The beginnings of a Spirit Disaster

MacLehose looked at the coffee before him.

"I never expected the Emergency Management Department's offices to be so shabby."

Chen Ying picked up his coffee and took a sip.

The plan was progressing very smoothly. He was now certain that at least the Hong Kong and Kowloon authorities, or rather, the foreigners' side, were not enemies truly plotting against Granny Chen.

Because if they were enemies, these foreign devils at the heart of things would never have shown such restraint.

They were not afraid of him, but of Granny Chen behind him. So they were not among those moving against Granny Chen, or they would have taken him into custody long ago.

"Under the Police Force Ordinance, two officers must be present when questioning a suspect." MacLehose looked at Chen Ying. He could not figure out why this man had suddenly called him and specifically asked to see him.

"Besides, Mr. Chen, the police currently suspect your involvement in an armed robbery. The person you should be seeing now is your lawyer."

"Then you can arrest me and send me to the Criminal Investigation Department, Officer Mak. But as I recall, cases in Hong Kong and Kowloon can't be built on testimony alone, can they? And suspects have the right to remain silent. You'd at least need some physical evidence, such as where the gun is, where the gold is, and so on."

MacLehose fell silent for a moment.

"There's a team of Imperial personnel outside right now who want to know why you're here. And I believe they don't care about so-called laws."

"I told you, I came to seek cooperation. I'm not looking to cooperate with the Police Force or the Emergency Management Department. The person I want to cooperate with is you, MacLehose-Officer Mak."

"Mr. Chen, I think you're mistaken. I have no intention of cooperating with dangerous individuals."

MacLehose smiled. This young man actually thought he could get a hold over him. He was far too young.

"Is that so? What a shame. Aren't you interested in what happened on Rongyi Street?"

"We can find out what happened on Rongyi Street ourselves."

MacLehose kept his voice under control. "Besides, what happened on Rongyi Street is of no importance to me."

"There's no point talking like that, Officer Mak."

Chen Ying gently pushed his coffee cup forward.

"If you, or rather, your people, weren't interested in what happened on Rongyi Street, you would never have agreed over the phone to meet me alone."

"I studied the Police Force Ordinance before contacting you. Under its provisions, you have to notify your superior before meeting me alone-in other words, a certain deputy commissioner. The department above your Emergency Management Department is actually the Empire's intelligence and investigation apparatus. That's hardly a great secret in Hong Kong and Kowloon."

"Your superior must have approved this meeting, and there should be listening devices in this office too."

Chen Ying casually glanced over the many electrical appliances.

"Mr. Chen, if you're seeking our protection, then frankly, I could get those cops to stop investigating you with a single phone call. But what that has to do with our interest in Rongyi Street..."

"The fact is, I know you're very interested in Rongyi Street, and I have a rough idea why you're so interested. I have a lot of information that could help you, but there's one thing: I don't know what you need."

"As you know, I'm a law-abiding citizen."

Chen Ying picked up a pen and a sheet of paper from his desk.

"So now I'll ask the questions, and you'll answer. If you can answer a question I ask, answer it. If you think this is pointless, you can have your friends outside arrest me at any time."

"First, what we call the Netherworld-what do you call it?"

MacLehose looked at Chen Ying and thought for a moment.

"Different cultures have different names for that place. We usually call it the Void Realm or the Spirit Realm, something akin to the Netherworld in traditional Zhongzhou culture."

"Now, hypothetically, if something big in the Netherworld-no, the Void Realm-wanted to come over... hmm, what would happen if a big fellow with three heads wanted to come over?"

Chen Ying chose his words carefully, deliberately adding a few details to make them more convincing.

He saw it.

That was MacLehose's first reaction, followed by more questions.

Nevertheless, MacLehose answered.

"Different cultural spheres have different terms for that situation. In Zhongzhou, it's called the opening of the Ghost Gate. In Fusang, it's called the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. Our standardized term is a Spirit Disaster."

He then picked up a sheet of paper and held it flat on his palm.

"Suppose this sheet of paper is our world. We live on this upper surface, while the Void Realm is the other side."

"We each live our own lives without affecting one another, but there are exceptions. If something particularly 'heavy' exists on either side, its weight can distort the paper, creating some kind of connection..."

As MacLehose spoke, he jabbed a finger into the paper. His hand seemed exceptionally sharp, cutting a large hole straight through it.

"The most extreme case is a breach in the boundary between the two sides, creating a direct connection. Then the big fellow on the other side can come straight over. Its very existence poses a threat to civilization and life and causes immense destruction, some of it permanent."

"That situation is called a Spirit Disaster."

Chen Ying nodded.

His original conjecture had been correct. This was the main reason the foreign devils were worried.

That decrepit temple on Rongyi Street was the beginning of a Spirit Disaster. Once the Three-Faced Ghost God crossed the boundary, all of Hong Kong and Kowloon might be reduced to ruins, wiping out the colony they had labored over for so many years in one stroke.

"In fact, small-scale Spirit Disasters happen all the time. The reason I went to Tongwen Academy was that we detected abnormal fluctuations in the Earth Vein."

"The Earth Vein?"

"Mr. Chen, you may have been born into a more traditional Zhongzhou family, so you might call it Yin and Yang Qi or something else. In alchemy, we call the force that keeps the two worlds separate the Earth Vein."

"In other words, the paper itself."

"Any disturbance in the Earth Vein, or Yin-Yang Disharmony, can cause things from the other side to come over, or people from our side to cross over."

MacLehose spoke pointedly.

"In fact, Mr. Chen, you should be very familiar with this situation. The place where you live, for instance. To us, there's little difference between your residence and that abandoned temple on Rongyi Street."

"If there were someone who could cause a Spirit Disaster all by himself, and was even in the process of creating one, what decision would the Imperial authorities make?"

Chen Ying asked.

"We would ask him to leave. No one is permitted to challenge Hong Kong and Kowloon's prosperity and stability, including you, Mr. Chen."

MacLehose spoke solemnly.

At the same time, he took the paper and pen from Chen Ying and began writing furiously.

Chen Ying smiled.

"It seems we have nothing in common, then?"

"Nothing in common."

MacLehose held up the paper. On it were an address and a precise time.

"Mr. Chen, we hope today's matter ends here. As for the criminal investigation, I can announce on behalf of the Police Force that we will halt it entirely. But we also hope you can understand our position..."

"Let's be understanding of each other."

Chen Ying stood and extended his hand.

"To a happy cooperation?"

"To a happy cooperation."

MacLehose nodded solemnly.