Chapter 117: One And The Same

    "Woah..." Jin Jiuchi leaned in and inspected the man from head to toe, and the more he observed, the more fascinated he became. He couldn’t resist cupping the man’s cheeks with his hands and tilting his head side to side. "Woah, woah, woah..."

    He tugged on the man’s earlobes, squeezed his broad shoulders and groped his pecs, silver eyes shining in astonishment. "You really look like me. How can you look so much like me? Wait a minute, did you just say ’brother’?! Are we talking about an elder brother or a younger brother here? Hmm, I think there’s a term that suits us perfectly. What is it again..." he snapped his fingers and exclaimed excitedly, "That’s right, twins! Are you my twin, by any chance? Oh my God, do I actually have a twin?! But why can’t I remember anything at all?! Oh hello, turns out we are so handsome, after all!"

    Dark Jin Jiuchi, who found no chance to interrupt: "...Are you done?"

    Jin Jiuchi blinked in confusion, "Do you want me to say more?"

    "Ha..." he let out a helpless laugh and slapped Jin Jiuchi’s hand away from his body. "You really have not changed at all. Still so foolish—"

    "Hey!" Jin Jiuchi cried out, affronted.

    "—and nai?ve. You should thank your luck that you can live well until now. Or me, to be exact." He grabbed his head as though an oncoming headache, and Jin Jiuchi – who was not used to seeing such a solemn look on his own face – playfully poked the man’s cheek only for his hand to be smacked away once again.

    "Ouch!" Jin Jiuchi clutched his hand to his chest with an aggrieved look. "Am I not your brother? Why are you as violent as Nian’er? Oh wait, it seems like Nian’er has also said the same thing to me. Perhaps because I am dirt poor and have forgotten how to live a normal life..." he grumbled with a sullen tone.

    "So many people want to turn me into a star, can you believe it?! They openly admitted in broad daylight that they want to make me into a burning rock! How dangerous! Oh look at me shooting my mouth off again," Jin Jiuchi covered his mouth, grinning sheepishly. "I’m just so excited to see you, even though I didn’t remember anything... What’s your name, by the way?"

    "Jin Jiuchi."

    Jin Jiuchi puffed up his chest proudly, "Yep, that’s me!"

    "..." Speechless, the man had no choice but to explain, "It’s my name too. Jin Jiuchi."

    Seeing Jin Jiuchi’s bewildered look, he barked out a laugh. "You might not remember, but we are supposed to be one and the same. We share the same name. We were born on the same day, down to the exact minute and second. Not only that, our appearance, voice, tastes, emotions, the things we see and hear — everything is also the same. But too bad..." he reached out as if to touch Jin Jiuchi’s face, only to halt midway.

    Seeing it, Jin Jiuchi took the initiative to hold his hand, earning him a surprised look from the other. "Too bad... what?"

    "Too bad we were born in different bodies," he finished his sentence with a sigh. "And for that, we will always be incomplete."

    As absurd as it sounded, Jin Jiuchi could not bring himself to laugh because he could sense the man had told him nothing but the truth. Jin Jiuchi could not really describe it in words, but he knew deep down that this man was really his counterpart. Part of his heart. His missing half who was supposed to make him complete and whole...

    Jin Jiuchi carefully observed his newly found brother and commented, "You look sad. Why are you sad?"

    "Sad? Do I look like that to you?"

    "Mm-hmm, and also... angry."

    "Now that you remind me, I am indeed angry," the man admitted. All of a sudden, he tightened his grip on Jin Jiuchi’s hand, so tight that the chilling sound of bones creaking echoed in the air. He forced out through gritted teeth, "We used to share everything with each other. There’s nothing I didn’t know about you, and there’s nothing you didn’t know about me. But why... why am I the last one to know about Nian’er?! Why must I hear about you from him?!"

    "Have you truly forgotten about me, brother?" A frenzied light flashed in his dark eyes, and his lips twisted into a deranged smile. Now, not only Jin Jiuchi’s hand was broken, but his own fingers as well from clenching them too hard. "Is he going to replace my position as the person closest to you? But now that you’re here again, does it mean that you will come back to me?!"

    Jin Jiuchi stared at him without blinking. He did not even realize the wretched state of his own hand as he was too absorbed with observing the man before him. Yes, they looked exactly the same, but their expressions were in stark contrast to each other. Jin Jiuchi, for one, could not imagine himself being consumed by such intense emotions that seemed to burst out of his eyes and every pores on his body. Even then...

    He clutched his chest where the ache was.

    This wrath and sorrow... he was feeling them as well. Because as the man said, they were supposed to be one and the same.

    Without even thinking, he reached out to wrap his arms around the seething man, causing the latter to stiffen in shock.

