Walking out You Xiaoqing's front door, Zhou Tong asked me why I was so upset. I shook my head, not daring to look him in the eye. She'd warned me not to tell anyone.

Wrestling my concern for Master Liu to the back of my mind, I found that the Hou-faced door was the next big mystery that wouldn't be shaken off. Every time I closed my eyes it was pasted on the back of my lids. I was itching to get back down there. To hell with the monster, I needed to know.

The next day Master Liu finally came back. Wang Zhangan was driving the car that pulled up to our house. I rushed outside and went to greet him, but the old man looked exhausted. He walked past me without a word. I followed him inside where he ate a small meal in silence and then trudged to the spare room. The door was closed before I could get a word out of him.

Wang Zhangan stood outside leaning on the car. My father went out to him. I snuck as close as I could to the front door to eaves drop.

"Has he been like this since he came out?" My father asked.

There was a moment of silence. I imagined Wang Zhangan was sizing my father up, though I'm sure they'd met before. My dad was part of the school system after all. The drawling voice finally answered, "Yes. We pulled him out about an hour ago. I knew he'd be shot, but I was hoping for a report of the incident. The man looks like he's been through the ringer."

Zhou Tong walked past me, shooting an 'I know what you're up to' grin and stepped outside to join them. "He didn't tell you anything?" He asked.

"Well there's this," I heard a rustling sound, but no one spoke. Daring them not to look at the doorway, I peeked my head out to see what he was doing.

Wang Zhangan held out a ragged piece of paper. "He gave me these characters. No explanation, nothing."

The three men marveled at the paper in silence. After what felt like days, Wang Zhangan folded the paper, slipped it back into his pocket, and said, "Well, the man's okay so I'll be heading back. I imagine I'll see you lot very soon. We can't seal the tomb until we hear from all of you," He paused and looked past my father directly where I was hiding, "In detail." He said loudly.

Wang Zhangan left and Master Ge replaced him in the circle of men speaking outside my house. I listened for a bit, but they managed not to talk about anything of interest. "How can they not be going crazy with curiosity?" I thought.

I walked to Zhou Jie's house and spent the afternoon playing with him. I dropped several hints that I was indeed immortal, but I think his stupid sister ruined my gambit. I went back to my house by dinnertime. When I walked into the house I found Master Liu talking with Master Ge and Zhou Tong. He waved me over and asked, "Xiao Yong, my boy! How do you feel after taking your medicine?"

"That wasn't medicine," I told him, "It was a fur ball!" I tried not to smile but couldn't help it. "I feel fine."

He touched my head and returned my smile, "You look good. You owe that to Master Ge's yellow pill. Did you say thank you?"

I turned to Master Ge and thanked him immediately.

Master Ge scowled at Master Liu. "Lao Liu, don't think this gets you off the hook. You owe me answers, and a new batch of cleansing pills."

"A batch? How many did you take?" Master Liu asked me.

"One" I said, not really sure why I was in trouble.

Master Liu waved a hand in the air and said, "It's no matter. Don't worry Lao Ge, I'll keep my word. You'll get everything that was promised you. We'll revisit this when I'm done here."

Master Ge smiled and said no more. Zhou Tong took over, "I'm sure everyone will get what they've been looking for." His eyes darted uncomfortably between the two old men. "Any who, I'll be heading out soon. I've got something to take care of."

Master Ge turned to him and said in a low voice, "I'll go with you. I also have something to deal with."

Master Liu considered them quietly for a moment. "That's fine. Thank you for all of your assistance here. I will make sure both of you receive reimbursement for your actions. I'll stay here and deal with the Hou temple."

Standing next to the table, not terribly interested in whatever payment the men around me expected, I opened the fridge and peered around for a snack. Master Liu slapped my hand and I yelped in surprise. "What?" I asked, sounding a bit whinier than I meant to.

"Not here, we'll escort Zhou Tong and Lao Ge to the village and eat there." He told me. A wave of greedy hunger swept through me. Master Liu always bought us the best food in the village.

"Can I invite Zhao Jie and Yuan?" I asked.

"Not this time. I have much to discuss with you in private." He looked much more serious than I expected.

"Alone." I thought, "Well that means my parents aren't coming."

After making a round of goodbyes, Master Ge and Zhou Tong prepared to leave. Master Liu and I walked with them and made sparse conversation. Zhou Tong seemed to be in high spirits, but there was a tension between the two old masters that I couldn't put my finger on.

We had dinner in the private room of a local restaurant. While the adults speculated on the Hou temple, I practiced my stealth techniques and managed to steal quite a few pieces of tender meat from each of their plates.

I chewed and listened to them, taking it all in.

"There was nothing behind it." Master Liu said bluntly.

"Nothing at all? I don't believe it." Master Ge returned.

