The Creatures that We Are

Gray Bear and Dr. Jia talked the whole way. Gao Yang caught bits and pieces of their conversation, and outside of the right names being mentioned, Gray Bear might as well be drafting a completely different story. Thanks to him, though, Dr. Jia didn’t get into more conflict with the Spectres.

It was already two in the morning when they left the triangular towers.

Since humans and ghosts didn’t belong together, Spring and the awakeners parted ways after coming to an agreement to keep what happened a secret.

Before they did, War Tiger stubbornly tried to get information on the Godbearer Cult from Spring.

Spring told him that the Spectres had been in contact with Edmond, and now that Edmond was dead, their contact with the Cult was gone too. If the Cult turned to the Spectres again, and the three major organizations made an attractive enough proposal, Spring would consider a collaboration.

Meanwhile, White Dew pulled Gao Yang to the side and reluctantly gave him a postcard with a photo of the desert and the triangular towers. “Fresh Snow spent the whole night writing this to you.”

Gao Yang was touched, but also felt bad for Fresh Snow. It was a short letter, yet it took Fresh Snow the whole night to write it. He could almost picture Fresh Snow leaning over the table and chewing on the pen, trying to string together the words like Gao Yang had when writing an essay as a child.

He looked down at the postcard.

—Sun’s so bright and it’s so hot. I sweat so much and get thirsty all the time. I don’t like deserts. (⊙﹏⊙)

—I don’t like the sun, but I like Gao Yang[1]. Tee-hee. (*^▽^*)

—Gao Yang, I really really really miss you. Do you miss me?

Gao Yang finished reading the letter. He was just about to open his mouth when White Dew passed him a fountain pen without being asked.

Placing the postcard on his left hand, Gao Yang wrote the response.

—I don’t like deserts, either, but I’m glad to run into you.

—You saved me again, Fresh Snow! You’re amazing!

—The trip has come to an end. You should rest well at home.

—I’ll visit you when I have the time and treat you to some tasty food.

He reached out to ruffle Fresh Snow’s little head, folding the postcard and tucking it by her side. The white cat woke up for a moment to hold onto the postcard with her soft paws before falling asleep again.

Cute.

Gao Yang couldn’t help but smile, his gloomy mood taking a slight upturn.

When he raised his head, though, he was immediately met with White Dew’s deadly glare.

He shuddered and pulled his hand back.

“Goodbye.” White Dew turned away with a dark look.

…

After returning to the hotel, Gao Yang and the others had a short meeting without Dr. Jia. They came up with a version of the story they could tell the three organizations. Then Gao Yang called Qilin, giving a detailed report. ℞Ã𐌽Ó𐌱ÊS

Qilin simply said that he understood and told Gao Yang to be careful.

Neither of them mentioned what happened in Island Nation out of unspoken agreement, as if nothing had happened.

They decided to spend a few hours sleeping at the hotel. Then they would catch a flight back to Li City at noon.

To be safe, the seven of them split into three rooms based on their strength so that each room would have enough power to protect themselves. War Tiger stayed with Dr. Jia. Nine Frost, Lithe Snake, and Gray Bear stayed in one room. And Gao Yang and Qing Ling took the last room.

Three o’clock in the morning, Gao Yang and Qing Ling washed up before each claiming a bed.

Gao Yang closed his eyes to rest. Ten minutes passed, and Qing Ling’s breathing still hadn’t evened out. He knew that she was awake.

After a while, he heard a rustle in the dark.

He opened his eyes to see Qing Ling, wearing a silk night robe, rolling to her side with a hand propping her head up and the other hand resting on her thigh. She stared at him with scrutinizing eyes.

“Qing Ling?” Gao Yang asked.

Qing Ling’s wordless response was confirmation enough.

After a moment of silence, she said, “Something’s bothering you.”

Gao Yang paused. He knew he couldn’t hide it from her, just like he always knew if something was bothering Qing Ling.

“Yeah,” Gao Yang admitted.

Qing Ling asked bluntly, “You’ve been acting weird since seeing the murals on the obelisk. What’s going on?”

She was 100% right. Gao Yang sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, Qing Ling, but I can’t.”

“What do you mean?”

Gao Yang thought about it and made an analogy that seemed out of context given their circumstances. “It’s like I discovered a math problem, but only half of it. Thus, I can’t begin to solve it. I want to find the entire problem first before telling you so that you can help me.”

Qing Ling thought for two seconds before saying seriously, “Then tell me the half part.”

“But…”

“I want to help you,” QIng Ling cut him off.

Gao Yang was taken aback, both moved and surprised. Qing Ling wasn’t a nosy person, and it was the first time she was being so proactive about someone else’s problem.

“How about this?” Gao Yang acquiesced. “Once we’re back to Li City tomorrow, come with me to do something, and then I’ll tell you. You should sleep. I’ll just think about it a little more.”

“Alright.”

Qing Ling didn’t press since Gao Yang had relented. She rolled back, and a few minutes later, her breathing evened out. She had fallen asleep.

Lying in the dark, Gao Yang thought for a good while, his heart filled with bleak emotions.

He rolled to the side and looked at Qing Ling, who was sound asleep. Then he slowly closed his eyes.

…

The trip back went smoothly. Dr. Jia went to Li City with War Tiger too, deciding to stay a while.

