When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 528: The Devil’s Hour

Chapter 528: The Devil’s Hour

After leaving those parting words, XXX got up, brushed the dirt off his clothes before waving at them cheerfully. "My role here is done, so—"

"Wait!" Shen Nianzu hurried to stop him, causing the oracle to halt on his tracks with an arched brow.

Glancing at Jin Jiuchi’s dead body through the corner of his eye, he tightened his jaw and asked in a strained tone, "Is there any way we can communicate with him?"

The oracle had assured that Jin Jiuchi was still around, which he somewhat believed. His lover might be wild, unrestrained, and crazy at times, but he was not stupid. He wouldn’t go off on his own without getting some kind of explanation about his current predicament. Shen Nianzu trusted him on that. He might even be jumping around and making silly faces in front of Shen Nianzu right now.

Alas, when all was said and done, Shen Nianzu still couldn’t see him. Couldn’t hear his voice and confirmed that he was truly alright. And the fact truly stirred a sense of unease deep in the pit of his stomach.

He even contemplated whether he should kill himself so the two of them could team up on another side, but this notion only lasted for a brief second in his mind before he shot it down.

Calm down, Shen Nianzu, he repeatedly told himself. Don’t be so hasty.

If he was so eager to join Jin Jiuchi, what about Gu Luoxin then? Just throw him to Noir or ask him to perform double suicide together? No freaking way. Shen Nianzu would be too ashamed to call himself the leader of SJG if he acted so arbitrarily without considering the bigger picture.

Therefore, after a short mental struggle, despite knowing that he might receive a cryptic answer or maybe none at all, he still gritted his teeth and decided to take his chances to inquire. And sure enough, in lieu of a direct answer of ’yes’ or ’no’, XXX hummed and remarked out of nowhere, "Hour of the ox."

Shen Nianzu stared at him blankly, a question mark floating on top of his head.

Adjusting his sunglasses, XXX let out a brief chuckle. "Have you heard of it?" he elaborated in a low and mysterious tone. "It’s said that the hour of the ox is the darkest hour of the night. According to Buddhism and Taoism, it’s the period when the yin energy is at its peak and yang energy begins to stir, thus creating a brief overlap between the two realms."

"Oh, I’ve heard of this!" Gu Luoxin, who had studied numerous theater scripts, was quite familiar with some ancient and traditional systems. He rapidly did the calculation in his mind and exclaimed, "If I remember correctly, the hour of the ox is the time between 1 AM and 3 AM. Does it mean we can communicate with Da Shen during this period?!" The more he said it, the more excited he became, feeling like he had grasped upon the solution to a difficult problem.

Yet once again, XXX decided to toss a wet blanket over them. "Who knows?" he spread his hands helplessly. "I’m simply telling you my own conjecture. Remember what Cycle is this?"

Everyone: "..."

That’s right, this was a Christmas-themed Cycle, so rather than Buddhism or Taoism, they should rely on the knowledge about Christianity instead!

A shroud of gloom hung over the trio’s head as they scowled at the Oracle. Despite knowing that, why did he still bring up the hour of the ox then?!

It was unfortunate that XXX couldn’t hear the string of curses running through their minds. Well, even if he could, it’s not like he would really care. After successfully pulling another wave of aggro, the oracle barked out a carefree laughter and bid them adieu, citing that he must find another way to pass the remaining time or else he would die of boredom. In the matter of seconds, his tall and broad disappeared from the trio’s sight, blending into the darkness of the night.

What a weird fellow, they couldn’t help but think once more.

"What’s the plan?" Noir took the initiative to break the silence.

"D–Don’t worry, everyone!" Gu Luoxin tried hard to liven the stale atmosphere by raising his voice in a faux cheerful tone. "I think Mr. Oracle wouldn’t be saying that for nothing. If we consider this in Christianity, he must be talking about the devil’s hour! Let’s see... if my memory serves me right, it should be around 3 AM as well!"

Massaging his aching temple, Shen Nianzu concluded, "Alright, what Xinxin said makes sense. I, for one, don’t believe the Cycle will proceed just like this. There must be some kind of changes that will happen during the last few hours. Let’s say, when eighty percent or more of the forest becomes the Red Zone."

Perhaps during that period, they would truly be able to communicate with the dead. Until then—

"We have to find the revival potion," Shen Nianzu stated in a grave tone, causing Gu Luoxin to swallow tensely before nodding.

They had not found any revival potions even after searching all this time. Without the potion, Jin Jiuchi wouldn’t be able to revive from the dead. His life and death was now hanging in their – his teammates’ – hands!

Determination blazed in Gu Luoxin’s still red-rimmed eyes. "Yes, we have to find it no matter what! But..." his tone turned hesitant as he snuck a glance at Jin Jiuchi’s dead body. He had no idea why he suddenly lowered his voice into a whisper as though he was conspiring how to dispose of the body and was afraid that a certain childish, grudge-bearing ghost would find out. "What should we do about Da Shen? It’s impossible to bring him along with us, right? Can we hide him somewhere?"

"What are you talking about?" Shen Nianzu gave him a pointed look. "Isn’t this the perfect hiding place? We only need someone to be on the lookout in case other players wander here or Da Shen suddenly comes back to life. Don’t worry, we will come back here once we obtain the potion."

Gu Luoxin gave it some thought before nodding in agreement, feeling like it was the best solution for the time being. It was impossible for the two of them – a slender young man and a child – to haul Jin Jiuchi’s heavy body with them, even more so when they had to flee from the Red Zone later on. The only option was to leave Jin Jiuchi here for the time being and leave someone else to keep guard.

And without a doubt, the most perfect person for this task was—

The duo simultaneously turned to Noir, who had explicitly stated his intention to be a salted fish throughout the Cycle.

Noir, who was in the middle of yawning: "...?"

Excuse me?

.

.

Mini theater:

Noir, with a dark face: this is not what I mean when I said I wanted to be a salted fish! Why must I watch over (read: babysit) his corpse?!

LOL what do you think Noir will do to JJ’s body:

A. Bury it

B. (fill in your own imagination)