Jax opened his eyes to find Yu Yu cradling his head, a worried look on her face. He felt tired and worn out. Every muscle in his body ached as if he had physically flown into the eye of the hurricane himself. But he was glad to be back safely inside his body again.
Yu Yu smiled with relief. ‘I… I… thought you were dead, Mingzi. You were barely breathing. I knew I shouldn’t have left you by yourself.’
‘Hey, man,’ said Buzzy, kneeling down beside him. ‘Glad to see you’re back in the land of the living.’
They helped Jax to his feet. ‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘I’m all right now. How’s your arm, Buzz?’
‘A bit sore, but I’ll live. Hey, man, you really missed an awesome sight. I’ve never seen anything like it. The hurricane looked as though it was going to hit us and these dark clouds came rolling in, making it look like night. Then suddenly, the wind reversed direction, just like that. It was unbelievable. And now look at it. So freakily quiet.’
‘Pity I was out of it,’ said Jax, glancing at Yu Yu with a small smile.
She leant over and whispered, ‘You did all right for a ghost boy,’ and grinned.
Buzzy cocked his head to one side, puzzled. ‘I swear you look different, man. You’ve grown or something. And hey! Where did you learn that amazing kung fu?’
‘The Abbot and the other monks in the monastery taught me,’ Jax replied.
‘No way! You couldn’t get that good in just a week!’
A week! Jax’s mind reeled. He felt as if he had been at the monastery for three months at least. But how could he explain that to Buzzy? He decided to make a joke of it.
‘Guess I found something I like doing for a change,’ he said, smiling.
‘Well it was awesome. You gotta teach me a few of those moves.’ Buzzy put his hand on Jax’s shoulder. ‘Now that you’re okay, I better go. My mum will be freaking out that I’m not home.’ He turned to Yu Yu, ‘Xie… xie. Is that how you say it, thank you?’
Yu Yu smiled and nodded.
‘See ya, Jax.’
‘Yeah, see you at school, Buzz,’ Jax replied.
As soon as Buzzy had left, Yu Yu turned to Jax excitedly. ‘What happened up there with Peng? One minute the hurricane was almost upon us, the next it was gone. How did you do it?’
‘I’ll tell you all about it later. First we have to deal with that fox spirit. I remember pulling the necklace off him, but what happened after that?’
‘He tried to run away while I was putting the necklace over your head, but then he collapsed over there. I thought he was dead. I should have finished him off,’ Yu Yu said grimly.
Jax inspected the dragging tracks, made by the fox spirit, clearly visible in the mud. They led off into the bushes. ‘Come on, Yu Yu, he’s still very weak. We have to reach his den and get the gold before he has time to renew his strength.’
They followed the tracks through the park. In some places, dying sparks glowed in the undergrowth where the animal had set it on fire with his tail. Every now and then, Jax bent down to examine the ground.
Soon he noticed that the fox spirit was no longer dragging his body, but walking on four legs. He’s getting stronger, Jax thought, drawing energy from his hoard of gold. We must be close to his den.
As they followed the paw prints around a large boulder, Jax saw a bushy tail disappear down a hole in a hillock. ‘Quick, Yu Yu, teach me the hand signs! I’m going in after him.’
Jax committed the sequence to memory. Then he told Yu Yu to wait outside and guard the entrance while he crawled into the hole.
Using his night vision to help him avoid the network of tree roots that criss-crossed the tunnel, Jax worked himself deeper and deeper through the blackness. Clumps of earth fell into his eyes and mouth as he pushed himself on. Soon the pungent smell of the fox spirit filled the surrounding air.
Finally, the tunnel opened out into a small cosy cave. Jax saw the fox’s bed, softened with feathers and fur. A few dry bones lay scattered about. And in the corner stood the creature glaring at Jax with yellow eyes, his head lowered and his lips curled into a snarl. Behind him sat a mound of gold – his hoard of watches, necklaces, bracelets, rings and pendants.
