With Huai Wei on his back, Gao Yang walked to a part of the beach on the F Island that was all skerries; the place saw fewer visitors, and it was practically empty this late at night.
The rain stopped then.
Sitting on a rock, the two of them allowed the wind to dry their hair and clothes.
“Are you feeling better?” Gao Yang asked.
“Yeah, much better.”
Huai Wei touched her side, where there should be a gash, and said in disbelief, “How, how did you heal me? Are you a celestial being? Do you know magic?”
Gao Yang paused, unsure where to even start.
Now he was more or less certain that the girl was human, but there were still questions to answer.
“Huai Wei, I’m going to ask the questions now. Please be open with me.”
Huai Wei nodded. She was naturally unguarded with her savior.
“You said that your pops tried to kill you. Why?”
Panic returned to Huai Wei’s eyes. She lowered her head, hands holding together tightly. “I, I don’t know... Pops was always caring with me, but tonight, he suddenly turned into...into a demon.”
Demon?
Gao Yang considered the choice of words, already coming to a tentative conclusion.
Huai Wei was still reeling from the experience. She shook her head vehemently. “No, that wasn’t my pops. He must have been attacked by the demon. Then the demon came after me...”
“Huai Wei, have you ever considered why the demon attacked you?” Gao Yang presented the question in the way Huai Wei framed things.
“That’s what demons do.”
“I know, but why you, specifically?” Gao Yang nudged her in the right direction. “Could it have something to do with your experience?”
Huai Wei paused before her eyes lit up. She looked up at Gao Yang. “Is it because I can do magic just like you?”
Gao Yang gave her an inquisitive look. “What magic can you do?”
“I think...I can go from one place to another place,” Huai Wei said with uncertainty.
Gao Yang started. Could it be a Time-Space Talent? Something that would allow her to teleport?
“When did you learn it? Can you tell me in more detail?”
Huai Wei looked down, her fine facial features arranged into a hesitant look.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I don’t know how to help you as it is.” Gao Yang conceded, when in truth was pressing her to open up.
“I’ll tell you.”
Huai Wei worried her plump lower lip between her teeth, trying to find the right words. “A month ago, Pops’ lung problem relapsed, and I went to the apothecary to get him medicine. It was late when I headed back home. Two hoodlums came at me then.”
“I was scared. I tried to run, but they kept chasing after me. Then they dragged me into a deep alley. I was terrified and yelled for help as I fought them. No one showed up...”
“At the time, I thought about my home, my pops, wishing that I could be there with him already... Then like a dream, I was home the next moment, lying on my bed.”
“I thought I had fallen asleep and had a nightmare at first. Only when I saw the pack of medicine the apothecary gave me did I realize that it wasn’t a dream.”
Gao Yang fell into thought. From the way she spoke, it seemed that she was indeed not from this era.
The wind was quite strong by the sea, tousling the hair on the side of her face. She tucked the strand behind her ear. “That night, I cooked the medicine for my pops. He was surprised by how quickly I returned home, so I told him. I told him that a celestial being must have taken pity and sent me back. Pops didn’t say anything else afterwards.”
“Mother passed away when I was young, and it’d been me and my pops ever since. He was a teacher at a sishu[1], and he was a caring father. We weren’t well-off, yet he insisted on sending me to a girls' school. He said that be it boys or girls, knowledge could change one’s fate...”
Realizing that she had digressed, Huai Wei went back to the topic. “What I meant to say was that Pops and I were close, but ever since that day, he’d been odd, and he looked at me oddly.”
“There had been very many times when he demanded if I knew magic, if I had flown back home the night I got medicine for him.”
“I thought it preposterous. Why would I be able to fly? So I said I didn’t know, that I was just suddenly home like I had a dream.”
“Tonight, Pops got sick again. He kept coughing, and we ran out of medicine. I was so concerned about him that I rushed out to get more, but it was late, and I was worried that the apothecary had closed shop. I wanted to hurry there. Then the next moment, I was at the front door of the shop.”
