t

Hu Hansan nodded at his younger colleague. “I’ll look into it.” He said in a serious tone.

A snort chortled its way out of me. “I’ve heard of the masters in this village. They don’t even use cinnabar in their amulets. How do you expect them to be able to help?” I dared.

Head Teacher Qu scowled at me. “All of this is a bit beyond our usual realm, Shi Yong. If the masters in town wont be good enough, what would you have me do? Call upon your godfather?”

I started to say yes, but thought it through. “I don’t know how to contact him in time.” I said. “He travels the world.”

Head Teacher Qu looked at me disappointedly and asked, "Do you know any other masters?"

I went through the list in my head, “Master Liu, Sima Jie, Master Ge, Zhou Tong..but how do I get ahold of them?”

“May I use your phone? I may be able to leave a message. If the master I have in mind can’t come himself, he will almost assuredly send someone capable.”

Head Teacher Qu looked at the phone for a long time. When he finally turned back to me his expression was one of frustration. “You can call anyone you please, as long as you downplay what’s happening here.”

“Downplay it?” I asked, “The damn building is haunted! How can I downplay it?” The men in the room gawked at my audacity. “Pardon my language sirs, but this is much more serious than you’re taking it.”

None of them answered. For a moment they wouldn’t even look at me. I stood up and walked to the desk, picked up the phone, and dialed the number Master Liu left me all those years ago.

“Please answer, please answer, please..” I thought, “I can’t handle this on my own.”

The woman’s familiar voice answered on the third ring. I told her who I was and asked for Master Liu.

“I can’t help you. I’m sorry. I haven’t been in touch with Master Liu for some time.” She answered.

I nodded before realizing she couldn’t see me. “I understand!” I added quickly, “This is a matter of some urgency. Even if you can’t contact my godfather, could you get ahold of Master Ge or Zhou Tong?”

The line was silent for far too long. When she finally spoke I realized I was biting my lip in anticipation. “Tell me exactly what’s happening so I can pass it along. Someone will come to your aid.” I told her everything. Xuan Hailin, his wife, the eighty flowers girls, and finally the building itself. “Downplay.” I thought and shot Head Teacher Qu a look. When I was done the men in the office were staring at me in surprise.

“This is much worse than I thought.” The dean mumbled.

The woman on the phone was quiet again. “Hello?” I asked, and then heard her speaking to someone else on her side. “Don’t hang up,” She told me, “There’s someone else here you should speak with.”

"Okay..." I said, wondering who else it could be. I still didn’t know where that phone was. I didn’t know anything about the woman I was talking to either.

While the woman on the line was speaking to someone else, Head Teacher Qu walked over and leaned on the table, motioning for me to speak with him. “Where did you hear all of this haunted house riff raff? The old woman couldn’t possibly be the building..”

I met his gaze without pause. “Trust me. This is the only way this gets better.”

“And if I don't?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Then I’ll turn up sick and have to go back to my village this very evening. I might even change schools because god knows I won’t want to be on this campus any longer. No one will want to be here after the old woman surfaces.” I told him.

His eyebrow fell flat once more and he was silent.

After two minutes, a baritone voice came into my ears, "Hello, Shi Yong. Can you give me more details about the event you told the operator just now? The more detailed information, the better it will be.”

So I repeated the tale. After close to an hour of every detail I could think of I finished. The voice came back after a moment’s pause. “I see. Then time is short. You say you think you stirred her up?”

“Yes sir. That’s what Xuan Hailin’s spirit told me, but sir.. I’m no Taoist. I can’t deal with this on my own..”

“I know, son.” He returned. I heard papers rustling on the other side of the phone. “We have documentation of your school here. Masters have been sent there before, you see. Our records show the presence of a green spirit, but she should have been dormant for another ten or so years.”

“Did you say green?” I asked, feeling the blood run out of my face. The deans looked at me curiously.

The baritone voice continued like he didn’t hear me. “The last master to visit Longan was a Sky Master, but he passed on a few years ago. We have a couple others in our organization, but..”

“You don’t know where they are.” I said for him. “Just like Master Liu.”

My plan was unraveling before my eyes. “A green spirit is strong enough to take out this whole town.” I thought. Panic cinched itself into my stomach.

“Are you with your teacher son, or an adult?” The baritone asked. I handed the phone to Head Teacher Qu without a word.

“Hello?” He asked breathlessly.

I listened from the next to him, just able to discern what the baritone voice was saying.

“Get the children out of the school.” Came the muffled voice. “I don’t care how you do it, but there shouldn’t be anyone there when the sun sets tonight. Give them a week off. Call it a holiday. Can you do that?”

Mr. Qu looked at first surprised, and then queerly accommodating. “Yes sir. We can do that. I’ll call the Education Board this instant and declare an emergency.”

“Oh now you’ll listen.” I thought.

The phone voice came again, “Don’t cause a panic! No state of emergency and no ghost talk. Make it a holiday, or a pest problem, something routine.”

Head Teacher Qu immediately said, "Don't worry. I know what to do!" He listened for a moment and then handed the phone back to me.

“I’m here.” I told the phone.

He continued, but in a lower voice like he knew we were being listened in on, "She can’t leave the building, Shi Yong. She may be a green ghost, but her abilities are going to be limited to that dormitory!” He emphasized the last words so they crunched into my ears. “She’ll be ferocious inside the building and as much so if she gets out. Don’t ignore her, but don’t try to draw her out on your own.”

“Do you want me to stay and try to contain her?” I asked.

There was another pause and a long sigh. “Yes, but you’re not part of our organization. I have no right to order you here, nor there. What you do is up to you.”

I took a deep breath and thought of Master Liu’s kindness, all the things he’d done for me. “Tell me where to start.” I told him, closing my eyes to focus.

I heard a smile in the baritone voice, "You are Master Liu’s godson all right. Okay, tonight you should begin with religious rites to suppress the spirit. Put as much energy into as you can-”

I interrupted him, feeling very small all of the sudden. “I can do that, sir, but I’m not very powerful at the moment..”

“Don’t worry.” He came back, “I have people in your area. Some time tonight one of mine will show up to help you. He may not be the best either, but there’s strength in numbers. Suppress the woman’s spirit. Do you hear me? Do everything you can. Help is on the way.”

“Yes,” I told him. “I understand.”

He gave me a number to reach him by and started to remind me of the basic conjuration steps. I listened patiently, although I already knew what to do. When we hung up the head teacher picked the phone right back up and called the Education Bureau. After a few minutes and some string pulling, he hung up.

“It’s done.” He told the deans and I. “The students will be dismissed for one week. Have the word spread that everyone should be gone before sunset.” He instructed deans before turning to me. “What do you need?” He asked me.

I wrote down a list of supplies and gave it to him. “By nightfall.” I reminded the head teacher. The three men went about their tasks, leaving me in the office standing by the desk.

“I hope this works.” I told the empty room.