The Creatures That We Are

The tour guide was good at her job. It was clear that this was far from her first tour. Walking up to the shrine, she clapped her hands a few times before holding them over her head, bowing slightly and making a wish with her eyes closed.

Then she reached out to pull the thick hemp rope hanging from the beam with her right hand. A clear, lilting sound came from the bell on top.

“After making a wish, pull the rope, and that’ll be the end of the whole process. If your wish does come true, remember to pay it back.”

The other two couples started doing the same without wait. Gao Yang and Qing Ling followed suit, too.

Gao Yang didn’t believe in such things, but he was here as a tourist, and he had to play the part. Thus, he pretended to be praying, when in truth he wasn’t thinking about anything.

About ten seconds later, he opened his eyes to see Qing Ling’s hands still pressed together, her eyes closed, like she was actually making a wish.

A stream of clear sunlight lit her from above, shining on her thick dark lashes. She blinked, and her lashes fluttered, the splattering of light dancing.

Breeze swept across the mountain and rustled her bang. At that moment, she looked gentle and sentimental in a youthful way.

After making a wish, she tugged at the hemp rope by her side.

Ring.

Only after that did she realize that Gao Yang was glancing sideways at her. She hurriedly averted her eyes.

“Little Qing Ling?” Gao Yang noticed the shift.

“Ahem.” Little Qing Ling fake coughed and explained, “Sister thinks it’s a bother, so she had me deal with the situation.”

That was what Qing Ling would do.

Gao Yang asked casually, “Have you made a wish?”

“We’re here already. Might as well.” Qing Ling shrugged and spoke the doctrine of everyone back home.

“What wish did you make?”

Little Qing Ling glared at him. “Why are you getting nosier and nosier?” 

Gao Yang smiled awkwardly at the jab. Just when he was going to say something, his face darkened.

He had a strong feeling that someone was staring at him, and it was someone powerful.

He whirled around. There was no one and nothing behind him save for the old pine tree covered in ribbons for good wishes, the branches and ribbons swaying in the wind.

“What’s wrong?” Little Qing Ling asked, noticing his reaction.

Gao Yang stared at the tree, his thoughts straying. It wasn’t an overreaction. There had been someone standing by the tree.

Gao Yang quietly accessed his system, checking and re-checking. His Luck points hadn’t spiked.

He broke out of his thoughts and turned to Little Qing Ling. “Stick close to me and don’t go on your own.”

“Got it.” Little Qing Ling didn’t ask why. She went up to him and held his arm like a couple would.

...

Gao Yang and Little Qing Ling followed the tour guide around the whole day, taking photos and buying souvenirs as they visited shrines at different scales and listened to mythical stories told by the tour guide. However, they didn’t find anything about a white phoenix altar.

Eight o’clock in the evening, Gao Yang and Little Qing Ling took a train back to the hot spring hotel.

After about half an hour, Officer Huang and Heavenly Dog returned too. They reached the spot halfway up the mountain where most people took pictures and posted them to their social media, which was also the highest point a tourist was allowed to go.

During their free time, Officer Huang went around talking to people and gathering information, while Heavenly Dog secretly used Fly to look around the top of the mountain. He didn’t find anything resembling an altar.

The four of them spent a whole day investigating, feeling exhausted and a little dispirited.

The owner of the hotel prepared sushi for them as dinner. While they ate, the owner urged them to try the outdoor hot spring provided by the hotel, saying that it could soothe their tired body and promote health and beauty.

Officer Huang wasn’t in the mood, but Gao Yang didn’t want him to stay in the room and think himself into a corner, so he dragged him to the hot spring.

The outdoor hot spring was in the backyard of the hotel, divided into the women’s part and the men’s part.

Gao Yang, Heavenly Dog, and Officer Huang took off their clothes in the changing room and put a white towel around their waists. Wearing geta sandals, they entered the hot spring with a small wooden basin where they put their towels and phones.

The hot spring wasn’t large. It was surrounded by bamboo, a thick screen lining one side of the hot spring. Judging by the layout, the other side must be the women’s hot spring.

In other words, they actually shared the same pool.

The four of them monopolized the hot spring, perhaps due to it being off season. The three men chatted in their mother tongue while relaxing in the hot spring. During the time, Gao Yang called Vermilion Bird again and finally got some good news: the strange energy inside Edmond’s body had more or less dispersed, and she estimated that she would be able to question the body around midnight.

Officer Huang called Chen Ying too, hoping that she would let Little Tian come to the Island Nation to search around with Sensory.

Chen Ying denied the request, arguing that Little Tian’s Sensory wasn’t a magic bullet. He had managed to track down Tails easily only because it hadn’t been long since Tails made their move, and the general direction they had escaped in was identified. Besides, there were seven of them, making them a big target.

The life monster, on the other hand, was on its own. It would be nigh impossible to search across the whole Island Nation and find it. Moreover, the life monster must have the ability to conceal its energy and presence, or something as powerful as a life monster would’ve been discovered by awakeners long ago.

There was another reason: under Surnamed Li’s direct order, Chen Ying was told to not help Gao Yang and the other three for the moment.

That made Gao Yang think. It was clear that Qilin had reached an agreement with Surnamed Li.

Gao Yang still didn’t understand why Qilin wouldn’t send help.

“What the hell?! Are you just gonna let us die?” Officer Huang was furious. “We’re very likely facing...” He managed to swallow the word “life monsters”.

“I’m sorry. I have to follow orders.” Chen Ying sounded guilty.

Officer Huang stopped wasting his breath and hung up. Disappointed, he said, “Turns out no one can be depended on when it matters. We only have ourselves.”

“Gao Yang.”

Qing Ling’s voice came from the other side of the screen.

“Yes?”

Gao Yang was a little embarrassed. They were all naked in the same hot spring.

“Come over for a sec.”

“Huh?” Gao Yang thought he had heard wrong. “Now?”

“Yes, come here.” Qing Ling wasn’t in the mood to joke.

“That’s...inappropriate, right?”

“There’s no one else here but me.”

Wait, that’s not the point! You’re missing the point!

“Ahem.” Officer Huang tugged at his lips resignedly. “Although this really isn’t the right time, you and Qing Ling are young. It’s a rare chance and a rare occasion for you to have some fun. Don’t mind me.”

“And me.” Heavenly Dog rested his hands on the side of the hot spring, a wet towel placed on his face.

“No! We aren’t having fun. And I’m not in the mood—no, that’s not right! We aren’t a thing...”

“Hurry!” Qing Ling was getting inpatient. “It’s business.”

“Alright.” Gao Yang took a deep breath and teleported through the screen, getting into the women’s hot spring. Since he had teleported over while bending low, he reached the other side with the water submerging him from chest down. With an added person suddenly showing up, though, Qing Ling still got splashed in the face.

She was submerged in the hot spring to her collarbones, her hair tied up and her expression cool. Faint red dusted her fair skin due to the heat of the hot spring. Her neck was covered in sweat with a few black strands of hair sticking to it.

She stared at Gao Yang seriously. It seemed that she had something to say.