When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 215: Don’t Look At Me

Chapter 215: Don’t Look At Me

"Oho," Lily’s bloody red lips curved into a sweet smile. "Awake? You really know how to keep me waiting."

She reached out to pinch Jin Jiuchi’s chin in a flirtatious gesture, but Jin Jiuchi fiercely growled and snapped his teeth, causing her to retract her hand back in haste to avoid being bitten. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, though the gleam of interest in her eyes burned brighter. "Disobedient, aren’t we? Do you want to know what happens to disobedient people?"

Jin Jiuchi sneered, the mockery and arrogance in his eyes palpable, "The things you have in mind, I have already endured. Those you haven’t even thought of, I have endured as well. Do you think you can intimidate me just with this, old hag? Get the hell away from me, you stink!"

His words were spoken with so much disdain that Lily’s smile slipped off her face. No woman liked to be ridiculed about her appearance, and Lily was not an exception, especially not by a man she had been coveting!

"Good, very good..." Lily smiled angrily. She yanked Jin Jiuchi closer by the collar and glared at him, emphasizing each word. "I will have so much fun playing with you. Do you want to know what I have in mind? I will drain your life force slowly... real slow. You will feel your vitality slipping away, your youth and vigor fading. Your skin will sag and wither, your hair will turn white..." a sinister glint flickered in her eyes. The more she said, the more excited she was, and the softer her voice became. She almost purred right beside Jin Jiuchi’s ear, "Do you want that? I may consider showing mercy if you beg me. But for a defiant man like you... let’s give you a little lesson now."

As soon as her last word settled in the air, Jin Jiuchi felt it vividly as the strength drained from his body. Furious, he struggled to break free from her grasp, but... wait a moment, why couldn’t he transform? Why couldn’t he use any of his props?! Right now, in her hands, he was no different than a chicken ready to be slaughtered!

"Da Shen, don’t provoke her for now!" Gu Luoxin’s urgent voice rang out from the ship. "She owns a skill card that locks players’ abilities, and her own skill card is to absorb the vitality of the people around her!"

Jin Jiuchi snapped his head to him, shocked. Couldn’t you have mentioned it sooner?! It’s too late, damn it!

Alas, Gu Luoxin couldn’t be blamed for this matter either. He had been keeping a close watch as Noir swam to the cocoon and freed the merfolk with pure brute force. As he couldn’t use his wings and props, his prowess was severely limited, and he could only rely on Lucius’ help to cut the tentacles and pull the merfolk free. And then, Gu Luoxin cooperated by using his bandages prop to drag the merfolk to safety away from the cocoon’s grasp.

The queen appeared to have been impacted by Lily’s skill card as it was no longer as vigorous as before. Nonetheless, Gu Luoxin and Noir dared not lower their guard down. The two players and one black cat worked together until they managed to rescue Ariel, who was already muddled and delirious by now.

"Pull her back!" Noir commanded.

Knowing the severity of the condition, Gu Luoxin swiftly ordered the bandages to wrap around Ariel’s body and drag her to the ship! By now, many merfolk guards had surfaced to evacuate the injured, and they naturally noticed the familiar ship as well as Gu Luoxin’s action.

Panic and terror swept through the merfolk like a huge boulder that fell into the serene lake, destroying the tranquility with massive and chaotic ripples.

"W–Why is the ship of the Flying Dutchman here again?!"

"What are they doing with our Princess?!"

"Look, is that our Goddess?! But why is he..."

"Gasp! Impossible, our Goddess... is also cursed?!"

The word ’cursed Goddess’ spread across the sea like a typhoon, striking fear and terror into the merfolk’s hearts. "E–Even our Goddess is already cursed, what hope do we have now?!"

"We’re doomed... our clan is doomed!"

