The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 305: Sir Zuo

“Where to?” Vermilion Bird asked the question everyone wanted to ask.

“It’s nearby. Just follow me.” X hopped back onto his jet ski as he spoke.

Exchanging a glance, they got onto the jet skis in pairs or alone, following X into the water.

Setting out from the uninhabited island, X didn’t drive toward the ocean further; everyone knew that further out was the border of the Mist World, where an invisible barrier would stop them from approaching.

Instead, X drove parallel to the barrier for about a minute until he slowed down.

Right behind him, Gao Yang was the first among the others to see a figure on the water, not far from them.

“Captain!” Can, riding with him, saw the figure too. “Is that a human? How is he standing on water?”

Gao Yang whispered, “Be careful. Go invisible if things seem dangerous.”

“Okay!” Can tightened the hands she rested on Gao Yang’s shoulders.

Soon, everyone saw the strange figure standing on water, going alert. Under X’s lead, they stopped around the figure at a short interval, almost making a circle, ready to fight at any time.

Under the clear moonlight, Gao Yang considered the stranger.

It was an old man whose hair had gone white and face was covered in wrinkles. He looked short and thin, no taller than 1.6 meters, and his back was hunched. Dressed in a gray, old-fashioned shirt and a pair of straight pants, he held his hands behind his back.

He had a gentle smile on his face. His wrinkly eyes were a muddled, strange grayish white with no irises. He appeared to be blind.

X said in a familiar tone, “I’ve come, Sir Zuo.”

“Haha, Little Crossy, here you are.” Sir Zuo’s voice was surprisingly strong and booming, a stark contrast from his hunched, frail-looking figure.

Little Crossy.

Sounds like a eunuch’s name[1], Gao Yang grumbled inwardly.

Wu Dahai couldn’t help but snort. He must have been thinking the same thing.

“Sir Zuo.” X had a hand on the handlebar of the jet ski while he brushed his other hand through his silky blonde hair. “I get it now. I can’t defeat you on my own, so I bring friends!”

Gao Yang’s heart sank.

Delicate brows furrowed, Vermilion Bird stared at X. “What? We’re fighting this man?”

Sir Zuo chuckled. “With these many of you, how is an old man like me going to win a fight?”

“Don’t worry.” X glanced at Vermilion Bird before looking over at the others in turn. He explained in a relaxed tone, “This is Sir Zuo, an observer.”

An observer! Pride monster!

They were all surprised, but thinking about it, things fit.

X continued, “I’ve known him for years. Sir Zuo has been guarding the Rune Cave, and he alone is able to open the entrance.”

X sighed. “I’ve always wanted to get in, but Sir Zuo gave me two options. Either I defeated him in a one-on-one fight, or I took twelve awakeners to him and played a game with him.”

Chen Ying frowned slightly. “And you’ve never defeated him all these years?”

X shrugged and easily admitted, “Yes, and I’ve tried everything. Want a go?”

Chen Ying didn’t say anything. If even the fifth-ranking awakener failed to defeat the pride monster, she wouldn’t stand a chance.

“We have a lot more people now,” Qing Ling said coldly.

In other words, they could go after Sir Zuo together; one pride monster wouldn’t be their match.

X gave Qing Ling a wry smile. “Defeating him doesn’t mean we’ll be let into the Rune Cave, pretty girl. If he doesn’t want to let us enter, killing him won’t change anything. Do you think he’ll open the entrance for us if we gang up on him?”

Sir Zuo smiled in lieu of a response, effectively a silent agreement.

“Sir Zuo.” White Rabbit put on the look of a harmless girl. “What game are we playing?”

“Can’t say, can’t tell you.” Sir Zuo’s head remained slightly lowered, his line of sight leveled ahead rather than toward White Rabbit. He must be truly blind. “Play if you agree to the condition, and return if you don’t.”

Gao Yang would like to ask if the game was going to be life-threatening, but then he felt like there was no point in asking.

