When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 388: The Ninth Prince (3)

Chapter 388: The Ninth Prince (3)

The air hung heavy with silence as the trio were absorbed in the story. Though Song Yunshi claimed that he had entered the Cycle two years ago, he was able to recount every single twist and turn down to the last detail, proving how much impact the Cycle had left on him.

The tea in the pot had almost reached its base by the time the legendary player concluded his tale.

He offered a wry smile, "His nonchalant act wasn’t because of setting or whatsoever, but because he was truly powerful, and thus had nothing to fear. He watched over everything from the sidelines just like a spectator, but once someone provoked him, they were bound to receive the consequences. The following day, I heard gossip in the palace that the mastermind was thrown into the dungeon because he went insane all of a sudden. How could a perfectly fine man go crazy all of a sudden? I suspected it was the Ninth Prince’s doing, but I kept quiet because I had no evidence to confront him with.

"After the mastermind’s demise, no one dared to touch him anymore and the cooperating factions collapsed. The four remaining Princes continued their power struggles until only one victor emerged. But before that person could ascend the throne, I led a coup d’etat and killed that Prince myself, securing the crown for my prince. Of nine factions, mine won in the end. I spent almost three years there." He rubbed his face tiredly. "Luckily, the flow of time was different in that Cycle. After I returned to the real world, I realized that only three months had gone by."

"Then..." Shen Nianzu inquired carefully. "What happened after that night?"

"Ah..." Grandpa Song scratched his temple with a humorless smile. "As you can imagine, our relationship completely changed since I found out he was a nightmare creature. I began to wonder if the other Princes were nightmare creatures too, but... no. The others were purely NPCs; only he was different. When I confronted him about it, he told me that... he was just occupying this role after getting rid of the NPC – the real Ninth Prince."

Shen Nianzu knitted his brows. "Why would he do that?"

Grandpa shifted his gaze to Jin Jiuchi, who responded with a nonchalant shrug. "Don’t look at me. It’s not like I know the answers."

Grandpa let out a mildly amused huff. "He didn’t tell me the real reason, of course. He was surprisingly cautious and tight-lipped. But when I got him drunk one day—"

"You got him drunk???"

Under the astonished gazes of three youngsters, a hint of embarrassment appeared on the man’s face. He cleared his throat and explained, "Don’t get me wrong, it was all a coincidence. You see, that boy was a total glutton and when he saw me drinking one day..."

"Ah..." Both Gu Luoxin and Shen Nianzu quickly nodded in understanding, while Jin Jiuchi wondered out loud, "What is this? Should I be offended?"

Song Yunshi continued, "He’d never had liquor before, so he got tipsy real quick. I reckoned that it’s the perfect opportunity to learn something about him, so I asked him the reason why he came here. He said—"

"I’m sooo bored! I thought this place looked fun, so I snuck here to take a little look. But..." he mumbled with a forlorn sigh, his cheeks tinged with red. "I still feel lonely. How I wish he was still here with me."

"He?" Song Yunshi asked tentatively.

"My brother," the prince flashed a sweet and giddy smile. It was the first time Song Yunshi had ever witnessed such an affectionate look on his face that he couldn’t help but become stunned. Was it possible for a nightmare creature to express such a warm feeling? Then again, this boy looked so much like a human that Song Yunshi had not suspected anything at first.

He pressed further, knowing that the prince’s guard was at its lowest. "What happened to him?"

The young boy blinked at him. "You want to know?"

For some reason, when Song Yunshi looked into those eyes for a prolonged period of time, he started to feel uncomfortable. His skin prickled with goosebumps and his instinct compelled him to avert his gaze away. "Of course, if Your Highness is willing to tell me, then this humble vessel will listen."

"Hmm..." The Prince hummed, seemingly contemplative. He then crossed his arms on the table and leaned his upper body forward, his eyes twinkling in mischief as he whispered, "Are you sure? What if I told you... you would go crazy if you knew the truth? Do you still want to hear it?"

Gu Luoxin gulped in nervousness and clenched his sweaty palms. "A–And then, how did you reply?"

Grandpa shook his head in regret. "My mind literally went blank when I heard that. Part of me wanted to take it as a joke, but I also feared that he was telling the truth. I weighed my choices for quite some time, but then... he passed out. He slept like a log, then forgot everything when he woke up the next day. After that, I didn’t have the chance to ask him again until the day I had to leave the Cycle."

For a nightmare creature, the boy was... odd, to say the least.

The day when Song Yunshi discovered his real identity, he had actually been prepared to be silenced. Yet strangely, the boy continued to treat him like usual as though nothing happened at all.

The nightmare creature harbored no malicious intentions toward humans, or so Song Yunshi perceived. Instead, it looked more like he relished in the pleasure of observing their behaviors. Just like he mentioned, he appeared awfully bored and was searching for a source of great entertainment.

The days leading to the departure were quite uneventful.

Song Yunshi had a lot of questions in his mind, yet he had no idea where to start. It was with this frazzled state of mind that he boarded the bus, along with the five others who were in the same faction as him. Out of forty-something people, only six of them managed to survive in the end.

Song Yunshi had no idea what had possessed him that day.

As the bus started along the road, carrying them away from the Cycle, he was compelled by an inexplicable force to turn his head. He had intended to imprint the scenery into his mind for the last time, but he ended up witnessing something as shocking as the night of the great battle, if not more.

"The Cycle was falling apart," he recalled with a troubled look on his face. "The sky cracked like a fragile glass, and the building collapsed one after another. Amidst it all, the boy stood, thick and formless darkness coiling around him like a python. And as soon as I laid my eyes on it, I instinctively knew that I was looking at the Nightmare itself."