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Asian American Fantasy Mystery

People have long been afraid to walk or fish in the park because of the exhumation of bodies.

Even the park rangers try to get out of here before dark.

But crossing the park is the quickest way to get from school to the most residential street so many students take this route to save time.

Frank walked through the wood. He was now halfway through.

Suddenly, a white mist filled the trees.

But Frank felt it instinctively. He did not dislike the smell.

Snap.

Behind Frank came the crack of a branch.

He whirled around.

In front of him, there appeared a scantily clad, voluptuous middle-aged woman, who smiled at Frank's seductive smile and blew a kiss.

This must be her.

Frank took a gulp of water, his heart beating.

"Handsome, what are you doing here alone?"

"Back to... home..."

"Oh, it's still early. Come and chat with auntie."

She blinked, and Frank felt a strange attraction in the woman's body that made him move toward her uncontrollably.

The woman grabbed Frank's head and pressed his face into her arms, her chest so large that Frank could hardly breathe.

"Does Auntie's body smell good?"

"Incense..."

The woman took Frank's face in her hands.

"Well, let Auntie teach you something happy..."

She kissed Frank on the lips.

A shot rang out, and a vermilion bullet flew by and grazed the woman's cheek.

She hastily covered her face and let go of Frank.

A taxi approached with its lights flashing, and Jane fired the shot through the passenger window.

"Yeah,, yeah, so what did you put on my bullet?"

"Cinnabar!"

Will parked the car and pulled on a robe from his handbag.

"Hold her back while I prepare to cast spells!"

Jane nodded, got out of the car and pointed a pistol at the woman.

"Don't move! You're under arrest for sexual assault of minor!"

The woman looked up with anger, and Jane noticed that fur had grown on her cheeks and tails were beginning to appear behind her.

The nine-tailed vixen bellowed, and her tail burst into flames, shooting at Jane.

A gust of wind blew the flames away.

"Shoot her leg." Will said, dropping his charm and rushing forward with a pickle jar in his arms.

Jane nodded and shot the Vixen in the leg.

The vixen lost its balance and leaned to the right.

"The paper-amulet!

Will let out a loud shout, and the charm attached to the pickle jar began to glow, creating a suction force that compressed the Vixen's body and sucked it into the pickle jar.

"Hey, are you all right?"

Jane went over to check Frank.

"Auntie!

Frank threw his arms around Jane.

Slap!

"Do you think I should arrest him for assaulting a police?" Jane looked at Frank, who had been knocked unconscious, with disdain.

"Come on, it's understandable, but now that we've caught the culprit --"

Will's eyes suddenly hardened as he reached into the jar and pulled out a vixen tail.

It's just a tail.

"I think it ran away when I blew the flames away."

"It's back to square one, but she's going to get craftier."

"That's all," said Will, pulling off his robes. "We'll get the boy to the hospital and go find Scott."


Let's push back the clock.

"So you've probably heard that many young boys go into unexplained comas?"

Jane finds Will at the Chinese restaurant where he often eats lunch, because this is clearly not a human incident.

"Yeah, no kidnapping, no selling them drugs, no sign of a struggle, weird, right?" said Will, who was enjoying a plate of fried rice after a morning in taxi.

"So I began to suspect that the culprit might not be human," Jane said solemnly. "And this is your area of expertise. Any clues?"

" Many possibilities," Will said, wiping his mouth. "Do these teenagers fall into a coma because of their vitality -- as you call it, their vitality? Life energy? Chakra? was taken away."

'What was the culprit's intention?

"Depending on the type ," Will went on, "the ghosts may have been in that profession before they died, or simply because they liked it, or because they wanted to be reincarnated as soon as possible, and these thoughts directly influenced what they did after they died. If they were alive, vixens and witches, they would have used their spirit to cultivate and strengthen themselves. "

"By sex?" Jane asked.

"Yes, that's why it's usually the vixens who do it, they're the experts! A long, long time ago, China was in Shang Dynasty, and the king was called King Zhou, and his concubine Daji was..."

"History class over." Jane interrupted him quickly. Whenever Will started talking about history, he would go endless, which had ruined several of their dates.

