The coffee shop was a tiny spot on Mott Street, its windows steamed up from the warm drinks inside. Ye pushed open the door, and the smell of coffee and matcha hit Rui—sweet, earthy, inviting. A barista with pink hair waved at Ye.
"Shaoyang! The usual?" she called.
"Two matcha lattes, please, Mei," Ye said, leading Rui to a small table in the corner. "Mei's my cousin. She works here part-time."
Mei nodded at Rui, grinning. "You're the FBI agent he's been talking about. Nice to meet you."
Rui blushed, sitting down. "Nice to meet you too."
Ye laughed, leaning back in his chair. "I may have mentioned you once or twice."
Mei brought over the lattes—green, with a foam heart on top—and set them on the table. "He's been in a good mood since you showed up. Haven't seen him this happy since Dao Feng left." She paused, her smile fading. "You find him yet?"
Ye shook his head. "Not yet. But we're close. The Yin Nest—basement of the old army hospital. Dao Feng was there. We think he's still alive."
Mei nodded, squeezing his hand. "Let me know if you need anything. Ama Li and I are here for you." She walked back to the counter, leaving them alone.
Rui took a sip of her latte—it was sweet, with a hint of bitterness, perfect. "Your family's nice."
Ye smiled. "They're all I have. Besides Dao Feng." He took a sip of his latte, then pulled out the map again. "The army hospital was built in 1941, used to treat soldiers wounded in WWII. Feng Xinyu was killed there in 1943. Dao Feng went there in 2014, investigating reports of ghosts. He never came back." He pointed to a red X on the map. "The basement entrance is under the parking lot—hidden behind a metal door. Lao Guo says it's locked, but he has a key."
Rui pulled out her notebook, sketching the parking lot and the basement entrance. "Mike's bringing three agents. They'll cordon off the area, keep civilians away. We go in, find the Yin Nest, figure out what Feng Xinyu wants, and look for Dao Feng." She looked up, meeting Ye's eyes. "What if he's not there? What if he's somewhere else?"
Ye's jaw tightened. "He's there. The whisk fragment—" he pulled it out of his pocket "—it gets warmer when we're close to the Yin Nest. Like it's calling to him." He set the fragment on the table, and sure enough, it glowed faintly, a soft silver light.
Rui touched the fragment, her fingers brushing Ye's. "It's like it has a heartbeat."
"It does," Ye said. "The Xuanqing Whisk is made from the wood of a 500-year-old peach tree on our mountain. It's infused with Taoist energy—our master's, Dao Feng's, mine. It's connected to us. To Dao Feng." He picked up the fragment, tucking it back into his pocket. "When we find the other half, we can use it to find him. It'll lead us."
They finished their lattes, then walked back to the antique shop to prepare. Ye spent the afternoon drawing talismans—Soul-Inviting, Spirit-Repelling, Binding—dipping his brush in cinnabar and his own blood, as Ama Li had instructed. Rui practiced using her medium powers, closing her eyes and focusing on the whispers around her—faint, distant, but clearer than before.
At 8:30 p.m., they met Mike and the agents at the parking lot on Canal Street. It was dark, the only light coming from street lamps and the agents' flashlights. Lao Guo was there too, holding a set of keys.
"Here," he said, handing Ye a rusted metal key. "This opens the basement door. Be careful—there are stairs down, and they're rotting. The Yin energy's thick down there. Don't touch anything unless you have to."
Ye nodded, taking the key. "Thanks, Lao Guo. We'll be back."
Mike pulled Rui aside, his voice low. "You sure about this? Going into a basement with a ghost and a guy with a wooden sword?"
Rui smiled. "I'm sure. Ye knows what he's doing. And I've got my runes, my gun, and this." She touched her jade pendant. "We'll be fine."
Mike sighed, handing her a walkie-talkie. "Check in every ten minutes. If we don't hear from you, we're coming in."
Rui nodded, taking the walkie-talkie. "Deal."
Ye, Rui, and two agents—Jake and Lisa—walked to the back of the parking lot, where a metal door was set into the concrete. Ye inserted the key, turning it with a loud click. He pushed the door open, and a cold wind rushed out, carrying the smell of damp earth and rot.
"Flashlights on," Ye said, pulling out his own. "Stay close. Yin energy can make you hallucinate—don't trust what you see."
They descended the stairs, the concrete steps crumbling under their feet. The air grew colder, and Rui's jade pendant began to glow blue—faint at first, then brighter. The whispers started, loud now, overlapping. Dao Feng… help… the cross…
At the bottom of the stairs was a tunnel, its walls covered in graffiti from teenagers who'd broken in. Ye led the way, his sword drawn, Rui beside him, Jake and Lisa behind them. The tunnel stretched ahead, dark and endless.
