“Coffin nails!” Kevin, Marcus and Gloria instantly recognized the nature of the three dirty wooden nails.
“Yes, exactly.” Tae Kuo sighed and shook his head: “And they’re lifted from a - a pretty old grave, at least three decades old.”
“But I thought the city had banned them since - since at least fifty years ago.” Kevin asked, frowning: “They’re not from some ANCIENT conffin, right? They can be a bit - a bit dangerous to use - ”
“No - just regular coffins. I lifted them off an old coffin from somewhere not in the city.” Tae Kuo smiled: “Relax, I checked the history before I did so. I used to go out there and do some - some side jobs to get my hands on some extra cash and things that are hard to find or not sold in the city.”
“So, how do you want to use it?” Marcus nodded.
“First, we need someone with Yang Qi, meaning it might have to be you.” Tae Kuo handed the red cloth pouch to Marcus: “And - uh - I can’t believe I’m gonna ask you this, but are you still a - a virgin?”
Marcus was stunned by the question for a short moment. Then he realized what it actually meant, sighed and shook his head: “Unfortunately no, Sifu.”
“Either of you?” Tae Kuo turned to Kevin and Mick.
“No.” Kevin shook his head, then raised a thumb up at Marcus: “But Marcus, congrats, huh?”
“Not a good time.” Tae Kuo pushed Kevin’s hand down: “Then - Marcus, come with me - Gloria, can you keep an eye on everyone and the lantern? And if there’s anything - no matter how small or insignificant, tell me. Also, tell me when Ker - Detective Lance wakes up. DO make sure it’s her and not anyone else.”
“You’ve got it.” Gloria took a deep breath and pulled Keryn to Kevin and Mick’s side.
Tae Kuo led Marcus to the corner of the staircase, under the spot where water was dripping from the ceiling: “Now Marcus, I’m not sure how familiar you are with ghost’s labyrinths. But here’s the rule of thumb: when you are in one, the first thing or the most memorable location you notice is usually the anchor, or joint point, or eye, or whatever else you call it.”
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“It’s the ‘center’ of the illusion, right?”
“Correct - it’s the thing that draws your attention at first, then kinda like hypnotization, misleads you into forgetting the details of your surroundings. Which in turn will further fool and mislead you. And you will end up finding yourself going in rounds.” Tae Kuo nodded and scratched his jaw: “And when you’re anxious and confused, that’s where the energy here clouds your judgment and memories. I know, kinda sounds like an excuse for not noticing and remembering it earlier - ”
“Don’t - just tell me what to do.” Marcus interjected.
“Alright. Now first, infuse your Qi into the nail, and shoot it right at the spot where the water was dripping from.” Tae Kuo pointed at the corner ceiling: “Be as precise as possible. ”
“And the Qi, does it need to have some kind of balance or ratio of Yin and Yang? Or one hundred percent Yang?” Marcus asked.
Tae Kuo raised his brows at Marcus, impressed. He thought for a moment, then nodded: “I suppose one hundred percent Yang would be ideal - if you can. But don’t try to push too much, the nail is wooden, after all. Try to get as much in as possible without damaging it too much.”
Marcus understood what the Sifu meant, so he was extra careful when pushing his Qi into the coffin nail he chose. The nail itself was somewhat rotten on the outside but still mostly firm on the inside. His Qi dried up the layers on the exterior, which cracked and flaked before they fell off. After around ten seconds, the nail itself was close to collapsing, so he just flung his hand and shot it at the corner ceiling.
A droplet of water just formed when the nail broke it and embedded into the ceiling board. Ripples of thin but still visible black fog spread from the contact point.
“Good.” Tae Kuo took another deep breath: “Then nail the spot where the water dropped down to - try to aim for the center - or if you can see where Yin energy was concentrated the most, nail it there.”
Marcus took a deep breath before tuning his Qi concentrated around his eyes. The water stains on the floor was an irregular shape, just like most water stains. There was no obvious center, and a very faint spot of darker color revealed itself only after a few seconds of intense staring and studying.
“There!” Marcus wasted no time before launching another Qi infused nail at the floor. The wooden nail penetrated the concrete looking floor, leaving only a small butt above ground. A pleasant ring propagated through the entire space. And between the rears of both nails, an extremely thin, light refracting line of energy appeared and connected to both.
“Okay, good, good, good.” Tae Kuo let out a breath of relief: “You see that line? Cut it with the last nail. Try not to miss.”
“What would happen?” Marcus asked.
“Well, if you missed, then you need to try again with your hand or a weapon, but it might not be as effective - ”
“Yeah but what if I don’t miss?”
“Good point - ” Tae Kuo turned and raised his voice at the others: “Everyone be prepared for something sudden! Stay calm and don’t move! Remember? Stay calm and don’t move!”
“Understood!” The rest of the team responded.
“Okay? Three - two - ” Marcus aimed the nail like he was aiming a dart at a board on the wall: “ONE!”
The wooden nail cut through the thin transparent line. Another, louder and less pleasant ring burst. Everything in front of their eyes flashed and blurred. For a brief moment, it was as if they were tossed in the air, violently pulled down, then thrown into the air again.
When their sense of position, balance and weight returned to normal, Marcus realized what Tae Kuo meant by “stay calm and don’t move” - he was standing just a few steps away from the edge of the bottomless hole at the center of the entire building.