Chapter 1125: Hypocrisy

Talismans pulsed with Lin Fu's energy along the walls of the cramped, dark basement. When Vermilion Bird opened the metal door and entered, she disturbed the invisible energy barrier—created through Blocking.

Ke Yo looked down at the electric bracelet on her wrist, developed by Dr. Jia. It monitored her vitals while serving as both tracker and surveillance device.

“You’re awake, Ke Yo.” Vermilion Bird settled into the chair across from her. “How do you feel?”

“A little dizzy, but...more or less fine.” Ke Yo looked around. “Where am I, Sister Xia? Why is it so dark?”

“This is...” Vermilion Bird hesitated. “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you. Don’t worry though. You’re safe here.”

“Sister Xia, am I...imprisoned?”

Guilt flashed through Vermilion Bird’s eyes. She told her the truth, “You are currently restricted. Do you remember anything about that night, Ke Yo?”

“I—” Ke Yo’s eyes glinted, “Don’t remember well.”

Vermilion Bird tensed. Something felt wrong. This wasn’t the Ke Yo she was familiar with. After a moment, she said in a colder voice, “Ke Yo, have you...recovered your memory?”

Ke Yo's eyes widened briefly before dimming. “How did you know?”

Vermilion Bird shook her head. “I’m not sure. It’s a hunch.”

Ke Yo cocked her head. “Ah.”

“Why did you hide that you’ve recovered your memory?” Vermilion Bird eyed her warily.

“There’s no special reason. I just feel like you prefer me when I don’t have my memory.”

Vermilion Bird shook her head. “I like the real you.”

“Hypocrite.” Ke Yo laughed, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “What do you know about the real me? Not even I know her.”

Words failed Vermilion Bird.

Ke Yo turned to the side and crossed her legs, leaning forward with an unreadable gaze. “I have at least three sides to myself: when I was with Edmond, when I lost my memory and was with you, and when I was alone.”

She met Vermilion Bird’s eyes. “Speaking of that, you’ve seen all three sides.”

Vermilion Bird's heart constricted as she remembered Ke Yo as Elder Black Tortoise. The girl had been a stranger who terrified her.

Vermilion Bird had wondered how Ke Yo was able to play a villain so different from her. She wasn’t a professional actor. And when Vermilion Bird talked to Yan Liang about it, they had disagreed about which was the real Ke Yo.

Yan Liang believed the indifferent Elder to be the real one. Could he be right?

When Gao Yang instructed her to play the villain, was she able to put up such a believable act because a similar personality lay dormant in her mind?

Ke Yo observed Vermilion Bird's reaction without surprise, scoffing, “See, you trusted me so much, yet you became intimidated so easily. What would the others think? It’s better for me to continue playing the Ke Yo who has lost her memory. There’s no point in exposing the lie.”

“I’m sorry.” Vermilion Bird struggled to process the revelation. “Give me some time.”

“Sure.” Ke Yo cocked her head. “I’m in no hurry.”

Vermilion Bird retrieved a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her pocket, placing one between her lips before catching herself. “May I smoke?”

“Be my guest.”

She lit the cigarette in the dark and took a drag, steeling herself.

“All things considered, it’s not a bad thing for you to recover your memory, Ke Yo.”

“Stop lying. You locked me up because you don’t trust me. Now that I’ve recovered my memory, don’t you have a better reason to kill me?”

“We aren’t sure how to deal with you yet.”

“Deal with me?” Ke Yo barked out a laugh. “What are you, my master?”

“I’m sorry for the wording. We haven’t reached a conclusion about how to face your current situation—”

“Enough,” Ke Yo cut her off impatiently. “Let me give you a piece of advice. Excessive kindness is no different from hypocrisy.”

“I won’t argue with you about such subjective perceptions,” Vermilion Bird said resolutely. “Now that you’ve recovered your memory, we can find out what has transpired between you and the Heavenly Godbearer...or Greed, to be more precise. And we’ll also learn your true standing now. We’ll make a decision based on the information.”

“So please be honest with me from now on. It’ll decide your fate.”

Ke Yo mused with a slight curl to her lips. “What if I refuse to cooperate?”

“To be frank, we have numerous ways to make you cooperate.” Vermilion Bird gave her a reluctant threat. “I don’t want to resort to that.”

Ke Yo nodded. “It seems that I have no other choice.”

“Clock’s ticking. Let’s get started.” Vermilion Bird shook off ash from her cigarette. “When you’re part of Tails, have you ever killed an awakener or a regular human?”

“No,” Ke Yo said. “I was rarely part of missions involving fighting and killing. Edmond assigned the others to do those.”

Vermilion Bird swallowed a sigh of relief. Her instinct told her that Ke Yo hadn’t lied, but of course, she wouldn’t so naively believe in her instinct.

“Have you seen the Heavenly Godbearer?”

“Once.”

“Have you interacted?”

“Yes.” Ke Yo tensed involuntarily. “But I can’t tell you about it.”

“Why?”

Ke Yo frowned in obvious discomfort, pressing a hand to her chest. “I can only tell you that I spent time with Greed alone, and Greed did something to me. I don’t remember what. Perhaps I can remember, but I don’t dare to. It feels dangerous, like it’ll kill me.”

Vermilion Bird's mind flashed to Sarah—Lilia's mother, whom they'd found in Aurora Town—then to Edmond's censored words during her questioning of his body. The curses were meant to keep secrets.

“Is there any other faction outside of Godbearer Cult?”

“I don’t know. Edmond was the one in charge of that. To my knowledge, Greed’s communication with the others is all one-sided.”

“Do you know what Greed is planning?”

“I don’t. She’s always being mysterious, claiming that she’ll take us to the blissful otherworld. Based on what Baili Yi has revealed and my own judgment, though, I have a feeling Greed had been spouting lies to kill all awakeners, especially the Divine Scion.”

Vermilion Bird made a contemplative sound before meeting Ke Yo's gaze. “What are Greed’s powers?”

“Don’t know.” Ke Yo shook her head. “It’s all related to eyes. Looking into the future, maybe? Or let’s call it glimpsing into fate. It all seems very grand.”

She laughed at herself. “You may think we were all fools, but when someone you didn’t know was able to say what you had been through, where you were at, and what would happen to you in the future, as well as answer many of your questions—those were probably lies, but we didn’t know—you would believe her to be an incarnation of God, too.”

Vermilion Bird hesitated. “Have you thought about why Greed was able to fully control you that night?”

“I’m not sure. It’s probably related to what Greed had done to me.” Ke Yo tilted her head. “Whatever the case, it wasn’t my intention. I was wholly unaware of what was happening to me.”

Vermilion Bird opened her mouth to ask another question, but Ke Yo's intense stare made her pause.

“What?”

“May I have a cigarette?” Ke Yo asked.