When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 326: Searching For Someone

Chapter 326: Searching For Someone

The corner of Shen Nianzu’s lips twitched when he sensed a pair of heated eyes on him. Now that he thought about it again, even though he had been treating them like children, they were still creatures from the Nightmare Cycle. They wouldn’t suddenly turn violent and attack him out of nowhere, right? After all, the current them did not have Shen Nianzu in their memories.

Alas, as it turned out, Shen Nianzu had been thinking too much. The two children were surprisingly obedient as they nestled in his arms, and the sight was so endearing that Shen Nianzu felt like his heart was about to burst from the cuteness.

Once again, the silver-haired Jin Jiuchi whispered to his brother as though he was not currently leaning against Shen Nianzu’s shoulder, as though he was not whispering into Shen Nianzu’s ear as well. Seemed like this one was a bit slow on the uptake. "Brother, you’re right. This human indeed smells different. He’s sweet. Can I..." he hesitated and gulped.

Knowing what his twin was about to say, the black haired one instantly snapped, "No!" He smacked – or to be exact, lightly flicked his brother’s forehead, pulling an exaggerated howl from the latter. "Have you forgotten the lesson we received? We’re not allowed to eat something like this again!"

"But I’m hungry..." silver-haired Jin Jiuchi pouted as he rubbed his stomach, which conveniently let out a muted growl.

As if resonating with each other, a loud growl also resounded from the black-haired child’s stomach, and the two children became depressed.

Shen Nianzu: "..."

He understood now – the two of them must be sharing one brain cell.

What the fuck did he just hear? Not allowed to eat something like ’this’ again? What did they mean by ’this’? Human?! More importantly, why was he not surprised knowing that these two dumplings wanted to eat him? Was it because he had been baptized by the big sized Jin Jiuchi? Shen Nianzu shook his head to dispel the messy thoughts, then he chimed in, "I have some food here. Do you want?"

Two pairs of shining and ravenous eyes snapped to him.

Feeling somewhat helpless, Shen Nianzu gently set the two dumplings down and summoned all the edible food he had saved in his prop storage, and the two children clapped in awe.

"Magic!"

"How can you do that? It’s awesome!"

"Here." Shen Nianzu handed the food to them, and he watched with a heart full of paternal love as the two dumplings devoured them in a blink of an eye.

Soon, they peered up at him, asking hopefully, "Is there more?"

Shen Nianzu was a little surprised. "Still not full?"

He knew that Jin Jiuchi had a big appetite, but he chalked it up to his large, muscular frame which required more nutrition. However, the two children before him were still quite small, and their stomachs couldn’t possibly have room for so much food, right? That’s what Shen Nianzu originally thought, but he had witnessed it with his own eyes as they finished off the portion for two adults in a matter of seconds.

Black-haired Jin Jiuchi appeared a bit embarrassed and turned his head away with a harrumph, while the silver-haired one was giving him puppy-dog eyes. "We’re really, really hungry. Right, brother?" he tugged on his brother’s sleeves, asking for support.

Shen Nianzu furrowed his brow as a faint suspicion arose in his heart, "How long has it been since you last ate?"

They glanced at each other, counting with their short and chubby fingers, "Four days...?"

Four days?! Shen Nianzu was horrified. "D–Didn’t someone feed you guys? Or can’t you find food yourselves?!"

Black-haired Jin Jiuchi scoffed with a disdainful look, "Those people feed us twice a week at most. Also, what kind of food can we get in a place like this?"

Shen Nianzu made a little distressed noise on his throat. Only eating twice a week? How could ’those people’ subject these two children to such neglect and deprivation? It was abuse! He did not even know whether this was a genuine event from Jin Jiuchi’s past or whether it was just the Cycle messing with him, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was some truth to Jin Jiuchi’s difficult childhood.

Shen Nianzu’s heart ached terribly as he reached out to hug the two of them closer, the rims of his eyes reddening.

