When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 208: Infected

Chapter 208: Infected

"Nian’er? Are you okay? I heard you coughing. Did you catch a cold? Hello, Earth to Nian’er?? Oh, you’re taking a shower." Jin Jiuchi’s voice came from the mirror shard on the table, while the sound of water running filled the air.

Inside the bathroom, Shen Nianzu stood in front of the mirror with an extremely dark face. He inspected his eyes, nails and ears meticulously and discovered that there seemed to be a subtle change. Without hesitation, he took off his shirt and exposed his bare body. Under the natural lightning, the man’s skin was pale and smooth, and his chest rose and fell along with his erratic breathing, making the dip of his collarbones look even more prominent. His gaze ran across his torso— nothing. Holding up his long hair, he turned around to examine his back, and his gaze immediately fell on the tiny red mark near his shoulder blade that looked particularly conspicuous against the stretch of milky white skin.

It was a mark caused by the cursed one’s fingernail.

Shen Nianzu’s breath stuttered, his jaws clenched and he couldn’t hold back a curse, "Fuck!"

When? When had he gotten injured? Why hadn’t he realized it before? He racked his brain for answers, and the only possibility he could think of was when Lily and Jin Jiuchi were fighting. At that time, he was in such a hurry to come to Jin Jiuchi’s rescue that he paid no heed to his surroundings. He killed any cursed ones that stood in his way, but it did not erase the chance that one might get close enough to leave this little mark on him.

Adrenaline had dulled his senses, and later, he had been preoccupied with the ceremony and the King’s funeral. When everything ended, he was so tired that he immediately collapsed on the bed after putting up a simple ward around his room so that he could be alerted once there was an attack.

In the end, it was his own carelessness that led to this trouble.

He... had been infected.

In what felt like an eternity but was only a short minute, Shen Nianzu underwent a mini breakdown before he forcibly gathered himself together. Calm down, he told himself. It was not too late. He still had 24 hours until he had to board the bus; as long as he still retained his humanity, he would be able to return to the real world. It did not matter even if he had to enter the ICU after this, he was psychologically prepared for it.

If he recalled correctly, unlike merfolk who would immediately transform within minutes, there was an interval of almost a day from when Scarred Man got infected to the time when he fully mutated into that hideous fish creature. It meant that as long as he found a way to stabilize the rate of the infection in his body, he could survive. That’s right, he could definitely be able to escape this Cycle alive!

Repeating these reassurance thoughts in his mind, Shen Nianzu took a brief shower, trying and failing to ignore the silver scale on his skin. He gingerly reached out to press it and gasped when numbness spread through his hand until the tip of his fingers. It seemed like a newly grown scale was still too sensitive. However, there was no mistaking it— this scale had indeed grown out of his body.

When he exited the bathroom, Jin Jiuchi’s cheerful voice welcomed him, "Nian’er, good morning! Did you sleep well?"

Shen Nianzu opened his mouth to answer, only to cough again when an itch climbed up his throat. He hurriedly gulped down a glass of water, but the dryness in his throat persisted. He felt like he could drink a gallon of water at that moment. His heart sank again— this was the initial symptoms of the infection.

"Nian’er?" A tinge of concern laced Jin Jiuchi’s voice. "Your breathing sounds heavier than usual. What’s wrong? Are you really sick?"

"Da Shen..." Shen Nianzu called out in a thick voice, his lashes fluttering wildly. He clenched his fists tightly before deciding that he had to come clean. No matter what, Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin were his teammates, and they had the right to know what happened to him. He cleared his throat and said, "Come here with Xinxin. I will ask the guards to let you pass."

Sensing that something was amiss, Jin Jiuchi immediately went to get Gu Luoxin, and they rushed to the building where Shen Nianzu was staying.

Along the way, Jin Jiuchi in the mirror shard reported to him frequently, and also bombarded him with questions, trying to dig out information, "What’s wrong? Are you really sick, Nian’er? Should I get some medicine for you? Nian’er, I can’t see you. Pick me up, okay?"

But Shen Nianzu was not ready to see Jin Jiuchi just yet. He ignored the mirror shard and took a seat on the bed. He retrieved a portion of stabilizing agent which he had originally prepared for Jin Jiuchi and gulped it down. He reckoned that the curse could be considered as a form of corruption, so the potion should have been able to slow down the rate a bit. "I drank some medicine," he told Jin Jiuchi. "Come here faster."

Jin Jiuchi let out a harrumph, "Why are you acting so mysterious? We’re coming."

Soon after, Shen Nianzu heard footsteps approaching outside the door. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the table, shoved the mirror shard into his pocket and opened the door.

"Xiao Shen, are you sick?!" Gu Luoxin asked anxiously as soon as he entered the room, his gaze scanning Shen Nianzu from head to toe.

Meanwhile, Jin Jiuchi immediately halted on his tracks and sniffed the air tentatively with a doubtful look on his face. "Nian’er, why..."

Shen Nianzu pressed his lips together. He knew that Jin Jiuchi would be able to detect the changes within him sooner or later. He poked his head out, made sure that nobody was around, before closing the door behind him. Facing his two teammates, he announced in a calm tone, "I have been infected."

There was a second of maddening silence as Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin were stunned, staring at him in shock.

"What..." Gu Luoxin asked in incredulity. "...did you just say?"

Jin Jiuchi blinked again and again, as if he couldn’t comprehend what he had just heard. "Nian’er?"

Without a word, Shen Nianzu raised his arm to show the silver scale on the back of his hand. Gu Luoxin gasped sharply and covered his mouth, his eyes reddening in a blink of an eye.

Jin Jiuchi was on him at once, grabbing his wrist and staring at the scale on his hand with zeal. He raised his heterochromatic eyes to Shen Nianzu with confusion and loss. "Nian’er... is going to turn into a fish too?"