11 The Marker II

[Hong Kong, Year: Late December 2019]

News on the five television screens flickered on with their reflection across the windows on the protests, while a woman, dressed in her Prada suit, gazed out of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"A protest has turned violent at the New Town Plaza as black-clad demonstrators vandalised restaurants, smashed up glass barriers, and confronted people…," the news blared.

"Over 200 people gathered in Edinburgh Place in Central today to rally support…," another one announced.

Her distinctive amber eyes, reminiscent of wolf's eyes, flickered in the reflection.

Before her, a sprawling city of a concrete jungle made from steel and glass shimmered into life. A large flying bird of prey, the black kite, swooped past the window with its talons outstretched, grabbing its last-minute dinner, a hapless pigeon mid-air against the fading day.

Human civilization is progressing at a rapid pace. Only a couple of centuries ago, the city was a humid swamp, a no-man's-land with thick stagnant air and mangrove trees. The human population then was only a couple of fisher folk.

Now a population of approximately 7 million, lived in the former swamp, was now replaced with cemented paths and asphalt roads, trampled upon daily by a few million humans. The fisher folk were around, just delegated to the back of the harbour, replaced by men and women donning suits of luxury brands.

She spotted the infamous skyscraper amongst the lifeless concrete jungle of buildings now decorated with neon festive lights to welcome Christmas, across the busy harbor with its distinctive ferries in the valley against the heavily forested mountain peak.

The skyscraper resembled a meat cleaver, stabbed awkwardly into the urban mess. Its futuristic looking neighbor, made of glass and cold steel, had two gun-like structures on its roof, taking a potshot at the meat cleaving skyscraper.

Both buildings belonged to the two large international banks, rivals for the slice of the world's monetary assets.

Society may have come far in scientific and technological advancement, but it still clung onto old beliefs of gods, demons, and even ghosts for the unexplained phenomenon.

Worse, generations of humans twisted some of the old knowledge to a point when ancient science transformed into superstition, simply because humans could find no explanation.

Fengshui - wind water, in direct transliteration, had a human cult following in the very superstitious city. Yet the principles were pure common sense. Especially when seeking harmony within the planet's environment.

Like a clean rug with dust swept under, beneath the illusion of this prosperous city, there laid its filth. The rich flaunted wealth through exorbitant luxury goods and exclusive cars while deep within the many dilapidated buildings and noisy shops, laid the beating heart of the society, the worker bees of their urban hive. The poorest of the poor resembling meek sheep being led to their slaughter.

"Jiuwei, come out if you have something to say," she spoke out in the empty room where a shadow was lurking.

A faint whitish smoke flowed out of the air onto the ground, forming the figure of a fox-like creature with the shadow of nine tails and a pair of glowing red eyes, before the smoke slimmed down into a tall, handsome man in grey cashmere blend Ermenegildo Zegna suit and a neatly tied waist long black hair.

"Well, I just came to give you a message - there's a soul trapped in the old shrine. With the mark of Yasu Mawari. A full seven component soul."

She turned around to look at Jiuwei and smirked. "I know."

Turning back to the window, her gaze move downwards at the ground level several floors down to study the people who resembled a stream of ants meandering along the side paths, each with their own purpose with most oblivious to others.

"So much turmoil going on in this little city," she watched on as the moving vehicles flowed slowly in the peak hour. All small and helpless - she almost felt pity for them. Almost.

"Well, then… how was the business in LA," Jiuwei muttered.

"Curiosity can kill the old fox, but Morningstar might find it hard to finance certain activities in Asia for a while," she said with a tinge of satisfaction.

"But that's only one crime syndicate taken down…"

"Illicit weapons and drugs are the two biggest earners in the global human economy and all run by syndicates, like the one taken down. All have links to certain politicians in certain countries… and Arahabaki came along for the ride." she narrowed her eyes.

"Not really because of the situation in Hong Kong?"

"No. I've met Sun Yat Sen during the establishment of the Republic of China, heard his speeches and compared to him, these humans don't have his charisma. He wasn't a threat then, and neither are they," she replied.

