99 The Island of Lost Souls (1/2)
It was close to midnight when Nian Zhen woke up. By that time, he had also regained back his human figure, the scales falling off his skin, the demonic fanged face returning back its human looks and clarity.
It had been eight hours or so when Nian Zhen transformed.If it had been an ugly surprise for An Ning, it was pure hell for the five men who came to her aid. After they had all ran outside to check on Nian Zhen, a young man wearing a hakama had lifted his unconscious body up in his arms and took him back to the palace and inside the room he shared with An Ning.
After a slight hesitation, An Ning followed with Gu Sheng behind.
Nian Zhen was already laid out on the bed when she entered. The five young men stood around it, their expressions anxious and concerned.
”It's been years since something like this happened,” a young man wearing round Benjamin Franklin glasses said. He suddenly rounded up on An Ning when he saw her enter the room. ”What did you say to him?” he demanded. ”What did you do to set him off like this? He's been doing well before you arrived. What did you do to him?”
”Set him off?” An Ning repeated.”You mean this is not an isolated thing? This has happened before?”
”I should have known you were trouble,” the young man continued. ”I told him. I told him you would upset him. But he wouldn't listen. He insisted it was okay. That he had it under control. What did you to do him?”
”Nothing,” An Ning shrugged. ”We were talking and he suddenly went bonkers and did an Incredible Hulk on us. I was about to do something about it when you arrived.”
”You must have said something,” the young man insisted. ”Nian Zhen wouldn't lose his temper unless something was said that made him really angry. What did you say to upset him?”
”Can anyone tell me what happened just now?” An Ning said, ignoring the young man, her eyes on the people ringed around the bed. ”I take it that when he's upset he turns and becomes this demon version of the Incredible Hulk?”
The young man in the hakama sighed.
”I guess you have the right to know the truth,” he said.
”Why?” the young man with the glasses asked, staring coldly at An Ning. ”So she could upset him again and he turns and becomes this unstable?”
”The truth? That it's anger or rage or whatever that causes him to become like this....this monster?” An Ning asked.
”No!” the young man in the glasses again spoke up. ”She doesn't have to know anything. She's not one of us. I won't allow it!”
”You try and interrupt me again and I'm going to rip off your fucking head off,” An Ning said, eyes glacial as she speared the man with a hard stare.
The young man clumped his mouth tight and hastily scampered behind the man in the hakama.
”It would be hours before he wakes up,” the young man in the hakama said, looking down at the sleeping Nian Zhen. ”We'd better go and talk. My name is Hank by the way, and this young bud with the glasses is Terri. The big guy is Sumo and that's Gray and the little girl who dresses up like a boy is Kari. Short for Karina. Come on, I'm sure most of us are dying for a drink.”
Hank hesitated when he saw Gu Sheng.
”You want to include him in this talk and let him hear what's wrong with your boyfriend?”
”Not my boyfriend,” An Ning said. ”Gu Sheng is family. Unless you have objections, that is?”
”None,” Hank said succinctly. ”Let's go then.”
The room he led them to was located on the ground floor. It was spacious and the large windows overlooked a courtyard with a garden. What surprised An Ning, however, were the walls which were covered with books of all kinds. The classics, several versions of the Bible, religious books on Buddhism and Taoism, books on science and physics, coloring books, mystery books, cooking books, DIY books, Japanese manga, photography books, even coffee table books on gardening, furniture, and on raising pets.
Hank went to a small side table and took out a bottle of whisky and some glasses. He poured a glass for himself, Terri, Sumo and Gray. Kari took a bottle of coke instead. An Ning and Gu Shengaccepted a bottle of water each. An Ning twisted the cap for Gu Sheng then gave him the bottle. She sat near the window and pulled out a DC comic book. She was flipping through it when Hank finally spoke.
”You don't seem surprised,” he said, indicating the comic book.
”We just fought an army which tried to annihilate our kingdom with machines guns, several tanks, missiles and what have yous. A comic book on the exploits of Batman seemed rather tame, wouldn't you agree?”
Hank took a chair by the window near where she was sitting.
”I'm sorry about that. We made a bad investment decision about those shipment. We didn't think those men would actually use them to start a war. When we realized what was happening it was already too late.”
”Bad investment decision? You do realize that you could have destroyed Yuqui in a matter of seconds with your fucking lack of judgment, don't you? Bad investment decision. You made a very stupid decision and nearly annihilated an entire kingdom because you didn't have enough brains to think things through.”
Hank, who was at first comfortably sipping his drink and making small talk, stiffened in anger. He glared at An Ning, his handsome face flushed.
”You look quite disturbed, Hank. You're not going to transform into something uglier than Nian Zhen, are you? Don't worry. I won't have any problem snapping your head off if you do,” An Ning said, smiling as she slowly drank her water.
The room suddenly quieted down. An Ning hadn't bothered lowering her voice so everybody heard what she said. All heads swiveled to where she was sitting, hands drawn and revealing their weapons.
”Don't even bother attacking me,” An Ning was still calm, still drinking her water. ”After I've snapped Hank's head off here, my sword will be on it's way to cut Terri's head off next. I won't even have to leave my seat to kill the rest of you. I'll just let my gun do it for me.”
And just to let them know she wasn't joking one little bit, An Ning's sword suddenly flew to where Terri was standing, slashing at him before stopping half an inch from his neck. Still, the blade nicked his skin until blood appeared. They didn't even know where the gun came from but it was already in front of them, ready to be fired with just one command from its master.
”Didn't even take a minute,” An Ning said, putting the water bottle down. ”Begin talking,” she told Hank.
Hank, however, was in no condition to talk. He sat stunned as he watched Terri slid to the floor in a dead faint. The rest of the group were no better. Sumo and Gray were staring at the gun with large, petrified eyes while Kari had her eyes tightly closed, tears streaming down her pale and ashen face.
”What the...?” An Ning asked, watching their reaction open mouthed.
”Please, stop,” Hank said pleadingly. ”Don't hurt them.”
”Who says I was going to hurt them? They were the ones who pulled out their knives and that whip.What the heck? If you're seriously just trying to scare me, don't.I don't scare easy and I fight back. Stop with the crying, for god's sake! There, the gun is back on its box. The sword, too. If I knew you'd be this easy to scare I wouldn't have said anything. Everybody okay now?”
Everybody was not okay. Hank ran to help Terri to his feet then revived him with a sip from a bottle of water. Sumo and Gray fussed over Kari but she was crying and still shivering from reaction. An Ning looked over to them with a helpless expression.
”For god's sake, here,” she said, walking over to Kari and slapping her hard on her face.
The slap was so loud that it basically stunned everybody into silence. Only Gu Sheng, who had remained silent and kept a low profile on the background, was reduced to covering his mouth to hide his giggles.
”Are you alright?” An Ning asked Kari, who nodded, her hand on her bruised cheek.
”I...I'm okay,” she said, looking at An Ning with a complicated expression on her face.