Journey to Wubang 01 - Earth to Hell Read Online Free PDF Page B

should have told me, Emma. I’m on good terms with Yanluo Wang, I could have speeded up the process for you. I’ll help you any way I can, and I mean it,’ he said. ‘Okay, the kids will stop. No need now.’
    Simone put the scroll down beside her plate and sat back. ‘So this means there’s only one more step before we can get permission from the Jade Emperor?’ she said excitedly.
    ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘If we’re lucky we won’t even need to bother the Jade Emperor. This Secretary guy can give us sanction to talk to Leo.’
    ‘I hope that ugly dragon kid isn’t hanging around when we talk to them. I heard he crawls to all the most senior Celestials trying to win favour.’
    ‘Geez, that won’t work up there,’ I said. ‘He should know better.’
    ‘Oh, it works for some of the Celestials that are promoted rather than Raised. I heard if you find yourself a good patron up there you can go a long way.’
    I sighed and rested my chin on my hand. ‘I hate politics.’
    She snorted with amusement. ‘You need to resign then. You’re right in the middle of it, Madam Emma.’ She waved her hand. ‘Let’s not talk about that stuff anyway. When we have Leo back, I don’t want anything to do with any Celestials. I’ve had enough of them, particularly that blue guy.’
    ‘What about Daddy?’
    ‘Daddy’s different. He’s the most normal Celestial there is.’
    ‘ Normal ,’ I said, pulling out my wallet to pay, ‘is not a word often used to describe your father. Very much the opposite, in fact.’
    ‘Same goes for you, Emma.’
    ‘Humph.’
    Simone held a CD in front of my face. ‘How about this one?’
    I pushed it away from my face so that I could see it. ‘Boy bands again ?’
    ‘Hey, these guys are cute.’ Then Simone dropped her voice and nodded towards another stand of CDs. ‘Have a look over there. In the metal section. Oh my God, that is so sad. Chinese can’t do Goth, and when they’re as old as him…’ She inhaled sharply. ‘No.’
    I spun to see. It was him. Long hair, black clothes—of course he looked like a Goth, he’d invented it.
    He casually flipped through the disks. Simone and I stood and watched him. It was Simone who snapped out of it first.
    ‘Daddy!’
    She raced along the aisles and skidded to a halt about two metres from him. He didn’t seem to notice her.
    ‘Daddy?’
    He was completely oblivious.
    She took a hesitant step towards him and held her hand out. ‘Daddy?’ She dropped her voice. ‘Xuan Wu.’
    I strode over and stood behind Simone. He still didn’t appear to notice us. ‘John. John Chen Wu, will you look at us?’ I said.
    Simone stepped forward and touched his sleeve. Her hand went straight through. She waved her hand through his arm, up and down. He wasn’t there at all.
    ‘But he’s moving the disks,’ she said.
    ‘Look closely, Simone. The disks he’s touching aren’t moving. It’s an echo of who he was.’
    ‘Can he do that?’
    ‘I don’t think there’s much he can’t do.’
    Simone sighed and stepped back. ‘Is he really that old ? I don’t remember him that old.’
    ‘That’s how he was.’
    ‘I thought he was a Goth.’ She turned away and slammed her palm on one of the racks. ‘I thought he looked stupid .’
    ‘You can tell him one day, sweetheart, he’ll have a good laugh about it.’
    Then I inhaled sharply, and she turned back. He’d selected a couple of disks and turned to purchase them. And saw us.
    He looked me right in the eyes, then saw Simone. He smiled sadly.
    She held her hand out to him, and he held his out, palm-up, to hers. They rested their hands on each other without really touching.
    Nobody around us seemed to be aware of his existence. He dropped his hand and turned to me. He raised his hand again as if to touch my face, then lowered it. He put his hand over his heart, then held it out to me, still smiling sadly.
    ‘Oh God,’ Simone whispered.
    ‘He’s fading,’ I told her. ‘Have a last