2024-09-24 22:23:50"I have only done a quick check on the internet, Dr Adam. It seems they have a Family Office which provided some writeup. Besides that, the business dailies and Forbest provided some business-related information about the Chuas."
"It is good enough. I appreciate the quick turnaround. I am know I can be quite a pain."
"Don't say that." Ah Mui said. " I am used to it." She winked to which I was at a loss of words and simply nodded.
"The Chua family information you had asked for."Mui turned her laptop screen over and shared a word document.
I read "John Chua has three children – Eldest Son – Marcus Chua, second daughter -Mavis Chua and youngest son Jonathan Chua. Marcus Chua and family stay at the mansion from time to time."
"I remember Visnu and May said once in a fortnight?"
"Then there is Mavis Chua and Jonathan Chua"
"Marcus Chua is the General Manager of Four Seas." Ah Mui shared.
"He looked stern with that central parting."
"A split image of his father," I said. I shifted to Mavis Chua
"Mavis is that social media darling? I said
"Yes. Didn't you know about her? She is famous."
"No. I am not sure I know her well."
"She is a nutritionist and travel blogger. Her TikTok account shows her travel footprints and every video is well-received. I think she is the few Singaporeans with a million followers. Her health recipes business I heard is very well received."
"I once read she is the favorite of the patriarch. What about the other family members? I am interested to hear more about them."
"Marcus is married with two children. Wife is a home-maker and daughter from another reputed family."
"What about Jonathan?" I asked
"I cannot find much about him but I found his name at the Standard Hospital. He is practicing medicine in the States."
"Looks like all the children are very positioned in life."
"It speaks a lot about the family upbringing."
I scrolled through the document as I ran my thoughts."
"None of them are in Singapore during the day before the murder," I said
"Dr Adam, you are right."
"I will leave that investigation to Visnu and May." I said
"Can you take some more time to dig up more information about them?"
"I will try my best with all the sources available."
"Ah Mui, can you do something more for me."
"Would I reject you, Dr Adam?"
"Could you help me check on the history of the Chua's mansion?"
"The property we were at?"
"Yes, and I need to know some history of the place. Please dig into the archives. I am not sure where but the archives at Urban Redevelopment or Land Authority may offer a clue. I would like to know the history of the place. If you face a problem, let Visnu know and he may help us extract"
Ah Mui threw me a glance "What do you have in mind?"
"I would like to know the history of the land, especially the past before the Chuas bought the land."
"It will take time but I will work on it."
"Appreciate that."
As Ah Mui scribbled my latest instructions, she spoke.
"As usual, that sense of uncertainty in these assignments. I am excited by such wild elements but this time, I sensed there is something different…"
"Different?"
"The answers lie in tonight's encounter, if any."
"I am sure we will find something!"
Now for the important part of an Sen'i as I give my instructions.
"The things I need for tonight, Ah Mui."
"Do I bring the usual exorcist pack you mentioned this afternoon?"
"The light package – my brush, the Mugwort portion, my Buki Brush, and finally, my Bagua."
"Do you need to tie strings all over the room? Living room?"
I shook my head.
"Our first time at the mansion, I don't want to mess it up. We could be over-tooled for this assignment."
"Really?" Ah Mui asked.
"I could be wrong. Just bring about 500ml of the mugwort essence and get one ball of the red string" The red string is usually deployed to demarcate a boundary when we perform a ritual. It is a critical step because it prevents spirits or other entities from the other supernatural worlds from entering the human physical realm.
"I will get packing." She said, eager beaver "
"Do I have classes tomorrow?"
"No, it is your clean day." Clean – no undergraduate's engagement.
"You stay put and man the office in case the Dean calls."
"Alright, but I am still coming alone?" Mui asked
"I can't stop you even if I wanted to. You may just sneak in somewhere, somehow." I said and then looked over at my assistant, a head shorter and ten years younger, and saw that thirst for adventure.
"Sign an indemnity form, Mui!"
She rocked back in laughter "Since when do you issue indemnity forms? My mother does not require it."
"She will kill me." I answered "One day, sooner than later."
"You are an Onmyoji! I'm supposed to feel safe with you around! That's how I assure her."
"That's true," I said
"I am coming, no matter what you said." She protested.
I gave up and walked over to my private closet and unlocked one of the compartments. This is one cabinet I kept behind my desk. The Dean of Faculty has been fine about me safekeeping my tools in the office as long as I do not perform rituals to disrupt the faculty operations.
I punched in the combination numbers and unlocked it. Opening it gently, I took out a box from the second shelf. It was a wooden box nicely carves with flower motif.
I opened it to see a necklace with a golden leaf as its pendant.
"Put this on if you are coming." I instructed.
"The Golden Leaf? Is this the protective token you told me about?"
"Yes. It will keep you safe from the malevolent spirit." The Golden Leaf or Happa no omamoriIt was a protective amulet handed down by Venerable Sato. It is forged from broken pieces of golden ornaments from one of the oldest temples in Gifu, Japan. Personally blessed by the Master Sato, it has proven to be a good ally in my fight against the dark spirits. I have a couple of them, and one was lost by Ah Mui during my previous exorcist assignment.
"I knew you would not leave me out of this assignment." She said with relish as she put on the necklace. "
"What time are we heading over?"
"I plan to go over at 11 pm. I had already communicated that to Visnu"
"子时. The first hour of the day and that's the exact moment in a day when the Yin energy is on the ascent."
