Yin Longshen (Arc 2)

After Yin Longshen was kicked out of the hospital by Zhao Baozhai, he returned to the Yin residence and entered his room.

Yin Longshen felt his legs give away and he slumped unto the ground.

He didn't know what to think. Actually, he didn't even want to think.

He just wanted to wake up and see that everything was just a nightmare.

***

Ever since he was young, Yin Longshen knew that he was no ordinary child. No, he didn't think he was some sort of superhero. He just knew that he was... different.

When he was just three years old, Yin Longshen still remembered that he saw a ghost in his kindergarten. At first, he didn't know it was a ghost. He simply thought it was a scary looking person peering at him from afar.

When he told his friends and teachers about it, they gave him weird looks and asked him if he was okay.

Yin Longshen finally realized that he could see things that others could not.

It was rather annoying at first. Everywhere he went, Yin Longshen would be confronted by ghosts of all shapes and sizes. Some of them were cute and funny, but most of them were scary and ominous.

As time passed, he grew used to it and even developed immunity against those ghosts. As long as he willed it, he would be able to "turn off" his sixth sense, so he wouldn't see those ghosts anymore.

It would be fine if it stopped there. However, Yin Longshen found out that it wasn't all. He also had weird dreams every night. A strange kind of... premonition.

It was something like an oracle, and something like a premonition; one that guided him through his every day life.

When his mother lay ill, Yin Longshen could see it. He could sense it, he could even taste it.

He knew his mother was going to die. He didn't know how he knew, but he just knew.

And his fears were confirmed. His mother died, leaving him alone in the world.

After that, his world changed completely. He met his father, who brought him into a shiny mansion filled with well-dressed people and expensive items. It was something he had never dreamed of.

When Yin Longshen arrived in the Yin mansion, he still remembered that he met a cute little ghost. Except that... it wasn't really a ghost.

Yin Longshen wasn't quite sure what was different, but he knew that this ghost was not the same like the ones he had encountered before.

When he saw the ghost, he had also received a premonition.

But this premonition was different from usual.

When Yin Longshen encountered something, his premonition, or his special "sixth sense" would guide him in one path, and one path only. It would show him the road that was ahead of him, the one he had to walk on.

But when he met that ghost, he had two premonitions. He saw two roads, not one.

The first one was a dark road, filled with the stench of loneliness and agony. However, at the end of this road was a smooth, bright and clean place, shining like the stars in the night sky.

The second road was a bumpy one, but it was filled with flowers, sunshine, and happiness. At the end of this road was a strange place. At first, Yin Longshen felt something sweet melt in his mouth. However, his stomach was filled with bitterness and pain.

Yin Longshen understood the meaning of the first road. It would start with loneliness and pain, but at the end, he would gain success.

As for the second road, it would be rather tricky, but he would enjoy happiness for a long time. But... what lay at the end of the second road? It seemed like a mixture of happiness and pain...

If he could choose, Yin Longshen would definitely choose the second road. After all, he wanted happiness, not mere success. But it wasn't up to him to choose... based on his premonition, whether he went through the first road or second one would wholly depend on the little ghost in front of him.

Yin Longshen couldn't wait to see what the little ghost would do and how it affected his future...

...But it turns out the ghost was no ghost at all.

After some time, the ghost reappeared, but this time, he was not a ghost. He was Yin Longshen's younger brother, Yin Yongrui.

Yin Longshen was initially intrigued with this younger brother of his, but over time, his intrigue and interest turned into care and love for his younger brother.

His pure, cute, younger brother... In the cold and apathetic Yin household, only his younger brother treated him with warmth. How could he not grow closer to his younger brother?

Yin Longshen felt like puppy who had finally found a source of warmth. He wanted to bask in it, enjoy it, and stay in it forever.

But then there came a Taoist Monk. This Taoist Monk had told everyone that Yin Yongrui had bad luck and he probably wouldn't live for long.

When he heard those words, Yin Longshen had felt his blood turn into ice blades that pierced his flesh.

'Wouldn't live long'? Why, just why?

The monk had to be lying!

But Yin Longshen still remembered the second road he had seen in his premonition. At the end of that road... was a bittersweet feeling.

Did that mean... his younger brother was supposed to die?

Yin Longshen didn't want to believe it. He didn't want his premonitions to come true.

He thought, if the second road meant that his younger brother would suffer, than he would rather choose the first road, even if it was painful.

Yin Longshen waited and waited, and one day, one of his premonitions disappeared.

The first road, the first option had disappeared!

Now, there was only one path to walk on -- the second road, the path in which his younger brother would probably die.

When he found out about this, Yin Longshen was upset. He used all his means to find out more about his premonitions.

All this time, his feelings were never wrong. Everything he had dreamed of would come true... But hopefully, hopefully this time he was wrong.

First of all, Yin Longshen had contacted The Taoist Monk that had previously visited the Yin family. However, he could not meet that monk, no matter how hard he tried.

