Natsume felt as if he had accidentally learned something he shouldn't have known.
Now it seems that the contradiction and relationship between the two is far more complicated than I imagined, and it is definitely not something that can be solved simply by "the boy is possessed by a monster".
Jiuyuan's expression turned cold, and Basha's silence seemed like tacit approval to them.
The lack of rebuttal made the atmosphere tense, just like a bowstring that was stretched tight and could break at any time because of the tension.
Jiu Yuan laughed instead of getting angry: "Are you still going to choose to remain silent?"
Basha was turning up the hem of his skirt with one hand, becoming uneasy, as if some belief was tormenting him.
He said, "Your doubt really makes me sad." He frowned and looked very unhappy.
"Then what am I to you?" Jiuyuan pointed at the spot in his heart, the power of the devil surging at his fingertips, "Am I a tool for you to express your feelings?"
Basha tore off the hem of her skirt, and an unnatural blush appeared on her pale face.
"No, no... You are also you, you are also him, and he is also you..."
He spoke like some incomprehensible incantation.
Jiu Yuan was silent for two seconds, then he pointed his finger at his heart and asked with a smile: "You know what? I am not proficient in controlling this power, but I know that if I use a little more force, this chaotic and fierce power is enough to penetrate my heart——"
"...No..." Basha murmured, "You want to threaten me? But it won't work. You can't, you can't threaten me with your own safety. It won't do you any good!"
Seeing that Jiuyuan had a firm expression and had no intention of moving his hand away.
The agitated red energy was as dazzling as a roiling blood mist. Just by looking at it, one could imagine the tragic scene of the heart gushing out blood.
Bashi's fingers kept curling up, and it was obvious that he was in great pain. He was not good at expressing emotions with words, let alone conveying certain specific contents. He could only say clumsily: "It's not what you think... You are completely wrong. I can guarantee that your current idea is absolutely wrong."
"...Then why don't you tell me everything you know?" Jiuyuan smiled, "Look, it's a very simple thing, isn't it?"
"Ahhh... I can't... I can't... If I say it now, everything will go back to square one..." Basha suddenly started to pull at his hair and clothes like crazy, and kept saying, "No, I can't say it... You shouldn't force me."
"I can't disobey you. I can't disobey you."
If it was someone else who made him mad, he would just have to shut him up himself, but he couldn't do anything to the person in front of him.
This was the first time that Basha chose to retreat. He covered his face with his hair and finally gave Jiuyuan a loving glance.
"That's right... as long as, as long as you can't find me."
“…I won’t tell this secret.”
After saying that, he ran into the forest like a madman.
The sad and strange laughter mixed with the sound of footsteps on the grass gradually faded away.
Jiuyuan looked at the back, shook his head, and readjusted his expression.
[System: Master, can I ask a question? ]
"Um?"
As a first-person viewer following the drama, the system thought it understood Jiuyuan's script, but now it seems that it doesn't understand it anymore.
[System: ...Is it because all the melodramatic stories are filled with misunderstandings and love-hate relationships? So you have to say half of the words, and you have to not tell the truth for various reasons?]
"You have already grasped the essence of 'I really want to drive you crazy'." Jiuyuan said, "But I can tell you something in secret."
【System:! 】
"Although there are many side stories, there is only one real and unchanging one. This thing is the same from your perspective. It is the only 'real plot'."
"——That is, there is only one Yomizukawa Kuen from beginning to end."
The system tilted its head and began to think, but Jiuyuan was no longer waiting for him.
He looked at Natsume and Madara next to him apologetically. Madara still maintained the posture of a protector. In his opinion, neither Kuen nor Yashaku was someone he could trust. One was too dangerous and the other was too unstable. But as long as their goal was not the Book of Friends, there was no direct conflict.
"…I'm sorry, I seem to have caused you trouble." Kuen said, "I just wanted to talk to Natsume about some personal topics, but I didn't expect the unexpected gain was really… uh…" He looked in the direction where Hachisha left, "The gain was a little beyond my imagination."
Natsume, on the other hand, showed some worry, and in his opinion, Hisaen's expression was just a forced smile.
"Um, may I ask... do you usually spend a lot of time together?"
"I guess so. It's better to say that he has been sticking to me for a long time." Jiuyuan shrugged.
