A/N: Well, I promised I'd update much sooner, so here is chapter 26! The next one is already done as well, so I plan to update again very soon. Yep, I've been inspired. Perhaps you should be worried, because I write some nonsense at times, when I'm way too inspired.
VampireNaomi – Aww, thank you, your reviews always make me feel better and more self-confident. I should stop bashing myself, but it can't be helped. Anyway, remember that you asked me a while ago about some other demons around and I told you there would be only one (Mei Liang)? Well, I found my old notes about the development of this fic and there are indeed more demons. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but now it's too late to regret that idea.
Hellblaze – Ah, don't worry, he'll be fine. Shendu is tough.
–CHAPTER 26–
After the Battle
At Uncle's dark shop, three figures moved not so carefully into the library.
"How does that book look like again?" Chow asked his friends.
"I don't know, just find it!" Finn snapped, narrowing his eyes to see the shelves filled with books before him.
"Didn't she say it has a red cover?" Ratso asked.
"Who cares about its colour? I can't even see the books with all this darkness," Finn replied, angry.
"How about we turn the light on?" Ratso fumbled with his hand on the wall, searching for the switch. However, Chow stopped him.
"No, they could find out we're here!" he explained.
"Well, let's at least turn a lampshade on or light a candle," Ratso insisted, walking to the table in the centre of the library. He smiled as he felt an object that seemed a lampshade and turned it on. Luckily, the light was dim enough so that no one outside could notice that there was someone in the library. The trio sighed, glad for being able to see again.
"C'mon, it must be here... somewhere," Finn said, hurrying to take the nearest book and quickly leafing through it. He soon realised that was not the book they were looking for and he placed it back, taking the next book. The other two followed his example, each one with a shelf.
After about fifteen minutes, Chow finally announced, "I found it!"
"Huh?" His companions turned to him in surprise.
"So soon?" Ratso asked.
"Are you sure that's the right one?" Finn said, sceptical. Chow lifted the book so that they could see its cover and smiled.
"It's this one all right. Look, its cover is red, and the texts seem to be just like she described," he assured.
"Well, then let's get out of here," Finn said, placing back the book he had been checking and leaving the library. Chow followed him and Ratso went right after them.
"Heheh, that was quite easy. Lucky us that there's nobody here in the shop," Ratso commented when they reached the door.
"Hmm, don't you guys think that's strange?" Chow asked, frowning a bit. Finn opened the door and turned to his friend.
"Ah, never mind that. The important thing is that- Waah!" They three startled when they saw a dragon floating before them.
"I see you have found the book. I hope that is the right one," Mei Liang said, making them open their eyes wide.
"M-Mei... Mei Liang?" Finn stuttered.
"Is that you? That is your true form?" Chow asked in disbelief.
"The book!" the demon demanded, angry. Chow jumped and almost dropped the book.
"Oh, yes, yes, sure, here it is!" he babbled, raising the book to show it to her. Mei Liang observed it carefully for a moment.
"Right, that is the book," she stated and the three men sighed in relief.
"Then let's go already, I'm in a hurry!" said another voice next to them. Finn blinked in confusion, Chow was open-mouthed, and Ratso scratched his head as they saw who it was.
"Julia...?" Finn asked. The girl placed her hands on her hips and frowned in annoyance.
"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" she questioned.
"Uhn... You... grew up a little, didn't you?" Chow responded. The girl now seemed to be in the end of her teens.
Julia took a glance at herself and smiled when she looked at them again.
"Oh, it's just that Hun Yu jewel. Don't you think I look better now?"
Mei Liang smirked and before any of the humans could say anything else, she announced, "It is time to go."
"Oh... Yes, sir... I mean... ma'am," Finn said, nodding. The four humans turned to the same direction, but Mei Liang did not move.
"Where do you think you are going?" she enquired sharply and all of them stopped, looking at her in confusion.
"What do you mean? We're going to the Dark Hand Headquarters, of course," Finn answered.
"We are not going back there, we are going to Hong Kong."
The three men glanced at one another.
"Why Hong Kong?" Ratso wanted to know.
"We have to free my brothers," she answered importantly. Chow looked like he had just been informed that he would be executed at the sunrise and dropped the book again. Finn froze and paled. Julia was serious, but kept a neuter expression.
