The Great Worm Lich

The Hawaiian traditional market Alice brought Zhang Lisheng to was situated behind a large open space behind the commercial building they parked at. One could say that any tourist vacationing for a holiday in Honolulu would not have been able to find this quirky location unless they did their homework wholeheartedly before they went for their vacation.

Following the girl, Zhang Lisheng passed through the large boutique counter on the first floor of the building. After he exited the building and entered the traditional market, he felt as though he had just taken a stride across two different worlds.

Covering the sun with his hands, Zhang Lisheng looked at a young man not far away who had brass nose ring piercing and was wearing a tight white Nike shirt. He held a football-sized beehive covered in small holes on his hand while he was shouting to attract customers;

When Zhang Lisheng turned back, he could see a beautiful boutique salesperson who was smiling professionally at him with all eight teeth visible. Shocked, he said, “Placing Louis Vuitton and platinum together in such a small space to be sold and then vacate such a big place for a flea market to sell t-this, I don’t even know what is this, this wood-carved Barbie? This is really mind-blowing!”

“No, that’s a voodoo doll! Just like the Mediterranean, this island is one of the birthplaces for Voodooism. Until now, more than one-fifth of the people here in Honolulu still believes in Voodooism. To us Hawaiians, tradition is very important, much more important than those luxurious items. Let’s go, Mr. Lisheng, I’ll bring you around.”

As Alice was talking, she entered the traditional market. Zhang Lisheng walked behind her while carrying a backpack, looking around as they strolled in the market. One would only have to see the tanned-skin of most of the people around to know that this is not some tourist trap where bizarre souvenirs were being sold. Instead, this was the true market that mainly served the Hawaiian locals.

“Can you recognize what this is?” Alice walked a few steps forwards before stopping in front of the stall of the young man that was selling beehives whom Zhang Lisheng saw just now. Pointing to the hive, she asked Zhang Lisheng.

“Oh, I can identify the most important 278,675 species amongst the 3 million species of insects in this world but I’ve never seen such a weird thing before. Is this a hive?”

“You’ve guessed correctly, Mr. Lisheng. This is the hive of the Hawaiian wasp.” Surprised by the young man’s humorous yet correct answer, Alice asked again. “Then, do you know what it’s for?”

“For medicine, I think. The beehive is good medicine for replenishing vital essence to nourish the lungs.”

“No! How can the hive be used as a medicine?!” The girl did not understand what the young man meant by replenishing vital essence to nourish the lungs. Shaking her head, she took out 10 dollars from her pocket and passed it to the vendor.

After taking the hive, she stuck her finger into the hive and caught a living white fat wasp pupa before showing it to Zhang Lisheng. Then, she placed the wasp pupa into her mouth and chewed the pupa into pieces alive before swallowing it. “It’s popcorn for us Hawaiians. It’s a delicacy of nature.”

In the girl’s opinion, when this arrogant New York rich son saw this, he would be so scared that he would yelp out loud. Even if he had guts, he would be disgusted and shudder vigorously. However, to Zhang Lisheng who grew up in the western Sichuan’s mountain village, eating a living pupa was something extremely normal.

“There are living pupae inside the hive.” The young man widened his eyes. “Boss, are all the hives you’re selling cost 10 dollars each?”

“Huge fresh ones would be 15 or 20 dollars, sir.” The vendor did not know Zhang Lisheng’s origin and explained it to him with enthusiasm. Even though it was uncommon for him to come across any Asian guests, on the occasions when he encountered them, some of them really dared to put just anything in their mouths. For this reason, he was not surprised by it.

Zhang Lisheng nodded before squatting down and began to pick among the piles of hives on the burlap. After a round of picking, he chose the biggest one and asked, “How much is this?”

“Oh, that one is unusual! It would cost 30 dollars. It’s the biggest hive I’ve picked this entire month. There may be a queen inside it as well.” The vendor asked for an exorbitant price.

“Queen? You mean, the queen inside is still alive?” Zhang Lisheng was stunned. Then, he shook the hive with both of his hands before placing it close to his ears to listen to it.

“Yes, buddy! The queen inside is still alive. You should be able to hear the sound of it crawling inside the hive.” The vendor wriggled his finger comically and made an action of walking around

“You’re lying, but your performance is very interesting. Okay, 30 dollars it is then.” Zhang Lisheng took out some change to give to the young vendor and dug the hive to take a pupa out before putting it in his mouth. “Mmm… The taste of the Hawaiian wasp is not too bad. I might be arrested by the police if I do this in the other American states. Looks like Honolulu is quite a good city. Miss Alice, are there any more items you can introduce me to? I’m actually interested in Voodooism! To be honest, I used to have a dangerous friend who thinks that I’m a voodoo witch doctor who carried a voodoo doll around.”

Naturally, Alice did not know that when Zhang Lisheng was uttering his last sentence, the pale face of the most ruthless serial killer that ever existed in New York crept upon his mind.

