The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 771: Great Karma

“How could you do it, Six Rime?” Colorless’ eyes flashed with disgust. “Don’t you have a heart?”

“I was on a mission, and I completed it,” Six Rime said impassively.

That pushed Colorless over the edge. She growled with unbridled ire, “Fuck the mission!”

She pointed at Six Rime. “You were murdering people! You fool! Murderer! What makes you different from monsters? No, you’re worse than one!”

Splash. Six Rime shot to her feet in the hot spring. The hazy water came up to her flat abdomen.

“You are in no place to judge me.”

Six Rime could see the rage in Colorless’ eyes. Instantly, Six Rime’s eyes turned into a piercing deep blue, and the hot spring around them quickly grew icy.

Splash. Colorless stood up too, her eyes a scintillating deep red. The white fog rising from the surface of the hot spring rippled out in waves as her intangible will spread in all directions.

“I don’t mind judging you for God for once.”

“You’re welcome to try...”

“Achoo!”

A dramatic sneeze interrupted their conversation. Six Rime and Colorless immediately retracted their killing intent and turned in the same direction.

Liao Liao had come up to the edge of the hot spring at some point, her hair put up to reveal her neck and the shape of her head. She waded her way to them awkwardly.

“Hm? Why’s the hot spring cold? This is false advertisement... Oh, here you two are!” Liao Liao approached them with feigned enthusiasm.

She eyed Colorless appreciatively. “Oh boy. Sister Colorless, you’ve got a great bod. I’m so envious I can cry.”

“You’re not bad yourself.” Colorless hid her embarrassment and grabbed a wet towel from the surface of the hot spring to cover her torso, slowly submerging into the water.

“I’m no match for you. I’m like a kid compared to you.” Liao Liao smiled like a pervert on purpose and turned to Six Rime, who was still standing. “And little Six Rime, your skin’s so fair it seems to be glowing. And you’re skinny with slim arms and legs. Tsk, tsk, this is too much. You’re like a girl straight out of a manga...”

Six Rime lowered back into the water with an icy expression. “I don’t have a good figure.”

“Oh, no, no. You’re beautiful in your own way, both blessed children of the heavens.” Liao Liao continued with her flattery. “Unlike me. I’m neither curvy enough nor skinny enough. Totally mediocre and will disappear in a crowd.”

Six Rime and Colorless fell silent.

Liao Liao continued with her verbal barrage like a machine gun shooting out words. “Sister Colorless, do you know any good places for food or some fun? Give me a recommendation! I have a feeling we’re staying a few more days here. We shouldn’t waste our time after coming all the way to this nation.”

Colorless thought for a moment. “There’s not much fun to be had. It’s the same everywhere. It’s damn cold and lifeless. There is a restaurant serving good lobster soup and smoked lamb, though...”

“Hey, Little Six Rime, can you have seafood? Judging by your skin, you have allergies, don’t you?”

“I’m not allergic to anything,” said Six Rime.

“Wonderful. Let’s go to the restaurant together later...”

Liao Liao continued to blabber until the icy and dangerous atmosphere warmed up. Although the commotion she made was more awkward than anything, at least it was safe.

She sighed in relief in her mind. Good. I’ve stopped the two pretty girls from going at each other’s necks in the hot spring. Liao Liao, you’ve done something that deserves all the good karma!

...

After that, it was obvious that Colorless and Six Rime couldn’t share a room as they should, or they might tear the hotel down past midnight. However, Colroless didn’t want to stay with Surnamed Li, either, and it would draw attention to ask the owner for an extra room.

In the end, under the mediation of Liao Liao, Six Rime moved to share a room with Azure Dragon, Colorless with Liu Qingying, and Dead Pig with Zhong He.

None of them opposed to the new arrangement.

Inside the room for two, Azure Dragon took off his jacket and laid a blanket on the floor beside the bed, lying down like a plank.

He had been a member of the special forces before his awakening, and his long military life accustomed him to sleeping on hard beds in short bursts. The habit stayed with him even after he left the military.

Things that were too comfortable and relaxing felt threatening to him.

With the light off, only the cold, dim moonlight rimmed the furniture in the room.

After about five minutes, Azure Dragon spoke up calmly from the floor, “Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”

He had gone on many missions with Six Rime. Due to the constraints of the circumstances, they had shared a room more than a few times, and it was natural for them.

Azure Dragon even taught Six Rime how to fall asleep in 300 seconds. After a long period of practicing, Six Rime could now fall asleep anytime anywhere and wake up at will like Azure Dragon.