"Aww, man..." Ratso muttered. "Not again."
"M-More demons?" Finn asked with difficulty.
"Silence! Just do as you are told! You!" She pointed at the Irishman. "Get the book!"
He reluctantly obeyed her. The other two just sighed, discouraged.
Tohru almost ran over Uncle when he stopped all of a sudden. The old man stared at nothing and frowned, concentrated.
"Is there anything wrong, sensei?" Tohru asked his master, who looked back.
"Everything has become calm... It seems that the battle is over," Uncle stated.
"Do you think Jade is all right?"
Before Uncle could answer – although he did not really know what to say –, the both of them turned around when they heard voices. A blue-haired girl was coming towards them, dragging with her a silver-haired boy.
"... and no one in our family has ever liked her," the girl calmly said, finishing her speech.
Uncle gasped. "It's Bai Tsa! Hurry, go hide!" he whispered, pulling his apprentice by his wrist to hide behind a van. Tohru was more careful to make sure that he would not be seen. Uncle narrowed his eyes and watched the water demon.
The girl suddenly stopped, making Uncle flinch. Had she sensed his presence?
She turned around and smirked. "It seems that their fight is over," she announced and Uncle sighed in relief before paying attention to what she was saying.
"Really? And who won?" Valmont wanted to know. Bai Tsa grinned evilly and pleased.
"Mei Liang. But that is obvious, since she possess the talisman powers while Shendu does not. I am just beginning to suspect that he is not dead, which is a pity," she commented, getting serious again. Valmont opened his mouth to say something, but she pulled him so hard that he just yelped. "Come on, we have to get there as soon as possible."
The duo went away and Tohru was about to stand up, but Uncle gestured at him not to move. When Tohru gave him a questioning look, Uncle pointed up, above the middle of the street. Tohru looked up and saw Tso Lan and Hsi Wu, in their true forms, going in the same way as Bai Tsa. Jade was being carried by Hsi Wu and seemed fine. In fact, she was even... smiling?
Tohru's eyes widened. How could she be smiling in the arms of a demon?
Uncle, who could not help but notice the very same thing, frowned, not looking pleased at all about that.
When the two demons were at a safe distance, Uncle and Tohru could finally leave their hiding place.
"Shouldn't we follow them, sensei?" Tohru asked.
Uncle shook his head. "No, now is not the most appropriate moment. We are at a huge disadvantage, and I believe that we can be more useful by researching rather than fighting for the time being."
"But Jade is..."
Uncle sighed sadly and lowered his head. "She is fine. She can take care of herself."
"Sensei, how can you say such thing! How can Jade be fine with demons!"
The old man did not respond, just continued on his way to the shop. Tohru, hesitant, followed him with no more words.
Jackie hurried to the vault in Section 13 where the talismans were kept. Halfway, though, Viper stopped him, looking confused.
"Jackie, what happened?" she asked in concern.
"Listen, I don't have time to explain now. I have to get the talismans," he said and prepared to run again, but his cell phone rang and he stopped.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Jackieeeeee, you don't need to bring the talismans anymore!" Uncle said on the other side of the line.
"What? Why not? What happened?" his nephew asked.
"The battle is over. Jade was taken back to the demons' hideout. That's all I know, now I have to research about that new demon."
Jackie sighed. To Uncle, research was the solution for all the problems. But Jackie was already getting impatient. Jade had been taken by the demons again and they were not going to do anything but read books?
"Very well, Uncle. I'm on my way to the shop," he said before hanging up. Viper faced him, demanding answers.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on or not?"
"Let's go to the shop. I'll tell you as we go along."
"Can I go, too?" a worried voice asked behind them. Jackie and Viper turned around to see the Mexican boy who had spoken.
"Of course, Paco."
Xiao Fung ran to the destroyed warehouse where Shendu had been buried. He removed some tiles, bricks, planks and pieces of concrete from the top of the dragon and for a moment, stood still, not knowing what to do. Shendu lied unconscious and seemed rather wounded.
"Shendu?" he called, unsure. Since the dragon was barely breathing, Xiao knelt down next to him. "Shendu? Shendu, wake up! Are you all right?" He shook him to try making him regain consciousness. The fire demon drew a deep breath with difficulty and opened his eyes a bit. "Oh, good, you're still alive," Xiao said, relieved.