"I've had some foresight about this case --" Will finished his lunch. "I've had Norm to search, and all the ghosts here are quiet --"

"Come on, who needs a living person when I'm a super handsome guy?"

Norm's translucent body was now floating behind Will's neck.

"What about the other possibilities?" Jane asked, " vixen, witch..."

"I can't help it with witches," Will shrugged. "They use magic to reverse track..."

Jane's mobile phone suddenly rang.

" Amy? Hello?"

"Oh, Jane! Amy's trademark shrill voice came out. "Will told me you wanted to find out if any zoo had lost vixenes from China, and I did a little research --"

Jane looked at Will, who stuck out his tongue and made a face.

"About 2 years ago, a vixen was stolen from local zoo by staff. After the culprit was caught, the evidence was overwhelming, but he had no memory of the crime! He then sought treatment in a mental hospital. Hope this helps with your investigation. Bye!"

'One of the vixens' spells, they can create hallucinations and hypnosis and things like that --' explained Will, but he stopped because he saw Jane staring at him.

"Would you please tell me before you make your own decisions next time? We are already suspected of occupying police force!"

"It's to save time..."

Jane rolled her eyes.

"If the leader knew we were all going to die..."

"It's about saving lives, and if Amy's Intel is right, I'm afraid we've got a target on it, so --"

Will pulled a compass out of his bag.

A golden, square compass.

"Patrols begin tonight!"


After a busy night.

"Come on, we're wasting our time!" Jane complained that the coffee, which had dipped the doughnuts into the thermos in the dawn glow, "has been going round these streets near the park for so long tonight, with nothing to show for it!"

Will yawned. "I'm so sleepy! Norm, I'm afraid I'll fall asleep while you're driving.""

“Is your compass broken? They didn't give us any directions!"

"This can only point to the devil within two kilometres," said Will, his sleepy eyes straining. "Looks like we'll have to expand our search tonight -- but give me a break..."

Suddenly, the compass needle gave a violent shake.

"Hey, get up! Jane gave Will a sharp shove.

"Eh?, "Will raised his compass and saw that its needle pointed...

A high school.

"What's next?"

"Pretending to be a teacher."

Jane is very familiar with this.

"Or we can go to the police now and get a warrant. Just to be clear, I don't know when that will be!"

"Can't you help?" "Will asked.

"Don't you even think about it! That's illegal!"

Jane said firmly.

Is it legal to break into a school and search it without a warrant?

Will shrugged and pulled a suit shirt out of the trunk.


In a few minutes.

"All it takes is a change of clothes. Where is the vixen?"

"It's supposed to be in the classroom," yawned Will, trying to buy a cup of coffee from the coffee machine next to the staff lounge. "Just so you know, it's class time."

"I don't think an animal can get a school status so easily..." Jane looked at his phone thoughtfully.

"Well, it's hard to say. In some Chinese folklore, vixens/even open schools to teach culture," said Will, brightening over a cup of coffee. "Long, long ago, a scholar named Hu came to town..."

"I'm going to the bathroom..."

Jane made her excuses and left. Will's stories did not appeal to her at all. From her point of view, catching the culprit was/the/most/important thing to her now.

But now they don't even have a clue.

In the women's room, Jane sighed.

"Excuse me... anyone here? Can I borrow some tissues?"

"Oh, yes."

Jane didn't realize that there were students using the toilet at this time.

She pulled a packet of tissues out of her pocket and passed it through a crack under the partition.

"Thank you."

The girl next door bent down to pick up the tissue, but Jane held her breath.

For from the corner under the partition she saw some reddish-brown hair on the ground.

This can't be hair.

Jane immediately stood up and tried desperately to unlock the compartment, but the toilet door was very old and the lock was stuck.

There was a splash next door, then the sound of a door lock.

She's running away!

The next two minutes were an eternity for Jane.

After a hundred and twenty seconds of shaking and two fingers cut on the corner of the lock, Jane was free, but the girl was gone.

"So you saw the vixen?"

"Didn't see. But I heard her voice, I can find it by voice."

While they were talking, the bell had rung and the students were going out.

"There's probably hundreds of people here," Will said, picking up the compass. "We'll take our chances..."

