Chapter 21
Author: Han
last update Last Updated: 2024-11-19 21:29:15

3rd December 1999

Love 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
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    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

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    “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

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    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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    As Hock neared, I felt volatile vibes floating around him like a blob. He has probably been in a confused stated.Without another word, he pulled me to a corner. I could feel his sweaty palms on my arm. "What is it, Uncle Hock?""I just want you to know. About last night.”I was intrigued. “What do you want to say about last night?”“I saw you seated on the ground, twitching and shaking.""When I was in transition mode.""Yes, yes. Were you beaten up in the …whatever world?”“I nodded “Fighting, I tried but honestly it was a tough fight.”“Oh. Beaten up?"I felt awkward. I was but I did not want to admit so."Did you crash on the wall?I closed both eyes and recollected“Yes.“ I nodded. “But how did you know?” I asked. “Come with me.” Hock beckoned and brought me into the house. By the wall in the smaller living room, he jabbed his finger at the wall facing the stairs“Is that your work?” he asked. I observed and found some dark marks on the wall, apparently made by a body that had

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    We arrived at the mortuary, that was located within the General Hospital grounds, slightly past noon. After Visnu parked, we walked down a long well-covered corridor that connected the carpark to the building. The mortuary was situated in a nondescript but functional building which had yellow walls. After submitting my ID for records, I was brought down a short corridor, through a security gantry, and then through a secured door. Then I found myself looking into the mortuary. There was a sense of deja vu. I have been here for a past assignment. The mortuary is always a memorable place for us - spirit masters. For some of us with the ability to see supernatural spirits, the sightings of a drifting spirit are common. As we walked down the corridor to take the lift,, Visnu leaned over “What are you planning to do? The usual?"I smiled at the phrase 'The usual' as it reflected the chemistry between us. There is always a tacit understanding that I am doing the right thing and Visnu wi

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    I turned around slowly, careful not to let my powers disrupt the stability of energy in the surroundings. As I am still alive, my 'yang' energy can be highly scorching for a being from the other realms. I was greeted by a flush of cold air and found a female figure floating in mid-air. Her head was bowed with hair covering her face. One of her eyes peered through the curtain of hair and scanned me intensively. Then she unleashed a low moan. "Claudia Goh."She moaned and I could sense the darkness of pain and agony from the sounds.“Tell me, Claudia!"She moaned again"I am here to help you.”The body disappeared just as I spoke. Quickly, I searched every corner of the room for it. In vain, I executed the Kuji-Kiri and scribbled the character 寻 - search on my palm. Then I pushed my palm into four corners of the room. In a split second, I noticed a dark mass in the right corner of the room that was quivering and bouncing off the walls. I walked over, treading with caution. As I n

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    The episode at the mortuary sapped some of my energy and left me flat. On my way back to the office, I was sipping continuously from the water bottle. Despite emptying a one-litre bottle of water, I felt dehydrated. However, the sight of Claudia's distressed spirit dwelt in my mind. It is hard to erase it but it did not affect my moods. I was determined I would find justice for her - find the killer and bring him or her to justice.Back in the office, my mind shifted to my hunger pangs. Earlier, I had asked Ah Mui to order a hearty meal and she did not let me down. When I arrived at the office pantry, I found a table of food and she was laying out the paper plates.One of the key conditions for a successful exorcist assignment is to be fully fed. A full stomach gives us energy and stamina to create the talisman and spells to quell the malevolent spirits.Over a meal of bak-kut-teh(pork ribs soup), fried carrot cakes, and my favourite Wan Ton noodles, we chatted“I got your favourite

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    “Honestly, I cannot recall.”Mavis said in a frustrated tone with tresses of her hair dropping over her forehead. She swept it back in one stroke.“Mavis, that's fine. We all suffered from these memory lapses after each transition. It is normal. Do not strain yourself. You may recollect at random. Maybe tomorrow or the day after.”“I will try, Adam. I will let you know when those details come back to me."“Dr Adam. Hello everyone.” Ah Mui said, crashing in on our dialogue. "Need your kind attention."“Yes Ah Mui? What is it?"“I just want to share some information. As I was tidying up the place after our rituals, I discovered that all the red string had caught fire and burnt until they were ashes”.I bit my lips and walked out of the room to the living room. I studied the remains of the red string which now looked charred black like someone had lit them with a lighter.My serious look elicited a question from Mavis “What does that mean?” “It meant that spirit’s powers were strong eno

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    ay confronted me and I saw her aura was an intimidating ring of red. “What was that for, Adam? Why did you do that?”"Calm down. Don't snap." I defended myself. “ I am just trying to find the truth. I am not hurting her.”“You should at least tell me before you do it?”“Would you believe me?”May shook her head “I tried and I know you have super powers and can see these things and communicate but can you not interfere with my work? She was about to tell me.”“The truth is your methods don’t always work. She did hear something but somehow did not pick it up. She saw something.”May bit her lips “Fine! You had your chance but this is the last time. I will have to report the matter to Visnu about this.”"So be it. For now, let us give Aminah medical assistance,” I said. Ah Mui had brought over medicated oil and applied it on her temples. “So what did she see? Why is she like that?” May asked. “ I think she had seen the spirit. “What is that?”“During the transition, we arrived back

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    After a long and awkward silence, Aminah spoke with a firm tone“I am a mother. I have two children – six and four. I cannot be with them because I come Singapore. I need to make money for my family. However, I make sure they have toys. They have no childhood but I must give them enough money. I saw things Mum Claudia threw. They belonged to Marcus, Mavis, and Jonathan. All memories. You cannot throw.”Aminah's lament brought a sense of melancholy and I realized May's stern look had softened. Her eyebrows drooped. She is human, after all.“I can fully understand. Then what happened?” I said.“Mum Claudia was angry. She put things in the box and threw them by the roadside.”“She was mad at you?” I repeated. “Mum Claudia was so angry and her voice loud. I feel my ears burning… " Aminah grimaced and slapped her forehead. "She blamed me for mistakes I did not make.” Aminah shook her head as her eyes burned with angst. “I did not make mistakes.” Her face crumpled in stress as tears roll

