The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 722: Holiday Gift

Then came Wang Weiyan’s wail. “I don’t wanna stay here. I hate it here...wah...”

She was too young to understand the danger of the world of awakeners. All she knew was that Mom had suddenly taken her to a dark room and kept her there for a long time. Then she was moved to another bigger room with no window or sunlight and got locked up again.

She wanted to buy balloons in a park, ride a small train in a shopping mall, and have an ice cream cone at the Golden Arch. Even her only friend here, Little Tian, didn’t have time for her. He kept his eyes closed and didn’t move.

Wang Weiyan had had enough. What she had been bottling up burst out at once.

“Be good, Yanyan. Just wait a little longer. Just wait a few more days...” Sha Ye could only offer words of reassurance.

Although the basement was soundproofed, Qing Ling still didn’t want Wang Weiyan to be too loud. After all, tens of thousands of visitors were walking right above them.

Qing Ling went up to her and said coldly, “Stop crying.”

“I won’t! I hate it here! I wanna go out! I wanna go home...” Wang Weiyan cried even louder.

Sha Ye apologized to everyone while coaxing her daughter. After a few seconds of silence, Qing Ling suddenly knelt beside Wang Weiyan and said, “I’ll show you a magic trick.”

Wang Weiyan immediately stopped crying. Her eyes widened in curiosity. “What...what magic...?”

Expression still impassive, Qing Ling picked up a Black Gold dart. “Here. Don’t blink.”

The next second, the Black Gold dart disappeared from Qing Ling’s hand.

“Oh!” Yanyan couldn’t believe it. She held onto Qing Ling’s hand and flipped it around, looking thoroughly but finding nothing. “Where did it go?”

“It’s in your pocket,” said Qing Ling.

Wang Weiyan didn’t believe it. She quickly reached into the pocket of her dress, and indeed, there was a Black Gold dart there. “Whoa, you’re great, Sister!”

Worried that Wang Weiyan would get hurt—and that she might take the weapon for herself—Qing Ling quickly took the dart back.

“You like taking trains?” Qing Ling asked.

“Yeah!”

“Do you want to ski?”

“Yeah!” Yanyan knew what it was. She had seen it in cartoons.

With a lift of her hand, Qing Ling moved her two Black Gold blades to Yanyan’s feet. “Step on them.”

Yanyan’s swollen eyes lit up with pleasant surprise. She happily stepped onto the blades, which moved forward slowly like skis.

“Hahaha, I’m skiing...” Yanyan extended her hands as she wobbled forward, forgetting her earlier outburst.

It was a surprising sight to everyone.

Gao Yang smothered a laugh. He had thought Qing Ling would stop Yanyan from crying with a threatening glare and her inherent presence like she did with Nainai, but Qing Ling was surprisingly gentle with a kid.

“Captain.” Chen Ying now opted to call Gao Yang her captain. She came over with Little Tian in her arms. “Little Tian’s too tired. May he rest for a while?”

The boy was pale, and there was blood under his nostrils that hadn’t been wiped fully.

Although he rested for a minute every time after using Sensory for three minutes, it was still too hard for Little Tian to use his Talent at such intensity for a long stretch. He was seven years old, at the end of the day.

Gao Yang nodded. “I’ll take over. Let him have a good sleep.”

Chen Ying picked Little Tian up onto a mattress, tucking him under a blanket. Sitting beside him, she stroked his cool forehead, aching.

Little Tian slowly opened his eyes, saying tiredly and guiltily, “I’m sorry, Sister...”

“Nonsense! You did a great job! Leave the rest to Brother Gao Yang. Have a good sleep.”

Little Tian blinked.

Chen Ying’s voice softened. “We’ll be out of here in a few days. We’ll go abroad where there are no enemies. Your birthday is coming up soon. We’ll go to the D City Park then.”

“Yeah...” Little Tain’s lips curled into a small smile. He closed his eyes, his breathing soon evening out.

...

Northbound Funeral Home, January 1st, 2019.

It was night. Vermilion Bird was still working in the funeral home. Afterward, she felt a little tired and decided to rest in the bedroom in her office.

It was still quite early. She sat on the sofa while drinking milk tea, watching the late-night celebration for the new year. When the doorbell rang, she became alerted. Who would visit her at this time?

She didn’t think it would be dangerous, though. An enemy wasn’t going to ring the doorbell so politely.

Vermilion Bird opened the door to find Raven Shark outside. Wearing a T-shirt, he was soaked with water dripping from his pale chin, his unfocused eyes downcast toward Vermilion Bird’s chest.

Vermilion Bird forewent reminding him of the proper etiquette and asked immediately, “You found it?”

Raven Shark nodded.

“Let’s talk inside.”

Raven Shark entered the room. Vermilion Bird fetched him a dry towel. He dried his hair with one hand while taking out a soaked, wrinkly photo with his other hand. In the photo was a pretty high school girl—Gao Yang’s sister, Gao Xinxin.

“My friend...saw her.”

“Are you sure?” Vermilion Bird asked.

Raven Shark nodded.

“Where was it?”

“North Harvest.”

So it was the Island Nation.

At first, the Qilin Guild focused the search within Li City. Not long ago, Yan Liang ordered an expansion of the range of search to include the other isolated islands.

Raven Shark was in charge of Island Nation. He could follow the cruise ships departing from the harbor along the official channel, making it to Island Nation.

North Harvest was a small bay town. No resident could stay out of the detection of Raven Shark’s friends unless they intentionally stayed far away from the coast the whole time.

Raven Shark didn’t take his phone when he went underwater. As soon as he got the news on Gao Xinxin, he sought out Vermilion Bird.

Vermilion Bird was just about to say something when she decided otherwise. “Well done. Go get some rest.”

Raven Shark’s gaze was still on her chest. “Goodbye, Sister Vermilion Bird.”

“Goodbye.”

The door shut. Vermilion Bird made a call to Qilin. The man had woken up for a few days and taken over the matters of the Guild.

“Happy New Year,” Qilin said when he picked up.

“Happy New Year.” Vermilion Bird got right to the point. “Raven Shark found Gao Xinxin.”

“Where is she?”

“I’ll go to you. We’ll talk in person.”

“Alright. I’m at the White Lake Hotel.” Qilin paused before continuing, his voice suggesting a smile. “That’s the best holiday gift.”

Vermilion Bird hung up and put on a coat and a scarf before leaving. As soon as the door shut, Chaos Reflection slowly appeared in the mirror in the living room. He emerged in a white flash with a cautious expression.

He took out his phone and made a call to Yan Liang, speaking quietly.

“Elder Yan Liang, Elder Vermilion Bird found Gao Xinxin... Yeah, she didn’t keep it to herself. She’s going to Guildmaster Qilin now... Okay, yeah... I’ll keep watching her...”