Benigna's Muse

[Benigna]

Hong Kong, 1980

Mei Ling was a curvy petite Chinese girl with B+ cup busts. Standing at 6 feet 5 inches, weighs 55kg with silky black hair that reached to her shoulders. Since young, she had been exposed to the world of vampires and their wiles. She was taught how to detect a vampire by sense of smell, touch, speech and behaviour. Of course, what would the purpose be if she could only detect them? She too must be able to hunt them down and kill them. Having a choice of an arsenal of weapons, Mei Ling’s favourite weapon of choice were the sword and daggers. Mei Ling was adequately educated, gentle and kind. The most important factor that drew many traditional Chinese men to her was that she respected her elders. Given her weak and meek exterior, Mei Ling was far from being weak and meek. A descendant of a long lineage of female vampire slayers, she had an obligatory duty to fulfil the role as the next female vampire slayer and being highly trained in Wushu, she was a lethal beauty.

A woman dressed in a black short dress with low V neck, ran frantically knocking down trash cans and baskets that lined the dark alley. Her heels clicked as she kept running, beads of sweat formed on her forehead and neck. Not far behind her, a shadowy figure followed her that seemed to be jumping from wall to wall. No matter where she turned or hid; the shadowy figure was able to locate her. The young woman screamed and called for help but no one came nor heard her pleas. She turned another corner where a wall blocked her way, it was a dead end. Turning around to run out of it, she stopped when the shadowy figure appeared a few feet away from her. “Go away!” she screamed backing to the wall throwing wood, bottle or whatever she could lay her hands on. Her heart pounded fast as the shadowy moved in closer and closer. The figure’s eyes turned red, fangs began to elongate as it approached her. It was a vampire. In her last attempt to ward off her attacker, she picked up a shard holding it firmly in her trembling hands. Her eyes widen when she had a clear view of her attacker. “No! Please, no...oohh...” she moaned when the vampire sank its fang into her neck. The shard that she held dropped to the ground and shattered to pieces. A few moments later, her body slumped lifeless to the ground like a rag doll as blood from the punctured holes on her neck flowed freely. The vampire jumped up to a nearby high wall and disappeared into the darkness.

Oblivious to what had happened the night before, Mei Ling lay in bed wrapped up under her cosy comforter. There were pictures of her mother and her that graced the wall facing her queen sized bed, a ‘L’ shaped passageway led to her attached bathroom and near that passageway was her full length wardrobe with sliding doors which was attached to the wall facing the side right of her bed. It was 8.35am; her alarm clock had been ringing since 8.30am to wake her. Mei Ling stirred, her slender hand reaching out to her side table to turn off the alarm. Yawning and stretching her hand, she sat up on her bed letting her comforter slipped down to her waist exposing her breasts. She shivered at the coldness that made her reach for the air conditioner controller to switch it off then got out of bed. Mei Ling lost her balance a little her right shoulder leaned on a window and almost immediately regained her equilibrium to head towards the bathroom. Mei Ling always took her time to take a shower for it was her favourite activity after a good night’s sleep or a hard day’s work. Turning the tap and standing under the rainfall cascade shower head, streams of water flowed like rain drops to her head and body. The soft hitting of water upon her delicate skin felt like she was being massaged and the sound of water dripping to the bathroom floor soothed her soul. Reaching for her liquid soap and sponge, she squirted some of the liquid soap onto the sponge and began to scrub herself from chest to toe as the running water washed off the soap suds. She repeated the process for a few times before turning off the tap to shampoo her hair and rinse it with water. Once that was done, the tap was turned off and she took her towel to dry herself then walked out of the bathroom to blow dry her hair and get dressed.

