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"A Republican-era costume party?" Yu Jinlan repeated. "Oh, you have definitely come to the right place. Never mind the costume shop; they have very little from that period, and it's not even accurate. I have what you need to be the stars of the costume party. Let's go look in our attic, Changcheng! You too, Shuzhi."
Her nephew and his partner followed her obediently up the stairs into the attic. It was well-organized with neat, well-labeled boxes, although the roof was low and both men had to stoop. She led them directly to a set of boxes labeled "Yu Jinlan – Maternal Grandfather." In what seemed like no time she had found a solid black suit for Chu Shuzhi with a coordinating herringbone vest in blue and black, and a long charcoal gray changpao with loose matching pants for Guo Changcheng, and shooed them off to another corner of the attic to change.
When they returned, she tweaked the fastenings on Guo Changcheng's changpao, retied Chu Shuzhi's tie and tucked it under the vest, then stood back and surveyed her handiwork. "Oh, yes, now you look authentic!" Then she looked at their feet. "Well, almost…" she dove into a neighboring box and emerged with several shoe boxes. Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi exchanged glances that conveyed their rueful joint decision not to antagonize Yu Jinlan by asking her to speed things up. An angry Yu Jinlan could become an extraordinarily slow and deliberate Yu Jinlan.
When she finally stepped back, smiled, and deemed them both pitch-perfect, something curious happened. A swirling gray mist seemed to envelop both Changcheng and Chu-ge, generating a low-pitched humming sound as a translucent barrier rose between the two of them and the rest of the attic. The barrier around them gradually became more and more opaque, while the low hum grew into a deep loud buzzing sound.
Guo Changcheng reached out and took Chu Shuzhi's hand as the buzzing within the opaque mist grew louder; Chu Shuzhi squeezed back. As if that had been a signal, the mist gradually became translucent while the volume of the buzzing faded to a gentle hum. Finally, both the visual and the sound faded away, and they found themselves standing in an alley between two tall brick apartment buildings. Nearby sounds of traffic suggested there was a busy street nearby.
Following the sound out of the alley and remembering to drop hands just in time, they stood on the sidewalk, watching the cars and people go by.
"Oh," Guo Changcheng cried out, "look at that bus!" A bus trundled past bearing a sign advertising a tour of the Bronze Bird Terrace. Once it had gone by, a street vendor selling tiny white Buddha statues was visible across the street. "Chu-ge," he added, "I don't think we're in Dragon City anymore."
"Where do you think we are, Changcheng?" asked Chu Shuhi. "My knowledge of Haixing outside of Dragon City is pretty limited."
"This looks like Ye City," said Guo Changcheng. "I studied it in school. There's just one problem." Chu Shuzhi lifted an inquisitory eyebrow. "The city was destroyed in the late sixth century and never rebuilt."
"So we've come to … an alternate dimension in which Ye City survived into …" Chu Shuzhi looked around. "People seem to be dressed a lot like we are. Could this be that same time period?"
"The Republican Era? I think so," said Guo Changcheng. He turned and looked at Chu Shuzhi, who met his gaze with equal puzzlement. "But why are we here?"
A woman wearing a silk brocade cheongsam over an ankle-length lace skirt was headed directly toward them, her heels clicking rapidly on the sidewalk. Guo Changcheng began to take a step back so as not to obstruct her path, when she simply walked right through him and kept on going. "Ma'am?" he started to say, but she had already moved out of earshot.
Chu Shuzhi looked around, scrutinizing the people up and down the street. "There's another one," he said, looking down the next block. There are a handful of people walking around," he said quietly, "who appear to be dead."
"Like that woman who just walked through me."
Chu Shuzhi nodded. "There are a couple more people over there—" he pointed to the next block—"who are simply walking through others as if they're not there. And they're wavery around the edges. I don't think the living people can see them."
"But we can," said Guo Changcheng. "I wonder if that's why we're here. Maybe there's a ghost we're supposed to find?"
Chu Shuzhi shrugged. "Maybe. Although ghosts walking around in broad daylight could also be normal here." He reflected. "Our presence here might just be a fluke. We could've accidentally set off a dimensional booby trap."
