What started off as a hunch, was beginning to turn into something more concrete.

  On various occasions during their time together, Akuma got the feeling that Wujing had been reading his mind. Predicting his every move. Her instincts were far too keen, even for a trained warrior who had supposedly been fighting all her life.

  Predicting the pills in her bag was simply the final nail in the coffin.

  “Thank you again! I’ll never forget this for as long as I live!” the woman said earnestly to Akuma.

  “It was no trouble, ma’am,” Wujing chimed in. “I just wish I could have personally assisted in reclaiming them.”

  Wasting no more time, the young lady promptly made her exit. By the pep in her step, it was obvious that she wanted to return to her grandmother as soon as possible. Wujing waved the lady goodbye as she disappeared into the crowd, unaware of Akuma's erratic mental questioning—his anxiety, his uneasiness, all of it unknown to her. Or so she liked to pretend…

  “I have to say, human. I am quite impressed with you,” said Wujing out of nowhere. “My goodness, I know many who are confident about their speed, but you are something else. Such reaction, such acceleration…”

  Wujing wore that same chirpy expression as she praised Akuma. Her tone suggested she found his movements hard to believe, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from her face.

  “You moved before I even understood what was happening. An impressive feat, human. Truly… Tell me, do you often save people like that?”

  The question hardly registered in Akuma’s head. His focus was on one thing and one thing alone.

  This girl…

  The wall of doubt in his mind cracked and shattered like thin glass.

  She’s like me… Someone born with special powers…

  “Human…?”

  “Cut the crap.” Akuma growled beneath his breath.

  “?”

  “I said cut the bullshit! You can stop acting like any of this is a surprise for you! How the hell did you know someone was gonna be robbed, huh?! Or those pills! The hell was that about?! Don’t just talk to me all casually like none of that stuff just happened, alright!”

  Akuma panted heavily. His lips quivered, his limbs trembled and his mind reeled.

  “...I…” She attempted to speak out, but she stopped herself. A tang of uncertainty crept across her features. It felt like the words were there, but she was second guessing whether or not to share them.

  “You seem to be struggling. Alright then, I’ll change my question to make it easier… Who–no, what are you?”

  The two gazed into each other's eyes intensely. He was almost certain that she had seen past the veil of his hood and was looking directly into his fierce crimson glare.

  However, Wujing was still hesitant.

  A heavy blanket-like tension befell the two. Until an eventual answer came forth…

  “Well, for starters, my name is Sha Wujing. I am of the female sex—though, there are times I make temporary exceptions. I am a master of the Youjutsu and Ruyi Jingu Bang styles. And I am, as you already know, of the highest ranking that a soldier of Ceprun can reach. A Great General.”

  “........................................”

  Akuma’s gaze fell to the ground. He then chuckled faintly, but it was not humorous. Akuma was usually the kind of person who never asked about one’s past, or anything else of that manner. And yet, here he was screaming at a foreign girl, desperate for those same answers. It really was laughable.

  Sha Wujing.

  It was a name that he’d never forget no matter how long he lived.

  “Forget it. I don’t even care anymore...” Akuma said in a barely audible voice, walking away from Wujing. The surrounding crowd parted like the red sea as he passed by. Their cheers had pretty much dimmed down by now.

  On his left was the angel. Akuma noted the small change in the angel’s expression. It had gone back to its usual, mischievous grin. That confirmed that the mission was completed successfully

  Behind him, Sha Wujing raced to catch up with Akuma. Once side by side, she sincerely pleaded, “Look, I apologize for what happened earlier. You looked so panicked and scared, and pale. Honestly, I just assumed that you could see it too. So I ended up blurting it out without much thought…” her voice trailed off.

  Akuma gave no immediate reply, so Wujing apologized once and then twice more, hoping it would lift his sour mood. Akuma only glanced over once to restate what he had already conveyed before.

  “Like I said, I don’t care anymore.”

