When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 449: First Things First

Chapter 449: First Things First

With his mind spinning, Gu Luoxin released a fake chuckle and blurted out whatever that came to mind, "Oh, you know ciit... as soon as I saw him, it all clicked— yes, he’s my companion from before I turned into a mouse ciit! It seems like my memories are slowly coming back to me!" It was a spur-of-the-moment excuse, and it wasn’t until he spoke it aloud that he found it surprisingly reasonable. So he immediately went along with the momentum and smashed the broken jar. With this, Caen wouldn’t get suspicious anymore if they continued to meet his teammates in the future!

What a genius you are, Xinxin!

Fortunately, Caen bought his excuse easily. He nodded in understanding, "Oh, so that’s your cat?"

Gu Luoxin’s heart leaped to his throat. H–How did he even come to such a conclusion?! Meeting Lucius’ emerald eyes which carried a hint of amusement, Gu Luoxin immediately tried to clarify, "N–No ciit! I wouldn’t dare—"

"You’re right," Lucius interjected. He leaned down and rubbed his face against the top of Gu Luoxin’s furry head, purring. "I am his cat meow~"

Gu Luoxin: "...!"

Not you too!

Lucius was Noir’s one and only divine prop; Gu Luoxin would only be courting death if he tried to claim the black cat as his own! Alas, what was he supposed to do when the said cat made the first claim? Even if he jumped into the Yellow River, he still wouldn’t be able to wash himself clean!

Crying inwardly, Gu Luoxin covered his face with his paws as his tiny frame swayed back and forth along with Lucius’ rubbing. At least, it was Lucius who had spoken first, so Senior shouldn’t be angry with him, right?

"W–What is going on, Caen?"

"Is the black cat gone ciit?"

"It won’t come back to hunt us down, will it?"

"How about Xinxin ciit? I didn’t see him anywhere!"

The horde of mice had scrambled as far away as possible from the steel cover, creating a considerable distance, so they were still oblivious to everything that had transpired. All they could do was crane their necks and raised their voices to inquire, feeling restless and anxious.

In response, Caen turned to address the crowd with an authoritative tone befitting of a King, "Worry not, everyone. The crisis has been solved. The black cat is on our side, and it won’t harm us ciit!"

"S–Seriously ciit?"

"Are you for real, Caen? How can we trust the words of a cat? No ciit! We must not allow it to come close to us!"

Gu Luoxin did not blame them for repelling Lucius, for he understood how a mouse’s instinct worked now that he was trapped in this body. It had only been less than two days, and the cats he loved had already become one of his sources of fear. He couldn’t imagine being them, having lived their whole lives as mice and had to guard against an obnoxious cat like Jackie almost every single day. They had developed a strong resistance and wariness toward cats, and they wouldn’t so easily lower their guards just because a random feline claimed that it wouldn’t harm them.

Feeling guilty for putting Caen in a difficult position, Gu Luoxin intervened before the one-eyed mouse could defend him and Lucius further, "I–It’s okay ciit... you don’t need to say anything more."

Caen was caught off guard. "Xinxin?"

"I understand their fear and I couldn’t possibly ask them to accept Lucius so easily ciit. That’s why..." Gu Luoxin took a deep breath. There was no way he could force Lucius to stay in the underground sewer with him, nor was he willing to be separated from the black cat. Hence, there was only one option left.

Meeting Caen’s gaze squarely, he declared, "I will leave with Lucius ciit."

"What?!" Shock painted across Caen’s mousy features. "Y–You’re leaving? But what... what about our deal ciit?" Anxiety surged within the one-eyed mouse at the thought of Gu Luoxin ditching their cooperation.

"Deal?" Lucius, who had been silently watching their conversation, finally spoke up. He stretched out a paw and swiped Gu Luoxin toward him as though blocking him from the one-eyed mouse’s sight. Leaning down, he caught Gu Luoxin’s eyes and inquired, "What kind of deal are you talking about?"

"O–Oh..." Gu Luoxin couldn’t help the way his heart skipped a beat whenever those emerald eyes peered at him at such a close proximity.

Oh God, this was truly not good for his heart. Lucius’ eyes were too similar to Noir’s!

