*Season's P.O.V.*
I was awakened by the announcement of the captain and my eyes immediately darted to the window where our destined city was already visible. I was overwhelmed when I saw how it was covered with white sheets of snow. I mean, what was I expecting? It is late in December, which means it is winter in this part of the world that's above 30° north latitude. I buckled my seatbelt when the lights turned red, meaning we're coming in for a landing.
"Told you you'd need a thick coat." Master Cheng said as I shrugged the coat on. It's the one that he gave me a few years because Tennessee also experiences you know.
"Yeah, I thought I would miss winter this year." I chuckled, pointing out the fact that the Philippines is a tropical county, hence it does not experience four seasons. I let my gaze wander in our surroundings as we made our way out of the airport and into a taxi. Master Cheng did the talking because I seriously don't have time to marvel with yet another language. I mean, I still don't get the hang of Tagalog fully, and now I have to worry about Chinese? No thank you. I already have a lot of things to worry about. "Where will we stay?" Just like that one.
"To a friend of mine. I already told the driver the address. But I'm not sure how much things have changed after 30 years, you know." Master answered, staring out the window. Probably marveling at his hometown, which he would've missed dearly. I, however, didn't bother to look outside so much as there is nothing exciting about the winter scenery. But that's just an opinion of mine. If I'm not this problematic at the moment, I would really love to check out the architectural designs of the buildings here, considering the fact that it is one of the oldest cities in China. But right now, I don't think I'd enjoy it.
However, a good 30 minutes later, we stopped at a rather populated street and Master Cheng paid the driver and helped me get my luggage out of the trunk. I know I said I'd rather skip sight seeing the local architecture in the city but, I can't help but be amazed at the one that's standing right in front of me. It is at the very center of the city and it looks ancient, despite the modern establishments that surround it.
"Amazing huh? That's called the Bell Tower, pretty famous tourist attraction in Xian." Master Cheng said. Wow, so are we going to his friend's house or are we going to see some tourist attractions? "Follow me." He ushered as we crossed the busy street, along with the other pedestrians. I kept my belongings close to me as we zigzag through the mass of people and street vendors and I sure as hell am going to love the jolly vibe of the place if we were here for a different reason. Then he turned a corner and entered a gate where some people went too, so I just followed along and eventually found myself in something like a courtyard. Or well, a massive ancient looking brick and wooden complex of houses with a number of rooms and alleyways that Master Cheng expertly zigzagged on.
"I'm pretty sure that sign says that area is already off limits to the public." I spoke, when I saw him duck through a rope that's tied from one monkey looking statue on my right, into a lion-like figure that stood on the same kind of pedestal as the other on my left. Wow, fancy.
"Yes, but not to worry, the owner knows me. Or well, the descendant of the owner. That's because Gao Yue Song is only alive by a statue in his chambers now." He reassured me.
"But still, it isn't right for us to trespass Master." Yes, I still call him Master because I want to.
"This complex is huge and more than half of it is open for the public and busy with tourists, do you think they'd still have time to check and welcome us? They already told me decades ago that I can come in this way, so don't worry too much darling." I just sighed and ducked under the rope too. As we went on, I thought we reached a dead end as this part of the structure doesn't look like it has a door or passages. Only a sun-like object adorned its plain, heavy looking wooden wall, along with the little stone steps at the bottom. I was going to ask Master Cheng but I my thoughts were cut off by his actions.
He climbed the little steps and held the sun-like object with both of his hands as if he's driving a steering wheel and it made a creaking noise when he turned it in a clockwise direction. It seems to be heavy though as I saw how the master gritted his teeth and furrowed his brows as the veins on his wrists bulged out. "Need a little help?"
"Do you have something like an oil in there?" I rummaged through my hand bag and luckily enough mama placed an oil that smells like mint in here, probably for the journey, I guess this would help.
"Here." I said, handing it out to him. "That thing's rusting. Maybe it hasn't been used for a long time." I noted as I saw him pouring half of the 200 mL oil into it to be used as a lubricant.
"Probably." He agreed as he tried again. This time, it didn't creak anymore as the oil managed to lessen the friction in its mechanical nature and suddenly the wall split into half, lengthwise. My jaw dropped as the insides were gradually revealed. It's beautiful! And ancient. It's very well kept too. The floor and wooden furnitures are shining in barnish and cleanliness that I almost want to take off my shoes upon entry. In addition to that, Master Cheng bowed in worship at a statue of errr, I'm not so sure what statue that is of, which is situated against the wall, opposite of the door. I feel a strong sense of holiness in the room and it's the first time that I felt like this. I mean, I've been to some temples and churches before but they didn't give off a vibe as chilling as this lone statue did.
