The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 328: Drink and Chat at Night

“Then I’ll be frank with you.” For the next few minutes, Surnamed Li went into details about the upcoming Crimson Tide.

Alcoholic cradled the bottle in her hands and took a whiff every once in a while; only she knew if she was listening or daydreaming.

Five minutes later, Surnamed Li turned to Alcoholic to check her reaction, having explained the situation.

Alcoholic put down the bottle and looked up at her, saying in a tone completely devoid of surprise, “So that’s it?”

Surnamed Li paused and broke into a resigned smile. “Isn’t that dire enough?”

“Who knows how many more days I’ll live in this state?” Alcoholic said self-deprecatingly. “Perhaps I’ll get drunk and never wake up another day. Why should I care so much?”

Surnamed Li didn’t deem that a response. She knew Alcoholic wasn’t being genuine.

“Besides, I can barely stay on my two feet. Do you really expect me to fight monsters?” Alcoholic laughed harder. “It’s gonna be a struggle to even cheer you on!”

Qilin limped his way back with two white porcelain bowls he’d washed and a white porcelain saucer filled with peanuts. “I saw a pack of peanuts. It’s not past the expiration date yet. It’ll make a good pair with the drink.”

“Nice! Nicely done!” Alcoholic’s eyes lit up in joy. She beckoned him over. “Come, come!”

Qilin put down the bowls. Alcoholic poured both of them some liquor. Then she drank straight from the bottle.

“Ah.” Alcoholic leaned back into the couch with the bottle in her arms, content. “As expected of a baijiu from 1995. It feels like I’m taken back to that year...”

Qilin and Surnamed Li each picked up a bowl and took a sip.

Surnamed Li immediately frowned, while Qilin managed to keep a straight face despite the burn in his throat.

Alcoholic visibly perked up after getting some drink in her; even her yellowish complexion gained a hint of red.

She sat up and popped a peanut into her mouth, crunching it. “To tell you the truth, Muzi, I’ve long known about the Crimson Tide you dreamed of.”

Both Surnamed Li and Qilin were shocked.

A few seconds later, Qilin asked, “You don’t have the ability to predict the future too, do you, Alcoholic?”

“Haha, no, I don’t.” Alcoholic took another swig before slamming the bottle onto the table, pounding on her chest in a way reminiscent of her once ambitious self. “There’s no need for that.”

“I don’t understand.” Qilin acted down-to-earthly now that he was with an awakener more senior than he was.

“You were with me for ten years, Muzi.” Alcoholic turned to Surnamed Li. “Do you know what my Talent is?”

Surnamed Li shook her head.

Alcoholic’s Talent had been a closely-kept secret. Although Surnamed Li had a personal connection with Alcoholic, she wasn’t a core member of the Elusive Sect and thus wasn’t privy to the information.

“Hoho, and do you want to know?” Alcoholic’s wrinkly face arranged into a mischievous smile like a lovable old witch.

Surnamed Li nodded.

“Drink! Drink and I’ll tell you.”

Surnamed Li shook her head resignedly, picking up the bowl with a frown to take a small sip.

“Hahahaha!” Alcoholic was beside herself. She glanced at Qilin. “You too, young man! Drink, and I’ll tell you!”

...

F Island, Naldives, ten o’clock at night.

Gao Yang was right. There was a body on the beach.

He hesitated between taking his leave or going up to check the body. In the end, he chose the latter.

Of course, he made sure to access his system to determine that there was no danger at the moment.

He marched toward the body before slowing to a cautious walk. It was a woman dressed in a blue t-shirt and a black skirt that covered the knees. On her legs were a pair of white long socks, and she was wearing a black dress shoe—the other shoe had fallen off and was nowhere to be seen.

She must have drowned and gotten washed up to the shore.

And she dressed like a college student from the past.

