that Sue’s worried expression disappeared; she looked more confident and chopped the tree branch a bit harder. It shook a bit, but didn’t snap.
‘Come on, Sue, harder.’ Henry looked excited.
Sue raised her hand high and chopped at the tree branch with all her might. With a cracking sound, the dinner-plate sized branch fell neatly off the tree. Sue stared at her hand speechless.
Henry clapped, whistled and cheered. Liz gave her a huge hug. ‘Well done, Sue’. She picked up Sue’s right hand and examined it closely: a delicate, pretty girl’s hand, no bruise, no blood, and not even a dusty mark, as if her hand hadn’t touched the tree branch at all. ‘How is this possible? What kind of magic did you put on Sue?’
‘It’s no magic; quite simple, actually. I injected Qi into Sue’s body, and she used the Qi to chop the branch off.’
‘Do you mean that Qi created an air cushion between Sue’s hand and the tree branch?’ asked Henry.
‘I don’t know if it’s the perfect description, but it’ll do for now.’
‘Was Qi enabling you to fly during your fight with the monsters?’ said Henry.
‘Unfortunately I haven’t reached the flying state yet. However, Qi can help you to defeat the earth’s gravity, so you can jump much higher and run much faster.’
‘So now I’m sure that you used Qi to shoot the green beams and injure the Vampire King,’ said Henry. ‘Why didn’t you use your Qi to kill all the monsters from the beginning?’
‘There are limitations in terms of how much one can use Qi to attack others, just as you are unable to keep punching without some rest.’
‘If Qi is so powerful, why do we need to learn Tai Chi at all?’ said Sue.
‘Tai Chi is the Yin part, and Qi is the Yang part of Tao. We’ll need to use Tai Chi to avoid an enemy’s attacking force, and use Qi to attack our enemy; only when one’s Yin Yang forces are in harmony can one gain a high level of Tao power.’
Liz, Henry and Sue met again in Kings Park, but Li hadn’t arrived yet. Henry lay on the ground, staring into the tree above him. ‘How long since we started our combat Tai Chi lessons? I’d say three years by now. Li always told us that she’d teach us Far Shu, but how long do we have to wait?’
‘Henry, I don’t think that you should complain. Think how much we’ve learnt,’ said Liz.
‘It’d be fun to know some Far Shu (Chinese words similar to spell and curses), like that sword with the green light Li used to injure the Vampire King,’ said Sue.
‘I’m sure Li’ll teach us when she thinks the time is right,’ said Liz.
‘That’s what we are going to do today.’
They all looked up; Li stood on the tree branch above them, just like the time she appeared when they were captured by the monsters; but this time she wore a black top, black trousers and white cape. She jumped off the tree branch, flying through air like a white butterfly, and landed soundlessly. Liz would say Li was just like a big cat, except she was much more agile and fast than any cat in this world.
‘I’ve been in the tree since you arrived. Henry, you lay on the ground but didn’t see me.’
Henry looked embarrassed. ‘No one would expect someone up there.’
‘The first thing about learning offence is learning defence. Whenever and wherever you are, keep your eyes open. Your enemy could be anywhere and in any form, and they won’t formally announce they are coming, or wait for you to get ready.’
‘How do we manage to do that?’ Sue asked.
‘It’s a habit that takes a long time to form. You just have to practise it all the time so you are gradually able to do it automatically, like second nature…’
‘Are you all right?’ Liz saw Li’s face turn pale.
‘I don’t feel very well.’ Li suddenly threw up a mouthful of blood. She took a white handkerchief, wiping her mouth. ‘I underestimated my internal injury from fighting the monsters.’ She threw up more blood. Liz helped her sit on the ground.
‘Liz, I need your pen...’
Liz passed it to her. Li struggled to paint a giant crane on the ground.
It was fascinating to watch the crane’s body gradually materialise. It was the same type of crane Liz had received from Li that morning, although of course this one was much bigger.
The giant crane stood up and made a loud cry as soon as Li painted its pupils. Li gave the pen back to Liz. ‘Could you please help me up on to the crane? Thanks. There are many dangers and challenges ahead of you... I’m sorry I can help you no longer...’
She suddenly fell forwards, but managed to use her arms to hold tightly to the crane’s neck. With a loud cry, the crane carried Li high into the sky. Within seconds they melted into the white clouds.
