Chapter 98
“Boss? You home?” when Caroline and Jason went back to the inn, Jianmen seemed like he went somewhere else, and no one was at the reception’s desk or in the diner, “Boss?”
“Jason, you’re here.” Mack came from the back of the inn and greeted Jason and Caroline: “I think your boss might be out, I haven’t seen him ever since we got here.”
“Mack, where’s mom and dad?”
“They’re resting in your room, and I stayed here to wait for you.”
“Hi Mack, my name’s Caroline.” Caroline introduced herself to Mack: “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here.”
“Yeah, the inn feels really safe.” Mack smiled and shook Caroline’s hand: “So, are you a cultivator like Jason?”
“I am, and we practically started at the same time.” Caroline smiled and started to head to the stairs: “Now if you’ll excuse me I need to check on my brother and nephew - they are here for their safety as well.”
“Okay, big bro, is your Boss still looking for students?” Mack jokingly asked Jason: “But seriously, what happens now? Whatever you did back at home… That was some kind of exorcism right? You didn’t tell us much, are we safe now? Is there something we can do at home to protect ourselves? Will mom and dad have some lingering issues?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have answers to those questions, Mack.” Jason sighed and went into the diner with Mack following him: “We will need to wait for Boss to come back. I wish I could give you the answers and heal mom and dad… but I’m not there yet.”
“And if you keep at it you will be.” Jianmen’s voice came from the front gate of the inn, and moments later Jason and Mack saw Jianming coming into the diner: “Sorry I kinda had to deal with some nasty - and pretty entangling stuff. But you should know that your parents were okay the moment they came into the inn.”
“Boss, you gotta help us out here - we thought people were fine when they came home from the hotel. But somehow those things caught up to them. I was only able to help my parents because I could find them. ” Jason stared at Jianmen: “But the other guests at the wedding… I can imagine what will happen to them if we don’t act.”
Jianmen looked at Jason and Mack for a moment then said: “Where’s Caroline? Time for your first lessons. You will need to learn to protect your homes.”
“She’s checking up on Kane and Alex. She’ll come down soon.” Jason nodded: “And what else will you tell us?”
“That the thing you described to me? The shadowy figure that was hiding in your parent’s closet?” Jianmen took out a bottle of cold green tea and explained: “If I remember correctly, they are called ‘the obscured’. They are a kind of spirit - not necessarily evil, but dangerous nonetheless. Imagine someone who only acts on their primal instincts trainable like dogs - these are the spectral counterparts.”
“Jason, is Boss back?” Caroline came downstairs and went into the diner: “Oh hey Boss, didn’t know you’re here already. I have a question...”
“Yeah, your brother and nephew can have a room. Don’t worry about the room fee, we are at a light season anyway.” Jianmen nodded and then turned to Jason and Mack: “And Mack and your Parents can have a room as well, until you feel safe to go home.”
“Thanks, Boss.” Caroline exhaled in relief: “This cult thing is still kinda a mess to explain though. What should we do next?”
“Next? Your Xuanli array and circle lessons, proceed with your businesses as usual and continue to look into the doctor from SFPD. I think that you might be close to something. ” Jianmen pointed to the direction of the basement: “And if you want to, I can give you and your families some quick introductory sessions about the basics of repelling evil spirits.”
“I thought you aren’t an expert in necromancy.”
“Yeah, not an expert, but one can still learn.”
---------------------------------------------------
“So… that’s your Boss, and your… master.” in their room, Kane looked at Caroline and said: “And you’re… magic now.”
“Xuanli.” Caroline corrected Kane: “It’s a kind of magical power, and yes you can cast spells and fight with it, which you have already seen.”
“Auntie Caroline, how did you get into this magic school?” Alex asked.
“Yeah… it’s a long story. I was down on my luck, and had to make a promise to my boss.” Caroline smiled and answered: “It’s not as magical as the stories you heard and read. But I am not complaining either.”
“What did he make you promise?” Kane was immediately concerned: “Not something sick or dangerous, right?”
“Nonono, nothing like that.” Caroline shook her head: “He said, he just needs my help to go home. And when the time comes, I must help him.”
“Go home? That’s… odd.”
