It was a warm Sunday morning. The Halliwell sisters had gotten up early to prepare for a day at the park. Piper was in the kitchen, whipping up a great picnic lunch for everyone. Prue was packing the picnic basket and also sipping a mug of strong coffee. Phoebe, as usual, was working out on her Slam man.

"Phoebe, give that guy a break. Help us with the preparation, will ya?" Piper said.

"Coming!" Phoebe yelled back.

All three of them were so engrossed in their own duty that none of them noticed a tall, lanky guy walk through the wall. The man watched the sisters go about doing their work. A smile formed on his face. He focused his gaze on Piper and smiled with content. After a few minutes, he reckoned it was appropriate for him to greet the sisters.

"Good morning. How's everyone?" he said in a cheerful tone.

All three of them were shocked. Prue dropped her mug, Piper cut her finger and Phoebe just stood there, dazed. The man and the three sisters stood in a circle, not saying anything.

"Mark. What a pleasant surprise! I thought you were." Piper stuttered.

"Dead? In the nether world?" the man finished off Piper's sentence.

Piper could only nod. Prue and Phoebe were still in a blank state.

When everyone had calmed down, they welcomed Mark to their house and sat round the dining table to chat. The sisters had cancelled their picnic trip and decided to stay home to entertain their friend.

"So, Mark, how have you been?" Prue asked.

"I'm fine. At least I'm not at the eighteenth level of hell," Mark stated, seeming quite grateful.

"Eighteenth level of hell?" Prue repeated.

"Yup. It's a place of torture, a place where the bad people are sent to. I think it's what some call the Eternal Pit of Pain," Mark said.

"Creepy," Phoebe muttered.

"If you're not at the eighteenth level of hell, where are you?" Piper probed.

"I'm in a normal place where spirits go to. The Chinese call it the nether world."

"What brings you here?" Phoebe asked.

"It's the seventh lunar month, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival. The gates to the nether world is open on the first day of the month and the spirits are allowed to go to the mortal world to visit their family," Mark explained.

"Including those baddies?" Phoebe asked in a child-like voice.

"I hope they're not out too. If so, the Charmed ones have a busy month ahead," Prue said half-jokingly.

"Only those who had a good record in there. But, some would sneak out and I think Wong is amongst them. I heard he's going to seek revenge on that Inspector who shot him. That's one of the reason I'm here," Mark said, worriedly.

"Oh no! That means Andy is in trouble. I had better warn him," Prue said anxiously.

Prue left the table that instant and headed straight for the phone. She punched Andy home number and told him that she needed to see him immediately.

When the couple met at the usual place, Prue told him what Mark had said about Wong earlier on and warned him about the danger he is in. She had even suggested Andy staying over at the manor for the time being.

"Prue, I'm a big boy now. I can take care of myself. I don't see a need for me to stay over at the manor," Andy said.

"I can't afford to lose you another time, Andy. I love you too much to see you leave again. Please promise me that you'll be careful in everything that you do," Prue pleaded.

"Okay, you have my word," Andy gave in.

When Andy sent Prue home, Prue invited him into the manor for a drink. The couple was greeted by Piper, Phoebe and Mark, of course Andy can't see him. Andy greeted the sisters and were told about Mark's presence.

"Hi Mark," Andy greeted the invisible Mark, as though he's talking into the air.

"Erm, Mark, is there any way for Andy to see you? I mean, can you make yourself visible to mortals?" Prue enquired.

"Actually, there's a way. My mother used to tell me that if one should rub his eyes with a certain type of leaf that has been dabbed with water, he would be able to see any spirits floating around the room," Mark replied. "But, I can't remember what it is."

"Maybe we can ask your mother," Phoebe suggested.

"No need for that," Piper mumbled from between a stack of papers. "I've got it."

"Pardon me, Piper?" Prue blurted.

"Mark, remember the stack of recipes that your grandfather left you? Those that you gave to me?" Piper queried.

Mark could only nod.

"Well, I thought I could find something in this stack. And erm, there's a little note in between that states how to make a spirit visible to a mortal. Exactly the way you described earlier on. Also, it also states the type of leaf to be used," Piper explained.

"Great! Where can we get it?" Prue asked.

"I think I have it in the kitchen," Piper stood up as she said. "Found it!"

The sisters followed Mark's instructions and within seconds, Andy could see Mark standing right in front of him. Initially, Andy had a fright, but got used to the situation soon enough.

"We've been discussing about my murder case when Prue left to meet you and we've come to a conclusion that Wong not only wants revenge on Andy, but also on the three of you," Mark said.

"Why is Wong coming after us too?" Prue questioned.

"Because we were the ones who unmasked him, and somehow leading him to be surrounded by the cops and had him shot by Andy," Phoebe explained.

"Great!" Prue muttered, sarcastically.

"Is there any way for us to destroy Wong's spirit?" Andy spoke up.

"Maybe there's a spell in the Book of Shadows that can help us," Piper said, with a tinge of hope and enthusiasm in it.

