“Coffin nails!” Kevin, Marcus and Gloria instantly reized the nature of the three dirty wooden nails.

  “Yes, exactly.” Tae Kuo sighed and shook his head: “And they’re lifted from a - a pretty old grave, at least three decades old.”

  “But I thought the city had bahem since - si least fifty years ago.” Kevin asked, frowning: “They’re not from some A ffin, right? They be a bit - a bit dangerous to use - ”

  “No - just regur coffins. I lifted them off an old coffin from somewhere not iy.” Tae Kuo smiled: “Rex, I checked the history before I did so. I used to go out there and do some - some side jobs to get my hands on some extra cash and things that are hard to find or not sold iy.”

  “So, how do you want to use it?” Marodded.

  “First, we need someoh Yang Qi, meaning it might have to be you.” Tae Kuo hahe red cloth pouarcus: “And - uh - I ’t believe I’m gonna ask you this, but are you still a - a virgin?”

  Marcus was stunned by the question for a short moment. Then he realized what it actually meant, sighed and shook his head: “Unfortunately no, Sifu.”

  “Either of you?” Tae Kuo turo Kevin and Mick.

  “No.” Kevin shook his head, then raised a thumb up at Marcus: “But Marcus, grats, huh?”

  “Not a good time.” Tae Kuo pushed Kevin’s hand down: “Then - Marcus, e with me - Gloria, you keep an eye on everyone and the ntern? And if there’s anything - no matter how small or insignifit, tell me. Also, tell me when Ker - Detective Lance wakes up. DO make sure it’s her and not anyone else.”

  “You’ve got it.” Gloria took a deep breath and pulled Keryn to Kevin and Mick’s side.

  Tae Kuo led Marcus to the er of the staircase, uhe spot where water was dripping from the ceiling: “Now Marcus, I’m not sure how familiar you are with ghost’s byrinths. But here’s the rule of thumb: when you are ihe first thing or the most memorable location you notice is usually the anchor, or joint point, or eye, or whatever else you call it.”

  “It’s the ‘ter’ of the illusiht?”

  “Correct - it’s the thing that draws your attention at first, then kinda like hypnotization, misleads you intetting the details of your surroundings. Whi turn will further fool and mislead you. And you will end up finding yourself going in rounds.” Tae Kuo nodded and scratched his jaw: “And when you’re anxious and fused, that’s where the energy here clouds your judgment and memories. I know, kinda sounds like an excuse for not notig and remembering it earlier - ”

  “Don’t - just tell me what to do.” Marcus interjected.

  “Alright. Now first, infuse your Qi into the nail, and shoot it right at the spot where the water was dripping from.” Tae Kuo poi the er ceiling: “Be as precise as possible. ”

  “And the Qi, does it o have some kind of bance or ratio of Yin and Yang? Or one hundred pert Yang?” Marcus asked.

  Tae Kuo raised his brows at Marcus, impressed. He thought for a moment, then nodded: “I suppose one hundred pert Yang would be ideal - if you . But don’t try to push too much, the nail is wooden, after all. Try to get as mu as possible without damaging it too much.”

  Marcus uood what the Sifu meant, so he was extra careful when pushing his Qi into the coffin nail he chose. The nail itself was somewhat rotten oside but still mostly firm on the inside. His Qi dried up the yers oerior, which cracked and fked before they fell off. After around ten seds, the nail itself was close to colpsing, so he just flung his hand and shot it at the er ceiling.

  A droplet of water just formed when the nail broke it and embedded into the ceiling board. Ripples of thin but still visible bck fog spread from the tact point.

  “Good.” Tae Kuo took another deep breath: “Then nail the spot where the water dropped down to - try to aim for the ter - or if you see where Yin energy was trated the most, nail it there.”

  Marcus took a deep breath before tuning his Qi trated around his eyes. The water stains on the floor was an irregur shape, just like most water stains. There was no obvious ter, and a very faint spot of darker color revealed itself only after a few seds of intearing and studying.

  “There!” Marcus wasted no time before ung another Qi infused nail at the floor. The wooden nail peed the crete looking floor, leaving only a small butt above ground. A pleasant ring propagated through the entire space. Aween the rears of both nails, aremely thin, light refrag line of energy appeared and ected to both.

  “Okay, good, good, good.” Tae Kuo let out a breath of relief: “You see that line? Cut it with the st nail. Try not to miss.”

  “What would happen?” Marcus asked.

  “Well, if you missed, then you ain with your hand or a on, but it might not be as effective - ”

  “Yeah but what if I don’t miss?”

  “Good point - ” Tae Kuo turned and raised his voice at the others: “Everyone be prepared for something sudden! Stay calm and don’t move! Remember? Stay calm and don’t move!”

  “Uood!” The rest of the team responded.

  “Okay? Three - two - ” Marcus aimed the nail like he was aiming a dart at a board on the wall: “ONE!”

  The wooden nail cut through the thin transparent line. Another, louder and less pleasant ring burst. Everything in front of their eyes fshed and blurred. For a brief moment, it was as if they were tossed in the air, violently pulled down, then thrown into the air again.

  When their sense of position, band weight returo normal, Marcus realized what Tae Kuo meant by “stay calm and don’t move” - he was standing just a few steps away from the edge of the bottomless hole at the ter of the entire building.