The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 254: Sunny Day

Gao Yang got a good look at the newcomers. They were War Tiger, White Rabbit, and Heavenly Dog, all wearing their respective animal masks.

Seeing the familiar tabby cat mask on War Tiger put Gao Yang at ease, but he had to maintain his poker face.

On his way here, War Tiger had heard from Officer Huang about what happened. Without sparing Gao Yang and the other members of the Qilin Guild a look, he went straight to Ghost Horse and knelt down, lifting the clothes covering the body and staring at Ghost Horse’s face for a good while.

His rueful silence didn’t last long.

“Ghost Horse.” War Tiger sighed resignedly. “You and Dragon are both bastards, keeping everything a secret from even me.”

He reached out to place a hand on Ghost Horse’s shoulder and said like he was speaking to a friend who was in deep slumber, “Good work. Have a good rest and leave things to us.”

War Tiger picked up Ghost Horse’s body and stood up, glancing at Azure Dragon. “I’m taking ours.”

Azure dragon said after a thoughtful pause, “The dead are never coming back. Why not leave him to be questioned by Vermilion Bird? Perhaps he has important information for you.”

“You’re not getting a hand on him.” War Tiger scoffed. “Our member will have a send off according to our rules.”

He turned to leave. White Rabbit and Heavenly Dog each helped Qing Ling and Officer Huang up before following him.

“Oh, by the way,” War Tiger turned around like he had remembered something after taking roughly ten steps, “My brother gave his life to take out the traitor for you. Tell your guildmaster to think about how he’s going to repay us.”

With that, he walked away.

Azure Dragon quietly watched them go.

“Fuck, who gave him the right to talk down on us? We all risked our lives tonight.” Gray Bear cursed with a hand covering his injured abdomen, leaning against a wall.

Nine Frost sat prone beside him without saying anything, looking weak.

After making sure that the members of the Twelve Zodiac Signs had left, Azure Dragon allowed himself a barely audible sigh.

The Twelve Zodiac Signs wasn’t the only one losing a brother.

Azure Dragon had lost a brother as well. Never could he foresee that Black Tortoise, who he had known for almost ten years, would turn out to be an enemy in such deep cover.

He waved at his team. “Get the injured to headquarters and notify Elder White Tiger to clean up the mess. Black Tortoise’s remains are to be transported to the Vermilion Bird branch at once. I’ll conduct the interrogation with her.”

“Understood.”

...

Gao Yang returned to the White Tiger branch and got changed before forcing himself to sleep for two hours. When he woke up, his external injuries had more or less recovered with the help of fast-acting medicine. Apply some concealer, and they would be unnoticeable.

As for the internal injuries, they would take longer to heal. He just had to live with them.

Gao Yang put on his backpack. Inside were his admission ticket and the stationeries needed for the exams.

He left the Walled City of Ten Dragons early, hailing a taxi to head to the exam site.

The driver recognized him as an examinee and generously offered the ride for free. He also offered words of encouragement to Gao Yang.

Gao Yang thanked the driver. Then he said apropos of nothing, “Sir, could we stop by a flower shop on the Sunfacing Road in Daxu District? It’s not far from here.”

“Of course. Why though?”

“I want to get some flowers for good luck,” Gao Yang lied with a smile.

“No problem!” The driver steered the driving wheel with a chuckle.

Soon, the taxi reached Let Life be Beautiful like Summer Flowers.

Songstress opened shop early today, and as usual, she had her hair up and wore an apron with flower patterns, watering flowers with a gardening can at the door. It seemed that War Tiger hadn’t told her about Ghost Horse yet.

Noticing a visitor, she turned around with a professional smile. “Welcome...”

She paused when she saw Gao Yang’s pale face before smiling again, like Gao Yang was but a regular customer. “Looking for some flowers?”

“Yes, a friend sent me to get a bouquet,” Gao Yang said ruefully. “He couldn’t make it, so he told me that I must come for him.”

Songstress stared at him, wide-eyed, feeling a sense of foreboding.

Some time ago, she heard from War Tiger that Ghost Horse had come back to life. She was conflicted, unsure if she should be glad or sad.

To avoid conflict of interests, War Tiger hadn’t gone into more details. He only said that they were looking for the man.

Recently, Songstress rarely went to the base, but instead had been quietly running her flower shop. Sometimes, she would think she caught Ghost Horse on the other side of the road, but it was so fleeting that it didn’t seem real.

She always told herself that it must have been her brain tricking her because she missed him too much.

Still, something unusual had been happening.

Every two days, she would get an order for a bouquet of forget-me-nots. However, the mysterious buyer always kept their name a secret.

