The First Excellence: Fa-Ling's Map Read Online Free PDF Page A

pretended to eat one while sitting on the ledge of a brick tree encasement.
    She was partially hidden from view by the moon cake vendor. A green bus decorated with bright red characters advertising a new restaurant was parked on the street, adding to her cover. She watched as a large man carried a computer console from the building, putting it into the trunk of a brown sedan. She saw him carry a second hard drive back into the lobby.
    From where she sat, Shopei could not see the car’s plate number. She did, however, notice an object suspended from its rear-view mirror. It was an air freshener, but not one of those commonly seen on the streets of Shanghai, fashioned in the shape of Pokemon or Hello Kitty . It appeared to be some sort of net with a large blue feather dangling from its centre. She did not know it was a dream-catcher , a popular Native-American trinket that was virtually unheard of in China.
    Soon afterward three men came out of the building and got into the car. Shopei prayed Dahui would come jogging onto the sidewalk, that he would see her sitting under the tree with her uneaten moon cake and would laugh at her.
    But he did not come out, nor did he call her on her cell phone to alleviate her concern. There was only one possible explanation: someone or something had prevented him from leaving the apartment. Knowing the stress they had all been under since the attack on their father, Dahui would not have allowed her to worry needlessly.
    Shopei sat with the opened box of moon cakes on her lap, until she could sit no longer. She had to know what had happened in the apartment. Her mother’s shrill command to “run away” left no doubt in her mind. The danger was immediate. Even now, Shopei might be able to help her family.
    She tossed the moon cakes into a trash bin and made her way across the busy street, darting through traffic with the skill of a local pedestrian. Her eyes flashed nervously around the lobby as she waited the interminable fifty seconds for an elevator to come.
    Shopei got off the elevator one floor below her apartment and ran to the stairwell. She opened the heavy door quietly and stood listening for unusual sounds. When she was sure she was alone, she moved up the stairs to her floor and opened the door with the least possible noise. Her ponytail bristled in a primal sensation of fear.
    Ever so slowly she crept down the hall toward her family’s home. She strained her ears to pick up any noises from within the apartment.
    She heard nothing ― not her mother’s voice reading to her father from the newspaper; not the sound of running water, or footsteps, or cupboard doors opening; not even the peaceful rhythm of her father’s snores.
    Shopei opened the door. The fact that it was not locked added to her alarm.
    Her eyes immediately took in the surreal image of Dahui and their mother lying on the floor. At first she didn’t notice the white powder scattered on their clothing. She was too frightened to check for breathing or a pulse. No matter. The position of the bullet holes made it clear no measure of life had been spared. Both Mother and Dahui had been shot in the head.
    Fighting her impulse to scream, she hurried to check on Father. His wound was not apparent at first, as his head had been re-positioned with the bullet hole resting against the pillow. However, the lifeless eyes that stared at the window and the jaw still hanging open in a call for help told Shopei what she needed to know.
    She approached him, and even found the courage to kiss him on the cheek once she was certain he was dead.
    “ Goodbye, Father,” she whispered. She could feel her senses draining away, as the numbness of shock swept through her body. She knew she would have to act quickly, while she still possessed some presence of mind.
    In her own room, which doubled as the family laundry room, she gathered up those few possessions she could carry into a large shoulder bag — her identity papers, a few small