Just earlier, when Baili Wuchang opened the door to leave, the first thing he saw was the eighteen-years-ago version of himself.
The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang said he had a question for him. Actually, Baili Wuchang had predicted this. He didn’t even need to mention it.
No matter if it was eighteen years ago or eighteen years later, Baili Wuchang was Baili Wuchang.
“Have…you found Master?”
The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang frowned slightly, his expression somewhat complex.
Baili Wuchang stared at his identical face and paused for five or six seconds. The two faced each other wordlessly.
When Baili Wuchang finally decided to respond, he didn’t quite answer, saying instead, “I am prepared for the mission I am currently executing. As long as I find the Youxian pillow and go back, this period of memories will be wiped by the Underworld. You’ll forget what I say…so there’s no point in telling you.”
Baili Wuchang finished speaking, and then he nodded.
The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang’s pupils contracted. His mood was stirred. “You found Master? Where is Master? Where is he? Could he be…”
The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang seemed to think of something. He turned back to look at the closed room of the hotel.
Baili Wuchang said lightly, “It’s Wen Nuan.”
“No way.” The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang didn’t believe it. “He doesn’t have a birthmark on him. How could he be Master? You’re lying.”
Birthmark?” Baili Wuchang furrowed his brow, his expression growing dark.
Wen Nuan most definitely had a birthmark on him, but now that Wen Nuan was small, the birthmark in question disappeared. Once he went back to the real world, though, the birthmark reappeared.
The birthmark only showed when it was triggered by some condition. When Wen Nuan was three or four, these conditions weren’t met, so the birthmark wasn’t apparent.
Right now, Wen Nuan had no birthmark, which was normal. But more importantly, there was something strange. How did the eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang know that Wen Nuan didn’t have a birthmark?
Baili Wuchang keenly latched onto this point. His dark expression was more gloomy than the twilight sky. He rolled his hands into fists and cracked his knuckles, itching to throw a punch at him.
“Him” being the eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang, of course.
Baili Wuchang drank his own vinegar without hesitation. The jealousy in his heart boiled. Wen Nuan was his. How could he let “someone else” look at his body?
Wen Nuan didn’t know that right outside the door, there were two identical Baili Wuchangs fighting once more. They fought from the hallway down to the lobby, all the way down the stairs.
In the end, they were unable to declare a victor. Baili Wuchang remembered that Wen Nuan wanted a midnight snack, so he put aside his fury to go buy some dishes from the restaurant.
Wen Nuan sat in the room waiting for Baili Wuchang, growing drowsy. Finally, when Baili Wuchang appeared, it wasn’t even the Baili Wuchang he recognized, but the eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang.
When Baili Wuchang left, he set up a barrier, so that nobody else but him could enter. But there was a loophole, which was the eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang. The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang wasn’t a different party, so he easily opened the door and walked in.
He just learned that Wen Nuan was his Master. His heart couldn’t settle down, so while Baili Wuchang wasn’t there, he entered the room and tightly embraced that person who he thought of every single day and night.
Wen Nuan was a bit confused when he was hugged. Even though the guest from Room 404 was weird, why did he seem even weirder today?
That’s why Wen Nuan had his suspicions, and going out on a limb, he surmised that this person wasn’t his normal Baili Wuchang, but the weirder, worser tempered, eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang.
“As expected…”
When the other Baili Wuchang appeared, he confirmed Wen Nuan’s thoughts.
Wen Nuan sighed and helplessly looked at Baili Wuchang on the left, then the Baili Wuchang on the right, and shouted, “Don’t fight!”
Baili Wuchang walked in with a dour expression. He put the takeout aside, then hid Wen Nuan behind him. He stared at himself from eighteen-years-ago with vigilance and said, “Why did you come in? It seems like you didn’t eat enough blows earlier.”
As soon as Baili Wuchang spoke, the smell of gunpowder seemed to quickly fill the room.
The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang’s lips curled. He sneered, “What do you mean? Are you trying to monopolize Wen Nuan?”
Monopolize?