I almost jumped when the door suddenly shuts with a loud bang as Master Cheng pulled down a lever from a pillar adjacent to the statue and the room was engulfed in darkness as the light from the outside is cutted off. I heard him pull down another lever and the lamps from the side came to life, illuminating the room in a pale yellow color. Gosh, this place feels so ancient.
"Ni hao pengyou." A feminine voice said that once again made my heart skip a beat. Gosh, does this place want to give me a heart attack? My eyes darted to the figure that rounded the corner to greet us. It's a Chinese woman of Master Cheng's age and her outfit matched the ancient vibe of the place really well.
"So Yu." The master replied with a hint of longing in his voice. Ehem, my 'friend's' house eh? Perhaps they're not just friends?
"Henjiule…" She replied as she ran to his arms and the two embraced each other. The affection in the way that they're hugging made me smile. Well, I didn't know.y master had a love life.
"Yes, it has been." He said as they let go of the hug but still held each other at arm's length.
"I thought you forgot about me, and thought something went wrong." She said in an accent that reminds me so much of how Master Cheng sounds like way back when I was ten. Or well, the first time I met him on that alleyway where he saved me and my brother.
"You're not wrong. Something went wrong." Master said, completely pulling away from their intimate hold.
"What? Is it Xia? Where is Xia?" So she knows my mother? Does that means she knows we're witches?
Master sighed. "Xia is gone."
She gasped. "Gone? What gone? Kidnapped? Or what?" It is evident that she cares so much for my mother for her to react the way that she did. "Do they plan to do the ritual now? After so long… How did they find you both?" She fired some more.
"No So Yu, gone as in, she's dead. And we only have remains of her." Master said, as an answer to her first question. Then his eyes fell on to me and her gaze followed along. "This is Season, her daughter." I slightly bowed upon his introduction.
"Oh…" She seemed to be at a loss of words but she recovered quickly and gave me a hug. "Welcome." She said and I could only smile. "How rude of me to not invite you in, come on I will show you your rooms first, you must be tired from the journey. Come, come." She ushered, leading us into the dimly lit corridors. I felt like I'm in the underground tunnels once again because of the lighting but it's a more intricate version of the tunnels because of the various artifacts and artworks displayed by the walls and hall tables. They seem to be antique too. Gosh! Archeologists would love this place. "Season, you stay here for the time being. Your uncle's room is just over there." So Yu instructed as she opened an old fashioned door.
"Thank you." I said as I entered the room, checking its simple insides. It has a four posted bed, a huge cabinet, a vanity table with a mirror and some paintings, whose depictions I can't quite decipher. There's also a window on the wall opposite to the door but it is closed. No need to open it though, it's cold outside.
Where can I find the light switch? I asked myself. This place doesn't look modern after all. I inspected the line of three levers lined close to the door, one of these must be the switch? Well, I have to give it a try. I placed my luggage beside the bed before I went back to the three levers. Raising my hand, I tentatively touched the one closest to the door and eventually pulled it down.
Bang! The door suddenly shuts, making me flinch, just like earlier. So it's not the light switch. And now that the door is closed, with no other light source in the room, I am surrounded by complete darkness. Nonetheless, I moved my hand to the right and pulled down the next lever. Walah! Six lamps lit up all around the room, giving it just enough light. For some reason, their lights have this mechanically engineered stuff that would make them spark up when you pull that lever. But, I actually don't have much time to check out any more of the stuffs in here since I'm tired. I just placed my bag inside the big cabinet and changed into more comfortable clothes and eventually dived into the bed, to get some sleep.
"Her name is Xia!" A strong masculine voice reached my ears and I stirred in my sleep.
"No, apparently there were some changes and she's not Xia." Is that Zhoque I'm hearing? What is she doing in here?
"But I thought it's supposed to be Xia? Quinglong, isn't she Xia?" Another male voice asked and this time I tried to open my heavy eyelids.
"No, her name is Season. And for some reason she's not who we think she would be. In fact, she didn't seem to know anything about us until her emotions fueled my release." Came Quinglong's explanation. This time I was able to open my eyes and found myself in the same room that I was sleeping in earlier. Now that's strange, usually when I'm dreaming, I'd find myself in a different place but…
"Really? Who is she then? A daughter?" The first voice earlier asked.
"Perhaps." Something is telling me to open the window and it's as if my body has a mind of its own as I walked towards the levers and pull down the third one from the door, opening up the window. That's actually a floor to ceiling window with intricately designed bars outside. I made my way to it and peered outside where I saw the colorful mountains. Now I know that I'm definitely in a dream! I slightly turned my head to the left and sure enough, I saw four figures standing around the taoist ying-yang symbol, an azure dragon (Quinglong), a vermillion bird (Zhoque), a white tiger, and a black tortoise who, I have yet to know, but they're frozen gray stone statues anymore. They look very much alive, with different colors as well. They appeared to be discussing something, probably about me and as I stared at them even more, the white tiger turned its head and our identical eyes met.
