The Creatures that We Are

“Watch that anime?” Ke Yo asked.

One Stone got excited. “Yeah!”

“I watched two episodes. I had a good sleep,” Ke Yo said honestly.

“How…how did you fall asleep?” One Stone went hard on the massage as her emotion surged.

“Aghhhh, easy…” Ke Yo cried out again. “But, but the story’s boring. A group of men run together every day. There’s no plot…”

“Come on! All the fresh bod…boys running together, living together, eating together, having baths together, sweating together, encouraging each other, running toward the same dream… Can you not get into the engaging and wonderful bromance?”

Ke Yo shook her head.

“Oh, you poor girl!” One Stone disapproved and pitied her. Just when she was going to give another spiel, the door opened.

Vermilion Bird entered with three cups of milk tea. She had caught snippets of their conversation at the door, and she complained, “I told you to treat her health problems, One Stone, not for you to flaunt your interest and corrupt the girl.”

“Sister Xia!” One Stone shot back. “Again, your definition of love is too limited! True love transcends chromosomes and sexes…”

“Alright, alright.” Vermilion Bird wasn’t interested in another word vomit from her. She turned to Ke Yo. “So, does the massage work?”

Ke Yo shook her head.

During the past two days, One Stone had been trying all kinds of therapies on her to stimulate her memory, but to no result.

Vermilion Bird wasn’t surprised. According to what they knew about life monsters, they were powerful and could even directly manipulate and brainwash all wanderers on the isolated islands through the altars. It would be unlikely for Ke Yo to recover the memories wiped by a life monster’s energy.

The three of them sat down and chatted as they drank milk tea.

Soon, Vermilion Bird was hit with the urge to smoke, and she went to the balcony. The warm sunlight of the winter shone on her face. The wind lifted her fringe as she quietly smoked, eyes narrowed. She was scanning the neighborhood at the same time.

Across the road was an apartment building of single rooms. On the balconies facing the White Lake Hotel, clothes and blankets were hung to be dried.

A big golden retriever lay on one of the balconies. Its owner had to work during the day. Worried that the dog would tear the flat apart, it was kept on the balcony. It barked all the time due to boredom, which was annoying.

It was quiet today, though. Sitting upright, it lifted its head slightly and enjoyed the afternoon sun.

…

Meanwhile, on the balcony, an invisible hand was scratching the golden retriever’s chin.

“Hehe, what a good boy,” Can said.

“Quiet,” Lithe Snake responded.

Can lowered her voice further. “We’re so far away. She’s not gonna hear us, is she?”

“She can’t hear us, but it’s a bad habit.”

Can accepted the criticism. “You’re right. It’s important to cultivate good habits.”

A few seconds later, Can spoke up again, “Brother Lithe Snake, Vermilion Bird let Ke Yo out and lived with her. Is she trying to recruit Ke Yo?”

“What else can it be?” Lithe Snake scoffed. “Just making friends?”

Can remembered the Strange Realm she had been put into. “Ke Yo’s ability is quite troublesome.”

“It’s a shame that I don’t have Clairvoyance or Keen Hearing. I can’t hear them.”

“Three women won’t be talking about work at home, Brother Lithe Snake. They should be talking about gossip or men.”

“Do you think everyone’s like you?”

“Hm.” Can stopped talking.

“Let’s end things here today. We risk exposing ourselves if we stay for too long.”

“Little Yellow, be good. We’ll visit you tomorrow.” Her invisible hand stroked the dog’s head.

Woof!

…

December 14th, evening.

Old Fisherman Wharf, upstream of Li River, Xijing District.

By the long abandoned wharf moored a decommissioned small ferry. A fisherman sat on the deck.

He wore an orange windbreaker and a gray fisherman hat, skin tanned and face covered by a bushy beard. The upper part of his face was hidden behind an old-school pair of sunglasses. It was difficult to tell his age. ŖáNƟ𐌱Êᶊ

Sitting on a foldable stool he had brought, he held a black fishing rod; beside him was a foldable plastic bucket filled with water.

The setting sun of a winter evening splashed solemn colors on the Li River, the red washing over the old ferry and the lonesome fisherman.

The water rippled under the ferry.

The fisherman immediately shook and lifted the rod with a whip of his wrist, and the line went taut. He knew a fish had bitten the bait. He continued to raise the rod in his direction, but the fish was stronger than he thought.

He held the rod with both hands, lifting and pulling skillfully.

Splash!

After a tug of war, he managed to reel in the fish. It was a golden carp.

It was large and fat. He had to use both arms to hold it.

The fisherman was beside himself. He had been sitting here the entire afternoon and had gotten nothing. To his pleasant surprise, his first catch was a big one.

He extracted the hook from the fish’s mouth, placing the fish in the foldable water bucket by his side. Water overflowed. The fish was so large that it filled the entire bucket. It whipped its tail around, struggling with all it had.

The fisherman put on the lid of the bucket and zipped it up, cutting its escape route.

He muttered to himself, “What good luck. I’ll make fish hot pot for everyone for dinner.”

His voice was young.

He checked his watch. It was about time.

Soon, the phone in his pocket rang thrice before the call cut off. He checked the Caller ID. It was an unknown number.

He lowered the fishing rod and took off his hat and sunglasses, tearing off the fake beard. It was Gao Yang.

He had chosen to put on disguise rather than have his appearance transformed so that the one he was meeting could recognize him from afar and feel assured.

In ten seconds, his phone rang thrice before going quiet again.

It seemed that the person had confirmed his identity.

Gao Yang put the hat, glasses, and fake beard back on, back to being the fisherman. Energy flashed through his eyes discreetly under the cover of the sunglasses.

One second before he removed his disguise, he had activated Double and Teleportation to hide his real self in the ferry—he couldn’t be a hundred percent certain that the person he was meeting wouldn’t turn against him, shooting him in the head with a sniper rifle.

He was meeting Chen Ying today.

Last night, Nine Frost had arranged for them to meet at the wharf this evening.

They picked the evening rather than the night because the three major organizations and the Nine Scions were closely watching each other, and the core members tended to make their moves during the night, which made it a dangerous time to be out.

Gao Yang was meeting Chen Ying for one thing: to discuss the matter of rooting out the spy in person and exchanging intel.

Nine Frost could very well do all that through Telepathy; it would be a hassle, but much safer and more discreet.

Gao Yang insisted on meeting Chen Ying in person with the excuse of showing his goodwill, but it was a lie.

He had another motive, but he couldn’t tell Nine Frost, or the man would stop him for sure.

Houseau3's Thoughts

I'll advise against leaving your dog on the balcony😂

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