It was customary for her to always read up on the journal about vampires that was passed down from generation to generation. The journal contained information about the vampires and how to defeat and kill them. Mei Ling was more interested in reading about them and what made them tick, what their weaknesses were and where they would likely be found. The Chinese Vampires were different from their Western counterparts. The male Chinese vampire would usually be tall, have crew cut hair, human like complexion and were known to lurk in dark places but it had yet to be proven. They have a knee sense of smell, able to hear clearly even though they were 1 mile away. The male vampire sucked blood plasma and would only feed on females in two ways:

1. They would bite the neck sucking them dry killing them in the process, there was not a chance that the female would turn as the human female’s body would disintegrate an hour later.
2. They would mate with a human female and feed on them by sucking 70% of their blood, transfer their blood into the human female to be mix. This would turn the human female into a vampire in a matter of days.

The male vampire could be trapped or captured by surrounding them with large amount of raw glutinous rice. Long period of exposure to glutinous rice would weaken them rendering helpless and easily killed. This method would be expensive as a large sack of it was required and it was impractical for a slayer to be carrying such a large sack around. Therefore, Mei Ling’s ancestors came up with grinding the glutinous rice to powder, cast a spell on it then store it in small explosive sacs. These sacs would only explode when it came in contact with a male vampire’s body releasing the powdered glutinous rice which would immediately choke them. Not only would this paralyse the vampire for a few seconds, it would also lower the vampire’s constitution by half making them easy to kill. However, there were a small number of male vampires who were immune to glutinous rice powder. The slayer must improvise and react quickly when encountering such a vampire.

There were two kinds of female vampires: The true breed and the transformed breed. The true breed was usually sexy, demure, very pretty and a tempest. These true breed are tall, had long black silky hair that could be used as weapon, sharp eyes and have an insatiable appetite for sex, power and guilt. The transformed breed was human females who had been mated by a male vampire and lacked the full power of a true breed. Even though they look sexy, pretty and demure, these vampires rarely are offensive. Both breeds have the ability to lure human males to sleep with them in order to kill them by sucking the essence of their souls. They would feed on human males in two ways:

1. Lead a human male on by kissing passionately. As their tongue darted in the mouth, it would lock in the mouth as its tip sucked the life out of a human male.
2. They would have sex with a human male all night long exhausting them. As the human male rested, they would suck 60% of their blood, transfer 20% of their own blood into the human body making them their minions.

The female vampire would only mate with male vampires and were rarely involved in a fight to the death with a slayer but would not back down from a fight once it started. They possessed good fighting stamina that can only be reduced considerably by slashing at their minions and their tendons with a blade that has not been touched by a human hand. The slashes must be precise and in one smooth swing of the blade, once done, the slayer must quickly pierced the sword into their hearts. Any delay would to be fatal. Unlike their male counterparts, the female vampires were immune to powdered glutinous rice. They would be stunned for1 minute by cooked glutinous rice balls that stuck to their hair, even though they were stunned, it would not make them less dangerous nor an easy kill. In that state, a female vampire would produce high pitched shrills that would shatter any glass objects and send them flying to their aggressor keeping them busy avoiding glass shards and at the same time to avoid being mutilated by their minions. Mei Ling’s ancestors had not found a good way to counter such an attack, they best that could be done was to cast wind magic and throw glutinous coated daggers at them.

A soft knock was heard on her bedroom door as she finished reading the last sentence about a female vampire. Closing the book and stashing it away back into its secret compartment, Mei Ling answered the door. It was her right hand girl, Si Lin. “Mei Ling jie, it’s time for breakfast.” she said the moment she saw her. (Note: ‘Jie’ is a customary word for addressing someone older or a form of affection. The counterpart would be ‘Ke’ for guys.) Si Lin walked into Mei Ling’s life when she was just 17 years old. At that time, Si Lin had just come to Hong Kong from mainland China seeking her fortune. Si Lin unknowingly worked for the underworld being their drug pusher and distributor. Things went well for her much to the envy of other runners; they devised a plan to bring her down by framing her for the lost of a big shipment of drugs. Naturally, she was asked to pay for the loss and of course, she was unable to. Left with no choice and fearing for her life, she went into hiding that made her situation worse. She was caught and was imprisoned in an abandoned building with a few men who were ordered to do what they pleased with her. Si Lin begged for her life having no idea that the men had intended to force her into the sex trade. They ripped her clothes off and when she was about to be raped, Mei Ling who had finished a job nearby heard her cries.