Wen Nuan was puzzled. With difficulty, he peeked out from behind Baili Wuchang. What did he mean by monopolize? That sounded kind of strange.
Baili Wuchang also sneered. The two laughed exactly the same. “Monopolize? He’s mine to begin with. What does it have to do with you? You didn’t even recognize him, so what qualifications do you have to compete with me?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Wen Nuan: “…” The more I listen, the more confused I am. It’s like I’m some kind of sought-after treasure.
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Qfc Rejc: “…”
Lf ralii vlvc’a ufa la, yea tf tjv atf offilcu lo atf akb bo atfw mbcalcefv ab ajix, atf fcalgf Lfii Jtjlc Lbafi kbeiv yf rmgjqqfv.
Wen Nuan quickly ran out, standing in the middle to mediate. “Wait, stop arguing, let’s talk seriously! We haven’t even found the Youxian pillow yet!”
Perhaps it was because Wen Nuan was too short, but standing between the two tall and broad figures, he had no sense of presence. Whether it was the eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang or the Baili Wuchang from eighteen years later, they didn’t seem to hear him.
Wen Nuan: “…”
Baili Wuchang took Wen Nuan’s hand and said menacingly, “If you touch Wen Nuan again, I’ll chop your hand off.”
Then, he looked down at Wen Nuan and said, “Aside from hugging you, did he do anything else?”
“Ah? Anything else?” Wen Nuan had a headache coming on. He rubbed at his cheeks. Baili Wuchang came back too quickly, so he and the eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang didn’t do much. There wasn’t time for anything to have happened.
Wen Nuan was thinking about it and was about to shake his head when Baili Wuchang’s face suddenly grew violent. For some reason, it turned even darker.
Wen Nuan: “…” What’s going on?
Baili Wuchang said darkly, “Did he kiss your face?”
Kiss?
Wen Nuan was stunned for a moment. His eyes rounded and his mind was blank. How did Baili Wuchang come to that conclusion?
Was it because he rubbed his face just now?
Wait a minute, that’s not how it worked. This wasn’t at all how logical conclusions were drawn.
“Crackle—”
Went the sound of Baili Wuchang’s knuckles.
“Wait a minute!”
“No!”
“It’s a misunderstanding, listen…” to me!
“Don’t fight anymore!”
“Don’t hit the face!”
Wen Nuan jumped to his feet and wanted to explain, but the two people started fighting again, inextricably clashing, making Wen Nuan dizzy.
The two Baili Wuchangs fought whenever they disagreed, and their tempers were extra fiery. In the end, Wen Nuan didn’t have steam to try and stop the fight. He turned around and opened the door, about to leave.
“Where are you going.”
“Where are you going.”
Two voices in unison sounded, and then two figures flashed in front of the door with a “whoosh” to block Wen Nuan’s way.
Wen Nuan looked between the two of them with his hands on his hips. “Keep fighting. I’m not sticking around anymore.”
Wen Nuan came with Baili Wuchang on serious business, not because he wanted to watch him fight.
He started to feel that both Baili Wuchangs were unreliable, so he wanted to find Heibai Wuchang and discuss the case together.
The two Baili Wuchangs accompanied Wen Nuan to Heibai Wuchang’s room.
Bai Wuchang was wearing pure white pajamas, holding a pure white bear plushie in his arms, sitting on a pure white sofa, propping his chin up and looking at the two bosses who walked in and said nothing.
He couldn’t help but turn his head and whisper to Hei Wuchang, “It’s already difficult to deal with one boss, but now there are two. What do you think we should do?”
At this time, Wen Nuan spoke and said, “Ahem, in short, we have to find the Youxian pillow quickly. The person who took the Youxian pillow isn’t confirmed yet, and there are not many clues.”
“Hah—” The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang smirked. He looked at Baili Wuchang beside Wen Nuan, and said, “You haven’t found the mortal who stole the Youxian pillow? The efficiency of case handling in the Underworld is falling behind more and more.”
“Crackle—” Baili Wuchang also sneered, “I heard that you’re dealing with a school’s haunting case. If such a small case cannot be solved in a day, what efficiency can you even speak of?”