"In my aunt's attic? Why would there be—" Guo Changcheng stopped mid-sentence. "Chu-ge, look across the street. Near that vendor."
"Hei Pao Shi!" breathed Chu Shuzhi.
Hei Pao Shi suddenly vanished; Chu Shuzhi felt the "pop" of air displacement and refocused to see Shen Wei standing right in front of him. "Hei Pao Shi!" he said again, this time from a kneeling position. Guo Changcheng was bowing.
"What did you just call me?" demanded Shen Wei.
"Hei Pao – no, my apologies," said Chu Shuzhi, rising quickly to his feet. "I hope I did not give away your identity, Professor Shen."
"You didn't," said Shen Wei brusquely. "But where is this 'Lord Black Cloak' nonsense coming from? And what are you doing here, Zombie King? You're not assigned here; you're supposed to be in Dragon City." The whites of his eyes turned black as he turned a stony glare on Chu Shuzhi. Irked, Chu Shuzhi glared right back.
Guo Changcheng, who had initially looked delighted to see Professor Shen, now looked dismayed. Just a bit shakily, he asked, "Zombie … King?"
"And who is … " Shen Wei looked Guo Changcheng up and down, "this … individual?"
Guo Changcheng began to stammer, "Th-this unworthy one—"
Chu Shuzhi cut him off, putting an arm around Guo Changcheng's shoulders. "He's under my protection," he said coldly.
The person claiming to be Professor Shen actually rolled his eyes. Chu Shuzhi bared his teeth.
A familiar voice broke in upon the standoff. "Xiao Wei! Who are your new acquaintances? You must introduce me."
Zhao Yunlan, looking as if he wore a tweed three-piece suit every day of his life, strolled onto the scene, a glib smile on his face.
Shen Wei's eyes returned to normal. "Lord Guardian," he said politely, "This is Chu Shuzhi, also known as the Zombie King, and his friend."
"There's a King of Zombies?" asked Zhao Yunlan, enthusiastically shaking Chu Shuzhi's hand. "Wow, your cultivation is excellent – if I didn't know, I wouldn't know." He turned toward Guo Changcheng. "And what is your name?"
"I'm Guo Changcheng, Chief Zhao." Despite the man's friendly and familiar appearance, there was something almost predatory about the way Zhao Yunlan was eyeing Guo Changcheng. Chu Shuzhi tightened his protective grip around Changcheng's shoulders.
"Are you seeing this, Xiao Wei?" Zhao Yunlan said quietly to the professor. "Xiao Guo here has a blinding level of merit. He probably glows in the dark."
Shen Wei shrugged. "What's more important right now is how he knew your name. Neither of us mentioned it." The two of them stared at each other as if they were the only people on the sidewalk.
Chu Shuzhi felt that it was time to take back the conversation. "Listen," he said. "I'm not a zombie and Changcheng's not a torch. The two of us are newly arrived in this dimension."
"This dimension, eh?" asked Zhao Yunlan, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Tell you what," he said. "I have a feeling this situation is going to take a good bit of explaining, and there's a nice little 24-hour café right here. Let's go inside, order a pot of tea and a few beers, and talk this out."
"That's a good idea," said Chu Shuzhi. "I've noticed the ghosts don't go into the buildings."
Professor Shen, who was leading the way, turned sharply. "You can see the ghosts." It was not a question.
Chu Shuzhi nodded. Guo Changcheng said, "So can I."
Zhao Yunlan said briskly. "Sounds like we have a lot to talk about. We're going to need more tea."
"And more beer," said Chu Shuzhi. Zhao Yunlan bumped his shoulder companionably, and in they went.
The conversation took a great deal of time, and there were a number of exclamations, along the lines of, "What do you mean you're an alien with mutant powers—and so am I?" and "You carry a whip? And use talismans?" Eventually they got down to the most important questions.
"So how were we brought here?" asked Chu Shuzhi.
"And what are we supposed to do?" asked Guo Changcheng. "Does it have something to do with ghosts?"
"You mentioned being able to see a few ghosts hanging around here," said Zhao Yunlan. The visitors nodded and he continued. "It isn't usually like that. We almost never see ghosts, and when we do, we're able to help them. This case is different." He opened himself another beer and took a sip before continuing. "There was a terrible crime in this neighborhood last week. A gang of professional hit men apparently infiltrated a fancy party and killed everyone there. When police arrived on the scene, the killers were gone. Only their guns were left behind, and the fingerprints on them don't match any known criminals. No one has been able to figure out who the killers were."
