When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 417: Wow, Indeed

Chapter 417: Wow, Indeed

"Wow..." Jin Jiuchi’s eyes lit up as he took in the magical transformation before him.

Silver scales grew from the skin of Shen Nianzu’s lower abdomen, and his two human legs seamlessly melded together into a captivating tail. Going down, the color transitioned from a pure silver to a delicate pale purple before deepening into a deep royal purple at the caudal fin. Two translucent flukes materialized on each side of his hips, swaying gently beneath the water’s surface.

No matter how many times Jin Jiuchi saw it, the sight never ceased to mesmerize him.

Shen Nianzu’s tail was so long that it extended beyond the tub, the caudal fin hanging somewhat awkwardly in the air as though he were playfully swinging his legs. He released a sigh and sank his body deeper into the tub, causing water to spill over and drench the floor around them.

As a merman, Shen Nianzu’s body temperature ran cooler than normal, making him very comfortable to hug. While Shen Nianzu focused all his attention on manipulating the water in his palms, Jin Jiuchi couldn’t help but hug the jade doll tighter and nuzzle into his shoulder like a big doggy he was.

But much to his dissatisfaction, Shen Nianzu did not even deign to spare him a glance. Hmph, hmph! What’s so interesting about this water? Did it even look better than him?!

Peeking at Shen Nianzu through his lashes, Jin Jiuchi saw that he was concentrating so deeply that he almost became oblivious of his surroundings. Then slowly, very very slowly, his mischievous hands began to inch toward Shen Nianzu’s abdomen, poking at the silver scale that merged with the skin. When Shen Nianzu gave no reaction whatsoever, he grew more unbridled, his two fingers mimicking the motion of walking as they headed straight to that hidden part below the jade doll’s tummy...

All of a sudden, something small and sharp struck the back of his hand, prompting him to yank it back in surprise!

"Ow ow ow!" Jin Jiuchi yelped in pain as he clutched his throbbing hand.

The water inside the tub splashed wildly as Shen Nianzu abruptly turned and grabbed his hair with both hands, enraged, "I told you not to try anything funny! Just now, I almost—"

The two of them simultaneously froze in that comical position, staring at each other in shock.

"Nian’er..." Jin Jiuchi blinked slowly. He recalled that both of Shen Nianzu’s hands were above the water just now, and whatever struck his hand did not feel like a needle. Instead, it felt more like rock – a tiny and invisible rock. He questioned with a tilted head, "Did you just crystallize the water to hit my hand?"

"I..." Shen Nianzu was similarly dumbstruck, his mind processing everything that had just occurred in that split second. He had actually noticed it when Jin Jiuchi played with his scale, but he deemed it unimportant and opted to focus on the matter at hand instead. But then, when this damned husky’s hand started to wander to a more dangerous area, his anger spiked, and without thinking, he moved to pinch Jin Jiuchi’s misbehaving paw.

Except, the one who did the pinching wasn’t his hand...

"I... succeeded?" Shen Nianzu stared at his own hands in disbelief. The first time he managed to manipulate water, it was to hit Jin Jiuchi?

"Nian’er!" Jin Jiuchi suddenly exclaimed, startling him. A brilliant smile spread across the man’s face as he threw his arms around Shen Nianzu, so excited as if he was the one who had accomplished the feat. "Nian’er, you did it! It’s awesome, it feels really painful!"

Upon hearing those words, Shen Nianzu felt extremely conflicted inside. On one hand, he was elated to finally get a hang of things, but on the other hand, when he thought of the reason behind this success...

Feeling a tad guilty, he grabbed Jin Jiuchi’s hand and inspected it carefully, stroking it with his thumb. "Let me see. Does it still hurt?"

Jin Jiuchi nodded again and again with (fake) tears in his eyes, "It does!"

Either way, he did not completely lie. It really did hurt just now, but his skin was extremely thick, so he recovered fast. There was not even a hint of redness on his skin, but he still acted pitiful as if the whole world had wronged him.

Shen Nianzu was rendered momentarily speechless, but in the end, he had no choice but to lower his head and blow the skin, making a ’huu-huu’ sound from his mouth. "... Alright, my bad," he admitted with a hint of reluctance, but soon he snapped his head up and glared at Jin Jiuchi, "But it’s all your fault in the first place! Who told you to be so disobedient?!"

Jin Jiuchi simply adored his soft-hearted jade doll to death. Hugging the jade doll’s slender waist, he leaned in and planted loud smooches on Shen Nianzu’s face until the latter grew annoyed and shoved his face away.

"Nian’er, do it again?" He requested with his puppy-dog eyes.

Huffing and puffing, Shen Nianzu faced forward once more and made himself comfortable leaning against Jin Jiuchi’s chest. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to recapture the sensation that coursed through him for that split second when he wanted to pinch Jin Jiuchi’s hand.

His purple caudal fin twitched, and after a brief moment of silence, the water inside the tub began to shake and ripple as if an external force was stirring it, and a few small droplets of water rose to the air, defying gravity!

"Wow!" Jin Jiuchi exclaimed in awe.

The water droplets’ surfaces were still rippling, not yet stable, resembling tiny translucent pearls suspended in the air. A faint rainbow hue glittered in the air as the lights reflected off them. They looked absolutely breathtaking and enchanting.

"Yes," a subtle smile curved on Shen Nianzu’s lips as he moved his fingers, and the water droplets in the air began to dance as if they had come to life. "Wow, indeed."

He still needed a lot of training to build muscle memory, adjust himself to the sensation, and morph the water into the shapes and textures he liked.

But at least, he had taken the first step toward success!