The Great Worm Lich

Zhang Lisheng who had always been curious about his mother’s anxiety that came out of nowhere asked carefully, “Mother, actually, why do you…”

“English! Speak English!” Lili was shocked and shouted loudly.

Zhang Lisheng was stunned for a while with his eyes wide opened. He then asked with hesitation in English, “Mother, are…are you alright?”

“I’m sorry, baby. Mother shouted at you, I’m sorry.”

After a moment of silence, Lili held her forehead then said with her shaky voice, “I’m alright. It’s just that I’m tired and I’m in a rather bad mood due to the accident that happened.”

Figuring that it was himself who brought such fear to his mother, Zhang Lisheng couldn’t bear to ask further. He comforted her by saying, “Take a rest now if you’re tired, mother.”

“We’re leaving this place tomorrow, aren’t we?”

“Yes, rest now. I’ll bring you back to New York tomorrow. Good night, baby.” Lili mumbled and switched off the wall lamp in the bedroom.

Both of them didn’t speak at all that night.

Morning came. The phone on Zhang Lisheng’s bedside table rung and woke him up.

He turned around and realized that his mother was still sleeping so he picked up the phone immediately.

A young and sweet female voice came from the phone and greeted in English, “Dear guest, good morning.”

“This is the Chengdu Golden Dragon Hotel’s wake-up call service. It’s exactly 9 a.m. now and it’s three hours and thirty minutes before the departure of Flight A073 from Chengdu to New York.”

“Would you like us to send breakfast to your room after fifteen minutes?”

Zhang Lisheng noticed the bright sky by looking at the window through the curtain, he then replied softly, “Sure, you can send breakfast to us. Thank you.”

“Alright, sir, Bon appetite and safe journey.”

Lili happened to wake up when Zhang Lisheng hung up the phone. She asked with her hoarse voice while smiling, “Baby, you’re awake. Who did you call? Were you saying goodbye to your friend?”

“No, mother. It’s the hotel’s wake-up call service. Also, they’re sending us breakfast.”

It was clear that this was Golden Dragon Hotel’s little compensation. Lili nodded without saying anything and got off the bed drowsily.

There were two bathrooms in Room B4507 double bedroom suite. Lili occupied one of them to take a hot shower and lifted her spirit by washing her face with cold water. She then began to contact Johnson who worked for the U.S. consulate in Chengdu.

“Mr. Johnson, may I know if you’ve completed my son’s passport application?”

“Ma’am Lili, we’re not applying passport for the young Zhang Lisheng but directly collecting…”

“Okay Mr. Johnson, I’m in a rush to board the plane. All I want to know now is if I can successfully leave China with my child today?”

“Of course you can. Since our consulate had made the promise, we would definitely make it happen.”

“In fact, I’m holding your son’s passport at the Golden Dragon Hotel’s lobby now. I would be the one contacting you if you called me a couple of seconds later.”

“That’s great.” Lili said in relief, “Thanks for coming all the way here.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Ma’am Lili. This is my responsibility as an American citizen in a foreign country.”

“I’m entering the elevator now, may I know which room are you staying in?”

“Room B4507 on the 45th floor.”

“Great, see you soon.” Johnson hung up the call after saying that.

Lili walked towards the bathroom immediately and said to Zhang Lisheng that got freshened up after staying in the bathroom for too long, “Baby, Mr. Johnson from the consulate has brought your passport here.”

“I’ll meet him in the living room.”

“You can come out already after you’re done washing up. We’ll go to the airport after breakfast.”

“Yes, mother.” Zhang Lisheng said loudly while looking at his own reflection in front of a big and bright mirror in the bathroom.

All of a sudden, he felt all of his anxieties gush out of him because of the fact that he is going to leave tomorrow to face a brand new life.

With his wizard worm in his arms, Zhang Lisheng had finally calmed down after hours of overthinking. He patted his face and walked out of the bedroom after lifting his spirit.

The sunlight was shining brightly in the living room. Johnson who was just saying goodbye to Lili saw Zhang Lisheng who was walking out of the bedroom. He then smiled and said, “Good morning, young man. You’re glowing with great spirit, seems like you’re ready to embrace a brand new life.”

“Good morning, Mr. Johnson. Thank you for sending my passport here.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Alright, I’m done with what I’m supposed to do. I’ll excuse myself now since both of you don’t need me to send you to the airport.”

“I hope we’ll have the chance to meet again in the future, Ma’am Lili.”

“Goodbye, young Mr. Zhang Lisheng.”

The hotel’s breakfast happened to arrive as Johnson bid farewell. A bouquet of fragrant fresh flowers with water droplets on them came together with the breakfast.

The breakfast could be described as a sumptuous feast as there were many varieties of choices. After breakfast, Lili and Zhang Lisheng arrived at the hotel lobby to check out with their luggage.

What was unexpected was that the Golden Dragon Hotel’s customer service director Dong Qifeng had been waiting there for them.

He presented a genuine attitude and waived Lili and his son’s room chargers for the past two days following Li Longhua’s promise last night. He then asked politely, “Ma’am Lili, should we go to the U.S. consulate first or would you like to go to Shuangliu International Airport directly?”

