The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 269: Godbearer Cult

“Be at ease.” Surnamed Li echoed the sentiment. “Tonight, we put our heads together for a solution.”

Qilin waved a hand at the Elders behind him too.

The core members of the three organizations sat down by their respective leaders. Soon, each organization began an internal discussion. They hadn’t lowered their voices to avoid getting overheard though, and the meeting room became boisterous at once.

A few minutes later, White Rabbit entered with a small cart, serving everyone coffee and tea.

The internal discussion took close to twenty minutes. Then Qilin raised a hand slowly, quieting the room and drawing everyone’s attention.

“We’ve come to a hypothesis, everyone. We’ll share it to start the ball rolling.” Qilin turned to Gao Yang after saying that. Gao Yang nodded.

In the last twenty minutes, Gao Yang had come up with a hypothesis based on everyone’s speculations, which earned the approval of Qilin and the other Elders.

He stood up and cleared his throat. It felt like he was making a presentation, and without being conscious of it, his choice of words became more formal and careful. “Everyone, you must have been informed of the fact that former Elder Black Tortoise of the Qilin Guild was found to be a spy.”

Gao Yang turned to Qilin. After getting the go-ahead, he continued, “Black Tortoise was working for an evil organization we referred to as the Godbearer Cult. They followed the one they called the Heavenly Godbearer, and Black Tortoise was the Cult’s archbishop, their second-in-command.”

“I’ve encountered their members a number of times. When they were cornered, they injected themselves with an insidious solution that would transform them into powerful monsters, with the side effect of losing their sanity. And they usually chanted the same prayer as the transformation took place like it was a source of comfort for them.”

“I’m going to repeat the prayer. Please think carefully if you have encountered something like it.”

“O omniscient and omnipotent Heavenly Godbearer, the great and merciful overlord of all...”

“Forgive my ignorance and purify my blood...”

“Save me from this weakness and these sins of mine...”

“Grant me the sacred blood and great power...”

“I swear to forever follow you, submit to you, devote myself to you...”

“I will give you my all and follow you to the blissful otherworld.”

No one said anything.

It seemed that none of them knew it.

“This isn’t related to the matter at hand, is it, Elder Seven Shadow?” War Tiger took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth out of habit, but as soon as he fished out his lighter, it was taken by White Rabbit.

He pulled out the cigarette a little awkwardly and fidgeted with it in his hand. “Our priority is the Crimson Tide, not the Godbearer Cult.”

“Please allow me to finish first, Mr. War Tiger,” Gao Yang said politely.

Then Gao Yang briefly talked about the perverted serial murder Gray Bear had been in charge of investigating.

That got him many people’s attention.

“Elder Seven Shadow,” Colorless, the first team leader of the Hundred Rivers Union, spoke up, her posture upright, and her eyes under her red hair were bright and keen. “Did you say that the owner of the massage parlor had killed her own kind as a monster and held an evil ritual?”

“Yes.” Gao Yang met her eyes. “We all know that under normal circumstances, the Heavenly Way prohibits monsters from killing regular humans and their own kind as monsters, yet members of the Godbearer Cult have been violating the rules. Why?”

Murmurs erupted in the room as people discussed the matter.

“There is another discrepancy,” Gao Yang continued. “Over the years, the Godbearer Cult has planted spies in the three major organizations...”

“All three organizations?” Green Tea, the fifth team leader, interrupted. His velvety voice and perfect pronunciation made him sound like the host of a late night radio show. “Do you mean there is a spy from Godbearer Cult in the Hundred Rivers Union too?”

“Yes.” Vermilion Bird crossed her legs with a cup of coffee in hand, eyeing the Union members with a half-smile. “That’s something I got out of Black Tortoise’s mouth—or what used to be a mouth.”

“Who is it?” Colorless frowned deeply.

Vermilion Bird glanced at Qilin. Qilin nodded at her.

She continued, “Her codename is Dust, the third-in-command of the Godbearer Cult. She was recruited after Black Tortoise joined the Qilin Guild, and he had never seen her in person.”

“Black Tortoise infiltrated us ten years ago, so you can narrow down the suspects to female members who have been with the Union for less than ten years.”

“Thank you.” Surnamed Li looked calm, but the four team leaders weren’t as composed.

Chen Ying muttered inwardly, That’s still too many suspects. At least twenty fit the criteria.

“By the way.” Vermilion Bird smirked at Colorless and Chen Ying. “The two of you have been with the Hundred Rivers Union for more than ten years, haven’t you?”

“They have,” Surnamed Li answered for them. “And I can vouch for them.”

“Are you 100% sure, Madam Li?”

Surnamed Li spoke in a maternal tone, “They are my confidants, and they stay close by my side. You haven’t forgotten about my Talent, have you?”

Gao Yang understood what she was saying. If Chen Ying and Colorless were spies, Surnamed Li would’ve spotted something with her ability to randomly predict what would happen around her over the past ten years, during which they had been spending most of their time with her.

“Good.” Vermilion Bird smiled relaxedly. “Then I’m certain that there is no spy from the Godbearer Cult in this room.”

Unless Black Tortoise’s body lied to me, she thought. But bodies don’t lie.

“Then,” Gao Yang took over. “May I continue?”

“Please.” Surnamed Li nodded.

“Over the years, the Godbearer Cult has planted spies in the three major organizations, moving discretely and staying out of sight. At the same time, however, a series of murders were committed in such a dramatic manner, and they even left the symbol of the Cult at the crime scenes. The two ways of doing things seem at odds.”

“Right. On one hand, they have been sneaking around, worried about attracting attention, but on the other hand, they seem to be actively seeking attention like someone shouting into a megaphone.” War Tiger made a relatable analogy.

Gao Yang nodded. “But upon reflection, the two aren’t necessarily in conflict.”

There was a second of silence.

War Tiger gave Gao Yang a figurative eye roll. Are you messing with me, you brat? I respond to you for your sake! But it turns out to be a verbal trap! Is this how you repay your teacher?!

Gao Yang didn’t have the time to placate War Tiger. He said level-headedly, “The spies were planted ten years ago. They stayed as sleeper agents for ten years, and when the series of murders were committed this year, Mad Red, Ghost Horse, Yellow Butterfly, and Black Tortoise began making their moves as well.”

“Wait!” Chen Ying was stunned. “Ghost Horse and Yellow Butterfly were also spies?”

Stop interrupting me, Gao Yang grumbled silently. And isn’t the Hundred Rivers Union too poorly informed?

“Ghost Horse was a double agent,” White Rabbit explained. “He appeared to be a spy the Godbearer Cult planted in the Twelve Zodiac Signs, but he was actually the spy we planted in the Cult.”

“Yellow Butterfly was an actual spy. She showed her hand in the Rune Cave in the Eleventh High School, and Seven Shadow dealt with her.” Azure Dragon provided the additional information. “We didn’t disclose the information.”

“Ha.” Colorless had a complicated look on her face. “If not for the Crimson Tide, who knows how much more we are going to keep from each other?”

That’s why an information broker like Liu Qingying runs such a thriving business, Gao Yang added in his head.

“If you don’t have any other question,” Gao Yang went back to the topic at hand, “I’m going to continue.”