The Creatures that We Are

Chen Ying and Liao Liao went into a small meeting room. They shut the door and each found a seat.

Chen Ying asked, “How did it go?”

Liao Liao smiled wryly. She knew what she was asking. “Sister Ling, Citrus, and Rain River were all quite saddened by Green Tea’s death, and they reacted naturally. At least I hadn’t found anything wrong with them.”

After a pause, she added, “It’s possible that I simply don’t know them well enough. We were practically strangers before my appointment.”

Chen Ying nodded. She was going to follow Nine Frost’s instruction.

She asked, “Outside of your team, do you see anything fishy about the suspects on the other teams?”

“Huh?” Liao Liao didn’t expect Chen Ying to be so blunt. She didn’t want to make enemies here. “I don’t know. I think everyone seems quite normal.”

“That won’t do. You have to give me one suspect,” Chen Ying said half-jokingly.

“I really don’t know, Sister Ying.” Liao Liao laughed bitterly. “If I have to say something, I’ll say anyone can be the spy.”

“What do you mean?” Chen Ying was caught off guard. Liao Liao was smart. She must have a reason for what she said.

“I believe the criteria for suspects are flawed.”

“How so?”

Liao Liao hesitated. “See. You’ve looked into the members Green Tea had come into contact with within three days before his death, but is it possible that it’s not limited to the people he’d come into contact with, but also the objects? It’s known that curses can be applied to Black Gold items.”

“Really?” Chen Ying couldn’t believe that she didn’t know.

“In theory, yes,” Liao Liao said. “You know the Black Gold batteries that store awakeners’ energy, right? By using a Talent on a battery, the awakener’s energy will be stored in it for a long duration.”

Chen Ying nodded. “I know about that. It’s Dr. Jia’s invention.”

“What does that tell us?” Liao Liao extended two fingers. “First, all Talents are energy in essence, including Talents to inflict spiritual curses. Second, Black Gold can temporarily store such energy, and Black Gold batteries, which are made for the purpose in particular, can store the energy for longer and allow for easier access.”

Chen Ying finally put two and two together. “So you’re saying that Dust can apply her curse on a Black Gold item and make Green Tea touch it within a certain period, thus cursing him remotely?”

“That’s a possibility, I’ll say.”

“Yeah, then every female member of the Union can do it.” Chen Ying frowned.

“No, every member can do it.”

“What?” Chen Ying was startled again.

“The Spectre—Fresh Snow, right? She said that she could smell the soul of a woman, but what is a soul?” Liao Liao asked with a smile.

Chen Ying couldn’t answer.

“It’s difficult to pin down. The soul’s gender may differ from the sex of the body. If a man believes himself to be a woman since birth, would the soul smell like a man or a woman? The fact that the Spectre had smelled a woman’s soul doesn’t necessarily mean that the body is female, right?”

Chen Ying’s heart sank. “So there’s no point to the list of suspects. Everyone at the Union may be the spy, including us.”

“I…suppose.”

Liao Liao nodded, already regretting what she said.

Geez, what are you talking about? To not offend anyone, you make up this whole thing, but it makes so much sense that you end up offending everyone!

What about keeping a low profile? Aren’t you supposed to be a lurker? And you wanna survive till the end? Only in your dream!

“Um…Sister Ying. I was just running my mouth. Don’t take me too seriously…” Liao Liao quickly amended.

“No, no.” Chen Ying shook her head. “You make a lot of sense. We could be going in the wrong direction from the very beginning. Perhaps the spy was never on the list.”

She felt a heavy weight in her chest. The Hundred Rivers Union will never know peace as long as Dust remains unidentified. The seed of doubt and distrust has been sowed in everyone’s heart, and what is a union without unity?

Nine Frost must have asked me to talk to Liao Liao because Gao Yang said it. Why? Did Gao Yang realize how flawed his criteria were, and he wanted me to find out through Liao Liao?

No, Gao Yang has never met Liao Liao. And if Gao Yang had realized his mistakes, he could’ve just asked Nine Frost to tell me with Telepathy. There’s no point in going about it in such a roundabout way.

Chen Ying couldn’t untangle her thoughts.

Ding.

Ding.

Liao Liao’s and Chen Ying’s phones rang at the same time. It was an internal message from the Union.

They read it simultaneously.

[Hundred Rivers Union: The Qilin Guild invited representatives from the Union to the Walled City of Ten Dragons to discuss important matters. Team Leader Colorless, Chen Ying, Goldthread, and Liao Liao, get ready. We’re setting out in twenty minutes.]

Chen Ying rose to her feet. “Let’s go.”

“I’m going too?” Liao Liao was surprised.

“Of course. You’re a team leader now.”

“True.” Liao Liao quickly stood up. Then she remembered something. “Do I have to wear a suit, too? But I don’t know how to put on a tie.”

Chen Ying sighed, amused. “I’ll tie it for you on the way. Go get changed.”

…

Second floor of the Black Tortoise Building, Walled City of Ten Dragons, Feiyang District. Five o’clock in the afternoon.

The soft light of the setting sun poured through the open bullet-proof window walls, casting the whole meeting room in bright orange. Hanging on the wall right across from the window walls was the Guild’s banner. The black fabric was sewn with a gold qilin, dignified but delicate.

Under the banner was a rectangular meeting table. Vermilion Bird and the masked Yan Liang took the main seats. Sitting on their left were War Tiger and White Rabbit from the Twelve Zodiac Signs, and sitting on the right were the three team leaders from the Hundred Rivers Union, Colorless, Goldthread, and Chen Ying.

Vermilion Bird was the moderator of the meeting. She placed her clasped hands on the table and explained in an organized manner, “You must all know that Gregor, the unaffiliated awakener, has been taken by the Nine Scions through a ploy. He’s been missing since then. The three organizations must be prepared for this.”

“I was talking to White Rabbit about it.” War Tiger leaned into his chair and crossed his legs. “Gregor’s Talent is Pestilence. It’ll be tricky if he joins the Nine Scions.”

“Agreed.” Colorless nodded.

“But Gregor is a strange character.” Goldthread glanced at War Tiger and Vermilion Bird. “We’ve invited him in a friendly manner many times, and he turned us down. He will not join the Nine Scions after getting taken by them.”

Yan Liang scoffed softly, his voice hoarse from long years. “This is the difference between a formal organization and a team of thugs. We approached both Dr. Jia and Gregor in proper ways, respecting their freedom and will. However, the Nine Scions resorted to kidnapping. How despicable.”

He sighed. “Dr. Jia has a backbone and doesn’t submit to either force or enticement. Thus, the Nine Scions didn’t get what they wanted. However, if Gregor did respond to coercion, the Nine Scions may have gotten him under control. We have to prepare for it.”

“It’s just level 3 Pestilence. Is there a need to panic?” War Tiger played with his gas lighter.

“It’s level 3 now, but it may not stay at level 3.” Yan Liang turned to the three team leaders from the Hundred Rivers Union. “If he gets his hands on the Poison Rune Circuit, he may even reach level 8.”

“I don’t believe anyone…” He scanned the room. “Would like to experience Poison of Hell again.”

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