Jiuwei gave a soft chuckle. The good old days - their long drawn out existence has experienced so many turmoils in this ancient land for several millennia.

There wasn't one tyrant, freedom seeker or despotic ruler their kind had not rubbed shoulders with, or granted a discussion on a personal name basis over history. Sometimes even a fiefdom for certain favours.

Come democracy or autocracy, it was a human problem, not their concern. How the humans wanted to rule themselves, their kind didn't care as long as the status quo was not affected.

"So why that syndicate?" He asked out of curiosity, aware that Arahabaki tagging along would mean something brewing in Japan.

"Hit the Morningstar's key truss cards to bring his house of cards down. Those illicit trades are a financial source for certain politicians in the West, playing international politics. Cut the source for a while to flush out their rats in East Asia. But you didn't appear in front of me to discuss this issue." she turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

Jiuwei shivered at the mere mention of international politics or her allegories to it. Bad enough was his experience with Kingdom-wide politics, which was already a layer too much, that he had to stop in between centuries for a breather to compose himself.

Morningstar only played chess, driven at one sole goal, while Kanghui and Arahabaki played a deeper game of Go, a game where pieces moved in tandem to cut off every potential move that allowed a regroup for an attack.

The old Chinese saying, 'destroy the roots and cut the grass' applied to Kanghui's core tactic to eradicate the cause of further trouble.

"Back to the matter about that human soul and the Yasu Mawari mark from inter-dimensional portal entry device. Will he undergo the final evolution…," Jiuwei changed the topic.

The process of the final evolution was an intense and prolonged agonising transformation of their kind, which seared into their energy signatures like how memory imprints on the brain. Jiuwei never forgot his transformation.

Yet, the gruesome transformation process didn't guarantee that a soul could remain intact.

She smirked at his reaction. "I am surprised at you. Bothering with trivialities."

"That soul is in one of your old shrines, the main safe house in Kyushu," Jiuwei replied.

"So? I placed him there. Nothing worth a note."

"Oh…"

"If you are that curious…," she uttered in amusement before continuing, "I carry out my responsibilities as a marker. Besides, he has only three outcomes laid before him. Neither one pleasant."

Of course, Kanghui never cared and never will. Jiuwei felt a slight pang of bitter disappointment at the reminder. Thousands of years only taught Kanghui to mimic the human emotions well.

With him, she was herself, or rather itself. Kanghui used this female form for centuries. More than Jiuwei did. He never knew Kanghui's real gender or if Kanghui's kind had a gender at all.

At least, Jiuwei was born as a male fox on Earth 10,000 years ago. However, with Kanghui's primeval origins, the primeval beings were an enigma. No one knew whether they were once living beings on Earth or the indigenous to the hidden world or dimension, as they called it.

Each expression on her face and each action was a mimicry, mastered to perfection to lower the guard of those around her. A ruse to study life on Earth itself.

"So one of the three outcomes, huh," Jiuwei said.

There is only one of three outcomes once a soul detached fully from the body.

First outcome was an intact soul which joins their ranks as almost invisible immortals with the possibility of switching between worlds.

Second, a partial soul, which the humans call ghosts. Stuck in either world by choice but never to enter the other.

Unlike the human world, which relied on physical space, their hidden world could expand without a sense of physical space limitation. Both intact and partial souls could live within the hidden world.

And the third, a full split where recycling of the separated soul took place to animate new life - reincarnation itself to ensure a living planet, Earth.

"Then the portal entry device?" Jiuwei asked, as the thought popped into his head. If it was still around, there will be more to come.

If that human soul made it to their ranks, Kanghui, as the marker, bore responsibility for training it under the rules of the hidden world. He has never known Kanghui or any other primeval to mentor anyone.

How could Kanghui even leave it there in the first place, he wondered.

"Took the device back. It isn't even mine, but as the rules go, my site makes me a marker," she said, studying Jiuwei's expression, much to his discomfit.

"Do you need me to despatch someone to investigate the matter?" Jiuwei enquired.

"No need. I will settle my business. But I have another job for you," she beckoned for him with a finger to step forward.