    "There, there," Jin Jiuchi patted his back in an attempt to comfort. "Don’t be sad anymore. How can you think that Nian’er will replace you? Both of you are different. You are my brother, while Nian’er is..." Wait, what was Nian’er to him? Jin Jiuchi could not think of anything on top of his head, so he merely glossed it over and cleared his throat. "Well, I’m sure you know what I mean. Didn’t you say that everything we see and hear is the same? Then you must have seen the world outside the asylum. The sky changes color everyday, the air doesn’t stink of disinfectant, and each place smells different. Oh, there is a lot of delicious food out there too! Meatbuns, ramen, fried chicken, steak..."

    As Jin Jiuchi excitedly recounted all the food he had eaten and the places he had visited since he was released from the asylum, the man in his arms gradually relaxed and leaned into him, drawing comfort from his presence.

    "You like Nian’er, don’t you?"

    "... meat everyday but Nian’er told me I should eat more vegeta— wait, did you just say something?"

    When the man repeated his question once again, a dazzling smile spread on Jin Jiuchi’s face and he nodded, "En, I like him so much! Isn’t he so pretty, smart, kind, sassy, and um..." He eventually ran out of vocabulary, and asked the man weakly, "Don’t you think so too?"

    "Of course, I feel what you feel, remember?" the man chuckled. "But I don’t think you understand the full meaning of your ’like’ yet."

    "Huh?" Jin Jiuchi blinked, confused.

    With a mischievous grin, the man leaned in and whispered. "It’s the kind of ’like’ where you want to spend every second and minute with him, stick close to him and have him all to yourself, right?"

    "Now that you say it..." Jin Jiuchi felt as if the man’s words had just enlightened him, and his eyes lit up brighter than the sun. "You’re right! Wow, you are smarter than me!"

    "I have always been," the man rolled his eyes and flicked Jin Jiuchi’s forehead, prompting a pained yelp from his brother. "Who do you think has been getting us out of trouble all this time? Well, you’re too dumb to get the guy you want anyway, so just leave this to me."

    Jin Jiuchi let out an incredulous gasp, "D–Dum— hmph, forget it." In the end, he decided to be magnanimous this time and ignored his brother’s blatant insult of his superb intelligence. Instead, he asked curiously, "Do you have a plan?"

    "Oh brother, you have no idea..." he flashed a sharp grin that revealed all of his canines. "He has been tied to us ever since. Can’t you sense it? This fragile thread that connects him to us. It’s still weak right now, but as long as you find me, it will become even stronger than steel."

    "Sense what?" Jin Jiuchi was dumbfounded. "When do you mean by ’ever since’??"

    Alas, before he could get the answer he wanted, a powerful suction force suddenly came from behind, yanking him away from the void.

    "Wait!" As Jin Jiuchi took in the sight of his brother standing amidst the void, a pang of unwillingness washed over him as if something precious to him was being torn away again. He wanted to take the man along, but no matter how hard he struggled, he could not reach him. "How can I see you again?! Where can I find you?!!"

    With a wide grin, Dark Jin Jiuchi waved at him cheerfully, then he moved his lips to speak.

    "What did you say?! I can’t hear you!!" Jin Jiuchi exclaimed in frustration. "Augh, let go of me!!" He fought against the constraints around him to no avail. A wave of vertigo overcame him, and he felt himself plummet straight to the ground, his eyes snapping open with a gasp!

    W–What was going on?!

    He sat upright with a groan, only to realize that something seemed to be weighing down on his head, partially blocking his upper face from sight. He reached out to grab it, his fingers trailing over the hard and smooth surface.

    What kind of hat was this?? And he could not seem to pull it off his head?!

    "All hail, our glorious and benevolent Lord!"

    Startled by the boisterous chorus, Jin Jiuchi turned toward the source of the sound, his eyes widening at the sight of rows of mummy soldiers flanking the path leading to his throne. They knelt on one knee akin to trained soldiers. Yet it was not the sight that astounded him the most.

    Beneath the throne, bound and forced to kneel, were five individuals he knew all too well. Sand and dirt stuck to their bodies, and they looked disheveled as if they had been captured and dragged here against their will.

    Those people were none other than Shen Nianzu, Xinxin, Jiang Shun, Lang Zhenya and Wind — who had entered the Cycle together with him!

    "My Lord!" The mummy minister proclaimed loudly as he gestured at the five unkempt players. "We have apprehended the five main pillars of the rebel group. They are the ones who have been flouting your rules and disseminating false rumors about your tyranny! Once they are dealt with, your reign will be unshakable once more! I humbly beseech you to inflict the severest punishment upon them!"

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    A/N: I feel like I’m seeing dobermann and husky tussling with each other *laugh*