Intrigued by what she had heard, Mei Ling scaled up to the roof top to have a look at who was crying out pitifully. A girl who was a little younger than her was tied up to a chair; her top was torn off revealing her C cup breasts to the 3 men surrounding her. It appeared that the men were taking advantage of her and forcing her to perform oral sex on them. Enraged by the scene, Mei Ling broke the glass and jumped in landing 5 feet behind the men. “Take your dirty hands off her!” she commanded.

“Another beauty for us to play with boys!” one of them said when he saw the radiant beauty before him. “Let’s get her, the one on the chair can wait.” Moving towards Mei Ling holding a dagger that would be use to slash at her. The other 2 followed suit flanking to the left and right. The 3 men charged at her hoping to overpower her by number, how hard could that be? After all, she was just one girl up against 3 muscular men who had years of experience in street brawls. At least, that’s what they thought. They attacked at her in different directions, to their surprise, Mei Ling jumped over their heads freeing herself from being surrounded and at the same time, she kicked one of them sending him sprawling to the ground, then ricochet to another slashing at his tendons. Both men lay on the ground in extreme pain. There was one left who stood dumbfounded by the events that unravelled before him. It was unbelievable, Mei Ling looked at the third man with menacing eyes that made him ran. Si Lin was grateful to Mei Ling for freeing her from the clutches of these hooligans and asked Mei Ling if she could come with her explaining that she had no kin and the underworld boss would not stop sending more men like the ones Mei Ling had defeated.

Mei Ling needed companion so that the apartment that she stayed would not be that empty and sullen, besides, Si Lin looked like a girl who she could get along with. Smiling at her, Mei Ling told her that she could, from then on, the two ladies were like sisters, at least, for a short time. Even though Si Lin could not pick up Wushu quickly, she had a knack for something else. After some months, Si Lin mastered potion making, writing magical talisman and enchanting weapons that had saved or helped Mei Ling on many occasions.

“Alright, Si Lin. What did you buy?” she asked.
“It’s the usual, chicken congee with eggs.”
“Nice. Let’s eat.”

 

[BenDover4]

Very well written Benigna...

 

[Benigna]

“Nice. Let’s eat.” remarked Mei Ling as she stepped out of her bedroom leading the way to the dining hall and took her seat at the dining table.

The aroma that the congee emitted was divine especially for a hungry person in the morning. As per her usual routine, Mei Ling switched on the radio to hear the morning news while she ate her breakfast. She took a stick of “you tiao” to go with her congee even though it already has some in it. Mei Ling simply could not get enough of this simple delicacy and it brought back memories of her home town, Singapore. Even though the congee that she was having is not like the one she liked over in Singapore, the you tiao helped in reminding her of her roots.

(Note: You tiao is a simple delicacy for many Chinese. Its origin dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty where a prime minister called Qin Hui persuaded Gaozong that it would be better to make a peace treaty with the Jins rather than fight them. Qin Hui and his wife then thought of a scheme to get rid of Yue Fei who was thrown into jail based on fabricated charges and then executed.

Although Qin Hui's act was despicable, Gaozong was equally bad. He listened to Qin Hui because that would alleviate his insecurity of having to face the possibility of Yue Fei accompanying the two captured Song emperors back to the capital. Gaozong feared for his job and was willing to appease the Jin and keep his throne, rather than lose it by reestablishing Chinese sovereignty.

The people hated Qin Hui afterwards. A dough maker took two pieces of dough, shaped them into Qin Hui and his wife, dipped them in boiling hot oil, and invited people to take bites out of his new delicacy. People began to call this food "You Zha Hui".)