  “But this is not about you anymore!” Wujing’s voice roared unexpectedly, finally grabbing Akuma’s attention and slowing his pace until it stopped entirely. “The man from before. The one whom I pointed at. Please tell me that the thief revealed some information about him! Something, anything! It is of the utmost importance to me!”

  Akuma mused over whether he should reveal any information to Wujing, but ultimately decided to.

  “...Marcus. His name is Marcus… At least, I think it is.”

  “You think?” Wujing asked for clarification.

  “That’s the name the thief mentioned while passing out. From the gist of it, this ‘Marcus” guy must’ve been the one who sent him after that girl.”

  “I see…” Wujing pressed a finger to her chin while in thought. “Marcus… I appreciate it greatly, human!”

  That’s all she said. What seemed like it would lead to something insane was left at such a stopping point.

  Wujing walked a few meters ahead, grabbed her suitcase that she had left behind, before turning back to Akuma with a bright smile on her face.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Anyways, with all that out of the way, shall we continue our little journey to the train station?”

  “...”

  Akuma simply continued walking, and the angel followed closely.

  Side by side, Akuma and Wujing walked the rest of the way in silence until reaching the station.

  There was also this dry feeling in the air.

  People walked about but none of them really stood out. What did stand out, however, was the sheer quietness of the area that could make one second guess their posture while walking.

  Well, that was to be expected. It was pretty late in the evening. Practically night-time at this point.

  “Thank you for indulging my selfish request to walk with me. I do hope it was not too much trouble.” said the foreign girl, already assuming that Akuma saw it as a bother.

  “...”

  Originally, his plan was to leave first thing after dropping her off—caring nothing if Wujing had to wait on the train by herself—but something stopped him. Maybe it was curiosity. Or maybe it was the angel's lingering presence.

  “You weren’t kidding about knowing a good route. From the looks of things, it would appear that even after our little side mission, we were still able to arrive here in good time,” said Wujing while taking a seat in one of the benches inside the station. She parked her suitcase beside the bench while hugging the Pandota tightly between her arms. “So good in fact, that we still have quite some time before the train arrives. Say, have you ever thought of becoming a professional guide? I hear lots of tourists come by during this time of year.”

  Akuma ignored Wujing’s obvious teasing. He took a seat on the same bench that she was on while making sure to keep some distance between them.

  If looking from a front point of view, then Akuma would be on the far left and Wujing on the right—though, after noticing the large amount of space Akuma had put between them, Wujing scooted closer in. So, at this moment, it’d be more accurate to say that Wujing was sitting on the middle of the bench.

  “Could you explain why you moved closer?” Akuma asked with a calm exterior.

  "Say, human, let's you and I play a little game!” Wujing dismissed with a silly grin after sliding even closer to Akuma.

  Akuma glared at her. "Why would I do that?"

  "Because you want answers, obviously. And I want to understand you better. Do not think I am here to waste your time, this game will be a fair exchange. A very fair one!"

  For a moment, Akuma considered refusing. But she was right—he did want answers.

  “...Then I guess, that depends on the game.”

  “Have no fear, it is the kind of game where the outcome is extremely uncertain. Who knows, you might even learn something about me. Or, you might walk away with nothing, while I might learn something about you!”

  “...Okay, but that doesn’t really tell me much. Are you one of those types who wants the participant to agree before knowing the rules?”

  Wujing cleared her throat. “Ehem. It’s simple, really. Basically, we take turns asking each other questions about each other. Let’s see… How about 5 questions? Yeah, that should work. We ask each other 5 questions each, switching turns after each is asked. The twist here is that the other person will not be the one to answer the question.”

  Akuma didn’t say anything in response, but Wujing could tell he was intrigued.

  “Let me give you an example. Say we started the game with me taking the first turn. I would ask you a question about yourself. It may be a question about your age, your family, your hobbies, or anything else. However, you don’t have to actually answer that question. In fact, if you want to win this game, then I highly suggest against it. Instead, I will be the one to answer my own question. After which, you take your turn and follow the same pattern as I did before you… After we each take 5 turns, the game will end.”

