The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 395: Work Allocation

Qilin, Azure Dragon, and Vermilion Bird had been waiting in the counseling room for a while.

Qilin wore a beige wool v-neck and a pair of brown rimmed glasses. His slightly curled hair had grown longer, and while he was as graceful as ever, he seemed less like a scholar and more like an artist now. With both hands holding onto his cane, he sat in the main seat looking completely at ease.

On the double sofa on the left, Vermilion Bird was dressed in a light-blue crew-neck sweater and a pair of dark-colored wide-fit pants, an old-school checkered octagonal hat keeping her fluffy curls down, framing her fair face. One hand holding a cup of milk tea and the other hand clicking on her phone, she sat cross-legged and relaxed like she was sitting in her living room.

Sitting across from Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon was dressed in an old-fashioned jacket, his eyes fierce and his mustache trimmed neatly. He sat with his back upright and his expression serious.

“Glad to see you up and about, Seven Shadow. We’ve all been worried about you.” Qilin smiled genuinely. “For many reasons, I haven’t been able to visit you in person. Forgive me.”

“You’re too kind, Guildmaster.” Gao Yang sat down by Vermilion Bird.

“You’ve lost quite some weight, Seven Shadow.” Vermilion Bird looked up at him from under the hem of the cap, her gaze careless. “But you seem to have gotten a lot stronger too.”

“My Talents leveled up,” Gao Yang said honestly.

“Did you kill Lilia?” Azure Dragon had guessed it already, but he wanted a confirmation from Gao Yang.

“I did, but many had contributed to the fight. I simply made the final blow.”

Qilin nodded. “Tell us what had happened since we lost consciousness, Seven Shadow.”

“Will do.”

For the next half an hour, Gao Yang did his best to go into details about what had happened from his perspective since X activated Poison of Hell, including Alcoholic’s help, Spectres’ involvement, and what his grandmother, the leader of lightbringers, had done. Then he talked about his Talents leveling up in his rage, allowing him to kill Lilia.

There were two things Gao Yang left out:

First, his relationship with Fresh Snow and the curse that had entered his body, which resurrected him after his heart was carved out, thus enabling him to kill Lilia.

Second, his Talent, Lucky, and the fact that he had acquired Willful Power once it reached level 4.

Gao Yang was certain that Dragon, the only one who knew about Lucky, wouldn’t have told Qilin.

Qilin, Vermilion Bird, and Azure Dragon listened intently from start to finish without a word.

Actually, they had already made an educated guess about the overall story based on the traces left from the fight and the subsequent investigations and confirmations.

Still, listening to Gao Yang explain everything as the actual party involved left them with a myriad of feelings.

“I’m sorry for your grandmother,” Qilin said.

Gao Yang didn’t say anything but nodded slightly.

Vermilion Bird put down the cup of milk tea in her hand and righted her posture. “X mentioned 14 pride monsters. Isn’t there still one?”

“Yes, an observer named Sir Jiang. I saw him once and never again.” Gao Yang gave an honest answer, but omitted Officer Huang.

“What is Sir Jiang’s answer?” Azure Dragon turned to Gao Yang.

“I don’t know.” Gao Yang shook his head. “But he left me with a piece of advice.”

Gao Yang turned to Qilin and repeated the words at a deliberate pace, “Do not open the Gates of Closure.”

Qilin’s deep-looking eyes glinted under the glasses, but there was no change to his expression. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

About thirty seconds later, Qilin turned to Gao Yang.

“Seven Shadow, you must know that Rune Circuits can push an awakener’s Talent to level 8.”

“I do.”

Qilin smiled wryly. “When X activated Poison of Hell, Dragon was fighting Lilia inside his realm. I thought he wouldn’t know about it.”

After a pause, he continued with a darker look in his eyes. “Dragon and I woke up almost at the same time. When we found you, you were already unconscious.”

Gao Yang waited quietly.

“There were three Rune Circuits on you. Dragon took the Element Rune Circuit and told me that he would have the Buff Rune Circuit and the Support Rune Circuit permanently in exchange for letting us have the Time-Space Rune Circuit, while the Poison Rune Circuit would be left to the Hundred Rivers Union rightfully for the great sacrifice they had made. However, the Poison Rune Circuit could only be used under the watch of the three organizations.”

Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird scowled.

“What an arrogant man,” Vermilion Bird said irritatedly.

“He sure is.” Qilin smiled. “Dragon wasn’t making a suggestion, but a decision.”

“And you agreed, Guildmaster?” Azure Dragon asked.

Qilin nodded. “I did. At that moment, I was certain that he knew about the secret of level 8 Talents, too. And his decision is one that the three organizations agree with.”

Gao Yang’s heart sank. It was as he had guessed.

The greatest value of Rune Circuits was to push Talent to level 8, which would undoubtedly escalate the tension between the organizations.

“Perhaps Dragon could hear your conversation with X inside his realm,” Azure Dragon stroked his mustache and speculated. “Or he may have learned of the fact during his fight with Lilia.”

“Whatever the case, the intel may as well be an open secret.” Vermilion Bird sighed softly. “Dragon knows it. The core members of the Twelve Zodiac Signs must know too. And with Prophet, Surnamed Li would easily guess it based on the known facts.”

“True,” Qilin agreed. Then he turned to Gao Yang. “During the three months you were unconscious, Seven Shadow, we’ve been making our moves. Tonight, I’m adding you to the effort and assigning you your future tasks.”

Gao Yang nodded. “Understood.”

Qilin picked up a cup of tea on the table and took a sip. “If the speculation that the Mist World can only last a hundred years is true, we only have 21 months left.”

“What we—and all awakeners at large—must prioritize is finding all twelve of the Rune Circuits.”

“Are we going to open the Gates of Closure?” Gao Yang asked on purpose.

“Well, that’s a matter for another day.” Qilin didn’t give a direct answer.

Gao Yang stopped talking.

Qilin turned to Azure Dragon. “I’ll leave looking for the last Rune Circuit, the Guard Rune Circuit, to you.”

Azure Dragon nodded. “Okay.”

“Of course, you two should also pay attention to any clues you may come by and report any findings immediately.”

Gao Yang and Vermilion Bird nodded at the same time.

Vermilion Bird said after a bemused moment, “There’s something that’s been bothering me—Sir Jiang, the last observer, and his answer.”

“Yes, that is important and may be linked to the truth of the Mist World. The investigation is mainly being conducted by the Hundred Rivers Union.” Qilin turned to Vermilion Bird. “Join them, Vermilion Bird. Make sure that things are under our control.”

“I will.”

Qilin turned to Gao Yang. “That leaves us with what I think is the most urgent matter at the moment.”