He tried to help his brother stand up, but the fire demon was too weak and had to lean on Xiao Fung.
"Uh... hmm... You cannot walk, can you?" the wind demon asked rather clumsily. Shendu opened his eyes to glare at him, annoyed with the stupid question.
Xiao let out a heavy sigh and glanced around, disoriented. How would he take Shendu to a safe place without attracting any mortal's attention? There could be two chi wizards around and they might take advantage of Shendu's condition. And even if the two demons took their human forms, Xiao could not carry him all the way to their hideout. That would take ages, anyway.
Unless they took some transport of the mortals. They just had to go to a less deserted area.
"Can you at least take a human form?" he asked Shendu, who made an effort to nod. However, it took him almost two minutes to concentrate enough and turn into a blond man, the form which he had used before. "See? It wasn't that hard, was it?" Xiao remarked sarcastically and took his own human form.
Xiao Fung placed Shendu's arm around his neck and helped him walk.
"W-Where... Where are we going?" Shendu asked.
"We are going back to our hideout..." Xiao smiled. "... by taxi."
"What do you mean she is back? That's impossible!" Tchang Zu roared. Jade and Valmont flinched, but the other demons were more than used to that. Dai Gui stared at Tso Lan in disbelief and Po Kong sighed.
"Tchang Zu, you know it is not impossible. Since that dark chi explosion, we all knew that this could happen," she said gloomily. Bai Tsa rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation.
"I don't understand why you are making a big thing of it. Mei Liang may have the talisman powers, but she is alone. She has no chance against all of us," the water demon said coolly.
"That is true," Tso Lan agreed, glancing to her. "And that is why freeing her brothers will be her first move."
Bai Tsa shrugged. "Even if she gets help from her brothers, they will be at a number disadvantage."
Hsi Wu flew next to her. "Have you forgotten the power of her oldest brother?" he questioned. "If he absorbs our powers, it will be very difficult to defeat them."
"But we do not have to worry about them, right?" she said and glanced at each one of her siblings. "Their portals have been sealed forever, haven't they?"
"And so were ours, when that chi wizard banished all of us back to the Netherworld. And yet, we are free again. What makes you sure that the same cannot happen to other demons?" Po Kong pointed out.
Tchang Zu began pacing up and down the room, knocking some furniture over.
"All right, we just have to locate Mei Liang and eliminate her before she can set her brothers free," he muttered, thoughtful.
"By the way, where are Xiao Fung and Shendu?" Po Kong wanted to know.
"Well, I don't know about Xiao Fung, but I think Shendu may be dead," Bai Tsa answered, barely managing to hold back her smirk. Tchang Zu immediately stopped and everyone looked at her in astonishment.
"Dead!"
"Have you seen his corpse?" Tso Lan enquired seriously. Bai Tsa hesitated and shook hear head. "Then we cannot be sure that he is dead," the moon demon concluded simply.
"Then where is he?" Tchang Zu asked.
"He must be with Xiao Fung," Hsi Wu guessed. The thunder demon growled and began pacing again.
After a while, Hsi Wu turned to Tso Lan. "Oh, brother Tso, what about the spell to turn us back to adults?"
The ones who had been turned into children immediately turned their attention to the moon demon.
"That is right, I already have almost all the ingredients. Only one thing is missing," Tso Lan replied.
"Yes, and what is it?" the youngest demon wanted to know.
"Ambrosia."
Even the demons who were hardly paying attention looked at him in surprise. Bai Tsa raised a brow and crossed her arms.
"Ambrosia? Does that still exist?" she asked.
"Of course yes," Tso Lan assured.
"Ambrosia? Hmm, that name is familiar..." Jade murmured to herself, trying to remember.
"I just need someone to go to Greece and get some of it," Tso Lan said and looked at the sky demon. "I think you are the most suitable for that, Hsi Wu. You can go and come back tonight, can you not?"
"Sure, brother Tso. I'm off to Greece, then." Hsi Wu flew to the nearest window, but before he could leave, Jade ran to him.
"Hsi Wu, can I come? Please, I've never been to Greece," she asked.
"No, Jade. I will get there faster if I go alone. Besides, you haven't been feeling well, you'd better stay here."
Jade frowned and crossed her arms, but did not insist. She wanted to be an adult again as soon as possible and would certainly have other opportunities to go to Greece, anyway.
