He stormed into the house as his cultivation whirled about him, threatening to bring down the house and destroy the very air.

Rahana ran after him, calling out, "Your Highness, he asked you to wait a little until he gets ready..."

Abdin was already inside before she could finish.

But he soon found himself rooted to the spot. Apart from the Rahana golem trailing him, there were three other Rahanas in the house.

They were all golems crafted with exceptional skill. Only someone with cultivation higher than Abdin's could discern that they were not real.

Their appearance wasn't the most disturbing thing; what disturbed him more was the scanty attire the three identical Rahana golems wore, leaving little to the imagination.

Fury trembled through him.

"YUNUSU!"

A slender young man peered out from the main sitting room. He wore an open-chested robe and had a boyish look, appearing no more than fifteen. His neatly trimmed beard matched the skin tone of the real Abdin and the woman.

Indeed, the three shared a resemblance, but the woman resembled Abdin's original face more than Yunus did.

Abdin sighed. It was cousin Yunus, alright. However, he appeared unchanged from when Abdin had known him more than a century ago. He looked the same as he did on the day of their fateful match and the day he committed suicide.

But that couldn't be possible. Even Abdin, who had gained absolute control over Nuhu's bloodline skill, had aged over time.

His real face wasn't as old as his disguise, but he couldn't be mistaken for a teenager either.

A golem? Perhaps someone familiar with their history had created the Rahana and Yunus golems to deceive Abdin.

"Who are you?" he eventually asked. "Explain yourself before I decide to end your life."

The young man blinked in amazement. "You don't recognize your cousin?" he asked incredulously. "I am Yunus Hamu. You don't recognize me?"

Abdin clenched his fingers. The young man was mocking him openly and didn't even try to hide it.

"Yunusu is dead," he said. "So who are you?"

"Why would I die when I possess a time loop cultivation?" the young man replied, shaking his head and sighing. "You are just like your sister. Always thinking that only your father inherited the blood of Nuhu. You think our ancestor got nothing."

For a moment, Abdin felt as if it were truly his cousin speaking. Internal feuds had always existed within the Nuhu clan. Yunusu was the first son of Nuhu, making him the king after Nuhu's time.

During his reign, Nuhu had many sons and daughters, who together formed the Nuhu clan. However, it was a law that only Yunus could rule. Samu and Hamu, the first sons of Yunus, jointly inherited the throne, with the support of the rest of the clan.

But that was the beginning of the feud. Some supported Samu, while others supported Hamu. The history of this conflict dated back long before Abdin and Yunus were born. However, since Abdin was from Samu's lineage and Yunus from Hamu's, they had also inherited this historic feud.

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"You didn't die due to the time loop, so where were you all this time?" Abdin asked.

Abdin still didn't believe it was Yunusu. He felt that it was someone else close to them who knew about the history of their lineage. In his mind, he was already formulating a list of suspects.

"Why the hurry?" asked Yunus. "After so many years apart, why not sit down and have some doum palm juice and reminisce over our yesteryears?"

During the time set for the match between the two young men, Abdin's father had declined to sign the agreement. He mentioned that he was thirsty and later refused any water. Messengers were dispatched to neighboring lands in search of doum palms to make him juice.

Many people believed he was scared at that time. Additionally, the branch family - who later called themselves the House of Hamu - was stronger than the House of Samu, and Yunus was older than Abdin. Most saw the match as unfair to him.

However, Abdin eventually emerged as the winner. Only the individuals who had signed the agreement were aware of that incident. There were six men on each side, ten of whom had died even before Abdin left home.

Two of them had achieved Divine Saintdom, granting them longer lifespans.

Both of them were still alive, and both had participated in banishing Abdin from home.

Divine-Saint Afada Hamu and Divine-Saint Wosi Samu.

He suspected Wosi more. Wosi was a member of the Samu branch of the Nuhu clan, and since Rahana's death, Abdin was now first in line to the throne.

However, Abdin was a wanted man due to his castle-related crimes.

Wosi knew that despite this, as long as Abdin lived, he might return to claim his throne someday.

This led Wosi to ally with Afada Hamu, a known rival of the Samu branch, to kill Abdin.

Abdin would have long since died if not for the help of the remaining loyal members of the Samu branch.

Convinced that he had discovered the true identity of the man claiming to be Yunus, Abdin scrutinized him closely.

"Let's go," he said with a shrug.

Not expecting him to agree to his request, the young man arched his brows in surprise.

Then, slowly, his face broke into a smile as he led the way, with Abdin trailing behind.

The sitting room was spacious, with three glass windows on each wall. It was painted in a light brown color. Damp patches in some places indicated that the paint was recently done.

The roof was made of animal skin, although Abdin couldn't discern which type. However, he was certain it had a specific purpose.

Overall, the parlor had an unused feel. Two armchairs and a table were positioned at the center of the room. A jug and two cups rested on the table.

Yunus took the chair facing the door, while Abdin stood beside the other chair but didn't sit.

Yunus stared at him wordlessly. Eventually, Abdin pulled the chair away from the table before sitting.

"How do you like the room?" Yunus asked as he fumbled with the jug.

Abdin raised his head and examined the roof again. "Wosi Samu... What do you stand to gain?" he asked, finally voicing his suspicion.

The room itself had the touch of Wosi Samu. Once, Abdin and his sister Rahana had visited Wosi in his room, and Abdin had noticed the roof made of demon skin. The entire house was also painted a light brown, just like Wosi's attire. Seeing the sitting room now convinced Abdin that he was dealing with Wosi and not Yunus.

"Hahaha...!" laughed Yunus. "You think it's Wosi Samu, but why?"

"Are you going to tell me why you intruded into my castle or not?" Abdin said, looking sternly at him.

With a sigh, Yunus shook his head. "Two brothers have reunited after so long and yet weren't allowed to reminisce?" he asked wistfully.

"What is this life turning into?"

He kept shaking his head and lamenting until Abdin hit the table with his fist.

The cups scattered and almost tumbled over with their contents, but they righted themselves midway.

Yunus raised his hands. "I give up," he said. "Since you don't want to talk. But would you take some drink?"

He reached out and pulled one of the suspended cups toward him. He placed the drink down after three sips.

"Why didn't you kill yourself when you were overpowered by Munniq?" he asked, his countenance changing. All traces of mirth were gone.

"Why are you asking?" Abdin threw out his question instead of replying. "Don't you think you're the one who is supposed to explain why you came uninvited to my castle?" he retorted.

"By our agreement, which you happened to have signed, you agreed to forfeit your skill forever if you lost. Why are you going back on your word now? I rather think that with all his faults, Nuhu never lied. Are you sure you're even his blood?"

"Was the blood of Nuhu responsible for Rahana's persuasion of you to desecrate my grave?" Yunus asked back.

The two men stared at each other, each thinking of the best way to harm the other.