“Is it?” Kodie threw the sheet back over the gruesome corpse. “I heard about an experimental separationspell that could carve out and transfer spiritual energy.”
Zizi’s spell.It was what had caused the transfer of magic between Rui and Yiran, but it no longer existed becauseRuihad used it. What was Kodie implying?
Kodie narrowed her eyes. “Wasn’t the Guild told by a certain someone that the spell couldn’t be replicated?”
“It seems that certain someone might have misled us,” Ash said, staring hard at Rui.
“Yes, it seems they have,” Kodie echoed. “That spell has been refined—improved, you might say—to allow a Revenant’s yinqi to mix with the yangqi of humans, changing a human into a monster. It was that mageyou keep talking about who made the original talisman, wasn’t it? The extraordinarily talented healer. Your little favorite.” Kodie’s eyes flicked to Rui. “I heardyouwere the last person to see him.”
“Are you implying that Zizi’s a turncoat? That’s absurd,” Rui said, heated.
But Zizididcreate a similar spell. He’d done it under duress to save her life when Ten was threatening everything. Rui had assumed the spell was destroyed when the tunnel collapsed.
Unless...
Ash was still observing her keenly. “Youdoknow something.”
She lobbed a questioning look at him.
“Whatever you tell me, Kodie will know too,” he said.
Ash trusted the doctor. And despite making it her side hustle to give him a hard time, Rui trusted him. “Did you find a completed talisman that day in the tunnels?”
“We found talisman papers in the rubble, but they were blank pieces. There were no actual spells.”
Rui gripped the edge of the metal sink. “How many Hybrids did you find, and how many did you kill?”
“All five were all eliminated, like I told you.”
“Fiveincludingmy mother’s murderer?” Rui said, her voice dropping to a whisper.
Ash frowned. “Yes.”
Shit.
One Hybrid had gotten away.
More precisely, one Hybrid had gotten away with thenewtalisman Zizi had created. That was what killed the person lying on the operating table. The Hybrids must’ve used the spell on him, and something went wrong.
This time, make sure the spell can be cast aninfinitenumber of times.
That was what Ten asked for, and the strange, magical dried-up willow branch he’d given Zizi for the spell had made its creation possible.Turning one human into a Revenant was an abominable act. Wanting to create a world full of monsters was beyond pure evil.
Rui’s secrets had met their expiration date. It was time to confess everything she knew.
“Shit,” she said out loud.
“I’m having a terrible night,” Ash said, “and my body is screaming for a bed. If you have something to say—”
“I’ll tell you everything from the start,” Rui interrupted, wincing as her eyes went to the corpse on the table. “But let’s get out of here. I think I need a drink.”
Kodie raised her hands. “Finally. Someone with common sense. Come on, I’ll drive.”
8
Yiran
It was past dinnertime when Yiran got home. The mansion was quiet, and the lights had been dimmed for the night. There was a generous bowl of double-boiled herbal chicken soup waiting in the kitchen and a reminder that there was cut fruit in the fridge. Yiran didn’t have any appetite, but he knew Auntie Kimmie had labored over the soup, so he placed the bowl in the microwave and stared absently as it went round and round.