(No matter what the relationship between the two is, it would still be unpleasant to have the key truth hidden from you by someone you have known for a long time...) Natsume thought helplessly.
"What will Huang Quanchuan do next?"
"Me? I'll probably leave here," Kuen said, "figure out what happened to me, and then... find a suitable way to solve it. Don't worry, I already have a rough guess, and now I plan to try to confirm it."
Natsume hesitated to speak. In fact, he really wanted to ask Hachisha what to do with him, but he didn't ask in the end.
(Student Huang Quanchuan did not mention this matter on his own initiative, perhaps he already had his own ideas.) He thought.
The two finally exchanged contact information, and Jiuyuan waved goodbye with a smile.
The boy disappeared into the woods.
…
…
In order to pretend that the two were not in harmony, they parted ways after returning to Tokyo. However, they used demonic power to conceal Hachishaku's figure. Even if you check the surveillance, you can only see that Jiuyuan was alone the whole time, which is consistent with the plot that they had already caused.
On the way home, the system seemed to come to its senses and asked: "Master, you just said that there is only one 'from beginning to end'. Does that mean that the 'master' and 'Huangquanchuan Jiuyuan' behind it are actually the same person?"
Jiuyuan held a straw in his mouth, and the summer drink made his heart feel cool and refreshed.
"You can say yes and you can say no." As he was almost home, he threw the empty drink into the trash can to show his heavy heart.
"You'll find out in a moment."
The system thought so too. Basha was set up to be so attached to him, but the two of them didn't come back together. He would definitely be asked about this when he got home.
He just needs to follow the drama obediently.
As I was walking, the system suddenly had a flash of inspiration, as if it thought it had guessed the correct answer and was jumping up and down to try it out in order to seek praise.
[Master, do you have any new ideas? ]
"Why do you ask?"
[Because in TV dramas, the plots about the revelation of life stories and love, hatred and vengeance have to be played out in a grand manner for many episodes... Unless, we want to change to a new scene, or there is a bigger conspiracy waiting for us. ]
"Yeah." Jiuyuan said, "My reputation is growing a little too slowly. I want to advance to the next stage, so I need to make some changes in my status."
As they were talking, they just arrived home.
After returning home, he had a stern face and looked quite worried. Seeing him coming back alone, Morofushi Kagemitsu, who was tidying up the bookshelf at the door, deliberately glanced at the door twice. After making sure that no one else was coming in, he looked at Geto Suguru with a puzzled look, who was asked by Hanako to come and get something.
Receiving his gaze, Xia Youjie: "..." Why are you looking at me? Do you think I know?
He understood what Zhufu Jingguang meant: "You are the most familiar with him, why don't you go ask him."
Xia Yujie thought about it and felt that it did not disappoint his expectations.
Kuen originally said he was going out to relax, but when he came back he was in an even worse mood, and Hachisha was nowhere to be seen - all they could think of was that they had a falling out.
But Hachisha dotes on Kuen almost unconditionally, even to the point of being pathological. If Kuen asks him to do something, he will definitely not disobey.
Xia Yujie raised his eyebrows.
... Could it be that Kuen let Hachisha go? Or did he give Hachisha some kind of order? But... if that's the case, how do we explain Kuen's current low pressure state?
Sure enough, Hachisha did something that he couldn't accept, right?
Killing? No, Hachishaku is not a very murderous monster at the moment. He only acts crazy when it comes to things involving Kuen.
Disagreement? ... Probably not, Hachisha's doting has reached the point of blind obedience. Even if there are disagreements, I'm sure Kuen's choice will be given priority.
He sighed. As expected, only the parties involved knew about such private matters.
"Just ask anything you want to ask." Jiuyuan suddenly turned his head and looked over, successfully seeing the slightly embarrassed expression of Morobushi Jingguang.
After pondering over the wording for a long time, but due to knowing too little information, Zhu Fu Jingguang decided to ask the most straightforward question.
"…Did anything happen between you and Hachishaku?"
The boy closed his eyes slightly, with an expression that said "I know you will ask."
He did not answer immediately. Instead, he took out an ice tray from the refrigerator and poured the ice cubes into the cup. If his face had not remained calm, this rough action would have made people think he was venting his anger.
Then he poured himself a drink and walked to the table with it.
