“Ugh—In order to gather more sinister energy, this person is using the souls of the dead to cause trouble everywhere. Truly vicious and ruthless! This is a disgrace to the reputation of Taoism! If I find out who it is, I definitely won't let him get away with it—” Shawn Young said bitterly.
At that moment, Rainie Cheng, worried about Shawn Young’s safety, quietly returned. She listened outside to the conversation between Shawn Young and the ghost in white, Wendy Lam—one living, one dead—and though shocked, she kept her composure. Entering the holding cell, she said to Shawn, “We have to find her body quickly! Otherwise, when night falls, more people at the hospital will die!”
“Okay, got it! But Wendy Lam has to stay here for now, to avoid alerting the one controlling her!” Shawn Young nodded.
“Sir, I understand—I’ll wait here for you to bring back my body—” Wendy Lam, the ghost in white, nodded quickly.
“I’m going to extract part of your soul’s consciousness now. That’ll help us find your body!” Shawn Young said, forming a 'Soul Binding Seal' with his right hand and pointing at her—“Whoosh—” A wisp of Wendy Lam’s soul, carrying her consciousness, was drawn into Shawn’s palm.
“Alright, now hide yourself and don’t come out to scare anyone. Wait for my news—” Shawn Young told Wendy Lam.
“Whoosh—” Wendy Lam disappeared instantly at Shawn Young’s words.
After finishing these preparations, Shawn Young took the sweaty-palmed Rainie Cheng out of the holding cell, left the basement, and returned to the police station above. After briefly explaining the situation to the officers, half of them, still shocked, readied their equipment, loaded into several police cars, and sped off with Shawn and the others toward Kingwood Village in Tsuen Wan.
Kingwood Village is near the New Territories of Hong Kong, a rather remote suburb. But in Hong Kong, a bustling international metropolis, places like the city center, Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon are already worth a fortune per square foot. So even areas like the New Territories, Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan, and even more remote suburbs have been developed by real estate companies. Kingwood Village, though considered suburban, has several villa communities around it, some of which are still under construction.
After arriving at Kingwood Village, following Wendy Lam’s directions, Shawn Young had everyone park the cars at the village entrance. Then, on foot, they followed the road toward the back mountain. After about half an hour, they came upon a small hill surrounded by vegetable plots and woods. Skirting a dense, lush forest, the group finally saw a pond ahead.
The pond wasn’t big, but its emerald water looked deep and mysterious. After Shawn Young checked the surroundings, he found it matched Wendy Lam’s description. He turned to Liu Yongming and said, “Yes, this is the place—the body is at the bottom of this pond!”
Liu Yongming and the other officers respected Shawn Young greatly, so they sprang into action. Several male officers donned diving suits and began searching the pond. After about ten minutes, they found something—a large burlap sack tied to rocks. The divers cut the ropes with knives and tried to haul the sack to the surface.
Then something weird happened—just as the sack was about to break the surface, it suddenly stopped moving, suspended in the water. No matter how the divers struggled, they couldn’t pull it out, as if something below was holding it down. The divers dove again to investigate, but found nothing binding it. Yet the sack simply wouldn’t budge.
Out of options, the divers decided to cut open the sack to see what was inside. But as they slashed at the opening with their knives, a whirlpool suddenly formed in the center of the pond. The whirlpool grew larger and began dragging the sack deeper into the water.
The whirlpool was powerful, making a strange 'hiss—hiss—' noise like a monster opening its jaws. It quickly dragged the sack under, and the current was so strong that even the divers were nearly pulled in. Terrified, they scrambled out of the pond. They all knew that such whirlpools shouldn’t form in a natural village pond—this one was seriously spooky!
As soon as the divers climbed ashore, the whirlpool vanished, and the pond’s surface became calm, as if nothing had happened. The officers on the bank, including Liu Yongming, had witnessed the bizarre scene, their faces pale with fright. Standing next to Shawn Young, Zhong Mingyan was so scared her face turned white, her body trembling. She clung tightly to Shawn’s arm, feeling a little safer—after all, seeing something like this in broad daylight was enough to give anyone the creeps!
Despite the shock, Rainie Cheng was the first to regain her composure. She glanced at Zhong Mingyan, who was clutching Shawn Young’s arm, frowned, and asked, “Mingyan, are you okay?”
“Oh—I’m, I’m fine, really!” Zhong Mingyan replied, startled, and quickly let go of Shawn Young’s arm.
Of everyone present, Shawn Young was the calmest. Watching the whirlpool form and vanish, he was convinced the pond was unnatural. He told the group, “There’s something wrong with this pond—someone’s put a spell or some kind of barrier here. Don’t go in yet. Let me check it out first.”
“Alright, let’s listen to Mr. Shawn. Everyone, take a break for now!” Liu Yongming instructed the officers.
Shawn Young began to walk around the pond, inspecting the surroundings. He knew that the bizarre whirlpool must be the result of someone casting a spell to keep whatever was at the bottom hidden. Circling the pond, he stopped beneath a tall, lush Chinese toon tree. The tree was covered in golden blossoms and stood out among the surrounding greenery.
Shawn Young stared intently at the ancient-looking toon tree, gradually piecing things together in his mind.
“Well? Did you find anything?” Rainie Cheng came closer and asked.
“Yeah—I did. This toon tree is really strange!” Shawn Young pointed at the tree. “Its old name is the 'chushu.' According to the Codex of Ascension, the chushu is a plant that gathers yin energy and easily attracts spirits. In folklore, the toon tree is called the King of All Trees. In the past, people used its wood for houses and furniture, and at night you’d hear creaking noises—the spirit of the tree resisting the pressure. But if you put a wedge of toon wood in the joints, the noise stops, because the tree king can control the others. Scientifically, it’s because toon wood is soft and cushions the swelling and shrinking of other woods.”
“Oh—what kind of tree is that?” Rainie Cheng wasn’t familiar with plants, so she didn’t recognize the toon tree.
“It’s a toon tree. There are two types: stinky toon and fragrant toon, but this one’s the stinky kind—its old name is chushu. Like pines, cypresses, firs, and locusts, it’s perfect for making coffins and is considered a wood of the underworld, great for gathering yin energy. The toon tree is especially mystical, its roots are the most yin-attracting. The first emperor of the Eastern Han, Liu Xiu, even named it the ‘King of All Trees.’ So wherever a toon tree grows, no other tree can steal its thunder!” Shawn Young explained.