She was brought back to Hong Kong by her grandmother when her family in Singapore was slaughtered by a group of vampires. Miraculously, she was spared as her parents hid her in a secret compartment. Even though the vampire would be able to sniff her out, they did not thinking that since they had killed the people who would be able to impart skills to her, she would pose any threats. She was only 5 at that time. Fearing for her safety after her family was slaughtered; her grandmother brought her over to Hong Kong.

Her grandmother taught her everything she knew and was very strict with her. Xiao Chian was her grandmother’s name; everyone in the slayer’s circle respected her although she was a woman. Her grandmother had proved time and time again that she was a capable vampire slayer and out ranked any male vampire slayers. Unlike traditional slayers, her grandmother re defined the methods used while retaining the old ways. It was her grandmother who came up with the glutinous rice bomb sac and was improved as time passed. Like other humans, her grandmother was not immortal; she died at the age of 80 leaving Mei Ling her vast properties and knowledge that she had recorded. The motto that her grandmother told her to stick by stuck in her head and that was to remain pure and void of compassion and emotions for harmful and dangerous supernatural beings. Mei Ling had made a point to go back to her home town in order to pay respects to her family whose ashes were stored in urns in Kong Meng San in Singapore. She was aware that that ‘The festival of the Hungry Ghost’ was around the corner, and had booked tickets to Singapore to manage her family’s urns and pay tribute to them.

(Note: The Festival of the Hungry Ghost is celebrated on the seventh month of the Lunar Calendar. It is believed that during this month, the gates of hell are opened to free the hungry ghosts who then wander to seek food on Earth. Some even think that the ghosts would seek revenge on those who had wronged them in their lives. The Chinese also do a lot of offerings to the deceased. These offerings are made by burning fake money notes, which are also known as ‘hell money’ and even paper television or radio sets. Some families also burn paper houses & cars to give to their dead relatives. The Chinese feel that these offerings reach the ghosts and help them live comfortably in their world.

The Chinese regarded the 15th of the month as an important date to give a feast to the ghosts. On this date, the family would cook a lot of dishes and offer them to the deceased. This was done to please the ghosts and also to gain good fortune for the family.)

Snapping out from her thoughts about her past and her plan to fly to Singapore, she heard radio reported that there was a corpse found in the back alleys in Kowloon, the corpse was drained of blood and the police was unable to locate the murder weapon. However, the coroner spotted two punctured marks on the neck estimating the cause of death from loss of blood. Was there another vampire killing? Although the radio did not specifically state that the two punctured marks on the neck were from the bite of a vampire, Mei Ling knew too well. It made her wonder if she had cleared the streets of Hong Kong from these foul creatures. The last she looked, all the vampires that would be potentially dangerous to a human had been eliminated thru the help of other slayers like herself. Their fight with them was long and hard, both sides had heavy casualties and of course, the vampire side lost. Where do these vampires come from? Were they the same ones that slaughtered her family? Have they come to finish her off? Whatever it was, Mei Ling felt that there was something at play, something more sinister than just a simple feeding. So deep in thoughts that she hardly heard what Si Lin had asked her. “Hm?” she responded still mulling over the news that she had heard.

“What would you like for dinner, jie?” Si Lin asked.

“Si Lin, don’t you think it’s too early to ask that?”

“No, it is because I will be out with my classmates.”

“Oh. Well, I will eat out then. What time are you meeting them?”

“2 hours from now, jie.”

“Alright, it’s best you get ready now. You take forever to change.” she said teasing Si Lin.

“Umm.. I guess.” Si Lin blushed knowing full well what Mei Ling meant by her statement. It was unintentional at that time, still each time that Mei Ling made that statement; she could not help but blushed. It was her 3rd week stay at her place when it happened. Mei Ling was out hunting down vampires, she was bored alone at home. A sudden surge of sexual want hit her, she stripped bare naked leaving her door open thinking that it was ok since she was alone and Mei Ling usually came back in wee hours of the night. She spread her legs and began to pleasure herself by rubbing on her sex’s entrance and the clitoris. Si Lin moaned softly as the pleasure hit her senses and was soon lost in her sexual pleasures. The more she rubbed herself, the more she wanted to do more than just fingering. Since she did not have a toy, she would have to be contented with using her finger. She was close to climax when Mei Ling come home who happened to pass her bedroom and saw what she was doing.