Wen Nuan: “…” I have a headache.
Wen Nuan ignored the two cockfighting Baili Wuchangs and said, “Let’s figure the case out. The haunting at school should have something to do with the Youxian pillow.”
Wen Nuan saw the rumored school shadow in the equipment room. The shadow said that Wen Nuan shouldn’t be here, throwing him back to the real world.
Wen Nuan determined that these two things were inseparable.
“First of all,” Wen Nuan began solemnly with a stern expression, like a real adult. “The shadowy figure in the equipment room probably isn’t the same person who knocked me out. He asked why I was here, so he shouldn’t be the same person who used the Youxian pillow on me.”
Baili Wuchang nodded. “Yes.”
Wen Nuan continued, “Secondly, the shadowy figure in the equipment room and the person who knocked me out could both be the person who stole the Youxian pillow. The person who stole the Youxian pillow might not be the same person each time. But why did they use it on me, then decide to take it away? Could it be an internal struggle?”
This question was a bit complex, so everyone remained silent.
Wen Nuad added, “No matter what, these two people should be people I know.”
The shadowy figure in the equipment room said that Wen Nuan couldn’t guess who he was. Although Wen Nuan didn’t know, from his tone, it probably was someone Wen Nuan knew.
As for the uninvited guest who knocked Wen Nuan unconscious, it was very likely also someone Wen Nuan knew. At the time, because the Youxian pillow had been stolen, the Hell Chain Hotel was on lockdown. There were not many people in the hotel who could move around, and most of them also knew Wen Nuan.
“This is logical,” Baili Wuchang said after pondering for a while. “But the scope is still too large.”
The range of people Wen Nuan knew was too large.
The current issue being discussed was something the eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang could not relate to. After all, he had no way of knowing just who Wen Nuan knew in the real world.
The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang had a dour expression. The air pressure in the room felt extra low.
Bai Wuchang glanced at him and awkwardly laughed. “Right, so isn’t it related to the school haunting case? What’s the relationship?”
Wen Nuan was also wondering about this. Why did the mysterious person he knew also appear at school?
Baili Wuchang said before that Wen Nuan’s memories had to overlap with someone’s memory, allowing Baili Wuchang to successfully travel through Wen Nuan’s memory to come eighteen years in the past to look for the Youxian pillow.
Wen Nuan said, “I didn’t know too many people eighteen years ago. Among them, the only ones I can think of are Senior Fan and you, Baili Wuchang.”
There were very few people who overlapped the two time periods. Fan Liangda was one, and his existence was strange in itself.
The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang finally found an opportunity to speak. He said, “I’ll have people keep an eye on the hotel employee. If he appears, I’ll be notified immediately.”
Fan Liangda was already off work, and they didn’t know where he was, so it was going to be difficult to find him.
Wen Nuan nodded. “But Fan Liangda definitely doesn’t have anything to do with the school.”
“Indeed.” Baili Wuchang frowned and said, “Are there any suspicious people you know from the school?”
Wen Nuan thought carefully. After all, he had to think back to when he was three or four, so his memory wasn’t too clear.
Baili Wuchang said with a subtly strange tone, “Oh, by the way, I think the one with the surname Song is quite suspicious.”
Surname Song?
Wen Nuan said, “You mean Song Xing?”
The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang asked, “Who’s Song Xing?”
Baili Wuchang only met Song Xing once, but Wen Nuan had a special attitude towards Song Xing, which made Baili Wuchang a little unhappy.
Simply put, Baili Wuchang was drinking vinegar.
Wen Nuan said, “How is Song Xing suspicious? He’s a good person. But speaking of, I really don’t know many other people from the school.”
Baili Wuchang said that since Wen Nuan and the Youxian pillow thief had intertwined memories, the case was related to the school haunting, so their scope was somewhat narrowed.
Wen Nuan muttered lowly, “I haven’t interacted with many people at the school, but even though Song Xing is one of them, I don’t think he’s a bad person.
“Oh, I also think that person named Song Xing is very suspicious,” added the eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang, who rarely agreed with his future self. “Heibai Wuchang, go investigate this human named Song Xing.”