"That's very strange," observed Guo Changcheng.
"You can say that again," agreed Zhao Yunlan. "What's more, about a dozen of the people who were killed are still here. We think their ghosts aren't moving on because they want to tell someone what they know."
He opened his police notebook and flipped through a few pages. "From what we can tell, they were near the east entrance of the house when everything went down, while the others were mostly indoors or in the garden on the west side."
"So you think they saw something the others didn't," said Chu Shuzhi.
"Exactly," agreed Zhao Yunlan. "But they won't talk to us. They vanish as soon as either of us gets close." He gestured toward Shen Wei. "They seem to be especially terrified of him."
Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng looked at each other. There was one topic they hadn't covered during their long discussion. "Professor Shen," asked Guo Changcheng, "do you have an identical twin in this dimension?"
Shen Wei's voice was ice cold. "I do," he said. "There is no way he can be involved in this case. He's currently underground fomenting his plans among the demons of chaos. I would know if he had attempted to come up here."
It was beginning to get dark by the time they had completed their conversation, wrapping it up with Zhao Yunlan's "It's agreed, then." He turned to Guo Changcheng. "So, Xiao Guo, you will try to learn what you can from the ghosts, with the aid and protection of Lao Chu. Shen Wei and I will stay here, so we don't spook the spooks." He grinned at his own play on words.
"The sooner we can get this information, the sooner we can take action," said Shen Wei. He glanced at the dimming light visible through the windows. "Evening is generally a good time to communicate with beings in this liminal state."
"We'll head out right now, sir," said Guo Changcheng. Chu Shuzhi nodded.
They stepped out into the cool dusk. The ghosts, still wavery and now also faintly glowing, stood out more distinctly from the solid living humans. Guo Changcheng walked up to the nearest one, a well-dressed older man who was standing still near the curb with a frown on his face. "Excuse me, sir," he began.
The man answered testily. "Yes? What is it, young fellow?"
Guo Changcheng looked surprised at the ready answer, but moved on quickly to the question the group had agreed on for him to ask. "Can you tell me about anything unusual that has happened lately?"
"Unusual, eh?" the man said, rubbing his chin in thought. "Well, of course! That shooting at Yang Bolin's party last … well, whenever it was, that was quite a surprise."
"A shooting?" asked Guo Changcheng.
"Why yes," said the man, warming to his story. "Of course, as soon as the first few shots rang out, all the guests scrambled to get out of the house, myself included." He moved his hand to his back as if it were sore and continued speaking. "While we were running out, I glimpsed a man running in." The man's face grew tense. "He was running as if all the demons of hell were running after him!"
"Why would someone be running in?" Guo Changcheng wondered aloud.
The ghost shrugged. "Looked like he was carrying a gun. I figured he was one of the shooters who got there late." He looked worried. "I've seen him around here a few times since then, with a friend of his, trying to catch me and some of the other witnesses. Probably wants to finish the job."
Chu Shuzhi broke in. "Did you get shot?"
"Of course not. Didn't I tell you? I was one of the guests who got away." He pulled his hand away from his back and stared at it; it was stained dark with blood. "At least … I thought so."
Guo Changcheng put out a reassuring hand toward the ghost's shoulder.
Watching from inside the café, Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan saw a white glow spreading from Guo Changcheng toward the ghost, while Guo Changcheng's eyes closed in concentration. After a few moments, the ghost vanished and Guo Changcheng leaned against Chu Shuzhi, speaking rapidly. Chu Shuzhi nodded and the two walked back toward the café. Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan waited quietly, curious.
"We had intended to canvas more of the ghosts before reporting back," said Chu Shuzhi as they entered the café, "but you need to hear this now."
With a gentleness at odds with his tough appearance, he urged Guo Changcheng to sit down. Seating himself next to Changcheng, Chu Shuzhi laid a hand on his arm and said, "Tell them what you told me."
