Read Online In the Orient by Art Collins - Free Book Online Page A

up until morning.”
    “Perfect,” Archibald replied, hopeful that Wu Feng would pull the proverbial rabbit out his hat to save Jockabeb.
    “Not perfect,” May said, “but at least it’s a plan.”
    Respecting Willow’s request to retire early because of jet lag, Mrs. Chen instructed Ahlam to serve dinner at a brisker pace than normal. When Kung Pao chicken, braised baby cabbage in broth, and fried rice had been rapidly consumed, the three teenagers passed on dessert after saying they were exhausted from the day’s hike.
    When May asked her mother if they all could be excused from the table to go to bed, Mrs. Chen answered, “Of course.” Then she patted Willow’s hand and added, “I know you’ll probably want to sleep late. If you don’t want to go back to Lantau Island tomorrow morning with May and Archibald, then that is perfectly alright.”
    Well aware that a good night’s sleep wasn’t in the offing, Willow couldn’t pass by the opportunity to say, “Thank you, Mrs. Chen. I’m sure tonight will be one of the most restful I’ve ever had.”
The Midnight Rendezvous
    Archibald was wide-awake when May knocked on his door a few minutes before midnight. He’d hardly slept a wink. Before lying down, he’d changed into a pair of jeans and a dark T-shirt. Putting on his shoes took no time, so he was out the door in thirty seconds.
    Willow was another matter. When May and Archibald had waited a minute after knocking on Willow’s door, May said, “I’ll go inside and wake her.”
    Several minutes later, the two girls walked out of Willow’s room. One was wide-awake, the other was yawning and rubbing her large, dark eyes.
    “Sorry,” Willow whispered. “I passed out the moment my head hit the pillow.”
    “No problem,” Archibald whispered back, putting his arm around her shoulders. “Now you’re rested and ready to go.”
    “Definitely not rested,” she replied quietly, “but definitely ready to go.”
    As he’d agreed on the phone, Wu Feng parked his Vauxhall Cavalier one block down the hill from the Chen’s driveway. When he saw his three passengers approaching in his rearview mirror, he got out and said, “May, you will please sit up front with me.” Then he opened the car’s rear door and motioned to Archibald and Willow, saying, “You two in the back, please.”
    When they were all seated inside, he turned toward the back seat and formally introduced himself. “I am Wu Feng,” he began. Looking directly at Archibald, he bowed his head and said, “So sorry to hear what happen to your brother. I do what I can to help.”
    “Thank you, Mr. Wu,” Archibald replied. “We all really appreciate it.”
    Turning to May, Wu Feng said, “After you tell me what happen at Lantau Peak, I call old friend named Ming Wei. We go see him now. On way, I tell you about him.”
    As the Vauxhall descended Victoria Peak, a fog bank began to roll in from the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour.
    “Looks like we’ll have some pea soup to deal with tonight,” May announced.
    After Wu Feng nodded, he began to talk about his friend, Ming Wei. The first thing he said was that no one knew Ming’s exact age. He’d heard that the old man had come to Hong Kong over seventy years ago under suspicious circumstances, but he quickly added that the rumor was just hearsay. What he did know for sure was that Ming was an expert in the martial arts, his specialty being Chinese throwing weapons.
    Wu Feng went on to say that Ming had lived his early years in Shenzhen, a large city on the Chinese mainland directly north of Hong Kong. While he was in Shenzhen, Ming apprenticed under a man named Guo. Besides being well versed in Chinese legends, Guo was also a member of the Triad, the Chinese equivalent of the Mafia. Guo passed on many of his lethal skills to his apprentice, the most notable of which were deadly poisons, alchemy, and Chinese weapons of all sorts.
    The moment Archibald heard “alchemy,” he asked Wu