"I’m sorry..." he said, his voice hoarse with emotions. If only he had known sooner, he... he would have spoiled both of them to his heart’s content and filled their bellies with love and good food. He knew that there was nothing he could do to change the past, but at least, he should do something for them now, right? "I have no more food with me right now, but... if you wait for a little longer, I will bring more for you, okay?"

He should be able to find something inside the attraction. He would hoard lots of food and make sure that these children never went hungry again.

The two children initially froze when they were smothered in a tight embrace, and they stared at each other in stunned silence. After a while, they relaxed and curled themselves into Shen Nianzu’s arms. This strange human was so kind, gentle and sweet-smelling. They, who had never received such warmth and kindness before, couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable urge to get closer to him.

"There, there," the silver-haired Jin Jiuchi patted Shen Nianzu’s arm and tried to console him awkwardly with his milky voice. "Y–You... don’t cry, it’s okay if we have no food. I have gotten used to it."

The black haired one let out a soft harrumph, "What a strange human you are. Everyone either fears and shuns us, but you’re different."

Shen Nianzu let out a wet laugh. He eased back and pinched each of their cheeks, and this time they merely blinked and no longer rejected him. "Why should I fear you?"

Look at how adorable they were! How could anyone ever fear them? As for those people who starved them and treated them so poorly... Shen Nianzu’s eyes blazed in anger. He swore that he would make them pay!

He hoisted the two children into his arms again and continued on their journey, "Let’s go. We’d better hurry."

Shen Nianzu quickened his pace, and under the black-haired Jin Jiuchi’s lead, they walked through numerous twists and turns, then went through another secret passageway before emerging in an open area covered in a massive transparent dome. Shen Nianzu’s eyes flew wide as he took in the familiar building before him.

Honglei Hospital.

It was the exact same building he had visited a few times in the ’Echo of the Past’ but if there was one notable difference, then it was the lack of the absence of the hospital sign. Not a single light was on inside the building. As a matter of fact, the whole place seemed utterly abandoned, emanating an eerie and foreboding atmosphere.

"We have arrived!" The two children jumped down from his arms and turned to face him, "What about you? Where are you going after this?"

Shen Nianzu hesitated for a moment, his gaze fixed on the ominous-looking hospital building. "I... am searching for someone," he replied, his tone uncertain. This was the place where the children were staying? If he were to go inside, would he be able to find some clues about Jin Jiuchi’s whereabouts? No, that’s not right. Jin Jiuchi was already in front of him, wasn’t he? It’s just that he had been split into two...

A question Shen Nianzu had overlooked popped into his mind. These two dumplings in front of him, were they a part of Jin Jiuchi whom the man had left inside the Nightmare Cycle or... were they Jin Jiuchi himself who had regressed to the past?

Curious, the black-haired Jin Jiuchi asked, "Who are you searching for?"

"You can tell us!" The silver-haired one chimed in eagerly. "Our noses are sharp. We will be able to help you!"

It seemed like Shen Nianzu needed to stay with them for a while to observe the situation. However, he couldn’t possibly admit that he was looking for their future self, right? Clearing his throat, he opted for another answer, which was practically not a lie. "It’s the person who will issue the task to me, someone who can give me a ticket."

Much to his surprise, the two of them exchanged a knowing look.

"Ticket?" Silver-haired Jin Jiuchi echoed. "Brother, it seems like we have them?"

His black-haired twin nodded hesitantly, "...En."

Silver-haired Jin Jiuchi turned to Shen Nianzu with a dazzling beam, his excitement palpable, "Then you have come to the right people! We can give it to you!"

Shen Nianzu’s mind was reeling from those words. Shock was not even adequate to describe his feelings right now. What was this? After all the searching and efforts to find the core NPC, they turned out to be... Jin Jiuchi’s past selves all along?!

Jin Jiuchi was the core NPC in this Cycle?!