When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 445: At What Cost?

Chapter 445: At What Cost?

Following Caen’s lead, Gu Luoxin tried to familiarize himself with the streets while reviewing everything that had happened so far in order to distract himself from the persistent hunger gnawing at his stomach. However, it was all for naught as his stomach still growled out loud once in a while.

Presumably taking pity on him, the one-eyed mouse released a helpless sigh and took an abrupt turn, leading Gu Luoxin down a different alleyway.

"C–Caen?" Gu Luoxin called out, surprised.

"You will collapse sooner or later if you keep this up ciit," was all the other mouse said.

Albeit confused, Gu Luoxin allowed himself to be guided to the backyard of an unknown house, where he watched in bewilderment as Caen began to dig into the soil beneath the fence, creating a hole just big enough for them to squeeze through. Caen beckoned for him to follow suit, explaining, "During the first few weeks of my transformation, I came here everyday to steal some food ciit. It’s troublesome, but at least it will be edible for you."

To hear a King mention the word ’edible’, Gu Luoxin felt a faint sense of unease. And imagine his shock when he squeezed into the hole, only to find that he had emerged in an open space filled with mud and... pigs!

The plump, pink colored and gigantic pigs happily rolled around in the muddy puddle, emitting cheerful oink-oink sounds from their snouts.

Gu Luoxin’s jaws dropped to the ground as he turned to Caen in sheer horror. "Y–Y–You’re telling me to..."

"Pig’s feed," Caen wrinkled his snout in disgust when he uttered those words. "This is the best food you can find around here ciit." Upon seeing Gu Luoxin frozen in place, as if he was about to crumble into dust and blow away with the wind, Caen shook his head helplessly. "There’s truly no other choice. Unless you want to return to the dumpster ciit?"

"C–Ciit—!" Gu Luoxin hurriedly shook his head. Just the mere thought of returning to that foul-smelling and putrid dumpster was enough to make him gag.

Swallowing the tears in his heart, he turned his gaze forward and squared his shoulders with the resolve of a soldier marching into a deadly battlefield. W–Well, so be it! What’s the big deal about eating pig’s feed once in a while? After all, he was a mouse now, and his palate would undoubtedly be different from a human’s! If he closed his eyes, held his breath and swallowed quickly, it might even taste like cereal!

After making that prep talk in his heart, Gu Luoxin was ready to charge ahead before he could lose all bravado, but he hesitated again upon seeing the lumbering pigs before him, whose size was a hundred times bigger than his tiny form.

"H–How do I get to..." he wordlessly moved his gaze to the pen, unable to bring himself to say the word.

Relieved that Gu Luoxin had finally come around, Caen offered a comforting pat on his tiny paw and reassured him, "I will draw their attention away from you. Take as much time as you need. After you’re done, go out through this hole and we will meet again on the other side."

Gu Luoxin felt extremely moved by Caen’s selfless gesture. This mouse had not only saved his life twice, but now he also risked himself to ensure that he could eat! "T–Thank you ciit..." he choked out. "I don’t know how to repay you..."

"Hey, we are partners in this, remember?" Caen laughed in a carefree manner. "But if you insist on repaying me, how about I arrange for you to marry my son after this curse is lifted? How old are you, by the way? You look quite young in my eyes ciit..."

Under Caen’s solemn gaze that scrutinized his appearance from ears to tail, Gu Luoxin’s fur exploded into a ball. "N–No need, there’s no need ciit!" He squeaked out, flustered. "I–I am not interested in marrying young and... I’m sure your son deserves someone better than a mouse like me, Sir, Your Majesty!" He was so shocked by that sudden proposal that his tone reverted back to formality.

It wasn’t like he had not encountered something like this before; the grandpas and grandmas near his house were also eager to introduce their granddaughters and grandnieces to him, but...

All of a sudden, a certain emerald-eyed man’s face flashed in his mind, prompting him to shake his head so vigorously as if he wanted to tear off his neck as well.

No, t–this had nothing to do with Senior! He was purely not interested in romantic relationships at the moment, both in the real world or in the Nightmare Cycle!

"Alright, alright," Caen let out a chuckle. "Let’s not waste any more time here lest the owner returns ciit. After I draw their attention, you should eat quickly, understand?"

Tense, Gu Luoxin nodded nervously.

In the next moment, he watched as Caen dexterously ran through the muddy ground, intentionally catching the attention of the pigs lounging near the pen. And as soon as they spotted a mouse, their focus immediately shifted there.

Now!

With his pupils dilating, Gu Luoxin braced his paws, shook his butt and took off running, his gaze straight on the pen. Don’t look, don’t smell, don’t taste! Repeating that mantra in his head, he stood up on his hind legs and grabbed onto the pen with his front paws. Then he held his breath sharply, closed his eyes and plunged his head in!

As soon as the food entered his mouth, he was astonished to discover that... holy shit, this was actually not bad!

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that one day he would consider pig’s food edible, but he wasn’t about to question his own sanity right now. Driven by hunger and desperation, he moved his mouth rapidly, chewing and swallowing as much as he could, even using his paws to push more into his mouth!

"Got you oink!"

With his cheeks bulging, Gu Luoxin reflexively turned his head and noticed Caen being surrounded by a group of pigs! Oh no! Heart thudding in his chest, Gu Luoxin hurried to eat a few more mouthfuls before scurrying back to the hole they had entered, not even bothering to clean his face and paws. Pieces of rice bran, broken rice, soya-beans, vegetables and distiller’s residues stuck to his snout, whiskers and paws, while his belly and paws were full of sticky mud.

Yet Gu Luoxin disregarded them all and continued to run with tears in his eyes.

He had managed to secure an adequately satisfying meal, but at what cost...?

Give him back his human face, his ten fingers and toes, and his slender 1.7 meters body ahhh!!!

***

Caen caught up to him shortly after, panting like a dog. "H–How...?"

Gu Luoxin, who had experienced five stages of grief in the short span of one minute and almost reached enlightenment, nodded numbly. "It’s good ciit..."

"Haaa..." With a long sigh, Caen collapsed to the ground, prompting a surprised squeak from Gu Luoxin. The one-eyed mouse waved his trembling paw. "It’s okay, just... let me rest for a moment ciit. When you reach my age, it’s natural to get exhausted after an intense exercise..."

"Y–You are okay, right?" Gu Luoxin asked with concern. He suddenly recalled that Caen had gotten injured from his fight with Jackie The Cat, and with this run-and-chase, he wouldn’t drop dead all of a sudden, would he?

"Of course," Caen scoffed. "I won’t die before I turn back to a human ciit..."

After resting for a short moment, Caen rolled over and stood on his all fours. "Alright, now that you’ve eaten, we will continue our journey. It’s getting dark, so we should find shelter for the day and resume our search tomorrow. It’s not safe for us to wander around at night."

Imagining the danger and threat posed by nocturnal creatures, Gu Luoxin quickly nodded in agreement. Better safe than sorry – he didn’t want to end up in a random animal’s stomach!

"Where should we go ciit?" he inquired. "Do you have a place in mind?"

Caen grinned sharply. "That’s for certain," he said, leading the way. "Let’s go, I will take you to our basecamp and introduce you to the others ciit."

"The... others?" Gu Luoxin blinked.

.

.

Mini theater

XInxin, before knowing the identity of Caen’s son: N-No, no, I’m certain your son deserves someone better than a mouse like me!

Xinxin, after knowing the identity of Caen’s son: Do you need a mouse who can cry, can cook, can clean, can dance, and can sing, Sire? QAQ