2024-10-31 01:22:40My eyebrows raised in sharp inquisition.
"No wonder you are in Singapore."
Kelly flashed an evil smile. I understood her too well.
“I needed your tool.”
“Which one?”
She bent over and helped me to my feet.
"Which one?" I repeated
“I had an assignment in Singapore. There is spirit on the loose and had created some havoc.”
“Let’s talk later then," I said.
“ Thank you."
"I hadn't agreed." I said, "I have this assignment."
"What’s this transition about?”
“I suspect there is a source of grievance. I think my hunch is right."
"That will mean..." Kelly was cut off in mid-sentence.
“Look, people! I am sorry to disrupt your disciple lovey-dovey catch-up chat, but can I know what happened?” It was May and her face was strained. Whenever she is stressed, I am irritated.
“I am sorry…” I said, "Our conversation is part of my investigation."
“Then please share with us.” She demanded.
Ah Mui had brought over a huge cup of warm water. I had been drained and felt dehydrated, so I grabbed the drink. For the next few seconds, I drank like a hippopotamus.
“How long have I been out?” I asked
“Dr Adam, almost an hour” Ah Mui reported
“That’s very long,” Kelly remarked
“I knew it was not going to be easy, but I didn’t expect it to be this rough,” I muttered.
“You found something?” Kelly asked.
"A reckless and dangerous spirit.”
“Dangerous” May and Visnu exchanged looks.
“Yes, this is unexpected. I encountered a dark spirit. If the force is green or dark brown, it speaks of displeasure. Grey and white are benign forces. But my encounter is a dark mass of energy.”
“There is something in this house?” May repeated and I sensed her scepticism.
“Adam, can you pacify it?”Visnu asked
“Our first encounter. Too early to tell.”
“Can you tell us more?” May asked, getting impatient.
“I assessed there is a disturbed spirit in this space. Even the 地基主 has been attacked. I will need time to investigate further.” 地基主 refers to the guardian of a residential or business unit who has the primary responsibility of protecting its inhabitants.
I sipped from my bottle but found it empty. I turned to Ah Mui who then dug out a bottle of mineral water from her bag and passed it to me.
“What do you think Kelly?”
“My dear junior, you were unprepared. Remember Master Sato always taught us, never underestimate the unseen opponent."
Ah Hock interrupted. He had been wiping the floor after I returned from the transition.
“You mean the 地基主 altar.” He asked having heard my words. "Our 地基主?"
I nodded. His sudden response showed his trust in me.
Ah Hock quickly added. “I forgot to share. Actually, the tablet was chipped off. I realized just this afternoon. The bottom corners were both broken. I thought it must be the cats or rats but we had never had problems in the past years.”
“Ah Hock were there any major incidents in the past days or weeks?”
Ah Hock looked to the ceiling for inspiration and then shook his head
“Nothing. Everyone lives harmoniously. Mr Chua does not like quarrels. He always advocates harmony. You know every morning; he would say positive things to everyone. I,I cant remember anything bad in the past weeks.”
I am befuddled. Something is not right.
“I need to clear my head. The affairs for tonight is over.”
I stood up and started packing my things “Visnu, I owe you an explanation and I will need more time to investigate.
“There is justification to press on an investigation of the case as a supernatural incident.” Visnu stated while May was less encouraging “I hope you find that reason strong enough.”
“It is quite obvious there is. The presence is very strong." I asserted "The nature of that spirit is malignant. I am not sure about the link but I had a gut feeling it will definitely yield some leads.”
May was silent and for a moment I saw the vulnerability in her as she struggled to block me.
“I will continue with my investigation of all the human suspects.” She said blandly.
Visnu nodded “I support May’s position. She will lead the forensic investigation while I will also support Adam’s hypothesis.”
I smiled. “I appreciate that and for the next steps…”
“What do you need now?
“I need to talk to John Chua. Maybe in the morning.”
