Leaves scratched, branches groaned, sounding a warning into the night. Peng sniffed the air, sensing something warm close by. A strong acrid smell came to his nostrils. He snorted, once, twice, then sank beneath the water.
Seconds later, a boy with scraggly red hair, in baggy jeans and T-shirt and carrying a skateboard, emerged from the undergrowth. His eyes glinted in the moon’s light as he stretched his lips into a half-human smile. Standing tall and straight, he extended his long limbs and shook them out as if they were brand new. Then he looked around, dropped his skateboard on the ground, and pushed off towards Whispering Cloud Monastery.
Jax and Yu Yu were sparring, blindfolded, in the Courtyard of Imaginings. Dust swirled around their feet in the dark, and the air cracked with the sound of their long staffs crashing together above their heads.
Jax leapt up as he felt Yu Yu swing her staff low to sweep his legs out from under him. He brought his stick straight down towards her head. She blocked, pushing her whole staff upward to catch his. Then they pushed each other away and stood poised and silent, each listening intently for any trace of movement that would give away the other’s position.
In the sudden quiet, they heard a tapping at the front gate.
Yu Yu stiffened, cocking her head towards the sound. Lifting her blindfold, she sniffed the air like a dog. Then she jumped onto the carved stone wall and somersaulted into the front courtyard.
Jax followed, his body light and agile, almost weightless. He landed without a sound. ‘Careful, Yu Yu,’ he whispered.
Yu Yu ran quietly to the main gates. ‘Gui, zou kai, Go away, ghost!’ she said in a steely voice that cut through the night air.
‘Ah… excuse me,’ came a voice speaking in English, ‘but I’m looking for my friend Jax.’
‘Buzzy?’ said Jax in surprise. ‘Is that you?’
‘Hey, man! Ha ha! Found you at last. Open the gate and let me in.’
Smiling, Jax stepped forward to lift the heavy beam but Yu Yu blocked his way.
‘Ta shuo shenme? What did he say?’ she asked Jax, unable to understand the English words.
‘It’s my friend, Buzzy. You know, the one I told you about.’
‘How can you know for sure?’ she cautioned.
‘It’s him. I can tell by his voice.’
Yu Yu whispered in Jax’s ear. ‘He smells.’
‘So?’
‘He smells like a fox.’
‘Foxes can’t talk, you know,’ Jax said, annoyed at Yu Yu for being so stupid. He unplugged the small hole and peered through it.
‘Fox spirits can,’ said Yu Yu. ‘If a mind is open like yours has been lately, a fox spirit can tap into it. He’s obviously seen Buzzy and has made himself into an exact replica of your friend.’
‘I don’t believe in fox spirits, that’s ridiculous. I’m going to let him in.’
Yu Yu spread her arms wide and pushed back against the wooden gate.
‘Hey man, stop mucking around, will you? Open up. It’s freezing out here,’ came the shivery voice.
‘Please, Yu Yu,’ said Jax, putting the plug back in. ‘You let me in and I turned out okay, didn’t I?’ He grinned at her pleadingly.
‘That was different. You weren’t in my mind and you didn’t smell foul like he does.’
‘But I could have been a hungry ghost.’
Yu Yu didn’t answer.
‘I’ll never fight stick with you again,’ Jax threatened jokingly, knowing how much Yu Yu loved to compete with him. ‘And Buzzy can tell you so much more about the world outside. Look, it’s him for sure and if it’s not…’ he glanced back at the main hall where the Abbot and the other monks were meditating, ‘… you can blame me, ok?’
Yu Yu sighed. ‘Well, all right then. But keep on your guard. If you see him doing anything strange…’
‘Like what?’
She shrugged. ‘He’s your friend, you’ll know.’
‘I’ll keep my eye on him, in fact I’ll keep two eyes on him, I promise.’
Yu Yu stepped back into the shadow of the wall as Jax lifted the wooden beam and turned the handle.
‘About time,’ said Buzzy, sounding annoyed.
