The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 570: Abyss

Green Lotus Lake in the Green Lotus Park, early morning.

Overwhelmed with heartbreak and exhaustion, Gao Yang fell asleep in Qing Ling’s arms. Just then, a helicopter hurried over from the Green Mountain, piloted by Goldthread and carrying Qilin, Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, War Tiger, Surnamed Li, and Little Tian. After putting out the fire razing the top of the mountain, Heavenly Dog and Six Rime quickly came as well.

Qilin and the others had just finished fighting in the Green Mountain when they saw a black light threatening to carve heaven and earth shoot out from the center of the Green Lotus Park. They were stunned by the sheer destructive power of it. They had never seen anything like it.

When they arrived at the scene a few minutes later, the battle had already ended.

The Green Lotus Lake had turned into a giant crater covered in elemental crystals and charred soil, at the center of which was a black abyss with a diameter of a few dozen meters. By the abyss, Qing Ling, missing an arm, held onto an unconscious Gao Yang. It seemed that the two had just had a deadly encounter and were lucky enough to live to tell the tale.

War Tiger was the first to jump out of the helicopter, landing before Qing Ling and Gao Yang.

“What happened here?”

“The Malediction,” Qing Ling said hoarsely.

War Tiger paused. “The Malediction?”

“The Cursed Offspring,” Qing Ling went for another term. “Su Xi gave birth to the Cursed Offspring.”

...

Ten minutes later, they all stood before the abyss, daring not to approach. Although the Malediction was dead, the abyss it left after its self-destruction still radiated an unnerving evil energy.

Under Vermilion Bird’s treatment, Qing Ling recovered some strength, but her arm couldn’t be regenerated.

After a few tries, Vermilion Bird gave up, and she said apologetically, “Your arm’s not coming back. At least I can’t bring it back.”

“Yeah.”

Qing Ling wasn’t fazed. She had expected it. After all, her arm wasn’t so much cut but melted by the deadly ray, which contained a terrifying curse. If not for Gao Yang’s blood, she wouldn’t even be alive.

Vermilion Bird looked at Gao Yang, who was held by Qing Ling. She put a hand on Gao Yang’s forehead and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she sighed. “His energy is seriously drained. I’ll restore some of it.”

“Don’t,” Qing Ling stopped her.

Vermilion Bird caught on a second later and pulled back. “Okay, we’ll let him sleep for a little longer.”

He would only be in greater pain if he woke up now.

Before the abyss, Qilin stood with his cane, and Surnamed Li was in her wheelchair. Standing behind them were Azure Dragon, Heavenly Dog, Six Rime, Goldthread, and Little Tian.

Qing Ling had given them a brief but accurate report of what had happened over the past ten minutes.

Qing Ling hadn’t lied to them. Given the circumstances, it would be almost impossible to fool the three organizations. And they had arrived too quickly for her to think of a convincing version of the story.

As for the history between Gao Yang, Qing Ling, and Officer Huang, as well as how they had gotten to their conclusion, it was too difficult to explain in a few words. Since the more she spoke, the more could be used against her, she simply said, “I don’t know about the other stuff. You should ask Seven Shadow once he wakes up.”

—Divine Scion, Forlorn Ghost, and Malediction.

They all chewed on the three terms and fell into deep thought.

After a while, Qilin glanced to the side at Surnamed Li. “Have you not dreamed of what happened tonight, Madam Li?”

Surnamed Li said calmly, “In theory, I should’ve dreamed of a calamity as great as the self-destruction of the Malediction.”

“Could the Malediction block your forecasting?” Azure Dragon proposed.

“Possibly.” Surnamed Li narrowed her eyes slightly. “However, according to what Green Snake said, I think it’s more likely a result of Gao Shou’s Talent.”

“The Chain of Fate?” Qilin immediately caught on.

Surnamed Li nodded. “As the name suggests, the skill locks even fate inside the realm, which Talent: Prophet is meant to glimpse into. Once chained, I cannot see it.”

“So you would’ve seen what happened tonight if Gao Shou hadn’t used Chain of Fate,” said Azure Dragon.

