The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 136: Seven Shadow

With one hand on the driving wheel, War Tiger cast the cigarette butt in his other hand out of the window, into the trash can. “Uncle Tiger will send you off to your last day.”

“What?!” Gao Yang was just about to put on his seatbelt. He almost jumped out of the car at the man’s words.

War Tiger laughed. “Don’t worry. That’s not what I meant to say. I mean I’m sending you off on your last day with us.”

“Right.” Gao Yang’s heart was in his throat. His soul almost left his body.

War Tiger started the car and stepped on the accelerator.

The jeep sped through the night. War Tiger said in a low voice, “You told me yesterday that you might have seen Ghost Horse. I went to the cemetery to check his grave today.”

Gao Yang’s eyes glinted. “And?”

“The body’s gone,” War Tiger said with a dark look on his face.

As expected, he hadn’t seen it wrong!

“It seems very likely that Ghost Horse has been brought back to life.” War Tiger glanced at him. “That’s another merit on your record. I really will miss you.”

Gao Yang looked up at the man’s profile as he drove. “There’s a favor I’d like to ask you, Teacher War Tiger.”

“Go on.”

“Both Qing Ling and Officer Huang have saved my life, and they were the ones who guided me into the world of awakeners. We...”

“Alright. Enough with the sentimental stuff, or I will break into tears.” War Tiger raised a hand. “I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to ensure their safety.”

Gao Yang nodded. “Your promise is reassuring.”

War Tiger fished out an almost empty pack of cigarettes and put one in his mouth. “Having a weakness isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can be used against you, but sometimes, it makes you stronger.”

Gao Yang fell into thought.

War Tiger continued, “More importantly, those with weaknesses are less likely to lose their way in their pursuit of their goals.”

“Thank you, Teacher. It’s enlightening.” And Gao Yang was being genuine.

Traffic was smooth this late at night, and War Tiger was able to drive fast. They reached the Qingyang Bridge in no time.

On the other end of the bridge was the Feiyang District, the Qilin Guild’s territory.

Gao Yang was reminded of something. “Teacher War Tiger, how am I supposed to contact you in the future?”

“You don’t. Just do what you have to do.” War Tiger smiled. “Remember, you will be under comprehensive monitoring once you join, and you can’t be too careful until you’ve earned some trust.”

Gao Yang nodded.

“Be patient and accumulate strength without attracting attention. You have to fool yourself in order to fool the Qilin Guild. When the time comes, I’ll find a way to contact you.”

“Understood.”

“And I’d like to make something clear.” War Tiger’s eyes remained fixed on the road ahead, but his gaze turned icy. “You may give up and come back to us, but you will not betray us. If you get tempted by them and turn into a double agent, I won’t let you off the hook. No matter where you go, even the edge of the world, I will find you and kill you. I swear on my honor.”

Gao Yang was prepared for that, yet he still couldn’t help but shudder.

“Of course.” War Tiger broke into a friendly smile. “Little Yang Yang is the best. I’m sure you won’t disappoint me, right?”

“Right. That’s right.” Gao Yang gave him a matching beam.

...

War Tiger parked the car by the ancient-themed walking street and let Gao Yang off. He walked through the boisterous crowd enjoying their night life with his hands in his pockets and his face covered by a cap and a mask. Spotting an opening, he dove into a hidden alleyway and made several turns, entering the Walled City of Ten Dragons. Gao Yang came to an involuntary stop when he walked past the dying tree at the center of the cyberpunk-style plaza.

He could still remember the time he came here to have barbecue with White Rabbit and Wu Dahai like yesterday. It was his first foray into the world of awakeners.

He checked his phone and saw that he had been kicked out of the encoded chat group of the Twelve Zodiac Signs. It was done by White Rabbit.

Not knowing the truth, she must hate his guts now. Gao Yang smiled bitterly and put his phone back in his pocket, walking toward the brightly-lit building on the side. It was the Black Tortoise branch of the Qilin Guild.

Past the revolving door, the front desk was still manned by the two young women dressed in black and white qipao respectively.

“Greetings. This is the Black Tortoise branch of the Qilin Guild. How may we help you?”

“Dark Horse, formerly of the Twelve Zodiac Signs.” Gao Yang took off his mask and did his best to speak in a low, steady voice. “Here to join the Guild.”

“A moment, please.” The woman in black leaned in to check the computer. She got back to him soon, “Ah, that’s right. It is registered in the system already.”

The woman in white took a look and turned back to him with a smile. “Mr. Dark Horse. Congratulations on joining the Qilin Guild. You will be a Protector and the captain of the fifth operations team, under Elder Black Tortoise. You will need a Protector name for onboarding and relevant materials.”

“Protector name?” Gao Yang hadn’t thought about it. “Whatever I want it to be?”

“No, there are naming conventions to follow.” The woman in white smiled. “The name for a Protector consists of two parts. The first is a number, and the second is a natural element, such as tree, grass, flower, forest, wind, fire, ice, thunder, water, flame, earth, gold, wood, light, or shadow.”

Gao Yang blinked. That sounded like how people used to make up guild names in online games.

Gao Yang’s lucky number was seven, and ‘shadow’ would fit his role as someone observing from the dark.

“Seven Shadow,” Gao Yang said.

“Wow, what a great name!” the two women said at the same time, giving him a polite and disingenuous smile.

Gao Yang suspected that they would still praise him even if he named himself ‘Two Walls’[1].

“Please follow me, Protector Seven Shadow...” The woman in black walked out of the front desk to lead the way.

“What? Another dead?”

It was then a man marched out of the lobby while talking loudly into his phone.

Gao Yang gave him a once-over. The man seemed to be about 190 centimeters tall[2], built burly like a bear and densely packed with muscles under the gray T-shirt and jeans. He had a full head of hair and his body was covered in thick hair as well. He also had a bushy beard. From a distance, he looked like a large gray bear.

With his phone in hand, he shouted at the front desk, “Where’s Lithe Snake? Why isn’t he picking up?”

“I’ll contact him for you.” The woman in white immediately took out her phone.

“Forget it.” The man glanced at Gao Yang and narrowed his eyes. “Where did the kid come from?”

“He’s our new...”

“Ah, the new guy!” the man interrupted roughly. “Good. Do you drive? Get the car for me.”

“Oh.” The man turned to leave but turned back when he remembered something. “You got a new code name? You can’t use your old one.”

“Seven Shadow,” Gao Yang responded.

After half a second, the man shouted at the women at the front desk, “What are you two doing?! Why didn’t you explain the rules to him?”

He then patted Gao Yang on the shoulder. “You may not know the rules since you’re new, young man. Let me tell you. You are free to eat whatever you want, but you must not name yourself whatever you want. You ain’t got the right to call yourself Seven Shadow yet. Understand?”

The women at the front desk seemed troubled. “Mr. Gray Bear, you may not know...”

So he is called Gray Bear. Gao Yang almost laughed.

“I know all I need to know!” Gray Bear cut her off, the muscles of his face twitching along with his thick beard. “This kid is coming to the fifth team. That makes him one of my guys. Why would you fucking let him get a Protector name? You want him to get punished?”

“Well, wouldn’t there be another possibility?” Gao Yang smiled politely. “For example, I’m here to be a Protector.”

1. It’s pronounced the same as the slang ‘er bi’, which basically means moron. ?

2. Six foot three ?