I looked at Visnu but before he could answer, an interruption darted across the room and landed on my forehead.
“Who are all of you? What are you doing in my house?”
I swung around to see an unexpected arrival.
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Adam the Spirit Master Chapter 18
I turned around and found myself looking at the voice's owner, walking down the corridor towards us with a confident sashay. She is tall and walked with confidence. Her long and wavy hair projected an air of easy confidence. Closer up, she had a beautiful oval face with an impeccable complexion that seemed to have just received some sunshine. I am luckily half a head taller, still.Despite the displeasure on her face, she was pleasing to the eye. One is compelled to be civil in front of the lady. “May I know what is going on?” she demanded as she stood looking at us all.“Hi Mavis.” Uncle Hock called out dropped his mop and walked over "Good to see you back home."“Uncle Hock, what is happening here? It is such a mess. Who are these people?”She gesticulated and looked around “Where is Daddy?”“Your daddy has gone to the condominium at Sentosa. He is not feeling well.”“Still upset about Claudia’s passing?” Mavis saidThen she turned in my direction and looked at us. “Who are these
Adam the Spirit Master Chapter 19
Chapter 8After seeing off Ah Mui, I finally reached home at almost 2am.Kelly had followed me and she made a loud whistle upon entering my condominium“Nice place. Keeping is minimalist yet I like the pictures on the walls.”“Don’t touch anything.” I reminded her.“Your decoration reminded me of our home in Kyoto. That ambience.”“Look at all the pictures you took with Master Sato.” She danced over to the walls behind the TV and studied the portraits we took during the last gathering in Japan.“You mentioned you wanted to borrow something from me?”Kelly flashed a sly smile. “You have the Gōruden with you?”The Goruden is a much-coveted tool for an exorcist, any exorcist. It was rumoured to have been created during the Hideyoshi Shogunate and passed down through the ages from one Master Onmyōji to another and proven to be instrumental in keeping many forces of darkness at bay. In my sect, Ten-men sō - Heaven Gate Sect, the Goruden is handed only to the best deshi- disciple“We need
Adam the Spirit Master Chapter 20
I walked over to my desk as Kelly nodded eagerly with her eyes following me. I stopped at the altar and knocked three times on the urn. Instantly a chirp was heard and a flame lit up that eventually grew into a tiny figure with a rim of orange over its body. Standing at no more than five inches. It has a boyish face and fiery-red cheeks, with eyes so huge it filled half of the face.It unleashed a soft croon and leapt onto my hands as Kelly unleashed a cry of relish “Hi, Mon,” I said.“Mon?”“Mon as in Monday. It was created on Monday as I meditated.”“He looks just as nerdy as you.”I frowned, as did my Shugo-sha. It flipped its tail from side to side. “Sorry but it is adorable, and it looked robust for its size.”Kelly opened up her left palm in an inviting gesture. Mon took a look at me before flying over. “It has wings,” Kelly exclaimed as Mon fluttered over her palm. “What about your Shugo-sha? I asked “I heard you raised one last year.”Kelly flashed a smug smile and winke
Adam the Spirit Master Chapter 21
3rd December 1999Love at first sight is one of the most inexplicable, yet beautiful, thing in the universe.This phenomenon is the reason for my existence. My parents’ love story reads like a novel. I was born to a Japanese mother and a Singapore-Chinese father in 1993. My mother, Yoshiko Takahashi, had followed her parents to Singapore in the mid-1980s. My maternal grandfather has been deployed to the island state as the plant manager at a Japanese biochemical multinational. My mother could finish her final year at the Singapore National University, majoring in Economics. It was the fateful year at university when she met my father, Jonathan Wong, a research fellow at the university. According to my mother, they met at an uneventful book signing ceremony for one their professor. It was love at first sight and an unexpected one. My mother was slim and tall for a Japanese standing at 1.7m while my father, though bookwormish, always provided a calming influence with his soft-spoken
Adam the Spirit Master Chapter 22
6th March 2024I woke up with a sharp pain in my temples, ramifications from my exertions during the transition. I looked around my apartment. Kelly was gone. When did she leave?Morning comes quickly and I was awoken by incessant ring. I forgot to put to silent mode. I picked it up, my eyes half closed“Mui?”“Dr Adam? Its Visnu. I need to see you urgently.”“The Chua Mansion?”“Yes. Our investigation of Hock and Aminah did not yield anything.”“What do you mean by that?”“So far we checked their phone records and WhatsApp message history but there are no evidence of bad relationships with the deceased.”“What did May say?”“I have asked her to continue her investigation but May being May, she is not easily convinced.”“If I help you, my primary objective is to solve the case and find the person who killed Claudia. It is not to satisfy May. Is that fine with you?”“I have absolute trust in you, Adam. If I hadn't, I would not have looked for you.”“Thank you.”“As for you and May….”