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    May looked haggard, probably from the rigours of the new investigation. The dark eye rings spoke of a sleepless night. However she still looked menacing with her slender build and trained arms. “May Li?”“I can see you have just finished one of your….work”“Thank you for your kind words.”“Really?”“You used to say ‘strange rites’ or ‘odd rituals’”“People change.”“People change.” I repeated, “Why are you here?”“Adam I need you to stop whatever “ “Siti Aminah I need to question you.” It is important.”I looked at Aminah whose face was now white as a sheet of paper“What happened?”“We would like to seek some clarification.”“Did you get your investigation wrong?” Mavis asked“Madam, our investigation showed that Aminah and Claudia Goh had a long telephone conversation on the day before she died.”Aminah shook her head continuously“No, no. I did not kill Mum Claudia. No, I did not.”“I did not say you kill her. Can you calm down?”At her cue, the two officers tried to restrain h

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    I woke and felt like I was starved of oxygen. “Ah Mui! Mavis!”I cried out loud but nobody responded. I was all alone on the lawn. Alone.The lawn. Why am I here? In my ears, I was accompanied by the chorus of crickets sounds and birds’ chirps. I looked up and found the skies were blue with roses of clouds. A pleasant day and a hot breeze over the lawnThen I remembered Mavis. She was with me at the transition. Could she still be in the mansion? I looked in the direction of the house and was surprised.The mansion that stood in front of me was vastly different from the one I knew. I have seen it before. I slammed my fist in my other palm. I remembered. It was in the pictures Ah Mui had shown meAs I walked towards the mansion, I realized I was looking at an incredible thing. The mansion was from another era. The paint is different a faded yellow instead of a fresh white. The red bricks portion of the walls were old while the ones in 2024 were freshly built. The windows were of

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    I knew something was amiss from Mavis's expression. I formed the sword fingers, inhaled, and turned slowly, ready to fight. I quickly scribbled a protective charm with my Buki brush and pulled the protective shield over us.I soon found myself staring into a dark abyss, a mass of dark energy throbbing and palpitating with each movement sending a ripple of dark energy. We meet again.“兵“ I shouted and executed a swiping move with my right palm to reinforce the shield of energy. Contrary to my expectations, the dark mass did not attack and instead hovered in front of us"What is it?""This is what I wanted to find out."“Is this the same spirit you encountered, Adam?”I nodded. “Do not be afraid. Control your breathing.""I wish I can..." Mavis said and I felt her quivering voice“Raise your scarf,” I said and Mavis obliged by holding up her right hand. Slowly I kept my brush. I joined my hands and bowed“With all respect, I am Adam Wong-Takahashi and I am a sprit master. I want to h

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    We took our seats, side by side, each other.As the trail of agarwood incense drifted into the air, I began my chanting.“Focus,” I whispered.Slowly I felt the water in my feet drift. I caught sight of Mavis opening her eyes. It is her first time and naturally, she is nervous. “Close your eyes. Drop the curtains on your soul. Stay focused but relax. My chanting is the wind to drive a sail. Focus on your mother and the times you spent with her.”“Drop your curtains on the soul.” Mavis smiled, eyes closed. I looked at her intently. She is even more beautiful with her eyes closed. I snapped back to reality“Let’s get started,” I pronounced. I began to focus my mind. Moments lapsed, and soon, it looked like it was not going to happen. I realized that as I gravitated toward the vortex, Mavis remained elusive. I sensed fear in her, and she withheld her consciousness. I could not feel her. I slowed down my chanting and stepped back into our reality. I opened my eyes to check and foun

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    After the permission was obtained, I was back at the Chua Mansion. This time with Ah Mui. The skies were a lot brighter than the the usual nights thanks to a full moon. It gave me a feeling of crystal clarity and provided a soothing sensation to my tight chest. The moon also has a nurturing effect on the minds of Onmyojis. With my bag slug over chest, I led Ah Mui down the walkway, past the lawn towards the tentage where the funeral is held. There is a small crowd and a prayer session was going on as we arrived. The casket has arrived after the mortuary gave the clearance. I peeked and found the Chua family seated at the front row- there was John Chua, Marcus, his wife. Their faces were stern and unsmiling. However, Mavis was not in sight. Suddenly, I felt a touch of chill on my shoulder. I swung around to find frail figure standing behind me – Aminah“Hi Aminah? Nice to see you. You can call me Adam.”“Hi sir, hi sir. Madam Mavis. She in living room.”Saying she led the way and

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    I rushed home after the meeting with Ah Mui to make preparations for the night’s outing.The first thing I did was to head over to the altar and light the incense. I clasped my hands and prayed. Gently I hit the bronze bowl on the altar. The tingle of metallic harmony rippled through the room. Before I chanted the mantra, I searched for my guardian spirit. “Mon?” I called. Within seconds, there was a spark in the air in front of me and Mon materialized like it hatched from air. It released a low croon, the usual greeting when it sees me. Fluttering the wings like a bee, Mon landed on my palm. “Hi, buddy. I need you to be with me tonight. We may be handling a foe. I will need you to cover my back, alright?”Mon flashed a grin and nodded. I checked its features - the horn is bulging out its forehead and its tail has gone longer. It leaped into the air and circled over my head like a gleeful bird. “That’s the spirit.”I commended.“Now can you settle down? Meditate and feed on the s