The girl, who thought that she had been ridiculed by the young man once again, gritted her teeth. “This is actually a Hawaiian bazaar so how could there be a real voodoo doll right here?”

After strolling around the bustling traditional market aimlessly, Zhang Lisheng returned to the Beetle without any uncomfortable feelings towards the odd bizarre items in the market.

After driving the young man around several blocks, Alice finally parked under a huge palm tree by the road. Looking at Zhang Lisheng who was eating the wasp pupa with a face filled with ecstasy, she opened the window and pointed at the wooden house painted purely in white on the beach beside a seaside resort. “My friend’s house is right there. You wait here in the car first, I’ll go call her.”

“Alright.”

Upon hearing his answer, the girl got out of the car and leaped down from the shallow curb before walking on the sand out of the shade towards the wooden house. Before she reached the wooden house, a cute girl with huge round eyes who looked like she was half Hawaiian and Caucasian walked out of the wooden house.

“Alice, didn’t you go to pick up Tina’s boyfriend for her? Why would you come to find me at this hour?” The mixed-race girl covered the sun with her hands as she greeted Alice.

“Hey, Georgina! I’m going crazy today! You can’t imagine just how annoying Tina’s boyfriend is! He’s skinny and short and looks completely like a junior high student! He talks so sarcastically and can you guess what was the first comment he made to himself when he first saw me? He said that I’m v-very sturdy…”

“That’s really too much of him! But, Alice, I already told you that a rich daughter like Tina and Trish are special cases! Look at that Sheila who is with them…”

“Urghh, Sheila! Sheila! She’s indeed a bitch! But still, she’s not as annoying as this Zhang Lisheng. He has been mocking me these few hours and the reason I came looking for you is to ask Charlot to do the driving so that she could bring you, Bonnie, Carmine, Kamil and I to accompany him to the campsite at the volcanic area tonight so that I can vent out my annoyance at him!”

“Again, Alice? I thought it was your dream to enter a tour guide school? If you become a professional tour guide in the future, you’d encounter more annoying guests…”

“Georgina! I’m not a tour guide yet as of now! I’m a Hawaiian girl who would seek for my own revenge! Let’s drop this topic, my dear! You still owe me one, remember? Last year, you were drunk together with Charlot and it was me who helped you explain to Uncle Myron.”

“Urghh! I knew that it would not turn out well asking for your help. If Bonnie had been there that time…”

“Isn’t it too late to say all of this right now, girl? Please, my dear! If you don’t come, Charlot will definitely not come too! And I really need his minibus!”

“Okay! I’ll call him to drive his bus here later! But, the expenses of this picnic will be on you, okay?!”

“Okay! Leave everything to me!” Alice gritted her teeth and waved her hand straightforwardly.

“Then first, let’s go and see just how annoying that despicable Mr. Zhang Lisheng can be. I’ll make my call afterward.”

“You better be mentally prepared, or otherwise, you’d faint!” Alice pulled Georgina’s hand as she spoke. The two girls giggled on the fine beach as they ran towards the Beetle under the palm tree in the distance.

When the girls were running towards the car, Zhang Lisheng had already walked out of the car. He was standing under the shade of the palm, admiring the beautiful scenery of Hawaii.

“Mr. Lisheng, this is my best friend, Georgina. She is friends with Tina as well.” Climbing up the curb, Alice introduced the young man and the mixed-race girl to each other. “Georgina, this is Tina’s boyfriend, Mr. Zhang Lisheng.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Georgina.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Lisheng. Just call me Georgina.”

“You can call me Lisheng if you want.”

The two people who just met greeted each other dryly. Georgina did not think that Zhang Lisheng was as arrogant as described by Alice. It was just that he was somewhat introverted and not that friendly towards the others.

However, since she had already agreed to help her best friend play a joke on this skinny young man in front of them, Georgina did not advise Alice anymore. After all, her best friend merely wanted to use a few innocuous mischiefs to vent out her annoyance. On top of that, she could also use this opportunity to camp with her boyfriend so why not right?

After making a call to her father who was at work, informing him that she would go camping overnight at the volcanic area together with two other girls, Alice and Bonnie, she managed to obtain his permission without surprise after Alice testified on the spot for her. Then, Georgina called her boyfriend afterward and asked him to drive his bus to look for his friends before coming where she was to gather with her.

Watching the girl making two calls, Zhang Lisheng who was by the side made a casual remark, “It’s completely inconceivable in New York for a kid below 20 years old to get permission from their parents to camp overnight outdoors. Hawaii is indeed a free place.”

“Listen, he’s mocking us again!”

“Why do I feel like he’s using an envious tone instead?”

“That’s your misconception, dear. This person is really despicable.”

The two girls ignored the young man and whispered to each other by themselves as they started to chitchat, until an old minibus painted with exaggerated waves, beaches and bikini girls gradually made its way down the road staggeringly towards them before stopping a few meters beside them.