Chrono Beast

At that moment, Shen Nianzu's mind became exceedingly clear. He secretly summoned his silver needles and pinched them between his fingers as he observed the man before him, "Come to think of it, I've been trying to reach you through the earpiece but you never gave me a response. Did you lose it?"

"Ear… piece?" Jin Jiuchi – ah, no it should be the Chrono beast touched its ear in a puzzled manner. "Oh right, I must have lost it somewhere…" he suddenly trailed off, and the silence caused Shen Nianzu to raise his vigilance, his entire body tensing up in preparation to fight. 

The creature raised its eyelids, and the face of the man he held dear began to distort by the unsettlingly wide and eerie grin.

"You figured it out."

Shen Nianzu's pupils dilated. Now!