Guo Changcheng was pale, but his voice was steady. "I was able to see what our first witness experienced in his last moments. He didn't see the actual shooting, but he saw someone who looked exactly like you, Professor Shen, running into the house, holding … I'm not sure what. He thought it was a gun, but I'm not so sure."
"What did the object look like?" asked Shen Wei.
Guo Changcheng frowned. "I really couldn't tell," he said. "Just … something oblong. About this big." He held his hands about eight inches apart. "If I can talk to some more ghosts, see it from different angles … I might have a better idea."
"Was there anything else?" asked Zhao Yunlan, who had been taking notes.
Guo Changcheng paused for a moment, as if recollecting. "He also wants us to tell his son he's sorry, and he should go ahead and marry the person he truly loves."
At this, Zhao Yunlan stopped writing and exchanged a very personal look with Shen Wei. Chu Shuzhi groaned and whispered, "Ugh, these two are just as bad as ours." Guo Changcheng stifled a giggle.
"I wonder who this mystery person was," said Zhao Yunlan. "I know it wasn't you, Xiao Wei, because I know exactly where you were and what you were doing—"
"Spare us," groaned Chu Shuzhi. Shen Wei looked grateful.
"Might it have been my counterpart from your dimension?" he asked Guo Changcheng.
Guo Changcheng closed his eyes for a moment as if reliving the ghost's memory one more time. "It could be," he said hesitantly. He looked as if he might say more, but he exchanged a look with Chu Shuzhi and remained silent.
"So instead of our questions being answered, we now have a new set of questions to ask," said Zhao Yunlan, frustrated.
"You're welcome," said Chu Shuzhi with angry sarcasm. "C'mon, Changcheng, let's go find a hotel or something. Obviously we're not helping here."
Shen Wei reached out a hand toward Chu Shuzhi, stopping just short of touching him. "I'm sorry, Zom—Chu Shuzhi. Even if we don't fully understand it, this is a breakthrough. We need to appreciate Guo Changcheng's hard work in getting us the information, as well as his kindness in redirecting that wandering soul." He elbowed Zhao Yunlan, not very subtly.
Zhao Yunlan took the cue. "You're right, Professor. I'm sorry, Xiao Guo, Lao Chu." He hesitated, then said, " It's important to lay these poor ghosts to rest, of course. And any additional information you can provide will give us more pieces to this puzzle." Shen Wei gave him a significant look. "And oh, yes, we can arrange a place for you two to stay," Zhao Yunlan added. "Our house has a guest room. And a cat."
Guo Changcheng lit up with delight. "Da Qing! Right?" He made a gesture as if tracing a very large cat with both hands.
Zhao Yunlan smiled. "Exactly," he said.
Guo Changcheng turned excitedly toward Chu Shuzhi. "C'mon, Chu-ge, let's see what we can do tonight."
"Don't push yourself too hard," Chu Shuzhi was saying as they went out the door. "You know what happens …" his voice faded out as the door closed behind them.
"It looks like they will at least be able to fix our ghost problem," said Zhao Yunlan. "And I think there's a good chance they'll solve our mystery ..."
"But …?" prompted Shen Wei.
"We still don't know how those two got here."
"Or how to get them back where they belong," agreed Shen Wei.
"That was number five," said Chu Shuzhi, watching Guo Changcheng scribble in a notebook. The two were sitting side-by-side on a bench under a streetlight.
Guo Changcheng finished writing down what he had learned from the ghost, including the ghost's final wish, then turned to sketching. "Here's what I have so far, Chu-ge," he said, turning the notebook around.
He had made several quick drawings of a man wearing a black pants and a dark gray hooded jacket, each from a slightly different angle. The face that could be seen in three of the drawings was clearly that of Shen Wei, or his double. The object he was holding looked like a long thin rectangle. A few vague lines represented the only details that the witnesses so far had glimpsed on the object. Chu Shuzhi stared at the notebook for a few minutes, then looked closely at Guo Changcheng.
Changcheng's face was pale and drawn, and dark circles were beginning to show under his eyes. He was breathing more easily now, however, and his hands betrayed no shakiness. Yet. "The object is starting to get clearer, Changcheng," said Chu Shuzhi. "Do you want to try to do a couple more tonight?"
