When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 272: Testing Skill Card

Chapter 272: Testing Skill Card

For the next two months, Jin Jiuchi was literally having the best time of his life. He learned how vast the country was when he traversed through Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, and many other cities. He indulged in countless unique and exotic cuisines, and beheld an array of awe-inspiring landscapes that did not lose out to the fantastical vistas within the Nightmare Cycle. And most exciting of all, he also got to ride in a cool metal bird known as an ’airplane’!

How fascinating, it turned out humans could actually fly across the sky even without wings like Noir! Not only that, the ears would go temporarily deaf as well!

Jin Jiuchi was so enthralled by this sensation of auditory distortion that he kept hollering on top of his lungs, only to be shut up by a kiss from Shen Nianzu.

Of course, their escapades were not solely for pleasure. Shen Nianzu also made sure that they visited the libraries in every city they explored – especially those which held ancient texts and rare books – where they delved into comprehensive studies relating to the Cycle they were going to challenge — Chrono Junction Express.

The term ’chrono’ was derived from the ancient Greek word ’khronos’, which signified time. It was sufficient to assume that the Cycle would be related to the concept of time itself.

With that in mind, they plunged into the expansive reservoir of knowledge, starting from the philosophy of time, theory of relativity and how time was intertwined with space, how the human brain perceived time, studies on calendars, rituals and festivals that revolve around time-related concepts. Expanding their horizons, they even ventured into the domain of fiction and literature, immersing themselves in the narratives of time travel, alternate timelines and implications of manipulating time.

However, they could not fathom how time could be related to ’express’ which was a term frequently linked to trains. Was the location they were heading to mean ’time train’? What was that even supposed to mean? Would they time travel like Doraemon and Nobita did?

The more Jin Jiuchi learned, the more he felt like his brain could absorb nothing. Until the end, only Shen Nianzu was in charge of reading, Gu Luoxin in charge of sorting the information, while he in charge of sleeping.

When there was only less than a month left until the time they had to depart, Shen Nianzu finally decided on the last destination of their vacation: a secluded private island.

It was an island owned by the wealthy Shen Family, a pristine sanctuary surrounded by nothing but untamed nature and boundless cerulean waters. The cream sands were velvety underfoot, the waves gentle in their lullaby, and the sky a perpetually clear expanse that was devoid of clouds, making it the perfect haven for a vacation. Here, a luxurious resort was built on the seaside with top-notch service comparable to a five-star hotel. Yet Shen Nianzu had specifically requested that the island’s staff departed at a designated hour each day, leaving the trio alone with the company of the seagulls and tall coconut trees.

When asked about this arrangement, Shen Nianzu replied, "I’m going to test my skill card. Can’t have them know and get us in the headline news."

Now that he had put it like that, Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin could only comply. Thus the subsequent morning, after the chefs finished preparing their breakfast and the island staff made their exit, Shen Nianzu made his way to the shoreline with the other two trailing behind him.

Under the dazzling morning sun, Shen Nianzu was clad in a sleeveless hoodie paired with beach shorts, showcasing his fair and slender limbs. Perched atop of his nose was a pair of huge sunglasses that almost covered half of his face. With purposeful steps, he waded into the water, allowing the gentle ripples of the waves to embrace his ankles until he stood ankle-deep in the lapping tide. Only then did he turn to Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin, cupped his hands to his mouth and said loudly, "I’m going to activate my skill card! We will proceed as planned!"

A few distance away, Jin Jiuchi and Gu Luoxin shouted in response, "Roger!"

Jin Jiuchi watched with bated breath as Shen Nianzu’s eyelids fluttered shut, seemingly deep in concentration. For the first two seconds, nothing happened. Then as if answering an unspoken command, a gentle breeze stirred, the waves churned with an invisible energy, and in the span of an eye’s blink, Shen Nianzu vanished from sight! He not only disappeared physically, but Jin Jiuchi could no longer detect his presence, his scent, or even hear his breathing. It was like he had been spirited away from the world!

Gu Luoxin pumped his fist into the air and cheered, "He did it! Xiao Shen has created his own domain! Oh my God, that’s so cool! I wonder how it looks inside?!"

"Let’s go go go!" Jin Jiuchi urged, his excitement tangible. The two of them trudged forward until they stepped onto the dampened sands and into the caress of the water. Until at a certain juncture, Jin Jiuchi issued a swift command, "Stop!"

Gu Luoxin halted on his tracks. He looked around but found nothing unusual. "It’s here?" he asked with intrigue.

"Uh-uh." Jin Jiuchi sniffed the air again to make sure. He could not actually pinpoint for certain where the boundary of Shen Nianzu’s domain was, but at this moment, the sand beneath his feet felt subtly different and the air shifted in a way that sent a tingling sensation across his scalp. His instinct warned him not to go forward any longer. That’s how he knew that he was teetering on the edge of Shen Nianzu’s domain. If Shen Nianzu happened to be his enemy, one step beyond this point would likely seal his fate!

"Wow..." The admiration in Gu Luoxin’s eyes deepened. Tentatively, he tried to probe around with his hands and discovered that the air indeed felt a little different around here. It was like he was encountering a transparent barrier, like there was a layer of invisible water before him. If not for Jin Jiuchi warning him in time, he would have unwittingly stepped into the domain for sure! Just how did Jin Jiuchi detect it so fast?! Gu Luoxin couldn’t understand it no matter how he tried to, so he turned to ask Jin Jiuchi directly for an answer, "Da—huh?!"

Startled, Gu Luoxin’s eyes widened in disbelief. Jin Jiuchi had always been a mere arm’s length away from him, but now he was gone without a trace and Gu Luoxin did not even notice anything amiss! How could such a thing happen?!

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Mini theater

When they were sightseeing, Gu Luoxin caught sight of an ice cream truck on the side of the road, and he immediately prodded his fellow glutton whom he knew would not refuse any mention of food, "Da Shen, Da Shen, look! Let’s grab some ice cream, shall we?"

Alas, who could have guessed that Jin Jiuchi’s answer would be an unyielding and forceful, "No!"

Gu Luoxin was taken aback. "N–No?" Jin Jiuchi actually rejected ice cream? Has the sun arisen from the west today?

"No!" Jin Jiuchi bared his teeth at him. "You can’t fool me, Xinxin. I can only eat ice cream with Nian’er alone and no one else! It’s a promise we have made!"

Gu Luoxin’s expression became complicated when he heard that. First, there was the master-dog relationship and now, he couldn’t even eat ice cream without his master...

"What’s wrong?" Shen Nianzu came over, and Jin Jiuchi immediately bounded to him, eagerly asking,

"Nian’er, let’s get some ice cream!"

"Sure," Shen Nianzu agreed in a heartbeat before turning to Gu Luoxin. "How about you? Wait, why do you look so green? Is your stomach hurting?" he asked, his brows furrowing in concern.

Gu Luoxin gazed at Shen Nianzu’s delicate and exquisite face and he found himself thinking, ’Tsk, you really can’t judge people by their appearance ah. After all, it’s the pure looking ones that turn out the wildest.’

"Nothing," Gu Luoxin shook his head as though dismissing the messy thoughts in his mind. Forget it, their relationship had nothing to do with him! With that thought in mind, he lifted his spirit and declared happily, "Okay, let’s get some ice cream!"

And that was how Shen Nianzu’s image in Gu Luoxin’s eyes became all the more indescribable.