Poison City

“I’m not saying - ” Marcus hesitated and looked away, for a sudden rise of guilt made him want to dissuade the young woman from going. But as he looked back into her eyes, he pulled himself back: “But - yes. I would really appreciate your coming with me.”

“Hehe, I thought you were about to go back on that.” Gloria smiled and nodded: “How are you feeling, by the way? You went off like you were about to get into a serious fight.”

“Well - it’s - it was definitely very close.” Marcus sighed then shook his head: “I don’t think I should tell it to someone else without my captain’s permission though. I’m sorry - even I don’t know what was going on exactly.”

“That’s fine. As long as you’re okay.”

“What about you? You smell - look like you got in a fight as well.” Marcus scratched his head.

“Yeah well - similar story. It was close, and I can’t tell you much. But what I CAN tell you is that my friends are safe. And - what you just told me would be very helpful to them as well. ”

“So - what will they do? If I may ask.” 

“I can’t say for sure. I’ll ask them to stay safe, but I’m not sure they will. In fact I am pretty sure they are not going to do that.” Gloria sighed.

“I can totally relate to this.” Marcus almost laughed out loud: “When I went out to do what the captain asked, I asked them to stay hidden and not do anything risky or stupid. They did it anyway.”

“Well - I’d be sure to keep an eye out for that.” Gloria shook her head: “And - do the master happen to mention what a Panguan Writing Brush looks like? It’d easier for me if you can give me a description of what it looks like.”

“The master told me there’s no definitive look for them. There’s only some general characteristics.” Marcus scratched his jaw: “Basically the hairs would be thick and maybe uneven in thickness and length, because it’s meant to blend the hairs from different animals - wolfe, black dog, pig, ox or cow - as long as the arrangements were made using a certain system. The shaft should be made of either peach wood or pagoda wood, and the hairs used would depend on what kind of shaft is used. And - this might be a dangerous test - he told me that in order to check, one can infuse a little bit of Qi. If it is a Panguan Writing Brush and you have an affinity to it, then you will start seeing visions. I WOULD NOT suggest you do that. When you have a writing brush, maybe bring it so that the master could take a look.”

“But - you know what they say about the use of Panguan Writing Brushes, right?” Gloria’s face turned stern.

Marcus sighed, rubbing his temples and not knowing what to say in response. How could he not know? It was one of the most famous artifacts in terms of combating the paranormal. “Panguan”, also known as “the judge” or “the one who delivers decree and judgments”, was a mythical figure that resided in hell, anointed with the power of judging the spirits and managing how much time all beings have in the living world. Legends said that Panguan would use one specific writing brush to write on the books that recorded the lifespans of all beings. Thus, a specific kind of writing brushes, created through very intricate and secretive means were called “Panguan Writing Brushes”. They could serve as weapons of curse enemies or harm spirits, but the more common and important usage, was to make the most powerful talismans ordinary humans could use. The most powerful type of talismans, purple talismans, could only be made with Panguan Writing Brushes. And at the cost of the maker’s lifespan - sometimes a few days or weeks, or sometimes it could be years or decades.

“I guess you know already. ” Gloria shook her head: “What are you gonna do?”

“I’ll write the talisman just as Master Liaoran instructed, even if I had to threaten him.” Marcus shook his head as well.

Gloria came up, her arms wrapped around Marcus’ waist. Marcus’ lips met hers. It was only for around half a minute, before they parted, both taking deep breaths and collecting themselves. Years of practicing mystic martial arts and enduring what life threw at them could not easily go away.

“I’ll see you at the temple. Don’t forget.” Marcus nodded at Gloria.

“I’ll try to be there as early as possible. But I can’t promise if I’ll be able to bring anyone else with me.” Gloria smiled: “And - to be honest, just to let you in on a little secret - even if you try, you can’t dissuade me from joining you here. Because I’d not go just for you, I’d go for me, and a dear, dear friend of mine.”

Marcus grinned. There was no telling if she was lying to relieve him of the guilt, but it was kind, and sweet.