When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 324: Two Dumplings

Chapter 324: Two Dumplings

Before him stood a little boy around three or four years old, with a head of fluffy black hair, chubby cheeks and round eyes. He was clad in a black kimono with long flowing sleeves, staring up at Shen Nianzu with an unwavering stare. He would have appeared entirely human if not for those striking golden slit pupils which no human could ever possess. And of course, the fact that he had just popped out of nowhere.

As soon as Shen Nianzu locked eyes with him, it was like a mini bomb had detonated in his mind, making his thoughts whirl uncontrollably.

He knew... he knew these eyes. He had seen them before. Moreover, if he had to be completely honest, this child looked awfully like—

"Rule breaker, must punish."

Shen Nianzu suppressed a gasp when he perceived that the voice was steadily approaching where he was. With the enemy drawing near, he had no time to sort out his messy thoughts and could only gesture for the boy to stay silent as he prepared his blade. He intended to launch a surprise attack and incapacitate it before it could activate its power, but at that moment, the child gently tugged on his pinky finger and guided him toward the wall.

Shen Nianzu was caught off guard. W–What was he trying to do?

This time, it was the child’s turn to make a shushing motion to him, his little face grave and solemn. Shen Nianzu might have been amused by how adorable he looked if he hadn’t been so astounded by the scene unfolding before his eyes.

A fleshy, tiny hand pressed against the wall, and in the next second, the seemingly solid surface gave way, revealing a hidden path leading to an unknown darkness. Shen Nianzu stared wide-eyed, slightly flabbergasted, as the child began to lead him inside. Perhaps it was the shock of discovering the secret passageway in the labyrinth, or perhaps it was because the child before him resembled a miniature version of Jin Jiuchi, Shen Nianzu allowed himself to be dragged in without resistance.

The wall seamlessly sealed itself back into place as they disappeared through it. And almost at the same time, the Chrono beast appeared at the mouth of the hallway, its luminous eyes scanning the surroundings. It froze for a split second when it saw the dead end with nary a person in sight, and the gears in its body whirred more urgently.

Eventually, it walked away to continue its hunt. "Rule breaker, must punish."

***

It took Shen Nianzu a while for his eyes to adjust to the pitch-black darkness, but rather than feeling restless by the lack of visibility, he only felt a wave of calmness washed over him. He felt strangely anchored by the tiny warmth that was gripping his fingers tightly.

To think that he had been anxious to tears just moments ago...

"Who are you?"

The same question was spoken again, and Shen Nianzu turned to find a pair of inhumanly glowing eyes staring up at him. Amidst the dark, the golden irises shone like that of a beast, and again, Shen Nianzu couldn’t deny this sense of déjà vu he was feeling within.

But how? How could this be possible?

The glowing eyes narrowed slightly upon receiving no response. "You smell familiar."

"Familiar?" Shen Nianzu echoed blankly.

His brain seemed to have short-circuited, and he struggled to process that one word. Was it because Jin Jiuchi had been with him and thus this little child could somehow pick up the scent? But then again, was this really Jin Jiuchi? What were the odds that this mini Jin Jiuchi appeared just as Shen Nianzu lost the big one? Those messy thoughts tangled in his mind, and he was contemplating where to begin when a faint burst of light appeared on the other end of the dark passage.

They had reached the end of the secret passageway, and what was waiting for them on the other side was—

"Brother!"

A boy with the identical appearance with the little one beside him waved both of his hands energetically with a bright smile. The only difference was, the other had snowy white hair, silver eyes, and was clad in a white kimono. "What took you so long? I almost died of boredom waiting for you!"

Those exaggerated words, the sullen pout, and puppy-dog eyes, everything was so familiar. He then shifted his attention to Shen Nianzu, and a glint of curiosity flashed in his silver eyes. He studied Shen Nianzu for a few more seconds before dragging his brother to the side, whispering in a voice that Shen Nianzu could hear very well,

"Brother, he is so pretty! And his hair is similar to mine!"

"Pretty? Him?" The black-haired child responded with a hint of disdain.

"Aww, you liar!" His silver eyes crinkled with amusement as he poked the other on the cheek, only for his hand to be swatted away with a glare. "You do remember that we’re seeing and feeling the same thing, right?"

"Hmph!"

W–What was going on here? Shen Nianzu felt his mind spinning as he looked at the two chubby dumplings a few meters away who had their heads pressed together. Out of nowhere, he recalled the words that the black-eyed Jin Jiuchi had told him back in the Temple of Anubis — ’We used to be two individuals, but since I ate him... or was it him who ate me? What’s the difference? Didn’t we become one in the end?’

An absurd possibility began to form in Shen Nianzu’s mind, and before he could filter his thoughts, he blurted out the question, "Are you two... Jin Jiuchi?"

The two dumplings turned to him at the same time as if they were mirror reflections of each other. Not only that, they also put on the same strange expression, and spoke in unison, "Jin Jiuchi? Is that our name?"

Shen Nianzu gaped at them, "I–It’s not?"

"We don’t have a name..." the black-haired one replied, followed immediately by the silver-haired one. "But it doesn’t sound too bad."

The two of them looked at each other, and it seemed like a whole conversation Shen Nianzu was not privy to was going on between the lines of their eye contact. Then all of a sudden, the silver-haired child grabbed his brother’s hand and dragged him before Shen Nianzu, despite the look of utter reluctance on his face.

"Pretty human," the silver-haired child requested softly, his eyes sparkling like molten copper. "Is that our name? Can we have it?"

As Shen Nianzu stared at the two dumplings whose height did not even reach his waist, a strange feeling arose in his heart. The two of them did not have a name? Then where did ’Jin Jiuchi’ come from? It couldn’t be... from him, right?

Even though this was a labyrinth of time and space, wasn’t it a little too far-fetched to travel to the past and meet the past version of Jin Jiuchi, even giving them a name?!

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A/N: This Chapter is now with fanart! Ying is here again to drop a nuclear weapon on us QAQ Do open the comment section and show your love there! asdfhjkala our two JJs are such a smol xiao bebe