The Creatures that We Are

“Stop with the dead look on your face. If you really want to die, I’ll help you.”

A thin bleeding cut was left on Gao Yang’s neck by the cold blade. He slowly looked up, the corners of his eyes slightly red, looking helpless and lost.

Qing Ling paused. She had never seen Gao Yang like this.

A few seconds later, she pulled her Tang Dao back with a swoosh, lifting the foot pinning Gao Yang down and sitting down cross-legged beside him.

Qing Ling wordlessly scowled.

The ocean wind late at night poured through the floor-to-ceiling window, making the hangers with their clothes clack. Neither of them said anything.

A long time passed. Gao Yang finally opened his mouth, and in the dark, he spoke quietly, “I have a question for you, Qing Ling.”

“Ask,” Qing Ling said irritatedly.

“If one day, you find out that I’m an enemy, will you kill me?”

“I meant it literally.” Gao Yang repeated in a hollow voice, “If one day, you find out that I’m an enemy, will you kill me?”

Qing Ling turned to him, her gaze unwavering. “I will.”

Gao Yang didn’t respond. He had expected the answer.

“But I’ll ask you why first,” Qing Ling added.

Gao Yang paused slightly. “Is that important?”

“It is,” Qing Ling said with determination.

“Yes, that’s true. It is important…” Gao Yang seemed to have come to a conclusion at that moment. He smiled at Qing Ling. “Thank you. I think I know what I should do.”

Qing Ling nodded, her body relaxing somewhat, and her voice softening a little. “Good.”

“I’m sleepy.” With what had been bothering him resolved, Gao Yang felt exhaustion sweeping over him like ocean waves.

“Get your ass to the bed,” Qing Ling snapped. “The sofa’s mine.”

“Okay.” Gao Yang rose to his feet and dragged his heavy body to the bed, plopping himself down face-first.

Qing Ling’s warmth and the fragrance of her hair lingered on the soft blanket. Gao Yang closed his eyes, falling into a deep slumber.

…

Gao Yang was dreaming.

In his dream, he was back to the orphanage he had spent the first few years of his childhood at. He stood alone in the courtyard. It was mid-summer, and the courtyard was bustling with activities. The children played, jumping ropes, throwing sandbags, stacking blocks, riding seesaws, and swinging on swings…

There were so many of them, and they were so happy, yet none of them invited him. It was as if he was air.

He felt wronged, lonely, and he knelt down, breaking down into tears.

Not long after, their young and beautiful dorm keeper came up to him and asked kindly, “What’s wrong?”

“Auntie, no one…no one would play with me.” Gao Yang’s face was covered in tears and snots. He kept trying to wipe them clean with his small hands.

“Why wouldn’t they play with you?” the woman asked with a smile.

Yeah, why wouldn’t they? Why? What have I done wrong?

No, that’s not it. There’s a different reason.

“Because, because…” The answer was right there, an elusive thought that was about to take shape.

But then the ship horn blared, and his thoughts derailed.

…

Gao Yang woke up from the dream. He quickly opened his eyes and saw Qing Ling—or Little Qing Ling, to be precise.

Kneeling by the bed, she leaned toward him with her back slightly bent, considering Gao Yang’s face seriously. It seemed that she was worried about her long hair touching Gao Yang’s face and waking him up, so she had her hair in a loose grip behind her head in a temporary ponytail.

She looked careful, nervous, and sentimental the way a young girl would be. Gao Yang would never in his wildest dream think that Little Qing Ling had been counting the number of lashes on his left eye—all because she just saw a post about fortune telling that said that men with even numbers of lashes on their left eyes were more loyal in love.

Compelled by a mix of boredom, curiosity, and the urge to find the truth, she quietly approached Gao Yang, counting the lashes on his left eye to see if there were an even number or odd number of them.

Halfway through, though, the horn sounded and woke Gao Yang up. They ended up staring at each other in awkward silence.

Little Qing Ling was caught completely off guard. She heard a ring in her head, and it stuttered to a stop.

Soon, there was another long horn sound. Little Qing Ling stood up with an impassive expression and turned around to sit down on the sofa, her legs pressed together. She picked up her phone and started scrolling, pretending that nothing had happened.

It took only a glance for Gao Yang to know that Little Qing Ling had taken over.

He didn’t press, but slowly sat up and asked, “Are we at the harbor now?”

“Yes, I was gonna wake you up, but you woke up yourself.” Little Qing Ling thought Gao Yang hadn’t noticed, and she spoke like her sister would.

“Okay, I’ll wash my face.” Gao Yang shook his slightly heavy head and rose to walk to the bathroom, opening the tap.

Sitting on the sofa, Little Qing Ling started breathing quickly, her face instantly flushed. She covered it with both hands and cursed at herself in her head, feeling regretful.

A minute later, Gao Yang emerged from the bathroom. Qing Ling had taken over again.

“We do as we planned,” said Gao Yang.

Qing Ling stood up. “Yeah.”

…

Four o’clock in the morning, when the cruise had not yet moored at the harbor, Heavenly Dog soared as high into the sky as he could with the large heavy suitcase until the harbor and the cruise became small dots in his sight. Only then did he start flying toward the Millennium Tower.

Gao Yang, Qing Ling, and Officer Huang disembarked normally.

Officer Huang carried Su Xi in his arms openly with a blanket covering her. Once they left the harbor, Gao Yang parted ways with his two companions from the Twelve Zodiac Signs, getting into different cars.

Vermilion Bird had personally driven here to pick Gao Yang up, while Officer Huang and Qing Ling got into the car with White Rabbit driving and War Tiger riding shotgun.

“Where’s Heavenly Dog?” asked White Rabbit.

“He was feeling too lazy to take a car, so he flew back,” said Officer Huang.

“Level 6 Fly sure is convenient,” White Rabbit said with envy. “Must be liberating to just fly everywhere.”

“Can you take me home first?” Officer Huang looked at the still unconscious Su Xi with a soft gaze. “My wife may wake up at any time. Once she’s awake, I’d like to admit her to the hospital for full checkups.”

“Of course.” War Tiger had a cigarette between his fingers, but since there was a pregnant woman present, he didn’t light it. “Protect your wife well in the coming days. We’ll send you a bodyguard too.”

“Who?” Officer Huang asked.

“Captain, Lovely Lamb, and Adept Horse are out, but you can pick anyone other than them.”

Officer Huang thought about it. “What about Sir Monkey?”

War Tiger didn’t hesitate. “Sure. Sir Monkey it is.”

There were a few reasons Officer Huang picked Mischievous Monkey. First, his Earth had reached level 5, allowing him to be on offense and defense with flexible techniques. And given the abundance of earth elements, he would be a perfect bodyguard.

Moreover, Mischievous Monkey’s twin brother, Old Man Liu, had been staying at the hospital for health problems, and it was the same hospital as the one Su Xi would be staying at until her delivery. Mischievous Monkey would be able to take care of his brother while playing bodyguard, killing two birds with one stone.

Lastly and most importantly, Mischievous Monkey was merely a regular member of the Twelve Zodiac Signs, and Officer Huang didn’t have to be too wary of him.

While Officer Huang was a member of the Twelve Zodiac Signs, at the end of the day, his loyalty lay in Gao Yang. Staying with shrewd people like White Rabbit and War Tiger every day, he would have to stand on his toes and watch his every word, which was tiring.

And he didn’t pick Qing Ling in order to avoid attracting suspicion. Everyone knew that Yellow Ox and Green Snake from the Twelve Zodiac Signs were close.

“Okay,” said War Tiger. “I’ll call Sir Monkey.”

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