Six Rime was still awake. It couldn’t be insomnia, which meant she had something on her mind and didn’t want to sleep yet.

Silence stretched for thirty seconds in the dim room. Then Six Rime said coolly, “Elder Azure Dragon, Colorless called me a fool and a murderer, no better than a monster.”

Azure Dragon was quiet.

“Am I?” Six Rime asked.

Azure Dragon stared at the ceiling and sighed softly. “Colorless is entitled to make her accusations from her perspective. In the battle at the Starcatching Pavilion, we’ve got the blood of too many innocents on our hands. Even if our cause is just, there’s no changing the fact.”

“Did we do the wrong thing?”

“I follow Qilin’s order, and you follow mine. That’s all there is to it.”

“What if...” Six Rime paused. “What if Guildmaster Qilin was wrong?”

“I trust Qilin.”

Six Rime thought for a moment. “And I trust you.”

“We have sinned, but we haven’t done the wrong thing. We’re soldiers. Soldiers stick to our cause and follow orders.”

“Yes.”

In the dark, Azure Dragon’s fierce eyes softened a little. “Six Rime, you’ve followed me for years. Have I ever told you about me?”

“No.”

“Do you want to hear it?”

Six Rime blinked slightly to tell him that she wanted to hear the story. When she realized that Azure Dragon couldn’t see it, she said, “I want to.”

Azure Dragon crossed his arms behind his head and narrowed his eyes slightly. “I was in special forces before awakening. The Rogue Cape saw many battles then. My team was there to rescue a group of civilians. However, we underestimated the local militia’s viciousness and cruelty. The civilians and all members of the team died then.”

The room was silent for a moment.

Six Rime felt like she should say something, but she didn’t know what to say.

Azure Dragon continued, “My body was filled with shards of bullets. There was no saving me, yet I miraculously survived.”

“I only learned afterward that I had survived because I awakened. When I heard the name and serial number of the Talent in my dying moment, I thought it was merely an illusion conjured by my hazy mind. And my Talent didn’t manifest obviously in the beginning stage. Although my body seemed stronger after my recovery, I didn’t think much of it.”

“I left the military after recovering and became mentally ill seriously. I believed I had no right to live, and the urge to take my life slithered and crept up on me all the time like a viper. As a soldier, though, I considered suicide a cowardice and shameful thing to do, and thus I didn’t carry the thought out in action. I was conflicted.”

“Then I met Qilin. He’s a psychiatrist and an awakener.”

Azure Dragon smiled faintly. “He guessed that I had awakened, but he didn’t spell it out and treated me simply as a regular patient. Slowly but surely, he helped me move on until I was more or less recovered. Then he told me what he was. He introduced me to a different world.”

“Qilin once told me that most people cared about only the cries coming from a short distance, and it’s only natural. However, someone had to pay attention to the distant wails, for the distant wails were the future.”

“Everything Qilin does, he does it for the future of humanity. Humanity must not fade into the night. No matter how great a price we have to pay, humanity must live on.”

“Someone has to live to remember those who have passed away and the bygone history. Someone has to remember where the civilization came from and the darkness and light it’s gone through.”

“It’s the duty of the living. As long as we’re alive, we must hold fast to that duty.”

“That is the meaning of my life and the belief I must abide by.”

It was the first time Azure Dragon had ever said that to someone outside of Qilin. While it did nothing to lessen his guilt about the Starcatching Pavilion, the heaviness in his heart did lift a little.

“What is your belief, Six Rime?”

Six Rime remained on the bed. Her stomach seemed heavy, but also warm. It was a strange feeling she had never had before.

“Your belief is mine,” Six Rime said devotedly.

“You’re running away, child.” Azure Dragon advised her earnestly. “But it’s okay. You’re young. One day, you’ll find your belief.”

“I may...never find it.”

“Why?”

“Colorless is right. I may not...have a heart.” Six Rime’s eyes seemed lost. “Joy, sadness, heartbreak, guilt, sympathy...I seem incapable of those feelings.”

“Does that bother you?”

Six Rime lowered her head slightly. “I don’t know.”

“You are troubled.”

“Yes,” Six Rime admitted. “I’m troubled sometimes.”

“Then you have a heart.” Azure Dragon sounded certain. “A heartless person won’t feel troubled. You’ve simply shut your heart. You awakened too young and your heart chose to do that to protect you.”

In the dark, Six Rime shook slightly. She stared at the dim moonlight shining onto the ceiling. The strange feeling returned to her stomach.

So I have a heart.