Huai Wei smiled bitterly and stared at her hands. “At that moment, I realized that I did know magic, that I could suddenly show up in a different place.”
“I was happy. I got my pops medicine and went home with magic, and I told him about it happily. I said that perhaps I knew other spells too, and I’d be able to cure him.”
“Pops suddenly stopped coughing. He got off the bed and came up to me. His eyes were horrifying. I’d never seen him like that, and his body transformed...”
Gao Yang finished her story for her. “He turned into a monstrosity you’ve never seen and tried to kill you.”
“Yes, and he...he called me...” Huai Wei thought back to the unfamiliar word. “Awakener.”
Gao Yang’s heart sank. As expected.
“Pops—no, the demon’s hand turned into a glinting blade and stabbed at me. I tried to avoid it, but still got hit in the side. I was scared and wanted nothing but to flee. That was where my memory stopped. When I came to, you were the one I saw.”
Gao Yang nodded, having pieced together the story. “I’m going to tell you something very important, Huai Wei, and I’m not going to repeat it. You must listen carefully.”
“I will.” Huai Wei nodded.
“Your pops isn’t your real father, but a...”
Gurgle.
It was supposed to be a serious moment, but Huai Wei’s stomach made an untimely protest.
“Apologies.” Huai Wei’s awkward gaze flitted about. “Please keep going. Don’t mind me.”
Gao Yang glanced at her face. It was pale. She had just recovered from serious injury and she was exhausted. She did need to fill her stomach.
Gao Yang turned around to look at the hotel not far away. On the first floor was a twenty-four hour convenience store.
“Wait here. I’ll get you food. Be right back.” Gao Yang rose to his feet.
“That won’t be necessary. I’m not that...”
Her stomach protested again. Huai Wei covered her face with both hands and fell silent.
“I’ll be back.” Gao Yang smiled. Her body was more honest than her.
...
Gao Yang couldn’t afford to take too long, so he quickly walked into the convenience store and grabbed some snacks and drinks at random, paying at the cashier.
A few minutes later, he rushed back to the remote skerries and saw four strangers circling Huai Wei, pushing her around roughly.
Shit!
I knew something would happen!
Gao Yang ran up to them with the bag of snacks. Once he got close enough to get a good look, he realized that the four strangers were the young tourists who had been having fun in the rain on the beach earlier, two men and two women.
Judging by their appearance, they were likely tourists from Li City, and they practically breathed alcohol with the amount of drinks they had had.
“Hey, pretty girl. Are you cosplaying?” The young man with a middle part yanked Huai Wei toward him in a lecherous manner, going so far as to circle her supple narrow waist.
“Let go! What, what are you...”
Huai Wei struggled, but her hands were grabbed by the drunk man with a shaved head. “Don’t be nervous, lady. Why don’t we have some fun?”
“Yeah, don’t pretend to be a prude.” The two girls scoffed derisively, watching from the sidelines like it was an entertaining show.
“Stop!”
Gao Yang ran up to them.
The man with a middle part glanced up at Gao Yang. “Ha, is this your little pet, pretty girl?”
“Not bad.” The woman with a tapered chin spoke up. “Relax, cutie. Let’s all play together.”
“Let her go!” Gao Yang raised his voice, his gaze turning fierce as he stalked up to the four of them.
The two girls realized that things weren’t going the way they expected and sobered up somewhat, keeping their mouths sealed.
The man with a shaved head let go of Huai Wei’s hands too.
Only the man with a middle part was still holding onto Huai Wei, giving Gao Yang a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Brother Shuang, forget it. Let’s go,” the man with a shaved head said.
“Yeah, he’s getting angry. He’s not getting the joke.” The girl with a tapered chin urged too. “Let’s go and have more fun ourselves.”
However, Brother Shuang, the man with a middle part, did not let go of Huai Wei. He suddenly took out a swiss army knife from his pants pocket and pressed it to Huai Wei’s pale neck.
“Don’t come any closer! Or I’m going to kill her right now!”
