Chapter 11 : Sophora Flowers and an Old Alley

Bai Ling stumbled into a narrow alley.
Moonlight leaked through the gaps in a tattered raincoat hanging on a clothesline, reflecting off the scales at the corner of her eyes like specks of shattered silver.

She leaned against the wall as if exhausted, the scales on her back scraping against the wall with a fine, strange sensation.

A stray cat rummaging for food in a nearby trash can tilted its head and glanced at this uninvited guest.
After confirming that she posed no threat, it meowed and continued to search for its dinner.

“Do you have nowhere to go either?”

The girl turned her head to look at the stray cat, but the cat didn’t want to bother with her.
As long as she didn’t try to steal its trash, the cat didn’t seem to mind having a neighbor.

“Now I’ve really become a monster…”

She looked up at the sky again.
The night sky was cut into squares by the sharp edges of the tall buildings, revealing only a limited number of stars.

The slender tail extending from her tailbone made her very uncomfortable.
It swayed back and forth against the wall, both obedient and disobedient.

She curled up in a corner, trying to hide her body in the shadows as much as possible.

‘Perhaps the best outcome would be to escape the city and live out her life alone in the deep mountains and old forests.’

‘Human society probably wouldn’t tolerate a monster like her anyway.’

‘Right?’

‘That kind of ending didn’t seem too bad. After all, not many people cared about her…’

She looked at the scales on the back of her hand.
The scales reflected the moonlight, as if mocking her unrealistic fantasies.

‘That’s right, how could it be…’

She had caused such a big commotion at the lakeside just now.
Now, the police all over the city were probably looking for her, the culprit.

‘The most likely outcome was actually being found by the police or the army and being shot to death as a monster.’
‘She just hoped that when the time came, it would be quick and not too painful. She was quite afraid of pain.’

The dark clouds once again covered the moonlight.
The girl seemed to have recovered a little strength and struggled to get up.

Even if there was a high probability of being shot to death, she was still going to try to struggle and survive.
As for why?

She didn’t know herself.
Maybe it was the biological instinct for survival.
Maybe she was thinking that if she lived, she might have a chance to see a certain someone again?

The dark clouds once again covered the moonlight.
The girl seemed to have recovered a little strength.

She haphazardly borrowed a tattered bedsheet from the stray cat and draped it over herself, hoping the little stray wouldn’t mind.

The faded cartoon dinosaur printed on the bedsheet grinned at her.
The girl sighed and stepped out of the alley.

She couldn’t let anyone see her in this scaly state.
It would scare people.

As she staggered out of the alley, she happened to see several SUVs with the Shanhe Group logo roaring past on the street.
The reflection from the bulletproof glass stung her eyes.

The girl lowered her head to hide her face and blended into the crowd of the night market.

The charred smell of grilled squid and the laughter of young couples came together.
She stared at the tips of her toes peeking out from a hole in the bedsheet, afraid that the scales covering them would be seen by others.

“Go to the old alley in the north of the city. Find a shop with a sophora tree at the entrance. Someone there can help you.”

A warm breath, accompanied by a soft whisper, suddenly bit her earlobe.
The woman had an unforgettable gardenia scent, her voice like the lazy afternoon sun shining into the girl’s eardrums.

The girl turned her head sharply but only saw a flash of teal-colored hair.
The woman who had spoken disappeared into the crowd in an instant.

Like a drop of water mixing into the sea, she could never be found again.

‘An old alley in the north of the city, a sophora tree?’

The girl thought back to the words of the woman who had suddenly appeared and then disappeared into the crowd.
She looked up.

The old alley in the north of the city wasn’t far from this night market, only a few hundred meters away.

The girl thought, and quickened her pace through the crowd.
She didn’t know why the woman had said such a thing, but maybe, just maybe, she was telling the truth?

The sophora tree at the entrance of the old alley was swaying its leaves in the night wind.
Its branches were wrapped with LED light strings and withered vines.
An old lady in a floral nightgown was sitting in a rattan chair under the tree, dozing off in the cool air.
A radio at her feet was crackling with a twenty-year-old Cantonese old song.
A black cat was yawning in the old lady’s arms.

Yuqi… Beauty Salon?