All of a sudden, the compass needle jerked and pointed straight in one direction.

'Lucky!

Will and Jane followed the compass to a quiet corner.

"I... I'm out of money..."

"Then ask your parents for it! Oh, , I forgot you were an orphan, ha!"

Two seniors were bullying a thin boy.

The thin boy pressed his lips and his eyes filled with tears.

"Brats are getting more and more ill-bred these days --"

Jane's father died in the line of duty when she was a child, so she has always had zero tolerance for this kind of bullying.

'Wait, look!

Will reached out his hand and stopped her.

A reddish-brown vixen jumps out of nowhere and bites one of the bullies in the calf with a vicious bite.

'What is it?

The boy pain one leg jumping around.

'Ah!

"Run!

The two bullies run away, and the vixen runs over to the thin boy who is being bullied. Next thing you know, the vixen's body begins to be enveloped in white smoke. The vixen figure stands up and gradually transforms into a young girl.

"Are you all right, Scott?

"That's the sound!

'whispered Jane.

"......"

Will thought thoughtfully.

"Jialing, didn't I tell you not to change in public?"

Scott stood up and patted the dirt.

"What does it matter? Anyway, no one to see, "Jialing helpless smile " you don't let yourself hurt, can you?"

"I'll try..." Scott smiled wryly. "But really, if anyone sees you..."

"Ahem," Will said, failing to stop Jane, who had gone up and flashed her badge at Scott and Jialing.

"I'm with the police," Jane said. "We're thinking this girl might be involved in the recent teenage coma. Could you please cooperate?"

Scott stepped in front of Carin.

"No! You can't take her! '

'She's not human! She's a vixen! She's probably --"

"We promise you." Will came out suddenly.

'What? Jane asked, looking surprised.

"I don't think this girl is a bad person," Will said. "If she were a culprit, I'm afraid this Scott would be in the hospital already, wouldn't he?"

That makes sense.

"But can we talk after school?" "We still think you might have something -- no, don't be so nervous," Will said, reading Scott's defensive look. "We wouldn't have taken her if she wasn't a culprit."

"Why should I believe you?"

Scott remained alert.

"Because, in a way, I'm from her country." Will gave a mischievous smile. "For Chinese people, fellow villagers should help each other!"

"Trust them," she said. "After all, I'm in on it -- they're right."

"Jialing!"

"Let's come over to your house after school and talk," Will winked at Jane to stop her from reaching for her gun. "We're not doing anything until we know."




"So, you say your parents died when you were young." At Scott's, he served coffee to Will and Jane, and Chinese tea to Jialing.

"Yes, " Scott said miserably.

"So, what's about Jialing?" Jane asked.

"I was abandoned in the snow," Jialing replied. "Scott saved me..."

"Abandon? By whom?" Jane asked.

"My mother..." Jialing's voice trailed off.

"I think I see what's going on," Will begins by concluding that "the vixen at the zoo -- that's Jialing's mother -- had the zoo staff break her out of prison, and at the time, she was pregnant, and a few months later, she gave birth to Jialing and ran away on a snowy day -- yes, that's another reason why I'm sure Jialing wasn't the vixen that got away." 'said Will.' It's not the right age! Vixenes have a much shorter life span than humans! If Jialing is the vixen that got away a year and a half ago, it's pretty hard to pass for a high school girl based on age ratios, right?"

Jane nodded.

"So, another question," Will asked, "do you know where I can find your mother?"

"Well... It must be deep in the park, "said Jialing," because it's a big park with lots of trees..."

"It's too big to use my compass outside," Will thought. "That explains why it's no use patrolling outside the park. I can't search for her until she shows up."

"I heard today that some boys in our class bet to walk home from the park at night." Scott said suddenly.

"Well, here's our chance! She must be caught to-night!" 'said Jane.

"I have one last question, though," Will said suddenly. "Jialing, how do you feel about Scott?"

"He... He is my benefactor, and I owe him... What do you mean?" Jialing suddenly angry "you are worried that I will hurt him?"

"Well... Probably, "said Will," because I'm a Chinese Wizard, and we have a saying in our circle that in-human relationship never goes anywhere."

