Poison City

 

“What? Is it serious?” Seeing the concerned look on Tae Kuo’s face, Gloria asked, worried.

 

“I am not sure yet. I’ve never seen this kind of signs before.” Tae Kuo knelt down by the pool and shook his head: “You see this green stuff? It is a sign of someone being affected by some kind of omen. But it had always come with signs of being cursed or infected by unclean energy. It’s very strange that you are affected by the omens but not did not show any signs of being infected by unclean presence.”

 

“Uh - so what do these omens mean to me? Should I be worried?” Gloria sighed.

 

“I don’t know. ” Tae Kuo sighed: “But from the looks of it, I don’t think it’s something terrible or serious. Might just be mildly negative. ”

 

“Mildly negative? ”

 

“Possibly affecting your mood, and may increase your stress or make you more anxious.” Tae Kuo scratched his jaw: “Aside from that, I am really out of my depth here. Like I said, it’s actually my first time seeing this. I think I might need to go to the community archive and see if I can find any records on this.”

 

“What - what else can we do?” Sue asked, coming to Gloria’s side: “You sure know what to do with this, Sifu Kuo! If not anything specific, at least tell us what might help.”

 

“Okay - here’s one thing.” Tae Kuo thought for a short while, then looked up at Gloria and Sue when the sound of footsteps from several individuals appeared: “Try to stay away from any potential sight where there might be paranormal occurrences. And visit the temple and light some incense sticks, ask for some blessed water if you can. And maybe get some more protective talismans or artifacts to put in your house.”

 

“We - I mean Gloria already does that.” Sue looked at Gloria, then turned her eyes at the direction of the footsteps.

 

“Give me some time then.” Tae Kuo rubbed his temples while looking toward the direction of the footsteps: “Excuse me, I think those might be the folks from the community collective. And if you have the chance, I’d suggest visiting the community archive for records and manuals about omens. ”

 

“I was actually just about to go to the archives.” Gloria shook her head lightly then patted Sue on her left shoulder: “Now, Sue, if you don’t have anything to do, just go back to my place and I’ll come back when I’m done.”

 

“No, nonono.” Sue immediately shook her head at Gloria: “I’m coming with you. Two can find things faster than one.”

 

“Okay, okay, update me if you find anything.” The footsteps stopped, then someone knocked on the backdoor of the coffin home, Tae Kuo went for it, about to let those outside in: “I’ll also try and see if I can find anything. Just remember, try to stay away from potential unclean beings. Now that I am back, Gloria you don’t have to look after things here for a while.”

 

“Oh, and we need more makeup.” Sue raised her hand before Tae Kuo opened the door.

 

The community collective sent a total of four men, all wearing their uniforms and armbands, with serious looks on their faces. All of them brought suitcases with them, some big, some small but all had engravings on the exterior. But neither Gloria nor Sue had the chance or time to see them at work, they headed right to the local community archive, hoping to find some answers before they needed to jump through the hoops to visit the central one.

 

The local community collective archive location was about five blocks away, going along some winding roads and passing through a local early flea market, they got there in just under 30 minutes. Normally, this would be a place for the locals to come look for district-wide records, which meant that there wouldn’t be much of a crowd here. But somehow right now, there was quite a big one waiting in the main hall, waiting for the receptionist to call their number.

 

“What the hell is this?” Gloria frowned, then turned to one of the security guards: “What’s the occasion today?”

 

“A lot of people are looking for blueprints to buildings in the older areas.” The security guard answered without almost any facial expression.

 

“Why?”

 

“New construction plans. People need copies of their blueprints so they can claim land reparations from the collective.”

 

“Sue? Sue!” Just this moment, a young man walked out from the gate leading to the inner parts of the archive: “What - what are you doing here?”

 

“Hey, Turner.” Sue nodded at the young man: “You’re working here now?”

 

“Oh, yeah, I was lucky to be appointed here, as the new senior curator.” Turner smiled while looking straight at Sue’s face: “So, what can I help you with? I mean, if you’re in a hurry maybe I can help you without having to stand in the line.”

 

“Uh - ” Sue took a quick look at Gloria, then turned to Turner: “Sure! We’re actually in a hurry. And we’d really appreciate it if you can help us.”

 

“Sure, sure, come over.” Turner immediately gestured Sue and Gloria to come with her.

 

Both followed Turner to a counter in the back, where a middle aged woman was typing something in front of an old computer, with a big mug of steaming tea in front of her.

 

“Ms. Bao! How are you doing today?” Turner went up to the middle aged woman and greeted her with an upbeat attitude: “I have some friends here who want to look for some records, can you help us and bring us the latest catalog?”

 

“Your friends?” Ms. Bao looked over from her computer monitor at the two girls, then her eyes fixed on Gloria: “Gloria? Gloria Lee?”

 

“Ye - yes. Hi…” Sensing the slightly unfriendly tone, Gloria tried to play it cool: “I’m sorry, how did you know me?”

 

“You visited a few times before when I was here. Every time we tell you we cannot let you view some records, you threaten to go over our heads.” Ms. Bao scoffed.

 

“I - I am terribly sorry. Because I - I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t have something really important.” Gloria immediately bowed.

 

“I - I can assure you, Ms. Bao, that she meant it.” Turner immediately interjected before Ms. Bao could say anything: “And - right now they are burdened with another emergent issue at hand, so I really hope you can do us a huge favor. Not just us, but also the community.”

 

“What is this urgent issue then, Mr. Ouyang?” Ms. Bao sighed and asked.

 

“Yes, we have encountered something ominous, back at the Fuman Coffin Home.” Sue explained with a soft and slightly apologetic tone: “We have trouble understanding what happened and needed help, so Sifu Kuo sent us to look for records and manuals on it. ”

 

“Do you have an official inquiry letter?” Ms. Bao adjusted her glasses and asked.

 

Gloria exchanged looks with Sue: “No, not really, it just happened recently, and the collective is sending people over, so everything’s in a hurry - ”

 

“I’m sorry, but without an official letter, we cannot let you access the ritualistic, paranormal and supernatural sections of the archive.” Ms. Bao shook her head and was about to get back to her computer.

 

“That’s not true. Those sections are open to everyone. Only certain restricted sub sections require additional permissions…” Gloria wanted to call Ms. Bao out, but she pulled it back and whispered to Sue instead.

 

“Ms. Bao, I think you can appreciate the urgency. Can you do me a favor? I’d be very appreciative.” Turner got in front of Sue and Gloria.

 

Ms. Bao looked into Turner’s eyes, then took a look at Gloria, sighed, then relented: “Alright, let me get the catalog. But you’d better bring the letter soon.”