Sometimes he would wake up and have these kinds of premonitions telling him that 'this would be the day!' It'll be the day when his teacher would come back from his travels and acknowledge that he had become so strong and worthy of being his teacher's successor—hmm, wait a minute—successor for what? Oh! The successor for inheriting the Sanzo title! Once his teacher had acknowledged him as the next Sanzo he'll be able to inherit his teacher's Muten Scripture... and? Why was it he wanted to become a Sanzo? It wasn't as if he had been very pious or religious... and it's not as if he liked being cooped inside a temple. Was it just because he wanted to follow in his teacher's footsteps?

Oh no...

Now he remembered. He wanted his teacher to acknowledge him as their successor... so that he'd become a proper Sanzo priest like his teacher. And then, like his teacher... he would also be granted a proper houmyo. He'll have a proper name... wouldn't that be nice?

After all... he already received his shakra. And his teacher already gave him their Sanzo robes and crown. So all that was left was just to receive the Muten scripture and a Buddhist name, right? But his teacher wouldn't give him that. He has waited for his teacher for so long but his teacher hasn't returned to the castle in all those years. He had grown so tall... but he couldn't even get his teacher to want to see him.

So stingy. His teacher was so stingy...

He did, however... receive some notes once in a while. It was usually reminders by his teacher, telling him that he needed to guard their castle well. Because it's like a game, you know... every great castle needs to have a final boss. It wouldn't be a fun castle if the final boss ended up leaving the castle, right?

But...

He had to wonder. When will the game finally start? He had waited patiently all these times... but it didn't seem that they would be getting any 'players' into this game they were playing. So if there were no players... what was the point of the game and the final boss? How would the final boss be free of the game if they haven't been able to defeat any players?

And he had grown tired of playing with his toys... all by himself.

.

"You looked very bored. What's wrong?"

The boy—wait no! He's a young man now—turned around excitedly as his teacher suddenly appeared in the flesh. Finally! After so long! He'll be able to tell his teacher all these things he had been keeping inside of his heart! He grinned.

"I don't look bored honestly. I AM bored as hell!"

His teacher sighed. "Are you already tired of all these toys?"

"Yeah," he said... as it looked like his teacher was about to leave again. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Dunno. Where should I go?"

Just like his teacher to not even tell him where he's about to go. Even last time, his teacher had been very vague about the place he wanted to head to. But if he tried to press his teacher about it, his teacher would certainly be angry at him again. And he wouldn't be able to tell his teacher everything that he wanted to say to him!

"Tell me some more interesting things. Since you're going anyway, at least tell me some more exciting stories before you leave again. Teacher please..." he said, because his teacher never refused to tell him stories when he asked for them. And his teacher always had a lot of stories to tell since they travel around a lot.

"Alright. How about... I tell you about God?"

.

His teacher left behind a new gift for him. It was a strange gourd. His teacher said that the gourd could be used to extract people's souls from their bodies. And those souls... can then be transferred into new vessels. So if he put the souls he had taken into any one of his many toys, wouldn't his toys be able to come to life?

"Everyone in this world was like God's toys..."

He smiled. Wow. The idea that he'll have his toys moving by themselves and play with him... sounded so exciting! He wouldn't just be playing by himself... he'll have some proper playmates! So first, he needed to gather some souls—so that means, he can go out of this castle! At least for a short while. Or he could find someone to gather all the souls he needed while he guarded his castle.

.

And that was how... the young man encountered a pair of demon twins called Kinkaku and Ginkaku. He had gone out to find anyone he could test the gourd with, and found the kids instead. The two had been lost in the forest near where the castle had been. So he took the two in. Wasn't he a good person?

Day by day, he had cared for the twins. The two called him 'Kami-sama'... and somehow he didn't find the name inappropriate. He needed to gain the trust of both of the kids so he did his best to take care of the kids and give them everything they would've wanted. Just like how his teacher had done for him. So that he could get the kids to do something for him later.

Unfortunately, one of them wanted to run away. Just because the child was scared of him. Why? After all he had done to take care of the kids? And the child even wanted to take the older brother with them and run away. So he gave the younger kid a punishment... and told the older one to collect people's souls for him.

After all, good kids need to do what they've been told in order to be rewarded. And bad kids—naughty kids—have to be punished accordingly.

xxx

Nii Jianyi read the reports on the whereabouts of the Sanzo party as he smiled. Soon enough, those people would eventually cross paths with his 'kid'. And perhaps he could oversee the result, whether or not it'll go as he planned.

Wouldn't that be interesting? To see if the child who had been raised to embrace the light could defeat the child who grew up surrounded by darkness. Between Koumyou and him... who actually was the better mentor?

Don't you think so, Koumyou? After all, this should be in line with our last ongoing bet.

Which one would end up triumphant later, the darkness of the night... or the light of the rising sun?

He can't wait to see the final result.