San Francisco, Uncle's Antique Shop.
On the rooftop balcony, the night breeze was cool.
Jackie Chan leaned against the railing, holding a cup of hot tea, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.
"Finally..."
He let out a long breath.
"We've collected all the Eight Demon Sorcerers' demon chi, and we've got all the talismans and masks too."
Tohru sat in the wicker chair beside him, his enormous body making it creak.
"Yes, we can finally get some proper rest."
"You can get a good night's sleep too, sir."
Pops sat in the middle, wrapped in his old blanket, reading glasses perched on his nose and a yellowed star chart in his hands.
"Pops isn't sleeping."
"Pops keeps having an ominous feeling."
He muttered the words.
"Pops needs to watch the stars. Stars don't lie."
Jade crouched beside the telescope, one eye pressed to the eyepiece, chewing gum.
"Pops, the moon looks really strange tonight."
Pops turned a page of the star chart without looking up.
"How is it strange?"
"It's... too round."
Jade tilted her head.
"Shouldn't it be a first-quarter moon today? The one toward the west. But look, the moon's disk is too round, and there's a purplish-gray halo around the edge."
"Like someone squeezed it with lotus petals."
Pops's hands stopped.
He slowly raised his head, a sharp gleam flashing through his clouded eyes.
"What?"
He stood, walked over to the telescope, pushed Jade aside, and leaned in to look.
The moon hung in the night sky.
Round.
Too round.
The purplish-gray halo around its edge was faint, almost invisible.
But Pops saw it.
His hands began to shake.
"Tohru."
"Bring me the zodiac charts."
Tohru froze for a moment, but immediately stood and brought over the heavy atlas of zodiac charts.
Pops opened the atlas, his