The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 666: Hunch

“Two days before Brother Tea’s death, he sought me out.” Chestnut narrowed her eyes and recalled the memory. “It was night. He brought me food and alcohol. We talked about nothing in particular as we ate. Then Brother Tea suddenly asked if I could make him a weapon.”

“Weapon?” Chen Ying questioned.

“I found it strange, too. His Talent didn’t require a weapon. I suppose a pair of boxing gloves would work.” Chestnut shrugged. “But he didn’t ask for gloves, but a needle.”

Chen Ying was even more confused. “Needle?”

“Yeah.” Chestnut nodded. “I’ve received many strange commissions, but it was the first time someone asked me for a needle.”

“Why did he want one?”

“He asked for a Black Gold needle that would seriously injure the target’s soul and drive it out without hurting the body.”

Bemused, Chen Ying asked, “How did you respond?”

“I said I couldn’t do it. It seemed absurd.” Chestnut scratched her head and hesitated. “Well, it’s not entirely impossible on paper. I could make a Black Gold needle and had Jiang Hao enchant it for me, on the premise that we find the energy of an awakener who can do spiritual damage. Even if I make a weapon that damages the soul, though, it won’t drive a soul out of a body. It’s too difficult to make into reality; I’d say it’s nigh impossible.”

Chestnut cocked her head. “Brother Tea thought it was a baseless idea, too, and he gave up.”

“Before he went, he told me to keep it a secret for my own good, but he died after two days. I knew he must have gotten into some serious trouble.”

Chen Ying digested the information she had gathered. “Did he leave anything? A note, a statement, or an object.”

Chestnut shook her head. “No.”

Chen Ying had a feeling that she wouldn’t get more out of Chestnut. “Okay. Thank you. And keep my visit a secret.”

Chestnut suddenly asked, “May I know who else is suspected?”

Chen Ying smiled apologetically. She couldn’t tell her.

Chestnut didn’t press.

She walked Chen Ying out. Before Chen Ying left, she warned, “If you trust me, Chestnut, please stay here and don’t come into personal contact with anyone at the Union, especially the female members.”

Chestnut nodded. “I understand.”

...

Outside the factory was an asphalt road, sandwiched by clearings filled with thriving weeds and abandoned cars. From afar, it seemed like a historical site from a bygone civilization in a post-apocalyptic world.

Chen Ying walked along the path to the crossroad where her car was parked. She stopped halfway when she spotted someone ahead of her. It was War Tiger.

War Tiger knelt between the wheels of her car, taking a leisurely drag with his gaze on the abandoned cars in the weed-filled clearing. By his feet was the wooden box with his giant sword.

“Mr. War Tiger?” Alarm blared in Chen Ying’s head. She kept her distance. “You’re still here?”

“Ah.” War Tiger shook ash off his cigarette, scratching his head as he turned to her. “Let me ask you a question, Chen Ying. Do you believe in hunch?”

“Huh?”

War Tiger cast the cigarette butt onto the hood of an abandoned car, making sparks sputter. He stood up and jumped to his feet.

“A hunch. It’s a baseless belief in a certain truth that’s later proven to be right,” War Tiger explained with a smile.

“I know what it means.” Chen Ying eyed him warily. “But I don’t know why you’re suddenly telling me that.”

“Haha.” War Tiger took a step forward. “It’s because you’re related to my hunch, of course.”

Chen Ying’s chest tightened, sensing a coming danger. Her right hand was holding her phone, and it hung down naturally. She discreetly moved her thumb in an attempt to unlock the screen.

“Don’t move.” War Tiger caught the movement keenly. “Not even your fingers.”

Chen Ying felt her blood freeze, and her breath hitched.

“Chen Ying.”

War Tiger took another step back, the killing intent he radiated paralyzing her.

He slowly drew the Green Dog Demon Blade from his back. “For some reason, I feel like you may be Dust. Perhaps it’s because of the similar names[1]. And the fact that you are least suspected makes me feel like you’re the most suspicious.”

“I’m not the spy. Your hunch is wrong.” Chen Ying’s voice trembled as she did her best to control her fear. “War Tiger, don’t do something foolish...”

“Haha, how is this foolish?” War Tiger’s eyes glinted coldly. “If I kill the right person, I’ll be erasing a spy for the Hundred Rivers Union and eliminating a potential threat for the three organizations.”

“And if you kill the wrong person?” Chen Ying felt a shudder down her spine. Was the man out of his mind?

“Then I do.” War Tiger moved his right foot forward with a backward grip around the hilt, tucking his hand to his waist in the posture of iaido[2]. “You aren’t gonna live til the very end anyway. There’s no difference in dying early or dying late.”

“You’re insane!” Chen Ying yelled. “The Hundred Rivers Union will see this as a declaration of war...”

Whoosh. War Tiger made a slash at Chen Ying like a phantom. There was a flash of indigo light.

Chen Ying didn’t even catch his movement before her vision blurred. A gust of wind swept her hair back, cutting and scattering strands of her hair. The cold blade pressed into her neck.

War Tiger hadn’t used the blade aura of Killing Expert; otherwise, Chen Ying would’ve been decapitated even though the blade hadn’t cut into her flesh.

Fear seized her heart. It wasn’t until she made sure that her head was still attached to her neck that her heartbeat relented.

Thump...thump, thump, thump!

Fear, frustration, anger, relief... A myriad of emotions rushed up to her.

Thank God War Tiger didn’t kill me. He’s just trying to scare me into confessing.

“Haha, good. You’re strong-willed.” War Tiger sheathed his blade. “Alright. You’ve proven yourself. I apologize.”

A bead of cold sweat streaked down Chen Ying’s cheek. She did her best to maintain her composure. “War Tiger, your action...”

“I lied,” War Tiger cut her off with a scoff.

Chen Ying’s eyes widened. There was a cold stab in her chest. She looked down in disbelief to see that War Tiger was holding a dagger with his other hand, and the dagger had buried into her chest.

White hot pain bloomed like a flower, and soon, Chen Ying lost the sensation of her heart. It seemed that her heart had stopped beating after getting stabbed.

War Tiger was still smiling at her.

“You...”

Chen Ying reached out to War Tiger’s face, but in the end, she couldn’t do it.

She toppled backward to the ground, blood leaking out from a corner of her mouth.

1. Dust is chen-ai in the raw. ☜

2. A Japanese martial art that emphasizes quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks. ☜