The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 769: Tree of Life

“Please do make it quick. Dust won’t stay at the same place for long.” Liu Qingying didn’t hide the urgency she felt. She rose and left the office.

Qilin turned to Surnamed Li. “What do you think, Madam Li?”

“I believe we can work together.” Surnamed Li focused. “Dust has long been a problem for the Hundred Rivers Union. Now that our organizations have merged, taking out Dust will not only strike a blow on the Godbearer Cult, but also bring the members together and improve morale.”

“True,” Qilin said. “But there’s a possibility that Liu Qingying has already joined the Nine Scions and is appealing to us to set up a trap.”

“It’s unlikely. Liu Qingying and Dead Pig have been obsessed with Ba Qiuchi’s death for ten years. This isn’t a recent development. It’s unlikely to be an act.”

Surnamed Li added, “If you’re still unsure, take me with you on this mission. I’ll be able to see blurry visions if my life is threatened. Then we’ll avoid the danger.”

Qilin nodded. “As expected of Prophet.”

“Haha.” Surnamed Li didn’t deny it. “I’ve been considered an old hag with little use. Perhaps it’s time for me to change how people see me.”

...

Sacred Mountain Church, Aurora Town, Snow Nation.

It was the small hours. The old dignified church sat at the foot of the snowy mountain, the spire a cold grasp into the night sky. It looked like a giant beast covered in black thorns lying in wait on the vast land.

The front door of the church was open, allowing a view into its empty and rundown interior. The stained glass cut the moonlight into a scattering of white blooms.

On the far side of the church, a confessional the size of a phone booth stood on one side. Sitting in the left compartment of the confessional was a young man covered in injuries, all tied up. He was Lin Dajian, having been kidnapped.

For the past two days, he had alternated between unconsciousness and wakefulness without eating or drinking anything. He was getting weak, and his mind began to blur. It felt like he was trapped in a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from.

The small door to the confessional creaked open, followed by the rustle of a cape. Someone had sat down on the other side of the confessional.

“Who, who are you...?” Lin Dajian asked weakly through the wooden plane. “Why did you kidnap me...”

The person didn’t respond.

“Have you gotten the wrong guy...?” Lin Dajian choked out a sob. “I have no money. I have never made an enemy. I’ve done nothing bad in my life...”

“...”

“Please let me go. Please. I...I don’t want to die yet...” Lin Dajian begged while sobbing.

The man on the other side finally spoke. His voice was hoarse and hissing. “Lives are original sins, and desires, enemies. Without clarity, it’s doom.”

“What enemies? What doom...” Lin Dajian was even more confused.

“It’s something I heard recently. Do you know what it means?”

“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know you. There’s no beef between us. Why did you have to grab me...”

“Yes, you wouldn’t know. You’re just a wanderer.” The man scoffed and rose to leave.

“Let me go!” Lin Dajian’s brain filtered out the word “wanderer”. He struggled against the restraint on his body in vain. “How long are you going to keep me here? Let me go! Let me...”

Flap.

Dust, in a black cape, walked out of the confessional and then the church.

Walking across a forest that stopped even moonlight from shining down, Dust trekked in the night for ten minutes before reaching a large, colorless clearing. A wide river ran across the land, covered in floating ice shards of different sizes. On the bank was a protruding boulder. A layer of snow remained.

Clear Mirror, in Luqi’s body, sat on the boulder and looked up at the aurora.

Stars blinked in the night sky. An ever-changing green band of light scintillated and shimmered, blooming beautiful pink. The deep sky and the gray wasteland combined to paint a mysterious, profound, and fantastical oil painting under the shroud of the aurora.

Dust climbed onto the boulder and sat down next to Clear Mirror, joining him in watching the aurora.

After a while, Dust opened her mouth. “While taking Lin Dajian here, I purposefully left tracks behind. The Divine Scion will for sure notice as long as he looks into it. At the soonest, he’ll be here tomorrow.”

Clear Mirror nodded. “I’m ready on my end, too.”

“Yeah.”

The siblings fell quiet and sat in silent company, watching the sky.

After a long while, Dust said, “Where do you think the light comes from?”

“The aurora is a result of charged particles in the magnetospheric plasma disturbed by the solar wind...”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking about,” Dust interrupted irritatedly. “The light, the world, and we. Where does everything come from?”

Clear Mirror said seriously, “We came from the Tree of Life.”

“Do you still have the same dream?” Dust glanced at Clear Mirror.

In the dream, there was a white wall and a black wall that stretched beyond the sight, a river with many eyes and hands, and a tree larger than a city. They were all fruits born on the trees, which fell into the river once they were ripe.

Clear Mirror shook his head. “Ever since I took over a human host, I’ve stopped having the dream.”

“Same for me.” Dust extended her right hand and looked at the palm covered in burn marks. “Ever since I took over Goldthread, I’ve stopped dreaming of the Tree of Life.”

A wave of melancholy compelled Dust to take a yellowed photo from her pocket. It featured a pair of young siblings.

The man had long black hair, deep eyes, and graceful and handsome facial features. The girl had black hair too, which was tied into a large braid. She had the simple sort of beauty of a girl raised in a good family.

Dust stared at the photo and got lost in memories that felt like a past life.

“You still have it?” Clear Mirror asked.

“I don’t want to forget my face,” Dust said resentfully.

“Dust, appearance isn’t important.” Clear Mirror reached out to lift her hood.

“Don’t...” Dust dodged the hand quickly. “I hate the face. No, I hate his everything. I would’ve long swapped him for another host if not for his Talent.”

“Appearance doesn’t matter.” Clear Mirror repeated. “Our souls will never change.”

“Do we even have a soul?” Dust laughed bitterly. “I thought only humans do.”

“All things are sentient, and all lives have a soul.” Clear Mirror sounded certain.

“Right.” Hearing Clear Mirror speak so seriously made Dust settle down a little.

In her undercover life over the past ten years, the one she missed the most was Clear MIrror.

The siblings had been inseparable. After joining the Godbearer Cult, they had no choice but to part and go on their respective mission for their faith, salvation, and entrance to the world of God.

Dust tugged the hood to cover her face wholly before leaning toward Clear Mirror and resting her head on his shoulder. “Can we really reach the otherworld, Clear Mirror?”