1. An informal private school in older times, usually with only one teacher, run at the teacher’s own place. ?
With Huai Wei on his back, Gao Yang walked to a part of the beach on the F Island that was all skerries; the place saw fewer visitors, and it was practically empty this late at night.
The rain stopped then.
Sitting on a rock, the two of them allowed the wind to dry their hair and clothes.
“Are you feeling better?” Gao Yang asked.
“Yeah, much better.”
Huai Wei touched her side, where there should be a gash, and said in disbelief, “How, how did you heal me? Are you a celestial being? Do you know magic?”
Gao Yang paused, unsure where to even start.
Now he was more or less certain that the girl was human, but there were still questions to answer.
“Huai Wei, I’m going to ask the questions now. Please be open with me.”
Huai Wei nodded. She was naturally unguarded with her savior.
“You said that your pops tried to kill you. Why?”
Panic returned to Huai Wei’s eyes. She lowered her head, hands holding together tightly. “I, I don’t know... Pops was always caring with me, but tonight, he suddenly turned into...into a demon.”
Demon?
Gao Yang considered the choice of words, already coming to a tentative conclusion.
Huai Wei was still reeling from the experience. She shook her head vehemently. “No, that wasn’t my pops. He must have been attacked by the demon. Then the demon came after me...”
“Huai Wei, have you ever considered why the demon attacked you?” Gao Yang presented the question in the way Huai Wei framed things.
“That’s what demons do.”
“I know, but why you, specifically?” Gao Yang nudged her in the right direction. “Could it have something to do with your experience?”
Huai Wei paused before her eyes lit up. She looked up at Gao Yang. “Is it because I can do magic just like you?”
Gao Yang gave her an inquisitive look. “What magic can you do?”
“I think...I can go from one place to another place,” Huai Wei said with uncertainty.
Gao Yang started. Could it be a Time-Space Talent? Something that would allow her to teleport?
“When did you learn it? Can you tell me in more detail?”
Huai Wei looked down, her fine facial features arranged into a hesitant look.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I don’t know how to help you as it is.” Gao Yang conceded, when in truth was pressing her to open up.
“I’ll tell you.”
Huai Wei worried her plump lower lip between her teeth, trying to find the right words. “A month ago, Pops’ lung problem relapsed, and I went to the apothecary to get him medicine. It was late when I headed back home. Two hoodlums came at me then.”
“I was scared. I tried to run, but they kept chasing after me. Then they dragged me into a deep alley. I was terrified and yelled for help as I fought them. No one showed up...”
“At the time, I thought about my home, my pops, wishing that I could be there with him already... Then like a dream, I was home the next moment, lying on my bed.”
“I thought I had fallen asleep and had a nightmare at first. Only when I saw the pack of medicine the apothecary gave me did I realize that it wasn’t a dream.”
Gao Yang fell into thought. From the way she spoke, it seemed that she was indeed not from this era.
The wind was quite strong by the sea, tousling the hair on the side of her face. She tucked the strand behind her ear. “That night, I cooked the medicine for my pops. He was surprised by how quickly I returned home, so I told him. I told him that a celestial being must have taken pity and sent me back. Pops didn’t say anything else afterwards.”
“Mother passed away when I was young, and it’d been me and my pops ever since. He was a teacher at a sishu[1], and he was a caring father. We weren’t well-off, yet he insisted on sending me to a girls' school. He said that be it boys or girls, knowledge could change one’s fate...”
Realizing that she had digressed, Huai Wei went back to the topic. “What I meant to say was that Pops and I were close, but ever since that day, he’d been odd, and he looked at me oddly.”
“There had been very many times when he demanded if I knew magic, if I had flown back home the night I got medicine for him.”
“I thought it preposterous. Why would I be able to fly? So I said I didn’t know, that I was just suddenly home like I had a dream.”
“Tonight, Pops got sick again. He kept coughing, and we ran out of medicine. I was so concerned about him that I rushed out to get more, but it was late, and I was worried that the apothecary had closed shop. I wanted to hurry there. Then the next moment, I was at the front door of the shop.”
