When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 516: Are You His Girlfriend?

Chapter 516: Are You His Girlfriend?

"No need," Shen Nianzu’s refusal came out in a curt and cold tone.

However, Shang continued to assess Jin Jiuchi with intrigue as if he hadn’t detected the faint hostility in the little jade doll’s response. "He looks like he can’t move at all right now," he observed.

Shen Nianzu felt a surge of irritation at the way the man couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from Jin Jiuchi. Although he had often cursed Jin Jiuchi both inside his heart and right in front of the man’s face and even questioned once in a while why he had ended up with this perverted husky, at the end of the day, Jin Jiuchi was his! Shen Nianzu’s! No one was allowed to covet him or take him away!

Feeling an abrupt sense of crisis, Shen Nianzu instinctively moved to position himself in front of Jin Jiuchi’s body to block him from Shang’s sight, but alas, his small body and weak presence might as well be a transparent shield. And so, he pulled Gu Luoxin over to help him as well.

As a result, Shang’s gaze immediately fell on Gu Luoxin, smiling yet not smiling at the same time.

"What do you say?" he asked, his voice gentle and persuasive. "Isn’t it strange of you to reject a healer’s offer? I will just give him an overall check. If he’s okay, then that’s fine. But if he needs urgent help, won’t you be depriving him of the only chance to survive? Or is that what you want? To let him die in this Cycle?" he let out a soft chuckle tinged with a hint of disdain, seemingly as though he had seen through their evil nature.

What the hell is he saying? Gu Luoxin was utterly flabbergasted by this person’s baseless accusation.

How could he, in a few mere seconds, paint Gu Luoxin and Shen Nianzu in such a bad light? That was such an admirable feat! Had Jin Jiuchi been half-conscious right now, or had he not been a nightmare creature who lacked common sense, wouldn’t his heart have grown cold upon hearing this? He was laying pitifully on the ground, his condition unknown. A kind-hearted healer offered to check up on him, but they were blocked by his teammates.

If Jin Jiuchi had been a normal player, after this incident, he would have been thoroughly disappointed in his teammates and even began to doubt them.

This was a classic example of how to sow discord among teammates!

Unfortunately, Jin Jiuchi just happened to be a nightmare creature who understood nothing about the complex nature of humans. Besides, everyone in this Cycle could die, but not him! He had even escaped unscathed after wrestling with the Nightmare itself!

As such, instead of getting angry or offended by Shang’s words, Gu Luoxin simply felt the urge to laugh.

He was not so adept in concealing his true emotions, thus the twinkle of amusement in his eyes was plain to Shang to see. In an instant, the healer’s smile vanished, and his eyes darkened. "Did I say something funny?" he asked with a hint of edge in his tone.

Gu Luoxin promptly covered his mouth with a hand. Oops, did I just laugh out loud? I didn’t, right??

Shang uncrossed his arms and straightened up from the tree trunk he was leaning on. "Are you his girlfriend?" he threw out a random bomb out of nowhere, leaving Gu Luoxin so bewildered that he could only blink repeatedly with his jaws slack.

"M–Me?!" He pointed at his own nose, stumped.

Before he could say anything which might possibly escalate the situation, Shen Nianzu promptly cut in, "We must leave right now. It’s too dangerous to remain here. If you’ll excuse us, Mr. Shang." Then without giving anyone a chance to react, he turned to Noir, asking, "Can you help us carry Da Shen please?"

Unwillingness was clearly written all over Noir’s face, but on the other side, one was a slender Gu Luoxin and the other was a tiny Shen Nianzu – both unsuitable to carry a grown ass adult male, especially one with a heavy muscle mass like Jin Jiuchi. Thus the task could only fall upon him.

Albeit disgruntled, he could only resign to his fate and went to pick up Jin Jiuchi by the back of the man’s collar.

"Goodbye, Mr. Shang. Thank you for your offer." Gu Luoxin also did not want to be involved with this strange healer any longer, so he quickly threw out those perfunctory words before going over to give Noir a hand.

Without Jin Jiuchi’s nose leading them, Shen Nianzu could only choose a random path based on his instinct, and soon the four of them vanished among the dark thickets of tree, leaving Shang behind whose gaze was dark and unreadable.

"Da Shen...?" he muttered under his breath. "Is that his nickname?"

Meanwhile, SJG trio and Noir continued to trudge across the forest until they emerged into a small clearing. Only then did Shen Nianzu halt on his tracks.

"Alright," he scanned his surroundings and nodded in mild satisfaction. "Let’s stop here and rest for a while."

"Finally!" Gu Luoxin heaved out a huge sigh of relief, the tension in his body ebbing away like a tide. He had been so tense throughout, always feeling like he could feel Shang’s gaze digging into his back like a sharp knife.

After dropping Jin Jiuchi unceremoniously on the ground, he immediately turned to ask Noir, his gaze settling on the man’s injured arm. "Are you okay, Senior? Da Shen must be so heavy, isn’t he? Has your wound torn open?"

"It’s fine," Noir shook off his concern with a nonchalant tone. "Then I—" he was about to take his leave when Shen Nianzu interjected,

"Why don’t you take a break with us here for a while?" The little jade doll offered earnestly. "Da Shen is still asleep, so we’re down to two members now. It’s not very convenient to keep guard. If we take turns, everyone will get to have some rest. Right now it’s..." he checked the time, stating, "a little over 10 PM. Depending on the situation, we will move again after midnight. What do you say?"

"That’s right, Senior!" Gu Luoxin nodded enthusiastically from the side. "Please stay with us! The elimination game is so intense, so let’s take a short break. Besides, you’re still injured..."

With the two of them putting it out like this, how could Noir continue to refuse? He could actually settle atop a random tree where no one would be able to spot him, but as Shen Nianzu had said, the SJG Team was down to two members now – a somewhat clumsy, scaredy-cat young man and a tiny, delicate child. He knew that Nian was powerful, but it was Gu Luoxin he was more worried about.

Under the two’s expectant gazes, Noir relented with a sigh. "... Alright."

Gu Luoxin broke into a cheer.

Next, the three of them gathered a handful of branches from the surrounding area and managed to kindle a small, flickering flame. The warmth of the fire broke through the oppressive darkness and they sat in a circle, warming their chilled hands and bodies that had been on high alert most of the time.

After a brief contemplation, Gu Luoxin couldn’t help but break the silence,

"What’s up with that player earlier? He’s just so..." hugging his knees close to his chest, Gu Luoxin racked his brain to search for the right word before eventually settling on, "...strange. I don’t know why, but he makes me feel uncomfortable." He scratched his temple with a sheepish smile. "Or is it only me...?"

"No, it’s not only you," Shen Nianzu tossed a stick into the fire. His gaze was heavy, and his lips pursed in displeasure. "He kept going in circles, but in the end, his goal was to approach Da Shen. I think—"

"What about me?"

A thick, raspy voice drifted over, and the three of them snapped their heads up to find Jin Jiuchi with his eyes half-open, his brows knitted as he clutched his head with a groan. He looked like he was suffering from a bad hangover.

"Da Shen, you’re awake!" Gu Luoxin exclaimed in joy and relief.

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A/N: Happy New Year everyone! *cheers*

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