The Creatures that We Are

Black Tortoise stared at Ghost Horse. “What do you mean…”

Before he could finish, he felt hands gripping his ankles, keeping his feet in place. It was Gao Yang, who was lying in his own blood.

He hadn't died. In fact, he had been concentrating energy in his hands secretly for this moment.

“Fire!”

Flames devoured Black Tortoise in an instant.

Caught by surprise, Black Tortoise was just about to break free when Ghost Horse teleported to his front and slit his throat with a sharp karambit. To ensure Black Tortoise’s death, the blade had been coated in potent poison.

The blood gushing out of his artery didn’t even splatter in the air before it was evaporated by Gao Yang’s flames.

Leaving nothing to chance, Ghost Horse thrust his other karambit into Black Tortoise’s heart. Then he picked up the silenced gun on the floor and emptied the magazine at Black Tortoise.

A minute later, Gao Yang let go of Black Tortoise’s feet. The charred body slowly collapsed.

It was a pathetic end for the seventh-ranking awakener and a high-ranking leader of the Godbearer Cult, the archbishop.

He only had his pride and hubris to blame.

Gao Yang panted heavily on the floor. Ghost Horse reached out to help him up.

Gao Yang gave him a conflicted look. “I thought you were really trying to kill me, that I got tricked by you again.”

Ghost Horse held his gaze seriously. “Black Tortoise wouldn’t be fooled by a half-assed act. Besides, I couldn’t possibly get a retractable knife and a squib on such short notice.”

Gao Yang nodded. Thinking back to the moment still sent a shudder down his spine. Ghost Horse had stabbed him in the back for real—while avoiding his heart, of course.

Then, when he had bled enough to make the scene believable, Ghost Horse injected Gao Yang with Medicine C under the guise of examining his body.

That was how they managed to catch Black Tortoise off guard with the man none the wiser.

…

Half an hour ago, Apple Island.

Once he made sure that Wang Zikai had left, Gao Yang turned to rush to the abandoned chemical plant rather than calling Black Tortoise.

He wasn’t a hundred percent certain of his guess, but he had to make the gamble.

He reached the entrance of the shop floor Ghost Horse had been hiding in and shouted, “Ghost Horse! Come on out if you aren’t my enemy! We’re running out of time!” ȓáΝОBΕṣ

His voice echoed in the factory.

Ten seconds later, Ghost Horse walked out with a dark look on his face.

They exchanged a glance. Gao Yang had prepared for a battle.

Thankfully, Ghost Horse didn’t make a move.

He said in a hoarse voice, “You’ve finally come. I thought you might have changed sides for real.”

Yes.

Gao Yang had heard the codeword from Ghost Horse the first time they clashed.

However, he had had his reservation.

Back when Dragon assigned Gao Yang a secret mission, he had said that Gao Yang would understand what the mission was when the time came, and then he wrote a code on Gao Yang’s palm.

—The moon is beautiful.

In truth, so many things had happened recently that Gao Yang almost forgot about it. Until Ghost Horse said the phrase nonchalantly when they fought on the rooftop that night.

‘The moon is beautiful. Before, I would’ve gone off work and visited Songstress' shop to listen to jazz music and enjoy a cup of coffee.’

Gao Yang remembered the mission Dragon gave him.

Was Ghost Horse a double agent?

But didn’t he have Telepathy? Why did he go through all the trouble rather than talking to Gao Yang telepathically?

Gao Yang hesitated and didn’t acknowledge the secret code, and the two of them inevitably got into a fight.

But it seemed that Ghost Horse didn’t really want to kill Gao Yang. He talked and dragged things on until Wang Zikai came to Gao Yang’s aid, putting on a believable act.

Gao Yang had more or less confirmed that Ghost Horse was on his side, and that the mission he got from Dragon was probably one that required him to work with Ghost Horse.

Still, Gao Yang couldn’t trust Ghost Horse completely.

Later, Gao Yang played his part of the role and had Wang Zikai send Officer Huang a message, requesting for the Twelve Zodiac Signs’ help to protect his family, while he sought sanctuary at Wang ZIkai’s place.

Then he continued to look into the stolen bodies and almost got blown to death by body number 21 on the moving truck.

His belief that Ghost Horse was on his side wavered.

Had Ghost Horse been turned?