"Season? Dinner time." The knocking on my door woke me up.
"I'll be there in a minute!" I called back as I sat up and stared at the closed window, pondering about my dream. What would I see when I open it? Curiosity got the best of me and I eventually found myself pulling down the only unpulled lever. Strong, cold winds entered the room and my jaw dropped in awe at the wonderful sight of the city. Lights from buildings made it look more alive and magnificent. Silly me, thinking I'd see the colorful mountains and the four astral spirits.
"Season?" Master's second call made me close the window and open the door simultaneously.
"Sorry, I was asleep." I apologized eventually following him through the halls.
"No worries." He smiled, opening up a door to a dining area. An old fashioned dining area, just like the rest of the property. There's a medium sized 8 seater table at the center of the room, some shelves and counters on the side, and a door that leads to the adjacent room, probably the kitchen. Gao So Yu already sat on the table, waiting for us as maids served food. Noodles! Yup, Chinese noodles and dumplings. Yum!
"Hello, come join me." She invited us and we eventually took our seats. "Help yourselves."
We had a quiet dinner, only slurping the noodle's soup and having small talks. I mean, they had small talks and they're speaking in Chinese so I didn't bother making my head spin. I didn't notice that I was already playing with the last few noodles in my bowl until somebody cleared their throat. I looked up and Master Cheng spoke. "Are you done dear? We need to check your siblings' whereabouts soon."
"I've already let some of my maids gather the ingredients into the work room." So Yu said.
"Thank you."
I slurped down my food, wiped my mouth and drank the glass of water beside me before answering. "Sure, I'm done but, can I ask something?" They raised their eyebrows at me. "So Yu, are you a witch too?" Yeah, that's straight forward.
"By practice, yes. By blood, no. So my magic weaker than yours." She answered. Ahhh, that's why everything seems to be normal for her. "Not to worry, my magic is pure. I don't practice black magic." She added. Of course.
"Oh, alright. Now that makes things clear for me." I said as the three of us stood up and one of the maids came up to gather our utensils. So Yu led us to this 'work room' of theirs and I felt like deja vu because the room looks a lot like the room of Jovie's grandmother back in Cebu. Gosh, witch stuff and all littered the area and they both sorted the said ingredients in the counter while I only watched.
"Come over here." Master Cheng called out so I obediently did. I looked at the caldron in front of us and then looked at Master Cheng for instructions. He gave me a knife. "Cut your right palm and dip it in." What? "You heard me Season, it won't hurt." He reassured me when he saw my reaction.
So I took a deep breath and placed the sharp edge of the knife slightly above my skin and pressed it in eventually, feeling the slight sting of the cut. I turned my right palm up so that I could see it as red liquid started gushing out from it. I ten dipped it at the boiling caldron. "Ahhh," I hissed.
"It'll be fine." He said as we watched how the water turned red. Gosh, why must witchcraft involve blood? "Now hold this with your wounded hand." He said, giving me something like peach? Well whatever it is I held it as they both added the ingredients into the caldron. They stirred it for a few minutes before the smoke turns green and the master nodded for me to place the fruit that is now stained with my blood. "Hold hands." He instructed and we did as we circled the now bubbling caldron. "Bless our Offering, help us find those we are seeking. As they share the same blood, let us see them in a sud."
I felt a strong surge of energy igniting within me and a strong gush of the winter's wind blew my way. It's so strong that I almost thought I'd be flown away by it but I remained rooted to the ground with Master Cheng and So Yu, holding on tight. It was just there but suddenly, it vanished. "It didn't work…" So Yu trailed off.
"Let's try it again." Master Cheng said. "Maybe with another pear." He added, removing the one in the caldron and making me hold yet another one.
"Shouldn't I wound my palm again?" I asked, seeing as the blood has almost dried up.
"No, one ritual, one wound. But, you can bite it down just to open it up again." I flinched at his suggestion.
"Do I have to do it?" I asked. Trying not to gag at the thought, especially when he nodded his head. I gulped, taking my right hand to my mouth and biting it. I felt the blood starting to gush out again and its metallic taste reached my taste buds, making me spit it. Right, I'm not a fan of my blood either. I held the pear once again and made sure to wipe my blood on to its surface. "Is this alright now?"
"Yes, put it back in." So Yu agreed. We held hands again and Master Cheng said the same chant twice this time and an even stronger energy was felt in the room and a huge bubble appeared from the green smoke and the boiling water. "Show us. Show us!" After his words, the bubble flattened and solidified, presenting us a hologram screen that showed my siblings in a state that makes my blood boil.