Amelia studied Li Yunlongs business card carefully. After a moment's thought, she stowed it away with care. For now, she needed to focus on her work; whatever troubles Li Yunlong brought could wait.
Around nine o'clock that evening, Li Yunlong received a call from Amelia at his home. Half an hour later, she drove over alone. He welcomed her warmly and ushered her into the first-floor living room. «Would you like some tea, or perhaps some water?»
«Coffee would be fine, thank you,» Amelia replied. Since he didn't usually drink coffee, Li Yunlong had no choice but to fix her a cup of instant. Accepting the mug without pretense, she set it aside untouched and confronted him directly, her sharp gaze locking onto his. «Mr. Brook Lee, I won't beat around the bush. What is your motive for investigating me?»
Li Yunlong took an unhurried sip of tea, entirely unbothered by her aggressive demeanor. «Miss Amelia, first let me clarify: while I know who you are-a famous news reporter and program host-I personally have never hired anyone to dig into your private life, nor have I ever done so myself.» Objectively speaking, Amelia was only moderately famous in Los Angeles, hardly a household name across the entire country, but since she had come straight to his door, he didn't mind offering a few compliments.
Amelia merely let out a soft, cold grunt. She was attractive, but she was hardly foolish. Working as a television journalist, she considered herself thoroughly acquainted with the darker side of human nature and society. How could she possibly believe his word at face value?
Li Yunlong could sense her deep-seated guard, though such minor distrust was easily dispelled. «My objective is simple: I merely wish to make your acquaintance, Miss Amelia. But as it stands, it seems you hold a slight misunderstanding regarding my intentions. I believe a simple game will clear up any confusion between us. Do you happen to have a coin on you?»
She pulled a coin from her pocket. «What, are you going to perform a magic trick for me?»
«You could look at it that way, Miss Amelia,» Li Yunlong said smoothly, «though what I am about to do differs from a standard magician's performance. Put your hands behind your back, flip the coin as many times as you like, and then slap it onto your palm before looking at it. I will tell you whether heads or tails is facing up.»
Amelia had seen plenty of magic shows and had even participated in close-up magic before, but she had never encountered a trick set up quite like this. Coaxed into playing along, she tried seven times in a row. Li Yunlong did not miss once.
Finally unable to contain herself, Amelia asked, «How are you doing that?» The coin was her own, making tampered props impossible. Each time, her hands had been behind her back, flipping the coin at random; even she had no idea which side was up, and he hadn't asked her a single question. Each time she brought her hand forward, he gave the answer almost instantly, and every single answer was correct. If he were relying on pure guesswork, the statistical odds were astronomically low.
Li Yunlong offered a slight smile. «I am a researcher of occultism, and through my studies, I have achieved certain practical results.» He gave a casual shrug. «So you see, Miss Amelia, I have no need-and no desire-to spy on your privacy.» Naturally, he refrained from mentioning his supernatural sensory control; at such close range, unless he were blind, how could he fail to perceive which side of the coin faced upward?
Despite trying her best to maintain composure, Amelia dared not be careless. She instinctively lowered her gaze to conceal her inner turmoil. With her sharp journalist's intuition, she detected the danger veiled beneath his casual tone, but far surpassing her fear was a surge of excitement. This was no rigid, stubborn priest, no self-proclaimed grandmaster posing as a sage, nor some eccentrically dressed witch. A person possessing genuine, supernatural power stood right before her eyes, actively offering his friendship-an opportunity she had no intention of passing up.
«Of course, Mr. Brook Lee, I believe you,» she said. «Otherwise, I wouldn't have come here tonight. It's just that, as a woman, prudence is a necessary measure for my own safety.»
«Entirely understandable,» Li Yunlong replied.
Amelia adjusted her posture to accentuate her striking figure, running a hand through her hair as she cast a captivating smile toward him. «Then I suppose we are friends now. May I call you Lee? And you may simply call me Amelia.»
«Certainly, Amelia.» Dressed in casual attire, she stood nearly five-foot-ten with an hourglass figure, long legs, and blonde wavy hair framed by a gorgeous face-a quintessential American beauty. Though she lacked the heavy television makeup she usually wore, her youth was her greatest asset. Had she directed such deliberate charm at some naive young man, he likely would have fallen head over heels for her. Unfortunately, she was not Li Yunlong's type; her effort was largely wasted.
«So, Lee,» Amelia continued, «as a friend, is there anything I can help you with?»
«Nothing major,» Li Yunlong said. «I merely hope that, without violating your professional ethics, you might provide me with records or news on local occult incidents. Naturally, as a token of my appreciation, I have prepared a small gift for you.»