“Wow, Si Lin, now I know why you took so long to change.” was the comment she made as she stood at her doorway watching her. Embarrassed, Si Lin quickly covered herself with her blanket looking at Mei Ling sheepishly. “Well, carry on, Si Lin.”

“I am going out as well, Si Lin. I must meet up with Long ke to discuss my plans to move back to Singapore. Have you got your passport ready?” she asked.

“Yes, it can be collected a week from now.”

“Great! We will set off to Singapore at the end of the month, if not earlier. I will place an advertisement to rent this apartment. This way, we would have an income while over there.” she remarked finishing her congee clearing the table. “Do not wait up for me, I think I will be home late.” Mei Ling said as she closed her front door.

Walking along the corridor to the left landing, Mei Ling noticed that her neighbour had not collected the morning papers for the last few days. It was unlikely that they had gone for a holiday for she had just seen them last Sunday. Could something happen to them? It was not in her nature to poke her nose in other peoples’ business but the bare fact that her neighbour had not collected their morning papers bugged her a lot. Diverting her herself from the original route, Mei Ling walked to the door. As she got nearer, the smell of gas was strong that made her quickly covered her nose backing away from the door. When she was in a safe distance, Mei Ling fished her mobile phone from her pocket to call the police and ambulance then called Long to inform him that she would be late. It did not take long for the police and ambulance to arrive at the scene. The area was cordoned off while the police investigated the cause of gas leak that took the lives of her neighbour. After being questioned by the police, Mei Ling left her apartment building heading towards town to meet up with Long.

“Hi Long ke!” she said smiling at Long and took her seat opposite him. Long had been a close friend to her ever since she started the vampire slaying business. There were occasions that she would confide in Long about how she felt about this whole thing. Long would as always gave her level headed advice. Though not a handsome man, Long had charisma. He was the only person whom she felt comfortable being herself and to show her true feelings to. Long was not a vampire slayer but he was her adviser and strategist, he had intimate knowledge on the occult, supernatural and astrology. “Have you heard about the killing of a woman in Kowloon?” asked she brushing a strain of hair from her eye.

“Yes. Mei Ling. I doubt it’s the work of a vampire.” he replied.

“Oh? Why is that? There were punctured marks on the neck, you know.”

“Yes, there were. My police friend who was at the scene told me that the body was in a pool of blood, it was as if she bled to death. The vampires that we had dealt with would suck all the blood leaving the corpse dry.”

“Ah, I see. Well, since that is the case, I feel at ease now. Our battle with these accursed creatures had been long and hard. I just wish that there isn’t new breed of them coming up.”

“Haha... you are such a worry ward, Ling.” Long remarked, “So what do you want to see me about?” he asked while looking at the expression on her face. He was always amused whenever Mei Ling was in that child like mood; her facial expression was what he liked to look at most.

“Well, I am going to Singapore at the end of the month. Would you like to come along? It would be a good break, besides you get to learn new cultures.”

“It’s a tempting offer, Ling but I have to decline. There are a lot of back log for me to clear.”

“You always have back logs, Long ke. Come on, you won’t miss out much. Did I mention that Si Lin is going too?” she said enticing him with Si Lin’s presence knowing full well that Long had a special interest in Si Lin.

“Err... if that is the case...” he trailed off pondering over the carrot that was hung in front of him. Damn Mei Ling, she sure knew how to get to him. The mention of Si Lin made his heart beat a little faster. He had been trying to date Si Lin for the longest time and each time that he tried, Si Lin would always have an excuse not to go. Going to Singapore with Mei Ling and her would be a good opportunity for him. He pretended to check his PDA for awhile then looked up, “Okay, I will go but I will only be there for 10 days.”

“Great!” she smiled sweetly at him, “I will book the tickets. Please check your passport Long ke, you do have the tendency to forget such stuff.” Long smiled at her when Mei Ling stood up to go.