  “And what happens at the end?” asked Akuma, sensing an ugly twist that was yet to reveal itself.

  “Fu-fu. At the end of the game, we will tell the other how many out of the 5 questions they succeeded in guessing correctly. Naturally, we do not have to share which of the answers they guessed correctly, just the amount.”

  Huh…

  It wasn’t as bad as he thought it’d be. If he was hearing Wujing correctly, then this was a game where you could keep your secrets with you, while at the same time bonding over them. Not a bad game, all that considered.

  “I see… So in simple terms, it’s a guessing game. The winner is judged by who has the better eye.”

  Akuma’s crimson eyes seemed to gleam beneath the veil of his hoodie as he said that.

  “Well, you can more than see it that way, if you wish. I suppose a more experienced person would have a larger advantage.”

  “There’s still a couple questions I have. For one, what happens if we tie? Do we just play again?”

  “Hmm… That could be an option, yes, but that depends on if the train has yet to arrive by then. In a perfect world, I suppose we’d keep playing until someone lost. But as we are somewhat short on time, then the game will just end in a tie. That is all.”

  “Okay, another question. How do we know if the other person is telling the truth?”

  “...What do you mean?”

  “Well, you said that at the end, we’d reveal how many assumptions the other person managed to make correctly, right? What’s stopping me from saying you got 0 correct even if you hit all of them on the nail?”

  “Trust!” Wujing exclaimed in a triumphant manner that didn’t move Akuma one bit. “I will trust that you will not lie, and you will do the same for me. Surely that is good enough, yes?”

  No. Not even in the slightest.

  Akuma closed his eyes briefly. From the way Wujing’s eyes were sparkling, there was nothing he could do to convince her otherwise. That fact was clear.

  “Okay, I have one last question before we start this game.”

  “Geez, what are you, an inquisitor? Are you the type who’s immune to fun?”

  “!”

  A dense vein throbbed on Akuma’s brow. He’d never wanted to clobber someone so much in his life.

  “Fine then, I won’t ask it. But don’t blame me when you get mad later.” he said, barely managing to push past Wujing’s not so sly remark.

  “Finally. For a second here, I thought you’d question my ear off… Oh, and one more rule before we continue. I am sure you’ve already assumed we can’t repeat any old questions. That would make the game stale and boring.”

  “Well, that goes without saying.”

  “And that also applies to easy observations! So, you cannot ask what my name is. Or whether or not I am a boy or girl as the answer is very clear. You also cannot answer with general statements. Meaning, if you were to ask where I was born, you couldn’t follow that up by answering ‘outside of this country’. It has to be a precise and daring guess… Are we clear?”

  “...”

  After a pause, Akuma clicked his tongue.

  Following Wujing’s diss at him, Akuma had made the genius plan of absolutely abusing that rule and blaming the result on Wujing for not allowing him to ask his question in peace. But now, his plans were squandered.

  “Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

  “Excellent. Now then, seeing as this game was my idea, I shall bestow you the honor of taking the first turn then. Talk about benevolence, hm?”

  Akuma eased back on the old, wooden bench.

  “I guess I’ll take you up on that offer…”

  He took a deep breath as his first question circled his head. A definite point for him, since the answer was so clear. The only real issue would probably be that last rule about not being able to answer with general statements. He had to test the waters though. It was the only way he could win this little game.

  After all, Akuma was at a severe disadvantage here. There was no way he could win it.

  Wujing had already shown that she could see the future. Plus, he didn’t know the limits to that power, as she had refused to elaborate. There was another, unspoken reason why he assumed the game was against his favor, but that one was mostly a speculation on his part.

  “Alright, Wujing. My first question is, why do you use such an unorthodox pronoun for me like ‘human’?”

  “...”

  Akuma had intended on getting a clear answer from her shift in expression but Wujing’s poker face was down to an artform. Was there anything that could wipe that chirpy look off her face?

  With a calm expression that buried all his emotions, Akuma answered his own question.

  “I believe the answer is that you aren’t human yourself.”