Gao Yang couldn’t be certain.

It wasn’t until two days later, when he found important clues from Three Air’s diary, that he pieced together most of the story.

Still, it was an unproven speculation, and he had to confirm the truth with Ghost Horse.

“Why didn’t you contact me with Telepathy?” Gao Yang asked the first question that came to mind. “Then things wouldn’t have been so complicated.”

“I lost Telepathy after getting resurrected.”

Gao Yang was surprised. “How?”

“I’m not sure if it’s a side effect of the resurrection or if whoever resurrected me was able to limit my Talents. The truth is that I only have Teleportation now.”

Gao Yang sighed heavily. Because of the unexpected loss, their secret mission almost failed.

Since they didn’t have a lot of time, Gao Yang didn’t dwell on the matter and continued to ask, “What is Dragon’s secret mission?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll get to the point.”

Ghost Horse’s gaze was calm. “The Godbearer Cult has been around for a long time. They secretly infiltrated the three major organizations. Because I’d jumped ships twice and used to be a spy, members of the Godbearer Cult contacted me and attempted to convert me. I told Dragon everything. That was when we came up with the plan.”

“For you to be a double agent.”

“Yes, but the Godbearer Cult was cautious and didn’t immediately place their trust in me.” Ghost Horse’s eyes turned remorseful. “That time, when Mad Red ambushed you, it was me who leaked the information. It was meant as a purposeful loss on the organization’s side so that I could earn their trust.”

“Electric Mouse and Heavenly Dog almost died!” Gao Yang couldn’t believe his ears. “White Rabbit and I could’ve been killed as well!”

“I told them to make a grab for the Rune Circuit and not kill anyone, but Mad Red went off course. I’m sorry. It was my mistake.”

“How about Wan Sisi?” Gao Yang demanded furiously. “What had she done wrong?”

“I’m sorry about her too, but I didn’t leak the information then. After Mad Red ambushed you for the first time, I’d seen the fault in my strategy and changed course.”

—Lie Detection activated.

Ghost Horse was being truthful.

That surprised Gao Yang. “Can there…actually be a spy in the organization?”

“It’s unlikely. You should know how strict the Twelve Zodiac Signs are in selecting our members. The rule prohibiting the killing of wanderers alone will rule out most awakeners.”

Ghost Horse continued calmly, “I believe that Mad Red was able to find you because some members of the Godbearer Cult had a Talent in tracking people.”

Gao Yang clenched his fists. “Even so, you were partly at fault for Wan Sisi’s death.”

“Yes. I made a mistake, so I gambled with my life.”

Gao Yang caught on. “Dragon killed you to help you win trust.”

Ghost Horse nodded. “Dragon opposed the idea, but I insisted. All these years, I had been unable to earn the Godbearer Cult’s trust fully. I needed something to really get into their inner circle. I knew that the Cult had been working with the Spectres, and the Spectres had helped the cult resurrect members before.”

“So you had Dragon kill you, betting on the possibility that the Cult would seek the Spectres out to resurrect you?”

Ghost Horse nodded. “Only then could I earn the Cult’s trust for real.”

“Have you ever considered that you would really die if the Cult considered you a disposable pawn?” Gao Yang couldn’t reconcile with that fact.

“I have.” Ghost Horse seemed unfazed. “But I won the bet.”

This nutjob!

“I was recognized by the Cult, and I gathered quite a lot of information.”

Gao Yang didn’t say anything.

Knowing that they didn’t have a lot of time, Ghost Horse said quickly, “The Godbearer Cult isn’t based in Li City, but Snow Nation. They have spies in each of the three major organizations, one being me in the Twelve Zodiac Signs. I don’t know who the spy in the Hundred Rivers Union is since I’ve never worked with them. And the Qilin Guild is planted with two spies, Yellow Butterfly of the fourth operations team, and a high-ranking member I don’t know.”

“They hold the role of archbishop in the Cult, making them the second-in-command. Yellow Butterfly didn’t know who they were either. I’ve been following their orders lately. They are cautious and never show themselves to me.”

Gao Yang’s facial muscles tightened around his eyes. “I know who the archbishop is.”

“Who?”

“Black Tortoise.”

“Are you sure?”

“I only suspected him,” Gao Yang said coldly. “But now, I’m pretty certain of it.”

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