my neck. ‘I love you too, Emma.’
She pulled back and wiped her eyes, then turned to the Tiger. ‘You could have taken them easily, couldn’t you, Uncle Bai?’
‘Of course,’ the Tiger said.
‘Thanks,’ she said.
‘You’re welcome,’ he said. ‘Now you know where the demon that made them lives, go find it and use the sword on it. About time that sword came out of mothballs and we saw some fireworks. It’s been sitting at Wudang gathering dust for way too long.’
‘Thank you for reminding me,’ Yue Gui said, and concentrated for a moment.
The fireworks that Yue Gui had organised blasted off from three barges on the lake, filling the sky with a glittering display of light and colour. As one, the crowd said, ‘Wah.’
Someone touched the back of my neck and I turned to see, and looked straight into John’s eyes; he was standing next to me with his hand on the back of my neck. I stood transfixed, staring at him, and he smiled, his eyes crinkling up. He bent to kiss the end of my snout, and disappeared.
I turned and opened my mouth to tell Simone and saw her face; it was full of cheeky delight. She quickly turned away, pretending that she hadn’t seen, and watched the fireworks. I leaned my serpent head into her, Leo wrapped his arm around both of us, and we watched the fireworks together.
The Serpent raises its head from the water and slides onto the ice, the stars blazing above in the night sky.
The Turtle sinks to the bottom of the rich light-filled water, attempting to avoid the sun’s brilliance and find a sanctuary in the dark.
They cry. There is no answer.
GLOSSARY
A NOTE ON LANGUAGE
The Chinese language is divided by a number of different dialects and this has been reflected throughout my story. The main dialect spoken in Hong Kong is Cantonese, and many of the terms I’ve used are in Cantonese. The main method for transcribing Cantonese into English is the Yale system, which I have hardly used at all in this book, preferring to use a simpler phonetic method for spelling the Cantonese. Apologies to purists, but I’ve chosen ease of readability over phonetic correctness.
The dialect mainly spoken on the Mainland of China is Putonghua (also called Mandarin Chinese), which was originally the dialect used in the north of China but has spread to become the standard tongue. Putonghua has a strict and useful set of transcription rules called pinyin, which I’ve used throughout for Putonghua terms. As a rough guide to pronunciation, the ‘Q’ in pinyin is pronounced ‘ch’, the ‘X’ is ‘sh’ and the ‘Zh’ is a softer ‘ch’ than the ‘Q’ sound. Xuan Wu is therefore pronounced ‘Shwan Wu’.
I’ve spelt chi with the ‘ch’ throughout the book, even though in pinyin it is qi, purely to aid in readability. Qing Long and Zhu Que I have spelt in pinyin to assist anybody who’d like to look into these interesting deities further.
Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter: A harbour on the south side of Hong Kong Island that is home to a large number of small and large fishing boats. Some of the boats are permanently moored there and are residences.
Admiralty: The first station after the MTR train has come through the tunnel onto Hong Kong Island from Kowloon, and a major traffic interchange.
Amah: Domestic helper.
Ancestral tablet: A tablet inscribed with the name of the deceased, which is kept in a temple or at the residence of the person’s descendants and occasionally provided with incense and offerings to appease the spirit.
Anime (Japanese): Animation; can vary from cute children’s shows to violent horror stories for adults, and everything in between.
Bai Hu (Putonghua): The White Tiger of the West.
Bo: Weapon—staff.
Bodhisattva: A being who has attained Buddhist Nirvana and has returned to earth to help others achieve Enlightenment.
Bo lei: A very dark and pungent Chinese tea, often drunk with yum cha to help digest the sometimes heavy and rich food served there.
Bu keqi (Putonghua) pronounced, roughly, ‘bu kerchi’: ‘You’re welcome.’
Buddhism: The system of beliefs that life is an endless journey through reincarnation until a state of perfect detachment or Nirvana is reached.
Cantonese: The dialect of Chinese spoken mainly in the south of China and used extensively in Hong
Kong. Although in written form it is nearly identical to Putonghua, when spoken it is almost unintelligible to Putonghua speakers.
Causeway Bay: Large shopping and office district on Hong Kong Island. Most of the Island’s residents seem to head there on Sunday for shopping.
Central: The main business district in Hong Kong, on the waterfront on Hong Kong Island.
Central Committee: Main governing body of Mainland China.
Cha siu bow: Dim sum served at yum cha; a steamed bread bun containing barbecued pork and gravy in the centre.
Chek Lap Kok: Hong Kong’s new airport on a large swathe of reclaimed land north of Lantau Island.
Cheongsam (Cantonese): Traditional Chinese dress, with a mandarin collar, usually closed with toggles and loops, and with splits up the sides.
Cheung Chau: Small dumbbell-shaped island off the coast of Hong Kong Island, about an hour away by ferry.
Chi: Energy. The literal meaning is ‘gas’ or ‘breath’ but in martial arts terms it describes the energy (or breath) of life that exists in all living things.
Chi gong (Cantonese): Literally, ‘energy work’. A series of movements expressly designed for manipulation of chi.
Chinese New Year: The Chinese calendar is lunar, and New Year falls at a different time each Western calendar. Chinese New Year usually falls in either January or February.
Ching: A type of life energy, ching is the energy of sex and reproduction, the Essence of Life. Every person is born with a limited amount of ching and as this energy is drained they grow old and die.
Chiu Chow: A southeastern province of China.
Choy sum (Cantonese): A leafy green Chinese vegetable vaguely resembling English spinach.
