Chapter 17 - Overlap Each Other

Overlap Each Other is Saiyuki's seventeenth chapter.

Summary
As the Sanzo-ikkou battle in out with Kougaiji's group, Chin Yisou observes them from a nearby rooftop. Speaking to himself, Chin Yisou he says that he will take it up a level, and that he sends Cho Gonou all his love. He proceeds to rip his earring out through the flesh of his earlobe and throws the bloody earring to the ground.

The crab shikigami rises up from where it had fallen and strikes Kougaiji and Goku, sending them flying. As they hit the ground, Gojyo gets in front of them and blocks the shikigami's second strike with his shakujou. As Gojyo struggles to hold off the shikigami, Dokugakuji comes to his aid by slicing through the shikigami's limb with his sword. As Gojyo thanks him, Dokugakuji asks if they are calling a truce. Lirin, who is perched on Sanzo's shoulders, comments that she thought she had already beaten the shikigami. Sanzo tells her to get off of him. The ikkou realize that the shikigami was not sent by Kougaiji, and Chin Yisou comes under suspicion. As the shikigami knocks Gojyo back again, Sanzo says that they need to destroy the entire shikigami at once in order to defeat it. As the shikigami sends large pieces of debris flying towards them, Yaone jumps in front of Kougaiji to protect him and is struck in the back by a concrete block. Kougaiji asks Goku to keep the shikigami in one place while he summons a monster to destroy it. As Kougaiji and Goku work together, Sanzo asks if they know they are supposed to be enemies. Gojyo jokes that Sanzo can't talk since Lirin is still perched casually on his shoulders. As Gojyo tells Lirin to stay there and let Kougaiji handle the shikigami, Kougaiji begins to perform his summoning spell. Meanwhile, as Chin Yisou watches unobserved, Goku impales the shikigami with Nyoi-bo. Kougaiji lets loose with his spell, summoning Engokuki as he yells for Goku to get out of the way.

Elsewhere, in the control room at Hoto Castle, Gyokumen Koushu complains about the helplessness of others. Ni Jienyi responds that people like her are hard to come by, which she takes as a compliment. Hwang reports that all the tests are complete and Gyokumen wonders aloud if Lirin has been found yet. Wang comments that even Gyokumen is concerned about her own child, and she replies that Lirin will be necessary for Gyumaoh's revival. We see a backdrop image of Lirin suspended upside down by wires in a liquid.

Back with the Sanzo-ikkou and Kougaiji's group, the shikigami has been defeated in a team effort by both sides. Kougaiji says that he is calling off the battle for today and apologizes for challenging the ikkou when he himself was having second thoughts about the path he has chosen. He promises that the next time he sees them, he will go all out in battle and defeat them, for his own sake. As the two groups take their leave of each other, Kougaiji promises to pay Goku back double next time, while Lirin tells Sanzo that she looks forward to playing with him again. Gojyo and Dokugakuji joke about exchanging tea and gifts, while Yaone and Hakkai wish each other well.

Once Kougaiji's group has left, Sanzo says that he suspects they are only the pawns of whoever is behind the plot to revive Gyumaoh, and whoever that is is the real evil that they need to defeat. As they turn to leave the town, Hakkai picks up a piece of clay, the material that the shikigami was really made of. Inside the clay chunk, he finds a mahjong tile inscribed with the character for 'sin'. He recalls Chin Yisou's ominous words about Hakkai's eyes being those of a sinner. He suddenly begins to cough and doubles over, vomiting onto the street. He wonders who Chin Yisou is and if he has seen him somewhere before.