Adam the Spirit Master Chapter 23
As Marcus Chua flashed a pointed finger at me, Visnu hastened to explain“Dr Adam is a faculty at the National University. He majors in sociology.” Visnu looked at me and winked. He has been our trusted partner. We have worked with him on some unique cases where traditional forensic methods fail to solve but his methods worked.”“Unique cases?" Marcus looked at me questionably.“Yes, Dr Adam is a credible authority in exorcism and quite a track record. I think he will be very helpful in our investigation.” Visnu added. Marcus looked unconvinced but I stepped in with a question. “Wouldn’t you like to know what happened last night?” I turned to John Chua.“I heard from Hock that you had done something?” He asked. “Yes. There was a ritual.”“Ritual? Dad, you paid for this?”The comment earned a frown of reproach from John Chua and I knew I had to jump in“Mr Chua graciously allowed us to conduct the session and it was a successful ritual. The process was an eye-opener.”“Eye-opener?” M
Adam the Spirit Master Chapter 24
“What are you guys up to?” She quizzed. Her presence has an effect on everyone and soon everyone was on their feet, with the exception of John Chua.“We are, eh, in some conversation.”“That I am excluded?” Her eyes trained on him and a smile grew on his tired face. This is …” She asked.“Dr Adam. This is my sister, Susan Chua.”I bowed and noticed Visnu was on his feet and greeted her with deference. However, I noticed Susan Chua’s attention was on me. “Oh, Dr Adam Wong of National University?” She frowned and shut his eyes “ That Dr Adam from Department of Sociology? Was that you on the Sunday times quite a while ago?”Susan Chua's words surprised me. She knows me! It took me a while to realize that woman standing in front of me is Madam Susan Chua, a well-know philanthropist and the patron of my faculty. She is also the younger sister of John Chua and a socialite who is well-connected to high society. “It is a pleasure seeing you again. I enjoyed that open lecture you gave
Adam the Spirit Master Chapter 25
After we were left alone, there was an awkward moment.“You are really a teaching faculty?”I nodded “Why do you ask?”“You looked too young and good-looking to be one.”I swallowed hard. Wow “Are they all bookworms and intellectual snobs?”“I, I am different,” I replied, nervously.“How did a PhD become an exorcist?” Mavis asked, playing with her cup.“You cannot blame my Daddy or Ah Kor for being sceptical. Usually, they are very nice to strangers.”“I don’t blame them too. The wariness is something I have grown used to. This is the usual reception I get from people. When they announced Master Adam Wong -Takahashi, they were expecting a fifty-year-old with grey moustache and armed with a wooden sword and ninja hairstyle.”“You don’t have any of those?”She chuckled " Not forgetting the booming voice and fierce eyes."“I do have some tools of trade but no sword and moustache!"Both of us giggled “So how long have you been doing this?”“My first exorcist assignment was with my master,
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Chapter 52
Kelly understood intuitively what I meant“Like when I need to climb that big tree in our temple grounds,” she asked, with glee glowing on her cheeks.“Like we used to do when we were kids,” I said.Saying she placed one foot on a shelf and held her hands out as a leaping platform. I took off my red jacket and flexed my muscles. Oji Hasegawa said “Don’t break my shelves or cupboards. It is very expensive.”“I will not. Rest assured, Oji”Oji Hasegawa returned to his seat and sat down in comfort.Without battling an eyelid, I ran and stepped on her palm. At that moment, she gave her hands an upward thrust and I threw myself upwards. Using my powers, I propelled myself towards the kite and stretched my handsHowever, just as I reached, the kite darted off with a glimmer. In the flash, I lost my balance and fell backward. At the nick of time, I managed to grab the corner of a cupboard to steady myself but it was too late. The grip was slippery and I had a bad landing on my hip. The sh