In her weakest moments, Songstress would wonder if Ghost Horse was the one ordering the flowers.

The thought shocked her every time, filling her with equal parts heartbreak and delight.

Ghost Horse had betrayed the Twelve Zodiac Signs, yet he hadn’t betrayed their relationship. The two facts weren’t mutually exclusive.

As a member of the Twelve Zodiac Signs, Songstress resented Ghost Horse, but as a regular person, she couldn’t help but yearn for him.

The two facts weren’t mutually exclusive, either.

She even had a dream one night.

She dreamed of a cloudy day, of Ghost Horse showing up at the door of her flower shop with a black umbrella. He looked thinner, more unkempt, and he personally bought a bouquet of forget-me-nots from her.

With the bouquet in hand, he explained to her that there was more to his apparent betrayal, that he wasn’t actually a traitor, that they were still companions.

Beside herself, she invited him into the shop to have a seat, brewing him a cup of coffee and playing his favorite jazz music.

They sat by the glass wall and watched the rain fall quietly. Every once in a while, they would exchange a glance and a small smile.

Just like usual, like they had always done.

“What, what...” Songstress took a deep breath and mustered the courage to ask, “flower is he getting?”

Gao Yang calmly said, “Forget-me-nots.”

Clang!

The gardening can fell to the ground. Songstress shook her head in disbelief, hands covering her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. “No, no...no...”

“I’m sorry.”

Gao Yang choked. Then he walked up to the door and picked up a bouquet of blue forget-me-nots before turning to leave.

I’ve done what you told me to do, Ghost Horse.

Ah, and I forgive you.

Thank you for saving me. We’ll walk the rest of the way for you.

...

Gao Yang went back into the taxi. The driver started the car and glanced at the rearview mirror before saying in surprise, “Why are your eyes so red, kid? You alright?”

Gao Yang shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “Just a little sore because I was cramming in more study last night.”

He looked away, out of the window. “The sun is so bright today.”

“Yes, it’s another sunny day.” The driver laughed heartily. “Everything will be alright.”

...

The college entrance exams were finally here. It used to be the most important event in Gao Yang’s life.

Two days, no more, no less.

It was probably the most peaceful two days Gao Yang had had since his eighteenth birthday.

He wrote down his name on the answer sheet and concentrated on the test. The weather outside couldn’t be better. The summer wind swept and shook tree branches, and cicadas chirped.

When Gao Yang realized it, he had already finished with the exams. He officially graduated.

The evening sky was beautiful. Gao Yang returned home and opened the door to find his grandmother, mother, and sister sitting on the sofa tensely, while his father was on his wheelchair, craning his neck to look at Gao Yang as he came through the door.

Gao Yang quietly entered the hallway and changed into slippers, casting his backpack aside with a long sigh.

Then he announced loudly, “I’m done! I think I did quite well!”

“Haha, my boy is the best!”

“You’ve worked hard, son!”

“Good for you, bro!”

“I told you Yang Yang would do well!”

His family came up to him and held him in excitement. Gao Yang laughed as well and stayed in their embrace.

For a moment, he wished that time would stop.

That night, Gao Yang had a hearty dinner and, for the first time since forever, had a few drinks with his father. When the night was deep, he took a shower and went to his bedroom, locking his door and window.

Lying on the bed, he didn’t have to meditate to fall asleep.

In his dream, he returned to the orphanage, when he was six years old.

The kids played in the courtyard while he stood on his own in the middle of it. The woman taking care of them came up and held Gao Yang from the back. “Why aren’t you playing with them, Gao Yang?”

“They ignore me,” Gao Yang said petulantly.

Yes, everyone was having so much fun.

Jumping rope, sandbags, stacking blocks, seesaws, swings... Everyone had a happy beam on their face as they played, their eyes glinting with excitement.

Yet none of them paid any attention to him, as if he didn’t exist.

...

Gao Yang opened his eyes, waking up.

It was seven in the morning, and the sun was a little too bright outside the window.

Washing up, Gao Yang had a simple breakfast before going outside alone.

It was Ghost Horse’s second funeral today.

Vermilion Bird had questioned Black Tortoise’s body and learned quite a few things about the Godbearer Cult, and the Guild was coming up with a response.

Regarding Gao Yang and Ghost Horse, the body had only told her that the two had worked together, but with Black Tortoise not knowing more about the matter, that was all Vermilion Bird could learn.

Gao Yang was absolved for the moment.

Although further investigation hadn’t been conducted, Gao Yang was allowed to go about freely.

As a former member of the Twelve Zodiac Signs and the representative of the Qilin Guild, he was going to attend Ghost Horse’s funeral.

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