After saying goodbye to Mr. Wing, the five visited other tourist attractions in Forsa, including Mount Jade. On arriving at Mount Jade, Hsi Wu became more than happy. He spread his wings to soar above the mountains regardless of other tourists’ amazement. Of course, he didn’t dare to change into the total demon form. In this case, the word “amazement” might be not enough to depict the tourists.

“Look at how happy he is! How playful the thousand-year-old boy is!” Jade said.

“Speak ill of me, Jade? Wanna me to take you to play?” Hsi Wu pounced down and seized Jade.

“Ahhh!” Hsi Wu soared straight toward the sky with Jade, which frightened her to shout.

“See me soar up to ninety thousand miles!”

“No, no, let me down.”

After flying for a round, Hsi Wu came back to Jackie Chan and others.

“Hsi Wu, you should pay attention to Jade’s safety in the future.” Jackie exhorted.

“Yes, sir!” answered His Wu, who stood at attention and gave a military salute.

“Uncle, we go to Fujian next?” Jackie said.

“No, go to Guangdong first!”

“But Uncle, we are closest to Fujian now.”

“Thwack!” A two-fingered slapping. “Think Uncle doesn’t know? Uncle wants to go to Guangdong to see my teacher.”

?

Jade sat with Hsi Wu on the plane.

“Seymour, you have lived for thousands of years but I find you’re more and more like a child recently,” Jade asked Hsi Wu, grinning.

“This is just for matching you!” Hsi Wu said.

“Maybe because I was still very young when I became the demon, my mind remains the same as that time.” Hsi Wu supplemented after a thought.

“What? You’re not born as a demon?”

“Alas, that had been thousands of years ago.” Hsi Wu was a little reluctant to talk about the time when he was a human because he was very proud of the demon identity in his deeper heart.

“Are the other demons the same?”

“Yes, we’re all Chinese and were born in the same era, so we could swear as brothers then. But we’re different ages, among whom Tso Lan is the eldest and I am the youngest, who was a teenager at that time.”

“So you’re not blood brothers. Then when you were still a human…” Jade was curious.

“Forget it, Jade, don’t mention that time.” Hsi Wu frowned.

“Well,” Jade found Hsi Wu was somewhat impatient with her for the first time.

“So you’re so talented, who achieved the same level achievements only by more than a decade which other demons achieved over tens of years.” Jade complimented Hsi Wu to soften the atmosphere.

“Didn’t see who am I? The cleverest among the eight demons! Besides this, I bet that I’ll be a top student when I take lessons with you next term.” Hsi Wu suddenly became excited, white teeth out.

“I see you not only have a high IQ but also narcissistic.”

“Hiss!” Hsi Wu turned his eyes to red, baring teeth, coming to Jade’s side.

“Hey, hey! Be quick to sit back in your seat!” Jade said disgustedly.

?

Uncle took the other four to a shrine located in north-central Guangdong, in front of which Uncle lighted three sticks of incense, head downward, hands together, murmuring some words.

“What is Uncle doing? Why doesn’t he get inside to see his teacher?” Jade said.

“Boo!” Jade bent down in the face of Jade. “Uncle’s teacher Chi Master Fong has passed away. Uncle is communicating with him in this way.”

?

The five left Guangdong, headed to the north, and arrived in Hunan. Plum rain had just ended and midsummer was coming in Southern China. The weather was moist but not too damp, hot but not too scorching. They walked through the forest over hills, among whom Jackie and Tohru carried luggage, Uncle took a map, and Jade and Hsi Wu talked and laughed, chasing and playing from time to time.

“Uncle, we’ve walked so far that Tohru and I are exhausted!” said Jackie.

“You want to have Uncle carry it? Uncle is busy reading the map! Or you want children to carry?”

“But Uncle, Hsi Wu is not a child,” said Jackie.

“But now his behavior has no difference from a child!” Some hidden meanings were in Uncle’s words.

Hsi Wu who ran forward with Jade heard the words and turned back, giving an embarrassed smile. Indeed, he should share a little after such a long time during which he didn’t offer to help.

“Uncle Jackie, Tohru, give me some! As long as I can carry, I won’t feel tired.” Hsi Wu took over two bags, one from Jackie and another from Tohru.

Jackie Chan touched Hsi Wu’s head, smiling, seeming to have forgotten he was a demon. Perhaps Hsi Wu seemed too harmless after being in the form of a child for so long.

?

The five got to an ancient shrine, the stone road to which is faintly covered with moss. An old man in plain clothes walked down the stone stairs.

“Good morning, sir. We’re here to have a visit. What is this ancient building?”

“It’s the Shrine of Han Xiangzi,” said the old man.

Just after the old man left, the eyes of the other four all turned to Hsi Wu.

“You go to visit, I won’t enter it.” Hsi Wu said with an embarrassed smile.?

