Chapter 141 - Unsaid Words

A luxurious black carriage with golden trimming rumbled down the streets at a leisurely pace. It followed a road that meandered down the side of the hill, leading out of the prestigious Whitehare neighborhood. The driver was dressed in a fine suit. Beside him was a hired guard dressed in a sharp uniform.

Their passengers were two young ladies dressed in comfortable clothing. They had already changed out of their dresses before leaving the manor. One sat by the window, looking out at the twinkling city lights idly. The other sat across from her, staring intently at her friend.

They had been this way since they had left the manor together. Several times the second girl opened her mouth to say something but hesitated.

“What?” Yuzu asked sharply, no longer able to take the silence.

“Are you an Exalted?” Char Char blurted out.

“No.” Yuzu said calmly. She had already prepared for this question since before they left the mansion.

“Then what were you doing in the cellar? With the bottle!”

“I heard a voice, it told me that I needed to find it to save your grandpa.” Yuzu replied, “That’s all I know.”

“You mean the White Maiden told you. It’s like we imagined when we were kids, helping the White Maiden together!” Char Char’s eyes twinkled. “Except this time its real!”

“I don’t know why you’re in such a good mood.” Yuzu muttered, “Didn’t people almost die tonight? Didn’t your grandfather almost get murdered?”

“Well, yes, but... We stopped them, right?” Char Char quieted down, her smile flickering, “We beat the bad guys.”

Yuzu’s expression softened a little as she saw her friend’s mood drop. For a moment she considered saying something to console her friend, but she couldn’t think of the words. Her eyes flickered back out to the window as her lips tensed into a frown.

After things had calmed down Yuzu found herself in an increasingly bad mood. Disaster had been averted but only barely, and the price that she had paid was revealing herself to the enemy.

Now the blood monk knew that she was out there, and that she was acting against him. Yuzu was certain that if she had tried to act more directly against the blood monk, he would have been able to sense where she was and find her. In fact, the entire time that she was talking with the blood monk she was terrified that he’d suddenly melt out of the wall next to her and stab her.

She had been playing Goddess for the past few days, but she had always been against creatures, or interacting with people that treated her like a diety. But this time she was legitimately in danger. If she had made one misstep and revealed that she wasn’t actually a powerful demigod to the blood monk...

“I don’t want anything to do with this.” Yuzu muttered softly.

“It’s okay, I’ll protect you.” Char Char reached forward and placed her hand on Yuzu’s leg, “I’m an Exalted now, I have powers... And I have people helping me to get stronger.”

You’re just a Candidate, you’re a long ways away from helping anyone against the enemies that we’re facing. Yuzu held back the urge to chide her friend and continued to stare out the window without responding.

At one point Yuzu had actually been angry at Char Char. After all, it was Char Char who appeared out of nowhere in the cellar and ruined Yuzu’s plans. If Char Char hadn’t taken the wine bottle out of the cellar, the enemy wouldn’t have known that their plan was discovered. Yuzu might have been able to avoid the entire encounter with the blood monk.

On the other hand, Yuzu didn’t know if it would have been that easy. Perhaps her plan to save Sansen Zhao at the last moment would have failed, or maybe manipulating the Exalted to save him would have alerted the blood monk about her presence anyways.

And what about the lizard monster?

The future was a strange and unpredictable thing. Even Yuzu with her powers over Fate couldn’t tell how everything would play out.

So in a sense, Char Char was right. At least no one died tonight, at least the plans were foiled. Perhaps that was as good a result as one could hope for.

At present Char Char grew silent. She looked like she was struggling with something, figuring out how or whether she should bring up the topic on her mind.

Yuzu was content with letting Char Char keep to her own devices and didn’t bother her further.

The carriage made its way peacefully back to the Lucky Pawnshop without any disruptions. It stopped in the back and the driver hopped down to open the door for Yuzu.

“Well, good night.” Yuzu said. She paused, feeling like she should say something else. A thank you, perhaps? Or a ‘see you later’?