Looking at the white clouds floating across the endless blue sky, Liz felt tears flowing down her cheeks. She remembered the Chinese poem Li had told her about the yellow crane:
Gone the immortal, on yellow crane riding,
Since then, empty is the Yellow Crane Building;
After departing, the yellow crane will never return,
Only the white clouds, a thousand years floating, accompany me.
‘I want to fly on the crane, too. The crane...’ Liz cried out.
‘What crane?’ Liz’s mother stood in front of her bed. ‘Why are you crying?’
Liz wiped her eyes. ‘Have I been sleeping? What year is this? How long have I been asleep?’ She sat up.
‘Are you all right? You must be very tired from the picnic yesterday,’ said her mother soothingly.
‘The picnic, the one where we went to the lake, just after my 14th birthday?’
‘Yes. Don’t you even remember your own birthday? You’d better hurry up if you want to get to school on time and attend that protest.’ Liz’s mother turned towards the door.
‘Mum,’ Liz suddenly called.
‘Yes?’
‘I love you, Mum. I feel like I haven’t seen you for years.’
‘I love you too, sweetie.’ Liz’s mother left the room.
10
The Letter
Too many thoughts jammed up Liz’s brain; she stared at the large giant panda poster on the opposite wall, not knowing where to start. Then she thought about her calligraphy pen. Looking around her bedroom, she saw her jacket on the floor. Liz jumped out of her bed, not even noticing that she landed on the floor as soundlessly as a cat. Picking up her jacket and fumbling inside the pockets, she found the pen; its bamboo shaft was sparkling.
Although unable to remember anything about how to paint animals and turn them alive, maybe she had learnt something from the dream. She touched the pen to the wall. Nothing. She pushed it harder. Still nothing, even not a faint mark.
What a shame; it was just a dream. Holding her pen with her eyes closed, she tried to relive her lovely dream; she and her friends had had such a good time, and learnt so much from Li.
Li Ping!
Had Li recovered from her injury? Now Liz was really glad that what happened to Li in her dream was just a dream. She had to visit her. Glancing at the clock on her bedside table, she quickly scrambled out of her panda-bear pyjamas, dressed, and rushed downstairs.
If she hadn’t put her hand over her mouth in time, she would have cried out: downstairs in the living area, her parents sat in exactly the same positions as in her dream. She wondered if she was still asleep.
As she slowly passed her mother reading the gardening magazine and her father holding the newspaper with the mining protest photo on the front page, Liz heard her father say, ‘Are you going to attend the protest today?’
‘Yes, we all are.’ Her parents stared at her in amazement. ‘Did I say something wrong? Why are you staring me like that?’
‘Do you realise you’re speaking Mandarin?’ asked Henry, coming downstairs.
‘What? Am I?’ she said, startled.
‘I didn’t know that you could speak such good Mandarin,’ said her father.
Henry’s expression
was a bit strange. He opened his mouth, hesitated, and then whispered, ‘Last night I had a weird dream…’
‘Hurry up; we need to go in a minute.’ She winked at him. He nodded.
‘Liz, here’s a letter from Li Ping. I found it in our letter box this morning,’ said her father.
There was neither an address nor stamp on it. ‘To Liz’ and ‘From Li Ping’ were written on the envelope. Liz didn’t open it.
When they arrived at their secret spot, Sue was already there. Liz and Henry had run so fast that both of them were out of breath. By now, Liz was sure that she was no longer in a dream (however, from this moment onwards, Liz would refer to this weird dream as the long dream). This was reality. When she saw the expressions on Henry’s and Sue’s faces, she knew that they thought the same thing. She flopped down and got her breath back. ‘I had a very weird dream last night.’
‘Me too,’ said Sue.
‘Me three,’ said Henry.
‘I suppose we all dreamed about the same things,’ said Liz.
‘Tell us what happened in your dream,’ said Sue.
‘Why don’t you open Li’s letter?’
‘A letter from Li Ping?’ asked Sue.
Taking it out and opening it, Liz found a paper crane inside the envelope.
‘It’s the crane from my dream,’ exclaimed Henry and Sue at the same time. Liz put the crane on her palm, and they all stared at it.