Hsi Wu left through the window and disappeared in few seconds. Meanwhile, Tchang Zu and Dai Gui left the room and Tso Lan placed all the ingredients on a coffee table, where there were some other ingredients and an open book.
"While Hsi Wu is out, I will prepare the potion," he informed. Po Kong smiled and also stood up to leave.
"Mmm, I hope I can get some ambrosia, too. That thing is just... divine," she said, licking her lips. She then went straight to the kitchen.
Not getting to think of anything to do, Jade just went back to her place on the sofa and watched the two remaining demons.
Tso Lan took a big bowl and began to mix the ingredients inside it, producing a liquid that looked like gasoline and strongly smelled like rotten eggs. The other three occupants in the room grimaced and covered their noses.
"Eww! Tso Lan, how can you stand that?" Bai Tsa asked.
"Argh... I need fresh air...!" Jade said, standing up and running to the door that led to the backyard. Bai Tsa and Valmont followed her example when Tso Lan added another ingredient, which made the potion turn green and smell even worse.
Outside, Jade ran past the pool and sat down behind some flowered bushes. She sighed, glad for breathing oxygen again, and lied down to observe the sky. From the city, with so many lights and pollution, the sky was not so starry. Oh, how she wished to be flying above the clouds so that she could see the sea of stars up in the sky and the sea of urban lights down on the earth, while feeling the cool wind blowing on her face...
Valmont leaned against the wall and took several deep breathes, enjoying the sufficiently fresh air outside. When he was a bit more relaxed, he raised his gaze to see the water demon in front of the pool.
"I think I could swim a bit now," she said and leapt forward to dive into the water. After almost one minute, Bai Tsa resurfaced and coughed, choking. Valmont could not help but sneer.
"Well, well, well, how ironic. I can't believe the water demon nearly drowned in a pool," he remarked. Bai Tsa glared daggers at him and hissed.
"I was not drowning! It's just that this water is horrible! It tastes weird," she defended herself and Valmont raised his eyebrows, understanding.
"Ah, it's because that water has chlorine."
"Chlorine?"
"Yes, it is a-"
"Silence, human!" she cut him off, annoyed, and Valmont immediately closed his mouth. Bai Tsa got out of the pool, sat down on its edge and turned to see the boy. "Come here," she ordered, tapping the ground next to her. Hesitant, Valmont obeyed her, a bit confused.
Bai Tsa looked at him from the corner of her eye when he sat beside her.
"So, you think the idea of me, the water demon, drowning is amusing, don't you?" she questioned dryly, although Valmont thought that there was a hint of humour in her voice.
"Uh... No, I-" Before he could finish his lie, Bai Tsa shoved him into the pool and he yelped before falling. Due to his surprise, Valmont took a while to realise what had happened and recover. He then swam back to the surface and when he got there, the water demon was pointing at him and laughing.
Valmont began to struggle and gasp, apparently drowning.
"Help...! I can't swim!" he shouted. Bai Tsa immediately stopped laughing and got alarmed.
"Ah! Hurry, hold my hand!" she quickly said, stretching her hand to save him. Valmont held it and pulled it hard, causing her to fall to the water as well. "Ahhh!"
Bai Tsa got to the surface and glared at Valmont, who was now smiling in victory.
"Got you," he stated simply.
"Funny," she hissed, slitting her eyes in anger.
"You started it," Valmont reminded her, shrugging. "But I must say I am surprised. I didn't think you would get so scared because I was drowning."
Bai Tsa blushed slightly. "Ah, I... I... Nonsense, I was not scared at all! I just did not want to lose another slave so soon, that's all!" she retorted. Valmont rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Let's stop this. We are behaving like children..."
"Hmm, perhaps because we are children?" Bai Tsa suggested in a sarcastic tone.
"We just look like children, but..." He stopped and his eyes widened a bit. "Do you think we will also start to think like children from now on?" he asked in concern.
"So what? Tso Lan is making the potion, anyway," Bai Tsa said, then glared at him again and took a deep, exasperated breath. "I still cannot believe I fell for such an old trick..." she muttered, but Valmont could hear her.
"Neither can I. Did you really believe I was drowning?" he provoked.
"So you swim well?" she made sure.
