"You don't need to worry about this at all. The consciousness hedge will cause mania only the first time. Now that we have it under control, it's all good," one of the clones said. "As long as we aren't too far away from it, we can maintain the relative control over it."
"Relative control?" Chang was confused.
"Yes, relative control. We can fight its mind, but we can't replace it - after all, the brain is its," Qing explained. "I know it's pretty retarded, but its brain is still the central control system, the creature executes commands that come from there. What we are capable is to interfere, not replace."
"So what kind of interference can you apply?" Chang asked.
"Well, we told it that we are the same kind," Qing answered honestly.
"We also told it that we are its mother," Shui Qing added.
"Three mothers?" Chang pointed at the clones, bursting into laughter.
"That's correct." Shui nodded.
...
At the campsite.
"Nothing wrong would have happened to them, right?" Sanpang was agonizing about the lives of those who left as he sat by the bonfire.
"Nothing at all. I didn't smell blood from any of them. It's all good." Zhizhi twitched her nose, sniffing. "No one is dead, they weren't even injured."
"Good to hear that." Sanpang heaved a long sigh.
"Though, that being that smells bitter isn't dead either. Interesting! Judging from how their scents mixed, I assume they’re pretty close now." Zhizhi frowned. "What puzzles me though is that they all stopped somewhere."
"What is going on?" Yin Qing asked. "Confrontation I guess?"
"Perhaps." Zhizhi was about to nod, but before her chin could go down, an alarming scent reached her. "Wait, no, they’re moving, and they’re coming toward us!"
"They’re almost here!" Jing also shouted out her alarm. "They aren't taking a walk to here, either. The traces of their being are almost overlapping."
"Ha?" Sanpang was shocked, and sweat pulled in his hand. "So the thing is coming?"
"It’s coming, so let's move!" They all bolted away from the campsite, and a few minutes later, a massive head entered the area, the bonfire illuminating its massive fangs.
"They all ran away." The scent in the air told the whole story to Chang. "They must have been scared away, I'll get them back."
"All right." The clones nodded, they didn't intend to join as they were exhausted. "But how many people in this group are able to give early warnings?"
"Three." Chang then disappeared in the dark with his answer.
Twelve minutes later.
"Holy sh*t! Damn! Man! Are you kidding me?" Sanpang was jumping around the centipede's head. "What did you do? How can you make it obey you?"
Sanpang slapped the centipede’s leg, staring at it in awe.
"Every one of these legs is as thick as my waist! And there are so many! I thought people were just saying stuff, red fog influencing their minds, when they said that these things were tough."
Sanpang was overly excited, and he even kicked the trunk a few times.
The slight vibration of the armor attracted the centipede's attention, it raised its head and turned to the perpetrator.
"Ah!
The grim head terrified Sanpang. He emitted a high-pitched scream, and tripped over his own feet, falling to the ground.
"Don't upset it. Even though it treats us as its mother, it only treats you like its kind. Normally, they don’t fight among the group members, but I can't assure that," Qing said while sliding down from the top of the glossy shell.
"Should have told me earlier, buddy!" Sanpang rolled up to his feet, and joked, "Hey buddy, I was just teasing you, please don't be mad at me."
As if the centipede had understood him, it turned its head away from the campfire.
"Oh my god! It ain't stupid at all! It understood what I was saying." Sanpang was overjoyed.
"Is there anyone that’s really stupid these days?" Shui also slid down from the top. "Though I have to admit the centipede isn't smart, it's just not that dumb. It must have sensed your emotions rather than understanding your words."
"However, with this big guy, Chang can finally sleep tonight." Shui Qing jumped off the top and rolled on the ground. "You haven't been sleeping these days, Chang."
"Well, I was half-sleeping, though that was pretty tiring, frankly speaking." Chang laid down near the centipede's side. "I need some sleep now, even though the smell isn't pleasant, but I bet it's the safest place to stay."
He was fatigued, and he fell asleep in almost no time.
Jing grabbed her sleeping stuff and laid down beside him.
Zhizhi seemed scared, and so went back to where she had been staying before.
So did Sanpang.
Soon, all of Chang's friend fell asleep, including the clones. Only Yin Qing's family stayed awake, they were still processing the new information.
All three and a half of them were astonished.
Especially Yin Qing.
At first, she could only tell that this group was special, but she had never accounted for such power.
From the distance that they could march in a day, and their weapons, she knew they were unique since day one.
However, those facts didn't really impress her until Chang told her what happened in Zhengzhou. He seemed to know Qing Shui Li the legend well, and in a personal way. She could distinguish that from his emotions after he heard that Qing Shui was dead.
After she learned about their relationship, she was shocked on a daily basis—the way they could give early warnings, the way they could quantify how dangerous their opponent was. She was already speechless after witnessing those things, but she was left horrified when Chang went out as if to have a walk in a park with three kids and returned having somehow tamed a mammoth-sized beast!
This was against everything she knew about humans. It made no sense at all.
However, the fact was that Chang and his group had overcome the danger that was supposed to kill them—she could do nothing but try to process what was going on. After all, everything that happened proved the hypothesis she had come up with in the very beginning.
Usual, they were unusual. She just wasn't sure why they felt so strange to her. But now she had her own little plan going on in her mind.
"Why don't I just stay with them, enjoying what their presence brings? It doesn't hurt them anyways."