“Where are you off to Ling?” he asked surprised that she had to leave so soon.


“I am going to book the tickets, Long ke. The travel agent that I often use is just around the corner. Do you want to come with?”

“No, you go ahead, I need to head back to office to apply for leave and delegate someone to take over my job.”

“Okay, I will let you know the flight date. Bye.” she said giving him a soft hug before she left.

When she was out of ear shot, she was worried that Si Lin might forget about their trip, took her phone out from her bag to call Si Lin. She reminded her to pack her stuff for they will be going to Singapore at the end of the month. Of course, Mei Ling deliberately omitted the detail about Long going with them. It would be interesting to see her reaction when the two meet. Hanging up, she entered the travel agent’s office; she was greeted by the manager who gave her his golden smile. The manager attended to her for the booking of 3 first class tickets to Singapore the following Friday. In appreciation of her patronage, the agency gave her a gift. It was a voucher for ladies’ only spa. After that, she went shopping, did her hair and pampered herself.

Si Lin did not meet her classmate. When Mei Lin called her, she was on her way to a temple to offer prayers to the deities and observed a day without eating meat. Upon arrival at the temple, a nun ushered her to her usual room for a purifying bath scented with flowers. Unwanted hair must be shaved off during the bath then cleanse with another pail of purifying water. After the bath, she would put on a nun’s robe without her bra and panties then proceeded to the main prayer hall to start the offerings. All evil and lustful thoughts must be flashed out of her mind during this time. Si Lin must sit in a lotus position citing prayers and would be flogged if she showed signs of restlessness or if she were to do it wrong. Although the process was hard, it helped her spiritually and cleansing her soul. Lunch and dinner would be rice with two dishes of vegetables. The end of the day would be at 8pm. It was her way in repenting for her past sins that she had committed which she hoped would enlighten and bring salvation to her soul. No matter how long it would take her to reach her goal, she was willing to go thru with it.

When she was done and had changed to her own clothes, she asked the head nun for scriptures to bring along to Singapore. The head nun smiled at her telling her that she did not one, the scriptures were already in her heart and mind, all she had to do was to recite it. The nun gave her a sash to wear around her waist when she is in Singapore and to use it when the time is right. Si Lin did not understand what she meant and told her so. The nun smiled again telling her that she will know when it presented itself to her. Si Lin thanked the nun for the sash and went on her way back to Mei Ling’s apartment.

 

[Benigna]

Part II​

Chapter 1: First encounter

Long, Mei Ling and Si Lin arrived at Kai Tak Airport with their luggage and proceeded to the check in counter. It was odd that Si Lin did not react much when she heard that Long would be joining them. Instead, she was light hearted about it stating that it would be nice to have a man around. Her statement made Long beamed. When the check in was done, they proceeded to the departure hall to board the plane. The plane taxied to the runway and flew off towards Singapore.

They landed in Singapore Changi Airport in the evening. After collecting their luggage, the trio headed towards the exit of the arrival hall. Mei Ling saw an A3 sized paper with ‘Chu Mei Ling’ written on it and acknowledged. The man led them to a waiting car and helped them to load their luggage into the trunk. Long sat in the front while the girls sat at the back. The taxi drove out of the airport towards Orchard Road. Along the way, they were greeted by lush greenery and flowers at the road side making their ride a pleasant one. As it travelled away from the airport, there were no more flowers but the lush greenery still greeted them.

The trio checked in to Mandarin Hotel which Mei Ling had booked 3 rooms prior to arriving in Singapore. They agreed to have dinner at the Chatterbox that they had heard so much about when they were in Hong Kong just as soon as they had washed up and put on fresh clothing. Making their way up to their rooms, Si Lin noticed that her room was next to Long’s and Mei Ling’s was opposite theirs. Was this Mei Ling’s idea? Mei Ling smiled at them both as she entered her room. It was a modest room with the usual amenities a 5 star hotel would have for its rooms. Mei Ling plopped down on the bed letting out a sigh and kicking off her shoes. She closed her eyes to relax breathing evenly for a few minutes and turned to look at the clock, it was 7.30pm she had better get out of her travel clothes and meet Long and Si Lin for dinner at the Chatterbox. Pulling herself up from the bed, she stripped then walked to the bathroom for a quick shower.

