When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 211: Cute Little Scale

Chapter 211: Cute Little Scale

It was always calmest before the storm.

On top of the marble tower in the heart of Atlantis, sat four players. It broke through the surface, high enough for them to watch over the vast expanse of water surrounding them, so they found a strategic position— Gu Luoxin on the east side, Noir on the west, while on the opposite Jin Jiuchi was adamant on sticking to Shen Nianzu. All preparations had been completed; the protective barriers were in place, and guards stood vigilant at their posts.

In less than seven hours, they would have to board the bus, so now all they had to do was to deal with whatever that came their way.

Propping both of his hands behind him, Jin Jiuchi tilted his head back to enjoy the ocean breeze that gently tousled his hair and caressed his face. The air still smelled like blood and death, reminiscent of last night’s battle, mingled with the sorrow and grief of separation felt by the merfolk clan.

Jin Jiuchi somewhat disliked the bitter note in the air, so he scooted closer to the jade doll, wishing to take a whiff of his favorite scent, only for his face to be pushed back by the aforementioned jade doll.

Shen Nianzu put on a stern look as he reprimanded, "Sit properly. Why do you keep squirming around?"

Jin Jiuchi was not deterred, though. He was a man of persistence. Instead of retreating, he nuzzled his face against Shen Nianzu’s hand like a giant affectionate dog. "Nian’er, your hand is cold. Do you want me to warm it up for you?"

Contrary to the low temperature of Shen Nianzu’s skin, Jin Jiuchi was radiating heat, so was the exhales that poured out of his lips. They were akin to a tongue of flame that inadvertently brushed against the sensitive scale on the back of Shen Nianzu’s hand. The sensation was akin to a surge of electricity, numbing his whole arm in an instant. Shen Nianzu indeed felt a little cold after being exposed to the ocean breeze for hours, but not anymore. He yanked his hand back as if it had been scalded and glared at Jin Jiuchi, "No need."

Hell, Jin Jiuchi did not even need to do anything and he was already feeling plenty warm!

He curled his numb fingers on top of his lap, intending to flex them a few more times to ease the tense muscles, but Jin Jiuchi who caught sight of this movement immediately misunderstood and thought that he had hurt the sad and anxious jade doll. Without even thinking, he reached out to grab Shen Nianzu’s wrist, brought it to his eyes and inspected it carefully, "What’s wrong? Does it hurt? Where does it hurt?"

Taken aback, Shen Nianzu wanted to pull away, but Jin Jiuchi’s grip on him was relentless, not allowing even the slightest chance to escape. He could only resign to his fate and let Jin Jiuchi flip his hand back and forth, sighing, "It doesn’t hurt."

Even though he said that, Jin Jiuchi continued to squeeze his fingers, trying to warm up his chilled skin.

As he did so, his gaze couldn’t help but be drawn to Shen Nianzu’s fingers. Each of them was long, slender, and graceful, as if they had been sculpted out of marble. His neatly clipped nails had grown in the span of hours, sharp enough to injure with a single scratch. And on the back of his hand embedded a single silver scale that would gleam when light was reflected on it.

Howstrange, Jin Jiuchi thought. Normally, he couldn’t care less about the scales on other sea creatures. They appeared vulgar, unpleasant and even a little repulsive to the eye. But on Shen Nianzu, Jin Jiuchi only felt that this little scale was round and cute— the cutest scale he had ever seen. Jin Jiuchi stole a few glances at it, and a sudden urge overwhelmed him.

What to do? He really wanted to touch, lick and see what it tasted like...

But before he could act on his impulse, he heard Shen Nianzu ask in a quiet voice, "Does it smell that bad?"

"...Huh?" Jin Jiuchi raised his head blankly. Where did that question come from?

However, Shen Nianzu did not even deign to look at him. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the vast ocean ahead, but Jin Jiuchi’s hearing allowed him to detect the man’s heartbeat that raced a little faster than usual. "You said that... those fish creatures stink to death. So have my smells changed to be similar to theirs?" He lowered his gaze, lashes fluttering, as though trying to hide the turbulent emotions within. But Jin Jiuchi felt so indignant that he failed to notice it.

"How is it possible?!" He argued with a righteous tone. "Even if Nian’er becomes like them, he will be the most fragrant and cutest fi—hmph!" The rest of his words were cut off as Shen Nianzu slapped a palm over Jin Jiuchi’s mouth to shut him up, and Jin Jiuchi gave him an aggrieved look that said, ’Nian’er, why won’t you let me finish? I still have a lot of words to say!’

Shen Nianzu glared at him, but soon he lost his momentum, and he responded with a faintly exasperated look. "Okay, okay, I get it. There’s no need to say anymore!" Jin Jiuchi was not embarrassed at all to say those words, but he, as the listener, was! Sneaking a glance at Gu Luoxin and Noir behind him, he sighed in relief when he saw that they seemed oblivious to the conversation.

Jin Jiuchi held the jade doll’s thin wrist and pulled it down from his face, kneading the fingers again. "Hmph, what a liar..." he murmured under his breath. Clearly, Nian’er liked to hear those words, or else why would his scent become even sweeter? He could not fool Jin Jiuchi, okay?!

"What did you say?" Shen Nianzu shot him a warning glare as though daring him to say more.

Jin Jiuchi quickly flashed a bright smile. "Nothing, Nian’er must have heard wrong!"

Shen Nianzu narrowed his eyes at him for two full seconds before averting his gaze away. He stopped trying to pull his hand away, and Jin Jiuchi secretly cheered inside his heart.

He was actually harboring evil intentions in his heart. He did not merely want to warm Shen Nianzu’s hand, but he was also determined to touch his silver scale! Alas, for fear that the jade doll would get angry, Jin Jiuchi dared not voice it out loud so he could only adopt a roundabout approach. Massaging Shen Nianzu’s hand, he waited until Shen Nianzu relaxed and lowered his guard. And then, his mischievous fingers started to inch ever closer to that cute little scale...

"If..."

Shen Nianzu suddenly spoke, almost startling Jin Jiuchi’s soul out of his body. "Y–Yes?!" he stammered. Ugh, he was so close! Just a little bit more and he would have touched it!

Shen Nianzu cast him a skeptical look, and Jin Jiuchi returned with a big innocent grin on his face.

Shen Nianzu pursed his lips and lowered his gaze, as if bracing himself for what he was going to say next. Jin Jiuchi could hear his heartbeat quickening in pace, and the hand he held seemed to tremble ever so slightly. What could Nian’er want to say that made him so nervous?

"If — I’m just saying if," Shen Nianzu began, taking a deep breath, "If I can’t—" Alas, before he could finish his sentence, Gu Luoxin’s alarmed cry interrupted him, and both of them immediately shot up to their feet, on high alert.

Gu Luoxin pointed at something at a far distance. "Look, what is that?!"