Leo and I sat on the mats across from each other in the Fragrant Lotus training room. His dark face was rigid with concentration as he held the chi on his outstretched hands.
I held one hand on his forearm, watching as the energy flowed through him. âFloat it to the other hand.â
He lost it and it snapped back, hitting him in the middle of the chest. He bounced backwards but didnât fall; then sagged, leaning on the floor. âThis is so damn hard.â
âThat was a pathetically small amount of chi for anybody to generate, especially an Immortal,â I said. âYou ate meat, didnât you?â
He didnât reply but his face said it all.
âAlcohol too?â I said.
âNot alcohol.â
I felt the answer through his arm. âWell, Iâm glad youâve forgiven him.â
He pulled his arm away. âThat is none of your business and youâre not supposed to be able to do that.â
I didnât pursue it. âYou have a choice here, Leo. Either give up trying to do energy work or give up meat, alcohol and sex. You canât do both.â
âBut Iâm a Shen,â he said, softly protesting.
âShiny new and green as grass,â I said.
He grimaced.
The door flew open and my secretary, Chang, charged in and planted himself in front of us. âTheyâre taking away my job!â
Leo waved one hand and his wheelchair rolled to him. He pulled himself into it. âYou salute your Master when you enter. Where is your respect?â
Chang fell to one knee and saluted me and Leo. âLord. Lady.â He rose and gestured impatiently. âThey say I am no longer to serve you, maâam. Stop them!â
Yi Hao came in, her expression desperate. âIâm sorry, maâam, I didnât expect him to react like this. I thought heâd be happy not to have to do it any more.â
I pulled myself to my feet and Leo held one arm out to steady me. âYi Hao was my secretary before you were, Chang. You had the job on a temporary basis; I explained it to you before.â
âI thought she couldnât be trusted.â
âThatâs why weâre going down to the Earthly this afternoon. Iâll find out one way or the other if sheâs trustworthy, and if she is she can resume her post.â
âLet him do it, maâam,â Yi Hao said. âIâll do something else.â
That stopped Chang and he stared at her.
âSheâs a tame demon, she doesnât have free will,â I said. âIf a human or Shen orders her, she must obey. Sheâs seen that you want the job, so sheâs ceding to you, even though itâll make her miserable.â
âAnd the fact that youâre making such a fuss about it proves that youâre not worthy to do it,â Leo said. âYou need to release your attachments and accept circumstances with serenity and grace.â His face went strange. âWhere did that come from?â
âYou were just connected to the universe while we were doing chi gong,â I said. âWell, thatâs what it feels like anyway. Some of it rubbed off.â
âI think Iâll spend more time connected to it then,â Leo said, musing. He glared at Chang. âCede the position. You deserve to be moved back in with Lok.â
âI donât want to serve the dog again!â Chang said, desperate. âIâm better than that â¦â He stared at us for a long moment, then fell to one knee and lowered his head. âI will report to Master Lok immediately.â He rose, saluted us, and went out without looking back.
I exhaled a huge breath. âFinally!â
âWhat if Lok doesnât want him?â Leo said.
âThen Iâll put him to work in the gardens,â I said.
âOh, good idea.â Leo concentrated, attempted to lift himself out of the wheelchair, and failed. âOkay, I give up. Meet up with me again after Iâve been vegetarian for a few days.â He spun his chair to leave.
âMartin will understand,â I said.
âMartinâs been trying to make me abstain,â he said without looking back. âHe said the same thing you did.â
âDonât forget youâre driving me to Kwun Tong in an hour to meet with the Demon King,â I called after him.
âDonât go, maâam,â Yi Hao said. âDonât see the King. Heâs â¦â She searched for the words. âHe will hurt you again.â
âDonât you want to be sure that I can trust you? That you wonât turn?â I said.
âNot if it puts you in danger.â
âI wonât be in danger. Half a dozen Celestials are coming along. Weâll be fine.â