"You don't need to worry about this at all. The consciousness hedge will cause mania only the first time. Now that we have it under control, it's all good," one of the clones said. "As long as we aren't too far away from it, we can maintain the relative control over it."
"Relative control?" Chang was confused.
"Yes, relative control. We can fight its mind, but we can't replace it - after all, the brain is its," Qing explained. "I know it's pretty retarded, but its brain is still the central control system, the creature executes commands that come from there. What we are capable is to interfere, not replace."
"So what kind of interference can you apply?" Chang asked.
"Well, we told it that we are the same kind," Qing answered honestly.
"We also told it that we are its mother," Shui Qing added.
"Three mothers?" Chang pointed at the clones, bursting into laughter.
"That's correct." Shui nodded.
...
At the campsite.
"Nothing wrong would have happened to them, right?" Sanpang was agonizing about the lives of those who left as he sat by the bonfire.
"Nothing at all. I didn't smell blood from any of them. It's all good." Zhizhi twitched her nose, sniffing. "No one is dead, they weren't even injured."
"Good to hear that." Sanpang heaved a long sigh.
"Though, that being that smells bitter isn't dead either. Interesting! Judging from how their scents mixed, I assume they’re pretty close now." Zhizhi frowned. "What puzzles me though is that they all stopped somewhere."
"What is going on?" Yin Qing asked. "Confrontation I guess?"
"Perhaps." Zhizhi was about to nod, but before her chin could go down, an alarming scent reached her. "Wait, no, they’re moving, and they’re coming toward us!"
"They’re almost here!" Jing also shouted out her alarm. "They aren't taking a walk to here, either. The traces of their being are almost overlapping."
"Ha?" Sanpang was shocked, and sweat pulled in his hand. "So the thing is coming?"
"It’s coming, so let's move!" They all bolted away from the campsite, and a few minutes later, a massive head entered the area, the bonfire illuminating its massive fangs.
"They all ran away." The scent in the air told the whole story to Chang. "They must have been scared away, I'll get them back."
"All right." The clones nodded, they didn't intend to join as they were exhausted. "But how many people in this group are able to give early warnings?"
"Three." Chang then disappeared in the dark with his answer.
Twelve minutes later.
"Holy sh*t! Damn! Man! Are you kidding me?" Sanpang was jumping around the centipede's head. "What did you do? How can you make it obey you?"
Sanpang slapped the centipede’s leg, staring at it in awe.
"Every one of these legs is as thick as my waist! And there are so many! I thought people were just saying stuff, red fog influencing their minds, when they said that these things were tough."
Sanpang was overly excited, and he even kicked the trunk a few times.
The slight vibration of the armor attracted the centipede's attention, it raised its head and turned to the perpetrator.
"Ah!
The grim head terrified Sanpang. He emitted a high-pitched scream, and tripped over his own feet, falling to the ground.
"Don't upset it. Even though it treats us as its mother, it only treats you like its kind. Normally, they don’t fight among the group members, but I can't assure that," Qing said while sliding down from the top of the glossy shell.
"Should have told me earlier, buddy!" Sanpang rolled up to his feet, and joked, "Hey buddy, I was just teasing you, please don't be mad at me."
As if the centipede had understood him, it turned its head away from the campfire.
"Oh my god! It ain't stupid at all! It understood what I was saying." Sanpang was overjoyed.
"Is there anyone that’s really stupid these days?" Shui also slid down from the top. "Though I have to admit the centipede isn't smart, it's just not that dumb. It must have sensed your emotions rather than understanding your words."
"However, with this big guy, Chang can finally sleep tonight." Shui Qing jumped off the top and rolled on the ground. "You haven't been sleeping these days, Chang."
"Well, I was half-sleeping, though that was pretty tiring, frankly speaking." Chang laid down near the centipede's side. "I need some sleep now, even though the smell isn't pleasant, but I bet it's the safest place to stay."
He was fatigued, and he fell asleep in almost no time.
Jing grabbed her sleeping stuff and laid down beside him.
Zhizhi seemed scared, and so went back to where she had been staying before.
So did Sanpang.
Soon, all of Chang's friend fell asleep, including the clones. Only Yin Qing's family stayed awake, they were still processing the new information.
All three and a half of them were astonished.
Especially Yin Qing.
At first, she could only tell that this group was special, but she had never accounted for such power.
From the distance that they could march in a day, and their weapons, she knew they were unique since day one.
However, those facts didn't really impress her until Chang told her what happened in Zhengzhou. He seemed to know Qing Shui Li the legend well, and in a personal way. She could distinguish that from his emotions after he heard that Qing Shui was dead.
After she learned about their relationship, she was shocked on a daily basis—the way they could give early warnings, the way they could quantify how dangerous their opponent was. She was already speechless after witnessing those things, but she was left horrified when Chang went out as if to have a walk in a park with three kids and returned having somehow tamed a mammoth-sized beast!
This was against everything she knew about humans. It made no sense at all.
However, the fact was that Chang and his group had overcome the danger that was supposed to kill them—she could do nothing but try to process what was going on. After all, everything that happened proved the hypothesis she had come up with in the very beginning.
Usual, they were unusual. She just wasn't sure why they felt so strange to her. But now she had her own little plan going on in her mind.
"Why don't I just stay with them, enjoying what their presence brings? It doesn't hurt them anyways."