Yin Longshen gave up and looked for another monk, anyone, who would be able to tell him the meaning of his dreams, as well as the fate of his younger brother.

...He succeeded in finding someone, but he did not get good news.

"Based on all the information you told me, your younger brother is destined to die young," the monk told him.

This monk was the best one that Yin Longshen could find, said to be the disciple of a famous monk... This person was rather famous, so Yin Longshen was 80% sure of his words.

"My younger brother is destined to die young?" Yin Longshen mumbled under his breath. How could this be...?

"Then... how can I prevent this?" Yin Longshen had asked.

"Power," came the reply, "As long as you're powerful enough, then even the heavens cannot stop you."

"You're a special person. If other people became too powerful, they would face retribution, because the heavens would not tolerate them…"

"But you're different…" the monk told him. "You're a special person, even the heavens would not dare to stop you if you want to become a god…"

Yin Longshen did not believe the monk's words. The heavens would not stop him if he wanted to become a god? What kind of joke was that?

"If anyone can protect your younger brother, then that person should be you. Only you can do it," the monk said.

At first, Yin Longshen wasn't sure whether to believe the monk's words or not, but in the end, he decided to believe the monk. After all, he knew that there were may things that seemed impossible, but were actually true.

He himself was able to do the impossible; he was able to see ghosts and predict the future with his dreams. Perhaps the monk's words were true.

If he gained power, he would be able to protect his younger brother. It didn't seem like a bad deal.

The more he interacted with his younger brother, the more Yin Longshen wanted to protect him. He was very cute, smart, and obedient. Sometimes, Yin Longshen even felt like his younger brother was too mature.

Yin Longshen would never forget the first time they met -- his younger brother was floating around like a ghost. As he grew older, Yin Longshen was often tempted to ask his younger brother, "How did you do it? Why were you a ghost at that time? What secrets do you have?"

But Yin Longshen never had the courage to ask hi brother. He didn't know why he hesitated so much. Was it because he was afraid of the answer?

Since Yin Longshen had decided to become more powerful, he decided to start his own company, get richer, and use any means he could to protect his younger brother.

It wasn't an easy task. For starters, Yin Longshen knew that his stepmother did not like him and doubted his intentions. Yin Longshen didn't love his stepmother either, but he could understand her reasons for being wary.

Since she was so afraid of him, Yin Longshen approached her first and laid his cards on the table. He wanted to strike a deal with her.

He told her that he had no intention of becoming the Yin family heir. When he grew up, he planned to change his surname into his mother's surname (Mu) and move out of the Yin family mansion.

He told her his plans about his own company, and he told Zhao Baozhai that he would give her 10% of his company's shares in the future. He also told her about the monk that he had visited, the one who told him that Yin Yongrui was destined to die young.

Yin Longshen was, in all honesty, pretty scared of Zhao Baozhai. She seemed rather harmless on the surface, and sometimes her way of speaking made her sound like a shrew, but he knew that she wasn't a fool.

Yin Longshen had done his research and found out that Zhao Baozhai was quite fearsome. If she was really serious on making a move on him, then he had no way to resist.

Thankfully, Zhao Baozhai listened to him calmly and accepted his proposition. From that point onwards, the two weren't enemies anymore.

Yin Longshen walked step by step on the road to success. He relied on his intelligence, on persuasion, and he even relied on his dreams for help. Sometimes, the dreams and premonitions he had would help him make important decisions regarding his company.

Sometimes, he would be so tired of everything. He just wanted to lay down and rest. He just wanted everything to go his way without him needing to lift a single finger. But of course, he knew that was impossible…

Now, Yin Longshen buried his head in his hands and thought about his younger brother, lying on a hospital bed.

Didn't the monk say that being powerful was the only way to save his brother?

Why did his brother still get hurt in the end??

"Is it because I'm not strong enough? Because I'm not good enough? But I've tried so hard…" Yin Longshen whispered hoarsely.

"You haven't tried hard enough," a raspy voice whispered inside his head. It was the voice of his heart, the voice of self-doubt and the voice that had no confidence in himself.

"Above the sky, there will always be sky. No matter how good you are, no matter how smart you are, no matter how powerful you are, there will always be people who are better than you~"

"Shut up! Shut up!!" Yin Longshen roared.

The voice inside his head did not listen to him. Instead, it cackled even louder than ever. Yin Longshen clutched his head and let out a roar. He felt a fire burning inside his chest, smouldering and bubbling inside of him.

"Longshen! Longshen!" Yin Longshen was broken out of his stupor and he felt like he was doused with cold water.

Who was that? It sounded like Mo Ning.

A thousand thoughts raced through his head and Yin Longshen stood up. Did something happen to his younger brother?

Yin Longshen opened his bedroom door and saw Mo Ning standing in front of the door.

"Longshen, we just received an anonymous email… That person said… That person said the accident was a planned one!" Mo Ning cried.

Inside Yin Longshen's heart, the flames that had yet to die down were reignited.

"What. Did. You. Say?!" Yin Longshen hissed.

***