Blinking its eyes, the paper crane stood up, looked around as if greeting everyone, and then pushed its legs against Liz’s hand. Liz’s hand automatically moved downwards; the paper crane lost its support and failed to launch.
‘Wow, I can’t believe you can actually do that—I thought it was just a weird dream!’ Sue stared wide-eyed at the cross little bird.
‘We don’t have time for this. Let it fly,’ demanded Henry. Liz held her hand steady. Flapping its wings gracefully, the paper crane flew in beautiful curves around her shoulders, and then away. It circled back and flew ahead of them again.
‘I think we’re meant to follow it.’ The three leapt to their feet and gave chase.
A few hundred metres later, the crane circled a large tree until Liz and her friends arrived, and then glided towards Liz. As soon as it landed on her palm, it collapsed, unfolding into a letter from Li addressed to all three of them.
After reading it silently for a few seconds, Liz put her hand into the hole in the tree trunk, taking out two items. She passed a black leather belt to Henry and a golden bangle to Sue.
‘I knew Li would give her belt sword to me. Oh no, I can’t withdraw my sword. What’s wrong with it?’ Henry yanked fiercely, but without success.
‘I can’t activate my Yin Yang Ring either. Can you use your dragon whisker whip?’ asked Sue.
Taking her pen out, Liz shook her wrist a couple of times, but nothing happened.
‘What does Li say in her letter?’ asked Henry.
Liz read aloud: ‘You may already have figured out that what happened to you was not just a dream. Overnight you all have had three years of intense Tai Chi combat training, a special Far Shu, but you’ll only be able to keep your power under one condition.’ Liz paused, glancing at Sue and Henry, then continued. ‘The condition is that nobody must ever know about the dream or the events that happened on the previous day; otherwise, you will lose not only everything you gained from the dream, but also possibly some of your own memories as well. I have left you three masks that will help you to disguise yourselves during your actions.’
‘Where are the masks?’ Henry put his hand inside the tree hole, searched for a while, and shook his head.
‘The first three pages in the diary are your emergency help pages. They should only be used in life and death situations,’ Liz continued to read the letter.
‘Where’s the diary? We haven’t even found the masks yet,’ said Henry.
‘I injured the Vampire King, but the monsters will come out soon. I estimate that at the most you have a week to get ready …’ Liz kept reading.
‘To get ready for what?’ asked Henry.
‘I don’t know. The letter stopped,’ Liz replied.
‘Let me have a look,’ Henry snatched the piece of paper from Liz’s hand, turning it over, holding it against the light, even reading it upside down. ‘I guess Li suddenly fell ill and wasn’t able to finish the letter, just like in our dream.’
‘I think you’re right,’ said Liz.
‘Where could Li be now?’ Sue looked worried.
‘I suspect she passed away,’ said Liz.
‘Do you mean she’s dead?’ said Henry. ‘How could she be? She’s magic, and in the dream she flew away to search for a cure.’
‘Flying away on a magic crane is a Chinese way to say someone has become immortal; in other words, it means Li died,’ said Liz.
‘Let me get this right,’ said Henry slowly. ‘Li is the only one we know who could beat the monsters, but she could be dead according to your interpretation. Thousands of ancient evil monsters are on the loose somewhere in the country, and could appear at any moment. We’re supposed to get a magic weapon each, but none of them works…’ He slumped on the ground against the tree trunk.
‘Maybe we should inform the government about the monsters,’ said Sue.
‘Nobody would believe us; besides, if we talk about what happened, we’ll lose our memory; so we wouldn’t be able to tell anybody. It’s like a catch twenty-two. We’re trapped. It’s like waking up in the middle of the night and finding monsters everywhere, but we can’t wake up the others…’ said Henry.
Sue sat beside him. ‘It shouldn’t be that bad. Surely, something must happen, or someone must come up with a way to save the world.’
‘Sue, I don’t know if these monsters will destroy the whole human world or if someone will eventually destroy them, but one thing is sure— people in Western Australia are in danger. Many of them will be killed before any help comes. We were lucky Li saved us. I wish I didn’t know about this, and then at least I’d have less time to worry about it,’ said Henry.
Liz knew Henry was right. She and her friends, by chance or by fate, had stumbled onto something so big that it was beyond their ability to handle it. Li’s intention to empower them overnight had been well meant, but her unexpected departure left them facing thousands of monsters alone and poorly prepared— even worse, because of the special Far Shu, they could not even tell anybody about the danger, let alone ask for help.
