When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 433: Cursed Item

Chapter 433: Cursed Item

Six’s teammates must be the other three – one female and two males – who had been sitting with her previously, Shen Nianzu speculated.

"Two death conditions?" A male player asked eagerly. Judging from the voice, he seemed to be a middle-aged man. "It’s still day one, and you guys have already obtained two?"

"It’s a total coincidence," Six replied with a glum tone. "We woke up in random houses as ordinary villagers. Unaware of what role we’re supposed to play, we unintentionally acted out of character and..." she released a heavy sigh. "That’s the first death condition: do not OOC[1]. But I guess you must have figured it out since this is a role-playing Cycle."

"What about the second one?" Another player pressed.

"Have you noticed the glass slipper statues scattered all over the town?" A young male voice inquired, and Shen Nianzu recognized him as one of Six’s teammates.

Glass slipper statues? Shen Nianzu mused. Now that’s intriguing.

Since entering the Cycle, Shen Nianzu hadn’t had the chance to explore the town as he needed to watch over the unpredictable time bomb that was Jin Jiuchi and ensured that he didn’t massacre the whole family in the fit of anger. After all, it was an action that his ’dark’ side was fully capable of. Upon hearing these player’s words, he couldn’t help but perk up his ears to listen. Tomorrow, he was supposed to watch the parade with Eva, but there was no harm in gathering more information for now.

The players around the table murmured ’yes’, indicating that all of them had noticed the eye-catching trademark.

"The statues practically fill the entire town," the young man added. "We’ve done a brief investigation and every single household has one, whether for decoration, painting, or charm. Apparently, there’s a famous legend about the glass slipper in this town."

"Oh, I heard about this too! Are you talking about how the King, the founder of the town, discovered his true love through the glass slipper?"

"Yes," the young man nodded. "It’s just like the fairy tale Cinderella we all know. Although the statues and decorations of glass slippers are abundant in the town, women are forbidden to wear them as they serve a sacred purpose. In other words, only the Queen was allowed to wear glass slippers. Now that the Queen has passed away, the only eligible person to wear them will be the future Queen – the Prince’s fiancée."

"Let me guess," another player chimed in. "The second death condition is... do not wear glass slippers?"

"No, it doesn’t actually have anything to do with the glass slipper itself," Six shook her head. "As my teammate, Grapefruit, mentioned earlier, the glass slipper statues are widespread throughout the town, and people treat them as a lucky charm. If you reject the charm, the NPCs will start to question your identity, but..." her voice cracked, and her breathing grew heavier. She struggled to voice her next words.

It was the previous male player, Grapefruit, who finished her sentence, his tone gloomy. "But if you hold onto that charm, you will trigger the death condition."

A hushed silence descended over the table.

What was up with this tricky situation? If they rejected the charm, they would be seen as OOC, but if they accepted it, they would also trigger the death condition? It’s like being stuck between a rock and a hard place!

It took Six a moment to regain her bearings before she added, "One of our teammates perished because of this. That’s why I’m arranging this meeting in a hurry before anyone else can fall victim. If possible, find a way to discard the statues around you."

"Thank you for this valuable information. In return, let me tell you something else," a female player with a youthful voice spoke up. "My surname is Zhong. Everyone can just call me Xiao Zhong. My role is the assistant to the town’s shoemaker. I heard this from the Master himself..."

"It was said that the glass slipper is actually cursed."

"Huh?" That piece of information caught everyone off guard. "Cursed? What do you mean by that?"

Gathering her thoughts, Xiao Zhong took a deep breath and elaborated, "Apparently, the Queen died a tragic death, but it’s so gruesome that the palace chose to conceal it, stating that she succumbed to a long-time illness instead. I heard that... at the moment of her death, she was still wearing those accursed slippers with her feet all bloody and mangled."

The once-beautiful and dreamy love story suddenly took a terrifying turn, injecting an eerie undertone to the atmosphere. Everyone’s faces sank to some degrees, each immersed in their own thoughts.

"Come to think of it," the middle-aged male player interjected. "This Cycle’s setting is based on the story of Cinderella, and if the glass slippers are really cursed like Xiao Zhong said, then wouldn’t Cinderella be the next victim? Oh by the way, this one’s surname is Tao. Just call me Old Tao."

"Indeed, we haven’t found the core NPC yet..." Grapefruit analyzed seriously. "Judging from the way things are going, our core NPC is most likely Cinderella, and our main task is... to help her escape from the curse?"

Everyone murmured their agreement, feeling like they had finally caught a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. But only Shen Nianzu, who had been eavesdropping beneath the table, felt his heart sinking with dread. These players had no idea that Cinderella was also another player, and thus impossible to be the core NPC.

The slippers are cursed? And whoever wears them will die? Then wouldn’t Jin Jiuchi be...

No, something doesn’t feel right.

Shen Nianzu shook the thoughts off his mind. For starters, he had not confirmed the authenticity of this ’curse’ yet, so he must not take Xiao Zhong’s words at face value. Setting this matter aside, something just smelled fishy about it all. If the glass slipper was really cursed, then why would there be so many of its statues around the town? The King could have just thrown out the same excuse, informing the public that the glass slipper was a sacred object and thus not allowed for public use in any form— but he didn’t. Why?

Was there more behind the glass slippers than what met the eye?

"This matter is settled, then!" Old Tao exclaimed, more vigorous this time. "My role is a cattle breeder, tasked to deliver fresh milk to the palace’s kitchen every morning. Guess what I heard earlier? Seems like the Prince is going to hold a royal ball soon, so the servants have been busy preparing for it!"

The table erupted with discussion like a splash of cold water thrown into a pan of boiling oil.

"Soon?"

"We have to find Cinderella before the ball! We can’t let her wear the glass slippers!"

Feeling like he had heard enough, Shen Nianzu gently nudged Aqua within his sea of consciousness and summoned her back. He sensed his surroundings gradually fading away, as all colors became muted and lively voices reduced into hushed murmurs. In the matter of moments, the boisterous atmosphere within the Glass Inn vanished and Shen Nianzu returned to his own body.

He exhaled a light sigh and opened his eyes.

"Nian’er, you’re back!"

Jin Jiuchi, who was seated cross-legged beside him, exclaimed in joy. "How did it go? Did you find Xinxin?"

Shen Nianzu’s gaze moved to him. He had just opened his mouth to speak when he caught sight of a small item being fiddled between Jin Jiuchi’s fingers, causing his heart to leap to his throat.

It was none other than the cursed item – a glass slipper statue!

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[1] OOC = out of character

A/N: JJ and glass slippers are a combination I both want and kinda scared to see *laughing-crying*