The flickering LED lights showed such words.

The sound of police sirens suddenly ringing at the entrance of the alley startled the girl.
She quickly lowered her head and walked to the closed wooden door, knocking on it with a “thump, thump, thump.”

“Click.”

After a series of urgent knocks, the wooden door suddenly opened inward.

A woman in a moon-white cheongsam leaned against the doorframe in the shadows.
The sophora flower string on the lapel of her clothes moved without any wind.
Her drooping hair brushed against the scales on the back of Bai Ling’s hand.

(TL NOTE : Cheongsam is a kind of a chinese long dress)

“Little snake, if you keep scratching, the door is going to break.”

A green vine suddenly grew from the sophora wood bead bracelet on the woman’s wrist.
The vine wrapped around the girl’s wrist and pulled her inside.

“Come in. I’ll teach you how to save your life.”

The interior was decorated in a quaint style, as if she had traveled back to ancient times.
The air was filled with the complex scent of wormwood and agarwood.

The woman’s fingertip hooked a corner of the tattered bedsheet and with a gentle pull, revealed the girl’s petite figure.
Moonlight shone through the carved window lattice onto the girl’s shoulder, making the scales glisten with a cold metallic luster.

“Don’t worry about those police sirens. The police can’t handle these things.”

She seemed to see that the girl was in a state of fear.
She flicked the scales on the girl’s collarbone with her finger.
“A rare find.”

The crisp sound of the flick echoed in the room full of medicine cabinets.

“The last time I saw a white snake transform was in the 37th year of the Republic of China.”

As she spoke, she reached out to grab the girl’s wrist.

“Who… are you?”

The girl flinched and shrank back, but was caught by a green vine that had appeared out of nowhere and was pulled in front of the woman.

“Me? You can call me Guan Qing.”

The moon-white cheongsam of the woman swept across her knees as she pressed her down onto a wooden chair.
“Compared to those police, you should be more worried about the Demon Suppression Division.”

“The Demon Suppression Division…?”

“The ones who specialize in killing us demons. The Demon Suppression Division. To the public, they call themselves the Shanhe Group. In reality, they’re just a bunch of executioners.”

“The executioners of the Demon Suppression Division are much more troublesome than the cops.”
Guan Qing suddenly leaned forward.
Her fingertip touched the center of the girl’s brow, and a cinnabar-like red mark seeped into her skin.
“They kill demons more cleanly than you tear off a band-aid. Stay away from those guys wearing bronze beast masks.”

The word “demon” stung Bai Ling’s ears.
She couldn’t help but think of her last conversation with Xu Zhi.

‘There are no demons in the world. Don’t overthink it!’

‘There are demons in the world. Haven’t I become a demon?’

“Don’t be nervous. Normally, if you can suppress your demonic energy properly, they won’t find out.”

Seeing that the girl seemed to have fallen into a bad memory, Guan Qing suddenly spoke up and interrupted.

“I’m not a demon…”

the girl muttered to herself, but her voice was so low that she couldn’t even hear it herself.

“Don’t be nervous. Follow me.”

A scent of sophora flowers seeped into her blood vessels from her wrist.
The girl suddenly felt something restless inside her gradually calming down.

“Remember the heartbeat of a human.”

Guan Qing applied a sophora leaf paste to her throbbing wrist pulse.
“Seventy-two beats per minute. One beat less and the scales will pierce this layer of skin.”

“See? Haven’t you become human?”

Guan Qing chuckled and held up a bronze mirror in front of her.
The mirror reflected the scales on the girl’s neck receding like a tide.
Her fair skin saw the light of day again.
Beads of sweat rolled down her jaw and collected in the hollow of her collarbone.

The girl’s wrist suddenly felt heavy.
A bracelet woven from sophora flowers had been tied to her wrist by Guan Qing at some point.

“You’re not yet skilled at controlling your demonic energy. This thing can temporarily help you suppress it. Remember, don’t go to places with strong demonic energy. This thing will become ineffective.”

Guan Qing stood up and stretched her body.
“Help isn’t free. Remember to work for me to pay off your debt.”

The girl suddenly felt her eyelids grow heavy.
A few seconds later, she fell into a deep sleep.