The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 1072: Poem Analysis

Vermilion Bird spoke up in surprise after hearing the full poem from Gao Yang, “You heard it from the dream, too?”

“Not in the dream.” Gao Yang shook his head. “Sir Jiang told it to me before his death. He said that my grandmother told him.” After a pause, he added, “I asked him what it meant, but he didn’t say anything—maybe he didn’t have the time.”

They fell silent, considering the wording of the poem.

Vermilion Bird’s eyes lit up after a while. “Is the eternal homeland Qilin talked about the ‘wonderland eternal’ in the poem?”

Gao Yang repeated the line, “The lost seek wonderland eternal.”

“Wonderland eternal, the eternal homeland, the ever spinning top.” Vermilion Bird’s eyes dimmed for a moment. “Qilin never went into details about his childhood, but based on the little things he had said about himself, I knew that he once had a happy family until his parents passed away. Qilin would’ve seen himself as a wanderer without a home.”

“It does make sense.” That opened up Gao Yang’s perspective. “Then the ignorant will be wanderers or unawakened humans, leading a life of ignorance until the end of time, meeting their death in the Mist.”

“The ignorant sleep upon the mist...” Vermilion Bird pondered the words. Suddenly, she looked up at Gao Yang and asked, “Will ‘the fearless’ be referring to us?”

Gao Yang hesitated before nodding. “I think it means that we are fearless to refuse to go to the eternal wonderland, seeking real hope instead.”

“Then what would ‘along which the fearless ascends’ mean? Along the mist...” she murmured. “Does it simply represent our spirit to overcome challenges, or is it a clue referring to something concrete? Just like how ‘wonderland eternal’ refers to the ‘eternal homeland’.”

Gao Yang frowned slightly. “I don’t know, but I have a feeling that I’m missing something. I just can’t put a finger on it now.”

Vermilion Bird waited quietly, not wanting to disturb Gao Yang’s thought process.

After a while, he shook his head a little dejectedly. “No, I can’t think of it. It’s close, but I can’t grasp it.”

“Let’s start with bigger categories.” Vermilion Bird turned sideways. “What is it related to? The Mist?”

Gao Yang shook his head. “Don’t think so.”

“The twelve Rune Circuits?”

“No.”

“The Godbearer Cult?”

“No.”

“The Gates of Closure.”

Gao Yang said after a beat, “Seems related, but...a little off. Like scratching the foot through the boot.”

“Strange analogy.” Vermilion Bird chuckled. “I get it though.”

After a bemused moment, she said, “Let’s change our perspective. Think back to it. What gave you the feeling that you were grasping something?”

Gao Yang narrowed his eyes.

“Is it because of the poem?” Vermilion Bird asked.

He shook his head. “Don’t think so. I’ve been thinking about the poem every now and then before you woke up.”

“Then why did you think of it this time? Because I read the poem to you?”

Inspiration flashed through Gao Yang’s head, but he once again failed to grasp it.

“So it was me.” Vermilion Bird noticed his reaction. She continued, “So I was the reason you had an idea.”

“Yeah.” Gao Yang nodded. “Because of you.”

Vermilion Bird continued to narrow it down. “Was it because of something I’d told you...”

“Ah!” Gao Yang shouted. It felt like finally remembering where he had left his phone in a messy room or solving a math problem after a whole day of agonizing. His eyes lit up with the joy of discovery. He eagerly said, “I got it! I got it now!”

Vermilion Bird couldn’t wait. “Great! What is it?”

“The Crimson Tide!”

“Huh?” Vermilion Bird blinked. That was it?

“Vermilion Bird, you were the one to tell me about the Crimson Tide, remember?”

“Yeah, during our drive back to Qilin’s office.”

“What did you tell me about the source of the blood mist?”

“Behind the Gates.”

“Did you ever see it yourself?”

“No. QIlin told me. And we saw in his illusion that...” Vermilion Bird stopped. “Oh, oh God!”

Realization dawning, she grabbed Gao Yang’s arm and shouted, “There are no Gates! No doorway!”