‘I have come to take back the gold you stole,’ Jax said firmly.
The fox spirit stiffened and for the first time, Jax saw a flicker of fear and desperation in the animal’s eyes. Suddenly the creature turned and leapt into the pile of gold, rolling around in it, trying to absorb its energy through his skin.
As he slowly regained some of his lost power, Jax saw him begin to shape-shift into Buzzy’s form again. But this time it didn’t work. Buzzy’s face still had a fox’s teeth and nose, and his limbs shifted back and forth from hairy to smooth, from fingers to paws.
In desperation, the fox spirit then tried to get inside Jax’s mind – to weaken him like he had done back in the monastery with thoughts of how small and hopeless Jax was. But Jax was much stronger now. He threw the weakening thoughts right back at the creature, knocking him to the ground. As the fox spirit tried to get up, Jax raised his hands and began performing the nine hand signs Yu Yu had shown him. But he only had to perform the first one. Coming from a Peng Master, they held immense power.
The animal collapsed, all evil energy drained from his body. The once mighty fox spirit was now just a frail old fox lying in the dirt of the cave.
Jax spread his jacket on the floor and gathered as much gold as he could. He then dragged the bundle out of the den to where Yu Yu was waiting. ‘There’s more gold in there than I thought. No wonder he was so strong.’
Yu Yu waved her hand in front of her nose. ‘You stink like a fox! Is it really you?’ she giggled.
It took Jax two trips to collect the rest of the hoard. He tied the sleeves of his jacket together and was about to heave the load onto his back when Yu Yu said, ‘He doesn’t give up easily, though.’ She pointed to the fox spirit whose head had appeared at the entrance to the hole.
‘You’ve taken everything, I have nothing left,’ he whined. ‘Won’t you leave me something to survive on?’
‘There are always cockroaches,’ Yu Yu said with a laugh. She rummaged around in the pile of jewellery and threw the fox spirit a pair of false gold teeth. ‘There you go. That’s more your style.’
The animal grabbed them in his mouth and snarled weakly, then crept back inside his den.
‘That old fox spirit won’t be causing any more trouble,’ Yu Yu said. ‘What are we going to do with all this gold?’
‘We’ll take it back to the Abbot. He’ll know how to distribute it in the proper way.’ Jax swung the bundle over his shoulder and they headed back to Whispering Cloud Monastery.
The Abbot greeted them warmly at the monastery gates. Lao Bing and Lao Tan emptied the gold jewellery into two large woven baskets. They smiled, happy to see Jax and Yu Yu back so soon.
‘There is great need for this gold you have brought,’ said the Abbot. ‘Many people have suffered in the storms of late. Now it can serve good instead of evil.’
He turned to Yu Yu. ‘Watch over him well, child, you are a spirit watcher now.’
‘A spirit watcher?’ Yu Yu was puzzled. ‘What is that, Abbot?’
‘Every Peng Master must have someone to watch over him, otherwise the consequences can be fatal. That’s why I have been training you ever since you were brought to us.’
‘What do I need to do?’
‘Guard Mingzi’s body whenever he is with Peng. Advise him sometimes, and keep him focussed on his destiny. This last duty can often be the greatest challenge.’
Yu Yu smiled proudly. ‘I will not fail you, Abbot.’
‘Now, it is getting late,’ the Abbot said. ‘You should both be on your way home.’
The Abbot waved as he watched them leave. At last he could rest, content in the knowledge that this young boy was truly worthy of being called a Peng Master. And the girl by Mingzi’s side, his trusted spirit watcher, his link to the earth and his strength.
Never before had such a young pair of Peng and Master overcome so extreme a storm. He knew that these two were destined to become one of the truly great teams, well matched to face the tremendous challenges that lay ahead.
The old man looked out over the glistening day, bathed in sunshine, gathered up his patched robes and closed the gates of Whispering Cloud Monastery.