Chapter 909: Pay Double

"Thanks for the compliment."

Gao Yang rested his head against the chair, eyes closing. "Wanna join the madman's organization?"

Liao Liao started, then understood. Of course Gao Yang had saved her for a reason. This wasn't charity.

"May I ask why?" she asked carefully.

"There are many reasons. Your ability, your smarts, your potential..." Gao Yang's voice carried unconcealed exhaustion. "What really convinced me, though, was something else."

"What is it?"

Gao Yang opened his eyes, offering her a small smile. "Looking at you, I feel like seeing my past self."

Liao Liao's heart clenched. Strange. Gao Yang saving her life hadn't moved her, but that single sentence struck deep.

Perhaps kindred spirits did exist. Perhaps she needn't be alone.

Perhaps she could find companions and meaning like Gao Yang had done. It would be wonderful to lead such a life before sweeping the tombs of those she disliked.

"You may leave or stay. Make your choice." Gao Yang's eyes closed again.

Liao Liao wrestled with herself.

Gao Yang's alright, but following him means a shortened lifespan. Just look at those around him.

But returning to the Ocean River Union isn't an option. Going unaffiliated... No, that would be even more dangerous in these chaotic times.

Think it through, Liao Liao. Weigh the pros and cons. One misstep leads to the abyss...

A weight suddenly fell on her shoulder.

She glanced sideways to find Gao Yang's head resting there. The train's curve had sent him sliding over in his exhausted sleep.

This wasn't a double. Gao Yang was weak, defenseless.

She could kill him in a second.

He was the prime target of the Ocean River Union and the Malediction, as prophesied by Surnamed Li. His death might end the civil war and save humanity.

Yeah, but what does all that have to do with me?

I only know that this man saved me at the risk of his life and fell asleep on my shoulder, like I'm a companion he can entrust his back to.

Fuck.

Liao Liao cursed herself before looking up with newfound determination. “Where are we heading, Dr. Jia?”

“Don’t ask me,” Dr. Jia said innocently.

Liao Liao blinked in surprise. “Are you not with the Nine Scions?”

"Of course not!" Dr. Jia's voice rose. "I'm just an asset you fight among yourselves for. I don't really care where I go."

"You have a clear view of yourself." Liao Liao shook her head with a bitter smile. After a moment, she added, "Let's get out of here and hide first. We'll make a decision once Gao Yang's awake."

"Works for me."

...

Qingyang Bridge, an hour later.

The city's Lunar New Year's Eve celebration faded into silence as night deepened. The Heavenly Way soon detected the buildings being damaged by unnatural force in the blocked-off area of the Qingyang Bridge. It quickly began its repair.

Under the cold moonlight, the Li River rested serenely.

Chunks of concrete and rebar surfaced in the water before rising to the piers, reassembling under an incredible power until they looked untouched.

On the shoal beneath the bridge stood the survivors of the Ocean River Union.

One Stone and Rain River tended to the injured first, then dealt with the dead. Rain River used Plasticine to make the bodies pliable while One Stone sewed them, struggling to restore dignity to the fallen.

Some proved beyond repair. White Rabbit had lost everything below her chest—when One Stone lifted her, it felt like holding a pillow. She could only clean the girl's face and wrap her in a jacket before placing her in a body bag.

"Sister One Stone." Citrus approached, eyes red. "This is all we found of Sister Musashi..."

One Stone glanced over. It was a broken hand in a laced glove, wearing a diamond ring. It was the wedding band her ex had given her when proposing to her. Unfortunately, she had awakened and had to run away, but the ring never left her.

One Stone’s expression turned grave. She had witnessed the moment of Musashi’s death. The great missile of steel beams had smashed her into countless pieces. Then the bridge collapsed in the following fight. There was no recovering the body parts.

She took the hand with a silent nod, then turned toward the riverside where two figures remained: one standing, one seated.

Qilin and Surnamed Li remained there for a long time.

Qilin wore a clean coat now, his blind right eye covered by a black patch. He leaned on a Black Gold cane, his roughly bandaged left arm ending at the forearm. When the Red Fallen Fox destroyed the white phoenix, Puppet Azure Dragon had barely managed to pull him from danger—at the cost of itself and Qilin's arm.

The life monster puppet and Spring had vanished in that purgatory of flame.

Qilin lost the war. It could be considered a landslide defeat.

"Guildmaster, Deputy Guildmaster." One Stone approached gravely. "We've recovered all the bodies in the area."

Qilin stared at the river, wordless.

"Go on," Surnamed Li said, voice heavy with exhaustion and regret.

"We lost eight: Sister Ling, Nomad, Musashi, Flower, First Firelord, Amon, Jing Ke, and Stubborn Weasel. Only Musashi's hand remained."

One Stone paused. "Of the enemy, we recovered Yellow Lotus, Thick Earth, and White Rabbit. The first two we restored. White Rabbit was beyond saving."

"And," she watched Qilin's back, "Dr. Jia was taken. Ting Ting and Cold Cicada escaped. They say it was Gao Yang."

"The others?" Qilin finally spoke.

"Wandering Tune called from the lab. It's burned, along with the bodies. The remains... need confirmation, but he believes they're Yan Liang, Qin You, 0618, and Void..."

Qilin fell silent once more. He said nothing, and he had kept his psychic power from leaking this time.

Yet One Stone noticed his figure growing colder and darker.

After a long stretch of silence, Qilin turned around with an impassive expression. “Where are the bodies?”

One Stone lowered her head reflexively. “By the riverbank.”

“Take me there.”

“Yes, sir.”

Qilin followed One Stone to a patch of green by the river. Under the moonlight lay nine relatively intact bodies, covered by bloodied white cloths.

Qilin stood among them and raised his hand, gesturing at the others to keep their distance. Then he closed his eyes.

One Stone sensed a strange energy radiating from him. It chilled her to the bones and made her skin crawl. It felt like getting caught by a viper and spiderwebs while getting sucked on by leeches. She paled and shuddered, moving another ten meters backward to join the others.

A minute later, the insidious energy faded.

The wind halted. The air stilled. Suddenly, glowing green lit up for everybody.

Qilin opened his left eye. It looked like an emerald at the pitch-black bottom of a lake.

Clack.

His cane struck the ground.

The bodies rose, white cloths falling away. In the moonlight, the wind blew once more, and the dead puppets turned toward their master, eyes flickering green.

Qilin faced his surviving followers.

"I, Qilin, hereby make an oath!"

"No drop of blood shed tonight will be in vain. Our humiliation and hatred will be paid back twofold."

"No one will take us down. No one will stop humanity from moving forward."

He raised his fist to the sky. "For survival!"

"For survival! For survival! For survival..."