When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 540: Smokescreen

Chapter 540: Smokescreen

In a split second, countless thoughts flashed through Shen Nianzu’s mind.

If they said yes, wouldn’t it make them seem so pretentious and callous for refusing his offer to heal Jin Jiuchi before, which eventually led to the man’s death? What did it matter that Jin Jiuchi had died in the Divine Oracle’s hands? It was such an inconceivable event that no one would believe it anyway, and that included Shang. He only knew that Jin Jiuchi’s condition had looked quite bad during their last encounter, and then a few hours later, he bumped into the man’s teammates scurrying around without him, in such a bloody and disheveled state to boot. He was sharp and intuitive enough to fill in the blanks by himself.

On the other hand, if they denied Shang’s speculation... would it even sound the least bit convincing? Of course not, Shen Nianzu instantly had the answer in his heart. Teammates generally would not separate in such a vast forest, unless they parted ways on bad terms or one of them died.

In conclusion, regardless of whether they tacitly agreed or feigned ignorance until the end, it was not important, for Shang had already come up with an answer on his own the moment he asked that question.

Still, Shen Nianzu did not feel like agreeing, so he said lightly, "No, he’s fine. He’s recuperating now, so it is not convenient to come with us."

But Shang did not even pay attention to him, much to his vexation. Instead, the fourth ranked player’s gaze had been solely fixated on Gu Luoxin from the start to the end as he gave a perfunctory response, his tone laced with faint amusement, "Oh, I see..." And Shen Nianzu knew very well the reason why. It was because Gu Luoxin was the type who wore his heart on his sleeve, so if Shang wanted to gauge the answer, he simply needed to observe the minute shift in Gu Luoxin’s expression.

In an instant, Shen Nianzu’s face darkened.

"We still need to search for more supply boxes," he quipped, tugging on Gu Luoxin’s pinky finger as a signal. "If you’ll excuse us, Mr. Shang."

Gu Luoxin wanted nothing more than to escape from the snare of Shang’s gaze, which made his facial muscles stiffened uncomfortably. Hearing Shen Nianzu’s words, he breathed out a subtle sigh of relief and chimed along, "Please excuse us, Mr. Shang! Once again, thank you for your help!" The wound on Shen Nianzu’s shoulder was a massive thorn in his heart, and no matter what kind of person this man truly was, Gu Luoxin still felt an obligation to express his gratitude properly. Otherwise this would have weighed down on his conscience!

The two of them departed under Shang’s lingering gaze, and Gu Luoxin was so tense he might as well be walking like a robot. Please, he prayed fervently inside his heart. Please let there be no more interaction between us in the future!

Alas, he had barely finished his silent and desperate player when a voice called out from behind, effectively halting them in their tracks,

"Wait."

The man’s voice still sounded as gentle and amicable as ever, yet Gu Luoxin felt as if a lightning bolt had just struck the top of his head, leaving him petrified in place. "Is there something else, Mr. Shang?" He heard Shen Nianzu’s milky voice ask beside him, his tone oh so sweet with a perfect amount of naïve confusion, but only Gu Luoxin knew that his leader was feeling anything but. And that was because Shen Nianzu was gripping his pinky finger so hard that it nearly bent!

Ouch, ouch, ouch, have mercy— you’re going to crush my finger, Xiao Shen!!

Unfortunately, Gu Luoxin dared not utter a word of complaint and could only cry a river of tears inside. Hardening his jaws, he mustered every ounce of acting skills he had in him to school his features, attempting to copy Shen Nianzu’s guileless expression, but the relentless ache on his pinky finger turned his expression a little stiff instead.

In Shang’s eyes, it looked like the other person was very reluctant to interact more with himself... which was somehow accurate.

A flash of smile crossed Shang’s eyes. He swallowed the words he originally wanted to say and instead asked, "Do you mind telling me your teammate’s nickname? I’m quite... interested in him."

Gu Luoxin was so shocked by this unexpected revelation that he could no longer maintain his poker face. His round eyes flew wide, astonishment and sheer disbelief written all over his face. For the love of anything unholy, Shang was interested in... Jin Jiuchi? That Jin Jiuchi, the dumb and chaotic husky?! Wait a moment, was this ’interest’ the same as what he was thinking about??