Chapter 51
“Adam, I think your impatience had abducted your rationality. I am not convinced you should have it."I swallowed hard. Oji Hasegawa was toying with me. His style.“Adam, you have allowed your emotions to take precedence.”I nodded “Maybe I had.” The urgency of helping Mavis resolve her jamlock had hijacked my rationality.“You should consider all the threats to the Chua family and then consider options at your disposal.”“Maybe you are right but I felt this is a cause worth trying.”Oji Hasegawa drew a long sigh. “Adam, the heart to help is commendable but the price you must pay is too high.”I have heard of the consequences of crossing life and death. “Oji, I am aware of the consequences. I hope you can consider helping me. I shall be grateful.”Hasegawa gave me a stony silence and then, unexpectedly, guffawed. “I don't like my senpai, your master but that is between us. I have not been active in the sect for another reason. However, I will still be ready to extend help when it is
Chapter XX
I took a deep inhale and pronounced my intentions. “I would like to borrow the Kanji from you.”Oji was unfazed and said in a deep voice ‘The Kanji?”I nodded, waiting for the icy rejection. Oji leaned forward and then smiled. “Do you think you are here to borrow a pair of pants?”“I am sorry if I sound too impetuous?”Oji Hasegawa began pacing in front of me and stopped within inches of me, face to face.“You young Onmyojis behaved like you could do things with ease. There is no respect for rituals. You think have the powers to behave as you please.”“I did not intend to offend. I am sorry.” I bowedOji Hasegawa shook his head “Remember to show respect for tradition, and show regard for the other realms,”“I will bear that in mind.”“Borrow the Kanji? For what purpose?”“I know I may sound rude to come here uninvited...” I continued with my courtesy but Hasegawa replied curtly, cutting me in mid-sentence.“Reason?”“We needed to help us solve a mysterious death. There has been evid
Chapter 49
When we reached the given postal code, we were met with a row of shophouses without any clear indication of the specific address we were looking for. When Kelly was about to give up, I had noticed something. I squinted my eyes to be sure and, when I was, told Kelly about it. I pointed to the display facade of the shop in the middle of the row which seemed to be well lit.“Toys? Adam, what are you telling me?"“Look at that.”I pointed to the Daruma Doll that perched on the highest shelf of the shop's facade. Daruma Dolls are quite easily found in Singapore though it is not common and the ones at department stores are regular wares from the factory - presentable as home decor but are not endowed with powers.The one that caught my eye is as big as a football. To any amateur, it looked just a display set but to me, it looked different. There is a conspicuous dot on the forehead of this Daruma Doll and most importantly it was wooden. In my sect , only the highest Onmyōji gets to dot th
Chapter 48
er witnessing Aminah's frailty, we decided not to continue our interrogation. I executed a prayer of serenity that put her to rest. After she slid into a slumber, we left. We walked out of the ward and headed down to the carpark. Kelly took over the wheel. She had quite a way with cars and had a penchant for racing on the roads. In the past, I had genuinely feared for my safety but somehow reached my destination, safe. This time, as I needed time on my own, I took the back seat. My head was brimming with thoughts as I tried to digest the information mess in my mind. As our vehicle exited the carpark, back onto the street level, we passed by a red Mercedes GLA. The polished exterior and the glimmer of newness captured my mind. I was pretty sure I had seen it before. However, my mind captured something else - the driver.It rang a bell but as we were already about to join the main traffic, I did not ask Kelly to pause to investigate but I made a mental note to follow up on it. I sa