And so, the group of five went up to the attic. The sisters gathered round the Book, flipping through the pages. While the trio was doing that, Mark and Andy had a little talk. One of the topic of the conversation was how Mark was killed, how he managed to seek the help from the sisters and how they managed to track and finally kill Wong in the end. While in the midst of this, Mark paused for a moment before saying, "Andy, you're not the only one Wong is after."

This caught the sisters' attention.

"What do you mean?" Piper asked.

"Remember, at that moment, we, meaning the three of you and I, were the ones who exposed him. We took a photo of him and sent the pictures to Andy?" Mark did a review with them.

"Oh yah! I remember now. We were the ones who had him surrounded by the cops," Piper recalled.

"Well, it's not totally our fault!" Phoebe rebutted. "He kidnapped Piper. We were there not to kill him or to lead him into some kind of trap."

"But, if we had not taken a shot of him, he wouldn't have kidnapped Piper," Mark reasoned.

"Whatever the situation is," Prue cut in. "Since Andy is with us, we still have to fight this vengeful spirit whether or not it's our fault that he got killed."

The group agreed. The sisters three went back to the Book of Shadows while Andy and Mark just stood in silence behind them.

After an hour of flipping and searching, the sisters found nothing. Suddenly, the pages of the Book started flipping on its own.

"Wow! Does this happen all the time?" Andy asked, amazed.

"Most of the time," Prue replied. "It's either Mom or Grams who is behind this. They are always there to help us when we need help."

"Thanks Mom, thanks Grams," Piper said, gratefully.

The five of them gathered round the stand that held the Book of Shadows and Andy read out-loud, "How to call a spirit from the nether world."

"What has that got to do with getting rid of that Wong?" Phoebe pondered aloud.

"Beats me," Prue answered. "Do you have any idea what this means, Mark?"

"I don't know," came the reply.

The group just stood there for a minute or so, when Mark said loudly, "I've got it!" All the other four pairs of eyes were tuned to him.

"My mother once told me that we could invite these very high-ranking constables of the nether world up to this dimension. They're called Horse-head and Cow-face," Mark explained.

"Horse-head and Cow-face? What weird names," Piper interrupted.

"Yes, Horse-head and Cow-face. This is the direct translation of their names from mandarin. One has the head of the horse and the body of a human, while the other has the head of the cow and the body of a human. Something like the Sphinx. Anyway, they are were righteous and they help rid the mortal world of evil beings. So, I guess the spell is to invite them up to help up capture Wong," Mark finished up with his explanation, with a sense of pride.

Just as Mark finished his explanation, a strong gust of wind blew into the attic. Things in the attic started flying across the room. Lamps were knocked off the table. The old sofa set turned over. All, except the stand that was holding the Book of Shadows were blown off from their positions. The sisters and Andy had to hold on to keep their balance.

"Wong's here," Mark announced when the wind stopped.

True enough, a translucent figure of a man floated into the attic.

"You shall pay for my death!" Wong shouted out angrily as he pointed his fingers towards Andy and the Charmed ones. Wong picked up a lamp from the floor and hurled it towards them. Prue reacted quickly. With a flick of her fingers, she sent the lamp flying the other direction. The lamp flew back towards Wong, but went through him and crashed onto the wall.

"Piper! Freeze him!" Phoebe yelled, in a frantic manner. Piper flung her arms into the air and everything froze, including Mark and Andy.

Together, the Charmed one recited the incantation. A ray of bright, eye-piercing light shone into the attic and two figures appeared in the room. One with a horse head, the other with a cow head.

As soon as the two constables arrived, time went back to ticking and everything unfroze. The constables walked briskly forward and caught hold of Wong, unaware. Before disappearing out of the room, both said something in Mandarin and waved.

As soon as they left, Andy asked, "What did they say?"

"They said thanks and told me to enjoy my stay in the mortal world and that they would see me back in the nether world at the end of the month," Mark translated.

"Back at the end of the month?" Piper asked, confused. "I thought you were back for good."

"Nope. I'm back for the month because this is the seventh lunar month and all ghosts or as you call them, spirits, are allowed to go back to the mortal world. This is known as the Hungry Ghost Festival," Mark explained.

"Why is it called the Hungry Ghost Festival?" Phoebe asked.

"Because the ghosts are usually very hungry after a year in the nether world. They have no food down there, unless their kin or friends up here offer them food. Many of them only offer them food during this month when they arrive in the mortal world. Lucky for me, my mother always offers food in front of the altar to my dad and me. That's why I don't come here as a hungry ghost," Mark explained.

"Could you tell us more about this event?" Prue asked.

"Sure!"

With that, the group left the attic, into the kitchen. Mark described the event to his very best over coffee in the kitchen.

Author's note: Sorry guys, I know some of you might be hoping for some real magic and stuff like that. But, my theme is to relate more of the Chinese traditions carried out by the Buddhists and Taoists. My apologies to all!