"Very well," he said, self-confident. Bai Tsa smirked maliciously.
"Then I think I will have to drown you!" she exclaimed, placing her hands on his head and pressing it down to dive him completely. Valmont struggled, trying to swim back to the surface, but the water demon held him firmly. After some seconds, she let him go and he resurfaced, coughing and panting.
"What do you think you are doing!" he protested.
"Getting my revenge!" Bai Tsa answered before diving him again. After almost half a minute, she let go of him.
"Bai Tsa, stop that!" he demanded between coughs. She laughed and dove him one more time.
"And spoil my fun? No way."
This time, instead of struggling, Valmont grabbed her tail and pulled it. Bai Tsa yelped in surprise and let go of Valmont, who took advantage of that to dive her the same way she had done to him.
But Bai Tsa did not like that at all. Who did that human think he was?
Being much stronger than him and not needing to breathe air, she grabbed his wrists and pushed him against the edge of the pool, facing him with red glowing eyes. Valmont, however, kept a calm expression.
"What's the matter? You didn't like it?" he provoked. The mermaid squeezed his wrists tighter and faced him even closer.
"You fool," she hissed. They stayed like that for a long while. Bai Tsa just could not think of anything to do but stare at those sky-blue eyes. They looked so familiar... She was sure there was something in the past that she should remember, but it was so distant...
'I will come back for you...' a voice echoed in her mind. Bai Tsa widened her eyes, puzzled. Who had said that?
Suddenly, the sound of a horn interrupted her thoughts and she startled, abruptly letting go of Valmont. The both of them turned to the direction the noise had come from, but they could not see the street from the pool.
"What was that?" Bai Tsa wondered and got out of the pool. Valmont did the same and the duo ran to the front side of the house.
At the street, there was a taxi parked. Xiao Fung opened its door and got out with Shendu, who was covered in blood and had to lean on his brother not to fall. When Xiao saw his sister, he waved at her and smiled.
"Sorry, Bai Tsa! He's still alive!" he shouted and even Shendu had to smile. On the other hand, neither the water demon nor Valmont were happy with that. They both had really hoped that the dragon would have died.
The bell of the shop rang, indicating that someone had entered. Uncle raised his glance, alert, but relaxed as he saw it was just Jackie, followed by Viper and Paco.
"Have you found something, Uncle?" the archaeologist wanted to know, closing the door.
"Are Jade and Jack all right?" Viper asked, worried.
"Yes, I believe they are," Uncle answered before going back to read the thick book on his desk. "As for the research, I have found some information about this new demon."
"Well?" Jackie said. At that moment, Tohru came from the kitchen with a tray, serving some tea to Uncle.
"Thank you," the old man said and then turned to his nephew again. "Mei Liang was part of a family subordinated to the demonic family we know. A long time ago, the Heads of those two families reached an agreement for arranged marriage. Mei Liang, the youngest one of the first family, was engaged with Shendu."
"What? With Shendu?" Jackie asked, frowning.
Uncle nodded. "Yes, because they are dragons. Dragons were considered noble creatures and were nearly extinct. The idea was to create a new dragon clan. But things didn't go very well, because they disliked each other. Besides, Mei Liang's family betrayed Shendu's family and they got in a conflict. In the end, Shendu himself sealed her in a parallel dimension from which it was impossible to escape."
"Then why could she escape?" Viper enquired.
"Do you remember that a while ago, we had planned to banish the demons to the Realm of Eternal Suffering by sacrificing Jackie?"
The other three nodded and Uncle went on.
"It was the same method to banish Mei Liang. Shendu sacrificed his firstborn to accomplish that."
"But how could she escape from that realm, sensei?" Tohru asked.
"Getting to that!" Uncle snapped, annoyed with the interruption. "When we tried to do the same, some sort of chi overload occurred, which caused the dark chi explosion and broke the seal of that dimension. Thus, the spell went wrong and Mei Liang could escape."
There was brief moment of silence, everyone trying to absorb all that information.
"Tell me, Uncle, why does she possess the talismans powers and can control the Shadowkhan?" Jackie asked and Uncle shrugged.
"She absorbed all of Shendu's powers. But that is not our most important problem, because we have the talismans, as well," he replied.
"Then what's our most important problem?" Viper asked.
"And when are we going to save Yade?" Paco added, anxious.