Mei Ling would usually be the first to arrive for any appointments. This time however, she was the last to arrive much to the delight of her friends. It was a symbolic moment for them. She could see their faces beamed when she arrived at the hotel lobby. Mei Ling had expected to hear some remarks from them. It did not come. The trio walked towards the Chatterbox, Mei Ling noticed a sign board that advertised a lounge on the second floor that offered nice piano music. They stood at the entrance waiting to be seated. A minute later, a waitress showed them to their seat and they sat down. It took them awhile before they ordered the house special: Chatterbox Chicken Rice. Aside from that, they ordered Oolong tea and 15 sticks of Satay along with its Ketupat and peanut sauce because they were curious about the dish.

“Shall we head up to Top M after dinner?” Long asked as he looked at the small card that was on the table.

“What is Top M Long ke?” Si Ling asked.

“It’s a discotheque.” he said plainly playing with the card.

“Aren’t you a little too old for that Long ke?” Mei Ling asked. She could not place the pragmatic Long in such a rowdy place. In the years that she had known him, never had he gone to such a place.

“Of course not. The Disco has no age limit. Shall we go later?” he asked again a little irritated by Mei Ling’s remarks.

“I will go with you Long ke.” Si Lin said sweetly.

Mei Ling smiled inwardly when Si Lin readily agreed to go with Long. “You guys go on ahead and have fun. I will go that lounge on the second floor to enjoy some piano music.” she said when their order was served.

“Are you sure you do not want to Mei Ling?” he asked as he ate the Satay which he found to be a little spicy for his taste.

“Yes, I am. Go! Have fun!” she said smiling at them.

When they were done with dinner and after they had talked for a bit, Long and Si Lin stood up and walked out of the Chatterbox. He led the way holding Si Lin’s wrist. Mei Ling paid the check then proceeded to the lounge on the second floor. As she climbed the flight of stairs leading to the lounge, she could sense a presence. It was as if a vampire was nearby. Mei Ling stopped half way up to ascertain that what she felt was not because she was overly sensitive. The feeling was gone. She shook her head then proceeded to climb the stairs.

Mei Ling took her seat in the lounge when a familiar tune was being played by the pianist that made her looked at him. Ballade pour Adeline was played exquisitely. The notes flowed freely to her ears. Mei Ling closed her eyes to enjoy the serenity the music brought her and for a brief moment, she found herself in a different world. It made her smile, the music soothed her soul. When it ended, she clapped along with the other patrons in the lounge. Unlike others, Mei Ling could again sense that presence awhile ago when she climbed the stairs. She tried and failed to pin point the location which puzzled her.

She was sure that it was a vampire that she could not pin point its location despite being able to sense it. Mei Ling stood up and walked down the stairs towards the lifts that would bring her to her room. She could not risk any civilian being hurt should a battle ensued. She rode the lift to the 10th floor then got out of it and walked to her room. The presence was even more acute while she walked along the hallway. She stopped. “I know you are here somewhere. Show yourself.” she challenged and waited.

There wasn’t anyone around. The brightly lit lavish silent hallway was empty. It made her wonder if she what she felt was because of fatigue. She continued to make her way to her room and let herself in and put the security card in the slot. The lights came on. Mei Ling walked to the bathroom to clean up. As she washed her face, she sensed it again. This time, it was strong. It was as if the person was behind her. She looked in the mirror and all she saw was her own reflection. She turned around swiftly and saw no one. Shaking her head and smiling to herself, she felt silly. She told herself that she was tired and walked out of her bathroom. What she saw in her bedroom near her bed stopped her in her tracks getting ready to defend herself.