"Me and Scott will." Jialing said through gritted teeth.

"Well, I'll take your word for it, but..." Will pulled out a piece of runt paper and handed it to Scott. "This is for you. If Jialing ever gets out of control, you can use this --"

Scott grabbed it, crumpled it up and threw it in the dumpster.

'I don't need this!

He growled.

"Well, good luck," Will shrugged, signaling to Jane that they were leaving. "Come on, sweetheart, we've got a vixen hunt tonight."

That night, the street outside the park.

"Wheezing... "

The nine-tailed Vixen barely escaped Will's paper-amulet by sacrificing a tail, and now she is weak and in desperate need of strength.

"Young men... Where is it..."

She dragged her heavy body and hobbled along the street.

Suddenly, she found a boy.

Scott is taking out the garbage .

She rode the shadows, creeping up on her.

With no energy left to seduce Scott, she grabbed him with her hands and wrapped her other eight tails around his body.

Scott struggled.

She took Scott's face and began to kiss it.

'Stop!

Jialing jumped out and grabbed her mother's face.

The vixen was sore, and her face was on fire.

"Jialing? Are you --"

'Alive! Jialing gritted her teeth and said, "Scott is my benefactor. I don't want you to hit him! And I won't forgive you for abandoning me! '

"I have no choice," panted the Vixen. In her hand, Jialing clutched the paper amulet Will had given Scott. It was eating away at the skin of her face like a strong acid. 'I couldn't have survived with you in that weather!

"You --"

Jialing threw the ball of paper directly at her mother, hitting her right in the eye.

"Ah!!"

The vixen rolled all over the floor in pain.

"The paper-amulet!

Will and Jane arrived just in time to paper-amulet the vixen into the jar.

This time, it worked.

"What a bad mother," Will said, smiling. "To abandon your daughter and go after your future son-in-law?"

Son-in-law?

Jialing and Scott's faces went red.

"I can already see your awareness," Will said, looking at Jialing's hand, which was badly burned. "I bless you both!"

"I... "

Jialing was speechless .

'I do!

"Scott shouted.

Jialing has been crying, shed moved tears.

"When you come of age in a few years, I'll marry you myself -- well, I'm so sleepy, I'm going home to bed. I haven't slept in two days."

"Well, I'll drive!"

Will yawned and said goodbye to Scott and Jialing. Although he hated having his car touched, he made an exception for Jane.

"All right... It occurs to me that by the time Scott is old enough to marry, Jialing will be at least as old as her mother -- maybe a little older?"

"Oh, don't worry about other people's family affairs, that old vixen you are going to do?"

“keep her in my house for years. but I'll let her out for the wedding when her daughter gets married."

"Are you really not surprised at all that a human marrying an animal?"

'What's so strange? "Long, long ago, there was Chinese man named Xu Xian, whose wife was a snake..."

"Oh God..."

Jane rolled her eyes. She knew that Will would not fall asleep again until she had finished telling the story.

"A magical monk named Fahai thought the Snake was a danger to mankind, so he decided to separate the two of them..."

As Will told the story, the moon rose and a comet with nine tails flashed across the night sky.

March 16, 2023 18:37

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4 comments

08:17 Mar 23, 2023

Hi Will. I've received an email inviting me to read and provide feedback on two stories, one of which is yours. So far, as I write this, I've only read the first sentence. It is a very intriguing sentence, and makes me want to read on - which I will do shortly. But I thought before I continue to read, I would start that feedback: "People have long been afraid to walk or fish in the park because of the exhumation of bodies." Exhuming bodies could be a chilling/macabre thing to happen in a story (or in a prelude to a story, as here.) Bu...

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Will Chu
14:07 Mar 23, 2023

Because my first draft is far more 3000 words……so I have to edit much.Anyway thank you for your suggestion and I will be better and better

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Will Chu
14:13 Mar 23, 2023

and this is the reason why some part seems need explaination

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Tricia Shulist
23:58 Mar 20, 2023

Interesting story. I tried to write using that prompt and I found it too difficult. It takes a lot of understanding of the folklore to be able to weave a story based on existing fables. Thanks for this.

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