"Do not worry about Jade for now. The demons must be concentrating on how to defeat Mei Liang, perhaps Jade will even have a chance to escape on her own." Uncle then darkly muttered something under his breath, but nobody could understand what he said. After some while, he just went on in his normal tone of voice, "We, too, should be concentrating on how to defeat Mei Liang. As well as Shendu, she is at a disadvantage all alone, so she will set her brothers free so they can help her. We must stop her."
"And how are we going to do that?" Jackie asked.
"I will try to locate the power of the talismans. The problem is that the locator spell may indicate the talismans which are kept in Section 13, so I will have to work on that to make it more accurate."
"What can we do while you take care of that?" his nephew asked, getting desperate.
"You can make tea to Uncle," the old man answered, going back to his reading. Jackie and Viper did not look happy with that answer, but it was Paco who objected.
"Why don't we go save Yade!"
Uncle shot him an annoyed glance. "If you want to face eight powerful demon sorcerers, go ahead. But I am telling you that Jade is fine."
"How can you be so sure about that?" Viper asked. Uncle hardly bothered to raise his glance from his book.
"I just am," he replied simply.
The four people around him looked at one another and Tohru shrugged. Jackie sighed in defeat and turned around.
"I'll bring Jack back. It's still too dangerous outside and I don't want him to be alone there."
"I'm coming with you," Viper offered, leaving with him. Paco sadly lowered his head, uneasy.
"Tohru, go and make the antidote for Captain Black. Jade may not be here anymore, but he still is a child," Uncle said.
"Yes, sensei."
Paco frowned. Yes, Jade was not here anymore. But not for too long. No matter what Uncle said, Paco did not believe that someone could be fine being hostage of demons. And if no one wanted to rescue her, he would have to do that by himself.
He just had to think of way to do it...
The fetid smoke of the potion which Tso Lan was making had already taken over the whole first floor of the house, and Xiao Fung almost let Shendu fall. The dragon, who was already too weak, passed out because of the smell. Valmont almost did the same when he was forced to enter the sitting room again.
"Tso Lan, what is that... that thing?" Xiao Fung asked, grimacing.
"It is our antidote," Bai Tsa answered, not very happy with the smell either.
"Will we have to drink that?" Valmont complained.
"Once I add ambrosia, the smell and the taste will get better," Tso Lan assured.
"How can you tell? Have you ever drunk that potion?" Bai Tsa questioned.
"No," the moon demon replied simply and his sister just rolled her eyes.
"You will at least bath when you are done with that potion, right?" Xiao Fung said. Not waiting for an answer – which would never come, anyway –, the wind demon dragged Shendu to a room on the second floor.
"Please, let's get out of here? I am getting sick," Valmont said with a suffering expression. The mermaid nodded and gestured at him to follow her.
"So am I. Let's go upstairs."
The air on the second floor was quite fresher and they both could breathe normally, relieved. Bai Tsa walked on the corridor and stopped in front of a closed door, looking curiously at it.
"What is in this room?" she asked Valmont.
"It's just a place where we keep some old things," the boy answered and then Bai Tsa slowly opened the door. The place was all dark, and the draught created when the door was opened caused all the dust to rise.
Bai Tsa went in, even though the room was pitch-black. However, Valmont soon turned the light on and they could clearly see what was in there.
Wooden boxes. Seemingly, they had not been opened for a long time. Bai Tsa began to open each one of them, finding old books, toys, photo frames, tools, clothes, and so on.
"So much trash. Isn't there anything useful here?" the water demon complained. Then, when she opened a new box, she seemed interested in what was inside it. "Is this a...?" she murmured, taking a dusty violin out of the box.
"It's a violin," Valmont stated. To his surprise, a pleased smile played on the mermaid's face.
"Of course, a musical instrument!" She turned to him, eager. "Can you play it?"
Valmont frowned, bewildered. "I haven't played it for ages... I would need to practice and-"
"Oh, it's all right, I have not played it for ages, either. And when I say ages, I mean it. I think I don't even know how to play it anymore."
She searched for the bow in the box. When she found it, she leaned the violin on her shoulder and the bow on the strings.
"Let's see..." she murmured, biting her lip. She pressed the bow unnecessarily hard on the strings and pulled it. A deafening noise echoed in the entire room and in the corridor. Valmont flinched and had to cover his ears.