Chapter 47
I summoned my ‘qi’ and mastered the movement of the energies. “I need help.” She cried. The agony in her heart-wrenching vocals drummed in my heart.“Breathe, Aminah! ” I commanded, "Breathe and look at me." I said " Her eyes widened as her grip on my hands tightened. Instantly, in my body, I felt a surge of energy travelling up my veins. I tried to fight it but the strength of that force grew. This is the power of the dark spirit. I inhaled and used my internal powers to control the darkness. However, it slithered Images begun to form in my mind like a series of files have being downloaded onto a laptop - the mansion, the rooms, the Chuas- John, Marcus, Mavis, Jonathan, and the lawn with its towering trees. In rapid succession, I saw the images of the pictures on the walls, the children playing on the lawn and in the drawing room with its furniture and the street outside the mansion. Then there many more and I felt my mind working at a feverish rate to digest them until there was
Chapter 46
Every nerve in my body was charged as I hopped onto Visnu’s car. I was eager to talk to Aminah again. I owe her an apology after my rash act. More importantly, she is key to unlocking information that may help the investigation. The journey to the hospital was swift with Visnu behind the wheel. Kelly sat at the back, anticipation written on her radiant face. She has that dauntless vibes that infects you and gives you that boost. Her strength and independent streak can be attributed to her upbringing and training. At the hospital, we found Aminah warded in a single ward on the twelfth floor. It was a thoughtful arrangement knowing the trauma Aminah has experienced. There was a policeman stationed outside the ward to assist, and he swiftly snapped to attention upon seeing Visnu.As we were about to enter, Visnu held onto the doorknob, looked at me and asked.“How do you want to do this?”I sensed his reservation and immediately understood his concerns."I promised I will be careful i
Chapter 45
“You promise.” Visnu’s stern look made me uncomfortable and I repeated my promise“Thanks, Adam. We know you are working hard to uncover the truth.”"Let me share my findings?” I said looking down at the pad in front of me. “My transition last night yielded two key findings. Let’s talk about Mavis Chua. I had planned to start with her because I needed a family member to assess the predisposition of the spirit. It was a correct decision as the spirit did not attack her.”“Only you?" May askedI nodded “I suspected the spirit could be a member of the family who is long deceased.""This is sounding ridiculous," May remarked as she eyeballed Visnu. I bit my lips."Who are you suspecting?" Visnu asked"The most likely one would be the deceased Mrs Chua," I replied"The mother?” May added, skeptical and continued “Mother? You suspect the mother is unhappy with Claudia and came back to attack her?”Visnu asked. “Looked there may be some animosity or can you provide some causes for that nas
Chapter 44
We never found a satisfactory answer. The best way to find out is to visit the columbarium. Though it was past midnight, every cell in my body called for action. However, I knew that was not possible.After we wrapped up our discussion, I headed to the showers. There was a certain humidity from the action and I felt sticky on my back and arms. As I stood under the showers, thoughts of the mansion flowed into my mind. I worked out the possible scenarios when there is an attack by a supernatural entity. A resident spirit in the residence or neighbourhood? Or it could be a spirit sent by a family that was unfriendly to the Chuas? Could there be another spirit that is deeply unhappy with the Chuas?As I turned off the tap, the steam from the hot water bath cleared but my mind remained cluttered. After I dried myself, and walked out to the corridor, I was treated to a symphony of whistles and snorts. Kelly has fallen asleep. She told me she had a hard day. What had she been up to in the
