When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 196: How Gullible

Chapter 196: How Gullible

Shen Nianzu was not the kind of person who could stay still inside the Cycle, so after washing up and napping for two hours, he communicated with Jin Jiuchi through the mirror and agreed that they should come out and explore the city. Fortunately, the guards were accommodating and readily granted his request.

It was only then that Shen Nianzu discovered that Noir was sick. Gu Luoxin volunteered to look after him, so that left only Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi alone to venture outside.

The sun was high up in the sky when they emerged, its dazzling ray piercing into the water akin to holy light, bathing the entire city in a mesmerizing glow. Under such depths, the exploration area was limited, so the head guard could only brought them along the air passageways to show the city’s underwater beauty. These paths had once been constructed for envoys to marvel at the marine scenery, and after a long period of disuse, they now served to entertain the Princess’ groom-to-be.

"Over there are the sea beds for baby merfolk under the age of two, and beside it is the mating area..."

"Mating area?" Jin Jiuchi asked curiously. He followed the merman’s line of sight and saw nothing but a vast empty space flanked on both sides by tall coral reefs that resembled a steep cliff.

"That’s right," the head guard explained patiently with a smile. "It’s a custom for our merfolk clan to go through a mating ritual after reaching adulthood. First, everyone will pay respects to the Goddess of the Sea. After that, the mermaid will take the stage and perform her most beautiful song, and then she will wait for a suitor to sing along with her. If there is more than one suitor, then the mermans will have to battle each other. Princess Ariel’s performance is set to begin after sunset today, but please do not worry, Mr. Nian," he offered a meaningful look towards Shen Nianzu. "There is no one who suits our Princess more than your esteemed self."

"Huh?" Jin Jiuchi raised an intrigued brow. "Two suitors have to fight each other? What if Nian’er loses—ow!" He yelped in surprise when Shen Nianzu suddenly pinched his arm.

But fortunately, the head guard was not offended by the question. He waved his hand to dismiss Jin Jiuchi’s concern, "That would be no problem, because there will be no one who dares to fight with Mr. Nian for Princess Ariel’s hand. After all, he has been approved by both the Princess and the King, who dares to make a fool of themselves?"

"Hmm..." Jin Jiuchi let out a noncommittal hum, it was unknown what was running through his mind.

The head guard continued, "After the song, the couple will perform the mating dance in front of everyone, and the marriage ceremony will be completed."

"Mating dance?" Shen Nianzu repeated the words, the corner of his eye twitching. "What kind of dance is it?"

The merman seemed taken aback, "Oh, I apologize for my oversight. Because Mr. Nian can understand our language, I assume you have also learned about our customs. Please rest assured, I will provide you with the books necessary to—"

"Head guard!"

A merman guard with ashy blue tail swam close and reported urgently, "We have detected the presence of another batch of humans on the border, please give your instructions!"

The head guard was surprised, "Other humans?" He turned to Shen Nianzu and asked, "Could they be your acquaintance, perhaps?" The meaning of his question was clear. If they were Shen Nianzu’s acquaintances, then they would receive the same treatment as Jin Jiuchi and the others. But if they were not... then they would be taken as intruders.

Cold light flashed through Shen Nianzu’s eyes and the corner of his lips curved into a chilling smile. He seemed to have guessed the identity of those humans. "No," he shook his head decisively. "I came here with my three friends, and there are no others."

***

As expected, the ones who arrived were the two players who were Duan Jie’s teammates, Lily and a few NPCs who were lucky enough to survive. The total of them did not amount to ten, and as soon as they arrived, what they faced were the tip of the merfolk guards’ sharp spears.

"State your identity and your business here!" The guards demanded fiercely with a firm and authoritative voice.

The NPCs huddled together in fear. After everything they had gone through, they had been scared silly and were now gaping at the merfolk in disbelief and awe, unable to believe their eyes.

Meanwhile, the two players, who had lost their leader, had actually become Lily’s lackeys during this short period of time. And thus as soon as this demand was posed, they instinctively turned to her for help.

Lily had gone out of her way to put on waterproof make-up for this Cycle, so no matter how long she had spent underwater, save for her paler complexion, she still looked charming and beautiful, comparable to the mermaids. She had a hunch that Nian’s group had already escorted the mermaid back safely, so she did not insist on being the savior lest it would turn the tide against her. Instead, she hugged herself, shivered and showed a pitiful look, her teeth chattering due to the cold. "We are just passengers of a cruise ship, but it suddenly sank last night and we found ourselves dragged into a whirlpool, which led us here. Please... please don’t kill us!"

The two players quickly echoed her words, trying to appear as pitiful as possible.

Just as the guards were hesitating whether to chase them away or not, Lily suddenly gasped and exclaimed in shock, "Y–You guys are merfolk too, right? Now that I think about it, there was one mermaid with beautiful red hair and azure eyes that was caught and brought into our cruise ship! Oh, you couldn’t imagine how chaotic it was. Everyone wanted to have her, and I..." tears seeped from the corner of her eyes as she sniffled, "I tried to talk them out of it, but it was no use. I don’t even know where the mermaid is now. I just hope that she will be okay!"

She did not mind not becoming the core NPC’s savior, as long as she could remain on the scene until the end. When that time came, it was not too late to obtain the return ticket. And the best way to do it? Of course, display a little hint of weakness and goodwill, showcase that she had no intention of harming the merfolk clan and posed no threat towards them.

And sure enough, her vivid display of emotions seemed to have an impact on the guards. They exchanged uncertain glances and considered her words carefully. It had been a long time since they had encountered human guests, and while the history between humans and merfolk was filled with enmity, that era had long passed into legend. Now that humans popped out one after another; one being their Princess’ savior and this one seemingly kind-hearted...

It looked like... the humans were not bad, after all?

Unable to come to a decision, they decided to report to the head guard, and received a reply, "Take them in for now, but keep a close watch on them. Tonight is our Princess’ big day. No accident is allowed to happen."

"Yes, Sir!"

When Lily saw that her manipulation had succeeded, she couldn’t keep the arrogant smile off her lips. ’How easy and gullible,’ she thought, extremely pleased with herself.

.

.

A/N: Xinxin, child, you need to learn so much from her *old mother sigh*