"I too find that hard to believe," Zhou Tong added. "The architecture tells a story. They wouldn't have built such a large door with such fine craftsmanship if it were to lead to nowhere. That door is a monument, meant to be awed at on the way to something even grander. Hey that's mine!" He stabbed a fork into my hand. My chopsticks fell onto his plate where they'd just grabbed a large piece of pork that I was lifting.

There was something in Master Liu's eyes. His expression seemed to quake ever so slightly every time he reiterated the lack of findings. "He doesn't want them to know" I thought.

"Maybe there's loads of treasure behind the door and Master Liu wants it all for himself." I considered. It didn't seem like him, but I didn't blame him. "If I found a great pile of treasure I'd keep it a secret too."

After a bout pestering, Matser Liu finally allowed, "I'm not trying to keep anything from you gentlemen. I owe you both a great deal for being here and helping me. That being said, I can't tell you what's behind the door. Not yet. I hope you'll understand."

Master Ge laughed. His dinner drinks had collected around his place at the table and his face was bright red. I could see sweat on his forehead, but there was no malice in his words. "Liu Chunan, you've said about as much as I'd ever expect you to. We've known each other for a long time now. I trust you'll tell me when need be."

After the restaurant our group stumbled to a nearby hotel. I didn't think it'd be a hassle to get back to my house, but the three men in our party had lost a certain grace of balance. Master Liu and I shared one bed, Zhou Tong and Master Ge the other.

I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. When I came back all three of them were snoring. The train wreck sound abated miraculously when they all breathed out at once, and then a chorus of grating breath resumed. Shaking my head in sadness at the rough night's sleep ahead, I crossed the room and threw open the window. The stench of wine that was peeling from the men was replaced by a fresh gust of wind. "I should've stayed home." I thought. I crawled into bed next to the noisy old man who'd saved my life time and time again.

About an hour later Master Liu sat up so suddenly that I almost screamed. I had just begun to drowse and the movement brought Gui Yuanzi to the forefront of my mind. I rubbed my eyes and tried to slow my breathing. He rolled to a sitting position, stood laboriously, caught himself on the bedside table, and then stumbled around the foot of the bed to the bathroom. After peeing what had probably been straight wine, he lumbered back into the room.

He came to the foot of the bed and saw that I was awake. "Xiao Yong," he whispered, "Do you know what I found behind those doors?"

Every ounce of sleep abandoned me and I sat up at once. "Was it treasure? Are you trying to keep it hidden so no one else will take it?"

His brow furrowed and half a snarl found its way to his face, "Boy I'm no miser. When've you known me to value money?"

A hot streak of shame flashed through me. I looked down at the blanket. "Oh." was all I could manage.

Master Liu ignored me and went on, his brain seeming to work faster than his tongue. I tried my best to make sense of the slurred admission. "It's you." He said. "Don't tell anyone else because it's all about you."

I sat up, immediately enthralled.

"I trapped him there." Master Liu said, leaning towards me so he could whisper. "I trapped Gui Yuanzi there and made him tell me the truth."

I didn't say anything, just waited for him to go on.

"The notes we found were wrong! His master lied to him!" He whispered. "The stove was never meant to contain anything monstrous! It was for the spirit."

He trailed off, his bloodshot watery eyes dancing in the light of the bathroom.

"What spirit?" I asked as quietly as I could.

"The snake spirit!" He said. "The black snake spirit was born of and refined in that stove!"

"Why?"

"Immortality!" He said, still swaying lightly from side to side. "The man who wrote the notes, the man in the leather shoes!" He closed his eyes and placed a hand on his forehead as if it hurt him. "He released the spirit because it was good! It was a natural presence!" Master Liu's eyes flashed open again, this time bright and knowing. His eyebrows knit together in sincerity. "His master killed him for it. He took control of the snake spirit and hurt it," he paused. "Tortured it." He finished.

"The bedroom though, with the amulet seal" I said, trying to connect the pieces.

"It was his, the apprentice. His master murdered him and locked his body in the room for fear that he'd rise again as a zombie. That explains the amulet of suppression."

"But the snake?" I asked.

"Don't you see?" Master Liu said, leaning down on the bed enough that it creaked loudly. "The master died before 1969! He couldn't suppress the snake any longer! It broke free from the stove! It released the apprentice and allowed him to zombify down there!"

"The snake released the zombie" I said, trying to force the pieces together. What does that have to do with the Hou-faced door?"

"He went to it, our apprentice I mean. Half undead, half starved for revenge, he opened the Hou-faced door searching for the source of all the death."

"It was Gui Yuanzi, wasn't it?" I asked

Master Liu only shook his head, "Not at all."

"Someone else?"

"Yes my boy." Master Liu's voice dropped into a low sorrowful tone.

"Someone that has something to do with me?"

"After taking that medicineyes, I'm afraid you two are very much connected."

"Who?" I asked too loudly, forgetting where we were and who was around. "Who am I connected to?"