Gao Yang hesitated before carefully flipping the body. She looked young. Her hair was tied into two braids, accentuating her meek temperament and the gentleness of her heart-shaped face. Although her face was pale, it wasn’t lifelessly so, and her skin wasn’t bloated.

Shocked, Gao Yang quickly checked her breathing. She’s still alive!

The downpour continued, and waves crashed upon the shoreline, submerging Gao Yang’s feet and the girl’s body.

Gao Yang couldn’t afford to be indecisive. He picked up the girl and placed her down on the sandy beach further in.

“Hey, wake up.” Gao Yang patted her on the face.

She didn’t say anything. Her eyebrows twitched slightly, and a weak moan escaped her lips.

Gao Yang leaned down to take a closer look. The girl’s shirt was torn on the side, where there was a long gash. Submerged in seawater, the gash had turned white, almost bled dry.

She was seriously injured and had lost too much blood!

Could she have gotten attacked by a shark or something while swimming in the ocean?

Gao Yang quickly pushed aside the ridiculous guess. What mattered now was to save her.

Gao Yang reached into his pants pocket. Just in case, he had been carrying two shots of Medicine C with him. He didn’t expect them to be of use.

The girl could either be a wanderer, a regular human, or an awakener.

Were she a wanderer, he wasn’t sure if Medicine C would work on her, but since Fat Jun’s Healing did have some effect on Wang Zikai, Medicine C should work too.

Were she a human or an awakener, he couldn’t just leave her unattended as a fellow human.

Gao Yang looked around to make sure that no other people were around. Sneakily taking off the cap of the syringe, he lifted the tattered fabric sticking to the girl’s side and felt around the gash. Then he injected her with the whole shot.

“Hmph.”

The girl groaned again.

After about thirty seconds, the girl’s pale, wet face regained some color. Gao Yang took a close look. The long gash on her side was healing at an observable speed.

He kept watch on her for a few minutes until her visible injury had more or less healed, leaving only a pink scar.

She twitched before slowly opening her eyes. The first thing she saw was Gao Yang’s blurry face.

“You okay?” Gao Yang had a lot to ask her. “Who are you? Why are you here? What attacked you?”

The girl stared as her consciousness slowly awakened. Looking lost and terrified, she whispered weakly, “Don’t, don’t kill me...”

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”

“Save me, help...” She held onto Gao Yang’s hand with her cold hand. “He, he was trying to kill me...”

“Who? Who wanted to kill you?”

“Pops, pops[1] tried to kill me...” The girl’s eyes brimmed with tears. Other than fear, there was also a look of sadness on her face.

Pops? Her father?

Gao Yang was getting increasingly confused. It seemed that it would take longer for him to figure out the situation.

He looked up and scanned around. Just then, two young men and two young women came their way, running and messing around in the rain with beer in their hands, seemingly drunk.

“Can you walk?” Gao Yang asked.

The girl quietly tried to get to her feet, but she was still feeling weak.

“Forget it.” Gao Yang grabbed her arm and slung it over his shoulder. “I’ll carry you.”

He got her onto his back and quickly walked away from the four young strangers, moving in the opposite direction.

Gao Yang believed that the girl should be a human. Were she a wanderer, she wouldn’t have reacted like that. And she couldn’t have been an elite monster, or she would’ve lost her human form with the degree of injury she’d suffered.

It would draw attention for two humans to be seen together in Naldives, especially since one of them was injured. They could be exposed.

Gao Yang decided to go to a place where they would be alone to question the girl.

“Don’t worry, no one’s going to hurt you. You’re safe now.” Gao Yang offered gentle reassurance when he felt the girl on his back trembling. “What’s your name?”

After about ten seconds, the girl lost the last of her caution and said honestly, “Huai Wei.”

“Good name,” Gao Yang said without meaning it, continuing forward.

A moment later, the girl asked quietly, “And you?”

“Me...” Gao Yang paused. “Qi Ying.”

1. The word used here is die 爹, which is a more archaic version of ‘dad’. Suggest a closer relationship. ?

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