The Creatures that We Are

“Ke Yo!”

Vermilion Bird’s voice rang in the corridor. She quickly caught up to Ke Yo and Yan Liang, who turned around.

“I’d like to talk to Ke Yo in private, Elder Yan Liang.”

Yan Liang glanced at Ke Yo. She nodded at him.

Without another word, Yan Liang turned to leave.

Ke Yo looked at Vermilion Bird with the same smile. “What is it, Elder Vermilion Bird?”

Vermilion Bird didn’t speak until Yan Liang entered the elevator. “What’s going on, Ke Yo?”

“I’m sorry, Elder Vermilion Bird.” Ke Yo gave Vermilion Bird an apologetic smile, but her eyes said otherwise. “I lied to you, but it was for your own good, too.”

“Did your memories come back?”

“Gao Yang tried to recruit you. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Ke Yo smiled rather than saying anything.

“You didn’t tell me, but you told Yan Liang?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been around me and One Stone the past few days. When did you ever have the time to meet Yan Liang?”

“We didn’t meet in person.” Ke Yo smiled and shook her phone at her. “There’s contact information for every member of the Guild on my phone. I sent Elder Yan Liang an encoded message, and he responded. We talked for a day on the phone to come up with a plan.”

Vermilion Bird hid her surprise. How bold could Yan Liang be? He didn’t even talk to Ke Yo in person. Wasn’t he worried that Ke Yo was lying to him? No, he wouldn’t lose anything even if Ke Yo was lying, would he?

Vermilion Bird’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “So you’ve always considered me a springboard.”

Ke Yo dropped her fake smile, her eyes turning cold. “I’ll be frank with you, Sister Xia. I’ll tell you my honest thoughts.”

Vermilion Bird stared at her.

“I know you saw me as more than a mere subordinate. You treated me as a friend and even family. You genuinely wanted to take care of me, just like how you take care of everyone else on the team.”

“You were just like Edmond. You’re kind, and you’re both givers. However, you don’t know that sometimes, your kindness can be burdensome to others, shining light on the dark corners of another’s heart.”

“Not all bugs appreciate it when the sun shines on them. Some may actually prefer the dark ditches.”

Vermilion Bird stayed silent.

This time, Ke Yo’s smile was arrogant and taunting. “The only one who can take care of me in this world is myself.”

“Edmond wanted me to live, and I will. Of course I will.”

“I’ll prove to that fool that even without him, I’ll be just fine.”

“This demonstration of loyalty to Qilin is only the first step. I’ll get to laugh in the end as long as I have enough leverage. It doesn’t matter who I’m serving.”

For a moment, Ke Yo seemed to have reverted to the girl with an innocent look and bashful gaze. She chuckled. “Aren’t you curious about what lies on the other side of the Gates? I’m really curious, so I want to survive until the end. Haha.”

Vermilion Bird was stunned. Her shock and ire had turned into a great sense of defeat. She had thought she knew people and how they worked, and she earned others’ goodwill by treating them genuinely.

However, the girl had fooled and used her, leading her around.

“It seems that you’ve recovered all of your memory.” Vermilion Bird sneered.

Ke Yo neither admitted nor denied it. She gave her another fake smile. “Good night, Elder Vermilion Bird.”

…

December 23rd, one o’clock in the morning.

Li River Community, Shanqing District.

Inside one of the villas, Qing Ling was sleeping soundly on the bed of the second-floor bedroom. The blood on her face had been wiped clean, and her body had regained color and warmth.

The light was off. The moonlight cut a sharp triangular shape across the blanket covering Qing Ling’s chest, reaching the floor beneath Gao Yang’s feet.

Gao Yang sat on a chair, his eyes closed as he rested.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, sensing something.

Two seconds later, Qing Ling’s eyelashes fluttered. She parted her lips but couldn’t make a sound.

Gao Yang rushed to her and leaned in. “Qing Ling?”

She slowly opened her eyes, which were still hazy with exhaustion and weakness.

She opened her mouth again and said hoarsely, “Water…”

Gao Yang picked up the energy drink he had prepared beforehand, twisting the cap off and feeding her water with a hand propping her up.

Qing Ling took two careful sips. She recovered some strength, and her mind gradually cleared.

Then she took the bottle from Gao Yang and started gulping down the energy drink with her head tipped up until she finished it. Only then did she come back properly.

Gao Yang watched while she drank. A genuine burst of joy filled his chest.

Noticing his gaze, Qing Ling frowned. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing.”

“Anyone dead?”

Gao Yang shook his head. “Both you and Lithe Snake died but came back.”

“Yeah.” Qing Ling nodded. It was an acceptable outcome for her.

Gao Yang said with guilt, “Qing Ling, I’m sorry…”

“Don’t,” Qing Ling cut him off coldly. “I’m responsible for my own life, not you. If you had been the one to die, I wouldn’t have apologized, either.”

Gao Yang smiled faintly after a pause. “I understand.”

A few seconds later, he asked, “Qing Ling, wasn’t your heart on the left? How did it get moved to the right? Was it Dr. Jia?”

Qing Ling nodded. She explained after a quiet moment, “Dr. Jia gave me two options: regenerate my original arm, or give me a prosthetic.”

“The mechanical prosthetic’s artificial nerves would go deep into the chest from the stomp of my left shoulder, which could obstruct my heart. That was why he moved my heart to the right. But then the first option succeeded instead.”

“Move your heart? Is that possible?” Gao Yang was surprised, but then he remembered a Talent. “Organ Puzzle?”

Organ Puzzle, serial number 164, Life-type. Allow one to move their organs around at will and slightly enhance the recovering and regeneration power of the internal organs.

According to Lithe Snake’s intel, the Talent was owned by Donxote from the third team of the Hundred Rivers Union, led by Chen Ying.

Qing Ling nodded slightly. “Dr. Jia had been using Donxote’s blood and vital energy to make Medicine O, which permanently moves an organ. He only made the medicine to solve the problem of his parrot defecating whenever and wherever. Parrots have a straight large intestine.”

Gao Yang wasn’t sure what to say. It was a very Dr. Jia thing to do.

Qing Ling rested for a moment before continuing, “After taking Medicine O, though, the shifted internal organ cannot be moved again. Due to the shortcoming, the medicine is never popularized.”

Gao Yang suddenly remembered. “Did the former Black Tortoise use Medicine O, too?”

“I didn’t ask,” said Qing Ling. “But Dr. Jia did say that he knew Black Tortoise from way back, and it was Black Tortoise who introduced Hyena to him.”

Gao Yang nodded.

What he didn’t know was that Qing Ling had survived not only because of Medicine O, but also because of her last-minute reaction to save herself.

When her Black Gold weapons suddenly disappeared, she realized that Yan Liang’s ability distorted the space, so she shifted herself to the right for an inch right before the deadly attack hit.

As a result, Heartstealer hit her an inch to the left and took her left lung and the blood vessels of her left atrium.

That, of course, was still enough to kill her.

When she hit the ground, she struggled to look for Gao Yang so that she could tell him what Yan Liang’s attack was, helping him avoid the danger. Unfortunately, death came to her too quickly for her to form a sentence. She fell into a deep darkness.

Once Qing Ling got some water and energy into her, sleep came to her in waves. She wanted another rest.

When she looked down, she realized suddenly that she had been changed into clean pajamas; of course, her undergarments hadn’t been replaced.

She nervously looked up and grabbed Gao Yang’s hand. “Who did this?”

Houseau3's Thoughts

Hm I wonder if there's something to Dr. Jia and the former Black Tortoise's history.

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