“Yeah.” Surnamed Li smiled bitterly. “Then the Malediction would’ve razed Li City to the ground with its self-destruction, and a calamity like that would have appeared in my dream.”

Qilin nodded, having wrapped his mind around everything.

He turned to look at the sleeping Gao Yang. “I’ve always known that Seven Shadow is special, but it turns out he’s the Divine Scion.”

“Uncle Qilin, is there really a god in the world?” Little Tian couldn’t help but ask.

“I don’t know.” Qilin paused. “Perhaps it’s simply how monsters address their leader.”

“I believe so.” Surnamed Li nodded. “Real god should be omniscient and omnipotent. Not all powerful beings we don’t understand are gods.”

“Haha, perhaps ants consider us gods, too.” War Tiger stroked his chin and smiled. “And if they defeat us one day, they’ll think we’re nothing they imagine us to be.”

“Brother Tiger.” Azure Dragon gave him a meaningful smile. “You sure are arrogant.”

“Haha, there won’t be anything more fun than fighting God.” War Tiger crossed his arms with a joyful look on his face.

Azure Dragon dropped the topic and turned to Qilin. “What do we do with Seven Shadow, Guildmaster?”

Qilin understood what he was getting at. No matter how noble the title “Divine Scion” sounded, there was no changing the fact that Gao Yang was born between a life monster and a human, and in terms of bloodline, he was half monster rather than pure human.

His identity and position were thus put under scrutiny, and they all had to reevaluate him as a companion.

Qilin thought for a moment before making his judgment. “Tonight, Seven Shadow and his family saved all of us. Even monsters differ in their standing, let alone the Divine Scion. I believe Seven Shadow is still an awakener, and thus our comrade.”

“Agreed.” Surnamed Li nodded and looked at Gao Yang. “The Hundred Rivers Union will remember what Seven Shadow has done for us.”

“So will the Twelve Zodiac Signs.” War Tiger took out his phone and walked away as he pretended to make a call. “Keep going. I’m gonna report to Dragon.”

After the three organizations had made their positions known, Qilin turned to Qing Ling. “This may be a bad time, but I have to ask: where is the Guard Rune Circuit?”

“I don’t know. This is what I woke up to. I didn’t see a Rune Circuit.”

Vermilion Bird frowned slightly. “It wasn’t destroyed by the Malediction, was it?”

“That can’t be,” Qilin said with certainty. “Rune Circuits are indestructible. They only change forms.”

“Has it fallen into the abyss?” Goldthread suggested.

“Hm, it’s possible,” Azure Dragon agreed.

With holy water and Rune Circuit, Gao Shou pushed his Talent to level 8 and locked the Malediction in the realm of the Chain of Fate. The evil destructive power, unable to crash through the barrier, ended up burrowing and spreading downward to form an abyss.

When the Chain of Fate came to an end, the energy of the Rune Circuit reverted back to its original concrete form, and it fell into the abyss.

They arrived at the same conclusion.

Qilin turned around to look at the abyss, focused.

The others were silent too.

“Should we send someone down there?” War Tiger had finished his “call” to Dragon, and he sauntered back to the group.

“This isn’t a normal pit.” Qilin could sense the insidious energy coming from the abyss.

“We would have to jump in even if it were a burning pit.” War Tiger seemed excited. “It’s the last Rune Circuit! Right before us!”

Qilin didn’t say anything, and Surnamed Li didn’t oppose the idea.

“Heavenly Dog.” War Tiger turned to the young man. “Dare to get in?”

“Sure.”

Without hesitation, Heavenly Dog lifted off the ground and was about to dive into the abyss when War Tiger stopped him. “Wait. We need some security measures.”

“Right.”

Heavenly Dog splayed his hand, and a white cloth shot out of his sleeve. War Tiger grabbed it and grinned.

“Go.”

Heavenly Dog flew over the abyss, slowly descending toward it while standing.

A few seconds later, his head entered the abyss too.

“Come back!”

Surnamed Li had already seen his future after ten seconds.