Jax was about to speak, but as soon as his old friend stepped through the gate, something strange happened. Everything came back to him – how small he felt, how he envied Buzzy for being good at sport, for being tall and popular. It was as if a net had been pulled tightly around him. But wait a minute, he told himself, this is crazy. That’s the old me. I’m different now.
These flashes of memory were like wedges splitting his mind apart, forcing him to be the old Jax – the small and insignificant and incomplete Jax. His head was in such a muddle he didn’t know what was happening to him.
‘And who’s she?’ Buzzy turned and pointed his chin towards Yu Yu who was standing in the shadows making strange hand signals behind Buzzy’s back.
‘Oh … um… sorry. This is my friend, Yu Yu. She can’t speak English, though.’
Yu Yu eyed Buzzy suspiciously, and said nothing.
Jax could see how much Buzzy and Yu Yu distrusted each other and it hurt. They were both his best friends and he wanted them to be friends, too. But it was funny how Yu Yu made him feel strong, an equal to her in mind and spirit, while Buzzy somehow made him feel small and weak. He couldn’t understand why he should still feel like that. After all, hadn’t he trained hard? Didn’t he now possess the three treasures: the vigour, the breath and the spirit? Or did he still lack this last treasure?
Buzzy looked around the temple grounds then yawned. ‘Hey, this is a cool place. Gotta check it all out tomorrow. But look, Jax, it’s late and I’m tired. Is there anywhere I can crash?’
‘I’ll have to put you in the storeroom,’ Jax replied. ‘The Abbot will be mad if he knows I’ve let you in.’
‘That’s cool, man. I can hardly keep my eyes open so anywhere will do.’
Jax led the way to a room at the bottom of the drum tower with Yu Yu trailing warily behind, still making hand signs at Buzzy’s back.
‘Hope it’s all right for you in here,’ said Jax, turning on the bare light bulb.
Buzzy shrugged. ‘Looks okay to me.’ As Buzzy moved into the light, Jax stared at his hair. It was flame red in colour. Jax couldn’t imagine his friend dyeing it. Maybe Yu Yu was right. Could he really be a fox spirit?
‘How did you know where to find me, Buzzy?’ Jax asked, his suspicions growing.
‘Just followed my nose.’ Buzzy sat down on a sack of rice. Then he yawned again. ‘I need to go to sleep, mate. We can talk in the morning.’
‘Lai ba, kuai yi dian, hurry up,’ said Yu Yu, tapping her foot impatiently. ‘Can’t you see he’s tired?’
‘Oh… yeah, sure,’ said Jax. ‘Night, Buzzy.’
‘Yeah, man. See you tomorrow.’
Jax closed the door and walked in silence across the courtyard.
‘Can’t you just smell him? He’s a fox spirit for sure.’ Yu Yu’s voice broke into his thoughts.
Jax stopped and rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the throbbing in his temples. ‘I… I don’t know…. sorry… I feel so confused at the moment.’
‘I’m so mad at myself,’ Yu Yu said. ‘A long time ago, the Abbot taught me a series of hand signs that can weaken a fox spirit’s power. But I can’t remember them now.’
‘I’m sure they’ll come back to you,’ said Jax.
She frowned then looked thoughtful. ‘Why would a fox spirit want to come inside this monastery? We don’t keep any gold here.’
Jax shot her a glance. ‘What do you mean?’ The thought of Ma’s missing gold necklace immediately came to his mind.
‘Fox spirits crave gold. That’s what they draw their power from. Most have a stash of it in their dens. The more gold they steal, the stronger they become.’
‘What do they do… with the power they collect, I mean?’
‘That depends on the fox spirit. Some are just naughty and want to have a bit of fun, but others want the power to do great harm. I have a bad feeling about that thing in there.’ Yu Yu pointed her chin towards the storeroom.
‘But you don’t know for sure it’s a fox spirit.’ Jax’s voice was edged with doubt. ‘It could be my friend, Buzzy…’ But even as he said this, Jax felt a growing fear. If that wasn’t Buzzy inside the storeroom, then what was it and what did it want? Had he let a monster into the monastery?