Realizing that he had a lot to share with the black cat, he turned to the anxious Caen. "It’s okay ciit," he reassured the one-eyed mouse. "Lucius is trustworthy, and he will be a great help for us. I’m going to talk to him for a while, so you... you should calm down the other mice first. I will not bail out on our deal, so please be rest assured ciit."

Only after hearing those words could Caen put his worries to rest. Offering a nod, he turned to appease the other mice.

Gu Luoxin, on the other hand, signaled Lucius with their eyes and they began walking until they were out of earshot. Noticing the blatantly repulsive look on Lucius’ face whenever his paws stepped on dirty sewage water, guilt churned in Gu Luoxin’s chest, especially when he recalled how Lucius had attempted to lick him clean earlier.

Surely, Lucius must be disgusted with him now! QAQ

Feeling somewhat depressed, Gu Luoxin discreetly put some distance between them for fear that he would soil Lucius’ glossy and flawless coat, but apparently the black cat wasn’t having any of it. With a swipe of his paw, he once again pulled Gu Luoxin closer until the brown mouse was practically buried beneath his warm and fluffy belly.

Then acting as if nothing happened at all, he demanded, "Who was that just now? You sure are making friends left and right, aren’t you meow?"

Resigned, Gu Luoxin gave up trying to scoot away. Somehow, he had a hunch that it would displease Lucius further. So he remained huddled close to the black cat’s thick fur, reveling in its warmth as he recounted everything he had experienced so far. He talked about waking up as a mouse, seeing Shen Nianzu in the middle of the street, then almost getting into an accident only to be saved by Caen, the King. He also warned Lucius about the evil queen that was currently impersonating the King, hoping that Noir would be careful around her.

"What about you ciit?" He peered up at Lucius after he finished his recount. "I haven’t interacted with any players in this Cycle. Have you all contacted each other?"

Nodding, Lucius informed him, "Noir is the Prince. Nian is Cinderella’s step-sister, and JJ is Cinderella. Today is the Prince’s royal procession, so I must have missed you among the crowd meow~"

"Wait— what?" Gu Luoxin was caught off guard by the sheer amount of information in Lucius’ words. Noir as the Prince— en, it was the one and only role that perfectly suited him, but...

"Da Shen... is Cinderella?"

Gu Luoxin’s whiskers twitched, and he abruptly burst out into laughter. He laughed so hard that his body nearly tumbled into the dirty puddle, only to be held back at the last moment by Lucius’ paw. However, Gu Luoxin failed to notice the considerate gesture as he was too busy trying to suppress his laughter.

Noir and Jin Jiuchi? Oh God, would the two of them dance in the royal ball later?!

The comical image uncontrollably flashed in his mind, and Gu Luoxin once again howled in laughter. He really wanted to thank whoever assigned roles in this Cycle for making Jin Jiuchi into Cinderella. But wait— on second thought, he took those words back, since the same entity had also turned him into a miserable mouse...

Shaking his head, Gu Luoxin swallowed his laughter and returned his focus to the matter at hand. "What’s the next plan ciit?" he inquired. "I promised Caen that I would help him break the curse and turn him back to a human. And oh, I noticed that he’s not the core NPC ciit."

Lucius let out a contemplative hum and he rested his chin atop Gu Luoxin’s body, his tail swaying back and forth. "First things first, I’m taking you out of this place meow~"

Gu Luoxin nodded solemnly. He had guessed that Lucius wouldn’t have stepped in this filthy place if not for him, so it was understandable that he wanted to leave as soon as possible. "And then?"

Should he stay with Noir for the time being? Gu Luoxin wondered. Either way, the ball was going to be held in the palace, so he could reunite with Shen Nianzu and Jin Jiuchi there eventually. But was it a wise decision to go there, considering the evil Queen was present? Or should he just meet up with his two teammates and plan their next move together?

Lost in contemplation, Gu Luoxin was startled by the black cat’s next words, spoken in a leisurely tone with a hint of a purr. "And then... what do you say we go on a date around the town?"

"C–Ciit?" Baffled, Gu Luoxin snapped his head up, thinking that he had misheard.