When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 444: Evil Queen

Chapter 444: Evil Queen

Meanwhile, Gu Luoxin, who still had no idea what kind of dramatic fate awaited him in the future, was gawking at the one-eyed mouse before him, who had revealed himself as none other than the King, Caen.

W–What kind of unbelievable words did he just hear? This rugged, dirty and smelly mouse who had just scavenged from the garbage heap was, in fact, the number one bigshot in the Cycle? Aka Cinderella’s soon-to-be father-in-law???

Sensing the clear disbelief etched across Gu Luoxin’s mousy features, Caen’s expression turned bitter. "I know ciit... it must be very hard for you to believe. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t believe it either. After all, how could the King be trapped in such a weak and helpless body? But it’s the truth ciit." He directed a pleading and earnest gaze toward Gu Luoxin. "All this time, I have struggled alone with no one to turn to. None of the humans could understand my words, and other animals looked down on me. So I’ve been waiting... I’ve always been waiting for someone who can rescue me from this predicament ciit!"

Caen’s speech was touching and awe-inspiring, and every inch of his body radiated renewed vigor and long-lost excitement. Even the matted and bloodied fur made him appear like an unyielding warrior who refused to bow down to the enemies. It did not seem like he was lying, as far as Gu Luoxin could tell.

As the unexpected developments slowly registered into Gu Luoxin’s mind, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. If his body could produce perspiration, he would be sweating buckets right now.

What to do? Why did it seem like... he had touched upon the core of this Cycle?

And why must he be alone at a time like this? Where were his teammates when he needed them the most?! QAQ

No, Gu Luoxin shook his head vigorously and forced himself to let go of the timidity in his heart. This was his advancement test, so this ought to be something only he could do. He couldn’t just rely on Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi to protect him all the time. This time, he had to muster the courage to stand and fight for himself!

Taking a deep breath, Gu Luoxin summoned his resolve, his eyes blazing with iron determination. As he faced the increasingly anxious gaze of the one-eyed mouse, he spoke with a firmness that bellied the nervousness churning within him. "I–I believe you ciit..."

Caen’s single eye lit up with hope.

"But..." Gu Luoxin continued, causing Caen’s heart to jump again. "I only turned into a mouse yesterday. As for the cause or the culprit who turned me this way... I can’t remember anything ciit."

In the span of two seconds, Gu Luoxin swiftly came up with that excuse on the spot. Who was he kidding? He had no knowledge of this Cycle nor the incidents that had happened previously. As such, if he made a joke out of himself and acted like a fool, he could just blame it on the amnesia. Furthermore, right now, his main priority was to reunite with his teammates, thus he had to gather as much information as possible about this Cycle!

And who would be more suitable to provide information than the mouse before him?

Quite a brilliant and foolproof plan, if he had to say!

Peering at the stunned one-eyed mouse, Gu Luoxin concluded his sentence. "I’m afraid all of my memories about this Cy— this place have been wiped away ciit. So I’d have to trouble you to tell me everything from the start... uh, Your Highness..."

Caen was quick to dismiss his formalities. "It’s okay, you can just call me Caen. I’ve lived as a mouse for years ciit. Calling me with that title will only serve as a painful reminder for me." He had been a little disappointed at first upon learning of Gu Luoxin’s amnesia, but he soon lifted his spirits and began to assess their current situation.

"You mentioned that your memories are wiped away?" He let out a disapproving squeak. "It seems like the curse you received is more vicious than mine ciit. At least, I still retained my memories, though I have no idea whether to call it a blessing or misfortune..."

"A curse?" Gu Luoxin asked cautiously. "Could you elaborate more about it ciit?"

At the mention of his plight, a wave of fiery resentment and boiling anger swept through Caen’s features, even his entire body was shaking in rage. "This is all the Queen’s doing! The Queen, the one and only woman I’ve married... everyone believed she was dead, but they’re mistaken ciit! The Queen is still alive and she’s currently impersonating me to seize control of the entire country, especially the Glass Slipper Town!"

Gu Luoxin blinked. This... was a different version of Cinderella he had never heard before. Instead of the evil stepmother and stepsisters, there was an evil queen?

"She’s impersonating you because she wants to control this town?" Gu Luoxin inquired. "For what purpose ciit?"