Amelia secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His request was far from unreasonable and quite easy to fulfill. As for his promised gift, she paid it little mind; as an ambitious career woman, she valued the intrinsic potential of an individual who possessed supernatural abilities far more than any material token. «Of course. We are friends, after all.» She lightly swirled her coffee cup with a finger. «So, Lee, what about the help you mentioned this morning?»
Li Yunlong paused slightly. Are American women always this direct? Pragmatic to a fault, without a hint of embarrassment. «Amelia, my primary focus in occultism lies in ancient Eastern traditions, which hold that a person's vital essence, energy, and spirit are finite. To put it in terms easier for you to understand: your physical strength, mental focus, and time are all limited. Trying to manage two men on your own with limited energy is naturally exhausting. The best approach would be to give one of them up.»
Without looking, he already knew what expression she would have. «If you are unwilling to let go of either right now, I can offer you two alternatives.»
Amelia perked up. «What alternatives?»
«The first method is studying the arts of the inner chamber,» Li Yunlong explained. «It is a branch of esoteric practice centered on sexual energy. I can provide you with a reading list; the books are available right in the Los Angeles Public Library.»
«How long would it take to see results?»
«With diligent study and practice on your part, combined with my guidance, you could grasp the basics in six months to a year. In three to five years, you might achieve modest proficiency. As for mastery, there are too many variables to predict.»
«Six months just to grasp the basics?» Amelia instinctively equated «grasping the basics» with an apprenticeship in an esoteric craft. What could an apprentice do? Taking three to five years just to reach an entry-level tier would mean the ship had long since sailed. Without hesitation, she pursued the second option. «And what is the second method?»
Li Yunlong placed a glass bottle filled with a dark liquid on the table before her. «This is a concoction I prepared, known as the Yin-Nourishing Decoction. It effectively replenishes what you deplete. Taking 50 milliliters once a day will provide you with enough vitality to manage your current affairs. However, the human body's capacity to absorb such remedies is limited. After about a year of continuous use, the supplement will no longer keep pace with your physical drain, and the deficit will become increasingly pronounced over time. Thus, I do not recommend this path.»
Amelia stared at the blackish fluid inside the glass bottle, her mind a storm of disbelief. «Uh… may I take this bottle of… liquid with me?»
«Of course. It's a gift; do with it as you wish.» The concoction was genuine. In the local Chinatown, Li Yunlong could purchase virtually any traditional Chinese herb he required, which greatly facilitated his research. Armed with an ample supply of raw materials, he had followed medical texts step-by-step to teach himself. The core of traditional Chinese medicine lay in qi, constructing its theoretical framework around yin and yang and the five elements; without a proper master, masteries were notoriously difficult to achieve. Li Yunlong, however, had taken an unconventional route, relying on the classic principle that medicine regulates qi.
By working backward-brewing remedies according to established formulas and employing his sensory control during trials to gather precise physiological feedback-he gained profound insights into the theoretical concepts within the texts. Through iterative experimentation and refined understanding, he accelerated his mastery of the discipline. The potion he offered Amelia was merely one product of these endeavors.
Amelia carefully stowed the bottle in her bag. «Lee, I actually have an occult case on my hands right now. It concerns the Wesley family from this morning.»
Li Yunlong made a welcoming gesture for her to continue.
Rather than speaking immediately, Amelia gathered her thoughts. «The Wesleys' daughter, Alice, just turned thirteen last month.» She extracted a file folder from her bag and handed it to him.
Li Yunlong opened the folder. The contents were somewhat disorganized, but the first page held two photographs. The top photo had likely been taken during Alice's birthday party, depicting a vibrant young girl smiling brightly at the camera. The bottom photo had been taken in a morgue. Without context, few would ever link the two images together: the corpse in the lower photo had blackened, shriveled skin clung tightly to bone, her frame twisted into an unnatural contortion. Calling her a long-dead mummy would hardly be an exaggeration. Yet less than a day after her death, the girl's body had transformed into such a horrific state. Anyone would realize something was profoundly wrong, and many would immediately associate it with the paranormal.
Glancing through the remaining documents, Li Yunlong saw that most of them detailed the Wesley family's background, alongside a few brief interview transcripts. Aside from the photographs, the materials were of little real value. He closed the folder and returned it to her.
Amelia took it back, stowed it away, and remained silent for a moment before speaking with deep meaning. «A friend of mine at the police department tipped me off. Internally, the department has classified this case as… The Mirror Game.»