“Yeah. It’s complicated. At first I didn’t know what he was talking about. But I understand what he meant now.”
“Look, Caroline. I don’t know anything about your Boss, or Xuanli or magic.” Kane said with a concerned look: “But in my line of work, I have heard rumors about some... special individuals with weird powers, and they are usually very dangerous. So I want you to be careful, be very careful.”
“No problem.” Caroline gently ruffled Alex’s hair.
“And here’s another thing I want to tell you.” Kane hesitated for a short while and said: “We’ve made the decision, we want to move here. We want to settle down here, at least for the foreseeable future.”
“Really? That’s great!” Caroline was happily surprised, then she proceeded to hug Kane: “So I guess your check cleared already? What did he say about the house?”
“Well, let’s just say that he’s happy that a bad boyfriend is no longer in the picture.” Kane smiled and hugged Alex’s shoulder while looking into Caroline’s eyes: “And we already found a place we like, it’s close to here, it has a good school. So it’s perfect.”
“It IS perfect. Welcome to San Jose, officially.” Caroline hugged Kane and Alex again.
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“Jason, why’d you call us this early?” at their usual meeting coffee shop, Tim asked.
“Just have something to tell you. First round of coffee on me.” Jason nodded at the barista who brought their coffee to the table: “Where’s Ricky?”
“Ricky’s still not feeling well. Whatever he saw in the hospital gave him some serious trauma.” Jamie said: “But I’ll forward the message when he feels better. What do you wanna tell us?”
“Uh-oh.” Evelyn grabbed the latte on the table and said: “You’re quitting the channel are you?”
“What? No!” Jamie scoffed: “He can’t quit the channel! He and Tim started it! Jason, you’re not doing that right?”
“Well...” Jason hesitated for a short while: “Yeah. That is what I’m tryna do. That’s what I’m doing.”
“What? For real? What the...” Jamie raised his voice: “You’re joking right?”
“No I’m not.” Jason said: “I’ll start a new channel. I’ll do my own thing. And you guys can keep the name of Creative Eye Media.”
“Nonono, wait.” Time stood up: “Why?”
“Because of what happened at the Clearwater Municipal Hospital. ” Jason sighed and said: “I felt like the path of the channel has grown apart from mine. So I’ve decided, I no longer want to be a part of this channel.”
“Wait, because of that?” Jamie also stood up: “No way! You know that’s only a tactical move to boost publicity, right?”
“Yes, because of that.” Jason nodded and answered firmly: “I am not going to collab with Branston any more, and I am not going to collab with anyone like him. I want to do animation, with stories and perhaps music. I don’t want to appear in front of the camera. And I don’t want to do publicity stunts like that. It’s reckless, irresponsible and stupid.”
“Yeah, but you can’t just leave!” Jamie raised his voice.
“Why?”
“Because...” Jamie hesitated: “I just heard from Brian… apparently their viewers like you. You’ve got some passionate fans because of your… attitude and action in the hospital.”
“Huh, why is that my problem?” Jason started getting impatient: “Sounds like a good time to go solo.”
“No, that’s not what I meant...” Jamie became slightly nervous: “YOU have fans, okay? It’s a chance for the channel to gain more attention...”
“Ah. I see. So I have fans and you think it’s about you.” Jason felt a sudden sense of relief: “Yeah, thanks for the concern. I saved your ass once. I hope that’s enough to pay for your lost views and potential brand deals. But you know, maybe I underpaid, so excuse me while I come up with a payment plan!”
As Jason walked outside of the coffee shop, Tim followed him out and caught up to him: “Jason, hold on a minute.”
“Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t mean to drop this on you...”
“Yeah, yeah. You have every right so don’t apologize to me.” Tim looked at Jason straight in the eye: “I’m sorry. And I want to say, I hope you succeed. And if you need any help from me, just ask.”
“Thanks, Tim. I still need some time to figure things out.” Jason sighed: “Sorry you may have to deal with Jamie and Ricky on your own now. ”
“Yeah. It’s gonna suck for a while.” Tim chuckled: “But you know. I just got a better part time job, so I think I’ll be exploring other options soon. One thing’s for sure… I am not gonna no more ghost hunting for me.”