The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 738: Part and Forget

At three in the morning, inside the secret base in the sewage that had been a secret base of the Twelve Zodiac Signs originally, Gregor sat before the computer desk, typing away on his laptop. The study room was dim with the light off, and the light blue light of the screen alone illuminated his oily face.

His eyes were bloodshot and bulging, and his nostrils and the corners of his mouth twitched every once in a while in excitement. He seemed like a man possessed.

Three hours ago, when Gregor was using the toilet, inspiration had come to him suddenly like a divine blessing. A one-week-long blockage was suddenly resolved, and a perfect opening for his novel appeared in his head.

That’s it! That’s the one!

Gregor hurriedly wiped his butt and rushed back to the study room, lighting a cigarette before returning to his writing.

It flowed so easily, it was as if God was moving his hand for him, and he didn’t stop until he had written ten thousand words. Every word and every punctuation mark fits together perfectly, more precise than the law of the universe, and more perfect than the fate of the world.

“I **** you ****** ****...”

White Rabbit’s voice cursed. It took a few seconds for Gregor to remember that it was the doorbell.

Once the Twelve Zodiac Signs’ secret base, the place used White Rabbit’s curses for both the alarm and the doorbell. It was War Tiger’s idea. He thought that the curses grabbed attention and cleared the minds well. With the setup, everyone would be alerted quickly no matter what they were doing when the alarm sounded.

Gregor didn’t want to get up at all. He felt like he could write another five thousand words.

“**** you **** **** open the door...”

The doorbell rang again.

“Fucker!” Gregor lost his inspiration completely then. Stalking out of the study room angrily, he went up to a wall and pulled the lever for the door.

The heavy metal door rose, and the stone wall outside opened slowly to the sides.

“Don’t you have the key...” Gregor was just about to lay into the visitors when he realized that it wasn’t Lithe Snake and Hong Xiaoxiao, but two strangers.

It was Nine Frost and Can.

“Hello, Mr. Gregor.” Nine Frost knew that Gregor liked being treated as someone important, and he didn’t want to anger an awakener with Pestilence. He spoke politely on purpose, “I’m Nine Frost from the Nine Scions.”

Gregor didn’t care who he was. He glanced at Nine Frost and then at Can, who was covered in dust and grime and several injuries. Her eyes were red and brimming with tears. It was obvious that she had been hurt.

He paused for a second, casting a look of disbelief at Nine Frost. “No, I asked for a mature woman. Why did you bring a high schooler? Hear the police siren? It’ll be coming for me. Wait, you didn’t grab a random girl from the street, did you? That would be the worst of crimes! I have money. You could’ve gone to a massage parlor for a proper...”

“She’s a member of the Nine Scions, Can,” Nine Frost interrupted him.

“Oh, oh right...” Gregor sighed in relief, feeling awkward. “Why didn’t you just say that? Come on in.”

They entered the door, and the room was sealed shut again.

“Why did different people come this time?” Gregor asked as he went to the fridge for a beverage.

“Lithe Snake and Hong Xiaoxiao are out on a mission,” Nine Frost lied. He couldn’t have Gregor learn about the Nine Scions’ great loss, or Gregor might look down on them and get ideas.

“What about the thing I asked for?” Gregor asked. “Why did you come empty-handed?”

“We’re preparing them. You’ll get them in a few days. We just swung by to check on you.”

“You need days of preparation for a few packs of cigarettes and a few books?” Gregor smiled derisively. “You two are inefficient. Lithe Snake’s much more dependable.”

He lay down on the sofa and opened the can of iced cola for a large gulp. Then he rubbed his bulging belly and realized that Nine Frost and Can were still standing there.

“Didn’t you come here to check on me? I’m fine. You’ve confirmed that. Now go.” Gregor shooed them away. “You aren’t staying for the night, are you?”

“We are,” said Nine Frost. “Can and I are staying here tonight.”