“Yeah!” Gao Yang chuckled. “Qilin said the Gates of Closure didn’t exist. Then where did the Crimson Tide come from?”

“Along the mist the fearless ascend! Along the mist!” Vermilion Bird repeated in excitement. “There lies the clue!”

Gao Yang nodded. “The mist isn’t the Mist surrounding us, but the blood mist of the Crimson Tide! The ignorant are the wanderers and regular humans falling asleep when the blood mist rises. That’s why they ‘sleep upon the mist’!”

“And we are the fearless!” Vermilion Bird chimed in. “We’ll ascend along the mist! We have to follow the blood mist to find its source. There, we’ll find our answer!”

...

Fifteenth Highschool, ten o’clock at night.

The bell rang. A ruckus began to break through the quiet at the brightly-lit teaching building. Students in white swarmed out of the well-lit classrooms and quickly converged downstairs. Some moved to the dorms, while others headed to the front gate.

Under the dim light at the gate, the swarming white figures looked like a group of moths. Among them, a petite girl with twin tails walked with her head lowered, a large canvas on her back.

Soon, a bespectacled boy with a shaved head weaved through the crowd and caught up with her. “Gao Xinxin! Wait, wait for me...”

Gao Xinxin didn’t turn around, but she did slow down.

Once he caught up with her, she turned around and shot a glare at him. “How many times have I told you not to call out my name in public?”

“Oh, oh, right. I forgot. Must be getting old.” Guang Huan smiled apologetically, lowering his voice. “Let’s walk together.”

“Brother Kai’s picking me up.”

“I know.” Guang Huan chuckled. “But we can walk out together.”

Before, Guang Huan would’ve backed down immediately. If Gao Xinxin found him annoying, he would’ve waited until her mood improved before bugging her.

Now, though, he thought differently after losing and recovering her; even as a friend, he wanted to treasure every second he got to spend with her.

Simply put, he never missed a chance to show his face to her or to get involved in her life. Even though the distance between the classroom and the school gate was short, every night after their self-study session, he still came to walk her like someone dutifully completing the daily missions of a game.

They walked shoulder-to-shoulder under the night sky. Guang Huan chattered nonstop and constantly made hand gestures. Even when the conversation seemed to be cooling down, he would drag it on and on kicking and screaming.

Gao Xinxin shot back a response only occasionally, distracted.

After a few seconds, she slowed and looked up at Guang Huan. “It’s my brother’s birthday tomorrow.”

“April first?” Guang Huan was surprised. “Brother Yang’s birthday is on April Fool’s?”

“Yeah,” Gao Xinxin said. “It’s Sunday tomorrow. I have the afternoon off. I’m going to buy him a gift so that we can celebrate his birthday together at night.”

“Oh, I should get him a gift, too...”

“Guang Huan.” Gao Xinxin pursed her lips and smiled. “My brother’s an introvert. He doesn’t like a birthday party. Sorry. You don’t have to get him a gift, either.”

“Haha, it’s not a big deal.” Guang Huan scratched his head awkwardly. “I’ll still get him something. Please give it to him for me. I happen to have something else to do tomorrow night anyway.”

“It’s really fine.” Gao Xinxin shook her head. “I told you that only because I wanted your opinions. What should I get my brother? I thought for a long time and couldn’t come up with anything.”

“What have you given him in the past?”

“In the past?” Gao Xinxin paused, breaking into an embarrassed smile. “Just a ‘Happy Birthday’.”

Guang Huan chuckled. “Why did you suddenly want to give him something this year?”

“Realized my mistakes and all that.” Gao Xinxin shrugged.

Guang Huan didn’t press. He stroked his chin bemusedly. “Why not start with his hobby? If your brother likes games, you can give him merch or figurines. If he likes basketball, give him sports shoes.”

Gao Xinxin considered that. “He likes many things, but none in particular.”

“Then see what he misses?” Guang Huan suggested. “Ask him indirectly, or ask his friends.”

“Right. Thanks. I’ll think about it.” Gao Xinxin looked up, spotting the race car parked by the curb. “You should head home.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow!”

Guang Huan stopped and waved Gao Xinxin goodbye.