The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 758: Hot Cold One

The other four looked unbothered, like they had seen it many times.

And in fact, Nico did spend half his time being hysterical.

They digested what the old wanderer had just said. Nico often spilled out words that didn’t make sense, but some would end up being an important revelation to them, allowing them to approach the truth behind the divine decree.

Around ten minutes later, Nico woke up.

He was normal again like nothing had happened. Slowly, he sat back down.

“What do we do going forward, Nico?” asked Tia.

“We kill the Divine Scion at all cost,” said Nico.

“Ha, good.” Tia stretched her neck and made a crack. Compared to the boring mission of looking for the summoner prime, it was much more fun to fight.

“However, the Divine Scion’s in hiding,” Tokoos said. “We can’t find him anywhere.”

Clear Mirror and Dust didn’t say anything, but it was clear that they agreed with Tokoos.

Nico thought for a moment before slowly saying, “Both we and the Divine Scion were in the dark before, making it difficult to kill him. As soon as one of us goes out into the open, though, the stalemate will end.”

They all realized what he was suggesting and turned to Dust.

Dust was responsible for a few deaths, and Gao Yang would surely want to have his revenge. The Nine Scions had always wanted to eliminate the Godbearer Cult, too, and Dust would serve as a good start.

“It is viable to lure the Divine Scion with Dust,” said Tokoos.

Dust remained silent.

“Dust,” Nico said calmly. “Do not fear death. It’s only a part of a cycle. We’ll all end up in the world of God.”

Dust scoffed. “I don’t fear death. I’m just wondering if we can win an open fight.”

Nico said, “Not in the past, I don’t think, but things are different now.”

Tokoos laughed. “Dust, haven’t you noticed that the Heavenly Way’s restriction is going lax? We can recruit a large number of helpers and have a grand showdown.”

“Good, what are we waiting for?” Tia rubbed her hands together.

“This should be done sooner rather than later, before the Divine Scion comes into his power.” Takoos was an expert in that. He had come into power by devouring awakener after awakener.

“I’ll follow the order,” said Clear Mirror.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” said Dust.

“Heavenly Godbearer blesses you,” said Nico.

“Heavenly Godbearer blesses you,” the others echoed.

Swish. The curtains in the front of the stage slowly drew close and signified the end of the act. The opera house was silent again.

The roundtable meeting tonight was like a boring stageplay with no audience.

...

Secret safehouse in the sewage, Li City, late at night.

Inside the small warm room, Gao Xinxin had been reading children's books to Wang Weiyan for twenty minutes to put her to sleep.

Gao Xinxin brushed her hair and gently tucked her in. The little girl, who had just turned five, made Gao Xinxin ache when she looked at her.

Although Gao Yang had explained what happened at the Starcatching Pavilion with only a few sentences, Gao Xinxin could picture the living hell it must be. Wang Weiyan had lost her mother there. The trauma could follow her for her whole life.

But the girl was surprisingly resilient. While she was sad, she hadn’t closed herself to the outside world. Whenever she missed her mother, she would take out the birthday card and ask Gao Xinxin to read it out for her. Her eyes turned red as she listened before she broke into sobs, but she seemed okay after the outburst.

Gao Xinxin turned off the lamp by the bed and walked out of the room, gently closing the door.

Bam! The door to the study room was suddenly slammed open. Although Gao Xinxin had gotten used to Gregor’s clumsy way, she still jumped.

“Quiet. Yanyan’s just fallen asleep...” Gao Xinxin lowered her voice and glared at him.

“It’s fine. Children sleep soundly and don’t wake up easily...” Gregor was wearing a loose T-shirt, a pair of pants, and flip-flops. His complexion was sickly and his voice nasal.

With unsteady footsteps, he walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of coke, rummaging for something. “Where’s the ginger? Where is it hidden—ack, ack! Ack ack ack!”

“Ginger doesn’t have to be stored in the fridge. It’s in the kitchen.” Gao Xinxin frowned. “You caught a cold?”

“Must be, ack, ack...” Gregor coughed as he walked into the kitchen. “It’s been a while since I had a cold. I thought awakeners don’t get sick.”

Gao Xinxin hesitated before following him into the kitchen. “If you’re sick, you should be resting. Of course you’d catch a cold when you went around dressing so thinly. What are you making? I’ll do it.”

“Alright.” Gregor didn’t turn her offer down. “Cook the coke with ginger... I had that every time I caught a cold...ack, ack...”

“I’ll do it. Still, you better have proper medicine too.” Gao Xinxin went up to the counter and found the ginger, washing it and slicing it. Once the coke in the pot was boiling, she put all the ginger into it.

Suddenly, an epiphany hit her. The thought appeared out of nowhere and wouldn’t leave.

Ginger, also known as the hot cold one, yanliang xiaozi.

Ginger, jiang. The hot cold one, yanliang xiaozi.

Jiang...Yan Liang.

“Ah!” Gao Xinxin cried out. Gregor, who was slumping on the sofa in the living room, jumped.

“What’s wrong? Is there a mouse? Leave it to me. I’ll poison... No, I can’t use my Talent now. What a hassle. Tell your brother to bring some mouse poison the next time...”

Gao Xinxin ran out of the kitchen into the bedroom and grabbed her old model phone, sending a text to an unknown number.

...

Twenty minutes later, Gao Yang snuck into the secret safehouse in disguise.

Gao Xinxin immediately shot up from the sofa. “What took you so long? This is urgent.”

Gao Yang silently sighed in relief when he saw that Goa Xinxin was okay. He smiled at her. “I came here as quickly as I could. What’s the emergency?”

Gregor had already had his ginger cola and was sleeping in his room.

Gao Xinxin waved Gao Yang in. “Let’s speak inside.”

Gao Yang followed her to her bedroom. The first thing he saw was Vermilion Bird, sitting quietly in a wheelchair with her eyes open. Tears were about to come out again. Gao Xinxin hurriedly grabbed some tissue and wiped the tears, gently closing her eyes.

She shared a room with Vermilion Bird so that she could take care of her better.

Gao Yang felt a dull pain in his chest. He quietly digested the emotion and said, “Tell me. What’s wrong?”

“I just thought of something, Brother.” Gao Xinxin was a little worked up. She blinked as she continued, “I’ll get to the conclusion first. Elder Yan Liang of the Qilin Guild...could be Sir Jiang!”

Gao Yang sucked in a breath.