She dismounted without saying anything.

Yuzu headed through the gate into the small backyard and was halfway to the door when she heard Char Char call after her.

“Wait, Yuzu. Can I come in?”

“Why?” Yuzu frowned, “It’s already late. Xiang is probably sleeping.”

“Since when do you care about Xiang?” Char Char said, passing through the gate herself, “Plus, the lights in the kitchen are on, someone must be awake.”

“Can’t this wait for another time?” Yuzu sighed.

“I just- I need to ask you about something.”

There was a look in Char Char’s eyes that said she didn’t want to let it go, and that it was something she wanted to speak about in private.

“Fine.” Yuzu finally gave in.

They opened the door to see Yuzu’s two brothers sitting at the kitchen table. Xiang was leaning back against his chair, arms crossed and clearly dozing off. Zwei was awake and staring intently at the lantern on the table.

Stepping into the room Yuzu found that the kitchen was strangely lit brighter than normal. Both the lantern by the window and the one by the sink were lit, but the lantern from the shop had also been brought in. This was the one on the table that Zwei was watching so closely.

At the sound of the door opening Zwei suddenly jumped up in surprise. Xiang responded as well, opening an eye. As soon as Zwei recognized Yuzu he returned his attention to the lantern.

“How was the party?” Xiang asked, looking over Yuzu to see if she was in good condition. He relaxed a little upon seeing that she appeared to be in good health.

“It was good.” Yuzu said, “Interesting.”

“Hi Xiang, Hi Zwei.” Char Char smiled, peeking in.

“Char Char’s just popping in for a minute.” Yuzu said, knowing that Xiang was not a fan of the girl, “We’ll be in my room.”

“Alright.” Xiang said.

“What are you two up to?” Char Char asked, looking at the two brothers who seemed to be sitting around doing nothing.

“Just relaxing.” Xiang replied, “Enjoying the night.”

“Xiang was worried about you.” Zwei said, “He’s been pacing around all night.”

“Hmph!” Xiang grumbled. “I’ve been keeping you company, too! You’re the one that didn’t want to be alone.”

“Is everything alright?” Char Char asked, picking up on the tension in the room.

“Yeah.” Zwei said, “Nothing to worry about.”

In fact, Yuzu had already picked up that something was not quite right the moment that she entered the room. Zwei looked tired, but not in the usual sleepy lazy way. Instead he looked strained and tense. On edge.

His hair was disheveled and he seemed sensitive to noises. His eyes were constantly glancing around the room, or he was staring intently into the lamp light.

Xiang seemed to be well aware that something was bothering Zwei, keeping a close eye on his brother.

Yuzu kept her expression neutral, pretending not to notice while discreetly examining Zwei’s fate string.

The golden thread looked normal, just like any regular person’s thread. It drifted calmly through the room.

Yuzu was about to check the immediate past and future of his thread when Char Char gently grabbed her by the arm, “Let’s go upstairs to talk, I told the driver I’d only be a few minutes.”

“Okay.” Yuzu said, glancing at Zwei once more before taking a candle holder and leading the way upstairs to her bedroom.

“So, what is it?” Yuzu asked, plopping down on her bed. She lay down and stared up at the ceiling, suddenly feeling quite tired.

“Do you remember that cleric I told you about? The one that helped me cure the Devileyes?” Char Char asked hesitantly.

“Mmhmm.” Yuzu said, suddenly feeling quite guarded.

“His name was Hakuya. He went missing a few days ago.” Char Char said, “In his belongings was a contract for a box that he pawned at your shop. It was signed by you.”

Yuzu took a moment to collect her thoughts. The memory of Hakuya’s twisted form and wooden face bubbled up in her mind. The vision of him being overcome by corruption and turning into a monster flashed in her eyes.

The ear piercing shriek rang in her ears as she recalled the vision of being stabbed and slashed apart; the giant black, insect-like legs sprouting from his back; his limp body suspended from the legs as he screamed into the night.