"The optimal time to open the portal to the other supernatural worlds."
"You are fast becoming my best student."
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Chapter 52
Kelly understood intuitively what I meant“Like when I need to climb that big tree in our temple grounds,” she asked, with glee glowing on her cheeks.“Like we used to do when we were kids,” I said.Saying she placed one foot on a shelf and held her hands out as a leaping platform. I took off my red jacket and flexed my muscles. Oji Hasegawa said “Don’t break my shelves or cupboards. It is very expensive.”“I will not. Rest assured, Oji”Oji Hasegawa returned to his seat and sat down in comfort.Without battling an eyelid, I ran and stepped on her palm. At that moment, she gave her hands an upward thrust and I threw myself upwards. Using my powers, I propelled myself towards the kite and stretched my handsHowever, just as I reached, the kite darted off with a glimmer. In the flash, I lost my balance and fell backward. At the nick of time, I managed to grab the corner of a cupboard to steady myself but it was too late. The grip was slippery and I had a bad landing on my hip. The sh
Chapter 51
“Adam, I think your impatience had abducted your rationality. I am not convinced you should have it."I swallowed hard. Oji Hasegawa was toying with me. His style.“Adam, you have allowed your emotions to take precedence.”I nodded “Maybe I had.” The urgency of helping Mavis resolve her jamlock had hijacked my rationality.“You should consider all the threats to the Chua family and then consider options at your disposal.”“Maybe you are right but I felt this is a cause worth trying.”Oji Hasegawa drew a long sigh. “Adam, the heart to help is commendable but the price you must pay is too high.”I have heard of the consequences of crossing life and death. “Oji, I am aware of the consequences. I hope you can consider helping me. I shall be grateful.”Hasegawa gave me a stony silence and then, unexpectedly, guffawed. “I don't like my senpai, your master but that is between us. I have not been active in the sect for another reason. However, I will still be ready to extend help when it is
Chapter 50
I took a deep inhale and pronounced my intentions. “I would like to borrow the Kanji from you.”Oji was unfazed and said in a deep voice ‘The Kanji?”I nodded, waiting for the icy rejection. Oji leaned forward and then smiled. “Do you think you are here to borrow a pair of pants?”“I am sorry if I sound too impetuous?”Oji Hasegawa began pacing in front of me and stopped within inches of me, face to face.“You young Onmyojis behaved like you could do things with ease. There is no respect for rituals. You think you have the powers to behave as you please.”“I did not intend to offend. I am sorry.” I bowedOji Hasegawa shook his head “Remember to show respect for tradition, and show regard for the other realms,”“I will bear that in mind.”“Borrow the Kanji? For what purpose?”“I know I may sound rude to come here uninvited...” I continued with my courtesy but Hasegawa replied curtly, cutting me in mid-sentence.“Reason?”“We needed to help us solve a mysterious death. There has been e
Chapter 49
When we reached the given postal code, we were met with a row of shophouses without any clear indication of the specific address we were looking for. When Kelly was about to give up, I had noticed something. I squinted my eyes to be sure and, when I was, told Kelly about it. I pointed to the display facade of the shop in the middle of the row which seemed to be well lit.“Toys? Adam, what are you telling me?"“Look at that.”I pointed to the Daruma Doll that perched on the highest shelf of the shop's facade. Daruma Dolls are quite easily found in Singapore though it is not common and the ones at department stores are regular wares from the factory - presentable as home decor but are not endowed with powers.The one that caught my eye is as big as a football. To any amateur, it looked just a display set but to me, it looked different. There is a conspicuous dot on the forehead of this Daruma Doll and most importantly it was wooden. In my sect , only the highest Onmyōji gets to dot th
Chapter 48
er witnessing Aminah's frailty, we decided not to continue our interrogation. I executed a prayer of serenity that put her to rest. After she slid into a slumber, we left. We walked out of the ward and headed down to the carpark. Kelly took over the wheel. She had quite a way with cars and had a penchant for racing on the roads. In the past, I had genuinely feared for my safety but somehow reached my destination, safe. This time, as I needed time on my own, I took the back seat. My head was brimming with thoughts as I tried to digest the information mess in my mind. As our vehicle exited the carpark, back onto the street level, we passed by a red Mercedes GLA. The polished exterior and the glimmer of newness captured my mind. I was pretty sure I had seen it before. However, my mind captured something else - the driver.It rang a bell but as we were already about to join the main traffic, I did not ask Kelly to pause to investigate but I made a mental note to follow up on it. I sa
Chapter 47
I summoned my ‘qi’ and mastered the movement of the energies. “I need help.” She cried. The agony in her heart-wrenching vocals drummed in my heart.“Breathe, Aminah! ” I commanded, "Breathe and look at me." I said " Her eyes widened as her grip on my hands tightened. Instantly, in my body, I felt a surge of energy travelling up my veins. I tried to fight it but the strength of that force grew. This is the power of the dark spirit. I inhaled and used my internal powers to control the darkness. However, it slithered Images begun to form in my mind like a series of files have being downloaded onto a laptop - the mansion, the rooms, the Chuas- John, Marcus, Mavis, Jonathan, and the lawn with its towering trees. In rapid succession, I saw the images of the pictures on the walls, the children playing on the lawn and in the drawing room with its furniture and the street outside the mansion. Then there many more and I felt my mind working at a feverish rate to digest them until there was
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