Eleven o’clock at night, Gao Yang and the others left the Li City Airport. Gao Yang pulled Dr. Jia aside to chat with him for a few minutes, being all secretive.

When they returned to the group, Dr. Jia shook his head, “You’re too cunning, Seven Shadow. You almost dug out all my secrets.”

Gao Yang smiled. “Thanks, Dr. Jia. I owe you one.”

Before getting into the car, Gao Yang thought of something and called out to War Tiger, “Let me borrow fire from you, War Tiger.”

War Tiger paused before quickly catching up, extending his hand for Gao Yang to hold it and replicate Killing Expert.

War Tiger leaned over and smirked. “Since we’re friends, I’ll ask for only 3 jinwu.”

“I’ll pay you later.” Gao Yang smiled wryly. Why did you succumb to your disciple’s bad influence and become stingy like her?

Qing Ling and Gao Yang took the same taxi to Li City University. It was past midnight when they arrived, and Gao Yang took Qing Ling to a malatang stand across from the school gates.

Getting some food into his stomach, Gao Yang suddenly said, “I remember that Chen Ying loves taking baths. On days she doesn’t need to work overtime, she always takes a bath before going to sleep.”

Qing Ling was eating a fish ball with her head lowered. She frowned, not understanding what Gao Yang was on about.

“I’m sure she must be taking a bath now.”

“What are you getting at?” Qing Ling was flabbergasted.

“Let’s put it to a test.” Gao Yang took out his phone and made a call to Chen Ying.

Qing Ling lowered her chopsticks, looking at Gao Yang like he had grown a second head. “Seriously?”

“Of course.” Gao Yang smiled.

The call went through. Gao Yang picked up a piece of green that was just done and asked, “What are you doing?”

“What can I do for you?” Chen Ying asked.

“Are you taking a bath?” Gao Yang affected an urgent tone.

“...I am.” Chen Ying sounded a little awkward.

“Come to the entrance of Li City University right now!”

“What?”

“Hurry! Lives are on the line!” Gao Yang quickly hung up and turned off his phone.

Qing Ling’s face darkened. “Are you out of your mind?”

Gao Yang didn’t explain, but instead waved at the stand owner. “I’d like three bowls of beef offal noodles, sir.”

“A moment!”

After about ten minutes, a small car appeared at a nearby crossroad. It drifted before stopping at the gates of the university.

Chen Ying jumped out of the car. As expected, her hair was damp, and she was wearing only a bathrobe and a pair of slippers, her expression anxious. An ignorant bystander would’ve conjured all kinds of stories in their head when they saw her.

“This way, Chen Ying.”

Across the road, Gao Yang and Qing Ling sat at a malatang stand. Gao Yang waved at Chen Ying.

Chen Ying paused, taking quick steps across the road and going up to Gao Yang, giving the stand owner a wary glance. She asked in a lowered voice, “What’s going on?”

“You’re truly a bath lover. You should be called Princess Bath.” Gao Yang smiled carelessly on purpose and patted the bench on his side. “Have a seat.”

Chen Ying sat down next to him with a dark look on her face.

Gao Yang pointed at a bowl of beef offal noodles. “I ordered this for you. It’d get cold if you came later.”

“This is what you meant by ‘lives are on the line’?” Chen Ying’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah,” Gao Yang said flippantly. “You’ll know how good it is once you have a bite. It’s so tasty. Have it in the morning, and one can die without regret in the evening.”

“You’re insane!” Chen Ying lost her temper and shot to her feet, prepared to leave. There was nothing she hated more than a frivolous person, and whatever goodwill she felt toward him evaporated.

“Chen Ying.” Gao Yang stopped his act. “I’ll stop joking and get to business. Have a seat.”

Chen Ying gave him a questioning glance, calming and sitting back down.

“What is it?”

“Can I trust you?” Gao Yang asked.

Surprised, Chen Ying looked up at the owner of the malatang stand. Since Gao Yang had asked the question so openly, he must have made sure that the owner was a wanderer.

She had been around long enough to hear Gao Yang’s unspoken words, so she asked openly, “Are you trying to recruit me, Elder Seven Shadow?”

Gao Yang was honest with her. “Would you consider it?”

“Do you represent the Qilin Guild,” Chen Ying paused, her voice getting lighter, “Or the Twelve Zodiac Signs?”

“What if I tell you that I’m speaking for myself?”

Chen Ying fell silent, staring down at the steaming beef offal noodles.

“What are you pursuing, Chen Ying?”

“Survival.” Chen Ying didn’t even hesitate before giving the answer. Then, after a moment of bemusement, she added, “If possible, I’d like to live freely with dignity and a sense of security.”

“I’m looking for similar things,” said Gao Yang.

“Same for me.” Qing Ling stopped eating her noodles for long enough to chime in.

“Do you think the three organizations will stick together and fulfill our wishes?” Gao Yang asked.

That struck a chord in Chen Ying.

She had weathered storms with Gao Yang the past few days too, and she did admire him for his character and way of doing things. Pushing reservations aside, she sighed, “To be honest, I’m not feeling optimistic.”

“Allow me to be frank with you.” Gao Yang held her gaze. “Madam Li can’t fulfill your wish, either.”

1. The sun is tai-yang; there’s a bit of a wordplay with Gao Yang. ☜

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