When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 317: Echo of the Past (6)

Chapter 317: Echo of the Past (6)

Shen Nianzu ran through the dimly lit corridors. Many people had chosen to run outside, while only a handful opted to remain inside the building. Whenever he crossed paths with a zombie, he would cut their skull into halves without batting an eyelid, disregarding the horrified onlookers and blood curdling screams from the other students. His countenance remained icy and determined, for he had only one destination in mind: Honglei Hospital.

The place where he had last seen Jin Jiuchi in.

He could still vividly recall the events from two days ago, after they found out about his memory loss.

....

He gripped Jin Jiuchi’s arm, his voice tinged with anxiety, "How about you? Do you feel anything strange?"

"Um... no?" Jin Jiuchi tilted his head and pondered for a second. "I don’t really feel any different, to be honest."

Shen Nianzu carefully observed his face and heaved out a sigh of relief when he noticed that Jin Jiuchi was acting just like usual. Was it because he was not a human and thus he was not affected by the power of this attraction? That was the only speculation Shen Nianzu could come up with so far. However, he couldn’t dismiss the possibility that the effects might simply be delayed. If that were to happen, then the difficulty of this attraction would increase a few folds.

Shen Nianzu nibbled on his lower lip and made a decision, "First, let’s recount everything we have gone through so far." He led Jin Jiuchi to sit on the stone bench on the side and took out a notebook and pen. "We should compare our memories to make sure that nothing is missing. Starting from the first day..."

The two of them retraced about everything they had done so far, and Shen Nianzu meticulously wrote everything into his notebook down to the very last detail.

Jin Jiuchi was intrigued and prodded him lightly with an elbow, "Do we really have to go to such lengths, Nian’er? Am I not here to remind you?"

"No, I can’t rely on you alone," Shen Nianzu asserted mercilessly, causing Jin Jiuchi to clutch his chest from the mental damage. "This is a protective measure in case you lose his memories as well. With this, we don’t have to fear that we will get lost. No matter what, we must not allow ourselves to assimilate into this attraction."

Shen Nianzu paused his writing upon sensing a heated gaze on him, and he turned to find Jin Jiuchi giving him a pair of puppy dog eyes, complete with the most pitiful expression he could muster. The corner of Shen Nianzu’s lips twitched and he couldn’t resist ruffling the man’s hair, his tone softened when he said, "Of course, if I start to forget again, I will have to rely on you to slap me awake."

Jin Jiuchi’s face brightened and he flashed a grin, "Okay, Nian’er can count on me!"

Now that they had identified the problem, Shen Nianzu was prepared even if he were to lose more memories in the coming days. As long as he had this notebook and Jin Jiuchi by his side, he believed that everything would turn out fine.

Alas, once again, he underestimated the might of this cycle.

Because the next day, he almost forgot who Jin Jiuchi was.

In his tampered memory, Jin Jiuchi was no more than a casual acquaintance from the department next door whom he was hardly familiar with. He had been taken aback when Jin Jiuchi came to pick him up after class, and it took the man more than half an hour to trigger his memory. To make matters worse, everything he had meticulously recorded in his notebook had vanished, leaving only a blank page which was untouched by ink.

Shen Nianzu almost broke down right there and then. "W–What should I do? What if I forget everything tomorrow? What if I forget myself?!"

Had it been the usual Shen Nianzu, he wouldn’t have succumbed to despair so easily like this. No matter how harsh the fall was, no matter how battered and bruised he became, he would grit his teeth and get up again and again without so much as a word of complaint. But this time, he found himself unable to suppress the chilling fear within. He not only forgot his comrade, his teammate whom he had faced life-and-death situations with, but also his lover, the man he held dear in his heart.

It was like a total brainwash where he remained oblivious until the end, and nothing he did could prevent it from happening. He had even tried taking a mental stabilizing agent because he suspected that this was some kind of mental pollution, only to discover that he was wrong.

"Sssh, it’s okay..." Jin Jiuchi held the trembling jade doll in his arms and rubbed his back in a soothing gesture, and Shen Nianzu relished in it. His warmth, his scent, the solid embrace of his powerful arms— he buried himself deeper into Jin Jiuchi’s chest, drawing comfort from the man’s presence. "Don’t be afraid, Nian’er." Jin Jiuchi whispered into his ear. "I’m here. I’m here with you, okay?"

The usual silly and annoying guy seemed oddly reliable today, which was an extremely rare reoccurrence. But Shen Nianzu couldn’t afford to tease him about it right now. He drew in a shaky breath to calm himself. But as it turned out, Jin Jiuchi was not done yet for he uttered a sincere promise,

"It’s fine even if you forget everything. I will remind you again and again, no matter how many times it takes."

Unable to help himself, Shen Nianzu let out a scoff at the cheesy remark. Now that he had managed to regain a semblance of composure, he began to feel embarrassed for losing control of his emotions. Clearing his throat, he straightened himself and pushed his hands against Jin Jiuchi’s chest, adopting a serious demeanor at once. "This attraction is more treacherous than expected. Seems like we’re not allowed to write everything down. We have to find another way to tackle this problem."

For a while, Jin Jiuchi sought his eyes as though making sure that he was fine, and only then did he respond, "Okay, I will listen to Nian’er."

Shen Nianzu thought for a while before coming up with a few alternatives. He reckoned that the extensive notes he’d written the previous day had exceeded the limit set by the attraction, and thus he began to leave discreet clues on his sticky notes, and he even enlisted the help of Aqua, his divine prop, even though he knew that it would be difficult given how she would not be able to appear unless he summoned her directly.

With all these preparations, he told Jin Jiuchi solemnly, "Today, we have to finish investigating the hospital. Let’s get out of here as soon as possible."

"Okay," Jin Jiuchi answered readily. "This attraction is getting boring anyway. I don’t like how it makes Nian’er sad."

To Shen Nianzu’s dismay, his worst fear ended up coming true the very next day – he forgot everything about himself.

Not only that...

...

He rushed out of the university building and took the path that would directly lead to the hospital’s side entrance. Raising his head, he took in the tall building which was shrouded in an eerie crimson hue.

Whenever he recalled everything that happened last night in this place, his jaws clenched tight and the rims of his eyes reddened with agitation.

He was prepared to charge forward, but a sudden movement caught his peripheral vision. He turned and inhaled sharply when he saw the tentacle creature. Unlike the previous encounter, this time the creature seemed to have fully matured. In addition to the slimy tentacles with children’s hands which were growing out of the lower half of the dead person’s face, he could also see numerous sinister small eyes blinking from the person’s chest.

"He... ehehe..."

Another one appeared, this one from the opposite direction.

"...hungry... we are... hungry..."

Shen Nianzu’s gaze hardened as he spun the blade in his hand, creating a powerful gust of wind around him. "Come," he ordered coldly. "Let’s get this over with."

With ear-piercing shrieks, the two creatures pounced on him at the same time.