A 1.78 meter tall man stood with his hands tucked in his pockets. He had clean cut hair, gaunt look, pale skin and wearing a black leather jacket, jeans and sneakers.

“Hello Xiao Lin. It has been a long time.” he greeted.

“I am not Xiao Lin. Who are you and why are you here?” Mei Ling asked puzzled as to why he had called her by that name.

“That is a pity. What happened to her?” he asked ignoring Mei Ling’s question as he paced the floor sizing her up.

“I do not have to tell you. Do I?’

“Ah... as feisty as Xiao Lin. Are you here to finish what she failed to?” he remarked smirking a little at Mei Ling.

“What are you talking about? You better get out of here before I kill you, vampire.” she threatened.

“Such an uncouth and violent girl!” the vampire remarked ignoring her threat. “I could sense your presence the moment you left the airport. It was curious that you have the same aura as Xiao Lin. Take my advice: go back to where you came from. The next time we meet, I won’t be this hospitable. Consider this your only warning.” he said flashing his fangs as he smiled and vanished chuckling softly.

It was a strange yet familiar encounter. Mei Ling could not make heads of tail about what had been said by the vampire. He was not intimidated by her. The coolness in his voice told her that. What puzzled her were his words: “as feisty as Xiao Lin. Are you here to finish what she failed to?” What did he mean by that? She did not recall anyone by that name in the ancestral tree that her grandmother had shown and given her. She took out a small box and fished the ancestral tree diagram out of the box. Spreading the diagram on the table, she examined it. Mei Ling was the only 4th generation slayer. At the bottom left hand corner, there was a faint remark: “The slayer that never came: Xiao Lin.”

It did not make sense to her. Xiao Lin was a slayer that never came? Did it mean that she was not regarded to be in the lineage? Why wasn’t she? What happened? Most importantly, who was she? It made her wonder why her grandmother did not tell her about Xiao Lin. She sat at the desk for a few minutes pondering over what had happened and was no wiser. Sighing, she folded the diagram and put it back into the box. Mei Ling decided to go to bed and wished that her grandmother was still alive. She would be able to shed light on this matter.

Tossing and turning in her bed, Mei Ling could not shake off the vampire words out of her head: “as feisty as Xiao Lin. Are you here to finish what she failed to?” it lingered in her thoughts when sleep took over.

Si Lin slow danced with Long. Her body was not press too close to his as he put his hands around her waist. Si Lin swayed her hip slowly to the rhythm of the slow music unaware that she had rubbed against his crotch. The slow dance was mesmerising and enchanting bringing her to another world she never knew existed. Being in that state, Si Lin wanted to feel a tongue in her mouth while she pressed her breasts against the chest. She imagined that she was in bed with someone who she yearned for, it was not Long and felt warmth between her legs. Her heart pounded fast at the image that she had in her mind. Wondering if she should just tell the person how she felt, Si Lin gave a soft sigh.

Si Lin could feel Long’s lips closing on hers. She turned her face away from him, his lips touched her cheek. It made her blush a little and knowing that she may have hurt his feelings; she explained that she was not ready for such an intimate act yet. Long smiled telling her that he understood. They continued to dance with her keeping a small gap in between them. The slow music ended, she broke away from him telling him gently that she was tired and would like to retire for the night. Long escorted her back to her room and bade good night at the door step.

Once back in her own room, she stripped then laid on her bed with her legs spread. Cupping her breast and squeezing it she moaned softly. Her hand automatically reached down to where her womanhood was then began to rub it up and down sending vibes of pleasures thru out her body. As she teased her own womanhood, Si Lin arched her back and tilted her head letting out moans of ecstasy. The desire for someone to make love to her was intensified as she inserted a finger into her sex. Moving and twirling her finger inside herself, every fibre in her body reacted to the vibes of pleasure that she was giving herself. Eventually, she climaxed. Panting a little and catching her breath, her body felt light and boneless. She did not bother to clean up letting it flow and slept thru the night blissfully.

- End of Chapter 1 -​