Gu Luoxin trembled under the weight of these gazes on them. Fear, despair, grief and anger... all kinds of negative emotions condensed into an invisible spear that held them captive. Despite the hostile stares, he clenched his teeth and continued to drag the Princess of the merfolk clan toward him, but there was one thing he could not fathom— why would Shen Nianzu remain so motionless and allow himself to be the center of attention for the dismayed public?!

"Xiao Shen!" He called out in a hushed yet urgent whisper, but the other man remained unresponsive, causing his heart to sink to the ground.

Upon closer scrutiny, Gu Luoxin was aghast to discover that something was terribly off with Shen Nianzu. His gaze was terrifyingly vacant, his thin shoulders trembled, and he was mumbling something intelligible under his breath. Gu Luoxin exerted all of his strength to haul Ariel to the ship, not caring how rough her landing was, before he rushed towards Shen Nianzu and grabbed hold of his shoulders!

Hot! He was so hot that it felt like holding a piece of burning charcoal. Gu Luoxin shook him in a desperate attempt to rouse him awake, and the transparent blade slipped out of Shen Nianzu’s weak grasp to clatter to the ground, but none of them could afford to care about it right now. "Xiao Shen, are you okay?! Can you still hold on?!"

"It seems like your little teammate will not survive past this Cycle after all," Lily casually commented as she reveled in the grief and fury of the merfolk clan, who started to claim that Shen Nianzu was a fake Goddess. She was unable to suppress the smirk on her face upon seeing a powerful player’s downfall. "How do you feel? Are you ready to beg—" she turned to Jin Jiuchi, only to realize that the man had not listened to her at all.

In that chaotic moment, Jin Jiuchi’s gaze pierced through the crowd of merfolk to lock onto Shen Nianzu on the ship. Gu Luoxin could not hear what he was mumbling about, and neither could Noir or the surrounding merfolk in their frenzy.

But Jin Jiuchi could.

Amidst the roaring sea, the clamor of the merfolk clan, and the fierce battle sounds between Noir and the cocoon, every word Shen Nianzu uttered reached his ears with a painful clarity, as if the man was whispering it right beside him.

"Don’t... Don’t look at me. I am so ugly now... please... don’t look..."

But still, all those gazes continued to fall upon him, accusing him, judging him, scrutinizing him, fearing him...

Jin Jiuchi sucked in a breath, feeling as if the softest part of his heart was being punctured again and again by hot needles. The pain was excruciating; it was unlike anything he had gone through before. It hurt so much that his fingers spasmed. He did not even remember hurting like this when his arm and neck were severed. His mind buzzed, and all of his messy thoughts finally coalesced into a resolute decision— if Nian’er did not want anyone to look at him, then that was what he would get!

Fury surged through Jin Jiuchi’s veins, and his voice thundered across the vast ocean, "Don’t look at him! Fuck, don’t you dare lay your filthy eyes on him! Nian’er, Nian’er, can you hear me?!"

"Shut your mouth up for me!" Lily seethed, so angry that her entire body trembled. To be scorned was one thing, but to be outright ignored was a different thing altogether! "It seems you haven’t learned your lesson yet, so let me teach you again!"

In an instant, the spider lilies beneath her feet bloomed even more brilliantly, their crimson hue was so radiant and vivid as though they had thrived on blood.

The force that drained his power increased; like a relentless black hole, it sucked all his energy and life force away. "Khh—!" Jin Jiuchi choked out a mouthful of blood as he collapsed on his knees. This time, Lily did not even bother to hold him up anymore, because he no longer had the strength to stand.

He stared at the field of crimson before him in disbelief. Why... why was he so weak? Move, he had to move! He had to get to Nian’er... have to shield Nian’er from all of these prying eyes! He knew firsthand how unpleasant it was to be subjected to such unwanted scrutiny, and it was for that very reason that he had to protect the precious jade doll and keep him somewhere safe!

But why couldn’t he move his own body?!

Lily arrogantly stepped on his shoulder and looked down on him with a condescending gaze, "How is it? Ready to beg me?"