Caen’s expression turned serious. "It’s all because of the glass slippers ciit. Oh wait, I forgot about your amnesia. To put it simply, she wants to recreate the event that happened all those years ago because she’s searching for the missing glass slippers ciit. You may have forgotten, but the glass slipper holds a significant meaning in this town. It’s a symbol of love, affection and loyalty. But since she’s no longer the pure and affectionate woman she used to be..."

Caen shook his head bitterly. "The glass slipper has been missing ciit. She is eager to get her hands on it, and we can’t allow it to happen ciit! We must find the glass slipper before she does, for I have a hunch that our curse is related to it ciit!"

Gu Luoxin mulled over the information he’d heard and sorted it out inside his mind. He came to a few important points:

First, this Cycle was still based on the story of Cinderella. However, the glass slipper, once worn by the Queen, had vanished since greed took root in her heart. Gu Luoxin had no idea what kind of magic power it held, but its disappearance seemed to spell trouble.

Second, the Queen had cursed the King and turned him into a mouse because she wanted to recreate the past events and forced the glass slipper to appear. Her motive remained unclear, but one thing for sure, they must prevent her from obtaining it again.

Third, according to the plot, Cinderella was the rightful owner of the glass slipper. That meant— if they wanted to find it before the Queen, the fastest way was to locate Cinderella first before the royal ball!

Gu Luoxin forced his slow brain to analyze the current situation, feeling as if his head was about to explode. Although he had heard the story from the King, he couldn’t shake off the suspicion that there were a lot of details he was still not privy to, fueling his unease and anxiety.

It wasn’t until now that he realized how much he had depended on Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi. Shen Nianzu was the brain of the group, while Jin Jiuchi was the brawl. With the two of them present, Gu Luoxin was perfectly content to stay as the support, but now he had been forced to take on both roles! Not to mention, all this talking and thinking got him hungry again!

Life as a mouse was truly miserable! QAQ

Rubbing his tiny paws over his furry face, Gu Luoxin told himself to take it one step of a time. He must act with utmost caution so as to not be killed before he could meet his teammates.

The first step of action was clear to him: find Cinderella. Wherever she was, there was the glass slipper.

But how could he convey this plan to Caen when he was supposed to have amnesia right now? Should he just claim it as a vision from God?? All of a sudden, his eyes lit up as an idea sparked in his mind.

"I understand ciit..." he declared slowly. "I know what to do."

"Y–You do?" Caen asked in excitement.

"Yes," Gu Luoxin nodded firmly, secretly patting his own back for his quick wits. "To be honest, in addition to the creature you saw earlier, I also have another ability: premonition." He stood up straight and began to spout bullshit with a convincing face. "Earlier, the reason why I foolishly ran out into the street was because I caught sight of a person. As soon as I saw him, I had a premonition that he could help me ciit."

"A human?" Caen grew more excited when he heard that, his whiskers quivering violently. "A human who can help us? That’s awesome ciit!"

"Unfortunately, I lost him..." Gu Luoxin’s tone turned rueful. "I plan to find him again because I am certain that he’s very important to our goal. He... uh, he has a beautiful appearance, with silver hair and pale purple eyes ciit..."

A look of realization crossed Caen’s features. "Are you talking about Lady Rosie, by any chance ciit?"

Gu Luoxin was confused. Lady Rosie? Who the hell was that?

"It seems like it," Caen nodded sagely. "In the entire Glass Slipper Town, there is only one lady with silver hair and purple eyes ciit. I had initially planned to set up an engagement between her and my son, but alas, the curse got to me first." He let out a regretful sigh.

"So... you know where to find him?" Gu Luoxin asked, his voice tinged with hope. He was just trying his luck by describing Shen Nianzu, but who could have guessed that he would really obtain a lead?

Finally, after an endless rain of misfortunes, he received a stroke of luck!

"We can try," Caen replied with a nod before turning away, gesturing for Gu Luoxin to follow. "Come on."

Gu Luoxin secretly cheered inside his heart as he trailed behind Caen to navigate the unfamiliar streets. It seemed like he could reunite with his teammates earlier than expected. Once he was back with Shen Nianzu, everything would be okay. He was confident that his leader would definitely recognize him!

But wait a moment...

Despite his earlier hunch that he had touched upon the essence of his Cycle during the King’s story, he didn’t hear any announcement from the Nightmare, as it usually did when a task was assigned.

Did it mean the mouse before him was not the core NPC, and ’finding the glass slipper before the evil queen’ was not the main task of this Cycle?

.

A/N: that’s your father-in-law right there xinxin, not jin jiuchi’s or shen nianzhu’s *laughing-crying*