‘Are you telling me that there’s no hope for us?’ Sue waited but nobody answered her question. ‘I want to become a fashion model… I don’t want to die…’ she sniffled.
‘Sue, the monsters haven’t come out yet.’ Sitting beside Sue, Liz put her arm around her shoulder. ‘We still have time to work things out— hang on; I remember Li mentioned Professor Smith might know something about the monsters.’
‘Yes, Li did say that, when I asked where the monsters were from.’ Sue stopped sniffling.
‘So that means that we should be able to talk to Professor Smith about the monsters,’ said Liz.
‘What are we waiting for?’ Henry asked, leaping to his feet. ‘Let’s go!’
11
The Charging Horse
The door of Professor Smith’s home was open. Seeing nobody around, Liz walked inside. Henry and Sue followed. It was messy; papers were everywhere; drawers were upside down on the floor.
‘What happened? A break in?’ said Henry.
‘No. Otherwise the camera and laptop would be taken.’ Liz looked at her watch.
Sue gasped. ‘I almost forgot. We have to attend the protest in Perth city.’
‘It’s only 11.30, so we should be able to make it; fortunately, it’s not far from here to the city,’ said Liz.
‘What are you talking about?’ demanded Henry. ‘We don’t have time to attend a protest. Evil monsters may be out at any moment, eating everyone in the city. What’s the point of protesting against a mine p
roject?’
‘Here’s the point!’ Liz pointed to a photo stuck on the fridge with a magnet: against the background of Uluru, Professor Smith stood shoulder to shoulder with an Aboriginal elder.
‘Are you telling me Mr Dingo will be in the city today?’ said Henry.
‘Mr Dingo’s very active in environmental protection. He was at Wave Rock, and I can’t see why he’d miss today’s protest against the mine project,’ said Liz.
‘And Mr Dingo may be able to tell where the professor is,’ added Sue.
‘OK, if that’s the case, we’d better hurry.’ Henry was first out the door.
Liz, Henry and Sue walked down Murray Street Mall. Under the veranda of an old building, an old man with a shiny suit sang and danced, accompanied by blue jazz. Two blocks away, under the overhead footbridge, a musician took turn playing dozens of musical instruments including a didgeridoo; next to him was a pile of CDs for sale. Down the street, a short topless man with black skeleton tattoos was doing a sword-swallowing performance, attracting a large crowd of people. Around the corner, using coloured pencils, a female artist was in the slow process of finishing a huge fairy tale picture. Spreads around her were finished drawings. Liz saw a few police officers standing along the street.
So peaceful. These people had no idea what kind of danger lay ahead of them. Liz walked a bit faster; they must find Professor Smith. He was their only hope to save these innocent lives.
When she and her friends arrived in front of Parliament House, the protest had already started. Holding a loudspeaker, Fred spoke to thousands of high school students who were enthusiastically following his speech, cheering, shouting, and whistling. Gazing at Fred’s handsome face and listening to his inspiring words, Liz understood why so many girls were attracted to him. He had a charisma not many girls could resist.
‘Liz!’ Henry tugged her sleeve.
‘What?’
‘I can’t see Professor Smith or Mr Dingo, can you?’ asked Henry.
‘No.’ Liz tore her gaze away from Fred.
‘What should we do now?’ asked Henry.
Liz looked at the crowd and then Fred. ‘We join the protest.’
‘Are you crazy? We don’t have time. Remember— the monsters?’ said Henry.
‘Shhh, don’t mention it in public. I’m fully aware how dangerous our situation is, but I think we should still join the protest,’ said Liz.
Henry looked at Fred for a second. ‘If Fred wasn’t here, would we still participate in the protest?’
Liz blushed. ‘Henry, this is nothing to do with whether Fred is here or not. Remember that we only have ten years to reverse the greenhouse effect. Protest against the mine is as important as fighting the monsters for our survival. You know what I stand for. I can’t believe you said that…’
‘I’m sorry; the words just came out. But I still don’t think that we should waste time on the protest. Global warming is bad, but we have ten years to combat it. If we don’t find a solution to the… the other problem we’ve got, these people will be dead by tomorrow, and what’s the point of a clean environment if everyone is dead?’