“There’s no need to trouble you any longer, Mr. Dong. The apology that you guys showed is enough.”

“I and my child will go to the airport by taxi.”

“Director Li had told me that my job today is to send the both of you to board your plane. If I failed to do this, he would surely demote me and reduce my salary.” Dong Qifeng took the luggage in Lili’s hand. He then said while smiling, “I’ll get the front desk to book the plane tickets now just in case.”

“Seems like I’ve stayed in a really great hotel that’s nothing less than Hilton’s service.”

“Alright then, err…”

“Dong Qifeng.”

“Alright then, Mr. Dong. We’ll go to the airport now.”

As soon as they were out of the hotel, there was already a Mercedes-Benz limousine parked at the entrance waiting for them. Lili was surprised when she saw Dong Qifeng stepping forward and opening the backseat door himself, “You guys are too nice, Mr. Dong.” She then entered the car while holding Zhang Lisheng’s hand.

The limousine began to move. The car was quite like it was gliding as it drove to the airport directly.

The Chengdu Shungliu International Airport was the busiest civil aviation hub in central and western China as well as the most important passenger cargo distribution center in the southwest region. Its southwest air traffic control station held an outstanding position in China ‘s aviation industry.

It had been expanded a couple of times during recent years. It no longer had the shabbiness that was exclusive in the Western China civil airport.

They had ample time when they arrived at the airport as there was still two hours before they board the plane.

After purchasing the plane tickets, Dong Qifeng looked at Zhang Lisheng who was curiously looking around in the airport hall. He turned to Lili and while smiling he said, “Ma’am Lili, is there any more luggage that you would like to check in?”

“No, my luggage isn’t overweight. I can carry it with me, thank you.”

“I’m talking about the souvenirs that you bought, for instance, stuff like the wooden toad that your child likes very much. You might not be able to bring some of them onto the plane directly.

Zhang Lisheng who was beside them heard and asked immediately, “Must I check it in?”

“It’s best to check it in if you want to guarantee it to be delivered to America safely.”

“Sometimes stuff that is made with hard materials like this which you can easily swing around is difficult to be classified by the airport security personnel. They would be more casual when they’re handling such stuff as well.”

Zhang Lisheng’s expression became solemn. He removed his backpack then opened it to show Dong Qifeng as he asked, “Then how about these stone mask and sculptures?”

“It’s best to check all of them in.”

“Actually the stone artifacts are still acceptable. Nowadays many of the ancient styled metalwares are even prohibited to be checked in if there are no Certificates of Authenticity.”

“Why?”

“It’s a temporary local regulation. The artifact smuggling in Western Sichuan has been too rampant during recent years.”

“But don’t worry, our hotel is considered a collaborative partner with Shuangliu Airport. It’s very convenient if I’m the one who is performing the check in.” Dong Qifeng smiled and said while carrying everything himself.

Although he was unwilling to be away from his wizard worm, under such circumstances, Zhang Lisheng could only go to the airport check-in counter with Dong Qifeng helplessly. He then sealed Mountoad, stone grimace mask and stone figures in a box and checked them in.

After all the troublesome procedures were completed before boarding, Dong Qifeng sent Lili and her son to the security gate before bidding farewell, “Ma’am Lili, we welcome you and your family to visit China and Western Sichuan again.”

“We’re more than happy to welcome you to stay at our Chengdu Golden Dragon Hotel again.”

“Thanks for your help, Mr. Dong.”

Lili who had sworn not to step into Western Sichuan again smiled as she said, “Golden Dragon Hotel would definitely be my first pick if I’m really coming to Chengdu again. Goodbye.”

Zhang Lisheng who was beside Lili waved at Dong Qifeng while forcing a smile but his expression seemed to be extremely unnatural.

However, he was feeling very uneasy and there was nothing that he could rely on because his wizard worm was no longer with him. He had gotten used to the plenitude of mastering an extraordinary power during the past couple of days.

Lili misunderstood her son’s source of anxiety so she hugged Zhang Lisheng and encouraged him, “Baby, don’t be nervous. Just walk directly through it with your boarding pass.”

“You don’t have any metal items on you. You’ll be able to pass the airport security personnel after allowing them to run a quick scan. Mother’s right by you.”

“Okay.” Zhang Lisheng didn’t explain any further and nodded. After taking the boarding pass from his mother’s hand, he walked through the airport security gate.

The procedure that only took less than a minute was successful. The mother and son passed the security check and arrived at the departure lounge.

As the airport had just been renovated, the departure hall was wide and bright. They could see many ‘iron birds’ taking off and landing continuously clearly from the rows of floor to ceiling windows facing the runway.

Zhang Lisheng who had never seen a real airplane before was watching by the window in excitement for a long time. He stopped when he suddenly heard Lili’s voice that spoke in an uncertain tone, “Baby, we’re going to board the plane to America really soon.”

“Before that, there’s something that I need to tell you.”

Zhang Lisheng had a bad omen rose in him, he said in hesitation, “Just tell me what you need to tell me, mother.”