The night wind was especially cold, even though Gloria was able to leave the Teiths’ residence more than an hour earlier than she normally would. The wind grew more chilling and more cruel with each minute.

  Sensing somethiing close tloria immediately looked back, but there was nothing behind her. Even when she trated her Qi, she could not see anything in her surrounding area.

  She stepped up her footsteps and practically started running towards the railway station. Dried leaves and stones scratched the ground, and patches of dark oved gradually to cover up the moon.

  The station was empty at this hour, as it usually was. Wheood on the edge of the ptform, she kept looking around even though she did not see anyone or anything followihis feeling only dissipated whe on the rail and started heading back. About halfway, she received a phone call from Sue.

  “Where are you!? When are you ing back!?” Sue sounded a little hysterical.

  “Rex, take a deep breath. I’m ing baow, how do you feel?” Gloria sighed in relief and asked.

  “I’m okay - I’m okay. But I’m scared! you e back?”

  “I’m on my way baow. Don’t worry. I checked on you before I left, you should be good.” Gloria immediately tried to sole Sue: “I will bring some food back, I’m thinking soup. What do you want?”

  “Just - just e back as soon as possible! Okay!?” Sue calmed down slightly, but was still anxious: “Bring - bring me whatever soup you order for me. Thank you. Please e back as soon as possible.”

  There was only Gloria in her car, so she did not o worry about disturbing others with her call. But right before she hung up, the train stopped at a stop, and a group of three men came up onto the train.

  They seemed to be weary and all of them were sweating. All of them had simir exhausted and numb looks on their faces. One of them had a small spot of red liquid on his face. But he quickly wiped it off after finding out that Gloria was looking at him.

  “Whatcha looking at, girl?” One man with a bald spot on his head and wearing an old trench coat stared back at Gloria and growled: “Mind your own damn business!”

  Gloria did not say anything, but simply moved away not saying anything. The three men found their pces to sit, and remained in their seats for the remainder of the trip.

  “Oh my god! ” Sue rushed to hug Gloria when she opened her door, almost making her spill the soup and steamed buns she bought. “How you leave me like that!? How you leave me like that! Dammit Gloria!”

  “Sorry! Sorry! This is my fault.” Gloria put the food down and hugged her friend back: “I - I have some questions I o ask, and I kinda o keep my promise to the Teiths, ’t really cel o minute. Plus I still o make rent this month. But - but you would be safe heless, all of those things I have would have kept you absolutely safe.”

  “I don’t care! Don’t you dare do that again!” Sue hit Gloria on the shoulder, with tears in her eyes.

  “I won’t, I won’t. I’m so sorry.” Gloria hugged Sue again: “... I brought buns and soup, you wanna have some?”

  “... so, did you learn anything from that mysterious friend of yours?” Sipping the hot soup carefully and slowly, Sue asked: “And - did he tell you if we are marked?”

  “Did you make and drink the ash water like I said ie?” Gloria asked.

  “Ye - yes. ”

  “Then you should be good. ” Gloria hen held Sue’s fad looked at her from left tht: “And you look good. Stay here for tonight, then we check with Sifu Kuo tomorrow.”

  Sue let out a long exhale of relief, then immediately asked again: “But - do you know what’s going on? Will this happen again in the coffin home?”

  “We’re still looking into everything. And this has caught the attention of the unity collective.” Gloria sighed: “And her than Bulu Wang came to iigate. I would o ao an inquiry from them now.”

  Sue gasped. “Oh my god. I - I’m so sorry!”

  “No worries, Sifu Kuo will voue. And I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

  —------------

  “Yeah, I think you should be fine. But we’ll o do a ritual to firm.” The m, both Gloria and Sue got to Fuman Coffin Hht when it was about to open and asked Tae Kuo to examine Sue once again for any residual signs of being marked or targeted by the un beings from the coffin. Even with the assurance from the Kshiti Temple and Gloria, she was still worried.

  “What’s with all of these tapes?” Gloria raised her at the e tapes around the building of the coffin home, some even sealing the door.

  “The unity collective did that, basically we won’t be able to py new bodies for a while.” Tae Kuo sighed: “The existing bodies will be going through iion, we’d have to tell the retives that. And hopefully they will be buried soon.”

  “Okay.” Gloria thought for a moment, then asked Tae Kuo: “Sifu Kuo, you check me one more time? Last night when I was on my way back from the Northern District, I felt something was following me, and I just couldn’t see anything - ”

  “No problem, I will check for you both.” Tae Kuo pulled out a string of keys and opehe backdoor to the coffin home, through which they ehe backyard.

  The door to the main room was also sealed by tape, though all of them could easily look past them ahe ditions inside: all of the coffins had some more talismans stu them. There were some red ropes on the ground, eg each coffin like pipes.

  “They’re doing some kind of ritual as well. They will e ter today, both of you feel free to attend.” Tae Kuo took out two inse burners and some inse sticks from the ba, then two leaves with matte but slightly reflective surfaces, whose stem seemed to be hollowed out into tiny tubes: “And I took the ce to ask them for some more supplies as well, it’s not much, but should help you for now. You know what these are?”

  “Processed tung-oil tree leaves?” Sue asked.

  “Yes. And one ingredient for body makeup as well.” Tae Kuo hahe leaves to Gloria and Sue: “Now, put the stems’ ends between your teeth ahem in the air. And hold these burners in your ends.”

  “Okay, you’re doing that ritual? Wouldn’t that be a little gross for the m?” Gloria spoke through her teeth while holding the burner.

  “Gloth? Wuuuat duh ya mean ith gloth?” Sue couldn’t speak with her teeth ched very well, but both Gloria and Tae Kuo were able to decipher what she was saying.

  “Don’t worry, it’s gonna be done in a miae Kuo nodded as he put two inse sticks into each of the burners: “Since you both drank the ash water, this would be the easiest way to tell. ” He then lit the inse sticks up: “Okay, lift the burners up and try to scorch the leaves with the inse. Try to inhale some smoke. It’s not super pleasant so try to endure a bit. The ritual needs a certain amount of smoke to work. But don’t worry about it.”

  Both Gloria and Sue sucked on the leaves. A tiny traoke eheir mouths. The smoke u and dried up their throats. When it reached their stomach, it made their stomachs growl and rumble.

  “What the - ” Sue was not ready for it. The burner in her hand dropped on the ground before she did. She heaved while kneeling on the ground, then vomited out a pool of thick, gray substance.

  Gloria had gohrough this before, so she held the burner in and spit the leaf to the side in a much mraceful manner. A moment ter a small pool of thick gray substance appeared on the ground before her. Ohing that she noticed was that her pool of vomit had some kind of light green pattern on the edge.

  “Yeah, here’s some tea.” Tae Kup came back with two wooden cups and handed oo Sue: “You look ! No sign of further paranormal tg.”

  “What is this ritual?!” Sue whined: “And why?”

  “It’s an after ritual for the ash water.” Gloria took the other wooden cup from Tae Kuo and sighed: “If you drink it and do this within one day, then it force you to vomit out some of the captured traces of un energy. ”

  “Normally I would not do this. But since we’re all worried, it might be good to let it out earlier so I take a look.” Tae Kued: “Don’t worry, it’ll wear out soon.”

  Then, whe to Gloria, he froze.