Huai Wei smiled bitterly and stared at her hands. “At that moment, I realized that I did know magic, that I could suddenly show up in a different place.”
“I was happy. I got my pops medicine and went home with magic, and I told him about it happily. I said that perhaps I knew other spells too, and I’d be able to cure him.”
“Pops suddenly stopped coughing. He got off the bed and came up to me. His eyes were horrifying. I’d never seen him like that, and his body transformed...”
Gao Yang finished her story for her. “He turned into a monstrosity you’ve never seen and tried to kill you.”
“Yes, and he...he called me...” Huai Wei thought back to the unfamiliar word. “Awakener.”
Gao Yang’s heart sank. As expected.
“Pops—no, the demon’s hand turned into a glinting blade and stabbed at me. I tried to avoid it, but still got hit in the side. I was scared and wanted nothing but to flee. That was where my memory stopped. When I came to, you were the one I saw.”
Gao Yang nodded, having pieced together the story. “I’m going to tell you something very important, Huai Wei, and I’m not going to repeat it. You must listen carefully.”
“I will.” Huai Wei nodded.
“Your pops isn’t your real father, but a...”
Gurgle.
It was supposed to be a serious moment, but Huai Wei’s stomach made an untimely protest.
“Apologies.” Huai Wei’s awkward gaze flitted about. “Please keep going. Don’t mind me.”
Gao Yang glanced at her face. It was pale. She had just recovered from serious injury and she was exhausted. She did need to fill her stomach.
Gao Yang turned around to look at the hotel not far away. On the first floor was a twenty-four hour convenience store.
“Wait here. I’ll get you food. Be right back.” Gao Yang rose to his feet.
“That won’t be necessary. I’m not that...”
Her stomach protested again. Huai Wei covered her face with both hands and fell silent.
“I’ll be back.” Gao Yang smiled. Her body was more honest than her.
...
Gao Yang couldn’t afford to take too long, so he quickly walked into the convenience store and grabbed some snacks and drinks at random, paying at the cashier.
A few minutes later, he rushed back to the remote skerries and saw four strangers circling Huai Wei, pushing her around roughly.
Shit!
I knew something would happen!
Gao Yang ran up to them with the bag of snacks. Once he got close enough to get a good look, he realized that the four strangers were the young tourists who had been having fun in the rain on the beach earlier, two men and two women.
Judging by their appearance, they were likely tourists from Li City, and they practically breathed alcohol with the amount of drinks they had had.
“Hey, pretty girl. Are you cosplaying?” The young man with a middle part yanked Huai Wei toward him in a lecherous manner, going so far as to circle her supple narrow waist.
“Let go! What, what are you...”
Huai Wei struggled, but her hands were grabbed by the drunk man with a shaved head. “Don’t be nervous, lady. Why don’t we have some fun?”
“Yeah, don’t pretend to be a prude.” The two girls scoffed derisively, watching from the sidelines like it was an entertaining show.
“Stop!”
Gao Yang ran up to them.
The man with a middle part glanced up at Gao Yang. “Ha, is this your little pet, pretty girl?”
“Not bad.” The woman with a tapered chin spoke up. “Relax, cutie. Let’s all play together.”
“Let her go!” Gao Yang raised his voice, his gaze turning fierce as he stalked up to the four of them.
The two girls realized that things weren’t going the way they expected and sobered up somewhat, keeping their mouths sealed.
The man with a shaved head let go of Huai Wei’s hands too.
Only the man with a middle part was still holding onto Huai Wei, giving Gao Yang a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Brother Shuang, forget it. Let’s go,” the man with a shaved head said.
“Yeah, he’s getting angry. He’s not getting the joke.” The girl with a tapered chin urged too. “Let’s go and have more fun ourselves.”
However, Brother Shuang, the man with a middle part, did not let go of Huai Wei. He suddenly took out a swiss army knife from his pants pocket and pressed it to Huai Wei’s pale neck.
“Don’t come any closer! Or I’m going to kill her right now!”
1. An informal private school in older times, usually with only one teacher, run at the teacher’s own place. ?