After walking for five minutes, they reached a large chamber. Its walls were lined with old hospital beds, rusted and broken. In the center was a pool of black liquid—thick, viscous, like oil. Yin energy hung in the air, so thick Rui could almost touch it.
"The Yin Nest," Ye said, his voice tight. "That pool— it's a concentration of Yin energy. Feng Xinyu's using it to stay in the living world. To control Feng Qin."
Rui stepped closer to the pool, her flashlight illuminating the surface. She saw a reflection—not her own, but Dao Feng's. He was tied to a stone pillar, his head hanging, his clothes torn. "Ye," she said, her voice shaking. "Look."
Ye rushed over, his flashlight beam focusing on the reflection. "Dao Feng!" He reached into the pool, his hand passing through the surface. "It's a vision. He's here—somewhere in the chamber."
Jake suddenly yelled, pointing at the corner. "There! Something's moving!"
They turned, their flashlights pointing at the corner. A figure stood there—tall, wearing a tattered white shroud. Feng Xinyu. But this time, her eyes were black, her face twisted in anger.
"You shouldn't have come," she said, her voice echoing. "The Yin Nest is mine. Dao Feng is mine. He owes me a debt."
Ye raised his sword. "What debt? He didn't kill your family. He was trying to help you."
Feng Xinyu laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "Help me? He locked me in the Yin Nest. Trapped me here for ten years. Because I wouldn't tell him where the other half of the whisk is." She held up her hand, and a silver fragment appeared in her palm—the other half of the Xuanqing Whisk. "He wants it. To become stronger. To take over Xuanqing Mountain."
Rui's jaw tightened. "That's a lie. Dao Feng wouldn't do that."
Feng Xinyu lunged at her, but Ye swung his sword, the blade cutting through her arm. She screamed, dissolving into black smoke. The smoke swirled around them, and when it cleared, Dao Feng was standing there—tied to a stone pillar, just like in the vision.
"Shaoyang," he said, his voice weak. "Help me. She's lying. She wants the whisk—both halves. To open the gates of the Underworld. To bring back her family."
Ye ran to him, cutting the ropes with his sword. Dao Feng collapsed into his arms, weak but alive. "I'm sorry," Dao Feng said, his voice breaking. "I should've told you. I should've trusted you."
Ye shook his head, helping him stand. "You're alive. That's all that matters."
Rui walked over, her flashlight illuminating the chamber. "We need to go. Feng Xinyu will be back. And she has the other half of the whisk."
Dao Feng nodded, leaning on Ye. "She's hiding it in the pool. We need to get it before she uses it."
Ye turned to Jake and Lisa. "Take Dao Feng back to Mike. Rui and I will get the whisk fragment."
Jake nodded, helping Dao Feng toward the stairs. "Be careful."
Ye and Rui stood alone in the chamber, the pool glowing black in the center. Feng Xinyu's voice echoed through the room. "You'll never get it. I'll destroy it first."
Ye pulled out his talismans, placing them around the pool. "Soul-Inviting Array. It'll trap her. You use your medium powers—call to the whisk. It'll respond to you."
Rui nodded, closing her eyes. She focused on the whisk fragment in Ye's pocket, on the energy it held. Whisk, she thought. Come to me. Help us.
The pool began to bubble, and the silver fragment rose to the surface. Feng Xinyu appeared, screaming, but the talismans glowed red, trapping her in the array. Ye reached into the pool, grabbing the fragment, and the two halves clicked together—whole again, glowing silver.
The array faded, and Feng Xinyu vanished, her scream echoing through the chamber. The pool went still, the Yin energy dissipating.
"We did it," Rui said, her voice shaking.
Ye smiled, holding up the whisk. "We did. Now let's get out of here. Dao Feng's waiting."
They walked up the stairs, the whisk glowing in Ye's hand. Outside, Mike and the agents were waiting, Dao Feng sitting in an ambulance, a blanket around him. He smiled when he saw them, holding up a thumb.
Ye walked over, handing him the whisk. "Welcome back, Senior Brother."
Dao Feng took the whisk, his eyes filling with tears. "Thank you. Both of you."
Rui smiled, leaning against Ye's side. "Teamwork."
As the ambulance drove away, Mike walked over, clapping Ye on the back. "Nice work. You two make a good team."
Ye grinned, looking at Rui. "We're just getting started."
Rui nodded, her hand brushing Ye's. The whisk glowed in Dao Feng's hand, a symbol of their victory. But they all knew—this was just the first battle. There would be more spirits, more debts, more adventures.
And they'd face them together.