“Yes!”
“Yes.”
Heibai Wuchang couldn’t stand the palpable atmosphere in the room, and the two swiftly left.
Wen Nuan: “…” Song Xing’s a good person. How is he suspicious…
This time, no matter if it was the eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang or the Baili Wuchang from eighteen years later, both of them were drinking vinegar. It was just a regular human, but Wen Nuan kept sticking up for him for some reason.
Wen Nuan thought that this kind of investigation might take a day or two. He didn’t expect for Heibai Wuchang to return in five minutes.
Hei Wuchang had a file folder in his hands. He walked in, and both Baili Wuchangs held out their hand.
Hei Wuchang: “…”
The emotionally steady Hei Wuchang suddenly felt awkward.
Bai Wuchang followed behind and enjoyed the Schadenfreude. It’s over for Xiao Hei. He’s encountered Asura’s wrath so close to retirement. Now, which should he hand it over to, Boss one or Boss two?
No matter which one he chooses, it’s a dead end.
Wen Nuan’s eyelid twitched watching them. He hopped off his chair and ran over to pluck the folder from Hei Wuchang’s hands. Opening it up, he divided the contents in half, giving the files in his left hand to one Baili Wuchang and the files in his right hand to the other.
“Don’t fight. Everyone can share. Take a look.” Wen Nuan rejoiced in his genius.
The two Baili Wuchangs were a little bit unsatisfied, but they didn’t flare up, obediently look at the files in their hands.
Heibai Wuchang had gone to investigate not only Song Xing, but also Fan Liangda.
The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang held Fan Liangda’s files in his hands. “There’s nothing suspicious about him.”
Fan Liangda was just an ordinary person. He always worked at the Hell Chain Hotel, and he had been working for almost ten years. He was a senior employee, and he got along well with everyone.
As to why Fan Liangda was at school eighteen years later, that couldn’t yet be explained.
Baili Wuchang held onto Song Xing’s files. Heibai Wuchang found Song Xing’s family background, his friends, social connections, etcetera. Even though it was comprehensive, there wasn’t much to note.
Song Xing was an orphan. Wen Nuan found that he had some similarities with Song Xing. After all, misery loves company.
Song Xing never had parents growing up. He lived with his uncle. Though his uncle didn’t have children of his own, he didn’t like Song Xing, booting him off to a boarding school and telling him not to come back.
In this way, before Song Xing was even an adult, he started living on his own. Whether it was tuition or living expenses, he relied on his own abilities to earn income. His life was quite difficult.
Wen Nuan could somewhat understand now why Song Xing had parked his bike when he saw Wen Nuan sitting on the side of the road all by his lonesome.
Perhaps birds of a feather flock together? Song Xing knew what it was like to have nobody by your side.
Because of Song Xing’s childhood experiences, his personality wasn’t very cheerful, and he became rather reclusive. Additionally, because he went to work right after school, he didn’t have much contact with his classmates, and subsequently had no friends.
Fan Haiyi was likely Song Xing’s one and only friend.
Fan Haiyi’s family background was exceptional. They were extremely well-off, but their education standards were very strict. Not one sentence he spoke at home could contain a mistake, or else he would suffer a beating from a belt. Also due to his background, Fan Haiyi became timid, and he never dared to raise his voice at others.
The entire school knew Fan Haiyi’s family had a lot of money. This was no secret. Delinquents from several nearby schools all noticed him, and one day after evening classes, they ganged up on Fan Haiyi, intending on robbing him.
Luckily, that day, Song Xing ran into them as he was going to work. He quickly called the school security and saved Fan Haiyi from the delinquents.
Because of this, the two became friends. Fan Haiyi knew Song Xing’s strained life circumstances, so he often accumulated some pocket money to give him.
Song Xing didn’t like taking his money because he had no way to reimburse him, but Fan Haiyi insisted that besides money, he also had nothing else to give.
Thanks for the update!!
This might be unrelated, but I feel that the little kitten is also somewhat suspicious? 😭😭 I feel like it’s too smart, and it shows up quite a bit!