X smiled carelessly. “That’s the deal. You decide.”

“Haha, you have one minute.” Sir Zuo was still smiling, but the water under his feet started rippling all of a sudden, and he started sinking gradually.

Gao Yang caught on immediately. They only had a minute to make the decision before Sir Zuo would be completely submerged and disappear entirely; then they would lose their chance tonight.

No wonder X gave them only a minute to make the decision earlier as well. He was preparing them for Sir Zuo’s strange way of doing things.

All eyes were on Vermilion Bird, the one in command for this mission.

Her expression was tense. In only ten seconds, Sir Zuo’s calves were already underwater.

She glanced at Gao Yang reflexively, but there was no answer on his face.

At that moment, Gao Yang was relieved that he wasn’t in charge of this team; he didn’t need to shoulder the great pressure of potentially making the wrong decision.

Vermilion Bird then turned to White Rabbit and Chen Ying.

Chen Ying didn’t say anything. She had always been risk-averse. She didn’t want to lose another companion. However, she couldn’t possibly say that they should give up when they had come this far.

“Elder Vermilion Bird, there’s no turning back,” White Rabbit coolly reminded her and glanced at X.

Vermilion Bird knew what she was getting at: they had made a promise to X. If they got back on their word, a fight would inevitably break out between them and X, who had declared that he would kill all of them if they turned him down after learning his secret.

Vermilion Bird made up her mind. “We’ll play, Sir Zuo.”

The pride monster was now chest deep in the water. He stopped sinking when he got Vermilion Bird’s answer, and he quickly floated onto the water surface. Shockingly, his body was entirely dry, not getting even a drop of seawater on him.

“Alright.”

Sir Zuo’s grayish white eyes stared into nothing. His voice came from all directions, shaking them to the core with a dignified presence.

“The game is on. The contract is made. There is no end until there are victors.”

Gao Yang’s heart sank. So there was a fight coming if his tone was anything to go by, which meant there would be casualties.

Still, some of them would still die when the Crimson Tide hit even if they avoided it now.

From the very start, they didn’t have a choice even though it might seem like they did.

Sir Zuo’s voice faded while the water under his feet rippled again, sending waves of strange white light to under everyone’s jet ski, illuminating this part of the ocean for the moment.

Then one or two white orbs emerged before each of their jet skis, radiating intense light. It looked like a teleportation device from a sci-fi movie.

“Get on and start the game.” Sir Zuo chuckled, the sound relaxed and carefree, but there was no telling if it was benevolent or malevolent.

It was clear that the awakeners were still hesitant. They reflexively turned to their most trusted companions and exchanged glances.

Qing Ling turned to Gao Yang. He gave her a nod. Let’s go. There’s no turning around.

X was the first to get off his jet ski and landed on the glowing white orb.

Something strange happened then: he stood on the water like he was standing on land.

Standing amid the light, he called out to the others, “What are you waiting for? Don’t you want the Poison Rune Circuit?”

Vermilion Bird took a deep breath and became the second to jump onto the glowing orb.

The others followed one after another, standing amid the white light.

Gao Yang and Can were the last to do so.

Her small figure was awash in light. Scared, she turned to look at Gao Yang. His encouraging glance put her somewhat at ease.

All thirteen players were ready.

In the ten seconds where they were silent, it was as if the only things that existed were the moonlight above them, the night wind gliding along the ocean, and the feeling of the unknown in their hearts.

Suddenly, Sir Zuo’s muddled white eyes shone brilliantly.

Gao Yang’s consciousness slipped, then his feet lost purchase. He plunged into the ocean, enveloped by cold water and thick darkness.

He wanted to struggle, but in less than three seconds, he blacked out.

1. The raw is xiao-cha-zi, with ‘xiao’ meaning ‘little’ and ‘zi’ a common suffix for nouns, and ‘cha’ is cross. Xiao-OOO-zi is a naming convention for eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty. ?