“Huh?!” Gregor jumped. “I can’t write with you here. I’m not used to having company.”

“That’s your problem.”

“What the hell?” Gregor snapped. “Have Lithe Snake come. I wanna talk to him. He never disturbs me. He always gets me my stuff and leaves...”

Can could no longer keep it in. She broke down crying.

“Whoa!” Gregor gaped. “What’s wrong with the girl? Why did she suddenly start crying... Hey, don’t cry...”

He was most afraid of a woman’s tears.

He surrendered a second later. “Alright, alright. You can stay, but you must stay absolutely silent while I write, okay? Keep your mouth shut even if you’re itching to talk! Learn that from Lithe Snake and be quiet...”

Can lost control of her voice and wailed her heart out, the sounds gut-wrenching.

...

Remote forest in the Xijing District, four o’clock in the morning.

Gao Yang, Nainai, Zhang Wei, and Chen Ying arrived at the door to the mansion. They had first snuck into a clothing shop at the already closed mall and changed into fresh clothes for disguise. Zhang Wei was carrying the unconscious Wang Weiyan on his back.

Gao Yang had recovered twenty to thirty percent of his strength, and he carried two heavy body bags with him, each holding Herb Snail and Sha Ye respectively. They couldn’t be brought back and had to be buried somewhere.

“Where are we?” Zhang Wei asked, his voice hoarse from crying and shouting.

“Spectres’ place,” said Gao Yang.

He couldn’t think of a place to go and finally decided to shamelessly seek refuge here for two days to recover. Then he would think about what to do.

Swoosh. A gust of wind swept by. A tall, thin man with silver hair, red eyes, and a dimpled chin stood before them, wearing a tailcoat. With one hand behind his back and the other hand pressed to his chest, he bowed slightly in a polite yet distant manner. “Late-night visitors to the Spectres’ mansion, what can I do for you?”

“Things went wrong, Waking Insects,” Gao Yang said. “I’ve got nowhere to go. I seek refuge for two days.”

Waking Insects glanced at him before his gaze shifted to the two body bags.

“I’ll bury them well and not bother you,” Gao Yang said in a pitifully hopeful tone. “I’ll bury them far away, not anywhere near this mansion...”

“Gao Yang.”

Spring’s voice came from above. He was standing on the rooftop of the mansion. From there, he slowly descended to them, soon taking the place beside Waking Insects.

“It’s been only a few days. How are you in such a sorry state already?”

Spring joked, but there was no sarcasm in his tone, only bitterness.

He knew that Gao Yang would never turn to him if not absolutely necessary. It seemed that the Nine Scions had lost many this time.

He stared at Gao Yang and realized that the young man was in a weak and broken state.

“Your injury is bad.”

Gao Yang didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say.

Spring sighed. “I’m setting out with Waking Insects tomorrow. We’re going to continue our travel around the world. White Dew and Fresh Snow departed before us.”

He glanced at those with Gao Yang. “I’ll leave the mansion to you. We won’t have any use of it anyway. Let this be farewell. We’ll part and forget each other.”

“Thank you...” Gao Yang felt a pang in his heart, but he couldn’t ask for more. He didn’t even dare to bring up the name that was connected to so much good memory in his heart.

“I don’t get it!” Sorrow broke the composure that Zhang Wei had finally recovered, and he shouted at Spring. “Aren’t the Spectres friends with Gao Yang? We’re all in the same boat. If we can’t stand together, we’ll only get taken out by Qilin one by one...”

“Can Spectres and humans really be friends?” Spring cut him off coolly.

Zhang Wei paused.

“Once the Gates of Closure opens, brat, can Spectres live on?”

“And if one day we’re tormented to an inch of our lives by our hunger, are you willing to sacrifice yourself to become our food?”

The three blunt questions left Zhang Wei speechless.

“We each have our path and the answer we must seek.” Spring sighed softly. “Take care, all of you.”

Whoosh. Following the gust of wind, both Spring and Waking Insects vanished.