"I want to do all of them tonight, Chu-ge," said Guo Changcheng firmly. "If we figure out what he's holding, we can figure out what he was doing there."
"And that would give us a better idea who it was," Chu Shuzhi reluctantly agreed.
Five more ghosts later, Chu Shuzhi left Guo Changcheng on a bench outside the café, went in and silently took a glass of water from the table, and marched out. Putting an arm around Changcheng, he counted with him to even out his unsteady breathing, then coaxed him to drink the water. Then Guo Changcheng got his notebook out. He had difficulty holding his pen, but he eventually finished writing.
"Are you all right, Changcheng?" asked Chu Shuzhi.
"I'll be fine, Chu-ge," said Guo Changcheng, though the darkness of the circles under his eyes, standing out against the paleness of his face, told a different story. He took a few more breaths, then began sketching.
Chu Shuzhi studied the final result. "Okay, first of all, I don't think that's our Shen Wei." Guo Changcheng had captured the man's expression in detail, from tense eyes to narrowed lips.
"I don't either," agreed Guo Changcheng.
"Second …" Chu Shuzhi stared at what the man was carrying. "This looks like a control device. Maybe one of those arrays Lin Jing likes to build."
"Like the ones he's been making for—Ohhhh." Their eyes met, and both nodded.
"Why aren't they saying what they think?" Zhao Yunlan asked Shen Wei.
"They suspect they've been bugged," said Shen Wei. "Obviously."
"You mean they don't trust us?" asked Zhao Yunlan, looking surprised.
"Would you?"
Zhao Yunlan stared into Shen Wei's eyes. After a moment, he shook his head.
Two ghosts later, the sketches were nearly complete. Guo Changcheng was sitting and leaning heavily against Chu Shuzhi, barely able to remain sitting. His face was no longer merely pale, but pained.
Chu Shuzhi was studying the latest sketch. "I can almost make it out," he said. "Maybe the chief and the professor will recognize it."
Guo Changcheng began to nod, then suddenly pulled himself away to sit upright. "Chu-ge, look," he whispered, pointing into the distance.
One final ghost was coming toward them.
Chu Shuzhi reached out to grip Guo Changcheng's shoulder. "Changcheng, no," he said. "You're almost a ghost yourself already."
"But Chu-ge …," said Guo Changcheng. "That ghost might have the last piece of the puzzle for us."
The ghost was drawing closer. Chu Shuzhi said in frustration, "Or she might not. And you would overtax yourself for nothing."
"I have to do this, Chu-ge," Guo Changcheng said stonily, and Chu Shuzhi saw that there was no arguing with him.
When the ghost came closer, Guo Changcheng, leaning on Chu Shuzhi, went out to meet her. "Ma'am?" he said. "May I speak with you?" One last conversation, one last white glow, and Guo Changcheng collapsed into Chu Shuzhi's arms.
Chu Shuzhi sat cross-legged on the sidewalk, cradling Guo Changcheng in his lap. "Changcheng," he whispered, patting his friend's pale, chilled face. "Changcheng, can you hear me?"
"Chu-ge," Guo Changcheng whispered. "She saw it … clearly. It's … definitely … a cross-dimensional array." His eyes closed. Just as Chu Shuzhi thought he had passed out, he added, "You know what that means, Chu-ge."
"I do," Chu Shuzhi said. He got to his feet, lifting Guo Changcheng easily in his arms, and headed back into the café.
Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei stood up as Chu Shuzhi carried Guo Changcheng into the café. Dragging a couch from the waiting area, they pushed it over to their table just in time for Chu Shuzhi to lay Guo Changcheng down on it. Chu Shuzhi pulled off his suit jacket and covered Changcheng up, then pulled his chair up next to the couch.
The others stared at him, uncertain what to say. Finally, Chu Shuzhi spoke. "I told you it would be hard on him," he said. Then he sighed. "I told him too, but I couldn't stop him. He talked with all thirteen."
"Did he find out what they saw?" asked Shen Wei.
"They saw someone who looked like you, Professor, carrying a cross-dimensional array device," Chu Shuzhi responded.
"Do you know who it was?" demanded Zhao Yunlan.