“Seymour, it’s only a shrine. Take it easy,” said Jade.

“I know. Of course, I’m not afraid. I just…”

“Uncle, you go to have a look first and I’m here with him,” said Jade.

“Well.” Jackie, Uncle and Tohru walked upstairs.

Jade and Hsi Wu sat on the steps. Hsi Wu folded his arms around his knees, head dropping.

“On thinking of Han Xiangzi, the confinement for thousands of years comes to my mind,” said Hsi Wu.

“In fact, besides this, I think if we hadn’t been so cruel when we governed the world, the eight immortals might not seal us. Now I’ve recognized I was ashamed in front of the people at that time. I could still remember clearly their happiness and cheers when Han Xiangzi sealed me. I was just full of hatred and wanted to revenge someday then. But when we defeated Tarakudo and Frog Monster and I also cheered in the position of the people, I felt ashamed.”

Jade put a hand of her on Hsi Wu’s shoulder.

“I said, Seymour, you could acknowledge your inner evil, which was awesome. But if you can face it with greater courage, isn’t it more respectable?” said Jade.

“Follow me to the shrine of Han Xiangzi.” Jade took Hsi Wu’s hand and walked up along the stone steps.

At the gate of the shrine, Jackie and others had just come out. Seeing Jade and Hsi Wu came, they were a little surprised.

Jade and Hsi Wu walked into the shrine, in the middle of which stood the statue of Han Xiangzi. The walls of it painted murals, which were a little blurry after so many years of rains and winds. Despite the blurriness, it could be seen that the one on the left wall depicted Han Xiangzi having a battle with Hsi Wu and the other one depicted the people who were compelled to do laborious work.

Hsi Wu walked slowly inside the shrine, gazing at the murals, and at last, he walked to the center of the shine, facing the statue of Han Xiangzi, head dropping. Jade was also in silence. The morning sun shined in from the gate, which reflected directly on Hsi Wu, who felt a warm current flow over him. He looked up, facing the statue of Han Xiangzi.

“Jade, let’s go, Uncle Jackie may be worried.” Hsi Wu said after a while.

?

The five headed to the north and came to Chu land, where Hsi Wu was born thousands of years ago.

“Jade, didn’t you wanna know something when I was a human? It was on this land that I first practiced magic.”

“Wow! Cool! Crooked Jingjiang River, Dongting Lake, Yellow Crane Tower, Chibi…”

“There was not Yellow Crane Tower or Chibi at my time. Dongting Lake was also nothing because there had been a much bigger lake, Yunmengze Lake.”

“Oh! I’ve heard of that. Steamed Yunmengze! Isn’t it poetic?”

“Poetries only exist in outsider’s eyes. Practicing magic is hard. I must read countless ancient books written in Oracle, Bronze inscriptions or bamboo rolls. Even the content in one modern book could be too heavy for me to carry. So there’s no such thing as wisdom born with, there is only hard work over day and night.

“Then what about Shendu and others?”

“We came from different places and the eight most accomplished wizards gathered in the Central Plains, applied magic together, and turned into demons. So my siblings were not ordinary people, after all, there were a thousand or so wizards then.”

The five moved on and visited along the Yangtze, from Jiangcheng to Jiangning. Everything even the grass and trees was still and silent in front of the Massacre Memorial Hall.

“Maybe I should wait for you outside. I think I might be unproper to visit it,” said Tohru.

“Aiiee-yaahh! Tohru, you wanna ignore this period of history?” said Uncle.

“No, Sensi. I know exactly about this period of history. But I dare not to face it for it’s the crime of my ancestors.”

“Tohru, you should go in.” Hsi Wu suddenly dragged Tohru’s hand, head dropping. “When several days ago we passed by the shrine of Han Xiangzi, I have the very same thought as you. But I have understood that only if we acknowledge and face our evils directly, can we get away from confinement, do we have deep courage.” Hsi Wu looked up at Tohru’s eyes.

“Not to mention you’re not the same as me, Tohru. These crimes were not committed by you.”

“Then…OK!” Though still undecided in heart, Tohru said with a resolute voice.

The fived walked into the memorial hall, in which the lights were dim. Countless bones were in the mass grave and every picture was so shocking. Seeing these, Tohru trembled and couldn’t help shedding tears after getting out of the memorial hall.

Hsi Wu was also extremely shocked. Jiangning in 1937 was even many times darker than the world ruled by them demons! They are demons or humans are the real demons!

“Uncle Jackie, I didn’t expect the evil in human hearts could also be so powerful.”

“Hsi Wu, humans are indeed like this sometimes.”

Hsi Wu looked back at the memorial hall, deep in thought.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to everyone!

Hope our loved ones can be our side forever, admiring the same moon even with the thousand-mile distance in between.