‘But we may be able to find Professor Smith or Mr Dingo during the protest; besides, what else can we do? We’ve got no other option but finding Professor Smith,’ Sue said.
The speech was over. Fred walked in front of the parade, followed by two big football players holding a large banner saying ‘No more destroying our environment’. Thousands of high school students poured their energy into cheering and chanting as the long parade waved its way through the city.
‘All right, let’s see what happens,’ Henry said reluctantly.
‘Come on join in,’ Liz urged as Fred’s parade passed the three of them. They had to force their way into the parade.
Liz walked just one step behind Fred. Sue and Henry followed. Fred turned around, looked at Liz, and smiled. Liz smiled back happily. She was not sure if Fred was smiling at her or at Sue. She didn’t really care.
All the entrances to the main street were blocked off by police. Office workers stood along the street watching the parade; this was much more interesting than their boring office jobs. Horse-mounted police officers appeared, riding alongside the parade. When it turned on to Barrack Street, dozens more police on large horses blocked the way. The horses were enormous. Liz reckoned that their backs were higher than her head.
Fred stopped in front of the police horses.
‘The parade is not allowed to go to Forrest Chase,’ said an officer.
As the news spread, the students behind became agitated, and a few dozen started to force their way ahead. Liz recognised them as part of the Animal Rights Party, famous for their bold actions.
The police officers on horseback ordered them back.
Somewhere, glass shattered. Liz turned around and saw a few car windscreens had been smashed. She saw a group of students kick at shop windows, and more glass-shattering noises filled the air. She didn’t recognise the students; maybe they were from one of the tough neighbourhoods in the northern suburbs.
A water bottle flew from the crowd, smashing into the nose of the officer in charge. He was knocked off his horse, crashing to the ground. Sitting up, with one hand holding his nose, he waved.
‘Charge!’
Without waiting, a large black horse charged straight at Fred. His mouth opened wide, but there was no room for him to get out of the way. In seconds the horse would trample him. Liz watched in horror as the hooves clattered nearer and Fred remained frozen in shock and fear. There was no escape.
12
Aboriginal Dance
Acting automatically, with a single leap Liz covered the five metres between her and Fred, positioned herself in front of him and faced the beast. She hooked her hand under his arm, leapt mightily, and they both fell onto the footpath.
‘Sorry for knocking you over— I was too panicky,’ Liz blurted out.
Fred blinked and focused on Liz’s face. ‘Are you OK?’
‘Thanks, I’m totally fine.’
Standing up, Fred reached his hand to Liz, pulling her up.
Fred held her hand! As if lightning struck, a warm current fizzed from her hand straight into her heart. Liz felt she would never be happier. Gazing at Fred’s handsome face, she promised that she would do whatever it took to protect him and all her beloved ones from the monsters.
Screaming and the sounds of hoofs hitting the ground mixed into a chaotic symphony. More and more police officers appeared; some students were dragged into police vans. In the chaos, Fred was lost among the crowd and disappeared; the protest was over. Liz signalled Sue and Henry to follow her, and together they walked towards the city centre.
As they turned the corner, Liz saw two homeless men walk slowly towards Kings Park. They looked a bit strange; they had wrapped their heads in large dirty rags so only their eyes were visible. She was about to mention them to Henry and Sue when something more important caught her eye. Under fluttering Aboriginal flags and anti-mining banners, a group of people were dancing accompanied by the heavy drone of didgeridoo music. An elderly man stood on one leg, watching.
‘Come on, join the dance,’ Liz ordered. Stamping their feet, shaking their hands, arms and shoulders, she and her friends joined in. More students followed. The dancing crowd expanded rapidly. Liz led the way round to the old man.
‘Mr Dingo, do you remember me?’ she asked as she danced around the elder.
‘No, I don’t.’
‘You taught us Aboriginal dance at our school recently, Kings College.’
‘I remember Kings College but I can’t remember every student.’
‘We also met on other occasions. I’m a member of EPP.’
‘Yes, I remember now. You were with Fred one time, but I don’t remember your name.’
‘That doesn’t matter. Mr Dingo, something isn’t right, and I need to talk to Professor Smith urgently. Can you help me?’
Mr Dingo looked aroun
d and then said quietly. ‘Someone is trying to kill him and he is hiding.’
‘What? Who is trying to