Chu Shuzhi looked away for a moment. "We have a pretty good idea. But that information is classified and we don't have clearance to—"
The temperature in the room dropped abruptly; the air tingled with power. Moments later, a silvery black portal opened and a man with Shen Wei's face walked out, carrying a cross-dimensional array. His silver hair was tied back in a short ponytail at the nape of his neck, and he wore a dark gray hooded jacket over a white jumpsuit. Ignoring Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei, he moved immediately to stand beside Chu Shuzhi.
"What's happened to Xiao Guo?" he asked. "Exhaustion?"
Chu Shuzhi nodded. "Yes. Overusing his power."
The newcomer placed his hand on Guo Changcheng's head for a moment, sending out a trace of dark energy. Xiao Guo sighed and visibly relaxed without awakening; the lines of pain in his face smoothed out.
"Thank you, sir," said Chu Shuzhi.
The newcomer briefly petted Guo Changcheng's hair and straightened up. "It's good he has you to take care of him," he said to Chu Shuzhi.
Then he rounded on Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan. "I imagine you're the ones who have been overworking Xiao Guo."
"Nice to meet you, too," said Zhao Yunlan sarcastically. "I'm Zhao Yunlan, and this is—"
"I know who you are."
"You have the advantage of us, sir," said Zhao Yunlan in an irritated tone.
"I'm known as Ye Zun," the newcomer said. "I come from the same dimension as these two." Pulling over an empty chair from a nearby table, he sat down; Zhao Yunlan poured a cup of tea and pushed it over to him. "Thank you," said Ye Zun, taking a sip. "I'm currently doing … public service, working for a cross-dimensional agency to prevent attacks from renegade dimensions … I was sent here last week to capture a gang of dimension-jumping marauders."
He took a deep breath; when he next spoke, he was clearly making an effort to be more courteous. "I've been chasing this group for a while. They've gone to a lot of trouble to make their attacks appear random, like … joyriding teenagers trashing a neighborhood. I'm sure it's more than that, however, and I'm also sure that someone in our organization is tipping them off. They nearly got away, and they succeeded in sowing chaos and destruction."
He took another swallow of tea and looked up to meet Zhao Yunlan in the eye. "I regret that I was not in time to save the targets of their latest attack. But I can assure you, that incident was their last crime. They've been imprisoned in a zone from which they can access no other dimension, nor do any further damage."
"I see," said Zhao Yunlan. "If they weren't from this dimension, it makes sense that their prints didn't match anyone in our files." He gestured toward Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng. "How did these two wind up in our dimension?"
"The marauders were waiting for me," said Ye Zun. "My array was damaged in the fight, and I believe it accidentally sent a random bubble back into my home dimension. We're lucky it picked up those two and not some strangers."
"Random? Lucky?" asked Zhao Yunlan. "I doubt it. These were exactly the right people to fix your mess."
Ye Zun gave a slight nod. "Sometimes the array seems to have a mind of its own," he conceded. "Especially when its idiosyncrasies can be explained away by damage." He looked around the room. "I can take these two back to our own dimension now. Unless you have further questions."
"Just a minute," said Shen Wei abruptly. He was staring at Ye Zun. "What are you, my evil twin?"
"Thanks," snapped Ye Zun, his face stormy. "I wasn't feeling guilty enough today, so I appreciate the reminder."
Guo Changcheng propped himself up on one elbow and said softly, "He was gaslighted in the past and then imprisoned for millennia. When he got out, he did … bad things."
"Terrible things," Ye Zun corrected him. "I'm trying to atone for them now." He looked closely at Shen Wei. "Don't you have a twin?"
"Ghost Face," said Zhao Yunlan. "But he's different."
Shen Wei said in a guarded tone, "He didn't have the opportunities that I had in the past that enabled me to … become who I am now."
"Most people considered me irredeemable," said Ye Zun. "But my Shen Wei worked hard to bring me back."
Shen Wei reacted as if stung; his eyes went fully black and he opened his mouth as if to speak. Then he looked down, his face thoughtful. When he looked up again, his eyes were normal again. "Thank you, Ye Zun," he said quietly. "You've given me a lot to think about."
Ye Zun nodded and opened a portal. "C'mon, you two," he said. "I understand you have a party to get to. Hopefully one that's free of dimension-jumpers. And ghosts."