Chapter 609: Can You Curse Me?

    The two of them hugged and kissed each other as if they couldn’t ever have enough, totally losing track of time.

    Had Jin Jiuchi not received a fright upon finding Shen Nianzu in a horrible condition, he would have fished his little siren beauty out of the tank and cradled him in his arms lovingly like a child who had just found his lost treasure, wishing he could stuff the other person into his chest cavity and carry him whenever he went.

    Alas, as things stood, he instinctively knew that his Nian’er must not leave the water for the time being, so he could only express his yearning by touching the man all over. His hands roamed all over Shen Nianzu’s shoulders and back—one calloused and warm, while the other cold and metallic—his possessive touch alternating between feathery light and a heavy squeeze.

    The contrasting sensation sent a delightful shudder down Shen Nianzu’s spine, causing him to arch deeper into the kiss with a soft moan.

    "Fuck, don’t tempt me here, Nian’er..." a breathy curse slipped out of Jin Jiuchi’s mouth as he broke the kiss, eliciting an indignant glare from the siren.

    —Who’s tempting who here?!

    Seemingly reading the unspoken words in those glittery purple eyes, Jin Jiuchi chuckled briefly but soon moved his gaze down Shen Nianzu’s body. His fingertips grazed the siren’s slim and lithe waist in a careful manner. "Does it hurt here? How about here? Huh... I remember you bleeding here. Did I see it wrong?"

    Shen Nianzu looked down and, true to Jin Jiuchi’s words, the deep gash which was still bleeding profusely moments ago had vanished without a trace. Not even a hint of scar remained. If not for Shen Nianzu experiencing the ordeal himself, he wouldn’t have believed he had gotten injured in the first place.

    "It’s not..." a siren’s voice on land always carried a raspy yet enthralling quality, caressing Jin Jiuchi’s ears akin to the teasing tip of a feather. Just a couple words were all it took for his blood to stir, making him feel strangely lightheaded. A suspicious redness tinted his ears.

    Holy hell, it was still his beloved Nian’er’s voice, a voice that had become all too familiar for him, but why was his reaction so... intense?! Was it because he had once suffered from the siren attack, making him more susceptible now? He wondered dizzily.

    Not noticing the man’s reaction, Shen Nianzu earnestly analyzed with a pensive look, "You didn’t see it wrong, I was indeed injured earlier. Seems like my hypothesis is correct— the novice tutorial’s protection refers more to ’healing’ and ’reviving’ rather than making us immune to all attacks. The system uses wordplay to confuse... are you listening?" Shen Nianzu’s gaze darkened in displeasure when he noticed Jin Jiuchi’s slightly unfocused gaze. He pinched the man’s cheeks in a mixture of exasperation and amusement, and only then did Jin Jiuchi’s eyes regain their focus once more.

    Unexpectedly, he once again hugged Shen Nianzu, his head lolling to the crook of Shen Nianzu’s neck in a sticky manner.

    "All is good as long as you’re okay, Nian’er..." he muttered in a low voice.

    "Why are your ears so red?" The fiery earlobes just so happened to enter Shen Nianzu’s line of sight, prompting him to ask out of concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"

    "No..." Jin Jiuchi’s voice became more muffled as he tightened his arms around the siren, almost squeezing the breath out of the latter. Shen Nianzu had wanted to tell the man to let go, but considering Jin Jiuchi’s chronic separation anxiety, his heart softened and his hand moved to the man’s head instead, gently stroking his hair. Forget it, he sighed. There was no use analyzing the novice tutorial since it had expired when the clock struck midnight, also the same time as he reverted back to his siren form.

    From now on, they all had to fend for themselves in this high-level Cycle.

    He opened his mouth to utter a few comforting words, when he heard Jin Jiuchi sigh, "It’s just that your voice..." he trailed off with another troubled sigh.

    Shen Nianzu paused. "... What’s wrong with my voice?"

    Jin Jiuchi did not respond. Just as Shen Nianzu began to feel alarmed that he had perhaps influenced or harmed the man in some way, Jin Jiuchi gave a bizarre request out of nowhere, "Nian’er, can you curse me out?"

    Shen Nianzu: ...?

    A question mark popped up above Shen Nianzu’s head.

    "Your voice sounds so sexy," he whispered in a low and husky voice, "I think I’m going to pop a boner if I hear you curse."

    Shen Nianzu’s gaze snapped to him in sheer disbelief and incredulity. What the fuck was this man saying at a time like this?! He wished Jin Jiuchi was simply joking and playing around with him, but no. The man’s eyes were dead serious— he really wanted Shen Nianzu to curse him. The realization rendered Shen Nianzu utterly speechless, and all his tender feelings toward the man evaporated in an instant.

    He tried and tried to hold back, yet in the end he couldn’t resist shoving the man away, hissing, "Scram!" He even used his tail to splash water onto Jin Jiuchi’s face.

    "Oh, yes!" Jin Jiuchi let out a blissful moan, his eyelids fluttering shut. "That’s it... just like that, Nian’er!"

    Shen Nianzu was so livid that he was trembling all over. "You damned husky..." he spat out each word with a scowl, "Say one more word and I’m going to castrate you! Can’t you be fucking serious for once?!"

    Amidst his curses, he inadvertently glanced down at Jin Jiuchi’s lower body and noticed a certain part growing bigger, straining against his pants.

    "You...!" Seething with rage, Shen Nianzu decided that the best course of action was to ignore him and immerse himself back into the water, huffing and puffing. He swore he would no longer talk to Jin Jiuchi for the rest of the day!

    Knowing that he was in the wrong, Jin Jiuchi readily admitted his mistake and promised that he would never do it again. After all, his initial wish had been fulfilled and he had heard Shen Nianzu curse him angrily. As expected, the result was— hmm! He should not reminisce about it any longer lest his body reacts again. He simply couldn’t help it! It took a lot of effort on his part to coax his beautiful siren, and even when Shen Nianzu once again popped his head out of the surface, he refused to speak no matter what, making Jin Jiuchi feel bitterly disappointed.

    Left with no other choice, he could only recount everything he had seen and experienced so far, and that included his own identity, the young siren in the tank, the Divine Oracle, and Noir.

    Shen Nianzu’s eyes flew wide. He had never expected so much to happen in the span of a day. Not to mention, he had located His Royal Highness even before he began to search—thanks to Jin Jiuchi’s heaven-defying luck! Upon hearing that the Master of the Land had no plans to kill the prince and even intended to return him to the sirens, Shen Nianzu released a huge sigh of relief.

    "I don’t care about the Divine Oracle," he stated solemnly. "But nothing must happen to His Highness, or a war may break out between sirens and humans."

    Jin Jiuchi’s eyes lit up. "Nian’er, you’re willing to talk to me now?"

    But when Shen Nianzu shot him a scathing glare, he shut up immediately, even zipping his lips and throwing away the invisible key for good measure.

    "My current priority is to secure potions and transform my tail into legs. I can’t stay like this until the end," Shen Nianzu mused, his brows creasing in concern. "Besides, you said something important is happening tomorrow— no, today." He corrected once he realized that the day had passed. "What kind of event is it?"

    With a wide grin, Jin Jiuchi replied cheerfully, "Marriage ah! My good brother Noir is getting married!"

    Shen Nianzu understood that the one getting married was not Noir himself but the character he was assuming, thus he merely clicked his tongue at Jin Jiuchi. On the other hand, he had a more pressing matter he was concerned about.

    "Do you think Xinxin will show up later?" he couldn’t help but wonder.