"Suyu-kun wants to know too?" He took a sip of cold drink and looked at the black-haired boy next to him, who nodded happily.
Geto Summer Oil: "After you went out, the situation became even more strange, and Hachishaku was nowhere to be seen..." His worry was self-evident.
The boy shook the cup deliberately, causing the ice cubes inside to make a crisp sound.
"We have a disagreement."
Kagome Ken had just denied this possibility, but now he heard from Kuen himself that he and Hachisha had different opinions.
He quickly thought about what deep-seated contradiction they had overlooked. After all, Hachisha had always been the most submissive one, like a knife that would never swing at its master, but could automatically use its sharp blade to cut the enemy.
Why would a knife like this disagree with its owner?
unless……
Xia Yujie thought of an incredible possibility, but one that seemed to make sense.
"Is it because of the irreversible conflict between Kuen-kun and his real master?"
This is the only way to explain why Hachisha left him, because Hachisha loved Kuen and the one he truly served was his master. When Kuen's orders conflicted with his master's orders, he would naturally choose his master's orders!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but frown: "...The master behind him has appeared? But he doesn't just rely on your body... No, there may be other ways for them to communicate."
However, the only person that Geto Kagome had come into contact with from the beginning to the end was Kuen in front of him. If he had to choose, he would only stand on this side for emotional and logical reasons.
Xia Yujie quickly adjusted his state and asked, "Do we need to do something?"
Unexpectedly, Jiu Yuan just shook his head and said, "No, he won't appear in front of me."
"Why do you say that?" Zhu Fu Jingguang asked.
The other party is in the dark, and they are in the light. How can Jiuyuan be so sure of this?
Then he blurted out a sentence that was irrelevant to the question:
"I want to ask you something," he said. "Last time, right here, when we were watching the live broadcast of Yasha and the Snow Woman on TV, did I suddenly say something very strange?"
Morofushi Kagemitsu understood what he meant instantly.
At that time, Geto Suguru even tried to test whether Kuen had unconsciously said those words that were not like his own.
The first to nod was Morobushi Jingguang. He asked tentatively, "Do you remember?"
However, the boy denied it: "No, I don't actually remember what I said. I just recalled that your expressions were very strange at that time, so I silently took note of it in my heart. Now when I think back, I was in a complicated mood at that time and didn't have time to think carefully about what it meant. Later, I felt uncomfortable several times... That made me realize the problem."
"I seem to become another 'me' occasionally."
“But is this ‘I’ really ‘I’?”
Jiuyuan knocked on the table, his eyes and eyebrows revealing an emotion that was somewhat different from usual.
"Wait..." The victim in front of him, Geto Suguru, who had similar experience, seemed to have guessed what he meant.
Although it is strange, it is not impossible to have two souls in the same body!
He felt that he could fully understand it. Wasn't his own body being used as a container and a tool by another person, but there was still a small part of his body that belonged to Geto Suguru's soul?
In Jiuyuan's case, it's probably the opposite. The other soul in his body has very little autonomy and can only control the body in very rare circumstances.
So, why did that soul find the opportunity to appear last time?
He thought about what state Jiu Yuan was in at that time, combined with the seemingly plausible words that A Yin said before, and the word "resonance"...
Xia Yujie expressed his guess: "...When there is a hole in your heart, or when you have the same idea as him, he will appear?"
As a public security policeman who was relatively scientific, Morofushi Jingguang could not keep up with the speed of the charlatan in front of him, but he still grasped the key points: "But I remember you said that Jiuyuan's body was equipped with a safety device left by the master. It is impossible for an alien soul to occupy this body without being discovered by him, right?"
Jiuyuan resisted the urge to give him a red flower.
He shrugged and said, "Unless he is that soul."
"From the beginning to the end, there was no 'safety device'——"
"It has always been me and 'him' who have been using this body."
Xia Yujie noticed that his expression was more relaxed than ever before, and then the boy gently tapped his heart -
"Instead of letting him replace me, why can't I tame him?"
The author has something to say:
Some of the psychological activities are as follows:
Brain-spinning victim Jie Ge: I understand, you are also being possessed by someone! I am familiar with this plot.
Hachisha: "My Sliced Lover is acting as a substitute for himself again today." How cruel! How can you make me choose between the two? Hachisha can't stand such cruel words!