After a moment Yuzu sat up and nodded, saying in the calmest voice she could manage, “I remember him... But I haven’t seen him since the day that he dropped off the box.”

“I’m really worried about him.” Char Char said with a frown, “The doctor at the clinic asked me to try to find him. Can you tell me any information that can help me find him? Anything at all.”

Yuzu had a bad feeling as she slowly shook her head, “No, nothing comes to mind.”

A small frown tugged at Char Char’s lips as she turned and looked directly into Yuzu’s eyes.

“I hate to say this, but I know you’re lying.” Char Char said, “I can sense it with my Exalted powers.”

Since when do you have mind reading powers? You didn’t tell me about that. Yuzu frowned, keeping her mouth shut as she looked incredulously back at her friend.

“You said you knew what an Exalted is, right? Well... The person who made me an Exalted told me that my pathway has the ability to persuade others.” Char Char explained, “I thought it meant I might be able to ‘command’ people, like some kind of mind control... But actually it’s not as magical as that. I’ve realized that instead I gained the ability to read people better, to understand what they want.”

“Like mind reading?” Yuzu asked guardedly.

“No, more like... empathy?” Char Char stroked her lip as she gave her response some thought, “I just feel like I’m able to read people better. Their mannerisms, the inflection in their voice...”

“When you told me that you haven’t seen Hakuya, it just felt like you were hiding something from me. So when I followed up and asked if you could think of any information that could help, I was really paying attention... The way you responded just felt really forced, I just can’t help but think you’re lying. I don’t know. Am I wrong?”

Yuzu was stunned. She had always prided herself on her ability to hide her thoughts. Was she really that easy to read? No, this was the power of Char Char’s path. She suddenly felt an incredible pressure from her friend.

After a moment Yuzu sighed softly, looking away, “You’ve changed.”

Char Char blinked, looking a bit surprised, but nodded, “I guess I have... I’m sorry. I know it’s not a nice thing to do, to pry into your business. I promise that I haven’t been doing it to you- that is, I try not to hyper analyze everything... But I really, really need to find Hakuya. If he’s in trouble, if he needs help, I want to help him.”

Yuzu kept her words measured as she said softly, “You can’t help him.”

“What was that?” Char Char’s eyes furrowed in concern.

“He’s...” Corrupted? On the verge of becoming a monster? Yuzu couldn’t find the words.

Char Char suddenly walked across the room and placed her hands on Yuzu’s shoulders, “Yuzu, what happened to him? where is he?”

“He’s... no longer human.” Yuzu said, not meeting her friend’s eyes, “I saw him last night. It was obvious that something was very, very wrong with him... I was scared that he might do something, so I led him outside the city.”

“What do you mean, wrong?”

“Char Char, don’t go looking for him.” Yuzu said worriedly, “I know you. I know you want to help him, but he’s beyond help. And I know that I’m not telling you everything, but please... just trust me on this.”

“Where did he go?” Char Char asked firmly.

“I saw him head off into the forest. That’s all I know.” Yuzu said honestly. As she recalled the image of the monk walking off into the night, a shiver went down her back.

“Where, exactly?”

“I won’t tell you.” Yuzu said. “I know you’ll just go chasing after him.”

Char Char paused for a moment, examining Yuzu closely. After a bit she released her grip on Yuzu’s shoulders and took a step back. Her shoulders relaxed as she looked at Yuzu sympathetically, “It was scary, wasn’t it?”

A soft smile tugged at Char Char’s lips, “Okay. I won’t ask you for more details. I wish you could tell me what you saw, but I won’t make you, if it’s really that uncomfortable to remember.”

“You’re going to go looking for him anyways, aren’t you?” Yuzu frowned. “There’s nothing I can say that will stop you?”

Char Char nodded, “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

Yuzu realized that her hands were trembling, and her back was cold with sweat. She clasped her hands together to calm them, saying quietly,

“Make sure you pray to the maiden before you go.”