Setting everything else aside, how could he ask this question in front of Shen Nianzu ahhhh!!!

Noticing the man’s eyes on him, Gu Luoxin had no other option but to steel himself to answer, his voice stiff and wooden, "Sorry, Mr. Shang, my teammate is... taken." Don’t look at me ah! What are you looking at me for?! Can’t you sense the murderous aura from the person beside me?!!

"Oh?" The smile in Shang’s eyes deepened, his tone laden with meaning. "By whom, if I may ask?"

You may not! Gu Luoxin screeched inwardly. What are you being so long-winded for? The person you’re looking for is right in front of your eyes!

Alas, there was no way Gu Luoxin could admit it aloud. Personal privacy notwithstanding, Shen Nianzu was in a child form right now. If he told the truth, Shang must have thought he was joking. Or he would have seen through Shen Nianzu’s identity and discovered that he was using a special prop to alter his appearance. Either way, both possibilities were equally unfavorable!

Gu Luoxin felt more and more like he was standing on pins and needles, especially when Shen Nianzu stayed mum as if he had no intentions of intervening. Shang’s smiling yet not smiling gaze remained on him all the time, and each millisecond of silence that passed by was akin to a noose tightening around his neck bit by bit, leaving him increasingly breathless and unable to think clearly.

Under this great pressure, Gu Luoxin was abruptly reminded of the absurd question Shang had asked him earlier, and he blurted out without thinking twice, "...me. It’s me, okay?! So what if he’s taken by me?!!" his voice almost cracked from how nervous he was.

Not daring to check Shang’s reaction to his random outburst, Gu Luoxin promptly made a decision to run, tugging Shen Nianzu along with him, leaving only a few hasty words behind, "That’s all! Please excuse us!"

By the time his last words fell, the duo’s figure had already vanished from sight, swallowed by the darkness of the woods. Little did they know that Shang, who was left behind so suddenly, had no signs of displeasure on his face. Instead, his smile widened, like he had just confirmed something important.

"Hmm," he muttered under his breath. "Sure enough."

Meanwhile, Gu Luoxin and Shen Nianzu paused for a break after they were quite some distance away.

"Haa... haa, s-sorry, Xiao Shen..." Gu Luoxin apologized amidst his ragged breath. He had an expression as if there was nothing left to live for as he yanked on his hair in frustration. "Just why... why did I say something like that?! Stupid, stupid, stupid— I’m so stupid! Of all the answers I could have given, I ended up saying the most ridiculous one! Ahhh, now he will think Da Shen and I are a couple. How disgusting!"

"It’s okay," Shen Nianzu remained as unruffled as ever as he patted Gu Luoxin’s back, reassuring, "It’s a good answer."

"I know it’s— huh?" Gu Luoxin did a double take when the words were fully registered in his mind. He whipped his head to the little boy, astonished, "W–What did you say, Xiao Shen? I... I seem to hear something else." He even dug into his ears, fully convinced that it was all auditory hallucination on his part.

Helpless, Shen Nianzu had to repeat, "I said, your answer is good. It actually gives me some excellent ideas." His gaze deepened in contemplation.

With the way things were developing, Shen Nianzu feared that his ominous hunch would come true sooner or later. Aside from being calculative, he was also very petty and possessive. He could not stand even a grain of sand in his eyes. ¹

Rather than keeping their guard up all the time, why not take the initiative to strike first?

Shang, this dangerous player... must not remain any longer.

A glint of murderous intent flashed in Shen Nianzu’s eyes, which he swiftly concealed when he faced Gu Luoxin’s innocent mien. "What kind of ideas?" the young man asked, puzzled.

Shen Nianzu smiled, beckoning for him to crouch down. And when Gu Luoxin did, Shen Nianzu placed a hand on his shoulder and patted it firmly twice, imparting a crucial mission to him, "Xinxin, you will be our smokescreen for the time being. I trust no one but you about this, so keep up the good job."

Gu Luoxin stared at him numbly, waiting for him to retract his words and say that he was merely cracking a joke, but when it did not happen and Shen Nianzu’s countenance remained as solemn as ever, only then did Gu Luoxin ascertain that his leader was serious.

"H-Huh...?!" he belatedly squeaked out, horrified.

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Mini theater

JJ: me, and Xinxin??? How disgusting! x2