City Hall: Hall on the waterfront in Central on Hong Kong Island containing theatres and a large restaurant.
Confucianism: A set of rules for social behaviour designed to ensure that all of society runs smoothly.
Congee: A gruel made by boiling rice with savoury ingredients such as pork or thousand-year egg. Usually eaten for breakfast but can be eaten as a meal or snack any time of the day.
Connaught Road: Main thoroughfare through the middle of Central District in Hong Kong, running parallel to the waterfront and with five lanes each side.
Cross-Harbour Tunnel: Tunnel that carries both cars and MTR trains from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon under the Harbour.
Cultural Revolution: A turbulent period of recent Chinese history (1966–75) during which gangs of young people called Red Guards overthrew ‘old ways of thinking’ and destroyed many ancient cultural icons.
Dai pai dong (Cantonese): Small open-air restaurant.
Daisho: A set of katana, wakizashi, and sometimes a tanto (small dagger), all matching bladed weapons used by samurai in ancient times.
Dan tian: Energy centre, a source of energy within the body. The central dan tian is roughly located in the solar plexus.
Daujie (Cantonese): ‘Thank you’, used exclusively when a gift is given.
Dim sum (Cantonese): Small dumplings in bamboo steamers served at yum cha. Usually each dumpling is less than three centimetres across and four are found in each steamer. There are a number of different types, and standard types of dim sum are served at every yum cha.
Discovery Bay: Residential enclave on Lantau Island, quite some distance from the rush of Hong Kong Island and only reachable by ferry.
Dojo (Japanese): Martial arts training school.
Eight Immortals: A group of iconic Immortals from Taoist mythology, each one representing a human condition. Stories of their exploits are part of popular Chinese culture.
Er Lang: The Second Heavenly General, second-in-charge of the running of Heavenly affairs. Usually depicted as a young man with three eyes and accompanied by his faithful dog.
Fortune sticks: A set of bamboo sticks in a bamboo holder. The questioner kneels in front of the altar and shakes the holder until one stick rises above the rest and falls out. This stick has a number that is translated into the fortune by temple staff.
Fung shui (or feng shui): The Chinese system of geomancy that links the environment to the fate of those living in it. A house with good internal and external fung shui assures its residents of good luck in their life.
Gay-lo (Cantonese slang): gay, homosexual.
Ge ge (Putonghua): Big brother.
Guangdong: The province of China directly across the border from Hong Kong.
Guangzhou: The capital city of Guangdong Province, about an hour away by road from Hong Kong. A large bustling commercial city rivalling Hong Kong in size and activity.
Guanxi: Guanxi is a social concept where people have built a network of others that they can call upon to help them when needed. The more guanxi you have, the more others will be willing to assist you when you are in need.
Gundam (Japanese): Large humanoid robot armour popular in Japanese cartoons.
Gung hei fat choy (Cantonese): Happy New Year.
Gwun Gong (or Guan Gong): A southern Chinese Taoist deity; a local General who attained Immortality and is venerated for his strengths of loyalty and justice and his ability to destroy demons.
H’suantian Shangdi (Cantonese): Xuan Tian Shang Di in the Wade-Giles method of writing Cantonese words.
Har gow: Dim sum served at yum cha; a steamed dumpling with a thin skin of rice flour dough containing prawns.
Hei sun (Cantonese): Arise.
Ho ak (Cantonese): Okay.
Ho fan (Cantonese): Flat white noodles made from rice; can be either boiled in soup or stir-fried.
Hong Kong Jockey Club: a private Hong Kong institution that runs and handles all of the horseracing and legal gambling in Hong Kong. There can be billions of Hong Kong dollars in bets on a single race meeting.
Hutong (Putonghua): Traditional square Chinese house, built around a central courtyard.
ICAC: Independent Commission Against Corruption; an independent government agency focused on tracking down corruption in Hong Kong.
Jade Emperor: The supreme ruler of the Taoist Celestial Government.
Journey to the West: A classic of Chinese literature written during the Ming Dynasty by Wu Cheng’En. The story of the Monkey King’s journey to India with a Buddhist priest to collect scriptures and return them to China.
Kata (Japanese): A martial arts ‘set’; a series of moves to practise the use of a weapon or hand-to-hand skills.
Katana: Japanese sword.
KCR: A separate above-ground train network that connects with the MTR and travels to the border with Mainland China. Used to travel to towns in the New Territories.
Kitchen God: A domestic deity who watches over the activities of the family and reports annually to the Jade Emperor.
Koi (Japanese): Coloured ornamental carp.
Kowloon: Peninsula opposite the Harbour from Hong Kong Island, a densely packed area of highrise buildings. Actually on the Chinese Mainland, but separated by a strict border dividing Hong Kong from China.
Kowloon City: District in Kowloon just before the entrance to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel.
Kwan Yin: Buddhist icon; a woman who attained Nirvana and became a Buddha but returned to Earth to help others achieve Nirvana as well. Often represented as a goddess of Mercy.
Lai see (Cantonese): A red paper envelope used to give cash as a gift for birthdays and at New Year. It’s believed that for every dollar given ten will return during the year.
Lai see dao loy (Cantonese): ‘Lai see, please!’
Lantau Island: One of Hong Kong’s outlying islands, larger than Hong Kong Island but not as densely inhabited.
Li: Chinese unit of measure, approximately half a kilometre.
Lo Wu: The area of Hong Kong that contains the border crossing. Lo Wu is an area that covers both sides of the border; it is in both Hong Kong and China.