Bai Tsa looked rather embarrassed. "Hmm... I think I will have to relearn everything... Perhaps if I do this..." she said to herself, repositioning the bow on the strings. Valmont, alarmed, prevented her from continuing.
"No!" he exclaimed, attracting the demon's attention. "You have to hold it like this..." he said, correcting the way she was holding the violin and the bow. "... You control the strings with your fingers, here... and have to slide the bow slower... like this..." he explained, making the movements of the demon's hands for her to show exactly how to do it. The first note was quite low, and then the second and the third notes came a bit higher. Valmont let go of her so that she could repeat the three notes by herself.
"Yes, that is right..." she said, getting to play two more notes. "If I practice a bit, I will surely remember how to play it," she commented, but the fifth note was not that good again and Valmont flinched at the unpleasant sound.
"Or perhaps if you practice a lot," he remarked.
Xiao Fung entered the kitchen and was not surprised to see Po Kong eating the rest of the food in the refrigerator.
"I guessed you would be here," he said.
"Oh, you are back. What happened to Shendu?" she asked, not really caring.
"I tried to apply the dressing on him, but he told me to leave him alone," he answered, grabbing a biscuits pot and seeing if there was something to eat inside it. Not even a crumb.
"Oh, then he's all right. He is a demon, he will be fine soon enough," the mountain demon assured. Xiao sighed and opened the pantry. It was empty, as well.
"Where are the others? Tchang Zu and Dai Gui?" he wanted to know, opening the freezer. Just ice inside it.
"They must be hiding from that smelly potion that Tso Lan is making," she replied.
"It's just that there is something you all should know... Hmm, we know that Mei Liang will attempt to set her brothers free, right?" he started, checking one of the saucepans on the cooker. Only air there.
"Yes, we were talking about that before you arrived, when the air in the sitting room was still breathable."
"Well, yes, and we also know that she would need a really great power to do that, right?" He looked into the oven. Nothing. "What the Netherworld! Isn't there absolutely anything edible here! Have you just eaten all the food!" he complained angrily.
"Yes," she answered evenly. Xiao Fung moaned in frustration and sat on a chair. "So, what should we know?"
"Well, Mei Liang does not have enough power to free her brothers..."
"That is why we do not have to worry."
"Ah... That's the problem. You see, it seems that... she has joined forces with that little girl."
"What little girl?"
"You know, that blonde... Bai Tsa's new mortal's daughter. The one who has the Hun Yu jewel."
Po Kong froze and slowly turned to him, alarmed.
"You mean now Mei Liang has the power of the Hun Yu jewel for herself?"
He nodded. The mountain demon instantly got up and rushed out of the kitchen. The others had to know about this.
"Jackie, have you gotten to find an antidote? I can't stand being in this child form anymore, and my wife is throwing a fit here!" Captain Black said in desperation. Jackie sighed.
"I don't know, Captain Black. I'm not even at Uncle's shop, I'm going to get Jack at his school."
"Oh, then tell my children that they should come back home, too. It's very late already," Black requested.
"Sure," Jackie answered before hanging up.
"Here we are," Viper said when they arrived at the school.
"Let's look for them."
The couple entered the party and glanced around, trying to find one of the three children in the middle of the crowd.
"Look, Vinicius is right there!" Viper announced, pointing at the red-haired boy.
"Vinicius! Over here!" Jackie shouted, raising his hand and waving at him. The boy turned towards him and quickly noticed them. He waved back and ran to meet the two adults.
"Hello, Mr and Mrs Chan!" he greeted.
"Where are Jack and your sister?" the archaeologist asked.
"Somewhere around here. I think they're together. I just don't know where Jade is. She disappeared all of a sudden..." Vinicius answered with some concern in his voice.
"Jade is not here, Vinicius," Viper said.
"She isn't?"
"Look, we just want to find Jack and Alice. And your father told you to go home because it's late," Jackie said.
"Oh, alright, then. I'll help you look for them."
They three headed to the gym, where children and teenagers were dancing. Jackie glanced at Vinicius; he had never seen the boy so worried, though he was trying to keep a calm façade.
Perhaps it was because of Jade's sudden disappearance. Jackie knew she and Vinicius had come together. He wondered if that meant something.
To be continued...